It's a miracle

I don't know about you, but I have a difficult time when it comes to Christmas shopping. I never know what to get people ... unless they tell me, that is!

For whatever reason, this year I heard from a lot of people who had begun their shopping in November. Those are the early birds with plans. Good for them. :)

But I? Io? Yo? I didn't start until today. And here's the great part: Although I worried about it for a long time, I managed to start and finish Christmas shopping in one day! I bought gifts from two stores and came home in less than two hours. Yay! :) That's a new record for me. I hope I can duplicate it in the future.

Now, I just need to do a bit o' gift wrapping. At least the hard part's over!

This is it, people

Just gotta turn in my final paper and take my final final exam. Then I'm a college grad! Wow. Almost can't believe it.

It feels like I just started college, but I know a lot has happened since I started college in 2002. Time flies. My memory is just giving me the condensed version of my college years.

Well, I can't wait to enjoy the holidays with friends and family. Plus, I can start to learn how to play the violin! Thanks, Mom! I'm going to read a ton of books and, I hope to write some music. Basically do all the things that I've put on hold. This is going to be sweet. :)

In song titles

One day more!
This is my December.
Standing on the edge.
Something's coming.
A whole new world.
You'll see.

:)

(Les Miz, Linkin Park, Michelle Branch, Stephen Sondheim, Tim Rice, Jonathan Larson)

Snow!

It finally snowed yesterday and last night! Everything looks beautiful and peaceful under a blanket of snow. :)

I woke up this morning and worried about the drive. I've never driven in the snow before. Dad gave me lots of good tips though, and, well, here I am at UW! The traffic was definitely lighter on I-5, and my bus actually arrived at UW 15 minutes early. There's no snow here in Seattle. They missed out!

Senioritis B

For cryin' out loud, these last two weeks of school are killing me. I'm swamped in all my classes.

One of my friends described this time period like the last two weeks of a job: it drags on and on. She's completely right.

Eight class days to go. Frankly, that's eight too many.

It didn't snow last night. Sadness.

Texas-sized Weekend

This was the first Thanksgiving I'd ever spent outside Washington state, and I gotta say I loved the change of scenery, air, weather, etc. Especially the weather. Now I'm freezing. What a contrast. It's supposed to snow tonight.

Funniest thing I heard all weekend? It was on the radio when Jason and I were heading back to Austin from San Antonio:

"What's up, San Antonio? It's 64 degrees -- a little chilly, chilly." LOL! Chilly chilly.

Traveling the day before Thanksgiving was surprisingly smooth. Thanksgiving in Houston was nice. The food was delicious and very filling. I could only eat one plate of food. On Friday, Jason and I saw Rent (AWESOME MOVIE!!!!). Later we had dinner at Hula Hut (which serves tacos, enchiladas, burritos, etc.). After that, Jason and his friend took me around the bars downtown. After seeing Austin, I could definitely tell why Jason moved there. Good choice, bro. On Saturday we went to San Antonio, visited the Alamo and went to the River Walk.

Sexiest Man Alive

Yes, yes, it's Matthew McHoweveryouspellit. It's been covered in the news, and every single time I hear the words "sexiest man alive," I can't help but sing the song from Princesses. "The sexiest man alive is coming to our school. If I don't die, excuse me if a drool." Hehehe. Where's Janice when I need her to sing with me?

"The sexiest man alive will stand ten feet from me. I fainted twice in Hunter Manning Three."

All together now:

"The sexiest man alive
We worship on the screen
Right here at Reardon School in Room 19
Right off the front of People Magazine"

Heh heh. :) I told you Princesses would hold a special place in my heart (and apparently in my memory).

Allison, the former intern

Sunrise, sunset

I must be in the mood for Fiddler on the Roof or something. "Tradition" *was* the last song I listened to on my way home today. My iPod was on shuffle. I love that feature.

Anyway, just wanted to comment that today I drove to the park & ride before sunrise, and I didn't arrive at home till after sunset.

And all I want to do is sleep. Sheesh.

Perhaps the one hour I actually enjoyed today was my Italian class, but we tackled demonstrative adjectives, and that killed some brain cells, me think. I was sitting pretty with the definite and indefinite articles. Perche, Signore, Perche?

I need a change of scenery. Apparently, we have stagnant air here in the Northwest. Gross. The trip to visit Jason is lookin' mighty nice. Austin, here we come!

Senioritis A

I am so ready to be done with school. At the same time, I've never really let up on just how much work I pour into my classes. Ugh. Sometimes I disgust myself with how much I care. Wouldn't it be nice to not care so much? I can't though. That's not me.

Sure, I'll procrastinate, but in the end, I work my ass off. My expectations were set high long ago. It's kinda weird that I put that much pressure on myself, but I do.

It's almost time to pour all that energy into something else. And the thought of not having homework keeps me going, especially when it's tempting to blow everything off. But I won't.

The end of college is near. Eighteen days to go!

When you wish upon a TAR

I didn't know there'd be two hours of The Amazing Race yesterday. At the end of the first hour, I thought to myself, "I wish I didn't have to wait until next week to see the next episode." And my wish came true! :) Ah, I love Sweeps.

TAR is my favorite reality TV show, I have to say. However, there are some things about it -- regardless of the season -- that really irk me. The way that couples (or families, this time) talk negatively behind other teams' backs is terrible. And the way that some couples have talked badly about the places they get to visit just appalls me. Yes, they are free to express their opinions, but sometimes it's aggravating. Hence, the rant!

ANYway, if you watch TAR, have you noticed how the families label each other by geographic location (Cincinnati boys, Florida team) or, more interestingly, by a TV show family? The Brady Bunch. The Desperate Houswives. The Cleavers. At least I think it's interesting.

Quick note about Gilmore Girls: Logan WAS/IS a jerk! And I never thought I'd say this, but I rooted for Jess in last night's episode. I've never rooted for Jess. Glad to see a turning point for Rory.

Top Ten

Sweet. According to iTunes, here are the songs I listen to the most:

"Ice Cream" by Sarah McLachlan ... a true gem of a song, no wonder I play it so much

"True" Ryan Cabrera ... thank goodness for iTunes, I really only wanted this song, and now I have it

"Collide" Howie Day ... doo doo doo, doo doo doo ... radio has its purpose: to introduce awesome songs like this one :)

"Run Away" BBMak ... I haven't listened to this song in a few years. Missed it. Yay BBMak!

"There's a Fine, Fine Line" from Avenue Q ... my anthem right now, I think. Move over "I Wish I Could Go Back to College."

"Rhyme and Reason" by Adam Pascal ... best song from Model Prisoner, imo

"You and Me" by Lifehouse ... the reason why I bought the CD. Love this song. "Blind" is also a great follow-up (it's the song I would want to write if I could), but "Come Back Down" is quickly becoming my new favorite.

"Runaway" by The Corrs ... a blast from the mid-1990s past! It's an addicting song.

"Believe" by Josh Groban ... I'm excited for the upcoming holiday season. :)

"Wanting Out" Michelle Branch ... of the 10, this one's the one I enjoy singing along with the most :)

Currently

... listening to Lifehouse.

... writing a paper. :[

... typing on my laptop.

... staring at the books I want to read.

... ignoring the books I have to read for school.

... fighting the urge to check my e-mail for the gazillionth time today.

... waiting for Friday to come.

The others

No, I don't want to talk about Lost's "The Others." I mean the other blogs I read. Are you curious about the links I posted in the right-hand column?

Just Janice: My sister Janice's blog. She should update more. ;)

Just A Simple rEflection: My brother Jason's blog. "He so funny!"

When in Rome...: I actually don't know if that's the title of my cousin Alexa's Xanga. 'Cause her name is really cabbageonionrebellion. But I like When in Rome...

Bill Walsh's Blogspot: For the copy editor in me. Read it only if there's a copy editor in you. Otherwise, you can skip to:

Where the Hell Is Matt?: No, I didn't hear about this via e-mail or TV. I heard about this from Matt's sister, Jennifer, who works at The 5th Avenue Theatre. The blog entries are great, but watch the dancing video. It's awesome!! Funny and awe-inspiring.

PostSecret: Warning - the content on this blog is not for all eyes. PG-13, borderline R. It can be a very moving and powerful Web site, but I don't always see things I like or am comfortable with. It pushes me sometimes, so if you check it out and don't like what you see, don't say I didn't warn you. I check it every Sunday. Before I found it, I had seen the All-American Rejects' music video for "Dirty Little Secret." I was impressed by the video and not so much the song. People held up cards with their secrets on 'em. Then I read a soldier's blog (needed to read one for my media effects class) and found a link to PostSecret. Immediately, I was drawn to it because, as it turns out, it was the source for the images in the music video.

A Word About Celeb Sightings

Is it something in the water? Is it purely coincidence? Or, was it fate?

Yesterday I read/received reports on celebrity sightings from three different people. I can't stress enough that this was all in the same day that I read these things. First, I checked Alexa's Xanga, and she met Hanson. Second, Don told me that some of his co-workers spotted Bill Clinton walking around. And Brittany told me about Paris Hilton's new b-f (I didn't know PH had a new one, but it doesn't surprise me) as well as one of her friends standing behind Josh Groban at a concert.

I, on the other hand, have no celeb sightings to report. Perhaps I would have seen "celebrity" of the local variety at the opening night of Sweeney Todd. But I chose not to go last night 'cause I'm going on Sunday. Am very excited. :))

Reuben, Reuben, I've been thinking

And by Reuben, I really mean family.

Yes, I've been thinking about The Job Search, but I've also thinking about traveling. As in going to the Philippines early next year. January or February. What do y'all think? Who can come with me?

