Post-Thanksgiving Shopping Highlights

Kinda like the "Weekend in Bullets," but there are no bullets (just times) and it's not really for the weekend. So, um, emphasis on the "kinda." Also, times are approximate, it's not like I was actually paying attention as I went along. Well, for most of it.

11-27, 10:32 p.m., bed
Sure, I don't think I'll buy the cheap DVD, but I don't mind pulling moral support with Mom and heading to Wal-Mart for their 6 a.m. opening. Okay, so I'll go to bed now and then I'll have plenty of sleep before I wake up bright and early tomorrow. Ooh...Letterman.....

11:09 p.m., bed
Maybe if I try to drill my lines, I'll fall asleep. I always fall asleep while I'm trying to practice. (I should never ever tell Crystal that. As director, I don't think she'd appreciate it as much as others.)

11:38 p.m., still bed
Oh, good Lord! Why can't I just fall asleep already???

11-28, 5:13 a.m., [unfortunately] not bed
I *hate* life. I *hate* my alarm clock and I *hate* cold air and I *have* Thanksgiving and all the sales... And, above all I hate myself for agreeing to go and stand outside and be freezing with no promise of anything in return.

6:03 a.m., Wal-Mart electronics section, amongst the chaos
If I was ever thankful to not be working at Wal-Mart, it's so right now.

6:48 a.m., Wal-Mart parking lot
I'm still not sure why, but I have a DVD player! And I didn't even have to fight anyone off to grab it. I wonder how Dad will react to this...

7:16 a.m., craft store
90% off Halloween stock! Ooh...stage blood and colored hair spray and glitter! Total score!

7:25 a.m., standing in line at the craft store
So, if it's on sale, but that means I buy more of it than I would normally, am I actually saving money? Nevermind, I would buy the glitter anyway.

7:40 a.m., craft store parking lot
Hee hee, I have a DVD player!

9:36 a.m., Best Buy, in line (aka - somewhere around computers)
I guess our good luck with timing ran out somewhere between the 5 for $25 DVD rack and small appliances, because we'll be in this line until we die. It's *so* never a good sign when the employees hand you candy the moment you join the line. Or when the line seems to wind through nearly every department of the store and you're in the farthest corner.

10:42 a.m., Best Buy, still in line (now, at the end of the stereo department)
Well, at least all the entertainment Christmas shopping is mostly complete now. That'll be the only convenient thing to emerge from this stop: Mom stands in line, and I run for CDs, DVDs, and etc. Too bad they don't care VHS anymore, or we'd be completely finished.

11:19 a.m., Best Buy, still still in line (refrigerators)
OH, GOOD LORD! I don't know when she left exactly, but that person three people ahead so just came back with Krispy Kreme donuts for her entire group. Oh, if only she'd taken orders, she could've made so much money off all the people now drooling over the delicious smell of warm baked goods.

11:35 a.m., Best Buy parking lot
Freedom! We're free, I have new DVDs, Christmas is all shopped for, and I still have a new DVD player!

12:36 p.m., Cargo Largo, the beautiful discount store
Fab! Restocked party supplies! Birthday banners for everyone!

1:57 p.m., back at the grandparents' house for the second time
(I still have a new DVD player.)

Don't tell me I'm wrong: we talked about this in speech class

I'd like to draw everyone's attention to a grave holiday error committed today. Sure, there were the standard football games, parades, and other Thanksgiving merriment broadcast as usual. What am I talking about then? NBC decided against their annual showing of the cinematic classic, Jurassic Park.

Does no one else besides me (and, apparently, my corner of the speech classroom that was supposed to be discussing something else) remember this tradition? A few years back, NBC decided to show this movie--featuring dinosaurs, DNA, and lots of people dying--as their big holiday draw. It was so successful, they broadcast it a few years in a row, always on Thanksgiving.

And here we are to this year. Where was my lawyer being eaten by a giant dinosaur? (fun year-round!) Stuffing your face full of food because you've been lost outside? (holiday connection!) My favorite line about Disneyland and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride? (topical this year only!) Or, best of all, scaring the little kid in the first few minutes after he compares dinosaurs to "big turkeys?" (double points for holiday connection)

NBC, I'm disappointed in you. You should be ashamed of yourself for showing...well, whatever you broadcast instead.

