a little touch of Harry in the night...

Some of you may know that I tried out for a show at BYU in winter semester of 2012. I auditioned for Henry V, put on by BYU's Young Company. They do adaptations of plays for younger audiences and tour the elementary schools around the county.

In short, the auditions went very well for me and I made it to callbacks. Callbacks went well, too. However, I didn't get cast because when it came down to it, the other girl was a theater major and I am not. 

Talk about disappointment. My mom, who is the dramaturg for Henry V, tried to make me feel better by telling me that it was my major that kept me from being in the show and not my abilities, but it made me feel sadder. Time and again I have faced rejection in theater because I don't have the right connections at a particular place (like the Hale or the Scera) or I'm not in the right field of study. It was really hard for me to not get the part based on my academic background.

It's funny how things change though, because almost a year later, I have suddenly found myself thrown into the cast of Henry V. Due to unforeseen circumstances, someone had to drop out of the show and I just happened to have the time.

Say hello to the King of France, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the page boy. No, I don't have a multiple personality disorder -- I just get to be three (four, if you count my time as a guard/executioner) different characters in the same show.

Read more about it here.

Wish me luck!

reminders...

To Do:
1. Print off list of books and materials needed for next semester
2. Print off schedule with building and room numbers
3. Go to BYU and

purchase books/materials

pay remaning tuition

provide proof of insurance (first figure out what that means)

purchase parking pass

find buildings and classrooms

4. Scrub kitchen
5. Make cake bites and freeze for next week
6. Clean front room
7. Put up Christmas tree/decorations
8. Re-memorize lines for tonight's Scera Home for the Holidays concert
9. Re-memorize lines for Christmas show tomorrow since I messed them up last night
10. Christmas cards/LDC gifts
11. Make gifts for Primary students

I have time to do this. I have money, too. I have motivation...ha. No, not really.

busy day...

Today I had a rehearsal for "The Valiant" from 10:00 am-1:00 pm. I auditioned for one acts this year, which are short plays. The Drama 4 class does a unit on directing during the last term of the school year, and each student picks a show to direct. My director is the amazing Jasmine, one of my dear friends. I'm playing the role of the Warden. It's SUPER intense. I kind of love it. In the cast are Adam (James Dyke, murderer), David ([pronounced Dah-vee] Father Daly, priest), and Kate (Josephine Paris, girl who visits Dyke before his execution). From the character descriptions, you can kind of tell what happens. Barely. :) We practiced at Adam's house for a couple of hours, and wrote letters or journal entries from the point of view of our character. Mine was a journal entry, one before the execution and one after. All of the letters/journals were so intense. It was amazing.

When I got home I cleaned some of the house. Most of the living room was all ready finished, but no one had vacuumed. So I did it. And I did it while singing! Because nobody can hear you when the vacuum is running. And then I found out that I was the only one home so it wouldn't have mattered. Then I sang without the vacuum running. Haha. I also sorted all of the games that we have because they've been a MESS and it's been driving me nuts. But every time I think of it, I'm all ready engaged in a task or event. Not so today!! I spent fifteen minutes taking everything out of the cupboard, arranging it all by size, trying to stick it back in with some attempt at order, pulling it out again, and trying over again to get it all nice and neat. I think I succeeded. I think.

Know why I cleaned the house? It wasn't for fun; I don't particularly enjoy it. However, it was for a very good reason. Jason and Jordan and Kyle are coming over tomorrow (and hopefully Ruthie but I forgot to call her tonight-oops)!!!!! Now for intros:

