a mixed bag (ahhh ha ha...you'll get it at the end)

a person can develop a cold

Well! I am feeling much better today! I have been fighting off a cold since Sunday morning, and I don't get sick often, but when I do come down with something, it hits me like a ton of bricks. Unfortunately, this was a crucial week for both work and musical rehearsals, so it was not the time to wimp out and take a sick day...besides, I still tend to operate under that athlete mentality that you're not allowed to stay home sick until you puke (and sometimes not even then). Trust me, I can remember two major swim meets that I swam with 103 degree fevers. So staying home for a cold just never feels right to me.

Anyway, I was determined to recover as quickly as possible, so I went to town at the drugstore Sunday night and spent the rest of the week on NyQuil (during the day), DayQuil (at night...I just love my upside-down life!), cough syrup, vapor rub, sinus-headache medicine, and milkshakes, which may not have healing powers but feel pretty good for a raw throat. I took more medicine this week alone than I normally would in an entire calendar year. But today, while still a little congested, I am feeling much better and looking much less like I need to be taken out back and put out of my misery. :)

he's just not that into you

I saw it Saturday and LOVED it. But I'd love to know what everyone else out there thinks, because another friend of mine saw it and HATED it. She said it was because she's getting ready to get married and now she feels like she's supposed to think all guys are jerks...or something like that. I'm not sure. We were alternately trying to convince and dissuade another one of our friends about whether she should go see it. And when I said I loved it, the neutral friend said, "So do you think all guys are jerks now?" And I said, "Well, I already knew that guys are jerks, so I wasn't really surprised." But I was just kidding! I just thought it was great because it showed the good AND bad about guys AND girls and I don't think it made all guys out to be jerks; it just admitted that sometimes guys are, and that's not OUR fault, and hey, we can even avoid those guys now that we know what they're thinking. And I loved all of the endings for all of the characters, whether they were happy or not. And I don't feel like the movie tried to justify any bad or compromising relationships, which to me was a really, really good way to follow through with the theme of the movie. But please, please tell me what you think because I'm sure it's a different movie for each of us, since each of us have different experiences with the opposite sex.

the bag tag game

See...now do you get my corny joke in the title? I know, I'm pretty lame. OK, Bethany tagged me, so here are the rules:

1) Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids (ahh ha, this doesn't apply to me! But I'm not known for carrying little purses anyway). I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house. No cheating!

2) I want to know how much it cost:) And this is not to judge. This is for entertainment purposes only. So spill it. And if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I’d love to hear it.

3) Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you’re showing everyone your bag.

The Bag:


The Story:
Honestly, I haven't the faintest idea how much it cost. It was a gift this Christmas from my aunt and great-aunt, who bought it in New York City. As you can see, the clasp says Dolce & Gabbana, which makes me feel pretty cool even though I'm pretty sure it's a knock-off.



Everyone thinks the huge zippers are hilarious, and I love that detail. It also has tons of pockets and places to put things like cell phones, wallets, and keys so I don't have to dig through the volumonous abyss of the rest of the bag. I love it! :)

So here are some girlies I will tag to play the game. Have fun! And seriously, let me know what you thought about he's just not that into you and if you haven't seen it, go see it this weekend and then we'll talk!

La Di Dah
Sara Spelled Without an H
The Fabulous Life of a Southern Belle

just smile :)

Mondays are tough. Especially this time of year, it barely seems worth it to abandon the coziness of your bed and put on a brave face for work. That being said, here's something I found on YouTube last night that got my Monday off to a good start, and I hope it does the same for you!



Here's how my version of this little film clip went today:

Hobo Girl (me): (throws herself onto the rock [or work desk] crying) "What's the use of trying? They tore down my computer and all of the video edit settings on this one are wrong, and I can't find any of the websites I need because my favorites aren't saved on this computer!"

Charlie: Buck up! Never say die! If it weren't for Mondays, we wouldn't love the weekend so much, and besides, tonight is a brand new episode of The Bachelor!

Hobo Girl: (with determined fist pump) That's right, Charlie! We're gonna get to see Stephanie reunite with her daughter and hopefully Jason will send Megan and Erica packing!

So imagine whatever your version of this lovely little film would be today, and let Charlie do the cheering! (Isn't he adorable, by the way? I wish I had a Charlie Chaplin to hang out with all the time!)

And remember...just smile! :)

twenty-five

This came from a Facebook game, and I'm not asking anyone to play it here...although it does make for a kind of fun blog post if you want to try it! I just thought I'd post mine on here for that very reason.

(The Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, you choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.)

Here are my 25 REALLY random things:

1. I am a social networking junkie. I have a blog, two YouTube channels, a Twitter feed, and (of course) Facebook! I don't have MySpace, though. Do people still use that?

2. I wouldn't say I hate cooking, but I don't enjoy cooking just for myself. (And I don't mean making burgers in the George Foreman or scrambling up an egg omelette -- in my book it only counts as cooking if you actually measure out ingredients and stuff.)

3. I do enjoy living on my own, even if that does mean cooking (or frying, or microwaving) for one!

4. I love my job. Even on the days when things don't go well. It doesn't matter how much money I make...I just love what I do.

5. I'm left-handed. Did everybody know that?

6. I have so. Many. Shoes. Most of them are heels because...

7. I am 5'2". Just like Reese Witherspoon, Ashley Tisdale, and Amy Poehler!

8. My dream jobs include: Marci Klein's job at SNL, Gellman's job on Regis & Kelly, being a personal assistant to Tina Fey just so I could soak up her awesomeness (did you catch how that's a reference to Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey?!), producing my own TV show, performing on Broadway.

9. I'd really like to write and publish a book someday.

10. I am so proud of my friends; so many people I know from high school, church, college, and after college are incredibly talented and I can't wait to see them make it big so I can cash in on those friendships. Totally kidding. But I truly believe that so many people I know have absolute star quality!

11. I have lived without cable television for 3 and a half years. I still keep up with a lot of TV shows; I just watch them all online or buy them by the season on DVD.

12. I do not, and probably never will, like the taste of coffee. I think it smells good, but tastes gross.

13. I don't remember a moment in my life where I stopped believing in Santa Claus. Most people can tell a story about how they found out, but I have no recollection of that happening...which makes me think I probably still believe in Santa Claus.

14. I also don't remember a point in my life where I started believing in God and in Jesus. Most people have a story to tell about that moment, too. But for me, the belief has just always been there, although that belief has definitely evolved and been challenged and dissected throughout my lifetime.

15. Back to accessories...I also love handbags and hats. I think my love of hats is what gets me through the winter.

16. I think it'd be really cool to live in the South, but I love-love-love the change in seasons that we get here in the Midwest. I would have a hard time giving that up.

