.:masquerade:.

2006-01-25T00:29:00.000-06:00

Well, everyone, it is finally time for me to make the move! .: masquerade :. will no longer be hosted on BlogSpot.

My good buddy, Todd Hughes, gave me the wicked crazy awesome gift of a domain name awhile back...and I *finally* know enough about coding to really make use of it. Blogger and I have shared some good memories...but it's time to move onward to newer things. :)

And so I present you with the new and improved .:masquerade:.

Update your bookmarks/links to:
http://www.museofthemusic.com/blog

2006-01-18T00:38:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! This Angela, posting for Angela. Just keeping my promise to post tonight.

Today was a long and busy day...more on that later.

Good night guys.

2006-01-17T23:44:00.000-06:00

hullo loves! it is i, whitney. i am posting for angela because i am supposed to be studying and did not feel like it. in case you may be wondering about my lack of contractions, something about the apostrophe key is broken and every time i hit it, the browser goes into find mode. not a pretty thing.

life around the bat cave has been pretty busy for various reasons. we have been socializing, studying, going to school, going to work and even finding time for an occasional movie. we just finished watching wimbledon, with the majesty that is paul bettany. it was pretty darn predictable, but a nice feel-good movie nonetheless.

well, i am out now. just wanted to give all you good folks a brief update. Godspeed!

2006-01-04T12:52:00.000-06:00

Yes, yes, I know I haven't posted in a long time... Sorry about that. I'm a loser. lol. I've been working on my new journal space and helping DDA with their newest project.

This update isn't really anything amazing...well, for most people anyways...but for those that are interested, in 5 days Phantom of the Opera will officially beat out Cats (-gags-) as the Longest Running Broadway Show! -dances about excitedly- Phans everywhere have been waiting for this day for quite some time. Most were afraid after the movie came out the show would stop showing on Broadway....but they were wrong! bwahaha!

January 9th we throw a party in the name of Phantomdom everywhere! Phantom will have officially reached 7,486 performances!

http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/poto/news_news_story.php?id=255

2005-12-22T12:00:00.000-06:00

Official grades just went up online and I got a C in Psychology!! I passed! I passed! -does the "I passed Psychology" dance- And i made a "B" in all my other classes...including the one I got sick during the exam!

I passed Psychology!!

2005-12-22T10:22:00.000-06:00

Wow...what an amazingly stressful last few days it has been! Fates, I don't think I've been that stressed out since I was directing "Bang Bang You're Dead!".

And it wasn't like it was any "big deal thing"...it was just a bunch of tiny things that led up to my breaking point. Let's see if I can map out what all went down...

Wednesday:
- Took my Psych exam...thought I was ready but clearly I thought wrong. Think I may have bombed it. Stressing over whether or not I passed the class.

Thursday:
- Began brainstorming on a new short story I'm working on...was horrified to find that I left my scribblings in my Psych notebook that I tossed in the trash...the trash that was by now all the way out at the local dump.
- Gave up on short story.

Friday:
- Whitney's last day in Mobile.
- Struggled to complete my final assignment.
- At PC|Mac, found out that someone wanted me to completely revamp their website...even when I'd spent an entire week a month previously doing the one they had.

Saturday:
- Went up to the church to work on our video project...this project would soon consume my life and eat my soul.
- Stayed up from 12 to 3 studying for history exam - fell asleep on Murphy (our couch!).

Sunday:
- Got up to the church at 9:00 that morning...left around 9:00 that night.
- Video project continues to consume my life. Finished our last bit of filming.
- Helped set up and run the Christmas party for our youth.
- Managed to squeeze in a small amount of study time.

Monday:
- Got wicked sick during the exam from exhaustion and stress and had to stop and leave during the middle of it...still hate myself for that.
- Had an upset stomach all day.
- Had to call off meeting with Dave due to the fact I was about to die.
- Began to pull things together to go home.

