Wednesday, June 30, 2010

You're Gonna Have to Face It...

Florence + The Machine

I heard them for the first time on So You Think You Can Dance...and now I'm in love. Listen to this cover...



LOVE IT. That song is definitely a guilty pleasure and they made it sound even sexier.


Then I heard this one..



"Cosmic Love"
I just think it sounds beautiful.

Tell me what you think. You like this band? I love their sound.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

For the first time, I feel.....WICKED

So, I have now officially finished the book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I also just finished watching a (bootlegged) copy of Wicked:The Musical on YouTube. I couldn't resist watching.
A) Everyone said the musical is different from the book, so I had to know and
B) this copy had Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth!

So I watched it. I love the musical..because I love the music. And I love these characters. Yet, the book is so much better. I shouldn't be surprised. The book is ALWAYS better (there is only one exception, but that's a whole 'nother conversation). How can I expect the play/movie to be better when they simply can't fit in as much information as in the book? That's the main reason why I prefer this book over the musical...story-wise. The book goes into so much detail about Elphaba, and her life, and her allergy to water. It really pieces all of the random information together to form a story, ya know? I feel like in the musical...they just didn't have enough time to put it all together so neatly as in the book.

Also..the book has some very dark under-tones. It speaks of racism, religion, adultery, idolatry, life as an outcast, feminism, totalitarian governments, mistreatment of animals (along with vegetarianism)....on and on. I love that one can continue having discussions of this book way past the obvious "Wizard of Oz" stuff...and on to how it relates to real-world matters.

I love Elphaba...so, so much. I love the Elphaba that Gregory McGuire created...the one that struggles with life, love, her spiritual self, and what it means to stand for what is RIGHT...no matter who is against you. This book is very dark. I cried and cried...but in the end, I realize all of the terrible things described HAD to happen. The book is the life before she became The Wicked Witch of the West..and while I would NOT agree that she is Wicked, some bad things still had to happen to her in order for her to be perceived that way, correct?

And, my darling Fiyero. I can't speak of him because I will say too much, and I'm hoping many of you will read the book and/or see the musical. Really, you should. I know I've been harping on Idina for a while now, but despite her...Elphaba Thropp, the Eminent Thropp Third Descending...should be in your heart regardless.



Beautiful, aren't they?

This is the Fiyero I imagined whilst reading the book...



In the book, he is described as being "ochre-skinned" which is a reddish brown. He is described as having the strange blue-diamond pattern on his skin, and as being Prince of a tribe. He is definitely made out to be this land's equivalent of a Native American/Indian. They are thought of as savages and have child marriages.

I like this version of Fiyero. His oddness brings him together with Elphaba and her oddness (the emerald skintone of course). There's also the under-tone of rascim, etc, in the book.



This is the Musical Version's Fiyero:



Still handsome, still fun. But they changed him to more "mainstream" prince, I guess. He is shallow and callow, and only cares for himself. That all changes of course, once he meets Elphaba. Classic Prince/Princess story, right? Yeah. Kinda lame, but it sales.



Love this duet with Elphaba (Idina Menzel) and Fiyero (Norbert Leo Butz)

"As Long As You're Mine"


But one of my favorites, lyric-wise (besides "Defying Gravity" with which NOTHING can compare) is this one...

"I'm Not That Girl"


Hands touch, eyes meet
Sudden silence, sudden heat
Hearts leap in a giddy whirl
He could be that boy
But I'm not that girl.


Don't dream too far
Don't lose sight of who you are
Don't remember that rush of joy
He could be that boy
I'm not that girl

Ev'ry so often we long to steal
To the land of what-might-have-been
But that doesn't soften the ache we feel
When reality sets back in

Blithe smile, lithe limb
She who's winsome, she wins him
Gold hair with a gentle curl
That's the girl he chose
And Heaven knows
I'm not that girl

Don't wish, don't start
Wishing only wounds the heart
I wasn't born for the rose and the pearl
There's a girl I know
He loves her so
I'm not that girl



LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.

Please, somebody else read this book so we can discuss it! ;)

Friday, June 18, 2010

You're a Funny Girl...

I heart Barbra Streisand. And I especially heart one of her movies called "Funny Girl". The title song is my absolute favorite due to the lyrics. I, myself, have always felt like the "funny girl". I am not the girl that guys lust after, or try to be with. I'm the girl joking around with them and making them laugh. Most of the time I don't mind, because I like being funny...but every now and then it sucks to not be able to get on the other side, ya know?

Here's the original from the movie:


and here's the one sung recently on "Glee" by my very favorite person, Idina Menzel:



Lyrics:
Funny
Did you hear that
Funny
Yeah, the guy said honey
You're a funny girl
That's me I just keep them
In stitches...doubled in half
And though I may be all wrong for the guy
I'm good for a laugh

I guess it's not funny
Live is far from sunny
When the laugh is over
And the joke's on you
A girl ought to have a sense of humor
That's one thing you really need for sure
When you're a funny girl
A fellow said a funny girl
Funny, how it ain't so funny,
Funny girl...