17. I want a dog, really really a lot. I think everyone knows that. Hopefully I'll have one by this summer!

18. A lot of people ask me this, so in case you're wondering, here's what my work/sleep schedule is like: I go into work around midnight. I stay until 8 AM (give or take, depending on how much other work I need to do), then I go home and go to bed, usually from 8 or 9 AM until 4 or 5 PM. I don't have black curtains or heavy shades to block out the daylight. I'm just nocturnal, like an owl or a vampire.

19. My all-time, hands-down, no-contest favorite song in the world is "More Than Words" by Extreme for three reasons: (1) it reminds me of being at the lake (I don't know why), (2) the harmonies are beautiful, and (3) I love the lyrics and I think they have an awesome meaning. YouTube it and listen.

20. $20 bills are the worst. It seems like most bank machines and cash-back options always start at $20, which annoys me because usually I just need 5 bucks to put on my laundry card and I don't want to spend money just to break the 20, and I feel like a jerk just walking up to a random cashier and saying, "Hi, I'm not gonna buy anything, but will you just break this for me?" And it's hard for me to actually go to the bank and get cash in the amount that I want because I'm usually asleep during bank hours.

21. There's an episode of "The Office" where everyone was naming the five movies they'd bring with them if they were going to be on a desert island (the game is called "Desert Island" and it's supposed to be books, but I guess everyone was mildly illiterate, so they did movies). So anyway, here are my Desert Island 5: Big Fish, Singin' in the Rain, The Wizard of Oz, Ferris Beuller's Day Off, and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. I think. I'm never completely sure; I like a lot of movies!

22. My favorite color is pink. I feel like everyone knew that one too. My dad actually ordered me a pink phone without me having to ask. Isn't that awesome?!

23. On your 23rd birthday, you go off your parents' insurance. When I turned 23 I was working two part-time jobs, so I didn't have any insurance. It was that way for a few months until I got hired full-time at the TV station. Luckily, nothing bad happened.

24. I have a lot of fake foliage in my apartment. Fake flower vines around my kitchen, fake lilies in a vase on my counter, fake ferns on my window sill, a sconce with a fake bouqet on my wall, a vase of fake flowers in my bathroom, and a big fake flower sitting on my dresser in my bedroom. Low maintenance beauty, folks. That's what it's all about. Although I do enjoy real flowers too.

25. My favorite magazine is "Lucky." (I just bought one today, so that's what made me think of it.) I like it because you don't have to see any stories like "most embarrassing moments" or "101 sex tips." It's just all about clothes, which is my only reason for reading fashion magazines anyway.

And that's it! You might give it a try...just start at one and write about the first 25 things that sort of just pop into your head!

Have a great weekend :) Until later!

grey gardens and newsroom nuggets

Let me first just say that I'm home in K-town for the weekend, I'm snuggled up in bed with my laptop in my pitch-black dark bedroom...and our cat (also black, like the night and this bedroom right now) is as nocturnal as I am and he is on the prowl. I keep hearing him stalking around, but I can't see him. Creepy...

OK, so anyway, I just thought I'd catch up and I apologize in advance because this is gonna be a long blog.

~~~

First, thoughts from the newsroom...
This morning was busy! When winter weather hits the Midwest, it really becomes the meteorologist's show, and today was a perfect example. I knocked out pretty much all of the news stories just for live shots and stories about road conditions, and I gave a TON of time to the meteorologist. Plus, schools were delaying and then cancelling, so that kept things hopping around the station as well. In case you didn't tune in last year, I am the person the superintendants call to say that school is canceled, and I am the one who puts it on the air in the little bar at the bottom of the screen. A friend of mine said yesterday, "Do you realize how much power you have? I mean, you could make a LOT of money off of that." That's assuming high school kids would be willing to pay ridiculous amounts of money to have me "accidentally" cancel school. It would have to be a ridiculous amount of money because I would get fired.

Anyway, this is just a small joy, but I noticed yesterday that two of my stories made it all the way through the day to the 11:00 news. Now let me explain why this is significant to me -- The only time I write anything is if it's new for the morning or if we have breaking news. The other day we had two breaking news stories: a train crash and an armed robbery. Now, usually these stories run again at noon, but by five or six, they don't make the news because there is a lot more new stuff twelve hours after my show. If the story does make the evening news, it's usually rewritten as a VOB or as a package. But when a story that I actually wrote makes it through the whole day, I always feel a small sense of pride. And yesterday it wasn't just one, but TWO!

Oh, lord, the cat is in here...somewhere...I wish I could explain how creepy this is! Haha!

~~~

OK, topic two -- Grey Gardens. Grey Gardens is a documentary made in 1973 about a house of the same name, and the two ladies who lived there -- Edith Bouvier Beale and her adult daughter Edie Beale (or, "Big Edie" and "Little Edie.") Big Edie was Jackie Kennedy's aunt, making Little Edie Jackie's cousin, and like the rest of that well-connected family, they used to be very wealthy socialites. Then for a reason unknown to me (I'm going to have to find a biography), the glamour, wealth, and men in their lives faded away to leave a mother and daughter in a dysfunctional, codependent relationship. The two women became very eccentric and their once-fashionable home in East Hampton became a run-down house full of cats and raccoons. The Beales never left the house and lived in such squalor that apparently their home was finally inspected with a threat of eviction. After they passed the inspection, a pair of brothers came out to the house to film a documentary of the two women in their current lifestyles. The result is Grey Gardens, a charming yet disturbing chronicle of these two women and how they chose to live.

It's equally heartwarming and heartbreaking to watch the mom and daughter's eccentric mannerisms, conversations, and choices of clothing -- Big Edie is exposing herself half the time ("I'm about to get naked, so you better watch out!") while reliving her days as a singer by warbling to old records from the 1930s and talking about how she had a wonderfully fulfilling life..."I had my cake, loved it, masticated it, chewed it and had everything I wanted." Meanwhile, Little Edie fashions clothes out of everything in the house, always covering her hair with a dark scarf, dancing around the room, and talking about how her days at Grey Gardens are numbered and how much happier she'd be in "the city" (meaning New York City, where she once lived before her mother persuaded her to come back and take care of her). The soundbytes from the two ladies are so priceless and perfect that you'd think someone had written the lines ahead of time, and yet they are so delusionally and earnestly spoken that you know no one could ever come up with this dialogue.

