Life is good.

It feels really good to say that, actually. Especially since I'm not even lying to myself when I say it.

Now that I'm knee-deep in classes, I'm really starting to find and develop my niche. My theater classes have given me new peeps to hang out and talk theater with, like Kendal, Jenna, and Jason. Being thespians, it's always rather entertaining and helps me get through class at times.

I had my first auditions on Saturday, probably one of the single most nerve-wracking experiences in my life. Not only did I have to use my own material, I was doing this in a room full of people that were obviously older than me. I was auditioning alongside people who had performed in the Montana Rep! Still, I did rather well in the audition and was called back on Sunday, which was just about as nerve-wracking. Now, I was definitely the youngest guy in the room, called back to play the romantic lead (Fenton in Merry Wives of Windsor). Rather awkward, but fun, pretending to fall in love with actresses that were obviously older than me that I had not met until then. Still, I held my ground, and I think I did rather well. I shall wait and see what happens. Even if I don't get a part, it was still really exciting to be back on stage again after a long time. Even performing for five people was as exhilarating as acting in front of a full house.

Outside of classes, I've actually been developing social skills, something I hadn't entirely exercised for a year or two. Sarah's 18th birthday was last Wednesday, so a bunch of us conspired and gave her a pretty cool surprise party in the study lounge of Knowles hall. Even though half the people there didn't know her, she was still pleasantly surprised and had a fun night.
I did as well. As is the norm, I was one of very few males in there. So, I took this opportunity to chat with her dorm-mates, and ended up in this long discussion with a fellow music geek named Jayme. We were still debating our respective favorite Beatles albums after the party was over.
So, overcoming every single mental block that I had, I asked if we could hang out the next night. So we did, and we ran into her friend Kelcie. She seemed kinda weird and off-the-wall, but in a charming way. As we hung out, Kelcie and I hit it off rather well. We wandered a bit into town, eventually making our way to a record store where I bought my first vinyl records. I picked up two used 7" singles of The Beatles' "Come Together" b/w "Something" and Paul McCartney's "Band on the Run" b/w "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five", as well as a new copy of Arcade Fire's "Keep The Car Running" b/w "Broken Window". All of them are prominently on display in my room.

After that night, I got a message from Kelcie asking if I wanted to hang out. I graciously accepted. So we hung out until 3 in the morning. The next day, after auditions, we hung out again until the wee hours of the morning, watching Monty Python and Sweeney Todd. During this time we found out that we really actually liked each other. So, we shall see where that goes.

Overall, though, I've just been having fun here in Missoula. And hopefully I'll update this blog a little more regularly!