Sucky Day

Well today wasn't so great...

Classes were fine....love my professors, excited for the classes...

HOWEVER. Got the news that I don't even have the interview for the secretary position tomorrow because they reviewed the hours I'd be able to work around my classes and I'd only get in four hours a week, so I can't work there...blegh. I was really excited about it.

And I've been sick since being back...last semester I had weird stomach problems and migraines and throwing up a lot and over break we thought we figured it out, that I had developed a lactose intolerance. So  at home I cut dairy out of my diet and started getting Lactaid milk and I have pills that help me digest lactose better when I can't avoid eating it (like at restaurants or at David's for dinner). I stopped getting sick frequently too...like there were a few times, but it was definitely less and not a daily thing.

Well ever since I've been back at school I've had SOME sort of stomach issue after every meal I eat. Usually it's not major and I just take medicine and it eventually subsides but tonight it SUCKED. I felt really bad right after eating dinner and then I had a three hour class and felt sick the entire time...now I'm back in my room and it's less but I'm still very blegh and very annoyed about it.

Gonna try to get an appointment tomorrow to figure out what the heck is wrong with my body and why I get sick every time I eat...

Back to School!

After a very wonderful 6 week winter break, I'm back at Millersville for Spring semester!

I was kind of iffy about coming back at first...my break was awesome and I wouldn't mind another week where I get to spend every day with my boyfriend. BUT. Once I was back in my room and saw all my friends again, I was so happy to be back. It's funny, cause it feels like almost no time has passed since the last time I was here...everything just falls back into routine.

I'm really excited for my new classes too. Yesterday went well, I only had two classes and they were both pretty easy. Today's my hectic day, four classes...with my last class being from 6-9PM. FUN. It's a Philosophy in Film course...so hopefully we just watch a lot of movies for those three hours, haha. :)

Oh! And I already had a job interview on campus tomorrow for a secretary position! I hope I get it...it'd be so much better than working for dining services and I'd make at least $70 a week which would be FANTASTIC.

Well, that's it for my little update. TTFN! Ta ta for now!

Time for another post about a trip I took into a city!

Last Saturday, I met up with Jeanmarie, her mom, and their friend from church, Jeanie. I've been out with them before...to see the Nutcracker twice in Philly and another ballet performance. This time we went to Philly to see Spamalot, a hilarious musical version of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

BUT FIRST. Before I tell you about ANY of that! I must describe the restaurant we went to and the wonderful dinner we had.

We got to the city around 5:45 and went to this place called Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. VERY fancy place. We walked in and after giving our names they asked if we wanted to check out coats in. They took our coats and came back with little numbers for each of us to reclaim them after our dinner.

Sitting down at the table, we immediately got one of our glasses filled with water and our waitress quickly came around to take orders for what other beverage we wanted (Shirley Temple for me!). Our waitress was AMAZING. Her name was Jessica and she was incredibly sweet and personable, striking up random conversations with us whenever she was around, saying, "Thank you ladies...it's a pleasure...I'd love to..." The best service I've ever gotten anywhere. She was wonderful.

NEXT CAME THE FOOD. We ordered everything all at once...and it was a LOT of food! We each got an appetizer, the three of them got salads, then we each had an entree of steak, and a side to go with it. I started with scallops, which also had red peppers, onions, and bok choy on the side. Then even though I didn't order a salad, Jeanmarie's appetizer (shrimp cocktail) had a salad with it that she ended up not eating so I got that. But she didn't hand her plate to me...oh no. The waitress took the plate with her salad, got a new plate for me, arranged the salad all fancy like, and added a vinaigrette dressing. SO SPIFFY. Speaking of spiffy...our entrees came next. I got a petite filet, my first REAL steak ever. My dad's made steak for dinner before and I've never particularly enjoyed it...always too chewy for me. So I've never ordered steak when out at restaurants. BUT seeing as this was a steakhouse...of course I had to get steak. AND IT WAS SO GOOD.

The steak came on plates that were 500 degrees Fahrenheit. FIVE FREAKING HUNDRED. I did not touch the plate once to verify that fact. I believed the waitress when she told us and my sizzling hot steak (THAT REMAINED HOT FOR THE 20 MINUTES IT TOOK ME TO EAT IT) was proof enough.

