Pre-Halloween Weekend

For the last couple of years, Halloween has been my favorite holiday. This year, though, I'm just not feeling it. This did not stop me from buying multiple bags of candy. I justified the bag of Hershey's plain chocolate bars by reasoning that I could use them for s'mores, but then I bought a bag of marshmallows which means I'm actually going to make s'mores which are probably more fattening than a couple of peanut butter cups. Seriously, though. Doesn't making s'mores in a toaster oven in the comfort of my own cozy home on a snowy day sound heavenly? Heavenly!

But, in consequence of my Halloween-apathy, I didn't put much thought into a costume until last Saturday, and that was because I was invited to a costume party. My Sleeping Beauty costume doesn't fit me quite right anymore and I wanted to try something else anyway. The theme for the party was "come as your favorite literary character." I don't know that I have a favorite, but as mentioned a few posts again I LOVE Harry Potter, but I didn't want to be Harry himself, so I came up with the brilliant idea to break out the blue hair goo Steph gave me for my birthday a few years ago (thank goodness I have a bit left!) and go as Tonks! Sure, pink hair was more in character, but I had blue and I wanted to wear it! I threw on my Hogwarts t-shirt, Gryffindor scarf, turqouise chucks, and grabbed a chopstick and I was set!

I was halfway to the friend's house when I noticed on the party invitation that the party was on Friday. As in, the day before Saturday, which was the current day. I had missed the party by an entire day!

Boy did I feel dumb. I went to my parents' house instead. I figured they might be baby-sitting and I thought my nephew would get a kick out of my hair. Well, no kids, but fortunately my parents were there and oohed and ahhed enough for me to feel less silly.

(My hair looked bluer in person than it does in this photo)

At least I had a costume! And I was started to get excited about Halloween!

Friday (instead of going to the party) I went to Frightmares with my friend Carrie. She and I took advantage of the 2 for 1 offer that night to support our Kiss Me Kate friends who were performing in the shows. Geez, our friends are talented! I love that they can be, like, party planners by day and then dress up as Dracula and dance and sing all night long. Not professional actors, but with their level of skill they could be. (Wait, maybe they are part-time professional since they are paid...?) Carrie was nice enough not to make me go to a haunted house. Instead, we rode all the awesome rides I didn't get to do when I went in the summer. I do love a good roller coaster!

above: Carrie and I. I'm still not sure if a genie and a pirate go together! (Update: I get it! It's a sheik and not a pirate! The stupid jacket was throwing me off!)
below: Carrie and I with Gray after the Vampire show. Loved hearing him sing "Smooth Criminal." He is so fun to watch!

below: Carrie and I with the monsters after their show, particularly Aaron (Frankenstein) and Trevor (Dracula). We were glad we watched both shows because they had different solos in each.

I've got to do another show with these people!

Reasons girls like winter

I'm not even going to pretend this is not true:


Apparently some crazy people are claiming that there was snow yesterday. I didn't see it, but I DID see snow today, so I am stating now that we have officially had the first snowfall!

And now that it's over with, we'll get another warm spell and have another four or five weeks of fall before winter officially arrives.

Utah weather sure is bizzarre. Thank goodness for the Weather channel, otherwise I'd never know when to start wearing a coat...

"Next summer, last film, Edinburgh..."

Once upon a time, my brother David introduced me to Harry Potter and I was smitten. I was smitten with the characters, the details of the story, the Britishness of the descriptions and dialogue, and the delightful world of magic and wonder that J.K. Rowling dreamed up. I was also inspired by the fact that it was so popular among young children. How many writers can honestly say that they inspired such a huge chunk of our rising generation to put down their video games and read? This was one of the main reasons I studied English: I wanted to be a part of something like this that could change how so many people experienced the world.

Fast-forward two years when I found the official Warner Brothers web site and the Harry Potter chat rooms. I started writing fanfiction, reading fanfiction, and getting to know people from all around the world (contrary to the condescending beliefs of those who think they are cooler than Harry Potter, it was not just little 13 year olds... and would that have been so sneer-worthy if it had been?)

My core group of friends were known as the Harry Potter Prats. There were twelve of us and we chatted under "Pratty" pseudonyms; mine was "Dizzy." The eldest Prat was maybe in her fifties and the youngest was about fifteen. Some of us lived in the States and some were in Ireland or England or Germany. But we cared about each other and supported each other (they were so proud when I graduated from University) and had a lot of fun talking about whatever came to our minds.

When I left school I didn't have as much access to the internet -- at least at home -- and slowly and sadly my association with my beloved Prats disintigrated. I had a succession of jobs, did a bajillion plays, saw every HP movie that came out multiple times, and once in awhile remembered who I had been during my Pratty days and how much I grew as a writer and a person with their influence.

Fast-forward to last year when I found a bunch of them on Facebook. Yay! I was so glad to "see" them again! Plenty of things had changed for us all, but our love for Harry Potter and our interest in each other hadn't changed a bit. I've had so much fun getting reacquainted.

Yesterday, Nutty Prat posted the following on our Group wall:

"Hey Prats... next summer, last film, Edinburgh... yay or nay?"

