Round Two

aaah, excitement, anxiety, and exhaustion are all warring within me. Excitement and anxiety because yesterday, Tuesday, I was invited to sit in and teach a small portion of 2 different classes at the Theatre on Thursday. Yes, I am thrilled that I pulled off the interview and now they want to see how I behave with the kids and what my "teaching style" is, but I am also petrified. I have today to come up with focused theatre games appropriate for kids ages 4-6 and ages 7-9! Yikes, that's not much time and my mind seems to have gone blank.
I can't believe that I have loads of theatre games and teaching information stashed away at my parents house back in New York. I never really thought that I would need them here, possibly never need them at all. Thank god for the internet. I stayed up till nearly midnight last night searching for games I could play with the kids. Luckily, many of the games I found mentioned were ones I've played myself or played while working with kids (you know summer camps, theatre workshops, etc). So, I feel fairly confidant about having some games I can play with the 7-9 year olds, but I'm still kind of freaking out about what to do with the younger kids.
Funnily (is that even a word?) enough I vaguely recall talking about how much I would enjoy working with the 4-6 year olds! What was I thinking? Actually, I do think that it would be fun and rewarding. Kids that young are so eager and so ready to give their all. They adore you and think that you are a star, my experiences with that age range have been very satisfying, if on occasion trying. I mean, let's face it, 5 year olds are not the most focused kids in the world. When I used to give workshops for Kindergarteners on the play Peter and the Wolf the kids would just blurt out all sorts of things in the middle of my session with them. One little girl confidently raised her hand to answer a question and when I called on her she promptly stated, "I'm wearing Winnie the Pooh underwear!" This caused about 10 more hands to immediately shoot up into the air and wave around to get my attention. They all had something to share about Winnie the Pooh be it clothing items they owned, toys, movies, you get the picture. Eventually, I just had to tell everyone to put their hands down and get them focused back on Peter and the Wolf. So, I am aware that there are many pitfalls when working with kids that young, the problem is I don't feel I know enough about that age group to come up with an activity that they can all do, stay focused on, and I can somehow relate back to theatre. It's rather a tall order. At least I have the day to search through the internet for some guidance.

As for the feeling exhausted part, I' m either psychologically avoiding my upcoming teaching interview, losing my battle against my cold, or my DH gave me whatever he was suffering from yesterday. It's very odd, I don't feel bad. Yes, my nose is a bit stuffy, but my cold is much better than it was a couple days ago. I've gotten my cough and throat clearing under control - can you imagine going in to teach an exercise and sniffling, hacking, and coughing all over those poor kids. Now, that would be a disaster. Maybe it's just that I didn't start off my day with my ritual cup of coffee. It's 1030 a.m. and I'm just drinking it now. Can coffee really have that big of an effect on ones morning? Sad if that is true. After I walked Ally this morning and had a bowl of cereal I fell asleep on the couch. I just couldn't keep my eyes open. Even when my DH awoke and was puttering around in the kitchen I just couldn't keep my eyes open for more than a few seconds. I would wake up and say, "I'm getting up." or "Oh, I can't believe I fell back to sleep!" and then my head would fall back onto the couch and I was out again. It wasn't until after 10 a.m. that I managed to struggle awake and stay awake! This post if probably terrible because all I want to do is close my eyes. It's strange, my body doesn't feel tired or achy, but my eyes feel heavy and itchy as if I hadn't slept in days. Yeah, I know, my bet is on avoidance too. but if all I do is sleep the day away I'm really going to be screwed tomorrow.
So, I'm going to get myself up and moving about. If I continue to sit here typing my head is going to start nodding - you know what I'm talking about. You've done it or seen people in theatres, classrooms, lectures. The head starts falling forward, the eyes roll up and eventually close, the chin hits the chest, the head jerks up, eyes wide as if to say, "Who me? I wasn't sleeping. No, not me." A few quick shakes of the head as if to clear the cobwebs and rid oneself of the desire to close ones eyes again. The shoulders straighten, the spine is stiff and erect. The thought flits through the mind, "sit up straight, look ahead, stare at the speaker, no one will have notices I nodded off", the eyes start blinking rapidly to keep the sleep at bay. But, alas, it never works, moments later it starts all over again as your head drops inevitably downward, or falls to the side. I always feel relieved to find I haven't drooled all over myself in this public instances of sleepiness. Thankfully, I am home alone so I can let my head loll around and I can drool on anything I want, because no one is here to see me. But, I think I'll try to avoid it anyways. Besides, I've got way to much to do there are other ways to avoid doing what's necessary than sleeping! I think I've proven that often enough!

