“We've got a Holiday that He Can’t Refuse”

   Oooh! Two posts in one day?! Yeah, I wrote the other one a long time ago (like a week) and just got around to posting today. Also, I realized I only had 2 posts for all of November and was filled with shame. So I am posting twice in one day.


   Thanksgiving was Thursday. You knew that. Now, tell me honestly: when did you start thinking about Christmas? Monday? Wednesday? Not until Friday? If you answered not until Friday I salute you. I saw way too many people, stores, cities, and TV commercials that were already at December 20th before I’d put away my Halloween costume. Whatever happened to Thanksgiving? It has now become my personal mission to raise this unloved and forgotten middle child of Halloween and Christmas up to its full glory. These are my ideas how:


1. Stop making people feel obligated to spend Thanksgiving with their families- I mean face it, you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your relatives. Wait till Christmas to see them.


2. Re-image the Thanksgiving parade- It is way too Christmas oriented. We need more turkeys and pilgrims, less Santa. Speaking of Santa…


3. Make kids hate Santa- I mean, he watches them as they sleep and threatens to crush their happy, Christmas souls by not bringing them gifts if they are bad. Just admit that Santa is really Mommy or Daddy and stop making your children sit on pedo’s laps at the mall.


4. Create a nationwide Thanksgiving activity- Christmas has presents and 4th of July has fireworks, why can’t Thanksgiving have, I don’t know, relay races or ping pong ball fights?


5. Write Thanksgiving songs- make them catchy and about happy things like food and airports.


   See. Thanksgiving is sounding better already!


Thomas Jefferson thought the concept of Thanksgiving was “the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard.” (He would support my holiday spruce up)

“I’m Gonna Live Forever”

   So today is the last performance of FAME, thus ending my latest musical theater endeavor. It had a good run. We pulled it together at the last minute from a moderate disaster. That is the way I remember musicals being. Now there are 3 auditions coming up next week. Or the next few weeks, time does not matter in cyberspace. But the problem is that I can’t be in all 3 shows at the same time. (Maybe if I had a time turner, but even then…)


1. The first audition is for UIL One Act Play, directed Mr. H- In years past Mr. H has been the only director at school who has given me a part before. This makes me more hopeful about maybe making the OAP, but it is still extremely difficult. The show, Cinderella Waltz , sounds fun and has a few parts, but OAP is pretty elite. And, if I do manage to score a role I can’t do any other shows. I really don’t want to miss Bye Bye Birdie.


2. Yep. That’s the second audition, Bye Bye Birdie- It is the musical at FUMC and everyone makes it. This would be my 4th show there and I really love doing them. Musicals hold a special place in my heart and all my friends are doing. (And yes, if all my friends jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge I’d probably trust their judgment).


3. Mr. B, another director at school is also doing a play this semester (why?)- I’d also love to be in his show and I would still have time for a bit part in Bye Bye Birdie. I’ve already made up my mind here. If I don’t make OAP then I’ll try out for Mr. B’s show. (Not that I’ll probably make it since I’m not a senior, but it’s worth a shot.)


   It is all confusing and a bit boring for y’all to read, but then again, I’m pretty sure my most avid blog reader is myself. What do I care what you think Google Searcher?


The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building. (Hahaha engineers)

“This is My Quest”

   I recently finished reading The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs. It was really a good book, funny and informative, all about Jacobs’ quest to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. This has inspired me to do two things: learn more and adopt my own quest. I have been doing well on both accounts.


1. Learning more- I actually learned a lot of interesting things from The Know-It-All. For example:


     a. The curious case of Prynne. An ancient Greek meritrix (Latin censoring) who made tons of money. Then she got arrested for blasphemy and put on trial. Things looked pretty bleak for her (the sentence was execution) so she flashed them. They acquitted her. I learned that boobs will make heterosexual males do anything.


     b. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, my most recent required school reading book, wrote the number 64 compulsively on scraps of paper. Although interestingly enough, I found no mention of it in the actual book he is so famous for. They must have edited those parts outs.


    c. Queen Victoria’s bustle played “God Save the Queen” when she sat on it.


    d. In Medieval England they had an Abbot of Unreason in charge of all Christmas celebrations.


2. Adopting a quest- back last spring my school had a pop tab drive for the Ronald McDonald House. I don’t actually drink soda, but I ended up with a ton. Then I got addicted. Now I can’t stop. So I have now made it my quest to get 1 million pop tabs. It seems insane, but I’m going to do it. I have about 4,000 now. It’s a good start.


The CIA tried to assassinate Fidel Castro 634 times. (Yay Learning!)