Metaphors for Christmas

I hope you can follow my metaphor for dating.
Apparently, I am a window shopper. There's no problem in looking around to see what's out there. I realized last night as I was out on the town having fun with my friends that I am tired of it. That is as far as I have been able to get to the items for sale. Also, I found that I've kind of been forced into window shopping. I have barely had enough time to window shop as I go from class to class, class to rehearsal, rehearsal to work, and work to my dorm room. School has kept my in this little bubble, ad the bubble has the smallest amount of window shopping. It's kind of ridiculous. So, it's winter break. I'm thinking of winter break as my metaphorical gift card to actually do some legit shopping. Hopefully, I'll find something that I like and works with/for me. [Hopefully, any part of this plan will actually pan out.]

Ok. Now for some Christmas ranting. It just turned Christmas Eve about 15 minutes ago. I did most of my necessary Christmas shopping on 2 days ago. Apparently, I am the only one in my household who has the time to go Christmas shopping because my gifts, the ones that I bought and wrapped myself, are the only ones under the tree. Even though a little part of me is disappointed, I'm not complaining that I won't have Christmas gifts. There are those out there who can't afford gifts for Christmas. Plus, that's not what Christmas is about (I'll come back to this in a bit). But since I'm in the mood, I'm going to bitch a little bit. How have I, the full-time music student who is plagued with classes and a part-time job, able to do my shopping, while my parents, who I KNOW have time in their schedules to think about me or the rest of our immediate family, haven't really done much other than work and be political socialites at Christmas parties? It blows my mind. Really. This is the conversation I had my my dad THIS afternoon TODAY:
Dad- "So what should I get your mom for Christmas?" Blah blah blah "She like Jean Therapy, right?"
Me- "Yeah. I guess."
Dad- "So what time are you getting up tomorrow?"
Me - "Probably noon. Why?"
Dad-"What time does the mall open?"
Me- "I don't know. Are you telling me I have to go back to the mall (also known as Hell) for you?"
The rest of the conversation isn't important.
Oh, and another thing. I have to sing (what I call work) Christmas Eve midnight mass and Christmas morning 11AM mass which throws off any Christmas family plans that were made. Work on Christmas day is going to make me about an hour late for Christmas lunch/dinner, and my family is full of fat and innerly-fat people. They won't wait on little old me. They have never waited on the others who were late. I asked my parents when we were going over to my grandparents house for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner and opening gifts family time. Their response was like this: "Oh. I don't know. Are we doing that? I thought we were spending quality-Jody time." Although, I'm glad they want to spend time with me, I'm not okay with breaking our traditional family time.

All of this shitty stress is bringing me down. Do you get why I have kind of lost my Christmas spirit? I just hope everything comes together, even if it is last minute. I hope that, in general, things get better. Life needs to be better. I'm on freaking winter break for God's sake! At least the one constant in my life right now is that my time spent with friends have been great. [I hope I didn't just jinx that.]

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This is a clip of a bootleg that I found of a scene from [Title of Show] that I had never heard or seen before. My favorite part is the Sutton Foster cameo. Hilarious! Watch and enjoy!


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I'll be home for Christmas...

So, I finished my last final this morning, and I'm officially home for the holidays. Right now, I'm sitting on my couch in my room sipping hot chocolate. So far what I have done today is unpack my stuff (which was a lot of stuff. I need to fix my overpacking problem), get Subway, buy hot chocolate, and sit on my couch and watch TV. It has been a beautiful afternoon and night!

Now, I get to wait for my grades. This semester went much better than the others, btw. Now I just need the grades to prove it.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, I think. I need to go Christmas shopping. There's Saints have a game tomorrow night, and I think my family will be pre-gaming and tailgating all afternoon for it. So, it will be a long day.

Yeah. This was a short one.

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This Sutton Foster and Marc Kudish with the original Broadway cast of Thoroughly Modern Millie performing "The Speed Test." This is probably one of the hardest musical numbers of the show. Tapping always complicates life. Enjoy!


