Day 15-16: Whistle While You Work

Yesterday was my first “Project Monday” at Lifeline.  The other interns and I spent the whole morning re-painting the women’s restroom.  Then Georgia (a fellow intern) and I helped Dorothy set up a Wii (which she had won) in the rehearsal room.  She said that she wanted it at the theatre so that when anyone needs a mental health break, we could play on it.  She’s pretty awesome!  And while Georgia and I worked on the video game, Erica took Roman (the intern from Germany) to Home Depot—this is only relevant because while they were out, they stopped at Steak n Shake for half-price milkshakes and brought some back for us!  That’s three days in a row that I have gotten free food!  This is not looking good for my waistline.   

Last night I made dinner for my roommates I made my mom’s chicken casserole, and they really liked it.  Then we watched The Bachelor together.  It was a relaxing end to a long day. 

Today I spent the majority of the day working with Joe, the technical director and set designer.  Roman and I went through bins in the basement filled with curtains, muslin, and scrim and re-labeling them.  Then Georgia and I re-organized a lot of bolts, hinges and other random things in the workshop.  After that, I spent a few hours working on the “Hunger” set with a power drill.  I have a big mark/blister on my hand from drilling so much.  My dad would have been so proud! 

At the end of the day, Allison had a meeting with all of the interns about HR.  We talked about personality types, and how to manage relationships and conflicts with other people within the workplace.  It was interesting to learn about ourselves, and how we fit into these different archetypes.  I am definitely e promoter or a supporter—both of which think with their hearts and are more concerned with feelings than facts and data.  Shocker, right?  ;-)

My roommates and I all made our own dinners and read for our classes while we ate.  Of course, we then took a study break to watch Glee and The New Girl.  Tomorrow we have our second day of classes, and we are also going to see “Ameriville” at the Victory Gardens Theatre, which I am really looking foward to!

Well, that’s all I have to say about today.  Sorry, I know that it’s just a summary but hopefully I will be more creative in the future when I’m not so tired.  Thanks to all of you for reading!  You are all in my thoughts and prayers!

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Day 14: Some Enchanted Evening

This morning was the service for my cousin Katie at my church.  When I saw Katie, she was shocked to see me.  She said, “Hey!  I didn’t think you were coming back for a while!”  Seeing as I as asked to sing at the service, I was a little taken aback by her surprise. Before I could respond, my Aunt Barb hugged me and whispered in my ear, “She doesn’t know!”  So I got to surprise Katie after her testimony by singing a song for her.  I tried really hard to keep it together, and almost made it through the whole song without crying.  I considered that a success.  The whole church was really moved by the girl’s testimonies.  It was a beautiful service to be a part of.

I have posted a video of her testimony here.  Katie is truly an amazing girl.  She has been so incredibly brave throughout the whole ordeal.  She has never given up hope that she will get better.  And more than that, her faith has never wavered.  She has used her experience to inspire so many people, and I am so incredibly proud to call her family.

After lunch, Mommy and I went to the grocery store to pick up some food supplies so that I can make dinner for my roommates tomorrow night.  Mom and I cooked and de-boned a chicken for a casserole that I will be making.  Then my parents took me back to my Uptown apartment.  It was really nice to spend some time with my family back home, but I was also glad to come back to Chicago.

My roommates and I spent a relaxing, laugh-filled evening watching Sydney White and Enchanted.  We sang along with all the songs and had a great time!  I have to say, these girls are a great group to come home to.  I love having fun while doing nothing with them! 

Tomorrow we all begin our first full week of internships.  I have a feeling that we’re all going to be very exhausted this week from all of the work we’ll be doing.  I am looking forward to my first “Project Monday” tomorrow.  All they told me was to bring clothes that I can paint in.  Hopefully it will be a fun day!

Thanks to all of you for your constant thoughts and prayers.  I will keep you posted again tomorrow! 

