On the last day of November...

Pride and Prejudice = good movie. Not as magical as I had hoped, but then again, my expectations for pure magic pretty much make most things impossible to live up to. Hopefully, I will see it again soon.

It's the last day of November and I find that hard to believe. I found the most amazing shoes. Click here if you'd like to see them.

Matthew came home for Thanksgiving break and I had the pleasure of hanging out with him twice! He charmed his way into getting us a table at Thai Thai II on a very crowded and chilly night! He pretty much is my hero for that. We think it was his emo-y sweater that did the trick. We ended up playing a million video games like Mario Smash, 007, Shrek 2, Dead or Alive, and my personal favorite, Tetris. I was fortunate enough to be included in the big family left over turkey soup and turkey pot pie dinner. His family is one of the most fun families I've ever been around! And, to make it even better, they all like each other and get along!

The day after Thanksgiving, I watched A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and The Return of the Jedi. Seriously, I am in love with Star Wars. I've yet to watch the newer episodes, but I've borrowed them all from Matt's dad, so in due time I will complete my task. I'm also proud to report that I've gotten quite good at Star Wars Battlefront II. My high score of people killed is 56! Now, usually I'm in the solid twenties, but once I got up to 44 and then as a fluke, I hit 56 last weekend. And, I'm pretty proud of this: I am consistently awarded Dead Eye (the most head shots).

PBHS lost our football game last Friday, so I won't be joining the Law Academy on their Washinginton, D.C. trip. Oh well, I've got Paris to look forward to.

Back in the day...

When I attended Palm Bay High, I don't remember kids hackey sacking during lunch. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a Yugioh Club (I'm fairly certain that Yugioh didn't exist). One of my teachers loved OJ Simpson and believed with all her heart in his innocence. She had an autographed picture of Johnny Cochran framed and proudly displayed on her desk. She went to the beauty shop every Tuesday evening because it was her "fill" day (she had acryllic nails). She wore slip on flats every day of the week and had them in every color to match her jersey material pants and matching shirts. She loved Ben-Hur and Hamlet. I actually never had her as a teacher, she was the student council sponsor who I talked into creating "Independent Gifted Studies" for me to take during my senior year (which basically meant a phase 5 study hall).

Of the three years I was in high school, I never ate lunch in the cafeteria once and only lunched in the commons area a handfull of times (one of which happened to be the time when a big black guy from Cocoa High came on campus and shot a gun right in front of us...it was crazy). Sophomore year, Dana and I spent many days eating lunch in the orchestra/band room since 5th period was orchestra and lunch period. Junior year, I lunched with the AP Biology kids in Mrs. Howell's room (she's the smartest woman in the world and actually writes the FCAT...I don't lie). Senior year I lunched with Mrs. Cochran and Matthew (Clark Kent). Those were some good times. I pretty much owned Mrs. Cochran's computer that year and she introduced me to the world wide web.

I had the most fun in my English classes all through high school. I had the same teacher for 10th and 12th grades, Miss Huba. I remember my mom and I went to parent conference night and met with the killer chemistry teacher who pretty much crushed and ruined me. I was in tears and we went to Miss Huba's room because my mom wanted to meet her. I told her why I was crying and she was reminded of when she was in college at UF. Apparently she was failing some class and called her mom and informed her that she was quitting, would be coming home, and asked her to call the manager at Wendy's to see if she could get her job back. It's amazing to me how serious and life-altering something can be...and how trivial it becomes in time.

I think once 25 hits, time moves more quickly.

Paris in 32 days.

An email so great, I'm sharing with the masses

ABM
I remember with great feeling the John Bethea years in your life, the sadness and the promise, and above all the hilarity surrounding the non-aesthetic temperament as he struggled to make himself something he could not possibily be. And your perceptions on the events and character. The world is a sadder place that this magnificent moment never found an audience or the spirit that motivated you never served as a channel to bring us more of the same sensibility as she grew and listened to the music in herself. I truly hope this is the something good you need today: You are not where you are going and it is not on a road you may even know exists. Am I ever wrong?
L

The above is an email I received today that has served to lift my spirits and has brought strong feelings of nostalgia. The L is my favorite professor from UM who offered me a full ride during my senior year to stay on as a Hurricane to get my MFA. The John Bethea is a crazy man who had tricked himself into thinking that he was writing the next Great American Novel. He couldn't type, so a friend recommended me to be his typist. I lasted as long as I could...not too long, but long enough to have turned my experience into a story that gained me acceptance into the MFA program at UM.

