Autumn in La La Land

As long as I've lived in the Lafayette area, the arrival of fall -- and more specifically, October -- has excited me.

First of all, it's football season -- REAL football season, when the other Big Ten teams come to town. And even if we're losing (as we are this year), there's nothing like spending a Saturday at Ross Ade cheering on the Boilers. If you win, you want to hug everyone around you. And if you lose, well...there's plenty of beer back at the tailgate.

Secondly, this is the point of the year in Indiana when the weather actually starts to change. No more of this dilly-dallying between summer and autumn. No more wondering whether to wear shorts or jeans. Get out the scarves and hats and sweaters! The leaves are changing, falling, and crunching. The windows are open during the day. It's perfect sleeping weather. It's freaking fall.

And thirdly (and probably most importantly), it's Christmas show season.

Now, I've been out of college for like...over two years. So this doesn't even apply directly to my life anymore. But for four years, October meant the beginning of rehearsals for the spectacular Purdue Christmas Show. First was the unveiling meeting where we got to see for the first time what the set would look like and what songs were in the show. Right after that, rehearsals would start. And even though it meant no more free time between regular PMO rehearsals and classes and homework, it was the thing I loved best, and I soaked it up. I walked to class with the rehearsal music in my mp3 player, memorizing the arrangements to "O Holy Night" and "Sleigh Ride" as I passed the spookily decorated Greek houses and Halloween event sheet signs.

And even now, when October rolls around, I get that same urge to crunch across the leaf-strewn sidewalks, smelling Starbucks pumpkin lattes, and letting my headphones pump the sounds of Christmas into my brain.

Is that crazy? Yes. Is it cheesy? Yes. But also magical. And while I'm not the kind of person who starts putting up the tree before Thanksgiving or anything like that, I do enjoy my slightly brainwashed reaction to the change of seasons and the subsequent need for me to listen to a yuletide tune or two.

holiday music and the economy

I love Christmas music. But I hate that radio stations only play it up until Christmas Day, and then that's it. Technically it's still Christmas until Epiphany, right? It's like, we start the season way too early, and then by the time it's Christmas Day, everyone's sick of it, even though the season isn't over. I don't like that.

I think part of the reason for this problem is because we don't really have special music for other holidays, so when it gets close to Christmas, everyone just gets super-excited and overdoses on holiday music in November, but then by the time it's actually Christmas, they're ready to be done.

Here's my solution: we should have holiday music for ALL of our nationally-recognized holidays. That way, we wouldn't overdo Christmas music. For example, what if we had Thanksgiving music? (Not just "Over the River and Through the Woods," because I'm pretty sure that's the only Thanksgiving song that exists right now.) Lots of songwriters could make big bucks writing all kinds of Thanksgiving songs, and then we'd start listening to those right after Halloween. Then by the time Thanksgiving came and we were getting tired of Thanksgiving music, it would be time to get out the Christmas songs (but not until the day AFTER Thanksgiving), and people wouldn't get as tired of it!

Also, there should be more songs for Halloween; not just "Monster Mash" and the soundtrack to "The Nightmare Before Christmas," although that is very good music. That would also get people more excited for Halloween and not rush into the Thanksgiving/Christmas season so quickly. And I think there should be special holiday music for like, Easter and Arbor Day. I think that in addition to allowing us to better appreciate the holidays, not only would this be a big moneymaker for songwriters, recording artists, and the entertainment industry in general; but it would also boost the economy because it would make these holidays a bigger deal, which would make people want to travel, throw parties, and buy gifts several more times a year, putting them in a more "consumer" frame of mind year-round. Then transportation companies, hotels and restaurants, and retailers would make a lot more money, which would result in the creation of more jobs and more frequent rises in the stock market.

So there you go -- holiday songs for all nationally observed holidays would solve the recession. You're welcome, Obama Administration.

my time of day

It's Christmas night/early in the morning the day after, I'm at work, and things are very quiet around here. So I'm just listening to some showtunes. And a song from "Guys and Dolls" caught my attention -- is this my song or what?

My time of day is the dark time
A couple of deals before dawn
When the street belongs to the cop
And the janitor with the mop
And the grocery clerks are all gone.

When the smell of the rainwashed pavement
Comes up clean, and fresh, and cold
And the streetlamp light
Fills the gutter with gold

That's my time of day
My time of day

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I'm still new to the texting thing, so I didn't get on the ball with the holiday text message, but I really appreciated the texted Christmas wishes I got from my friends!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Lis

There's only one more sleep till Christmas!

I just HAD to post this video...I can't believe I didn't see this until now!



There's nothing like the Muppets to put me in the holiday spirit! Well, that and Christmas music, wrapping presents, decorating, snow...and watching White Christmas.

Well I have to get back to work, but I just wanted to say Happy Christmas Eve! I love Christmas Eve about as much as I love Christmas Day because the anticipation of Christmas is so exciting! Just multiply that excitement times about a million and you can imagine how those shepherds felt as they traveled to the stable after being scared out of their pants by a choir of angels...they probably didn't know what on earth to expect, but the thrill of leaving their sheep and wandering out into the night had to have them chattering nervously together while they walked --

"Can you believe all those shining angels? I'm still seeing spots!"
"Who do you think we're going to meet when we get there -- will there be famous people at this thing?"
"Do you think our sheep will be ok?"
"We're gonna get in so much trouble for this!"
"Heheheeee!!!"

And then imagine their surprise to find out that the person causing all the commotion was surrounded by the humble and lowly conditions of farm animals, hay, and horse poop. Someone just like them! It must have been a sight beyond their wildest imaginations, and yet so familiar that they may have felt that it was real...genuine. Something they could believe in.

Merry Christmas Eve! I hope that tonight you feel the joy of giddy anticipation that those shepherds must have felt so many nights ago!

Peace on Earth!
Lis

Home for Christmas (Show)

Pictures from my weekend during the 75th Anniversary Purdue Christmas Show, as promised!

