The Demon Barber of Fleet Street...

In a few minutes I'll be heading to Bangor to see "Sweeney Todd". Yeah, we have to travel ALL the way to Bangor to see it, it's not playing anywhere around here. It looks a little bit scary, but hey it's a musical so OBVIOUSLY I'm going to go see it. I'll give ya'll a review tomorrow.

On another note, woo go Pats? Okay, I don't ever watch football, it just confuses me. BUT I watched last night's game, there seemed to be a lot of fighting. BUT Idina Menzel sang the national anthem and I almost flipped out. I LOVE HER.

On another another note, I got a trip to DC to see "The Kiss of the Spiderwoman" in March. I am riding back with my dad's class (they'll be down at the same time) and hopefully I'll be able to go see "The Lion King" with them in NYC. I've already seen it, but it's a fabulous show nonetheless and I could see something 1920384 times on Broadway and never get sick of it.

Alright, almost time to leave.
Later, gators!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Okay, before I even start...I took the pictures with PhotoBooth on my computer so that's why all the letters on the books, and the treble clef on the earring are backwards.
BUT MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope everyone's holiday thus far has been just splendid. I got many great things!
In the first picture is my new Vera purse (and I got the matching wallet). I love the pattern, Alyssa actually has the same one...haha! The picture also has the three books I asked for, and got: "A Lifetime Of Secrets" by Frank Warren (go to postsecret.com if you never have), "Celebrity Detox" by Rosie O'Donnell (I don't care if everyone hates her, I love her!), and "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (which got GREAT reviews). I'm excited to get started on all of those! The second picture is of the treble clef earrings I got. Aren't they pretty!? YAY! Other gifts I received:
A pug calendar, "The Pact" by Jodi Picoult (MY FAVORITE AUTHOR EVER), Wool socks, hat, and mittens knit by my grandmother, Target gift cards (WOOOHOO), a sweater, $100, Pajamas, and lots of other little things. It was a very nice Christmas, all in all! Later the extended family is coming over and we're exchanging gifts & having dinner. We did a gift swap this year, in which everyone picked a name. It should be really fun. Okay, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!!
Later, gators!

PS...I am so in love with Gerard Butler it hurts...

Today I went to see "P.S. I Love You" with my friend, Tyler. I fell in love with Gerard Butler. A man who looks like that and sings like he does (See "Phantom of The Opera" if you haven't) should be illegal.
The movie was really, really good. I laughed, I cried (there are some VERY sad parts), it became a part of me. (haha)
There were so many good actors in it too. Tyler and I were swooning over Gerard, but the movie also featured Hilary Swank, Lisa Kudrow, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Denny from Grey's..another hunk of burning love), and Kathy Bates.
I definitely recommend it, but bring your hankies. It's a tear-jerker.
Break is going very well thus far! It's nice to be home and it was great to see Tyler today. He leaves for Germany on Thursday to visit his beau, so I was very happy to see him before he left.
Alright, things to do.
Later, gators!

Only 1 more final to go!

So, I only have one more final and then I am done! It's algebra..icky. BUT THEN I GET TO GO HOME! :) :)
I just took that picture, which was taken at a very odd angle and it makes me look like I am writing with my left hand, in the computer cluster in the Union. I'm studying for my algebra final. The computer cluster freaks me out sometimes, you run into some crazy crazies sometimes, and it smells like old people. For an example of the crazy crazies, this kid just walked in here breathing heavily and then argued with the guy who works here for a good 10 minutes about whether or not he can eat in here.
"Oh please sir, just this once! I haven't eaten for 4 hours..." okay? Then go outside in the hall, you freakin wackjob.
My jury this morning went very well. A few hours after it I got to go see my scores, judged by the 4 voice faculty members there. Out of a 4.0 I got 1 3.9, 1 3.3, and 2 3.7's for an average of a 3.65, not too shabby for my first jury! I was very surprised that Lud gave me a 3.9, it made me happy. He's a good voice faculty member to impress around here, so I was glad I impressed him. I really didn't get any negative feedback about my voice, just things like "you move too much when you sing" and stuff like that. At least they weren't like "you were incredibly off pitch" or anything!
After my jury I had lunch with my friend, Cory and then we studied for the music theory final. I think I did pretty okay. It takes me awhile to do the stuff on theory tests that it takes other people (cought...instrumentalists...cough) 2 seconds to do. BUT all in all I think I did better on this test than I did on the final.
Alright, I need to study algebra for a little bit more and then GO HOME. :) :)
Later, gators!

Merry Christmas from 423 Part II

Enjoy :) Later, gators!

