Friday, March 30, 2012

The Friday Of All Fridays

Hello! As most of you hopefully know, it is once again the beautiful day of the week: Friday. However, I myself just realized. It was Friday a few minutes ago. Usually I wouldn't forget such an important fact, but I am currently in the midst of the amazing week that is spring break. And with that, I begin my list of thoughts.
1. I tend to jumble what day it is while on vacation.
2. I spend all winter telling myself that I don't care that I'm as pale as pale can be, but then when I gt tan, I begin to seriously question that mentality.
3. Pillow Pets are so much comfier than they're given credit for, I sleep on my Tigger pillow pet just about every night.
4. The restaurant Earl of Sandwich needs to be brought to the Midwest - I had their BBQ ham and pineapple Hawaiian sandwich tonight, and I'm salivating just at the thought of it.
5. Anything that has to do with natural disasters scares me way more than mythical thrills like goblins or ghouls - tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, etc.
6. Soft pretzels and ice cream make the best meals when at a theme park.
7. One of my very best friends who moved away and I haven't seen in over a year is going to be in the same city as me tomorrow, yet I'm still not going to get to see her due to extremely bad timing.
8. People with two different eye colors absolutely fascinate me, but I've only encountered two in my lifetime - the second encounter being today.
9. I saw my second shooting star a few days ago.
10. Life is butiful and I really wish I realized that more often.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Friday Facts

      Yes, I am aware that my posts have been few and far between lately. I'd like to say it's because I've been particularly busy, but in truth, I've just had too many thoughts. I have all of these different ideas for blog posts, and I can never choose which to expand on first. So in order to alleviate myself from this overload of thoughts, I've decided it would be a good idea to every Friday, make a list of at least twenty random things that are running through my mind. That way, it'll all just be out there, and hopefully you'll find it somewhat entertaining as well.
So here goes...

1. I think this is the first year I've really appreciated Spring weather.
2. www.rainymood.com is fantastic. I put it on as well as music for background noise, and the result is amazing.
3. I feel like I accomplish WAY more in a day when I wake up early than when I sleep in.
4. My life is slowly beginning to revolve around choices of the future, and that's scaring me.
5. I'm part of the .5% of my school who did NOT see The Hunger Games midnight premier, but I get to see it today, so I'm still excited!
6. I find rainy weather to be generally inspiring.
7. The song "Red Solo Cup" is everything that is wrong with our country.
8. The song "Call Me Maybe" is everything that is right with our country (not really, but it is catchy).
9. The new Footloose movie was good, but nothing in comparison to the original.
10. Shrek and The Parent Trap have some of the best movie soundtracks in all history.
11. Lately I've been plagued with nightmares every night.
12. I live for random acts of kindness.
13. I don't know if I've ever been as shocked at a piece of clothing until I saw a sweatshirt that featured a picture of a giraffe and next to it were the words: "Moo, I'm a goat."
14. On really clear nights, when I look up at the starts, I sometimes feel like I'm in a planetarium, and these are the only times I get the true sense that the Earth is round and spinning.
15. I've taken exponentially less pictures this year than I have any other.
16. I love having painted nails but I hate painting them.
17. This time last year, I was in Italy touring the Colosseum.
18. There are a select few songs that the instant I hear them, my whole body just becomes calm and happy. This list includes "Beyond The Sea" by Frank Sinatra, "Hallelujah" by Rufus Wainwright,  "Club 33 Music Loop Part 4", "Drops of Jupiter" by Train, among others.
19. Wearing a pearl necklace makes me feel instantly classier.
20. No matter how long my sister visits from college, it never seems like it's long enough.

Phew! That was a lot of thoughts, and man do I feel better. I hope that they may have spurred on a few thoughts of  your own.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

A Penny For Your Thoughts?

Thus begins a very random compilation of thoughts that have been passing through my head through the past twenty four hours...

1. RIP Richard Sherman - the absolutely incredible composer of some of the biggest classics of all time (Mary Poppins music, "It's A Small World", etc.) died at 86 years old. So many big celebrities have passed on throughout the past year, I don't think I've been so sad about any of them as I am about Mr. Sherman.

2. When girls scream "THANK GOD I'M NOT PREGNANT!" in my high school bathroom, it makes me sad for my generation.

3. Home made brownies straight out of the oven topped with ice cream are utterly delicious.

4. Who is Joseph Kony, and what is his deal?

5. I get to see my sister for the first time since Christmas break in a couple of days, and I couldn't be more excited.

6. I will never understand the world's attraction to Nutella.

7. My generation is so competitive, it makes anxiety rise in my throat every time I think about the future.

8. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo book series is addicting.

9. I'm really enjoying my little sister's recent obsession with Tom Cruise. Who knew he was in so many good movies?

10. I'm getting increasingly excited for the Hunger Games movie, and I'm extremely disappointed I won't be able to attend the midnight premier.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

All Good Things Must Come To An End

     *Phew*...that was me finally being able to take a breath. For the last week, it feels like it's been constantly go, go, go. Not in a bad way, this week has actually been fantastically enjoyable, but I am ready to take a break.
     This afternoon my school put on its last of six performances of the musical "Hello Dolly!". Don't get too excited, I wasn't a singer or a dancer in this production. If you know anything about me, then you could probably guess that I took part in playing clarinet in the pit orchestra.
     My school goes all out for musicals. The costumes, lighting, set, props, everything is top notch. Not only that, but the pure amount of talent that goes into the singing and dancing never ceases to amaze me. However this doesn't come without any work. These high schoolers have been working long hours every day, five days a week, sometimes more, since December to put on this production. As for the pit band, we had only been rehearsing since late January. Blood, sweat and tears go into creating an unforgettable show. Then, all this week, it's been late night dress rehearsals, all leading up to the big weekend of the shows. Four days, six shows, and not a moment to spare.
     During yesterday's matinee performance, when the cast was taking their bows and the audience was emitting its thunderous applause, I saw something that really captured how special this moment is. The boy who plays Horace - a senior for whom it was his last show - had a red face with tears welling up in his eyes. That honestly just made my heart want to melt. When you put so much effort - your heart and soul - into creating somethings so spectacular, and it's over, it's such a feeling of sadness mixed with pride. Even though I'm only a junior, I had just the tiniest twinge of the same feeling of sadness that the entire show was over. Never again would I sway to the beat of "Put On Your Sunday Clothes". Never again would I grin as my band director played the Louis Armstrong part in "Hello Dolly!" It's over.
     Luckily, whenever that twinge of sadness comes creeping into my thoughts, I can overcome them with the memory of a great show. The thought that I contributed - however slightly - to putting on a show that brought an large audience a great amount of joy and entertainment. That thought makes ever hour of rehearsing and every note on my clarinet worth it. Today we "Put On Our Sunday Clothes" with a great amount of "Elegance" and said "Hello Dolly!" for the last time.