Things I'm Thankful For

An annual* post on Thanksgiving about things that I'm thankful for. This is a variation of the long-forgotten Things I Love Thursdays.

*Annual? I can't even make something weekly. But I digress.

Things I am Thankful For:

- My iPod, full of brilliant music by Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk, and Scott Alan.

-Phone calls with Alicia where we talk about everything, and how we constantly acknowledge that we tell each other everything.

-Staying up until midnight talking to Cait Jean Schwind when we both have homework we should have done hours earlier.

-My advisory, we're pretty awesome.

-My family.

-Youtube, so I can watch As Told by Ginger until I fall asleep.

-My Buddy the Elf costume, for making family gatherings extra awkward.

-My adorable cat.

-The fact that I seem to be in the right place in the right time, all the time.

-All of my amazing friends: Alicia, Angela, Danielle, Kasey, Nick, Josh, Hannah, Kelly, Chris, Olivia, Chrissy, Whitney, Jami, Becca, Cait, Sam, Rex, Rhiannon, Kate, Kim, Mary, Lindsay, Kimber, Chelsea, Kevin, Sydney, Kayleigh, Laura, Patrick, and every other awesome person who's name slipped my mind.

So, that's what I'm thankful for.

The Best Night of My Life

So, this Sunday my mom and I went up to Boston to see Wicked. It was the best night of my life, so I felt I should explain exactly why by reviewing the show.

INFORMATION:

Wicked- 10/10/10- First National Tour

Boston, MA- Boston Opera House, Evening Performance (7:30)

Glinda- Lauren Ashley Zakrin (u/s)

Elphaba- Jackie Burns

Nessarose- Stefanie Brown

Boq- Etai Benshlomo

Madame Morrible- Randy Danson

Doctor Dillamond- Steven Skybell

Fiyero- Richard H. Blake

The Wizard- Gene Weygandt

On our way to the theater (We walked .3 miles from the hotel) we met a couple from Europe. They needed to know the way to the Boston Opera House. The man had a Yamaka on his head, with a design of the Boston Red Sox on it.

My mom and I got in the theater front lobby at around 6:30. And then the crowd started piling in. At 7 the lobby doors entered for the main lobby. We had a half an hour to shop, and find our seats. At first I didn't really want to buy anything, but then I bought the program (mainly a book of pictures) and a zip-up track-jacket (which was a whopping 65$.) We made our way to the seats, row B, Mezzanine, seats 101 and 103 (all the seats are odd numbered. As to why, I don't know.) I asked the usher (an elderly lady, of all people) for an extra Playbill, but she just kind of walked away. I made it a point to get an extra one from another usher.

The lights dimmed and I couldn't believe my eyes. There's so many things to look at on stage, things you'd never see from a video on YouTube. The way the skim glistens emerald, the projection of Elphaba melting. The ensemble's collective voices flowed together seamlessly. Galinda made her entrance on her bubble. Her dress is so sparkely. You'd never get that from YouTube.

I'll take this time to point out how wonderful Lauren Ashley Zakrin did at playing G(a)linda. When I opened my playbill to see the slip of paper saying Glinda would be played by the understudy, I was so excited. I do love Chandra Lee Schwatz, the lead, but it was a definite good surprise. Lauren Ashley was an Elle and Margot understudy in Legally Blonde the musical, as well as being a contestant and 3rd runner up in the reality show Legally Blonde: Search for Elle Woods.

You wouldn't have even been able to tell she wasn't the lead. She had such star-power on stage. Her soprano was pure and soft at the beginning, but as the story progressed her voice sounded much more mature and layered. I guess that contributes to how talented of an actress she was. Her transition from bubbly and young Galinda to heartbroken, mature Glinda was flawless. Everything was real. Her comedic acting was genius, doing things I've never seen other Glindas do.

Jackie Burns also did a tremendous job as Elphaba. Her voice is the best I've heard out of, well, anyone. Her acting was top notch, and made the role of Elphaba layered and 3 dimensional, and just made the audience fall in love with her.

Jackie's first song, The Wizard and I, was full of energy and beautiful belting. Her vibrato echoed throughout the theater. Her talent is undeniable.

The next song, What is this Feeling, was hilarious. Both actresses' comedic timing was spot on. At this point, Lauren was still singing softer and lighter, so when they belted, Jackie was more overpowering. But she made up for her lack of volume with her body language and delivery.

Dancing Through Life was a great group number. Richard H Blake as Fiyero commanded the cast and showed how great of a performer he was. Etai Benshlomo as Boq was so capivating. A great example of how a good actor makes any part a good part. Stefanie Brown played Nessa as a sweet girl, who was merely a victim of things beyond her control, like her sister Elphaba. Randy Danson's delivery of the lines "...I doubt you will" was one that I haven't heard anyone else say like that, which is always a pleasant surprise. Lauren and Jackie showed a lot of chemistry during the dance scene, and it felt really heartwarming.

