This is from a musical nobody will have heard of, lol, although it was written by Jonathan Larson, who also wrote Rent, which you probably WILL have heard of.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find a professional recording of this song on Youtube, but this cast is pretty good, for the most part at least.

I like the lyrics of this song, they make me think…

Why do we follow leaders who never lead?
Why does it take catastrophe to start a revolution?
If we’re so free, tell me why?
Someone tell me why
So many people bleed?

Brooke and Jenny and I went for a picnic today. Regardless of the thunder and lightening that occurred yesterday, it was extremely hot and sunny outside! Even though I drowned myself in sunscreen, I still managed to get slightly sunburnt on one shoulder. Humbug.

Also at our picnic were several ducks, one of whom was extremely tame and would waddle right up to you, snatch the piece of bread (or chip or cupcake) from your hand, and then waddle off again as fast as it could go! It was hilarious! I tried to take a photo of this, but even after several attempts I didn’t get any good ones, although I think Brooke did, so if she sends me one I’ll edit it in.

Something I do have an amusing photo of however, is Brooke, wading in the Avon river trying to rinse off the cutlery so it wasn’t sticky when she put it back into her bag! This doesn’t sound nearly as amusing as it was, but if you factor in the extremely long dress she happened to be wearing, and the very steep river bank she was climbing down, there was A LOT of potential for an EPIC FAIL. Even though, much to my disappointment, this did not occur.

After having tried to do this last year and FAILing rather miserably after just a couple of weeks, I decided I might as well try this again this year and hopefully make a bit more progress! Meow!

Anybody else attempting this? Click on the pic to go to my Flickr account and friend me if you haven’t already.

EDIT: I just completed another 101 in 1001! The first for 2009! I now have a watch!

I was SUPPOSED to have been given one for Christmas 2007, but the one we bought ended up not fitting the shape of my wrist properly, and I couldn’t do it up easily, so mum took that one over and we’ve spent the last year (on and off, lol) looking for a replacement, which we finally found today!

I looked for a photo of it on the Guess website, but I couldn’t work out how to navigate it! It kept asking me to select a country, and when I selected New Zealand, it just took me to a splash page with no relevant links to anything! FAIL.

This was the closest I could find anywhere else online. It’s almost the same, only the face of mine is pink, and it has a little diamond as the 12 o’clock marker.

Whether or not I get into the habit of wearing it remains to be seen, but since it’s easier to put on and take off and doesn’t take chunks out of my wrist every time I try, I think I probably will.

I hope 2009 is a much better year than 2008!
What are you going to do to MAKE it better?

1. Where were you when 2008 began?
At home, not doing very much exciting. I do remember deciding to start doing Project 365 though, which started off ok, but trailed off later in the year. I’ll do it again in ‘09. Properly.

2. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Visited a cult. It was very, very strange and sort of entertaining, but quickly became rather scary when they followed me to my blog and started spying on me (visiting me several times a day from multiple IP addresses (evidently they did not realise I was able to tell that all the addresses belonged to the same group by simply looking at my site stats!?)). Undercover spying FAIL. It’s funny now, but it certainly wasn’t funny at the time! I have never used my WP-Ban plugin so much in my life! For those of you who weren’t around in May and don’t know what I’m talking about about, that blog entry/trip description WILL be back up some day. I promise.

3. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t think I made any this year! I think I have some of 2009 though, this year has been a bit of a “nothing year” for me, so next year I want to make up for it!
- Learn to drive
- Sit my Restricted
- Finish my degree
- Graduate
- Seriously contemplate going flatting
- Find an additional job
- Take improv classes (and maybe singing/dancing lessons) to improve my overall audition technique
- … a couple of other things too, which I don’t want to publish online.

4. Go to any concerts this year?
Nope. I didn’t even go to much live theatre, which is very unusual for me!

5. Will you be looking for a new job in 2009?
Yes, it’s highly likely. Well, probably not entirely new, I’d like to try to keep my existing part-time one if I can, because I really like it and would be very sad to leave, but I need to look for something else as well.

6. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2008?
Not a lot, though probably more than I did in 2007.

7. Did you go on any vacations? If so, where?
Nope, nowhere.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Nothing really. 2008 hasn’t been very exciting or productive. It hasn’t been the greatest of years overall actually. I’m ready for it to be over.

9. If you could go back in time to any moment of 2008 and change something, what would it be?
I wouldn’t have backed down so easily when the aforementioned cult asked my lecturer to ask me to take down what I blogged about them. I don’t think I should have had to. Before we went on the trip we were not asked to refrain from publishing accounts of our visits on the internet. Obviously if we HAD been asked specifically not to do this I wouldn’t have done it! I didn’t expect them to object, and was completely taken by surprise! I think the whole thing was more a matter of their not having thought about how honest somebody could potentially BE until somebody actually did it, and THEN they thought “Oh crap! We can’t have this! People might Google us and find out XYZ about what we’re really like!” Interesting. It makes you wonder why they’re so worried about it, doesn’t it? Especially since everything I published was completely true!? (Obviously I’d understand their objection to things I had embellished or completely fabricated!)

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not really, luckily for me! I suffered a minor injury in February due to an argument with a filing cabinet at work, but aside from a two inch scar on my ankle, I am none the worse for wear. Filing cabinet’s still there too. Rotten sod. It better watch out next year when I go back to work, I’ll be up for Round #2…with…a golf club or something! *cue awesome mental image*

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The best thing I BOUGHT was my iPod. Best thing I was GIVEN is a tie between my MacBook and my camera, although I think the MacBook might win. Just. Also a couple of other little things which were pretty awesome too. :)

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
A few people actually - they know who they are.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
One person in particular, who I’d like to kick if I were given the opportunity. So long as I never have to see her ever again all will be well. Additionally, the cult’s, although their behaviour made me disturbed and vaguely amused, as opposed to appalled and depressed.

14. Where did most of your money go?
On scrapbooking and art stuff, probably, with clothes a close second.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Turning 21, even though I didn’t think I would. :)

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Hmmm, I don’t know! Songs from the musical I was in?

17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
I don’t know, maybe…sadder, actually. *shrug*
ii. thinner or fatter?
Probably the same.
iii. richer or poorer?
Probably the same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Theatre stuff. I wish I’d done more than one show this year.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Wasting time.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
At my house - the family came to us this year, so we didn’t travel. Overall, it was a pretty good day.

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
No.

23. What was the biggest change for you in 2008?
I don’t know, I don’t think very much has really changed, I STILL don’t know what to do with my life!

24. What were your favourite TV programmes?
I don’t watch very much TV so I don’t have a favourite, but thanks to two very addicted friends, I do sometimes watch Bones.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I wouldn’t say I hate them, but there has been one relationship which I had this time last year, but do not have anymore (the same person mentioned in #13). I don’t regret it however. She was more a friend of another friend of mine, and was driving MY friend absolutely around the bend with various ridiculous things, so I’m glad that she got rid of her. The flow-on effect is that I never see her anymore, but I don’t care.

26. What was the best book you read?
I don’t know, I don’t think I’ve read anything particularly memorable this year! EPIC FAIL @ me. Oh. Apart from that stupid book about How To Survive Being One, but, as you might be able to gather from the blog entry about that book, it’s hardly a contender for the BEST book! Ugh.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Hmm, maybe Dar Williams…or Seussical.

28. What did you want and get?
An iPod, a new camera and a MacBook!

29. What did you want and not get?
I didn’t want it desperately, but I think my next BIG purchase might be one of these (or similar). Probably not until I can justify replacing my current phone though.

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Mamma Mia!

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 21! I didn’t do very much on my actual birthday, just a lot of last minute preparation stuff for my party the next night, which was awesome. My only regret it that I didn’t take more photographs and get a slightly better video.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Doing more theatre stuff. Also knowing I had been a better friend to a couple of people.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Pretty boring, but maybe slightly more stylish than last year.

