Les Misérables, Partie Deux

I went to see Les Misérables in theaters for the second time. Here is a collection of thoughts that came to mind tonight, during and after the movie:

~Do you hear the people sing? Because this song always seems to get stuck in my head when I hear it.

~I know they make Hugh Jackman look different as he goes through the various changes in Jean Valjean's life, but nineteen years pass and he still looks good. Is Hugh really 44 years old? (Is Joel McHale really 41?) Maybe getting older isn't such a scary thought.

~Thénardier is apparently the only French man in this movie with a French accent. Everyone else must have immigrated from England.

~Helena Bonham Carter's Madame Thénardier reminded me of a grimy, nastier version of her Mrs. Lovett.

~Eponine made me so much more sad and sympathetic this time around. She is gorgeous AND she broke my heart. I would still love to portray her onstage someday. (If I ever make it back up on a stage and can squeeze out any talent.) Eh, it's nice to dream, I suppose.

~Come to think of it, I would love to portray any one of the leading ladies in this show: Fantine, Eponine, Cosette (if I can ever reach that C again), even Madame Thénardier would be fun. I'm probably just a few years too old and a few feet too tall to perform Castle on a Cloud though...

~Marius further proves that no matter what you look like, girls will still think you're hot if you have a great singing voice. I call that the Michael Bublé effect. (And yes, 90% of what makes Michael and Eddie Redmayne hot are their singing voices. Maybe 70% singing voice in Eddie's case since he is also British which gives him an extra dose of hotness.)

~Enjolras is a handsome pup. Revolution? Sign me up! Vive la France!

~Even though I knew what was coming, I teared up the first time I watched Gavroche's last scene. And then I did it again tonight. And I will probably continue to be emotionally hit by this scene every time I see it. Darn those kids.

~Still no waterworks though. I guess I'm just an insensitive turd.

~I want a pretty fancy-sounding French name. Maybe I'll bestow them on my future kids.

~Russell Crowe is NOT a terrible singer. He is by no means as pleasant to listen to as the other actors (and I did cringe through the first viewing when he started singing), but he manages to pull it off, and at times his subtlety portrays itself very well in Javert's emotions. I'd still rather hear someone else sing "Stars" though. Anyone else. Well... maybe not ANYONE...

Overall, Les Mis is a great movie, and completely deserving of every award nomination (and win!) it has received thus far. And it might be worth watching in the theaters a third time... or maybe I'll just go see Cloud Atlas a second time and wait for Les Mis to go on DVD.

P.S. Cloud Atlas is another amazing movie worth watching. It's mind-blowing.

One Month Until October 19th!

I found some old notes, quotes, and tidbits I jotted down in my notebook and cell phone, and although it may be repetitive, it's kind of nice to recognize the state of mind that is October 19th. I did this in another post a few months ago, and I'm quite pleased at how I have maintained this state of mind, not just for these past few months, but for the majority of 2012. And so, also for lack of creativity coupled with a sore throat and stuffy head, I will pick up where I left off and look back at more of the simple joys that are October 19th.

When you don't have to dress in costume and collect candy to have an enjoyable Halloween night -- that's October 19th.

Eating banana fosters cheesecake while being serenaded by a fine jazz trio -- that's October 19th.

When you start rocking out to Beatles' songs during your ten minute work break -- that's October 19th.

Composing a rough three-part harmony arrangement of a Christmas song in a matter of a few hours and performing it a few weeks later -- that's October 19th.

When your dog is the instigator for a conversation between you and a cute LDS boy you've never met before -- that's October 19th.

Spending a four-day weekend with hot chocolate, Christmas movies, and many great people -- that's October 19th.

When the pronunciation of a new language starts to make sense (dziękuję Youtube!) -- that's October 19th.

Putting up Christmas lights in your room after a two-year hiatus, and listening to them every other night -- that's October 19th.

When doomsday is randomly spent with a few (or many) laughs from The Soup -- that's October 19th.

Making it through ten hour work days with loads of energy to continue playing after -- that's October 19th.

When you spend a night of karaoke with just one other friend and realize it's the best night of karaoke ever because you can sing every other song and rock out with said friend to some amazing duets -- that's October 19th.

