Things I have done in the past few days:
- Written a short play that combines elements of The Little Prince and Calvin and Hobbes
- Purchased a cell phone
- Eaten at the Australian version of Chipotle (Mad Mex, it doesn't come close to the majesty of Chipotle)
- Sworn to never go to a bar ever again (the excursions always end poorly)
Wow, that's not at all much. I need to remedy this situation.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
In Which John Does Not Watch "Watchmen" Again
My Linguistics class has started to take its toll on me. I've become snarky with the fellow students, who fortunately haven't noticed yet.
Number of Linguistics Class Periods I've Had: 5
Number of Linguistics Class Periods We've Gone Over What An Adverb Is: 5
3 times was funny. 4 times was scary. 5 times means the end is near.
In audition news, I was told that I got the role of the newscaster in Dr. Horrible. So, considering the number of people who auditioned for the 12-person cast, I'm pretty lucky just to be a part of it. I also heard through the grapevine that I'll be in the chorus for Cabaret. Since I had not heard this officially yet, my conclusion is that I was second in line for one of the main parts, but one guy had to choose between a lead in Cabaret and Dr. Horrible. He chose Cabaret today. I wish he chose Dr. Horrible just so I could see if my prediction was right.
After the improv workshop, a bunch of theater people were going to see the Watchmen. I had already seen it, but I tagged along for the journey to the shopping center so I could get dinner. When the movie was about to start, I went to leave, and my friend asked why. Earlier in the day, I had pulled a similar act, when I joined her and her friends in between classes to kill time, then left right before they went to the mall. So, as a joking reference to the earlier time, I said "I live for the journey, not the destination."
Although I was joking, I started thinking about what I said. I find that I do really enjoy the journeys of life, rather than the end results. Whether they be literal (such as car trips and plane rides) or not, I love the space in between action. This is when I usually can listen to music and think about...everything. I love walking to class. I love rehearsing for shows. I even love the pursuit of romance, having a crush. I usually live in this constant state of waiting for things to happen, so I've learned to embrace it, and actually find comfort in it. When you focus on the moment, you find so many small details that you would often overlook. People often asked me if I was excited to go to Australia. No, I was not. I knew it would happen. I was more excited to live during the days leading up to it. Just as I was excited to not watch Watchmen again.
Instead I sat in a huge empty field and watched the sky.
Did you know that the moon in Australia has the same face as in America but is rotated 90 degrees to the left?
Number of Linguistics Class Periods I've Had: 5
Number of Linguistics Class Periods We've Gone Over What An Adverb Is: 5
3 times was funny. 4 times was scary. 5 times means the end is near.
In audition news, I was told that I got the role of the newscaster in Dr. Horrible. So, considering the number of people who auditioned for the 12-person cast, I'm pretty lucky just to be a part of it. I also heard through the grapevine that I'll be in the chorus for Cabaret. Since I had not heard this officially yet, my conclusion is that I was second in line for one of the main parts, but one guy had to choose between a lead in Cabaret and Dr. Horrible. He chose Cabaret today. I wish he chose Dr. Horrible just so I could see if my prediction was right.
After the improv workshop, a bunch of theater people were going to see the Watchmen. I had already seen it, but I tagged along for the journey to the shopping center so I could get dinner. When the movie was about to start, I went to leave, and my friend asked why. Earlier in the day, I had pulled a similar act, when I joined her and her friends in between classes to kill time, then left right before they went to the mall. So, as a joking reference to the earlier time, I said "I live for the journey, not the destination."
Although I was joking, I started thinking about what I said. I find that I do really enjoy the journeys of life, rather than the end results. Whether they be literal (such as car trips and plane rides) or not, I love the space in between action. This is when I usually can listen to music and think about...everything. I love walking to class. I love rehearsing for shows. I even love the pursuit of romance, having a crush. I usually live in this constant state of waiting for things to happen, so I've learned to embrace it, and actually find comfort in it. When you focus on the moment, you find so many small details that you would often overlook. People often asked me if I was excited to go to Australia. No, I was not. I knew it would happen. I was more excited to live during the days leading up to it. Just as I was excited to not watch Watchmen again.