Tuesday:
- Woke up bright and early feeling like so much crap.
- Managed to make six trips down to the car in order to get everything out of the Bat Cave and take it all home.
- Realized I hadn't even bought Christmas presents yet for anyone.
- Went by the library and turned in a month overdue book and dvd.
- Died on the couch at home.
- Ressurected myself in order to work on the video project...computer laughed at me and gave me the finger.
- I died again.

Wednesday:
- Went to work bright and early and then scrambled to get to Dad's office to work on the video.
- Video was due at 5:00(ish) for a pre-screening. At 5:00 I put the finishing touches on it and began burning it to a CD.
- Fifteen minutes later, tested the CD...realized it didn't have audio. Killed myself...then resurected myself again and burned another CD.
- Didn't have time to test it before getting to the church.
- Got up to the church...realized it wouldn't play on the computer. Killed myself again.
- Rushed out the door and sped back towards the office. Burned another CD and rushed back...getting there just in time to find out no one even had a clue we were doing a video that night. I hung my head...then hung myself.
- Realized I forgot to make Mrs. Bannon's gift for her son she'd requested from me. Felt bad.
- Managed to talk the pastor into showing the video as it'd been the bane of my existance.
- Didn't have time to eat dinner... Going all day without food is not a good idea when you're hypoglycemic. Third day in a row I'd pulled that number. Really should rethink that idea.
- The video premiered and was wonderful...people cheered and laughed and congratulated...
- Went home and died from relief.

So, there we have it then... That's the way my week has been running. But it's all good now. Exams are over...the video project has ceased to eat my soul...and Dad took me out on a "date" last night to eat at Milo's in order to celebrate the return of my life to me.

Ha, and at one point during the service, Melanie turned around and handed me a piece of chocolate off the King-size bar she had. I needed that. lol, though I couldn't resist a "Thanks, Lupin" in response...though I doubt she heard me.

I'm still a bit concerned about my Psych grade...and I have yet to buy any presents...but those are all in the details!

Life is good...it really is. Tonight I'm hoping to see DDA one last time before the Christmas weekend and two of them (Harris & Kevin) head out for the desert. That alone can make life good.

I'm also hoping to do my Christmas shopping today...though I really wish I'd remembered to bring my Squig (mp3 player) with me. I love Christmas and all...but the 24/7 Christmas music I'm about done with. I can only hear so many renditions of Little Drummer Boy and remain sane.

Oh! And on another good note, Eric is back! He got in touch with me last week and...well, (big surprise!) we're writing together again. I'm so excited! In fact, he suggested working on Kain's story which makes me want to do a dance. I've been wanting to work on that for so long but haven't had the Muse for it. Well, now with him back, I have it! (obviously!....have you seen the length of this post?...is anyone actually still reading this? I bet you're just skimming now! If you read all of this, type in the keyword "aurora" to the tagboard and you get a cookie!...and ten points to the person that knows where that reference (aurora) comes from)

So, anyway, I found an outline that I'd written on Kain's story the other night. I think I'm ready to finally begin work on it now...but we shall see. Hopefully it's something I can work on during the Christmas break.

Still working on changing my journal over to the new site. Stay tuned for that.

Now I should really get to work.. I'll write more later.

2005-12-12T12:01:00.000-06:00

Well, for those that don't know, I am currently in the process of moving my journal over to my domain name. I should have it up and ready to go soon...but until then, listen to this song that I am currently having an affair with...

We're Already There - Hugh Panaro

We're Already There
Artist: Hugh Panaro

Trying to sleep alone in my bed
Thoughts of the future go round in my head
How will I find the love of my own
A love of the kind that I've never known

Don't know where I'm going
Don't know what to do
But I take comfort knowing
That right here and now
You're out in the world
Searching for me too

You're already there waiting for me
Wondering where in the world I could be
You go through your day dreaming your dream
Afraid that it might not come true
While I'm lying here dreaming of you

You're far, far away or just down the street
But surely someday we are destined to meet
I know in my heart you're coming to me
I don't need to know when and where
I'll just turn in one day and you'll be there

And maybe we will know
At the first word, at the first glance
Or maybe we'll go slow
Start out as friends, but in the end
A love to last a lifetime will grow
And that will be our story
I can't wait to live our story

So now go to sleep, and I'll do the same
Knowing your heart though I don't know your name
I trust in a plan much higher than me
To bring us together in time

So till you appear, I'll picture you clear
Remove all the doubt and let go of the fear
And know that the future is fine
You're already there waiting for me
So in a funny way, you're already mine...

