So as of last night, here was the plan with accomplishments struck.

* Wake up.
* Check into flight.
* Arrange for car. Not the first service I called. After being told yesterday to call today I was told today to call tomorrow. Now, if I was gonna be leaving at a time when most of their fleet will be around, sure. But at 4:45am? I looked around and found one that was the same price and would very kindly take a reservation. Yay!
* Do laundry.
* Pack. Only the toothbrush left.
* Work on final project for class and post that.
* Go into Manhattan and get drug store stuff for trip at Duane Reade.
* Help Annie and her friends with lotto for [title of show].
* Get Die Vamipre, Die! t-shirt.
* See Gypsy. This is now a done deal. In order to get my rear in gear I went ahead and bought a ticket so I HAVE to be done by 5:30, which is when I’ll need to leave to go back into Manhattan for the evening stuff.

I guess that’s a lot accomplished. Because of the packing it feels like not a lot, but that really won’t take long. And I really don’t think this final project is as bad as my brain is trying to make it. In fact 5 hours is probably too much but I’m not telling my brain that. LOL.

I did go ahead and go by Barnes and Noble to get another copy of Christiane’s CD. I figured I might as well because I KNOW Daddy is gonna love it. So this way I can just hand it to him. (At least the one at Union Square has it under “Pop Vocal Standards” or something funky like that.)

Ok…gonna eat lunch and then pack and then do my project. Go me!

1. Got up and went into Manhattan when Annie went to her internship. Figured I’d give her company on the train, then drop off library books, pay the fines, and check out mine on reserve. Wandered around and got some stuff I needed for the beach trip (shampoo, conditioner, etc.; some new jeans), and ink which I needed for my printer.

2. Decided to treat myself to new sunglasses since I need some before the beach. I like them a lot.

3. Had lunch at Cosi. TBM sandwich which was yummy. All was well until I refilled my drink on my way out and apparently became 2 and incapable of putting the lid securely on my “sippy cup” as I spilled soda all down my front. Thankfully I’d worn another shirt so I could change into my YFT shirt I’d brought for later in the afternoon.

4. Went out to the bench area and called Signature to get tickets for the other 2 shows of Ace I’m planning on. The guy I talked with a lot at the open house was on phone duty. He was like “I remember you!” so we chatted for a while. I’m not suer where he put me seating-wise, but there aren’t really bad seats in there and I trust him. He and Michelle were really good that day at finding me good seats cause I was so “wherever is fine”.

5. Would love to give Arena some money. But they won’t pony up a cast list for Next to Normal yet.

6. Have listened to Christiane Noll’s album My Personal Property an insane number of times already. It is that good. I’ve told Daddy if he likes it I will buy him his own, but he may not kidnap mine.

7. Worked the UFT New Teachers event at the Central Park Zoo. The sea lions (April and Scooter) were adorable. They knew when it was about time for their trainers to come out for the feeding and they kept coming to that side of the pool and getting up on the rocks and looking for them. During the feeding they did behaviors. April did her porpoising around the pool twice, then got the command to stop so she reversed and hopped up on her rock and applauded herself. It was adorable!

8. Walked down to meet Annie at the Marriott in what became one of those lovely Manhattan rainstorms. Crazy. We waited for a little while to let it die down a little. Rain = not fun!

9. I’ve about decided I will just rush Gypsy tomorrow night. But we’ll see. It would just be me trying to In the Heights since Annie’s friends got them reservations for something @ 6, which is when they draw. So it’s kind of pointless. LOL. We’ll see. I may go help them with their lotto and then just come back here. I know I can still get Gypsy tix at that point. We’ve done it before. It may depend on how much packing I have left.

10. I have decided I’m just taking a car service to the airport on Saturday morning. The sheer fact that I’d have to be dealing with the subway at like 3:30 where I can get the car service at like 4:45 and save all the walking and hauling the luggage all around.

