Judge, that is.
I love how those Australians who are addicted to So You Think You Can Dance have suddenly become overnight dance experts. Including me.
Tonight I was very seriously explaining to my flatmate in great detail just what it was about Jemma & Anthony's cha-cha which made it so blah when it suddenly struck me that I really have no idea about the cha-cha and I was talking utter bollocks.
Too funny.
I have to say though, I am enjoying the Australian version of this series much more than I expected. I adored the American series and thought there was no way the Aussies could match it, but so far I've mostly been proven wrong.
Some of those boys are just amazing... especially Jack, Rhys and Graeme. Anthony is good too but he's a bit too Hugh Jackman-ish for my liking. Henry I like sometimes. I liked seeing him work with Rhiannon tonight - they made a good match and brought out qualities in each other we hadn't yet seen.
There I go talking utter bollocks again.
I'm not a huge fan of the girls apart from Kate. She rocks. Rhiannon is growing on me... tonight I saw some improvement. Demi I really admire, but I'm in two minds. Jemma was great with Rhys but now she's treading on shaky ground. And Vanessa is a lovely dancer but that VOICE! Oh my goodness. How annoying. She needs a vocal coach, pronto.
As does Natalie Bassingthwaite. Talk about One Tone Tami. Every word sounds the same - nasal, monotone and annoying.
While I'm on my soap box, a word on the choreographers. Early on in the series I thought the choreography was pants. Absolute rubbish. The standard of "corrie" (I'm so down with the lingo...!) has improved vastly in the last couple of weeks though so I think the producers must have realised they needed to step that side up.
Having Kelley Abbey choreograph that gorgeous piece for Henry and Rhiannon tonight was fantastic... she is the closest thing to Mia Michaels we have in this country. And yes, I know Kelley has a jazz background and Mia has a contemporary background, but they both choreograph beautiful, evocative stories rather than just tricky dances, which is where they are so similar. I adore Mia Michaels work - she's amazing. How cool would it be if they got her over here to work with them?
Oh and one last thing. I really want to see more variety. Every week its Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary and maybe one of the ballroom genres. I want to see the Lindy Hop or African or Rockabilly or the Samba or even (and I'm channeling my inner Dirty Dancing geek here), the Merengue! I admit that throwing Capoeira in there was a nice diversion, but choreographing it to Brit-Brit was just weird.
Anyway.
That's my opinion of So You Think You Can Dance.
Now that I've successfully wasted twenty minutes of my precious line learning time, I must away back to the poetry of Wilfred Owen. "Gas! Gas! Quick boys!"
First day of rehearsal tomorrow morning for my new gig. FOUR different scripts to learn in 3 weeks. Yoiks. And tomorrow night is the dress rehearsal for the Mamet play I'm doing. Its going to be a hell of a busy week.
And my boys are still on a winning streak. Does two from two count as a winning streak? Who cares. We're top of the ladder and that hasn't happened in over a decade. Hurrah.
xo
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Its Official...
Well, it is official. This has been the DREAM WEEK.
(See final paragraph of the post below)
My boys went above and beyond. ABOVE AND BEYOND people! A winning margin of 104 points far exceeds my expectations and gives me great hope for the season ahead. And good news with Croad's wrist being only dislocated... not broken as we first thought. That's a big relief.
(See final paragraph of the post below)
My boys went above and beyond. ABOVE AND BEYOND people! A winning margin of 104 points far exceeds my expectations and gives me great hope for the season ahead. And good news with Croad's wrist being only dislocated... not broken as we first thought. That's a big relief.
6 goals... Buddy Brilliant.
We are TOP of the ladder, with a whopping 308%. 308%!!! The Bombers (huzzah for the team of the Mater, Bee & Benny G) are next with 182.09%.
I'll say it again. DREAM. WEEK.
If only I could find someone who has a copy of the game. Free-to-air TV in Sydney is rubbish when it comes to showing AFL.
Its almost enough to make me fork out for Foxtel. Almost.
Friday, March 21, 2008
No he's not mine...
I'll admit I have put on a few kgs in the last year, but not because I've started sprogging. I leave THAT to my friends. There's plenty of them out there procreating... I'll leave it up to them for the time being. (BTW congrats Bevis!)