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So it's flooding...

Saturday 6:00PM
My suitemate/roommate and his girlfriend are presently going at it in the next room. His bed is directly next to mine with the only barrier being the wall. I have to say, they are pretty vocal about it. They don't really hold back much, or at least she doesn't.

7:30PM
I just got out the shower. I had to run through the pouring rain to bring something to a friend, so I thought a shower would make me feel better and keep me healthy. Oh geez! I literally just sneezed after typing that. Talk about a coincidence.

Monday 10:45PM
It's raining yet again. As if it didn't rain (and flood) enough this weekend. My Theory 3 cognitive exam went so much easier than I thought it would've been. It was probably those 4-5 hours studying in the library. Tomorrow is my Theory 3 musicianship exam, which I'm a little worried about, but only because my nerves will get in the way of my knowledge and my testing, just like the last 2 finals. What I'm most nervous and anxious about is my voice jury. I'm not at my vocal best in the morning, which is when my jury is scheduled. I practiced for about 2 hours tonight, and I felt very confident afterwards. So, I'm thinking I'll be alright. I just want to show them my best and that I am better than they perceive.

It's times like these that remind me that singing is what I want to do for the rest of my life. The anxiousness, nervousness, the want to inspire, the want to show what you have and can do.

I have grown so much this semester. Dreux better give me an A for my progress grade this semester. I know I've grown so much. I have so much more that I am striving for and to do. So many ways I can picture my future.
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Oh so, I just realized I accidentally posted the same video twice on my last blog post, so I just went back and fixed it. Go watch and enjoy!

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Isn't this the cutest thing you have ever seen?!

Whistling Puppy @ Yahoo! Video

This is another amazingly adorable video that my roommate found.


Now for a video with some music! I can't embed this video, so you have to go the link HERE This is a scene from the movie Love Actually. Watch this girl sing! The black teacher can blow too. Look for it.

Ok. This is the last video for this post. I promise. This is Hadley Fraser singing "Again" at one of Scott Alan's concerts in Los Angeles. This is the same guy that is featured on the CD Keys: the Music of Scott Alan. This is so freaking good. This song probably touches my heart the most. The singing, the music, the message of wanting of someone who you can't have, and most of all the high A!


BAM!!

A little disjunct

Monday and Tuesday: Class. About half were canceled, thank god. I was in holdiay mode since Sunday, so going to class was pointless.
Wednesday: Got up early, packed, and went home. We, as a family, put up the Christmas tree the day before Thanksgiving... Whatever. It was nice, fun family time.
Thursday (Thanksgiving): I stuffed my face. End of story.
Friday: Got up early to go on the 18+ men only fishing trip. Drank, fished, and slept.
Saturday: Left the fishing trip to do homework. Dinner and party with the gang at Dani's. It was definitely one for the books.
Sunday: Work (singing at the cathedral) in the morning, recovered from Saturday (it was so nice to just sit at home and not do anything), packed, and moved back into my dorm.

Now for a slightly random rant:
PERSON #1: I've told you straight up. I do not like you. I don't know why you haven't before, but take a hint.

PERSON #2: If you don't want people to see you in a state that you think isn't suitable for others to see, don't put yourself in that state or situation. Simple as that. I get that you've had some hard times, but don't be stupid.

I have some random pet-peeves that I want to tell you for no reason at all. I hate:
-hearing about people's life and drama, and then read about it on their facebook or twitter. [Sometimes I love it, though]
-stupid people
-people who are too down on themselves or put themselves up too high
-the fact that i can find reasons to hate good people.

On a lighter note: I gave Hannah a copy of "Disney's On the Record," and she let me copy her Lady Gaga CDs! I'm so excited about it!
Also I've really been getting into Christmas. I have never really been like Mr. Christmas or whatever, but I'm really excited for it this year. Idk what has changed, but I love that I'm in the holiday spirit.