p.s. sorry for the lack of posts lately. My computer has acquired some bugs and is undergoing a massive debugging process. I have DH's laptop today so that I can work on preparing for tomorrows dreaded adventures in teaching. You can see how that's working out, here I am typing in my blog totally ignoring the reason DH left me the laptop in the first place - I am the WORST!
Until my computer is back to a happy place there probably won't be too many posts. I know, I know, how can you survive without a daily update of all the exciting happenings in our Sergy household. I hate to deprive you of such tantalizing tales, but I'm sure you shall survive! Maybe once my computer is fixed I really will have something tantalizing, exciting, and adventurous to tell...but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you!

p.p.s. My spell checker isn't working for some strange reason, so no doubt I have misspelled many a word, sorry 'bout that!

Whew...

...sigh of relief. That's over and done with. I just returned from my interview and, of course, it was not a nightmare, the people were incredibly nice, and I handled myself well. I mean, the rational part of my brain was telling myself this the whole time, new exactly how it would all play out, yet the irrational me kept screaming, "what if you make a fool or yourself? what if they hate you?" Please, hate me? after talking with me for 45 minutes? That's pretty drastic.
I think I made a decent impression on them. I have no idea if I'm what they are looking for or if they would prefer someone with more teaching experience than I have. All I can do is wait and see. Oh, did I mention that they were looking for someone to teach; classes with 4-6 year olds, and 7-9 year olds. Plus, some administrative work on the side. I think I could handle that. OK, well I've never really taught for an extended period of time - just very structured workshops in schools, but it sounds like they have a syllabus (even if it is a loose syllabus) and files with exercises that work with certain age groups and all that. The other plus side is that the 4-6 year olds get 2 teachers. That would be right up my alley to have another teacher with me, at least to start me off, you know. So, I could learn the ropes from someone who's been doing it for a while.
I'm trying not to hope too much for anything because I don't want to be terribly disappointed when I don't get the job. I also told them that regardless of the outcome of the interview I'd still be willing to volunteer some of my time. Do you think that was a mistake? I never know in these situations if someone will think, "wow, she's really dedicated." or "hmmm, she'll work for free." I just never know the right thing to say in such instances. It's true that if I can I'd volunteer my time, but it's also true that if another job comes along I need the money more than I have a need to hang around a theatre and theatre people. Oh brain, why can't you shut off...or, at least, shut up. I keep analyzing and over-analyzing what I said, how I said it, what I should have said. I need to just forget it. It's over, I did my best. They can take it or leave it. It just seems like a fun place to work and an interesting job to have.
Who knows who they'll be interviewing in London next week. Maybe I'll have an edge over the competition because i already work here. Then again, I might be down some because I don't have a work permit. I did mention that I only had a residency card (though somehow I managed to get one for France and Switzerland even though I am living in France). I assume that if they often hire people out of London then they must know how to get work permits, but then again, most of those people are only here for a short stint -you know, guest workshops and performances.
Aaaahhhh, I need to stop thinking about it before I drive myself crazy. I'm going to go eat some lunch then go do some rubber stamping and make some cards. I've been a lunatic this week making cards all day to keep my mind off the interview. Now the interview is over and I'm going to return to my spastic card making to keep myself from dwelling on it. At least we have Tango tonight and skiing tomorrow so I won't be sitting around moaning over what I said wrong and what I could have done better. Are other people out there insane like me? Please, god I hope I'm not the only one!