Instead I sat in a huge empty field and watched the sky.
Did you know that the moon in Australia has the same face as in America but is rotated 90 degrees to the left?
Sunday, March 8, 2009
In Which John Goes to Mardi Gras
Friday - I watched the Dark Knight for the second time as a part of FilmSoc. Since I'd already seen it once, I just decided that I'd stay until I got bored and then leave. But I never got bored. I liked it just as much as I did the first time. Why was this not nominated for Best Picture?
I also found out that I got the role of the villain in the upcoming play. So, woo!
Saturday - My roommates and I went to Australian Mardi Gras. Unlike actual Mardi Gras, this was held on a Saturday, and was essentially a glorified gay pride parade. I had never been to a gay pride parade before, but I'm not a big fan of crowds, nor parades for that matter. And whereas Mardi Gras invokes images of everyone drunk and dancing amongst the parade, everyone was just drunk and standing tightly packed to the side to watch the parade. I got very sore from standing in the same spot for 4 hours straight.
Afterwards, as we were leaving to catch a bus back to campus, some small fight broke out across the street. As people ran across the street to observe, I noticed that a bus was driving around the corner at full speed, just as two people ran right in front of it. I had never witnessed anyone coming so close to injury before in my life, so my body involuntarily shouted "Watch out!" as if that would do any good. Even if they had heard me, they would've stopped and turned around and gotten hit anyway. Fortunately, the bus stopped in time, with neither of the people any the wiser that their lives almost ended.
My heart was in my throat the rest of the night.
Sunday - I had a read through of the script for the play. There's a girl who also made it in the cast and plays the female villain. We auditioned together, and she was the first person who made me feel comfortable acting in this new land, so I'm glad she also made it. Everything is big and over-the-top (it's written that way). I get an eyepatch.
Sorry there isn't as much interesting stuff going on quite yet.
I also found out that I got the role of the villain in the upcoming play. So, woo!
Saturday - My roommates and I went to Australian Mardi Gras. Unlike actual Mardi Gras, this was held on a Saturday, and was essentially a glorified gay pride parade. I had never been to a gay pride parade before, but I'm not a big fan of crowds, nor parades for that matter. And whereas Mardi Gras invokes images of everyone drunk and dancing amongst the parade, everyone was just drunk and standing tightly packed to the side to watch the parade. I got very sore from standing in the same spot for 4 hours straight.
Afterwards, as we were leaving to catch a bus back to campus, some small fight broke out across the street. As people ran across the street to observe, I noticed that a bus was driving around the corner at full speed, just as two people ran right in front of it. I had never witnessed anyone coming so close to injury before in my life, so my body involuntarily shouted "Watch out!" as if that would do any good. Even if they had heard me, they would've stopped and turned around and gotten hit anyway. Fortunately, the bus stopped in time, with neither of the people any the wiser that their lives almost ended.
My heart was in my throat the rest of the night.
Sunday - I had a read through of the script for the play. There's a girl who also made it in the cast and plays the female villain. We auditioned together, and she was the first person who made me feel comfortable acting in this new land, so I'm glad she also made it. Everything is big and over-the-top (it's written that way). I get an eyepatch.
Sorry there isn't as much interesting stuff going on quite yet.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
In Which John is Entertained
So, the other night, I saw "A Dark Day's Knight" which is a musical based on the world of Star Wars. It was produced and written by students here. The story is basically a tragic love story between a young Jedi sent to investigate the murder of a Galactic Counsel member and a worker girl at a brothel. All of the songs are actually popular songs with new lyrics based on the story. This included parodies of Bohemian Like You, Come As You Are, and Killing Me Softly With His Song. It was pretty fun.