Backstage during the show...




This is Clarice, who leaves her beautiful home in Hawaii every summer to spend the school year in West Lafayette studying engineering! She is the sound technician for the Purduettes and a total sweetheart!


In the green room with the Kids Choir!


The kids were fascinated with my camera and decided to take some pictures...serious close-up pictures! They were funny.


The view of an empty Elliott Hall from the stage.


Getting our line-up set before the show. It was so fun to meet all of these amazing alumni!


Back with old friends...


Israel, who like me works in TV and is also a Second City comedian in Chicago! So proud!


Greg, who is now married and expecting (well, his wife is expecting. He's not like that creepy dude on the news who got pregnant). He is going to be a great dad!


Kelly stopped by the alumni room to say hi on her way onstage. She was one of my little sisses when I was in Purduettes!


Chris, who now works for the Purdue Alumni Center. He and I will be doing a civic theatre show together this spring!


Jeff, who is engaged and getting married this spring. He is such a sweet guy and loves trying to imitate Will Farrell's Robert Goulet impression. GOULET!


Monica, my roommate for three years. She now works at PMO and is graduating at the end of this week!


Sunday afternoon I got to sit out in the house with my family and watch the show. Then I surprised my mom by being a part of the alumni set! She couldn't believe I kept it a secret from her...hehe!


The Purduettes and PMO Kids Choir onstage. The girls were, in my probably biased opinion, the best part of the show! I was so proud!


The Glee Club onstage.


After the last show, it's tradition to sing a song written for PMO, "There Will Always Be a Song." That definitely made me cry! What a memorable weekend!


Coming soon, more stories from the newsroom...it's been a busy week!

Until later!

vacation day five and the weekend that followed

I promise this won't be long because a) it's almost 3:00 AM, b) I am about to completely crash, and c) there is no possible way I can put into words how fantastic my Friday and Saturday have been!

I'll just say that this weekend I've been participating in the 75th Purdue Christmas Show as a member of the Alumni Chorus. Not only has it been a joy and a thrill to have the opportunity to be back on the Elliott stage for a Christmas Show, and to be surrounded by the beautiful voices of the Purduettes and Glee Club, but it's also been just overwhelming to get to relive these moments with some very dear friends I don't get to see very often.

Tonight in particular was fabulous...which is probably evident by the fact that I'm still up at this wee hour! But I don't think I can describe it verbally...when I get all my pictures loaded onto my computer, I'll just show you what a great weekend I've been having!

Until then...nighty night!

vacation day 3

Yesterday was an eventful day. And on top of that, I think I'm finally adjusted to normal people hours, so I couldn't even stay awake late enough to blog about it last night.

So here we go...

9:30 AM - My cell phone alarm goes off. I wake up and think, "It's kinda dark in here," because when I went to sleep I'd left my Christmas tree lights on (remember I was sleeping out on the couch because my bed was covered in stuff I took off the floor for the carpet cleaners). So I go to my bedroom to shut off my actual alarm clock before it starts blaring...and there are no red numbers on the clock face, which tells me that the electricity must be out.

Cooooool.

And I can't figure out WHY the electricity is out because while my laptop does operate on battery power, the wireless internet router in my building does not, so I had no information outlet. So I just curled back up on the couch, thinking terrible thoughts of my friend Tommy and his 57-degree apartment when his heater wasn't working, and wondering how cold it would get in here after a day without power.

10:15 AM - The power comes back on. So much for my dramatics! I get on my station's website and find out that a power line pole just down the street caught on fire, and that's why our electricity went out. And Kelsey told me later that a car crash caused that to happen, which made a lot more sense because I was starting to wonder if there had been a lightning storm overnight or if power line poles just spontaneously combust these days.

10:30 AM - I get a call from Kate, the director for "Children of Eden," the civic show I auditioned for the previous night. Here is where she cast me:

-Act 1: a "storyteller" (basically the chorus) and the Snake (which as far as I can tell is an ensemble thing with a lot of dancing and tight harmonies, which sounds very much like something I would enjoy)
-Act 2: Aysha, who is a daughter-in-law of Noah (like Noah and the Ark)

And I just have to say that is the fastest casting in the history of mankind. I have never heard back within 24 hours of auditioning before! That was awesome.

So I text my friend Chris, who also auditioned, to let me know when he gets his call.

11:45 AM - A trip to the eye doctor to check up on my diagnostic contacts, make adjustments, and then order new boxes. Luckily this trip to his office didn't last two hours like last time.

1:30 PM - I check my email and there's one from Mom and Dad, who are up North moving furniture into their new lake cabin. They have sent pictures and Brrrr it looks cold up there!

1:45 PM - Chris texts me back. He is playing Adam (like Adam and Eve) in Act 1 and Noah's son Shem in Act 2, which means we will be husband and wife. That's awesome since it's always kinda weird to pretend to be married to someone you don't even know, you know?

So all afternoon I'm working on other things around the house, washing dishes, taking out the trash, and waiting for the carpet cleaners to show up. Finally, I call the office to ask what the deal is.

"They couldn't come today because the electricity was out," they tell me, which doesn't really make sense to me, because the electricity was only out for the first 15 minutes that our building's office was open. So I ask them when the cleaners will be coming, and they say tomorrow (meaning today, Wednesday). So I just decided to take down all the furniture so I could have friends over to play cards.

6:45 PM - Bethy calls and we get caught up and have a good conversation about how people should just handle their own business. Or bidness, as Amy Poehler would say (Baby Mama, anyone?).

7:00 PM - Tommy is here with Reese's Christmas Trees, and Caitlin and Troy are not far behind, followed by Kelsey, followed by a hilarious game of Phase 10, which it turns out is NOT an old-people's game like some of my co-workers thought! I would love to recount in detail how this game went, but I will just say it involved Troy needing to charge up his energy-drink slap-bracelet every couple of rounds, Caitlin being sad because she didn't get to play a single card for the first few hands, Kelsey and I revealing or remembering rules at inopportune times for Troy and Tommy, a table discussion about why "My Favorite Things" is considered a Christmas song, which led to a discussion of what "schnitzel with noodles" might consist of, and Tommy "technically" skipping Phases and "technically" winning and needing to check the rule book for loopholes at the end of the game. It was fun. I hope we get to do it again.