Here is another song from the show I adore...it's called "People"

Really?

So I just realized I haven't actually posted in, like, 4 days! Whoa! I'd been keeping up a daily or every-other-daily schedule lately! But anyway...new things...nothing. Abso-freakin'-lutely NOTHING. I go to work. I hang out with Michelle and the babies. I come home. I watch tv/movies. I play Wii. These are the things my life is made of now.

I wish it didn't sound so much like I'm complaining, because I really am grateful for this time off. I just...don't have anything to do during it! I'm going a bit stir-crazy. I get so excited when I have a softball game because that means something different!

I finished "Wicked". I am going to read "Son of a Witch" next, but I'm taking a break. Because the end of Wicked made me cry (duh, Elphaba dies). And I need a breather. So I'm reading the new Twilight book (The Short Second Life of Bree Turner) since it's so short.

Read some of Chelsea Handler's book "Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea". OMG she is so so amazingly hilarious. I love that woman.

Anyway. Guess I'll end this short and pointless rambling now.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

PACT

(edit: I actually wrote this last night, 6/14/10, but since my stupid internet was down, I'm just now getting to post it!)

Ashley and I made a pact tonight.

Lately, I’ve really been thinking about moving out of Mississippi. I need to spread my wings. And also, I feel as though I’m a bit too liberal for these parts. I want so much to live elsewhere. I don’t want to be that girl who lived and died within 200 mi of where she was born. (Technically, I was born in Alabama, but you get my point). And the time is now. I am only 22 years old. I do not have a significant other, children, or anything else holding me down. I have no reason NOT to explore the world…or at least another state. And, I’m so scared…that if I don’t leave now…that if I don’t have my experiences NOW…then soon I’ll be married, with children, and have NO WAY OUT. And while I ultimately wish and hope for a loving family, I fear that if I don’t live now…I will always regret it. I will always ask myself “What if?”.

I have always admired the big-city lifestyle. I say that my ultimate dream would be to live within a train’s ride distance from NYC…to be able to visit the city and see a Broadway musical every single weekend. Why can’t I do that? I have a BSN, now. And as soon as I pass the NCLEX I will be a certified RN. I can work in any hospital making enough money to support myself comfortably. So what if I want to move near New York? So what if I want to move to Los Angeles? So what if I move to Texas? I CAN DO IT.

So, tonight, Ashley and I had a wonderful girl’s night going to see Sex and the City 2 and having dinner. During dinner, I brought up my dreams about moving away. She totally agreed. She said she’d always dreamt of moving away, the Carolinas or wherever…and making it on her own. In a new city, a new state…doing NEW things. So, we made a pact.

We even shook on it.

She’s in Pharmacy school, but will be finished in 2 years. She mentioned that she’s going to do a residency, and wants to go away to do that. I said, “Why don’t we go together?” My biggest fear about moving away is not knowing anybody. If I had just one person there with me…I could do it. So, this pact we made…we’re going away. We’re getting out of Mississippi. Wherever they send her away to do her residency…we’re going together. I can find a job anywhere, and by then, I’ll have my financials in order. In these two years, I will live with my parents for a year and then with my sister for a year. Then…away I go. I’ll only be 24 then…plenty of time to get out of Mississippi for at least a year or two. And stay away if I feel the need…or come back and raise children here if I want to.

I feel so light-hearted at these new possibilities.

I feel as though I have a real plan now. That I will actually be making something of myself by going…ya know? I’m so excited.

“Unlimited..my future is…unlimited. And I’ve just had a vision almost like a prophecy…”

Sunday, June 13, 2010

I'm crazy

Do you ever have something in your life that you know is bad for you, yet you keep going back? Not necessarily something that could kill or injure you, but something you logically know you should stay away from? But for some frickin' reason you keep drifting back? I've been struggling with something for a while now. I know it is a bad idea. Everybody tells me so. Yet....here I am again..

I wish I could just jump ahead a few years so I could know if it's really as bad for me as everybody says it would be. You know? Like, I wish I could get a look at both futures: one if I stay around said "bad" thing and two, if I don't. Wouldn't that be nice? To just see...and decide which future you prefer.

Anyway. Moving on... Still reading Wicked. Still LOVING it. It's quickly becoming one of my favorites. Read a sentence out of it yesterday that really struck a chord with me, and I'm going to share it.

One of the characters has just witnessed something horrible that changes his world view....

"Was it an accident that I saw? Or is it just that the world unwraps itself to you, again and again, as soon as you are ready to see it anew?"


I think this quote can be applied to everyday life. You're going along and suddenly you see something. Was it FATE? Or is it you just saw it because you're finally looking for that thing to change your opinion? Because you're finally READY to see that thing that changes your opinion? That previously you could have seen the same thing, yet it wouldn't have mattered because you weren't ready?


Am I making any sense? It's late at night. I'm going to sleep.

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Board of Nursing Application

So I FINALLY got my application to take the NCLEX in the mail today. I didn't realize I was so behind until like, last week. Oh well, it's all in the mail now, and I should be getting my confirmation code shortly....which will then allow me to actually sign up for the NCLEX. I'm just waiting...