11. Plan for tomorrow is as follows. Wake up. Check into flight. Arrange for car (I tried to do this today but was told to call on Friday). Do laundry. Pack. Work on final project for class and post that. Go into Manhattan and get drug store stuff for trip at Duane Reade. Help Annie and her friends with lotto for [title of show]. Get Die Vamipre Die! t-shirt. Either see Gypsy or come home. Some of those things can be in a different order. We’ll see. It’s like…a full day but not. Kinda sorta.

12. Ok. Biggest AWWWWW factor today was seeing this:

see more dog pictures

So cute!!!!

1. Summer School is over!! Big WOOT!!!

2. Last Summer School check was considerably bigger than I had anticipated. Mega big WOOT!

3. Working the New Teacher event at the Central Park Zoo with the UFT New Teacher Committee tomorrow! YAY!

4. Christiane Noll. Absolutely amazing! Went to her performance and signing at Barnes and Noble today. Her voice is just… WOW! Get her new album “My Personal Property”. Now!!!! (But not from iTunes which apparently ‘cleaned’ something. God only knows what. OMG. And she was so sweet when we were talking. I said I’d see her a few times as I was coming down to see Ace ~ explained the whole Emily thing sort of ~ and she was all “Oh awesome! You’ll have to let us know what you think. We’re at the point where we all love it, but we’re so close we’re not sure if it’s REALLY good or if we just think it is and everyone wil be sitting there going…” ~ at this point she very slowly and lackadaisically clapped her hands a couple of times. The CD is fucking amazing!! Seriously. I’m taking it to the beach with me, but I’m a little afraid it is going to be kidnapped. I think I will burn a copy Mom and Daddy can have until we can get them one. I looked at Annie while Christiane was finished singing “I Could Have Danced All Night” and said “I am going to have to keep this under lock and key to avoid kidnapping.”

Fucking amazing!

(Now we’ll see if the iPod explodes when I put something non-Alice and/or Emily related on it. Hee!)

1. Starting off with 12 of 12. You know. The brainchild of Chad Darnell. 12 pics of my day on the 12th day of the month. And as it’s a school day, it’s pretty boring. So I’m finished early. LOL. Enjoy.

Watching the men’s team gymnastics final. And trying to stay awake. Not that it wasn’t interesting. I was just exhausted. Still am.

Up. Watching news. Cannot wait for Thursday when I can sleep!

Breakfast. Yum.

Checking out Signature Theatre’s blog where they’re discussing Ace. Cannot wait for this show!!! The music measure count is comparable to Les Miserables!!!!!! Awesome!!

It linked to their page about Ace which has been updated and expanded just for the show. Seriously, I am so psyched for this!!!!!

Need to refill the water bottle!

Checking my new calendar!

Checking Arena Stage’s website to see if by chance they have made any more casting announcements for Next to Normal. Sadly, no they haven’t. Sadness!!!

But happiness when I got home!!! The Little Fish cast recording!! Get thee to Sh-K-Boom.com NOW and buy it. It says pre-order, but they’re shipping now!! And it is amazing!!!!

The only problem with a pre-order? None of the info is online, so you have to enter it manually. Ah well. It’s done. And Little Fish was worth it!!!

Dinner. I know it’s early. But hey, when lunch is at 11:30 and you’ve only got 30 minutes…you’re ready for food early.

Watching Olympic tennis. I’m gonna be a slug watching TV all night, so…might as well quit boring you.

But of course… Bonus pic…

Benny. Looking like the rock star he is.

2. One day more! And I’m done with summer school. AND I get paid. Then the next day I get my regular pay. HOORAY!!!!

3. SOOOO sleepy. But I know I’ll be up late tonight cause of the women’s gymnastics. Gah!!

4. And we’re supposed to take China’s word that their gymnasts really are of legal age? After this??? She wasn’t “cute enough”?? And the little girl is still honored after being told that! And the other little girl who just moved her mouth is a national hero. UGH!