34. What kept you sane?
This. Teehee! Sorry. Had to link to that somehow!

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Nobody really!

36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
This whole song does, and not just in relation to theatre stuff either, just generally.

37. Who did you miss?
Nobody!

38. Who was the best new person you met?
The director of the drama school I worked at. AMAZING woman. So awesome and talented that I was actually kind of surprised she liked me and thought I was worth her time!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Don’t put clothes made of viscose rayon in the dryer. They will shrink. This is bad.
Also, that I am not particularly academically talented. This is NOT bad. After I have finished this degree that I have committed myself to, I will go and find something else to do.

40. What are your plans for 2009?
Who knows!? I suspect that 2009 could be the year of some rather big changes for me! I hope so anyway.

EDIT: Thanks to the Wayback Machine, I found my 2007 answers!

1. Where were you when 2007 began?
I don’t remember to be honest - it can’t have been anywhere terribly exciting!

2. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
Finished my teenage years

3. Did you keep your new years resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I hardly ever make them, but earlier tonight I discovered something that might be kind of cool to do in 2008…Project 365

4. Go to any concerts this year?
Nope

5. Will you be looking for a new job in 2008?
Unlikely, I like my current job

6. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2007?
Possibly more than I did in 2006, but still not very much.

7. Did you go on any vacations? If so, where?
Yes, I went to Tahiti in July, which was awesome, even though I was my second time going there.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I don’t know, I don’t think 2007 has been very eventful, I didn’t achieve a lot…other than auditioning for my very first musical and ending up getting a pretty good part!

9. If you could go back in time to any moment of 2007 and change something, what would it be?
Like I said at the end of 2006, I don’t think I’d change anything about the year, I might change things about my self though, since I have recently come to realise that there are some parts of my personality that I don’t particularly like.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not seriously, I’ve been pretty lucky health-wise this year!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My new phone I suppose, it’s pretty and very pink.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Nobody’s in particular. There have been a few times when I’ve been proud of what I’ve done (or achieved), but I don’t want to sound arrogant and say “my behaviour ought to celebrated”.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
My own, on some occasions.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Unimportant things.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Nothing really other than Wonderland!

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
“What If” - Nichole Nordeman

17. Compared to this time last year, are you
i. happier or sadder?
Much the same.
ii. thinner or fatter?
Probably about the same, perhaps slightly thinner.
iii. richer or poorer?
Richer, yay for having a job!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Acting, meeting people, studying and voicing my opinions and feelings.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Wasting time - which was also my 2006 answer…I never learn, do I!?

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With my mum’s sister and her family, it was pretty cool.

22. Did you fall in love in 2006?
No.

23. What was the biggest change for you in 2006?
I’m not sure!

24. What were your favourite TV programmes?
I don’t think I had any favourite programmes this year, I didn’t watch a lot of TV!

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No, but as I said last year, I feel differently towards some people than I used to.

26. What was the best book you read?
Wow. This is so bad…I don’t think I read any really great books this year!

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Not sure…various things, but nothing life changing!

28. What did you want and get?
A new phone

29. What did you want and not get?
An iPod.

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Calendar Girls. Brilliant. I love it. Helen Mirren and Julie Walters definitely get added to my list of Admired Persons.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 20, and on my birthday I went to uni and had a pretty average, but good day, then, the weekend after my birthday, my family had an open house type thing where people came over for lunch basically. Simple, but one of the most awesome “birthday parties” I think I’ve ever had. Hopefully my 21st in 2008 is even better though!

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Beating around the bush less!

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
The same as my 2006 answer…practical, but feminine.

34. What kept you sane?
Same as 2006 yet again…I don’t think I was ever at risk of going INSANE…or maybe I’m too far gone to notice…?

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
In a completely non-sexual manner…Helen Mirren. Although Stephanie J. Block is definitely still up there too!

