Almost a Year Later. . .

As is typical for me, I am remiss in my posting. It's been almost a year, and nothing has really happened to me. Not personally anyway. I did get a full-time position in April, meaning I get paid vacations and insurance and all, so that's cool. Joanna is still unemployed. And stressed. I feel so bad for her, but I don't know what to do to help her. She internalizes her stress and it makes her health take a down-turn.

We're going to be aunts again! Jackie's daughter, Bailey, is 6, and she's just had another baby girl in April: Hayden Mae. And she's pregnant again! She's due next April. And Jennifer is pregnant! She's due to have her first baby in November, a little boy, with a tentative name being Joshua Zachary.

Now we've just got to get Jackie's family moved back to Florida (there's a house next-door to ours that's available), and we'll be one big happy family. :-)

Oh, and I will be doing something for Halloween this year! Provided I'm not working in the evening, of course. I have thrown together a costume (Nessarose) complete with glittering red shoes, and will be handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Now if I can just get Joanna to dress as Elphaba. . .

Happy Wicked Day/Halloween!

I put both in the title, just in case the time changes over to the 31st before I get a chance to post. Today (the 30th) is Wicked Day, the anniversary of the day that Wicked opened on Broadway in 2003. I wore my peridot earrings for the occasion. I couldn't exactly dress up any more because I worked and had to wear my uniform. Anyway, the same goes for tomorrow (in one minute) morning; I work, so I can't dress up. I will, however, be wearing the new black-and-white-striped socks that Joanna bought for me today as a partial Nessarose costume. I'll see if I have some red earrings or something. . .

By the way, Joanna and I have graduated! Woohoo! It's only been, what? A few months since I've posted. . . Funnily enough, the lady I was just complaining about in my last post turned out to be a really nifty friend that I worked with in our final project. True, she wasn't there for the performance (she slept in or something) but she did help write it and stage it and everything. We were at the theatre the night before until at least one or two in the morning. I was back there at probably 8, so I don't really see what the problem was. But I'm not bitter. :-) Her friend was there to see the show and so Beth and I begged her to stand in for Lynne, reading the script onstage. It went okay. Bob, the professor, said he was proud of me for going on with it even though Lynne wasn't there, not being a theatre major and all.

So, anyway, we're still working, Joanna and I, at the museum and Busch Gardens, respectively. Joanna is losing her job in December and doesn't have another one lined up, so I'm a bit concerned there. But she's a smart little cookie and I'm sure she's thinking of something. I've been passed over for a few promotions, all different (Part-time supervisor, Regular kitchen attendant, and Assistant auditor), so I'm a bit fed up with the whole system. They promote people who don't deserve it and some who don't even want it, they just want the paycheck! I would call it quits on applying, but Janet (my manager) says that they'll be opening up some new regular positions at the beginning of the new year, so maybe I'll apply.

And now, Happy Halloween! I won't be trick-or-treating, but I will be home in time to give out candy. I hope we get some kids!

Gideons

Some people make me sick. No, not the Gideons. The ones who make me sick are all of the people who think the Gideons ram religion down their throats.

They were on campus today, passing out New Testaments at each of the buildings. There are a lot of buildings and a lot of Gideons, so I'm sure people are feeling inundated by all of their offers, but still. Why be mean? Outside of my class today, we were talking about it, and this one woman was comparing them to the so-called Evangelists who "preach" outside of Cooper Hall! Now they are cramming it down peoples' throats, screaming and telling everyone they're going to Hell for their sins. The Gideons however are very passive in their approach; they ask you if you want one, holding it out, and if you take it or not, they tell you to have a nice day. I usually take one when they come to campus and politely decline other offers, but I smile and reply to their comments. Why do people have to be so mean?

Song of the Day #2

For some reason, my last two posts weren't showing up, but now they are. Very strange. . . ANYway, here's another completely random song. So random, in fact, that I'm still deciding what song to type. Gimme a sec. . .

Okay, got it. This is from Wicked, a musical about the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch of the North as they grew up together, meeting at school. They started hating each other, then became best friends. This is when they actually began getting along.

Popular

Whenever I see someone less fortunate than I, and let's face it -who isn't?- less fortunate than I. My tender heart tends to start to bleed. And when someone needs a makeover, I simply have to take over. I know I know exactly what they need. And even in your case, though it's the toughest case I've yet to face, don't worry! I'm determined to succeed! Follow my lead and yes, indeed, you will be. . .

Popular! You're gonna be pop-u-lar! I'll teach you the proper ploys when you talk to boys, little ways to flirt and flounce! Ooh! I'll show you what shoes to wear, how to fix your hair. Everything that really counts to be popular. I'll help you be pop-u-lar! You'll hang with the right cohorts, you'll be good at sports, know the slang you've got to know! So let's start 'cause you've got an awfully long way to go. Don't be offended by my frank analysis; think of it as personality dialysis. Now that I've chosen to become a pal, a sister and adviser, there's nobody wiser! Not when it comes to popular. I know about pop-u-lar! And with an assist from me to be who you'll be, instead of dreary who you were. Well, are. There's nothing that can stop you from becoming pop-u-ler. . . -lar. La, la, la-a, la. We're gonna make you pop-u-lar!