And when I've finally visited the land of my ancestors, then I'll have the peace of mind that I got to see part of the world I've always wanted to see. Then I'll really focus on The Job Search. 'Cause right now with school, it's mighty difficult to do that.

2003

No, not the year. That's how many songs are going on my iPod. I didn't even load all my CDs (or even all the songs on a single CD) onto my computer! ITunes took some getting used to. For example, it converted all my Windows Media-controlled MP3s, but when it came to the mpga files under Real Player, I ran into trouble. I ended up burning my mpga clips onto a CD, and then I ripped them again with iTunes. Sheesh.

But yay! I made the right choice to buy a 20 GB iPod. :D Hehehe.

Another perk of going through all my CDs is that I rediscovered some long-lost treasures. For example, I listened to snippets from Mozart's Requiem. Yes, I have a recording of the concert in which I performed. :) No, I didn't put the Requiem on my computer. It's over an hour long, and it's just one track. And LOL! I listened to the version of "My Heart Will Go On" with the movie dialogue. Maybe it's not a "treasure," but it was definitely buried and untouched for years! Jason gave me the Back to Titanic CD for my birthday one year. :) I'm currently listening to Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida in Dutch.

I can feel it

Maybe it was the warmth of and smell from the oven...

Maybe it was the seemingly early sunset...

Maybe it's the Christmas music I'm putting on my computer...

Perhaps it's all these things. 'Tis almost the season to be jolly! :)

TGIF

I can't tell you how happy I am that it's Friday. Sure I have two midterms and a paper due next week and sure I have class and work today, but I'm loving that it's Friday. :) And that's all I have to say about that. For now. :)

Okay, I realize I've been talking about Alias quite a bit, so let me switch gears and praise the two best shows on TV: Grey's Anatomy and Everwood. (Although first I hafta mention the actor who appeared on last night's episodes of Alias and Everwood! Ha ha. He played the interrogator on the government committee [whatever it was called] that pardoned Sloan for the umpteenth time and Father Patrick [albeit a little creepily, I have to admit]. I recognized him from Connie and Carla. Yes, Connie and Carla!) So yeah, G's A and E are awesome shows. Yay!

Last night's episode of Everwood was particularly good in that it showed everyone in the cast at some point. Everyone! It packed some punch and didn't run thin. I can't tell you which storyline I liked best; they were all great. Right on, Hannah, for telling off Jake. You go, girl.

Woohoo!

My iPod arrived today! The thing is so dang tiny! Who needs a nano? Not Mini Me!

Woohoo2! I got caught up in the music aspect that I temporarily (as in a nanosecond) forgot I ordered the one where you can store photos on it too. I wanted the color screen and not necessarily the photos, but I'm excited to have the feature! No video, but that's totally OK with me. :)))))

I really want to set up my iPod, but I have other things on my mind tonight, actually. Hehehe. And I don't have my iSkin yet. I'll wait for the plastic protector to arrive before taking this baby for a spin on the 197. LOL!

Plus, I realize I should start putting more music on my computer. I'm staring at my CD collection, and this is going to be a lengthy task. Worth it in the end, I'm sure. I can't even see the priority CDs because they're behind the CDs I bought within the past year or so.

IPod heaven, here iI come!

That's what I'm talkin' about!

I have a free flight from JetBlue!

In the past year (October 2004-October 2005), I've flown to New York via JetBlue three times. And now that my credit card earns points towards the TrueBlue frequent-flyer program, I finally got a free flight!

Maybe this will help if and when I do interviews in New York??? Of course, I'll mix business with pleasure. :)

Practice, practice, practice

My friend Don informed me that Lea Salonga will be giving a concert at Carnegie Hall on November 7. The entire audience that night will be one huge group of lucky dawgs! Wish I could be there.

Anyway, I need to play my guitar more often. Regularly. My poor fingers on my left hand hurt even as I type this message. I'm so excited to be playing new music! I ordered some sheet music online last week, and it arrived a few days ago. I bought some Josh Groban songs, but those are all for the piano. Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway songbook is awesome. I love that I can actually play a few of these songs. And I'm learning new chords in the process. Yay! Ooh, and "Accidentally in Love" by the Counting Crows (is it Counting Crows or the Counting Crows?) is fairly easy to learn and play, too. :) That was one of my favorite songs last year.

Probably the best thing about learning to play the guitar is I can actually sing along when I play music. Can't do that so much on the piano. Not sure why. I guess I didn't wire my brain when I first learned to play the piano back in the day ... first grade!

I still want to learn how to play the violin.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

If you want to read delightful, humorous books, I highly recommend Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. I'm reading the third installment, The Wide Window.

I wanted to read these books after seeing the movie starring Jim Carrey. While the movie's great, the books paint a much richer picture. Of course, of course. There *is* sadness and grief, but the Baudelaire orphans are resilient and resourceful. Sunny's my favorite character 'cause she hasn't quite mastered English yet, but she has a lot of meaningful things to say. :)

Family and friends, you are welcome to borrow my books. :) And I promise to take out the flags that mark my favorite parts (the ones where I laughed aloud upon reading them).

Alias: The New Class

After watching the rest of last night's episode of "Alias," I'm still sticking to my statement that this is not the same show I got hooked on. So Rachel Gibson has a parallel story to Sydney's. Big whoop. I think that's a major mistake. I don't want to watch the same storylines played out with different actors. That was "Saved By the Bell: The New Class." There, I said it.

And when we want more of Sydney's home life, we want her with friends, but even Weiss is leaving for a new show. I mean, Greg Grunberg. :) No Will, no Francie, no Weiss, no Vaughn, no Nadia.

The call to cancel Vaughn's magazine subscription was really sad, but that, too, was already played out when Sydney had to change the message on her answering machine when Danny was murdered.

I had high hopes for this season. I wanted it to top the last one. ABC really does want this show to die. And that's sad. "Alias" reaches its 100th episode this season, and then they'll be good to go for cancellation with benefits of syndication. At least I think that's how it works. I'm still clinging to a little bit of hope that the season will turn around, but I'm not holding my breath.

*yawn*

My sleeping pattern this week is out of whack. After returning from New Jersey on Monday night, I actually didn't go to sleep until past 2 a.m. to finish a paper. Yesterday I fell asleep during "Lost." Yikes. I saw maybe 10 to 15 minutes of the entire episode (yet another reason for TiVo). Then I went to sleep at 10 p.m. and woke up at 3 a.m. to finish a paper. No more papers, please.

On a completely different note, what is up with "Alias"??? This is not the show I got hooked on four years ago. Granted, I've only watched the first half, and I think I'll be awake for the second, but I can't believe how quickly this season has faltered. Maybe I should have participated in the "Save Michael Vaughn/Michael Vartan" fan campaign. Half joking, half serious. :)

That doesn't feel good

My back officially hurts. Ohhhh. Not good.

I have all three of my classes on Thursday, and that means I have to lug all 4 of my textbooks plus notebooks, folders purse, and water around all day long. I tried my best to carry some of them in my arms throughout the day.

But then it started raining in the afternoon, so I had to store everything in my backpack. After getting off the bus, I was carrying my too-heavy backpback, and the pain jabbed at me. Now I'm either still feeling pain, or just thinking of the pain is causing me pain. I'm not going to enjoy Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Does anyone have a cool lookin' -- not to mention functional -- tote bag that I can carry my books in? I think I need one. I'll take a tote bag, but one of those rolly backpack thingies would annoy me.

The eternal three minutes

I got stuck in an elevator today. All by myself. The whole ordeal seemed like an eternity. When I first started working in the ATG building, I was warned by the other student assistant that the elevator was not to be trusted. Oh, I believed her, but nothing happened to me for nearly two years. All that changed today.

As I was traveling up to the sixth floor, the elevator moved up and down, and then it stopped. The doors didn't open. I pressed the "open" button several times. Still nothing. Oh crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap.

Then, I had to do something I'd never done before: I called the emergency phone by pressing a red button. It was basically a speakerphone, and I was relieved to hear someone answer. Unfortunately, the connection was pretty bad; the guy kept asking me to repeat which floor I was on. There was no way I could know for sure, but I said the sixth floor. I wanted to tell him I was in the ATG building and would someone please hurry, but I never got around to it. Our conversation was very brief, and it ended with him saying he was sending someone over.

That was slightly comforting. But how long would it take before that someone arrived? I couldn't decide what to do with myself. Should I pace? Should I stand against the elevator wall in case it falls like it has in "Alias"? Should I sit on the floor? Constantly staring at my watch, I just stood still. Meanwhile, the emergency phone was making weird noises before it hung up.

I never actually ended up being rescued in a dramatic way. (I imagined being pulled out between floors or at least climbing to safety with the aid of a helping hand.) Instead, someone had pressed a button to use the elevator. The elevator moved "normally" to the 4th floor, and I was free at last. I warned the person that I just got stuck in the elevator, and he opted to take the stairs.

From here on out, I'm taking the stairs as much as possible.

Consciously or subconsciously or coincidentally?

Are the writers on Alias also fans of Michelle Branch? When Sydney was suggesting names for the baby, she mentioned Owen, Clementine and Isabelle. And as we know, Michelle Branch's daughter is Owen Isabelle.

But when did they shoot the season premiere? Last month? And when did they write the script? Hmmm.... HMMMMMM.... Okay, enough about baby names and possible coincidences or intentional inclusions.

I thought Alias was great ... for the most part. I can't stand the thought of Michael Vaughn not being Michael Vaughn. Not Andre Mishapoopoo. Okay that's not his name, but I don't know how to spell it. And I also can't stand that he died! I almost refuse to believe it. And you know Alias. People we *think* are dead aren't really dead. I hope that's the case. Hmmm... not much of a chance of that though. If we get to see Michael Vaughn in "flashbacks," I guess that's fine but not much of a consolation.

