Joyeux Anniversaire á moi!

You heard right--I am now 21!

Which, to those of you who have known me for any length of time, means that almost nothing will change, except that I can now go to bars with my friends without having to flash the bouncer/bartender. (JOKES.)

My weekend was excellent--the play was a success, and John and I got an amazing dinner at my godparents' house last night, as well as a new laptop from my mom (which I need to configure with my home internet somehow).

This morning was also very pleasant--I was my Problem of Evil class today with my slightly scary ex-CIA agent professor, and during our break, he did the little finger crook and beckoned me over, stony-faced. I about crapped my pants.

So, I walked over, and he looked at me levelly. "You've done it again."

Pause.

"You did very well on your test. You like this stuff, don't you? You're interested in it?"

I was so relieved, and totally pleased! We chatted a bit more about the distinct lack of God-talk that takes place at MICA before class started up again. When I got my test back, I saw that I did fine, but I certainly wasn't the highest grade in the class--I wondered why he'd chosen to take me aside. Maybe it was because my essay spoke so clearly to faith--my professor is a practicing Catholic. Either way, it was a very nice birthday gift. :)

My plan for the day--I have work until 3 (Robin did the packages at the desk for me as a gift!), then I'm going to shower and get ready for dinner with John, who is taking me out at 6 (but I get to open my gift before dinner! :D). We're going to get home before 9 in order to greet my friends, who are coming for the little get-together Jen planned for me! Yay!

I'll also be wearing the new dress that Lacie sent me. I've been in contact with her again, and was pleasantly surprised to find a package from her a few days ago. It's a gorgeous dress:

And I look fantastic in it. It's always great to be given the perfect birthday outfit.

I'm really looking forward to tonight! I'll update ASAP!

Love,

-A.

ETA: I can't believe I forgot to mention this--Lauren was awesome and called me exactly at midnight to wish me happy birthday. :D It was a very, very pleasant surprise and a very welcome talk. My sister is, once again, incredibly prying and inappropriate, but she really makes me laugh, and I love when she calls. :) I'm bummed I'll be missing her at Thanksgiving, but her birthday is coming up!

Happy Halloween!

I'm sitting here at the Commons desk at 4:45 am in an Alice in Wonderland costume. I am tired and ready to wash off my heavy blush, but I still have another hour and change to go.

The last week has been busy, but I still feel so behind! This weekend is very welcome though--I love Halloween, Betsy is visiting, and it means we're another week closer to 1) the play, 2) my 21st birthday, and 3) my Thanksgiving trip to John's house! :D Yay!

The play is doing well, although we've begun to hit that in-between where everyone is tired and a little flat, so we forget little things. It will definitely pull together into something amazing, and I'm really excited for that. You should all come see it--November 13th and 14th in the BBox at MICA. 8 pm. Tickets are only $5 if you're not a MICA student! So cheap!

My Dad called me this morning and scared me: "I've got a bone to pick with you." I got nervous--I always get worried that when he calls, it's because I'm in trouble, or something bad happened. As it turns out, he only called because he found this link to some songs I recorded for a zine project sophomore year, and asked why I didn't tell him about the site before (honestly, not that many people know about it to begin with!). He liked the songs (especially 'Nice Girl', the one I wrote in high school from Letta's point of view about her idiot crush and this big mess of a love triangle that dominated those four years), and was very complimentary, which was a pleasant surprise (and relief). :)

Also, it was John's brother's 17th birthday yesterday, and he passed his driving test! (I am also officially lamer for not knowing how to drive.)

I've been in this place lately where I've been wanting to surpass all of the coming months and their stresses--thesis, deadlines, bill-paying, etc.--and just get to graduation and satisfaction and the place where it all (allegedly and clichédly) 'commences'. I know that I have to go through all of this to get to the 'good stuff', or to be ready for it at all. I'm just impatient. It's difficult knowing all of the awesome things that are waiting for me after this year and not being able to get at them! It's a very frustrating and obvious dilemma.

However, the future good stuff is WELL worth the wait. I know that for sure.

I'm such a sap. :)

Love,

A.

