I'm podcasting these days. Slinging my stories. Find me here and on itunes.

http://burnhamsociety.madeoffail.net/

I've moved!

The blog will be primarily writing, and some articles thrown in. If you want to follow, please do, if you have your own, let me know!

*dusts off the blog*

( Bits and news )

So, it's been a while since I blogged over here. What's news?

-Coordinate a Day is now complete. 1 outfit per day for a year. :) I've grown as a coordinator and as a photographer. I'm really happy with this project, it helped me stay sane during my final months of college, and turned into a true passion. Please feel free to look around.

-I have a small/large project going on. This year, I'm dropping 75lbs for the Optimist Theatre Company. I took on sponsors earlier this year, and for each pound I lose, $25 goes to the optimist. This is a year long thing, and I'm always looking for new sponsors. Contact me, or contact optimisttheatre.org. This means a lot to me. Optimist provides professional shakespeare to the citizenry of Milwaukee for free. Last year was Tempest, this year is Twelfth Night. Help me help them.

-Um...Randy moved in yesterday. All the way from Seattle. My wish upon a star came true, and now there's a goofy boy sharing my life. I love him, and want to keep him. I am so happy. Sleepy as hell, but so very happy.

So, feel free to look around at coordinate a Day, and feel free to chat with me now that I'm back in the world.

 There's an artist on FA, Kii Kitsune. She's into lolita, and wanted to do representations of the different lolita styles with members of the FA community. Apparantly I got chosen for Qi lolita, the chinese themed variant:
( Wow. )

In other news, I've gotten started on my fitness challenge for the year. I'm not letting it stop me that it's all of 4 degrees out, and I am in no way fit for this. I still have to flesh out my podcast plans, and get ready for Arc to move in. I'm panicking, but like with school, I'll find a way through. 

Lounged with my love; Dressed him as a catgirl.  

Discovered Zen.

Wandered Canyons

Worked with Bruised Orange theatre

Worked with Optimist Theatre

Costumed 3 friends

graduated college: BA in arts administration

Got divorced 

Met new friends

rebuilt with old ones

Podcasted

Went to san fran. Engaged in some amazing fluffy wackiness.

Fundraised 2 grand for Optimist theatre in under a week. 

Stayed healthy

Saw my family. 

Coordinate a Day: 326 entries.

Joined a lovely crew.

And now I'm gonna bake cookies.

(Crossposted from 'Make No Small Plans')

I'm in an extremely quiet office today. Everyone is still out with their families and friends, and won't be back until a new year rings, and everyone pushes the restart button on their lives. New goals, new resolutions, a can-do attitude that gets crippled in the winter. If New Year's was still in April, I think a lot more resolutions would get done.

I'm crap with resolutions. I'm crap with saying 'I'm going to do this!' and make it happen. I'll shut down. I don't know the how or why of it, but the more I tell, the less likely it becomes. In a normal circumstance, I would learn to just shut up. But I'm also not very good at that.

What -does- work is putting myself in a position where I can't -not- do what I've promised. That I back myself into a corner so tight that the only thing to do is succeed. And in 2011, there's more than a few things going on.

The first is working with my boyfriend to get him settled in Chicago. That's a big challenge and a bigger stressor. There's a lot of concerns and challenges, and I'm focusing on the material problems, rather than addressing the emotional ones. Over the year, I need to address all of them. I love him to pieces, and would a love a life with him.

The second, is Optimist Theatre's Will-ness program. I pledged to drop 75lbs over the next year, doing everything 'right': Diet, exercise, mental wellness. In return, I have a handful of sponsors pledging money on a per-pound basis. This breaks with some older mental health plans I had, but screw it. I love the Optimists and believe in what they do. More importantly, though, I'd really just like to look dashing at least once before I'm 40.

The third is more challenging, and I'm forcing myself into a corner right now by posting it. Before my birthday in May. I'll be producing an urban fantasy podcast. It will feature submitted original fiction, and will pay. It won't be a pro-paying market, but it will pay. It will also cover some media criticism, and literature reviews. Sometime in the next few days, I'll be posting the rules here as well.

There's smaller goals. Cons, Costumes, my own writing, GRE's, certification classes, but those are the big three. And they all go live on Saturday.

Which is why I'm glad there's a gap week.

The holiday is done. There were people, there were gifts. I put effort into making strangers feel welcome, and tried not to feel alone. But yesterday, the year had ended. There was nothing left for me to do. I got my degree. I got divorced. I've been to see family and friends, and they've come to see me. I've run tours, I've worked with theatre companies, and I've been live on a podcast. But there's still a week left. A week where I can look back and see what I've done; where I can plan for what's to come.

And breathe.

I simply must learn to breathe.

 madeoffail.net

So here's the deal.

This past year, I pulled off both a divorce and a college degree. Pretty big achievements, and I want to keep up the pace for next year.

To this end, I've signed up for a project I believe in, and am looking for sponsors.

Up in Milwaukee, the Optimist Theatre is comitted to bringing free Shakespeare to a population that is rapidly losing the arts right and left. Last year, their production of 'The Tempest' was a smash hit, and next year, they're producing 'Twelfth Night'. I've signed on to help fundraise, and to this end, I'm putting my body on the line.

Next year, I'm committing to losing 75lbs, just over 6lbs a month. I'm asking people to sign up and commit to a specific amount per pound. Those who sign up will get monthly reports from me, and every other month, the Optimist Theatre will send out an email requesting the dollar amount for the weight lost in the period. This helps cover the costs the Optimist incurrs over the year, and helps provide the arts to a community that needs it.

I'm a supporter of the Optimist. I believe in their mission, and the founders are a part of my family. I ask that you consider doing this, both to support me, support the arts, and get a tax break at the end of next year.

If you want to take part in this, email me or leave me an LJ note. If you want to, instead, just fund the Optimist directly, go to their page at Optimisttheatre.org, and make a donation tagged 'For Rowan'. :) 

Thanks. This concludes this year's whoring.