I had a side of sweet potatoes...best sweet potatoes I've ever had. And did I mention best steak I've ever had? It was beautiful. AND I WAS SO FULL AT THE END OF THE MEAL. So much food...and so much to drink!

I had two Shirley Temples (with extra cherries, thank you Jessica!) and like...seven refills of water. AAAAAAAAAANNNNNDDDDDDD...don't hate me, but I tried a Cosmo. Not like LEGIT tried, like the babiest sip in the entire world tried. Jeanmarie's mom and Jeanie both ordered them and they wanted to see our reactions to what they were like so we each took a sip. It was NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASTY! Like...cough syrup. That's what it tasted like. And then we each tried some of Jeanie's wine later. That was disgusting too. BLEGH.

So that was dinner...I think I summed up how ridiculously lavish and wonderful it was. And the bill? Over $400. YEAH. YOU READ THAT RIGHT.

Well, this post is getting long so I'll write more about the show and dessert (we went back to Ruth's Chris after the show to get MORE food!) later! :)

Amusing and Very True

Songs That Sound Dirty But Really Aren't

Inspired by our Period Playlist, my mom and I created a new "Songs That Sound Dirty But Really Aren't" playlist. It's amazing what happens when you put your mind in the gutter and run through your iTunes Library...and fantastically hilarious. :)

1. Rolling In the Deep (ADELE)
2. Ooh Aah (GRITS)
3. You Have What I Need (Hawk Nelson)
4. Take Me (Hawk Nelson)
5. You Raise Me Up (Josh Groban)
6. Under Your Skin (Kingsfoil)
7. Tight (Stacie Orrico)
8. Give It Up Now (Kingsfoil)
9. Norwegian Wood (Kutztown University Jazz Band)
10. I Want More (Linda Eder)
11. It Had Better Be Tonight (Michael Buble)
12. Lay 'Em Down (NEEDTOBREATHE)
13. I Got Rhythm (Nikki Yanofsky)
14. All of Me (The Piano Guys)
15. Give Until There's Nothing Left (Relient K)
16. Up and Up (Relient K)
17. When I Go Down (Relient K)
18. We've Only Just Begun (Run Kid Run)

Period Playlist

Yesterday, my mom and I had to take down the Christmas tree and all the ornaments so we decided to put a movie on while we worked. We chose "No Strings Attached," a funny movie about two 'sex buddies' who end up falling for each other. Silly and ridiculous but awesome because I can watch that sort of stuff with my mom and it's not weird at all.

ANYWHO. At one point in the movie, the guy gives the girl a "Period Playlist"...with songs like "Bleedin' Love" and "I've Got The World On A String." It was HYSTERICAL. So of course, my mom and I decided we had to make our own Period Playlist. We went through my entire iTunes library and came up with the best songs...and now here is our Period Playlist (have fun figuring out why some of them were included, hehe):

1. Heartstrings (Find Vienna)
2. U Can't Touch This (Glee Project)
3. What Is This Feeling? (Wicked)
4. I've Got The World On A String (Michael Buble)
5. Cats and Kittens (Kutztown University Jazz Band)
6. Days of Wine and Roses (Kutztown University Jazz Band)
7. Trickle Trickle (The Manhattan Transfer)
8. Misery (Maroon 5)
9. Hurtful (Erik Hassle)
10. Let It All Out (Relient K)
11. One Day More! (Les Mis)
12. Hurt (Christina Aguilera)
13. Gives You Hell (Glee)
14. A Beautiful Mess (Jason Mraz)
15. Bad Day (Daniel Powter)

Comment Response

Hey there fantastic website! Does running a blog similar to this take a massive amount of work? I have virtually no knowledge of programming however I was hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyhow, should you have any ideas or tips for new blog owners please share. I understand this is off subject but I just needed to ask. Thank you!

Hey there fantastic reader! Running a blog like this one takes virtually NO work. It's very simple. The format blogspot.com provides pretty much does everything for you. When you create your own login and site, there will be a "Design" button at the top. If you click on that, it takes you through all sorts of options to personalize what your blog looks like. You can customize your template, change your default font for when you make a post, change the font of your title, figure out the color scheme of your blog...a lot of it is self-explanatory.