Now, a few years ago, someone had the idea to make Grey Gardens into a musical, and it started off-broadway. It then came to Broadway in (I believe) 2007, where it didn't run for long, but definitely made an impact, winning several awards. Now that I've seen the documentary, I'm exploring YouTube for snippets from the show, and it looks like it too would have been fascinating to see. The first act is a sort of historical fiction of what the Beales' life would have been like when Little Edie was a young woman hoping to be married, showing how Big Edie's selfish desire to keep her daughter from leaving drove the two apart; Little Edie leaves with a suitcase at the end of the first act. Act two opens on the delapidated 1970s version of Grey Gardens, and (from what I've seen) weaves the wonderful lines from the film into song and dialogue between the now eccentric mother and daughter. Christine Ebersole played the role of Big Edie in Act One, and Little Edie in Act Two, and she is sensational. In all my research of the show so far, all I see is people pointing to her and saying, "Now that is how you sing a song on Broadway. Now that is talent!"

If by any chance I've sparked your curiosity, look up "Grey Gardens" on YouTube...the entire documentary is there in sections, as are several songs from the Broadway show. Especially check out "Revolutionary Costume for Today" and "Around the World." I would watch the documentary first because it gives you much greater appreciation for the songs, their lyrics, and Ebersole's ability to capture the essence of the women in the documentary.

OK, that is it for me! Sorry, I told ya it was going to be a long one! But hopefully I've given you an interesting read.

And I think the cat just farted. Is that possible? Do cats fart?

Until later!

What Makes Me Happy

I am wrapping up what has turned out to be a GREAT weekend.

Let me tell you why.

First, I had an wonderful meeting Friday with my boss. I still don't want to spill the beans on this work stuff, but I can basically tell you that things are going really well at work! Which is really good, because there's still a year on my contract there and with my upcoming anniversary, I've been thinking about where I want to go next and what I want to do. I've always liked producing the morning show, but after a year I was starting to think of all the bigger, brighter, shinier things that must be out there. Because the honest truth is, if I stay where I am now, I've got nowhere to go. I can't go to the evenings unless I wait out the contract of the evening producer, and then what if she doesn't want to leave? And even if she did want to leave, I don't really want to move to the evenings anyway, because I love the people who work in the mornings, and as crazy as it may sound, I actually like working while everyone else is sleeping! In fact, I'm seriously considering looking for a morning producing position for my next job. And sleeping in a coffin and sucking the blood of humans and living forever. Just kidding...I just get the ol' vampire joke quite a bit these days. And wouldn't that be a fun way to freak out people when out for dinner as a new girl in a new town?

"Hey, what do you do?"
"Well...I work at night."
"Oh, the graveyard shift, huh?"
"Yessss, you could say that."
"When do you sleep?"
"During the day."
"Yeah, it must be killing you to be up right now when the sun's out, huh?"
"You have no idea."
"So when do you eat?"
"Whenever the opportunity presents itself."
"Right, I guess this would be more like breakfast time for you. Is Italian OK or would you rather go somewhere they serve breakfast?"
"It's fine. Just...nothing with garlic."
"Hmmm, allergic? Well let's just start with a glass of wine. White or red?"
(Spooky smile)...
"Red."

OK, the fact that I took that long to type that out is proof that I should probably stay on the morning side for the sheer fact that I'm a humongous dork. Annnnyway, back to work...where the great thing is that now I still have something to look forward to and get excited about at my current job, rather than just look ahead to when my time's up and I can leave.

On with the weekend!

After work and a solid 5 hours of sleep, I went to a friend's house for dinner with a bunch of friends I haven't seen in awhile, especially Issa, who's home for the first time since going to IU! I love that girl so much and getting to hug her and talk to her NOT on the phone was so refreshing! After dinner, we met up with some more HSM buddies and their friends for "My Best Friend's Girl," at the movie theater. There I got to see Landon, who was also home for the first time since going to IU. And even though we were at the movie theater, we were able to do a little catching up and mostly hugging, which is the best!



This is why we love each other.


So good to see this guy!


My weekend continued Saturday with the Twin Lakes Marching Band Invitational. We had practice in the morning with the color guard girls, so I spent the 45 minute drove over there thinking about how I was going to spend the time between noon and 6:00 without driving back here. Luckily Ethan, the color guard head coach, already had that figured out. He surprised me with tickets to good ol' Indiana Beach and a visit from a couple of friends we used to go to Purdue with! We rode all the rides and spent time sitting and catching up with each other's lives and people watching (IB is a GREAT place for people watching!) and it was a great day! Then we went back and watched some of the bands perform before eating dinner in the staff lounge and then getting our girls warmed up to perform.

We performed in exhibition since we were hosting, but the girls did the best I've seen them do yet. They finally seem to get the concept of smiling even when someone messes up or drops a toss, and I was so proud of them! We also found out that if we HAD been competing, we would have won our division! Our scores were some of the best we've had so far, which was encouraging for the kids. And boy, did they need it. Friday had been a traumatic day at Twin Lakes because four students had been killed in a bus accident and everyone was naturally pretty somber. We dedicated our show to the memory of those students, and our band director had tears in his eyes as he was talking about it before we went on the field. I think the kids, in a small way, needed something like a great score recap to encourage them Saturday night.

I was so pooped by the end of the day that I took no time at all going to sleep when I got home at 12:30 AM. When I woke up, it was Sunday morning and time to go to church to see the Purduettes! The girls sounded great and it was so good to see some of those girls and hear about what's going on in their lives. It just made me proud to be a part of that organization.

So yeah, overall an awesome weekend! Hopefully that will carry into my week with this new project at work still on the line...

Until later! :)

O-kaaaaaayyyy...

Burn After Reading. (Spoiler Alert!)

That movie is now scratched off my mental list of wanna-sees. Is it ever! Here's the thing -- I feel like I usually can handle dark comedy. But this was a little too much for me to handle. I think the key to keeping a dark comedy funny is to only kill characters we either (A) don't know well enough to care about or (B) hate and won't care if they die. If you DO kill off a character we have any sympathy for, you shouldn't actually show it happening.

In "Burn After Reading," they did NOT follow these guidelines! They killed the funniest character in the whole show, thus killing most of the funny for the rest of the movie, and then they killed the only guy who seemed to have a decent head on his shoulders, which made me sad. I know, the irony is supposed to be what's comedic, but having to watch him be brutally killed was really terrible. And I hate graphic grossness anyway. And murdering in general. So yeah. But I mean, I got it. I got the jokes. It just wasn't quite my taste.

