Bring it, 2011!

So, I probably won't be graduating college this year, but just barely, so I'm not "Class of 2011" but I sure as hell will be "Ass kicker of 2011!" This is going to be a strong year for me, I can feel it. Last year was great, and so this year has to be super great. I intend to hit the ground running. Literally and figuratively. Literally, because I am a girl and must therefore uphold the tradition of vowing to lose weight in the new year. Of course, this will be pushed from my mind by February, so I just have to get a smoking hot bod in January. Figuratively, because I am going to get moving on all the things I have to offer the world, and because if I don't focus, I will never get out of Cal State Fullerton. CSUF is specially designed to let you stay FOREVER. But not me!

Sure, I'm currently in my fourth year, and it doesn't seem I'll be graduating at the end of it, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and when you consider I've had five majors, and ran away to Chicago for a semester, it's pretty impressive I intend to graduate at all.

Also, world, I would love to provide you with comedy and music this year, so I am getting my ducks in a row for that.

So here is the basic version of my list, please don't feel cheated if I choose to withhold some blush-inducing details…

2011 New Year's Resolutions:

-Lose weight (generic girl requirement met)

-Finish on campus classes at Cal State Fullerton

-Line up the perfect internship

-Travel!

-Europe

-Las Vegas

-New York

-Write more

-songs

-novel

-Finish Album

-start new album

-Play more gigs

-Get together a super comedy group of brilliance!

My 2010 list

Today is a great day to reflect on 2010 and look excitedly toward 2011. I love making lists, so it will be a complete delight for me to make my New Year's Resolutions, but as my cousin pointed out, why not list the accomplishments of 2010 too? So here they are:

My 2010:

-I lived in Chicago IL, my first time being so far from home for so long.

-I studied at Second City Chicago for a semester that culminated in my first sketch

review show.

-I took classes at the Annoyance Theater and The Old Town School of Folk Music.

-I tried Belly dancing.

-While in Chicago, I wrote a new sketch and tried a new stand-up set every week.

-I came home to California and moved to LA.

-I turned 21, drank copiously and became thoroughly at ease with drinking establishments.

-I finished recording an album (which I still haven't released, but that'll be next year…) and wrote enough songs for a couple more albums.

-I completed my comedy training at io.

-I taught group guitar lessons to nine-year-olds and made it out alive.

-I completed another semester at Cal State Fullerton.

-I started this blog as an outlet for my writing.

-I started a million new projects that I will happily put on my To-do List for 2011.

True Grit Review

Rating system (out of five):

Stars = measures the film's cinematic quality.

Hearts = measures the film's enjoyability.

Bowls of Ice cream = measures the numbers of bowls of ice cream it would require to get me to watch the film again.

First off, let me say that I have never seen the original True Grit, so I am reviewing this movie completely independently. I knew the original had John Wayne in it, so I walked in thinking, "Ah, a western. I like westerns. The preview looked cool. My, this seat is nice and squashy." This, I believe, is about as close to a neutral start as someone can have. Neutral as I may have started, it took mere moments before a new thought dominated my brain. Something akin to, "Oh no."

Okay, let's talk about the dialogue in this movie. They made a clear choice not to use contractions. A distracting choice, but a bold move. From the moment the film started, the characters began speaking like strange western Yodas, and though I love Star Wars dearly, it was hard to understand what this vernacular was doing in this film. In my earnest attempt to explain it away, I hoped it was an effort to be true to the language of the period. I'm no expert in linguistics, and thus I have no idea when contractions came into fashion, but I do know a few snuck into the dialogue, and shattered the desperate reasoning I had been feeding myself. Why!? Why no contractions? If the iconic use of verbs like "hangin'" and "shootin'" made the cut, why abandoned the words we associate with all speech, like "couldn't"? As though to antagonize my growing irritation at the strange robot-talk, at one point in the movie, a character said something along the lines of "Old am I." This quote is directly lifted from the endearing syntax errors committed by our lovable, Degobah inhabiting, Jedi master. There had to have been a point where SOMEONE realized how much it is to ask of an audience to endure this alien twist of language in a western.