I have no knowledge of programming either! So no worries. :) The site is set up so that anyone can make a blog for themselves.

Hmmm...ideas or tips for new bloggers...

1. Figure out all your settings, layout, and template first. If you don't love the way your blog looks you'll constantly be distracted by that when you go to post, instead of thinking about how/what you want to write.
2. Don't worry about needing to write every day or every other day. The blog is there for YOU, when you're in the mood to share thoughts, remember a funny story, express your feelings, etc. If you worry about consistently writing the blog will become a stressful thing instead of something fun. There's been times I haven't posted for WEEKS. Other times I'm in the mood to write four blog posts in one day! It's all up to you.
3. It doesn't matter how many followers you have/don't have. It's your blog, made for the purpose of you and your thoughts. If other people want to read what you write, great! If not, well that's fine too. Write for yourself, not anyone else.
4. Do NOT share your identity! I try never to mention last names on my blog or places like my hometown. I just wrote a post about New York City, but that's fine cause millions of people go to New York...and I write about my time at Millersville, but there are thousands of people at Millersville, so if a creepy stalker wanted to find me they wouldn't be able to. Always better to be on the safer side of things.
5. Have fun with it! :)

I think that's all I have! Best of luck and enjoy!

Birdland Part II

Friday at around 1:00PM, me and my dad and David all headed down to NYC for a fantastic day in the city. We made really good time, getting there a little before 3:00PM, and ran straight to Ollie's (an authentic Chinese restaurant). After a delicious lunch that only cost around $25 for the three of us (which is INSANE, especially in New York City!) we hurried ourselves over to Birdland.

After standing in line for a few minutes, we got to the front where a man was checking people in. I gave him my name, and POOF! We were in! It's a pretty awesome feeling when your name gets you and two other people into a jazz club. ;D

The club was fairly small, but that was nice cause it gave it a really comfortable and relaxed atmosphere. Our seats were front and center, pretty much directly in front of the band. There was a row of tables between us and the band but you could see everything fine, and there was NO problem hearing any of the players!

As we waited, some of the musicians came out and were warming up and chatting...just really chill, which I think is one of my favorite parts of watching pros; they're just always so easy-going. AND THEY'RE ALL SO PHENOMENAL. Which I guess is a given if you're playing in one of the most well-known jazz clubs of all time, but still...WOO! So good!

They played a variety of charts, some Latin, some swing, some blues...all good stuff! And it was SO much fun watching them! At the beginning of the first chart, the lead trumpet player was having a conversation with the piano player at one point. And the drummer would make faces at some of the players at times, and there was whoops and hollers coming from the saxes when there was a really groovin' section of a song...it was great.

I think the drummer was my favorite to watch because while other people were soloing, he would watch them and match his playing to whatever they were doing and he could predict where their solos were going and set up really great hits perfectly.

And the soloists THEMSELVES! Oh my word...the trumpets? All of them soloed at some time. All of them were fantastic. Doing ridiculous trills and shakes and high notes and low notes and runs and MIND BLOWN. The trombones? HILARIOUS. They all had such personality through the horn when they played. The saxes? Jaw-dropped to the basement floor all the time. Brilliant licks...and their dexterity was just out of this world! When the bari sax guy soloed he was like moving and dancing all over the place too, it was a hoot to watch. I remember one time when he had a solo I just kept looking at David and saying, "He's ridiculous! This is insane!" It's just so good you can only sit there and think, "How in the world is this possible? What the HECK am I listening to? No one's this good!" 

It was SUCH a fun night out in the city! Oh and on top of all the great music we had yummy desserts as well. :)

Me and Daddy outside Birdland!

Me and David! :)

Birdland Part 1

BIRDLAND WAS AMAZING.

I promise to write a detail-filled post gushing about how freaking awesome they were, but right now I have to go shower and get ready to go into Philly for dinner and a show!