This cutie pie is my new (and first!) god-son. I have several god-daughters (including his big sister) but little man Tate (or Potater or the Tater Tot as he is already being called by we evil adults) is my first god-son.
I'm rather proud of him. He on the other hand, seemed none too enamoured by our first meeting two weeks ago:
How funny is that look on his face? I'm sure he's thinking all kinds of crazy thoughts. Like "who is this woman and why is she grinning like a maniac?"
So. Anyway. Tater-Tot. His arrival two Sundays ago was the start of a busy couple of weeks for me. Lots of things happening. Like...
I QUIT MY JOB!
Yoiks. Yep. Quit the company I've worked at since my first year at drama school about 6 years ago. As regular readers may remember (non-regulars, scroll down a few posts - I can't be arsed linking it), I had applied for a couple of different jobs at the place, but they turned me down. That turned out to be the big kick in the butt I needed to get me looking elsewhere.
And you know sometimes when you start looking elsewhere, how things just fall into place? Within ten days of missing out on the two jobs at my current company I was offered two jobs in other companies, both of which are infinitely better (as well as being better paid - woohoo!).
So I finish at my current employer on 18 April. Before then, I'll be starting on the other two jobs (both are part-time - one during the day and one at nights/weekends). And best of all the day job is paid acting work. Doing workshops in schools. Cool.
So that's one of my resolutions for the year well underway to being ticked off the list! Now I have to concentrate on the other important one which is finding a new place to live. Not the easiest, given the state of Sydney's rental market, but I reckon it'll happen sooner than I expect.
And its not quite April. Which means my first quarter of the year is ticking along in time to The Plan quite nicely.
Huzzah.
If my boys win on Sunday then this week will officially be classed as a dream week.
x
This cutie pie is my new (and first!) god-son. I have several god-daughters (including his big sister) but little man Tate (or Potater or the Tater Tot as he is already being called by we evil adults) is my first god-son.
I'm rather proud of him. He on the other hand, seemed none too enamoured by our first meeting two weeks ago:
How funny is that look on his face? I'm sure he's thinking all kinds of crazy thoughts. Like "who is this woman and why is she grinning like a maniac?"
So. Anyway. Tater-Tot. His arrival two Sundays ago was the start of a busy couple of weeks for me. Lots of things happening. Like...
I QUIT MY JOB!
Yoiks. Yep. Quit the company I've worked at since my first year at drama school about 6 years ago. As regular readers may remember (non-regulars, scroll down a few posts - I can't be arsed linking it), I had applied for a couple of different jobs at the place, but they turned me down. That turned out to be the big kick in the butt I needed to get me looking elsewhere.
And you know sometimes when you start looking elsewhere, how things just fall into place? Within ten days of missing out on the two jobs at my current company I was offered two jobs in other companies, both of which are infinitely better (as well as being better paid - woohoo!).
So I finish at my current employer on 18 April. Before then, I'll be starting on the other two jobs (both are part-time - one during the day and one at nights/weekends). And best of all the day job is paid acting work. Doing workshops in schools. Cool.
So that's one of my resolutions for the year well underway to being ticked off the list! Now I have to concentrate on the other important one which is finding a new place to live. Not the easiest, given the state of Sydney's rental market, but I reckon it'll happen sooner than I expect.
And its not quite April. Which means my first quarter of the year is ticking along in time to The Plan quite nicely.
Huzzah.
If my boys win on Sunday then this week will officially be classed as a dream week.
x
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Write or wrong
Today's horoscope:
Are you an intellectual or a poet, Magical_M, a novelist or a playwright? The celestial energy is leaving you alone with your anxieties and questions. You are sure of only one thing: words are the friends you have decided to spend the rest of your life with. This is a kind of dream and a challenge that corresponds well to your sign as a Gemini. Get to work. You will find your vocation as well as your passion in your writing...
No time for writing today... we're supposed to be off-book at tomorrow morning's rehearsal and I'm not entirely sure I've mastered the final part of my last scene.
Tomorrow I will write.
Promise.
x
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Game Plan
Its time to re-think the game plan.