Meet Reverend Jiggles...

This cute little fella is my friend Jesse's cat, Reverend Jiggles McGillicutty. She and Alyssa were thinking of funny names for a cat last year, before Jesse even had a cat, and Reverend Jiggles McGillicutty was the name they came up with. I think it suits him well, though we rarely call him by his full name. Usually it's just Jiggles or Jigs. Is he not the cutest thing ever? :)

On another note, one of my finals is out of the way. I had my ear training final at 9am this morning. It went okay. I am really bad at ear training, so it went as well as expected.
This afternoon I met with Laura, my accompanist for my jury, and we went over my music. It all sounds really good. One of the pieces, Do Not Go My Love, is really really tricky timing wise, but other than that everything sounds pretty good! :)

I just want to get this week over with so I can have a nice relaxing break. Alright, gotta practice piano.
Later, gators!

UMaine trudges on!

Tonight's forecast, as you can see, looks grim. On any other normal day tomorrow's classes would probably be canceled, but this will not be the case for December 17, 2007. For tomorrow is the first day of finals week and there is literally no time to make-up finals.
"Oh, the horror! What about those students who live off campus? They should risk their lives to take a test?"
Now, don't you worry about that, because UMaine has a solution for even that!
And that solution lies in this little plan:

Greetings:

There is a large storm forecasted for Sunday and Sunday night. Because of this we are keeping the Memorial Union open 24 hours on Sunday. Please feel free to utilize the Union as a base and feel free to spend the night studying here. We can only provide the space - no amenities will be offered after 9 PM ( though we'll have coffee and cookies available in the lobby until we run out!) - but if you'd like, feel free to set up your study camp here in the Union.

Robert Q. Dana
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

This cracks me up for some reason. A bunch of people camping out in the union? Silly. Though, I, just like the next person, DO NOT want to have to be here any longer than needed, so I say, more power to the school for creating a refuge for commuters. BUT maybe, just maybe they'll plan better scheduling next year and leave a little leeway for storms because, let's be honest, we have them a lot.
Okay, bedtime for me.
Later, gators!

Practice, Practice, Practice...

Hey there everyone! :)
I thought I'd give you an update on what is going on in my life as of now. I have been doing a lot of studying and practicing. In fact, I included a video of me playing my piano final piece so you guys can hear what it is I am playing.
The Athena concerts went well this past weekend. They were fun!
I have a lot going on this week and weekend as well. Tomorrow I have classes + a sight singing test+ opera rehearsal (maybe). Thursday is shaping up to be a pretty easy day because some classes are canceled, which is nice. Friday, I have my usual classes + a music history test+ opera rehearsal until 10. Saturday, we have the opera concert. It's not the whole opera with costumes or anything, that goes up in February, but Saturday night we are doing Acts II and IV in concert form. Don't come, I'm only singing in the last 5 minutes. And then Sunday I have to start studying for finals!!!
My finals weeks looks like this:
Monday, December 17
9:00 AM: Sight-Singing Final
STUDY/PRACTICE
1:00 PM: Practicing with my accompanist for my jury.
STUDY/PRACTICE
Tuesday, December 18
2:30 PM: Piano final
STUDY/PRACTICE
Wednesday, December 19
FREE DAY!!!!
Studying & practicing all day though.
Thursday, December 20
11:00 AM: JURY!
Study
2:45-4:45 PM: Music Theory final
5:30-7:30 PM: Algebra final
AND THEN FINALLY I GO HOME!!!!!!
Well, anyways, enjoy the video of my piano piece and see you all soon.
Later, gators!

A very busy weekend ahead...

Well, I have a very busy weekend ahead of me! In fact, I am pretty much going going going non-stop until my last final on Thursday the 20th. This weekend I have an Athena Consort concert. For anyone that doesn't know, Athena Consort is the women's chorus on campus. We have a concert Saturday evening with the Black Bear Men's Chorus. So, tomorrow night I have opera rehearsal for an hour, then dress rehearsal for the Athena concert until 7. Saturday I am going to see Euphony, another ensemble, perform in the afternoon and then I have the concert that night. THEN on Sunday Athena is performing at Bucksport Middle School in the afternoon...don't ask me why, I couldn't tell ya. This weekend is rather chock full. PLUS I think Alyssa and I are going to have a guest for a couple nights because our friend, Kate, who is in Athena with me, is staying in our room because her roommate is having a friend over for the weekend. So, that should be fun. :)

Next week is very busy too, as I will have to start preparing for my finals, one of which is next Friday. And then the next week is finals and I have 1 final on Monday, 1 final on Tuesday, a free day Wednesday, and then 2 finals plus my jury on Thursday and then FINALLY I can go home. I am off until January 13th, so it should be a really wonderful, nice, looong break. :)

Alright, things to do.
Later, gators!!!

