Some notes on being late...

Well, I let the time slip away on a reminder email and here I am posting nearly two weeks late.  But beyond the regular definition of late which would apply here (after the usual or proper time, or after delay), I'm going to use this post as an opportunity to jump off into another definition of late (continued until after the usual time or hour; protracted). 

Most of you know that my hours tend to be off of the regular 9 am to 5 pm work day.  In fact, it is a rare day that I get done before 9:30 pm when I am in production.  And right around the time I was to post on the blog, I started diving in head first to the next production I am helming at the Hutchinson Theatre Guild I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.  This is a great musical comedy revue that has been super popular around the music theatre circuit for sometime, particularly by regional and smaller professional theatres.  I knew the musical because I saw it at the Manhattan Arts Center in Manhattan (in fact I was asked to do the lights but promptly turned it down due to the horrible condition of their lighting system).  This is a fun show with some great tunes in it.  And it is all about dating, relationships and marriage. 

As with relationships, dating and marriage, there has been a lot of drama with this show.  I often like to say "Save the Drama for your Mama" when working in the theatre because, honestly, there is really no place for all of the wild and crazy stuff that happens when people bring their personal drama into the theatre.  Unfortunately, people have not been as good about making sure this doesn't happen.  Usually, I have this problem in the cast.  In this particular instance, it has been from my music director (who I have subsequently let go) and my stage manager (who confessed two nights ago that he is an alcoholic).  It has made for some very trying circumstances.  This is complicated by the fact that I have some people with very complex schedules so I don't have a lot of tolerance for crazy in my rehearsals.

But, I would be telling you a lie if I were to say that I'm not loving every second of rehearsals.  The cast (especially my women) are crazy talented which is making the show so much fun.  The dates for ILYYPNC are April 23 to 26 and April 30 to May 3.  Performances are Thursday - Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm. I would make sure to get tickets in advance on this one.  You can do so now online at hutchtheatre.com or at Apron Strings beginning April 2nd. 

Outside of the theatre, I continue to enjoy getting together with Grandma and Grandpa about every week (sometimes twice if I can swing it) and hanging out with other family members in town.  Grandpa and I went to the NJCAA tournament games on Tuesday afternoon and Grandma and I had our hands full yesterday babysitting Kinley and Olivia.  I don't get quite as much time as I would like during productions with Mom and Dad.  But Mom and I should have a day next week during her Spring Break when we can do something fun.  And Dad and I are going to the NJCAA tournament games on Saturday night.

So all in all, things continue to progress and live moves forward.  Much love to all.  And enjoy spring as it arrives over the next couple of weeks.

Chicago Shooks' Update

There is much to come in the near future for the Chicago Shooks but little that has changed in the recent past.  The biggest news that has past might be that Andrew has moved to day shifts two times a week.  Those shifts run from 6:30 in the morning to just after routing finishes at 4 pm (he works 4 10-hour shifts a week).  That has allowed us to spend more time together in the evenings which is a plus.  Andrew's evening shifts plus Katie's regular shifts meant we were seeing each other for a few minutes each day for several day stretches.  He still has at least one evening shift, usually a weekend day, a week, but the improvement is a welcome change!

As far as travels, we have gone on two quick trips since visiting everyone in Kansas at Christmas.  We had a Cornell friend who was married in January.  At first a winter wedding seemed like a questionable proposition, until we were informed it was a January wedding in San Diego!  Then it became a can't miss event!  We traveled with two close friends who also live in Chicago and made a long weekend out of it.  Then in February, we traveled to North Carolina to visit Katie's grandparents in Winston-Salem.  We even made a trip one day to Raleigh for lunch with Andrew's friend Ian and his wife Elizabeth.  They are moving to Twentynine Palms, California where Ian will remain in the Marines as a trainer.  On top of that, they're expecting their first baby in June!  Katie's grandparents are have settled into a new single-family house on the campus of a retirement facility and are awaiting the sale of their house.

Back in Chicago, we survived winter's biggest punch at the beginning of February when a blizzard dropped over 1 1/2 feet of snow.  It has warmed recently and topped 70 yesterday but now we return to lower 40s/upper 30s for a while.