Chit-Chat.

It seems like I've been immersed in unusual talks with unusual people lately--Lacie and I reconnected recently in Facebook messages. Not with any overt affection on my part, although it is good to hear that she's doing better. It's nostalgic, but I have no intention of bringing our friendship back to what it once was.

On the flip side, John's ex, Christine, has been making a serious effort to do...SOMETHING I can't put my finger on. Just being nebby. A mutual friend says, "She's just jealous and wants to know what's going on." (As if I'd tell her.) Lacie summed up the situation from Christine's point-of-view rather well, actually: "Hey, I know you have something to do with my ex-boyfriend--comparing you to me, you're not totally ugly and that threatens me so let me befriend you as to assure myself that I am, in some way, better than you and can come to terms with the fact that you are in the picture."

Either way, it's been amusing, but annoying and pathetic. Time to move on (although she apparently has a new boyfriend). Today is dedicated to working that out. Wish us luck!

Otherwise, the play is going very well (November 13th and 14th if you can make it!), things with work are slow (on my part), but good, and I'm so unbelievably happy with John I can't even express it. :D On that note, I'm going to New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving with John and his family, so I won't see you Sewickley people! :( BUT, I'll be bringing John back with me for the first part of Winter Break so you all can meet him! Excitement!

I've even been hearing from some of you, which is great! (Em, I'll call again today.) Drea! Where are you, dear?!

ALSO. Hilarious news. Drea C. won a beauty pageant representing my birthplace of Reading, PA. I guess getting discovered on her own wasn't enough, so she's going for Miss America! Hysterical! Check it out here.

John gets home today from a weekend visit to his family! Yay! :) Then play practice, then actual work.

Muah--

Love,

-A.

Who wants firsts when you can have bests?

I am very happy, but also working hard to catch up to the work I need to do!

I had a really fun and surprising weekend--I received a Save-the-Date for a high school friend's wedding--Alexandre--and with that was a handwritten letter from his bride, Rheanna, who wrote that they were grateful I'd still be attending the wedding despite the time crunch (the wedding is May 15, 2010--I graduate May 17th), and asked me if I would do her the honor of being a bridesmaid!

Now, I met Rheanna once, about two years ago--we got along great, as two bookish nerds are bound to, but we barely had any contact after that. I can only assume that Alexandre suggested me--I called him a week and a half ago and we talked about the wedding and about the proposal, etc, and I guess he must've been affected by my enthusiasm, and mentioned it to Rheanna! I thought that she might need more girls to balance out if Alexandre had a lot of groomsmen or something, but apparently I'm only one of four! I'm totally honored and excited--my first peer wedding and I'm a bridesmaid!

I admit, I hesitated--after all, I barely know her, and Alexandre and I are friends, but we weren't all that close in high school. However, I WAS the first person to know about Alexandre's feelings for Rheanna, and the first person to encourage him to ask her out, so that's something. :) I'm really excited! My wedding blog obsession is going to go into overtime. :P

Also, John and I celebrated our one-month anniversary! We're not going to be queer and celebrate every month--the next one will be our 6 month. It was really great--we grocery shopped together and he made this amazing carbonara and I made homemade whipped cream with strawberries. It felt good. :)

Also, I am lame for liking Emily Osment's (Haley Joel's sis!) version of "Once Upon A Dream". It's blasphemous, but SO CATCHY.

The play is also coming together really, really well. :D We had our first proper full-cast rehearsal, and we ran through the whole show, which went exceptionally well. I'm happy! If you want to come see it (AND YOU BETTER) it is November 13th and 14th here at MICA. DO IT.

More soon!

Love,

-A.

Hopefully the Summer of Death has passed on as well...

It's been an emotional week over here--my Aunt Suzanne, who was diagnosed with cancer in May, died on Tuesday at about 5 AM--my Dad called me while I was in class, and there was this moment of confusion: 'Why is he calling? We just talked a few days ago...' Then it struck me that Suzanne must have died--he'd mentioned in the last call that there wasn't much longer. I slipped out of class and listened to the voicemail he left--sure enough, she'd died. I called him back, and he told me he and Lisa were the last people to see her--they tucked her in around midnight. She's being cremated, so he said he'd call back when they had plans for a memorial--it didn't have to be right away because she isn't being interred.