What was funny is that Frances McDormand, who plays the lady who unwittingly causes all the trouble, does a great job of playing this character who seems to think she's in a spy movie. She's melodramatic and delivers all those cliche lines she's probably seen on TV shows or read in paperback novels. She was brilliant. So was Brad Pitt as a dumb, classless gym rat who never seems to know what's going on but is ready to jump in and be a part of it. The best part of the movie was his phone conversation with John Malkovich, in which he's trying to get a reward for finding a CD of what he thinks is highly classified secret information...it gives me an insight into some of the people who call the station thinking they have a Grade-A story for our newsroom. It's hilarious.

I also laughed every time Malkovich said the word "memoir" even though I know that probably wasn't supposed to be funny.

This isn't the kind of movie that you leave feeling good about the world outside the movie theater, and it isn't even one that you leave repeating all the great one-liners. It just leaves you feeling much like the two CIA agents at the end of the film when they say, "What did we learn? Uh...not to do it again? Although I don't know what it was we DID..."

Next on the list are "The House Bunny" (which, let's face it, I'll probably just wait to see when it shows up in the Redbox machine), and "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist." As you probably know, I'm a Michael Cera fan, and the premise of the movie looked cute, so I think it'll be worth watching. Ooh! I also saw a preview for a movie adaptation of one of my favorite books of all time, "The Secret Life of Bees." Can't wait to see that!

OK, that's all I've got for now. Until later! ;)

Let's go to the movies...

...let's go see the sta-ahhh-ars!

There are lots of movies I want to see. I saw one of them today and I'll tell you about it in a minute. But first, the other ones I want to see are "Burn After Reading" and "The House Bunny." I think there are some other ones coming out soon, but I can't remember...so the list will grow. And friends, be ready to go see them with me!

OK, so I had the best day ever because one of my dearest girls, Katy, is back in town with a teaching job, and we went to church, lunch, Starbucks, and a movie today and laughed more than I probably have in a month. I love that girl like a sister! And I'm so glad she's in town so I can (hopefully) see her more often!

Now to the movie--"The Women," a remake of a 1939 film of the same title. I made sure to watch the original first so I could compare the two (if you want to see the 1939 version, you can watch it on YouTube), and I have to say the original is better (which is usually the case, isn't it?). Meg Ryan and her all-star supporting cast was great, but I felt like the story was a lot weaker than the original. Part of the reason why, I think, is because the women in the 1939 version were catty and gossipy more than they were caring and considerate of each other's feelings. The new version's women were much more sympathetic, but less entertaining. Part of what makes the old movie so fun is watching busybody Sylvie Foster get in everyone's business and make arch comments at all of her so-called friends. The 2008 Sylvie is kind of a cutthroat, business-first woman, but truly does care about her friends underneath the harsh exterior. And though I liked that the new version has Sylvie and Mary making up and working as a team to bring down Crystal Allen, I felt that they could have done a lot more with that part of the story.

Speaking of Crystal, that character was very underdeveloped and under-used in the remake. When you have someone as gorgeous and fun to watch as Eva Mendes cast in the role, you need to put her on the screen more than what they did. Joan Crawford's Crystal in the original is so villainous in the way that you just love to hate her, and I think Eva could have done the same if they would've given her the chance. The same can be said for Bette Midler's Countess, although I will say that I and the two other people in the theater who'd seen the original (they were sitting down and to the right) got a big kick out of "L'amour, l'amour..." I appreciated them keeping that and several other great lines and scenes in the screenplay.

The neat thing about this movie and the original is that you never see a man on screen the entire time. However, the way they did it in 1939 was in a way that you didn't really wonder where all the men were; you were just seeing the world from a woman's perspective, in a time when all the men went to the office all day and all the women went to spas, salons, fashion shows, and department stores all day. In the modern version, it's more like an alternate universe where men almost don't seem to exist. Part of this is probably due to bigger, wider camera shots we use now that couldn't have been achieved on some of the soundstages of 1930s Hollywood. But I felt like it was forced...even writing in a lesbian character seemed more of an excuse to put the ladies in an all-female night club than to present a more modern version of women.

Overall, I felt like most of the characters were underdeveloped, as was most of the story, and taking all the catty fun out of the script made the movie seem a little boring and slow. But Meg Ryan is a lot of fun to watch (as always) and the film has some great touching and funny moments, as well as several nods and winks to the original. Something worth seeing, but I probably won't buy it when it comes out on DVD.

OK, DAVID'S CALLING!!!! So I better wrap it up. Until later!

moving pictures

Last night I went to see "WALL-E," the newest Pixar movie. I love Pixar movies in general; they are always so cleverly thought through and executed. This one was absolutely no exception to the rule.

First of all, the movie opened with a view of the Earth from space. The voice of a young Michael Crawford floats through the studio: "Out there, there's a world outside of Yonkers, way beyond this hick-town, Barnaby...there's a slick town, Barnaby...Out there, full of shine and full of sparkle, close your eyes and see it glisten Barnaby...listen, Barnaby! Put on your Sunday clothes, there's lots of world out there..." I love the musical movie "Hello, Dolly!" so naturally this beginning made me gasp in recognition and then bounce up and down in my seat, singing along as softly as I could.

We zoom in on the world and find that Wall-e is a little robot left on Earth to clean up after humans, who are living large (literally) on a cruise spaceship far out in the galaxy. Wall-e spends his work day alone and then comes home and watches "Hello Dolly!" and tries to imitate the dance moves until it's time to sleep. Which is just about exactly what I do. So...that's my life. Anyway, the song "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" comes back to be a sort of theme song for Wall-e and a rallying anthem for the protagonists in the film. And the other "Hello, Dolly" song used in the movie was "It Only Takes a Moment," which was the love theme for Wall-e and his love interest, Eve. I won't give away anything else, since the movie just came out. But I will give anyone who goes to see the movie this tip: Stay and watch the credits--they do a really cool thing with the progression of art and animation.

And speaking of progression and movies, and musicals...I just saw "Singing in the Rain." WHY has it taken me 23 years to see this movie? It is a masterpiece, a landmark...it's a movie about movies, a musical about musicals! How could I NOT love it?! But anyway, it's amazing. And the really cool thing is how it follows the history of movies and how going from silent film to talking pictures changed Hollywood and the people who worked there. And the DVD has a special feature that shows you clips of some of those actual landmark movies, like "The Jazz Singer" and "Broadway Melody." And by the way, watching the clip from "Broadway Melody" convinced me of something I have always suspected, and that is that if I had been around back in the 1920s and 30s, I could have made it into a few movies. The dancing in the clip from "Broadway Melody" was like watching a high school theatre production, except for this unreal dancer who tap-danced on toe shoes...I just don't get how she did it!!! That was amazing. But the rest of the girls were really mediocre...lol...I think I could've given them a run for their money. I don't mean to sound conceited...I just think it really was a lot easier back then to get into the movies!

