My Life..Chaotic

These last couple of weeks have been insane to say the least. I have so much on my plate; the only thing I can think is: if I survive this next week, I'll be okay. It seems like I have no time to stop and breathe. I've been cast in a lead role in A Mid-Summer Night's Dream and I still have work and school. School hasn't been getting the needed attention lately and mid-term exams are this week. I really only have to study for 3 of my 6 classes. But these classes are not going to have easy mid-terms. The last couple of weeks, if I wasn't at rehearsals- I was at work. I've also been running myself crazy for Christmas and other family activities. I really need a break.

After mid-terms, I get two weeks. The only stressful thing I have to deal with is work and being away from my other half for four days..possibly including Christmas. I wont be happy if this is the case. I'm ready for this week to be over..but I can't bomb these tests! I have to more days to study.

Let the countdown begin..

The Senior Shakespearience

Early in our educational careers we hear about this wonderful playwright and poet called William Shakespeare. In middle school you read a few sonnets and if your lucky you dive into one of his tragedies (complete with footnotes of course!). But you're never quiet prepared when senior year rolls around and it's like a Shakespeare bomb blew up in the hallways. This is even more true if you're in drama.

I never was a Shakespeare fanatic. I never understood what all the commotion was about. He was just a prematurely balding man that added too many unnecessary syllables onto words. This year, Billy threw himself upon me and forced me to indulge in his work...and like it. It is four months into the school year and in between two classes I have: read 5 Shakespearean sonnets, watched Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare in Love (not by him..I know) and seen a performance of Romeo and Juliet. I have a copy of Much Ado About Nothing that I will crack tomorrow for English and then we will proceed to read Hamlet, Macbeth, Twelfth night, and a few others.

Next week I have an audition for A Midsummer Night's Dream and if cast, I will be MEMORIZING Shakespeare. It's official; I can't escape him. It's obvious that Shakespeare and I are meant to be together...for this year at least.

Tic Toc...

By now, I have heard the word college more times than a, an, and the. I've worked hard, but that doesn't change where I will be attending college. My mom just got finished shelling out money for my sister who will graduate in two weeks, so I'm stuck here. If I attend the university she wants me to, my tuition will be paid for with scholarships. I don't mind. I understand. This school has an excellent science department which is what I need for my career path. I know I'll have enough on my plate with school and a job.

Besides, I honestly don't mind staying here. It's my home and I do better with familiarity. My family, my home, and some of my friends will still be here. I really don't think I'm ready to grow up and move too far away. But, I do get a little green when I see my friends getting accepted in prestigious schools far, far away. Maybe I'll have better luck with my graduate school. Who knows? So don't worry Shreveport, I'll be with you for atleast four more years.

(Enter Laughing)

I'm currently very confused as to why I am at my home on Monday at 6:30 p.m. with time on my hands. I stayed after school for only an hour to strike a set that belonged to an awesome production that I have just washed my hands clean of. If you missed it, you truly missed out. This was no ordinary high school production. We had a power house of a cast and a wonderful script to work with. We recently came into possession of a fabulous director who, I hate to say this, knows what the hell she is doing. It was a wonderful experience and I suddenly remembered why I love to do shows. I took a year-long hiatus seeing as junior year tends to be difficult. I'm sad the production is over, but I'm really close with the cast and I look forward to performing with them in the spring.

RIP Enter Laughing and will "someone please fix that DAMN DOOR?!"

It's That Time of Year Again..

Football, football, and more football.
The guys in my family couldn't be more thrilled. My involvement in the whole affair is helping my mom cook larger dinners for Monday night gatherings of all the boys. And I am PUMPED. I understand the game and find my self getting sucked in from time to time; which is more than I can say about my boyfriend. He is oblivious and could care less ,and this is just another thing I love about him. When I'm trying to sleep, hearing beer drinking men screaming at a flat-screen television isn't something I enjoy. But as long as they are all having a good time, I keep my mouth shut. Boys will be boys and it's only football season I have to endure.
The super-bowl, that's another story for me. I can cheer with the best of them and stay up til the very last seconds. Not to brag, but I've chosen the winning team for the past 7 years. So just let me know when it's time for the Super bowl, who's in it, and then I'll be one of the boys..but until them, I'm on the kitchen crew with my mom.

So Britney came back. When's she leaving?

Ever since the jawdropping VMA performance by non-other than B-spears, everyone is wondering...what happened?!