Of course there were impressive lightsaber battles, for what Star Wars musical wouldn't have them? I really enjoyed the story because it wasn't trying to weasel it's way into the pre-existing Star Wars canon, but rather happened to be set in the Star Wars era, like a medieval play or a western. The story came first and the Star Wars came second.
The next day I went to a couple classes, then remembered that Watchmen came out that day, so I went to see it. It was the middle of a school day, so the theater was virtually empty, although there was a guy dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow (according to the woman at the concession stand, this guy comes to every "nerdy fan movie" dressed as Sparrow).
I thought the movie was an overall success. I hadn't read the story in a long time, so it was nice to be familiar with the plot and still be effected emotionally by the twists and turns. I had gone in knowing that the ending had been altered from the story, but I didn't really remember the original ending, so when I checked it later, I was surprised at how the new ending fit in a lot better to the themes and emotions of the story. There were a few hokey moments that could've been tweaked (especially at the very end) and Nixon was a bit laughable. But I was pleased with the movie, and I think it did a very good job.
Afterwards, I had dinner with a few of the guys from the DDK cast. They are cool folk. One of them let me know that I got into the upcoming short play revue, but he didn't tell me which one (although apparently the directors were fighting over who got me for their play).
That night I went to the University Bar to celebrate my roommate Matt's birthday, but it was not as fun as last week, so I left early and chose to sit in a tree and admire the stars, which was much more beautiful.
Of course there were impressive lightsaber battles, for what Star Wars musical wouldn't have them? I really enjoyed the story because it wasn't trying to weasel it's way into the pre-existing Star Wars canon, but rather happened to be set in the Star Wars era, like a medieval play or a western. The story came first and the Star Wars came second.
The next day I went to a couple classes, then remembered that Watchmen came out that day, so I went to see it. It was the middle of a school day, so the theater was virtually empty, although there was a guy dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow (according to the woman at the concession stand, this guy comes to every "nerdy fan movie" dressed as Sparrow).
I thought the movie was an overall success. I hadn't read the story in a long time, so it was nice to be familiar with the plot and still be effected emotionally by the twists and turns. I had gone in knowing that the ending had been altered from the story, but I didn't really remember the original ending, so when I checked it later, I was surprised at how the new ending fit in a lot better to the themes and emotions of the story. There were a few hokey moments that could've been tweaked (especially at the very end) and Nixon was a bit laughable. But I was pleased with the movie, and I think it did a very good job.
Afterwards, I had dinner with a few of the guys from the DDK cast. They are cool folk. One of them let me know that I got into the upcoming short play revue, but he didn't tell me which one (although apparently the directors were fighting over who got me for their play).
That night I went to the University Bar to celebrate my roommate Matt's birthday, but it was not as fun as last week, so I left early and chose to sit in a tree and admire the stars, which was much more beautiful.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
In Which John Has Two Birthdays and Gets a Present
At midnight, my roommates and I were in the middle of bonding. We'd take turns asking questions and sharing stories. Vanessa (or "Ness," since Australians shorten everything) does not know what animal represents her. She was thus shamed from the discussion.
Before I went to bed, I noticed that my parents had wished me a Happy Birthday at Australian midnight.
Then came the actual day itself.
I was looking forward to the day, even though I knew it'd be long. After lunch, I had my first class, a 2-hour lecture about the First Australians. Of course it was boring, but at least I know someone in the class now, which always seems to make classes better.
Afterwards, I had to go straight to my next class about Australian Media for another hour. It was fine, we watched some Australian commercials, but I was anxious to get through the class because up next was...
Improv! I found the improv group, and finally got to feel at home, if only for 45 min. But since I had another class to go to, I could only stay for the warm-up portion and had to miss out on playing games.
Up next was my English discussion. Everyone in my section is majoring in Early Education. Everyone struggled with basic grammar. It seems so weird having grown up with this stuff in school, that you don't realize not everyone had the same upbringing as you. Still, I can sense that I'll go crazy when I'm 2 months in and people still haven't grasped the difference between an adverb and an adjective.
