I dunno, something interesting*

First off, I'd like to point out that lent is, in fact, completely and totally over for a whole bunch of weeks. :) Yes........
Easter Vigil was awesome. It went from 11 till about 2, followed by way too much good food and people. We had a great time chilling out, playing ping pong, having tete a tete's, going to confession, and dancing until 6 ish. Gosh, you gotta love hanging out way late at night when you're so happy it's Easter. I ended up climbing at 7 in leggings up onto my parents balcony so that we could get in the house. We slept from 7:30 until 11 or so. Michelle seems to have been thoroughly enjoying herself all this time she's been here. I'm having serious issues typing right now, because not even coffee can keep me up forever. But sometimes you weirdos who dislike it have to thank God for coffee. But seriously, I'm so happy it's finally Easter. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me more or less. So have a great time partying your boots off, and remember that when you do something bad, the devil's right there behind you going "YES!" and rejoicing.**

*Thanks, Michelle, for the inspired title.
**Thanks, Sean for that uplifting piece of info.

Happy Birthday!

If anyone forgot, they should be shot. If you don't know who's birthday it is today, than nothing I can say can change that.
On this day:
•2005: Pope John Paul the Second died
•1992: I was born
•742: Charlemagne was born
•Unofficially "skirt day" among US teenagers

I knew there was a reason I loved the name Charles above all others. (Claire: "Charles!") And I knew there was a reason I was moved to wear a skirt today. Want more random facts? Go to Wikipedia and look up 2 april.
Anyway, enjoy my special day. I got some awesome gifts today, including an apron from the Globe Theatre which is blood-splattered and says "Twill fill your stomachs; please you eat from it", an iPod Nano, and a bunch of awesome other things, including some elbow-high, hot pink, velvety gloves... I love birthdays.
Thank God it's almost Easter! :) I'm so excited.
Stay cool, guys, and I'll see you when I do. Aren't I profound?

Blegh.

Cough cough.
I hate being sick, especially when I can't breathe, can't stand up, and can't stop coughing.
On the other hand, I love you all.

Hahaha! Wheee...

Don't ask where that title came from. I'm not totally drunk...
Yesterday was confirmation class. We won't talk about that or a certain, patronizing, annoying person, though. The real point was that I was in Santa Paula where the high was 99º. Ojai was only 91º, but you guys have no idea how absolutely marvellous it felt to finally be really really warm. I know I'm going to have all sorts of disparaiging comments from you Washintonians and them Californians, but I honestly couldn't care less. mmm... HEAT!
Only three weeks till my birthday now. AKA only 20 shopping days left...
I also just wanted to comment on the fact that there are approximately no live blogs anymore. Rabs and Lukie have an excuse, but the rest of you... It's shameful. Hermes and Bing never post, Hermes JR never posts, Michelle and Emma do every once in a while, Anthony's by far the worst... I could go on, but I won't. Just throwing that out there.
Ha! Thomas and Deirdre and I went and saw Nordhoff's "Anything Goes" on Friday. It was quite amusing, esp. the fact that we vaguely knew two of the male leads. The chicks I won't even talk about. We'll pretend they were fabulous. Anyway, it was quite amusing even if a bit umm.... yeah. Those of you who've seen it know what I'm talking about.
I saw the HUGEST lizard today. It was like five or six inches long. So cool. And then I got totally freaked out by a bunch of crickets that were breading (or something) in the towel I wanted to lie on. Ga-ross!
Well, y'all have fun surviving another week of lent. I love several, most, but probably not all of you. Have a nice time attempting survival in rainy Washington! Haha! I'm SO glad I'm not there right now... Blech. Rain.