• Jordan-my friend since 8th grade drama class, Jordan is amazing beyond belief. He is a notorious flirt but never hurts anybody. He's incredibly handsome. He's funny, clever, kind, and so full of energy I wish I could bottle it up and sell whatever he runs on because I'd be a millionaire. He truly is a guy worth having around.
• Jason-notice I wrote his name first? Lol...he's Jordan's older brother. He's quite possibly the sweetest young man I have ever met in my life. He is, like his brother, also very handsome. He's very shy and doesn't talk much, but when he does you better be paying attention because it's always hilarious. Or very wise. He took me on a date last week (most awkward date of my life because it was actually a date-lol) and it was fun. Really, lots of fun.
• Kyle-Jordan's younger brother. I'm not sure what to make of him except that he's smart, funny, shy, and quiet. He's more like Jason than Jordan is. At least so far. He's my youngest sister's age, so he's got some growing left. I really, really enjoy having him as a friend.
• Ruthie-I ADORE this girl. She is, without a doubt, my best friend. She's beautiful, funny, a klutz extraordinaire, so talented, kind, and loving. I don't know how I've gotten on without her before. We've always known each other, back since 7th grade. But we've never really, really known each other until about a month or so ago. Things just brought us together. Now we're almost inseparable. When I'm without her, people ask me, "Where's Ruthie?" She told me it's the same when I'm not with her. I kind of love it. The only sad thing is this: she'll be moving the week after graduation, about three hours away to go to school at USU. Three hours isn't a huge deal, I know, but that's a lot different than three minutes. We'll get along, but it'll be kind of hard.

So now you know some of my friends. :)

Dad and I visited BYU today because the new Freshman Mentoring program (required for all new students-you select a group of classes, and if the class you want isn't listed among those you can't take it. At all. Period. So that's why I'm not taking Science this semester because I've all ready completed Biology and I'd fail Chemistry) was giving me issues. The mentor I talked to, a really nice girl named Clarissa, helped me pick a class bundle (one required GE credit and a religion class). I'll be taking Comparative Lit. Honors and Book of Mormon 121 for sure. I can't add any more classes until July. Retarded. All of the ones I need/want will be full. :P

BYU is terrifying. It's so huge, and it's going to be so hard. I feel so completely alone on campus, especially after dad left to go pick mom up from school. I sat outside the art museum waiting for him to come back and get me feeling indescribably tiny. The only reason why I didn't start to cry was because it would be super awkward. The good part was that a guy walked past me and dropped his binder. I picked it up and gave it to him, and he started talking to me. His name was Chase Presley, and his bag told me that he is a member of the Ballroom Company at the school. He was really, really nice and talked to me for awhile. I hope there are a lot of people like him there. Maybe it won't be so bad.

Jasmine invited me over to her house to watch the new episode of "Bones". It was pretty good. Before we watched it, we (Jasmine, Alexis, Trevor, Melinda, and me) made pizza, looked at magazines with ridiculous and sometimes AWKWARD things you never knew you needed in them, and had bubble blowing contests in our drinks with the bendy straws Jaz found. Haha. I won. 37 seconds of bubble blowing, AND I was laughing so I was running out of air faster. We laughed so hard tonight. It was the best.

Then Kevin came over (the man of my dreams who is completely out of my league, which is why I don't pursue a crush on him, lol) and I felt uncomfortable. Mostly because I feel so intimidated by him. He's so amazing-SUPER, SUPER intelligent, spiritual beyond belief, really tall (really), good looking, clever, caring...everything. But anyways, it was a lot of fun. The two of us ended up on the couch next to one another, helping deal out cards for those playing Candyland to keep anyone from cheating. I feel kind of bad though, because he'll tease me or make fun of me about something and it totally leaves a hole open for me to get him back. Sometimes it might be a little bit less kind than I intended. Ugh...I'll have to work on that.

And now I'm feeling a little bit fragile again. I wonder why that happens; great time with friends who I know care about me, and yet I feel like I'm breaking apart again. I don't enjoy that part of things. So I'm going to go to bed, because it's been a long day and tomorrow will be even longer. It will be good-I know it will be good. Look, I'll show you:

• Call BYU and change my major (yes-it's changed again. I'll tell you later. :) )
  
• Rehearsal at Adam's house
• Soccer with friends at Lakeridge (Brad invited me!! No one from that group [Kevin's friends who are my friends too but not so much good friends anymore-it kind of died] has invited me to do anything with them in about 2 and a half years!!)
• Jordan's Eagle Project at the Scera
• Get ready for people to come over
• PARTY with Jason, Jordan, Kyle, and Ruthie!!

I'm excited.

specialty numbers...

Today we had a rehearsal overlap problem. The rehearsal for "America" and the rehearsal for specialty numbers were scheduled at the same time. It was interesting. The first thing that was practiced was the song "Seasons of Love". I can't be in that number because I have a really quick costume change, from preshow to "Grease". I sat and watched for a long time, and then it was time for the specialy numbers to practice.