2005-12-09T13:10:00.000-06:00

-squeaks excitedly- I did it! Holy crap! I got my blog to upload to my MuseOfTheMusic url! Woah...that's so awesome!!

Next step...skinning my site so y'all can choose what template you want to look at! -dances off-

2005-12-09T10:22:00.000-06:00

So, yes, Oliver won the "Guess the characters on Angela's journal" game. Most of you did a really good job! I figured #2 & 3 would be the most difficult...

So, for those that missed it (and actually care...lol.) here's the owners of my heart... ;)

(from left to right)
Batman - Batman Begins
Phileas Fogg - The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne
Enjolras - Les Miserables
Lucius Malfoy - Harry Potter
Qui-Gon Jinn - Star Wars
Severus Snape - Harry Potter
Horatio Hornblower - A&E Horatio Hornblower Series
Mark - Rent
Captain Jack Aubrey - Master & Commander
Erik (The Phantom) - The Phantom of the Opera

Oddly enough, 2 & 3 are the most important characters up there. Enjolras starred in an absolutely brilliant crossover piece that Whitney and I wrote ~~when we were high~~ after she left. Then Phileas is important because it is from him that I get my screenname. I think only about two or three people knew about my name's origins...but now you know.

So..yes!..there you go! Good job to everyone that played and congrats to Oliver! You win a free Broadway bootleg of your choice from me! lol. (yeah, I know all the rest of you are dying to claim that prize!)

Oliver, email me at museofthemusic@gmail.com and I will send it to you ;)

2005-12-08T19:45:00.000-06:00

Well, guys, you got your new template - I hope everyone is happy! I know I am! Now I can come to my journal and get all the eye candy I want! hehe.

I was going to reveal the answers to all of the characters are, but Oliver is way too close to winning! I'm gonna give him till midnight before revealing.

Thanks to everyone for playing! lol, I didn't think anyone would be able to get #2 or 3...they're rather obscure characters as far as most people are concerned. lol, leave it to Oliver to know the Broadway character. -winks at him-

Okay, now that I've given you the template I promised, this is the second part of the deal as I finally decide to post once again.

I've decided to start posting like I did on my livejournal when I kept it. Basically, I will keep a notebook with me throughout the day and write down keywords/topics of things I want to write about. Then when I got to my blog, I can just write those keywords in bold and expand on them a bit. This helps to ensure that I don't forget anything important to write...and also helps spark a muse when I have a crazy writer's block.

Speaking of muses...

Muse
I had a muse come upon me today like woah! It was ridiculous! I haven't felt that compelled to write since Kain first came along. All of a sudden it was as though I couldn't even control myself. I had to get the story out or it was simply going to kill me. I wrote for nearly three hours straight and only stopped because my hand was hurting so bad and I needed to eat lunch.

I don't know the Muse's name...but I'm going to blame him on the short story I read last night that Whitney showed me. It was a brilliant piece of work...all about this one angel that was murdered and another that was sent to avenge the death. It reminded me so much of Kain's story...and I could definitely feel myself being compelled to begin work on his tale...but then I reconsidered because I knew I would accidentally take elements from the story I'd just read and I didn't want to do that.

But oddly enough it wasn't Kain's muse that came to me but rather a whole new character that I've never met before! I don't even know his name...nor the girl that he was telling me about. He just kept calling her "my girl" or "my darling girl" or "my beautiful girl" or some other such thing. The only character I knew the name of in the story was Zach...and he was dead.