Afterwards I had to go to yet another audition. The day before I had done the dancing audition for Cabaret and today I had to do the singing portion. I think it went well. I had to do an American accent. I nailed it. I also had to do a German accent. I tried to imitate Beicken, but I ended up sounding more like my Polish Joke character. Oh well. We'll see what happens with that soon.
By this point, I was feeling a little bummed. It feels weird having gone most of your birthday without seeing anyone who knows you and can wish you a Happy Birthday. But fortunately, my roommates are my family, and they had ordered many pizzas for dinner. A couple of my roommates' friends came over. I don't know whether I can definitively call them my friends yet, even though I've seen them a lot. There's Adelle (the attractive, funny one), Sophie (the attractive, funny one), and Steff (the attractive, funny one...hmm, maybe all Aussie girls are the attractive, funny one). They made me a birthday card out of construction paper. It says "Have a whale of a time..." and there's a cutout of a whale. (I said it was a fish, because it's tail was vertical instead of horizontal, but Adelle pointed out that it had a blowhole, so she was right.)
For some reason, I really like this card, probably more than I should. If you haven't noticed, the title of this post (as well as all the others) is based on the way the chapters are titled in old novels, especially Winnie-the-Pooh. In the chapter "In Which Eeyore Has a Birthday and Gets Two Presents," Eeyore informs Pooh that it is his birthday, and Pooh tells Piglet, so they both decide to get him gifts. Pooh likes honey, so he thinks a pot of honey will be a good gift. But, being Pooh, he eats all the honey and is left with an empty jar. So he decides that should be the gift. Piglet gets an old balloon that he has leftover from his own birthday, put it pops before he reaches Eeyore. Nevertheless, Eeyore accepts both gifts (he uses the jar to store the popped balloon) and treasures them. I'm going to treasure this card.
After pizza, we had white chocolate cake. I'm not a fan of cake, but I loved this cake. Australian cake is better than your cake. My roommates put 21 sparklers on the cake. They went out before I had a chance to make a wish. The smoke alarm went off.
Then we watched a bunch of YouTube videos.
So that was my first 21st birthday.
Around this time, slow Americans started realizing it was my birthday, so I spent most of today reading Facebook birthday messages. It's always funny to see who leaves you those. Sometimes it's people you haven't spoken to in years or just don't really know who write only "happy birthday." No thought or effort, you kind of wonder why they bother. Sometimes you get people who try to start conversations, "Happy Birthday, tell me all about Australia!" I'm sorry, but you should've asked for that before I had to wade through this sea of wall posts. I like the ones with a little flair, or, if you're like Allie, ones that show up on Facebook, on AIM, and on Skype.
The best one wasn't a Facebook post though, it was an e-mail from Ness. Even though she already celebrated my birthday, she sent a message including pictures from the two nights previously mentioned and a link to the song that "Michael Jackson" and Bart wrote for Lisa's birthday. And since Vanessa loves reading this blog, I felt I should mention her a lot so she knows she's special.
So that was my second 21st birthday.
As for the actual events of today that happened after it stopped being my birthday in America? I helped paint the set for a show that opened tonight, then I went to a block party and learned that Aussies don't believe in napkins (especially Vanessa), and then I saw the show that opened tonight. But that was so amazing that I'm going to save it for the next post.
Before I went to bed, I noticed that my parents had wished me a Happy Birthday at Australian midnight.
Then came the actual day itself.
I was looking forward to the day, even though I knew it'd be long. After lunch, I had my first class, a 2-hour lecture about the First Australians. Of course it was boring, but at least I know someone in the class now, which always seems to make classes better.
Afterwards, I had to go straight to my next class about Australian Media for another hour. It was fine, we watched some Australian commercials, but I was anxious to get through the class because up next was...
