The First Holiday & Brook's Promotion

Hey everyone!

I'm so sorry for the picture quality-- they were taken with my crappy phone (but I'm getting a new one within a few days!) because our camera was broken at a Rocky show (someone stepped on it and blacked out the screen).

The first exciting thing that has happened to me recently is that I got a promotion at work! That's right-- I'm not even past my 3 month probationary period and I've already gotten promoted over everyone else (and, remember, I'm still the newest person working there)! I'm so excited about this opportunity. I also feel that it's going really well so far! I'm proud to have reached the point where someone recognizes that I don't hold back when it comes to work and that I will do what it takes to get the job done. I've gotten a raise with this promotion, so that is also super exciting! I started out as someone who just cleans out kennels (remember, I work at a cat hotel, so every morning we clean out the kennels so our kitties can have a fresh start each day). Now, I'm in charge of everyone who does that. In addition to cleaning out kennels, I'm the one who comes up with a game plan for the day and organizes the back, making sure everything is clean, accessible, and equally distributed. It's a lot of work, but I'm up for the challenge (and the increase in hours)!

On the second day your kitty stays with us, we take a picture of them to reassure you and show you how much fun they're having! For holidays, we have a small separate room that we clear out and decorate for the holiday accordingly. Here is the "Thanksgiving" setup that I did!

While that was more of an announcement, the next bit is more of a recap of the most recent event, Thanksgiving.

I knew moving away from my family would be difficult. I've never been very good at making friends, so while I had three or four friends back home that I would spend time with, I was always (and still am) extremely family oriented. Every day gets a little easier, but I never stop missing my loved ones back home. While technically Independence Day was my first holiday away from home, it's not one that I normally celebrate-- and Halloween isn't exactly family-ish, either-- so the first "family holiday" was Thanksgiving. In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I became increasingly sad. I have never spent a holiday away from my family, and there are staples in each holiday that I am so used to because they have become tradition, so there was a very sad overcast surrounding the upcoming holiday.

On Thursday, I ended up having to work (because the kitties need love and care, too!), so I woke up at my normal 6am and headed in to work an hour early so that I could try to get some of the base work done so that the rest of the employees could come in at our later holiday start time and just get started on their assigned tasks. The day was very long and dragging, but my boss made it so worth it when our manager sent us all on lunch and we found a gigantic Thanksgiving feast in the break room waiting for us. Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, spinach dip with crackers, stuffing, broccoli and cauliflower, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin pie, and sparkling cider, all laid out on the counter for the employees that worked on the holiday.

Let me quickly go off on a bit of a tangent here and tell you about my work experience. Since I turned 18, I have had five jobs (my current job makes six, keeping in mind that I mostly did not work while I was in college). Our of the five, my favorite was obviously the Han D Dip. Cathy and Dawn made our jobs so worth it and I was almost always excited to work. This was when I discovered my preference for Mom & Pop shops. Franchise companies or even companies that work contractually are very strict and, at least for those that I have worked for, tend to ignore/fail to notice when an employee is doing ANYTHING. Let me give you an example of what I mean when I say ANYTHING-- they fail to notice when you work hard, when you slack, when you need help, when you're doing extra to make up for someone else, and even that you're a human being that makes mistakes. My favorite thing about working for a small company is that you are noticed and treated like a person-- not something that is expendable. When I decided to move here, one of the hardest things I had to do was leave my job at the Han D Dip. Patrick was so patient with me as I looked for work here and waited for the right opportunity, and I cannot thank him enough for that. When I applied for my job, I was nervous, but even my interview felt intimate and friendly, so when I was offered the job I was so excited to take the deal. I have not regretted it. Working for a small company with such compassionate people in charge is the only way I ever want to work. A boss who brings you an elaborate feast on Thanksgiving is the kind of person that I will work for any day. It takes the sting of missing the holiday away, and that is so significant and heart warming.

If I can't spend the holiday with family until later, I think I'm okay spending it with this guy!

Sahib loves me. Really, he does.

After we finally got out of work (holidays are busy because while our clients go out of town, we get to house their kitties! So we had a very very full house this week-- we were booked full), I headed home and Patrick and I got ready to go to Shannon and Jared's house. Shannon and Jared are such incredible people. Patrick doesn't have much family except for an out of state sister and Jackie, so holidays aren't as important to him as they are to me because he didn't always have someone to spend them with. However, when he joined the Bawdy Caste, the directors pretty much adopted him (and me, too, when I got here), and then invited us so spend Thanksgiving with them and their family. To say that this meant a lot to me is an understatement. I was so afraid when I moved here that no one would like me, yet I've been adopted into a family that loves me and supports me in every way, no questions asked. It's more than I could ever ask for and I am so very grateful!