The sparkly leather bikini-we expected. The girl-on-girl angle-we even expected that too. But the lack of enthusiasm and the lost look on her face, threw anyone watching off. She (of all people) seemed not to be able to lipsync with a rather slow, simple song. She looked as if she were unsure of what she should've been doing. Hell, she might've not even been sure of where she was. The whole time during this train wreck I was thinking, " Britney stop. Please stop. Why can't you stay away form the VMA's just this once?!"

Many were pointing out her new, thicker shape and how it needed to be covered up. I, personally, thought she looked great. Her weave was hot too. Though I was caught off-guard when she grabbed her dancer in the crotch a couple of times. But wait...ISN'T SHE IN A CUSTODY BATTLE OVER HER CHILDREN?!? What message was she giving the judge or lawyers. I mean seriously, did she realize K-Fed was probably Tivo-ing the performance while painting his kids their new, permanent nuseries?

But back to the lack of enthusiasm.. Britney was always known as an incredible performer who never gave performances short of phenomenal. She gave every second of a show 110%. Where did it go? I understand she's going through a lot. She shouldn't have been there. She should've been at home knitting booties or reading the bible..She does want her sons right?

A Weekend in Dallas

I just ended an amazing weekend with my boyfriend and his parents. Being only 17, my parents insisted that we had adults drive us on our long awaited Six Flags trip. When we arrived in Dallas, we went to Bill's Record which turned out to be a very impressive record store. Needless to say, my Led Zeppelin fanatic was ecstatic. He bought some additions to his growing collection of anything Zeppelin, so it was a successful stop. We all went to the mall and had a nice time. We stayed at a friend of my boyfriend's parents, but I was almost too excited about Six Flags to sleep. Though I will be eighteen soon, I'm still a kid and this kid needed some rollercoasters.

It was a wonderful day and lots of fun. His parents were kind enough to let us stay late at the park. They went to a play, a movie, and a baseball game. So there was fun for everyone. We arrived home late and my legs were sore. But I had a great time. I enjoyed spending time with his parents and him. I greatly appreciate them putting up with me. I hope we can all do something like that again.

My Guilty Pleasure

I (along with more than half of the world) am incredibly anxious about this July. On the 13th, the fifth installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, will be premiering nation-wide. This book was even darker than it's predecessor so I'm very excited to see what director David Yates has done with it. The other movies were good. But did not meet my expectations. I guess there is no way they can touch the books. I just find myself annoyed with how much has been omitted for time's sake. I personally wouldn't mind camping out in front of a Potter flick for 5 hours. But when I take the position of someone who hasn't read the books or been a devoted reader and fan of them, the movies go from good to phenominal. So I guess I can't be too picky.

AND on the 21st, the FINAL installment of the series will be hitting shelves. My copy will be meeting no shelf. It will go from the delivery stack STRAIGHT to my hands. I will be at my Barnes & Noble at midnight (having arrived hours before ofcourse) awaiting Harry's and MY fate. It's bittersweet really. I'm both terrified and anxious to read what that book contains. I know for a fact (and I've apologized to my boyfriend, family, and friends) that I wont leave my room until that book is read and my mourning is over. I feel so dorky for going on like this, but Harry Potter has been a passion of mine since I was in the 5th grade. I have devoted 7 years of my life to obsessing over J.K. Rowlings masterpieces. But I suppose that I always have two more movies to look forward to. And rumor has it that the final one wont be released until I'm a sophomore in college..atleast. I have a couple of years to hang on to Harry.

Pregnant is the new flabby...?

One of my co-workers is about 5 or 6 months pregnant with her first child. She is a friend of mine an I've enjoyed watching the transformation about the past months. My friend is a newly wed so it's not a pregnancy that society would usually frown on. I was one to always view pregnant as beautiful. The other day I was shocked to realize there were people who very openly think otherwise. My friend works in the main office of where I work. I work on register. She came out to help bag for the customers. There was an older woman (but she was not OLD). Probably 40's. She kept looking at my friend with this almost disgusted look. My friend figured she was trying to decide whther she was pregnant or just big. My friend took it upon herself to assure her she was pregnant. She was not rude, infact she had a big smile on her face and sounded very proud. The customer grunted an sai, "Oh, that must be why you look so flabby."

We were shocked to say the least. My friend spent the rest of the day fluffing out her shirt an staring at her arms an stomach to make sure they looked okay. It bothered m that someone could say hat something so beautiful was something disturbing and something my friend should be embarrassed about.