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~   

Day 13: I've Got Friends in All Places

As many of you know, my cousin Katie suffered from a virus this past summer which paralyzed her from the shoulders down.  We are so grateful that over these past seven months she is slowly but surely recovering and regaining movement in her body.  Katie has been so incredibly brave, and has been sharing her testimony with so many people.  Tomorrow, there will be a service at my church in Oak Lawn where she will share her testimony along with another girl who has suffered from a similar hardship.  I wanted to be there for Katie, and I was asked to sing in the service, so I went home earlier today.

Daddy came by the apartment this morning to pick me up and take me home.  My roommates were making homemade waffles, and invited him to stay and have some with us.  It was fun to see my dad sit at our dining room table having breakfast with me and all of my roommates.  Kailee is a law student, and loves to read the newspaper and talk politics—just like Dad.  They got along really well while complaining about the same people in the government.  They even exchanged e-mail addresses.  I had to laugh at that a little bit. 

I also got to see my best friend Megan tonight!  We went to Panera and had so much fun catching up!  I talked about my orientation and internship experiences, and she told me all about her student teaching.  If there is one thing that I love about Megan (as if I could only choose one thing) it’s that it doesn’t matter how long we are apart or how long we’ve gone without any communication: whenever she and I are together it’s like we were never apart.  I’ve missed my 3 hour conversations with her so much!

After dinner, Megan and I went to visit a few other Trinity friends that I haven’t seen in a while.  It was really fun to spend time with them, though it was definitely different considering that I didn’t understand a lot of new-founded inside jokes.  They needed to explain a lot of things to me.  But I know that it will be the same way for them when they come to visit me in Chicago.  It was really great getting to sit and laugh with them!

It’s strange feeling like I currently live in two different worlds.  When I’m in Chicago, I find myself wondering what my friends back at Trinity are doing and wanting to talk to them.  And now that I am here with them, I feel my mind drifting off to Uptown and thinking about my roommates and my friends there and wondering what they are up to.  Part of me wishes that I could bring my two worlds together.  But I guess that’s how you know that you have made real connections with people: when even though they are out of sight, they are not out of mind. 

I am so grateful for all of my family and my friends, wherever they may be!

~ Julie ~

Day 12: Ready, “Set”, Go!

Today was not a very eventful one.

This morning I got to sit in on a Lifeline staff meeting. They brought in bagels and coffee, so that’s two days in a row that I have gotten a free meal at work.  I better not get used to that.  Haha. They talked about creating mission statement and threw some ideas around.  Then they discussed things like the benefits/fundraisers coming up and all sorts of financial lingo that I did not fully understand; but it was really interesting to see all of the staff working together.  They are all truly passionate about what they do, and it's clear that their hearts are fully invested in the progression of this theatre.  They are fun-loving, devoted group of people!

I spent most of the afternoon working with the technical director/set designer for “Hunger”.  I got to help with some painting and drilling and all sorts of manual labor that goes into building a set.  It will be fun to watch the show and know that I played a small part in putting the set together.  I know that for “project Monday” next week I will be doing a lot of painting around the building, so that will be fun too.    

Tonight me, some of my roommates and other friends from the CS program are going to head to Wrigleyville and spend a fun night on the town!  Tomorrow morning, Dad is picking me up so that I can be home for the church service being held at Calvin on Sunday for my cousin Katie.  I’ll get to have a dinner date with my bff Megan tomorrow night too, which I am super stoked about!  It’s going to be a good weekend. 

I know this is short and sweet, but I didn’t have any funny stories from today.  Thanks to all of you faithful readers!  I really appreciate your encouragement and prayers!

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Day 11: It’s My Life . . . line

So today was my first day as an intern at Lifeline Theatre.  First thing after I arrived, I was escorted into the theatre to enjoy a matinee performance of “How to Survive a Fairytale”.  It’s a show for children about a boy named Jack who is the son of a princess and the Frog Prince.  In spite of his parent’s identities, Jack has grown up never having heard a fairytale (because his parents are afraid that the scary creatures in them will scare him).  Jack finds a book of fairytales, and gets lost in the Enchanted Forest.  Along the way, he falls into all of these fairytales and uses the book to help solve the problems within them.  It was such a cute story, and all the kids really loved it.  Then the kids had the chance to ask the actors questions about the show.  It was such a great way to start the day!

