Apr 08 2009
Matt and I just returned from a long weekend in Santa Barbara. My brother attends Westmont college, so we went down to visit. Every year, Westmont hosts Spring Sing, where each dorm puts on an 8 minute skit about the chosen theme. This year’s theme was “No Assembly Required”, and the skits were hilarious and random.
The goal is to be creative, which resulted in a random and funny production. Jay’s dorm featured the invasion of the Mongols. After conquering the entire world, the Mongols decided that they wanted to conquer the 90s… that’s right, the whole decade! However, upon reaching 1999, the 90s characters and the Mongols are forced to put aside their differences in an effort to thwart Y2K. They reach this conclusion through a series of revised lyrics to 90s songs, iconic characters, and the decision that assembly is, in fact, required! Jay played Ricky Martin, man purse and all! His Spanish accent and Ricky Martin-esque dance moves were well-received by the crowd. They used a slightly different interpretation of the theme, including it as follows:
“Y2K is coming, we should assemble together to fight it!”
“There’s no need to assemble, Y2K isn’t THAT big of a problem”
“No, no, NO!! Assembly REQUIRED!! We have to work together to defeat Y2K!”
We felt the group did an outstanding job re-writing lyrics and choreographing the moves, and we offer congrats on a great performance!
We hung out on State Street and the Wharf with my parents and my brother. The view is BEAUTIFUL, and Santa Barbara is really peaceful. My mom and I did some shopping, while Matt and my dad took a drive through the mountains. We had dinner with Jay and several of his friends on Friday night at a hibachi grill, and took him out for pizza on Saturday. On Sunday, we went to Ocean Hills church with Jay. The church seems to be growing, and Jay really enjoys attending.
Overall, we had a relaxing and enjoyable trip. Matt especially enjoyed the drive on HWY 1, with mountains on one side and ocean on the other 
We are definitely planning more trips to the beach as the weather warms up, and hopefully another trip to Santa Barbara!
Mar 25 2009
Posted some pics from a hiking trip I took a few weeks ago, and also from a recent friend’s visit for Spring Break.
Mar 19 2009
This is the follow up post to my earlier “All the world’s a stage” post about auditioning in California. I am happy to report that I have been cast in the ensemble for Lyric Theatre’s production, “Yeomen of the Guard”, by Gilbert and Sullivan! I had the audition about 2 weeks ago, and received confirmation that I will singing in the chorus. I don’t know much about this show, but it falls into the opera/musical category.
The show is about Colonel Fairfax, who has been sentenced to death on false charges. His cousin falsely accused him in an effort to take control of his estate. Colonel Fairfax decides to marry a strolling singer in an attempt to leave his estate to her, instead of the scheming cousin. However, complications ensure when Colonel Fairfax escapes. The music is supposed to be complicated and moving, so I am excited to see the score.
The show runs for two weekends, from June 20th to June 28th, with a few weekday performances. You can check out lyrictheatre.org for more information about the plot, show times, and ticket purchases. I’ll keep you posted about progress in rehearsals, as I make my entrance back into the theatre!
Mar 05 2009
On February 28, I weighed in at 191 pounds. That’s another 7 pounds over the month, for a total loss of 14 pounds since the beginning of the year. I probably will not be able to hit either 180 pounds or 12% body fat, but I think I’m making great progress for such an aggressive goal.
As another part of this journey, I decided to go vegetarian for a month. I’ve never even thought about doing that before and really have no solid reason for why I decided to do it. I just wanted to present myself with a challenge and see what kind of impact it would have on my lifestyle and health. It was really awful, but I made it all the way through the shortest month of the year without eating a single shred of meat of any kind (fish included!). My weight loss trajectory did not change, but it might be the reason I kept going down instead of hitting a plateau.
I ordered a body fat analyzer from Amazon earlier this month, and it arrived the second week of February. The day I got it, I came in at 20.3% body fat, which was considerably higher that what I had guessed I was at. Since then, I have gathered enough data to notice a slightly downward trend, but not as much as I would like. So, I’ll leave you with the 2-month graph of total body mass and wait until I have another month of data before I unload my array of other graphs tracking things such as fatty mass, lean mass, forecasted loss, etc.