I was sad for Dad, and for Suzanne's live-in boyfriend and his son. It's odd, because I was out-of-town for the entirety of Suzanne's treatment, save Robby's funeral, and I barely saw my DAD that weekend, let alone had the chance to visit Suzanne. It's like it didn't happen.

I'm not super-close to my Dad's family, but Suzanne was absolutely the aunt that made the most effort with us. Remembered our birthdays, etc. She, like the rest of Dad's side, had her major issues, but she was fun and sweet and good-hearted.

The rest of the week was fine, if less productive than I'd have liked (story of my life)--John and I attended our first read-through on Saturday. It went well, although we all still have work to do. I need to learn how to make a British accent sound natural in two months' time. Get excited. And John and I were getting pretty excited about the trip to Annapolis we planned for this coming weekend to attend the Navy Homecoming football game with his family, even though we'd have to miss a rehearsal, which is whatever, because the game is a great opportunity to bond with John's people. (Again.) :)

Sunday was a particularly full day--Emily, John, and I got up early to go to the farmer's market with Melissa and a cute little junior named Mika, which was a lot of fun--we sang Disney songs. :D Afterwards, Em, John, Jen and I attended church. I was so thankful that Jen decided to attend with us, and to me complete joy, she loved it, and wants to keep coming with us! I'm really excited for that. The service itself was really great--we arrived a bit late, but we managed to integrate ourselves into the congregation during the sign of peace. Perfect timing. :P

The message was about poverty and wealth, and about the provisions of God, which is something I struggle with. I've been getting better about it, though! It was just good to have that reinforcement--God will always provide, and he has.

Dad called while I was in church--during the week, I talked to both Mom and Lauren about coming home for the service, etc. Lauren and I both expressed reluctance--it's inconvenient and expensive to get home, not to mention that we're not on the best terms with Dad. However, we also knew he'd take it as a personal insult if we were to explain that we're busy (I'm a senior in the midst of thesis. and Lauren is still getting used to a whole new school), and would take it out on us for months/years to come.

Dad left a voicemail, which I listened to after the service. As it turns out, the memorial service was planned for Saturday, the same day as the football game. :( Agonizing decision time. So, I called Lauren, who decided that she may as well go home for it (She also noted that I should "Just go to the game--repayment for all the times Dad bailed on us.", which is ungenerous, but not unfair.). Mom sympathized with me, and we weighed the options together (1. Have a fun weekend with my boyfriend's family and make sure Dad writes me out of his will. 2. Go home and sit in my Nana's parlor for an hour and half, hating life, but still ensuring $300 for Dad come Christmas).

The frustrating part was that I knew what I had to do, but it's very difficult to accept the fact that I would get no grace from him in this, and I honestly need the small sum he gives me every year for school. I hate having to depend on someone unreliable, but as pathetic as it is, I made the choice to go home and ensure that sum. Obviously John was understanding and encouraging (as he always is, the dear), but I was still pretty disappointed that I'd have to miss out on time with him and with his family, especially as The Girlfriend instead of The Mystery Friend-Thing. :P

I called Dad back, and without mentioning the game, told him that I intended to come home. He gave me a little relief by saying he'll be paying for my ticket home and back, which is nice, and I am starting to look forward to seeing Lauren and Brian (I miss making 'Why I Love Brian' posts--we haven't talked much lately) and Brandon, and Mom and KJ. I wouldn't have made it back until Thanksgiving, otherwise. And I do feel good about going back to be with Dad, even if it's hard to be the bigger person. I can do it and I'll try and be charitable.

