Okso, Doritos is pretty much trying to steal my soul with their new Hot Wings/Blue Cheese flavor collision. It is very true that my favorite food in the world is chicken, breaded, deep-fried and covered in buffalo sauce (with blue cheese dressing on the side), so a chip flavored thusly can only be a gift from the Gods.

However, I found myself today pondering the following quandry: which is worse for one's health, the real buffalo wings or the buffalo-wing flavored chips?

At first I thought it should be the real wings. They've got more calories and fat in them, what with the deep-frying and the blue cheese dressing. However, real wings have real nutrients in them along with the bad stuff, which the chips really don't. They're just carbs and chemicals (and okay, maybe a LITTLE real cheese). So now I'm stuck. Are they equally bad? Are the real wings deemed better because their possession of protein and calcium balances out the bad stuff? Is there some kind of spectrum we can determine this on?

This is the kind of stuff I find myself thinking about at the end of a long day...

Just got back from the student production of "Company", and it's official: I. Love. This. Musical. (really, is there any musical I don't love at one time or another? *thinks* Well.... "42nd Street". So there's at least one ^__^;;) It actually may have, if only temporarily, become my 3rd favorite musical behind "Little Shop" and "The Secret Garden".

( In which I gush passionately about a musical...like y'do. )

"I'm ready..... I'm ready now!"

Of course, I could go on... But then I could always go on. :P

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck, I am exhausted. Got up this morning at 9, went and flew on a plane back to Evanston, met John & went walkin' around, watched a movie-- then John left, I practiced a bit for Musical Theatre, sat down at the comp and suddenly I feel like I've been hit by a train. Owwwww.

(speaking of people getting hit by large moving vehicles, DAY WATCH TRAILER ZOMG. looks a lot more spectacular than its predecessor, and I mean 'spectacular' in its literal definition)

I should really be unpacking.

Also, GAH. I may have the costume concept for my DCP char next year. Although it's almost exactly like Mary's was, except black. XD What can I say, I dig the long-jacket-and-vest look. And next year's character must needs look kickass and beautiful, cause she is. Will be. Whatevs.

Sooooooo tired.... must stay up for Battlestar..... mussszzZZzZZzZz.........

(EDIT) *wakes up* Huhwhat?
Books.

50 BOOKS 2007
7)) Identity, Steven Piziks
8)) Darkfall, Dean Koontz

It was a week of scarybooks.

Multiple-post day, I know. But I have ideas I feel like sharing and the time to share them. It's one of Those Days: the sun has warmth in it again, today is the last day of the school quarter for me, and last night's dream put me in a very particular mood. I want to be aware of everything and poetic about everything I notice.

This morning's musings led me on a train of thought about the nature of sharing one's faith. I and others in my circle often grumble about not being able to open up to others about what we believe for fear of looking like card-carrying members of the Crazy Society. But it occurred to me this morning that this view isn't limited to believers in New Age-y things. If anyone strong in their beliefs--think not even a fundamentalist Christian, but just a person who is secure in their faith of the Christian God--starts opening up about it, people who don't share that are likely to think they're a kook. I realized this morning that I'm guilty of doing that. Most likely everyone is at some point or another when confronted with a faith they didn't share.

I don't want to seem cavalier about it, but I wish it were possible to share my personal view of life and magic with the world, just as I'm sure Christians wish they could express the beauty of God to everyone without getting the cold shoulder. But since that is always a possibility, we all divide into our safe little bubbles of belief and cling to the others who'll assure us we aren't insane. I suppose the beginning to a meeting of the faiths is to realize we're not all that different after all. Moral codes, not truth of spirituality, divide us. It's that old adage about the blind men and the elephant that I love telling so much.

I don't know why this bothers me so much. Religion-and-faith things get to me. As do issues of communication. So it's a double-whammy.

Walking home from hanging out with the gang at BK just now, I discovered that walking in Evanston this late at night, alone, feels more like walking through a life-sized Evanston playset complete with working lamps on the sidewalks and clockwork cars puttering through the streets. I walked up Davis street feeling I was the only person in the city.

As I crossed a street I noticed a cop car pull up to a red light, and I began to sing "My Time of Day". The cop car was on the corner, the pavement was washed (although with melted snow, not rain), and the lights over the post office gave off a gold-yellow glow. My voice sailed gently over complete silence.

You can sing at night in Evanston, and no one will hear you but the trees and the darkened store-fronts.

My Time of Day

Remind someone they are loved today. Give your roommate some candy. Give a friend a hug. Become a secret admirer. Call your mother. Compliment your professor. Make someone feel wanted. Flirt. Hand out random acts of affection. Kiss in public. Drink champagne. Eat a strawberry. Play in the snow, if it's there. People-watch and admire what makes them human. Write a love poem. Write a love song. Write an ode to imperfection. Play footsie. Tell inside jokes. Dance with someone. Hold hands. Sing together. Laugh together.