I don't really like the name Zach. Well, his real name was "Zachary" but this character kept calling him Zach. I've had a character called Zachariah before...but I purposefully created him (though I think he was mostly stolen from "True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle"). I'm not entirely sure where Zachary came from.

But I am merely the writer... It's not like I have any say over who my characters are. -laughs at the very idea-

And now that anyone that isn't a writer thinks I'm crazy...let's move on...

School Stuff

So I found out today that I have a "B" in my English class, which makes me exempt from the exam! That made my whole life! I was so excited! I'm also hoping to have a good grade in Human Communications so that I can be exempt from that exam too.

I only have Psychology & History exam to worry about now. Huzzah!

Pride & Prejudice

Whitney and I are going to see "Pride & Prejudice" tonight. I've already seen it once, but now it's Whitney's turn!

The whole movie is good. Not anything overly-amazing...but definitely good. I would whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone that enjoys that genre and time period.

Hah, though I'll admit, it's the last thirty seconds of the movie that I adore. Those few seconds make the whole thing very, very well worth the watch! It's the most beautifully touching scene since Horatio's "glowing moment" at the bow of the Indy. -winks at whitney-

So...yeah...once rehearsals are over, we're going to do that. woot.

Batman

We're watching Batman Begins right now... -sighs- I love this movie. So many great actors...so much delicious eye candy...such a great hero!

So...yeah, anyways, I'm out! Hopefully I'll have more interesting things to post about once I get back into the swing of journaling again...and when my muse isnt demanding to be used for another project.

So...yep...later dayz!

A new template...

2005-12-07T23:34:00.000-06:00

Behold! A new journal template...as promised!

There will be a special prize for the person that can list all of the characters above. (Whitney, you can't play!)

I would post this evening...but I have been working on this template for almost 3 hours now so I'm going to give up now and head on to bed. A far more interesting post will come tomorrow.

2005-12-05T16:44:00.000-06:00

The new Pirates of the Caribbean trailer came out just a few days ago and I just about had a fit with excitement!

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/piratesofthecaribbeandeadmanschestqt.html

Behold...and be mesmerized...!

2005-12-04T16:18:00.000-06:00

I ate a candy cane today and it was my first taste of Christmas.

A new template is coming soon...and with it (hopefully) some new posts. Stay tuned.

2005-11-23T11:57:00.000-06:00

....-blinks-......

Lord of the Rings: The Musical

Rent announcement...

2005-11-22T12:52:00.000-06:00

Okay, the first showing of Rent is tomorrow at 1:20 at Wynnsong on Shillinger...and Amy & I are gonna be there! :-D If there's anyone else interested in going, tag my board so I can be sure to look for you. I know Allison, Oliver, Kandie, Melanie, Stephanie, Greg & Joe had all expressed a desire to go see it...so just let me know if you'll be able to make it!

2005-11-18T13:10:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I look back on my journal entrys from the days of my livejournal and think "....Fates...was I *really* that angsty?!"

To anyone that had to deal with me during that time...I apologize...and you get a gold star.

2005-11-17T20:57:00.000-06:00

Jonathan just wrote the most brilliant story ever!!...Whitney & I just about had a fit laughing.