As I mentioned in my last entry, John met my parents and godparents last weekend. It went quite well--Kathleen (my godmother) was completely charmed by him ("He's CATHOLIC?!! How wonderful!") and while my godfather Dane and my Mom goofed on his nerdiness, they liked him a lot as well. Mom came to Baltimore on the evening of the 14th and had dinner with John and I, which also went well, and I brought up the idea of bringing John home for Thanksgiving, which she was very receptive to. Unfortunately, John's mom was less into the whole thing, and put the kibosh on that pretty quickly, which I understood, as Thanksiving is her holiday in New Jersey, blahblahfamilytime.

However, despite her reluctance to let John travel one state over for Thanksgiving, she is apparently willing to pay for half of my plane ticket to go to England with John and two of our friends--they're going for Spring Break to visit John's friends from Bournemouth (where he studied this past spring). Now, this SOUNDS great, and I would love to be able to do it, but A) My mom is VERY against this idea ("You'd be traveling with a boy who is not your husband!"). Granted, I would go anyway, but that brings us to B) Even half a ticket is out of my price range.

My solution: Ask Dad for a Christmas/Graduation gift. :D Sounds perfect, right? Cue Aunt Suzanne's death. That sounds insensitive--I don't consider Suzanne's death a burden in that way--but truly, it is not the right time to be asking for money to be whisked away to Europe for a week. But who knows, maybe when I go home we'll talk about it.

But NOW, as this entry took me a day and a half to complete and post, it's time to go to my first one-on-one rehearsal with Kristin as Alice! It should be fun.

Love--

-A.

WOOOOOO!!!!!!

I got Anna! John got Larry! We were both cast! I'm so EXCITED!!!!!

The girl I expected to get Alice didn't, which was surprising, but what are you gonna do. The girl they did cast, Kristin, wasn't bad, just needs toning down (and she's taller than me, which is unusual casting). But our Dan, Harrison, got it! :D

The show is running November 13 and 14. I'm so thrilled! Wish us luck!

In other news, John met my mom and godparents this weekend--it went awesomely well, and it's just been an amazing week. I'll update ASAP with more detail, but I have homework to do!

Love, love, love!

-A.

P.S. Did you guys see Gossip Girl tonight?! Blair and Chuck=perfection.

Yay for Acting Again!

What a great day!

Excepting leaving my keys in my empty apartment while I grocery-shopped, everything went well! I ended up going to John's for an impromptu lunch and to store my milk and eggs while I waited for Emily to come home and open the apartment. :P

I talked to my mom briefly about her visit (Monday evening!) and meeting John, and then met John at Fox for the SACI/MICA "opening", where my book is on display right now. At four, we had to book it to the Closer audition, where we both read--it went awesomely.

Let me describe: It was a preliminary meeting for the whole "Thespian Club" (formerly the MICA Playwriting Club, but all of the people that wrote the plays graduated), and they briefly went over tech and the play's synopsis before the auditions started. They dismissed the tech-only people, and blessedly, half of the girls left. (Hey, there are only two female roles in Closer!) I could pick out pretty quickly who would be the best out of the 5 guys and 8ish girls. (John and I were included in that list.)

I read for both Alice and Anna, but it's pretty obvious that a junior girl, Madison, who has that glamorous, disheveled, edgy look that's good for Alice, will be cast as her. They LOVED John and his array of accents (English and Scottish), and a tall, handsome boy named Harrison read really well, too. As far as John and I can tell, it'll be the four of us, unless someone fantastic reads tomorrow at the second meeting. We'll see! I'm excited!

For those of you who know me and John, you should all come see the show, because you'll get to see us say very dirty, out-of-character things. It'll be fun. :P Wish us luck!

I'm currently visiting with John and Robin at my grave shift, so I should go be a proper "host". 'Til later!

Love,

-A.

Comments from my mom's professional director friends about Ink. Woo!

"I watched your daughter's film. She was a really good choice for the part, very sweet, natural and out of this guy's league, but she still played approachable enough to buy her response at the end. There were a couple technical problems, the editing could have been a lot tighter, and the characters weren't set up well enough through the direction at the beginning, but all and all a very good job and interesting twist, which is the basis for a successful short film."

"Yes, she did a nice job! She's as photogenic as her mom, you can see the resemblance. Is she an acting student?"

:D What a pleasant surprise!