(He just looked like an Edgar, that's all)

I now have a Christmas tree. It is only about a foot tall and it is named Edgar. Yes, I know Meredith's bird is named Edgar (it *is* a raven, after all), but we won't hold that against either. I bought a thing of tiny decorations, and I made what will become a garland of origami paper stars (if I ever find some acceptable string). Nothing but the best and fab-est for my little tree.

Dancing Queen

One-Act Update: I now have choreography. I'm both thrilled and frightened. While I'm happy I don't just spin around the stage like an idiot anymore (though I'm sure the crew will miss that), it feels like the pressure's on now to make everything perfectly unperfect (I *am* playing a nine year old--I have permission to be awful).

Yet, this means I'm about two weeks away from the show. I'm excited to be that much closer to showing off my beloved one act, yet I cannot believe it's almost over or that I should even feel so ready.

Because this is important news, of course

IT'S SNOWING!!!! And I don't care that it's only flurries, because that means it won't be miserable to walk to class tomorrow afternoon, but it's dang confounded gorgeous at the moment and I almost didn't even mind that I thought my ears were going to fall off, it was so cold and windy.

(I love how my English major randomly plops out the window during any moment of strong emotion.)

Never did that with Debbie

Fun: Randomly deciding to rearrange your dorm room with your roommate.

More Fun: Pulling off all of it in about an hour, including three phone conversations and running down the hall to check up on people.

Most Fun: Deciding afterward to pretend, when everyone asks about the room change, that nothing new has happened and the room has always looked this way.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Melissa and her crazy sense of humor that matches mine?

Caleb, you should come visit and set them all straight

Last night, one of my friends actually made the statement: "Oh, he's your *big* brother? I thought for sure you were older." Dudes, I thought I reeked of "younger sibling" and "baby of the family." Perhaps I'm not so doomed in the real world as I'd feared.

I've decided...

* I need a denim jacket for Christmas.

* I will never give a public speech ever again, based on today's performance in class.

* To "do" my hair to see the high school's production of "Oklahoma!" (some of the kids from class are in it) instead of taking a nap.

* I should finish this list later, and possibly hit the nap after all.

It doesn't take much, does it?

This makes me happy. Dang English major tendencies.

Tuesday Afternoon

The Good and Bad of Tuesday:

* I'm almost completely well again!

* ....but that means I'm in the stage of sickness where I'm not completely there, but I feel like I should be, so I'm extra grouchy and irritable because I'm not.

* I got back new photos again! And dropped off film!

* Instead of sleeping in this weekend, I'll be in the library to scan in all the new stuff, and then there's updating the webpage....

* My theatre prof asked if she could have an extra copy of my play analysis. For those of you in the Sullivan know, that's an equivilent to Weid asking for a copy for her files. Yes, really.

* (What, there's no downside to that!)

But I took a nap and everything!

It's official: I'm too tired. I can no longer spell my own name. Geez.

Additional: I also keep having issues with "affect" and "effect," so I really must be out of it. That's my second grammar pet peeve, right behind "your" and "you're" (speaking of which, did you find the hidden grammar songs on Strongbad's newest email?)

Inaccurate in more than history

Whenever it's windy outside and my hair is down, I like to imagine it's being blown around artistically, frolicing in the air a la Pocahontas, but I know deep down that it's just getting tangled in my umbrella handle and I should've grabbed a clip.

(That's the 5 a.m. bedtime talking)

Rain is nature's way of making sure I clean my glasses instead of resorting to licking them clean like Crystal, my one-act director.

Megan is fabulous and wonderful...

and marvelous and fantastic and glorious and also just pointed out to me that the sheet doesn't list a specific font, just that it can hold 250+ words per page, so I jumped from middle of sixth page to the bottom of the seventh without even resorting to Courier New (as of yet....)

It's Not a Milestone When it Happens All the Time Alert!

I'm once more hopelessly stuck on how to proceed! Hurrah!

Grand Milestone Alert!

Yes! I am one-third through my paper! And I've only hit my first point! And I so will not finish this by five tomorrow evening! Yay!

