Harveys 2017

The new members of Alpha Psi omega, led by Mandy, performed last night. Their parodies were very cute. Their original skit was rather clever, and did a good job of keeping up the "complaining about clues" trend that the past few years have loved so much. Their song was great. Out of this world. I am actually so in love with it. I stand by the opinion that no class has had as great a song as the Chi class' Disney medley. But WOW this is such a close second. It was so good and very sweet and lots of fun and emotional and I'M SO IMPRESSED. I can't express it well enough. Their creativity was beyond measure and their hard work is evident throughout the whole performance. They seem like great additions to our theatre family. And Mandy better know she played a major part in getting them to where they are. She killed the game. And these kids will love their mom forever.

The seniors panicked about their own performance, but it was honestly an amazing time. The three from the Chi class taught everyone else the Disney medley. I'm so happy I was next to my co-stage mama Jess and we could sing along with them while they slayed it. The memories flooded back and the legacy lived on. I could not be prouder of these seniors, and how far they've come. I wasn't surprised that I remembered all the words to the Disney medley, but when the Psi class started singing THEIR parody of Never Gonna Give You Up from 2015, I screamed with excitement and somehow managed to remember all those words, too. My babies grew up, and getting those blasts from the past pulled my heartstrings. Watching them re-do all their shows, FROM WAY BACK IN NAJEE'S TIME, that was something special. They were hilarious and it absolutely killed me how spot on they were. And their final song. So sweet. So genuine. So perfect. I am actually aching, thinking that after last night, I may never see some of these people again. It's a definite possibility and it shatters me into pieces. I love them all so much. There's a million things I feel like I haven't said yet. But I'm proud. They're moving on to much better things. And wherever they end up, they better know I love them and I'm cheering them on and I'll always support them however I can. It was an HONOR to bring these members into the organization. To help give them a family. There were so many great moments in their performance and I don't know if I'll ever stop talking about it. I wish I had a more worthy goodbye for them. But that's me. I'm an emotional time bomb and they've probably had enough of my sappiness.

I cannot believe. I performed last night. I had dreams about being on stage at Harveys. Never did I think it'd happen. I walked into this room SO READY to just watch. I had been a part of Harveys, either performing or hosting, for all four years. Not once did I get to just sit and watch! I was so happy I could just enjoy it with no stress! But when the seniors needed to stall for time, IRA (I cannot believe. I just cannot.) decided to say we should do Christmas Carol. And Joshy was next to him, and Ira said hey you're both here. And enough people heard that somehow, I heard my name and got on a stage. IT FELT WRONG because I'd already said my goodbyes to that stage and I didn't want to take away from anyone else's special night. But the seniors seemed grateful and the audience had fun. I got to perform with my Twin again, which is my favorite thing in the world. I'm surprised we remembered as much as we did. And now the new members know about our insanity. Crazy. Absolutely crazy. I guess we can't ever really say goodbye to this place.

I dressed up. I saw people I love. Everybody slayed. I got nostalgic. I feel a lot of emotions about a lot of parts for a lot of different reasons. But overall, Harveys was something special. I don't ever want to forget last night.

Reasons This Episode is Perfect

It will probably get deleted so, just for consistency, I will put a link to other links HERE.