11:00 PM - I have a voicemail from Molly, one of my beloved little college freshmen and HSM buddies. She has a paper she wants me to look over for her, so I call her back and she emails me the paper. I do a little proofreading, email it back, and decide it's time to call it a day.

Now, this morning I woke up and put all my furniture and stuff back up and out of the way because the carpet cleaners are supposed to come this morning, although the office didn't know what time they'd be here, which again, seems strange to me. Maybe I'm asking for too much detailed information, but I feel like I'm just asking for normal information that would be really useful. Anyway, I was amazed at how fast I could carpet-clean-ready my apartment this time! I'm getting good at this.

Also, I was excited to find upon logging in to my blog that Kelsey has uncovered the mystery of what schnitzel with noodles is. And after a little reading, I found out that schnitzel is apparently veal and in Germany is considered "a hearty winter meal," which may be a contributing factor in the whole Christmas song issue: "snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes," "bright paper packages tied up with string," "doorbells and sleighbells and schnitzel with noodles!" And then, after some further reading, I discovered that Rogers & Hammerstien messed up big-time because according to this blog, Maria and the von Trapp family, all proud Austrians, would have eaten schnitzel with french fries! Huh!

Well, you really do learn something new every day. Until later!

first day of vacation

I'm going to say tonight is my first day of vacation, although it's still Sunday, because let's face it - Sunday night is actually my Monday morning.

Actually, as far as I'm concerned, vacation starts the second you walk out the doors of your place of employment, so technically by those standards, I've been on vacation since Friday morning.

Actually, yes, and actually, I'm Annie.

(That's a Parent Trap reference that only Molly or Marla would get. I just say that whenever I start using the word "actually" a lot. Maybe "actually" should be my word obsession, like Curtis' current "glory" obsession. Which, by the way, entirely changed my worship experience this morning at church. Every time I saw the word "glory" it really made me think. Thanks, Curtis.)

OK, I am obviously a little wound up. I think it's because I don't know what to do with myself because I don't have to work (yay!). Moving along...

I think I am more productive when I'm on vacation - when I don't have to be doing anything - than I am the rest of the year combined. I think I have this aversion to obligation. Like, I don't want to do something just because I am supposed to, but as soon as it's optional, extra-credit, or extra-cirricular, I'm all over it. Explain that to me. That might actually be a middle child thing...actually, yeah, I think it is. (Here we go with the actually's again!) By the way, did you know I am obsessively fascinated with birth order? I've probably mentioned that. Geez, I sound like I'm on speed or something. Anyway, the only reason I'd ever go back to school is to become a psychologist and for my thesis or whatever you have to do to get your degree, I'd probably do something on birth order. I need to get my own copy of the Birth Order Book. Again, moving along...

So I haven't even started the actual part of vacation where I don't have to go to work, and listen what I've gotten done so far:

- Cleaned up/picked up my dining room/living room area

- Found a dress to wear for the Christmas Show. I don't know if I've written about this yet, but this year is the 75th anniversary, so they invited the alumni to come back and sing a few songs in the show. I think they even asked some back to do solos and specialty groups and stuff! It should be pretty cool. Anyway, they told us that for the Purduette alumni set, we needed to have either a black skirt or black pants, and something sparkly that would look good in the stage lights on top. Since I'm not Sheila Klinker, I had to go shopping to find something sparkly and stage-appropriate. I figured I'd just get a black dress that has some sparkle, so I'd cover both requirements with one garment. It was really fun; I haven't had any excuses to wear a dressy dress in years, so it was fun to be able to look in that section of the stores with the anticipation of buying something instead of just looking for fun. I found the perfect dress - a black party dress with tulle trim peeking from under the hemline, an asymmetrical layer over the skirt that gathers on one side of the waist, and a little column of rhinestones where the waistline gathers. It ties in the back, so it can be adjusted to fit to my waist, which is something I have a hard time finding. And the bodice and under-layer of the dress has these little clear-reflective specks that sparkle very nicely in the light but don't look obnoxious in a normal setting, so I can actually (is anyone keeping count here?) wear it to parties or weddings or stuff like that. When I saw it on the hanger, I pointed it out to Marla, and she said, "Eh, I don't really like those shorty-short dresses." But then I pointed out that I'm 5-foot-two, so those dresses end up being just above knee-length on me, which is exactly where this one ended up falling. On someone of average-to-tall height, it would be sexy, but on me, it's just short enough to be sassy. I'm so excited! I love dressing up, and I never get a good excuse to these days!

- I also figured out what I'm going to wear to the station Christmas party this Saturday night. I didn't go last year, and I know people dress up, but I'm not sure just HOW dressed up they get, and I was worried my new little party dress would be overdoing it, so I decided to wear this really basic, classy black strapless dress I got at the Gap. I know, I know, I never buy anything from the Gap, but this year I actually (!!! I promise I'm not trying to do that!) found something there that fit me. Anyway, I figure it's dressy but not too over-the-top, and it's pretty conservative as far as strapless dresses go. So I'm glad that's all figured out.

- I got Christmas presents for Mom and Dad, and for Michelle, and I got great ideas for Marla.

- I bought wrapping paper and ribbon and got my mom and dad's gift and Michelle's gift wrapped and under my Christmas tree! I really wish I had more of my shopping done so I could do some more wrapping! I enjoy wrapping presents! So if anyone has some wrapping they need done, just bring it by...I have really cute wrapping paper!