I knew that investigator guy was up to no good! (He played King Amonasro in Aida on Broadway, hehehe. I'll post the picture later, if I remember.) Argh.

Marshall was awesome. What was up with Jack? He seemed out of his game. I almost forgot about Sloane. Too bad Nadia has an incurable infection. She's a good character.

At this rate, it seems that Sydney will never get married. Engaged twice. Now has two dead fiances. Also, in self-defense, had to kill ex-lover, the icky Snowman or whatever his name was. Let's forget about him.

All I have left to say is: Is it Thursday yet?

No love for left-handers

First, Brittany passes on an article that states left-handed women may have a higher risk for breast cancer than right-handed women.

Now, UW is cramping my style. Or giving me a hand cramp. Or both. In all my classes, there are individual desks. One has them bolted to the floor even. And in all three, I couldn't find a left-handed desk in sight. In two of the three classrooms, ALL the desks were built for right-handers. In the third classroom, I didn't get there early enough to tell if there were any left-handed desks and had to sit in the back anyway.

In the past, I was able to scout out the left-handed desk. Now there simply aren't any.

Argh, I feel like I should complain ... to the higher-ups, I mean. Not just here on my blog.

That's why having TiVo would be cool

As you know, "Lost" is on my TV schedule this season. Well, the season premiered last Wednesday. I needed to do some last-minute shopping for a new outfit, so I taped "Lost" from 8 to 9 p.m. Unfortunately, I ended up taping the first-season recap/introduction show. I'll admit that it was very helpful to watch, but that means I didn't tape the actual season premiere. ARGH. Imagine my frustration if you can.

There's a solution to this problem: TiVo. Precious, precious TiVo.

There's an obstacle to this solution. So until I can afford to buy you, I will dream of having you.

Oh TiVo. In your absence, my couch-potato-y heart grows fonder.

The End

Spent my last day as the communications intern at The 5th Avenue Theatre. :) It sure was a memorable one. I wrapped up a few projects, cleaned out my files, sent my last e-mails and said my "see ya later"s. (It's not really good-bye though! I've been invited to future opening nights. Yay!)

Around 4 o'clock, they surprised me with a chocolate and raspberry cake that had "You rock!" on it. :) Mmm ... that cake was delicious. It was from Gelatiamo, which I have seen countless times on my way to and from the Metro tunnel. Now I know they have great desserts!

I'm really grateful that I got to spend my summer at the 5th. I know that I may sound like a broken record by now, but it's true. A big thanks to everyone who made my time there an awesome one. :)

Breaking it down:

66: number of days spent in the communications office
7: number of days I took off during the entire span of my internship (5 for vacation to New York, 1 for family day, 1 for my birthday)
0: number of dollars earned (but the experience is invaluable)
2: number of press/opening nights worked
4: number of musicals I saw at the 5th over the course of my internship
6: number of comp tickets received
3: number of happy-hour outings I went to
271: number of hours logged onto weekly timesheets

I'm not a gamer, but ...

I tend to get addicted to playing a certain game for a period of time. Earlier this year it was Minesweeper. A few weeks ago it was Free Cell. Last week it was Tetris. And now it's Pac-Man. :)

Oh, I accidentally cleared my best times on Minesweeper. I mourned the loss for maybe a minute and moved on. Minesweeper is soooo last June. LOL. No, no. I'm just bitter than I can no longer finish the expert time. What happened?

But Pac-Man though? I'm all about it.

A word about blogs

Time Magazine gave all these tips on how to start a blog and included a point to stick to one topic. Well, that's not gonna happen. I'm not all about just one thing.

So here are a few different things that came about today, September 21:

The morning commute took forEVER. And by forever, I mean 75 minutes. Not that I'm complaining, really. I had tea this morning and couldn't fall asleep until right before I saw a glimpse of downtown Seattle. Then I dozed off. And when I woke up, we were slowly creeping towards UW. Good nap.

Had a good day at work, I guess. Got a call from the Opera, so I'm proofreading tonight. Oh my gawd, I'm proofreading tonight. GOTTA GO!

No time to blog! Oh wait! I guess I do have a theme after all. :)

And how do we feel about that?

Before I watched the season premiere, I saw that "Gilmore Girls" received a 9.6 (out of 10) rating from the TV-show Web site I frequent. What were people thinking?

I don't know about you, but I was sorely disappointed in the premiere. The only saving grace was Paris. Paris had it right on the money. Logan needs to go. I don't care if they made him a regular. He's sucked the life out of the once-great character that was Rory Gilmore. Rory, go back to school. Lorelai and Luke... uh, yeah... okay... Right on, Paris. I hope you get more airtime.

Ooh, it's back

Mid-September means several things:

My birthday is coming up!

Summer vacation is winding down.

The new TV season returns on the WB ("Gilmore Girls" begins its 6th season in a few minutes!)

Here are my shows:
Desperate Housewives
Grey's Anatomy
Gimore Girls
The Amazing Race
Lost (I think I'll start watching more)
ALIAS
Everwood

The Office is pretty funny, too, but it'll air the same time as The Amazing Race. Full TV schedule? Heck yeah!

A year ago today ... in pictures

Sutton Foster sings "Astonishing"


Um, duh...


Jennifer Laura Thompson and Idina Menzel sing "For Good"


The cast of Avenue Q performs "It Sucks to Be Me"


Confetti pours on Times Square


Broadway on Broadway

It's a strange time. Maybe strange isn't the right word. I'm sad for those who suffered and are still suffering from Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. My heart goes out to them.

I'm also very aware that my internship is coming to an end in a couple weeks as I return to school.

Here's another wakeup call: I lose my parents' dental coverage when I turn 22. Yes, I'm happy to turn 22, but whoa. I really AM growing up (I wanted to do that when I was 11, and now I don't want to at all ... go figure). Soon I'll need to get a job that has benefits, and I hope to God that I'll be hired to do something that I love doing.

*sigh* *deep breath* I hope I'm ready for the real world. Part of me thinks I'm ready ... and part of me just doubts it all. I think I now know what they mean when they say that college is the easy part, and you have no idea what you're in store for. Where do they teach you how to prepare for life after college? Where's the reassurance?

ANYway, I don't know about you, but I need an escape. Who's with me?

Dude, that is sweet

Happy Labor Day!

I simply wanted to check my e-mail on Yahoo! and the page took me to a new My Yahoo! page. I've been customizing the content for the past 20 minutes or so. I can't stop raving about it!

Who cares if Yahoo! now knows much more about me? Having the top headlines, my horoscope, TV listings, comics, entertainment headlines, other news headlines, brain teasers and the weather all on one page is pretty awesome!!!

And all I wanted to do was check my e-mail. Silly.

Playbill.com, move on over. I have a new home page.

August, oh August

You flew by so fast. Highlights of the month:

Hanging out with family/relatives

Seeing Siegfried and Gotterdammerung

Seeing Princesses with mi familia

Seeing Princesses with Brittany

Working at the press table on opening night

Seeing Princesses on opening night with Janice

Attending the cast party at Sazerac

Seeing Princesses (the last performance) with Mom

Continuing to do my internship at The 5th

Okay, so I saw Princesses four times. What can I say? :) I like it. And you totally get a new perspective on musical theater working behind the scenes.

March of the Penguins

Saw March of the Penguins yesterday with Mom. I laughed, I sighed, I awwwed, and I definitely got emotional when the moms mourned the loss of their unborn babies or chicks. Emperor penguins are resilient, amazing and way cute. And how about sliding on your belly when you want to give your feet a rest? That looks enjoyable. Waddle waddle. Flop and slide. :)

During the mating scene (yeah, you know), I leaned over and whispered to Mom, "This IS rated G." But yeah, you knoooow. And today when Mom was telling Dad about the movie, she said it was rated X. LOL! Liar liar, pants on fire.

"First, I was inspired...

... now I'm sad and tired." Okay, it's not very often that you get a chance to quote Jesus Christ Superstar out of context, but what can I say? Tim Rice's lyrics once again strike a chord within me.

I got all gung-ho about cleaning my room towards the end of last week. I was excited to de-junk, if you can believe that. I couldn't wait to get home to do it. And for a while there, it felt great to repeat Janice's "in the trash" mantra. It felt really good to get rid of "so much crap" (heh, stuck in a Princesses lyric too). But now I'm all crapped out. LOL! Sorry if you're offended, people. I didn't say this would be pretty.

Two thumbs up

For the Ring and for Princesses

Yup, Wagner's four operas and the new musical comedy get two thumbs way up from me. :) Ain't too hard to please.

Subject line poetry

TGIF

Crash and burn

Don't run for the bus in 80-degree weather

Why did I eat that cupcake at 3?

I have "By Heart" stuck in my head

Will Princesses play at the Neil Simon Theater?

Crash and burn

TGIF

To buy or not to buy ...

... that is the question. Well, what do you think? Should I purchase Romeo & Juliet (1968, dir. Zeffirelli) on DVD at $9.36 from deepdiscountdvd.com, or should I wait? 'Cause who knows? They might release a special edition DVD in three years for the 40th anniversary. Hmmm... decisions, decisions. :)

You heard it here first

And when I say "you," I really mean me. And when I say "here," I mean The 5th Avenue Theatre. Hehehe.

Princesses was great! We saw the very first preview of the world premiere. Woohoo! My favorite LOL moment was:

Kevin Finch: "Is it hot in here, or is it just me?"
Dena: "IT'S JUST YOU!"