1) Opening - Fluttershy singing like a Disney Princess <3
2) 1:04 - YES. THAT'S THE FACE WE ALL MADE
3) 1:10 - Yes Pinkie, we are one. Fangirling hardcore
4) 2:19 - RARITY RUNS AN ACAPELLA GROUP. Best Pony
5) 2:31 - For whatever reason, Pinkie is actually the dumbest tramp in this episode
6) 2:53 - Perfect exchange
7) 3:48 - Well done Rarity. Handled that perfectly. She's such a lady ^_^
8) 4:20 - BIG MAC IS SINGING! This whole song is so flippin' cute I can't
9) 4:45 - Fluttershy's little rump shake. Aww.
10) 7:05 - PINKIE IS SERIOUSLY SO CREEPY THIS EPISODE.
11) 8:13 - I am WAY too happy about that pun. WAY TOO HAPPY
12) 8:50 - YAY. CONSISTENCY. FLASHBACK. OMG. SO PROUD OF MY WRITERS ^^;
13) 9:50 - Yes Rarity werk haha
14) 10:46 - How cute are the fireflies? And the song! (even if its not really acapella)
15) 11:45 - Oh snap. Are Cherilee & Big Mac still together? YAY REFERENCES TO OLD EPISODES
16) 12:30 - Dayum, kinda harsh haha
17) 12:42 - Rarity runs the world
18) 12:48 - What is this accent :D :D :D
19) 14:17 - I want Rarity as my best friend. She's wonderful :)
20) 15:18 - YES. WERK FLUTTERSHY haha Big Mac's so done
21) 16:11 - This is doomed to failure BUT SHE'S SO HAPPY
22) 17:14 - Perfect. I have no other words. All of this. Perfect
23) 17:42 - Pinkie. Just. Pinkie.
24) 18:07 - Yeah. Yeah I'm Pinkie. This is all just accurate interaction and I love it.
25) 18:50 - REAL INTERACTION. I LOVE IT.
26) 20:42 - Yeahhh... sometimes we just need to sit Pinkie down
27) 21:03 - REALISTIC SOLUTION TO STAGE FRIGHT. Proud of you MLP.