- I picked out a song for my audition tomorrow night, finally. I dislike picking out audition songs about as much as I like wrapping presents. I just feel like it's a lot of pressure to put onto one song, and that if I pick the wrong one, it's going to ruin my audition. I just don't like auditioning in general, although auditioning for civic shows is a LOT nicer than auditioning for my high school shows was. I'm really excited, though, because I got one of my friends I used to sing with at Purdue to audition for the show too. He is incredibly talented, and he went and tried out tonight and said it went well, so hopefully he'll get the part he wants and we can have fun doing the show together! I hope my audition goes well...I just hate waiting to find out whether you got the part or not. Blech! Anyway, I've been trying out all these different songs, and I tend to be a belter, so I sing pretty loud, and I'm a little worried about my neighbors getting upset with me. But whatever. Hopefully they'll be at work tomorrow during the day when I'm practicing!

OK, I think that's everything I've gotten accomplished so far. I'm not going to set an alarm clock tonight in celebration of the fact that I'm on vacation. Ooh - Casting Crowns "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is playing on my AOL radio right now...this is such a cool version of this song. Very powerful. I think it would absolutely ROCK as a piece in the Christmas Show cantata...a male solo with the chorus in the background. I wish I could plan a Christmas Show. So many awesome songs out there. Alright, I am finally running out of things to say, so I'm gonna leave it here.

Until later!

We Need a Little Christmas Now!

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever!

Okay, LOTS of stuff to cover. First of all, Thanksgiving was great. We had a good show, and then I went home to K-town to hang out with my family and watch the parade, which much to Marla and my delight included Kristen Chenoweth singing the Christmas Waltz on a float with the Care Bears! I noticed that I tended to watch all of the marching bands and color guards a lot more closely than in previous years, too. My dad and I made commentary on all of their costumes; he knows how much I dislike color guard uniforms in general so we were trying to pick out the good ones.

I have to admit I got a little cranky at my Mamaw and Papaw's...We had a wonderful dinner, which of course made me sleepy, on top of the fact that I hadn't slept yet. Then Mamaw wanted us to decorate their Christmas tree, which is great, but it's a big tree and there are a lot of ornaments, and after awhile I realized I was the only one hanging them up, and got a little pissy when my mom asked me if I wanted to take a nap...

"No, I want to do this, but nobody's helping me!!!"

So then Mom, Dad, Aunt Julie, Mamaw, and Marla hopped up and helped me finish the tree. That made it a LOT more fun. Then when I got ready to leave, Mamaw was like, "You have to leave already? Do you have another party to go to or something?" And of course the rest of the family is like, "She has to go to work, Mom!" Haha.

Mom packed up left-overs for me, which was awesome! And I drive back and went to bed.

Friday morning at work was actually really easy. I got my show done really quickly, which was good because that gave me lots of time to get prepared for my live shot at the mall. And the live shot went really well; I was super-nervous at first, but after I got the first hit under my belt, I started to get more comfortable. And when I got back to the station, I found out that apparently everything was going wrong right before the show--people hadn't gotten to work yet because they'd overslept, one of the cameras went down, the teleprompter went out--but luckily everything got ironed out. And Baron was back to directing that morning for Kim, who had the day off, and he is so, so calm in crisis situations, so he set the tone and they all got through it just fine. And we didn't have any problems out at the mall; it was actually really fun! But I definitely have a new appreciation for what our anchors and reporters do!

Friday afternoon was fantastic as I got to meet a bunch of my HSM kids for lunch at McCords (yummy!) and then we went to my apartment to watch some videos I'd made from our summer. Then I spent the rest of the day with Justin, who is like the little brother I never had, Christmas shopping and getting his oil changed. Then his mom called and told us to bring back a pizza and watch chick flicks with her (so cute). We dug out the Christmas Show DVD from 2003, which we were both on, and found the points where we were standing next to each other--so funny! We were the same height, even though he'd been a 12-year-old member of the Kid's Choir and I was a freshman in college! (He's like 6'5" now.)

I came home that night to find Fish (my male betta) looking very sickly. He had been looking pretty rough that morning when I came home from work, so I had put him in a smaller bowl (fishy intensive care), so he wouldn't have to swim or move as much to get to his food, which he wasn't really making an effort to eat anyway. I was not very hopeful that he would recover, although he's surprised me in the past, but I wanted to give him a chance, so I tried to get him to eat before I went to bed, but he was struggling just to stay right-side-up. So I put the fish bowl in the kitchen and went to bed.

I slept in Saturday morning, then finally got up to see if Fish had made it through the night. He hadn't. I did a little ceremonial flush, cleaned out his bowl, put his little castle up on top of the microwave, and put his food away in the cupboard.

Poor little Fish. He's been through a lot with me. He got me through my first year living on my own. He got me through a couple of break-ups, and through a couple of holidays that didn't feel like holidays because I was working. He listened to me practice for civic theatre auditions and sit down occasionally to butcher songs on the piano, and he never complained once. He was always happy to see me when I came home from work every morning and he would wake up in the middle of the night to keep me company when I couldn't sleep during the weekends. Fish was a good fish, and I'm thankful for the time I got to have with him.

Anyway, after putting Fish to rest, I didn't really have anything to do, since I'd done all my house-cleaning Friday morning. So I finally decided I'd just put up my Christmas tree and decorate the apartment for Christmas. That was really fun, and it definitely got me back in the holiday spirit!

And then, this morning I went outside to go to church, and it was a winter wonderland! My initial reaction was, "Whaaaaat." But then a smile immediately crept onto my face as I sloshed outside to brush all the snow off of my car. I had no idea we'd get that much snow overnight! So now I'm sitting here at my desk, with the window blinds open so I can see the snow-dusted trees and picnic tables outside. I'm sure this will melt away pretty soon, but it was such a fun surprise this morning!

OK, I think that's all. You're now caught up on my life for the moment.

Until later!

good things

Didn't I say it would only get better from here on out? :)

All these little (and big) good things are just adding up to make me feel so much better about life in general.

First, I just feel like this week is going really fast. I mean, tomorrow is Friday! I don't feel like that could be possible! This week has just flown by! Crazy.