This day in music...

Alyssa found this cool website tonight where you can type in a date and it will tell you what the number 1 song was on that day.

On October 17, 1987...the day I was born,
Lisa Lisa's "Lost In Emotion" was number 1.


On October 17, 2005...the day I turned 18,
Kanye West's "Gold Digger" was number 1.


Interesting, interesting!
Check it out! :)
Later, gators!!!

SNOW DAY!!!!!...kind of.

So, today was a snow day...of sorts. My first class of the day was supposed to be at 10am. Alyssa's first class on Mondays is at 9 so I told her last night that if when she woke up and there was a snow day to WAKE ME UP and tell me! So, I woke up around 7 for some reason so I decided to call 581-SNOW (the number which tells us if class is canceled) and it said classes were going to be going on as scheduled. So, I was bummed, but went back to sleep. I heard Alyssa get up at 8, check her e-mail, and then go back to bed, so I got hopeful that maybe they had canceled classes. My alarm went off at 9, I called 581-SNOW again and it still said the same thing. Alyssa said that her teacher had canceled her first class, so I checked my e-mail and to my delight, my 10 am class was CANCELED. Now, the teacher in my 10am class is married to the teacher of my 1pm class, so I checked that class folder and sure enough my 1pm class was canceled as well. All that left was piano class at 11 and recital lab at 2. SO, I went back to bed for an hour and then got up and got ready to go to piano class. Right before leaving for piano I checked my phone and saw that I had a text message from the university. Yes, a text message. After Virgina Tech the school started this new text messaging alert thing that is supposed to be used for emergencies, but apparently they use it for cancellations as well because the text said that all classes starting at noon or after were canceled. BUT that still meant I had to go to piano. So, I made the trek to piano class. The picture is from the front step of my dorm. That was at 10:45AM...it looks like it's the evening. So, anyways, I went to piano, then came back, ate some lunch and then Alyssa and I went to our friend, Arielle's room. We played Wii. It was pretty fun. Here are some pictures:
Alyssa playing:

Me Playing:


And Arielle playing:


Okay, until next time...later, gators!!!

Happy December, Everyone!

It's December! & 24 days until Christmas! I think Alyssa and I need to get an advent calendar for our room. Or, better yet, maybe I'll make one!
Today is a pretty low-key day, as was last night. Last night I had opera rehearsal and then I ate dinner with some friends. Then Jeremy came over to take a nap, as he often does, and we got caught up on America's Next Top Model (aka...my Uncle Jim's favorite show...not! I believe his exact words were "this show is making me physically ill")...but that's alright, I still love it! So, yeah then I hung around until Alyssa got back from a rehearsal and then Jeremy came back over, we played Monopoly for like 5 minutes, danced for a bit, you know...the regular stuff. Today, because I have the room to myself again, as Alyssa will be at a rehearsal until around 5, I plan on doing laundry, getting caught up on Grey's and Pushing Daisies and practicing a little Christmas piano surprise I have in store for my family. Then tonight after Alyssa gets home we're heading to Waterville to see the WOH production of "A Christmas Carol", I heard it was good. So, I am excited. :)
OH, another exciting thing! I got an e-mail yesterday about a new a-capella group they are starting on campus. Molly, a grad student who stands next to me in Athena Consort, wrote to me, Alyssa, and a few others about starting a new co-ed a-capella group and I am soo excited! I really wanted to be in one this year. Molly is really good at arranging a-capella pieces, as she is in Renaissance, the all girl's a-capella group on campus. SO I am really excited. :) :)
Alright, I have a breakfast date with Miss Arielle Costello so off I must go.
Later, gators!

Merry Christmas from 423!

Like our tree?? :) Alyssa and I put that puppy up on Sunday. It's fake and very small, but I think it adds some holiday cheer to the room.

It's nice to be back at school, though I am rather stressed getting ready for finals and my jury. A jury is a final for music majors. Pretty much you go in and sing two songs in front of the voice faculty. It's just nerve-racking and I need to really start cracking down on memorizing my songs and everything, which is hard when a couple are in Italian. Oh well, I'm sure it'll all work out.

On another note, Alyssa, Jeremy, and I are heading down to Waterville on Saturday to see the WOH production of "A Christmas Carol" which some FAME-rs are in as well as 3 members of the Ganza family. So, I'm excited to see that!

