Evolution of fashion, or how Hannah changes her mind.

When I was in middle school I decided I hated jeans. I don’t really remember the reasons. Maybe it was the roughness of the fabric or the fact that everyone seemed to wear them constantly. Either way, I decided no jeans for me. All through high school I did what I could to avoid them. I wore corduroys, vintage dress pants, skirts but no jeans. Between the ages of 13 and 18 I was jeans-free.

Then came college and how things changed. I bought my first pair of jeans and for the next 10 years, jeans became the foundation of (almost) everything I wore. No big deal just a huge change. I didn’t even think about how long I had loathed them jeans were all I wanted.

Almost ten years ago people started wearing leggings on a regular basis. Leggings are the worst, I thought, lazy dressing. Well, here I am post-pregnancy and all I want to wear are leggings.

Maybe I am now lazy. Maybe it’s just that I’m in-between sizes. Maybe when you are schlepping around an almost three-month infant there is just no time to think about dressing beyond stretch. Or, maybe my style has changed.

I’m going back to work on Monday. Leggings and a nursing tank are not really work appropriate. And now I feel at a stylistic loss. What to wear when I want to wear the easy and comfort I’ve come to love on leave, need to wear something that will allow ease of access for pumping 3x daily and still looks like I’m an adult in a workplace. Oh, that doesn’t cost much money because new parent. Time to evolve.

(this post brought to you by a Joanie-nap)

last week on the Tumblr: Theatre Collage edition.

Highlights from a week of posts on Theatre Collage:

Diana Vishneva: Dialogues. Ms. Vishneva in the work “Subject to Change” at City Center, March 2012. Photograph by Mark Olich.

The fierce and seductive men of flamenco, captured by Ruven Afanador.

“I don’t know if you know that sort of feeling you get on these days round about the end of April and the beginning of May, when the sky’s a light blue with cotton-wool clouds and there’s a bit of a breeze blowing from the west? Kind of uplifted feeling. Romantic, if you know what I mean. I’m not much of a ladies’ man, but on this particular morning it seemed to me that what I really wanted was some charming girl to buzz up and ask me to save her from assassins or something.”

P.G. Wodehouse, The Inimitable Jeeves

a week in the life: sorry guys

I’m just not in a blogging place these days. Maybe I’m too busy. Maybe I’m becoming to introverted. Whatever the case is, I just don’t feel the urge to blog.

It’s taking me longer to process my ideas and then once they are processed I don’t really feel like writing them out.

I don’t want to say goodbye to the blog but I know you are all getting tired of the half written posts and apologies.

but not sure what else I can do right now.  I think the blog is going to go on hiatus until classes start. If something comes up I may post but don’t expect much. And this, I swear, will be the last apology about it.

In the meantime though here’s what I’m doing:

The 2009 Capital Fringe Festival runs from July 9 – July 26 and during that time i will be found in the box office coordinating the volunteers.

Want to volunteer? Please do! Fill out this survey to let me know your availability.

And Dorks on the Loose return with a new show Facey Facey Face Face. Tickets go on sale Monday and once I have that link it will go up and obviously you should all see it!

And Forum Theater is busy with Dark Play which also opens July 9 which also you should all see.

If you want to know more about what is happening in my life give me a call, send me an email, make plans with me. I may be anti-social on the web but I’m trying not to be in real life.  Let’s have a real conversation.

Oh, and this was written while listening to the new Stuart Murdoch project God Help the Girl which is being streamed for a limited time on the Matador Records page. I enjoy muchly.

week in the life of a grad student: summer makes me blog lazy

sorry I’m just not feeling the urge to write.  This week has been similar to the one before. The Confrence of Jewish Theater happened. There were some highlights to that: Donald Margulies, Judith Malina and Itamar Moses were all interesting and in their own ways inspiring. I’d like to write something up but I don’t know if I’m ready to yet. I have lots of thoughts swimming around my head about Jewish Identity and Theater but their having a hard time (my thoughts) staying in one place and letting me grab hold of them in words. The other news of the conference is that I have been made a board member. My responsibility towards the association will be mainly working on next years conference, though I have volunteered to help rewrite the mission statement.

Other than the Jews, I’ve spent my week hanging out with friends old and new and enjoying New York. I’m starting to get sad to leave. I’m excited, of course, to be back in the district, and excited to see all my DC peeps, and my family. But, things here are good and a month and a half away right now feels inconvenient.

What else? I’ve been reading and enjoying Kafka’s short stories.  Goal for the summer to read all Kafka in preparation for one of the director’s projects next year.

So, that’s what I’ve got at the moment.

a week in the life of a grad student: this weeks routine

I’ve had a nice routine this past week. Today is the last day of it, though maybe it will be similar at the end of next week.

I’ve woken up around 8:30. Made some oatmeal and tea. Sat in the living room until sometime btwn 11 – 12 doing work on stuff for the Festival of Jewish Theater and Ideas and the upcoming Association for Jewish Theater Conference (this article has a really comprehensive look at the world of American Jewish Theater for those interested).

Then at some point between 11:30 and noon I leave the house and take a walk (with a little bit of running) in Central Park. I wish the running was a little bit more as I watch people go by me but I just don’t understand how people do it. After a minute of running my knees and ankles start smarting so I have to stop. It’s just too much pressure for them. At least I can walk. And walk I do. Everyday it’s been a different route getting lost in the vastness of the park. Everyday I fall a little more in love with Central Park and all the nooks and cranny’s and the way it changes around every bend.  Today I walked down to the Reservoir and circled it before making my way home.

I make sure I’m home around 1 pm and make and eat lunch while watching Anthony Bourdain on the travel channel. Today for lunch I had toast topped with Avocado and salt and a salad of cucumber, onion and radish tossed in some red wine vinegar and salt and pepper.  Yesterday I made a pasta out of garlic, radish greens, radish, onion and raisins. I like throwing things together.