Next, I found the chairs!!!

We reformatted the morning news show that I produce, but part of the deal was this -- we wanted new chairs for the interview set. Right now we have these ugly little brown things that look like something the Jetsons put in a garage sale. We want to use the interview set for more than just interviews in the morning; we want to have segments where the anchors can actually just sit in the chairs for more of an informal "chat" setting. But we're not doing that till we get new chairs. And the guy who does our promotional stuff for the station said he'd spring for new chairs within a given price range as long as we got them before the end of the year. So naturally, time is running out.

BUT...today I did some more looking around and found The Chair. It's the right size, shape, and PRICE, and it comes in lots of different colors...and not crazy patterns or ugly upholstery. I was soooo excited; I got a quote and a photocopy of a picture of the chair and immediately dropped it off at the station for Mr. Promotions Guy to take a look at. Thank you, Jesus.

So given that the chair gets approved, that task is done. Check.

Another good thing - I now have unlimited texting for my phone. "Wait a minute, you mean you didn't have a texting plan until NOW?!" Yup, that's right. "So all those times I texted you, I was costing you money?" Yup. "That would explain why you never texted me back and I always had to listen to your stupid voice mails instead." Yup, that would explain that. But no worries! I am now totally textable! If that wasn't a word before, it is now. I haven't actually texted anyone yet. It takes so looooong lol. I'm sure once I have more practice typing on my little phone keys, I will get faster at it. But I feel like it takes like five minutes just to put someone's name in my contact list. Practice, practice!

Here's the funny thing. I'm still on my family's phone plan (hence the no texting thing), because there's really no point in my having my own plan since I'm dead to the world most of the normal daytime anyway, so how many minutes can I honestly use? And my dad was finally tired of my little sis using up all our minutes, so he finally listened to her arguement that if she had unlimited texting, she wouldn't have to waste minutes on out-of-network calls during peak hours. The condition was that my sis and I cough up the, I dunno, fifteen bucks a piece or something like that, to get unlimited texting each month, because my dad "would have no use for texting; this won't benefit me or your mom at all." OK, fair enough, we said! Because I'm tired of feeling bad everytime someone texts me. And seriously, let's get with the times already. Well, since getting the texting plan, the ONLY two texts I've gotten have been from...my dad. Yup! Via email, of course. Because he's Mr. Technology, so once he figured out he could email us on our phones, it was cool lol. I love my dad! That kind of stuff is just what makes him the guy he is! :)

Anyway, here's something else that is just making me happy...just one of those little things in life. I updated my AIM, and now I have this little AOL Radio player on my buddy list (again, I am probably way behind everyone!) and they have all these great little stations...like, pretty much anything you could ever want to listen to -- Broadway showtunes, movie soundtracks, salsa, comedy, and (earmuffs, Kelsey...) alllllll kinds of Christmas music! Christmas classics, Christmas pop, Latin Christmas (Feliz Navidad, anyone?), Christmas jazz, Christmas around the world...and I've been just kinda checking out the "classics" one, and there is actually a lot of really great contemporary Christian stuff on there, like Casting Crowns and Jars of Clay, mixed right in there with Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis, the Muppets, and of course the wonderful HCJ! Which I think is really cool...I feel like Christmas is the one genre where music people don't feel like they have to section it off as "secular" or "Christian." Because Christmas is for everyone, right?

(OK, Kelsey, you can take the earmuffs off now.)

Lastly, I am officially done with all extra-cirricular activities...for now. Until December (which I realize is not far off) when I'm planning on auditioning for another Civic show. But it's just nice to not have to go anywhere or do anything...I can stay up if I want to stay up, or sleep as long as I want to if I feel like it! I like to be busy, but it's nice to have a couple weeks of doing nothing every once in awhile. By the time December rolls around, I will be bored and ready to fill my schedule up again, but for now it's just great to not have a schedule. And here's the single greatest thing about having a job and being done with school -- no homework. It's the best. Seriously. That alone is worth getting a degree.

Alright, I think that is it. Life is good. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I'm excited about celebrating that just a week from now!!! And eating turkey and cranberries, and then taking home turkey and cranberry leftovers. Mmmmm!!!

Until later!

turkey lurkey

Of course on the day that I don't have to wake up early, I just go ahead and wake up early. Maybe some blogging will get things out of my head and then I can go back to sleep!

I am so excited for Thanksgiving this year! Don't get me wrong, I always look forward to it, but I usually don't actually get count-down-the-days excited for it like this. I've always been a huge Christmas fanatic, so for me Thanksgiving always kind of marked the beginning of the last stretch before my favorite holiday. In high school, Thanksgiving could never be fully enjoyed because finals and school projects were looming overhead, not to mention the early-morning swim practice the Friday after Thanksgiving Day.

And in college, Thanksgiving was just a quick oasis from Christmas Show rehearsals and classes. And what did I take home? My Christmas Show music and my textbooks. And in college, I was in Christmas mode by the beginning of October, when the Christmas Show concept was unveiled and we started rehearsals. So by Thanksgiving, it had been Christmas for like a month and a half.

Here's the thing that got me most excited about Thanksgiving: the Macy's parade. Because back before YouTube, that was pretty much one of my only chances to see glimpses of Broadway musicals (the other chance was in the summer when the Tonys were on). I would always have my mom wake me up in time to watch the parade with her, and I would figure out the best strategy for flipping between the major networks so I could view the most performances possible.

But this year, I'm proud to say just how excited I am for Thanksgiving, not as the second-born child to Christmas, but completely on its own merit. Now that I have this job, I don't get any time off for Thanksgiving. It's just a full work week during which I drive to a relative's home one day to eat turkey and hang out with relatives for awhile before driving back and going back to work. And I think that makes me appreciate it more. And this year, I only have to drive as far as Kokomo to my grandparents, which will be a piece of cake! And then I'll get to take home some scrumptuous left-overs, which soothes the pain of having to go back to work that night. And everyone is coming home for Thanksgiving break...all of my little HSM buddies! So getting everyone together for the first time since August will be so exciting! And thankfully (ahh haha) we've all kept in touch, so it won't be that weird thing where everyone comes back from college and doesn't know each other anymore. I don't think. Anyway, I'm just super-excited about Thanksgiving this year...going home, eating turkey and cranberries, catching up with friends...it's gonna be great.