We spent most of the day at S&J's but I wore out quickly because I had been up all day and had worked beforehand, so we left around 9pm and headed home. The next day, I was a little bit sad that I didn't have some specific things during dinner (things that my family makes without fail every year), so that night Patrick and I made our own "Thanksgiving" feast: chicken breast (because I hate Turkey), green bean casserole (my standing favorite of all holiday dishes, even beating out pumpkin pie), mashed potatoes, and for dessert, oatmeal cookies.

Leftovers from Shannon and Jared's. Mmmm breakfast mashed potatoes

Our "makeup" Thanksgiving dinner (pretty much just so I could have an excuse to make green bean casserole and then eat all of it)

Overall, while I would have loved to spend the holiday with my family back home from Michigan, I had an incredible holiday this year because I got to spend it with my work family, my Rocky family, and Patrick. If I focus on that, everything else is just quite alright with me.



***For those of you who fail to read my Facebook posts but read my blog, here is the Facebook status I put up this week. It addresses the upcoming Christmas holiday:

"Hey everyone,
This is a quick message for anyone back home who is wondering about the upcoming holidays. Though I've been trying to save up for a plane ticket so that I can come home for Christmas, unfortunately I do still have bills to pay and right now it is about $1,000 for a halfway decent plane ticket back to the Mitten (meaning I do not have 8 hour layovers or a board time of 3:00am or flights spanning beyond one day's time). Therefore, I will not be able to make it home for Christmas even though that was my original plan. For anyone who suggests a bus ticket, please realize that I do have a job and that traveling for 3 days to get to Michigan and then 3 days to get back to California is just absurd and I cannot do that, especially with my recent promotion at work. While I miss everyone and tomorrow will be especially difficult for me since it will be my first holiday away from my family, I hope that everyone understands the situation that I am in and respects that I cannot make something like that happen. I love and miss everyone and hopefully next year will be different. 
Brook"

Caste's 18th Birthday, Disneyland, & A Special Shoutout

Hey guys! This is going to be a bit of a combo post because I need to recap my week or so and I also wanted to do a blog post about something very important to me, but I know the important thing would be embarrassed if I did an entire post about it.

So first, let us recap!

This past weekend, we went to a party at a local pub called Cameron's (we've been there before, and we love it) for our cast's birthday party. This year, the Bawdy Caste turned 18! Yay! The party was full of drinking, laughter, and karaoke.

Lindsey!

The cutest couple EVER, Jules and Matthew

Mid West! I really hope this isn't a real gang sign.

Everyone, meet Jim Norman, aka "NAWMAN." Norman is originally from Ohio! He is my midwest buddy and I adore him. He works with our cast director, Jared, at the local high school as a teacher. I love hanging out with Norman because he gets my funny midwest quirks and he also has a much heavier accent than I do, so people make fun of him instead of me (just ask him to say warm Napa cabbage salad)! But seriously, Norman is an awesome guy-- and no, I won't stop calling you Norman, Norman. Midwesterners unite!

Directly after the party, Patrick and I left for Disneyland! Because of all of the hard work Patrick has been doing and is about to be doing (he is booked with training classes and on-site trips through the end of the year), we were rewarded with a trip to Disneyland, all expenses paid (or, well, the hotel and a really great meal paid) by his company. As always, we did a ton of walking, and my legs have still not recovered. We spent the first day in DCA and the second in Disneyland (but we stopped in DCA for lunch), and I got to meet a bunch of characters that I've never seen out before... including Frozone (not pictured) and Santa!!!

Max, Goofy's son, from "A Goofy Movie"

I got in line to see Buzz but he had to go take a break so Woody came out instead!

Howdy partner!

A tiny pie from room service! MMM!

On the Mark Twain. Fun fact- Walt Disney sold Tom Sawyer's Island (the island that the Mark Twain sails around) to Missouri back in the 60's. There is no proof of this that I can find, but if it's true, that island has a Missouri zip code!

My charm bracelet! Patrick bought it and some charms for me for my "300 days since I quit smoking" present. I LOVE it! I even went a little charm crazy and bought seven myself in addition to the five Patrick got me.

Disneyland was all decorated for Christmas! Yay! We even got to be around for the tree lighting at 5pm!