It was a dark night as i was leaving towards my friend gregs house. He was going through a depressing time in life, as he just descovered that whitney(my sis) didnt actually like him. Because in secret she was madly in love with a rather robust and cunning young man named Jonathan Davis. back to Greg though. I went to give him some comfort as he went through this hard time in his life. when i arived he was bent over in a position that made me think he was Real Depressed. yeah he was sitting in a chair and was leaning over himself. i tried my hardest to comfort him but nothing worked. Greg also had another person he liked named Angela. BUt what you need to know is that Angela was deeply sick. Angela was at gregs house while i was there. she made a woerd noise as though she were regurgitating a cow and a rubber ducky at the same time. we assumed her to be dead. so we went into gregs basement and laid her in a home made coffin. greg was morning over her death as i put the last nails in the top of the box. greg continued to mourn so i said "suck it up you baby, shes dead you cant do anything about it." so he stopped mourning and we went and played cards. between the main floor and the basement was a stone door. while we played cards i heard a wierd scratching noise. so i assumed it to be gregs stomach growling. i heard a noise like a stone moving across more stone. i then assumed that greg passed gas. you know how things are. at this time i stood up to get a drink and when i came back angela came back to life(just for you people who think she came back to life. she was never dead she just looked it) and was strangling greg. soon after about ten minutes of her choking him he died and she came after me. so i screamed for my momma and yelled in a chanting form"this is for greg NOOOOOOO....LESSSSSSOOOONNNN.." as i beat her with a squire percussion bass by fender. so that is the end of my story. or is it? hmmmm.

2005-11-16T13:04:00.000-06:00

Frank Wildhorn has begun work on a rock-and-roll version of "Alice In Wonderland".

-sighs and shakes her head- Frank, darling, stop while you're ahead.

2005-11-16T11:55:00.000-06:00

So I'm sitting here at work listening to some songs on my Squig (mp3 player) and I got to thinking... Just from songs like "Red & Black" and "Into the Fire" and "Make them Hear You"...it just makes me want to be part of something big. Bigger than I could have imagined at first. A fight for justice...a revolution...a group of like-minded people. Something that movies are made of.

Just something beyond the mundane existance... Something beyond school & work & social politics.

I just want to really do something with my life!

ugh...I'm starting to feel restless again...

hmm...wonder where I put that raft that I made to sail away on one day...

2005-11-15T15:28:00.000-06:00

Amy & I are going to see Harry Potter at Hollywood Theatres at 6:15 on Friday. If there's anyone that wishes to join us, make sure you get your tickets earlier as it will probably sellout quickly...then tag my board and let me know who I will be waiting for.

Also note that Rent comes out on November 23rd, the Chronicles of Narnia comes out December 6 and The Producers comes out December 16th. I am already making plans to go see those so stay tuned for announcements on that if anyone else wishes to go.

More DDA...

2005-11-13T10:38:00.000-06:00

DDA has two of their movies up on studentfilms.com ... so you should go watch them. Right now. Go!...or die.... okay, or dont die.... but go nevertheless... right now... or die.

Dam Dirty Apes Productions

2005-11-11T13:42:00.000-06:00

I have added a new section to my sidebar for all my shameless plugs.

Aaron & Kevin (both members of the esteemed Dam Dirty Apes group) came over last night and provided commentary for whitney & I on their films...and it was so much fun! I highly encourage everyone to visit their sites. They're great!

Oh, and everyone should buy their DVD...and have a DDA night...and invite them over to provide commentary on it...then flood their email boxes with letters demanding a Vol. 2 !

2005-11-08T14:19:00.000-06:00

This has already been posted on Kevin's blog, but I thought it was very well written and quite profound in that simplistic way that strikes right at the heart of the matter....so here I post it once again:

(from the last sermon of the minister killed in Waco - Kyle Lake):

"Live. And Live Well. Breathe. Breathe in and Breathe deeply. Be Present. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now.

On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and feel the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.

If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool Autumn day to freeze your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be alive.

Get knee-deep in a novel and lose track of time.

If you bike, pedal hard... and if you crash then crash well.

Feel the satisfaction of a job well done--a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed.

If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year old's nose, don't be disgusted if the Kleenex didn't catch it all... because soon he'll be wiping his own.

If you've recently experienced loss, then grieve. And grieve well.

At the table with friends and family, laugh. If you're eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke.

And if you eat, then smell. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven.

And taste. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life.

Because it's most definetly a gift."

One thing I learned from Stephen's death was that I'm not immortal. He was younger than I am, and he's dead now. There's nothing stopping me from dying tomorrow or even today.