Well, I'm not living back in the 20s and 30s, and I'm not in Hollywood, but thanks to the fact that I am living in the 21st century, I can make my own little movies. That brings me to my last little bit...a video I made after a group of us from the HSM cast spent last Saturday at the Taste of Tippecanoe, a really neat downtown event where you get to walk around and try all kinds of food from different restuarants and listen to local bands.



And that's all I got! More later on...

Lis

Email, Snail Mail, and the Music Man

What a great day! It started out quite rainy, which was a little bit of a bummer as I headed out the door to meet some of the HSM cast for lunch. But I decided to check my mail on my way out, and what should be in the mailbox but my new swimsuit! I didn't have time to try it on; I just took the package with me in the car.

Lunch was great. One of the members of our party just got back from a vacation in Mexico, so it was great to hear about his trip and catch up! We had a really awkward waitress, and for some reason, I always seemed to be the person who made matters worse, even though I was trying to make things better...everything I said as a joke or to ease the tension ended up sounding rude! Oh well...I left her a big tip, so hopefully that made things better.

One of the kids in our group is as obsessed with musicals as I am, and we ducked into the nearby Borders to see what shows they had on DVD. And I found the Disney made-for-TV version of "The Music Man," which I had always wanted to see but until now hadn't had the chance to. I'm watching it right now, and it's great fun. Probably not as good as the original, but equally as enjoyable for different reasons. An all-star cast, delightful choreography, and all the sweet, soft, squeaky-clean sets, costumes, and cast a Disney movie could ever conjure. I love Matthew Broderick, and his smooth, fast-talking Ferris Bueller really comes through in the character of Harold Hill. Kristen Chenoweth is pretty much my favorite Broadway person ever, and she brings a freshness and sass to the role of Marian Paroo that I have never seen. I always tend to get bored with the songs Marian sings in the show, because they are these super-soprano, old-fashioned warbly numbers, but they did a great job with the orchestral score on this, making it much more interesting. And Kristen has the unbelievable ability to combine her opera-trained pipes with her Broadway chops to kick these songs' butts. This was my favorite---



OK, going on...

So I got home after lunch and Borders and hopped on my laptop, and what did I find in my email's inbox but a note from the girls at Whatever Hollywood! I had left a little post on their blog saying I liked their stuff. It was so cool of them to write back! Anyway, soon the sun came shining out through the trees and I decided to try on my new suit and hit the pool. And now I'm comfy on the couch, laptop in my lap, watching "The Music Man."

And I just have to say...I LOVE musicals! They just make me feel so good inside!

OK, until later!

filmy

I rented a couple of movies that I had wanted to see in the theaters when they came out, but never got to. And I just have to plug Redbox Rentals here...a buck for a 24-hour rental of a new release is a pretty good deal! Anyway, I haven't "reviewed" any media picks in a long time, so I thought I'd tell you what I thought of these two.

Nancy Drew

The Flick: Inspired by the iconic children's mystery book series, the movie follows girl-sleuth extraordinaire Nancy Drew as she leaves her small-town home of River Heights for a few months in California with her father, Carson Drew, who requests that Nancy give up sleuthing. She experiences a new school full of overly-trendy, materialistic teenagers who don't seem to get her old-fashioned, polite, and wholesome ways. She also goes against her father's wishes and undertakes the mystery of the old house where she and her father are living--a cold case involving the death of the movie star who had lived--and died--in that house.

The Cast: The movie stars Emma Roberts (niece of Julia) as Nancy Drew, and to me she was the most recognizable actor in the film (with the exception of Bruce Willis, who has a cameo). Rachel Leigh Cook, Chris Kattan, and Adam Goldberg also appear in the movie. Other than that, I didn't recognize any of the cast. This may be part of the reason why I felt like the acting was mediocre. Emma and the young actors supporting her are adorable and funny, but it's evident that most of them have little to no experience. Emma has a very TV-sitcom style of acting, which is probably because she has her own TV show. That cute, quick, and slightly bratty affectation that probably makes her so popular on TV is exactly what keeps her from being believable on film, especially as this classic character.

The Story: I feel like the writing for this movie was under-developed and disconnected. I think the writers had a lot of good ideas about what it would be like to put old-fashioned Nancy in a modern, West Coast high school setting. Those ideas are what caused the trailer to make this movie look so funny. Then there was the mystery aspect--a built-in guarantee for action, adventure, and some fun special effects. And there is even a storyline that follows Nancy and Carson's father-daughter relationship as well as the void left by Nancy's mother, who died when Nancy was young.

But somehow all of these ideas didn't ever get tied together for the hilarious, thrilling, and heartwarming story it should have been. Several of these little plot points were never really explained; you could see where the story meant to go, but the elements weren't there. A montage of scenes shows Nancy excelling and failing to fit in at her new school. This introduces Inga and Trish, two materialistic and rude girls who are equally weirded out and intrigued by Nancy. Of course, what we should see is these two girls starting to form a friendship with Nancy in spite of their teenage capacity for loathing. But what we see is a hippucy sequence of interaction between the girls that somehow ends ends in them being friends. We never have that moment where Nancy teaches the girls something and then the girls come through for Nancy in a big way. We just get the girls flopping onto Nancy's bed and showing her their new penny loafers, thus endorsing her vintage style. And now they're best friends?! All they take away from this experience is a new pair of shoes?! That doesn't do a lot for me.

And that storyline doesn't tie in to the mystery plotline at all. At random times, Nancy's friends are thrown in to helping her with her sleuthing, but they never really get invested in solving the case (with the exception of her hometown friend Ned Nickerson). Ned is actually my favorite character. Played by the adorable Max Thieriot, he seems to be the most developed and least overacted role in the film. He obviously is in love with Nancy, and seems to be the one person who gets Nancy and knows what makes her happy--sleuthing and her Roadster. But he's in that kind of high-school relationship where you've been friends for so long that now you don't know how to get the point across that you really like each other. And Max plays this card so well. But other than Ned, no one seems to take the case seriously, until all of a sudden Nancy is catapulted into one dangerous situation after another and now it's action/adventure time. Even the mystery is a little lame, and the people and clues are all sort of loosely connected.

I don't think I'm expecting too much from this movie; after all, I liked the High School Musical movies. I like movies that are meant for 12-year-old girls. But this one disappointed me. I think this movie had the potential to be fun for kids and yet charming for older audiences. But it turned out to be a Disney Channel Original-caliber fluff piece with a couple of nice moments.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

The Flick: Mr. Magorium is a 243-year-old eccentric who owns a toy shop. Ready to depart from the world, he attempts to pass the store on to his 23-year-old store manager, Molly Mahoney. In doing this, he hires Henry the accountant to help set things in order for Mahoney. However, Mahoney doesn't want to accept the fact that Mr. Magorium must go sometime or the fact that she must take responsibility for a magical toy store.

