12 July 2006

maybe a quarter-life crisis...or just a stirring in my soul

(props to anyone who recognizes the title of this post)

i definitely wouldn't call it a 'crisis', because that term carries such negativity that it doesn't describe at all what life post-25th-birthday has been for me. i would rather say it has been a turning point, or a getting-over-the-early-twenties-plateau, as it were.

un punto de partida.

i also wouldn't call it 'quarter-life'--i mean how many people really live to be 100? maybe someone invented that term so as not to admit that they were probably 1/3 of the way through. (if you're bad with fractions, that's even more than a quarter)

anyway, in light of the irrecuperability of an estimated one-third of my life span, i've decided i'd better start acting like a kid again. taking chances. learning new things. possibly looking stupid and not caring.

it started with the knitting, right around the time of my half-birthday back in december. that's in full throttle now, and you've all got handmade Christmas presents coming up. but knitting is something you can do in the privacy of your own home, and if you make a mistake, no one has to know about it. (except darren, who will attest to the dramatic rise in my use of profanity when i am knitting. and all you people thought it was a relaxing and brainless activity...)

just after the big-two-fiver, i joined a karate class. though i had no previous knowledge whatsoever of karate, it's a freaking blast. and (youngest child--must brag about every little thing!) my sensei said i was progressing really quickly.

even though i can hardly stand up right now due to monday's karate class, i am hooked. not just on karate, but on trying things i'm not sure i can really do.

so last night, on a whim, i auditioned for The Tempest with the fabulous Karen the Great (Karen the Fabulously Great?). i made this decision not knowing that the audition would involve singing.

by myself.

in front of strangers.

those who know me well can imagine my horror at the idea.



and i was cast...
...
...
...
as a member of the chorus.

yes, i am quite shocked. i'm also really excited, especially since the part i was going for (Miranda) might've been a bit much for a super-busy rookie with not as much time to practice as she would like to believe.

(unlike the never-busy-and-actually-quite-lazy (ha!) Karen the Spectacular, who was cast in a lead role as Evil Woman Usurper, a.k.a. Antonia.)

so, if you've ever asked me to sing and i vehemently refused, or if you've never seen karen's evil side, here's your chance!

17 comments:

Anita said...

Hurray for drama! Can't wait to hear you singing!

edumangia said...

¡Glad to read you again! I completely understand the crisis... The "I'm-over-25-and-still-not-living-to-the-full2 feeling dawned upon me on my sixth year in Seminary. It's good to see you can make of that feeling a chance for growth. ¡Adelante!

Rebecca said...

Jenna, I am insanely jealous! I want to be in a play!! I want to be in a play!! You're my hero.

Rebecca said...

Um, you're not quoting big John Mayer there, are you? Because I'm not quite sure how I'd feel about that...

The Rock Lobster said...

Ha, I'm the same way with knitting and profanity. I can be sitting next to Josh and knitting quietly when all of a sudden I'll drop a few stitches as well as a few choice words. Josh generally gets up and moves to the other side of the room. Something about being angry while holding two very long and pointy needles scares him.

And I feel like I INVENTED the "quarter-life crisis" (hate that phrase, but it was all I could think of). But we've discussed our mutual crises already, so I'll leave some space for other ppl to comment.

jmg said...

yes, becca, i own up to my john mayer reference, but i must include a snobbish qualification of this uncharacteristic act: it's a quotation from when he used to write good songs.

scøüpe said...

what if a quarter-life crisis just a mid-life crisis for people doomed to pass early?
mmm, think about that one...
and how is knitting supposed to make you fell young again? i mean, i have nothing against creating with yarn but isn't that typically seen as s trait of older women?

jmg said...

yep. just like it's typically seen as relaxing, but it is not always so.

anyway, it's not the knitting in itself as much as the learning to do new things. that makes you feel like a kid again.

starbuck said...

next you can learn to nat! that'll make you feel REAL young!

as for scoupe's dark POV, i think i had my mid-life crisis from age 16-19. it was all b/c of that damned coke commercial, w/the little kid. it made me want a kid right then & there, & i never stopped wanting one. even w/the 3 i've got now, Jenn still has to keep babies around me, to keep me from bugging her @ having more. luckily, SHE has @ least 1 GOOD SISTER, who's willing to start pumping some out, for me to play w/.

oh, & in case anyone's outta the loop, my newest nickname:

Uncle Best! i LOVE it!

starbuck said...

BTW, being now (gasp, then gulp) 29yrs old, i figure i've got @ 9 yrs left, before i've either gotta keel over, or have another md-life crisis.

hear that, fro? if you want your kids to know their Uncle Best, you better get goin'!

scøüpe said...

yeah fro, when are you gonna start with the kids? i mean, you've been married over a year now -- it's time to start doing your part for the superior race.

jmg said...

what's that, OLDER brother? WHO should be first to have kids? better hurry up and find you a woman!

starbuck said...

seriously, scoupe. i think i know somebody...

"CHICKEN WING!! i mean, APPLE SAUCE! i mean, STOP TALKING, IDIOT!!! you'll jinx it!"

starbuck said...

also, i don't think anyone blonde is allowed to say, "superior race," or anything of the sort...

Rebecca said...

I think I remember who Jenna is... She's this girl who used to blog a long time ago.

taylor said...

OKay...one. John Mayer(I can always use props, but so can you now Drama Girl). :-) Second: I do not curse while knitting. I am too arrogant to admit I have just made a mistake, so I go on without fixing the problem usually. Unless it's a really big deal, then I take everything off the needle and start over again from the beginning which is why I never finish ANYTHING that I knit.
And. I think you can sing really well. I have heard you. Same league as Rob, well...maybe :-)

The Rock Lobster said...

Update your blog! Now that I have a job, I need more ways to procrastinate.