I HATE GOODBYES

People say the wait is the hardest part. Well as impaitent as I am, I understand this concept but I disagree. Getting to point A, you are uncertain but open to whatever. There are no attachments just ideas. But by the time you reach the end you have had time to form attachments, affect lives, and in turn be truly affected. Now, you tell me what's harder to leave?

Thursday began a long weekend of goodbyes. Some may follow along side me as I journey, some will pop in and out of my life periodically, and some I will never see again.

Thursday bombarded me with both Matrix and MEP farewells. The women I tutor want me to stay, and someone even offered to find me a rich boyfriend, a decent house and a job, so that I could stay and tutor her. Who would be crazy enough to turn down that offer? Me. I'd rather adventure outward into the unknown and see what life throws at me.

The women there will never understand that they taught me more than I ever could teach them. Cliche, I know. But its true. Seeing them chase their dreams of something as simple as a GED has helped give me the courage to chase a childhood dream that has followed me through life. I will make it, mark my words and they have helped empower me. My students were harder to say goodbye to than the job. I was like Sylvia Barrett, but teaching adults in intercity Detroit.

Matrix shut down the office for me at 4pm and we had a potluck. There was food, fun and talk. I stayed fairly quiet because if I talked too much I would cry. I have learned so much from each person there in their own ways. I am really going to miss that place, I mean how many places will be calling you Princess about half way through the year (Thank you Elana for starting that one). When working with all women you have to claim your Princessdom. If you don't someone else will.

Friday was then my last day... my last day of my year of service. I can't even begin to tell you how hard it was saying good bye to everyone for the last time. The thing is, though, that I knew what I had to do, I knew I had to leave, and I knew I had to follow my heart. Anita and I said our goodbyes to the JVs (though I was over there most of the weekend). Saturday I took Anita to the Airport, and bid her farewell. I doubt we will ever live in the same vicinity again, but I can guarantee that after everything we went through together, we will always have a connection.

Saturday night I went over Elaine's house for a while. Throughout the year, Elaine meant a lot to me, and to thank her I made her a mask. When I finally left her place, I met up with the JV's for a movie at the drive in (Knocked Up). It was hilariously funny, and we spent most of the night pondering what we were going to be doing for the rest of our lives, a truly philosophical moment in time. I stayed the night on their couch. I couldn't stand to spend a night alone in the house with Mary.

Sunday I packed most of the day and by evening, Sarah arrived to come and save me. I gave her my wonderful tour of Detroit. She enjoyed it, and thought it was fabulous I took her for Mexican food. The restaurants there have some of the best! Monday morning we hopped in the car and with out a thought, I said a final goodbye to Detroit.

My Harry Potter Adventure

As a Harry Potter fan who has purchased her book the night it was released for the past two books, I had to do something just as notable if not more so for the 7th and final book. It would be tough for me to top last time: in London, sitting in line with people from all over the world while trying to get the line to do the wave.... and then the next day traveling to Edinburgh, Scotland. Yeah, not much will top that, but I can try.

My Harry Potter night adventure... It all started that morning when I got dressed. I had to decide between a fun Tonksey type outfit or my classic Gryffindork shirt. Because my Tonksey outfit wasn't Tonksey enough, I decided with Gryffindork. I then drive from Cleveland to Pittsburgh.

Why Pittsburgh, you ask? Well its not Pittsburgh specifically, my family reunion happened to be that weekend and so I made plans to purchase my book there. Coincidentally my friend Draco (well I met him at a Halloween party almost 4 years ago when he was dressed as Draco) just moved to Pittsburgh. It was destined that we would spend the evening together at the release party.

So I get to Pittsburgh, spend a little time with my family and then shamelessly tell them that I am going to meet my friend for the Harry Potter release. As I walk out the door, Dad reminds me to pick up my brother from the airport. Don't worry Daddy, I wont.

So I go pick up Draco. He doesn't look like Draco anymore, I personally think he looks better as himself than as Draco... but that's a moot point that I have told him since the day I met him. Tis a shame that he has always had a girlfriend, it would have been interesting to see if we actually could have worked. This is beside the point...

We get to B&N, like a faithful friend he had already gotten the paper bracelets to get the book at midnight. We hung around the store for a bit... I got sidetracked a time or two. We got sorted, saw a potions demonstration, humored a scavenger hunt, and thought about getting face painted... I thought about getting face painted rather. Then when we were both feeling overwhelmed with crazed fans, we left the store and went to the bar next door for a little bit. We hoped to see other Harry Potter people, but we were disappointed. It was nice catching up with him.

At 10:30 we left to pick up my brother and after getting a little turned around, we finally got him, got back and got our books.

Yay for a night of adventure.


I was finished with the book by Sunday Night (and that was only about 10 hours of reading... I didn't want to ditch my family, now did I?)

Will have personal review of book later.

Confessions of a Crazed Fan...

Harry Potter.