The Cast: Dustin Hoffman stars as the magical, silly, and ultimately wise Mr. Magorium. He's one of my favorite actors, so it's hard for me not to like him. That being said, he is able to play this eccentric character with an incredible sense of integrity. Natalie Portman stars opposite Hoffman as Mahoney. I think the last thing I saw Portman in was "V for Vendetta," so it was fun to see her in a such a playful film and role. She balances her obviously ability for depth with a lovable capacity for cuteness, which combines to sell this character--a 23-year-old former child music prodigy who is trying to find a "sparkle" within herself to lead her from childhood to her next step in life. It may just be the short haircut, but she has this Julie Andrews quality that allows her to be the child in some situations and the grown-up in others; to be reassuring to people around her although she is ultimately confused and worried on the inside.

Jason Bateman and Zach Mills round out the cast as, respectively, the uptight accountant Henry and the 9-year-old, imaginative hat collecter Eric. Although at opposite ends of the personality spectrum, Henry and Eric both relate in their inability to relate to and make friends with other people. I love Bateman from "Arrested Development," and it was easy to see him as a workaholic with an intense need to experience a childhood that he probably left too early--similar to his role as Michael Bluth. Mills has this quirky, animated quality that really works for him, as he plays a kid that seems at many times to be as imaginative, brilliant, and wise as Mr. Magorium himself. Watching him bring out the child in Henry is so rewarding.

The Story: The film is written and directed by Zach Helms, who also wrote "Stranger Than Fiction." This guy is, I'm pretty sure, a genius. He has a writing style that is so literary; you would swear he had adapted his films from a book written by some great author. Nope; HE is the great author. And his vision for this story is so clearly threaded throughout the film. I don't understand why this movie got as poor reviews as it did. Anyone with a soul should be able to appreciate the highly imaginative and yet amazingly simple ideas in this story--the difficulty of moving from childhood to adulthood, the importance of believing in yourself, and the need for friendship. Mr. Magorium, wanting to help Mahoney with all of these aspects of her life, becomes the philosophic voice of the movie. And so many of his lines can stand alone as great quotes. When explaining to Mahoney that he must leave at some point, he has this great line about how the play "King Lear" ends...

"When King Lear dies in Act Five, do you know what William Shakespeare has written? He’s written, 'He Dies.' That's all, nothing more. No fan fare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of the dramatic literature is, 'He Dies.' It takes Shakespeare’s genius to come up with, he dies.

I know, right??! Another great example is when Magorium is explaining to Henry why he needs his affairs set in order: "I fell so completely in love with these shoes, I bought enough pairs to last my whole lifetime. This is my last pair."

I don't understand why this movie wasn't given more credit. Being released amid a flood of fantasy films, this one still manages to show great originality in story, setting, and overall delivery. I was in tears like 3/4 of the time I was watching. It was touching, moving, inspiring, and very charming.

I'll probably go buy my own copy.

Being a Grown-Up is Boring.

It's just as I suspected. Being a grown-up is boring.

Here's what's happening in my life: I go to work. I come home. I eat something. I go to sleep. I wake up. I work out (sometimes). I take a shower. I go to work. And that's my week. And even though I'm used to the schedule, my work week still feels more like one really long day during which I just take lots of long naps. Honestly, the best part of my day is from 5 to 7 a.m. Now who else in the world can say that? I have the most fun of my day when we're doing the morning show.

I talked to Ryan yesterday and literally had nothing new to tell him. Because there's nothing new in my life right now. I have a few things to look forward to, but other than that, I'm just doing the same thing every day.

I feel like things will pick up this summer, and here's why. As you may know from reading my last post, I have two major goals for this summer: to get a puppy and to be in at least one summer civic theatre show. I really hope I can be in a play for this summer because once I started rehearsing, I'd have something to do other than work, which would be great! Also, once I have a puppy I will have a lot more to do, like clean up after it, take it outside all the time, and train it. Even the hard parts of owning a dog sound fun! That's how boring my life is right now.

Don't get me wrong; I love my job. It's just the rest of my day when I'm not at my job that's so boring.

And lately I haven't been motivated to do much of anything, like clean my apartment or go work out. I'm just tired of doing this stuff every day! But, welcome to the rest of adult life, right?

Oh! Here's one thing I'm excited about: For the first time since living on my own, this month will be the first that I've actually been able to save a significant amount of money! Tomorrow is a pay day, and I'll be able to pay all my living expenses and still have money left over to speak of! It seems like a small accomplishment, but it's actually a big deal to me, especially since I'm budgeting for a dog in the future.

OK, quick media picks.
Movies: I went to see Katherine Heigl's "27 Dresses." It was great, and I am now completely in love with James Marsden. The movie was one part "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," one part "Runaway Bride," and one part "My Best Friend's Wedding," add James Marsden, shake, strain, and pour into a martini glass. Yum...everything a chick flick should be! My favorite part involves a slightly drunken duet between Heigl and Marsden singing "Benny and the Jets" in a packed roadhouse...it was very adorable (especially Marsden...did I mention I'm completely in love with him?)

TV: Thanks, WGA for not letting anyone get back to work. This is getting really old. I did see that NBC.com posted episodes 1, 3, and 5 of season 4. I still need to watch season 3 on DVD, but now I'm caught up for the most part on the current season, so I really hope the strike ends soon since I'm almost ready to be a weekly Office watcher! Plus I'm waiting for more "Pushing Daisies" on NBC. On the other hand, Big Brother is just around the corner and I can't wait! CBS has been promo'ing its new show line-up for February sweeps, and so far the only thing I'm interested in is Big Brother. Although for Survivor fans they're doing a "Fans vs. Faves" season, which I think is a great idea. They need to do that for BB as well...that would be hilarious.

Music: I don't listen to music anymore. Just kidding. But I haven't listened to anything new lately. I need to dig through my CDs and find some old stuff that I haven't heard in awhile.

Ok, that's it for now. Hopefully next time I write, I'll have something new to say!

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!

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

Moving

Wow, lots and lots of things going on since I've written. Mostly that I've moved to my first new place all to myself! I can't tell you how exciting and even a little scary it is. It's so much fun to have my own place to do whatever I want, but I also worry sometimes about where all the money is going to come from. I mean, I really looked into things to make sure I could afford them, but sometimes it's hard not to buy something I want for my apartment or for myself because I need to save that money for something more important. Just part of growing up!