Popular was shear genius on Lauren Ashley Zakrin's part. She really took her own spin on everything, and began showing how she can belt as well, on par with Jackie. Everything about how she characterized Glinda was perfect, funny, and touching. I don't know why she's only an understudy, really.

Jackie Burns played Elphaba differently in I'm Not that Girl. While other actresses chose to make Elphaba more somber and disappointed, she really thought about how Elphaba could react. She made Elphaba kind of convincing herself she can't love others, instead of accepting that he loves someone else. It makes Elphaba much more worldly and mature than others. Instead of going for the very low note at the end, she instead chose a much higher note, which I thought was a good choice, because it sounded beautifully and ended it with a little more hope than other renditions.

One Short Day was a spectacle. The scenery was much more impressive in person. I didn't know what to look at, the costumes, the actors, or the set.

The Wizard, Gene Weygandt, did a much more appealing job in the role than I had expected. Usually I tune out when I hear the Wizard's songs, but his voice is so interesting and his acting was pure.

Now, for my favorite song, ever. Defying Gravity. I was practically shaking in excitement, and Jackie did not disappoint. Her voice never cracked, never went out of tune, never stopped. The last two minutes of Defying Gravity were the best two minutes of my life. Her belt is to die for, and her riffs were spot on. She didn't over do it, but she did do everything for us, the audience. The lighting was also something to see. No video ever captured the lighting. The way the blue/purple/yellow lights shimmered on the cape, the black circle around Elphaba, everything was perfect. My mom was tearing up when it came time for intermission. Everyone was blown away.

Thank Goodness really showed Lauren Ashley Zakrin's amazing belt. This song alone showed how much Lauren got Glinda to change in character. She's much more mature and can handle things better. She belted every high note while keeping her body language in tact. She never gave up the character for her voice, and vice versa, which worked successfully for both parts.

As Long as Your Mine was impressive. Richard H Blake was on his game that night, vocally. He did some higher-pitched riffs I've never heard him do before. Their chemistry was so believable. Their voices meshed seamlessly. You heard them both as one.

The Catfight scene was hilarious. Little things that Lauren did, like looking back at the house while talking about Nessa, and the pouts and her grunts, made the character so real. Their quips back and forth were perfectly timed.

No Good Deed was perhaps one of the best things I've ever heard. Jackie was so good at showing how Elphaba was becoming crazy. She never broke character. Every emotion, every word was real. Her voice was especially stunning. Her belt on Fiyero was clear. Her movements and sound on the last "Again" were so haunting, but beautiful. She truly was wicked.

For Good was especially touching. Lauren and Jackie's voices were so pure and emotional. I really did feel moved, even thought I heard this song so many times before. Even the smallest things on the set, like the candle that at the start was burning brightly, but at the end of the song was burnt out, were right. Everything was perfect. Elphaba's melting scene was tragic. Glinda's reaction was even more tragic. Both women performed beautifully in that string of scenes.

The scene between the Wizard, Glinda, and Morrible was humorous, but serious. They all played their parts till the end, never cracking up or giving up. Everyone was on their game in that scene, especially Lauren.

Finale was so moving and beautiful and perfect and every other adjective I've used in this review. It gave such a great ending to such a great story. While tragic and somber, it still gives those glimpses of hope and healing that we all originally thought of Oz with.

At the end, after the curtain call, Jackie delivered the BC/EFA speech. She's such a funny person outside of character. I'll try to copy down everything she said.

"Hi everyone. *factual information* There will be cast members barricading the doors, trapping you in until you give up your money. If everyone in this audience just donates 2 dollars, we could raise, what, 50,000 dollars?" *from the row behind her, Richard H Blake holds up five fingers and whispers, $5,000* Jackie continues, "$5,000, thank you Richard. And you can give us this money by cash, check, or your children. And it's all tax deductible! So that's good. For 20$ you can be entered in a raffle to join us on stage one night, and for $50 you'll receive a poster signed by the cast. So please donate. Thanks, guys!"

On our way out, my mom donated $50 dollars and I got a signed poster. I was beyond ecstatic. My room is going to look so awesome.

So, that's the best night of my life. Any questions?

A Summary of Summer: Addendum 1: Wii, Water Polo, and Whitney's Pool Party

Alliteration! Whoo. If you couldn't tell by my clever, informative title, yesterday I went to Whitney's pool party. It was actually a lot of fun. There isn't much to really cover, because we basically just sat in the pool for the entire time. But, here's some key points:

1. Angela tripped on stone.

2. Kate is a beast.

3. I met Chloe and Amanda.

4. We played keep-away with a beach ball, it was 3 guys (Matt, Patrick, and me) against 4 girls (Kate, Angela, Whitney, and Brianna.) And we so won.

5. We played Water Polo... Baaaad idea. The teams were: Matt, Patrick, Brianna and me, against Whitney, Amanda, Kate, and Chloe. Angela was the referee until she had to go. We won 21-9. :D

6. Chloe kind of tried to kill whoever got near the ball. Her strategy didn't work, because we won epically, but still. Patrick looked like he was mauled by a bear.