We're looking forward at an exciting spring.  First on our calendar is a trip to the Dominican Republic as chaperones for our youth group at Church.  We will be spending a week in Gaspar Hernandez and surrounding villages helping to construct a community center, work with children, and hopefully spend some time on a beach.  It's an annual trip that the church's high school youth group takes so some of the high schoolers go multiple times.  We're excited to have been asked to join as chaperones and it will be great to see the impact on the community up close even though we hear about it each year.

Additionally, our lease is up at our current townhouse at the end of July and we're ready to stop moving every year or two.  Therefore, we're looking to buy a house in the next few months and have started working with an agent on that process.  We're focusing on inner ring suburbs that are close to Katie's family but also close to the city.  Obviously this is a new experience for each of us but we're excited about the process!

That just about brings everyone up to date on our lives.  Hope everything is going well for everyone near and far!

A couple recent pictures:

The Blizzard!

January trip to Southern California

Dinner in Winston-Salem

Austin Articulations

Hello from Austin!

Work is keeping us busy as usual. James has entered his busiest season (post admission decision release) and will be working extra hours through spring break as he leads his team in two big events and spring break (aka prime time to visit a college campus), all while two positions are unfilled in the office. Hannah is prepping for Orchestra UIL Concert and Sight-reading Contest. Then on to solo and ensemble and spring concert repertoire.

The Murchison Philharmonic Orchestra at Pre-UIL. We performed at the newly completed
Austin ISD Performing Arts Center, finished in January 2015

For New Years we hosted James' best man, Josh, visiting from China. He played the UT Carillon when he was a student, so he made arrangements to play again while he was here and invited us to each be guest baseline performers! Very cool experience! As we walked up to the top of the UT tower, it almost seemed like we were in the movie Hugo :).

Sitting on the bench of the UT Carillon; at the top of the UT Tower,
right underneath the bells

Duncan napping on top of James' tuba :-)

And of course, our kitties our keeping us entertained. James' tuba case has become Duncan's new favorite napping spot. Rimsky seems perfectly happy ruling over his kingdom from the back of the couch.

When there is time to sit and open a book, James is reading Devil in the White City by Erik Larson and Hannah is reading Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card.

We wish you all warmth and health at the close of this winter season!

Many Blessings,

James and Hannah

Birthday Thanks

First off, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes and gifts. They were much appreciated, especially given the long stretch of work I've been stuck in!

That long stretch of work is also why I haven't been around much for family gatherings. I've been working lots of overtime and lots of days since joining the education department (more on that in a minute). That's great for my car loans, not so great for my personal life.

Tallulah, or what my car loans are for

I've been working so much largely because when Mother got drafted to do work for the Cosmosphere's revitalization campaign, it was felt someone needed to help her. So I've moved upstairs to the education department...in theory. In practice, I still work 14-20 hours a week at the front desk because things there are a little sore about my being stolen away and I don't want to rock the boat too much. Since I'm unwilling to rock the boat, it means that I have just 26-20 hours to do work that probably requires closer to 30. Things will settle eventually, but for now I drink lots of coffee and don't sleep much.

The other part of that problem is that I have a hard time saying no to the opportunities I get at the Cos. Besides the routine stuff like Dr. Goddard's Lab (see below for a video Kate made of me in the lab) there are lots of new ones to take part in too. And, of course, the Mars Rescue program we thought we could finish in September is still being polished.

I've also helped build a new show called "Everyday Science," which we do for free while the Planetarium is being renovated.

An animation explaining sound for Everyday Science

Though I was also selfish with that one and plan on stealing parts of it to add to the Goddard's show on flight I'm working on...

A reference image of the Four Forces of Flight for the Flight Show

...which I'll get back to just as soon as we're done making a Space Junk demo from scratch. Amongst all that, I've taken over booking field trips from Laurie and we're both super-excited to get started on a project where admin wants us to cold call schools and market our new programs.

Right now, these are also my hobbies but I'll get back on my bike again just as soon as it warms up!