It seems a little backwards, doesn't it? I honestly cannot remember the last time we had snow before Thanksgiving. It's crazy! We had a fairly mild/warmish September and October with really no frost at all and then all of the sudden the temperatures have plummeted and here it comes. We've got at least three inches right now and it's still snowing. I'm playing a rather odd game of "let's see how long I can wait before I have to turn the heat on." I think I'm winning, with the help of my long underwear, sweat pants, fuzzy socks, slippers, t-shirt, sweatshirt, hat, scarf and blanket. But, I can feel the cold starting to creep in through the layers so I don't know how much longer I'll last, better make some more tea.I'm waiting for Steven to make a safe return home from work, probably in about three hours from now, and hoping that maybe he will want to bundle up and go for a walk with me. I love walking in the snow. It's always so quiet and peaceful and even somewhat whimsical. The snow is beautiful, as long as you don't have to drive in it. I'm secretly hoping that there will be so much when we wake up that Steven won't be able to go to work tomorrow and he'll have to stay home with me, but I don't really think we'll get that much more. I do know, however, that I will be swinging by an auto-supply store later this week to buy some chains for my car. If today's weather is at all indicative of the winter we're going to have, I'm definitely going to need to be prepared.
Steven and I had a really lovely weekend. It's been a busy one for sure and we've hardly seen each other, which is always rather sad, but we hosted Friends Thanksgiving at our house last night and that was wonderful. It's so fun to have friends over and eat good food and play games. I hope we have more opportunities to do it. I'm happy to feed people if they're willing to make the drive :) Actually, I didn't have to do much cooking this time around. I made the salmon and let everyone else bring the rest -- this is FAR less stressful than trying to do the whole thing by myself and I think it's fun for everyone to share food and recipes and be able to contribute something.
Steven had to take the day off yesterday to take a test for one of his firefighter applications and then spent the rest of the day filling out even more applications. I think he has four in the works right now, spanning the whole of Western Washington. I'm feeling rather optimistic about the whole thing. I believe he will get a FF job sooner rather than later. Let's keep praying about this one.
I myself had a rather unique opportunity this weekend. I got to take a master level voice acting class. I've decided I'm going to try my hand (or voice rather) at a career in voice acting. I spent 15 hours in class this weekend along with 13 other aspiring voice actors and a marvelous instructor who has already established himself in the industry. We learned all about technique and how to market ourselves effectively. We practiced analyzing and reading different types of scripts with one another. We discussed how to deliver a commercial verses a narration type piece. We also learned all about how to set up a home studio, making us eligible to work in any market where the clients will accept recorded submissions via e-mail. Over the next three days we will each have the opportunity to spend 2 hours in the recording studio with the instructor recording the scripts that he has selected for each of us. I get to do mine on Tuesday morning. He will coach me through all of the lines and help to make sure that I am delivering them in the best way possible. Then these "demos" (one commercial and one narrative) will be edited and uploaded to my website (yes, I have my own website) and I can start looking for work! I'm really glad that the timing of this class coincides with the business classes I'm taking because as a voice actor I am essentially starting my own small business. The extra lessons in marketing and finances will be a huge help in the next few months as I'm figuring the whole thing out. The other good news is that I now have some excellent resources. The people from Voices for All will always be available to help me out and answer questions as well as the people in the Small Business Assistance Center at Green River Community College.
I'm really excited about the whole thing. It was so refreshing to be in a class where I was actively engaged during every moment. I couldn't get enough of it! I wanted to write every single thing down (and I'm pretty sure I did) and ask questions and share my thoughts... it really was such a rush to be learning something new and to be so enthusiastic about it! I really have Steven to thank. I found out about the class about two and a half weeks ago and I wasn't going to do it. It was a bit of an investment financially and I was feeling a little skeptical about it and was worried about the timing and I didn't want to have to cancel Friends Thanksgiving and I didn't know if I could really do it anyway and on and on and on. I thought of every excuse I could. To be quite truthful, I think I desperately wanted to do it and was just trying to be "reasonable" and talk myself out of it. But Steven shot down every single one of those excuses when I told him about the class and insisted that I call and sign up immediately. I got the last open spot in the class. It was an amazing weekend and I only wish that the class was going to continue on for many more sessions. It was such a safe and comfortable environment and everyone had a blast. We laughed a lot and encouraged and learned from one another. It was so important for us all to learn that we each have something different to offer. There were 15 incredibly different voices in that room and not one was any better or worse than the other. We took time this morning to share our stories and insecurities and visions and I just felt so closely bonded to all of them. Now I feel like I really can do this. It doesn't feel too big or scary or "beyond me" anymore. I will definitely have to put in some hard work and make an effort to get jobs and get my name and demos out there but I'm ready! So who knows, maybe you'll be hearing me on some random web-based training video or on a GPS or on the ads they play when you're "on hold" or pretty much whatever! I'll keep you posted.
For now, it's time to pour another cup of tea and watch the snow fall.
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