Loving my life. :)

My life is just a little bit amazing

Last Sunday, I went to Philly and saw Les Mis at the Academy of Music.
This Friday, I'm going to NYC with my dad and David to go to Birdland (THE jazz club in NYC!).
This Saturday, I'm going to Philly to eat a wonderful dinner and see the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Three city trips in ONE week! I'm lovin' it. :)

Boyfriend + Guy Best Friend + Mom=Crazy Times

Last night, I had a game/movie night with David, Sean (best friend from way back in 7th grade), and my mom. A slightly eclectic group no doubt: boyfriend, guy best friend, and mom, but we had a great time. :)

Me, David, and Sean all helped put dinner together (burritos! YUM!) and then most of the dinner conversation was spent with my mom telling stories of her 1st grade students but then turned into me telling stories of bad things I did when I was that age. For example:

When I was in first grade, there was this one morning where NOTHING went right for me. I don't remember what happened, but I was really upset when I got to school and then found out I had a substitute teacher and that was like the last straw...I just couldn't handle anything else. So I broke down crying in the middle of class but then I was totally embarrassed for crying in front of everyone so when the substitute asked what I was wrong, I decided to say that my Dziedzi (grandpa on my dad's side) had died. HE HADN'T THOUGH. Well...that got me out of doing class activities but then the principal called my dad (who worked at as a pastor at the Christian school I went to) and asked why he was in for work when his father had passed away. After much confusion, he explained that his dad was NOT dead...and I got in BIG BIG BIG trouble! I was an interesting child, to say the least... :P

After dinner, we all played Ticket to Ride (Europe Version) and Sean won...I think I like the American Version of the game better...I usually win that one. :P Then we played Pick-Two (like Bananagrams) and each of us won once, which was cool.

THEN. It was movie time...my mom picked the movie: "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil." YEAH. It's classified as a horror comedy. And it was RIDICULOUSLY hysterical! But I also screamed at several times and covered my head with a blanket. Oh my word...it was insane! Here's the trailer for it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQOZHEYhVtU

The whole premise is that these two hillbillies are in the woods to fix up a cabin they just bought as a vacation home at the same time a bunch of college students are out in the woods too. The college kids of course assume they're murderers and try to save their friend Ally (whose in the cabin because she fell and hit her head and they saved her and took care of her) but while trying to kill the hillbillies, they all accidentally kill themselves. Getting impaled on sticks...jumping into a woodcutter...shooting themselves in the head cause they don't know how a gun works...IT IS SO FUNNY. But gory and suspenseful as well. :P

After it was over, mom went up to bed and the three of us sat downstairs and talked for awhile. It was a lot of fun for me. :) My boyfriend and one of my best guy friend's chilling and hanging out together. And they both approve of the other! So that's the best part, haha. :)

David-isms of the day

David has this ridiculously amazing sense of humor. And he's really smart too so he comes up with some pretty witty stuff. Take today for example...

Sitting in the theater watching Les Mis, I turned to David and said, "I think Marius is Asian!" and he replied, "I think he's French." HA. Took me like five seconds to get... :P

And then later we were walking back to the car and kept seeing all these signs for "Female Gaze" (some art thing, I think) and he quips, "In other words, lesbians." THAT one took me like fifteen seconds to understand...

There was something else too but I can't remember now...ah well. You get the idea of his goofiness. ;D

Les Mis!

Today I went to Philly and saw Les Mis at the Academy of Music. It was PHENOMENAL. Every time I see this show I love it even more...and cry a little harder. :P

David and I got all dressed up (I voted us best-looking couple of the day, haha) and drove down to Philly to get to the theater around 12:15. As soon as we got off the highway and onto Broad Street we parked in the first parking garage we saw cause last time we were in the city finding parking was a bit of a hassle. So we got $5 parking (WOOT WOOT) and then walked to get to the theater. When we got out of the car, I mentioned to David that he has a GPS on his phone so we could use that to navigate our way, but he was sure we could find our way on our own. AND HE WAS RIGHT! I feel so proud of us that we found our way around Philly...aka read street signs. :P

We got to the theater at EXACTLY 12:15 and then waited for everybody else to show up. We planned this trip with a group back in September, but they decided to ride the train in. WELL. Apparently the train doesn't run on the weekends, which they found out once they waited 30 minutes at the train station, so they had to quick drive into Philly and find us before the show started at 1:00. It worked out pretty well though. They got there around 12:45 and we got to our seats just in time. Speaking of our seats...we were on the very top balcony and the view is RIDICULOUS. Like...it is such a steep drop. I'm not the type of person afraid of heights but it is REALLY freaky climbing down those stairs.