Mom, Dad, and Marla are at the lake as of tonight, and this is the first year of my life that I won't be there with them. It's kind of weird, but I realized a year ago that this could very well be the case, so I was mentally and emotionally prepared for it. Right now I just literally can't afford taking a week off of work. Just another part of growing up!

It's weird that people are getting ready to come back to school and I'm not. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing, and I love that! It's so exciting to not worry about homework, rehearsal or show call times, or classes. I'm so excited about visiting the Purduettes and going to some of their shows. It's just so great to be on a different schedule, one that I have a little more control over. I really miss the girls in Purduettes, though, and I will miss singing every day and having my voice in great shape. But I've gotten so much out of PMO, and I'm ready to be a part of PMO alumni.

Marla bought me a fish for my birthday, and I put it in a bowl, and about 24 hours later, it died. Pretty sad to flush a fish down the toilet when you haven't even had him long enough to think of a name for him. On the other hand, we weren't very attached to each other, so it wasn't as sad as it could've been. I'm going to get a new one, and this time get a tank that has a filter or pump or whatever, because I think the fish will have a better chance of living that way. I know this all might sound lame, but having someone to come home to, even if it's just a fish who doesn't remember what happened 60 seconds ago, is a comfort, and gives me something to look forward to at the end of the day.

I haven't had much time to be lonely though, because I'm usually working, and when I am home I'm working on putting the apartment together. It's already starting to look like my own cute little place. My bathroom is all finished, except for hanging pictures on the wall. It's so cute; it's blue and tangerine, and everything matches, from the shower curtain to the faux flowers and vase to the candle to the organizing rack. I always just kind of got everything in different colors and never had things matching up, like an entire room, but that's what I'm trying to do with my place now and it's working out really well. I just finished getting my bedroom organized, and it was pretty easy to match all that with a color scheme I like: pink, black, and white. I got a new pink comforter which is so perfect and cushy, and everything else I own that goes in my bedroom matches the color palette, so all I had to do was get it all organized. All I need to do there is hang up pictures and posters on the walls and maybe add a few more accessories. (And a full-length mirror! I haven't seen my whole body in a few days! That's weird!) Really the things that still do and will take the most time and work are the kitchen and the living room.

Before I go, some media highlights for anyone interested. Did I already tell you to go see "Hairspray?" If I have, I'll tell you again. The cast is amazing; not only is it stacked with stars who all play their parts to perfection, but the newcomer lead, Nikky Blonski, is such an amazing performer. She is adorable, and from the moment you see her as a lump under her bedcovers moving to the beat in her head, you are rooting for her. The soundtrack also stands alone as a great album. Right now I am catching up on Big Brother 8. Mindless entertainment? Yeah. Fun to watch? Uh...yeah!!! I am totally rooting for Dick and Daniele, estranged father and daughter stuck in the house together. I like both of them for some reason and I really hope they get their relationship to a true father-daughter relationship, and it looks like they're on the right track. I also have to say that Julie Chen has the biggest hair on television.

OK, time for me to go find a fishy tank and a fishy! Maybe I'll post pictures when I get my apartment finished. More later!

Apartments, the F-Word, and the Black Cauldron

My mom came into town Friday to help me do my last bit of apartment hunting. I had narrowed it down to three places, and it was really helpful to have her second opinion as I made a final choice. I decided on an apartment complex just a few minutes from downtown and the campus area, which is great for both of my jobs. I'm so excited to move in, which is good because I start moving in less than two weeks! It's crazy how fast it's all happening; after almost 2 months of searching for a place to live, I called, toured, and signed an apartment in a matter of less than 24 hours. And here's the best part: signing for this apartment is the first thing I've really done on my own. No co-signers, like I've had for my car and my bank accounts and everything else in my life so far. It makes me a little nervous, but also excited and proud of myself. I just know that I'm going to have to watch my finances, which sounds really un-fun but that's just part of growing up. Mom and Dad said they're proud of me for being able to do this, which really makes me feel good too.

Listen to all the cool stuff about this apartment! It's got one bedroom, a living room, a kitchen and a decently sized bathroom (definitely bigger than the one I have now!). The complex has laundry (which costs about 2 bucks a load...I'm gonna miss the noisy washer and dryer at my place!), an outdoor pool, an indoor hot tub (eeee!!!), a little workout center (with ellipticals!), a one-mile wooded walking trail, and places to picnic and grill out. I'm so pumped about the outdoor space as well as the indoor workout room, a huge incentive for me to get in shape! I'm so excited to decorate; Ryan has a great eye for this sort of thing, so he's going to help me out, and I know that's gonna be a lot of fun. There's also a great security system in the building, so I'll definitely feel safe. Now I have to start getting organized and packed, while figuring out how to transition out of where I live now, and to be honest, I'm actually sad about moving out of the Loft. It's been my home for the last two years, and it's kinda weird to be moving out. It's funny; I didn't expect to feel any emotion but excitement about moving, but I guess when any place becomes home to you, you're bound to feel a little sad moving out. It's definitely metaphorical; I'll be turning my old home over to girls I know from college, which is nice. I'll still have that connection, but I'm moving on to a new home for a new chapter in my life (pardon the cliche).

On to a totally different and completely un-sentimental subject, I've noticed while working as a waitress that people in the restaurant business seem to use the F-word a lot. I don't really understand why, but I remember Ryan making this observation last summer when he was waiting tables as well. Other common trends among people who work in restaurants are making sex-related comments or jokes, and going out to get drunk about every night. And I'm not just talking about the servers; it's also the bartenders, kitchen crew, and managers, and even corporate-level people. It's like a bunch of people who never quit living the typical college life. And here's the thing--a lot of these people are, in fact, college students, but what sort of surprised me is the people in their late 20s and 30s who act this way. It's kind of bizarre. It's a stressful job, so maybe people who have this job like to relieve stress by going out and getting wasted so they have something to talk about the next day during lunch shift, and maybe another way to relieve stress when they are at work and can't drink is to use the F-word? I dunno. Maybe it just started out that way and an atmosphere of that developed and now we've just gotten into the habit of that being the norm. All I can say is, it's almost like people will and do find every way possible to use the f-word. I actually heard someone say last night that we had a "f***load of laundry" in the basement. What does that even mean?