On another another note, Alyssa owns seasons 1-3 of "Reno 911"...which is probably my top favorite show in the entire world and we've been watching a lot of that lately. Trudy Wiegel is my hero...end of story.

Okay, gotta go!
Later, gators!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday. I, for one, am STUFFED. My day started around 10 when I began helping my mum peel carrots and chop potatoes. We ate around 1pm and it was very yummy. She even made this really delicious dessert that my grandmother used to make when I was little and I hadn't had it in years. I am not much of a pie person, which sucks around Thanksgiving time because everyone eats pie! So, this dessert was a definite treat. It's made with whipping cream, chocolate syrup and graham crackers. You whip the cream, mix in the chocolate syrup, and then line the pan with graham crackers. Then you put the chocolate cream on the graham crackers, line some more graham crackers on, put some more cream and so on. Then you put it in the freezer and freeze it. It's so yummy! :) So, that was a nice dessert. After we ate my brother and I left for my dad's. We got to my dad's and then I watched some episodes of The Office from the seasons 1&2 DVDs. I love that show, it's soo funny. Eventually Uncle Jim, Deanna, Mammie, Tut, and Murph arrived and we ate around 6. Another scrumptious meal with pumpkin cheesecake for dessert! SCRUMPTIOUS! Now, I'm just watching some more of "The Office" and hanging out.
It was a nice holiday, all in all!
Later, gators!

Video blog!

Later, gators!

Thanksgiving=Canned Cranberry Sauce

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and there's nothing I love more on Thanksgiving than canned cranberry sauce. I first remember eating it at my grandmother's on my mom's side. I was obsessed. In one of my nursery school artwork books, there is a page where one of the teachers asked me what my favorite food was and I replied "the red stuff we eat at Gee's on Thanksgiving." Talking, of course, about cranberry sauce. People always say "oh, gross! eat the real stuff, with the real berries!" and I do eat that too, but it's not even NEARLY as good as the jellied canned kind. YUM.

On another note, my friend Jeremy and I drove to Waterville last night to see the high school's production of "Annie". Our friend, Libby, from FAME was Annie and then Chris' sister, MaryKate was Miss Hannigan. Both of them were wonderful! And both of them were definetely in a different caliber than the rest of the cast. So, that was fun. I was tired though, and the show was kind of long. I did, however, get to see Chris' dad and his little brother, Will, who I hadn't seen since August, so that was nice!

Tonight I have a rehearsal for a Collegiate Chorale concert I have tomorrow evening. Hopefully that won't take all year. Blech.

Alright, well I have class in a few.
Later, gators!

Oh, DSIS...you ole dog, you!

Last night, after taking a two-hour nap, I woke up at midnight to get on good ole WebDSIS and register for classes. I've blogged about DSIS before...and how registering is a dreaded part of the year...for everyone. Because everyone is up trying to get on, it takes forever...but oh well. I'm all registered.



I'm taking the following classes next semester:
*Sight Singing/Ear Training II
*German 101
*Pre-Calculus (woo, online..gotta love getting crappy gen-eds outta the way online!)
*Piano Class II
*Elementary Harmony II
*Principles of Singing II
*Collegiate Chorale
*Athena Consort
*Voice Lesson
19 CREDITS...holy moly oly. I'll be busy, for sure!

Alright, well I need to go practice for my piano quiz tomorrow and study for my math test that I have tomorrow as well. YUCK! Later, gators!

Shiny, happy people holding hands...

Woohoo! Suz & Grant are married! The wedding was very nice. Very them. I even liked the vegan food! :) I am exhausted though. It was a lot of travel and hustle bustle in a short amount of time. Not to mention that I have register for classes at midnight tonight. Blech! I think a nap is in order...and then I'll just wake myself up at midnight.
Anywho, back to the wedding, yes it was very fun and entertaining. My brother and I were deemed "greeters" and so we stood outside the sanctuary and handed out programs.


It was fun! The reception was very nice, lots of fun dancing. It was a very nice wedding, all in all. BUT I need to get some rest, so I'll write more soon!
Later, gators!

PS...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UNCLE JIM! :) :)

I voted today...did you??

I made my way to the union today to vote. To be honest I had no idea about any of the issues at hand, but I voted anyway. So, yeah. Woo! Go me!
The weather today was horrible. Cold, dark, gross rain. Yuck.
I just got out of my voice lesson and walked back in the dark...at 4:30. That's ridiculous! My voice lessons are going really well. I am learning a lot about my voice and how to properly use it. :)
Only 3 days until we leave for DC...woohoo!!!
Okay, well I need to eat some dinner and study for an Ear Training test. Later, gators!!!

