Oklahoma!

Live theater isn't an obsession of mine. I know some people who live for live theater. I grew up in a musical household, and on classics like The Sound of Music. I was taken to see the Nutcracker and Porgy and Bess as a child. I enjoyed the plays produced at my tiny college.

It's really not until I'm in the theater that I remember how much I love it. It's not until the dance sequences start that I get goosebumps. I haven't spent much time going to theaters because, well, they cost money. However, I had a great treat from my mom this last weekend when she took me to see Portland Center Stage's "Oklahoma!"

The music was wonderful, the singing was great, the actors top-notch. It was fun to revisit a classic that I had seen many times before, because in seeing it again after many years away I was able to laugh anew at some wonderful comedy. This was all presented with a fantastic new twist: an all-black cast. Most people are surprised to hear that, but it was both intriguing and fun to read the director's note, which stated that he could not find anything in the script that would exclude African Americans from that possibility. Further in his research he found that there were numerous all-black towns in the Oklahoma territory, making it completely plausible for the story.

OKLAHOMA! TRAILER from Portland Center Stage on Vimeo.
It was a spectacular take on an old classic that even presented many of the songs in a new light, sung by characters who were most likely freed slaves, not only bent on personal freedom, but also the optimism of  a new land.

Motivation

Getting back into running hasn't been easy. The gym stifled me - the heat inside was too much, and I was frustrated because I never felt I could last like I could outside. Out on the trail I can last at least 30 minutes, if not more, yet in the gym I feel like I could pass out at 12. Because it's fall and the weather is cooler, I've decided to run outside to build up my stamina. I've been using the gym for other machines on days when I'm not running.

If you ever need motivation, I've got one for you: On my way from work to the gym this morning I saw elite marathoner Shalane Flanagan out for her morning run. If that can't get your rear in gear, I don't know what can.

Sun

Yesterday morning I ran around like crazy at my job. There were fussy girls and it took me forever to get the youngest one out the door. I started laundry, cleaned up their kitchen, and finally was able to head out the door. I came to my own house, started some laundry, and changed into my running clothes in record time. I raced over to the trail in my car, got out, attached my ipod, and just as I began to run, the sun came out. And everything was good.

Janae is having a giveaway - a pair of shoes!

Life As I Know It

A full-time job leaves one pretty busy.

Well, the truth is that I am not all that busy, but I am gone from home a lot, and that makes me feel busy. I leave every morning at about 6:50am and work until 7pm. I have a very large break in the middle of my day, and since I live pretty far from work, I spend my break time going to the gym, and then eating lunch and reading at Manfriend's apartment.

What could I possibly be doing that leaves me with this much time (which is, at its most, 5 hours)? I am a nanny.

I looked for office jobs. I am not sure I want to be a teacher anymore, and I wouldn't be able to find a job anyway, with the way budget cuts are working out these days. I'm also not sure I would even want to teach a classroom of 35 children (which is what a lot of classrooms are at these days). When looking for office jobs I realized that the salary I could make on my zero office experience was crazy low. I'm not beyond working for little money - I've certainly done it before, with much more stress. But, when the opportunity of a nanny job came up, with a lot more pay - I had to take the dive. First, I had to ask my mom if she would think any less of me for being a nanny. Being a nanny is not a respected profession. Being a professional babysitter is not met with a reaction of  "oh, cool". Well, maybe it's met with "Oh, cool", if the person is trying to act not surprised by your low goals.

But, the thing is that with my resume of a human development and education degree, my years working with children both in and out of the classroom, and my ease with kids - being a nanny just fits. Sure, it ain't glamorous, but it's a job. And, I'll be the first to say - a pretty good deal.

I work for a busy family who recently moved to Portland after the mom took a job here. The dad is still looking for a job. They have two girls, C who is 4 1/2 and H who is 2 1/2. C is a sweet, precocious, assertive, and active girl. H is an ornery, stubborn, and temper tantrum-filled crazy girl, but when she smiles, it's pretty sweet. The girls actually BOTH go to school during the day. I help get them ready in the morning and take them to school. I pick them both up in the afternoon at different times, do an activity, make dinner, do baths. I do their laundry and their dishes, and walk their dog. Sometimes I think "What am I doing?" Most of the time I think "This is a pretty sweet gig."

I have just finished my second week of working with the family, and things are coming around. There are still cries for mommy and daddy. There are still temper tantrums. There are still very difficult discussions about dinner choices - but we're coming around. This afternoon, as I picked up H from daycare, she ran to me with open arms, a first. She actually let me carry her. C has started protesting when I leave at night. Things are looking up.

I cannot deny that this has been a gift from God. I remember sitting in my room in Mexico, looking at this job opening and thinking "Should I?" I called the nanny placement agency when I got back to Oregon, had two interviews, and the job was mine, and I know they had their choice of nannies. I'm extremely grateful for this job - I could have been searching forever, and instead I have a great job. Also, big huge thanks to my brother who is letting me borrow his car (without which, I wouldn't be able to have this job).