7. Whitney finally added me on Facebook! After a year and a half...

8. I met Brianna's new puppy Angus. He's a Scottish Terrier, smaller than a cat, and *adorable.*

9. Matt cut his foot open on the side of the walkway of the pool. When he went into the pool later, he wore a sock.

10. My brother got lost when he picked me up, so I left 30 minutes later than everyone else. Whitney and I played Wii Sports Resort... In which I failed.

And that concludes this post. G'night, everybody.

Ignore the fact that it is quarter of 5.

A Summary of Summer: Badminton, Licorice, Zappos, oh my!

Well, hi there, blogosphere. It's been quite the long time, hasn't it?

I would like to tell you that I have been absent here because too many interesting things have happened, I'm very busy, I gained a social life, my internet stopped being a badass, etc.

But I can't. Because I haven't blogged because I'm just too damned lazy.

However, that doesn't mean the above excuses aren't true, because in some aspects, they are. I've been busier this summer more than ever, really. I guess that qualifies as gaining a social life? I'll expand on this later.

And yes, my internet *did* stop being a badass. For the past 2 months and a day that I've been in my new house, good ol' Linksys has been bipolar, really. Nobody from AT&T can fix it. I've suggested to my mom that we get Hughes Net, but for some reason, she's waiting.

And now for my social life... Where should I begin?

Danielle and I are trying to watch the entire Pokemon series. We've only watched 19 episodes, and have yet to get together over 2 times. We've just been busy/lazy.

Angela had a bonfire in early July. We Munchkin skipped, collected BeeBees, and threw fireworks into the firepit. It was epic.

Rhiannon came over the week after. We went to McDonalds, because it had been 5 years since she last went. (Her parents are organic, and I live to defy authority.) We walked back home, which was like Whoah!, because I don't walk.

Makenzie, Angela, Jami and I went to see Eclipse in theater. I'd just like to point out that I've neither read nor seen anything Twilight, I saw it before my sister who loves Twilight, and I liked it. What?

I went to Makenzie's Sweet 16. There wasn't many guys. Angela called Twizzlers 'Licorice', so I couldn't help but continue calling them Licorice from now on.

Josh and I went to a New Britain Rockcats game. (Minor league team, in which players, hopefully, move up to the Baltimore Orioles.) I lost my 20 dollars (which Josh later found at his house.) We watched a TiVo'ed episode of SNL, the one with Betty White (and boy, do I love Betty White.) We also played Badminton (which I lost, non-surprisingly.)

On the 4th of July, Angela, Jami and I went to Alicia's. I don't think I can actually say Jami 'went' there, because she practically lives at Alicia's. We played Badminton, which I redeemed myself from Josh's. They all made me go on the slip n' slide while there was *no water* on it. And it *hurt.* Oh, and speaking of hurting, Alicia's niece, Victoria, is vicious. She's like a Russian torturer, but 7.

I went to Maine with my brother and dad. It was not the most fun experience ever. It had its moments, like riding ATVs, eating at The Blue Moose, going to my first Pizza Hut ever (which wasn't really that good), and bonding with the baby birds in the porch. But overall, I'd rather I didn't go.

Our family had a combination Amanda's graduation party/Marc's 21st brithday party/I invited some friends because my mom pitied me. Rhiannon, Kate, and Makenzie came. Makenzie brought homemade scones, and they were *delicious.* Rhiannon, Kate and I played volleyball. Zachary and Amanda came up to watch. Later, Amanda told me Zachary wanted to watch because he had a crush on Rhiannon. We played the laziest version of whiffle ball, in which the bases were two feet apart. It was team Rhiannon and Kate versus team Eric and Makenzie. Each home-run was an out, because we're too lazy to get the ball, and we only had three different ones. I think we tied. We all talked for a while, and then Makenzie had to leave early. Kate, Rhiannon and I played Botchi for a while until they had to go.

On the 30th, I went to Olivia's birthday party. It was weird because it was the first party I went to in which there was a large portion of people I didn't know. The only people I was friends with before the party were Jami, Kim, and Olivia obviously. I kind of knew Lee because we had Art Skills together, but we didn't really talk until that day. I knew of Cassie from Danielle, and she was in Into the Woods, but again, we never talked. Lee turned out to be really nice, and Cassie is just awesome. And then there were people from Olivia's old school/other people she knew. I met Michael, Emily, and Casey from her old school. Michael is a little type-A, but he's nice. Emily and Casey were cool as well. I killed a fly with an electric fly swatter, and it landed on Emily. Oops. I also met Megan, who just graduated. She's going to spend next year in a student-stay program in Sweden, then she's going to college in Wisconsin. She's so awesome.

On the first of August, my sister, mother, and I went to Walnut Beach in Milford. I never really liked the beach, but I actually had a fun time. I sat on a rock, where the waves crashed onto it. I asked my mom "Do I remind you of a certain mermaid?" My sister and I went into the ocean. She was going to dunk under, but she was scared so she made me hold her hand, which result in many laughs from my mom. She never went under. I, however, in an attempt to float without standing, couldn't get back up, and ended up going under multiple times from waves and such. Which resulted in even more laughter from my mom. We're planning on going back multiple times this summer. I get my first sunburn of the summer, and I'm proud of it.