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This popped up on my "Recommended for you" section on youtube. This is pretty fierce. I'm almost positive that every person seen in this video is just the 1 guy.


This is a video to get you in the Christmas mood. This is a few leading ladies (Heather Parcells, Yuka Takara, Mara Davi, and Chryssie Whitehead) from the revival of A Chorus Line that opened in 2006 singing a jazzy version of "O Come All Ye Faithful" that they recorded for the Broadway's "Carols for a Cure" CD.


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Sketchy Motivation

Hey blog!
I know that it's been a little while. Life's been busy. I blame school and all other school related things. I just starting having free time this past weekend where I didn't really do anything. It was pretty amazing.

So I got this kick early last week, and by kick I do mean motivational kick. This semester I have had a variety of things that have motivated me to do better, like opera auditions (that was an experience to learn and grow from), master classes from a few different professional (working) musicians, an inspirational movie ("Every Little Step" - buy it now!), and some great performances (youtube Sarah Jane McMahon and Brad Benoit -both of whom are Loyola grads [represent!]). So all of these motivational moments have kicked in at the right moments after the previous one has worn off. Thankfully none have completely worn off. What am I motivated for? I am motivated to be the lead in a Loyola opera, to be one of my voice teacher's star students, and to be the best fucking Tenor at Loyola University of New Orleans or the best Loyola has ever seen. A combination of any of these would be great, but I'm aiming for it all.

I just recently started sketching again. I have sketched only a couple times in my life, and they weren't bad. I'm finding this helps me chill after a long day. I kind of want to make it a regular hobby because outside of singing, school, and friends, what do I do? Not much. So I'm adding sketching to the list. Here are the 2 that I've done this week so far. I can't sketch from my imagination, so I sketch pictures, objects, or scenes. I'll post the pictures I modeled the sketches from, too. My sketches are mirrored from the original because of the camera on my computer. I'm not backwards, I promise. Feel free to comment. I'm open to hear what you think. Here they are:









That's all for now, blog. More to come later.


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This is Kristin Chenoweth singing "Glitter and Be Gay" from the 2005 "Live on Broadway" production of Candide. This also features a little cameo of Patti LuPone in the beginning. I just want you to know that although she makes this so easy, this is one of the hardest arias a soprano/coloratura can sing. Kristin know how to make it look easy and make it look good. That is real talent. Enjoy!



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Hello stranger. It's been awhile.

So I just got back from seeing the national touring cast of CATS. HERE is a link to a youtube video of a montage of the show of the cast that I saw tonight. Now CATS is one of those shows that either you love it or you hate it. My thought? I loved it. It's a hardcore show. It had some great talent. Most movies and shows with lots of dancing makes me want to be a dance, but CATS, on the other hand, didn't. Well, it did but not as much as the other things like the Fame movie remake or Center Stage. What it did do was make me want to become a part of a touring show. I miss the stage, and the dancing, and the large number of theatre people that I loved being around all the time. Being reminded of what I love is a great feeling. It's helps motivate me to do more, too. I haven't felt like this in a while. It feels so good. It's a nice change from my recently boring life of school and choir. So, my plan: try to incorporate more musical theatre into my life. Maybe this will help make MTO kick it up a notch this year.

OH! Btw, come see MTO's underground Halloween show on Friday at 9pm!

More to come later. Promise.

Even though one of them is only a draft blog that I'll probably never post, Happy 75th Blog, blog!

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It's kind of eery how appropriate this is. This is "How Could I Ever Forget" from Broadway's Next to Normal. This is my favorite song from the show. So love it or die!


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I hate Mondays

Maybe it's just today, but in general, Monday's suck. I know most would agree with me on this one.

My first class today was cancelled, so I was able to sleep an extra hour. I woke up feeling so good this morning. It was wonderful. I don't know why, but 2 people asked me if I was ok. I thought I was energized, feeling good and legitimately happy for once. Did I some how come off sad? upset? tired? Idk. I'm confused about what was up with that.