Take a day overwhelmed by commercial innundation and make it your own.

FACTS YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN:
~~In Japan, it's women who give chocolate to men on Val-Day, and the gift-giving goes ONLY in that direction. There is a special day later on in the year called White Day where the men reciprocate.
There are two types of Japan gift-chocolate. The most common is "giri-choco", otherwise known as "obligation chocolate." This is what women and girls give to their co-workers, classmates, male friends etc. "Honmei-choco" (or "potential winner chocolate") is more expensive and sometimes homemade, and expresses a deeper affection.
Giving something that has been knitted by the giver is considered one of the highest forms of affection.
~~In the 16- and 1700s, it was considered a token of love for a man to bend a silver coin and give it to a woman. Later on, coins were altered in other ways to express this. Here's an article about it.

And just for kicks,
The Teen Girl Squad "Vamlumtime's Day" episode.

HAPPY DAY, EVERYONE!


~ this strange engine .. this love ~

It's snowing! The high today is in the positive double digits! This is an improvement.

Song of the Day:
I'll Be Seeing You // Ann Hampton Callaway

This song breaks my heart every time. The line "in every lovely summer's day" somehow gets to me the most.
Also, even though it talks about summer, it puts me in mind of snow.

50 BOOKS 2007
4)) The Cyclopædia of Social Usage: Manners and Customs of the Twentieth Century, Helen L Roberts

I feel like I could write a whole story based in these principles now. I find it fascinating. In one way I'd hate to have to live under all those rules, but in another it's nice how everything was structured around the consideration for others' feelings.
Then again, the highest form of etiquette these days requires just about the same thing, but do we follow it?
I'm trying to figure out why that last thought makes me happy. Somehow the reassurance that people have always been the same gives me comfort.
The rules are only defined by how we break them.

Have a great day, everyone. ^____^

Do not be afraid of what you are unsure of.

Acknowledge that which you know to be true, and embrace it.

Acknowledge that no assumptions can be made, even with the knowledge that you have.

Acknowledge that all you can count on is Now.




I know what I know, and it is enough for Now, and that makes it enough.

ONE:

Playing my flute--my Irish flute, pennywhistle, whatever you want to call it--has always been a cathartic experience for me. Helps my thoughts settle and all that. Plus it's just something I'd really like to be good at. The goal is to get to that place where the rest of me can sit back while my fingers work the magic and the music just is.

Today, after more than 3 years of practicing, I stood under one of the NU campus willows and played, and it felt for the first time like I maybe, might be, could possibly be stepping onto the threshold of that place.

TWO:

I am going to take some Astronomy classes in the future. The science mystifies me too much for me to not. I still want to be an actress, but I've too long pushed aside the idea of taking more Astronomy because I "need to be focused" on the acting. I can't pass up the chance to learn more about what's out there.

So sod what I said at the end of high school about never taking another math class. I'll do calculus if it means I can think about the stars.

Thought of the mo: I can picture myself being perfectly content with only enough belongings to fit into the trunk of a car, living out my life traveling from locale to locale.

This thought came about as a result of a long string that I'm too tired to backtrack through at the moment.

Suffice it to say that this all started with me waiting NINE HOURS for Collegeboxes to show up.

They still haven't come.

50 BOOKS
29)) Flatland, Edwin A. Abbott

It's a wonderful frustration to be able to concieve of what the 4th dimension must be like without being able to create an image of it.

I need 5 books a month from now on to get to 50 by the end of December. :\ And what with Nano and everything.... eep!

Guitar Hero is a fantastic game. :D

lanthiriel asked me these questions. If you wanna be interviewed by me and haven't yet, comment away.

1.) What was the most powerful experience that you've ever had with live theatre? (This can be a show that you were in, or one that you saw that affected you.) This question is the hardest to answer out of all of them! But after thinking about it for literally a half hour, I think I've come up with an answer.
My most powerful acting experience would have to be playing Audrey in "Little Shop." It was my first lead role in a musical, I made leaps in my vocal technique thanks to the musical director, and the show's one that I loved and continue to love. It would make me a very happy bunny to be able to reprise the role as a professional.
I've tried to think of a most powerful audience experience, but I can't think of one that seems right. X( I dunno if it's because I've seen so much, or because I like to allow everything I see to affect me as much as it can.