So, that's how my summer has been so far: relatively amazing. Sure, there are setbacks, like Maine, and mowing my grandparents' lawn every Thursday, but I can deal. At least after I mow, I get to watch Golden Girls with my nana.

There is a thing going on currently called BEDA: Blog Every Day in August. I've decided to not to it, because, I virtually Blog Every Day in September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, and June. I get my summers off.

Which online shopping network loves me?: Zappos.com

Average time I fall asleep: 2 AM.

Days until school: Somewhere between 28-30.

Softball & Explaining & Stuff

Ok, today was our softball team's last home game. This is what went down...

My sister pitched the entire game. Katie, our lead pitcher who is recovering from an appendectomy, decided not to pitch, and instead was a DH (designated hitter.) After the first inning, the score was 2-1, Seymour (our main rival, whom of which we previously beat 1-0) was winning. A couple of innings goes by, and Aubrey hits an in-the-park home-run. It was Woodland's first home run of the season. After a couple innings, the score is 7-3, Seymour still ahead. Angie hits an in-the-park homerun also. Flashforward some more to the final inning.

It's 10-5, bottom of the 7th (the last inning in softball), and Seymour is still winning. A rally starts. My sister actually hits the ball well, and we score some more. With no outs, the score at this point is 10-8. Lindsey hits the ball hard, and it goes deep into the outfield. Lindsey is our best runner, so she's pretty fast. Another runner was on the base in front of her, but because she isn't as fast, Lindsey ends up almost right behind her. When they realize they're both on third base, one of them starts to run home, and Lindsey runs back to second. We score one more run, and Lindsey is tagged out. The score is 10-9. Someone else gets out from a caught ball. Then Aubrey is up. There's two outs, one person on base, bottom of the last inning. Aubrey previously hit a home-run, so the outfields are almost against our fence (which is 275 feet deep, more than pretty much every other field in our league.) She ends up getting a groundball, and is out. We lost by 1.

So the question was still up in the air: Who wins the division? At the moment in time, there's a three-way tie for first of the Brass Division: Us (total record 17-3) , Wolcott (17-3) , and Seymour (16-4). First they look at in-league records, in which we're all tied with only 3 losses. The next tie-breaker is out-of-league. Seymour is out because they lost against Ansonia, who is out of our league, the other night, whereas Wolcott and Woodland haven't lost against an out-of-league team. Then total record, which Wolcott and Woodland are also tied. Next is runs for/runs against ratio. We are also tied. So finally, it is our latest game. Since the results of the Seymour game weren't known yet, we both last played against Holy Cross. Wolcott lost, whereas we beat them with runs to spare.

So, that's how we won the division.

Next up is the NVL's, which is the top 2 teams of each league. Woodland and Wolcott will be in it, as well as 6 other teams. It's a one-loss-you're-out tournament, so it's pretty intense. Regardless of our results in the NVL's, we will also be participating in States. The only qualifications is to have 8 or more wins, in which we have more than twice that amount.

This was the best softball season that Woodland has ever had. Our team will be getting their respective banner in the gymnasium. It's sad that this is my sister's last softball season, since she's not planning on continuing in college. But, I suppose after 15 years of pitching and hitting, she deserves her rest.

Manly Things I Love Monday/Cat Diaries 101

Because I only thought of 'manly' for an alliteration with Monday. Other ideas included monstrous, many, magical, marvelous, mallarish*, mistaken, morbid, microscopic, masked, and massacred. Let me know which one is best.

-I Will Never Leave You

- My house

- Beanie Babies

-Snorlax

- Doritos

-Lolplants

- Whoever pitched the idea of Planet Sheen

*this adjective was 'found' by Kelly.

**She insisted I give her credit, so there.

LIFE UPDATE::

Hello, everybody. I don't seem to really post good, fun content anymore, and sorry 'bout that. I've got some news for the extremely late. I'm moving! Whoo. p: It's just to Beacon Falls, so I'm not leaving the school or anything. I've been told it's a nice enough house. 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. It's a dual-family home. I'm just starting to pack up my room. It's kind of depressing. I've had to get rid of about half of my Beanie Babies. That hurts my soul. My SOUL.

I took pictures of the house pre-packing. I'm currently taking pictures whenever significant progress is made in packing and whatnot. I'm gonna miss this house, really. It's been part of my life since practically I was born. My grandma lived in it before we moved in. We lived here for only about 5 years, but it seems like so much longer, because of said grandma.

So far I've gotten a small box together of some DVDs, and a few books in a separate box. I'm trying to stall as much as possible because: A. I want to keep my room in tact. 2. I don't know what to store now or save because maybe I'll want to watch/read something. C. Jojo doesn't want me to disassemble my room. He likes it that much.