Improv! I found the improv group, and finally got to feel at home, if only for 45 min. But since I had another class to go to, I could only stay for the warm-up portion and had to miss out on playing games.
Up next was my English discussion. Everyone in my section is majoring in Early Education. Everyone struggled with basic grammar. It seems so weird having grown up with this stuff in school, that you don't realize not everyone had the same upbringing as you. Still, I can sense that I'll go crazy when I'm 2 months in and people still haven't grasped the difference between an adverb and an adjective.
Afterwards I had to go to yet another audition. The day before I had done the dancing audition for Cabaret and today I had to do the singing portion. I think it went well. I had to do an American accent. I nailed it. I also had to do a German accent. I tried to imitate Beicken, but I ended up sounding more like my Polish Joke character. Oh well. We'll see what happens with that soon.
By this point, I was feeling a little bummed. It feels weird having gone most of your birthday without seeing anyone who knows you and can wish you a Happy Birthday. But fortunately, my roommates are my family, and they had ordered many pizzas for dinner. A couple of my roommates' friends came over. I don't know whether I can definitively call them my friends yet, even though I've seen them a lot. There's Adelle (the attractive, funny one), Sophie (the attractive, funny one), and Steff (the attractive, funny one...hmm, maybe all Aussie girls are the attractive, funny one). They made me a birthday card out of construction paper. It says "Have a whale of a time..." and there's a cutout of a whale. (I said it was a fish, because it's tail was vertical instead of horizontal, but Adelle pointed out that it had a blowhole, so she was right.)
For some reason, I really like this card, probably more than I should. If you haven't noticed, the title of this post (as well as all the others) is based on the way the chapters are titled in old novels, especially Winnie-the-Pooh. In the chapter "In Which Eeyore Has a Birthday and Gets Two Presents," Eeyore informs Pooh that it is his birthday, and Pooh tells Piglet, so they both decide to get him gifts. Pooh likes honey, so he thinks a pot of honey will be a good gift. But, being Pooh, he eats all the honey and is left with an empty jar. So he decides that should be the gift. Piglet gets an old balloon that he has leftover from his own birthday, put it pops before he reaches Eeyore. Nevertheless, Eeyore accepts both gifts (he uses the jar to store the popped balloon) and treasures them. I'm going to treasure this card.
After pizza, we had white chocolate cake. I'm not a fan of cake, but I loved this cake. Australian cake is better than your cake. My roommates put 21 sparklers on the cake. They went out before I had a chance to make a wish. The smoke alarm went off.
Then we watched a bunch of YouTube videos.
So that was my first 21st birthday.
Around this time, slow Americans started realizing it was my birthday, so I spent most of today reading Facebook birthday messages. It's always funny to see who leaves you those. Sometimes it's people you haven't spoken to in years or just don't really know who write only "happy birthday." No thought or effort, you kind of wonder why they bother. Sometimes you get people who try to start conversations, "Happy Birthday, tell me all about Australia!" I'm sorry, but you should've asked for that before I had to wade through this sea of wall posts. I like the ones with a little flair, or, if you're like Allie, ones that show up on Facebook, on AIM, and on Skype.
The best one wasn't a Facebook post though, it was an e-mail from Ness. Even though she already celebrated my birthday, she sent a message including pictures from the two nights previously mentioned and a link to the song that "Michael Jackson" and Bart wrote for Lisa's birthday. And since Vanessa loves reading this blog, I felt I should mention her a lot so she knows she's special.
So that was my second 21st birthday.
As for the actual events of today that happened after it stopped being my birthday in America? I helped paint the set for a show that opened tonight, then I went to a block party and learned that Aussies don't believe in napkins (especially Vanessa), and then I saw the show that opened tonight. But that was so amazing that I'm going to save it for the next post.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
In Which John Counts Down the Days
On Wednesday, I had no class, so I walked through the Botanical Gradens. It was cloudy.