2.) In terms of Tarot, and in regards to the question you asked me... are you ever skeptical about it? What are your feelings on the matter? True or not true? When reading for myself, I've come to the conclusion that what I see in the cards is either a suggestion of the best path, or where the current path will lead if I don't change course. When getting a reading from someone else, of course I have no way of knowing whether they themselves believe in it, or think it's just bs. Still, like lanthiriel, I've had a couple things happen during or after a reading to make me think that there's some truth in it. Plus, even if it is all a show, the best illusionists deserve a little recognition for their skills ;)

3.) Do you see yourself getting married and settling down? If so, how young? Would you want kids? Getting married yes, but "settling down" just has such a "grown-up" sound to it that it makes me go ewww. XD Life is supposed to be an adventure, isn't it? I might own a house and have children and steady work, but I wouldn't call that "settling down."
Well, it makes sense to me. :P
Anyway, I can see myself getting married, yes. No specific age in mind, but would be nice if it was before 30. And yeah, kids. I'd love to be a mother, someday. Not in any kinda rush at all, probably cause my own mom waited till her late 20's/early 30's to have my brother and me.

4.) If you make it in Chicago, do you ever plan on coming out to New York? That there is TOO much planning ahead for me. But if I end up making a name for myself in Chicago's theatre scene, New York does seem like a good next step. A good option, anyway.

5.) What is one thing you wished you'd told someone, but never did? There were a few things I would've liked to say to a certain person at Shake & Co last summer, but both the person and content of desired saying shall be omitted due to it not being very nice. Besides, by now I'm pretty sure he was just screwing with my head.
Anyway, the best way to prove him wrong would be to succeed.

And now, a new meme! Yoinked from roguebelle.
You post a topic, list, category, whatever, in my comments section. (examples: "5 Things Rogue Never Tells Magneto", or "Narcissa's Favorite Things to Buy"). Then, in a separate post, I'll post the answers to all your Top 5 ideas, according to me. Serious or fun! Then you post this offer in your own journal.

Obviously, re-posting after making a request is not required, cause that'd be silly.

Finally, answers to the movie quote meme that people didn't get... Yeah, it was a long time ago, but it oughta be done anyway. :P Also included are reasons why you should see these movies.

( Read more... )

I just called John to say hello. As usual, it made me happy. But what added to the happiness greatly was hearing the ambient conversation of the other residents of the house in the background. It started with Sam exclaiming, "Amazing! AMAZING!" at something-or-other, and then people realizing who John was on the phone with and saying hi to me.

It made me miss them and feel like I was there at the same time.

Ain't technology great? :)

It's thunderstorming outside. My roomie's out somewhere and I'm listening to Nathan Duprey's drawling voice over hypnotic piano.

Life is good.

lassarina and of_carabas/rocknlobster: Your drabbles are up at my writing journal.

Between this and theatrical_muse and an original idea that just jumped into my head the other day, I'm getting a lot of writing done. We likes this. We likes this very much, precious.

( Quiz Dump )

Thought of the mo: Even though I have a clear image of what I want to be, it's much harder to discern what I am, now, in this moment in time.

Of course, ever since that time somewhere around 14 years old when I decided what it was I wanted, I've spent every day feeling like I'm coming closer. It's just much harder to describe me in the now.

Who is Emily right now? Is it any different than what she wants to be? Or maybe she's too close to the situation to tell... :/

EDIT: Just got ThinkExist's Quote of the Day in my Inbox.

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become." -Buddha. Hindu Prince Gautama Siddhartha, the founder of Buddhism.

:)

I have a new favorite accessory. I'm still not sure if it beats the red-tinted sunglasses or the Faery Star, but it's definitely up in the Top 5.

( Gentlemen! Behold! )

Set me back 3150 yen (just under 30 dollars) in Harajuku yesterday. So totally worth it.

Sooooooooo yeah.
I'm kinda feeling homesick for the first time since coming here. -_- I think it has something to do with the program being half over, or something. But I'm getting antsy for it to be done with. I want to get back to doing theatre-y things, and go to Ren Faire, and be with John. BAH.

Not that Tokyo is boring. I just wanna go home. Kind of.

I say again. Bah.

But at least I've got my punk goggles.

I'm turning 20 in 5 days. Some part of my brain is trying desparetely to make me freak out about this, but it just ain't working.

I do think it's rather cool, though. Two whole decades. Which doesn't sound like much when you say it that way.

I still feel like a child.

The first round of flyering for BONE was tonight--for those not "in the know" (i.e., at Northwestern), flyering is where you and your affiliates go around taping flyers to the sidewalks all over campus. I was unnecessarily excited about this, since I've never flyered for anything before. Even better, I got to do one of the most traveled areas of campus and tape down the posters with colored ink. Ooooo.

Rehearsal was also pretty rockin'. It was different from our previous rehearsals, in that instead of just going through and running things, we worked a bit on the specifics of character--that is, the specifics of my character and her minions. Voice, posture, how they move etc. Squee.

But yeah, that's what's going on at that front. Now for something completely different.

I went to Barnes n Noble just after rehearsal and, after wandering about a bit and discovering the new volume of Angel Sanctuary hadn't come out yet (I pop in whenever it occurs to me to check), I found myself searching the Astronomy section.