On that note, when same friend makes you feel pretty darn special by being the only one to celebrate your birthday in December with karaoke -- that's October 19th. (January karaoke celebration coming soon... =P)

Discovering you share a birthday with Rod Serling -- that's October 19th.

When you have been gifted the awesome sweater that you asked for your birthday TWICE -- that's October 19th.

Treating yourself to birthday dinner on more than one occasion just because you actually have the time (and money) to do it -- that's October 19th.

When your friends spontaneously surprise you with a birthday cookie two nights before your birthday -- that's October 19th.

Getting in and out of the DMV in less than an hour without any hassle -- that's October 19th.

When your married friends treat you to your first Disneyland tour and a fancy dinner so that you can celebrate your birthday at the same time they are celebrating being newlyweds -- that's October 19th.

Celebrating what thus far has been the best Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthday all in the same year -- that's October 19th.

Realizing the start of the fourth season of Community is one month away -- that's October 19th!

Merry Third Day of Christmas!

On the third day of Christmas, my dather gave to me...

Three caballeros...

Two new tires...

And a cup full of broccoli cheese!

25 Days to Christmas

I do not have any of substance to actually write about tonight (then again, do I ever?), but I have also been meaning to post about a lot of different things. A lot of my thoughts are pretty insignificant, but I sometimes wonder if at some point I will write something that someone will stumble upon, perhaps by accident, that will be of some relevance to them. In the meantime, I am fairly content writing to myself, the three other people I know who read this blog, and the reader who keeps tuning in from Russia. Not sure who you are, but Здравствуйте!

I'm pretty excited because this has been a crazy month full of a lot of new and exciting things. (These thoughts are not necessarily in order of significance or chronology, I'm just writing as I spout.) Kind of an expansion on October 19th, but not quite. It'll always be October 19th... in here.

First, my friends finally got married, and I was able to celebrate as a part of the wedding party, which was incredible and full of fun memories, good times, great singing, dancing, and nail polish that is really showing wear and tear on my fingernails that I will not remove until the last possible moment.

Second, I have been indulging my ears in more Disney songs sung in Polish to assist me while I learn the language. The only little bugger is when I try to translate English into Polish, and vice versa, I end up mentally translating into Chinese. (Is this normal?) It's so exciting to find that the pronunciation is starting to make more sense. It's always the grammar that's my problem though. And these Polish pronouns are going to take a while.

Third, I tried sushi for the first time, and anyone who knows me well enough knows this is HUGE because I do not like seafood. The bad news about this is now I have something else to waste my money on, because sushi is freaking good! Yeah, total shocker.

Fourth, I put up my Christmas lights, which is great because 1. my Christmas lights are the best, 2. I missed hanging them up last year so they have been on hiatus for almost two years, and 3. my Christmas lights are the best.

Fifth, this past Thanksgiving was the best Thanksgiving EVER. Seriously. Anyone who knows I do not like fish also likely knows that Thanksgiving is not a holiday I enjoy, rather one that I dread every time it comes around. And yet, ever since I spent Thanksgiving by myself a few years ago, every Thanksgiving in the year following has trumped the previous year. I may be a fan of this holiday now. Well, maybe not quite a fan, but I can at least tolerate it now.

Finally, prayer works!!! As time goes by, I keep finding my testimony of prayer (among other things) growing. And that's as far as I will go in talking about that lest I get too personal. But it's pretty amazing. A number of prayers are being answered and I am sooo blessed in life right now.

What's next? Figuring out how to survive turning a year older. Bye-bye November, hello Birthmas countdown. Ah, life is good.

That's October 19th

Thanks to petty reasoning, disappointment came over me the weekend before last. And soon this disappointment turned into anticipation. I don't know how long I can wait, but perhaps this is only another test of patience in the most superficial form out there. One good lesson has emerged from this: October 19th is not just a date, it is a state of mind.

When autumn finally feels like autumn outside -- that's October 19th.

When someone says exactly what you need to hear at a given time -- that's October 19th.

When you break open a new jar of nutella -- that's October 19th.

When you go to Disneyland one hour before it closes just because you can -- that's October 19th.