I need to decide what to sell at the tag sale and what to keep. I hate doing this kind of thing, because about the same reason as 2, I don't know if I might decide "Hey I wanna watch Cat Diaries 101 featuring Molly Ringwald!" and then remember I sold it to some 11-year-old girl from the neighboring city.

So, that's basically all that's going on in my life. How are you?

I become a Marathon Runner and Marry an Alcoholic

Yes, I'm doing this meme again. Put your iTunes on shuffle. Whatever song comes up, you write the title next to the time in your 'life.' No cheating.

Birth- White Flag- Dido [My mom was really young and everyone wanted her to have an abortion, but she didn't want to surrender her baby boy]

First birthday- The Wizard and I- Wicked [I felt I was magical]

First day of school- What is this Feeling- Wicked [I discovered my hatred of people]

Middle school- Don't stop believin'- Glee [I hated people so much, but I wasn't gonna stop]

First girlfriend- Defying Gravity- Kerry Ellis [But then I got a girlfriend, and it was like defying gravity.]

Puberty- Something Beautiful- Stephanie J Block [I became attractive]

First breakup- 4 Minutes- Glee [But I felt I had no time for a girlfriend, so we broke up]

High school- Both Sides Now- Joni Mitchell [I learned a lot about myself and walked in other people's shoes and thought a lot about love and life]

High school graduation- The Word of Your Body Reprise- Spring Awakening [I felt lonely]

Choice of college major- A Thousand Miles- Vanessa Carlton [I became a marathon runner]

College- Come to Your Senses- Tick Tick... Boom! [I realized I was living my life wrong]

College graduation- Seasons of Love- Rent [I thought about how I wanted my life to be great and full of love]

Meets future wife- The Dark I know Well- Spring Awakening [We had a lot of fights]

Engagement- Hello- Glee [We waved hello to our new life together]

Marriage-Rehab- Glee [She was an alcoholic]

Have a child-Without You- Rent [We realized we needed each other to go on, and we loved our new baby]

Become sick- Breathe- Michelle Branch [I felt I just needed to relax and I'd be fine]

Death- All Grown Up- Bare [Everything's ending and I regret so much and I'll miss the times alive]

Funeral- Out Tonight- Rent [My wife gets over me very fast and becomes a cougar.]

Well, this makes sense for the most part. Except the end... how sad. Please do this in the comments (Even though I don't get any comments anymore)

Cheers to "Both", Change, and its Persistence.

Change.

It happens all the time. Everyone changes. Change your clothes, your personality, your classroom, etc. Change is constant. It won't stop. So why should I hate something that's ever so persistent? Things in my personal life have changed, some gradual, others suddenly. Sometimes it's for the better. But not all the time. There's a bad kind of change. Ones you wish never happened, but unfortunately, you can't change change.

And then sometimes, change is a mixture of good and bad. And this is where you get lost. And you know why? It's because you can't figure it out. Are you supposed to be happy? Are you supposed to embrace this change? Or are you supposed to push it away? Refuse it?

I don't know the answer. Sometimes, you have to let it all go in front of you. Let change, change. That's what it does. It changes things. I'm not extremely passive, but I know that I can't resist it.

Right now, I'm lost. I don't know if I should be happy, or sad, or both. The latter is what I've been. Both.

Things are complicated around here. I can't really explain it at the moment. And that really sucks. Because I don't have a shoulder to lean on except my own. (And Jojo's) I'm mentally strong enough to tell myself that I'll be ok, and I legitimately believe that I'll be fine, but there's also this tug of... I don't know. The other half of "both." Whatever that is. I feel it.

You don't have to worry about me. Whatever change is bound to happen hasn't happened yet. It's nothing serious. For me, maybe, but it's nothing to be concerned about for you. For the most part, this change is a good one. But like I said, I feel some serious "both."

So cheers to "both", change, and its persistence. Because it'd be rude not to give them a nod, especially since they're here. And there. And everywhere.

Four Fact Friday

...When Things I Love Thursday fails.

Four Facts about me:

1. When I was little, I stepped on a hornet's nest. They all stung me. I was like, 4, and in Monticello, Maine, where my grandparents own a bunch of land. We were out picking Christmas trees (they grow them) and... crunch.

2. I love eating shredded Mozzarella cheese from a cup. I think it's magically delicious. Kind of like Lucky Charms, but without the stale marshmallows and cat food

3. Since after I was a baby, I've puked 2 times that I remember. Once was because my sister put the medication in my inhaler for me, but she put to much. So it went something like this: *Breathe in* *Quasi-honking sound* *vicious coughing and gagging* *puke*. The second time was after my 11th birthday party, I ate too much candy.

4. There's a pink wig on the far side of my room. It has a mysterious origin, one that even a handy-dandy PokeDex can't even tell.

I know, I know, I haven't posted actual blog posts with much effort lately. Sorry, but until something so interesting happens, in which I have an inner monologue which says something along the lines of "oh man, I should really blog about this. Isn't it creepy that when I have fun, the first thing I think of is to blog about it? Yea, it is. Wow, way to insert yourself into my conversation.

Now go away, and stop reading. You stupid humans.