This isn't normal...

Look at how huge and disgusting that is! It takes up almost my whole thigh. I don't know why I am so fascinated by the freakin' thing...but it just seems like such a disgusting mark for just small bang.
On another note, I am sooooo excited to go to DC. :) :) It'll be nice to have a little break from school as well.
I called the Augusta Superintendent's office today to find out about substitute teaching during X-Mas and Spring breaks. I have to get finger printed...which costs $70. Highway freaaaakin robbery, I tell you. BUT I think it's like 50 bucks a pop for a day of subbing, so that's not too shabby. And she said that once I sub for 20 days they'd reimburse the 70 dollars. So, anyways...bed time for me. Later, gators!

It was the storm of the century!

Even up here in Orono, ME we had a taste of Hurricane Noel. And she (he?) was a-rip-roarin! The picture is me getting ready to walk over to the union to see Hedda Gabler. I got soaked. To give you an idea of how soaked I was...here is a BEFORE picture of Alyssa:

And an AFTER picture of Alyssa:

Needless to say it was a tad bit uncomfortable to sit through the play soaking wet, BUT it was a really good show! Sarah Farnham, who played Hedda and was in Bat Boy with me last year, was magnificent! She portrayed the crazy, lonely lady wonderfully. I wish it wasn't illegal for me to snap pictures of the set because it was absolutely amazing! I've never seen such an elaborate set ever. So, yeah, it was a really good play. :) Okay, well I need to take a shower now.
Later, gators!!!

I am bruised.

Okay, well I tried a billion times to get a picture of the MASSIVE bruise on my leg...but none of them came out. SO, I'll just explain to you how disgusting the bruise is. Well, first I'll explain how I don't understand how a bruise that huge came from a not big injury.
Thursday night, I went to see an a capella concert featuring Maine Steiners, Renaissance (which Alyssa is in), Mixed Nuts, and Bear Vocals. It was in DPC 100, which is a big lecture hall. After the show was over (it was a great show, by the way) I was walking through the aisle of one of rows of seats. I was walking kind of fast and I slammed my thigh into one of the seats/desks. Now, it really hurt and everything, but I was not expecting the bruise that followed. On my thigh there lies a RAISED (yes, raised, like bump) black, blue, purple, and red bruise. You can feel the bump through my pants. Is this normal? I just banged my leg, I wasn't shot. Oy vey, bodies are weird.
On another note, I am going to see "Hedda Gabler" tonight. It's UMaine's fall play featuring some people I was in "Bat Boy"t with last year. According the the UMaine theatre website it is "[Henrik] Ibsen's great social drama of a caged woman in the late nineteenth century [who] explores her tormented desire for escape and her yearning for individual and spiritual freedom." Sounds interesting enough. So, yes I'll be seeing that with my friends, Alyssa, Kate, and Ashley. All pretty cool music majors. :)
I'm pretty excited for this week to get going because on Thursday night I am going home and then Friday I am heading to DC for my Aunt Suz' wedding to Grant!!!!! :) My dad, my brother, my grandfather, and I are driving down on Friday and then driving back Monday. And then Monday night I am coming back to campus and then staying up to register for classes and then having theory at 8am. Joyous. haha. Also, I don't know if I can last 12 hours in the car with 3 Thurston men who are all the same. Should be an interesting trip. Tut and I are going to be arguing over music, I know that much. I can only take just so much Patsy Cline and ABBA. :)
Alright, I need to shower.
Later, gators!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween, everyone!! Hope everyone's spooky holiday has been fun!!
I kicked off Halloween week by seeing Keltie's Halloween dance show on Saturday. It was fun! Kind of long...but fun nonetheless. Sunday, of course, the Sox won the World Series, so that was another fun evening!!! On Sunday Alyssa and I also went to Bangor on a Stephen King movie hunt. We rented "The Dead Zone" which wasn't exactly scary, but was a good movie. Then Monday night we found a free web-streamed version of "The Shining"...I almost peed myself watching that one. Jack Nicholson is sooo scary and okay, honestly...the decomposing woman in the bathroom? COMPLETELY unnecessary!! Last night our friend Jeremy came over and the three of us watched "1408", the newest member of the Stephen King family of movies. It was kind of warped, but not ALL that frightening. And then after that the 3 of us made a parody of some scenes from it...which I'll post on here once we get it on YouTube. It's funny!
Speaking of YouTube, Fame Forever has arrived on YouTube! The rest of the premieres are on there as well and slowly but surely certain scenes from ours keep popping up on the site. Go here to see them: http://www.youtube.com/user/valn!
OK, well I have some work to finish and then I think Alyssa and I are going to try and find another scary movie to watch...in the spirit of Halloween! :)
Later, gators!