LOL just thinking about it. Sorry if I spoiled it for you, but I figure (as does Janice) that only our family reads these blogs. Family and a few good friends. You know who you are. :)

Yesterday, I used the restroom in the theater (well, whenever I use the restroom during my internship, it's in the theater) and got to hear the cast rehearsing withOUT their microphones. I noticed the vocal arrangement was different from Tuesday's show, and I have to say, the song sounded gorgeous. The father-daughter duet was enhanced by the girls harmonizng "ahhs." I wish you could have heard it for yourself. And I say "you," I mean you! Maybe they'll implement the change for tomorrow's matinee. I hope so!

This one's for Jason: "Whoa there."

Past hope, past cure, past help

My room's a certified mess. Certified by whom? I don't know. Me, I guess. Heh heh. I've been meaning to clean it this summer, but I just run out of time in the evenings and weekends. And now, my man-made disaster of a room is giving Janice a chance to work out as she jumps over my backpack to enter. Brave sister, that one. :)

Well, I'm determined to tackle the mess. I just have to do it a little at a time. But when do I get to write a brilliant song? When do I get to catch up on the books I want to read? *sigh* So much to do, so little time.

(Ring review and Princesses review to come...)

They're heeeeere!

Jason and Janice! Woohoo! Hi, sibs. Hi, 'rents. Lookin' forward to having pizza and seeing Princesses with you. Wow, it's so nice to have a day off, too!

S-M-R-T

I started listening to NPR yesterday. Hehehe. I have my reasons. Oh, you'd like to know? Okay! Well, the major one is that KUOW is supposed to air the 5th Avenue Theatre's underwriting about Princesses, and I worked on the copy. :)

ANYwho, it's amazing how intelligent you feel when you listen. All things considered, maybe it's just an illusion, a simulated feeling of intelligence, but I'm happy to be informed about things like the extension of daylight saving time. And you know NPR means business when they get it right. Daylight saving time. Not daylight savings time. Now, does this need a hyphen? Not that you can hear that on a radio, but I figure I should know it as a copy editor. I'm too lazy to look it up right now.

Sweet!

I just downloaded the RENT screensaver, and it has a countdown to the movie! Hence, "Sweet!"

Not so sweet: I went to the library earlier. As I was driving there, apparently I was on auto pilot 'cause I ended up driving past the intersection where I needed to turn left. Whoops. I suppose it didn't help I was singing "As Long As You're Mine" while I drove on down 320th. Chalk it up to driving the same route to the park & ride every day. Heh.

I love my internship at the 5th Avenue. I really do. It's so much fun. Got to go backstage and in the theater during rehearsals today. :)

Saturday, good ol' Saturday

No work. No bus rides. No schedules. I love Saturday. I spent the morning catching up on e-mail and reading about Harry Potter on various Web sites. :) I am definitely suffering from HP withdrawal.

Just wanted to post something new 'cause Mom complained that I hadn't updated in forever. So here I am. Not really sure what I should say. Here you go, Mom: Teatro Zinzanni. And happy 28th anniversary (plus one week), Mom and Dad.

Sweet smell of success

Booyah! :) Heh heh, can you read that? H$4,021,261.62. Too bad it's not real. Heck, I'd take 1%!

HSX: An update

To recap, when you start an account at Hollywood Stock Exchange, you get $2 million. Right now, I have $3.97 million. I'm oh-so-close to doubling my fake moolah! :) Thanks so much to RENT, Jennifer Garner, and Robbie Coltrane.

Yay!

My splurge package from Amazon.com arrived! I have a new book and two CDs: Lapsing Into a Comma by Bill Walsh, Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson, and Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park. OK, so I'm a little late in buying Linkin Park's CD. I actually wanted to buy the import version for the longest time because it has "My December" on it. However, I was able to re-acquire that song (hehehe) and just decided to buy the cheaper, regular release.

I just read the acknowledgments, introduction, and first chapter of Lapsing, and I'm already intrigued! "I couldn't diagram a sentence if my life depended on it." Right on, Bill Walsh! :) Should be a great read. I also expect I'm gonna mark up this book and place flags all over the place. I really am a dork. But you know, I don't care! :)

If I could be anywhere in the world tonight...

... I'd actually want to be at the Hollywood Bowl. Celebrities and regular peeps like me (OK, they're theater and/or major Sondheim fans... and/or Grobanites) will be celebrating Stephen Sondheim's 75th birthday with a concert.

Here are just a few names:

James Barbour (have never actually heard him, but I've heard much about him)

Carol Burnett (needs no parenthetical explanation)

Barbara Cook (she's legendary in the business)

Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut! Woohoo!)

Josh Groban (*grin*)

Marin Mazzie (just listened to her on Ragtime again. Wow)

Audra McDonald (I have who-knows-how-many CDs with Audra McDonald. She needs to return to Seattle someday and soon)

The list goes on. Dang, that's a great list. So yeah, that's where I'd rather be tonight. Hopefully, someday I'll have more money and time to travel and see these concerts.

Yo, check it out

http://www.5thavenuetheatre.org/staff.shtml

*grin*

I'm a dork

Or, at least I feel a little dorky right now. :) And not that that's a bad thing. Why do I feel like a dork? I haven't blogged in a few days, but I keep coming here (to musicallispeaking.blogspot.com) to check on my own blog. And I *know* that I haven't updated, but somehow I hope it'll inspire me to write something. Hasn't happened.

So let's see about updates: Me? Nope. How about Jason? Nope. Janice? Nope. Dad? Hey! Dad's blogging more than anyone else! Heh heh.

Mo-om... it's your turn. :) I'm in a bloggin' funk. No wit. No clever anecdotes. No stories to tell... other than I'm still deciding on how to spend my $94.45 that I won from gambling. Woohoo!

I *heart* New York

I really do. The trip to NYC was so much fun. Brittany and I saw Avenue Q, The Light in the Piazza, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Wicked. We had two great stage door experiences.


After Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, we exited the theater through the same doors where we entered. I noticed that many people were standing around and started to wonder if there were any actors around. I turned around and saw Norbert Leo Butz! He won the Tony for best actor in a musical this year. Norbert Leo Butz and John Lithgow signed our playbills. Then, as we were waiting for Sherie Rene Scott (who didn't come out through the main entrance), I saw Jai Rodriguez from Queer Eye and RENT walk past!

We didn't win the lottery for Spelling Bee tickets, but that theater is right next to where Wicked plays. There was an enormous line for the Wicked lottery, and when we went to get dinner, I heard my name: "Alli!" It was Anna! That was great we got to see her.

On Thursday, we went to a CD signing at Tower Records. Sherie Rene Scott, Gregory Jbara, David Yazbek (the composer of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Full Monty), Norbert Leo Butz, and John Lithgow were all there.

At the Gershwin stage door, there were metal barricades set up. David Ayers (Fiyero), Michele Federer (Nessarose), and Shoshana Bean (Elphaba) signed our playbills. Shoshana Bean rocked as Elphaba. She's an incredible singer.


I also got Sherie Rene Scott and Shoshana Bean to autograph the recently released recording of Hair, benefiting the Actors' Fund. Very cool. They both looked happy to see it. In fact, Sherie Rene Scott said, "Oh, I haven't seen this yet. Have you listened to it?" I told her no (well, I had just bought it and it came out on Tuesday), and she said that it was good. And it is!

Mmmm... bagels at Cranberry Deli. Mmmm... Jamba Juice. Mmmm... Ollie's. Mmmm... Katsu-hama. Hmmm... Seattle Cafe???

Visited Columbia, Barnard, Lincoln Center, Central Park, Battery Park, Ground Zero, the Museum of Modern Art, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and oh yes, Times Square (many times).

Musical roots

Wow, what a day! What an afternoon, to be precise. My internship is off to a great start! I got the chance to meet everyone in communications as well as several other staff members at The 5th Avenue Theatre. They were very welcoming. I toured the offices and the theater, including backstage. Very cool! :)

Oh right, before I forget... I know I've mentioned this before to some people, but I just wanted to say that I got hooked on musicals thanks to Mom, who took Janice and me to see Jesus Christ Superstar at The 5th Avenue Theatre. I was six. :) So, I'm returning to the place where it all started, yet I'm a newbie to the world of marketing and communications for musicals. I'm thrilled to be doing what I have envisioned as my goal: to combine my passion for music(als) with my passion for writing/communicating. I'm not sure how long I've had this goal. Definitely before I declared my major. Perhaps it's been brewing for the past 15 years? There's definitely some rhyme and reason for why things happen the way they do.

I'm so excited to do this internship. I know I keep saying that, but it's true. I sat in on a meeting, and it seemed so natural and fun to talk about Miss Saigon and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Also, it's great to be onboard during the preparation of a Broadway-bound musical, Princesses.

Everyone who'll be here in August oughta come see it! That means you! Hehehe.

"What I up to"

LOL! Dad has been working on a family tree Web site, and it's expanding each day. It's pretty cool. I just clicked on my new page, and what you all must realize is that the song *isn't* my future wedding song. :)

"What is the feeling, so sudden and new? I felt the moment I laid eyes on you. My pulse is rushing. My face is flushing... What is this feeling, fervid as a flame? Does it have a name? Yes! Loathing. Unadulterated loathing." LOL! As much as I like the song for Wicked, well, now you can see why I'm laughing. :)) It definitely is a catchy tune. I question the use of the dreary-sounding organ at the beginning... I guess that's why it reminded me of a wedding. Heaven forbid any organist to play dreary-sounding music at somebody's wedding! Or even a baseball game for that matter. Heh heh.

Hey, Dad, do they (meaning, wherever you get your music) have "Defying Gravity" or "The Wizard and I" or how about "Dancing Through Life"? :)

Thanks for picking up the Wicked tickets.

Must sleeeeeep

Perhaps I should play "I Wish I Could Go Back to College" again. I stopped listening to music for a little bit as I continued to work on my paper. Yikes, this is taking a lot longer than I expected. I have since listened to Closer, Romeo et Juliette, and Prince of Egypt. More than once.