Surely other people do this

*A Note of Explanation to Everyone Who Has Walked into My Room During the Past Hour*

Yes, I know I look weird sitting here with the giant shawl artistically draped about my shoulders as I sit and type on my 15-page paper for theatre class. I also realize that I’ve looked even more peculiar in the past with the plastic tiara, the electric blue feather boa, and the sequined cat ears (which I'm going to stop linking to, because I've done so way more than even I would've figured). If that’s what it takes, however, to make me feel better about myself whenever I’m trying to type out b.s. without making it sound like b.s. and properly MLA document all the b.s., then it’s worth it to me.

Dang you, Amazon!

I would love to link up my Amazon wish list, as it has so many more options for Christmas/all around shopping, but mine doesn't pop up when you search for it and I'm surely not going to post my Amazon password on the internet just so y'all can buy me some DVDs I didn't put on my list. But I'll work on it. Because, it's so important, you know.

Update: Girl Officially Smarter than Website (for Now) - here's the link. Have at, Grandma.

Updated Update: Girl Should Never Officially Declare Something Again - I don't know why the link's screwy (it appears fine in Blogger, just not in regular internet), but if you remove the "lifeisliketoast" etc from the address line, it works fine. Anyway.

I am living in a Hollywood movie!*

I love my friends.

(* Maybe I should go with "indie," instead, since we have much better dialogue and no money.)

Unless it's just all the soda...and time of night...and homework...and cheese...and tape recorder notes...and Forbidden Broadway songs...

I should not find my old emails (as in, written by myself to others) half as amusing as I do.

But, dude, "everyday low prices" - that's classic!

Like I was really paying attention...

My thoughts on Lit class, as expressed as titles for my first solo album (Make My Your Prom Queen!) after the band breaks up:

- I Know
- Slowest Day Ever
- So Tired, So Sleepy, So Gone
- Enough!
- let me out
- Shut Up [cubed]
- What's the Point?
- Bless You/Thanks
- All Comes Back
- Like Lady McB
- Moving On...

You'd just *think* it was obvious

It's impossible to work on a lit paper while listening to Aqua's "Dr. Jones." Even if it is the psychological approach and therefor the Dr. thing kinda fits. Yes, really.


(However, you *can* play Freudian Slip.)

And I'm still sick, but I'm getting better.

My right pinky hurts from where it was stepped on accidentally, I have rug burn on my elbow, and I'll probably be attacked tonight during movie night....but, thank you, John (no, not that one, or that one, or even that one - how many do I know? - This one.) for being the educational model to teach me new tickle skills from the masters, Krista and Melissa. Though I think I was doing just fine with feet, thanks.

I can't believe she's not fake!

So, I was randomly wasting time because I was stuck on my Lit paper, so I decided to check out the credits of my author (she also did some screenplays). I clicked on a few links and, lo and behold, discovered that one featured none other than Swoosie Kurtz!!!

Okay, so now y'all are confused. Swoosie Kurtz (she's an actress named after an airplane!) is an actress mentioned by my character, Lisa, in my one-act. I totally thought she was completely made up. I mean, who names their kid "Swoosie," right? (Besides Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz, apparently.) It turns out Swoosie is actually really, really cool: she has two Tonys (including one that helped her get the Broadway Crown, all three major theatre roles for the same part in the same year), did all sorts of spiffy character work, and is still acting even today. And her TV show mentioned in the script is the cheesiest sounding thing ever.

Who knew, huh?

Oh. Good. Lord.

Okay, so as Megan pointed out, we have to wait over six months before we see the rest of it, but isn't the HARRY POTTER 3 TEASER TRAILER (click on it, dang you!) enough to keep you anticipating that June 4 release date. Maybe it's just as well that I'm not going to London this summer, so I can see it with Caleb (oh, yes, we are going).

Although, then it's not seeing Harry Potter in LONDON, but that's okay.

So much for that.

I need new blood cells. Ones that actually care.

Highlight of the Day: New Lunchables in the C-Store

(It'd would've been resurrecting the zombies when I again didn't know an answer on my Spanish test, but this time it was pure desperation.)

I'm feeling somewhat better in a health sort of way. My throat doesn't hurt nearly as much any more, I don't think I'm running a fever anymore (although I'm not really sure I had one in the first place - I still blame the heater, which is why the fan is on and a window is cracked), and I haven't felt all woozy-like since way early this morning. My nose is drippy, but I blame all the wind for making me cold and faucet-ish.

Notice I said I was feeling better health-wise.