Then the show started! First of all, gotta say, LOVE the live orchestra. I probably miss some stuff on stage cause of the amount of time I spend watching the musicians. :P Second, the cast for this production was SO great.

Jean Valjean: Flawless. Crazy range. Super talented.
Javert: Classic Javert. Powerhouse. Commanded the attention of the stage.
Fantine: Fantastic voice. My favorite Fantine I've ever seen on stage.
Marius: PURE VOICE. Really really great. Also my favorite Marius I've ever seen.
Cosette: Good voice. I just dislike her character.
Enjolras: Wonderful. Emotional.
Gavroche: Adorable. Perfect.
Eponine: LOVED her voice and how she played the character.

It was all just so good...and the staging and sets are amazing and the transitions are PERFECT and and AND! For this production, they also upped the tempo a bit for some of the songs, and I really liked how they turned out.

This show is SO good. The story is incredibly powerful and moving. It had a good transition to screen but there is NOTHING like sitting in a theater hearing actors pour their hearts out on stage in a live performance.

Adorable!

Totally adorable. I'd say yes if this was how David proposed! Then again, I'd say yes no matter how he proposed. :P

Speaking of me and David and proposed...this holiday season both our families and close friends kept making "engaged" jokes about us. Which we really don't mind but it got funny after awhile because EVERYONE kept making side comments.

We called his grandma (on his dad's side) to see if she wanted to go out to eat with us. She immediately asked if it was for a *cough cough* special occasion...

We went to visit Mr. O and the jazz band and as we were leaving, Mr. O said "Goodbye David Kile! Goodbye Rachel Kile!"

And then one Sunday my mom came home from church and told me David's mom had approached her after church and told her, "I think we're going to be in-laws soon!"

According to my mom, everyone's realized that he went to college...didn't "stray"...now I'm at college...didn't "stray"...so it's like, guess they're gonna end up together! :)

The things I stumble upon...

Adventure of the Day

I cut my own hair!!!

I got six inches off last month and I asked them to angle the front...well, they didn't. It's been really bugging me for awhile so today I decided to do what any Internet-savvy person who's not loving their hair would do...google how to cut your own hair.

And voila! After showering, combing out my hair, and spending ten minutes cutting it (sounds like a long time but only cause I went slowly to make sure I didn't mess up) I have the haircut I want! It actually turned out really well and I'm a little bit proud of myself... :)

Whale? Or mermaid?

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way: 

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

Reading Buccaneers Weekend

This past weekend I was at the Reading Buccaneers. It's the third camp I've been to and every time I go I fall more in love with the music, the staff, and the organization as a whole. It's such an amazing organization and a great experience. But I have to admit...I am POOPED. Exhausted and sore...it was a rough weekend.

Saturday practice starts at 9:00AM and goes until 6:00PM, slightly longer than the average band camp day and SO much more intense! We started in brass ensemble with stretching, breathing exercises, singing, buzzing, and then playing through our warm up repertoire. Then it was on to sub sectionals, so all the mellophones were in one classroom (we rehearse at a high school) and we broke down show music. Saturday we also had evaluations. Kind of like auditions, but MUCH less formal. For my evaluation, I went into this room with one of the staff members, we talked for a couple of minutes about my musical background, I shared that I've only been playing for six months and he asked me more about that...good conversation. Then I played GABC for him...then played that again. Then CDEF...then again. And then I played through Exercise #1 from our Bucs book and I was done. I then went on to my marching evaluation: marched forward, marched backward, did a front slide, did a back slide. Easy peasy stuff. My visual part went great and my music evaluation was just average...didn't do my best but I didn't suck.

Then lunch time! Yum. :) Afterwards was visual block. This was where the day really sucked for me. We started back up technique this camp and the way they back up at Bucs is SO COMPLTELY OPPOSITE of everything I've ever been taught. It was incredibly frustrating for me. Typically, when I march backing up, your first step you leave most of your weight on the front foot and then you follow through with the natural pendulum motion of your other leg...keeping your weight mostly forward and you're up on your platforms. OH NO. That's called the 'old' way at Bucs. Instead, we're supposed to march with all of our weight on our BACK foot, with our heels BARELY off the ground and our front ankle needs to be completely extended. It's bizarre. Like...I just could not get the feel of it Saturday. So I was getting really frustrated with the technique and myself and then on TOP of that I got called out for being too high on my platforms. Well DER that's what I was taught and now all of a sudden in two minutes I have to change everything. BLEGH. It was rough. Though what's funny is on Sunday I got complimented for having the best back up technique...so confusing.