One Down...

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the greatest thing to come my way- my relationship with the most amazing guy ever. We spent the entire day together. It was a very romantic day to cap off the most amazing year of my life. I'm so fortunate to have met him. We were friends for two years before we decided to take the next step. I'm so glad we did. It was a long road to what we have now- trying at times- but so worth it. We never doubted how right this was. It's impossible to. He is my other half. He knows me better than anyone and I love him so much. I'm very much looking forward to all of the years we have in the future. I'm so excited for this. We've put so much time and work into it. I've never been more sure or proud of anything. I'm so lucky to have someone to support me, comfort me, and love me like he does. He's one of a kind, and as a couple so are we.

He has a job!

My boyfriend has just left my house to go to .....(drum roll).... WORK! I'm so excited for him even though he has dreaded this for months. Just the thought of being tied down by the work force made him upset. Ofcourse ,because we both have jobs, there will be another limit on our time together. But it IS summer so we have tume to adjust. It's good for him. It's good for us. We'll be able to go out on dates more and he can get a new sound system for his new car. It's a win/win. But being a teenage boy, he doesn't want to admit or believe it. But I know it enough for the both of us. Needless to say, his parents are thrilled. Which is a good thing. He'll be doing something worthwhile and responsible rather than spending hours at home in his room watching television while I'm at work. I'm very proud of him even though he doesn't like my mentioning it. He just isn't used to the idea yet. But as soon as he gets his check, he will be perfectly okay with the idea, just as I was on my first payday.

He will be the 17 year old guy looking very dismal in his Raising Cane's shirt and cap. The cap he wasn't so stoked for. In fact I'm not allowed to visit him for a while because of that part of his apparel. Eh, oh well. I'm just glad he has a job. As is his family.

Summer time, and the Living's Easy.

I'm so excited about this summer. Though last year's will be hard to beat, I know it will be better. I've always loved the mystery that comes with summer. 3 months. 3 months to do with as I please (unless I'm at work or under the strict guard of my over-bearing parents). This one feels way more independent than last summer because I am. My parents are finally realizing I turn 18 in 6 months. I haven't fully realized it and I know they are trying not to. But in 6 months I will be an adult. I will then graduate and move out on my own. They're trying to talk me into living with them for a while longer, but I don't like being dependent on them. I want to make my own life (I'm sure they'll be there to help me if I screw it up anyway). But this summer is the last one before I am fully and totally independent. I can't wait.

'Millie' was Thoroughly Fantastic!

I finally saw the locally acclaimed "Thoroughly Modern Millie". It lived up to all of the hype. I was not disappointed. The musical numbers were on the spot and the dancing was awesome. I knew a large number of the cast and have taken drama with them as well. I was very proud. I hope all of Shreveport went out to see it. If not, they were truly missing out. The acting was impressive as well. In most musicals I've noticed the singing is focused on more than the acting, but I never complain ,because I enjoy musicals more. But there was an incredible balance and the singers were very talented. I've been aware of Ansley's talent since the 6th grade and she's only gotten better. Her voice is so beautifully articulated and projected.

My boyfriends younger sister had a pretty significant role in the production and she impressed me as well. She portrayed a dizty, fast-talking aspiring actress. She wore a very cute gray? wig. In the middle of the performance he leaned over to me and said,"The only thing different about her is her hair."

Expect only good things from A.C.T.

Green is the New Black

Every weekend it is ritual for me to stay with the politics by watching CNN. My parents are very conservative so the living room television was tuned to FOX News instead. I heard they were discussing global warming so I was immediately interested. This issue has resonated itself with me since I first heard about it.

The anchors were having a heated debate about whether or not the goverment should actually spend money towards the fight to preserve what we have left of the world we are living in. I was appalled that only one anchor thought it was "okay" to do so. They believed that all of our funding should go towards making nuclear weapons to fight Korea and other potential terrorists. I'm a dedicated member of my school's Greens Club so needless to say I found this shocking. The comments those anchors made were similar to "Why fix a problem that doesn't even exist?" or "We should be funding the war we are in and potential wars we will engage in". I know these were intelligent people, but I was sickened by how naive they are. How can you ignore an obvious problem that we can see proof of everyday. There are actually people in America (the most gluttonous country of all) who believe that the pollutants we emit into the atmosphere wont come back to haunt us. Killing people should be our main priority, not keeping our race from over-staying its welcome. Yuck.