I keep telling myself, "I'm almost done." And I am. I just had to go back through and make changes to my verb tenses. Yikes, that was a mess. :) Yikes, it is a mess. :))

I plan to wake up at 7 to finish and also prepare my three-minute speech. Bwahahaha. I'M ALMOST DONE! *grin* (Okay, clearly this is a sign that I should sleep.)

Good night.

November 11: Time for RENT

OOOOOOH. I just watched the trailer for RENT. It looks great! (Well, I question Adam Pascal's hair slightly, but other than that...) I can't wait to see the movie!!!

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/rent/

Listening to Avenue Q

"I Wish I Could Go Back to College" just started, so I thought I'd take a break from writing my paper. Ha! I'm "cursing the world, 'cause I didn't start sooner." :) The paper is finally coming together, but I really *should* have worked on it sooner. Oh well. I definitely thrive on pressure, but I don't necessarily like it!

In two weeks, I'll be seeing Avenue Q with great friends. Yay!

(In case anyone's wondering why I didn't talk about the Tony Awards, there wasn't a whole lot to talk about... except I loved the performance from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and I hope we can see it in addition to Avenue Q, Wicked, and The Light in the Piazza. )

134 equals...

... my new expert minesweeper time! Previous record on my laptop was 153. I'll take it! :) OK, *now* I can work on my papers. LOL!

I think I can handle never getting 101 or 99 like a certain author of a certain lil' series about a wizard with a lightning scar on his forehead. Oh well!

The Saturday before Finals Week

I'm in Suzzalo Library right now. How incredibly fast a year goes by. I remember last year I was writing an English paper about a novel and my first complete song (*grin*), and I was looking forward to my vacation in California.

Now I'm writing history and communication papers, and I'm looking forward to my vacation in New York. Parallels? Yes. Though it's also strange to think that I have one more quarter to go after this one. Whoa.

But I hope that autumn quarter doesn't arrive too fast. After all, I definitely want to savor and enjoy my summer. :)

Somebody help me please. I canNOT stop playing Minesweeper, even if I'm terrible at it. Hey, I used to be somewhat good. The library closes at 5, which means I'll most likely return to my dorm, which means I'll have access to my mouse. Eeep. Curses to the library always closing at 5 on a Saturday! Hmmm. Maybe I'll go to the HUB, although it's nowhere near as inspiring as Suzzallo.

OK. Gotta get back to writing my papers. (At least, that's what I tell myself I'll do.)

It's official!

I'm going to do an internship with the communications department at The 5th Avenue Theatre! Am beyond excited! :) Yay!!! I interviewed for the position on Wednesday and accepted the offer this morning. :)

Ooh, remember when it rained, Goldilocks

It's too hot. It's too rainy. Whatever! When it was scorching hot last week, I wished it would rain. And it POURED today. Now I'm soaked. I wouldn't exactly say I asked for it. At least, I will remember that it rained on Janice's birthday while I was on my way to get bubble tea. Mmmm... the honey milk tea's fab, Jan! :)

I hope it doesn't rain this hard when I'm downtown. *crossing fingers* Not necessarily about the weather, don'tcha know!

"Ooh, remember when it rained
In the water I remain"

You can sing that again, Josh.

Ohmyfreakingawd!

Ow. I hurt my throat screaming at the TV immediately after the ALIAS cliffhanger. OMG, OMG, OMG. My heart, at least, has stopped racing.

When Syd and Vaughn (ack, his name's not Vaughn!!!) were talking in the car, I told Vaughn to keep his eyes on the road. ARGH. And look what happened.

"For starters, my name's not Michael Vaughn." Car crash. This is all too much.

Oh man, I'm so glad I didn't tape this finale. I would be watching it over and over again like I did for season 2's cliffhanger. There's no way I'm going to be able to write a paper tonight...

Whadda season.

Edit: 11:37 p.m.... No, I take it back. Now I'm really wishing I taped this finale. Why didn't I tape this finale? I've made zero progress on my paper. I've read some posts on an Alias message board. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who screamed at the TV. Heh!

Long time, no blog

Whew, I am swamped with work. It doesn't seem right to use the term "homework" though; that seems to have a "busywork" connotation. I don't have assignments in the same way that I used to. Instead, I'm preparing for a research presentation on Tuesday, and I need to write analytic points for my ethnographic paper. Yup, my "to do" list hardly sounds like "homework." It's work.

Ooh la la, I saw Les contes d'Hoffmann/The Tales of Hoffmann today. Speight Jenkins talked before the opera began, and he mentioned that Mayor Nickels was in the house. We sat in the sixth row, center, and Mayor Nickels and Speight Jenkins sat a few rows behind us to the left. The opera was entertaining and a complex story about love(s). The opera ended with the surround sound of the cast and chorus singing, "Through suffering, we learn how to love." Talk about a goosebump-inducing ending. We gave a standing ovation (well, most of us did), and when the final curtain went down, we could hear the cast shout, "Woo!" LOL! It's their last show of the run and of the season. I picked up extra copies of the program, since my name's in it. Hehehe. What can I say? It's pretty darn cool!

The gift shop had a sale in honor of Richard Wagner's birthday. I bought a Seattle Opera T-shirt. Apparently I'm not the only one who likes to buy magnets, and apparently Tales of Hoffmann was a popular success because they didn't have any Hoffmann magnets left! One more thing about Seattle Opera: They're taking the day off tomorrow in honor of Wagner's birthday. Wish I could take the day off...

Back to work I go.

YAY!

Uchenna and Joyce won! Uchenna and Joyce won! I was rooting for them! The Amazing Race 7 had me panicking and screaming at the TV--especially around 10:45 p.m.--but I'm sooooo happy now! Ah, good TV. Good sweeps. :)

"Wow, that's great!"

And I'm not talking about a Red Ryder BB Gun. This Fujitsu C Series Lifebook laptop is awesome! *grin* Yup, Dad bought me a laptop on Saturday. Thanks, Dad! It didn't come with Microsoft Office, which I desperately needed for school. Thanks, Mom!

Now I'm very happy that I was able to import my bookmarks--or favorites as IE likes to call them--without having to type every single URL. That would've been a pain.

I was able to transfer all but my biggest files from my PC to my laptop. I'll just be missing a few JG video clips from my collection. That's OK.

This laptop rocks! It's so fast and has everything I want/need. Ooh, and I now have a color printer. The UW wage statement looks so pretty. I almost forgot it was pay day today. Yay!

One more thing! I bought tickets to the student matinee of The Tales of Hoffmann (Les contes d'Hoffmann). My roommate and I are going on the 22nd. Orchestra center preferred, sixth row. Opera is the most expensive ticket in town, so this is such a great deal: What normally would cost a whopping $116 per ticket is just $15 per ticket for students! Yay! I'm going to miss being a student! :) LOL! Or not. LOL!

[Edit: I just looked at Seattle Opera's Web site, and the matinee price for OCP is $95. The person at the box office told me $116, which is the price for some of the night performances. Yowzas!]

It's Christmas in May. Wow, that's great!

Act like you know what you're doing

Those are the words on one of my favorite T-shirts -- from Seattle Public Theater to be exact. And, oh, if only I *could* act like I know what I'm doing. Today in my crisis communications class, we had to roleplay. Yeesh. I don't know how lucky it is to get to be the irate parent of a child who attends a school where there are critical public health violations in the kitchen. Maybe it is lucky; the spokespeople for the school had the toughest task, imo (it's crisis comm. for cryin' out loud), and then the media got to ask a question or two. I got to watch a few people roleplay before it was my turn. And I laughed, even though it was supposed to be somewhat serious. But other people were laughing too.

And when it was my turn to be the irate parent, I started by yelling, "MY CHILD HAS BOTULISM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" And then my professor and some other people started laughing. Then *I* started laughing. Oh brother. Guess I can't act in a drama. At least I wasn't wearing the SPT T-shirt. That would have been embarrassing. Heh heh.

She knows me so well

I've been listening to Chess lately in case you couldn't tell. Yeah, hard to do when you don't exactly quote the song. :)

Anyway, I had dinner with Mom and Dad yesterday and filled them in on the New York trip. :) As we walked back to the car, Mom asked all these questions about which days I'd be in NYC with Brittany. And then she started counting, "One on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, and one on Thursday." *grin* See? She *does* know me so well!

For those of you who are thinking, "Huh?" Here's the answer: 1 + 2 + 1 = 4 = the number of Broadway shows we could see/plan to see.

Can't wait! :)

Anything but that

That being homework. That being papers. That being anything school-related. I wish I could have a second spring break. I could really use some time off. Unfortunately, there's no end in sight until June 8, really.

I do have some good news, and everything associated with it gives me happy things to think about, which keeps me going during the daily grind that is my life. The good news is that I saved a bunch of money on my car insurance. No, that's not my good news. Brittany and I are officially heading to New York in June! Yay! I'm so excited. :)

In other news, my computer crashed earlier this week. What a nightmare. I didn't have a backup for extremely important files. And the weird thing is my professor had warned us to have a backup. You can bet that I have one (wait, actually, two) now. Many thanks to Janice and Nestor (and their friends, Peter and Trang) for helping me revive my computer.

Ooh, I should also thank Tita Beata for getting papers for me at my parents' house. They came in really handy. Thanks again. It was really nice of you to do that. :)

OK, I've procrastinated long enough. And pretty soon, I'll get sucked into primetime TV. I better try to finish up *something* before then. Sigh.

Jeez... fake guestbook entries???

For the past few weeks, I've been receiving a steady flow of new guestbook entries. Most of them I delete. They say that I've done a good job with my site, but they refer to me as a "group" or "team." Maybe they think that ACab & Co. is just that. But still, I have my doubts that they actually looked at my site.

