music maker and dreamer of dreams

Entries from November 2008

25 things for which i am thankful…

November 30, 2008 · Leave a Comment

(notice how i didn’t end that title with a preposition? man, i’m good.)

1. my husband, Ryan

2. family

3. friends, here and back in the States

4. my dog, Charlie (and Carter, my cat back home)

5. God’s grace

6. internet!

7. rain

8. people who come out of the woodwork and positively influence your life

9. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing

10. knowing it’s never too late to better myself

11. good hair days (i’m girl, gimme a break)

12. the Christmas decorations and Christmas music in the malls

13. chapstick

14. packages from home

15. air conditioning!!

16. Love.

17. good health

18. laughter and wit

19. getting paid to do something i really enjoy that also allows me to use my talents

20. Youtube and Facebook (…i know. but seriously, i am.)

21. a good pen – you know i’m right. it’s so much more fun to write when you have a good pen.

22. music

23. people who are willing to put me in my place out of care and concern, or sometimes irritation

24. You.

25. snow… oh, wait…

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an international thanksgiving: food, kids, karaoke

November 30, 2008 · 1 Comment

well hello :) it seems that i have not blogged hardly at all this month… crazy, no?

so, let us rewind back to friday, aka my favorite day i have experienced since living in Bangkok.

friday, ryan and i had the day off of work due to thanksgiving festivities we had been invited to. actually, let me preface this a tiny bit: most of ryan’s clients are up in an area of Bangkok known as Nichada. this is a gated community where Americans live in pretty gorgeous homes. there is also an International School of Bangkok there where their children attend. sooo… ryan does bootcamps up there, which mostly the moms attend while their husbands are working, and he also does bootcamps for the varsity sports teams at the school.

moving on…

one of ryan’s bootcamp clients, a wonderful lady named Michele, invited us to her Thanksgiving feast she was throwing. but before that we decided to go see ISB’s (Int’l School of Bkk), production of “My Fair Lady.” this musical is long anyway, but it seemed 10x longer being put on by high schoolers. i will say this though, the pit (orchestra) was phenomenal! and overall, the acting was really good. but yes, i did critique everything… unintentionally, of course.

after the show, it was about 6pm, we headed over to Michele’s for din-din. she and her husband, Robert (who oddly reminded me of Bob Hope), have five children. another family that was there, Amy and Mathew, have seven children. there were also (which i later found out to be) Mormons who were on their mission, and another couple who happened to be our age. needless to say, a lot of people.

the two families with the children are great because they have interesting jobs. for example, Mathew creates microchips for a TON of stuff (such as Guitar Hero III). and Robert is a doctor, but he is also a researcher and is in the process of finding cures and solutions to crazy diseases. he was fun to talk to because he is a guy that knows a lot about a lot; mostly because he reads TONS of books. so once he found out i was a “triple threat” we talked about vaudeville and theatre stuff. and he let me borrow a book on vaudeville haha.

so… all the children. it makes me want to have lots of kids now. i really only interacted with Amy and Mathew’s kids and fell completely in love with their two year old son, Eli (and i’m pretty sure the feeling was mutual… kinda).

after dinner, i definitely played karaoke with the moms and it was hilarious to see how much they got into it. and i also made the younger girls (and boys) play. speaking of which, one of my favorite things about kids is how much they “lie.” for example, 10 yr. old Libby… granted it was late, i said to her, “You have to sing this song with me,” to which she said “I’m so tired.” of course, i got her to play because when kids say they’re “so tired,” what they really mean is, “i want to play but i might be too cool to show that i’m actually enjoying myself.”

have you ever seen Baby Mama? well, there is a part where the two female characters are playing the karaoke game and Tina Fey’s character is about precision, where as Amy Poehler’s (who i have a girl crush on) character is about having fun. let’s just say, Michele (the owner of the home) was Tina Fey in this particular karaoke scenario. brilliant.

what else?

ah, yes. so… ryan and i are looking for place in the Nichada area to move to. if we do re-locate up there, i will quite possibly start an afterschool drama/singing/dancing program at ISB – which would be super fun. and being up there reminded me how much i miss being around Americans. also, i must say that both families were so incredibly kind and made me feel so welcome and at home.