The rest of the day was spent in brass ensemble, which is SO MUCH FUN. It's all the brass standing in a huge arch in the cafeteria and we just work through the show music. It's fantastic hearing the other parts and other sections, and then we put it all together and you can't help but feeling like a complete badass. ;D

Sunday we had practice 9:00AM to 4:15PM. Same day essentially, just broken down differently. We started with visual block in the gym and we were there for two hours, then went to sectionals for an hour, then lunch, then more sectional time, then brass ensemble, then FULL ENSEMBLE. Full ensemble is the shiz. The entire hornline wrapped around the perimeter of the auditorium behind the pit, with the battery on-stage. YEAH BUDDY. Oh my word...oh my word oh my word OH. MY. WORD. It's heaven. A very loud in your face ready to conquer the world heaven. Ahhh...I love drum corps so much. :)

The stressful thing about this weekend (other than the stupid back up technique...grrrr!) was Paul (the brass caption head) talking to the mellophones about the reality of getting a spot to march. They're allowed to march 12 mellophones. There are 21 mellophones going for those spots. And 10 of them are vets. YIKES. But...I know a little birdy who's a five year vet and gets all the inside info and she told me I got a spot and even beat out some of the vets...WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

I'm just a little excited... :)

Movie Reviews

I have seen a LOT of movies recently! I think I've been to the movie theater three times in the past two weeks...crazy stuff. But after seeing all of them I figured I'd write out what I thought of each movie.

Wreck-it Ralph: FANTASTIC MOVIE. I absolutely loved it. It's kind of like Toy Story, but with arcade games instead and it was so well-made. Completely original, great story line...one of those that you leave the theater and just feel wonderful about life. And it was SO funny! The best part about the humor was that it was straightforward enough that kids got it, but there were some one-line zingers that referenced things that adults encountered when they were kids, like older video games. Perfect family movie that everyone can watch. I think I definitely want it on DVD when it comes out.

Les Mis: I was really impressed with how they did this film...everything from the live singing, to how they incorporated scenes from the book that weren't in the original Broadway musical, to the creativity of the camera angles, to how they changed some lyrics/songs and it really added to the movie. My first reaction after the movie was over is that Anne Hathaway is my absolute favorite actress. She was...what's a word that means 'better than phenomenal'? YEAH. SO GOOD. My second reaction was that I hated Russell Crowe as Javert. My dad's seen the movie (he and I are MAJOR Broadway buffs) and he actually didn't mind him, but I just couldn't get past the fact that he really didn't have the vocal chops. He could sing, yes. But was it on the same level as the others? Absolutely not. And you could tell singing wasn't his strong suit because I felt like he didn't act that much. I didn't get any emotion out of his performance...felt like he was concentrating too hard on hitting the right notes to really get into character. But that's just me and my angry rantings because I expected more. :P Sidenote: I'm seeing the stage version of Les Mis this upcoming weekend in Philly and I'll get to have my powerful Javert then, so I'm looking forward to that. :) Other comments about the movie...Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean I adored. I feel like he really carried the movie, both with his singing and the emotion he brought to the screen. He was great. And I cried so much...like three times during the movie. The story is just so amazing..it gets me every time.

The Hobbit: I LOVED THIS MOVIE. I know some critics were disappointed with it as it compared to the original trilogy of the Lord of the Rings, but I thought it was amazing. And yeah, it is different than the first three but that's because it's a totally different story, with completely different characters, and set in a different time period. DER. They did SUCH a phenomenal job with it. Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins was pure brilliance. He BECAME that character and had a flawless performance. And I loved the dwarves...and what was great was they all had their own personality, which I imagine was hard to do since there's so many of them! The filming was extraordinary, and even though some of the CGI was over the top, it was understandable with the sequences they had to film. Great movie, can't wait to see it again and for the others to come out.