Since his death, I've begun to savor life a bit more each day. Taking the occaisional risk or chance...applying myself to my passions...allowing myself to be a bit more spontaneous. I always believed in the "Carpe Diem" philosophy - but it hasn't been until Stephen's death rocked my perception of life that I've truly applied it.

In the movie Peter Pan, I agree with Peter when he says that to live would be an awfully big adventure.

2005-11-08T13:29:00.000-06:00

I just don't know what to do with myself...

It has officially been announced that one of my all-time-favorite musicals is being made into a movie in 2006...and one of my all-time-favorite actors is being considered for the lead role!

Russell Crowe might be playing in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street !

I just....oh my gosh...ya'll don't even known how thrilled I am over this one! This is as big as Phantom! If Crowe takes this role, my life will officially be complete. lol.

It seems that Sam Mendes (producer of Jarhead) will be directing it. I've heard some good things about him so I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed.

I'll work to keep as many updates as I can running on here for this movie. It can't come soon enough!

Oh, and while I'm at it, let me just give a congratulations shout-out to Sweeney for its opening of a revival on Broadway! Especially to Patti Lupone - one of my favorite Ms. Lovettes! She & Hearn belong together. ;)

Sweeney Todd opens today

w00t for Sweeney Todd!

2005-11-08T13:03:00.000-06:00

In light of Harry Potter & Rent soon coming out, I decided to celebrate with a few quizzes ...

Lupin - Defense Against the Dark Arts

Harry Potter: Which Hogwarts professor would you be?
brought to you by Quizilla

----------------------------------------------------------

Which Harry Potter Pet Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

----------------------------------------------------------

-snickers- And you know what's great...? I *do* know all the words to "La Vie Boheme".

What RENT song are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

----------------------------------------------------------

You're Mark Cohen, an amateur filmmaker looking for
inspiration. You observe from afar, sometimes
detatched from what's going on around you.

Rent Character Quiz
brought to you by Quizilla

2005-11-07T13:04:00.000-06:00

Well, as you can tell by my countdown and Buzz' enthusiastic tags ( -winks- ), the new Harry Potter movie is fast approaching...and we must make plans!

It comes out on the 18th and I am assuming there will be some kind of a midnight or late evening showing. I say we get a group together, go out and have some dinner and then off to the movies!

So, anyone that is interested in going and seeing HP next Friday, just let me know! I'll make us some plans and find out exact times and such as time draws nearer and they are announced.

We also need to make plans for some Christmas outings. Lights in Bellingrath Gardens, The Nutcracker ballet, Christmas parties, "Chronicles of Narnia"...there's quite a bit to do! Keep up to date here and at "bat cave happenings" for whatever new scheme I'm planning for the group to get together next. ;)

2005-10-30T22:49:00.000-06:00

Last night was one of the funnest times I have had in....well, forever! Hah, I agree with Whitney when she said it's almost sad because she knows she probably won't have another night as fun as last night ever again.

So, last night, Whitney, myself, and a couple of our friends decided to go to John Morgan's Halloween Scavenger Hunt. In keeping to the Batman theme, we managed to persuade all of our entourage to appear as characters from the Rogues Gallery of Gotham.

I went as Poison Ivy, Whitney was Harley Quinn, Patrick was the Joker, Buzz the Riddler & Aaron was Ra's Al Ghul (...did I spell this correctly?). The moment they swept into our room, we were in awe of their costumes! Each of them did an incredible job with them. We still have no idea how we managed to become so lucky as to have such wonderful friends.

I could write a full entry and a half on everything that took place...but most of it was all stuff that you simply had to be there for.

However, I do have pictures up. Just go to my photo album under "Halloween 2005 - Batman " :

Pictures this-a way!

Seaman's Bethel

2005-10-28T16:08:00.000-05:00

Friday, October 28, 2005
Seaman's Bethel

Okay, technically this should go into my 'Vanguard' section...but it was too great of an article to not post on here. lol. This is the article Whit & I have been working on for near three weeks now on the Seaman's Bethel...