Post Numero 40

First off, Happy Birthday Gracie! I hope you're enjoying being 15.. before me. :( Just kidding. Anyway, in another 6 years, we'll be in Canada. Ooh, boy.
Second. I still love the beach. Today Deirdre, Rebecca Kaiser, Micaela, Elizabeth, and Christiana Mellein and I all went to said local. Even though there was no surf whatsoever, we had an awesome time. And In'N'Out will never be the same again after we've been there. You gotta love having friends. Yesterday, Frannie and Cecelia and Mrs. Kelsey and Mom and Deirdre and I went shopping in Camarillo. We got tennis garb, and I got THE CUTEST dress for confirmation. It's simply adorable. Thomas, if you start making fun of me for that, I'll butcher you at orchestra tomorrow night.
Speaking of orchestra, we're starting to practice my piece. I haven't played it yet with the orchestra since we've only had the music for a week and I wasn't even there last week. I am obscenely nervous about doing so, though, because I know a lot of people in the orchestra who'll make some serious fun of me...
I can't wait for Easter. This whole suffering thing is all well and good, but Easter is eagerly awaited by several people, most especially me. So's summer. Even though it's sunny here, summer will be so amazing. I can't wait for my stupid freshman year to be over. I hate school SO MUCH! The other day, Deirdz and I were talking, and she said that if she could do Calculus all day long she'd be perfectly happy. After locating and putting good use to a paper bag, I told her if I could practice my viola all day, I'd be perfectly happy. *sigh* But I'll be a lot better off once summer gets here. I'm actually really excited for my birthday. I don't really care how old I am, I'm just excited. I love how appreciated one is on one's birthday.
I think that's enough for now. I hope everyone in all regions of the universe are well and good. I hope everyone's enjoying eating copious amounts of delicious and illegal foods. Word of the day is copious, by the way. It's a great word. Especially when referring to women's hair. "Man, that Mrs. Quackenbush has copious amounts of hair." No offense to your Mom, Thomas... Don't tell her I said that, please. It could get... never mind. :)
Enjoy life while you have it! Like I'm one to talk... *snort*

More musings

Happy five weeks until my birthday! :)
Yesterday, in my x number of miles walk, I stubbed my toe really badly. I feel very sorry for all you people not fortunate to be able to wander barefoot around Ojai for hours and hours running into hundreds of people you know. So it really hurts. And my feet really hurt because I danced on carpet at TAC from 8 something till 3:30. And my tummy hurts, especially after I almost killed myself by inhaling a piece of carrot today and not being able to cough from all the pain in my stomach.
I have to get off now, but it's been nice seeing you all!

Sweet Revenge

I figured it was time Rabs and I got even.

Valentine's Day

Valentine
By Carol Anne Duffy

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.

Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute car or a kissogram.

I give you an onion.
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are,
for as long as we are.

Take it.
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,
if you like.

Lethal.
Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.

Random Musings of a Drunken Me

Why is it that February always seems like an unlucky month to me? I'm not really sure... But, unlucky or not, Happy February! I guess it's spring or whatever because Punxsutawney Phil neglected to see his shadow. It's felt like spring here for about a month at least. It's really nice.
The Colts won the Super Bowl, in case any of you Football hating monkeys hadn't noticed. Woo-hoo!
I decided that February is officially not the month to be born in. I know at least twice as many people born in January as February. The only important birthdays that I can remember are Andrew on the 11th, Kidu the 12th, Thomas the 21st, and Mrs. Curtis the 24th. Oh, and Kodi on the 19th.
Man, I'm way too tired to make anything seem even remotely witty or intelligent... This was a really bad idea.
To those of you who are string players and/or who care: I'm trying out a bunch of bows from Shar that should get here in a few days. It's really exciting. I despise my bow with a passion undefiled. So that's really exciting. Go music!
On another note, keep up the prayers for Sean. He was going to get out of the hospital on Sunday, but then his white blood cell count doubled overnight, so they told him Tuesday if his white count went back down. Which it did until this morning. It's pretty sad. He's doing really well, he's just sick of the hospital. I HATE HOSPITALS!!!!
Okay, whew. Ouch. Anyone know of a really good masseuse in Ojai? I didn't think so... Poor me.
Viola practicing awaits. Good night.
P.S. Radiohead rocks!

That would be Rabic in the foreground with Patrick, Sean, and Deirdre in the background (l to r). I just really love this picture. It's from our Boxing Day party. I'm pretty sure it was taken shortly after Patrick, Sean and Rabic were making fun of me for not being able to pogo stick.

Prayer Request!