Yesterday was a good day after I posted the previous entry--I went to Paper Moon for the tasty hamburger I was denied on Thursday, and staked out Charm City Cakes with Abi (John's English friend who leaves today :D:), John, Cara (John's friend with a propensity to overshare), and her new boyfriend (via OKcupid) Tevis (who is surprisingly handsome and half-Asian).

Cara was particularly entertaining at Paper Moon, and decided that it was a great idea to talk about past bad dates on her third date with Tevis. To make this even better, one of the dates was with a diaper fetishist, and the other ended up with her in hives (that one took place in the last month, I think). However, Tev seemed unphased, and even more attracted to her than before, so...good for them? Although this is only the start.

After lunch, we went into Fells Point and visited Killer Trash, this famous thrift store (John Waters loves it, apparently), where I found my wedding dress. Not really, obviously, but I saw this short-sleeved, scoopneck white dress with this long flowy skirt, and I guess it occured to me that it could be wedding dress potential for someone, but I just wanted to try it on because it's pretty. So, I did, and I was kind of blown away. It fit me almost perfectly (the top was cut wrong, or maybe my boobs just take over life), and I admit, I looked pretty amazing. Even Tev was like "You're radiating at all of us!" I never used to understand why people cried at the sight of themselves/loved ones while trying on wedding gowns, but in that moment, I understood (I didn't cry!). But, it was pretty cheap fabric and $34 that I do not have, so I left it there, but got some photo evidence via Cara's camera, which I'll post when I can.

After that, we went for Mr. Yogato Frozon Yogurt, which we each got for 10% off for answering a few history/art trivia questions. We had to name four 20th Century art movements (we helped each other out on that one), and I got "What is another name for the Mona Lisa?". This stumped me for a few minutes, until the girl gave me the hint that it was in another language, and all on my own, I remembered "La Gioconda". :)

John, Abi, and John's roommate Ari (a funny and endearingly awkward Jewish boy) came over last night and we watched Disney movies (The Emperor's New Groove and Aladdin) and had a few beers in honor of Abi's heading back to England. I conked out during both movies, and ended up only getting about 4.5 hours of sleep last night. Woo!

I also got an amusing call from John's best friend Dave, who I met when I went to New Jersey to see Harry Potter 6, and have kept in touch with since. Amusing is only a part of the call though, which was actually disarmingly honest (bordering on harsh) and well-appreciated by yours truly.

I had two conversations with good friends yesterday about life never being 100%--sometimes you just have to take that leap of faith. That is something I have trouble with. Fear of the drop, remember? :P Just got to pray and try. I hate being wrong. I hate not knowing what I want. But maybe the key is to let go of what I want and concentrate on what GOD wants. (What a novel idea! :P)

I've been told that I'm good at seeing "the big picture", that I can help people see past their own points of view to put things in perspective. I hope that's true, and if it is, I think that it only applies to others, ha. I'm not very good at seeing "the big picture" in regards to myself. I mean, I know it's there, and I can acknowledge it, but usually in a bitter, mirthless way until it all calms down and I smack myself in the head for being so immature four days later. Selfish.

Another bit of excellent news: The MICA Playwrights Club (now the MICA Thespian Club, due to lack of proper writers, I'm sure) is putting on Closer this year, which is undoubtedly one of my favorite films/plays. I'd probably never be cast as Alice (I look/act too old), but playing Anna would be AMAZING. The audition is next Friday. Wish me luck!

Hope you all have a good day--Love!

-A.

ETA: OKAY. I found an artist that I thought Marla would like, and I posted it on her Facebook wall this past week. It was her birthday party last night, which I wasn't invited to, but I get that--Robin attended, and I'm sure it was fun. Today, I went to glance on her page to see that she not only deleted my friendship (which happened in the last week, tops), but deleted my post about the artist! REALLY. REALLY. REALLY.

Even Melissa, the most generous and sweetest person in the world has been like "HELL NO" about Marla's recent behavior. I mean, I'm a little hurt by it, but I guess this is the path to this being done for good (as if it weren't already). Grr. That annoyance about being the only one held responsible is coming back.