Testing out YouTube quick capture...

Okay, well YouTube has this thing where you can record your videos right through the site, so I was just testing it out...it's not a very entertaining blog video! I'll write more tomorrow! :)
Later, gators!

World Series Madness!!!

Woohoooo!!! The Sox have done it again...and there's absolutely no mistaking that on the UMaine campus!!! As soon as that last strike was called, the bells were ringing, the fireworks were blasting, and the bonfire was burning. It was CRAZY! Alyssa, Christy, and I decided to head over to the bonfire, which was a fun time. The picture is of Alyssa and Christy with the glow sticks they gave us...and the second picture is a kind of crappy picture of the fire and the crowd, but it doesn't really do it justice. The first video is a short one that Alyssa took of the crowd and the second video is of me and Christy dancing haha. It was a good time all in all. :) I can't imagine what it would be like to be in Boston right about now. :)
Alright, bed time!!!
Later, gators!

Homeward Bound...

I'm looking forward to spending the weekend at home. I am heading down tomorrow after classes. Saturday I am getting a MUCH needed haircut! So, that's exciting! Saturday night, I am spending time with one of my oldest and best friends, Brian. Brian and I met in 6th grade. We didn't hit it off at first, actually I hated his guts. He was rather ignorant at the time, and would openly spew his anti-gay comments around me. At that time, I didn't know how to handle my emotions and it would just make me really angry and I'd cry. By 7th grade we got along better and with each passing year Brian and I became closer and closer. During high school he went through an extremely brave and difficult ordeal. Brian was raised Jehovah Witness and so when he came out, as being gay, during senior year, his family pretty much disowned him. And to this day he rarely speaks with them, because they choose not to. It makes me sad that someone as funny, and talented, and smart as Brian has to live by himself & work constantly (to try to raise money to go to school) just because of who he is. So, whenever I get the chance to hang out with him, I do. Because I miss him but also so that he knows he ISN'T alone and that there are people that accept him for who he is 150%. We were Ends together senior year, and that photo was taken backstage during Chizzle Wizzle senior year. He was donning his very famous "Laura Richmond" costume. :) So, yes, Saturday night we are heading to Waterville to see Keltie's dance recital. We always go see opera house events together. And he's always cheering me on in any show I am in. No matter where it is, no matter how far he has to drive, I can always count on Brian in the audience clapping the loudest. So, I am excited to see him. He is one of the bravest, most loyal, and loving people I know and I wish that his family could see that and look past the fact that he's gay. BUT, in the meantime, he knows that he has many friends who care about him and will always support him. :)
So! Yeah, I'll give you guys an update on how the dance recital is!! :)
Later, gators!

New video blog!

A photo shoot!

Alyssa and I were bored Saturday night before we went to see "Across The Universe" so we called our friend Jeremy, who we met during Fame Forever, and decided to have a photo shoot around campus. Jeremy took all of the pictures shown here (minus the one of himself...which I took, and I think it's pretty shnazzy)! The first one is of Alyssa and I pretending to be tourists in front of the big bear which sits outside of the Memorial gym. The other two are random bench shots. Alyssa pretending to be a homeless person, and I am a person waiting for the bus. I just thought I'd share these photos with you all because I think they are fun!
Later, gators!

Go RED SOX! & A new header....

Wooohoo! Go SOX! They just won their ticket to the World Series! Woo! Okay, so I admit I am a wicked bandwagon Red Sox fan. I watch them when they get to this point. Before this point, I don't watch. Although, my sophomore year in high school I watched them quite a bit because I had a huge huge huge crush on Pedro Martinez, then he left and I felt no need to watch. BUT before he left the Sox, I did manage to get to a game in Baltimore, make him a sign, and then almost faint when he tossed me a ball. :) Good times!

On another note, I spent a CONSIDERABLE (aka...a freaking really long time) making a new header tonight in PhotoShop. I hope ya'll like it. It took me forever! I think it's charming.

Also, I think I am going to start doing something every blog before I sign off. I got the idea from my dad's friend's blog. He does these blogs where he names a bunch of stuff that puzzle/annoy him. They are HILARIOUS. BUT I tend to be an overly negative person anyway so I am going to try to a do a "Something That Makes Me Smile" before I end my blogs.

So here's my first one.
Something That Makes Me Smile:
Coming up with a fun, and different way to climb the 4 flights of stairs to my dorm. I don't think it makes Alyssa smile, though. ;-)

Alright, later gators!