Why didn't I take the full ride?
I would be writing something great right now...
I would be someone different...
I would be some place different...

It smelled like rain today...

It's the holiday season and while it's not as chilly as I would like it to be, I'm still thrilled. I listen to Christmas music year round, but the fact that it's officially the time for seasonal tunes makes it seem like I'm not breaking some unwritten law. In a post or two ago I mentioned how I don't understand people who don't love music in general. I'd like to qualify that: I really don't understand people who don't love Christmas music. I finally took Copeland out of my cd player and put in some old school Michael W. Smith (his first Christmas album). Christmas music is simply...magical.

Guess what, everyone? Had he lived, ODB (you know, from the Wu Tang Clan) would have been 37 today. Also, twenty years ago today the 200th episode of Dallas aired. Dallas reminds me of a student I had last year. Let's call her Lauren (because that seems to be such a common name! I have 3 in one class this year alonw). Lauren was in my first period class and enjoyed wearing pink shirts with her leather mini-skirt. She sat in the front row and wrote with a pen that had a big pink puff ball on the top of it (that's the best way I can think of to describe it). She had An American Girls journal that she wrote in incessantly and she really loved Passions, Days of Our Lives, and Dallas. I haven't met many 15 year olds who love Dallas, let alone know what Dallas is. Anyway, Lauren was very quiet and reserved, but she would literally light up if I brought up Dallas (not that I would bring it up naturally in conversation, but once I learned of her love for the crazy show, I'd do my best to bring it up every now and then). She would come to life when talking about J.R. and Bobby. I enjoyed chatting with her during homeroom occassionally because she'd fill me in on the goings-on in the soap world (I used to regularly watch Days of Our Lives and Passions). Anyway, Lauren's moved on...I'm sure she's still watching Dallas on Soap Net every afternoon and I'm sure she's still donning the hot pink shirt and leather mini-skirt. I realize that this story isn't the best...and now it's over.

In cool Copeland news, yesterday the split EP arrived (the one from a few posts back where I was complaining that they estimated that it'd be 3 weeks before I'd have it in my cd player). "May I Have This Dance" is beautiful and sweet and "Second Star to the Right, Go Until Dawn" of course is a favorite since it alludes to the best story ever, Peter Pan. Just moments ago I happed, by pure luck, upon MP3s of Aaron's first band, Ev Angel. Their stuff is a little punky, but it's ok...a fan doesn't discriminate and wants all material available.

magical post 200

Things I am loving right now:

• my new Relient K cd
• my new Copeland shirt (though it is a bit too snug for my liking)
• the Cinderella poster I scored from a disgarded Barnes and Noble display
• Powerade
• roast beef
• the bright blue sky (usually, I love grey and dreary ones)
• listening to Christmas music and thinking about how my Parisian trip is one month away
• a cleaned out interior of my car (I even Clorox wiped the inside with lavender scented wipes!)

Guys, please cross your fingers that our football team goes to state. We're currently in the play-offs. We won our first game this past Friday. This Friday, we travel to Jacksonville. If we win, the following week we'll play in Niceville. And, if we win that game...then I'm on my way to Washington, DC (to chaperone a trip that another teacher was going on...but if our football team goes to state, said teacher who doubles as a football coach will have to accompany the team!). I am really excited at the prospect of a Washington trip...not to mention in the cold! Yay for turtlenecks and sweaters and gloves. But, it's not a done deal, so I can't get my hopes up too high.

The tire is fixed. A girl was my mechanic. My mind is still spinning.

In less than two months, I have been stopped by the police three times. The last two times have happened within a week of each other. It's all because of a faulty tail light. I actually need to replace the entire light socket thing...which isn't going to be fun (well, not like I'm going to do it on my own). Last night, I was stopped. Last night, as I got in my car to go to the grocery store, I had a flat tire. Thank goodness for my insurance's road side assistance program because I do not know how to change a tire and even if I did, I'm fairly certain I would prefer having someone else do it for me. So, while I waited for Pop-A-Lock to come to my rescue, I watched two episdoes of dvr'd The OC. During my planning period today, I am going to BJ's (which is where I purchased my tires 40,000 miles and 4 years ago) and hopefully, the flat tire just needs a plug...otherwise, I'm looking at spending some unexpected money on tires, which doesn't come at a good time considering Paris is a month away. I just hope I'm back in time for 5th period.