After that, we had lunch.  Because it was my first day, they ordered Jimmy John’s (whihc was super nice) and those of us who were there all ate together.  I ate with the Administrative Director (Allison), the Operations Manager (Erica), the Artistic Director (Dorothy), one of the actors from the matinee production, and two other interns.  It was nice to sit and chat with them for a while.  Sadly Nathan, one of the interns, is leaving next week.  But I still will work with Georgia (who is really outgoing and awesome) and an intern from Germany named Roman, who I haven’t met yet.

The rest of my afternoon was spent having meetings with Allison, Erica, Dorothy, and Lea (the Education Director).  They talked to me about what they do and about some of the opportunities that I’ll have when working with them.  Already, I have a few weekends that I know I will be working during shows.  In fact, the weekend that the Chicago Semester students are coming to Lifeline to see the show “Hunger” I will be house managing!  I will be working on Sunday, and I’m not sure if the students will be there that night or on Saturday, but it would be fun to look all professional and make the pre-show announcement when they are there!  Haha.

Tomorrow I’ll be sitting in on a staff meeting with the entire Lifeline staff and some of the board members.  That will take all morning, and I’ll just be observing of course, but it will be fun to see what goes on there.  Allison says I couldn’t have come at a better time because they will be discussing their plan for the next 10 years.  That will be fun to see!  Then I’ll spend the afternoon meeting with a few other staff members.  Most of that time I will be with the technical director.  Tech is what I know the least about (besides business) so I am a little nervous about that, but it’s all a part of the learning experience!

I know that I will be working at least one day on most weekends.  That’s theatre though.  We work during the week to prepare for the weekend, and that’s when we need the most help.  This will limit some of my social opportunities, but I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make up for that.  And some of the weekend gigs will be for benefits, or to preview the shows for the press and things like that.  I will get to go to the “after parties” in the theatre and have wine and cheese with press and theatre supporters.  That will be really fun!  And the more that I work during the evenings, the later that I have to come in to work during the day.  There are going to be days where I need to work into the evening, so I don’t need to come into work until like 4 in the afternoon, so that will be cool. 

All of us girls seemed to have good days at work.  Sadly, Kailee saw someone get mugged when she was on her way home, which was a little scary.  Luckily no one was hurt, but we are all a little nervous about being trapped on the trains during rush hour.  We’re trying to think of ways to hide our money in our coats and things.  Lol.

We plan on spending the rest of the night just hanging around the apartment and recovering from our busy days.  Cara is cooking us dinner right now—some curry dish that smells really yummy!  Tomorrow is another full day for all of us, and then we hope to go out for a drink or two to celebrate!  So far, we are all off to a great start and looking forward to the next three months at our internship sites.  God is good.

I miss you.  I love you.  Always. 

~ Julie ~

Day 10: Creepy Coincidences

Today was my first day of CS classes.  But, I am not going to talk about that today, because it was boring syllabus-distribution day and it was uneventful.  No, today I am going to talk about some strange coincidences that my roommates and I discovered about our rooming setup this afternoon. 

1.   Our names:  There are six girls in our flat.  We have three J’s (Jacqui, Jenny, Julie) and three “K” sounds (Cara, Cassie, Kailee). 

2.   Our rooms:  There is one J-name and one “K”-name in each bedroom: Jenny + Cassie; Julie + Kailee; Jacqui + Cara

3.   When you enter each bedroom, the girls with J names are on the left side of the room, and the girls with “K” names are on the right

4.   There are two dressers in each bedroom.  One is between the two beds.  In every room, the dresser between the beds belongs to the girl with the J name.

5.   Our hair:  All of us with J names have brown hair.  The girls with “K” names are all blondes.

Of course, none of these things were done consciously, or that would just make us weird.  But we thought that it was really funny (and somewhat creepy) that everything matched up that way!  I suppose that this just adds to our awesomeness and compatibility. 

