August Bootcamp 2012: Action and Adventure

August was a good and yet challenging month.

Although we had plans to spend 10 days in Crete, we did not manage to go away. Still, A. and I, spent some time together and we went to two exhibitions. I also cooked a three-course meal; we hoped to have a candle-lit dinner under the stars on the terrace, but the weather did not allow us to do so, and we ended up at my mum’s dining room.

It’s really difficult seeing your partner in pain and not being able to do anything to make the pain go away. All I could do was to be there for him.

Many people take good health as a given. Enjoying good health is such a precious gift. This month has taught me that we should savour every single moment and that we should appreciate and be grateful for all positive things in our lives.

Towards the end of the month, I felt the need to spend sometime by myself, not focusing on goals, not being proactive or productive. As a result, I did not follow my fitness routine (gym/exercise/diet) and I did not complete my reading. Similarly, we have not made any progress with the interior decor (lighting and curtains).

September is going to be busy!

Action:
1. Exercise daily
2. Complete all reading for ancient greek drama workshop/seminar
3. Buy pendant lights and visit curtain shop to get some ideas –
4. Contact two places to enquire about drama teaching to school children (DONE)
5. Go to the gym daily

Adventure:
1. Rehearse with Helix (DONE)
2. Hair treatment at the salon (DONE)
3. Go to one exhibition – there is another one that seems interesting and ends on the 29th of Aug. (DONE)
4. Celebrate A.’s name day
5. Engage with at least 1 more idea of Kerri Smith

Action:
1. Exercise daily – I am quite persistent with this one, so all is well!
2. Complete all reading for ancient greek drama workshop/seminar – It’s quite intense and complex. My plan is to do around 40-50 pages per day.
3. Finish “Sister” – Done! I loved it!
4. Go to audition – At the end, I decided not to go to the audition. I was not prepared and it was impossible to prepare a monologue in one day. It made me realise that I need to work on a few monologues and build an “audition repertoire” so I am all set to go when another opportunity comes up. I think I will revisit this goal around the end of September, when life will be less hectic. I wonder whether I should ask T.’s help…
5. Buy pendant lights and visit curtain shop to get some ideas – We still need to do this; still my main concern is picking colours for painting and decorating.
6. Check out new gym – renew my gym membership – I decided to join this new gym and I am going tomorrow.
7. Contact two places to enquire about drama teaching to school children (I have already spoken to the people who own the schools and they seem interested in offering me some work) – No progress on this goal. I need to contact them by Friday.
8. Go to job interview – I went to job interview and it went well. However, I was asked to consider a completely different role to what I expected. I am not sure whether I should go down the administration route or stick with what I love (teaching and performing). Not sure whether to call them as I am not sure I want to go for it!

Adventure:
1. Rehearse with Helix – We resume rehearsing tomorrow. I hope the timetable works out and there are no clashes with the seminar/workshop I intend to attend in September.
2. Hair treatment at the salon – Booked for Friday.
3. Go to one exhibition – We actually went to two exhibitions this week. Papagiannis’ sculptures were ethereal. Breathtakingly beautiful!
4. Celebrate A.’s name day – End of August and no plans yet.
5. Engage with 2 ideas of Kerri Smith – I completed the one about recording all sounds in the course of an hour. It was a rather meditative exercise/experience focusing only on the auditory.

Well, August is coming to an end in 11 days so I thought it would be a good idea to reflect upon my progress so far.

It has been quite quiet in Athens the last 10 days due to the holiday season so I was not able to do too much relating to going to the gym (closed for the holidays), pursuing job opportunities and auditions, and finalising tasks relevant to the flat renovation.

Still, I made ice-cream as well as a frozen desert for the first time and both came out delicious! I cooked a lovely meal for my boyfriend and we had dinner, however it came to an almost abrupt ending due to some health issues he is facing (nothing to do with my cooking!). Anyway, we had a lovely time and I would like to cook for him again some time soon (maybe to celebrate his name day?).
Unfortunately, we did not do anything special for my sister’s name day as the family returned from their holiday that day and needed time to relax.

Our rehearsals with Helix have not commenced yet – we start rehearsing on Thursday until the end of August and we resume sometime in mid September. It’s an exciting outdoor theatre spectacle and I wish I could join the theatre company as a permanent member.