Books: American Wife

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

Sometimes I just want to read a book that is fun, interesting, and easy to read. I've found fun books and easy to read books, and even books that are fun and easy to read. Or maybe even just interesting. I was expecting perhaps fun and easy to read when I picked up American Wife. Sittenfeld's last book, Prep, was basically just about the social lives of students at a boarding school. Reading it, I felt like I was reading a gossip magazine. American Wife, though, surprised me. It's quite obvious that Sittenfeld expanded her storytelling abilities. Not only was it a good read, it was thought-provoking and entertaining.

American Wife is a novel based on the life events of Laura Bush. Well, I think Sittenfeld would say that no, it's based on a compilation of many different first ladies, however the really large events mirror Laura Bush's life. What really propels this book is the lead character's compelling introspectives and personal anecdotes on life in the limelight. It feels weird to say this, but I now see politicians differently. As a country we've put our politicians on a pedastal - perhaps not a glowing pedastal, but a pedastal nonetheless, where we expect them to be the perfect image of Americans. The private thoughts, worries, and ideas that we never see would indeed surprise us.

All in all, American Wife is a great story. It is told by a great storyteller, and I look forward to Sittenfeld's next book with anticipation.

Tasted+Seen+Heard

Tasted:
There is a tasty by-product of dating a foodie. While we dated long distance for 7 months and we went to plenty of good restaurants on our short trips, I don't think I correctly imagined living in the same city. I have been back in Portland not quite 3 weeks, and I already have a bevy of new restaurants that I like (or even love).

I'll forget a bunch of them, but here's a great rundown:
**We ate at Firehouse last night as a celebratory dinner (because I got a job offer for a nanny position!). Everything was delicious - baked corn, salad, margherita pizza, and gnocchi with spring vegetables.

**We went out to dinner with some of Manfriend's family at the Sunshine Tavern. It was a relaxed atmosphere (and not at all like a Tavern), with pretty good food. The best part was the honey soft serve ice cream. Great location on Division.

**When other members of Manfriend's family were visiting we went to two great places, one of which I had been to before. Little Big Burger serves proportionally wonderful hamburgers (with great cheeses), and just-crispy-enough fries. Simple menu, great prices. They are opening quite a few new locations. We have been to the one down in the Pearl by Powell's books, but there are other locations opening, including one on SE Division.

**We also found a great Mexican place in the outer reaches of Northeast Portland. At 162nd and Glisan there is Tortilleria de Leon, a grocery store/bakery/restaurant. In the back of the store you'll find a glass case filled with cooked meats. The best deal (and what most of our group got) was the "combination" plate, which was actually beans, rice, and the meat of your choice, served with a mountainload of handmade tortillas (your choice: corn or flour).

~~My manfriend wrote an article that just went up today about great doughnuts in Portland. Voodoo is notably not on the list. You can read it here. It's pretty great.

Seen:
**We recently went to see "The Interruptors", a movie about... well, I'll let you watch the trailer. It was a really great film.


** We rented "Never Let Me Go", an imaginative story, chronicling the lives of three schoolmates who are part of a project where people are bred and raised as organ donors. Not in anyway sci-fi, it did a good job at predicting what the emotional implications would be. Visually, it was a beautiful film. The dreariness of English (and coats, sweaters, boots, scarves) always does something to me. It must be in my blood.

**We also started watching the TV show "Breaking Bad", but I haven't made up my mind about it yet. It has made me want to gag, and has made me hide my face behind Manfriend's shoulder. The jury's still out.

**A friend posted this video on facebook. It made me cry. This principal is doing everything in her power to change her students' lives. What an inspiration.


Heard:
Mates of State's new album, Mountaintops, is out today. They're one of the few bands I still actively follow - they always make me happy.

And there you have it.

Books: Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I will just admit this right off the bat: I never read this as a child. Oh, I had the copies. Someone in my extended family gave me both Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea in beautiful hardcover editions, yet I doubt I barely cracked a page. I decided it was time to read it.

As a child I much preferred contemporary realistic fiction. I was into the Baby-Sitters Club, Mary Downing Hahn books, and Lois Lowry's Anastasia series. I didn't have time for flowery, overly descriptive, antiquated books. I liked lots of dialogue and something I felt I could relate to. Now that I've read through Anne of Green Gables I can see why I would have never liked it as a child. Anne is such a dreamer that her page-long diatribes would have driven me wild.

As an adult, I loved it. Anne is hilarious, Marilla's attitude is biting, and Matthew is a sweet man. Anne is the kind of girl you'd hope to have: all heart and warmth and genuine imagination. Her mistakes only make her more endearing and her affection toward others is rare.

The pacing of the story bothered me quite a bit The first year of Anne's life in Green Gables was slow and more detail driven, while the next few years of her life flew by with only a few incidents. Other than that, it was a great book. And I cried at the end. I cried! Montgomery does a fine job building characters you fall in love with and care about, which makes the events in their life so much more moving.