Birthday fun and more

The last week has seemed so much longer than a week. I can't believe it was only last weekend that I was in Point with Ben for his birthday. Each time we leave it each other, it seems to get harder and harder. I suppose we will get used to it. And, really, compared to this summer when we were 10 hours apart for 3 months and I had almost no cell phone reception, I think we can survive being 2 hours away with the option of texting or calling basically whenever we want. And...we do a lot of that. Everyday we talk on the phone at least once, even if it is only for 15 minutes when Ben is driving from his day job to his karaoke job. And we text a lot too. Good thing I have unlimited text! :) We are doing really well though. Making it through our own way.

Anyway, last weekend I went to Point to celebrate his birthday. He worked everday, so I only really got to see him in the evening. But oh well- such is life. I loved getting to spend time with him. He had to work karaoke the night of his birthday, so I ended up spending Friday evening at Pete's Sportsbar and ended up having a pretty good time, except when I got pretty tired toward the end of the night. The next day, I was able to give him his birthday presents- all beer themed! Now, I'm not trying to promote alcoholism or anything, but Ben just really likes beer! It included a Point Brewery t-shirt, a special beer glass I saw him eyeing in Nebraska, and a growler of an O'so Brewery beer which is the brewery about 5 minutes from his apartment that he can have refilled with a new beer whenever he goes. I consider myself a pretty cool girlfriend for this idea. Then his friends delivered Ben's new (new to him anyway, it is actually kind of old) couch and took the other one. It is a longer and comfier couch and that also meant his futon was banished to the garage. It's L shaped and takes up a good portion of the living room. We were also able to go out for dinner to the Amber Grill thanks to a little extra money from my mom for the occasion. It was nice, because we very rarely get to go out to dinner, especially to a nicer place like Amber Grill. So we quite enjoyed that. When dinner was over, we discussed what we should do for the rest of our evening. We decided to go back to his apartment and watch a movie with some popcorn. We needed to go get more popcorn from a grocery store, so I made a suggestion that we should get some apple cider and heat it up on the stove. Ben agreed that this was a good idea so we set off to get some cider and popcorn! We then heat it up and enjoyed the movie Step Brothers with our hot cider and buttery popcorn. We also had some wonderful chats as we lay on the couch- Me on one part of the L, Ben on the opposite part of the L, and sharing a pillow that sat in the corner where both L's met. It was kind of adorable. We both ended up falling asleep sometime in the middle of the movie. It was just so comfy and warm with the cider, that we ended up falling asleep and waking up at the end of the movie! Kind of funny; definitely adorable. Sunday was spent relaxing and soul searching about my housing choices. When Ben got done with work, we were back at his place and he surprised me with...MORE CIDER! So we drank that while watching The Office. Then we ordered some Chinese food for dinner. After dinner, it was time for me to hit the road back to Madison. So we said goodbye for now.

I ended up choosing the house with the art teacher- Elizabeth. It was a good choice, and I was able to negotiate for a little cheaper rent. I signed a lease and moved in Saturday afternoon! No furniture, so I am sleeping on an air mattress for the time being and my stuff is pretty much just pushed to the walls. I unpacked most of my clothes as I do have a closet and a little linen closet in my room. I also unpacked some happy things I can look at and remember that I am loved and blessed. Like all my picture frames, my jewelry boxes, and some odds and ends from Ben, Catherine, and others. I knew for sure I was in the right place when I walked into my room and there was a vase with some pretty flowers from Elzabeth and a card that read "Welcome to your new home." She really does seem super nice and I hope it continues to go well. Although, I will say that being in such an empty room makes me miss people even more. But that's okay. I have already talked out a few of my bedding options with Ben and we are gonna figure something out for me.

Oh yes- Also, I got cast in a show here in Madison! It will be with the Four Seasons Theatre. I will be in the Ensemble for She Loves Me. We start rehearsals at the end of the month! Yay! I also got invited to second callbacks for Avenue Q, which will take place sometime in the next two weeks.