England & Wales

A Brief Overview of the Greatest Trip of my Life

• While on the plane, I can't sleep. Merp. Listen to music and watch movies.
• As we fly over London, "The City" by The 1975 plays. Perfection.
• WE SAW MARIAH and got her for a solid 4 days. I love that girl so much.
• Jetlag is real. Toilets are weird. England is expensive. There are sheep everywhere. The grass is so flipping green. Every inch of this country is beautiful.
• Stonehenge. It's so cool. And so mysterious. I loved it. But I for one believe rocks are made to be sat upon. No one seemed to agree with me.
• BATH (hometown of Charlie McDonnell haha fangirl mode on)
• The Francis Hotel in Bath is LEGIT. Best hotel of the whole trip. Stay there.
• Cathedral of Bath
• Sick on Day 2, way to go Sammy!
• Roman Baths. Healing waters man. And so many Roman ruins!!!
• Glastonbury Abbey aka the largest Abbey in Europe before it fell to ruin, thank you Henry and the Austen family. The walls still have some color. The building was massive. And we found out tons about the monks that lived there. Carvings are a motif in literally every building we entered. It also may or may not be the burial place of King Arthur
• Wells Cathedral. Probably my favorite building we entered the whole trip. SO absolutely stunning. Beautiful stained glass, giant chapel, hilarious carvings, unique scissor arches, awesome organ, wonderful choir room, THE COOLEST CLOCK I'VE EVER SEEN, and even a beautiful street where the members of the choir live.
• The Tor. Didn't actually get to climb to the Tor, just climbed the hill. But that view <3
• Peter Pan Panto. Hilarious. And so many references. I died!
• History tour of Bath. Such a great city.
• CARDIFF
• Cardiff Castle. Ruined building, with only maybe 3 rooms still intact. An impressive war time tunnel, spooky and fun! And a tower with 100 steps. Great climb, but not the best view thanks to the rainy weather.
• Jack & the Beanstalk Panto OMG. Best panto ever. The fairy was HILARIOUS. Great music choices. Set as legit. That giant amazed me. Great dancers. Precious children. And I WANT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE COSTUMES. Also, the villain? Fleshcreep? Ugh. New dream role haha
• Millenium Stadium. So big! So cool! It made me want to watch Rugby.
• Doctor Who Experience. LEGIT.  We drove the Tardis and got caught by Daleks and walked through a cemetery filled with Walking Angels and UGH so cool. Matt Smith pretty much MADE the whole thing (recordings, not actual Matt Smith). Museum filled with old sets and props and costumes and suits. And a fantastic gift shop.
• STRATFORD
• Royal Shakespeare Company. Tour of the theatre as well as an acting work shop HOLY CRAP I want to work there. I wish. The costumes and stage and set and lighting instruments and sound system and fly system and wig/make-up professionals and I just cannot deal. I want it to badly.
• Tour of Stratford upon Avon. Saw basically all the major places in Shakespeare's life, including the church he's buried in. Everything is so old and so pretty! Saw Anne Hathaway's cottage. Everything in England is so small! All the doors and beds are my size! The last part of Anne Hathaway's cottage had a little bulletin board where couples would write the stories of how they fell in love. So many of them were of people who did theatre together :)
• Warwick Castle. The princess tower was only for kids ages 3-8. Heart. BROKEN. But they had a bunch of other awesome towers and tunnels and attractions and gift shops and bird shows. There were peacocks just walking around all over the grounds like it was nothing. It was more like they turned an old castle into a theme park. I wish there was a bit more history, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
• If you ever get the chance to see Wendy & Peter Pan do it. It's not at all what I thought it would be. It's so dark and different and good. Whether or not you liked it, you cannot walk out of that auditorium without truly feeling something. It was pretty mind-boggling. I could rant about that show for the rest of my life, truly I could.
• OXFORD
• Oxford University College tour. Meh. Oxford. To big. Too fancy. Too cold! And a lot like Hogwarts.
• Lunch at the pub where C.S.Lewis &Tolkein went to every Tuesday!
• ENTER LONDON. Look for famous people everywhere like the fangirls we are haha
• First time on a double decker bus, touring London. We walk on the London Bridge We see the London Eye, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Fleet Street (there was actually a barber shop there omg), Leister Square, Piccadilly Circus, Covenant Garden, Totem Court, Trafalgar Square, Kings Cross, just omg everything. 
• Buckingham Palace. SO BIG AND PRETTY AND HORSES AND GUARDS AND AH! Cristina will be there some day ^_^ haha
• Saw One Man Two Governors. I don't know if I could ever sit through it again, but I definitely laughed until my whole body hurt and had a blast of a time.
• British museum. The history. So impressive. So many cultures that just leave you in absolute awe. And some of those exhibits. WTF England. "Hey that trip to Rome was fun!" "Yeah, but what should we take as a souvenir?" "Hmm, good question. I dunno, how about THIS TEMPLE?!"
• Royal Theatre on Drury Lane. Oldest theatre in West End. Over 500 ghosts. So. Pretty. So impressive. And they have a room for when the "King" visits. Except, there is no King, so now the Queen & the Princes use it. Also apparently Michael Jackson used it.
• National Gallery. You're gonna love the art.
• EFFING BACKSTAGE PASS INTO LES MISERABLES. I STOOD ON THAT STAGE. I could've cried. Seriously. Looking into that audience from the turntable was so overwhelming. I couldn't believe it. Also, we were accompanied by Anton (Enjolras) who I know form his youtube channel so while all the girls were smitten and in love I was like LOL dibs, as well as Rob (Marius) who is just the most precious baby. All thanks to our friend Cait who knows Scott Allen and got us the hook-up. Seriously, I can never thank her enough.
• Les Mis was Les Mis. But I loved it all. I so enjoyed watching everyone perform. All the songs are stuck in my head. I want a recording of specifically that performance (except I want the real Fantine cause we got the understudy and she wasn't that great). Also. Umm. Carrie was phenomonal.
• She gets her own bullet. Oh my Lord. I love her. I'm so happy for her. There she was. Carrie Hope Fletcher (don't act like you don't know, I talk about her on this blog all the time).  Performing her soul out. She does this everyday. She lives her dream everyday. She lives MY DREAM everyday. I couldn't be more proud. And I was so scared that I wouldn't like her. That I'd finally see her perform and think "wow, she can't act". But she was easily one of the best performers on that stage. And that's not just me being biased, the people I asked in my class agreed with me. Ugh. I love her.
• I met her. I met Carrie Hope Fletcher. I ACTUALLY. MET HER. And I it wasn't much to her. I mean it was because she loves meeting her Hopefuls and knowing she's made a difference. But to me. It was EVERYTHING. Best part of the whole trip. I seriously could not have been happier or more excited. I almost cried afterwards. She's smaller than I thought she'd be! And she's just so sweet. I'm so lucky I love such a wonderful person.
• RIDING THE TUBE! AHHH! I'm such a tourist.
• Original site of The Globe theatre and a tour of the new one. Ah! So cool. And authentic!
• Tate Modern. All the art.
• Millenium Bridge! Important for reasons!
• St. Paul's. Entry was 16 pounds. Umm no not about that life. That's too many American dollars to enter a church. But I'm so bitter and regret that decision because I adore churches, really truly.
• Guild Hall. QUITE the impressive building. With sides for "Ayes" and "Noes". We also saw more art! And ruins of the Roman Amphitheater, cool cool cool!
• Fortune's Fool at the Old Vic Theatre. Meh. Russian Comedy.
• Now I'm home. I'm back home. I'm in the USA. It's not nearly as pretty here. But I'm in my own bed and I have my mommy to make me healthy again and I get to see my sister and my niece and eat homecooked meals and not worry about which way to look when crossing the road because PEOPLE DRIVE ON THE RIGHT SIDE and I'm home and it's wonderful.

