Fact.

Today I learned that TicTacs and Sunchips eaten together taste like Mr. Noodle.

Yum.

Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Canada, But Were Too Afraid to Ask

Today in my college Political Science class, we watched a segment from the Rick Mercer Report explaining how our parliament works.

Who needs a teacher when there's Rick Mercer.

Gaily Tripping

Typically, dance rehearsals are my favourite but they require a lot more prep work than music rehearsals and are infinitely more tiring.

First comes the dreaded rehearsal skirt, the likes of which plague me every year. The one I use requires about forty minutes of ironing before it's presentable which irks me every time. Last year, I could do it; this year I just don't have the time.

Ironing aside, I was pretty nervous. The song we did was the first big number with the girls. It starts with the guys alone, and then they get all excited as we prance onstage. Watching the guys learn their opening choreography was really fun: it's hard to not make fun of them because it's bunch of grown men frolicking, and even harder tonight since they were just learning their moves for the first time and making mistakes. However, all the ladies were very considerate and made no comments (since we were all scared we'd do worse).

Finally, we joined them and the surprises began.

First off, all the ladies were put into trios except for me and a friend, who were front right, and who got different choreography in certain parts. Since I have zero dance experience, it was cool to be trusted that much.

Next, we found out who are partners would be. A much debated and anticipated moment, we've been speculating about it since auditions. For me, it wasn't such a big deal since I've been paired with the same guy for every GnS show I've done and everyone just assumed we'd be together again. Instead, I got paired a new guy.

Said new guy is also the youngest male in the show and I have been calling him the Kid since the first rehearsal after I forgot his name. However, earlier this week I found out that the Kid is a year older than me. Whoops.

Even more amusing than my pairing though, was my friends. Yesterday, in front of many witnesses our other friend swore he would quit the show if he got paired up with either of us. At the time, it was funny. When he got paired up with her, it was hilarious.

Our choreographer said it's because she can handle him and that's very true and wise. I also think it's because whoever gets stuck with him (his character is disgusting, hideous and gimped) has a big role requiring a lot of non-scripted acting.

At the break, we were discussing it with the choreographer and she said that HMS Pinafore isn't a particularly romantic show: there's no mass wedding at the end, which is a typical GnS tactic. The ladies chorus is made up of the sisters and the cousins of the aunts of the ruler of the Queen's navy: we may flirt but we won't be marrying any common sailor period. Essentially that means our partners may change throughout the show, which is a fun concept.

After rehearsal, I flung my character shoes away, packed my school stuff away for tomorrow and was about to fall into bed when I realized I'm presenting a seven minute oral report in my poetry class tomorrow. Oops.

My bad.

19

Today's my birthday.

I went to lunch with my grandparents and parents at a local pub and then waited for the silly people with jobs to come over. All my siblings made it, along with my sister's roommate, and we had cake, sang happy birthday and all that jazz.

Afterwords, my dad, sister and her roommate and I went to the casino. For whatever reason, I expected loads more tables, just tons more. Instead, there were only a dozen or so and then rows and rows of slot machines. I do not like slot machines. If I wanted to stare mindlessly at a screen and press random buttons, I'd play FarmVille.

We had dinner at the casino, and then my dad and I played roulette, the one game I've always scoffed at since it involves zero skill. I ended up with ten times more than what I'd put in. Mathematically ten times more, not figuratively. Hehe.

So all in all, today I went to a pub and a casino, and bought a drink and not once was I i.d.'ed. Pfft!

loudly honking kind of thing

Apparently, I have been misspelling 'afterwords' my whole life. It should be afterwards. Shouldn't it?

Anyway, after shopping for a bit, I went to see Valentine's Day with my friend, which wasn't as crappy as we were expecting. Taylor Swift did a respectable job. Taylor Lautner can't act. McDreamy repeated season one of Grey's Anatomy (heh) and, most shockingly, McSteamy turned out to be gay with Bradley Cooper. All the girls did a collective hysteric cry of horror in that particular scene, while I giggled maniacally. Good times.

Meanwhile (since I can't say afterwards...), we were saying bye to another friend from the car. Last time, she screeched Rape! right before he slammed the door. This time, she said Rafe, the main character of HMS Pinafore, and I was not expecting it as I sipped my drink and started laughing and consequently, choking.