Feb 25 2009
Well, once more, I must resort to a “quick update”, with nothing really interesting to report. Matt and I had a fun trip to Dallas at the beginning of February, and it was great to see some friends and family. My sister was performing in her last musical as a high school student, “The Music Man”. Matt and I came in to watch the show, which was AMAZING! Hebron has really worked the kinks out of the new auditorium, with fancy new wireless mics (much better than when I was there, I’m quite jealous), beautiful drops, and a full house! The students danced and sang with precision, and the highest level of professionalism. Their hard work paid off, and I offer a congratulations to the entire cast… I also recommend seeing any and all future HHS shows, as the quality will blow you away!
I also had updates with friends, from new jobs, to engagements, to soon-to-be moms! Once more, I am so proud of all my friends and the progress they have made over the last few years. It was great to be able to hang out and have “girl time” over the weekend. I also enjoyed spending time with my mom and my sister during the weekend. We spent some time with Matt’s family as well, and finally got a tour of their “new” home. They moved in just after we moved to California, so they’re pretty well settled, and it’s a great place.
I have been volunteering in the shop for Lyric Theatre (lyrictheatre.org) for their upcoming show “Camelot”. I’ve been dubbed “random woman off the street”, since I have no real connection to the show… other than a love of theatre. Working in the shop is not my first love, but I’ve enjoyed meeting the cast and crew, and seeing the set materialize from hunks of wood and foam to a medieval castle and countryside! I am planning to audition for their next show, “Yeomen of the Guard”. I’ll keep you posted on the outcome of that audition.
Brownie points to Matt for our recent date He was able to surprise me with a scavenger hunt and dinner after my day at the theatre. We went to an Italian restaurant in downtown Saratoga, a place called Da Mario. We weren’t particularly impressed with the food, but we had an enjoyable evening together.
I joined the gym last night as well, so I am getting back in shape! I am so much happier after a hard workout. I am supposed to have a personal training session next week to discuss my fitness goals, so we’ll see what they recommend. I’ve always been a fan of going old-school with free weights and running. However, as I’ve gotten out of organized sports, I’ve found that I do enjoy group fitness. They have several conditioning classes that look interesting, so I’ll keep you posted on that as well.
Our BVC Lifegroup has grown over the past few months, with the newest additions arriving about 1 month ago. Two of the couples that attend the group just had babies, so that has changed the dynamic of the group as well. We look forward to the day when we have too many people to fit in one house!
Well, I believe that’s all for updates now!
Jan 31 2009
On New Year‘s Day I weighed in at 205 pounds. Today I weigh 198 pounds. I ordered a body fat analyzer, but it hasn’t arrived yet. I know that on New Year’s Day I was at about 22% body fat. My goal is to get to 180 pounds or 12% body fat, whichever is greater, by March 31st. This is the most aggressive fitness goal I’ve ever had and been able to track progress on.
Before my third year in college, I basically didn’t have to think about my fitness at all. I ate whatever I wanted, played video games all the time, and stayed pretty lean and mean. Since then, however, I have been on a fairly steady, albeit not too rapid decline. I tried to get really fit for the wedding, but didn’t really stick to it. Once I got my free gym membership from work I started going to the gym 3 days a week. Then I went to China for the Olympics and realized I would really have to push it if I wanted to see some results. When I got home, I started going 5 times a week until about the 6th week, when I got a nasty sinus infection. As the sinus infection waned the holidays started up, and I never went back.
Now it’s 2009. And I have been to the gym 24 of the past 31 days. I’ve consumed less than 2000 calories for nearly every one of those days. I’ve lost 7 pounds and gained a decent amount of strength, endurance, and flexibility. I’m pretty proud of my progress so far and look forward to what the next 60 days will bring.
Jan 29 2009
Well, haven’t written in a while, and Ashley says I should. Not too much has been happening. I did the whole “New Year’s Resolution” thing about losing weight and getting fit, and it’s been going pretty well. I’ve really been getting into it. I’ll try to post more about that later.