Then, I head to my first class of the day, Theory 3, which is usually enjoyable. Today, on the other hand, it was long, complicated, and extremely frustrating. [Btw, for those of you who are academically advanced, don't shove it in other people's faces and simultaneous prevent them from learning and understanding what the hell is going on. Think of it as a courtesy to others in the class, and we will give you the courtesy of not beating the hell out of you and making your life a living hell. :D ]

Then, my English class was cancelled because my professor didn't want to have class on his birthday. Love that guy. He also gave us out papers back. A C on the first paper isn't bad, especially when we can rewrite it. So we decided to take that free time to get lunch because rarely do I get the chance to eat lunch at a decent hour during the week. Then, of course, the Orleans Room (our version of a college cafeteria) was packed yet again.

Next was choir. Oh ho ho... Choir... So, my teacher/professor/choir director went out of town to work with some All-District High School Choir, which is cool since she is crazy talented. So because of this, she told the leaders of each section to hold sectional practices to get a certain very complicated piece into workable shape. So, about the Tenor sectional practice.... There are 2 guys, I pretty much have to help get through this piece. We'll call them T2A & T2B. T2A has a hard time because he is not musically inclined except in his natural ability to sing, which will hold him back a bit and will be something he will struggle with for a while (It's not his fault. Blame the high school Theory classes. Wait. What? No high school theory classes? Maybe that's the problem...?). T2B, on the other hand, just has some problems. I don't really know how to describe him. He kind of has an idea of things, but isn't extremely good at executing what he needs to do. I think I'm a generally well-rounded musician for my age, so they somewhat naturally lean on me for help, which I am fine with giving. BUT! T2A & T2B have stuck me in the middle because they don't like each other. T2A thinks T2B is weird, and T2B thinks T2A can't do anything because of his musical shortcomings. So, that made life a little stressful. Then the tenors and basses decided we would also have combination sectional. Bad idea. The basses are singing on words and are moving slow, and the tenors are counting singing (google it or ask a choir teacher) and moving faster. Then add the uncertainty of knowing your part completely and having others rely on you for help, and having all of the bass section expect you to be perfect. That does not make life easy. Then, of course, we have to have a complete rehearsal, with the Sopranos, Altos, Tenors, and Basses.... :/ The girls were somewhat impatiently waiting for us so that we could run through the song and leave. We ran through it twice, and you know what? We sounded fucking awesome! More so the second time, but that's not to worry about. The only thing I have to say about those 50 minutes of hell is that there shouldn't be so many leaders in one room (Thank God it was only for that 1 class!!), people need to calm down, and they respect others. Ok? Ok.

After choir, I went to the Westbank to get my flat tire fixed. Turns out that it can't be fixed, so they'd need to replace it. Fine. Cool. Do it. BUT! They didn't have my brand of tire, so I'd have to come back tomorrow. TOMORROW! That was the last thing that I wanted to hear, but you know what? I heard it, and I'm going back tomorrow. I'm skipping class to do it. Ha ha, so suck it!

Since then I have cooled off: I had dinner-date with Miki, Katie got me a delicious chocolate chip cookie (the key to my heart), watched and thoroughly enjoyed some Spongebob Square Pants with Katie and Miki <3,and I spent a good amount of time singing in the practice room. So I'm feeling better now.

It's been such a long day, and it's only 8:45PM! Gahh!! I'm chilling out for the rest of the night. I hope my venting didn't bother you too much, reader. Thanks for listening!

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This is "Take A Bow" as seen in the new TV hit, Glee, sung by wonderfully talented (gah! such great acting) Lea Michele! The first few seconds are blank screen because that part of the song is not featured in the episode. Also, you should listen to the full version of her singing "Taking Chances" it is hands down my favorite song on the show so far. Find the whole version on Youtube because they only use about 45 seconds in the actual episode. Enjoy!




This is Josh Groban singing bits and pieces of various memorable TV theme songs at the 2009. My favorite is probably South Park. It's too funny!



BAM!!