"Grease" is first on the program after the opening choir number. We finally got everything set on the stage and all of the spacing worked out. Finally. It was kind of frustrating because a couple of people didn't want to be moved or consistently said that they couldn't move two feet fast enough (which they really could, because they did it three times). But it did get worked out, and I think it's going to go all right for the concert. I can't believe it's a week from today all ready.

"America" was scheduled to practice in the foyer of the auditorium during the same time as the specialty numbers, so that was a bit of a problem. Jeremiah wasn't particularly happy with that because there were five people in "Grease" and "America", and then there were boys in specialty numbers right after "Grease". So...it was interesting. I couldn't even dance full out for either number, and I couldn't sing very well because I've still been really sick. Ugh.

Let's hope this works out.

slightly frustrating...

1. People not paying attention during rehearsals, therefore wasting valuable time
2. Rehearsal overlaps
3. Techie-performer clashes (luckily I don't have to worry about it because I'm friends with pretty much every single techie [Thespian Troupe 3490 for the win!!] but still...it's annoying when two groups of friends don't like each other at all [West Side Story, anyone?])
4. The short girls and boys in the "Amereeca" dance being stuck on the back row while the tall girls and boys get put on the front row (most of whom can't even dance as well as the short people)
5. Singers who stand still with no movement whatsoever and the song dies
6. People not showing up to rehearsals that they really did know about but "forgot"
7. Getting sick and getting steadily worse with the concert one week away
8. Being half an hour late to rehearsal because of mentioned illness
9. People not taking costumes seriously
10. Costume that took so much time and so much effort being too long in the torso (short!!)

Among other things. And now I'm going to bed because I really am sick and it's stupid. But at least I'm smiling because:

1. Tiana is an amazing friend
2. Jordan is an amazing friend
3. Paul is an amazing friend and gives really, really good massages. He is my new headache medicine.
4. Lots and lots of people have come up to me to tell me that I'm a good dancer
5. I have a soft, soft, soft bed
6. Mrs. Davis said that I'm doing fantastic on the samba and that she's very pleased with how quickly I've caught up then moved ahead
7. Brad (BYU Young Ballroom Dance Team member) being my partner for the test next Tuesday in Ballroom
8. Kevin agreeing to be my math tutor
9. Andrew's outrageously HIDEOUS colorful shirt with ridiculous patterns all over it that he's wearing for the show because "it's flamboyant and colorful and that's what they wanted for the Sharks" while yelling out "Lawn-da-ree (laundry), ah ha ha!!" during "Amereeca" when we sing about having washing machines. It totally made my day.
10. Being able to sleep in tomorrow despite afternoon rehearsals because there's no school!!

So yeah. Frustrated, but still happy.

UBSCT testing = sleeping in!! wait...

This week is UBSCT testing (Utah Basic Skills Competency Test). It's for sophomores, and you have to pass it to graduate. This means yes, there are occasionally some juniors and seniors involved. I took it my junior year for the first time because 1) I had no idea it was going on, 2) I didn't even go to MVHS most of the time (I was at the alternative high school to catch up on work that I'd missed after getting sick at the start of second term), and 3) I was taking classes at the college that were during the same time as the test.

Anyways, usually people not taking the test get to stay home from school until 10:00 am. People generally go to breakfast or sleep in. No sleeping in for A Cappella students. Yesterday and today were the morning rehearsals for "Seasons of Love". 7:45 am - 10:00 am. Also costume checks for all people involved. Mine are mostly done; one is too long and the other one is...too long. SHORT.

It's been crazy. Loud, boring, crazy, and tiring. It's also been fun, for the most part. I've just been very tired, and kind of really sick. My voice is leaving!! Not a good thing at all. And I'm worried about a lot of stuff, and I'm pretty sure my friend(s) isn't/aren't going to come see the show even though he/they told me that he/they would. *sigh* Oh, well!! I'm finding out that I have a LOT more friends that I thought I did, and they're all pretty wonderful.

Good night, now. :)

i've misplaced january...

It's gone all ready? Where the heck was I? Seriously, when morning announcements came on at school today I was very confused. At least I wasn't the only one; several other seniors were looking around saying, "What? February? When did that happen?"

Oh, today. Weird. Time doesn't seem to take so very long anymore, except on days where I only have two classes and can't wait for study hall to get over so I can go home (having four classes one day and two the other make for very long A-days). I feel like it should still be three weeks before Christmas.