The three day weekend was good. I got to sleep in on Friday and eat lots of pizza. Then, I got out the ol' Taylor and played until my fingers hurt! I figured out Copeland's "Pin Your Wings" and feel pretty good about it. I mean, it's not perfect, but it's something. I played through every Derek and Sandra song I knew, too. Saturday I went to Coaster's with Dayne and had the biggest roast beef sandwich in the world. Seriously. Yesterday was the big Barnes and Noble holiday meeting from 6.30 to 9 am! They fed us a grand breakfast and I got a free cd (music inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia).

My kids are nearly finished with their quiz, so I better end this post.

Oh yeah, I got my hair cut! It's about 6 inches shorter. Kristin says it makes me look older.

In case you're wondering, Copeland is awesome.

I don't understand people who don't love music. I can't live without it. It is the backdrop against which I fall asleep, wake up, and is always on in my mind. My Quest classes are in the midst of Song-Lyrics-As-Poetry presentations and today was kind of fun because the first batch of presenters went which included two Relient K songs, a Switchfoot song, and 2 Death Cab songs. I have had Copeland songs, non-stop, playing in my mind. As I read O. Henry's "The Last Leaf" and Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" to my ninth graders, I was singing "Pin Your Wings" and "Don't Slow Down" in my mind. I find myself wishing that my name is Amanda...but, it's ok because my first name is three syllables, so instead of singing, "Hey, Amand, where'd you find these crazy boys this time? They say you're pretty, but you don't think they're right...," I just like to sing, "Hey, Alisa...." (although, I'm not in the habit of going out and finding crazy boys, nor do crazy boys tell me that I'm pretty, it's still fun to sing my name in the song) .

Relient K's newest cd, Apathetic EP, dropped on Tuesday and of course I picked it up on its release. There are only 7 songs on the disk, 3 of which are on other recordings, but it's awesome. The three repeat songs are acoustic songs with heavy keys...and that makes me happy. Matt T's vocals sound awesome. As I write this post, I'm listening to the acoustic version to "Over Thinking", which just so happens to be one of my all time favorite Relient K songs. They have a song on the new disk called "In Like a Lion (Always Winter)" which is based on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It's pretty amazing.

I witnessed something really cute after school today: Kristin and Briana got really excited and showed great enthusiasm about the upcoming release of the fourth Harry Potter movie. They were so much fun to watch. The world needs a bit more enthusiasm and so many people just don't have any. I wish everyone could be overly enthusiastic about one thing (and it would be awesome if people would be so about more than one thing)...I'm talking about the kind of enthusiasm where you think you're going to burst...the kind that makes you smile when you think about whatever it is that you're enthusiastic about and you don't even know that you're smiling...the kind that makes your stomach do flips and makes you think that nothing could be better. I just wish that more people had great enthusiasm. The world would be so much more fun that way.

I'm so happy that tomorrow is a holiday! I will be sleeping in and not doing much of anything else. Sushi looks like a big possibility this weekend. I can't wait until Pride and Prejudice opens. I'm a little disappointed with the fact that Keira Knightley is Lizzie Bennett, my beloved heroine, but I'm trying to just go with the flow. Maybe she'll pleasantly surprise me.

Last night, I had a major accomplishment: I killed 25 men in one game of Star Wars: Battlefront 2. I saw Chicken Little and liked it better than Wallace and Grommit. We saw it in 3-D and it didn't give me a head ache (when I saw Spy Kids: 3D, I got a terrible head ache).

OH GUESS WHAT?! I have to leave school quickly because I get to go pick up my new glasses. Now, I can't quite recall what they look like because I don't have a clear picture of them since I selected them whilst my eyes were dilated. But, the gayish man who works at my doctor's office assured me that his tastes were impeccable and he helped me select my new frames. I'm not a good candidate for contacts because I have great anxiety when it comes to touching my eye and using eye drops, so for now, I'm sticking with the 4-eye kind of glasses.

WHY DOES COPELAND HAVE TO SOUND SO GOOD? (I'm listening now to the acoustic version of "Take Care").

WHOA WHOA WHOA! I just got an email that popped up that said my order from zambooie has just been shipped. This morning I ordered a split EP of Copeland and Pacifico (3 songs each) and I have never even heard of the three songs that Copeland has on there (guys, you know how much I love Peter Pan, right? Well, one of the songs is entitled "Second Star to the Right, Straight on till Morning") and the receipt said that estimated shipping time would be 2 weeks...BUT I guess I won't be waiting two weeks afterall! Seriously.I.Can't.Wait.Till.It.Arrives.