Oh. My. Freaking. Goodness.



My brain exploded just a little. I love, love, love this idea! To see the final Harry Potter film in Scotland would be almost cooler than seeing the third Star Wars film in London (yes, I did get to do that, and I understand if you hate me now)! I mean, isn't that where Hogwarts is supposed to be located? Not to mention that I've always wanted to go to Scotland and here is the perfect excuse. PLUS I'd finally get to meet the Prats! I love the idea of my Harry Potter obsession coming full circle by seeing the movie in Scotland with people that I know love the series as much as I do.

I looked up flights yesterday, and some of the others are looking up lodging information.

This is something to think about. "What's to think about?!" you might be saying. Well, first, I just can't do anything impulsively. It's not in my nature. Second, I'm not sure I'll have the vacation time from work. I'm tentatively planning a trip to Italy and Greece which would already carve a lot out of my alotted three weeks, and Scotland is too far to go for just a few days (since I've never been there I'd want to look around a little). However, we all know I like to save my money, so if I'm allowed to take non-paid time off I might do that; I wouldn't starve, although my third concern is that financing two trips to Europe in one year might decimate my savings a bit much for my comfort. Fourth, I'm worried that I don't actually know these people. Of course, Facebook has made it harder for most people to hide their identities, and I've gotten pretty good at spotting the freaks and weirdos and none of my Prats fall into either of those descriptions (if you happen to think Harry Potter fans are weird, you might disagree with my assessment). Am I brave enough to have a crazy-awesome time with a bunch of relative strangers? Is that a good enough reason not to go?

There will always be reasons not to go, but I really, really want to go anyway. I think this is something that I'll talk with a bunch of people about and ultimately decide to do because, really, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For most of the Prats this would be a little weekend jaunt -- similar to travelling from Salt Lake to Cedar City in Utah -- I think I would be coming from the furthest away!
How many people can say they have friends on another continent that they can go visit? And how much would I regret not going?

(I would be lying if I were to say that I haven't thought that I might meet a handsome, kind Scottish man who would fall passionately in love with me and me with him a la Maid of Honor...although *SPOILER ALERT* in my story my Scottish man and I would live happily ever after together.)

Oh...this idea has been planted in my mind. It makes me happy just to think about it. How can I ever feel sorry for myself when opportunities like this make up the reality of my life?

Hooray for my Prats! I'm so glad we've found each other again!!!!

Doing a Christmas Play!

Four weeks ago when a seeming large percentage of my theatre friends reported that they were cast in A Christmas Carol at either Rodgers Memorial or Hale Centre Theatre, I felt like I was the only person left in the world who wasn't in a Christmas play. I was actually more sad about that than the fact that I wasn't cast in a show. There's just something lovely about singing Christmas carols (yes, I like listening to them starting November 1st, though some complain that's too early). Christmas/holiday songs are full of optimism and kindness and joy and cheesiness and contentment; they just make me feel happy. Getting to start singing them in September because I'm in a Christmas show is AWESOME! But when I'm not in a show, and it isn't snowing yet, and I can't get excited about Halloween for some unknown reason, and my birthday is another ten-and-a-half months away, I feel a little sad.

Hmmm... that paragraph took a different direction than I thought it would.

Anyway, I had wanted to audition for West Jordan Arts/Sugar Factory Playhouse's production of The 1940's Radio Hour. It was a busy and stressful day, but I grabbed some sheet music the day before and practiced a bunch. I was hoping there wouldn't be a huge line because I had some other things I wanted to do that night. And then, on my way, I checked my music and realized I didn't have the pages I needed (I have not been able to find them, either. Grr!) So, I had a mini-tantrum in my head, drove home, and decided it was a sign not to audition. I struggled a bit with that choice, especially when I discovered a bunch of my friends were cast and I thought about the terrific songs in the script, but I made peace with it because there were several other shows I wanted to audition for.

However, I was starting to feel restless. If I didn't do a play, I needed to do something. I've been busy and I've had a lot of fun, but I have a difficult time with weeks where I don't have plans. Last week when I was sick I didn't see anybody all week and I didn't like it! I like the structure of a rehearsal schedule and having something to count on.

Wednesday, a friend from Seven Brides who is now in the Radio Hour sent me an e-mail. He said that one of the lead females had quit and that he thought I'd be great in the role. He suggested that if I was interested I should call the director, Rosalie. I was and I did! I felt a little foolish leaving the message, but she called me back yesterday and asked if I could come and audition with another girl before rehearsal.

So, I frantically pulled out a couple of different sheet music options. Rosalie had mentioned the pianist might not be there that night, so I had an "if there's a pianist" option and a "gonna sing this a capella" option. I was actually glad when there wasn't a pianist and I got to sing "Young and Healthy" from 42nd Street (I need to find some sheet music for it). I felt really good about my performance. The other girl was good, and I love the song "Gimme Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie, but when she started at the beginning of the song I thought, "Oh, no! The ending would have been a much stronger choice and would have shown off your voice so much better!"