Is it bad that four different friends, with in a four hour time frame told me they thought of me every time they saw anything Harry Potter? That might be a little outrageous.

After this statement, I am sure you can suspect that I did indeed go see the movie opening day at Midnight. I am sure you can also guess that I bought the tickets at least a week in advance, and was first in line for my theatre. The line actually formed because me and my friends walked into the movie theatre lobby and asked stood like we were in line. Everyone who had been standing outside in front of the place walked in, confused and a little peeved since they were there before us. Glorious, just glorious. I'm sorry that we all happen to come from larger cities where this type of thing has lines forming several hours in advance.

I would have dressed up, but I didn't really have anyone I could dress up as. Though, after seeing Tonks, I want to dress up as her. Even though I couldn't dress up, I did have my wand and might I say that I was fully prepared to hex, charm or curse anyone who made fun of me or got into my way. It was a midnight movie release, everyone there with me was just as obsessed and you know it (the theatre cheered when 3 kids walked in dressed up).

Well done movie, I might add. And, I'm not just saying that because I like the book. I thought that the story was cut in all the right places and for it being the longest book, it didn't seem disjointed. The story flowed really well and every actor made their little on screen time valuable. Snape was amazing.

Well done chaps, well done.

So, who wants my extra ticket when I attend one of the last two premieres?

And, in less than a week's time, I will be purchasing my 7th book... and sighing a long drawn out sigh when I have completed it.

One thing I fully believe, that I have learned in part from Harry Potter, and that I try to live by is: only those who believe in the impossible can make the impossible possible...

Where Loyalties Lie

A hush fell over the crowd as the game went into the 13th inning... Okay, that's a bit dramatic. Let me just say that Saturday's Red Sox v. Tigers game was amazing. The Sox scored early on with a home run from Ortiz (who I might add was walked the rest of the game... shame, real shame) and then the Tigers caught up around the 4th. No run was scored again until the bottom of the 13th when Pudge had a nice shot out to center field. The game was intense, well played and fun. The only way it could have been better was if the Sox had won.

Initially in the game I was a little superficial... see we had standing room tickets, so we would move around every so often. I would move only if it did not interfere with me watching J.D. Drew bat (I'm sorry, he's hot). A couple innings in though I had completely forgotten that I was doing any gawking at guys. My focus had turned to Dusting Pedroia, rookie second baseman, who I had not really noticed before. The entire game I was trying to remember his name, and now I don't think I will forget it. All around, he played really well (both Saturday night and Sunday when I watched the game on television). I think I have a new favorite Sox player... and this one isn't superficial at all.

One of the more interesting parts of the game was at the bottom of the 13th, Papelbon was in pitching. He kept throwing to first after Gary Sheffield got on base. Sheff had to dive back to the base each time to remain safe... there were quite a few close calls. He remained safe, but the game remained interesting. Even better, after a friend said Paps was being a jerk I listed of about 10 reasons why he wasn't. I'm sorry, if he has to speed and control to actually get the runner to have to dive back each time, I say keep it interesting and throw. Tigers fans claimed he was stalling... I think they were just getting nervous that it was going to go into a 14th inning.

I cant even begin to tell you how amazing it was to be in Comerica Park wearing my Boston gear proud. Any other game, no one thinks twice when I wear my Boston hat. But, when Tigers played Sox I received evil looks from just about every Tigers fan. It was as if they were asking what I was doing in their ball park. One guy went so far as to tell me I was wearing the wrong hat. When I confirmed I wasn't, he asked if I was one of the bandwagon Sox fans. I looked at him like he was crazy and proudly stated that I was an east coast girl, born and bread Boston fan. He accepted the answer, rock on.

Out of the 45, 000 people at the park that night (number could be wrong), I was among a handful of Boston Fans. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Really, its not about the outcome of the game. Yeah, its always a little better when your team wins. But, its really about having a passion for the game, supporting your team through thick and thin, and having fun whilst doing it.

Life as an Office Squatter

I have no desk, and thus no home at MEP. Normally this is an easy problem to handle, when I am tutoring I don't need a desk. The problem arises when we have breaks where, even though there is nothing to do, I have to come in. How do I pretend to be busy when I don't have a desk to sit at?

Simple answer: You become an Office Squatter

What exactly is an office squatter you ask? You know the concept of a squatter, a person who takes up residence in a home or office with out actually having permission. Same deal here, only with office desks and computers.

When I first arrive at MEP, I immediately go to the office cubicle area and assess which desks are currently taken and which aren't. Problem, I don't know who comes in when. I start with Shannan's desk, she and I now technically "share" a desk since I was evicted from mine when we hired a new staff member.
I turn on the computer and as its loading up, Shannan walks in... Damn. I grab my stuff and sit down at Sr. Janette's desk. She won't be in for an hour. I quickly get to work at pretending to be busy, namely doing job searching. At 10 in walks Sr. Janette and she looks at me confused. "Oh," I say, " I didn't know you'd be in today. Let me just get my things and get out of the way."