I was very glad that it was a short day today (Mondays are early out days; school ends an hour earlier than normal), and that it was a B-day so I only had two classes. This meant that I could possibly be able to sneak my transcript into the UVU Admissions Office to try and finish up applying for the scholarship I've been working on. I was terrified of doing it (essay question had five parts, one of which was "why are you valuable to the community" or something like it and my first thought: I have no value! *panic and close browser window then go cry for two hours then fall asleep*). I learned something: fear can cause procrastination. Wonderful. :P

Anyways, the point of the story is that they accepted my transcript because the deadline didn't become effective until 5:00 pm, when the office closed. I got mine in at 10:30. Hallelujah!! I was so excited and relieved that I actually skipped down the walk, making several older college students look over their shoulders at me and raise their eyebrows. Then I decided to check the time left on the parking meter where the car parked next to me was. It said 00:00 minutes...so I decided to pay for another 40 minutes for them because I was so ecstatic and happy and just...what's a synonym for relieved?

That was when I started to get tired. I mean REALLY tired. I came home, fed myself and my dog, and decided to lie down for twenty minutes or so. Five hours later I woke up. And the weird thing is this: I've been awake for only six hours after that "nap" and I'm exhausted. Maybe it's because I know what's in store for tomorrow. Ugh. Busy day. But I'm excited for it, too, or at least telling myself that I am. We shall see.

a snowy day...

Come see what I saw while walking through my neighborhood today. I was selling tickets to help pay for my choir tour, and I just happened to have my camera with me.

geese flying over my neighborhood

birds resting after the storm

reminders of spring

mountains...clouds...sky...happy

It was a good walk. I got to see lots of pretty things, plus I made more money to help pay for tour. Double win.

Oh! Tonight was my sister's performance with All-State Junior Honor Choir. And guess what? She had a solo!! It was a total surprise for all of us, including her. She tried out yesterday for a solo in the last big number and got "second place" (it was kind of like American Idol she said) out of 160 girls. :D :D :D Go, Meghan!! Then, two hours before the performance, the director asked her if she would solo on another song because "I felt badly that there wasn't a spot for you because you did so well and I couldn't get you out of my head all night long". Haha!! So Meghan had a solo on a song called "Dancing Tree". Here's a picture of her and the director, Dr. Broomhead (no joke). He also knows Mrs. Mathews, my choir teacher, and said he'll be keeping an eye on Meghan, me, and Amanda. :)

It's kind of a lousy picture, but there was a long line of people waiting to talk to him. Sorry about the blurry faces-they actually look a little bit different than that. Haha :).

first time for everything...

This is the first time all year that I have put off doing my math homework. I cannot emphasize how badly I do not want to do at. I've looked at it, even written my name on the paper. I just really, really, really, really, really, really don't want to do it. It would take up a whole page of really, really, reallys to even get close to the point. However I won't waste your time.

Another new thing: first time I've really dressed up for school this year. A lot of people asked me why I looked so nice (blue dress, pea coat, white tights, black heels, etc.). My reply? "My jeans were still in the dryer." or "I didn't have any jeans to wear today." People laughed or just nodded like, "Oh, good reason." I found it funny.

The rehearsal for "Grease" went all right today, but there seems to be a bit of a power struggle between myself, one of the boys (another student who does stuff with classes, but more music), and a new girl who will be playing the role of Sandy in the concert as a pre-show character. Jasmine (the girl who's been helping me out with all of this by scheduling and helping when I'm about to cry from frustration) and I thought it would be cool to put her in the number as a singer, because we need more sopranos who aren't dancing.

Well, the student conductor kept counting the music SO slowly it was almost painful to try and dance to. When I'd try to speed up the counts he'd get bugged and sing louder. The Sandy girl kept talking to people and being a distraction. It was really hard. Despite all of that we got a lot finished and did some polishing. It's not as far as I'd like to be, but it's far enough that we don't have to practice through F.E.A.S.T. tomorrow (Friends Eating And Sharing Testimony-it's a Seminary thing-which is a class period during the day over at a building kind of like a church. Basically it's a religion class. Love it. :) ). I'm worried about the auditions Friday, but I'm hoping and praying that all of this work pays off.

