Anticipating Summer

One more day. Two more blocks. Two more exams. Four more hours.

And then...

SUMMER!!!

Ah, summer... I just can't wait! It's gonna be amazing! Going to camp... to the beach... tubing... hanging out with my friends... hanging out with this guy I'm seeing ;) ...

I have so many plans for the summer! Starting with tomorrow: Music picnic at Harkness Park with mandachan and the EGE. I LOVE the music picnic! It's always a blast. I do believe I shall continue the tradition started by Katherine and bring Apples to Apples... and if the EGE decides to climb a tree and pelt me with pinecones/tree bark/twigs, I shall have swift retribution.

Ah, I'm just loving my summery life right now!

~Laura

Because I'm Lazy...

...And it's bloody hilarious! Especially to music nerds...

I present to you...

The Pachelbel Rant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM

That is all.

~Laura

Yeah, no...

I'm in one of those moods today, so no post for you. I'm not terribly happy right now. I was really angry earlier, but I've since mellowed. In lieu of a proper post, I'm suggesting a song instead. Go listen to "So What" by P!nk. Basically sums up what's going through my head at the moment.

~Laura

AHHHH!!!!

Good LORD, it's been a while since I posted!

I apologize for that. I've just been so busy working on my 80's project and the POPS CONCERT!!!

Yesterday was dress rehearsal and today was the first night of the concert!!! YAY!!!!

Twas most awesome. I didn't miss a single one of my entrances despite having exactly no time to change costumes for certain songs.

I was in the following songs (in this order):

• "Comedy Tonight" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Sung by Concert Choir.
• "Halo/Walking on Sunshine" from Glee. Sung by Premier.
• "Will You be There?" from Free Willy. Sung by Premier and VoiceMale.
• "Out Here on My Own" from Fame. Sung by Concert Choir.
• "Lot of Living to Do" from Bye Bye Birdie. Sung by Concert Choir.
• "Finale B" from Rent. Sung by... everyone.

It was amazing! So much fun! Lots and singing and dancing! It was sweltering on that stage but I still loved it so much!

And best of all, my very best friend, my non-blood sister Katherine, who has been away at college for so long, came to the show! I was so happy to see her! Sooo much happiness! With singing and dancing and Katherine... :D

And now I'm crashing, so I'm going to sleep now. Still happy.

~Laura

Sorry...

I really haven't been posting regularly. Really, not much of interest has happened. The Pops concert is coming up... Tara and I found two maggots on our decaying chicken named Jubal (the maggots have been named Fred and George, after my favorite Harry Potter characters).... me and three other girls are doing a video project in history about the 80's... promises to be spectacular.

Yeah, really not much else. I'll try to have a more interesting post soon. Sorry.

~Laura

My Nerd Credentials

Proof of my geekery:

• My prized possession's include a model of the fictional spaceship "Serenity" and a wooden katana named "Vera".
• I have five songs on my ipod that are in some way related to Joss Whedon. These are: the main theme from Firefly, the main theme from Angel, a filk about the main character from Firefly (using the main theme as the chorus), a song from the Firefly soundtrack entitled "River's Dance", and another song from Firefly (NOT on the soundtrack) called "The Hero of Canton" (which is what going mad feels like).
• I intend to add even MORE Joss-related songs to my ipod.
• I can swear in Chinese.
• I am an avid reader of fanfiction and occasionally dabble in writing my own.
• I watched Saving Private Ryan solely for a short scene with Nathan Fillion in it.
• I watched all three Matrix movies because the last two each have two second clips of Gina Torres.
• Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land" helped me understand my own religion.
• Almost all of my friends are flans (aka Browncoats, aka fans of Firefly).
• I quote. All the time.
• Almost all of my free time is spent on the Internet.
• The EGE can attest to how hard it is to stump me in Firefly trivia.
• I intend to put as many Joss Whedon references as possible into my video for my final History project.
• I rabidly follow five webcomics.
• I know how amazing Anthony Stewart Head's voice is.
• I will admit to a passing interest in anime... but don't tell Cela.
• On Halloween, I love to go as characters from my favorite movies. I have not gone in a "conventional" costume in years.
• I own three figurines of Serenity characters (Jayne, River, and Mal) and two figurines from Labyrinth ( Jareth the Goblin King and Hoggle).