5. Anyway… I think that’s about it.

Ten things you wish you could say to people right now (don’t list names):
1. GO AWAY!!!!
2. Hi.
3. I miss you.
4. I really wish you would speak to me with respect.
5. You are beautiful!
6. Please hear what I’m NOT saying.
7. I’m so excited you’re doing this!
8. Let’s go to the beach!
9. You are not going to beat me down.
10. Please. Really. Just go away.

Nine things about yourself:
1. I am left handed.
2. I have a parrot.
3. I’m very picky about the texture of my food.
4. I’ve got 2 tattoos.
5. I think Laura Benanti and NOT Patti LuPone is the reason to see Gypsy.
6. I hate having to wear shoes and only do so when I’m going to be outside.
7. I played trombone for 7 years.
8. My sister was born on my fifth birthday.
9. I love the beach but I’m not a fan of swimming when I can’t see my feet.

Eight ways to win your heart:
1. Be yourself.
2. Play me music. And know what kind to play.
3. Take me to the theatre.
4. Find me a book (doesn’t have to be bought).
5. Cuddle with me.
6. Be HONEST.
7. Have a good sense of boundaries.
8. Give me space when I need and/or ask for it.

Seven things that cross your mind a lot:
1. I am generally happy underneath it all.
2. I’m very lucky really.
3. I think I’m afraid to succeed.
4. I heart New York.
5. I’m surviving on my own.
6. Benny, be QUIET!
7. Ummmm…. Just…just…just…just… Yeah…

Six things you wish you never did
1. Get a perm in junior high.
2. Stopped looking at schools once I saw Converse.
3. Dale. Period.
4. Gotten into debt.
5. Opened up in a certain situation.
6. Lose touch with friends.

Five turn offs
1. Dishonesty.
2. Fake-ness.
3. Whining.
4. Emotional blackmailing.
5. Arrogance.

Four turn ons
1. Emotional honesty.
2. Intelligence.
3. Compassion.
4. Gentleness.

Three Things You Want to Do Before You Die:
1. Walk on the Great Wall of China
2. Go to Italy.
3. Find someone to love.

Two smilies that best apply to you:
1.
2.

One film you’ve seen but wish you hadn’t bothered:
1. Savage Grace. I love me some Julianne Moore, but that movie was just…EWWWW!

1. LOVE one thing I found in my in box when I got in from school today (we won’t discuss something else I found in there. UGH!):
We would like to inform you that your order has been shipped.
If you have a credit card billing question, please feel free
to contact CCNow’s customer service department at any time.

CCNow Order Number: xxxxxxxxxxxx
Vendor: Sh-K-Boom & Ghostlight Records
Qty Unit Price Product-ID Description
—— ———— ———— ———————————–
1 $14.99 USD LITTLEFISH Little Fish World Premiere Recording

2. School wasn’t too bad today. EtE wasn’t there. From what I understand she will be out the next two days too, so SCORE! The A/C unit in my room did go out. I’m hoping it’s something as simple as a blown fuse. Otherwise the next two days may not be fun.

3. This 12 hour time difference between here and Beijing is making figuring out when things are going to be on a challenge. I am going to go through and make a chart for next week.
Note: Men’s gymnastics team final tonight. Women’s gymnastics team final tomorrow night.

4. Just checked the 10-day forecast on weather.com for the beach. Granted a lot can change between now and then, but it’s already looking better than it did yesterday. Lack of storms makes me happy! SOOOO ready for vacation. I will have jam-packed times until then with school and getting ready for the trip. But yay for a week! Should be fun! I get back and the next weekend is time to go to VA for the first weekend of Ace.

5. Planning to veg and watch Olympics tonight. Fun!!

1. So tired. It’s funny how doing practically nothing makes you tired. Had a lazy day yesterday because of fund issues. LOL. Today’s been a lazy day other than brunch.* And I am still tired.