Stress-wise, I've been adding on extra things (scratch the "I" - that was purely my profs) all week. I have two tests tomorrow, took my Spanish one today (as well as a Spanish interview thing earlier), am supposed to have a speech topic and survey about it for my classmates by tomorrow afternoon, need to get together with people to divide up the high school students into performance groups by 8:30 tomorrow morning, and learn the final two beats of my one-act by tomorrow at 10:30 (which means it'll happen after everything else). Then, there's a paper for my lit class, two others that I could revise, and another paper and a project to do for Monday.

Somebody needs ice cream. Hannah needs ice cream.

And now I'm just pathetic

It's November in Kirksville and I have the fan on. And shorts. And a tank top. Yet, for whatever reason, when I went to get a popsicle out of the fridge, I zapped a Hot Pocket instead. Because, that's the greatest idea ever.

[For the benefit of everyone I know, I'm going to stop typing all these short posts about how crummy I feel....unless I, like, lose a lung or something.]

I don't think I'm going to Lit tomorrow.

My temperature, as proclaimed by my Air Force Reserves forehead monitor from the Missouri State Fair, is currently a sultry and sunny 100.4 - 102.2 (I've got the blue/tan bars going on. Wow, some people out there will actually know what that means.)

Totally Unrelated: Caleb, check your messages.

Hannah's Schedule for Spring 2004 (because all y'all care so very much):

Intro to Linguistics, 8:30 MWF
Acting II, 11:30 MWF
Intermediate Spanish II, 1:30 MWF
Stagecraft, 2:30 MTTh
Creative Writing, 12:00 TTh

along with "teaching" at the high school for 25 more hours and Theatre Practice, meaning I'll get credit for stuff I'll do anyway. Do you feel informed now?

Mark your calendars now!

It's official: my one act will be on Saturday, Dec. 6, which makes me happy. Supposedly, Megan's and Ben's (somewhere Fye is smiling over that) shows will be the same night, which automatically makes all the people who know all three of us very happy. My dad can come on Saturday night, so that makes me happy. Now, as long as I don't have to start the shows for that night, we'll all be happy because we won't have to deal with me flipping out over such things.

It's like dang junior year all over again

I'm on the verge of losing my voice. Just so you know.

Give me a new Teen Girl Squad!

Does anyone else really want to know what that whole "CD out next week" means on the Homestar site? Or were all y'all just happy to see a new Strongbad?

Don't answer that.

(The irony of me stalking people did not escape me, thanks.)

I've spent the last few days stalking various theatre professors in order to take the classes I want next year to discover I didn't need to stalk half of them, and the other half was exactly where I was told they'd be, when they'd be, and no sooner.

See, the universe is telling me I should stop planning ahead and staying up until 3 a.m. more often!

(It's a good thing Crystal's laid back)

So, I was completely loopy at practice last night, which meant that--after I'd spent enough time with all of them--everyone was loopy by the end. Anyway, it was bad enough that we started pre-rehersal with "let's run lines, but actually try to make the other fall on the floor laughing," let alone that Crystal, the director, showed up during the slowest Eight Count Shakedown of all time (though that was because we were laughing again).

Then there was the complete inability to focus on *anything,* my dimples popping out in gigantic proportions ever time a line was screwed up on either side, all the inappropriate Prince songs, dancing around like an idiot instead of a 9-year old girl, and actually getting stuck to my chair by my script. Of course, the creme de la creme (or something else that is actually French and not my made-up version) of the entire evening was when there was a tiny bit of down time and...well, I don't remember exactly what was said anymore because I was laughing so increadibly hard, but it did involve the phrase "Walk it off!" screamed over and over again after John, the other dude in the scene, listed off various "accidents" that could happen to my character while dancing. Either way, we were both completely worthless for the next few minutes as, whenever we tried to start up the scene again and made eye contact, we'd burst into laughter again. We finally finished up for the night (mostly because I decided against actually looking at John for the rest of the scene), but everyone was still laughing until we got back to our respective rooms, I'm sure.

Of course, then we actually *won* the game, but you can just switch school names around and it's still funny

Fav quote from the band's Top Ten list during Saturday's game? "Number six: The day UMR wins a football game, hell will freeze over. It is rather chilly in Kirksville today."

Bestest. Concert. Ever.

So.