A few days ago I received a guestbook entry that suggested I could post more pictures. Well, sure, but I don't have the time. So I kept that entry hidden. Then today I received another entry that not only complained that they couldn't view it correctly in an 800 x 600 setting (hello, it's geared for 800 x 600) but also CITED the name of the person who submitted the last hidden entry! That tipped me off that these entries are fake. They always have a URL, too. I don't always check them out, but the ones I have sell really weird things. Yeaaaah...

Sorry guestbook spammers, but I'm not THAT desperate for entries. Please take yer business elsewhere.

Can you sympathize/empathize with this nosebleeder?

Warning: Don't read this if you get queasy reading about blood. Don't say I didn't warn you...


I get nosebleeds. Don't be so surprised. Unless, you who read this are a stranger. In that case, welcome to my overshare for the day! Btw, when I was younger, I used to call them bloody noses. :) Well, sometimes I'll still call them bloody noses, but anyway!

I've had more than my fair share of nosebleeds/bloody noses, I have to say. It did not help that I got one this morning out of the blue while I was getting ready for class. I didn't see it coming. Usually, I *knooow*. Luckily, I was standing in front of a mirror and noticed something was wrong, and I was able to reach for some tissue in time. But, for whatever reason, I had a difficult time controlling it. Not sure why. And the rarest part was that I got blood on a perfectly good shirt. Yeah, I'm usually a clean nosebleeder, if you can believe it. (Only once in third grade did I get blood on my sweatshirt before school started; I clenched the spot with my fist all day long.) However, there was enough blood--or, too much, depending on how you look at it--that I just ended up throwing it away.

Seeing that I am running out of clean clothes (heh), I ended up wearing my Josh Groban CLOSER t-shirt and had a conversation about Josh and music with someone at work. Good-bye, perfectly good shirt.

Coke with Lime: the verdict is in

I do NOT like Vanilla Coke. One sip and that was that. I haven't tried Coke with Lemon. But Coke with Lime? I had to try. Hearing the ad jingle "You put the lime in the Coke, you nut" was way too catchy, I have to admit. What's the final judgment? It's all right. I definitely taste the (artificial) lime, but it makes me miss the Coke. Go figure.

The ongoing case of mistaken identity

I got breakfast at about noon today. When I went to the cashier at McMahon 8, she said, "Good morning!" and added, "How are you?!" in a friendly voice. Not the usual, monotone "How are you?" that you usually get from stores, cafeterias, coffee shops, and other places where they really don't care how you are but ask because it's part of a script. So I said, "I'm fine, how are you?" And she said, "Fine, thanks."

Then she rang up my food, and here's the dialogue that occurred:

Cashier: "Let's see. Chocolate milk. That's the biggest risk you've taken all week."

In my mind: HUH??? This is the first time I've seen you since finals week.

Me (aloud): "I'm sorry?"

Cashier: "You mean you're a risk-taker all the time?"

In my mind: Well, no, but it's just chocolate milk. I'm so confused, and I *know* that I'm not the person you think I am.

Me: *smile* "I think you've got me mistaken for someone else."

Can't remember what she said, but she didn't address that she had mistaken me for someone else.

I thank her and leave.

Argh, the weird thing is I knew she mistook me that one time during finals week last month. I almost opted to pay at the line farther away, but just as an experiment, I went to her line. And now I know... this isn't the only incident of mistaken identity. It's something I just have to live with. I guess though, looking on the bright side, at least the girl who looks like me is nice, too. Things could be worse.

I have too much to do...

...but I'm not complaining. Yes, I have a super busy schedule this quarter, but I'm very happy. Things are falling into place. Somebody oughta pinch me. Or, I'm aware that things *could* fall apart, but whoever's watching over me, thank ya kindly. :)

I've got a PRSA mentor! YAY! I didn't think the program was going to happen this year, but it is and -- for the sake of Pete na Repeat (lol, that's for you, Janice) -- I'm excited to have a mentor! I haven't met her yet, but I contacted her, and the possibilities are endless. Portfolio review, resume review, information interviews, networking with contacts, attending events together, job shadowing, etc. SO exciting. :)

I attended a Microsoft Excel workshop today. The lady who taught us works at Waggener Edstrom. She was really cool, and I certainly learned a lot. I mean, I can use Excel all right, but now I *really* know my stuff. YAY for autofill! That feature is crazy cool. Forget my earlier resolution to stop using the word "cool." And call me a dork, but the workshop was so fun. Where's the MSN nerd smiley when you need it?

Editing with Seattle Opera is going well. A little too well. I will be paid for three hours worth, but honestly I spent more than three hours proofreading. Apparently I do my best editing at ungodly hours of the night. Something to keep in mind. Either that, or it's a testament to how much I enjoy editing.

Oh right! And I'm doing that thing called going to school. One class rocks my socks, and the other two are pretty good too. :)

Congratulations, Janice, for exceeding your AHA walk fundraising goal!

New York in June! New York in June! Yay us, Brittany! :))))))

Right on, Melinda!

Absolutely loved the performance of The Marriage of Figaro on Sunday. Here's a really good review. :)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2002230608_opera05.html

Silent rage...

...is really unhealthy to have, so I'm going to vent.

SPITTING IN PUBLIC SHOULD BE BANNED. I swear, if I ever get spit on--by accident or on purpose--there will be hell to pay. I *almost* got spit on today as I left Odegaard Library. Remind me to avoid that library if I can. Suzzallo and Allen are much better libraries anyway. Well, I was on my merry way to the bus stop when this guy decided to let his spit go flying everywhere. By sheer instinct, I was able to stop in time, but I saw it all happen too close for comfort. If I had been a second quicker in my stride, I would have been caught in the grossness of it all. I didn't look at him directly, but I made him know I was there--standing there thinking, "YOU ARE INSANE AND DISGUSTING," and then I walked past him. ARRRRRRRRRRGH. FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD, PEOPLE, STOP SMOKING AND SPITTING. AND HAVE SOME CONSIDERATION FOR A PUBLIC SPACE. I'm furious.

No joke

It's almost too good to be true, but I can now say that I'm doing some freelance editing. Today I signed a contract and everything. :) I'm finding that I need to pinch myself, especially since it's April Fools' Day. A big shout out to the PR department at Seattle Opera. They are simply the best. I gladly would have done this for free, but who am I to decline an offer of payment? Hehehe. :)

It's been a week since I ended my internship. For whatever reason, it has felt a lot longer than seven days. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with myself, but yay! Now I don't have to think about that so much. I'm very happy that I get to return to the office, keep in touch, and sharpen my skills.

*jumping up and down with my red pen in hand*

Spring Break...

...is nearly over. This was the busiest spring break I can remember. I worked on campus and finished up my internship at Seattle Opera four of the five days. On Tuesday, I "conducted" my first informational interview with a really great PR manager, and--for many reasons--I'm really glad that I did it.

It's difficult to describe how I feel right now on this Good Friday. A continuum from happiness to sadness, perhaps. Happy about my scholarship. Happy about my grades (yeah, I 4.0ed the quarter for the first time at UW). Happy that I had such a great time at the Opera. Sad that my internship has ended. Sad when I think about Lolo. Sad (or maybe just tired) that my break's almost over 'cause I really could use more sleep. Sad (but hopeful) about Jesus' death. I realize that I don't talk about religion all that much. It's something I usually keep private, but I know what it means to me:

At a time like this, I'm reminded just how much my faith in God keeps me going. Especially when the highs and lows come at the same time.

Dear Lolo Ven,

I love you and sorely miss you.

May you rest in peace.

Your granddaughter,
Alli

"Lay down your head and sleep, sleep.
I'll be your pillow, soft and deep.
Leave me your troubles, I will keep
Your days gone by, your days gone by...

Lay down your head and sleep, sleep.
I will be pleased your soul to keep.
Give yourself over to the deep
Of days gone by, of days gone by."

(Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley, "Lay Down Your Head")

Random bits o' tumbleweed

They're ba-ack... My allergies, that is. I'm sneezing more, and I have a headache. Greaaaat.

Poo on you... A bird pooped on my hand on my way to church this morning. It was Disgusting with a capital D. Miraculously, I didn't get pooped on anywhere else. At least, I hope not. The greeters at church asked, "How are you?" and all I could breathlessly reply was, "Pretty good." I didn't want to take the time to say I was desperately in need of washing my hands! ;)

Just what I needed... Church: Does a body--and soul--good.

Denied... I hoped to get bubble tea from Yunnie's today. That's my favorite bubble tea place on the Ave. Who knew they were closed on Sundays?!? That's lost business for ya. My honey milk tea craving will have to wait for another day.

Crunch time... I have a final tomorrow. Am listening to my music examples. Wish me luck!

Metro Woes

Argh, I don't know that I'll ever out and out praise public transportation. It's good most of the time, but it takes one late bus to get the *grumble grumble* out of people--myself included. I waited over half an hour for my bus this afternoon. Half a freakin' hour. This isn't the first time the bus has been severely tardy. Different route, but still. I guess matters were made worse when I witnessed a heated verbal exchange at the bus stop, and it wasn't pretty. I think if I hadn't kept myself preoccupied analyzing what the man was yelling (chalk it up to my being a communication major, taking speech codes and language classes), I would have been traumatized. And he wasn't even yelling at me.

I miss my car. But even if I had it here, I guess I'd complain about the cost of parking. *grumble grumble* :) I like typing *grumble grumble*. You should try it some time.

