A Little Rambling

Arrrrrgh it's that point in the semester again. The point where all those big projects are almost due, but not quite due, so motivation to get them done ahead of schedule is at a minimum. I work best months ahead of time or under the strenuous pressure of, "oh crap it's due tomorrow." However, I know that I like to savor my weekend days by lounging and munching and napping, not typing up projects, and so here I sit... ...clearly not making headway. Instead, I shall say that if you are in Tucson, or have the means to conveniently get to Tucson, you should go see UofA's production of "The Secret Garden." I drove down yesterday to see the understudy performance, and wow. If the understudies are all that good, the actual cast (overstudies?) must be great. I will staunchly defend my opinion that it probably can't be as good without Ryan as Archibald Craven, but I may or may not be a little bit biased. I had tears in my eyes for about half the sho...

I love surprises! I'm sure it stems in part from the fact that I am rather difficult to surprise (scare is another matter entirely). I love when you get to plot sneakily for days or weeks, nearly bursting with a secret that you know will be better if you keep it but that you just yearn to tell so the person will know how happy they get to be. I have this difficulty with presents, parties, rainbow cakes , etc. For Labor Day, we decided we would go down to Tucson to surprise Ryan. We got ahold of his roommate - and his mother, who nearly spoiled it! - and managed to set everything up is surreptitious secrecy. Road trips with the Knights are fun - both cars independently sang Disney songs the whole way down. It was fabulous. We arrived much earlier than planned, so we strolled around and ate some lunch, mocking U of A as much as we could. notice Drew proudly sporting his Arizona State shirt! Back at the apartment, Ryan arrived slightly earlier than we were expecting, so there wa...

It's only the second day of school, and I've already managed to take an unplanned 3 hour nap instead of doing homework. Also, it's only the second day of school and I already have homework! Sigh. This was one of the best summers I've ever had. It was chock full of late nights, sleeping in, wonderful friends, and a sweet summer romance. It makes such a difference, starting school knowing that I'll be seeing familiar friendly faces in most of my classes, and that I can go to lunch with people I love dearly. There's no more lost, new-student feeling, but a confidence in knowing that there are people here who love me, too. Classes are going to be great! I have to reorient my brain to having every moment saturated with music, but that's a lovely thing. I got a new bag (I don't carry a backpack, ever, so this is quite the concession!), and am armed with my iPad, so I'm starting off excessively organized. Hoping it stays that way! I also bought a l...

I'm sitting here watching the final hour of The Fellowship of the Ring with my darling sister. She moves back to the dorms tomorrow, and so we are enjoying our last summer evening of bonding. It involved a few hours of grudging productivity in packing and cleaning, a trip to the grocery store for copious amounts of ice cream, and watching this beloved movie. Well, I've been mostly watching and half grilling chicken and making pasta salad and folding laundry, preparing for my upcoming week of housesitting. She's been guilt-tripping me every time I step out of the room...I love her. We've had several moments in the last week of laughing till our faces hurt, breath stops, and bladders threaten embarrassment. It's not like she's going far away, but school is a lot further than the next bedroom - although even then I have a bad habit of texting her instead of getting up (or even shouting), to which she replies via facebook. We're tight like that. "...

1. Ice cream, with warm caramel and hot fudge 2. friends who don't need a lot of words 3. cupcakes, even just pictures of cupcakes, I love cupcakes 4. friends who sacrifice time and considerable mental effort to help me out with musical endeavors 5. little girls who are growing up 6. watching a lightning storm on the trunk of my car with my cat 7. Ryan 8. laughing until I almost wet my pants in the middle of the night with my sister 9. penuche frosting (made just to eat with spoons) 10. warm, scrumptious pizzookie, shared with someone wonderful

I love fairy tales, and last night almost was one. I got to dress up pretty, be with my girlfriends, enjoy dinner and a show, and then go out dancing until the clock struck midnight. Well, 11 pm, but still. Bex and Chantel and I decided that, outnumbered as we are by boys in our particular group of friends, we needed a girls' night out. We put on our dresses and heels and wore flowers in our hair and drove out to the Broadway Palm dinner theatre in Mesa to see Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella . My voice teacher was in it, as were Ryan, a girl from Chantel's studio, and two guys I'd met at the sing-along mentioned in my previous blog . :) We enjoyed our dinner and getting to get caught up on each others' lives, talking and laughing and having good girly fun. The show was beautiful. The set was a rolling, folding, pivoting masterpiece of bright colors and storybook details. And the costumes - they were magnificent! Bright colors, tons of detail, some ...

This summer I have been enjoying a new habit - staying out all night. Monday was a record - I pulled into my driveway at 5:01 am. Wheeee! It was a great night! Unfortunately, it has rather reversed my sleep schedule. When normal people are wont to go to bed, I am wide awake. I can usually manage to fall asleep about 3 am, but pop wide awake at 6, only to be sleepy again at 1. I take my nap, but then have to get up for work. I drive in groggily, and then I leave to go hang out with friends still sleepy, and am wide awake again as the hours progress. A couple days later I will begin to normalize, just in time to be out all night again. I love it. During the school year, I am fairly responsible. I go to class, I go to work, I go to six bazillion concerts, and I go home to do my homework. This summer to me is freedom! (I also love that my spell check recognizes 'bazillion' as an actual word.) Last night, my new friend Matt (who just happens to be fluent in German, which ...