Go see it...right now!

Across The Universe is amazing. Go see it. As soon as possible. It'll make you laugh, cry, and everything in between. It's wonderful. I've included the trailer just in case you've yet to see it!
It's kind of weird in some parts. But it's such a heartfelt story and the music is absolutely marvelous! GO SEE IT.

Later, gators!

Pushing Daisies & Across The Universe

Last night I was not feeling well at all. My stomach was really hurting and so I decided to call it a "stay-in" night. My friend Jeremy came over for a bit and he, Alyssa, and I had some laughs and then Alyssa went to a party. It was while Alyssa was at the party that I discovered Pushing Daisies. Alyssa had told me that the show was pretty good so I went to ABC.com where you can watch full episodes of past shows and watched all 3 of the ones that have been on. I LOVED IT. It's comedy I would say, but a weird comedy. Almost mystical. It reminds me of James and The Giant Peach. It's just fun and different. It's about this guy that can touch dead people and bring them back to life but only for a minute, because if he keeps them alive for longer than a minute another person (in close proximity) dies. And if he touches them again, they die again. So, he and the only other person who knows about his secret (a greedy private investigator) go into business together bringing murder victims back to life for a minute, asking them who killed them, putting them back to being dead, and then collecting the reward. BUT when his childhood sweetheart ends up being one of the murder victims he can't help but keep her alive for longer, opening up a whole can of worms. Watch it! It's so fun and charming. It's on Wednesdays at 8 on ABC.
Tonight, Alyssa and I and possibly some others are going to see Across The Universe, which looks really good. It's the new movie with the Beatles' music in it. It seems kind of trippy and weird, and sort of like I'd have to be high to understand it, but even so, it should be good! Alright, food time!
Later, gators!

20 years old!

So, today was my 20th birthday!!! The day went well, in general. I began it by being serenaded when I walked into Music History class. That was embarrassing...okay, I loved it. Then I had piano class, which is always a bit stressful for me because I struggle with it, but I always learn a lot. I then had lunch with friends in the union. And headed to Sight Singing/Ear Training class in which I got a test back. It was definitely a birthday treat to get it back and see that I hadn't failed miserably. After that class I came back to the room, did some math homework and then went to opera rehearsal for like a half hour. Then Alyssa and I had dinner. THEN we headed over to Minsky for the Women's Composer Concert which I was singing with Athena Consort in. It was a looong concert, but good nonetheless. After the concert Alyssa, Jesse, Lisa and myself went to Dysart's for a bit of a late night snack. I had never been to Dysart's, so of course Jesse (who works there) felt the need to tell every employee, trucker, and random person there that it was my birthday and that I had never been to Dysart's. I got many "Happy Birthdays" and many "Welcome to Dysarts!" tonight. It was really yummy though. I got the french toast. It was scrumptious. So, all in all I had a great birthday. It's weird to not be a teenager anymore. :)

Later, gators!

PS...Thanks to everyone who sent me cards in the mail, wrote blogs about me, called me, left me voicemails, text messaged me, IM'd me, and left me facebook comments. You all are wonderful and I love you a lot.

Pre-Birthday Festivities!

Tonight I spent some time with good friends celebrating my birthday which is TOMORROW!!!! Alyssa, Jesse, Cory, and I went to Chile's for dinner (complete with singing waitresses) and then headed to Jesse's for some laughs and good times. I also got some good gifts tonight. That's a picture of me holding the gifts I got. Cory got me that poster of Zac Efron, Jesse got me 2 shirts and a pair of shoes and then Alyssa gave me part of my gift tonight and I guess I'll be getting the rest of it tomorrow. She got me a toy microphone prop because I am constantly doing silly little interviews in our videos orrrrr singing. So, that was a cute present. :) I'll give you more updates on the birthday extravaganza tomorrow!!!! :)

Later, gators!

Money doesn't grow on trees, idiots.

Apparently stupid residents of my dorm think that money grows on trees and that pulling the fire alarm (FOR THE SECOND NIGHT IN A ROW) at 2:30 in the morning is a good idea. So, that's now $4000 dollars racked up to be paid by innocent people trying to sleep. Honest to goodness, you'd think that by the time people got around to college they'd be mature enough to not do stupid, inconsiderate things, but apparently not.

On another note, my birthday is in 2 days. :) Woooohooo. I have an Athena Consort concert that night. Athena Consort is the women's choir I am in on campus. Ya'll should come to the concert. It's the Annual Women's Composer concert and so all the pieces are by women composers. Athena sings last, but there is plenty of other very talented people. Including my friend, Sara Richardson who composed her own piece to perform in it. Which is beyond cool. So, check it out. 7:30 PM on Wednesday night!