There were many points, while watching this film, that I sat feeling confused, wondering what experience I was supposed to be having. I experienced very little emotionally. There were some well designed tense moments, and the script was clever, when I could look beyond the Yoda-talk. In fact, with jokes being the only thing moving in the story, it often felt like a very slow comedy. It surely didn't feel like a serious film, with nothing being particularly stirring, and even revenge being sought for pride, rather then love. I couldn't lock into place at any point in this film. I don't think this film knew where it wanted to lock it's viewers; a sentiment that would be admirable were it in the pursuit of imitating reality. Sadly, that was not the case.

One character briefly graced the screen that interested me. A rough and tough cowboy who only spoke in animal sounds. Where is his film? It would be far more interesting to watch a slice out of his life. Tragically, he was a fleeting glimmer of intrigue in a sea of boring, confused, monotonous story, only broken up by startling gun fire.

My rating:

1 Star

1 Heart

4 Bowls of Icecream

Review at a Glance: True Grit

They didn't use contractions. Zero stars.

New Year's Resolution Song

A little Ditty to ring in the new year. Happy Holidays :-)

Christmas

The last week leading up to Christmas was a blur. The day Kelsey and I got home from our well earned mini-break, I headed straight to the mall, my fantastic, though slightly disgruntled boyfriend in tow. The days were murky with panicked shoppers and pouring rain making everything confusing and wet. The evenings were lovely. One was spent at a ruckus party with friends, and the next night was a quiet gathering at my place where we put together stockings for underprivileged children. Booze and charitable activities, my two favorite holiday traditions.

From there, a sprint to Christmas. Wrapping presents, seeing family, making toys. Lovely.

Some of the ruckus party in which I look much more big pimpin' then I should.

Karaoke...

Kelsey and I by the tree.

No More Finals! How About Palm Springs.

Ah, the weekend after finals. Lovely. I became a bit loopy during my studies. I managed to work in some quality Christmas nerd-ing, but I kept one eye on a book for most of the week and preceding weekend. Having so many film finals added a considerable amount of time taken up by watching movies as well, so I was pleased at having my organizational skills tested, and coming out victorious! I have a well-worn and well-checked check list to document this.

In a poetic continuance of my mad skills at completing things, on the same day I finished my last final of the semester, I had my last class show at io. I am now an io training program graduate with a diploma and all to prove it. I'm ready to go pro. Pro improv. It was a great way to end a week that felt very accomplished! The post show drinks didn't hurt either...

Now I am smack in the middle of my celebration weekend with Kelsey! Kelsey and I have been best friends since we were in the first grade, and this weekend we are celebrating the end of finals with a weekend in Palm Springs. We just got back from the pool and I'm waiting for my turn in the shower. Pictures are coming soon and hilarity will ensue. For right now we are both just completely content to be done for winter break. Hooray!

Christmas Finals

Ahh, fall semester finals. Lovely little stress bomb.

Oh! What's that around the corner? Do you see it? It's Christmas, and it may be around the corner still, but it's pre-parade is dancing around everywhere, begging you to join in the merriment. But you can't give in, not completely anyway because you have finals, and unfortunately the timeline is just off so you can't ask Santa to cancel them for Christmas.

You'll get yours, finals. Just you wait, next week I am kicking ass and taking names. You've been warned.

Tangled Review

Rating system (out of five):

Stars = measures the film's cinematic quality.

Hearts = measures the film's enjoyability.

Bowls of Ice cream = measures the numbers of bowls of ice cream it would require to get me to watch the film again.

Hooray for Disney Princess Movies! Now, a part of me is crushed that the tale of Rapunzel has now been told. I always dreamed of being the voice of a Disney Princess. I'd get to sing and be a princess, what more could a girl want? I always thought Rapunzel would be my big break. The one classic, untold princess story, but alas, it was made into a fabulous movie.