Honest to god choking. No breathing, liquid in lungs, loudly honking kind of thing. So not cool, but I was kinda amazed that it happened.

And then my friends were laughing at me. Apparently that's the thing to do while someone's choking. Thanks, guys.

:D

So two of my friends were planning a night out tonight and I couldn't go because I'm still sick. Yuck.

Instead, I got a text message asking if I'd found my present yet.

They'd left a box of chicken noodle soup on my front step signed 'hope you feel better and aren't ew'.

Totally made my day!

I think you're really gonna like my show. I'm pretty sure it doesn't suck.

Yesterday was the talent show :)

Everything was gonna surprisingly smoothly, I barely had to yell at any of the performers (they just get so loud and then people complain...), until ten minutes before the show started and we realized that our opener had not arrived.

Not happening. No way.

We'd had a lot of controversy over how to start the show, since a bunch of politicans would be talking forever and they wanted to be able to be leave right afterwards. We didn't want to open our show with old people talking, so we decided to use a very strong male vocalist.

I spent a signficant amount of time yesterday describing how the curtains would open, the spotlight would come on all dramatically, the music would start and he would wow the audience.

This really wouldn't actually work unless the singer was there.

I decided we would hold to the show to ten past seven and then ask the DJ to open and introduce the politicians.

At 6:58, the singer shows up and I'm ready to strangle him but instead, we ditched his stuff, handed him a mic, and I ran through the lobby into the house to take my seat.

The curtains opened, the spotlight came up, the music started, and he totally wowed the audience all dramatically.

It was at that point that I realized I was holding my ticket and a list of the order than all us members had to be sitting in. So I folded them up and stuffed down my dress. Classy.

After the first singer, the DJ introduced the politicians and they talked and talked and talked and mispronounced the acronym of our organization. The organization that had created the whole evening. The organization whose members they were honouring. Lame.

So the arts centre is stripping all the seats in the main theatre and replacing them and to do that they need sponsors. At the farthest corners, seats cost something like three hundred and fifty dollars. Well this one guy bought fifteen, a whole row, and then asked that they be named about youth who've done lots in the arts.

So we were all called up, and our bios were read out and I posed like a beauty queen and felt ridiculous. But then the cheque came out.

The massive cardboard cheque that was brought directly in front of me while the people shook hands for two minutes (meaning I'm in every picture).

Then all of the honourees (who had been standing in the back the whole time) were asked to crowd around and more pictures were taken. In the middle of our talent show. Which is about youth. And arts. And not cheques or Olympics.

Once they got kicked off the stage, our next act came out (a super cool dance group although I was kinda peeved 'cause they didn't audition 'cause they're all Olympic-y) and the show continued as usual.

I ran downstairs, got changed, rehearsed in my little dressing room (I'd stolen a small private one rather than the massive girls one) and then came upstairs to find out that one of the bands were bummed 'cause they'd been bumped and it was almost intermission.

We got the bands sorted out (there was an issue with the drum set) and after intermission, I went onstage with my friend who was Chair when I was Vice-Chair. It was kinda cool speaking with her again (on stage, I mean) since we spoke at last year's talent show.

Unfortunately, my mic had not been turned on. I don't know why, I was handed it and told to go so I went and no one could hear me. Kinda embarrassing, but we moved on quickly.

I got my headset on real quick at that. I was the fifth act of the second act. My super mega awesome accompanist was ready to go, so once I bothered the techies some more, they actually took my headset a part and taped it up so it wouldn't fall on me. Hehe.

Finally, it was our turn.

The piano was pushed out and hooked up, my chair was brought out and finally, my bio was read out and we took the stage.

I think it went okay. I know it is definitely not a typical song, and it's not necessarily a piece that people would be comfortable with. But I think the crying went well at the end (I went kinda nuts with the ragged breathing since it sounded really cool in the mic).
One of the musicians stopped me and said, "I can't take you seriously anymore, you got scary."

Hehehe!
For the first time in the three years I've organizing this talent show, the ending went well. Usually it drags on, there's too many speechs, too much clapping (that's not necessarily voluntary) and it just keeps going. I'm kinda thinking next year, we should close the curtains, but this year was good too, the DJ kept it quick.

Afterwards, I ran around, gathered all my stuff and then headed outside to meet everyone. I got lots of compliments, although you can't always trust the words of friends, and then one of the women said I gave her goosebumps, which is probably the best compliment I could have received.