On a completely different note, I start my internship at Lifeline Theatre tomorrow.  Needless to say, I am very excited and slightly nervous.  I am really looking forward to working with the Lifeline staff and the three other interns there.  I know that there will be so much to learn and I hope that I catch on quickly and will fit into the Lifeline family nicely. 

Thanks to all of you who have been faithful readers of this blog!  I appreciate your interest in my random life, and hope that I have not disappointed you with this random post.  You are all in my thoughts and prayers. 

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Day 8: Who Wants to be an Intern? – “I’ll use a Lifeline!”

This morning, I went to the Chicago Semester office to finalize my internship location.  I met with Cynthia from the CS staff for about 5 minutes, and she said that both internships liked me.  Fortunately, Christina (the other theatre major) preferred Chicago Dramatists, and although I enjoyed that company, I felt that Lifeline Theatre was a better fit for me.  So we both received our first choices for our internship locations! 

I called both companies this morning and Allison (from Lifeline) said that she and the rest of the group are very excited to have me!  I start on Thursday at 10am.  I will have the opportunity to sit in on production meetings, work in the box office, help house manage some weekends, as well as sit in on any rehearsals or auditions that I want!  I’ll also be assisting in “Project Mondays” which means pitching in with everyone to do maintenance around the theatre.  Allison will have me helping her with some administrative work, as well as planning an event for their production of “Pride and Prejudice”.  It is going to be a great experience! 

Another perk to the job is that, with the exception of weekend gigs, I get to go to work in whatever clothing is most comfortable.  Allison said I could wear jeans and tennis shoes every day if I want, and they will just give me a heads up on days when I need to look more presentable.  I feel bad for my mom, since she bought me all this cute, professional clothing, but I will implement those items when I get the chance!  Haha.

The rest of the day was uneventful.  Hung around the apartment, and had some boys from the program come over to watch a movie.  All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Thanks for all of your encouragement and prayers!  I am looking forward to sharing my internship experience with you!

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Day 7: People are Strange

This morning Cassie, Kailee and I decided to go to the church service at Moody Bible Institute.  We had to take the redline train to get there, and we met some interesting people. 

First, there was a man with about 5 teeth left in his mouth  who starting talking to us about “moonshiiine and wiiine”.  While we listend to this man chat away, another man approached us and in a very crooner-esque voice started telling us that he could help us find some “looove buuugs”.  We were not quote sure what he meant.  Kailee at one point asked if he was talking about a BMW bug/beetle, but he ignored the questiom saying (in a voice that reminded me of Yosemite Sam), “I have to say that you ladies are some of the studliest ladies that I have eva seen. *mumble, mumble, mumble* I mean really, two thumbs up!”  Studly is a bit of a masculine word, but we said thank you anyway.

The Moody Church is huge, and beautiful!  The choir was outstanding as well!  I have to say, listening to them made me miss being in choir at TCC an awful lot.  As the choir sang an arrangement of “Holy, Holy, Holy” there was an amazing, high descant for the sopranos, and I longed to sing it along with them!

We decided to take the bus home, and we saw a woman with a fur coat and brown hat, who looked like Big Foot from the back.  Haha.  We then stopped at Target and a woman walked in behind us and let out a huge "Yelp!" We jumped and turned to her to see if she was hurt.  She was an elderly woman, and she didn't seem to notice us.  She muttered something to herself.  I couldn't quite make up what she said, so I did understand the words "forgot" and "medication".  Eeek!  We watched her stroll over to the dollar section. She was wearing a long coat, but as she bent to pick up a basket, we got a very clear view of what she was wearing underneath: nothing but a pair of white undies.  The poor woman must have been freezing outside!  

Needless to say, it was an interesting morning!  Apparently, Sundays are apparently when all the crazies come out to play! 

This afternoon, we had a couple of girls from the Canterbury apartments drop by to a visit and watched a couple of movies.  The rest of the evening was spent relaxing in our room.  Tomorrow, we each have meetings tomorrow to discuss and finalize our internship placements.  I’m looking forward to finding out where I will be spending the majority of my time for the next three months!

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and encouragement! 