So thanks for putting up with all of these pointless entries xD And my lame attempts at jokes. Really, you all deserve an award.

No they don't.

Stuff I Love Saturday

1. Blue Ice from Big Dipper

2. Oreo Fun Stix

3. My Nana (D'aww)

4. Cats in Hats

5. Talking Dogs

6. Solitary 4.0

7. RW/RR Challenge: Fresh Meat

8. Chelsea Handler

9. Karaoke

10. Riffing to the Western Sky

11. Maureen Johnson

Things I Love Thursday

These are some things I love this week. Join me in the comments, won't you?
Things I Love Thursday:

-Rain, and lots of it
-Jojo
-Wheat Thins (my God, they're fantastic)
-A League of Their Own
-Total Drama Island
-Ice cream parties
-The Book Thief
-Alexia Khadime
-Having the house to myself
-The celebrity apprentice
-Next to Normal (especially its tour dates)
-Jekyll and Hyde
-Chess
-Salt water taffy
-3 day weekends
-My clumsiness, even though it is extremely annoying

DedeCanGomezziblog #1- Percy Jackson & the Olympians, the Movie.

Danielle and I both went to see Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief together. As suggested by the movie title, the movie is both long and about a Lightning Thief. I don't feel the need to review it, because everyone who reads this has already read the book, and if you haven't, do I know you? Danielle and I both compiled this list, which spawned the title of this post. Isn't it amazing? Just as a precaution, the following contains spoilers to the movie and the book.

THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE BOOK
No Nancy
Grover's black
The action before he gets to the camp was either deleted or went fast
Riptide was gold, and was unnamed. It also never returned to his pocket.
Poseidon and Zeus acted like they never see each other
Persephone has a storyline
No cabins, only tents that aren't arranged.
Annabeth has brown hair and no invisible cap.
No camp half-blood t-shirts.
No Thalia's tree.
No Clarisse.
No Cerberus
No Ares
No Oracle
No Mr. D
No prophecy
You have to click Riptide, not uncap it.
Percy ends up taking his mom from underworld, and leaves Grover
Hades randomly comes to camp
Luke confronts them in the outside world
Annabeth doesn't have much of a crush on Luke
Thier quest is based around achieving pearls to get his mother
Luke has video games
Luke has his own cabin
He gives them a map and a shield with the lightning bolt inside it
They sneak out of the camp
Lotus flowers. Wtf.
*The Lotus Flowers are given to them at the Lotus hotel. Once eaten, they enter a drug-like, Euphoric state and gamble. In this movie, there is no age limits. At anything.
There's no Auntie Em. Just Medusa.
There's a woman who turns to stone in front of them.
Percy has an iPhone
No mist
Annabeth and Percy are on two different teams during Capture the Flag
No music label where Percy meets Hades
Nashville is added to their quest. One of the pearls is hidden in a fake Parthenon.
Mom doesn't work at the candyshop
The shoes were never rigged that Luke gave him and Zeus would let him use them
They're over 16 and can drive
No truck with animals in it
No three furies who attack Percy.

THINGS WE LIKED
Persephone's story line. And ROSARIO DAWSON was amazing.
When Percy and Annabeth dueled it out at the very end.
The music. Really, it's one of my favorite movies in terms of music choices. This include A Little Less Conversation by Elvis, Tik Tok by K$sha, and Just Dance by Lady Gaga. I know how it sounds, but trust me on this.

OUR ADVICE
If you haven't read the books, you should definitely go see it. However, if you have read the books, be aware that the movie differs so much. Don't expect it to be the book you read. We recommend watching this movie. We're glad it came out, just dissapointed that it's basically a different story.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Movie- 4 Stars
Compared to the book- 2.5 Stars
Worth the 9 dollars we paid to see it?- Mostly.

There you have it, our first DedeCanGomezziblog post. This will also be posted on Danielle's blog (Dedecanblog) with mostly the same information. Comment on both of ours! Now.

Chronological Timeline of Events leading up to my Love of Theater.

My first real time being in a theater to watch a show was to see Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with my mom. We went to see it at the Palace Theater in Waterbury. I can't remember much about it. I don't even know if it was a musical or just a play. I remember that all the grandparents were puppets, though. Some other things I remember: This was I believe in 5th grade. I didn't wear my glasses all that much then. I forgot them at home, and since we had balcony seats, my mom drove back home and got them. I remember getting to the Palace and it was amazing. Marble floors, balconies, box seats, wow. I got some Party Mix as a snack. (They let you have snacks in there.)

Although I enjoyed the experience, I never really got into musical theater until mid-eighth grade. I was looking for songs on Youtube and I remembered Seasons of Love from Rent. I loved this song. I looked at the related videos and saw some names I thought were familiar. I eventually made it through every song in the movie adaptation. After a month or so, I finally got to rent Rent (haha) from Blockbuster. I fell in love. The movie was great, but I thought that was the farthest this love would go. But I was wrong.

