Winter Blues

MSN News Report:

Travel bans, power outagesIn Ohio, the winter blast was blamed for the death of a 9-year-old girl struck by a falling tree limb and the State Highway patrol was investigating the death of a man who was driving a tractor-trailer when it ran off the road and into a ditch and hit a tree.
Sheriff’s offices in several west, northwest and north central Ohio counties closed roads to all but emergency workers Wednesday morning, many extending bans that began Tuesday; anyone else caught driving could be arrested.
Power outages were reported in several states, among them Maryland with 107,000 customers losing and at least 108,000 in Ohio, mostly because of ice snapping power lines.
Schools across Ohio remained closed Wednesday for a second day, many exceeding the five days allowed for bad weather or other emergencies, meaning they’ll be required to make up the days.
Classes also were canceled at several college campuses, including Ohio State, and Cleveland Municipal Court was closed Wednesday. In Columbus, supervisors were told they could allow nonessential employees to report to work two hours late.
More than 14,000 customers were blacked out in northern Kentucky.

Courtesy of:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17145277/

Pleasant Suprise

Yes, Valentine's Day is a Hallmark holiday, but both Matt and I enjoy being together and giving each other gifts. This holiday is one that we've never been able to share. Since the beginning, we have always been separated by the theatre... Matt's mistress... ha ha. Anyway, he is typically in the midst of a show and has never been able to pull away to spend time for Valentines. It's okay... I don't mind. Luckily for us, we have romance quite often and we don't need one day to share our love for each other. So due to the terrible weather we've been having, both of us stayed home from work yesterday. I was so excited to sleep in next to Matt, and have breakfast with him, that I broke down and gave him his gift a day early... A wireless Xbox controller and Chocolate... what more could a man want? :) He was pretty suprised and very happy. Matt decided that since we were having a spontaneous Valentine's Day, that he would make dinner for us. It was great. Red roses and all! How lucky are we that we were given a day together in the midst of such a busy time for both of us?! We could share a romantic dinner, a movie and a day together. It was a pleasant suprise.

Two Weeks

Two weeks until Matt is done with his thesis show. An important aspect of him acheiving his Master's is designing writing a thesis on a show in his final year. Ironically, Matt will be designing The Full Monty... I say ironically, because Matt's first show was Quills. Now... if anyone has seen or read Quills, they may have an understanding of why I feel there is irony here. For those of you who have not had the pleasure...the main character is nude the entire second half of the show... fully nude. So on the subject of nudity (particularly male)... I find it terribly ironic that his last show is the Full Monty... and it contains full male nudity... fortunately for us... we do not see "junk"... but booties....





So, he has two weeks until the show closes and he is able to tackle the job of writing his thesis. Until then, he has two days of load in (setting up), two weeks of rehearsal and no sleep. I pity the guy... and do my best to support him when he is stressed and fatigued.



It is fantastic to see how much growth Matt has sustained through the past three years (did I say three years?!... I can't believe it's been three years!)... and how much confidence he has aquired through the harsh and unfriendly atmosphere of CCM (Cincinnati Conservatory of Music)... Matt has learned that no one else can determine your own personal success... this has to be appreciated by one's self.

So... as we venture into the thick of this show, I will of course never cease from teasing Matt for the "artistic beauty" of The Fully Monty (ha ha), and listening to his vantage point and opinions of those involved in the production. The show is not being presented in any creative way, but for every production, there are always differences due to the casting and personalities of the designers. I am eager to see it for myself.

Matt has a thesis blog for you to view... http://thesisdesign.blogspot.com/index.html

Winter Beauty

Cincinnati doesn't offer much as far as scenic beauty goes, but the snowfall was so pretty that I had to post some photos.

This was outside of town (obviously)...

The view of Kentucky from the banks of the Ohio river in Cincinnati.

I believe this is part of the Little Miami River... it flows through the Eastern portion of Cincinnati..

Cincinnati does not get very much snow in comparison to other portions of Ohio, so when we have more than just a few inches fall, the city goes crazy. For most people, it took about 3 hours to get home from work in the evening. The city was gridlock... so with the negative energy that vibes, it's great to be able to stop and appreciate the beauty of weather.

Can't Wait

Can't wait to get out of the MidWest... it is currently 5 degrees out today and it's lunch time. The cold is biting and I could feel my nose hairs freezing as I walked through the parkade this morning. Like a gentleman, Matt warmed the car up this morning and it was sweet bliss as the warmth enveloped us from the cold outside. Event the house is cold... only a fool would go without socks and pants... brrr! We have a small heater fan that we shuffle around the apartment depending on what room we are spending the most time in.

Salting the roads out here is common practice, as we have less rain to wash the roads off. The practice of "salting the roads" is done daily, and eventually the roads appear to be white. This salt kicks up onto our cars, coating them and if not washed off, it will eat through the paint on the car. This is discouraging, as we have a "newer" truck that has already aquired small paint and rust scratches on the bumper. Hmmm.

So.. we look forward to a more temperate climate, where we can let out the cat without fearing her freezing to death. Yea... it's that bad. We can be outside without losing a finger to frost bite after 15 minutes. We can pay less than 200 dollars to heat a small apartment. It will be so nice.