Welcome, 2012!

I was able to be home for Christmas, thank goodness. And what an excellent Christmas it was. I love being around my family and doing all the things we've done for years. While I was here I got to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas, Joshua's birthday on New Year's Eve, New Year's Day (Welcome, 2012!), and even my little sister Lydia's first steps! I was hoping she'd take them before I had to leave. Watched lots of movies with my family, including the new Winnie the Pooh movie, which I have absolutely no excuses for not having seen before this point. Adore.

Once I get back to Utah I've got some stuff to get done. I've found a new job at Marriott, so the time has come to quit my Brick Oven one. I'm ushering a Tchaikovsky symphony on the 6th, and throughout the month will be seeing two performances of Rigoletto, two of Brian Reagen's shows, a dance remix, a children's show, a Dancing and Romancing revue, and one South Pacific.

It has come to my attention that the newest Disney show to be adapted for the stage is Aladdin. Let me say that I have wanted this for years. I hope to see it when it comes to Salt Lake, but I also am hoping to audition for it. You never know, right? Might as well be a part of something when it's new and people don't have quite as many built up memories of past performances.

Speaking of past performances, the Frog and I has been over for a couple weeks, as I'm sure you were just dying to know. I made a lot of good friends, which I will miss more than the actual show, which involved me wearing a wig, putting potato flakes in my hair, and the cast spitting marshmallows at the audience.

Goodbye, 2011. You were a good year, mostly. I sang my first ever lead role, moved to my first big city, got in my first Utah show. I discovered Doctor Who, Les Miserables, and Alexandre Dumas, all of which are awesome. I feel like 2012 is going to be a good year, amazing, even, and I'm determined to do all I can do to make it so.

C:

Ambition Wanted

I'm sitting in the library, looking out the window at a river of cars flashing by. So many lives, so many stories. Behind them, there's a spread of lighted homes, and a whole lot of Christmas lights. Utah doesn't waste time.

I need some ambition. Or rather, I need things that I can give my ambition to. My job was working great, but then they randomly cut my hours down to less than ten, which is not something I can live on. So, back to job-hunting. My show opens on December 15, and honestly I will be glad when it is done. If I've learned anything from it, it's that I need to be in real musicals, or straight plays. None of this "play with music" stuff.

So when does this show come? I don't know. When and where will I find a job that lets me get into an apartment? I don't know. Am I going to be accepted to the University of Utah, and if I am, will I get into the theatre department? I don't know. Should I even be in Salt Lake? I. Don't. Know. I am aware that nothing in life is certain, but I'm not very good with not having a plan.

Christmas is my favorite time of year, but I've never had to spend it away from home before. When I was in Chadron, I knew that I would be going home in time for the actual holiday. Now, I have no such guarantee. I don't think I'm ready to grow up yet.

As soon as things start getting anywhere near stagnant, I start getting antsy and thinking that maybe I should move on, even though I haven't genuinely settled here yet. I'm so anxious for the future to get started, but I don't know how to start it.

Thanksgiving

I surprised my family by coming home for Thanksgiving yesterday-- just showed up at their house. It is so amazing to see them again at home! The long drive was totally worth it, and the roads were mostly clear. Thanksgiving is all about being grateful for the people that you love, and I am feeling the spirit of it more than ever this year. I love my family so much! I hope everyone takes the opportunity tomorrow to reflect on all the ways God has blessed their lives. I know that just being here is one of my blessings.

Really?

I even got this booklist from a library. It horrifies me.

Future Plans

So I watched Mr. Holland's Opus, finally. It's been on my list for years. I loved it. It inspired me and terrified me at the same time. I love how Mr. Holland (for the life of me I cannot remember his first name) was a great teacher and helped everyone make better lives and SPOILERS finally got to conduct his symphony, but it was after thirty years. I don't want to spend thirty years of my life knowing that I would rather be doing something else. I want to make a living at what I love, not what I can get by on.