Being a real leader is a new thing for me. I've never done this sort of thing before, outside of doing stuff with my sisters and neighborhood kids when we were little. Still I was never "in charge". Parents were always there behind the scenes to settle disputes and such, and to keep us in control if it got loud. Now it's my job. I don't know if I like it all that much.

One thing I'm really looking forward to: costumes for the concert!! Since I'm playing Anita in the pre-show and in the dance section of "Amereeca", I need to have a super flashy costume. I talked to the costume mistress for the concert, and I'm so excited! She loved the ideas I had, and said if I need any help to let her know. It's going to be amazing. :D

I'm surprised how many things have been working out lately. Even the math (though I put it off, I still understand it) is making sense. Sure, there's been tons of opposition, whether high school dramatics, noisy students, chemical ups and downs, and brick walls of frustration and feeling completely clueless. Things just seem to unravel themselves though, and I rarely am the one who unties the knots. I feel like I tug and jerk and cry and curse (not really), but it's not me who fixes the problems. Sometimes it's almost like I just keep trying and doing my best, and somehow someone realizes I need help and comes to the rescue.

Okay. Time for systems of equations and graphing. Joy. Have a good evening/morning/whatever!!

shut the duck up!!

(image from www.prankplace.com)

When I say duck, I mean the twins and the fox boy (I just think he looks like a cute little fox). One of them sometimes has a little duck tail hair style (go figure, we're doing "Grease"), hence the duck. And I'm just bugged. Those boys are going to drive me insane, no joke. They even have a name for themselves: "The Uglies and the Goates" as they call it. The other kids in the dance are loud and unruly as well, but those three are the main problem. I hate to be the bad guy, because I'm younger than half of them and I want to be their friends, but I'm up to here *mimes pointing at neck* with this and it's only been one day.

And so, if they don't behave tomorrow at lunch there will be an 8:00 am rehearsal on Saturday. They're not happy, but neither am I. So there.

I kind of hate this game.

"they're doin' choreography"...

Or more specifically, I'm doing choreography. Mrs. Mathews really was serious when she told me that I'm doing the choreography for Ariosa. I spent all afternoon yesterday (after "West Side Story", which was so much fun and consisted of the girls not on the ballroom team putting hoodies around their waists like aprons to have a "skirt" [myself included-lol]. Jeremiah, our teacher, did it too. Epic hilarity) working on the two numbers (from "Grease"). "We Go Together" is much farther along than "Summer Lovin'" because it's easier, in my opinion. The beat is faster, it's easier to be explosive yet controlled, and I just got lots of ideas all at once for it. Now to teach it...

I'm going to bed now.

"A wop baba loo mop, a wop bam boom" folks!! :)

get outta my chair...

Getting stuck in the director's chair on the first day of class might be something like this:

1. Be told to get to work
   
2. Feel completely confused as to what to do
3. Stand around looking confused
4. Start warm-ups on the outside of the circle, not sure what to do
5. Be invited to stand in the circle by Brad, and then introduced by Mrs. Mathews to the rest of the kids
6. Stand around looking lost as the other 12 students fall into line, wearing costumes and getting ready to rehearse their traveling Halloween program
7. Ask what to do
8. Given a stool, a pencil, a sheet of paper, and a music stand
9. Told to watch, take notes, and be ready to "give direction, comments, and suggestions"
10. Get nervous and then excited as the talent of the choir is displayed
11. Feel very inadequate and slightly nervous about giving direction, comments, and suggestions on the first day of enrollment in class
12. Notice that 11 of the 12 respond to the direction and get excited about it
13. Notice that 1 of the 12 does not like anything you say and gives you dirty looks
14. Decide to ignore 1/12th
15. Worry about overstepping and look to Mrs. Mathews for cues, only to find that she wants you to keep doing what you're doing
16. Take a deep breath, watch more numbers, and give more direction such as:

"More energy! You're performing! You're having fun! You guys sound great, you blend well, you're got awesome costumes, and you know that you're having fun, but you're not showing it. Have fun! Show me the fun!"

