Dear hands,

You hurt.  There's a knuckle on my right index finger that feels a little raw.  Also, the nail on my left thumb feels strange.  I'm learning new things from this pain.  The lessons I have learned so far:
-It's better not to wear my glasses so that the headset doesn't press too hard
-Same with earrings
-Though it was hard at the beginning, it is better to wear the gloves all the time, less pain in my fingers and palms
-Clip the telex box onto the belt, not my back pocket
-Stand with a wide base and bend at the knees once the rope is unlocked
-It takes about twice as long to pull a piece of scenery up as it does to bring it down
-It is very lonely up there
-Ten hours is a long time

What was going on in my life before I started Cabaret?

I can't remember.


love,
hannah

Dear Ponyo,

Okay, you are downright cool.  And super cute.  I squealed at you, a lot. 

You make me want to go swimming.  With jellyfish, which, when you consider that I'm terrified of jellyfish, is a big deal. 

You're a fairy tale! A joyous one! With a challenge that is not so hard to complete.  Will you promise to love Ponyo forever,  no matter what form she is? OR COURSE YOU WILL.  If I could pull myself together, I would want to be Ponyo for Halloween... But that's too much to hope for. 

Like this, but bigger. 

I'm not really celebrating Halloween this year.  No costume, very little candy, and next to no free time.  It's okay, it's  letdown holiday, right everyone? We're just gonna have to make our own little parties with costumes instead of the usual Halloween.  Maybe next year...


love,
hannah

Dear China,

Who is reading this from China? Hello! Also, Canada? Hello to you too. 

Of course, big hellos to Scotland and the Netherlands and Argentina.  

I'm off to sit in the dark for four hours.  Here's hoping something happens!

Also, last night's party was excellent.  I love this kind of night's where it's just people sitting around talking, some games, some drinks, and a lot of laughs. 

Also, big hellos to Denver, even if it is only temporary. 


love,
hannah

Dear Cabaret,

I am now a part of you! Not something that I thought was going to happen given my night classes.  But they are so so desperate.  They could not find anyone.  So I magically stepped in to save the day, which is kind of fun.  And now they owe me a lot.  I'm not sure what they owe me necessarily, but I'm missing a whole week of class, so... they owe me.  Big time. 


love,
hannah

Dear Fall Break,

You are here! Hooray! And you will go away just as quickly as you have come.  (But then we are that much closer to Thanksgiving!)

Perhaps the greatest moment of today was my professor leaving the classroom, and every single student saying that they hadn't read the article.  So then we scrambled to try and make-up answers, but he was like, "Did you guys not get to this reading? No? Okay, then it's not helpful for us to talk about it anymore."  It was wonderful, and sad.  That is fall break for you. 


love,
hannah

Dear the interwebs,

Oh, interwebs, you let me not do so many things.  Especially today. 

Thank you


love,
hannah

Dear Babies,

I think I might like you better the second time.  You're so simple.  You're so cute. 

The Mongolian baby is still my favorite though. 

Ann and I put up lights in our room this weekend.  It looks pretty good, though we have three different colors and several different lengths.  What it means however, is that we can now have a pretty well-lit room without having to turn the big light on.  And that my friends, is super good news because it makes a horrible buzzing sound that annoys me particularly when I'm doing homework.  Now we have more than enough light. 

Here's to the beginning of a great week.  So many things to look forward to, most of all, fall break.  A chance to take a breath.  But that's a total lie because I just don't want to do my work any more, so I've been taking lots of breaths. 

Lots of deep breaths friends.


love,
hannah

Dear Mondo,

I really really hope that you win Project Runway.  Because I really like your clothes.  A lot.  They are so colorful! And full of energy!

So, this is me just saying that if you don't win next week, I'm gonna be real upset. 

But, you are going to win, so it's all going to be okay. 


love,
hannah

Dear birthday,

You're almost over! I'm 20! Look at the cupcake that Ann brought me.  With a camel no less! So many exclamation points!

So many of my friends are all across the globe, I got many many virtual birthday greetings, at all different times.  But sadly, that meant that a lot of the people that I would have really wanted to see or talk to were too far away.  Ah well, next year they will all be closer again.  And it will be my golden birthday.  (Turning 21 on the 21st.)

Today was just a really nice simple day.  And I got to spend a lot of it talking to people I love, and spent a lot of time on the THDA couches.  (Like, somewhere around five hours.)  People keep asking me if I feel different, and I don't feel any different yet.  That said, there's been a lot of difference recently, so I've felt different, but not today.  Today was a nice normal day. 

Thanks to Karin's silly mix-up I don't have class until Tuesday.  Which is wild.  I should really do something of value... I just don't want to!

We're actually going to celebrate my birthday next weekend, cause the next seven days are just funky.  But very soon is fall break, something to look forward to. 

In the mean time, I'm finally 20! It feels like I've been waiting to be 20 for a long time. 

I forgot that I should shower tonight so that I can get up in time for tomorrow.  Boo.

goodnight.


love,
hannah

Dear doodles,

You're back! In a big way.  Way too much like high school.  Three hours of class at one time is too much. 

Later, I will show you what I achieved tonight.

I'm almost 20!


love,
hannah

Dear Amy Pond,

I emulated your look today. 