And hopefully I'll be able to catch some of the Macy's Parade after work that morning!

Oh...and there may be a potentially exciting piece of news regarding me, the mall, a microphone, and the day after Thanksgiving. But we'll have to see what happens. I'm gonna leave it at that.

Until later! :)

Whisk

I just got excited because I'm making chili and I get to use the new whisk I asked for for Christmas.

That sentence alone says "I need to get out more" on so many different levels.












*Disclaimer: I really do love my new whisk. I asked my mom for it for Christmas and she got me a great one, and I am so grateful to her for getting it for me. I in no way regret the fact that I asked my mom for it, and that she got it for me. If you ever read this, thanks Mom!!!

Winter Break

Here's some irony for ya...I don't get a winter break this year for the first time since I was 5, because I'm not in school anymore...

But the term "Winter Break" applies to this time in my life better than I can possibly describe.

I'll describe it anyway :)

First of all, the break-up. This is the perfect time for a break-up, because everyone is gone, so none of these parties/get-togethers where people are telling you what they think about your break-up, and none of those uncomfortable moments where you both end up in the same place and everyone starts watching like you're suddenly the newest episode of "Grey's Anatomy." That actually happened once and I ended up crying...and not really because I was upset, but just because I felt all this pressure leaning in on me from around the room, and I literally cracked. So...none of those moments for awhile!

Also, some pretty big things happened...well, ONE pretty big thing happened just a few days ago. Our music director at Purdue announced that he was retiring, effective December 31. Which was a huge shock to people, since there are a lot of big things happening next semester that he won't be there for anymore. And it just makes everyone wonder...what's going to happen? This will change so many things for those kids. I am glad that a) I have already graduated and b) that it is winter break, so all the kids are at home where they can digest this with their families instead of rehash it at school...I mean, they'll do that anyway, but at least they'll have done it with their families first.

Finally, I got sick. It's just a cold, not the flu, but I honestly cannot remember the last time I've felt this gross. And since no one is in town and I don't have a boyfriend anymore, I can spend all day in bed, looking gross, and not having to go anywhere. I haven't been sleeping well because of being sick, so by yesterday I was exhausted when I got home from work. I went to bed about 9 a.m., and from then until about 6 this morning I have been in bed, with only small breaks for answering the phone (sometimes), going to the bathroom, taking medicine, and occasionally getting online for AIM, email, or facebook. And that's it! It's been a real break! All around! And it's not even Christmas yet!

I set up my first very own Christmas tree and did my shopping, and all my presents are wrapped and under my tree...and I'm so proud everytime I look at it! It's weird, for some reason I am the least excited for Christmas that I've ever been, and I don't know why. I am excited to go home, but I don't really feel like it's only a few days till Christmas, and I think it might be because every day at work just makes me feel like...every day is just another day. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, it's just that difference of not having a build-up. No Christmas show rehearsals, no finals, no packing and going home. I think that must be it. I have one day off to look forward to; Christmas Eve night/Christmas morning, and then on Christmas night I go back to the newsroom. Holidays come and go so fast because I don't get to relish them for days, just for hours. The only thing that gets me excited is Christmas shopping and wrapping presents. And looking forward to seeing the Christmas Show on TV!

Speaking of TV, here are my media picks of the moment:
TV...well, nothing is on TV right now thanks to the writers' strike, but here are some shows I started watching and hope to be caught up on by the time WGA lets Hollywood get back to business:
1. The Office -- I love Christopher Guest movies, and this is like if a Chris Guest movie were made into a TV show. I bought the first season on DVD, which to my disappointment only had six episodes...they must have really been counting on this one to fail! Which is understandable, considering the fact that it was based off of a British show of the same title. It's subte, dry, every-day humor and I love it. I am very much in love with the character Jim Halpert (who isn't?) as well as the Jim-Pam love story, or "JAM" as some fans call it. "The Office" never fails to cheer me up and give me stomach cramps.

2. Pushing Daisies -- I had seen the promos for this when the new TV season started, and it looked interesting, but I was busy enough watching "The Bachelor" on abc.com, so I didn't look into it. But I kept hearing my director obsess over it, so now that I've run out of other stuff to watch, I thought I'd give the show a look. I also found out that one of my favorite Broadway people, Kristen Chenoweth, is in it, so that was what really made me decide to check it out. I love it. It's like Tim Burton, Gilmore Girls, and CSI all rolled into one show! Every episode is like a little movie. It's whimsical, colorful, dark, and old-fashioned, with that rapid-fire wit of Gilmore Girls but finally in an atmosphere fitting of that writing style. And it's a murder mystery, so you just can't stop watching as every twist leads you to the next commercial break. Luckily, I was watching online and didn't have to sit through much of a commercial break! And Kristen Chenoweth even sings! The best part, too, is that when characters sing in this show, they just sort of naturally burst forth without needing an excuse to, and for this show, that works and makes sense. That's hard to do in a movie, let alone a tv show! More about that in the movie section...

Movies...
1. I rented "The Wendell Baker Story" from a redbox and it was really good. One of those movies that got totally missed by everyone, even though it was written and directed by the Wilson brothers (Luke, Andrew, and Owen -- actually Owen just acted in it). It was a quirky little story about a con man who decides to clean up his act after his shinannigans cost him his girl, his best friend, and some prison time. He goes to work in a retirement home where he finds out about the shady dealings of the owner and decides to help out, and make friends with, the hilarious senior citizen residents. The movie isn't flashy or over-the-top in any way, which is probably why it flew under the radar for the public, but to say it's worth the dollar it costs to rent it at a redbox vending machine for the night is an understatement.