"Mark, I can tell from your performance that you are a gentleman. You probably hold doors open for girls and help your mom bring in the groceries, don't you? *yes, i was right* Well, this is not a girl. This is not even a person. To Gaston, Belle is the next trophy he wants to hang up on his wall. You're the predator, and she's the piece of meat! You're hungry to get your hands on this prize! Don't let her get so far away from you-for every one step she takes further away you take two towards her. And Deb! Belle cannot stand Gaston. He's a brute-ignorant, arrogant, completely repellent. I want disgust. Like, 'are you kidding me? ew...ew...EW!' Show me."

Then "Asha, John Smith has completely insulted you. There's got to be some anger there, until you realize that he has absolutely no idea. Show me the transition from disbelief and hurt at his generalizations to the understanding that he says those things in ignorance. Sing this as teaching him about your world. Teach all of us."

Number 17-Have an amazing first day in Ariosa, and feel so good about it because you've got friends. And number 18, not worrying about making Mrs. Mathews upset because of your "directing" because she pulled you aside and said that it was fabulous and so helpful. Teehee.

First EMR (early morning rehearsal) with A Cappella this morning. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially since I got to sit next to "that girl". Haha, love you, friend!

40/50 on my stupid Communications midterm. I studied and studied and STUDIED and still did terribly. Ugh. I hate it.

Completely lost in math. Again.

Pretty much failed a Meteorology quiz because I didn't understand the chapter at all.

Compliments from Tyler like crazy as he tossed candy at me in class, saying (each bolded word emphasizes when he threw it at me and how he said it) "You're such a SMARTIEs, and such a SWEET HEART instead of TART, and you're such a NERDs which is good because you pass your classes and can help me pass too, but not an Air Head so I get to eat this one." Then he said that he thinks I'd be way fun to go to a dance with because I'm such an awesome person and he likes to make me laugh. I like Tyler. He's a good friend.

Enjoyable time at work-it wasn't too bad today and I got some paperwork done for Paul. Plus Andrea and I have too much fun with pretzels, talking about boys, and being dumb in general. It's great fun.

First snow of the year today. I don't know whether to be excited or to be not excited. I just hope Halloween isn't too cold. I remember the last time it snowed this early that on Halloween night I had 4 inches of snow around the brim of my witch hat. It was so cold that year. But we got TONS of candy because everyone else had all ready stopped trick-or-treating. People pretty much just dumped their bowls into our sacks. Great fun.

Cold, cold, cold.

This has been a freaking random post. I've even stopped trying to follow my trainless (say what?) thoughts.

Tomorrow is Wednesday. One day closer to Friday! AND I'm calling my friend tomorrow night! Woot, woot! *hearts*

aw, crap...

It's 1:09 in the morning. I just remembered something that's happening in 6 hours. *sobs*

So I'm in choir this year. Concert Choir. Yes, I know, it's not the best choir our school's got, but hey, at least Mrs. Mathews let me in last minute. I was so, so, so afraid to audition for A Capella or Chamber Choir, so I just signed up for the one that didn't require any real talent, aka one without auditions. I was too afraid to fail.

Anywho...I really need to stop saying "Yes" to my teacher when she asks me to sing things. Like "The National Anthem". Which I'm doing...today. In 6 hours and about 45 minutes. For announcements at the start of school. I signed up BEFORE I found out that there really are 1,400 students/faculty aka PEOPLE in the building during school hours. And I'll be in the office, singing into the microphone over the intercom while everyone HAS to listen.

Crap.

Any chance of sleep is pretty much gone now. BUT!!! On the plus side, I have an EMR (Early Morning Rehearsal) at 6:45, an hour before I sing. So.............

at least I'll be warmed up.

attendance...

I've been rather absent lately. Dress rehearsals, costume prep, work, school, and auditions have been taking up a lot of my time. Final Dress was tonight. It went rather well, except for the tech crew (grumble, grumble, but that's a story for another day). I'll be updating this blog and my blog for the show on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, and probably be back on Monday and Tuesday of next week (until performances start up again). Opening night is tomorrow. It's finally here. Wow.

Sorry I haven't been keeping up on your blogs. I haven't forgotten you. Life has just gotten in the way of what I would really like to be doing. I guess my high school and college transcripts are more important right now, as much as I hate to admit it. Ugh.

Miss you all! I'll try and get back into the swing of things in a couple of weeks. Unless I make the cut for Guys and Dolls. Then I won't be around much until, like, November. Such is life.

Why do I always create busy schedules for myself? Why?

hectic...