And... that's about all I can think of right now. Doubtless I'll come up with more and post them at a later date.

~Laura

I'm odd...

I kicked off my weekend by doing two things that totally contradict each other. I listened to Gothic Metal music... and played Neopets... Yeah, I'm a living paradox.

~Laura

Fun fun fun...

Interesting things happening in chorus.

Pops is coming up. Biggest concert of the year. Concert Choir is singing three songs, plus the finale, PLUS the senior song.

We're singing "Comedy Tonight" from "A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum" (which has odd choreography), "Lot of Living to Do" from "Bye Bye Birdie" (which has awkward choreography), and "Out Here on My Own" from "Fame" (which has BORING choreography).

"Lot of Living" is... well, fun... but kinda awkward, as it involves a girl and a boy partnered and doing what was considered "romantic dancing" in the 50's.

Laurel/Eliz's partner towers over her, which I find hilarious.

My partner is trying to touch me as little as possible, which SHE finds hilarious.

This song has the most complicated dance moves, plus I'm in the front row so... lots of pressure on me. I'm also hoping that my partner is at least-semi convincing on the "romantic" front. But as long as I wear a skirt that swirls when I spin, it'll be ok since the audience will be watching the twirly skirt instead of my partner holding my hand with only two fingers...

Til the next post...

~Laura

Music Trip Amazingness

On Friday: Spent three hours on a bus watching "Avatar" with Laurel/Eliz and Cela. Went to the Museum of Natural History and spent forever in the Gemstone Room just for fun, hanging out with Laurel/Eliz, Cela, mandachan, and the EGE. Loads of random fun. Then dinner at some pizza place with very tasty garlic bread. AND THEN WE ALL SAW "WICKED"!!! Which is, of course, the best play ever. Twas my third time seeing it, mandachan's second, and the EGE's, Laurel's/Eliz's and Cela's first. Amazing as usual. Loved it. The guy who played the Wizard came on our bus to say "Thank you for coming to the show!" Awesome. Then we all went to the hotel. And dropped into bed.

On Saturday: Woke up and had a tasty breakfast. Then went and sang at this school. "I Want to Be Ready", this spiritual-type song, and "Finale B", the finale from "Rent". We did pretty awesomely. Won first place in the competition. Then we went to Six Flags! I even tried to conquer my fears of big scary rides... by riding what mandachan calls "roller coasters with training wheels" which are smallish coasters for kids. I even rode one of those spinny, centrifugal force thingies. I also held everybody's stuff while they rode the big coasters because I'm a huge wuss. I also rode my favorite rides: the tame ones. The Ferris Wheel, the cable cars... yeah, I'm a total scaredy-cat. Then we all headed back to the hotel and had tons of fun and randomness.

On Sunday: Woke up and had an even tastier breakfast than the day before. Piled on the bus. Got a little emo, got a little happy, the usual. Then got home and did my thesis paper.

All in all, the most amazing trip I've ever had!!! Would kill to do it all again.

~Laura

Feels... wow

Just back from the awesome-est trip ever!!!

... and dead tired. After 3 days of awesomeness, music, Broadway shows, theme parks, bus rides, and tons of fun with the EGE, mandachan, and Laurel/Eliz, I'm about to drop.

(Plus as soon as I got home, I had to work on my thesis paper which is due tomorrow...)

Anywho, my apologies. I'm just too damn tired for a proper post. I'll tell you all about the trip tomorrow.

Nightnight!

~Laura

Some Special Upcoming Dates

What I'm looking forward to in my life:

• Tonight - A benefit chorus concert raising money for the Matt Buriak and Lauren Candler Scholarship fund. I have to wear that awful dress shirt/cummerbund/bow tie and sing three songs.
• Friday - Leaving for the Music Trip!! Lots of fun in New York/New Jersey. Museum of Natural History, seeing "Wicked" on Broadway (for the third time), Six Flags, singing, acting like an idiot with my friends....
• May 7 and 8 - The Star Wars cabaret in drama. Loads of fun.
• May 23 - KATHERINE COMES HOME!! My very very best friend and non-blood sister returns from college for the summer. Will be spending as much time as possible with her.
• Some time early June that I'm not positive about - POPS Concert. Biggest chorus concert of the year. Awesome songs.
• Some time later in June that I'm not positive about - SUMMER VACATION!!!!!