For my friend Sean, who went into the hospital on Friday night with a ruptured appendix. Trust me, I know what it's like. NOT FUN!!! Mine didn't rupture, but it hurt a heck. I just went and saw him. He's really, really sick, and in a lot of pain. He's going to be in hospital for probably about a week and then be on an IV at home for a few more weeks. He's really thirsty and they won't let him drink anything. It's a pretty sad place to be for Sean, so just pray for him. Thanks.
Update on Granny is that her knee cap is getting replaced on the third I think. It'll be a 3 and a half hour surgery and I think she'll be able to come home pretty soon after that.
So keep the prayers coming, especially for Sean. Thanks!

Deirdre says

That she has 4 valid driver's licenses and/or permits.
Other than that, I'm hungry.

Song of the day:
Last Kiss
By Pearl Jam

Oh, where oh where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me
She's gone to heaven, so I got to be good
So I can see my baby when I leave this world.

We were out on a date in my daddy's car
We hadn't driven very far
There in the road, up straight ahead
A car was stalled, the engine was dead
I couldn't stop, so I swerved to the right
I'll never forget the sound that night
The screamin' tires, the bustin' glass
The painful scream that I heard last.

Oh, where oh where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me
She's gone to heaven, so I got to be good
So I can see my baby when I leave this world.

When I woke up, the rain was pourin' down
There were people standing all around
Something warm rollin' through my eyes
But somehow I found my baby that night
I lifted her head, she looked at me and said
"Hold me darling just a little while."
I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss
I found the love that I knew I would miss
But now she's gone, even though I hold her tight
I lost my love, my life that night.

Oh, where oh where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me
She's gone to heaven, so I got to be good
So I can see my baby when I leave this world.
Oooh~ ooooh~

Great song.

How I wish it was

I love dancing. I think that if I could have my life be exactly like I wanted it to be, I'd get up at about 10, practice my viola and dance all day. No school... What a wonderful world this would be.
This isn't totally random and uncalled for. We had a dance a really fun dance last weekend. Even though I almost froze and ruined my jazz shoes and Jack spanked me really hard, it was still enjoyable. Jack just proposed to me. I rejected him. And I'm not even sorry.
Oh, and the random quiz of the week is (drumroll) What should my new email address be? I think that I might have xeila@gmail.com, Rabic thinks that smella@gmail.com would be better, and Jack's idea of perfection in my email address is ihaveacrushoneveryboy@gmail.com. Ideas welcome.
Have a great day, and may all your Christmases be white.

Yay me!!!

Guess what? I WON THE CONCERTO COMPETITION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have no idea how excited I am. This piece is fabulous, and I love it with the orchestra. *sigh* I'm so excited.
I'm also sick of having frozen pipes in the morning. AKA NO WATER in the AM. Oh well. I don't really care right now. I'm too happy.

Prayers, please.

My Granny isn't doing too well. We're not sure what's going on, but the prayers would be good. I'll let you know anything new when I can. Thanks!

UPDATE #1: She just went to the Hospital. Dad thinks she might have some sort of infetion or something. She's not very responsive at all. More to come...

UPDATE #2: Turns out she has a bad knee infection. PRAY that she reacts well to the antibiotics. If she doesn't they have to take out her knee, clean it out for six weeks and then put in a new joint. (She has a prosthesis.) So, please pray! Thanks.

Yay, California!

Guess what? It's 78º in the shade. I love you, Ojai.
Something I don't love would be being a Freshman. I don't count, and school just basically sucks. Luckily for me, I'm a 'cool freshman' and so I get to be 1/2 of a person. Yay me!!
I also do love my viola. Still no name for the poor chap, but he's the cutest, and the best thing that happened last year.
Speaking of last year, and good things happening, my favorite parts of last year would probably be: My appendix... NOT, my new viola, (the same weekend, I might add), finding out that CA is so much better than I thought it would be, learning to boogie board, working on friendship making skills, (not, but whatever), tripping to WA, and having such an awesome orchestra, viola teacher, and music in Ojai. Yay!
Speaking of music, I have a concerto competition on Saturday. Gulp. I ran through with the pianist today, which was pretty cool.
That's all, folks.