I'm a record catch!

I met Santa! Yay! Now let's see if I get those earrings for Christmas :)

Dug! (Up, 2009)

I know, I know, that was a TON of recapping, right? Sorry to bore you guys! But seriously, there wasn't much to say other than all of that was a grand ol' time and I enjoyed myself immensely. But you all know that I'm always good for some pictures!

Now, on to the important part!

Let me take you back to 1997. I was just 5 years old when I met her, a little girl wearing a overalls and a backpack twice her size. Her hair was insane, she had some serious Hermione Granger bangs going on, and she became my best friend-- just like that. We lived pretty close to each other, though neither of us knew this until we we were allowed to cross the main road to each others' houses. When you're a kid, car rides are always long, even if they're just a mile long. We grew up playing Bratz dolls and exploring in her house, irritating her brother, poking holes in the neighbor's bike tires because he was a jerk, and being the other's sister that she never had.

As we grew up, we didn't exactly know what we had. We always had other "best friends," and we still do, but our friendship was always the strongest of these relationships. It wasn't until we were older that we realized, "Hey, you're really not going anywhere, are you?" When it came time to enter high school, we didn't know what we would do because we were going to different schools. We cried on the last day of middle school and worried every time we hung out that something would change.

But let me tell you-- nothing changed. We grew up, we shared secrets, we spent months apart only to reunite like no time had passed. We took prom pictures together, attended each other's graduation ceremonies and cheered like lunatics, and while she went away to college, I stayed home and went to community college. We never expected some of the things that happened in our lives, but it made us stronger as a pair. After a couple of years, she moved down the street from me (and stayed there when she wasn't staying up at her place at her college), and up until I left for California, we spent almost every single night in her kitchen or her garage, just talking and laughing and making fun of each other the way girls do. Our moms became best friends, too, and as we got older, her brother stopped being a jerk and started being my brother, too. Her family adopted me in every sense of the word and mine took her in open-armed. To this day, she is the first person I call if I'm too upset breathe, the first to know any good news I have, and the first to comfort me with the bad. She would do anything for me-- like the night she drove over a half an hour to come get me at 10pm, got a speeding ticket, spent most of the night listening to me talk, and spent the entire next day making sure I was alright. She has always been the strongest person I know and has carried me through more than I could ever thank her for.

Our "best friend" piercings, which neither of us have anymore. Later, we replaced the significance of a piercing with something a little more permanent.

Our tattoos

I was an only child until I was 14 years old, but I've had a sister since I was 5. 

And so today, on the day I post this blog, my very oldest friend and sister, turns 21.

Erin, if you by chance read this-- too bad, I'm not taking it down. Also, remember, I have worse pictures than this, so you have to be my friend forever. I love you, I miss you, I'm so damn proud of you and the woman you've become, and happy birthday!

<3

The Bawdy Caste Takes Reno (the most Rocky Horror that you will ever see in one post)

Hey guys! It has been a CRAZY busy week! On Sunday night, we went over to Doug and Julie's house (friends from cast) for a pumpkin carving party! It was super fun. There were a ton of delicious snacks and we watched Tim Burton movies while we carved our pumpkins. Doug and Julie have taken to buying fake, hollow pumpkins and carving them so that they can keep them for the next year. I say that's genius, and with the design I did, I wish I had done it, too!

Julie's cupcakes were adorable!

I loved the use of the pumpkin candies here :)

My Scooby Doo pumpkin! 

Patrick's baby pumpkin with Perry the Platypus!  

Blimey! It's Harry Pumpkin!

For months now I have been looking forward to the Bawdy Caste's annual trip to Reno to do a show. When I found out that I could have the days off, I was just itching to get there and go on a little road trip with Patrick. On Monday morning we started our journey to Reno, but first we had to make it through the mountains-- which meant making it through the snow. What's funny is that, in Michigan, we have multi-weather tires for our cars. There is no need to switch tires out each season unless you're serious about making your tires last. But here, in California, there is really no need for that unless you live up near Tahoe. So when Patrick told me about his concern of the weather conditions for the trip, I thought he was nuts when he said he was going out to buy snow chains. I've never even heard of that except for things like large trucks or farm equipment (aka things that would need to drive on unpaved roads). We made it through to Reno with little to no problem, but we were fortunate enough to be able to drive earlier in the day, when the roads were just wet and not quite icy. A few other cast members were stuck going later in the day and ended up having to stop at Donner Pass (insert cannibalism joke here) and "chain up" so they wouldn't be ticketed.