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Day 6: Home is where your Stuff is

This morning, Mom and Dad come to my new flat in Uptown with the rest of my things.  It only took them 45 minutes to get here, so I was grateful to know that they aren't too far away.  Mom and I unloaded the car, and some of my roommates were nice enough to help carry things up as well.  Who needs a gym membership when you have to carry things up three flights of stairs?  While we did this, Dad was kind enough to shovel the iron staircase that we had to climb up.  At one point, when I was walking up, he dumped a huge pile of snow right on top of my head.  My roommates got a good laugh out of that.  I haf to say, it felt a lot like being at home – with Dad around, there is always laughter.

Mom helped me unpack and organize all of my clothes and other things, while Dad fixed one of our windows as well as mine and Kailee’s bedroom door.  Then, while Mom and I finished unpacking, Dad was nice enough to take a couple of my roommates to Target so they could grocery shop.  Mom and I finished before they got back, so we sat in my living room while we filled each other in on what’s going on in our separate worlds. 

When Dad got back, we went to Potbelly’s for lunch, and then went grocery shopping at Jewel.  After this, it was time for Mom and Dad to go home.  I was a little sad to see them go, but I know that I will be seeing them again soon.  It was great to spend a few hours with them.  They were both surpirsed and excited about the size of my new digs, and really like my roommates (which is not surprising because they are awesome). 

After mom and dad left, the girls and I decided to move some furniture around a bit.  We now have a TV and a couch on the other half of our dining room area.  When Jacqui and her fiance Jon came back, we all decided to check out this cupcake place that’s down the street from us.  Their website said it was open until 7, but we got there at 5:30 and they were closed!  We were sad, but we fully intend to sample those cupcakes sometime!  So we went back home and just lounged around, snacking and talking and again enjoying our free wi-fi, while watching Bridesmaids.  It was a long week, full of activity, so a nice quiet evening in our new home was nice.

Now that everything is settled and has its place, I feel more at home here.  It will still be an interesting few days, considering we have nothing scheduled, but we will have to see what we can find to pass the time.  On Monday, 4 of us have 15 minute meetings to discuss our internships and finalize where we will be working.  That is all that's scheduled, but those 15 minutes are a big deal!  So I'm looking forward to that (though I am a little nervous to hear my interviewer’s comments).

I am praying for you all and hope that you are well!  Thanks again to all of you for reading!

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Day 5: Uptown Girls

Today was the day of the big move!  Kailee and I decided we would share a cab up to our building in Uptown.  Kailee is from California and had all of her things with her, so we were going to need a van.  The hotel offered us the limo, which would have been way more expensive, except that Kailee used her excellent bartering skills to work the cost down to only 5 dollars more than a cab would have been! She’s pretty awesome that way.  So, we looked like total divas as we pulled up to our building in a black limo.  Haha.

We hauled our things up three floors of winding stairs (which proved how thoroughly out of shape I am), and then went to the basement to see Sean (our “landlord” I guess you could say) to get our keys, sign our leases, and pay our deposits and the rent for the rest of January.  I have to say, it’s weird being an adult all of the sudden.  After that, Cassie and Kailee and I walked down the road and ate lunch at a really cute Mexican place.  There are so many ethnic restaurants in our neighborhood, including Thai and even Ethiopian!  We were excited to see that the red-line train is right down the road, and that there is a Starbucks on the corner.  This could be both very good and very bad for us J.

After that, it was time to unpack what little I had with me.  Mom and Dad were going to come up tonight with the rest of my things, but it has been snowing buckets all day so the roads are too bad to drive on.  So they will be coming up tomorrow morning, which means I will get to spend a lot more time with them!  Needless to say, I am very happy about that.  They have my bedding, so I will have to crash on the couch tonight, but it is totally worth it!

We all spent most of the afternoon lounging around in our living room, enjoying our free wi-fi and catching up on life.  Jacqui left to spend the evening celebrating her 3 year anniversary with her fiancé, so we missed her when we went to McFadden’s, a bar/restaurant next to the Canterbury apartments (where the majority of the Chicago Semester students are living).  A few of us are lucky enough to have our parents coming tomorrow, so we decided to head back early (knowing that we will have plenty more opportunities to head out on the town). 