Y'see, my usually-passing fascination with space, with 'what's-out-there', has been intensifying as of late. So much so that I even briefly considered changing my major from Theatre to Astronomy and studying to become an astronaut (I was in a Chaotic mood that day, hoo boy). It freaked me out severely. I went into Theatre because it never occured to me that I could do anything else. Now it was occuring to me. Maybe it's just how the innate human pioneer spirit happens to manifest itself in me. I don't really know.

Oddly enough, seeing pictures of what is out there doesn't necessarily make me want to go more. It actually does almost the opposite. People have been there already, and that's what there is. They even took pictures, see? Just another place to go, when you think about it.

What still tugs at me is that there's now another Future-Emily out there. An Emily who rides in centrifuges and shuttles, who wears blue jumpsuits and eats freeze-dried ice cream. I don't dislike the Emily I'm becoming, but the other intrigues me, and I'd like to at least brush elbows with her.

So now I'm reading Cosmos by Carl Sagan, and contemplating going skydiving with John and the rest whenever they decide to go again. He said it felt like flying, and it's the closest to Zero-G I have the chance of getting in the near future.

I seem to be going through one of those times (they occur every so often) where things I usually take for granted, the things that make me unique, are re-occurring to me as though I'd never realized them before. Like the fact that I have a W as my middle initial. Not everyone has that.

I've also been observing my own physical habits for acting class. My tendency is to stand with with my weight on both feet, my torso tilted slightly back, and I'd rather sit down or lean on something than jut my hip out to one side (I'll do this sometimes, but I quickly tire of it). I like having pockets so I can put my hands in them. If I can't have that I need something to hold onto, or my arms start feeling useless. I find it harder to keep still than most people seem to.

I prefer to show something other than boredom or neutrailty on my face whenever possible. It gives the impression that something's actually happening inside my skull.
Whether or not that is currently the case.

---

Going in a completely different direction now... I've created a journal for my visual arts. Not drawings persay, but more computer-y graphics: icons, videos and the like. There's nothing there yet, but if you'd like to you can go and friend lepricons.

( Quizzles )

TTFN.

Happy December, everyone.

Yesterday I woke up and it was snowing. It reminded me of last year, when it started snowing around midnight of December 1st. Today I woke up and it was 10 minutes until my last class of the quarter. In the words of Dane Cook, "Just enough time to do NOTHING". So instead I read more of 'Watchmen'--a graphic novel by Alan Moore. adam_pb sent it to me as a Chrishmash present. I like it so far, but I've gotta take it in small doses in order to process all the shit that's happening.

"American love; like Coke in green glass bottles... They don't make it anymore." -just one of the great quotes I've come across so far. ^__^

So now all that remains is to revise poems, and write two pages of a paper, and study Japanese, and party all the time. The 'BONE' fundraiser party is tonight, and I'm excited for it even though it's a beer-and-eggnog party, neither of which I really like (at least not beer from a keg. yucks). Mostly I just want to meet my fellow cast members. I don't really know any of them o_O

I used to think there was something wrong with me if I wasn't more extroverted, but I'm starting to accept my INFPish nature. Maybe with a side of ENFP, but not much.

Yup, it's definitely December.

I finally went and signed up for the Holiday Fandom Card Exchange. For those who haven't yet heard of this brilliance: this person is setting up a system where fans will write holiday cards for other fans... in character. As in, you get a card from Malcolm Reynolds or Sonic the Hedgehog or Ron Weasley, or whoever you suggest... as long as someone else out there can write the card for you.

The current list of fandoms. The two characters I most wanted weren't on there, so my third option was pretty much a safety (not that I'll mind if it turns out that way. I did it cause I wanna get a card, one way or another!).

Also, I said I'd write as a character from Escaflowne, even though no one seems to want a character to write them yet. Just a heads-up in case anyone wants holiday greetings from Malerna or Folken... Or Naria or Dilandau or Hitomi or the Moleman or...
yeah.

First snow today! It actually stuck a little, which both delighted and disturbed me. Oh, Evanston Winter.
(I'm dreaming of a white Thanksgiving?)
I use this icon in honor of the snow, since the picture was taken during the first snow last year!
Also I'm feelin' pretty shiny right now.

<td> <table border="0" width="450" bgcolor="#000000">

Gnome Rogue

Gnomes are strange little things. Fascinated with gadgets and shiny things, gnomes are often plotting and planning - but are pretty smart, despite all the explosions. As a rogue, you're always looking out for number one. You aren't afraid to do whatever it takes to win - and if things take a turn for the worse, you can always vanish into the night... Just don't run out of flash powder.

Find out your real-life WoW race and class at QuizGalaxy.com

</td>
</table>

WHEE! Yay Gnomes.

( More quizzes )