I go back to the computer around 2 pm and do some more work on the Jewish Fest, Conference and the Fringe Fest in DC. I take a nap and read for a couple hours and then go off to the theater.  This week I went to a reading of a play by one of the playwrighting students at Columbia.  I’m going to be working on it next year and this was my first look at it. I’m very excited, the play, though still needing some attention, is clever, sweet, funny and heartbreaking.   I’ve had a couple more post-show discussions at the Festival (my last one is this Saturday).  Last night I was Waiting for Godot on Broadway. It was really a fantastic and engaging production. I am thrilled I got the chance to see it.

Really, this isn’t a bad life at all.

week in the life of a grad student: ask and ye shall recieve

so, you want to hear more about my goings on, at least according to those who responded to my survey.  An interesting thing I noted about the survey – no one said that they didn’t care (which is good) but many visitors to the site didn’t respond at all. Does that mean the don’t care but are too lazy to fill out the survey? Or that they are totally indifferent.

So, goings on. It’s been a busy week and my legs hurt. These two points are related.  I moved this week. I moved around the corner from my old apartment. Instead of moving in the traditional way where you pack everything up and then do it all in one fell swoop, I’ve been moving slowly. Taking a couple bags filling them to the brim and walking over to the new place. Emptying the bags, putting things away, walking back over and doing the same thing – again, and again and again and again.  And as I mentioned before, there are stairs lots of them. My legs and back hurt.

BUT, I have a great new apartment and I love my room. It’s fantastic and comfortable and I think I’ll be very happy in it.  There’s a dog, Athena who is the sweetest thing. But I’m still getting used to having an apartment that smells like dog. I’m guessing in a couple of days I won’t notice the smell anymore but at the moment it’s getting to me. My room is dog free, but the living room which I’m in now is much more the dogs room than my own.

So other than the move I’ve also been working on the Festival of Jewish Theater and Ideas. I have been putting together and moderating post-show discussions.  I’ve done three so far and have three more to go this weekend. Then three more in the week to come. I’ve been enjoying them. I haven’t done post-show discussions since my time at Theater J and it feels great to be in front of the audience again.  It’s also nice be seeing a lot of theater again after the past two weeks of taking a break.

Yesterday I saw a play by one of the columbia playwrights directed by one of my fellow dramaturgs.  It was a very impressive undertaking with a non-existent budget. So bravo to them!

a week in the life of a grad student: this is the week

ok kids. this is it. by the end of the week my semester is over. my first year of graduate school will be over.

in theater-going: another week without much theater though I may go see two second year productions this weekend.

in work of a reading nature: nothin’

in work of a non-reading nature: just one paper left. due friday. I have ideas but haven’t started writing it.  tomorrow the writing will start. tonight I take a slight break since my other paper was handed in just about an hour ago.

so basically yup almost done.

a week in the life: countdown

in theater-going: we had our final presentations for Collaboration class yesterday but other than that nothing. Can you believe it? I’m going a week (probably two looking at my schedule for next week) without seeing any theater.

in school work of a reading nature: nope. nothing. well, except reading/research for the papers.

in school work of a non-reading nature: two largish papers (around 15 pages each) Contemporary Playwrights paper due Monday,  Comedy History/Theory paper due Friday. My goal is to finish the first paper by Friday so I can concentrate on what I think will be the more difficult of the two papers this weekend. There is also some writing for my playwrighting class that will happen at some point tonight.

in other stuff: working a lot at the box office this week/weekend – end of the year on an undergrad campus means lots of frivolity, many events and many hours added to my shifts.  And it’s anarchivist’s birthday (a big one) and sadly I can’t join in most of the festivities of the week long celebration just a brunch on saturday.

a week in the life of a grad student: three weeks to go

in theater-going: seeing Desire Under the Elms, Accent on Youth (with my criticism teacher so i can watch her in action) and an on campus production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

in school work of a reading nature: Endgame (Beckett), The Cherry Orchard (Chekhov), Our Lady of 121st St (Adly Gurgis), Boleros for the Disenchanted (Rivera), and some Hegel.

in school work of a non-reading nature: finishing my report on the criticism of William Kerr  and preparing a 30 min presentation, finishing the reading for my final paper for contemporary american playwrights which is due next week, start preparing for my comedy paper which is due the following week.  Rehearsals for my final collaboration piece Steve’s Lawn.

Try to figure out which classes I’m taking next year so I can register.

in other stuff: looking at a couple of apartments. Try not to get stressed out. eat. sleep. breathe.

a week in the life of a grad student: from here to there

in theater-going: this was the week of the Helen Hayes. So a quick jaunt down to DC for the night. I took lots of pictures, had fun with lots of friends and cuteness. Plus! Theater! J! (or rather Stefanie) Won! a Helen Hayes! for Honey! Brown! Eyes! I’m really glad to have been there for that excitement.  Other than that, tonight I’m going to finally see August: Osage County. Tomorrow night I’m going to try to see a campus production of The Glass Menagerie.  Saturday is the performance of the girl I’ve been mentoring: it’s a song cycle with ballet, I saw a little at a rehearsal and looking forward to sitting in on the run through on Saturday.

In school work of a reading nature: well, i’ve read it all by now. I read Homebody/Kabul (Kushner), One Flea Spare (Wallace),  The Country Wife (Wycherley) and some 17th century writings about humour.  Still working my way through the reviews of Walter Kerr.

In school work of a non-reading nature: working on my third collaboration piece and helping my mentee out as she prepares and stresses.

And I’m so excited that Passover ends tonight. On my way to the show tonight I may have to treat myself to a big bowl of pasta.