I am excited to see my parents tomorrow and to complete the moving process.  It is amazing how moving out of a hotel and into an actual home can calm so much of one’s’ anxiety.  Of course, there are still plenty of things that need to be figured out, and there will be a whole new adjustment period as I begin classes and an internship; but, as my mother has constantly reminded me, everything will work out the way that it’s supposed to: “God has a plan for you, and it is good.”   

As always, thanks to all of you who are keeping up with my blog!  Please spread to the word to anyone else who you think may want to read it.  I truly appreciate the comments and all of the support that I’ve received from all of you!  Knowing that there are people back home that care about me and have high hopes for me makes this experience all the more rewarding!  You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Day 4: Interviews - Round 2

This morning I had an interview at Chicago Dramatists Workshop.  The commute from the hotel was quite short, which was good because it was cold as the dickens outside (as my bff Megan likes to call it). 

The facility is small and intimate.  I was able to meet with Brian L, who interviewed me for the position.  He was very nice is really proud of the internship program that the company has to offer.  He described the company as a “playwrights’ theatre, not an actors’ theatre” which I thought was interesting.  They deal with a lot of playwrights and have many readings of new works, and classes held in their office.  They also produce 3 productions each year.  He said that people from all over the country have worked with Chicago Dramatists, even though it is such a small company, and I thought that was great.

An intern named Cassie then gave me a tour of the facility.  I got to see their theatre space (which seats about 80 people) as well as the dressing rooms and the lobby area.  As I mentioned, the facility is small, but I have never considered that to be a bad thing!

I still need to meet next week with our internship coordinator, and work with Christina (the other theatre major here) and see what will happen.  Either location would have rewarding and challenging work that would help me to learn a lot. 

I had the afternoon free, so I caught up on some TV shows on Hulu (Glee was epic!) and then took a little cat nap.

Tonight we had a dinner and orientation wrap-up session.  We talked about the finalization of our internship placements which, as I mentioned, will not be decided until Monday.  We then made sure we all knew what classes we had signed up for (yes, I do have to attend 2 classes every Wednesday).  And that’s all she wrote.  As the coordinator said before, this would be the last time that all of us in the CS program would be in the same room together until our final end-of-the-semester party.  Wow.  I still haven’t even met everyone yet, and I’m already being told I won’t see some of them for over 3 months.  Haha. 

Tomorrow is the big move to Uptown.  I have to check out of the hotel in the morning and take a cab up to the apartment.  So I am sure that there will be some interesting stuff for you to read about in my next post!

Thanks to all of you who have been keeping up and reading this blog.  I love sharing my experiences with you, and hope that you enjoy reading about them!  As always, you are all in my thoughts and prayers every day.  And thank you for your continued prayers as I press on through this huge transition in my life!

I love you.  I miss you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Day 3: Interview w/ a Side of Pizza

Today I had a schedule-free morning, so I got the chance to catch up on some much needed sleep.  I slept until about 9:30 and woke up to see the winter sun shining against the buildings outside my frosted window.  This gave me some hope that today was going to be a good day.  I was also encouraged by the devotional that my mom gave me before I left on Monday.  Today’s reading spoke of letting God guide me through the hills and valleys of my life.  The line that hit me most was “Walk hand in hand with Me through this day.  I have lovingly planned every inch of the way.”  It was wonderful that that was exactly the kind of reminder that I needed to help calm and prepare me for my first interview.

I went to lunch with two of my future roommates at The Corner Bakery (which I highly recommend to those of you who haven’t been there before) and then caught the Redline to head to my interview at Lifeline Theatre.  The commute was over a half hour long, so it wasn’t awful.  I got to my interview over a half an hour early.  Rogers Park is a really artsy, cool area, and I really wanted to spend my extra time exploring a little bit.  But, considering that it was 3 degrees outside, I decided that that was probably not the best idea.  So I sat in the lobby and read through their season information. 