The last week kind of swung between being busy and slow. I went to a few trainings which were okay. I am getting to know my coworkers a little better which is nice. I have started tutoring (FINALLY!) and I have also started planning one of my service learning projects! AACE (the afterschool program) starts tomorrow. We are all nervous. We are a bit understaffed, so hopefully it will run smoothly despite that fact. I am excited that things will start to pick up soon, though. I don't like being bored and I work better when things go at a faster pace. Oh...and....this might be a little awkward but...I DON'T CARE! I am proud of this- I posed for a figure art class....nude. Yup. My first fully nude public appearance. It was four hours of posing. We would do it in increments. 20 minutes and then a five minute break over and over again except in the middle where I got a 20 minute break. Honestly- it was an amazing experience and I am very proud of myself for officially overcoming one aspect of being a performer. There were some really amazing artists there. Some of them did drawings either with charcoal or pencil and some did paintings either with oils or water color. I was amazed at their work. Some chose to do full body, but some decided to do portaits either from the wasit up or just the shoulders up. One guy did one full body and TWO portaits. They really liked me as a model. Said my lines and angles were fascinating, really unique, and beautiful. One girl, who was from Russia, said I was beautiful and that it was an honor to paint me. She did an AMAZING oil painting of me. An Asian woman did an amazing drawing of me that made me look like I was made of glass or porcelein or something. The guy who did three drawings of me said he was excited at having such an interested, good model. The lead guy of the studio said I made a great model for art because of my fascinating features. My favorite was this man who did a gorgeous water color painting of me. He and the Russian girl not only captured my features, but also seemed to capture my "essence" and personality. They were all super friendly, thanked me a lot, and talked to me about my life, why I was in Madison, what I do, and THEATRE! Really, I loved the experience even though I was really tired after having to hold that same pose for 4 hours. But it was an easy $50 with fabulous people and an enlightening experience. I wish I could tell 13 year old Johanna, 16 year old Johanna, and even 21 year old Johanna that her features are beautiful and that people would be honored to paint her one day. This experience not only built up my confidence, but also made me feel like an artist again myself. I told them I would do it again whenever they need me. :)

Sorry if that was awkward for any of you (particularly if you are a family member). Just know, that I am safe and had an amazing time!

Things I have done in my new house:
Pet the dog a lot (her name is Mai Yia and she is a grey miniature poodle)
Watched Princess Bride
Watched Mulan
Cooked
Slept on my air mattress
Talked to Elzabeth
Listened to and watched the rain pour outside (it has rained allllll weekend!)
Listened to Mumford and Sons and other lovely musical artists
Looked up lots of furniture options
Talked to Ben...a lot.
Decided to wear hats...like....constantly...like....I think I have spent about 2 hours tops without a hat on since moving in here

Next blog....um.....I don't know. I am thinking of maybe doing a video blog (vlog)? I dunno....we'll see.

HOUSING HELP!

I need help deciding what my next step should be in terms of housing. If you can, read over my very fragmented, frantic, terribly written thoughts and then add in your opinion as to what I should choose. THANKS!

Option A: The boarding house. A $405/ month sublease. Near downtown. Just a short walk to the Capital, yet on a relatively quiet side street, so it isn’t exactly in the middle of EVERYTHING. Older house. A little dirty, possibly mold but not as bad as I have seen it in the past. About 15 minutes (depending on traffic) from work. The girl said I could even have her furniture if she wanted so…no worries about finding a bed! The good things: cheap rent, free furniture, no security deposit., all utilities (except internet) included in rent, can move in right away. Downside: living with a bunch of strangers, sharing kitchen/bathroom, potentially bad for my health since it is an older building, application and application fee, parking (would have to buy a street parking pass), landlord.