On Thursday, I had Media discussion. There are only 9 people in it out of the 250 in the whole class. Rarely anyone talked, so I spearheaded the discussion.
Afterwards, I auditioned for the upcoming play. It's made for new students, and there is a 99.9% chance I'll get in. There are four short plays, and I had to audition for each. I got along well with the auditionees and the auditioners. It's a lot less formal than at UMD. We were all just standing outside and reading our pieces wherever we happened to be standing.
On Friday, there was a meeting for the theater group. I had a chance of getting a position on the board of executives, but I didn't get enough votes (probably because I'm only here for a semester and it'd be unwise to put me in the committee for a short time). I met two of the people in charge of the brand new improv group on campus. They were impressed with my background (since very few people do improv here) and I'm basically an automatic member/workshop leader. Hopefully the meeting and show times don't conflict with classes too much. We had a picnic, and I got to know the members better. I learned that the musical group (which is different but basically the same as the drama group) is doing an adaptation of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
That night, I went out with my roommates and their friends and got to know them better. Australian girls talk about the weirdest stuff. I also realized that not only have I been rooming with a different nationality of people, but I think I've been placed into a different clique. Kind of like the girls on Bel Air 4. We're friends, but I don't really go out with them. But now, I have to go out with these kind of people. I'm slowly adjusting.
On Saturday, I spent a long time getting acquainted with the musical. I also saw Ghost Town. Did you know that in Australian movie theaters they have assigned seats?
On Sunday (today), I auditioned. For someone who sings poorly and rarely, I sang very well. Unfortunately, the director has made it quite clear that he thinks I'm perfect for a bit role as the newscaster. So, it's good that I have a high chance of getting into the show, but it would be a lot more epic to play Dr. Horrible (especially since I impressed myself with my audition song).
And now, a note about the bird noises I constantly hear:
- Some sound like velociraptors
- Some sound like Tickle-Me-Elmo
- Some sound like injured children or dying cats
- All of them terrify me
On Thursday, I had Media discussion. There are only 9 people in it out of the 250 in the whole class. Rarely anyone talked, so I spearheaded the discussion.
Afterwards, I auditioned for the upcoming play. It's made for new students, and there is a 99.9% chance I'll get in. There are four short plays, and I had to audition for each. I got along well with the auditionees and the auditioners. It's a lot less formal than at UMD. We were all just standing outside and reading our pieces wherever we happened to be standing.
On Friday, there was a meeting for the theater group. I had a chance of getting a position on the board of executives, but I didn't get enough votes (probably because I'm only here for a semester and it'd be unwise to put me in the committee for a short time). I met two of the people in charge of the brand new improv group on campus. They were impressed with my background (since very few people do improv here) and I'm basically an automatic member/workshop leader. Hopefully the meeting and show times don't conflict with classes too much. We had a picnic, and I got to know the members better. I learned that the musical group (which is different but basically the same as the drama group) is doing an adaptation of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
That night, I went out with my roommates and their friends and got to know them better. Australian girls talk about the weirdest stuff. I also realized that not only have I been rooming with a different nationality of people, but I think I've been placed into a different clique. Kind of like the girls on Bel Air 4. We're friends, but I don't really go out with them. But now, I have to go out with these kind of people. I'm slowly adjusting.
On Saturday, I spent a long time getting acquainted with the musical. I also saw Ghost Town. Did you know that in Australian movie theaters they have assigned seats?
On Sunday (today), I auditioned. For someone who sings poorly and rarely, I sang very well. Unfortunately, the director has made it quite clear that he thinks I'm perfect for a bit role as the newscaster. So, it's good that I have a high chance of getting into the show, but it would be a lot more epic to play Dr. Horrible (especially since I impressed myself with my audition song).
And now, a note about the bird noises I constantly hear:
- Some sound like velociraptors
- Some sound like Tickle-Me-Elmo
- Some sound like injured children or dying cats
- All of them terrify me
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