Scintilla day 1: who am I?

It’s here, it’s here! Finally, the first day of the Scintilla Project. I would be remiss if I didn’t say how proud I am of these three women who got this who project up and running. Love them!

Today, we were given two prompt options, and I’m going to answer this one, all stream-of-consciousness style:

Who are you?

I’m Amanda.

I’m a lifelong Connecticut resident. And as much as I want to live somewhere much warmer, I’m here for the foreseeable future. Probably forever. This is where my family and the bulk of my friends are, so this is where I will be. Also, the beach is 40 minutes away. I cannot imagine not having a beach close by. My goal upon retirement is to have a house at the beach, either here or in San Diego. And to be a mall walker, but that’s another story.

I’m 38. I find that somewhat shocking. THIRTY EIGHT. I want to be OK with turning 40 next year (you know, after I turn 39 in September, LET'S NOT RUSH THINGS), but there is a part of me that is decidedly not OK with that. It’s better than the alternative, I know….but really? 38? When did that happen? Do I look 38? What does that even mean?

I’m married to Greg. He’s a business guy, an entrepreneur. His brain works completely differently than mine. He is in a band. He plays guitar. He sings. He watches CNBC a lot. He’s a boat captain. We have a boat. You can find us there all summer. He is completely obsessed with that boat. He is also completely obsessed with U2. We laugh.

I’m a mother. I have a 4 ½ year old daughter, Jane. Sometimes I can’t believe I’m a mother. I didn’t want to have kids until my early 30s. I’m not always a patient mother, sometimes I’m a selfish mother, but I try my best. I’m stricter than I thought I’d be. I’m way more fearful than I thought I’d be. I want the world to treat her well, but I know, at best, she will go through the heartbreaks we all go through. I want to protect her, but I know the best thing I can do sometimes is to do the opposite of that. I loathe every story I read online about bullying. It scares the shit out of me. She is my light, that girl. I am inordinately proud of my sassy kid. She is a drama queen. Like her mama.

I’m a theater dork. I’ve been obsessed with theater for many, many years. I worked in theater for 11 years. I do tons of community theater. I’ve directed, acted, produced, stage managed, and every other backstage and front of house role you can imagine. I’ve sat on the board of my community theater for 16 years. Many of the friends I’ve made through theater are as close as family. I get twitchy when I’m not doing a show. I know I can’t do shows as much as I used to, because it means I’m away from home and Jane three nights a week. It’s a balance, and sometimes it's hard (see the part where I said I'm sometimes a selfish mom). I’m DYING to start a show again, and have something brewing beginning in April. I love seeing shows almost as much as I love doing them. My favorite musical is RENT, which I’ve seen 22 times. The first time was in 1997, less than a year after it opened on Broadway, with the original Broadway cast. My friend and I went to NYC and spent nearly all of our money on tickets because we wanted to see it so badly. We had enough left over for a slice of pizza and a train ride home. So worth it. The first show I saw on Broadway was Les Miserables, and the most recent one was Arcadia. I'm going to see Anything Goes next week.

I love my friends beyond reason. I’m lucky to have a group of best friends that I’ve been tight with for over 30 years. That’s insane, right? I wish I saw my friends more. It’s hard, you know? Work, kids, activities – there are a lot of roadblocks. I am psyched that summer is coming. Summer = more friend time, including a week away at a rented house in RI with my peeps. PSYCHED. Vacationing with my friends is one of my adult dreams come true.

I am obsessed with the weather beyond all reason. Specifically – good weather. The kind of weather we’ve been having this spring in CT. It’s supposed to be in the high 70s next week. Do you have any idea how crazy that is?? It makes me so so happy. Everyone is walking around in a daze, in flip-flops and shorts. And it's not even officially spring yet!

I am extremely sarcastic and snarky. But, you know. With love.

I work in marketing at a college. And that’s about all I will ever say about work on this space.

I am a bleeding-heart liberal.

Other things I am obsessed with:

Bookstores - specifically, the smell of real books with real pages, not Kindle pages

Mad Men

Downton Abbey

Giltter

Salsa

Gossip mags

Showtunes

NYC

San Diego

Carbs (this is because I am on a terrible, terrible, carb-less diet right now called The 17 Day Diet. I am literally shaking as I write this because I am so hungry. I am on DAY TWO. It is a HOLY NIGHTMARE. I need to lose 10 lbs.)

Cake

Purple

Reading

Iced coffee (it’s spring!!)

My two dogs

The beach

Shrimp

So, that’s me, right now, this minute, in a nutshell.

Hi.