Now, a much bigger, though more child-like part of me is very excited this movie exists. It was wonderful, all the charm and pizzaz one hopes to find in a disney movie. So delightful. The movie is sweet and fun and has a very uplifting girl power undertone that is always appreciated by me.

This movie and Princess and the Frog are two Disney musicals that were made after a long period without any musicals. I enjoyed The Princess and the Frog, but the songs were not as memorable as Disney songs have been in the past, they weren't hits. I thought Tangled did a better job with the songs. There were definitely a few really catchy numbers, but there were still a few unmemorable songs stuck in here and there.

Overall I absolutely loved it, and who knows, maybe after a few viewings the songs will get stuck in my head after all.

Rating:

4 1/2 Stars

5 Hearts

0 Bowls of Ice cream

Beautiful

Today, my boyfriend told me I was beautiful, and I believed him. Part of me believed him because he is good to me and I trust him, but another part of me believed him because before him other men told me I was beautiful, and before them my best girlfriends told me I was beautiful, and before them my parents told me I was beautiful, so that even on my lowest days, a part of me remembers that I am beautiful.

I can tell you right now, there are things about me that aren't beautiful. I'm short, with barely any torso between my legs and boobs. Remember crop tops? Out of the question for me. My feet are square shaped and one of them has a permanent scar from surgery when I broke it last year. Goodbye strappy sandals. My fingers are stubby, with calluses on my left hand from guitar playing and chomped on, super short nails. So my hand-modeling ship has sailed. And that's not all, even things I like about myself, others have said are unbecoming. My eyes are too big, my hair is too short, my eyelashes look too spidery. Yet, even when I'm feeling bloated, scarfing down a pancake that is larger then my head, or even if I haven't showered, my hair is stringy and I wouldn't dream of going out in public, a part of me still knows I'm beautiful.

A very dear friend of mine is going under the knife next week to change the way she looks. This friend is a knock-out, I had to stop bringing her around my old apartment because my roommate was so close to jumping her. She's charming and fun and smart, and absolutely beautiful. I think there are a lot of little things that we don't think to say to people we are close to. Mom knows I think she's funny, Dad knows I respect him, and my friends know that I think they are beautiful, but maybe those are things that should be heard. I am not judging this friend for her decision, it's her decision to make. I know everyone is different, and wants different things, but I really hope that this girl that I grew up depending on, caring about, and sometimes feeling jealous of knows that she's already beautiful.

Adventure Snail

I awoke yesterday morning to find the top of my car literally covered in nature. I had parked under a tree so bird droppings, leaves and flower pods rested merrily on my sunroof. Being eager to get on the road to school, I let the wind resistance take care of what it could as I drove off toward Cal State Fullerton.

I had been going for a while when I noticed it: a little tiny snail clinging to my windshield. He was so cute, I began to feel guilty for not setting him in a bush before I left, but he had escaped my notice. I imagined him there, clinging for his life, praying to start a new life in a bush near the Nutwood Parking Structure. I was rooting for the little guy, after all, he didn't want to be carried away from home on my car…

…or did he? Suddenly my frightened little hostage became visible in a new light. This was no timid snail, oh no, this was a world adventurer! A refugee from France that had become addicted to the thrill of life. I saw him there, smiling at the journey to come, his little antenna blowing cheerfully in the wind. This was my kind of snail. I became inspired by him, deciding I would help him realize his dream by placing him in an exotic bush on campus, and then find an adventure for me to get into. I get to feeling displaced longings when I don't have adventure, and this little adrenaline junky of a snail inspired me.

When I got to campus, I discovered my friend was actually a bird dropping in the shape of a snail… but the message of the snail shaped dropping stayed with me none the less. Life, fair warning, prepare to be looked boldly in the face.