I've been so busy. Shopping, working, rehearsing, volunteering, and just trying to keep my head above water has taken up most of my time lately. Here's the general idea of what's gone on:

1. Tuesday we had our first full run for Oz. It went...okay.

2. My last summer day volunteering at the library was on Tuesday morning, and it was the day that I finally got my volunteer badge. Funny how that works.

3. Wednesday the girls, mom, and I went shopping for school stuff (mostly for my sisters) and things for costumes. We found gorgeous gold hair clips to use for MOLO. I'm way excited.

4. Rehearsal went surprisingly well. Show run time at this present day is 2 hours 8 minutes. Not bad.

5. The first day of school was today. It sucked, but could have been worse. Sarah Hawkins sits next to me in math, so we are having too much fun. Algebraic equations are not supposed to be fun. At least according to the other students in the class. It will be super weird being one of three seniors in Algebra II. Most of the others are stuck up little sophomores. Seriously, those kids have ISSUES this year.

6. I really, really, REALLY want to take Mr. Jackman's Health Science class. So, I'm dropping Woods tomorrow to take H.S. instead. YAY!!!

7. I don't have rehearsal tonight, which is why I'm snagging a minute to write this.

8. My manager forgot that I don't get out of class until 3:15 on Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall. He has me scheduled to work every Tuesday at 3:00, and I can't even get there until 3:30 or 3:40.

9. The box holding my pasta salad in my Spiderman lunch bag leaked all over. I'm SO glad that we bought lunch box/bags instead of using paper sacks. Phew.

10. I'm exhausted.

11. AND I need to find a 15-30 second monologue to memorize because I'm auditioning for "Guys and Dolls" at my high school on Monday or Tuesday. I won't get a really good part because Mr. Criman, the drama man, always casts his drama students in the leads. Which is kind of sad, because some of them suck and some of them just have crappy attitudes and are way rude to everyone else. :P

Good bye. I'm going to watch "Avatar" now, because my homework is done. :P

girls do dumb things when left to their own devices...

Before leaving rehearsal last night, Mary and Carissa showed off another side of themselves when they discovered that the Scarecrow's pole could not only be used for "burning" people at the stake, but for much more exotic activities. *smirk* Just imagine two 30-something year old women taking turns singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" to a six foot long piece of wood. Interesting things happen backstage.

EVERYthing is so much funnier at 3:00 in the morning. The night got off to a great start with the last ten or so minutes of Barney and the Dreammaker. Carissa's younger kids were watching it. I rememer seeing that movie in the theaters when I was younger. I know. Barney in the theaters? Ew.

As soon as everyone showed up (Carissa, Emma, Jasmin, Balin, Mary, Shannon, Samantha, Miranda, Alaia, and me) Carissa broke out the key lime pie, cheese tortillas, and the LDS version of Pride & Prejudice, commonly known as "The Pink Bible". It sounds really dumb, and it really kind of is, but with 10 girls/women eating sugary pie and working on costumes and drooling (that was Balin) over Mr. Darcy, it's hilarious. I'd never seen it before, and I was really missing out. Actually, I'd never seen any of the real movies that we watched.

Once we'd finished that movie, Emma asked me if I'd ever seen Barbie and the Diamond Castle. I had not (for obvious reasons) so they put that one in next. It wasn't as funny on its own, but I laughed at some of the stupidity and all of the girls swooning over the two male interest characters. The two sparkling, dancing puppies were a little bit disturbing, especially since one of them looks just like Misty, but they were still way cute.

Next came The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, which was rather grown-up and absolutely hysterical (which could be related to the fact that it was 3:00 in the morning). There were parts where Miranda and I were literally falling off the couch with laughter (the Tin Man [Gonzo] somehow having nipples or some other crazy thing like that). And Toto the prawn with the Mexican accent. Wow. It was amazing. We (Balin, Jasmin, Emma) told Greg (Tin Man) about it at rehearsal, because the moment we saw him this morning we all fell to the ground laughing.

The night finally ended around 4:00. We tend to do that a lot. Emma, Jasmin, Balin, and I were the only ones actually sleeping over (Emma because she lives there). Mary, Shannon, Samantha, and Miranda went home. Alaia and Carissa went upstairs to sleep in their own beds. So, the Fab 4 of us giggled and hooted with laughter about "Jeetair Boogs" and bugly seizures onstage and poking our hair straight up to make antennas and boys and more Jeetair Boogs. Twas worthwhile.

