(UPDATE: I'm currently in central Florida for the next few months while I sort out being able to legally live in London again. I'll be moving back to London in February or March or so, but I'd still like to make the most of the connections I have here, not just toss them aside when I leave.)

I'm a musician, teacher, performer and lots of other things that don't really end in "er". Lately I've been finding my focus has moved more towards acting and theatre. I'm trying desperately not to call myself an actor, though...something about that is just weird for me.

I don't know if we're the sum of our experiences, but as I look back at various jobs and roles I've had, it's been really interesting. Among other things, I've been:

- A Domino's Pizza delivery driver
- An orchestral flutist
- Library assistant
- A paper delivery girl
- A server
- A roller coaster operator
- Keyboard player in an Afro-pop band
- Girl Scout leader
- Horse barn manager and riding instructor
- A church soloist
- A facilitator in anti-oppression trainings
- An opera conductor
- An opera singer
- A marching band drill instructor
- A wedding singer
- An educator at a zoo
- A visiting lecturer at a University
- A special needs teacher

And back to something closer to the present....

A couple of years ago, I left my home and career back in Boston in the States to live and study here in London.Now I've just finished my master's degree in theatre and am in the process of rejoining the real world in search of fulfillment and work. When I'm not working (work is hella interesting though), I'm outside, playing frisbee (though not as much since I've arrived in London), walking around London, or thinking up practical jokes to play on people. I also love traveling and prefer a backpack to a suitcase and hostels to hotels. Though maybe I should grow up a bit, I don't know. Now that I'm done with my studies, I intend to take full advantage of traveling around this year and seeing places and people in new ways.

Contributing to the well being of the world is important to me. Shaking up the status quo is important too, whether it's shaking it up in my own life, or how I see things.

I'm pretty liberal too.

Carving it out with a blunt edged sword.

You know that Edward Monkton drawing of life with the wrinkled up line all piled up and the the guy next to it looking rather confused? That's a good description of what I'm doing with my life...but not in a bad way, just in a human way.

Looking for creative work and sometimes being lucky enough to find it. I work in various performing projects when they come up and direct a little community choir in Notting Hill (always looking for more singers)

In the meantime, during the day, I teach a class of severely autistic kids and while it's not what I set out to do when I came here, I do really enjoy the work. I've learned to never pass up experience in anything when it's offered to you. And this is a pretty full-on, hard, amazing experience. Ask me about it and I'd be happy to tell you...

I'm also beginning PhD research in the performing arts and looking for funding to continue it.

Other than that, getting out, hanging out and exploring.....

UPDATE: Looks like I'll be spending some time in central Florida from mid-March until the summer, when I will be returning to London. Boo for missing my friends in London and England, but feel free to drop me a line if you're in Florida! (or want to visit)

I just got a job at Sea World working as an educator. Yet another scenic twist of my twisty career path. But I get to be around animals and do conservation work, so that's cool.

Most things involved with music, playing the flute, hearing songs and playing them back or writing them down, singing, massage (seriously, international acclaim), getting groups of kids to do what I want, riding horses, hearts, some selected video games, listening to people and understanding what they're going through.

Also, I recently found out that I'm really good at teaching severely autistic teens. Dunno what that says about me though...

Umm...I'd love to say my bright eyes or glowing smile, but I think it's my moppy hair at this point.

Also, I've been told that this profile makes me seem much more serious than I actually am in real life.

All of these are constantly in flux:

a. Anything by Tom Robbins, Noam Chomsky, Neil Gaiman, Tolkein. I really liked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and live by Kenny Werner's Effortless Mastery. I've recently rekindled my love of Carl Sagan. His writings just make me fall in love with the world, the universe and all the crazy people in it all over again. He was a scientist with the soul of an artist and a poet.

b. Donnie Darko, American Beauty, Spirited Away, O Brother Where Art Thou, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harvey, Lost in Translation (for the atmosphere) and many more that I can't think of at the moment. Most TV I get from my computer, and recently got addicted to Heroes. I do love Doctor Who as well. David Attenborough's Planet Earth will literally make my heart beat faster when I watch it and watching Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" series as a kid shaped a lot of how I see the world. I'm not really one who judges people based upon what they like and don't like, but I will say that if you loved "Dancer in the Dark" we will have words. That movie was so bad on so many levels that I will vehemently tell you what I think about it and why :)

c. This has really been shifting and growing for me. For a long time, when I listened to music, I mainly focused on the harmony and melody and music side of it...not so much with the words. But that's really changed for me this year and words really get me now. But I'll always have a soft spot for crazy orchestral music. That being said, here goes:

Classical: Ravel, Mahler, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff (Especially the Symphonic Dances), Bartok, Menotti, and other more specialized composers like Christpher Rouse and Ades and so forth.

World: Fela Kuti, Lunasa, Solas, Afro Celt Sound system, most of the Putomayo artists.

Punk: Sleater Kinney, The Donnas, Me First and the Gimme Gimme's,Propaghandi.

Other Random stuff: Movie soundtracks, King Missile, The Dandy Warhols, Cake, Portishead, Poe, etc. Through my friends I've recently discovered the likes of Banco Di Gaia, Matthew Herbert, Wax Tailor, Sarah Blasko, The Magnetic Fields, and more. I'm always looking and would love to have the chance to create some if it as well.

d. Bubble Tea!!

Hmmm....

I've just had a bit of a think about this one. I used to have a list up here with stuff, and things, but I've been realizing that there are a lot of things that I've managed to do without just fine.

Except for friends, family, and my sense of self. Those were the only things that remained constant in one way or another. So I'll just have to add three more random things to make it a list of six.

llamas

the little rubber knobs on the bottom of my phone

poems on the Underground

How to live my life ethically and well.

Liminality.

Lonely old people.

What other people's lives must be like and what their stories are.

The rapid privatization of water and it's consequences.

Whether or not Fair Trade is worth the tacit permission it gives to liberal westerners to still over-consume our share of resources by getting us to feel less guilty about it.

How I'm going to pay for a PhD.

Why most of the people on here are white.

What I'm going to do next with my life.

Wondering why the fuck I'm still single.

Marveling at how amazingly wonderful it can be in all it's messy, gooey, beautiful glory...

Honestly, I don't know. Sometimes I'm out with friends, sometimes I'm in recovering, sometimes I'm in a show, oftentimes I find myself riding a train.

I was arrested for being stupid once. (Not really a hugely private thing, but more of a conversation starter)

I'm really afraid of robots. No really, they seriously freak me out.

Certain episodes of Pingu will bring a tear to my eye.

Oh yeah,and despite my rather atheistic leanings, Kurt Vonnegut talked me into going to church and I still go.

fish

(if you can include your eyes when you smile)

If you would like to ride roller coasters with me. The scarier the better...(I mean the coasters...unless you're talking about the "It's a Small World" ride at Disney...that's just too scary for me)

Or if you can teach me poi...I really really really want to learn that this summer!

If you happen to be Louis Theroux, then please message me! You rock!

(and while I'm not a fan of negatives, I feel the need to leave just this little note: I'm not really going to be impressed by your money. I mean, if you make lots of it and drive a fancy car or something, I'll do my best not to hold it against you because who am I to judge? But at the same time, it'll probably be something I'll have to get past)