And those, my dearies, are the events that I am counting the days til....

~Laura

Well, I didn't do much today...

After school and drama, I did some homework (le gasp!), watched a couple episodes of "Law & Order: SVU" (I was bored...), listened to Amy Winehouse's version of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" about five thousand times, and contemplated some songs to put on my iPod.

Yeah... that's about it... God, do I have an interesting life or what....

~Laura

P.S. Music trip on Friday!!!!

Post-Concert

So sorry I didn't post the other day! But everything was kinda hectic because of the CONCERT!

Yesterday was the annual after-school groups concert. Premier performed two songs: "Danny Boy" and "My Heart Will Go On". I was so excited (and nervous!) because had a solo in the latter. Well... not so much a solo as being one of only two girls to sing the melody while everyone else sang the harmony. But we (me and the other girl, Tori) sounded AMAZING!! It was awesome... We also sounded kick-ass on our other song! So all in all, Premier did fantastic in this concert!

The other groups in the concert.... aren't that important to me. Except for Jazz Band. Jazz Band is made of win. The EGE had a trumpet solo (which he neglected to tell me about until the performance!) and totally kicked ass on it. This is why he's my friend. Because he kicks ass. Less ass than he thinks, but still a modest amount of ass. (Don't let it go to your head, EGE, or I'll have mandachan hit you.)

So yeah. That's the post-concert report. I should... do my homework. Blah.

Talk to you tomorrow my ducklings!

~Laura

What I'm Listening To...

Some of the songs stuck on repeat on my internal iPod...

• The Sappy Love Song: "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. Otherwise known as the love theme from the movie "Titanic". We're singing it in Premier, and I have a solo, so I've been singing it a lot for that reason. It's a very beautiful song, and one of my father's favorites. It made me cry the first time I heard it, and it takes a lot to do that! I think a lot on this song....
• The Weird Song: "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga. Wow, this is one song that I never thought I'd be listening to over and over... My friend Kyla insisted that I listen to it, and now... I can't... stop! It's definitely... interesting, lyric wise. And it has a great beat for dancing. This is one of those songs that I listen to when I'm in a sexy psycho mood.
• The Emo Song: "Learn to be Lonely" written by Andrew Lloyd Webber for the movie adaptation of "The Phantom of the Opera"."No One Would Listen" was cut from the final script of the movie, and would have taken place sometime between "Masquerade" and "Past the Point of No Return" and is sung by Gerard Butler (The Phantom). The song details the Phantom's sorrow that Christine was the only one who truly understood him, but even she left him, and he's alone once more. I listen to this song when I'm feeling really down and lonely.
• The Awesome Love Song: "Hero/Heroine" by Boys Like Girls. This is perhaps one of my new favorite songs! Laurel/Eliz had me listen to it and it's awesome! This is one song that I would hope that any boyfriends I have in the future would relate to me ("I feel like a hero / and you're my heroine..." heroine pronounced like "heroin"... haha!). This song makes me think of my big damn heroes (you know who you all are...) and it makes me happy to have them.

So yeah! That's what I've been listening to! Kinda gives you an idea about what I've been thinking and feeling lately. I wouldn't really suggest them for you unless you already know and love them... except for "Hero/Heroine"!!! It's a great song and I highly recommend it for you all!

Peace out!

~Laura

Not much to report

Today was basically normal. Really nothing new. Here are some highlights:

• I FINALLY finished my watercolor painting for Drawing class. Bloody thing took me WEEKS of study halls to get done.
• In Premier, I'm sharing a solo with a gal named Tori (not the one from Drama). The irony: I got the solo my friend Cela wanted, and she got the one that I wanted.
• In Drama today, we went over the final light saber battle from "Return of the Jedi". I was apparently not reading the part of Luke dramatically enough, so Kato said "Laura! The fate of the galaxy is in your hands!" My response: "That is so... sad..."
• I decided that, for shits and giggles, I'd change all the names of the contacts in my phone to names of characters from movies, TV shows, books, etc; that I think correspond to them. Thus, the EGE is now Mr. Universe (from the movie "Serenity"), mandachan is Faye (from the webcomic "Questionable Content", highly recommended by the way), and Laurel/Eliz is Haruhi (from the anima/manga "Ouran High School Host Club"). I do not yet have Matt's (from "Fencing Insanity") number, but when I do, he will be either Inigo Montoya or Wesley (both from "The Princess Bride").

