Megan reads Our Town

Our Town by Thornton Wilder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The only things I knew about this play before I read it were 1) my friend Kate thinks I'd be a good Emily; 2) Winnie played Emily (and Kevin botched the spotlights) during an episode of the Wonder Years; and 3) people either love it or think it's the worst/most boring play ever.

I am one of those who loved it!

Such a sweet, lovely, poignant play. I can see how those looking for an action show, or one with a lot of plot would be disappointed. The people in Grover's Corners go about their lives like they always will. There's a wedding no more or less exciting than any other. People die, and new people take their places in the town. Each stage of life brings it's own challenges; we aren't the same moment to moment... and sometimes the most common of circumstances spark the biggest changes. If, however, you're interested in character pieces, I recommend this one. This play is a reminder of how precious life is, and encourages the reader to cherish each moment -- no matter how mundane -- and each person they associate with, because you never know how or when it's all going to end.

I've never been very good at waxing philosophic, or expressing myself through words when I feel this emotionally affected by something, so I'll just say that I can't wait to see this play performed, and I hope to participate in a production someday. I can't believe that as an English Major and theater person I had neither read nor seen it before now!


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A new car!

(Did anyone else read the subject line in Oprah Winfrey's voice?)

I have a new car! It's taking a bit of time to get used to, as big changes often do for me, but, golly, it's pretty and has so many awesome features! I like the color, and I like that the design is a little space-agey. It even has my dad's seal of approval, which is a major point in its favor. I sure do love her!

I'm going to miss the Ruby Red Pamplemousse. She took excellent care of me, and was all I needed for twelve happy years. I would have been all too happy to stick with that wonderful trusty car until it had nothing left to give, and only then consider a replacement, but when the opportunity came to make the Hyundai mine, I knew I had to take it. I hope the new owner for my hard-working Nissan is as good to her as she was to me.

Good-bye, Ruby.

Hello, Newbie! ...Oh, geez. I'm not one to name cars, and I love to rhyme, but "Newbie" just sounds silly, doesn't it? We'll see what name develops. This is not a decision one makes lightly!

Just because this video makes me laugh:

A California Adventure

Almost my entire immediate family went to California a few weeks ago. It was a fairly epic trip.

Since we visited Disneyland only a few days after my birthday, I HAD to get a "Happy Birthday" button. Growing up, my birthday was always during the one of the first few weeks of school, so I never got to do anything cool like this! I reveled in everyone saying "Happy Birthday" to me all day long; by the third day, my mom started calling it the "never-ending birthday." Ha!

It was also my four year-old nieces' first trip to California. My brother, their dad, did a great job making sure we didn't waste too much time at Disneyland, and that the girls got to do all of the stuff we'd been telling them about. Lucky for me, they asked my mom and me if we'd want to do a Princess Breakfast with the girls to get some of those photos out of the way. I LOVED it! The food was delicious, and the girls couldn't sit still because they were so excited. Sadly, the photos didn't turn out great, and they did not ever meet Princess Aurora. Guess we'll have to go back again sometime to take care of that ;)

We spent most of the first day together in a big group, and broke into smaller groups on the second and third days. I even had a few hours to myself at one point. I got to do and eat just about everything I wanted, the beignets and mint julep more than making up for missing a Dole Whip (I tend to think the Dole Whips are overrated anyway). I also met more characters than I have before, like Cruella de Vil, Snow White, Aladdin and Jasmine, and Tiana. I didn't waste any time!

Oh, and I bought an adorable new purse. Check it out the next time you see me.

A definite highlight of the Disney days was spending some time with Jillian, a friend who moved to California a few weeks ago to intern as a ride operator at the park. I sure do love her.

We spent our last day of the trip at a lovely beach in Huntington Beach, and saw a Dodgers game that night. I don't remember the last time I went to a baseball game; it was great being there with my dad and brothers and sisters-in-law and nephew. The Dodgers beat the Giants 3-2 in the 10th inning (hooray for overtime!), and we all ate Dodger dogs and sang and cheered and chewed Big League gum. Seriously, good times :-)

Now for a lot of photos (I'm pretty sure Aaron has all of the group shots on his camera. Can't wait to see them!):

Quite a few rides were closed to get ready for the Halloween celebration.
If only we'd gone just two days later. Next time!

Breezy's Chesire Cat grin when she got her Mickey ice cream was glorious.
This girl knows how to get what she wants!

Padawan G faces off with an impressive Darth Maul (while Aunt Meg spilled her
Diet Coke all over the viewing area floor. Whoops!)

We were pretty soaked after the second run on Splash Mountain :)

I'm pretty proud of this "Carouselfie!"

The G-child thought he would be so scared by the Tower of Terror, but we ALL laughed during the entire ride.

There's one in every family. It seems, this time, it's me!

Toy Story Midway Mania was one the G-child knew I was most looking foward to.
It ended up being one of his favorites as well. I'm glad he came with me for his first run!

Dream came true -- and none of my family there to bear witness :P

I need to look up what this is (in front of the Haunted Mansion).
All I know is it plays an important role in The Children of Hamelin.

Jillian and I on the Pirates of the Caribbean, with lady pirates
Anne Bonny and Mary Read in the background

Pier Plaza, shot by me from the nearby Pier

Now I know that Big League Chew yields the biggest bubbles.
Where was this information last year?!

On the drive home, we all agreed that we'd need another vacation to recover from our vacation. It was fun and tiring and surprising. Looking forward to whatever the next family trip is, and hope everyone can be there!