I'm sure people actually ask this

Student: “Yeah, there’s something wrong with my academic transcript.”

Me: “Oh, ok. What’s wrong with it?”

Student: “It’s got fails on it.”

(I start looking up his record on the database.)

Me: “Yeah, I can see the fails. Did you pass those subjects?”

Student: “No.”

Me: “Okay, so you failed the subjects, and now they’re on your record as fails. That’s normally how it works.”

Student: “Well, yeah… but can’t you, like, take them off? It looks bad!”

Me: “…”

Student: “How am I going to get a job?!”

Courtesy of notalwaysright.com

IC

So, the memorial service has come and passed with many tears, but also many laughs. Almost my entire family was here, and we just had a lot of good times sitting around and chatting.

On Sunday, I had a final visit with the few relatives who remained and then watched True Blood (which is getting rather strange and dumb) and then Serenity, because we've been watching Firefly. What a wonderful way to end the summer.

Move in day. What miserable weather, not helped by the fact that my stomach was not happy with me today and I felt like crap until about lunchtime, and then it all got better. I'm finally unpacked and I cannot believe how much space I have this year! It's gonna be totally awesome.

So I'm just wandering the internet looking for something to do until Casey gets here, because I'm hungry again. Hmmm. Maybe I'll have to break open the snack box. Yum!

PS. My bootlegs came in and are being mailed to me tomorrow, along with my pillow and probably something random from my mother. I'm so excited!

Better than Average

For anyone who has ever read FML or My Life is Average, and for anyone who as ever worked a day in their life, this site will provide hours of entertainment:


http://notalwaysright.com/

Major Changes

Ok, so I bet you guys are probably sick of me mentioning Phantom of the Opera in just about every post, but this past week has been HUGE for me. My Phantom world has been turned upside down and I need to vent/remark. It's not bad, just strange. It's the first major shift I've been paying very close attention to, so it's a big deal.

Also, my sister is going to Pittsburgh to see the show. I'm insanely jealous, but I comfort myself with the fact that I've already seen that cast, I got to see it on Broadway, my sister didn't (yet, she will with me soon, hopefully!) she's sitting in the last row, and I'll be seeing it in London in a few months.

Anyway, the thing that has thrown me for a loop is the fact that there are major cast changes going on, very close to the end of the tour. It's a busy time for Phantom. The changes are as follows:

Broadway:
Leaving- John Cudia (Phantom, the one I saw, LOVE him)
Jennifer Hope Wills (Christine, the one I saw, I like her a lot)

Taking over- Hugh Panaro (Phantom, I adore him. John sings better, but Hugh is an amazing actor. I've been waiting for years for him to return to the mask)
Sara Jean Ford (Christine, from what I've heard, she's going to be great!)

London:
Leaving- Gina Beck and Simon Bailey (Christine and Raoul- they're awesome. They actually sang at the Paris Opera House, sad I won't get to see them... but i've got a bootleg of them!)
Rumored that David Shannon (Phantom) is leaving, no idea who will be taking over.


Sooooo anyway, I'm sad that my first Broadway cast is no more as of September 4th, sad I didn't get to see Gina and Simon live, but I'm SO PUMPED for the new casts. Gah, it's so exciting! I can't wait to see the show in London!

Marathoning

So, given that I only have about 9 days left here, and Cesca and I were only half way through Final Fantasy XIII last week, we have decided the solution is to sit down and play for as many hours as we can/are available this week so we can finish. I also play when she is at work and vice versa, so long as my brother is not home to monopolize the tv. Are we crazy? Probably, but hey, that's the gamer side.

Other notes, I have one day left to work at the BK lounge, tomorrow, and then I'm free!!! I'll again miss the people, but not really the job. There's too many frustrating people to deal with.

I still need to sort and repack my dorm life again. Gah. I've packed and unpacked so many times this summer its ridiculous.

I watch The Young Victoria. It was everything Alysia said. It was gorgeous and awesome. The end made me tear up. Aaaaaaaaaaaaah love.

Also, the biggest and best news, I'M SHOWING FIREFLY TO MY SISTER AND FRIENDS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH. It's even better the second time when you're watching it with people who have no idea what's coming. Good times.

Well, this week is going to be filled with last minute appointments, last minute shopping, last minute packing, and sadly, my grandmother's memorial service, which is two days before I leave. It's sad, but I need to say goodbye and let go.

Thankfully, mere days after that, I will be REUNITED with you lovely people. I cannot wait.

Ren Fest

Once again, that time of year has come and passed. Ren Fest is one of the highlights of my summer, and it was awesome again this year!