Yay! Snow!

When we arrived, we checked in to our hotel, the El Dorado, which is one of three connected hotels that range in price and style. Each contains a casino on both the main and lower floors, along with tons of restaurants, bars, and small shops. There is even a game room in one of them for the underage guests. Luckily, I am over the legal age, so I got to gamble (for the first time ever)! Patrick gave us each an allowance and, surprisingly, we made back more than we spent at the slots. We spent the first day napping after our road trip, having cocktails with our friend Master Delfino, dinner at the buffet with a few other cast members for Victoria's birthday (happy birthday sweetie!), and then some gambling. We went to bed before everyone else because we are old souls, and we woke up the next day completely sober, not hungover, and well rested.

The majestic crew with their YARDS OF STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRI. Jack (the one on the far left) had a plan to get a first down of daiquiri, which meant that they would drink ten yards of the stuff. Here, they have 4 1/2 yards, and I know Jack filled up twice after that and Jeb got in on the goal by purchasing one, as well. No word on whether or not they made their fruity goal. Hehe

My first slot machine! To be honest, I find them more annoying than anything else. I don't like wasting money!

We went to breakfast and then spent the morning walking around the area with Master Delfino, hitting up the pawn shops nearby. Both Delfino and Patrick bought themselves watches, and Patrick paid for a really cool vintage ring with flowers on it (which I would put up a picture of, but I am having it resized) that I wanted to buy for myself. Afterwards we spend the day roaming around, napping, and being anxious about the show that night. Both of us just wanted it to start so we could see the venue and prepare ourselves. We brought all of our really big props and we knew that we would be lugging all of them up a freight elevator to the 4th floor, which we were not looking forward to.

Refills on the yard long daiquiris

The drunk fools of cast. Hey, it's Reno!

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

Lindsey is a monkey! Love her. She's the one who cut my hair :)

Once we finally got there, we started unloading almost immediately. It turned out to be all okay! The venue was HUGE! They provided giant carts for us to roll our props up on, so it only took two or three trips to get everything up to the 4th floor. The University of Nevada, Reno was hosting our show and this year, they fully anticipated a big crowd. We found out when we arrived that they had three entire ballrooms set up and unseparated for the show, along with about 700 seats. The audience filled nearly every single one of them. It was truly incredible. Doing the Reno show was one of the most awesome things I have ever experienced. I can't wait until next year.

Jared as Riff Raff on the freight elevator, which had convenient chairs!

Jeb as Frank in his entrance costume. He danced to Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop"

The half of cast that wasn't too preoccupied for a cast photo

Photo credit: Shannon Wilke

Our trannies! Siobhan, Kirsten, Angela, and Victoria

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

Our gorgeous Colombia, Lindsey

Photo credit: Kirsten Ward

Jack as The Criminologist

Photo credit: Shannon Wilke

Our INSANE audience

Photo credit: Shannon Wilke

After we came home, we pretty much rested all of Wednesday. Patrick taught a class on Thursday and, unfortunately because I had to work the next morning, that night he went to our Halloween show in the city and I stayed home. I really wish I had been able to go, there were some awesome costumes that he got pictures of! According to him, the girl dressed as Ramen Noodles won (rightfully so).

One of those "Wish I had thought of it" moments

Since I wasn't going to be doing anything for Halloween, I decided to do my makeup while Patrick was teaching. Tim Burton's "Red Queen" from the 2010 version of Alice In Wonderland

We spent another day working and being exhausted before we had to be ready for Saturday, which was yet another Rocky show-- but it was a very special show. We started this week with Reno, then moved to Halloween, and then to Saturday's show, which was the Bawdy Caste's 18th birthday and our regular MC Dan-o's very last show. That's right, the Bawdy Caste has been running for 18 years. We're finally legal and Dan-o decides to leave us.

Dan-o, throwing toilet paper at our crowd for the last time.

Boo! But seriously, Dan-o will be missed. I have never seen someone so effortlessly move a crowd to their feet and evoke such excitement from everyone he passes. He is leaving cast in order to pursue a life in politics (I guess wearing fishnets and corsets can totally sabotage your political career-- who knew?). I've only known him for a very short time (for less time than everyone else on cast because Dan-o isn't always able to make shows in the city) but from the moment I met him, I knew he was a wonderful person. Dan-o, on behalf of myself and the rest of the cast, I wish you the best of luck in your pursuits. You'll do well in whatever it is you do!