During my hour long interview, I met with three different women: the Managing Director, the Artistic Director, and the Head of House.  Allison, the Managing Director was great.  As we talked, she gave me a backstage tour of the theatre.  We walked through the props and costume storage, workshop and dressing rooms, etc.  She told me that on Mondays, the whole gang works together doing maintenance around the theatre.  They call this "Project Monday".  I'm not afraid of a little dirty work, but I had to laugh when she said, “Ya, it’s not sexy.  It’s just not sexy.”  I immediately liked her after that.  Haha.

Then I met Dorothy, the Artistic Director.  She was really nice as well, and someone that I also like right away!  She had long blonde dreads piled into a high ponytail and wore silver horn-rimmed glasses.  Totally unique and awesome.   She told me that I was welcome to sit in on any production meetings and rehearsals, and if there were any auditions I could observe those as well! 

Erica is the Operations Manager.  She is young and cute and she answered some of my questions.  All of the women had specific questions they were told to ask me, but Erica looked at some of them and would say, “Ya, I don’t like that question.”  I liked her honesty. 

The space is small and intimate, and the work environment seems to be very cooperative, which is very important to me.  I think that this location would be a great place to work and I would learn a lot.  But I still have another interview tomorrow, and then there is more to the selection process, so nothing will be decided for a couple of days yet.  I was grateful that my first interview went well.

For dinner, we had a pizza party at the Chicago Semester office and then my roommates and I went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. 

Tomorrow at 10am I interview at Chicago Dramatist.  I ask again for all of your prayers and support as I commute alone again and face another possible internship opportunity.   

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Orientation Day 2: Going Gray at 22

Today was another crazy-busy day.  We started with breakfast at 7:30.  I got to talk with some of my roommates and a few of the guys in the program.  After breakfast, we got our pictures taken for our U-passes, which were then distributed to us.  These passes give us unlimited access to CTA transportation (which is totally awesome).  My picture is hideous, but all the other girls were ashamed of theirs too, so I didn’t feel so bad.

Next we had a seminar about how to prepare and deliver a good interview for our internships.  I have an interview tomorrow afternoon at 2pm for the Lifeline Theatre company.  The theatre is in Rogers Park, about a half hour to 45 minute commute from the hotel.

We then had a seminar about how to get around and how to find out where you are going.  Needless to say, I am so envious of people who have internet and gps on their phones, because I cannot read a map to save my life!  Also, I am not great at figuring out North, South, East and West.  I feel like I need a compass to carry around with me!  Figuring out how to get everywhere is going to take some time, but I hope I don’t get too lost too often :/

After that, we got an overview of the different housing options and a chance to chat with our potential roommates.  After seeing the space, and the utility benefits, my two roommates and I decided to try for one of the flats at Wheaton College Urban Studies Center, which can house 6 people each.  We asked two more girls to live with us, and said we would see how the “housing lottery” turned out.

When I say housing lottery, it works like this: the firector would draw names at random.  Whoever got called was able to say where the wanted to live, with whom, and what time tomorrow they wanted to look at the apartment and sign the lease.  Luckily, Jacqui (one of my new roommies) was called in time to select one of the 3 flats available in Wheaton.  I will be living with Cassie D, Kailee A, Jacqui R, Cara G, and Jenny H.  Although it’s only been a day, I have a really good feeling about all of these girls, and I think that they will be fun and easy to live with.

I know a lot of you are thinking, “Wow, six girls in one apartment?  Why would someone do that?”  Well, here is why: the flat has three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, furniture, a fully stocked kitchen (with utensils and a dishwasher), a computer in the living room, free internet access, free laundry, and 2 free spaces for parking (if someone drives up for a visit).  As you can tell, there are a lot of benefits to living in this space!  We will be going tomorrow afternoon to check out the space, and will move in on Friday afternoon.

After this, each of us had a time slot to go on a “practice interview” to help us prepare for our internship interviews.  My interview was with a woman named Melissa, and she told me that I had some great responses and included important details in my answers; so I felt more affirmed.  She is also one of the instructors of the Fine Arts in the City seminar that I will be taking this semester, and she promised that I will enjoy it so much and learn vital information for someone who is interested in a career in the arts.  Yay!