What I’d really like to complain about is how Lucerne labels their milk cartons. The regular fat free milk is in this blue carton that says “Fat Free” on it. Great. However, the lactose-free version of the exact same milk is in the exact same carton, except for some small script on the front that says “100% Lactose Free”. So, if you are in a hurry, it is very easy to pick up the wrong one, and this is awful. See, I’m normally a Whole Milk kind of guy, but since I’m trying to cut fat, I decided to go with skim milk. Giving up fat in my milk is one thing, but no lactose? What’s the point? I don’t really know what lactose is, but it sure makes a difference in how milk tastes.
Anyway, there’s some random thoughts from me. Oh, and I have some hiking pictures to upload. Maybe you’ll see those in the next couple days.
Jan 21 2009
Well, I don’t have much to report, but I feel like I should post something every so often:) So, enjoy the quick look into life!
I found out about my audition last week. Sadly, I didn’t get cast 
However, I didn’t embarrass myself, and I have nice headshots to show for it! I am planning to look at some more auditions, so keep checking back to see if I get cast in a show.
Matt and I went camping this past weekend. We’ve been talking about going camping since we moved here in June, and we FINALLY made it out to Big Basin. We grilled burgers and chicken, and I had a few marshmallows. We spoiled ourselves with eggs, pancakes and coffee on the camp stove when we woke up. The weather was pretty good until we went to bed. It started getting really cold, and we thought our feet were going to fall off. However, we arose on Saturday morning with our feet still attached, and it had warmed up considerably. Camping is definitely a good time, so we’re looking at some trips to Big Sur during the summer.
We also watched the UFC fight… which is an event! All the guys get really into it, and Matt gets really pumped up about working out and yelling. He tends to go into “Hulk” mode after watching a UFC fight, shadow boxing, beating his chest, and ranting about going to the gym RIGHT NOW. I tend to want to tell the fighters to stop bashing each other’s heads! They fight with open gloves, and one guy got poked in the eye. It was fun to hang out with everyone, but I don’t think I’ll ever be REALLY excited to watch the fight.
Last, Matt and I are excited to be in Dallas in February! It is my sister’s last musical as a high school student, so we’re heading in to see the show. We haven’t been home since the move, so I am SOOO excited to see everyone and hang out with my family. If you’re planning to be in Dallas as well, let us know!
Well, as promised, quick updates! We’re heading to Bible study now, so I will post more when I have news!
Jan 11 2009
Well, I finally made it to a theatre audition out here! I had my first audition in California, for “The King and I” in Palo Alto. I’ve been looking to get back into the scene, but I kept missing the auditions by a day or two. I found the audition in Palo Alto this past Wednesday, and I auditioned yesterday for any role they’d give me.
Looking at audition postings made me remember my theatre days, and how much I LOVE the stage! I’ve kept up with my singing, but I haven’t done a musical or play in several years. Deciding on audition pieces also made me realize how “out of touch” I am with the scene these days! I didn’t have headshots or pieces on demand, and I still need to find my character shoes. However, Matt was encouraging when I mentioned the audition, so I went through my old books to find a song. I ended up doing “Think of Me”, from “Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Lloyd Webber. I know Phantom songs are highly over-used, but with 3 days to prepare, you have to work with what you’ve got! Matt took headshots of me in our living room… using the lamps sans lampshades for “studio lighting”. He also gave me a decent makeover via Photoshop, and the pictures turned out really well (they’ll probably be in the gallery at some point, so check the “pics” section). I printed out some resumes and attached them to the back, and I was ready to impress them.
I was actually pretty nervous on Saturday when I walked into the theatre. My ultimate goal was not to embarrass myself… it’d be nice to get cast, but I wanted to do well enough to prove that being gone hasn’t changed things that much. It turns out that several of the other auditionees were in the exact same situation I was in! They’d done theatre a few years ago, kept up with singing, hadn’t auditioned in several years. This put me at ease… at least we’d all be embarrassed if it came to that However, I think did more than enough to keep from embarrassment! I conquered my first audition in several years, and I am eagerly awaiting the results. I’ll keep you posted on the casting decision, but I am DEFINITELY planning to keep myself up-to-date on future auditions. Hopefully, I’ll have one more show on my resume by the end of 2009!
Jan 05 2009
I just uploaded nearly 100 pictures taken over the month of December, check ‘em out!