nerves jangling

oh my gosh, in about 15 minutes I'm going to get in the car and drive off to my interview. AAiieeeee. Why am I so nervous? The worst thing that happens is that I don't get a job and I continue my life of leisure and how bad is that really? I think the grass is always greener on the other side. I know that when I have the prospect of no work and just hanging around the house ahead of me I desperately wish for a job, something, anything to get out into the world (and earning some money ain't bad either) but the minute I have an interview lined up I suddenly don't want to leave this fabulous life of sleeping late, reading all day, and walking the dog. Yeah, yeah I know just last week I was complaining to my darling, sweet, and patient husband how bored I was and didn't know what to do with myself and this morning I'm whining to him about not wanting to go to this interview. If I get the job I'll have to commute nearly 40 minutes to work everyday, blah, blah, blah.

He really does deserve the status of Saint Hoshooua. I don't know how he puts up with me? I can barely stand myself sometimes - sad, but true. I'm lucky he loves me and puts up with my neurotic behavior. You know what's funny? Whenever I was working in the theatre I was the most down to earth, normal, person. I was the one with no drama and lots of common sense. The minute everyone around me is sane and sensible I suddenly become the drama queen. What's with that? Some deep subconscious need for drama and excitement? I find life much easier when I am not the person on the emotional roller coaster. I'm sure my husband would agree, but he forbears with great patience and love, bless him.
OK, gotta go to my interview. Damn, I 'm sweating already and I have to run to the bathroom for like the 6th time this morning. Seriously, I think some graduate psych student could do a case study on me!
Wish me luck!

yummy pizza

yep, another quick post and surprise, surprise it's about food! Some of you might know that my DH's favorite food of all time is pizza. He would eat nothing but pizza if I would let him, which naturally I don't. But, from time to time I enjoy having a bit of pizza as well. Tired of the frozen variety and not having found a fantastic pizza place that delivers in the area I decided to try my hand at some homemade pizza. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself - and I do.
So next time you want a pizza, but want to spice it up a bit, have something a little different I would highly recommend this pizza con pancetta. This fabulous recipe is from a cookbook called Pizza, calzone & focaccia by Maxine Clark. We got it as wedding present and it's pretty good.

Here is the recipe:
(either make your own pizza dough, or buy one it's the toppings that really make this pizza)

PIZZA CON PANCETTA

-6 tablespoons fiery red pesto
-24 thin slices pancetta or bacon
- extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
-sea salt and finely ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (roughly 218 degrees Celsius) for at least 30 minutes

Uncover dough (if making homemade), punch out the air, and roll or pull into a rectangle (I made a rectangle and a square and, honestly, the shape doesn't change the taste) about 8 inches wide and as long as your oven will take (or make 2). Put dough on parchment paper.

Spread the red pesto over the pizza crust, leaving a 1/2 inch rim around the edge. Lay the strips of pancetta widthwise across the pizza - they should be almost the same width as the dough. Season and drizzle with oil.

Working quickly, open the oven door and slide paper and pizza onto the hot baking stone or baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, then carefully slide out the baking parchment. Bake the pizza for a further 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the pancetta is crisp. Remove from the oven and drizzle with olive oil. Cut and eat immediately.

For the Fiery Red Pesto you can either make your own (don't worry I'll provide the recipe in a minute) or, if you are lazy like me, you can buy some red tomato based pesto and then add some crushed red pepper flakes to the pizza. Trust me this way is really yummy.

Fiery Red Pesto

1 large red bell pepper
2 big handfuls of fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil, plus extra to preserve

Preheat the broiler to high.

Place the bell pepper on the broiler rack and broil, turning occasionally, until blackened all over. Put the pepper in a covered bowl until cool enough to handle, then peel off the skin. Halve and remove the core and seeds.

Place the pepper and the remaining ingredients, except the oil, in a food processor. Process until smooth, then, with the machine running, slowly add the oil. Spoon into a screw-top jar with a layer of olive oil on top to exclude the air, then refrigerate, for up to 2 weeks, until needed.