2. *Brunch. With the fab four fellows. Fund issues didn’t affect this because I’d set aside just enough cash for it because we haven’t gotten together all four of us in…over 6 months. I think Christmas was the last time. That’s crazy! It was fun. We went to Bone Lick Park. I feel like I need to shut up about it…everyone and their cousin was there! I mean, we managed a table as soon as we got in, but it was about 15 minutes before anyone came to take our order or anything. I had to send my plate back because it had potatoes (ick) when I’d asked them to sub cheese grits and was told ok. And my eggs weren’t really hard scrambled, but I lived. LOL. It was still good.

3. Two messages to the rents about the beach. One for them to please pack towels so that gives me more room/weight to play with in my suitcase. The second to see if Daddy’s bringing his coffee grinder so I don’t have to deal with open and ground coffee. Got an email from Daddy confirming that both are cool. Yay.

4. Good news! EtE is out at least Tuesday and Wednesday. Maybe even tomorrow. Oh how that would rock. I’m thrilled with 2 days, but it would be so amazing if she’s out tomorrow too.

5. There is something very ironic about sitting on your ass most of the day WATCHING the Olympics. LOL.

6. Am I the only one having trouble believing that person on the Claritin commercials is really Shannon Miller? I mean, I know adding some weight changes appearance, but Mary Lou still looks pretty much Mary Lou. Nadia still looks pretty much Nadia. You can at least RECOGNIZE them. This person…I see no resemblance to Shannon Miller. I’m probably just weird and everyone else sees it.

7. Really hoping for news about Next to Normal casting this week. Would be awesome! If not, I’ll have to make sure I’ve got someone (*cough*Niki??*cough*) who will alert me as soon as any word is there if it happens while I’m at the beach. I will have Arena’s phone number in my phone and a card of dates I want in my calendar so I can call. Because as much as I’d love to, it’s just silly to try and take my iMac to the beach with me. Well, no. It’s ridiculous. It would be silly if I was driving. It’s ridiculous since I’m flying. I will get one trip to Shallotte to do class work. *pout* Not looking forward to that much time without the computer. REALLY not looking forward to the amount of mail that will be in the spam folder in gmail by the end of the week. Am I the only one who’s had that shit increase dramatically lately?

8. Not much planned this week. Christiane Noll’s performance and CD signing at Barnes and Noble is about it in terms of plans. Should be good.

1. No real plans for the day at this point. Hanging in, watching the Olympics. I might be going to see Gypsy with a friend from Facebook tonight…but I haven’t heard from him yet, so we’ll see what happens. Financially it would be better to not go…but we’ll see. Kind of nice to not have plans. I can curl up with the Olympics and Dracula.

2. Just realized what a weird combination that looks like.

3. Got up around 7 (I seriously am incapable of sleeping in), checked bank balance (EEK! Wednesday cannot come soon enough!), checked online stuff, and went to Whole Foods to get a couple of cans of soup, some cereal bars, and some frozen waffles to create meals for the next few days. Ok, “create” might be going a bit far. LOL. To suffice for meals. Better? K thx.

4. Brunch tomorrow with the rest of the “fab four fellows” ~ Kristin, Meaghan, and Emily-the-friend. Bone Lick Park = YUMMY!!!

5. This time next week I will either be waiting in the Charlotte Airport or in the car with Mom and Daddy heading to the beach!! Yay!

