It's really real now

I know I said that Mom and I are going to Europe, but it wasn't until sometime this afternoon that a wave of conviction came over me. I could actually feel the trip pass from the realm of the Hypothetical to that of the
Actually-Going-To-Happen.







That's totally a word. Look it up.

On second thought, ...don't.

...in other news,

Epiphany had a date!

...a lovely one!



(hey, G!) ;-)

just...wow.

Sometimes the level of cluelessness in this world astounds me.


(BTW: this comment is wholly unrelated to the date comment above. -Epiph.)

Dee & Epiphany's European Vacation

Ok Ya'll - How cool is this:

My mom and I are going to Europe in April.

!!!

We're going to London, Bath, Salisbury (Stonehenge), Glastonbury, Cardiff (Wales), and Stratford-Upon-Avon, then on to Paris, and over to visit with friends in the French countryside, where I'll get to meet my goddaughter for the first time.

I. Can't. Wait.

We've worked out a basic plan for where we want to go, and when and how. The next step is figuring out if the places we want to go will be open on the specific days we want to go to them. Then we'll get the tickets and have a big time!

I'm so excited. I'm trying to keep it in, because until we actually get there, anything can happen to keep us from going. But I really can't help it! I'm so excited! i said that already, didn't I?

More later, but that's the plan as we know it so far.

Karaoke junkie

I've never thought of myself as a singer (still don't). But lately I've been having the best time at local karaoke nights. It's not like I've discovered I'm any type of American Idol material or anything, but I have discovered that I have a voice, and it's not as bad as I'd thought. In fact, it's kind-of okay, maybe even slightly good.

When I was in High School, I was in chorus for a while, and we did a show in which I had a solo. I sang "Blue Moon" (the standard version, not the Sha-Na-Na one from Grease). The choir director told me I had a tendency to go flat, and I've never forgotten that. He's the only one who's ever told me that, but I didn't figure that made him wrong, only honest.

So for the last, oh..., fifteen years, I've thought of myself as having a weak voice and pitch issues. And the cool thing about Karaoke? No one cares. Like life, there's always going to be someone better than me, and someone worse. It's very freeing.

I've always been around good singers - my mom, my roommate in college, my friend Kat - and they always seemed to get this expression of mild bliss while and shortly after singing. And those singers? Man, they'll sing at the drop of a hat. No false modesty or shyness, just open wide and make a joyful noise. How beautiful is that? So now, thanks to Karaoke, I get it. It just feels good. When you can make a sound that vibrates in harmony with the surrounding music or other voices, it feels good. When you take a deep, full breath and let it out over a long note or phrase, it feels good. And when people clap and the end and say you did a good job, well, that feels pretty good too.

I used to think Karaoke was cheesy, and it probably is. But as I've said before, I'm not made of stone. It got me.

A Year with The Bard

Some time ago, I decided that I needed a quest. Something that could be self-driven, and keep my interest until the task was complete. So I decided on...

A Year Of Shakespeare.

Here's the plan:
1- read his Complete Works. Every play. All the way through. Not just Masterplots, like I did in college. I mean really read them. I have a head start because I've already done or seen several, but I'm going to re-read those ones as well. And I have a year in which to read 37 plays (and 154 sonnets, and 5 long poems, if I can manage it).
2-see/be in as many Shakespearean plays as I can. So far, I have planned:
-Romeo and Juliet - see it next month
-"Shakespeare's greatest hits" benefit - hopefully perform in it in March
-King Lear - See it in Stratford-Upon-Avon, directed by Trevor Nunn, starring Ian McKellan, in April (hang on, I need a moment to Happy-dance again!)
-As You Like It - hopefully be in it, in June.
3-study/build costuming for Shakespearean performances in outdoor venue - considering versatility, washability, comfort, ease of movement, aesthetic appeal, historical appropriateness, etc.etc.etc.
4-Read critical essays on the plays as I come across them. This may be guilding the lily, but why not shoot for the moon?