The hotel offers free wine and beer in the main lobby around 5pm, so me and some of my future roommates decided to take advantage (don’t worry folks, we are all of age).  After this we split up into more small groups and went to different ethnic restaurants.  My group went to Thai Aroma, and had some really good and interesting Thai food.

Obviously, today was a very full day full of stress and fun.  I am hoping that after I have my internship set and have moved into my apartment that I will feel more settled and at ease.  I still feel a little lump in my throat when I think of home and all of my family and friends that I wish were here with me.  I know, I sound like such a baby, but I guess after living so close to everyone you love for so long you don’t realize how hard it will be to leave them until it happens.  I miss you all and ask for your continued prayers, especially tomorrow as I interview for a potential internship. 

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~ 

Day 1: A Swell of Emotions

Early this afternoon, Mom and my Laurie dropped me off in front of the Hotel Allegro for my first day of Chicago Semester Orientation.  We said quick goodbyes as the porter collected my bags and showed me to the lobby.  For some reason, many of the rooms were not ready for us students to check in.  My dear Jacqui Rischer and I were both in jeans, thinking we would have an hour in our rooms to change.  Other students were in casual clothes as well, but they were able to get into their rooms and change.  But Jacqui and I waited in the lobby until about 5 minutes before our first session began, and our rooms were still not ready.  So we had to gather clothes from our suitcases (which were being stored behind the front desk) and change in the lobby restroom.  We felt so comforted by this great start! (sarcasm intended)

During our first meeting, we got our schedules for the week and were introduced to the Chicago Semester staff.  After this, we broke out into small groups and each went to a different restaurant.  I can't remember the name of the place where my group ate, but I had a great time chatting with some terrific girls and had one of the best chicken caesar salads ever!

On our way back to the hotel, I had yet another trial/adventure.  Our group got split into two cars on the brown line, which was no big deal, until the girls in my car got off at the wrong stop.  We got back on the L and went to the correct stop, only to realize we couldn't quite remember the way back to the hotel.  We wandered around for a bit until some girls pulled out their smart phones and pulled up the GPS (so handy).  When we got back to the hotel, the next session was about being safe in the city (which we found a bit ironic and  funny).

Next we went over housing information, and were told we need to have roommates selected by 10am tomorrow morning.  What?!?!  Luckily, I was asked to live with two girls who I had barely spoken to before, but turned out to be really awesome!  Kailee Adams and Cassandra DeVries are both from Dordt (but they don't know each other all that well, meaning I won't feel like a 3rd wheel).  They are really nice girls and I think that living with them will be a lot of fun!  We choose our apartments tomorrow and will sign our leases on Wednesday.

We also got out interview assignments.  On Wednesday at 2pm, I will interview for an internship at the Lifeline Theatre.  And on Thursday at 10:30am, I will interview at Chicago Dramatist Workshop.  I am really hoping that these interviews go well.  But I won't know my placement until next week Monday. 

Needless to say, today was really busy.  There was an overwhelming amount of information to cover, and there is still a lot more to come.  I am struggling a bit right now to get a handle on my emotions since I'm really excited, but also very nervous and longing for the normalcy of home.  Living in a hotel with a lot of people that I don't really know is not easy.  There are parts of me that really want Friday afternoon to come so I can move into my apartment.  But part of that longing is because I know that I will get to see my Mom and Dad that day.  Part of me is so excited to start an internship in a theatre.  But there is another part of me that wants to go back to Trinity and be in the Marge Kallemeyn Theatre with all of my friends.  There is so much push pull right now, and all I can do is just pray that God will calm my heart and give me a sense of peace. 

Tomorrow will be a long day, starting with breakfast at 7:30, and having meetings/activities until 10pm.  I get the strange feeling that I won't be getting a lot of sleep this week.  Haha. 

I hope that all of you reading this are doing well, and know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.  Know that I miss you all very much, and hope to see you as often as I can!  I will hopefully write again tomorrow evening.  Thanks for all your prayers!