I save my stuff, shoot off my e-mails and move on. My next stop is Lisa's desk, my former desk. She's not in yet, so I can easily sit there for a while. She arrives far sooner than I anticipated and my perfect place for folding pamphlets is gone. I am deskless yet again.

I grab the pamphlets I just printed off and park in the middle of the floor in the most inconvenient location possible. I am hoping my actions will make a statement, no statement made though. Shannan just joins me to help get the job done.

Lunch is an easy time to avoid the desk squatting problem, Shannan and I sit outside and placidly eat our lunch in the sun. Yummm. No desk needed for that.

Afterwards I am back to square one. Who is missing from where. Everyone is still in place, but Sr. Janette makes the move to go work in the conference room. I move in for the take. I am here about 5 minutes before she notices and I innocently ask, "do you need your desk for something?"

She concedes and lets me have of for the 15 minutes I am still here for today.

Office Squatter lives to fight another day! Tomorrow I'm bringing my laptop...

Trypanophobia

I am afraid of needles. Not just afraid, but terrified. Involuntarily I tense up and have erratic breathing. I cant relax, I panic and tears well up in my eyes. I literally need someone with me to hold my hand or hold me down when I have to get shots, or need blood work or something of the sort.


Why am I afraid of needles? I don't know, I have my speculations, but I don't think there is one, single root of this fear. Fear is funny that way. The smallest incident can leave you broken for life, unable to trust someone when they tell you it wont hurt, unable to bring yourself to take risks to break away from this fear. In this way it leaves you crippled.

Fear just increases every time you experience it. Nothing changes, because the person attempting to draw you out of the fear doesn't know how to approach it, how to handle it. No one cares enough to take time and figure out what you need to help you rise above the fear; they don't even care enough when you're screaming it at them.

The only cure for Fear is time, and support. With time you can ease yourself into trusting again. With support, someone is there with you, encouraging you, being patient with your irrationality, and waiting with you until you're ready to risk rising above the fear.

I was rushed into a shot, I panicked and now have lost some of my trust again... Now its just going to take time, and working myself up to risking again.

My Simple Dress

So this has been a project of mine since February. I got this skirt for free that was too big and so i turned it into a cute little dress.

Community and MVC Goes Down the Whole

So much for the MVC support system. I try and address a general concern that the old lady roommate may be an alcoholic who is mixing medications and alcohol, she says "What you need to decide for yourself is what you can do for yourself about having a good rest of the year." This statement was followed by her basically saying that maybe Anita and I need to try to include Mary more because often what drives people to drink is the lack of something... possibly community. Tell Mary to F*ing try first, I am tried of trying.

What a to do...

Hard work and dedication often produce quality results. Saturday was Matrix's New Day Festival. I wish I could say it went off without a hitch. What fun would it have been if it did though?

With MeadowMorphosis there were many hitches, we had to teach two kids the caterpillar dance the morning of because the caterpillar's mother decided they couldn't make it. The deer forgot her choreography, the grandmother rushed her lines, the child was violently ill but still wanted to go on, our bear arrived 10 minutes before we had to go on.

Did I have time to panic? No, I just had time to make it work.

Did the audience notice? Nope, as far as they were concerned it was as we rehearsed it.

That show business for you: you rehearse, you perform and its over... just like that. The insanity and build up is crazy, and the release incredible. When its all over you look back and wonder how you were able to pull it all off.


The first annual New Day Festival was a success, despite rain, no bathrooms and no power. Matrix is at the brink of something that will go on for a long time to come, and build community along the way.

In the pack up, I said I might come back next year for it if I'm not doing anything. Elaine told me to stop, to stop saying I'm going to do things or want to do things when I know better than anyone else that I am not staying.

She's right, she's absolutely right. I can say I am going to be here all I want, but the truth of the matter is I'm going to pursue my dreams. My dream is not to stay here, I love it but its not me. And I need to stop making idle promises I know I can never keep. My heart is in the right place, but my heart needs something else right now.

A Shakespearean Comedy Foiled by the Blasted Enneagram

I had been excited for two weeks about seeing Shakespeare's The Twelfth Night. You see it is by far my favorite of Shakespeare's comedies. Even more so, I was excited to share this play, this experience, with my roommate... The good one. When I find movies, plays, books, television shows or music enjoyable, I want to share them with the world. Its a "share the wealth" kind of thing.

The show was cute, not the best version I have ever seen, but cute. For children's theatre, I would expect nothing more than cute. Feste was a trite character, but otherwise I enjoyed the show and so did my roommate.

On the way home, she asks the infamous question: "What do you love about Twelfth Night?"

It took me a little while to answer it, I haven't really thought about this play academically in a while.