Option B: I am pretty positive I am not going to go with this one because of its price. It would be awesome if I made just a smidgeon more, and you really do get a lot for the price. It would be in a very clean/modern condo that I would share with one other girl. I would be renting from the other girl because she owns the condo. She seems relatively nice, but I can tell it would be more of a business arrangement than anything else. $475/month plus half of the electric bill. The rest is included. About 10 minutes to work. Includes access to a laundry room, swimming pool, and workout center. Very nice location just across from the East Town Mall. The good things: Only one roommate, very clean/modern, get a lot of other goodies included, LOVE the location, renting with the person I live with so no deadbeat landlords, could move in basically right away, a dog. The bad things: Mostly all the hidden fees- electric (who knows how much that will be every month), I have to pay a security deposit, application fee, no furniture (though Ben did offer his futon he doesn’t need anymore, so I could use that for awhile!)

Option C: This is the one I am leaning towards, even though it is a little on the more expensive side. I just have a good feeling about this one. I would be living in a house with a very artsy, free spirited 40 year old elementary school art teacher. She just bought the house and decided to rent out the extra room. Very nice room. Very nice house! Very nice person! She really wanted to get to know ME which is great. After she showed me everything, I even stayed and talked with her for a good half hour just to talk. SHE HAS A DOG!!! And I have had some crazy puppy fever lately. $475 flat rate, so it includes all utilities including tv/internet. And I even talked to her about my financial situation (not getting paid a lot/ being paid every two weeks versus a month) and she said I split the rent into two installments every month for as long as I needed to. That way my first check of the month wouldn’t all be going to rent. About 10-15 minutes from work. Very quiet, residential area. Awesome art studio and covered porch in the back. Seems very sunny and inviting. The good things: Flexible lease dates, onsite laundry, Awesome roommate, no landlord since I would be paying her, no application or application fees, no security deposit, easy parking, no worrying about paying bills, I could move in right away, a dog! The bad things: Slightly more expensive rent, being in someone else’s house (though, she and I really did hit it off, so I feel like I will be able to feel welcome and make myself at home), no furniture (once again,  Ben’s Futon could be of service).

Option D: Super cheap, downtown location. Young, fun residents. Old house, but kept VERY nice and clean. Only $305 a month plus a portion of all utilities (split between 5 roommates), with the opportunity to rent cheap furniture from the landlords (only $5 for a bed). The landlords seem very involved in this property, so I doubt they would be negative or deadbeat. Sublease. About 15 minutes from work. Nice area, a short walk one of Madison’s big lakes. The good things: Kept up nicely, onsite laundry, cheap rent. The bad things: Wouldn’t be able to get in until late December (which means I would need to stay with/ pay Phyllis and John at $250/month till then.), security deposit, application/fee, parking (I would have to buy a street parking pass), wouldn’t really know my roommates (though the girls I did meet seemed pretty nice), paying part of the bills/worrying if the bills got paid.

These aren’t ALL of the options. I am seeing one more today before going to Stevens Point for the weekend. But I don’t think I am going to take that one because it is slightly more expensive, several roommates, seems too far away, etc. So, these are the ones I am probably going to choose from. Difficult decision. I want to decide by Tuesday, so please comment your opinions! Do I go with something I can get into right away? Do I sacrifice the luxury of a clean place for cheaper rent? Do I really want to take a place I wouldn’t be able to get into til December? Considering how much I spend on gas, plus the fact I would need to start paying Phyllis and John for letting me stay, plus the fact that I really want my own space- my feeling is I should take something I can get into right away, even if it is more expensive. I love Phyllis and John and they are amazing people, but I do need my own space and don’t want to take advantage of their goodwill more than I need to. Plus, they have a family member who really needs a place to stay in Madison the next few months, too. So if I left, their family member could take my place.

So….what do I do???

In other news (to be written about soon-ish): Auditions/ casting for shows in Madison (success!), visiting Ben for his 28^th birthday this weekend (the MOST excited), and starting to write again.