The Best is Yet to Come and Babe, Won't it Be Fine

On Independence

Friends, I need to be independent. The time has come. If I weren't completely financially unstable, I would move this instant and purchase a box somewhere to live in. I think I've been ready to be out on my own for quite some time (and promptly get my butt kicked by "real life") and I am just about to go crazy. My sister finished school yesterday. I love my sister. Really, I do. But after a year with two roommates in a small capacity, I fully embraced having this home to myself. It was my happy time; I wasn't even here that often. However, when I was home, I could sing or write freely. I could choreograph. I could chill and veg and watch TV. My sister has decided to set up her camp again in our "playroom" (which I feel like we should probably graduate to a guest room at this point since Abby and I are both on our way out of adolescence/teendom) with soda, pirouette cookies, and magazines. She expects full control over TV, her room, and music in the house. Additionally, she's been on the phone (she's an alto with impressive breath control so her voice carries) for a good hour busily chatting with friends whilst romping around the house. This is normal. It's her first day out of school, she's happy as a clown, and she wants to enjoy it. That's fantastic, but I want to clean and listen to Judy Garland, eat my lovely daily lunch salad, practice voice, choreograph, and then write a bit. I've been spoiled this last month having my own space, and I already miss it. I'm a really ADD person, and sound (any form of music in general) is something I am highly sensitive to.

This is not a rant about siblings or frustration with home, this is a way of saying I am ready to live on my own. Bsaically, it's rather a plea to the gods above to bless me magically with a winning lottery number, more talent, and a box in New York or London where I can live debt-free like a church mouse.

The real issue here is that I need to be able to spend next summer in another big city--either out on my own or with a couple of roommates. Problem is, mother is once again threatening for me not to have a car at school this year. The consequence of this is I won't have a job. The consequence of not having a job means no income. No income means debt. Debt means I'm shipped back home next summer. You see, it is a difficult cycle--one which I do not know how to fix.

On Gas and Mass Public Transportation
And can we just pause for a second and talk about the absurd gas prices? What is going on? (Yeah, I know "recession" aka nice word for "deperession" or "economical decline" or whatever silly label they're slapping on it...) Can the world PLEASE just put energy efficient, environmentally friendly mass public transportation everywhere? Or at least in every major city? Dallas is slowly, but surely getting a clue. The DART trains have, in recent years, not been used too much by the general populous. However, at rehearsal last night (oh, I do need to mention that, don't I?) several people mentioned they were taking the train to get down here, which was neat. The problem is that Dallas is way more massive than people realize, and while the DART is undergoing expansion (thank heavens) there are still a lot of dots to connect before Dallasites can consider it a primary form of transportation (that is, unless you live downtown/uptown.)

On Dallas Being Freaking Awesome
I am totally enamored of Dallas right now. 100%. Dallas Arts District is going to be pretty much the coolest thing since sliced bread. I made a contact where I thought (for a while) I might have some sort of internship down there. However, after the initial phone call, I had no response to my subsequent phone calls. (Maybe next summer? If I have to be here?) Uptown is amazing. West Village is awesome. Downtown is starting to actually FEEL like a downtown. We have amazing venues down there---everything from American Airlines to the House of Blues. Even Fair Park is becoming a really cute area with fun boutiques. (This is a nice alternative to having to review my self defense skills every time I exited the Music Hall.) It's so interesting to me that our nation is in huge financial decline while Dallas is (oddly enough) getting cooler and expanding daily. Ten years ago (yes, I know I was eight so what did I know?) I never would have wanted to live in Dallas. I would have said there was nothing to do and it was silly. Now, I can actually envision myself living here at some point. Granted, I don't want to live here right after college and I do want to explore other places, but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

"The Living Room" (or something like that...)
I just had this brilliant idea. I need to own a coffeeshop/boutique. How do you just start up a coffeeshop? How can anything survive in the Starbucksopolis? I would want live artists to play there and I think I'd want it to be comfortable above being chic. Maybe it could be a coffeeshop during the day and more of a lounge at night...Hmm... Does anyone just get together with their friends after college and rent a box of space to host a coffeeshop in? I could have more indie/folk bands and artists (that's probably what I'd get for the most part) but maybe I could have cabaret evenings on like Thursday and Sunday or maybe the occasional Saturday. However, that would necessitate a piano--though I could just get a cheap standup--ask some of my friends to perform standards/cabaret numbers....Hm. Or, I could even broaden it. It could just be a hangout place/coffeshop. There'd be bookshelves and funky wallpaper, amazing rugs--and great couches and chairs. I could call it "The Living Room" (though no one would know what that would mean, exactly...) What city would I want to try this in? Dallas? Memphis? (eh...) New York? (There's probably a million things like this in New York...still...) Boston? Chicago?