6. Realized I never did my “culture update” at the end of July. We’re not THAT far into August, so… (stars are out of 4)
Books
14. Broadway Nights ~ Seth Rudetsky (339 pages) ~ ****
This was a lot of fun…but it may seem a bit silly and fluffy if you’re not into theatre. Even more inside jokes and stuff than [title of show], but it’s still a really easy fun read. And since I love theatre, and I love Seth, I LOVED it.
15. The Beach House ~ Jane Green (340 pages) ~ ***1/2
I think this is an author who gets better. So many of them get formulaic and boring. (Read: Kathy Reichs) But Green keeps changing up what she does. This one, rather than being set in England, is set on (in?) Nantucket. So many lives wind together…and the big twist did surprise me . I do really enjoy her books though.
16. Bookends ~ Jane Green (358 pages) ~ **1/2
This is one of Green’s earlier books. A tad reminiscent of something like Friends, but not as sacchariney sweet. This was a revisit from a few years ago, but I still enjoyed it.
17. Babyville ~ Jane Green (438 pages) ~ **1/2
This one was interesting…not necessarily a favorite as children are not something I ever plan on having (and it would take planning for me), but it was still an interesting read.
18. Swapping Lives ~ Jane Green (410 pages) ~ **1/2
This one took a while to get going. Single magazine features editor from London will swap lives for a month with a woman from the Connecticut suburbs who appears to have everything. But is all what it seems? Once the actual swap happened, I loved it. But it does take more than half the book to set it up. And by the time it’s set, you kind of hate the American swappee ~ or at least I did. There is redemption though.

Movies
14. Waiting… (dvd) ~ 1/2
Stupid, mindless… Why did I waste my time and a netflix rental on this one?

Theatre (since I’ve already reviewed them, unless I need to explain something I will just leave the stars)
49. Gypsy ~ 7/5 ~ ****
50. Some Americans Abroad ~ 7/6 ~ *1/2
51. Gypsy ~ 7/11 ~ ****
52. Damn Yankees ~ 7/13 ~ **
53. Young Frankenstein ~ 7/16 ~ *1/2
Beth Leavel increased this one from 1/2 to *1/2. But I’m still not going back.
54. Gypsy ~ 7/19 ~ ****
55. In The Heights ~ 7/20 ~ ****+
Seriously…this one amazes me.
56. Rent ~ **
I have loved this in the past, but sadly this cast just doesn’t do it for me. Merle was the best thing about what was left…and she’s gone now.
57. Broadway’s Rising Stars ~ 7/21 ~ ***1/2
Generally very strong. One or two who weren’t blow me out of the water amazing, but overall very good.
58. A Catered Affair ~ 7/26 ~ **
59. Jersey Boys ~ 7/26 ~ ***
60. [title of show] ~ 7/27 ~ *
61. Broadway Her Way ~ Emily Skinner @ Signature Open House ~ 8/2 (including both shows on this one) ~ ****+
62. Variations on the Bard ~ 8/4 ~ ****+
63. [title of show] ~ 8/7 ~ **
Yes…this one gained a star. It will never be a favorite, but it’s not horrible.

edit: For some reason I left Rent off. Probably something Freudian there…

One year ago today my Grandaddy died.

Mom sent us an email with a story in it, but I found this quote I like better. I think it fits him.

Life

~George Bernard Shaw

Alabanza Grandaddy! I love you.

…I will be packing to go to the beach!!!!! Yay!!

1. Swimming is over for the summer. It’s fun but it wears me out. Especially in the summer since we are in a public pool (Astoria). Even though we have a roped off section and there are extra parks and rec people around, it’s still a challenge to keep up with the kids. Especially the boys with that no top on thing. LOL. So not only is there the physical playing in the water with them thing, there’s the keeping up with all of them. And when your para refuses to get in the water… Yeah.

2. Olympics start tonight. Yay! I mean, I have many issues with the Chinese government policies, but I do love me some Olympic action. Especially gymnastics, diving and swimming. But almost every summer sport. (Minus the team ones and boxing and weight lifting.)

3. Tomorrow (after the exterminator comes) I’m going to get food for the next week. Soups, cereal bars, light stuff. I’m going on a near-starvation diet before the beach. I’ve been creeping back up and that’s not good. I know we eat at the beach, so I’ll be more reasonable with the diet AFTER the beach. But before… Yeah.

4. I am sleepy! I hope I make it through opening ceremonies tonight! Maybe I’ll make some iced coffee.

5. I clearly suck and am boring today. LOL. I think that’s about it.