Let's start at the very beginning...

So my name is Kirsten.
I've decided to write a blog. I named it "Lights. Karma. Oven." (Well, actually my friend, Roy, named it. Thanks Roy!)
I may regret it later... I would never be so presumptuous to think that I actually have anything important to say; but I figure if Pam Anderson can do it than so can I.

I guess the purpose of this blog is to record all my little successes and failures on my quest to "have it all..." We'll see if I get there. What do I mean by "have it all" you may ask.... let me explain:

1. I'm an actor. Thus the "Lights" portion of the title.
I love to act. I also sing and dance. Which I also love. It's been my honor and pleasure to do that for a living in NYC for about 13 years now. Although my most recent show closed two and a half weeks ago and I am currently unemployed. Ahhhhhh, yes... such is the life of an actor. One day it's kicks then it's kicks in the shins (that's for all you musical theater lovers out there). Anyway, performing fills me with great joy. And, not to toot my own horn, but I think I'm pretty good at it too. I especially like to make people laugh. That's like crack to me. I mean, I've never done crack, but I imagine the feeling I get from having 1100 people laugh at me in a show is how crack addicts feel when they hit the pipe. You just want more and more until you mysteriously end up in the back of a van with a one armed hooker named Doreen heading over the Verrazano Bridge. I digress... I love my work. But as I get older I increasingly feel that I want a little more out of my life. That's not saying I'm not 100 percent committed to my craft (in case any casting directors or producers are reading this). I'm just saying that I don't want to be 70 years old standing in line at the Equity Building for an open call of "7 Brides for 7 Brothers..."
I'm just sayin'...

2. I'm a Buddhist. "Karma."
I've practiced Buddhism for about 8 years now (raised Catholic). Sometimes I've practiced fervently. Sometimes not. But I will say that when my practice has been strong I feel the positive effects in my life. I practice with an organization called the Soka Gakkai International (SGI). We chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (yes, just like Tina Turner did when she ran away from Ike). Without getting too heady, we believe that we can transform the crappy stuff that happens in our lives into sources of growth and compassion; and that if we change ourselves for the better everything around us will change for the better too. Easier said than done, my friends... easier said than done.

As a side note, is everyone enjoying my use of the semi colon? I know I am. I've used two so far and I'm not even sure if I used them properly, but it makes me feel very literary. Although I have a feeling my 8th grade English teacher, Mrs. Alban, would feel differently.

Anyhoo....

3. I'm a food lover. Yes... that's "Oven."
I have always loved food. Some of my favorite memories revolve around eating - my Grammy's ravioli (heaven), experiencing Indian food for the first time (in Portland, Maine of all places at a place called Hi, Bombay), Skyline Chili (I love a three-way), making madeleines with my friend Dan (we needed a special pan and everything!?!), my husband taking me to Morimoto in Philadelphia for my birthday (the Iron Chef himself cooked our meal!!)... I could go on and on. Anyway, somewhere between watching "Babette's Feast" and making my first boeuf bourgignon I fell in love with food. I love to eat it. I love to cook it. And I am becoming increasingly passionate about where our food comes from. This is new to me. On top of being a super picky eater when I was a kid, I was raised almost entirely on McDonald's and processed food. Although, sometimes we liked to shake it up and go to Subway for a "healthy" alternative. I'm not saying these things to make my mother feel bad. She and my dad both worked, like, three jobs each to make sure my sister and I had voice lessons and piano lessons and dance lessons. And we totally had our share of home cooked meals that may or may not have consisted of canned green beans and cubed steak. But it wasn't until I moved to New York and really started cooking that I became more interested in ingredients and where my food actually came from. I started to educate myself. Among other things, I read "Omnivore's Dilemma" and "Food Matters." I watched "Food Inc." I've become involved in starting a food co-op in Queens. And I want to do my part and support local and sustainable agriculture in my community. It's better for my body. It's better for the economy. It's better for the earth. Of course, I'm allowing myself to be a big, fat hypocrite too, because I totally squeezed some industrial, third-world country lemon into my mushroom soup tonight. What can I say? Nobody's perfect...

So to me, I guess "having it all" means acting, singing, dancing, chanting, being compassionate, being courageous, eating, cooking and cheering for the little guys all at once! Well, not literally all at once, but you know what I mean. I'm on a quest for balance and expansion and clarity in my life. I'm tired of defining myself as just one thing because I'm passionate about, well, at least three! And, dag nubbit, I'm gonna blog about it all!!! So here I am... in New York City... a foodie actress on the path to enlightenment.

Lights. Karma. Oven!