Thursday Thirteen #14: Pet Peeves

Thirteen Pet Peeves that I have....

1. People who chew with their mouths open/chew loudly
When I'm sitting across from you, I don't want to see what's in your mouth. When I'm sitting next to you, I don't want to hear every sloppy gloppy piece of whatever you're chewing. (Loud foods like chips and nuts excluded, but if I can hear you chewing soup, STOP!

2. Bad Time Management
Am I seriously the only person who understands this concept?

3. Unreliable people who don't understand why you're frustrated with them
Also falling into this catagory: Unreliable people who want you to trust them with big jobs.

4. Actors who don't appreciate the technical people/aspects of a show they're in
I quote an actor walking into rehearsals for 24 Hour Theatre "I don't understand why they [The Lighting Designers/Techs] are always messing with the lights...it always looks the same..." Little did he know, but there were no lights in the studio less than 24 hours ago. The techs had to take all the lights down, re-hang, re-wire, and re-focus the entire plot in approximately 12 hours...or there wouldn't have been a 24 Hour Theatre.

5. Techs who don't respect actors.
There are a lot of really talented people out there, and we need to work together to produce good theatre. People will only sit through a few Light Shows in their lifetime.

6. People moving the thermostat
65 Degrees is the temperature we can afford...so stop moving it! $400 DTE bills are getting annoying!

7. Single-Issue voters
Around election time, I get pretty worked up about this. Don't base your entire voting on one issue, educate yourself!

8. Heelys in public places
I'm sure they're fun. I can bet that if I was 12 I'd want a pair, but letting your kid run rampant in a packed mall with them is unsafe. Around the holidays at the mall in Florida, I almost got hit 4 times!



9. People who listen to only show tunes
Now, I love some musicals, and I listen to them fairly often....but how anyone could listen to ONLY showtunes, is beyond me. There's so much good music that has been produced for hundreds of years, to ignore it is awful. I might even say that someone who pigeon-holes themself into only one genre of music, no matter what genre, is wrong!

10. Talking loudly in class
If you have to talk, whisper! I don't need to hear about how you were "soooooo wasted" last weekend, or about that rash you have and don't know who/what/where you got it.

11. PC users bashing Macs, when they've obviously never used one...
for an extended period of time. I'm sorry, but Macs make sense. Want to burn stuff onto a CD? put the CD in, drag the files onto the icon, and click burn. On a PC you have to have burning software. Once the software loads, you have to sort through menus to get to your files. Click the files, then after a few more hoops you're ready to burn. I'll pass. Macs aren't the devil. Sit with one for a few hours, and you'll figure that out.

12. People who pass gas loudly and don't apologize
I have someone I know who is notorious for this. He/She is actually known for it among my friends since he/she tends to pass gas very very loudly while only a few people around, and never even acknowledges it! At least apologize! We know you did it!

13. Creep-tastic Myspace!
I have a Myspace...and I'm not a huge fan. There are so many creep-tastic people on there (men and women) and I can't deny their requests enough. I have denied some of these guys/girls upwards of 5 times and they still keep requesting me. On top of that, I receive random messages a lot too. It's just gross sometimes. I'll stick with Facebook.

Hail! Hail! To Michigan!

I attend the University of Michigan, and after stage managing an event for the University this weekend (A gala event for the Michigan Difference Campaign) I've realized that I wouldn't transfer to any other university in the WORLD. Yes, we have an amazing football team, an amazing Med School, business school, music school, theatre dept, and musical theatre dept. We are an Ivy League education in a public midwest school. But really, that means nothing when it comes to me. I love the people. I love walking down state street. I love standing in the middle of the empty Mendelssohn theatre and thinking about everything and everyone who performed there. I love walking around the aerospace buildings knowing I'm walking where astronauts walked. I love sitting in class and thinking about how famous and/or successful 80% of these people will be. I love knowing that I am a part of the Michigan Difference.

Now, you may be wondering what caused all of this loving talk of Michigan, and I'll tell you...It was the Michigan Marching Band.

I stood on Stage Left at the gala cueing people to enter the stage, so I couldn't see the tunnel that the band would emerge from. But you hear it. The drum line counts it off, the drum major enters and all you see is a wall of blue and white uniforms. Then, once the drumline has entered, the rest of the band floods the stage, not marching, but RUNNING instep. The wall of people suddenly lifts their instruments and the blasting sounds of the michigan fan fare starts. The audience is immediately on their feet. The audience, full of older people doesn't miss a beat, pumping their firsts in all the correct places and singing along. I'm standing backstage, and even though I've got a headset, a clipboard, and I'm on standby to open the curtain, I have to join in. I look over at Andrea Joyce, the alumni class of 1976 NBC sports caster who was hosting the event, and she's right with me, crying. It's a beautiful thing.

This is the michigan difference. The fact that 300 people, rich donors, young students, a crew of electricians and out of state event planners can all come together through one song.

Hail! To the Victors Valiant
Hail! To the Conquering Heros
Hail! Hail! to Michigan
The Leaders and Best.

I am proud to be a Michigan Wolverine.