To Quote a Favorite Musical

"Tomorrow you'll be worlds away." Les Miserables... Don't get me started. You have no idea how much I want to play Eponine. She's awesome.
That aside, tomorrow I'll be worlds away from this California home of mine. I'm pretty excited. Right now, though, I'm too tired to be excited about anything.
I heard it snowed last night. Better make sure it happens again. We had torrential rain last night as well as thunder and lightning. Kidu got soo freaked out. He came in and sat on my bed with me and Franny.
So I'll see you all soon, and we'll have some fun times!
Cheers! Happy third day of Christmas. And many more...

As the Song Goes

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas!"

I have to say that the carols that get 'Best of this Year' or "Favorite New-Found Carol' would have to be 'Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming', 'Jesus Christ the Apple Tree', and 'Nativity Carol'. Old favorites have to start of with my all-time favorite, 'Once in Royal David's City'. After that, I don't really care how the order goes. I love 'Ding Dong Merrily on High' and 'Gabriel's Message'. An amusing thing Deirdre and I did this year was tried to figure out how many carols had references to cold winters and how many names appeared in Christmas carols and wether we knew people with those names. A few that we did know people for were Jesse, Rose, Gabriel, David, Mary, Joseph, Stephen, and Regina. I really enjoyed that.

The reason why I'm posting my merry Christmas post is because, believe it or not, Christmas Eve IS ON SUNDAY! And I'll probably not have time before then. Tomorrow Deirdre, Mom, Mrs. Kelsey and Frances and I are going shopping in LA which'll be reeally fun. Can anyone who knows Bing well guess why she's not coming? Poor Bing. And then Saturday'll be one of those crazy days and so will Sunday, so this is probably my last chance.

We're closing up the show this weekend, and we're all sold out for Thursday and Saturday, and almost for Friday. Those of you who've acted in real things before: isn't it a great feeling to perform in front of a full house? I am so lucky that I don't get nervous before these things. If I did, I'd be dead.

So, Merry Christmas to you all! I love Christmas time!!!!!! Everyone go to confession on Saturday if you haven't been for a while so you can be nice and clean for Christmas. I can't wait to see you guys in a week!
P.S. Michelle, please kiss Blessed Sacrament for me. And relish Midnight Mass for me, too. I wish I could go...

The Visitation

... But not the one you normally hear about.
Here's the scoop: Deirdre, Bing, Rabic and I are storming the already stormy Washington from December 28th to the 4th of Jan. Don't everyone volunteer to host us at their houses all at once. :) My only request is that we MUST have a dance, because all you Washintonians have a few things to learn about the proper way to dance the swing. Also, I miss funking with you guys. CAnians just don't 'get' it, y'know? Plus, one of the most excellent dancers in SoCal is visiting relatives in Woodenville, so he has to come.
I can't wait to see you all. Have a great rest of Advent and eat some super delicious moist pumpkin bread like I will be doing this evening after I'm done cooking it.
Champagne and Chardonnay are cheery Christmas cheers.

Yay, Babies!

I have two birth announcements for you guys. First is of Molly Marie Schuberg, born December 1st, the third daughter of my friends the Schubergs. (they also have 6 boys). Unfortunately, Molly was born with a collapsed lung which required a transfer to another hospital. That issue is resolved now, but she has digestive problems of some sort. Mrs. Schuberg also isn't doing too well, and both are still in the hospital. Please keep both of them and the whole family in your prayers.
Also, my second youngest baby, Lucjan Sylvester is due on Monday which is horribly exciting. (name is pronounced loos-e-un) Basically, I'm just really happy that babies exist and are so adorably irresistable.
Also, go ahead and pray that Rabic feels better. He came down with stomach flu last night. Poor pumpkin. That's no fun to have. Trust me.
Anyway, happy almost second Sunday of advent. To celebrate, I want each of you to spend some time this evening sitting in your Christmas light lit room curled up with a cup of hot chocolate listening to Christmas carols. Wish I could do the same... Tonight's the second night of A Christmas Carol.
Stay happy, and make sure not to eat too many Christmas cookies! Oh, and if any of you hear "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" on KBSG, please record it for me. Thanks.