Alright, I am in the computer cluster so I can get some math work done. Later, gators!!

Gotta love fire alarms...

So, last night Alyssa and I got home around 1:30ish from a fun-filled evening with good friends. We then preceded to crawl our way to bed and begin to drift off. But drift off is the only thing we could do because at around 2 in the morning the fire alarm started BLARING. When I say blaring I mean, BLARING. That little light on the damn thing was flashing too. So, I practically fall off my bunk bed, I grab my mainecard(key) and a jacket and we head downstairs and outside along with the 400 other residents of my dorm. It was a rather funny sight, actually. I wish I would have grabbed my camera. 400 college students standing around in PJs. Funny! So, about 15 minutes later the fire truck showed up (okay, seriously, if it was a real fire the place would have been burned to the ground by the time the truck got there) and they shut the alarm off and everyone began to cheer (most likely waking up the residents of our 2 neighbor dorms) and went back inside. And here's another fun little tidbit, the residents of the dorm will be having to split up a $2000 charge on our student bills for the moron who pulled the alarm. OY VEY.
Later, gators.

Chanticleer!

I just got back from a fun evening of listening to an a capella men's choir named Chanticleer perform at Colby. A bunch of us music majors made the trek down to see them, and it was WELL worth it. Especially since it was a free concert. They were amazing. 3 of those men are SOPRANOS. SOPRANOS!!!! AKA they sing just as high (and higher) than I do! Go to their website that I listed above and check them out! They are based out of San Francisco and pretty much spend all of their time touring. They're awesome. If they come back to this area ya'll should definitely check 'em out!

Okay, bed time.
Later, gators!!

RIP Seymoure...

My fish, Seymoure, died last night. He lived a nice long life. I had him for over a year, so I mean it's pretty understandable that he died. So, RIP sweet Seymoure fishy.

On another note, everything is going well. I had a nice fall break. I spent time with family and just relaxed.

Speaking of relaxing, I had an hour massage today at Cutler Health Center. Only I didn't relax the whole time cuz it was an old man doing the massage and it was weird. I mean, I guess it was nice, but I wish I would have had a woman do it. I thought it was a woman, but I guess there is a man and woman that do it and I got stuck with the man. Blech.

Okay, dinner time.
Later, gators!

Pandora=MY NEW OBSESSION

If you have yet to discover Pandora, please discover it. Right this minute. It's amazing. It's this FREE online radio created by the Music Genome Project. Here's some info about the Music Genome Project from the Pandora website:

"On January 6, 2000 a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever.

Together we set out to capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level. We ended up assembling literally hundreds of musical attributes or "genes" into a very large Music Genome. Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony. It's not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records - it's about what each individual song sounds like.

Since we started back in 2000, we've carefully listened to the songs of tens of thousands of different artists - ranging from popular to obscure - and analyzed the musical qualities of each song one attribute at a time. This work continues each and every day as we endeavor to include all the great new stuff coming out of studios, clubs and garages around the world.

It has been quite an adventure, you could say a little crazy - but now that we've created this extraordinary collection of music analysis, we think we can help be your guide as you explore your favorite parts of the music universe.

We hope you enjoy the journey.

Tim Westergren
Founder
The Music Genome Project"

So, how Pandora works is you create a free account and then you can create radio stations. You create the radio station by entering the name of an artist you like. For instance, the first artist I entered was Jack Johnson. The program then creates a "Jack Johnson Station" which plays Jack Johnson songs as well as tons of other songs by artists whose music is similar to Jack's or music that the Music Genome Project people think you would like if you like Jack. You can create as many stations as you like! It's a great way to learn about artists you don't know yet and to listen to only music you like, all the time, for free. You can also vote whether you like the song it is playing. If you don't like it, it'll skip to the next song and it won't play that song again. You can also do a "quick mix" which mixes all the stations together and you get an array of stuff. It's so much fun! Seriously, check it out! It's 100% free and I am all about free music. :)
ENJOY!
Later, gators!

Byebye, Fame!

So, Fame is over! It's kinda crazy! I am not going to know what to do with my time! This weekends' shows were great! Last night's was AMAZING. The house was packed and our energy was sky high. I was happy about that because my mum and brother were in the audience. As well as Chris's mother and my really good friend, Brian, from high school. It was great! I met some fabulous people and it was so much fun. :)
The pictures are of us striking (tearing apart) the set and then of the cast eating pizza after. So fun! Alright, Alyssa and I are watching a movie!
Later, gators!