Country Bumpkin

So yesterday I drove over 100 miles. In one day. I live in the country, and I miss the city so much!!!! I suppose it is indeed a blessing in disguise. A very deep, hidden disguise. Everyone keeps telling me what a beautiful place this is; what a beautiful countryside it is, and how lucky I am to live here. I have yet to find the beauty. As of now I have seen no large buildings. No skyscrapers. No city lights. No obnoxious city haze (not that that is in any way beautiful- but the feeling is...unforgettable.) Instead I get tumbleweeds, and sagebrush. Oh, and red rocks. I thought I would let the public (all six of you who read this blog) see where it is exactly. I'm not exactly sure you could find it on a map either. It's rather small. Okay here is the grand tour.

It's a really nice house. Not gonna lie. I even have a roommate! My little sista McKenzie. She's pretty cool.

This is my view from my front door. Okay, so I will confess that I dig this view at sunset and sunrise. But that is besides the point. If you look really close at the first picture you can see the lovely dirt road that I live off of. Nice little drive.

And on our left we have highway 69.

And to our right we have the rest of Prescott Dells.

Land of the Big Trucks

As the title suggests, I am now in fact in Arizona. I live in a nice (SMALL) little place called. Dewey, and no that was not a weather report. And this is not Arizona how you might picture it. It is not all sunshine and palm trees. Rather, it is all sunshine and big trucks. I counted at a light one time...there were at least 25 trucks that passed us. Everyone has a truck and talks about ridin' and huntin'. So I don't exactly fit in. How shall I say it? I miss the city. Not that Rexburg was a thriving Metropolis by any means, but it was more exciting nonetheless. Yes, that was me admitting in writing, on the Internet mind you, that I do in fact miss Rexburg. Well, not so much now. It was a whopping -7 degrees there today. That, ladies and gentlemen, was a weather report. I'm pretty sure it's still snowing there. I will give props to Arizona in that respect. Today was the first "cold" day we have had in a while. It was 41 degrees.

Things are quite different now that I am no longer in school. I have many days where I sit idly daydreaming about a job that I could have at Hollywood Video if they ever call back... It's like my life is a game show...or a soap opera. I haven't decided yet. I totally pulled a Ryan Howard yesterday and applied at a Temp Agency. We'll see how that works out. Don't get me wrong...it's a little frustrating making this adjustment, but I know that things are going to be okay. I know that I am supposed to be here, and that all shall be well. Things are getting more familiar, and I'm getting more creative in what I do in my spare time. I think I will do Yoga tomorrow. Indeed.

All of this free time is making me question my true love! (For theatre that is...) But never fear! I have the solution. I am auditioning for the play Rumors next week. It is a hilarious show, similar to the energy and comedy of Cash on Delivery. Hopefully I won't be playing a "manish woman" again. That might not be so great for the self-esteem. I will definitely keep you all informed, my most honored, loyal, trustworthy fans.

Confession: The next time some of you see me, I may have transformed into a "country gal." Okay, so here's the story behind that one. My family might be buying a ranch. Where will Emmilie work then? At the ranch. So, to be employed here, I get to "look the part," too. Yes, I am getting cowboy boots. I just thought I should make this disclaimer, so that some of you don't worry that I have changed...completely... If we do get this ranch, I will in fact be writing a play about it, and it shall be full of caricatures, and cliches, and it shall be grand. That's all.

That is basically my new life in Dewey, Arizona in a nutshell. (Which coincidentally is this size of the town.) Thank you and good night.