I'm flying high, defying gravity

Oh, you have no idea how big of a burden has been lifted off me! The paper has been turned in, the speech has been delivered, the questions have been asked and answered. I was really nervous during my speech (and even stumbled a bit), but I recovered during my Q&A time. When the hour was over, my professor told our group that he heard very interesting speeches. After hearing 40 this week, he could have zoned out, but he gave the 10 of us a collective compliment. I take that as a good sign. Phew! As for me, I'm just glad it's over. :)

Am going to see another concert tonight. This time it's the combined choruses and orchestra. Two years ago, I was part of the chorus singing on stage, and tonight I'll be out in the audience. It's kinda cool to think that I've been on the performing side, even if it was only for a brief time.

Finals, I'm ready for you! (Ha ha, not really, but I will be.)

It's here

The last week of class. I think this week will be more stressful than finals. Argh! I've got a paper and speech to write. I was in a groove, reading at -- appropriate enough -- Suzzallo Reading Room, but I had to stop for an officer's meeting at 4 p.m.. Two hours later, I haven't found my way back to schoolwork. *sigh* Oh well.

That's not why I wanted to blog. Hehehe. I just wanted to say that I won $28.50 at Muckleshoot Casino on Friday! Mom, Dad, and I had seafood pho (mmm) and then gambled a little bit. I didn't have any money, so Mom gave me $20. We all played the same slot machine game (I can never remember its name). I got to "party" for the first time and doubled my points, but then Dad started hovering over me and I started losing. No joke. LOL! :) I switched machines a little later and nearly lost. I was down around 100 points when I got to "party" again and I kept touching presents (that amount to points) on the screen like there was no tomorrow, eventually "party pooped," but ended up winning $48.50! Of course, I had to give back the original $20 to Mom. Anyway, it was pretty sweet. As a family, we still lost and the house won. Ah, gambling. :)

Me encanta la opera Florencia en el Amazonas

Wow. I saw Florencia in the Amazon tonight with Mom. First we attended the pre-performance lecture, which was informative and entertaining (humor-wise and piano-wise!). Then, of course, came the performance. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Everything came together so well: the music, singing, dancing, sets, lights, props, special effects... everything. The lecturer talked about a German concept about the collaboration of art. Whatever that German word was, it was right on the mark.

The singers were fantastic. I'm still amazed that they can project so well without the aid of microphones. That's probably one of *the* coolest things about opera, and I'll never get over it. I don't want to! I hesistate to point out favorites among the singers. They were all so powerful and are a solid cast. Ooh, special props to the chorus that sang from the sides of McCaw Hall. Talk about surround sound! :))

I *loved* hearing the music live. Daniel Catan's music is so amazing. I don't know, it makes you feel alive (not that any of us are dead), but if you listen to Florencia, you'll know what I mean. You actually hear and feel the pulse in the music, and the soaring phrases are breathtaking.

The opera was visually stunning. I normally don't comment on sets, lights, costumes, but how can I not? The boat could turn 360 degrees. The moving lights on the stagefloor really DID look like the moving river! The butterfly transformation at the end was beautiful. :)

Ah, there are no adequate words to describe everything...

The good news

I wasn't joking when I said I was addicted to tvtome.com. Well, it turns out that "Lost" won't be airing new episodes for the rest of March, which means I can watch "American Dreams" this month without conflict (my roommate watches "Lost"). Yay!

Still here

I haven't dropped off the face of the planet or anything like that. :) Have just been swamped lately, and I *still* have plenty to do before finals roll around.

Oscars were enjoyable enough. For the one category I actually cared about (best song), neither of my favorites won. Oh well. I ended up watching six hours of Oscar-related TV (yikes), and I swear I saw Josh's manager and vocal coach on the ABC post-Oscar coverage. LOL! That was worth it. Just picture me squinting at my TV (good ol' TV!) hoping to see Josh and at least getting to see David Romano and Brian Avnet (or very good lookalikes), and then you'll understand.

I saw a jazz concert on Monday with one of my clustermates. We saw three UW groups perform at Meany. Dannnng, they're talented. It's fun watching the other performers onstage react to the soloists. They look like they are having the best time listening to each other and playing with each other. Everyone's smiling, moving to the beat, nodding their heads... something to show that they're groovin'. :)

Don't have much else to report. Ooh, I get to see Florencia on Saturday! So excited. So I've been to my first opera workshop. And I've been to my first opera dress rehearsal. This is the real deal: my first opera opera. Ooh, note to self (and Mom): don't forget the binoculars. :)

Support your long-distance sister

Janice is walking for the American Heart Association. Please consider donating any amount (even if it's just $5) to a worthy cause.

http://heartwalk.kintera.org/syracuseny/janicecabellon

Thanks,
Alli

Oscar buzz.. zzzzzzz...

Well, the 77th Annual Academy Awards airs tomorrow. I'm looking forward to Josh and Beyonce's performance of "Believe." But, of course, you probably knew that. :)

I've visited some of the news sites online, and they are talking about how the Oscars don't have any major contenders this year, so that may affect the ratings. I agree. I haven't seen Million Dollar Baby or The Aviator. I don't plan to anytime soon. But I'll still watch the awards show.

Btw, one article reported that last year's Tony Awards only attracted 6.5 million viewers. That show was one of the best I've seen in years. Perhaps I *should* work for the PR firm that handles the Tonys (I know which one does). That would be so much fun. :)

Shout-out to last night's writers of ALIAS

Andre Nemec and Josh Appelbaum... you guys rock! Finally finally. Alias calls back to the first season of the show with Anna Espinosa, cutting off a finger (hehehe), and actually having a dramatic cliffhanger moment (ruined by scenes from next week's episodes, but you know you wanted to see that!). *sigh* Good stuff. :)

"A new adventures awaits you this weekend."

Or so the fortune cookie said. But does that apply to this weekend (which is nearly over) or next weekend (which is too far way)???

At any rate, I definitely had an abnormal weekend. Am really glad that it lasted a couple extra days. Friday doesn't *really* count, but at least I didn't have any pressing matters to attend to. Saturday was very enjoyable and productive .

Ah, yes. But on Sunday, she rested. I was pooped out, I tell ya. There was no way I could make it to church. So I plopped myself down on the couch for pretty much the entire day. My cheeks swelled, and I could barely stay awake longer than 2 or 3 hours at a time. Definitely was awake for "Desperate Housewives" though.

I head back to the dorm in an hour or so. Hope I survive this week OK!

Recovering

Hi! My pain medication seems to be working (yay!), and I'm having a pretty good time recovering from my wisdom teeth surgery. After my surgery, Dad picked up my prescriptions and bought Frosties from Wendy's for me. That makes three Frosties in one week. I think those do wonders, even if you can't finish 'em. :)

I watched the rest of the Grammys. The first 65 minutes were the most entertaining. Loved watching the opening act, Alicia Keys, and U2. Didn't really enjoy J.Lo -- she was singing live. Heh heh.

After that I watched a program hosted by Lea Salonga. It was about religious faith of Asian-Americans. I didn't really need to watch it (I almost fell asleep a few times), and I certainly didn't agree with everything they said, but hey, it's Lea Salonga.

For whatever reason, I desperately wanted to watch Annie. LOL! So I popped in the videocassette of the 1999 version, starring Alicia Morton, Victor Garber, Audra McDonald, Kathy Bates, Alan Cumming, and Kristin Chenoweth. Good stuff.

Finally, I watched The Notebook with Dad. Hmmm... I keep hearing about people bawling after watching the movie. Under Alexa's recommendation, I read the book last year. I definitely cried after reading that. But I didn't really cry after watching the movie. Eeep. I hope there's nothing wrong with me. I got teary-eyed after watching Kramer vs. Kramer in class the other day. Hmmm... what was the last movie that really made me cry? Will have to think about that one. Cinema Paradiso, the new version, made me really sad. Maybe it was Finding Neverland. I held back the tears, but it was a tear-jerker. Will have to get that when it comes out on DVD.

GSP... niiiice

I used my "graduating senior priority" status to register today. I didn't even bother to wake up before 6 a.m. to do it. Not even 7. Eight. Yup, 8 o'clock. And, it was the easiest and most painless registration experience I've ever had! YAY!

I may or may not change my schedule, but right now I'm signed up for two COM classes and a Filipino histories class. I've actually never taken a history class at UW, so I thought, "Why not?" As for my COM classes, I'm very happy 'cause I thought I wouldn't be able to take both. The first time schedule indicated that the classes would be a country mile (lol, I'm borrowing Brittany's Olive Garden parking lot phrase) apart, which means the ten minute break between classes would be a %($!*#& walk on foot. The latest time schedule says otherwise! Now we're talkin' a quick city block. No need for bikes or Segweys.

The reason why I might change my classes is that I've *always* had at least one class every weekday. The COM classes meet Tuesdays and Thursdays. I *thought* the history class met Mondays and Wednesdays... alas, it meets MWFs. Oh well.

T-minus two hours 'til extraction. See ya when I see ya...

Don't kill "American Dreams"!

OK, first you don't order 22 episodes a season, and directly related, you're not airing any new episodes during SWEEPS, for cryin' out loud.

Now you're gonna move "American Dreams" to Wednesday nights at 8? Are you out of your mind, NBC? A bit LOST, aren't we?

Jeez. I am so addicted to tvtome.com right now, and it's telling me that "American Dreams" will air on Wednesdays. Bad move, NBC. Bad move. Thanks a lot for killing such a great show.

Almost in the clear

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for the weekend. And it's not like I'm even going anywhere (*ahem*Disneyland*ahem*New York*ahem*LUCKy). I'm having my wisdom teeth extracted. I don't think I'll be happy when I'm groggy and in pain, but I can't wait to rest and watch my tape of the Grammys and movies on DVD... oh, and drink milkshakes. :)

An update on my internship. I translated the PSA into Spanish last Friday and surprised everyone--including myself! On Monday I got some help from another staff member, and he said my Spanish was pretty good. Considering I haven't taken Spanish since high school, I'm still pretty amazed.