It was a tad uncomfortable. 

Back to school.  So sad.  Now I will eat a pear. 


love,
hannah

Dear busy day,

When I have a busy day, I don't spend any time in my room from 9 am to 6 pm.  And then I go somewhere else at 7. 

Busy busy day. 

I'm going home tomorrow! So (I think) there won't be any words from me on here until Sunday.  Only two days of radio silence from me. 

I need to pack. 

See you when Monday is looming,


love,
hannah

Dear home,

Please come soon.  I know that you are close.  Less than two days away.  Two classes.  Two meetings.  Several readings I'm going to skip.  One flight.  Two states away. 

I really cannot wait to be home this weekend.  And yet there is still a little part of me that is still filled with dread.  Here's hoping that the dread disappears the minute I step off the plane and that my sickness knows not to cross the border into Illinois. 

Cause seriously, if I am sick this weekend, it will not be okay. 


love,
hannah

Dear French,

You were never my choice language, Spanish had that honor.  But more and more I'm wishing that I had some ability to converse in French.  Or fake it.  Or be able to understand something more than "oui."


French soul, food, music... It's catching my attention more than ever.  Too bad I am only any good in Spanish.

We're headed for a post on Paris soon anyway, but I think it's still necessary...

Until I come up with that post


love,
hannah

Dear Strong Female Character,

I spend a lot of time thinking about you.  Not in a creepy sort of way, but in the sense that I really care about you, and how you are portrayed.  I critique you often.  And sometimes, I will even come up with better ideas for you.  How to make you better!

In my avoidance of writing the first big lara paper, I came across some important pieces.  Important for me, I can't promise that they will be important to you.  But I am going to share them with you because I think they are relevant to everyone. 

Strong Female Characters
AND

The Female Character Flowchart
 -Take the time to peruse the flowchart, it's worth you time.

And with that, I should go back to writing about Sleep Deprivation Chamber.  I am not getting enough sleep.


love,
hannah

Dear Ben l'Oncle Soul,

You are my new love.  My one true soul love, no doubt.  I was blown away from the beginning.  However, to be fair, it's only been an hour. 

Today has been a good day.  Have I done as much as I should have? No.  Did I find some genius things on the internet? Yes.  Should I get off my computer? Yes Has the weather been gorgeous? Yes.  Did Performing Histories meet today? Yes.  Did we make big plans? Yes. 

Am I going home this weekend? HELL YES.  I can't wait.  I wasn't all that excited before, but suddenly I cannot wait to go home.  It's going to be an excellent weekend.

Now I just have to get there.

Three papers in three days? Yes.  Is that a big bummer? Yes.

Should you listen to this song immediately? yes.  Yes.  YES. 

Do it, it will make this whole mess of a week billions of times better. 


love,
hannah

Dear Rompers,

Just because the weather is suddenly gorgeous does not mean that you should come out.  Please go back into hiding. 

Thanks.


love,
hannah

Dear Gossip Girl,

Watching you on the weekend with Madeline is a highlight of my week.  You should know that.  You're so bad.  And yet, so good.  What are you making Serena wear?

This week has been long.  Additionally, I love bread pudding.


love,
hannah

Dear typography,

You're so cool.  And you're helping me not to write this paper. 

Taylor Mali This is a brilliant poem, but the typography is just as good.
Who's On First  So that you can see how good this piece is.  Really. 
Zoolander Just for fun. 

There, now you two can not do your work. 

I swear, this paper probably isn't all that hard, I just can't get into it.  It's all about me and writing about my experience of seeing this play.  And what that means on a grander scale, and yadda yadda. 

It probably doesn't help that I'm writing this sitting on my bed. 


love,
hannah

Dear Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,

I think that you are a very important album to me. 

I think I love you.


love,
hannah

Dear Sleep Deprivation Chamber,

Last night was a strange experience.  I did fall asleep in the play, and as usual, the person I was with found watching me fall asleep very entertaining.  But don't despair! Usually I fall asleep in something really quickly, but I made it four whole weeks into the school year without falling asleep at any event.  You should be proud.  We went to a play for class, and it was bad.  Really bad.  There were just many things about this play that just plain bad. 

Lights.  Sound.  Acting. 

And there weren't even any giant risks that flopped. 

The entire class, and our professor, was disappointed and agreed it was bad. 

And then I was just talking to a different professor who saw the play earlier in the day, and although he didn't comment on the play itself, he seemed to have a much different experience. 

We shall see... I'm going to have to discuss this play for the next two days.  And then write a paper on it.  So much Sleep Deprivation Chamber.  Hopefully I won't lose any sleep over it. 


love,
hannah

Dear Ligretto,

You are a great game.  It's been a long time since I have played, and last night was great.  Talking with a drunk Caitlyn was fun too. 

But sadly that means I have to get some work done. 

poo.


love,
hannah

Dear October,

You are a beautiful month.  Yes, you hold my birthday, but I love you for other reasons.  The weather, the leaves, the clothes, the fall, Halloween.  And now you're here!

I love you. 

Okay, just watched Valentine's Day.  Who can guess which scene made me cry? (It was just one.)

It may be irresponsible to stay up this late, but I don't care.

...yet


love,
hannah