If anyone steals my brilliant plan I might hurt you. I'm getting kind of attached.

What do you guys think?

On Sex and the City
Sex and the City (the TV show) officially began ten years ago in 1998. I was nine years old. Supposedly, at the time, the show was only a mild hit. However, due to TBS re-runs and the fact that the writing is still so incredibly funny and genuine (and that those archetypal women have not been so artfully, successfully, or brilliantly re-written in any other TV show since) the show's turned into a phenomenon. I think I was introduced sophomore or junior year in high school. I love, love, love Sex and the City. Is it anywhere from mildly to obscenely inappropriate? On occasion (okay, maybe a little more frequently than that...) yes. (However, language/all nudity is edited out on TBS shows so I'm familiar with a tamer version.) But do I completely empathize with various plights of Charlotte's naivite and desire for more conventional romance? Yes. Do I deeply desire to be the ultimate gutsy fashionista/New York City columnist like Carrie who is pursued by Big, Aiden (he was the one she should have gone for...), and Baryshnikov? Yes. Do I envy Samantha's confidence and bold loyalty towards her friends? Yes. And do I relate fully to Miranda's cynicism, sarcasm, dark wit, ambition, and trust issues? Certainly. Every woman (and the occasional gay man) relates in one way or another to these women. The show isn't just about sex. If you want to watch a show about sex, watch the Real World, those obscene reality shows with Tila Tequila and other cocktail beverage pornstars turned into reality dreamgirls, and soaps. Sex is handled more casually in shows like One Tree Hill, the OC, and Grey's Anatomy than it is in Sex and the City. Furthermore, it's not a persuasive argument for women to be promiscuous. Three of the four women (sorry for the spoiler but it's your fault for not seeing the movie at midnight) end up in either marriages or long-term commitments. Just because the word "sex" is in the title does not mean that's all the show has to offer. It wouldn't be as popular or successful if the characters and storyline weren't so strong and relatable.

Anyway, I visited IMDb.com's message boards over the past couple of days to get a taste of what the movie might be like. 3.4. 3.4 of 10 stars. I was appalled. Even Santa Clause kills the Martians has a higher rating than that. Mediocre chick flicks generally end up in the 5's, and since I know the writing was better than that, I expected at least around a 7.0. Then, I scrolled down to the Message Boards. Oh man. What IS it with straight men and this movie? Why are they so remarkably insecure and confused by female dominance and power that they spend hours on a message board bashing a movie they haven't even seen? Seriously, there are hundreds of men posting on these boards bashing the film. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Naturally, I checked the breakdown of votes. Of all the men who voted, the score was a 2.4. For women, it was more in the 7 range. And of the top voters on IMDb, the film was in the 6 range. The thing that gets me even more than insecure men expressing frustration with the movie is women who haven't seen a single show in their lives and think it's degrading to women. Gracious, girls. Sit in front of the TV and watch a show. These are strong women. The whole point is that that men are not the only vital part of life. At the same time, they aren't treated as expendable. All of these women want relationships.

Anyway, I'm getting absurdly hyped up about this (After all, it is just a movie) but stop bashing Sex and the City. It's smart. It's funny. It empowers women. It has incredible fashion. It has a great story.

And, as a really REALLY amusing sidenote, there's a scene in Cabo in the movie. It is the exact private resort we stayed in for Allie's graduation last summer. Bayla, Allie, and I nearly died laughing last night as we kept pointing out different places we'd been in Cabo. It was relatively surreal. It was a taste of the Sex and the City lifestyle. (That's probably why I loved Cabo so much...Okay, well maybe it was more the company but the scenery certainly helped:)


Enough Ranting: Damn Yankees
Yankees has been great thus far. I'm one of six girls in the ensemble and we all have a blast together. It's a small but very talented cast. The show isn't my favorite, but it's by no means a dud. It's SO much more relaxed than Millie, but I love that. I miss having my butt kicked by a musical, but this break is pretty welcome. Next show I do better be intense, though... Anyway, come see it. Shows start June 20th.

Job hunt is ridiculous. I've had five or six interviews and turned in well over 20 applications. Basically, babysitting seems to be the most fun and reliable way to make money--especially since I can't work in the evenings.

Well, this is excessively long and I have a room to clean so I wish you all a lovely weekend. Cheers!