Entertainment recommendations of the night:
Ryan and I went to see "Transformers." It is awesome, even if you're like me and didn't watch the cartoons growing up. I totally fell in love with Bumblebee, and I wish my car turned into a robot-alien who protected me and played a soundtrack to my life on his radio. Next, I am totally addicted to the CBS summer reality series "Pirate Master." I am soooo rooting against the Triad and hoping Louie and the girls will rally and knock those guys on their butts. Although, I have to say, they are definitly playing a smart game. I'm pulling for mutiny, but it would have to take a lot to break up the officers and the captain. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to CBS.com and watch all the Pirate episodes online. You will get hooked. No pun intended. Well, maybe a little bit intended. Musically I haven't gotten into anything new lately, but I am wondering what happened to my John Mayer CD because apparantly I never ripped it onto my computer, and now I don't have his albums anywhere. I do need to go find myself a copy of the soundtrack to "Legally Blonde the Musical" because I think that comes out in the next few days, and I'll let you know what I think about it!

One final note on movies: I borrowed Disney's animated film "The Black Cauldron" from the library this week because I don't recall ever watching it as a kid. It's one of those obscure ones from (I think) the 80s, when the Disney company was considering shutting down the animation department altogether, and they didn't have much of a budget. You can tell the animation is a lot less finished than the typical Disney animated movie, and it's uncharacteristically dark for a film of this brand. I have read that Tim Burton was at that time working as an animator at Disney and assisted on this film, but I didn't see his name in the credits, although I can see how they'd assign him to that project. It's not long, only 80 minutes, so if you're curious like me, you can watch it and not feel like you wasted your life or anything. I also borrowed Disney's animated version of "Peter Pan" and it's got some pretty neat choral sections in the score that I think would be really neat for Glee Club and Purduettes together; it has a very Fred Waring sound to it, true to the time period when that film was done. Also, that Tinkerbell is really funny, and like most Disney movies, there is humor there that I didn't pick up on as a kid. Tink has that luxury of being the only girl among the "guys" (Lost Boys) and holding special regard with Peter, so when Wendy shows up and unseats Tink, the portrayal of her jealousy is so classic and funny, because all of us girls know how much we hate to see our "guys" give their attention to another girl! If you haven't watched this in awhile, give it another look.

Ok, that's it for me. Much more to come!

Tad, Dave, and Fireworks

That title sounds a LOT juicer than this entry is going to be. I've got to cover my bases, and I'm gonna try to cover them rather briefly. I was talking to the weather guy here at the station (we have quite a few interesting conversations, mostly me coaching him on how to handle his three daughters...I'm one of three girls, so I should know, right?) and he told me that if I want to produce I need to be able to write. Not just write, but write conversationally and succinctly. (And probably learn to spell succintly...is that right?) He said to keep a journal and just talk in it like you would if you were talking out loud. So I try to do that here, but I'm going to try harder to, and not to be quite as lengthy. Unless I really need to get something off my chest.

Ok, first the fireworks. Ryan and I had one of the best 4th of Julys that I can remember. We went to some friends' for a birthday/4th of July party, then met up with Ryan's roommate and his girlfriend and a couple of other people to go see Purdue's fireworks. We went up to the top of the parking garage, and it was like a village up there! People were covering the roof of the garage ready to watch the fireworks, and what a show! Not only did we get a perfect view of Purdue's show, which was great, but to the north of them we could see the fireworks coming from the Elks Club, and to the east, all along the horizon, a steady sparkling of fireworks from all the surrounding small towns and counties. It was so magical, so enchanted. It was a feast for the eyes, and I was an absolute glutton. I just wanted to look everywhere at once; I didn't want to miss one view, one amazing explosion. It was awesome.

Now onto a new segment of the story where I tell you about movies and music that I am into at the moment. I just bought "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!" from the $5 bin at Wally World, because I had always wanted to see it, and because it was $5. Funny story about this, I almost bought "City Slickers," and decided against it, but forgot that I had tucked it under my arm and walked all over the store with it. Then I checked out, all the time not realizing it was still under my arm, and walked out the door. Now at Walmart they have the sensors that go off, always, it would seem, at random times and with no reason because you obviously paid for everything in your plastic bag. I've been dinged plenty of times and checked out and found innocent of shoplifting. Well, today I got dinged and the guy whose job it was to check people's bags came over, an older gentleman, and I showed him my receipt and let him check my bag. He said everything looked fine and so I exited the store. When I got in my car, I pulled "City Slickers" out from under my arm absent-mindedly and just stared at it for a second. Then I just laughed, and headed back to the store entrance.

"I know why that thing dinged me," I said. "I had this movie under my arm and didn't even realize it!"

"Did you buy it?" asked the guy.

"No, I didn't even want it, I just forgot to put it back when I was digging through that movie bin."

He looked at me like I had just arrived in a big, pink bubble.

"You're the first honest person I've ever met," he said, and thanked me.

Ha!

And so much for brevity. Anyway, I went home and watched this movie between shift breaks today and it was great. Very very funny, and I would even watch it with my boyfriend because I think he'd think it was funny too. Topher Grace is what really makes the movie, but the story is surprisingly fresh and close to the heart. Of course you probably remember this is a story about a girl (Kate Bosworth) who wins a date with a famous actor whom she is crazy about, and Grace plays her guy-friend who is really in love with her. The bartender has this awesome line that goes something like, "Everyone is a Tad Hamilton to someone else," meaning you may be in awe of this person you think is amazing, and you think you'll never be good enough for, but probably someone else is thinking that about you. I think that's a very true concept. There was also something so charming about Bosworth's character, this small-town girl with such a polite, genuine, and almost old-fashioned personality and sensibility. She's not totally naive to the point of being blind or stupid, but she is, rather, aware of her innocence in a way that I think they just don't typically write female protagonists in Hollywood. Seriously, watch the movie. It's great.

And now to Dave. I've been doing a lot of soul-searching (or maybe searching for my soul?) lately and when I get to the point where I'm just baffled by God or religion or life in general, I like to listen to a little Dave Matthews Band, because I think Dave a lot of times is baffled, too. Half the time I don't know what the heck his lyrics mean, but I like to try to interpret them, and even find an interpretation applicable to my life even if it's not applicable to what Dave was thinking, drinking, or smoking when he wrote those lines. I think he just has a way of expressing his wonder, that sometimes you just have to stop and realize how big the universe is and how small you are, and how little time you have to enjoy all the things that you take for granted. I think he writes about the fact that God is so far beyond his understanding, and I think that's great because sometimes I get to where I'm trying to get it all sorted out, and I need to remember that God is so far beyond what my mind can wrap itself around or define. Specific tracks? "Bartender" is really great, so is "You Never Know" and "JTR." It's good soul-searching music, and if nothing else reminds me of the sense of wonder I do and should have about God and faith.

Ok, maybe we'll try that "brief" thing next time.

Lis