I soon discovered the theater version. I bought the DVD, and watched, and awed. It was so brilliant, fantastic, and emotional. The cast was pure perfection, and I realized that I liked this version better than the movie. There were more scenes, more songs, and although more simplistic, a better scenery. (I still don't know why I think that. The set pieces are just a table and chairs.)

Idina Menzel originated the role of Maureen in Rent, as well as reprising the role for the movie version. Danielle had mentioned a few times about Wicked. I never really paid much attention until one magical day. I was on pandora.com on my self-created Rent Radio. No One Mourns the Wicked came up from Wicked. I recognized Idina and decided to ask Danielle a little more about it. I soon downloaded the entire soundtrack and read the book (Wicked is based off of a 300-500 page book. No lie. I read it and loved it.) I later found bootlegs of Wicked. The first full show I saw was with Stephanie J Block and Annaleigh Ashford on Google Video. It was so fantastic. I shared the link with Danielle, and to this day, Wicked is one of our most talked about topics. It's something we both get and enjoy and love. 

One day at a get together, I gave Danielle a huge bag of stuff I wanted her to read and watch. A couple days after her birthday, we met up at Woodland for the wandering party. I gave her her birthday present, Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway. She really enjoyed it, and we still make references to it on Twitter occasionally. We actually might have been able to see it, but that didn't work out too well. She gave me back my bag of stuff to borrow. In the car I was looking through it to make sure everything was there, and I found a Playbill from Wicked at the Gershwin theater. I gasped loudly, and read it front to back. The cast was Marcie Dodd and Alli Mauzey on Broadway. I called her immediately after to talk about it. She said she went with her dad, and she had an extra Playbill, so she gave it to me. I was, and still am, so thankful. It's on my shrine of favorite things ever. 

Ever since then, my love of theater has grown and grown, and probably won't stop. (Select favorites include 9 to 5, Next to Normal, Spring Awakening, and of course Rent and Wicked.) I'm now interested in pursuing acting and singing. I might be going to see Wicked in October on Broadway (fingers crossed, people. Fingers crossed.) I suppose credit for the start of all this goes to Mrs. Coneglio from Community School for teaching Seasons of Love to the chorus... Wow. I never really thought about it that much. Also: My mom, Angela (for the day before my discovery of Rent for reminded me of Seasons of Love at Josh's get together while bouncing the yoga ball) and Danielle for showing me Wicked and the Playbill.

So, yea, this post is one of those "I didn't need to know this" kind of posts. Sorry, but hey, it's my blog. 

Pros and Cons of the Seasons

So, it snowed. And it snowed. And it snowed. Remember back in summer when we wished it would snow? And snow? And snow? Yea, me too. Well I wish it would stop. So here's to you, snow. This Pros and Cons guide of the seasons is dedicated to you, with love.

Spring

March-May

Pros

-Frolicking in the flowers

-A fair temperature allows children to wear t-shirts without being yelled at

-Perfect time for taking photos of your cat sunbathing

-Rain

-Green trees

Cons

-Allergies are at their max

-Ant hills

-Spring cleaning

-Children having the urge to go outside

-Children having the urge to take you outside with them

Summer

June-August

Pros

-Vacation

-No homework

-An unhealthy amount of sleep

-Not having to wear socks

Cons

-Boredom

-Friends leaving you behind to go on vacations

-Increased cases of planter's warts because of flip-flops

-Falling asleep at 3 in the morning

-Waking up at 3 in the afternoon

-Heat exhaustion

-Your cat will run away from you and your body heat

-Electricity bills rise

-No good television

-Everything else

Fall

September-November

Pros

-Pretty colors

-Leaf piles

-Cool, crisp air

-Halloween candy sales

-Really good television

Cons

-Increased cases of Lyme Disease from tic bites

-Raking

-Allergies

-School

Winter

December-February.

Pros

-Gives excuses to stay in bed all day with a Snuggie

-Snow days

-The coldness drives cats towards their owners

-You aren't burned to death

-The unmistakable chimney smell can be detected around every corner

-Sledding

-The Winter Olympics is a great opportunity to scream at the television or applaud at it. See also, the Super Bowl.

-The first snowfall

Cons

-Shoveling

-The coldness drives cats to their owners

-You freeze to death

-Because of insufficient amounts of oxygen, Carbon Monoxide poisoning increases from the incomplete combustion in chimneys

-Sledding

-No new episodes of Glee until April because of the Winter Olympics

-The second snowfall.

-The third snowfall.

And that, Charlie Brown, is what the seasons are all about.

Corn is Good Because it Is

I was going through my Published Writing folder, from back in the day, and some things... Well, some things I really wanted you to see. You'll get it.

Grade One: "Corn is good because it is and my mom makes it."

Grade one: "Me and Joshua like to watch Beetleborgs and Jimmy."

1. I didn't know a Joshua or Jimmy at the time, nor did I like to watch him. Just saying.

2. Beetleborgs was AWESOME.

Grade three: It was a cold day. I took care of a monkey named Snap. Snap and I went outside. Snap and I became close friends. Snap was very cold so I made him a sweater. We called his mom and dad and said "Could snap come over?" And they said "Sher!"