A while ago (5 weeks in fact), I applied for a new position at the company I currently work for. In actual fact, I applied for two jobs (each being part-time, my logic being I could do both in tandem).
One of the jobs I have yet to formally hear that my application was even received, let alone considered, but the Artistic Director did tell me during an unrelated conversation last week that I wasn't successful (although he was quite surprised that no one had informed me earlier, given they'd made their decision weeks before). I wasn't totally surprised, as I wasn't really qualified for it, but I wanted to put my hand up anyway.
The other job, I was granted an interview for. I should add at this point, that I have essentially been doing aspects of this job as part of my current position for the last two years. Its a reasonably junior position I guess, but one which I saw as having the potential to grow and develop, and certainly one that would be far more interesting than the job I'm doing now.
My interview for this job was TWO weeks ago. Yes. Two weeks ago. Its taken them that long to decide that they're going to give the job to someone outside the company, who has no company knowledge and no demonstrated passion or loyalty for what the company does.
Their justification to me was that because I was doing such a fabulous job working on the aspects of the role in my current position, they wanted to keep me there.
Doing a job that is clearly below my skill and experience level, and which I've made abundantly clear I no longer want to do because I am BORED SILLY.
And then the GM (who rang me on a Saturday to tell me this!!) had the gall to sound surprised when I said that their warped rationale was going to mean a loss for the company, because I would now be looking for alternative employment.
"But we'd hate to lose you from the company" said she.
"Well you haven't given me any option" said I, "I have made it clear on several occasions that I feel I am under-utilised and clearly working below my skill level. The only reason I've stayed at the company is because I am passionate about and proud of what the company creates and I was waiting for an opportunity to be able to step into a different role. If you can't offer me that, then I won't be staying."
Honestly. I never thought they'd be so short-sighted and narrow minded. Keeping someone in a job (who is clearly capable of more) because it suits them? Did they honestly not think that by not giving me the job and saying "we're not giving it to you, even though you're qualified, because we want you to stay where you are - it suits us better" is going to induce me to stay??
Think again bucco.
Its time to re-think the game plan.
I currently have 6 weeks of annual leave owing to me. If I hold out until August, which is when I'm planning to go on hols to the UK, I'll have about 7 weeks, maybe a little more. If I then quit, they have to pay that out to me, which will mean I have quite a bit of spending money.
In the meantime, I've been offered some other work, which I wasn't going to consider, but now I think I will.
It just really shits me that I've worked in this company for five years now and they obviously think so little of me that they believe I will stay doing the same job forever with no desire for promotion, purely out of loyalty to the company.
Grrrr.
Oh and I went and saw a terrible piece of theatre today which was so bad I felt like sticking (hat)pins in my eyes. That's 2 1/2 hours of my life I won't get back.
Thanks for letting me vent.
x
A while ago (5 weeks in fact), I applied for a new position at the company I currently work for. In actual fact, I applied for two jobs (each being part-time, my logic being I could do both in tandem).
One of the jobs I have yet to formally hear that my application was even received, let alone considered, but the Artistic Director did tell me during an unrelated conversation last week that I wasn't successful (although he was quite surprised that no one had informed me earlier, given they'd made their decision weeks before). I wasn't totally surprised, as I wasn't really qualified for it, but I wanted to put my hand up anyway.
The other job, I was granted an interview for. I should add at this point, that I have essentially been doing aspects of this job as part of my current position for the last two years. Its a reasonably junior position I guess, but one which I saw as having the potential to grow and develop, and certainly one that would be far more interesting than the job I'm doing now.
My interview for this job was TWO weeks ago. Yes. Two weeks ago. Its taken them that long to decide that they're going to give the job to someone outside the company, who has no company knowledge and no demonstrated passion or loyalty for what the company does.
Their justification to me was that because I was doing such a fabulous job working on the aspects of the role in my current position, they wanted to keep me there.
Doing a job that is clearly below my skill and experience level, and which I've made abundantly clear I no longer want to do because I am BORED SILLY.
And then the GM (who rang me on a Saturday to tell me this!!) had the gall to sound surprised when I said that their warped rationale was going to mean a loss for the company, because I would now be looking for alternative employment.