All right, I'm off to get my glasses.

Copeland

The long anticipated Copeland show was this past Sunday at The Social in Orlando. There really aren't words to express how amazing it was. Here's the report...

Sadly, Sean had to be present at the Puerto Rican Pride Parade for band, so we couldn't get as early of a start as I would have liked...which meant we were quite uncertain as to whether or not we'd have time to dine at P.F. Changs (and quite honestly, I'd be anticipating a P.F. Changs dinner almost as much as I had been anticipating this concert). Driving down (or up, rather) 95, Sean decided that he'd go straight to the source to find out what time the show was actually starting (our tickets stipulated that the doors opened at 6). So, I was just chilling out in the passenger seat as he called Aaron (for those of you who don't know, Aaron and Sean are cousins and it so happens that Aaron is the front man for Copeland). And, I'm just kidding...I was NOT just chilling in the passenger seat...more like mildly hyperventilating whilst Sean was on the phone. The report from Aaron was that Copeland was going to hit the stage somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 to 8.30...so we decided that we'd just skip P. F. Changs. Instead, we dined at some Chinese buffet that was no where near as awesome as Changs.

We got to The Social in time, we thought, to catch Daphne Loves Derby, the band that was to immediately precede Copeland (there were three opening acts). HOWEVER, we walked in during the middle of the first band's set. Both Sean and I were irritated with the late-running schedule because it meant that we didn't have to skip out on Changs. Oh well. Melee wasn't anything to write home about. The Spill Canvas, boys from South Dakota, were all right and it was cool to hear the crowd scream/sing their lyrics along with them. Finally, Daphne Loves Derby took the stage and they were not as great as I thought they were going to be (I kind of got familiar with them through www.purevolume.com because I knew they were the main openers for Copeland). In the middle of D.L.D's set, Sean leans over and very calmly says, "Hey, there's Aaron." I looked toward the door and SURE ENOUGH, Aaron casually walked in the door with a Starbucks cup in hand. No one even noticed, it seemed, until Sean went up to greet him. I thought that was pretty cool!

Finally, around 9.30, Copeland began and they played one of my favorite songs first, "Pin Your Wings", and then went immediately into another one of my favorites, "She Changes Your Mind." On the car ride over to the show, I had compiled a list of 6 songs that I desperately wanted them to play and right off the bat, they knocked out two of the songs! I had been waiting SO LONG to see Copeland live and the feeling of just standing there and in the midst of the show was overwhelming! We had worked our way to a good vantage point (but really, the place is so small that it really didn't matter where we stood, it would have been a good vantage point) and I had a PERFECT view of the band. Being the piano lover that I am, I was thrilled to see the keyboard set up towards the front center of the stage and was even more thrilled when Aaron took the bench and played three songs, "Sleep", "Coffee", and "Brightest." Now, "Brightest" is one of the songs that I love most (and in fact, somewhere around the beginning of January I posted an entry on the song)...and I was thrilled to hear it. All the girls were singing loudly along with Aaron when he sang it.

Just in case someone reading actually knows the band, these are the other songs they sang:
Don't Slow Down (from my list)
Love is a Fast Song
You Have My Attention
Take Care (from my list)
California (amazing live)
Paula Sparks
Hold Nothing Back (which was amazing live)
No One Really Wins (from my list)

After the show, Sean and I waited until the crowd dispersed and then we had a chance to chat with Aaron. I was trying my best not to freak out, as I'm easily star struck. I think I did a pretty good job and quelling my enthusiasm, but I'm afraid I couldn't help it when I discovered that Aaron had gone to the Death Cab for Cutie concert!! It's neat to think of him listening to the same music as I do (but, as I pointed out to Briana, there's no way in heck that he pops in his own cds to jam to whilst driving down the interstate). I told him that I had compiled a list of 6 songs and that they sang all but one of them: "Choose the One Who Loves You More." He explained that he really likes the song and they tried to include it on this tour, but found out pretty quickly into it that it wasn't going to work out as they had planned. I didn't want to ask for an autograph, so Sean ended up asking Aaron to sign my ticket stub! We got a picture together and then we had to hit the road (as it was a school night). The following night, Monday, was to be their last show on their tour and it was at the same place, The Social. Seriously, if I didn't have to go to parent teacher conferences, I would have been back for round 2.

I feel like I'm still floating on air and I can't stop thinking about the concert or singing Copeland songs in my head!

Well, it's nearly 4.30 and I want to leave school now. I just wanted to update on Copeland! Stay tuned...