Please Handle With Care

Sorry for the lack of posts... Finals were killer, but that's another story indeed. So at the end of November I went to try and give blood. Try being the operative word. So I go in, and everything is going well until she tries to stick the needle in. The needle goes in, and I'm feeling ok, things are going pretty normal. Then I start to feel a little bit of pressure on my arm. Hmmm. I look over and expect to see the blood coming out of my arm into the tube; routine blood donation. However there is one minor issue. No blood in sight. I then hear the nurse say: "Oops..." Not exactly what I want to hear when she is dealing with my body and needles. So I casually ask her what happened. She punctured the side of my vain. I look over again, and see a very large bubble growing under my skin. "Don't worry, that's just where all of the blood is pooling." Oh, good. No worries at all. She was like, "I'm really sorry, you will have a lot of bruising." That's fabulous. Well, it was a great bruise, and a cool story. The best part of the whole experience would have to be in the interview where they ask you what your name is like eight times. They asked me what gender I was; it took me a little off guard. I responded "Male...no...I mean female." Awkward!! It was pretty funny. Just be careful when you give blood. Say the right gender, and don't ever let them say oops. Let's handle with care people. So these ugly pictures are of me dead because of the evil Red Cross Nurse. (No feelings of animosity at all...) It's fine.

Rosebud

So basically I'm allergic to Idaho. You laugh, but just wait. Here is the story. So a few weeks ago I had this really annoying cough. I had lost my voice, and it was just terribly inconvenient. Well, one night after Wait Until Dark, it got slightly worse. And by slightly I mean lack of oxygen.... I was at Mary's apartment and just couldn't stop coughing. It kept getting worse, and I started wheezing. I pretended it was of no importance, but based on the noises I was making, Mary was not convinced. She called my Papa Will, who is in fact an EMT, and he walked her through what I was going through. I could hear everything that he was saying because the volume on my phone was up so high. This did nothing to help the traumatizing anxiety attack that I was apparently experiencing. I started to breathe into a bag; that was fun. It was so scary. I'm not gonna lie. Seriously, when you can't get any air into your lungs, it makes you a little worried. I was crying, which made everything worse...it was great. Mary kept asking me if she needed to call 911. I had her convinced that I would be okay until I informed her that I was very dizzy and couldn't really feel my legs...Details. So we called the paramedics and they rushed over. Meanwhile, I was being scared to death. I was trying to calm myself down, and breathe, but all I could think about was: "I can' die!! I have to write my talk tomorrow!!" Not the best thought process to be running through your mind when you are having a terrible anxiety attack. It didn't help that I was worried about having to go to the hospital. Seriously tough, I had so many thoughts running through my head, none of which did anything to calm my nerves. So while we were waiting for the nice paramedics to show up with the oxygen, my friends David and Matt came over and gave me a blessing. It helped a lot. Of course, I always bawl like a baby when I get a blessing...so that did not help my cause. So while we were waiting for the paramedics to show up, everyone was crowded around me like I was on my death bed. (Rightly so) It really frustrated me though, because I hate that helpless feeling. So I, being my usual self tried to lighten the mood with jokes. Unfortunately, when ever I tried to speak, I sounded like a vacuum with Asama. So that was no good, especially because I had such witty comments in my head!! They were good ones too! Of course now I can't remember them because I'm pretty sure that I killed some brain cells. But I remember them being good, and me being very angry that I couldn't be funny while I was dying. Finally the paramedics came. By that time I was almost going to pass out. It was pretty bad. I was so out of it. They were moving me around, and I couldn't tell if they were putting me on a stretcher or not. They kept asking me questions. I was like, "Hello! It's a little hard to breathe right now!! Don't ask me what my name is!!" They hooked me up to the oxygen tank, and I finally was able to breathe somewhat normally again. They took my blood, and hooked me up to all of these machines and cords, and basically checked every thing possible. (Okay, that was a little exaggerated, but lets just say that they were very thorough.) The head paramedic man told me about all of these numbers that were somehow relevant to my breathing. I don't remember. I didn't quite grasp it all then. Finally I was normal enough that they said they could leave. I was slightly glad. It was a very exciting night. Mary quarantined me to her apartment that night and all the next day until I had to go to the show that night. It was quite the adventure. So, to all those who say that this place is good and healthy, please bless that you pass this story on. I thank you for your time.

In a Few Moments Time

I promise that I have not died in Rexburg, although I do in fact have a story about that... Anyways- things have been crazy here... Midterms and all that! But the play is over, and so in a few moments time, I will get a minute to write down all of my exciting adventures here in Rexburg, Idaho!! (I'm not gonna lie, some of the stories are pretty sweet. Just you wait.)