"But we'd hate to lose you from the company" said she.
"Well you haven't given me any option" said I, "I have made it clear on several occasions that I feel I am under-utilised and clearly working below my skill level. The only reason I've stayed at the company is because I am passionate about and proud of what the company creates and I was waiting for an opportunity to be able to step into a different role. If you can't offer me that, then I won't be staying."
Honestly. I never thought they'd be so short-sighted and narrow minded. Keeping someone in a job (who is clearly capable of more) because it suits them? Did they honestly not think that by not giving me the job and saying "we're not giving it to you, even though you're qualified, because we want you to stay where you are - it suits us better" is going to induce me to stay??
Think again bucco.
Its time to re-think the game plan.
I currently have 6 weeks of annual leave owing to me. If I hold out until August, which is when I'm planning to go on hols to the UK, I'll have about 7 weeks, maybe a little more. If I then quit, they have to pay that out to me, which will mean I have quite a bit of spending money.
In the meantime, I've been offered some other work, which I wasn't going to consider, but now I think I will.
It just really shits me that I've worked in this company for five years now and they obviously think so little of me that they believe I will stay doing the same job forever with no desire for promotion, purely out of loyalty to the company.
Grrrr.
Oh and I went and saw a terrible piece of theatre today which was so bad I felt like sticking (hat)pins in my eyes. That's 2 1/2 hours of my life I won't get back.
Thanks for letting me vent.
x
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
A moment in time
This weekend, I have to attend a 1 year old's birthday party.
I always feel like Bridget Bloody Jones at these things... horrific. Its not that I don't like kids. I love kids. I find most kids more intelligent and fun than most adults.
But I hate the "oh, you poor thing, you're still single, when are you going to get married and have kids of your own" questions.
As if you need to get married to have kids anyway! Bah. And most of my friends are NOT the poster children for marriage being a good thing, I have to say, so why try and push me into entering the miserable state in which you chose to enter?!
But I digress.
This post isn't about my Singleton status, its about soliciting assistance in what I am required to take to said 1 year old's party.
The parents of Miss Ruby Violet (yes, that's the tyke's name - Red Purple), have requested that instead of bringing a present as such, we each contribute something from past year to be included in a time capsule they're putting together for her to open at her 21st birthday.
Quite a good idea really, but I'm a little stumped for ideas.
My initial idea was a truckload of trashy mags (NW, Who, Famous), the "Sorry Day" liftout from the SMH and a DVD of last year's Oscar winning film, The Departed.
Thoughts and suggestions on anything more interesting would be gratefully received... I need more inspiration please!
Her mother did suggest a piece of clothing or jewellery which is currently in fashion (and therefore by the time she's 21 will be "vintage", but I don't want to offend the kid by buying something that ends up being way too small (if she turns out to be a boomba) or way too big (if she doesn't).
x
I always feel like Bridget Bloody Jones at these things... horrific. Its not that I don't like kids. I love kids. I find most kids more intelligent and fun than most adults.
But I hate the "oh, you poor thing, you're still single, when are you going to get married and have kids of your own" questions.
As if you need to get married to have kids anyway! Bah. And most of my friends are NOT the poster children for marriage being a good thing, I have to say, so why try and push me into entering the miserable state in which you chose to enter?!
But I digress.
This post isn't about my Singleton status, its about soliciting assistance in what I am required to take to said 1 year old's party.
The parents of Miss Ruby Violet (yes, that's the tyke's name - Red Purple), have requested that instead of bringing a present as such, we each contribute something from past year to be included in a time capsule they're putting together for her to open at her 21st birthday.
Quite a good idea really, but I'm a little stumped for ideas.
My initial idea was a truckload of trashy mags (NW, Who, Famous), the "Sorry Day" liftout from the SMH and a DVD of last year's Oscar winning film, The Departed.
Thoughts and suggestions on anything more interesting would be gratefully received... I need more inspiration please!
Her mother did suggest a piece of clothing or jewellery which is currently in fashion (and therefore by the time she's 21 will be "vintage", but I don't want to offend the kid by buying something that ends up being way too small (if she turns out to be a boomba) or way too big (if she doesn't).
x
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