Similarly, I haven’t had my hair treatment at the salon yet. It’s booked for next week and I really look forward to it.

I have been keeping myself busy with reading and studying. I finished Maggie O’Farrell’s “After you’d gone” and I started Rosamund Lupton’s “Sister”, which I love. When it comes to studying for the upcoming workshop, I have been trying to do a bit every day, but still has lots to do (ideally I would like to finish all the material by the end of August and do a bit of revising in early September before we start).

I have also been exercising daily at home, but I miss my cardio sessions at the gym. I am considering joining a new gym which is closer to home (so I don’t have to rely on public transport and taxis and it will save me time on commuting) and I am going to check it out tomorrow. Otherwise, I will join the previous gym…

I started juice fasting as a means of detoxing and losing a bit of weight. Today is day 6 and I am thinking of completing a 7 day fast.

With regard to job hunting and performance opportunities, I’ve got an interview tomorrow for a teaching post and an audition coming up on Wednesday. I definitely need to prepare for the audition so I need to do a lot of work on it in little time. I was contemplating not going but both my mum and my boyfriend urged me to go for it!
Perhaps towards the end of this week or next week, I could chase up some previous emails I sent to see whether there are any possibilities for work opportunities.

Perhaps at some point this week, A. and I could go and check out the stores for the curtain poles and curtain designs as well as the lighting pendants.

Unfortunately, I have been quite busy and unable to work on my Kerri Smith scrapbook. Perhaps I should focus on a couple of ideas to complete before the end of the month?

The new plan for the remaining of August is as follows:

Action:
1. Exercise daily
2. Complete all reading for ancient greek drama workshop/seminar
3. Finish “Sister”
4. Go to audition
5. Buy pendant lights and visit curtain shop to get some ideas
6. Check out new gym – renew my gym membership
7. Contact two places to enquire about drama teaching to school children (I have already spoken to the people who own the schools and they seem interested in offering me some work)
8. Go to job interview

Adventure:
1. Rehearse with Helix
2. Hair treatment at the salon
3. Go to one exhibition
4. Celebrate A.’s name day
5. Engage with 2 ideas of Kerri Smith

It’s definitely going to be busy!!!

Action:
1. Exercise daily
2. Study for workshop/seminar on ancient greek drama
3. Check out any upcoming auditions and go for it if an opportunity arises
4. Read two books
5. Renew my gym membership as soon as the gym opens again
6. Contact studios and enquire about teaching opportunities
7. Buy pendant lights, check out curtain poles and curtain designs, make a decision about bathroom cabinets

Adventure:
1. Make ice-cream (DONE)
2. Cook a three-course meal for A. (DONE)
3. Go to at least 2 art exhibitions
4. Celebrate my sister’s name day
5. Rehearse with helix
6. Try new hair treatment at the salon
7. Kerri Smith’s ideas

Many things have happened since I wrote my initial ideas about August Bootcamp.
Firstly, my amazing bf has been feeling unwell and as a result we cancelled our holiday to Crete. We are still going away to my family’s summer house nearby, so at least we will be able to get away from the city and enjoy a few days by the seaside.
Furthermore, I joined an amazing theatre group who are working on a street theatre performance, scheduled for the 22nd of Sep. It’s an amazing opportunity and I feel ever so grateful for having this opportunity. We are currently on a break but we will be rehearsing from the 23rd of August onwards.
Finally, I got offered a place to attend this series of workshops on Ancient Greek Drama, run by Stanford University staff members. Although the sessions do not start till September, I was given lots of reading to do.
As a result of all these developments, I feel I need to revise my action and adventure plan.

Action:
1. Keep going to the gym.
2. Contact studios and enquire about teaching opportunities – check opportunities with existing network and establish new contacts.
3. Apply and go to any upcoming auditions.
4. Apply for volunteering roles.
5. Read three books.

Adventure:
1. Take lots of photographs whilst on holiday.
2. Try traditional Cretan cuisine.
3. Go to a couple of art exhibitions.
4. Go swimming.
5. Kerri Smith’s ideas.
6. Make ice-cream.
7. Have candle-lit dinner under the stars.
8. Rehearse with Helix theatre group.