Thank you. Thank you, Lord, for all of these incredible memories. I wouldn't trade them for anything. And now we beg for money because I have to buy 12 textbooks for next semester and I'm kinda broke.

A Movie Review

In short, if it isn't nominate for best score, best original screenplay, best actress, and best film, I will kick things. So good. Just so good. I sobbed like a child. Because DISNEY.

Build A Snow Man

Holy nonsense I'm not even kidding just go see this movie

• Brilliant characters
• Great score
• The acting talent is enough to swoon
• The animation is nothing short of magical
• The story just needed to be told
• The message is so strong

It had like one or two more songs than necessary but really its just so good. And the short before it is precious. I was crying like the first five minutes. And IDINA MENZEL IS A QUEEN BOTH IN THIS MOVIE AND IN REAL LIFE ALL HAIL IDINA!

Shared It's Magic

Reason 346: Watched it.

The music isn't as good as it is in the series, but it's not bad. The plot is cute and a lot of fun. The writing is brilliant as always; you can always count on these guys to do right in the eyes of the fans. AND THERE'S A BOY! Seriously, I fangirled so hard because of the boy. I don't know why I knocked the idea of it so much. I was scared of the failure I guess. But honestly? This production team, and even these actors, listen to their fanbase! They would never go through with anything that they weren't 100% sure of. The fans always made cartoons and images of the Mane 6 as humans. Now, it is a real thing. No one said it would be a whole series. It's just this one movie. And it was done so well. I'm so happy with it. AND since my mother wants to watch it even more than I did, I'll get to watch it again! Any one who is a fan, whether they still watch the show religiously or just enjoyed it a while ago, will definitely have a great time with this movie.

Because I'm Happy

Reason 344: WE SAW DESPICABLE ME 2! All the cuteness. I was laughing the whole time. Antonio. My goodness. HE WAS SPICY! And you can believe I danced YMCA in that theater. Haha basically it's a sequel that does not disappoint. Go watch it ;)

"Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth!"

Summer = Anime

Not even sorry

Reason 331: THERE'S A NEW ONE. This one you actually should watch. Like, I always say watch Attack On Titan because it's flawless, and oh my gosh it is. But this new series is only 11 episodes and I know you specifically would enjoy it. It starts kinda slow, but it gets into plot fairly quickly after the first episode. It's called Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day). Most people call it Ano Hana (That Flower) for short. It's just so sweet and, for some reason, resonated with me so well. To a degree, all the characters are likable, especially because they are fully aware of their own flaws.

Summary short: A bunch of kids were friends. Until one day when one little girl died. That day, a lot of stuff happened between the friends, and of course they never got closure. After she died, the group dissolved. Now in their teens, one of the guys can see her ghost (who for some reason is now a teen, but even she doesn't fully understand why). He thinks she has a wish she never granted before leaving and so he wants to grant it for her so she can move on. To do that, he needs the group back.

Some parts, in structure, are cliche, but the show just handles it so well. The scenes all seem very real. And it really does just tug at your heart strings. I think, as far as how the events play out, everything happens at the right time. I'm so happy with this show. Seriously. Watch it. It'll take less than a day!

"Say Thank You!"

Reason 305: Wednesday is a slow day in work. People rarely shop on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. So, we pass the time entertained by the little ones that walk in. Seriously. There's way too many precious kids. Oh my goodness. You don't even know. They all just say the most darling things :)

The opening. The ending. The animation. The music. The plot. The characters. OH MY LORD IT'S SO GOOD. Attack On Titan. Did I mention the opening?

Lesson Re-Learned: Taking Storm Kowaleski's advice is dangerous. Accurate. But dangerous.