My reasons are these:

• It shows the true nature of unrequited love from all perspectives.
• Feste the fool by far the wisest character, and depending on how it is staged can almost seem to oversee and instigate what happens in the play.
• Viola is such a strong female character and I have always found it selfless, the way she is willing to woo Olivia for Orsino even though she is in love with him. She wants him to be happy, it pains her to see his heart ache.
• There is a moment where Viola realizes how things have become tangled in a knot and says out loud to the powers that be, that she is leaving it up to fate to untangle the matter. In this way the play is very mystical but not overtly magical as in a Midsummer's Night Dream. I like the alternative title better: What You Will.
• It shows woman's superiority in regards to love, the woman always gets what she wants.
• It was the first Shakespeare show I saw staged... what could be a better reason.

My roommate chose to hear that it was my favorite play (its not... its my favorite comedy... Henry IV is my fav play), and that I thought it illustrated the true nature of love... (can anyone tell me what is wrong with this thought?)

Anyways, she then went on to say that it is clear I am a 7 because my favorite show is a comedy and I feel it illustrates the true nature of love... STOP REDUCING EVERYTHING TO A STUPID PERSONALITY INDICATOR!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its a tool not the end all be all.

Fire, Fire, Fire!

So, today at MEP there was a fire.

It was after lunch, and we were all settling back in to studying. China was cleaning up after lunch with May's help, and everything was at peace. Everyone worked pretty independently, so Shannan and I were shamelessly taking a Harry Potter quiz on which I scored far too high. Had it official scoring, my ranking would be "Harry Potter Genius, Unless you're over 16... Then you just need to get a life."

We discarded the quiz and actually attempted to work, helping where we could or just tidying up the place since we had to leave at one today.

At quarter past noon, Rose and Toni rushed into the classrooms and said "Fire, Everyone evacuate the building."

We all stared at them blankly. Fire at MEP? How could that be?

"Fire!" they said again and blew a whistle. "Please move to your nearest exit."

A thought ran through my mind of those recordings before a movie, "In the event of a fire, please walk, do not run, to the nearest marked exit." How many people actually leave a theatre in a fire? I have been in several theatres where the film has burned through and we all sat there, like mindless zombies. We wanted our entertainment, not some fire drill. Had it been a reel fire, we all would have been dead.

I came to my senses and followed Shannan as she attempted to go get her keys. Rose shooed us back, "Go to the nearest exit, this is a FIRE!"

Shannan and I turned around defeated. Bummer, I thought, I wore a rain coat today and I actually want to use it. We stand outside in the rain, the bus is opened for anyone who wishes to stay dry. Shannan and I stand there, in the rain, getting wetter and wetter by the second. Why don't we go onto the bus? I suppose because we thought the whole ordeal was a tad ridiculous.

Word quickly spread that the fire was started in the oven, while it was self cleaning. This would be why we thought it was ridiculous. If they'd have asked me, I would have told them to turn it off and the fire will go out. I mean its a no brainer: no heat and no oxygen= some smoke but no fire. But no one asked me, we were just asked to wait outside in the rain for the fire department to come as the building filled with smoke. We all know the fire dept does not respond well in this area.

"Get under an umbrella, dear," someone said to me. I ignored them, what can I say? I am stubborn and thought that maybe if I stayed out in the rain it would all be washed away, like a dream after you wake. I was wrong, instead all I got was a headache and wet hair.

At 12:45 we are told we could go back in. All in all, not too long outside, but all could have been solved if someone had just turned it off in the first place.

I walk to the back and hunt for a brush, I needed to tame this mess I was calling hair. Sr. Janette had one in her desk, you can find everything in her desk. A few weeks back there was this sign in sheet that was missing, we hunted and hunted and hunted for it. Guess where we found it. Buried in a pile on Sr. Janette's desk. I bet if you searched long enough you could find some real gems hidden there.

The director was telling everyone to head home. There was no sense, she said, in inhaling all the smoke. To a point I agree with her, but I have another job to get to.

At one Shannan and I grab our things and head out, by that time it is no longer raining and my rain coat is useless. So much for actually trying to prepare for the elements today.

A Saint Patrick's Day Treat

Here in Michigan the Saint Patty's Day celebrations begin the Sunday before March 17th and end the Saturday after. So, basically what I am saying is that all the Irish in Detroit and its surrounding areas will be trashed for the next two weeks, and since everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick's Day... well you get the idea.

Around 2pm, the parade started a few blocks from my house, so the JVs came over to play and watch the parade. It was Ghetto, and tacky and silly, but it was fun. It took me almost the whole Parade to finally catch a set of beads, but I did... stupid Tim kept getting in my way. Anita, Mary and Nile left the parade early, which left me and the JVs to wander Michigan Avenue. Probably a bad idea, all of us together cause trouble... a lot of it (case in point: Saturday night).

We head back to their house; the intention is to drink beer in honor of St. Patty's celebrations and some were going to hookah. Alas we were the most unmotivated people in the world on Sunday because none of that happened. We did finally walk to the store an buy beer, though we never drank it. The most productive thing that happened that day was Tim getting a text message from Brett asking how many were coming to the show (he had invited us the day before). That encouraged 4 of us to make dinner, and get ready to leave.