In consequence of watching the film, I decided I needed to make a plan. I've been looking at colleges again, because I really want to get back to school. Although Southern Utah University is still my favorite Utah school, it's down in Cedar City, and I have fallen in love with Salt Lake. Also, I'd rather not job-hunt for as long as possible. So the school that I'd really like to go to (right now) is the University of Utah. The College of Fine Arts just announced a Musical Theatre program!

Things I am being forced to remember about college applications:
-College is VERY expensive.
-You must remember everywhere you've been for the last three years.
-Everywhere.
-They are just as stressful as college.

Anyway, the priority deadline is December 1, and I can't say how nice it would be to have all of my stuff in by then, so I'm doing my best to get it done. If I can't be working at theatre professionally, I can go to school and work towards that point.

"I think the biggest mistake people make is not trying to make a living at what they most enjoy." -Malcolm Forbes

A Great Weekend

My family came to visit on Friday, and just left this morning. I missed them as soon as I started walking away, but it was so great to have them come! I was excited to talk to them, hug them, laugh with them and do the things that I have been missing.

We watched Hello, Dolly! and Arthur (the greatest television show ever) as well as an episode of The Sing-Off. (I thought the Dartmouth Aires did best, but I also like Vocal Point.) Dad, Julia, Bethany, Emma, and I played a very intense game of Risk that ended late at night with Bethany blockading Australia, Emma trying to combine her two massive armies, and me hanging out in New Shakespeare Land (four Asian countries plus Fair Mother England and Scandinavia). Matthew was a spectator and Julia was also watching after we teamed up to get her out. She took England!

This morning we got to go to Hogle Zoo, which is great. The animals had just been fed and were very active. We even saw two tigers fighting! It was exciting. Joshua loved the monkeys, although he was a little frightened of the gorilla. He wanted to see snakes and did. I thought that the Black-footed Cat was the cutest animal there. The Bat-eared Fox came right up to the glass and was walking around, which was great. Two of the wolves were also running around and I love wolves. There is a baby elephant and some baby meerkats as well. Joshua got to feed the turkeys some corn. It was a great way to end the visit. When I have a family of my own, I pray it's just like mine.

Things I Love

A better title would have been "Things I Am Remembering Again How Much I Love", but that seemed a little long. This post is about those things in life that you know you love, but it isn't until you watch/read/whatever them again you remember HOW MUCH you love them, and why you became obsessed with them in the first place. The later remembrances almost rival the initial ones. Without further ado:

-Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I am saying without hesitation that this is the best book I've ever read. I've read a lot of books. I re-read it last week and couldn't sleep. It's that brilliant. It is Emily's only novel, and thank goodness she wrote it (just a year before she died). Heathcliff and Cathy are my All-time Favorite Couple. No one, repeat, no one, beats them.

-Tim Curry. He is an epic person. I just found a movie based on a Terry Pratchett novel (I've never read him, but maybe I should start), and he was a wizard. Let me just say that any man who can play a pirate (!) AND a wizard has my heart. Also, the way he rolls his eyes is sexy.

-Being in a play. Yeah, we all know that theatre has my heart forever and ever, but now I'm actually in a show, which hasn't been the case since April. I love watching the cast come together, I love getting to know my director, Jake, and his habits, I love making new friends and new memories. Tonight we spent most of rehearsal choreographing and speaking in ridiculous Spanish accents. "Bring the Christmas heat! Now cool it off! And Christmas fiesta, fiesta, fiesta!"

-Learning new things. I've taken up getting two non-fiction books every time I go to the library- one biography and one general. I am learning so much! It's good that there are people who dedicate parts of their lives to writing books about random topics, or I would probably never think of them. I've read about the first woman to circumnavigate the globe (Jeanne Baret), how America is changing the world's view of mental sickness, Kristin Chenoweth's biography, and how Disney and the color pink are changing today's girls, just to start. So much to learn, so little time!

-Donuts with sprinkles. Especially maple bars. Simple pleasure, but sooo good.