Man, putting that thing in the mail took an act of Congress. I dedicated 2 hours of my day to just errands I had to do in order to actually send it! Had to get a passport photo...notarize it...ugh. Crazy. But Anyway, it's done.

I'm taking the night off. I still haven't cleaned my room so I think I'm gonna do that before I go to sleep, but I'm definitely just gonna eat dinner here and watch some movies. I'm finally getting into LOST again...I stopped at the very end of the 4th season in March.. But I'm determined to finish it. Just so I know the ending, ya know?

I'm already about a fourth of the way finished with "Wicked" (the book). It's very entertaining. I suspect I will make my mother and sister read it as well.

See what my life has turned in to? I am thankful for the free time, but I wish I had more friends in Oxford to spend it with! Amanda is in the Bahamas, Chelsea moved to Memphis, and Gloria is in school....I'm BORED! I spend entirely too much time with Michelle. I'm sure she thinks I'm trying to confuse Paddy and Landon into thinking I'm their mother for as much time as I'm over there. Thank God she hasn't kicked me out of the house yet, or I really WOULDN'T have anybody to spend time with! Seems like everybody else's lives have gone on and I'm stuck in this kind of limbo.

In other new...GLEE ended last night. It was an absolutely amazing episode. But I am so depressed it's over! I need new Glee in my life! The Glee soundtracks have been pretty much all I've been listening to for a month or two now! Oh well, hopefully next season will be as good as this past one!

Just for fun, I'm gonna post some pictures of long ago... :)


Michelle...before babies!


PIE!


Mallory before she learned how to do her hair/eyes/etc. :)


We love each other.


Mama and the bubbies before they got fat and jealous! :)


Me before I got fat and ugly. :)




I've always loved this quote...

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

When they see me, they will scream...

This has been in my head for about a week now...



"The Wizard and I" performed by Idina Menzel from the Broadway musical "Wicked"

I am going to see this in October at the Orpheum in Memphis! Sadly, Idina won't be performing it, but I am excited nonetheless! I just got the book "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" (the book that the musical is based on) and am so excited to read it. Can't wait to see it live! YAY!

Friday, June 04, 2010

No Day But Today

This song is originally from RENT. Idina Menzel, who played the original Maureen, re-did it into a slow, pop version for which she sings live during her concerts. I adore the lyrics to this song and try to remind myself of them daily...

We should all take time to remind ourselves that each and every day could not only be our last, but the last of those around us. The last of the ones we care about. So take every opportunity to love....and to live.

And remember...time you wasted having fun with friends was not actually time wasted.





There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret-- or life is yours to miss.
No other road
No other way
No day but today

There's only yes
Only tonight
We must let go
To know what is alright
No other course
No other way
No day but today

I can't control
My destiny
I trust my soul
My only hope
is just to be

There's only now
There's only here
Give in to love
Or live in fear
No other path
No other way
No day but today

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Variety

Oh, Life. I am so thankful to be back in Oxford. Why, you ask? Because I needed a break from the craziness that's been my house in Madison the past few weeks. At my house in Oxford..I'm on my own time. I can go whenever I want, see who I want, and not worry about cleaning the dishes in the sink if I don't feel like it right now. Ahhh. Freedom. Gonna miss that when I do move back in with my parents. We've been talking that my sister and I might actually move out in January instead of next summer though. We'll see how it all turns out.

I have been so freakin' lax on my Music Mondays and it's really getting me down. But when I think of stuff I'd like to share...all I have been listening to lately is Glee and other musicals! I'm not kidding, the last 5 albums I've downloaded are:

1. Funny Girl Soundtrack
2. Glee Music, Vol. 3
3. The Wild Party [Off Broadway] Soundtrack
4. Idina Menzel's two albums "Still I Can't Be Still" and "I Stand"
5. RENT Soundtrack


Oh, but how I love musicals. They really make me happy. Especially anything that Idina Menzel is singing. She could sing the ABC's and I'd think she was brilliant. Love her. Seeing her Live on Broadway is at the top of my Bucket List.

What else? Oh, I am definitely enjoying my time off. While I am still working at the Buster, I don't consider that a "real" job...haha. So it's time off. I am watching lots of tv, reading lots of books, and wasting a lot of time on the internet! I figure I won't have this time to do this for the rest of my life, so I might as well enjoy it while I can!

Ok, you know I can't go long without talking about Glee... So how about I show you instead? Found is picture of Mr. Shue's fab abs (Matthew Morrison)


I mean, HOT DAMN.

And how gorgeous is she? Wish I looked as lovely as Lea Michele!




And of course...how could I leave out Cory Monteith?




Ahh...you see what I've been doing with my days.

Oh! And how could I forget? I got a Wii! Yay! It was my graduation present to myself. I've really been wanting one for a while now....and let me tell you. We have ALL enjoyed it. My dad is already addicted to the golf game and was so sad when I brought it home with me instead of leaving it there! haha!