And that's everything I have to say for today!

~Laura

I May be Getting Cynical in My Old Age, but that Doesn't Mean I'm Getting more Mature!

So today, I went with my Grandmother and my cousins to Dave & Buster's (the greatest arcade in the history of ever). I quickly decided to forgo all the games that didn't give me tickets to redeem for prizes (there's the cynicism). My younger cousin, Ethan (I really love that kid...) showed me a game that requires you to simply drop coins in a slot and you can get a lot of tickets for it. Since this was a game which would give a large number of tickets for minimal effort, this was the game I decided to play for the rest of the time I was there (evidence of my total laziness...). I also became so paranoid that someone would steal my tickets that I was constantly moving my four cups of tickets around so they'd constantly be in my field of vision as i played this game. Even as I bent down to take the new tickets, I had to pull all the old ones down with me... Yeah, I'm lame.

Anywho.

I spent all thirty-three hundred of the tickets I won at this little kiosk where you trade the tickets for songs that they burn to a cd for you. I bought a bunch of Celtic Woman songs, which makes me happy 'cause now I don't have to buy them at $1.99 apiece on iTunes!! Yay!

So yeah, that's what I did today... and now I go to put my new music on my iPod. Happy face.

~Laura

Tired...

Ugh. It's kinda late and I'm to brain-dead for a proper post. Basically: it was a Friday, it was awesome. I went to an awesome concert at a local church for some sweet Celtic music. It was a lot of fun. I love Celtic music. I also hung out with my buddy Adam. May talk about it more tomorrow.

Night.

~Laura

Oh, la!

First off, I apologize for not posting yesterday (not that many people care...) but some shit was happening and I was in a bad mood and didn't feel like posting so there!

Anywho.

Today was musically amazing! In addition to some sunshiny weather (even if the temperature is a bit low...), I had Concert Choir today! Which is always fun. We're really coming together on our three pieces that we're performing for our next concert (A benefit concert for the Matt Buriak Scholarship Fund). We're working on "O Whistle and I'll Come to Ye" an old Scottish folksong, "I Want to Be Ready" a Gospel/Spiritual piece, and "Alleluia" which... really can't be described in words (other than "amazing"). But, most exciting of all, we began working on a song that we will sing in both a competition (that I'll talk about later...) and as the finale to the Pops concert in May: "Finale B" from RENT!!! I LOVE RENT! And I LOVE "Finale B" (which is funny cuz I've never heard any "Finale A") It's such an amazing song. I highly suggest listening to it, if not watching all of RENT.

In other musical news, for the drama show, the opening will be a song medley comprised of various John Williams themes ("Indiana Jones", "Jaws", "Jurassic Park", etc.) with lyrics all about Star Wars. (even more than I suggest listening to "Finale B", I suggest listening to this song! It's hilarious! Youtube "John Williams is the Man") As the only soprano in the show, I get a lot of awesomeness in this song! I get to sing the high part of the chorus (The "Indiana Jones" theme), while the other girl, Tori, harmonizes. I also get to vocalize the "E.T" theme while this guy Nate sings some really funny lyrics about Luke Skywalker whining... it's great. I'm really liking the way this is coming together! It's a lot of fun! I'm in the spotlight musically (which almost NEVER happens!), I get to sing quirky songs, and we all sound GREAT together!

Yep, music = happiness.

And that is my word spew for the day!

Musically yours,

~Laura

Update

Correction: Not going to Premier because I feel like crap. What I'll be missing: attempts to harmonize to a song I memorized the melody of ("Danny Boy") and what is supposed to be the theme from "Titanic", but sounds more like "Pirates of the Carribean" until you add in the descant...

Love to perform, hate to rehearse. It's a fatal flaw.

~Laura