I was really excited when I discovered that the part they needed filled was Ann Collier. She sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" which is one of my favorite songs! As Rosalie described the character and had us read a few things, I realized how like me the character is. And my hopes grew a little stronger.

After the audition I ran over to some friends to say "Hi," and that was when the director offered me the part and asked me to stay for the rest of the rehearsal! Hooray! So I said, "yes" and met everyone and now we have about the first third of the show blocked.

So, I'm in a play! A Christmas play! And I get to sing a couple of terrific songs and work with terrific people and be a little busy again. I am thrilled! My first rehearsal is done and we'll perform during selected dates in December. It's going to be fun!

Another reason to hate Tuesdays

Today, I heated up a lean cuisine meal for lunch, waited a minute or two, grabbed the meal from the microwave, and walked it to my desk. Everything was hunky-dory until I tried to remove the plastic cover.

That's when the dish flipped over onto my hand and arm.

Apparently I screamed because several people came running. I must have been in shock because I thought they just happened to walk by (also, I'm not normally a screamer). I was standing over the trash can and I immediately dropped the whole thing into it. I could feel my hand burning so I ripped off my brace and (slowly) reached over and grabbed my full water bottle, complete with ice, and dumped about half of the water onto my hand which washed off a lot of but not all of the scalding sauce. Then I calmly walked to the break room where I poured some more of my bottle on my hand while I waited for a coworker to finish washing his dishes.

By the time I thoroughly washed my hand it had already started to blister. Laura helped me clean up and then washed my sweater and brace while Greg found an ice pack and some burn ointment.

Then, since I'd dumped my lunch in the garbage, I walked to McDonald's and bought myself some chicken nuggets. On the way back to work I finally started to feel my hand again. The ice started to feel cold -- hooray! I knew I'd be feeling pain soon -- not hooray! But at least I wasn't so badly burned I completely fried my nerves!

I stayed at work for awhile but didn't accomplish much. When I finally decided to go home I asked Laura to tape the ice pack to my hand so I could drive home! This is what she came up with (and it worked great):


I've been soaking the hand in cold water and it has helped keep the pain at bay... with additional help from Tylenol and aspirin. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight!

However, I am counting my blessings. My old sprain has been healing nicely and I considered leaving the brace home today. I also almost wore a short-sleeved cardigan. The brace and long-sleeved sweater both protected my arm and kept me from getting a much worse injury! This 2x3 burn is bad enough without it running halfway down my arm! I feel lucky.

(Note: These are the first photos I've taken since early September. *Sigh*)

October Tybbling

- I haven't taken any new photos since the beginning of September. It's been bugging me. On Saturday I went to lunch with my besty and thought "I should take my camera" but I didn't. When I got there I discovered we were both wearing purple. Then her sister joined us and she was also wearing purple. Then I went to a play that night by myself and happened to run into (figuratively) two of my favorite people and we realized we all had red or pink on (I had a red jacket on over my purple shirt). Crazy, right? I KNEW I should have carried my camera around that day!

- My family hasn't taken a vacation together since... well, it's been a couple of years. (Now I'm trying to remember the last trip. Was it 2007? Wow.) We have one scheduled and I am so, so excited!! We're going on a cruise to Mexico! Hooray for sunshine in the winter with my favorite people!

- My only sadness about the trip being so late in the year is that it will be past the deadline for adding photos to the 2011 family calendar...unless I want to get them back late. I hate missing half of January's display time! Feels like such a waste of a cute photo. I'll have to discuss this with my mom (since the calendar is usually her Christmas gift). After all, we do have a couple of good photos of the family from Peter's wedding :) But will the vacation photos be too out-of-date for the 2012 calendar? Oh, Megan. You're thinking about this way to much -- and you love it!

- Thinking of winter-time dry air makes me want to cut my hair short. It's always so dry and broken and staticky and sad by the time spring rolls around. And yet, we all know that I won't actually go through with such a drastic hair cut; I like my hair long. I might wear a lot of buns and braids, though... if only I didn't feel so unattractive when I do that.

- Last year, I posted the fewest posts of the year during September. This year -- so far -- September was the month I posted the most. Just wanted to point that out.

- I'm gearing up for some auditions and though I'm hopeful I'm also terrified. I'm out of practice, I've become lazy (and I have enjoyed it), and I don't remember how to be busy. When do I clean my house and grocery shop when I'm doing a play? If I don't get cast after auditions 3 and 4 will it hurt my self-esteem? (I hope not, especially since I'm not expecting to be cast in either. It would be cool if I were, but my goal this time is to be seen and show off what I can do!) Why do both auditions have to be the same day and why didn't I space them further apart? Will I be ready? Funny, in typing all of those questions I just got even more excited. Heehee! Please send good vibes my way! I need them!

- This is called a CAPTCHA = "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart."

Basically, a computer cannot read the image, so this prevents spammers from automatically posting a bunch of junk on the site. I have been working on a captcha feature at work and know waaaay more about it than anyone needs to. Did you know if you click on the wheelchair image it will play an audio version of the captcha? It's nice the programmers thought to include the color blind and such :)

C'est tout!