Despite a mishap with my skirt (I ordered a long one that never arrived at my house, and so I had to make due with a short one Cesca found), I think my costume turned out great! We went on Fantasy Weekend, so Cesca utilized an old ballet costume of mine and some wings her friend from school gave her:



We had a lot of fun, and I didn't buy anything useless that I won't use, only my ticket and food, plus a ride on a WAR HORSE:



We enjoyed a wench show, wench auction (in which my friend Katrina won a bloke by bidding 2 magical lamps, 2 fire breathing dragons and 5 unicorns, or something like that), and a joust! What a great day:

Musical Obsessions

Alright, so it's high time that I showed you guys some other musicals I love besides The Phantom of the Opera, because I actually have seen quite a few. So here's a sample of some of my obscurer favorites! (Plus other songs from that particular show to check out)



Jekyll & Hyde- Confrontation- A Broadway adaptation of the classic story. Jekyll sings of his despair and intent to banish the beast inside him, Hyde sings of how he will conquer. The same guy does both, so it's pretty freaking cool. Great music. See also: Take Me As I Am, Someone Like You, Dangerous Game, This is the Moment



Dracula- Loving You Keeps Me Alive- Yeah, a romanticized Dracula musical. Kind of odd, plays up the romance a lot (there isn't really any in the book, Dracula is a terror), but James Barbour has the voice of a god. Seriously. As Dracula, he sings of his love for Mina and how he is the one that truly loves her the most, not her betrothed. Also, they lyrics of the song fit really well into phantom, but I digress. See also: The Longer I Live, Finale, Please Don't Make Me Love You



The Light in the Piazza- Say it Somehow. A beautiful love story of a tourist and a man she meets in Italy. In this song, they sing of a way to express their love despite the language barrier, reassuring each other that no matter what, they will understand. There are some songs in Italian = BONUS. ****EXTRA SUPER AWESOME FACT*** Matthew Morrison is the original Fabrizio!!!!! See Also: The Beauty Is, Passegiatta, Love to Me, Il Mondo Era Vuoto, The Light in the Piazza







And last but not least, Lestat- Sail Me Away. Another vampire musical, this time based on the works of Anne Rice, the show wasn't well received but has amazing music. The plot is kind of strange for those not used to it (or those who didn't like Interview with a Vampire). But this song is beautiful. Hugh Panaro (a former Phantom on Broadway) sings of longing to be away from the pain and suffering he's endured as a vampire, being betrayed by his loved ones and being tired of life. This is one of my sister's favorite shows, and Sean MacLaughlin, the Raoul I just saw, was an understudy for Armand, and he was awesome. See also: The Thirst, After All This Time, I'll Never Have That Chance


These are less mainstream musicals, so they aren't as well known or as popular, but check them out, they're super awesome!



BONUS! Enjoy The Song that Goes Like This, a spoof of love songs from musicals. Notice the Phantom references! This is a bonus because I forgot it earlier, haha.

Cleaning

So, like Alysia, I started the epic project of cleaning and reorganizing my room with Cesca. It is especially difficult for us, considering we share a room, to organize things because we don't have space for them.
I'm not going to post pictures of everything like Alysia, because I don't have the patience and am not as organized as her when it comes to those things. I should be, because that probably would be helpful in reevaluating what I need for school, but hey, I really just want it to be clean.

I got caught in the nostalgia of it all a couple of times, you know, things from my dresser that are old that I forgot to put away, or old papers, letters and cards I've saved. It's odd to think about how much we've all grown up, even in the past year. I mean, we are 1 year out of high school already. and that is kind of scary. We are mere weeks away from beginning our second year of college, mere months away from living on our own in a foreign country! We're freaking adults! Whoa!!!! Then I found my old Pokemon cards (yes, I was that much of a dork, even that young) and my old beanie babies that we used to collect and play with religiously... Ah, the good ol' days...

Off of that subject because my brain can't process it, my new music box came. It's pretty simple, but I love it:

There are only a few more that I really want right now, and if I found more I'd be happy but I'm not looking as hard for them, as there's at least 40 different ones:


^ I really want this one



<-- This one's a maybe I really like this one too -->




Oh, and this one, even though it's not a music box but a snowglobe:



Bear in mind that my small collection includes:































So, hopefully I can find these cheap online and use my future Christmas money on them (or ask for them for Christmas, haha) so that I can expand my collection. I'm always on the lookout for them!

And in typing this and searching for pictures, I found a couple of sites with them, which is lucky, as they're a bit tricky to find these days. I wish I had a ton of money to just freely spend on Phantom, because I have another secret Phantom project in the works that is gonna cost me lots (and no, this project isn't seeing the show) so I probably will postpone that till after Italy *sigh*. Other than that, buying one of these every couple of months after saving seems pretty reasonable, right? Seeing the show at least once a year isn't a big deal either, right? Alright, I have a problem. I admit it.

Sorry for the long post with a huge concentration on Phantom. I'm still on cloud nine from seeing it!

Ren Fest Sunday!!!