in conclusion, i have decided i want seven children who are involved in lots of activities, and a large home to host big shin-digs. ryan agrees with most of that…

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“For such as we are made of, such we be. ” – Twelfth Night, Shakespeare

November 24, 2008 · Leave a Comment

so…

that’s not true is it? i mean, people DO and CAN change, right? it’s just a matter of wanting to change?

in my life, there have been two particular individuals who have had such a huge, yet extremely negative, impact on me. and i often wonder if some of their despicable characteristics rubbed off on me in such a way, that it led me to mirror their very actions.

the thing about these two individuals… they have masterfully and meticulously coerced others into believing that they’ve changed… and yet… “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”

does a dog always return to its vomit?

i frustrate myself sometimes because i’ve experienced such… unique(?)… situations in life that i SHOULD be using to better myself – but i haven’t really done that entirely.

so…

anyway. i’m babbling.

in other news… Charlie (my dog) keeps humping my leg and i don’t know how to get him to stop! it’s so funny, and also slightly awkward.

i’m watching A Christmas Story, yet again, and honestly… though i love xmas movies, they are 10x better to watch when it’s cold and snowing. dang. although, i did (kinda) see snow this past week…

is it me, or were child actors so much better back then?

so guess what? nope. nope. guess again… still wrong. –  i am… in the process of… writing a kids/ish story. what the? i know right. and honestly, the only reason i’m telling you is so i will have the pressure to finish something i’ve decided to start. it’s Seuss-ish in nature, so if you don’t like Dr. Seuss, then your opinion doesn’t count. also, before you judge me… just know that i’ve done my Seuss research… and that’s all i’ll say.

happy monday.

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a lemon is not a lime.

November 18, 2008 · 3 Comments

1. last week when i was ill, i googled images of strep throat and tonsils. i came to the very quick conclusion that i could never work in the medical field. …though dr. meo does have a nice ring to it.

2. when i eat curly fries i don’t eat the super curly ones because they taste too potato-ey.

3. i’m not a huge fan of ice cream… unless it’s ben & jerry’s mint chocolate cookie.

4. i have been on a dr. seuss kick lately and just recently purchased “A Hatful of Seuss.” it contains five different stories and take it from me, the man was brilliant.

5. dr. seuss wasn’t really a doctor… so maybe dr. meo is possible…

6. i remember the name of my seventh grade math teacher’s cat… Pascal. she was short. i don’t know what made me think of that.

7. ryan and i saw the new James Bond movie. it was… good. personally, i don’t care for daniel craig as Bond. i think it’s because he doesn’t really have that “dark and handsome” look like the others. i mean seriously, give me pierce brosnan any day. remember when he played “Stu” in Mrs. Doubtfire? i watched that movie so many times…

8. you might not guess this about me, but i’m awesome at minesweeper. and sudoku (well, not as good as my brother… but go figure).

9. i was asked today if finding clothes for myself in America was difficult because people in America are “fat.” that’s what the person actually said…

10. Thai call limes, lemons. i haven’t corrected them yet, but it makes me wonder if they know lemons exist. and they’ve probably referred to limes as lemons for centuries, so i really don’t want to be the one to break it to them.

11. i so want to watch Mrs. Doubtfire right now, right?

12. sleep needs to happen soon…

13. i have a sudden craving for Zebra Cakes.

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the days of youth…

November 14, 2008 · Leave a Comment

hi.

i’ve been ill this past week and haven’t felt up to writing.

anytime i’m “under the weather,” i always resort to laying in bed and watching two types of movies: 1) Christmas movies. 2) Animated (aka Kids) movies.

i have figured out why i enjoy each of them so much… or actually, maybe just the latter because i could watch Christmas movies all the time. i enjoy watching animated movies because it’s the only type of movie i watch where i don’t critique anything. not the acting or lighting or scenery or transitions… any of that. i just appreciate it for what it’s worth.

that being said, today i watched “Horton Hears a Who.” i’ve always been a Dr. Seuss fan and if ever i were to write a book (as many have joked before), it would be a children’s book… and i would attempt to emulate the un-emulateable Seuss.