There was a bit of a scare when Tim, Sheila, Shannan and I were waiting for Brett to come and get us into the show. Finally he did, and snuck (or is it sneaked) us into the show under the cover of students who were there to observe the workings of a high tech sound board. Rock on!

Following the show, we thanked Brett immensely for the wonderful weekend adventure and bid him good luck and fare well.

What a weekend... 2 nights of RENT, St. Patrick's Day antics, costume shopping, teaching and fun.

No Day But Today

Let me just throw it out there: you know its been a great weekend when you are 10 times more tired on Monday morning when you wake up, than on you were on Friday afternoon after a week of 10 hour work days. This is the best feeling of exhaustion one could have.

Waiting in line for rush RENT tickets.... $0 (All Day)
Rent Tickets-- Front Row....................... $20
Sharpies and Poster Board...................... $5

Helping the sound guy say goodbye to the guitarist, and then being showed up by one of the actresses-- PRICELESS


Allow me to explain...

Saturday after my 5 year old acting class, I went with Tim and Sheila to wait in line for rush RENT tickets. $20 for front row, who in their right mind would pass that up? Despite the fact that I am low on funds, this is certainly a worthwhile expense. We arrive at 2pm to wait, and were the only ones there for at least 2 hours. Around 3:30, Josh and Pontiac Shannon join us in line. We still had 2.5 hours to wait. I am always amused that I bring stuff to do while waiting and then just end up talking.

Around 5:30, we are at T minus 30. Tim had taught us a game called Aardvark. A guy walks out, Brett and clearly a techie for RENT, and asks if anyone can help him. Before anyone can process what he asked, Tim jumps up and volunteers. Brett explains to Tim the plot, but an artist is needed... fortunately a member of Tim's party can draw (aka Me). He text messages Tim something before Tim agrees to go out and get him poster board and sharpies. Once Tim is off, he reveals all to us. As it turns out, it is the guitarist's last show and Brett wants to send him off with posters. Our role was to help him make the posters in exchange for... a Backstage tour (!!!).

We get the tickets, Tim returns and we go on our tour. My God was it Heaven. Being back stage of such an incredible show was amazing.... I mean just knowing what goes into a show and then seeing it live just makes the experience even more magical.

After that, we completed out part of the bargain and made the two posters... and at T minus 15, the posters launch. Josh holds up the Baskin Robbin's one (I'll be your 32nd flavor of the week... apparently the guitarist was a bit of a player) and Tim holds up the master card commercial one. Everyone on stage got a kick out of it, and as a matter of fact so did the audience. Mission Accomplished! And, Tim gets a text message... Brett asking the group of us to come bug him during intermission. So, we go up, chat a bit, see the sound board again, thank him ... and he invites us to go out and play after the show with who ever on the cast and crew wants to go out.

Group Meeting: should we go home and hookah after the show... or take advantage of this possibly interesting adventure... fully knowing that it could just be us and the sound guy... ADVENTURE!

After the show... which was amazing by the way, front row was totally worth it! We go and meet him by the backstage door and make plans. In the process we talk to some of the cast, including Maureen who showed our goodbye signs up by flashing Casey the guitarist. The plan is for us to first stop by home, grab a bite to eat, and meet them at their hotel in Dearborn. How lame... they are staying out in Dearborn because the producers don't want them to be in danger or anything.

We leave the JV house after everyone has eaten with three cars... there are only 8 of us going... but it is likely that we will need to provide some transportation. When we get there, we pick them up and head out. We opt for a little mom and pop bar that is cute, fairly empty and who they reckon will be stoked that the cast and crew of RENT came to their bar. They were right, the group of us got free shots. Most of our group leaves around 1:30... they are tired and want to go home. Tim, Sheila and I end up staying a couple more hours because we decided to take their invitation and go hang out with them at their hotel for a while. When we get back to the hotel, it really is just chillaxin but fun none the less. The three of us get home at 5am adjusted time.

I think the life of a roadie is totally the life for me... note to self, I need to talk to Elaine about traveling theatre as either a costumer, a stage manager, or light tech. Could be fun for a while.

Oh, the adventure does not stop there...

How to do Everything: 101

Finding time to do everything is tough. Take it from someone who over and over again tries to do absolutely everything she possibly can in order to take in life. I do realize that you do not have to attempt to do it all to have a fulfilling life, but sometimes I think that if I don't I might miss something, or over look a precious opportunity that may never look my way again. Sure, my thinking is a bit extreme, but that is how I feel sometimes.

The first rule in attempting to do everything is: be open to possibilities.
Things don't always work out as we may have planned for them to. It seems as if every time I try to schedule myself back to back, something happens and I have to change my plans. Don't be afraid to just let things happen. That is the natural course of action, isn't it?