I now have probably have the equivilent of a Christmas list (I'm sure you're happy now, Grandma) because I had the greatest time ever at the Ben Folds (with the also fab Matt Wertz--who gives the best autographs ever [seriously: I'll scan it in someday, it's so fab]--opening). Maybe it's because I'm a music person myself, but there was something fantabulous about the entire thing being just a guy and his instrument (Matt, a guitar; Ben, a piano that he pounded the crap out of). And we sat on the right side of the gym (Yes, it was in a gym. This is Kirksville, after all.) so we could see his hands turn into blurs right there on the keys. Really.

And I could go into full-out gushing about the mad piano skills, and the great between song comments from both guys, all the audience singing (when you just have a piano and you're playing something that needs trumpets, you do what you have to do), the song changed to be about Kirksville, talking to Matt Wertz about Sherri Lewis (seriously), watching Ben Folds climb all over the piano, and the encore that featured a mini lesson on chords ("this used to be in major, but I decided--since it is sad--to put it in minor...now, this is a diminished chord...") and the final verse in Japanese.

So, I'll be jetting that Christmas list off to you soon, Grandma, now that I have two new CDs to put on it. Though none of them will have Japanese on them.

(And she's on MSN *right now*)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM!!!!!

You're as welcome as can be! M-I-C-! (Wait, wrong club)

The guestbook, once merely a place to exchange more random comments with friends has become froth with all sorts of new people who I don't know. So....hey there to (going back a little ways) Lac, Sandy, Tasberry, (and more recently) James, Bob, and that Russian guy who's post I deleted because, well. Anyway. Hi all you people!

Whew, tragedy averted.

So, just to let you know, for about ten minutes, this very spot featured a gigantic hissy fit of a rant about how the guy playing my dad in the one-acts skipped practice yesterday to go to The Matrix and I only found out because he was ahead of people I knew in line (telling his friends about it, no less), even though he'd told my director that he was going to be just a little late for practice and how obviously ticked this made me feel, but then I realized that none of you would actually want to read it, so I got some ice cream and moved on with life.

Just letting you know that I have your best interests at heart. Continue with your lives.

(Those comments better not be "duh")

I forgot, when I bought my back-less clogs, that--because they are back-less--they'll always want to slide off when I walk downstairs. Ouch.

Because this is the only way I'll get some of this info out there

The [Unit of Time Here] in Bullets

(so in no particular order because, frankly, I don't remember)

* My calendar page for the day is called "Cats in the Workplace" and makes me about .001% less productive every time I look at it. Which as been a lot by now.

* I don't know if it's because of the late hour or purely the people I'm there with, but my one-act practices are once again proving to be some of the funniest stuff I listen to.

* Suddenly, my room has turned into Ryle 308 and all the people walking in and out and being noisy and funny and fabulous and completely distracting as that implies.

* Not only did I sit backstage and do homework for two hours each night of the lab show, I also earned the honor of the pivitol role of "garbage hitting the window and scaring the bejeezers out of the cast." There's one for my resume.

* For any other normal person, go-go boots would not equal tech shoes. I am not a normal person.

* I think my feet still hate me.

* I finally started my scrapbook: in one hour of time, I made one page. (But it's a pretty page.)

* I had to download all the preshow music for the lab show onto my computer because I felt a desperate need at 7:30 on Monday night to listen to it all again.

* Finally, best compliment of the week: "Mmm. You smell like chocolate."

Two Reasons

1. Because he's expecting it.

2. Because it will make Melissa laugh.

WORD TO MY BRO!

To quote John: "Blargh"

Dear Blog,

I love you! I really, really do! Just, between all the late night one-act practices, honkin long theatre papers to write, tests to study for, and large groups of people who seem to keep ending up in my room instead of further down the hall, I just haven't had the time to shower you with the love and affection you so richly deserve. I thought I'd have more time after the lab show ended, but all that time has been sucked up by one-acts and prepping for all my tests next week.

But don't think that I've forgotten you completely! If I ever reach a free patch when I have computer access, I totally plan on posting all those things I wrote while backstage at the lab show. We can just pretend I posted them all last week, and they're actually current, right? If nothing else, I'm finishing the "Ode to June, the Bike" in Speech class today and will try posting it tonight.

If I'm not watching my new copy of "Finding Nemo." I mean, I love you, but I love Pixar AND new shiny things, too. So, we'll see.

Talk to you again soon (I hope),

Hannah