moving on…

when i lived back home (home as in, Indiana. as in, pre-CCU. as in, pre/post-NYC), i was a youth leader at my church. other than the Stage, the next thing i am the most passionate about are youth. since i’ve been couped up at home, unable to work, i decided to facebook stalk some of my girls (as i referred to them). one young lady, i’ll call her… Em, fell into the younger category when i was a leader, so i didn’t spend too much time with her; but i still knew her well.

out of all her siblings, Em is the one that doesn’t quite fit in. and so, i was curious as to how she was doing; hence my facebook stalking. i noticed she had a link to her blog, and naturally i read it. for her age, Em thinks some pretty deep thoughts – and along with this she often feels misunderstood. she blames her parents for comparing her to her siblings… and whether they actually do or not, i forgot how youth base some aspects of reality on emotions. oddly enough, reading her frustrations made me miss being surrounded by young girls (that sounds weird, but you know what i mean…). i’m not good at a lot of things in life, but i am a really good listener and i care about people like nobody’s business. so i loved when girls would share their frustrations and middle/high school daily dramas with me.

the thing is – being in a leadership type of position with them, i really felt like i was constantly being held accountable for my actions… i feel like i was a better person then. not that i’m not super cool now…

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return of the vlogs

November 9, 2008 · Leave a Comment

so, before i started this blog, i was a vlogger. and then i royally messed up my mac (and because i’m still bitter, i don’t want to talk about it). anyway – i’ve managed to find my way back into the vlogging world. so those cry babies out there who thought i’d vanished completely (cough*tim hein*cough), ya better find a big hanky, because i’m back. sorta… i’ll work all the kinks out eventually.

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ob-la-di ob-la-da…

November 5, 2008 · 3 Comments

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I can think of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

so, V for Vendetta is one of my favorite movies – definitely in my top ten. and since today is, indeed, the fifth of november, i found it only fitting to include a snippet of that poem/song. so, here’s to you Guy Fawkes and your attempt to blow up parliament.

and now let’s begin…

1. i watched C-Span online the entire morning (your night) because i wanted to see the outcome of the presidential race. and i happen to fall into the category of an American who is pleased with how it turned out. also, i was quite surprised Indiana (my home State) turned out a Democratic vote. bwah? as did Ohio. actually, a handful of States did that are usually Republican…

2. so… you know how i’m a voice over artist? yeah. well, i think it’s starting to take a toll on my vocal chords. i mean, i talk a lot anyway (on top of belting out songs five shows a week when i would have a gig), – but this kind of talking that my job requires is different. i have been doing this for nearly six months now, so i’m surprised and thankful i’ve gone this long without any type of major irritation. on one hand, i’m stubborn and know i won’t seek any type of medical attention. because in my mind, the irriation-ness will pass. but on the other, i’m still going to be a Broadway star and probably do voice over work for a while… so if my voice goes, half of our source of income goes. and the only other thing i know how to do is make a mean cup of coffee…

3. which brings me to… “Jobs Danny Has Had”

in chronological order:
1. gymnastics teacher
2. daycare teacher
3. traveled for CCU with a camp team
4. worked in the CCU library for a summer so i could live on campus
5. barista @ Reality Tuesday Cafe (my longest job… a whopping 4 years)
6. paid actor/singer/dancer with a semi-professional theatre
7. voice over artist

so… in short, i’ve worked with kids, books (kinda), coffee, and actors. hmm…

4. ryan is leaving on a business trip to Singapore tomorrow and will be gone until sunday evening. i told him that i’d miss him terribly but i wouldn’t be bored. to which he replied, “i know.” it takes a lot for me to be bored. like, i could be stuck in a room that contained nothing, and i wouldn’t be bored. seriously. the only times i find myself bored are during things like meetings, because i have to appear attentive. don’t get me wrong, sometimes i am genuinely paying attention… but other times i’m thinking about other stuff. okay, most times i’m thinking about other stuff. anyway, the point is – i am rarely ever bored. ever.

5. i was thinking it’d be fun to work for the secret service. would i die for someone? probably not. but do i look good in black? absolutely i do.

6. i have an exceptional memory. for example, and i promise i’m not being dramatic, i know every single line from the Wizard of Oz. every. last. line. another movie i know really well… Tommy Boy.

7. in closing, here is a great scene from V for Vendetta:

annnd that’s all. for now. :)

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