For example: Last night I intended to go to a free Paolo Nutini showcase after rehearsal. Because it was free there is the chance that I would not get in, but was I willing to take that chance? Of course I was. So I e-mail one of the sponsoring radio station's DJs to ask what time he was going to go on so that I could see if I would be able to make it when I got off rehearsal. He said Paolo was to take the stage around 9. It was definitely worth me taking the chance. So after rehearsal, I grabbed Josh and Megan and we hit the road for Ferndale. By the time we got there, because of snow and accidents, it was 9:10pm and there was already a line of people 20 deep waiting to get into the show in the event that someone left. BUMMER!
Plan one foiled, so the three of us walk around the corner to this little coffee shop that is having an open mic night. The performers there, though not the most talented, certainly proved to be entertaining. Josh now has plans to return to this coffee shop with a fo-whiny high school boy act. Said event will be hilarious.

I come to find out the next morning, when I re-mailed the DJ, that because of my initial e-mail I was put on a guest list for the show. This is certainly useful information for future events. So not only did this serve to be a fun adventure, but the River continues to Rock in my opinion.


In a way, no this is not doing everything... but it certainly is attempting to, and attempting can only open up future possibilities. In my mind the secret to doing everything is knowing that as long as you try, the possibilities are endless.

Star Studded Excitement

The glitz, the glam, the spectacle, the excitement, the wonder. How fabulous the Academy Awards are. Okay, I will admit that there is bias and that the Oscars are a little ridiculous. When you love movies, though, you can't help but get lost in the night.

My friends and I filled out ballots and the show began. When all was said and done, I voted 10 choices correctly... had I voted for what I actually thought would win instead of what I wanted to win, I would have had at least 4 more correct. What can I say, I know what the Academy tends to go for; but, I also have the movies I would love to see win. Take Little Miss Sunshine for example, despite the fact that I had a strong feeling that The Departed was going to win, I voted for the long shot because I really thought it deserved to win. It was a masterpiece in disguise, and should have been recognized as such.

I was happy to see Pan's Labyrinth nominated for so many awards, winning three of them. It deserved them all. I am now curious to see that German film that beat it out for best foreign film.

The category I had the most knowledge about was cinematography. I had a tough time deciding since I thought each film was as beautiful as the next (in different ways of course), and three of them were nominated for only that. What's a girl to do. Well, I knew Pan's Labyrinth was going to win that one, so I voted for The Black Dahlia instead. I was really hoping it would get some recognition since it was a lower key picture. The Illusionist and The Prestige, though both were absolutely amazing and beautiful, just didn't have the cinematographic wonder that Pan's Labyrinth had.

Upon the announcement of that award, my friend asked me "why didn't you vote for Pan's Labyrinth if you knew (and wanted) it to win?" I just shrugged. I mean you never know, the academy could surprise us all.

The highlight of the evening was by far the Comedian Tribute, performed by Will Ferrell and Jack Black. It was brilliant and oh so true.


Before I close... since I know I cant talk about everything related to the night. I want to make a comment about the fashion of the evening. First of all, My favorite dress/overall look of the night was Helen Mirem. She has a youthful elegance that just cant be topped. Gwyneth Paltrow... I don't know what she was thinking. Her outfit was all kinds of wrong for her body type and it was a disappointment from her usual class. I was disappointed. Everything else was in between.

I shall now just leave you with the opening award image, Daniel Craig walking out on stage to present the first award. Beautiful.

Latin Flare

Because one of Anita's coworkers works at the Music Hall, we were yet again able to get free tickets to a Dance concert. This time it was a Spanish/ Latin Dance Extravaganza... and there was food and dance lessons afterwards. Okay, I will admit that I will attend just about anything that is free with free food. Its a win- win situation.

I think the Dance was amazing, I loved that the dancers took on characters and then maintained the personality of the character through the dances. I am a character person, but I also think that it really displayed an amazing range of talent for the dancers. It is one thing to dance and be good at it, it is another thing to personify a character through the dance.

There were two dresses I thought were absolutely amazing, a yellow one, and a grey and red one. I don't know how to describe them, but the red and grey one had a little grey jacket that went over top of it so you could only subtly see the red underneath the jacket and in the pleats of the skirt. Then (the character was a slightly reserved or shy woman) as she opened up a bit the jacket came off to reveal an amazingly spectacular top. It was so cute. The dance was a bit of a love story in that they dancers were coupling up over a night of dancing at a club. There was this one nice but persistent guy who kept getting shot down by the shy girl, and at the end they finally had a few dances together and she let him walk her out... so adorable.

sorry about the little rant, but you know me and lovey dovey stuff, I can't get enough of it.

The food was yummy, as Mexican food always is... or rather I had Cuban food. In any case, it was yummy. I attempted to learn to Salsa dance. The attempts failed. I would need a MUCH slower class... one that is more than 5 min. For those of you who don't know, this white girl has no rhythm.