Happy Halloween!!

Be yourself!!

Wait Until Dark

I'm the Dramaturg for Wait Until Dark. It's amazing! My first semester here, and I am already involved in a major production. It's so much fun. I am in my element again. It's great. It's a little crazy, because we have put this entire production together in about a month. We open next Wednesday. I'm so excited. Oh, so maybe I should mention what it is that I actually do. I am the Dramaturg. Yes, that is a real term. I do all of the research for the play. Let me give you a run down of what happens.

Actor: I have no idea what this means...Emmilie?!

Emmilie: I'll look it up.

Actor: Yeah, I have no clue. Just let me know what it means.

Emmilie: Ten, Four good buddy!

More or less. It's so much fun; but it really is hard work. The play is set in the late 1960's and things have changed slightly since then. One of the things I got to do was make a map of New York, mainly Greenwich Village. I had to plot out where the apartment, studio, drug store, and police station was. It was pretty cool. A little challenging, but fun. I also made program notes about the original production and the Playwright. I had to go through old Newspaper archives to find reviews from the original run's opening night. It was really interesting. I love doing this stuff. I do wish I could do some acting, but hey- this isn't bad for my fist semester. Not bad at all. I am so excited to open. It is such a scary show, and our leads are amazing!! It creeps me out every time!! Here are some pictures of the show. No, sadly, my ghetto camera did not take them. So sorry to get your hopes up. Anyway-

This is Sam and Suzy Hendrix. She is blind. Very important to know.

Suzy and her little neighbor, Gloria. This little girl has more sass than anyone I've ever met in my life. Holy St. Francis!

The bad guys. Carlino, Mike, and Harry Roat, Jr. They are so creepy. Especially Roat. Those glasses and black coat always creep me out just a tad...

Harry Roat Jr. He is such a talented actor. I love watching him act, he is amazing. He scares me to death every night, but he is great at it!! The last scene is the best.

Suzy, looking particularly scared with a match. This is one of the coolest parts of the show. Everything is completely dark. You can only see the action from the light of the match. Ah! Brilliant!

Roat. I told you he was creepy!!

Yep- That's pretty much what I've been doing for the last month. It's been great. I'll be sad once it's over, but then I can actually start meeting people again!! (That's the only down side...) I'm excited, because we have sold out every show. This will be amazing!!

The Testing Center...Of Doom

Right, so I have had four exams thus far in my first month here at BYU-I, and each one of them have been in the Testing Center. I must say that I do in fact have great feelings of animosity towards this building. It is actually quite unnerving in there. I would like to compare it to a Nazi Concentration camp. You may laugh, or gasp, but nonetheless. If you only saw it, you would feel the same. It really is like a prison. There is only one way in. No doors out. If that doesn't scream impending doom at you, I don't know what does. So you go in the one-way-doors, praying desperately, and climb a very steep set of stairs in silence. You then stand in line; silently. Everyone is sending each other covert looks; it's as though all of us in that chamber of death are trying to see if the other victims are having the same thoughts. "Where are the gas chambers?" You then proceed into the office area, where they give you a change of clothes, and a scrap of bread. Just kidding!! They swipe your card, and access all of your information. Slightly creepy. They then demand to know if your cell phone is off. You stammer nervously that it is indeed off, and then they tell you what you can use on your test. It is a little intimidating. Your mind goes blank..."Do I actually have a #2 pencil on me?!" "What?! No graphing calculators?!" Are common thoughts that weigh heavily on your mind. You are then given your test, and are wished good luck as you walk down the silent, white, and eerie corridor. You enter a very large room with about 100 desks. All of the walls are white. At the very front of the room, is a large picture of Jesus. That is your only hope. It really is like a prison. It's terrifying! I promise I have not exaggerated on any of this! It's so weird. I dread finals. No doubt I will be trapped in there, wishing that in a little bit, I may see the sun again.