When I see depressing creatures with unpreposessing features, I remind them on their own behalf to think of celebrated heads of state or especially-great communicators. Did they have brains or knowledge? Don't make me laugh! They were popular! Please. . . It's all about pop-u-lar. It's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed. So it's very shrewd to be very very popular like me!

*Spoken* And now, I'm going to change your plain old frock into a beautiful ballgown! *waves training wand like a baton* Ballgown. *Nothing happens. Waves it again, furiously.* Ballgown! *Elphaba cowers, but nothing happens. Glinda begins whacking the wand against her bed.* Is this thing on? *Elphaba speaks* Want me to try? *Glinda throws the wand over her shoulder.* Oh just wear the frock. It's pretty! And now, for the finishing touch. . . *She takes the pink flower from her hair and pins it in Elphie's.* Ooh, pink goes good with green. *She hands Elphie a mirror.* Why Miss Elphaba, look at you! You're beautiful! *Elphaba* I- I have to go. *She runs off.* *Glinda* You're welcome. . .

*Glinda sings* And though you protest your disinterest, I know clandestinely. . . You're gonna grin and bear it, your newfound popularity! La, la, la-a, la! You'll be popular! Just not quite as popular as me!

I hate performing

I had to play today in my Intro to Theatre class. Well, I didn't have to play, that's what I chose to do. I think I thoroughly embarassed myself.

Everyone else did really nifty stuff: they read poetry, either original or published; recited stories; talked about their life experiences; and danced. No one else played an instrument. I felt extremely out of place. And it sucked majorly. I didn't think I'd be so nervous. I hardly looked at the class itself, mostly at the music, but I think the Horn psyched me out. I had vibrato, for crying out loud! I never have vibrato when I'm nervous! I don't think I have ever played that badly. At one point, I flubbed some fingerings and had to stop for a second to regain my bearings. Yeah, I sucked. . .

But at least now it's over with. And I know that I am my own worst critic, so hopefully other people don't think it was quite as bad as I do.

Song of the Day #1

I know, I should be sleeping since it is after midnight here, and I have to be at work at 8:30, but I wanted to post something anyway. . .

This song is from Jekyll and Hyde, and is sung by Lucy (Linda Eder). (The picture is a different person, though the correct scene in the show.)

A New Life
A new life. . . What I wouldn't give to have a new life. One thing I have learned as I go through life, nothing is for free along the way. A new start. That's the thing I need to give me new heart. Half a chance in life to find a new part, just a simple role that I can play. A new hope. Something to convince me to renew hope. A new day, bright enough to help me find my way. A new chance. One that maybe has a touch of romance. Where can it be, the chance for me?
A new dream. I have one I know that very few dream. I would like to see that overdue dream, even though it never may come true. A new love, though I know there's no such thing as true love. Even so, although I never knew love, still I feel that one dream is my due.
A new world! This one thing I want to ask of you, world. Once, before it's time to say "adieu world", one sweet chance to prove the cynics wrong. A new life. More and more, I'm sure as I go through life, just to play the game and to pursue life, just to share it's pleasures and belong. . . That's what I've been here for all along! Each day's a brand new life!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2007 everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, but I couldn't think of anything particularly significant to post about. Hopefully this will be a much brighter post than my last one. But first, the bad news: our aunt's dog, Penny, passed away a few days before Christmas. Our aunt had been at work all day, and it hurt her that she couldn't be there when it happened. And then she couldn't get ahold of anyone to tell the news to. Joanna and I got home half an hour after she left a message on our answering machine. We felt so bad. Anyway, things are slowly getting back to some semblance of normal. . .
In other news, the Spring semester has started. The first week has officially ended and we are relatively intact. Joanna has three classes and I have two: Intro to Theatre and Music, Machines and Performance (the latter with Joanna). They seem really interesting.
The theatre class is gonna be kinda scary since it will bring me way out of my comfort zone. We'll be doing a lot of solo and group work. For example, on Wednesday, I have to do a one-minute performance in front of the whole class. Everyone has to do it, anything they want, so long as it will hold the audience's attention. We had one girl today act out being a monkey. Another person told a story about playing mini golf and the trials he had with that, and another person sang a song. There were a lot of monologues and some improv things (people didn't know what to do, so they just talked for a minute). I was thinking about playing an excerpt from a Horn concerto, but I don't know how stupid I'd look. First off, I haven't played in forever. Second, no one else has played anything. How entertaining is a bad rendition of a chopped up Mozart horn concerto? Maybe I'll get a laugh, even though that's not quite what I'm going for. . .
Our Humanities class seems pretty cool. There are a few grad students in there, though, so a bunch of the conversations they have go over my head. Not because I don't understand them, but because they are so rapid-fire they're hard to follow. How can they think that fast with such big words? It's beyond me. :-/ And as long as I can stay awake while my lunch is just starting to kick in midway through class, I should be doing okay.
Graduation is only a semester away! I can't wait!! I only hope I pass all my classes and get my recital attendance done.