...

Grade one: "One day our class went to a zoo. Next, Mrs. Rousseau said, Look the bear exkaped from its cage, Then, we wen serching for it all day, Finly, we serched for it more and we never found it"

Grade one: I am grabby like an octopus.

Grade Five: I'm not going to share the whole thing, since it's not that interesting, but it was about a fishing trip... gone wrong. Every time I skipped a line to start a new paragraph I did this really obnoxious thing where I'd draw fish and question marks. We also had to do a drawing. Mrs. Seagren would have been so ashamed.

Grade 4: I Am --we did this again in eighth grade. How much I have changed.--

I am an active boy who loves penguins. ((Active? Really?))

I wonder how it is to slide down a mountain on your belly

I hear a penguin squaking

I see penguins watch their babies playing

....
Ok, you get the gist of it. It's all about penguins.

So that whole "I want to be a writer when I grow up" thing... Not looking too good for me. *Sigh*

50 MORE Things

I did 50 things before, but this is a different version. Instead of 50 things in reach, I list 50 interesting facts about me. It'll be hard to think of 50.

1. I knocked over a Clifford: The Big Red Dog book stand at Barnes and Noble.

2. I spent half of the money I earned from painting my grandparent's railing on cat books.

3. My Nana used to buy Pokemon Macaroni and Cheese for me specifically because I liked to collected the pokemon tabs on the back. I have a lot of them.

4. When I moved away from Prospect in kindergarten, I was given I Spy: Christmas from my teacher. I don't know what it had to do with anything, but it was nice.

5. I lived in a place different from Prospect for a total of 6 months.

6. My brother saw the card Laura sent me for Christmas last year before I did because he always gets the mail. His response was "Who the hell is Laura?" I think it was because she dotted her I's with hearts.

7. I'm a master at Monopoly.

8. Every dream that I've had that Danielle was in, she died.

9. In seventh grade I attempted to read The Oddessy, and I got 1/6 through it.

10. I used to be obsessed with the Spice Girls. I have a Ginger Spice barbie doll.

11. Some of my favorite candies are Razzels and Take 5's.

12. I used to think I was going to be an SNL Completest when I grew up. That's someone who has everything Saturday Night Live.

13. I've spent at least 500 dollars on TV on DVD.

14. I'll miss not having a new cat with a hat picture every month this year.

15. Every year my dad gets me gloves, a hat, chapstick, and Santa's Coal [a gum company] in my stocking for Christmas.

16. I really hate Peeps if eaten simultaneously.

17. I have 5 holographic Vaporeon pokemon cards.

18. I once completed a 1000 piece puzzle, give or take a few lost pieces.

19. I used to have a fear of cats.

20. I have three boxes full of Beanie Babies.

21. I received 3 cards from Nerdfighters. I told my mom it was a 'fan club.'

22. I could survive on Strawberry Coolatas alone.

23. I have every possession that's close to me next to my bed.

24. I have a love/hate relationship with zombies.

25. My favorite fruit is pineapple.

26. I'm gonna miss my cell phone when I get a new one. It's so definitive of me.

27. My favorite character on Glee is Sue Sylvester. I'm one of the few people on this earth that can say that.

28. I was late to a movie because I spent too much time in an animal store.

29. I love 90's cartoons. Specifically: Animaniacs, Tiny Toons, Doug, and Pepper Ann.

30. My mom bought me assorted fruit flavored cough drops just so I can show Josh that I have good taste in cough drops.

31. I'm a mix of lazy and impatient. It's not a good combination.

32. I always beat my 7 year old cousin at Connect Four.

33. If I had to name two children, their names would be Karce and Jemma.

34. My favorite breed of dog is Pomeranian.

35. My favorite quote ever is from Glee. "Don't go in the Christmas closet!"

36. I hate white out. It has done bad things to me.

37. I still get tense whenever I see a sticky note.

38. I have a keyboard in my room that I almost never use.

39. Laura has been making graphics for me for a couple years, and she still doesn't enjoy it. I have complicated requests.

40. I tend to make things into a big project. Sometimes it's for the better. That's how 10mow started.

41. I'm considering buying The Sims. Thoughts?

42. I spent 9 dollars on iTunes on old cartoons. They were: Aah Real Monsters! Doug, and the first episode of The Fairly Oddparents.

43. I saw The Polar Express in theaters when it came out. Impressive.

44. My favorite video game is SSX 3. It's about snowboarding. I hate snowboarding.

45. I always begged my mom for more pillows. I have 5.

46. When asked my favorite music, I always say "Old stuff, like the Beatles." Just because I'm afraid of the reaction to "Rent, Wicked, Spring Awakening..."

47. My favorite pokemon is Azumarill, but I was too lazy to make it my profile picture on FaceBook.

48. My favorite TV show as a kid was Arthur. "Hey, D.W.!"

49. Sigourney Weaver is one of my favorite actresses.

50. I'm still a professional Chameleon Breeder, Angela.

Do this in the comments. Or at least attempt.