Considering I don't have a food processor I opted not to make my own. I did seriously think about getting all the ingredients and grinding them together with our mortar and pestle (which we bought at DH's insistence that it was essential and have yet to use), but once we found some red pesto, I just figured if it wasn't "fiery" (which it wasn't) I'd just spice it up myself. All in all, this is a really great pizza. A nice deviation from a typical pizza, and it's good for lunch the next day...that it assuming you haven't inhaled it all in one sitting!

Enjoy!

My stomach is in knots...

...I have some sort of job interview on Friday morning! Can you believe it? I've been procrastinating and procrastinating and finally yesterday I was so disgusted with myself I got my act together and sent an inquiry email to an English language theatre in the Geneva area. I've been meaning to contact them since we moved here. So, last night I sent an email with both my acting and business resumes attached (always called CVs here) with a brief explanation of my situation and work history, et voila, this morning I received a reply saying the timing was perfect. They are having a recruiting drive this week and next week. They'll be in London next week, was I available to come in for an interview Friday morning? See, nearly 7 months of procrastination can pay off!
I have no idea what the "interview" will be for. I don't know if the Brits (the theatre was founded and is run by a group of British people) call auditions interviews or if this for office work, backstage work, acting. I have no idea, but it 's a start. I did send an email asking what positions they might be considering me for so I can be prepared for the interview.

Oh god, I want to throw up. I'm shaking and my insides feel like a snake is writhing around in there! See, this is exactly why I could never make it as an actress. I detest auditions and interviews. And in the theatre you constantly have to audition and interview. This is NOT my strong suit. I feel like a fish out of water gasping for air when I go into these situations. It's terrible. And I sweat like a pig. Who wants to hire a sweaty, shaky, heavy breather?

On the other hand, I have gotten jobs before in the theatre and out of the theatre....so if I can just hold it together long enough hopefully the management at the Theatre will see that underlying greatness (ha, ha, ha) or at least a hard worker and give me a job. It could be any job. OK, I really hate box office work...but I could suffer through it for a little while if I had to.

Well, I'm going to go eat something. and yes, it is lunch time I'm not going to just go and stuff my face full of sweets...hmmmm....I wonder if there is any fudge left...yeah, that 's a good idea I'll stuff my face for the rest of the week gaining 10 pounds, that will give me confidence in my interview.

Do you think baked goods would work as a bribe? I could make some chocolate chip cookies....

Saint-Gervais

Tomorrow is our second day of skiing. We're going to Saint-Gervais-les-bains, France, which is very close to Chamonix and therefore Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps! It looks like it's going to be a nice day there if you can trust the weather reports. I bet it'll be beautiful. I'm debating whether or not it would be worth it to take my camera or not? I'm leaning towards not because last week I had no time at all to stop and take pictures of the view. I don't think I want to be the cause of my fellow students ire for holding things up to take pictures. Maybe once I've gotten to know them a bit better...or not taking the camera could be a GREAT excuse for DH and I to go back at a later date, just the two of us. Yeah, that sounds like a plan.
I'm hopeful that my legs will hold up better this week but I doubt it. I haven't done anything special to work on strengthening my muscles. I really thought I would be motivated this week, but it turned out I wasn't. Better luck next week.
Let's see...our Tango classes are winding down. We have 4 more classes left. Our teachers have invited us to join the intermediate class for the next session. They invited us and about 5 or 6 other people. I thought that was really a nice compliment. They also asked us to participate in a public performance they are giving on Saturday night in Geneva. They have asked quite a few of their students to participate as...well...representative of the students they teach. Unfortunately, we won't be able to do it. We would hate to agree and then not make it because our bus from skiing arrived back late. Plus, I don't know if my legs could take the Tango after a full day of skiing. I think I'll just want to come home and collapse, not drive into Geneva and Tango in front of people!
so, that's the brief update on what's going on here. Not a whole heck of a lot. Ally and I have had a rather melancholy week, but I think this weekend we'll shake it off and have much better, more productive week next week....here's hoping!

ugh

next time I even think about sitting down and gorging myself on soupy fudge, someone hit me. Please!!! I can't believe how much my stomach aches. I know, I know I deserve it. Maybe this will teach me some self-control, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.
OK, I'm going to go take Ally for a nice long walk and hopefully work off some of this fudge I've been devouring