The next night I joined the JVs on their adventure to Pontiac to celebrate Pontiac Shannon's birthday. I had a few drinks with the Shannan's and Josh at the Pontiac house. We played a game similar to kings. I started of drinking Sangria, but after a glass of that flashbacks to New years came to mind and thus I switched to beer. I did not want a repeat of New Years day... maybe I will share that story with you later.

At around 11 the 10 of us go out to a Piano bar where they have dueling pianos on Friday and Saturday night. Basically its the 3 or 4 guys playing all the fun songs that everyone knows and loves. Pontiac Shannon requested Sweet Home Alabama and when they played it we all accompanied her up on stage to dance to it. Though we were sober, everyone thought we were drunk and so it was all good. Detroit Shannan and I had a bet going as to whether or not Detroit Megan and Pontiac Jeff would kiss by the end of the night. I was betting against her actually doing it. Shannan and I called off the bet when we found out that Megan really does like Jeff every so slightly, but she wasn't going to let it happen if there was a bet going. Nothing ended up happening, and I felt bad when I found out she did like him.... but I suppose there is always next time.

An I learned not to bet money on friends hooking up... you might just end up in a situation where they really like each other but wont let anything happen because of the stupid bet.

A Day of Adventure, A Night of Risk

Adventure

Despite the fact that Anita was sick today, I still volunteered with her school’s super Saturday. Again, the day was slightly unorganized and I ended up with far more chaperons and far fewer girls than I anticipated. In many ways the parents needed more chaperoning than the girls did, but what can you do? You certainly can’t tell parents that. And if you tell them not to try to combine groups, they throw a hissy fit. To think they wonder why their girls are problematic… did it ever occur to them that they give the girls far too much freedom?

The educational event of the day was an Underground Railroad tour. It was super cool for everyone except the Virginian who is so used to historical reenactments that this one was just a little lame. I appreciated their efforts and focused my efforts on scaring the girls during the little tour.

Following my day with the girls, I successfully won my battle versus the sprint store. When I initially had my phone replaced, they gave me back my broken battery that was supposed to be replaced with the phone. They suck and I ended up having to drive all over the place… but I got my battery fixed and was able to get the store to bend over backwards for me. The wonders of being a pretty girl who is noticeably pissed.

…and Risk

So about the Risk. I mean the game. Tim came over tonight to play Risk with Nile, Anita and me and get Nile to no longer hate him. Silly boys. I was rolling VERY poorly tonight, so I was taken out with out much effort. So much for my efforts in Australia. On the other hand, the mission to get Nile to not hate Tim seemed to be a successful one at that. Talk about Mission Risk.

Sub Zero in Detroit

Today in Detroit temperatures were reported at -4 degrees F, -26 Degrees C. These extreme temperatures are not common to Virginia and this Native Virginian did not know what she was getting herself into as she prepared for the work day.

I woke up as per usual this morning not thinking anything was out of the ordinary. The sun was shining and sparkling on the left over snow. Anita, who was considering calling in sick to school, was calling Tim to see if he needed a ride. I walk by her room and hear her tell him to stop telling tales. The nosey girl that I am asks her whats up. She mumbles something about Tim being a liar saying school was closed and she brushes past me to go check the news. Sure enough Detroit Public Schools were closed. Anita lucked out... hmmmm would I be lucky enough to also have a snow day, or at least half of one?

I call MEP, who is supposed to follow the DPS schedule (I would know, I put together the packet). Of course Winn answers and says to me very condescendingly, "I've been telling the women to come in." I'm sorry, I was just wondering what was happening. God forbid I call first to save from driving in if we are closed. A girl can hope, cant she?

I continue to get ready and Anita instructs me on how to properly bundle up for subzero temperatures. How I love my South Dakotan roommate. She knows everything. I end up looking like a marshmallow, but she knows everything.

I leave the house ten minutes before 9 to brave the cold. All bundled up and this beach girl is ready to go. When I finally get outside I am actually disappointed. Its not THAT cold. I have more layers on than I normally have and I am just as warm. If I am going to look this silly then I want COLD. As I turned on the car to let the windows defrost, I scraped off the ice while dancing to Eddie Money's "Take me Home Tonight."


The following day was even colder... I guess I should be careful what I wish for.

Girls NIght Out

As much as we love our guy friends and/ or roommates, every now and then the girls need a night to themselves out on the town. This special night is what we commonly refer to as "Girl's Night." On Girl's Night, anything can happen. It is the one night where you go out with your friends without a care in the world, when you can forget about life and just have fun. It is a night that sets you free.

Saturday Night we chose to dance.

Life was a blur at the Mercy House as Anita and I girlified ourselves. I rummaged through my closet and pulled out two or three possible outfits. Anita looked in her drawer and pulled out her favorite shirt. I tried on each outfit and scurried down the hall to the full length mirror to see how I looked. Anita walked into the bathroom and changed into her favorite shirt. After deciding on a shirt, I appropriate makeup with my outfit. Anita sits on her bed and talks to JV Josh while she puts her boots on. I put my boots on and saunter down to the mirror to look at the whole ensemble. I fail to like the whole wardrobe choice, so I run back to my room to pull out the original shirt I tried on and grab my blazer for an extra layer.