Turning a four hour car drive into a one-woman karaoke room -- that's October 19th.

When you surprise a good friend on her birthday -- that's October 19th.

When prayers are answered -- that's October 19th.

When Christmas decorations arrive at the stores --that's October 19th.

When a four-year old you haven't seen in a few weeks voluntarily runs over to give you a hug -- that's October 19th.

When your favorite book series comes out with a new book -- that's October 19th.

Finding five and a half hours in one day to start indulging in musical expression -- that's October 19th.

When the Blue Man Group teaches you more about your eyes than you ever learned in any science class you took in school -- that's October 19th.

When opportunities arise to help others -- that's October 19th.

When you put together a fun Halloween costume on a very low budget and feel more than satisfied with the outcome -- that's October 19th.

Eating a four-course meal with great company without spending a cent -- that's October 19th.

When you lead a party with 22 babies/toddlers/kids and 40+ adults without getting a drop of paint on your fancy vest you borrowed -- that's October 19th.

When your co-workers save your butt with bubbles -- that's October 19th.

When you memorize a beautiful wedding song sooner than expected -- that's October 19th.

When gas prices drop below $4.00 -- that's October 19th.

Knowing that although it was supposed to air on October 19th, Community will be back for its fourth season someday -- that's October 19th.

Happy October 19th!!

Digging Holes

Somehow, whenever I try and be real in blog form, I end up distracted, distorted, dizzy, and direction-less (that's not a word, which just proves my point). This may be another one of those times.

A few days ago, I was thinking about the parable of the talents from the New Testament. I have grown up reading this story backwards and forward, seeing it from multiple Christian denominations' points of view. It wasn't until a few days ago, though, that it really hit me. I thought about the servant who received one talent and because he was afraid (or whatever that may translate to) he buried his talent under the ground. And then I thought about myself as that servant, metaphorically burying my talent under the ground, for lots of different reasons: I'm insecure, I'm hesitant to speak up and let others know what I can do, I'm not as talented as the next person, I have no way of contributing my talent or at least no way of knowing how to, I feel like my talent is useless. I found a spot in the ground, a VERY deep spot in the ground, to bury my talent, because I was (and perhaps, am still) afraid.

I don't want to be the servant who buried his talent, and now I'm working to try and dig it back out. I'm stuck in a rut though because I don't know where it is, what I can do, what I'm good at, what I can become good at. (I credit psychology courses for helping me realize what makes me this way, and that's all I'm going to say about that.) I don't know what my talents are, and for the last few months I have been digging around trying to find the exact spot where I buried these talents, but to no avail, and all I'm left with are a bunch empty dug-up holes. If I can find out where my talents are hidden, maybe I can finally figure out how to use them.

This talk of digging and holes just sorted a conglomerate of related songs and clips through the ipod of my mind (and makes me realize I might have a bit more of Abed in me):

1. The Dig It song from Holes, and the movie Holes in general:

2. The Sea of Holes from the movie Yellow Submarine:

3. Celebrity Skin by Hole:

4. Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden:

5. This game of Scene to Rap from Whose Line:

6. Another amusing moment from Community:

Somehow it all comes back to Community, doesn't it? I think I just need to stop being serious in writing here specifically where I know other parties could be reading. (Yes, I'm referring to all two of you who actually read my blog!) All right, back to some more metaphorical digging in search of talent(s). Wish me luck, I need it. Dig it, oh oh oh...

No Pins For Me

I did it. I now have a Pinterest account. And I'm not sure what to do with it yet. My inspiration is gone. I wonder if there's a Pinterest board out there with ideas for Pinterest....

In other girly news, I'm actually watching Project Runway. Sort of. It's mostly background noise while I try to channel my inner girl, but I'm trying. Considering my extreme lack of TV watching as of late, I think this is the longest I may have ever been on the Lifetime channel. And I don't know how much more of this overdramatized fashion drama I can stand to listen to. Yikes, where is MXC, Whose Line, or an SVU marathon when I need it?

I'm also craving a Battle Royale with cheese, AKA a plain grilled cheese from In-N-Out. Perhaps with an extra slice of cheese. The story behind the name? Yup. Board idea? Maybe not.