The Green-Eyed Monster

Last night I saw my favorite Jane Austen novel, Persuasion, on stage.
It was quite good!
(And it made me super excited for this!)

But I found myself getting a little bit jealous.
You see, the girl who played Louisa?
I knew her.
No, I went to Late Summer Honors with her our freshman year.
And there she was, on the stage.

And it hit me.

I want to be an actress!
I love the stage!
This is so unfair!
How is she there and I am not?

Thank goodness for Lady Smaggle and her guest post on my favorite blog, Yes and Yes.

Duh.

If I really wanted to be on the stage, then I would be working towards it.
And if sometime in the future I change my mind and decide that I do want to work in theatre, then maybe I'll actually make some goals and work towards them.

For now, I shall enjoy everyone else's hard work and sit in my plush chair and be entertained by the thousands of hours they've spent in dress rehearsals.
You are welcome to join me.

to be, or not to be

My second post on this blog was about Shakespeare.
That lovely obsession sometimes lies dormant, only to rise up with intensity when I am reminded of it.


Because of this deep love of Shakespeare, it's safe to say that I love his Hamlet.
In my opinion, he is quite arguably the best tragic character ever written.
(Joey says that it's Batman, but I disagree. Shakespeare is as good as it gets as far as tragic figures go. No one else can even come close. 400 years has proved this.)

But with over 70 different film or tv interpretations (or so IMDB tells me) how am I to choose my favorite?
I have seen quite a few.
The basics-- Mel Gibson, Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh.
The not so common-- Campbell Scott, Michal Czernecki.
But when I saw that David Tennant and Patrick Stewart did one last year, how could I resist?


And, of course, it is now my favorite.
Because Patrick Stewart makes me want to believe that Claudius is good, that he is not what Hamlet and the ghost suggest he is.
Because David Tennant's Hamlet is entirely and apologetically and utterly convincingly mad, without guilt or explanation, yet I still question whether he is or not. Naughty but so sweet that you want to forgive everything he does. I feel what he's feeling and am convinced that he is in the right, while knowing that his methods are sometimes immoral.
Because I cannot figure out Gertrude! What does she really believe? Why doesn't she understand her son? Why does she alienate him so? Her feelings seem genuine enough. Why do I believe her, but hate her, too?
Because Polonius is so annoying, but you still feel sorrow for his death.
Ophelia is the only one that is not what I would have her be. I love her in the beginning, but her madness is not a convincing transition from her cheerful state in the beginning. But then, I don't know if I shall ever understand Ophelia.

Shakespeare is always lovely to read, but his works were meant to be played.
And the Royal Shakespeare Company reminds me of this.

You doubt?
Let me convince you.

Creepy

Talk to me about this.
There is no reason for me to expect anything besides an empty shower.
Yet I do.

I can't let my hand hang off the side of the bed.
There is nothing under my bed but suitcases and giant rubbermaid containers full of winter clothes.
So why do I feel like something is going to pull me under?

Do you ever feel like that?
The irrational fear that makes the back of your neck tingle?

Slim and a little bit foxy.

Guess what?

Australia fell through.
I'm not going this summer.
Which is fine.
I have plenty of opportunities to go to Australia.

So, I've decided to do something else.
Namely, London.

It all started with David Tennant.


He decided to star with Catherine Tate in a production of Much Ado About Nothing this summer in the Wyndhams Theatre.
In London.

What, with his credentials and great hair?
{He's been Barty Crouch Jr., Doctor Who, Hamlet, Casanova...}
How could I resist an opportunity to go to London?

So Michelle and I bought tickets.
It was a spur of the moment decision.
And it has made this an incredible week.

I am dancing around at least once an hour, thinking about this wonderful opportunity.
We have found great flights and a place to stay.
So we're going to drive to Florida in August and fly out from there.

Awesome, huh?

You can be jealous now.

Also, here is a funny picture that makes me laugh.
I do not expect more than 3 people to get it/laugh and think it is funny.
I do expect my mother to get mad at me for swearing.
But I'm not swearing, Dumbledore is.
I just think it's funny.
Skip it if bad language offends you.

Quoteables

Because we all love Vincent
{right? riiiggghhtttt......?}
I am copying this from Rebecca's blog.

Sometimes I wish I lived in an Airstream

My recent addiction to Adele's new album and some other good music (thank you, Heaths) has made me want to hop into a car and drive drive drive.

A road trip.
By myself.
Toward sunshine.
And warmth.
With the radio super loud.
And lots of snacks.
And a beautiful destination in mind
(preferably hot sand and cool, salty water).
Or no destination in mind at all.

Unfortunately, I am between cars at the moment.

It is a good thing I live in a town as small as Provo.
It makes the car-less thing easier.

It is also a bad thing that I live in a town as small as Provo.
It makes escape seem so much more appealing.

Not that I'm not happy.
Because I am.
Very content, too.

I just like being alone.
And I like road trips.
And I like sunshine.

Unbothered

"You're a weird kind of lazy, because you do things, but you do them terribly."
-Joey to me,
commenting on how I stuck a bag in the trash can, but didn't actually pull it up around the edges.

This is very true.
Last night I wore two different shoes because I was too lazy to look for the match.
I don't mind if my straps are twisted.
Or if the tongue of my shoe is shoved up.

It doesn't bother me.

I will fix it if I'm trying to look good, though.

I am a special kind of lazy.
Aware, but usually don't care.

Overheard at BYU

I love my school.
But sometimes I hear funny things as I pass people on campus.

1. Random girl on telephone: "...she was feeding her boogers to my dog..."

2. Girl talking to friend: "Oh, I love tramp stamps! If I got a tramp stamp, it would be of a pair of angry eyes. Like Mr. Potato Head's angry eyes!"

3. Professor talking to class by some trees: "Just look at this one! You should all make time this week to come climb this tree."