Girls take so much time to get ready, sheesh.

We meet at the JV house where Elisabeth is the only one ready to go. With in about 10 minutes, the JV girls are ready to go and we take a celebratory shot on our way out. Elisabeth toasted with water since she was the DD. Then we bundle up, pile into the Buick and head to Ferndale. Its sad that we have to go to Ferndale for decent dancing, but its good to get away from Detroit every once in a while. Our goal that night was to forget about our service, forget about boy troubles, forget about stress and just live in the moment. We decided our night would be about fun dares, facing fears and leaving our individual boxes behind.


Sangria, was a little Mexican restaurant by day with a sky bar by night. The place was about half full when we arrived and continued to fill up as the night progressed. It was chill at first, and I enjoyed it. Only after the dance floor packed and the scantly clad women became more numerous did I get bored with the night. Its one thing to go out with girlfriends, but I tire of seeing women in as little clothing as they can get away with, drinking little cocktails, and poorly dancing on tables. All they want is attention from men. To tell you the truth if I am at a bar/club I am the girl at the bar striking up conversations with people, most likely commenting on the ones who are obviously there to be ogled and pondering that thought, as opposed to being out on the dance floor. Aside from the fact that I am a tad shy when it comes to dancing, I much prefer observing the whole mating ritual that takes place.

It is quite the anthropological study. Watching groups of people and trying to figure out who in the groups are there to hook up with people, meet new people, score some free drinks, just have fun and whatever else the motive may be. There seems to be a trend of one night stands that merely satisfies physical desire, as opposed to going out to genuinely meet people. But who knows, maybe I don't know what I am talking about... then again, maybe I am wise beyond my years.

A Christmas to Remember

Fine, we haven't made it to Christmas yet... A weekend to remember, even though there have been A LOT of those this year.

A weekend to remember.

My weekend started on Friday when I joined the every night party at the JV house at 6pm. I ate dinner with them, watched I heart Huckabees with them (thanks to me) and the hung out and played risk with them. Well, I heart Huckabees was me, Josh, Tim and Shannan. the boys and I had seen it before and it was Shannan's first time seeing it. The sheer brilliance of that movie is insurmountable.
We started the game of risk at 11:30ish, the game went on until 3 am. Apparently Josh and I, the two least likely to ever take over the world have pretty good strategies. I build up armies in Australia while he just finds a random country to put troops in. Okay, so I lucked out and ended up getting Australia in the beginning of the game, but still i would have tried for it if I were anywhere close to it. Ya know how it is. Anyways, josh and I were tired of playing so we saw who had the most troops on the board, and called them the winner. Josh won. We then formulated an epic story to tell the others about how the game ended. As legend has it, Josh reinforced his troops to India while i stockpiled in Mongolia. Then we fought to the death and it was Josh's tactile rolling that really saved his troops...

so yeah I am a nerd, but no longer queen of the world. Note to self: despite the fact that I am a novice player, Tim said he would offer me no advice because I won the last game. Tim is a meanie.

the only reason i didn't stay over the JV house on Friday night is because i needed to make cookie dough for the huge cookie making thing on Sunday at my house. SO i went home and got up at 9am to make 5 batches of dough. Around the time Mary was waking up (11ish) josh called and asked if he could come chill at our place until his car was done... so he did. I spent time with josh instead of Mary... woo hoo... josh helped us do recycling and then we took him to Firestone, and went home. i was home for about 10 mins when Shannan called and asked if i wanted to do coffee. I of course said yes since our coffee pot broke that morning... bummer. But a quick coffee outing turned into a 4 hour coffee break. how awesome is that? I got home around 4:30, enough time to shower and eat before leaving at 6:30 to go get gas and see Christmas lights and go to a Christmas party with the JVs. I got home that night around 12:30...

The JVs are fun people and to be quite honest, I feel comfortable enough with them to allow myself to be vulnerable. That says a lot. Isn't that what this year is supposed to be about? Allowing yourself to feel vulnerable? too bad i cant do that at home all the time.

Sunday I woke up, finished my Christmas cards and then worked on Christmas presents for friends and roommates. Anita's I put a lot of time and thought into, Mary's i just made pretty with something very easy to do. When Anita got home we took those 5 batches of dough and the three of us turned them into delectable cookies. Mary's looked like monsters from the way she flattened them... mine looked like cookies. Mary wasn't feeling well, so when she went up stairs, Anita and I finished the cookies and Made the JV gingerbread men. they were awesome... we planned out decorations for each one and then took them over to them. they easily guessed their cookies (which was the point) and they were as excited about them as I was!! I was ecstatic to see that because i was REALLY REALLY excited about them. For me Tim, Josh, Shannan and Elisabeth were easiest to cookieize. :-D YAY for cookie people.