2. High School Musical 2. Yes, I bought it. I am a sucker for this stuff. It's campy, cheesy, and not made for people my age...but I totally don't care. This is the part of me that never got past the age of 12: I love any show where singing and dancing is involved, and I love Ashley Tisdale. This movie was even better than the first one because there were much more songs, especially big group numbers, and the dancing was a lot more complicated. Also, this had more of a musical feel to it because more of the songs came out of the storyline and happened "spontaneously," whereas in the first movie most of the music was explained by an audition or even kareaoke. I am one of those people who wish life was a musical, and in that musical, the singing and dancing tells the story, everyone already knows the words, and uniform dance moves happen not because someone taught it that way, but because everyone was feeling the same emotion, which led them to move as one. Of course! So I respond better to a show where the songs seem to kind of just happen, rather than be rationalized. Because it's less realistic! Makes perfect sense, right?

Ok, that's all I have for now. Time to find something to eat and start cleaning up my "sick person" mess around the house!

My First Snow Day!

(File this under things I never want to forget.)

So, today was my first "snow day," as they call it at the station.
All week the weather team was forecasting snow for late last night and this morning. And they were absolutely right! It snowed last night when I was on my way in to the station, and kept snowing all night long.

We already had a plan--someone was going to do a live shot from the outside deck so everyone could see the snow. And I was counting on some breaking news; a crash or something like that, or at least police reports of bad road conditions.

But it wasn't until about 3:15 this morning that I heard anything. The scanner had been mostly quiet, and then I heard it; the big story.

A Greyhound bus had slid off the road on the interstate. At least eleven injuries, broken bones, head and neck injuries. I called our video guy to go shoot it. Not long after that, it sounded like almost every emergency vehicle on duty was being sent to this crash.

Then the anchors came in, excited about the show. Then the tape guy came in, not excited about the live shot. In fact he was, I think, 65 percent sure that it wasn't going to work.

And he and our anchorman got in an argument about it.

So now the tape guy is in a pissy mood.

And then the calls started to roll in. Schools with 2-hour delays.
Wait, wait. Before the calls came, the anchors gave me this rapid-fire crash course in how to answer the phone, and they choose to do this as I'm trying to edit videos for the show:

"If you have time, ask them why they're closing school--"
"But no matter what---"
"That way we can get the information just in case--"
"And Lisa--"
"--we need it. But if you're getting tons of calls, don't worry about. And--"
"Can I finish please? Lisa, whatever you do, make SURE you repeat back to them what they told you. Because you don't want to get it wrong. You may think you understood them, but then you'll hang up and think, 'I'm not sure what they said, alternate kindergarten or NO kindergarten?'--"
"Yes, and make sure you understand the difference because you might hang up and then think, 'Did they say alternate kindergarten or NO kindergarten?'--"
"--And you'll get mixed up, like, 'Was it Clinton Central or Clinton Prairie, or Prairie Central'--"
"Yeah, so write it down because you won't be able to post it that fast and other calls will be coming in--"

And that's how that went. And THEN the calls started coming in. And then the show started. And then the live shot didn't work. And then we were two minutes heavy. And then the live shot worked. And then we were four minutes heavy. And then the phone was ringing off the hook in the newsroom, but not in the control room. So I was sprinting back and forth to answer the phone to get the school delays, meanwhile trying to figure out how to get rid of four minutes of content.

Finally the engineer found out what was wrong with the phone in the control room: someone had disconnected it. So he plugged it in, and immediately it started ringing. From then on, I was juggling a show that was four minutes too long, a frustrated anchorman and tape guy, and a phone that was ringing non-stop. Literally every time I went to post a school delay, I got interrupted because another school was calling. And then a school called because they had called ten minutes ago and didn't see their names on the crawl, and I had to explain to them that I couldn't get the schools' names up because people kept CALLING. But finally the calls died down, and I got them posted on the live crawl. And finally I found four minutes to cut out of the show.

And then it was like a train slowing into a station; we hit a rhythm, got everything under control, and we finished the show. I felt like I had just waded through crap, or mud, or something thick and nasty, but I was proud of myself for getting to the other side. And everyone felt pretty good about it, once the anchorman and the tape guy calmed down.

Then I stayed for two extra hours to do live cut-ins with updates, and then the video guy came outside and helped me get the snow off my car while he did hilarious impressions of all the people who work at the station. Then I got in my car and came home! What a day!

And now I'm sitting here at my computer, with a beautiful scene to my right through the open blinds of a wintery wood out my window. And I'm inside, cozy and warm, and hungry! I think I'll make cheese dogs and maybe some chips and salsa.

Oh! Also some quick updates.
I put up a Christmas tree. My first one. It's artificial, but it's 6 feet tall and the perfect size for my apartment. It has white lights, gold glass bulbs, and a gold tree skirt. Nothing under it yet because I don't have enough money to go Christmas shopping until my next paycheck. The only thing under it is a bag full of clothes that I need to take to Goodwill. I can't wait to wrap my gifts and put them under the tree to wait for Christmas!

OK, media favorites of the moment:
-Music: The "Enchanted" soundtrack. It's written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, who basically turn to gold eveyrthing they touch. It was really fun driving through the snowy town with this whimsical music as a background!
-TV: The Office is my new addiction. It's so funny that I laugh just thinking about it. I've watched all the episodes available on NBC.com. I'm going to have to buy Season One on DVD and start from the beginning. I hope the writer's strike ends so I can see more episodes from this season! Also, I'm very excited because CBS is going to do a winter edition (first ever) of Big Brother! As you know, I was totally addicted to this show over the summer, and I think it's a brilliant way to deal with the writer's strike. And it comes just in time; Kid Nation is two episodes away from being over, and The Bachelor is long finished, so I'm going to need another reality vice to sink my teeth into.
-Movies: I've been revisiting the Austin Powers franchise...with the commentary. And it's really great! Mike Myers seems like a really sweet guy in real life; it's so funny that he can come up with such raunchy characters. Those movies are funnier every time I watch them.