It's been a long day. Back to watching Alias, which is shaping up to be better than last week's episode. Ha!

Edit: LOL! "Will you marry me, Mr. Bristow?" Love Marshall. :)

Best ever

Howdy, y'all. I'm not entirely sure how much I should report about this weekend. ;) It was definitely fun! And I couldn't have spent it in a better way. Let's see... Not-so-great but still entertaining dueling pianists at Chopstix. Reeeeally good drinks. Really really. We *could* stay in the bathroom forever. Name that tune. Interesting time between 2 and 5 a.m. I learned more about Iceland than I have in my entire life. Best gum ever. The car ride did us in. Best chicken strips ever. Happy birthday, Brittany! *thinking of my potential audience* Yeah, I'll keep it at that. *grin* :)

"I have confidence in me."

Don't know how The Sound of Music popped into my head, but it's fitting! One of my projects at the Opera today was to call back the radio stations and ask for their PSA requirements. Oh yes, PSA stands for Public Service Announcement. :) I've never written one, but we covered how to do them in my writing class last summer. This time, when one of the radio stations answered the phone in Spanish and said, "How may I help you?" I was able to ask "?Habla ingles?" right away. :) The woman on the phone was really nice (I don't know if she was impressed, but she seemed pleased that I could at least say that) and said, "Yes." Overall, the project of calling went smoothly, and I'm getting more confident on the phone.

Had a really good day today. Felt helpful and productive at work. Only had an hour of class. Saw someone I went to high school with on the Quad. Actually fasted on Ash Wednesday (yeah, I feel bad for never doing it before). Had an epiphany about what I learned in my communication class. Got a lead for an informational interview (wish me luck!!!). That's probably the best thing that happened today. No, it probably ties with my epiphanic moment on the bus, and I do think that may be in part to my craziness for having to fast today. Hmmm... it's all interconnected somehow. Thanks to everyone Up There. :) You know who You are.

"?Habla... ... ... ingles?"

At my internship today, I had to call some Washington-state radio stations that air Spanish-language programs. (We are preparing to send news releases and/or PSAs about the upcoming opera, Florencia en el Amazonas [Florencia in the Amazons].) When I called one of the stations, somebody answered in Spanish, and I panicked because I wasn't prepared to speak in Spanish... because I CAN'T. I haven't done that since high school, and even back then I sucked at it. Really, I did.

Anyway, I wanted to know if she spoke English, so of course I started to say, "?Habla..." And literally, not one, not two, but *three* ellipses passed by before I came up with "ingles?" Good grief. I was so relieved when she said "yes" and gave a little laugh. Actually, I was relieved *that* she laughed. :) The problem was I wanted to automatically say "?Habla espanol?" but clearly I knew that was wrong!!! :))

Become multilingual when you're young, kiddies. That's the lesson del dia.

The next step

I applied for graduation today. Now before you go "whaaaaat?" just know that I have been freaking out about this for months now. Yet when I met with my department advisor, signed the forms, declared my music minor, and went my merry way, I felt... elated! It was really nice to walk into my advisor's office and say, "I'm approaching graduation" and then hear, "Congratulations!" :) I now have graduating senior priority, which means I can choose my classes before the "regular" seniors and other undergrads. My last quarter will be autumn 2005.
"The world is a big scary place. But somehow I can't shake this feeling I might make a difference to the human race." Looks like Avenue Q is gonna be my theme musical when I step out into the "real world." Wish me luck.

"She gets the car."

Well, I really do love New York. My knack for knowing random things paid off today. In one of my music classes today, we had a guest lecturer, an assistant conductor here at UW. He invited us to guess what instrument John Philip Sousa, the march king, played. He said if somebody got it right, it would be like getting a car on "Wheel of Fortune." I question the choice of the quiz show, but you get the point. Anyway, somebody guessed the tuba. Somebody else jokingly guessed the triangle. LOL! Well, nobody knew. The conductor told us that Sousa played the violin. How about that? You learn something new every day.

Fast forward a few minutes, and the conductor was telling us the pieces that would be featured in an upcoming School of Music concert. One of them is called "Redline Tango." He was reading a paragraph about the piece and explained that it had a double meaning. I forgot the first, but the second refers to the red line of the subway system in New York. It runs through Manhattan and to BAM, where the piece premiered. "What's B-A-M?" he asked our professor. My professor didn't know. Before I knew it, I called out:

"Brooklyn Academy of Music!"

"What?"

(louder) "Brooklyn Academy of Music!"

"Broadway?"

"Brooklyn!"

"Ohh. She gets the car."

*smiles on both our faces*

Let's hear it for random trivia! Maybe I should apply for Jeopardy! (FYI, I owe it to PBS' "Ghostwriter" for knowing that BAM stands for Brooklyn Academy of Music. LOL! Loved that show.)

Baby, it's col---no, I take that back!

What's up with the 60 degree weather, Seattle? We're freakin' dyin' here. They've got the heat turned on in the dorm, in the classrooms, at work, and at the Opera. It's way too toasty. Yikes. Here in my room, the windows are open, and the fans are going. It's like a summer night. I really enjoyed last summer and I sometimes wish it still *were* last summer, but really, I'm not in denial. I very well accept that fact that it's winter. So if you please, let it be winter. No more sticky heat in January. Don't give people in the PNW a reason to wear flip flops in the middle of WINTER when it's RAINING.

My guitar!!!

A Takamine G Series, model number GS-330S. Acoustic. Steel strings. Narrow neck. Cedar top. Gorgeous mellow sound. It's beautiful. And it's mine. :)

Mom and I went to Guitar Center for the first time yesterday. That store is incredible. I started by examining a couple guitars (Yamaha and Fender). It was a little annoying because I had to tune them. As I was playing the Fender, a salesperson approached us. Jay seemed knowledgeable and trustworthy, and he was very helpful in leading us to the intermediate guitars in a room where you can test guitars without being distracted by the music aired over the speaker system. He showed me a grand concert Fender (I liked that it had a smaller body and the fact that it was a Fender [what can I say? I was thinking of RENT]), but then he said he just got a shipment of a Takamine guitar. I tried the Fender while he went to get the Takamine. I knew I would get an intermediate guitar once I started playing. For one, they were already in tune. Also, Jay had explained the wood tops of the intermediate guitars produced better sounds over time than the beginner guitars.

When he returned with the Takamine, he tuned it and then handed it over so I could try it. Right from the start, it was super easy to move my hand on the neck, and the sound was, as I said before, gorgeous. I tried one more guitar, a Yamaha with a spruce top. But I was already convinced I'd get the Takamine.

Thank you, Mom, for such an amazing present!

Gimme an 'R'!

Gimme an 'A'! Oh, forget it. Let's cut to the chase:

I got a raise at work! It was totally unexpected. My supervisor told me she had good news. I was kind of like, "Huh?" So I asked, "What is it?" And she told me I'm getting a raise -- effective today. Woo to the hoo! My day has been made. They know how to keep this student assistant happy.

Tonight I'm seeing the dress rehearsal of Manon Lescaut. Yay!

On another note: Happy Birthday, Lolo Ven!

Not my day

Well, I decided to buy a portable CD player to replace my old Panasonic. It wasn't that old, but as you'll recall, it broke. I can't live without a portable music device, so I decided to stick with Panasonic and ordered a cool model -- complete with a remote control feature -- from circuitcity.com. I bought it *because* of the remote control. The main unit is really light, and the headphones are pretty good. Unfortunately, the remote control doesn't even work! Argh, imagine my frustration if you will. Oh ho ho, I'm determined to get a replacement part without having to pay an outrageous price. I'm just not sure how to go about doing it. The Panasonic site won't let me submit my query. OK, I'm done ranting... for now.

First new year's resolution (yeah, I never got around to writing any down): Cut down the use of the word "cool." I say it too much.

Second new year's resolution: Drink more water. I think I got the idea from Janice.

Opera novice

That would be me. As opposed to an opera aficionado. This past week has inspired me to see the upcoming productions of Manon Lescaut, Florencia en el Amazonas, and Le nozze di Figaro. I have different reasons for wanting to see each opera (yikes, I keep wanting to type musicals because I'm so used to saying that).

Manon has been labeled as Giacomo Puccini's first successful opera. It's not performed by opera companies very often, so this is my chance.

Florencia is sung in Spanish. How cool is that? It was also written by Daniel Catan in the last decade of the 20th century. Yup, this opera was written during my lifetime. It's also based on themes from Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (accents over the "i" in Garcia and "a" in Marquez).

I'm watching a production of Nozze on DVD. I can't pass up watching the Young Artists, since I'll be working on the Young Artists Program at my internship.

I had wanted to see operas in the past but never got around to it. To make up for it, this is the year I'm going to see some. (And pick up some programs that I helped proofread and, in some small & supportive ways, create. ;) )

Endings and Beginnings

Here's lookin' at you, 2004. It's the year I...
...declared my major in communication.
...saw Josh Groban sing live and in person for the first time.
...met Josh Groban.
...visited Brittany in L.A.
...saw Miss Saigon for the 9th time.
...volunteered with Seattle Public Theater.
...went to New York City twice.
...saw Wicked.
...saw Avenue Q.
...attended the free Broadway on Broadway concert in Times Square.
...saw Josh in concert a total of three times.
...wrote my first complete song.

2005 is off to a great start so far. School is back in session. Alias has finally returned to the TV lineup. I've returned to work. I've also started my internship with Seattle Opera. I can't fully describe how cool it is to intern there. I've been able to write an opera synopsis, write a draft of a news release, proofread a blue-line, sit in on a department meeting, and take a tour of the office, rehearsal, and storage space. Everyone is really nice and friendly.

Here's lookin' at you, 2005.

Let's see where this year takes us.