Nights at Carissa's are amazing. They're just the most fantabularifical thing in the whole world.

fees are paid and results are in...

Despite being up until 4:00 in the morning to create a 19 page study guide, I did not fail my test. Nope, nope, nope. I got 185/200, or roughly 92%, which means..........

I DIDN'T FAIL THE CLASS!!!

HAHA! Chew on THAT, Mr. My-way-or-the-highway-professor-who-closes-the-class-five-days-before-the-end-of-the-semester (no offense). I didn't fail. I got a high B+. Neaneer, neaneer, neeeaneeeeeeeerrrrrrr!!!!

The test really wasn't that hard; I probably could have gotten a higher score if I hadn't been confused about certain questions, aka those regarding the chambers/functions of the heart, veins, and arteries. I think I got the left ventricle confused with the right something that starts with an "a". Oh, well.

And just because I can, I will tell you that ALL of the information that I needed was on the study guide, which only took 19 pages. The textbook was 530-something pages long. And that was the BRIEF edition. Good gravy, too many big words!

As for registration, my mom and I went over to MVHS and fixed up my schedule. Again. Honestly, I just cannot make up my mind or else the counselors cannot get it right. Probably a little bit of both this time; since my Ballroom class is now accredited for a required PE class for Seniors, I got kicked out of the PE class that I really wanted to take. When we went in today, I wanted to re-register for it, but it is no longer being taught during the period I had open. SOoO...mom and I looked through the class options and found, you'll never guess...an open choir class!

So, my schedule. Instead of looking like this:

First Semester:
A1-Seminary
A2-Released on MWFs, Communications 1050 on TTHs
A3-Algebra II (I know...sigh)
A4-Released (for the mo)
A5-Meteorology 1010 on TTHs

B1-Advanced Woods
B2-Released on MWFs, Communications 1050 on TTHs
B3-Released (for the mo)
B4-Released (for the mo)
B5-Meteorology 1010 on TTHs

Second Semester:
A1-Ballroom
A2-Released on MWFs, English 2010 on TTHs
A3-Algebra II
A4-Released
A5-Philosophy and Ethics 2050 on MWs

B1-Advanced Woods
B2-Released MWF, English 2010 on TTHs
B3-Seminary
B4-Released
B5-Philosophy and Ethics 2050 on TTH

now looks like this:

First Semester:
A1-Seminary
A2-Released on MWFs, Communications 1050 on TTHs
A3-Algebra II (I know...sigh)
A4-Released (for the mo)
A5-Meteorology 1010 on TTHs

B1-Advanced Woods
B2-Released on MWFs, Communications 1050 on TTHs
B3-SATB Choir
B4-Released (for the mo)
B5-Meteorology 1010 on TTHs

Second Semester:
A1-Ballroom
A2-Released on MWFs, English 2010 on TTHs
A3-Algebra II
A4-Seminary
A5-Philosophy and Ethics 2050 on MWs

B1-Advanced Woods
B2-Released MWF, English 2010 on TTHs
B3-SATB Choir
B4-Released
B5-Philosophy and Ethics 2050 on TTH

Yay. And as a bonus, most people have found it easier to pay fees online, so there was absolutely no wait to pay for my stuff, get my Student Handbook/planner, and even change my class. Awesome, no? Heck yes.

So. That's been my day so far. It never really ended from yesterday, to be honest. I took a "nap" from about 4:30 am-7:30 am. I think I might take another before I have to go to rehearsal tonight. Ew.

I'll be honest, I absolutely love being in plays and choirs and such. I love the process of learning the steps, the music, the cues, and seeing it all put together. But as soon as it's time to perform...get me out of here! I HATE performing. When people ask me, "What is your least favorite thing about being in a production?" and I respond "Performances.", people laugh their heads off. But I'm serious. Performing sucks. I love to learn new things and be ready to perform, but I hate putting myself out there and actually doing it for an audience. Call me cawazy, but I am cawazy. ;)

Expect one or two more posts today sometime; I need to post about Authorpalooza and hand out some awards.

Stay tuned! (unless you don't wanna-i understand. *sniff*)

(( haha, just kidding! whooee i'm tired!!!))