It amused me when my friend's family hugged me and then she came and hugged my parents. I don't think they expected it.
"I think you're really gonna like my show. I'm pretty sure it doesn't suck."

Well, actually...

At the theatre for our dress rehearsal, we were working with one man and one woman for professional techs. I've seen the woman before but the man is a newbie. Is it weird that I know that he's a newbie? That's probably weird.

The shiny grand piano was pushed out along with my chair and then I said I'd need a headset.

"We don't have any headsets."

"Well, actually...you do." I'd used them during last year's performance.
"Oh. I'll ask." He asked on his headset (his is huge and for tech people, very different from the one I wanted.) "The receivers don't work."

"Well, actually..."

I got my headset. Hehe.

The rehearsal went okay, I think I need to practice my movements a bit more though since I can't touch my hair anymore. Or move my neck all that much. Gotta love headsets.
Meanwhile, a hiphop dance group couldn't rehearse because they'd only brought their iPod. I asked why.

"We can't play iPods."

"Well, actually..." When my trio performed last year, we had our track on an iPod but it didn't occur to us until two hours before the show that we didn't have a CD. Our bad. The tech people came to our rescue and played it through the iPod no problem.
At this point, the tech guy was looking at me incredulously, probably imagining just how difficult I was going to make the next hour for him.

Sorry, newbie.

Depending on the time of day, the French go either way

It was five o'clock, my immediate homework was done, I was out of gum and too lazy to cook, so I texted a friend.

Two minutes later the phone rings. Not only is she already half way here (she only lives two minutes away anyway), but she's with another one of our friends.

I have become increasingly awesome at going from lounging-in-pjs-without-makeout to dressed-and-ready in a hundred and twenty seconds. Is there an Olympics for that?

We saw a movie, drove our other friend to his house, and then attempted to return home.
The two of us, since the first time we tried to drive anywhere outside of a ten minute radius, have had issues with directions. So long as I have a map, I'm good. She claims she'd never gotten lost until our first trip together.

But whenever we're together...things happen. Maps fail. Signs fall. Panic sets in.

Our first trip together involved arriving nearly two hours early so we could go somewhere to eat first. We ended up going through a Timmies drive-thru ten minutes before the show started because we'd gotten very, very lost.

And tonight, our plan was very simple: get back onto the highway (which we took to get there in the first place) and just drive. It's doesn't get any easier than that.

We did manage to get onto the highway and for twenty minutes, everything was fine as we belted out Legally Blonde: The Musical. And then, part of the road was closed off.

So we had to detour.

Although we ended up one street over, we thought we were fine. We knew we were going the right way. Until it was decided that we should try to get back onto the highway.

We turned and went far too far, both of us knew that, but then we came upon a highway. That should have meant victory, but it wasn't the RIGHT highway.

We turned onto it anyway.
Suddenly, every lane had a sign above it stating US border.

Oh crap.

Despite our 'Keep It Positive' soundtrack, panic was drowning us so she made a darling little illegal U-turn at an intersection no less, which eventually led us to the freeway (aka our personal doom), which she eventually recognized, which got us back onto another highway but one we know really well and which is close to home.

Thank god for small favours and GPS.

Whatever IS

Last night I glued my fingers together, er, I mean, I put on fake nails so now typing takes twice as long, is twice as loud, and involves ten times as many typos.

Today I had three back-to-back classes, two Timmies coffee, and one awkward run-in with president of my college (who I thought was just some guy who'd rudely stepped directly into my way until the woman on the elevator told me later).

In my English class, we were analyzing "An Essay On Man" by Alexander Pope. I really love "The Rape of the Lock" so I know I was expecting a lot but even by normal standards, this was not cool.

His message is simple: "Whatever IS, is RIGHT" because God made it so.

Firstly, Alex, writing in all capitals is rude.

Secondly (and unrelated to the firstly), I met a hero. He's some punk in my class who scoffed and then very primly said, "this poem offends my sensibilities."

Heh. Score one for the atheists.

I even ate lasagna earlier.

I'm writing a political brief for my PoliSci class right now on Italy. The Italian political system is similar to Canada's in several ways, but whenever the comparison ended, I got kinda lost.

So instead of searching 'Italian politics,' I searched 'Italian politics for kids.'

I get it now.

:)

<3

I love my friends.