Ok, that's it for me. I've been away from this for so long, and I can't do that anymore because I end up writing too much when I do come back. So hopefully it'll be sooner than later when I write again and I won't have to worry about that!

I'm starved. Cheese dog time! Happy snow day!

Where Are You, Christmas (Show)?

It's mid-October. It's starting to get cold. And the normal American is getting ready for Halloween.

I'm ready for Christmas.

For the past 4 years I have spent this time of year putting in serious time learning various arrangements of Christmas songs and carols for the Purdue Christmas Show. And before those 4 years, I was at least starting to learn a Christmas song or two for one choir concert or other. This year, I'm not doing that, and it's weird. There is definitely a void.

So today I had to give in to the urge and pop in an old Christmas Show rehearsal CD on my way home from work. I almost cried; I am really going to miss being in that show.

Don't get me wrong; it's fantastic not to have the stress and anxiety connected with preparing for a show of that magnitude. But Christmas Show was my favorite part of Purduettes, PMO, and Purdue. I spent all year getting excited about it, and I never got tired of rehearsing for it. When the curtain finally rose in front of a live audience, I was in my element. Nothing else will ever be like performing on that stage, and it's a little sad not to look forward to having that thrill this year.

On the other hand, I am building up anticipation to being in the audience for the first time since I was in high school. I will definitely have a different kind of appreciation for it now that I've been a part of it. And maybe I'll get to sing with the alumni onstage during the carol sing.

P.S. -- I finished training for the producer job today. I did the whole show by myself, pretty much, and it went well! I am excited about flying solo come Sunday night. I really need to watch "Anchorman" again...so many references come to mind now that I'm writing what goes in the teleprompter and dealing more directly with the anchors, but they don't come to mind as readily as they should. I've forgotten a lot from that movie. Time to brush up!

Well, it's past my bedtime. Merry Christmas and a Happy Halloween!

And We're Baaaack!

Just back during some downtime at the station to update on a couple things. As you know if you've been reading, I'm addicted to BB8, and it's really starting to get intense. One contestant is Eric, America's Player, which means that he is sort of "controlled" by anyone who wants to vote in the U.S., and they submit votes every week to tell him who to try to put up for eviction nominations, and most importantly, who to vote out of the house. This is hard for Eric, because he came into the house with his own game plan and now has to modify to what America requests from him, and the last two eviction elections, America told him to vote against his alliance, which was very risky. Well, everyone in the house sort of figured out that it was he who was casting the wayward votes, and last week Daniele as HOH had a personal vendetta to get Eric out of the house. He was almost back-doored, but some loyal alliance votes saved him...for this week. Now his best friend in the house, Jessica, is HOH, which would be good for him except that she really questions her ability to trust him after all the talk last week.

Here is where I have to say...America, what are you doing?! I know some people have said they don't like Eric, and I'm sure that some are trying to sabotage him to get him out of the house, but I think that once that happens, all those voters will regret it, because now they will have nothing to do but sit and watch the show, having no input or feeling of control with the show. Furthermore, the whole reason Daniele went on her campaign anyway is because during an endurance competition in the backyard, someone flew over the BB house with a banner saying that Eric was a liar. If it weren't for negative outside influence, Eric would still be playing the game without any backlash like he's getting now. My personal opinion is that Eric is kind of a tool, but I have to admire the way he plays the game, incorporating his assigned tasks with his own style. He's smart, and he deserves to stay in the game because he's playing it smart. Now everyone thinks he voted the way he did because he was trying to set someone up, but the truth is that he was just doing what he had to do as part of the game. I can't wait to see what happens when Dick and Daniele find out Eric's role in this game.

Enough about that! I know it's kind of lame to be into that kind of stuff, but it's fun, and it's all that I get on TV besides crime shows. CBS needs to run more sitcoms, by the way. We've got three different CSIs, Without a Trace, Cold Case, Close to Home, Ghost Whisperer, 48 Hours Mystery, NCIS, and The Unit. Gimme a break, I need something fun to watch!

Current music tastes: I've been listening to Christmas music (already getting excited for the Purdue Christmas Show as usual) and any other recordings of PMO, just because I'm excited to see upcoming shows as the new season begins. I also feel like the Christmas music may help me think chilly thoughts and stay a little cooler during this heat wave! (I feel bad complaining about the heat; Michelle is in the middle east and I know it's hotter there than it is here!)

Movies I'm into at the moment: Anything by the Chris Guest/Eugene Levy troupe (Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind, This is Spinal Tap). I just watched Spinal Tap for the first time and it was great! So funny to see these guys when they were younger! I'd like to get my own copy of Waiting for Guffman, and I'd also like to find the new one they made last year called "For Your Consideration," but I haven't seen either anywhere. I also decided yesterday that I should own more musicals. All I have is The Wizard of Oz and High School Musical (does that really count?), so last night I went to Target and bought "Hello, Dolly!" and "The Wiz." I love Dolly...I think if I could ever have a dream role, that would be it, that meddling, fast-talking lady! I was actually in The Wiz in high school, and the movie is so much cooler, and Ryan had expressed a desire to see it awhile back, and it was only five bucks, so that's why I got that one.

Final notes: Today at the restaurant it was so busy that nobody got to leave until the night time shift got there, and even then everyone was there for about an hour getting everything caught up. I was finally excused at 5:00 because I was supposed to have been at the station at 4! With freshman orientation around the corner, everyone was in town for the "last supper" and, apparantly, everyone decided to come to our restaurant! At one point this afternoon, I thought, "I hate this restaurant." Let's just say if you want to know how I like my job, ask me tomorrow! I am still in my uniform right now; I didn't go home to change over the dinner break after the first newscast because I wanted to stay to make up the hour I lost while at the restaurant. And look what I'm doing! Clearly, it's a slow night at the TV station.

That's all for me today. Really.

Lis