36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“What if you dig
Way down deeper than your simple-minded friends
What if you dig
What if you find
A thousand more unanswered questions down inside
That’s all you find“

37. Who did you miss?
Nobody in particular, though in some ways I missed relationships between certain people which are now broken or have become redundant.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
I don’t think I met any completely new people, although Lisa and Jenny are pretty cool. I wouldn’t mind ending up like them in 10 or 15 years time!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Don’t leave things too late.

40. What are your plans for 2008?
To continue going to university, and hopefully mature and change a lot.

A couple of days ago she “anonymously” sent me a rock in the mail. The reasoning behind her sending me the rock is lengthy and obscure, so I won’t explain it all here, but she she intended for me to get it and be all confused and not know who sent it.

Unfortunately for her, I knew who it was from before I even opened the envelope because she and I happen to have extremely similar (almost identical) handwriting, so I knew it was from her even though she tried to disguise it.

Although I don’t often blog about her, this friend and I are extremely close, and our doing this kind of thing to one another is not infrequent (LOL!), only this time, I’m kind of stuck. What can I send back, or do back, in return…?

I’m open to any and all suggestions, provided they’re legal and non-offensive. :)

EDIT: Why is this old theme back again? Because I’m an idiot and accidentally deleted half of the Christmas one, but can’t quite be bothered making a post-Christmas one QUITE yet, so this one is back for a day or two, and hopefully still in working order!

Not bummed this time though! I have more than enough photos for scrapbooking! I’m slightly sad I didn’t think to get one of everybody all together, but as one side of the family was arriving, the other side was thinking about leaving, so it didn’t occur to me. I’m not going to post many photos here, since some of them are so ridiculous they might be embarrassing to various innocent parties, but here’s one nice one of two of my cousins and I. Who else likes my awesome festive head gear (courtesy of one uncle)? I do! It also lights up and the little Christmas trees flash, but you can’t tell that from this photo, thanks to the light coming in the window.

Dad’s sister and her family arrived at around 12, and just hung out until we ate at 1:30. Then everyone sat around talking, drinking and continuing to eat until Mum’s sister and her family arrived just after 4. They weren’t originally going to come, since they’d been invited somewhere else for Christmas Dinner, but as it turned out, the place they were going was only about a 10 minute drive away from our house, so they came over afterwards anyway, which was nice. :)

This year mum and I gave up on cooking a traditional turkey, since nobody attending really likes it anyway, and instead had glazed ham and roast lamb, which was great. Amusingly, we completely forgot about the Christmas cake and Christmas pudding until we’d already finished eating, so that poor old abandoned food will have to wait, perhaps until New Years’, lol!

My aunt (Dad’s sister) brought us two crayfish as well (not live, thankfully!), which was really cool, even if I did feel a bit sorry for them having been decapitated and their innards ripped apart. They were tasty though. Nom nom nom.

I hope everyone else had a nice Christmas Day too. What was the most exciting thing you got from Santa?

Merry Christmas!
I hope you all have a lovely day…and no flats!

This wasn’t a part I auditioned for, wanted, or even expected to get, but after she explained that in our version the Sowerberries aren’t going to be nearly as old as they are in the novel and the Broadway show, because she’s cast a Mr. Sowerberry who looks as if he could be in his 30s, which sounds like a good match appearance-wise for me. Hopefully.

I was also rather (extremely!) excited when I want onto SparkNotes and discovered the title of the post by way of a chacracter briefing! I have NEVER been cast as anything like this before! I always seem to end up as nice, pretty young women (like Rose), talking animals (like the White Rabbit) or singing eggs (like Humpty Dumpty)! I have never been anybody mean! I suppose there’s a first time for everything!

I was also very excited to discover the following clip on Youtube, with a young, pretty, yet VERY wicked (listen right to the end, I WANT that cackle!) Mrs. Sowerberry. Admittedly this isn’t the same script, and sadly I do not get to sing that song (EPIC sadly, it would be AWESOME!), but still, it gave me some insight into how a young woman ought to play this character! *nerd*