----------------------------------------------------

"Seaman's Bethel - Campus Haunt"
The Seaman's Bethel is home to two mysterious spirits
By: Angela Davis
Whitney Rayl

When we first decided to write an article on the Seaman's Bethel, we thought it would be a simple, straightforward task: go get historical information and write the piece. Little did we know the magnitude to which this assignment would expand.

The first step in our task was to try and find any kind of small snippets about the Bethel online. So, we Googled the Seaman's Bethel and started perusing the articles that were presented to us. Oddly enough, none of the articles pertained to the history of the Bethel - but rather to a rumored haunting within it. Over and over we read the same lines: "The basement is haunted by the ghost of a small child who plays in the costume shop. The ghost of a seaman in a captain's coat haunts the fly loft."

This piqued our curiosity and we set off for the Bethel late one evening once the work of the day was done. The door was unlocked, and upon finding no one inside, we decided to go in.

Our first interest was the basement area. We walked down the cliched squeaky steps and tried to open the door. We were surprised to find the door unlocked, but driven by our curiosity, we continued on. All the lights were off and as we peered cautiously around the door, we saw a silvery figure standing right across from us. Startled, we moved to flip on the lights, assuming we had seen the ghost"'”only to find our reflections looking back at us in a full length mirror.

After sharing a hearty chuckle at our absurdity, we continued on through the basement area. After several minutes of searching and not coming in contact with any otherworldly spirits, we decided to move our search upstairs.

Upon arriving upstairs, we found an attic door leading up to what must once have been the fly loft. We pulled the folding ladder down and climbed up the rungs which looked like they hadn't been used in years. To our disappointment, there was no ghost up there either...simply a lot of dust and a couple of chairs.

Leaving the fly loft to itself, we returned to the ground floor. All of a sudden, we heard an indecipherable low voice speaking. We stopped and listened carefully, wondering if someone were trying to communicate from beyond the grave. However, this voice was soon followed by some muffled music and we realized that the sounds we were hearing came from a concert at the Mitchell Center.

We shared another laugh at ourselves and began to look around the ground floor. After several minutes of prowling through the bookshelves and looking at the different plants that were in serious need of care and watering, we came across some very real information to aid in our research of the Bethel: some historical photographs of the old building, along with information about its past.

"The Seaman's Bethel was erected at 75 Church Street in Downtown Mobile in 1860 by a local philanthropic institution to serve as a hostel for seamen visiting the port. The building is a rare example in Mobile of the masonry building of the gothic style and is recorded in the library of Congress as one of the significant buildings in the United States.

"During the Civil War, the C.S.S. submarine, Hunley, was reputed to have been assembled in the Bethel. A dormitory was added in 1901 but not moved to the University of South Alabama when the building was relocated.

"The Little Theatre of Mobile used the Bethel as a playhouse for a number of years beginning in 1923. It subsequently was used until 1969 for storage. Construction of Interstate Highway 10 threatened the destruction of the Bethel and the building was relocated to the campus of the University to preserve it.

"The Seaman's Bethel was dissembled and moved to the campus of the University of South Alabama and reopened in 1970 as the home of Theatre USA for student productions for the Department of Dramatic Arts.

"During reconstruction on the University campus, only the external architectural features were preserved. As the building proved inadequate for public theatre presentations, it served, at various times, as offices for the dramatic arts, a rehearsal hall, a classroom and storage for costumes and props. With the opening of the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center in 1998, the Bethel was transferred to the USA Honors Department as center for Honor students programs and activities."

Although it provided for some rather interesting reading, it wasn't a whole lot to go off of. So we made a few quick notes, took one last look about the Bethel, and left.

Time passed and the article got set aside to be replaced by working for Theatre USA's production of "Alice in Wonderland". However, as fate would have it, it was "Alice" that brought us back to the article at hand. We had managed to pull Jean Galloway, an adjunct professor in the drama department, aside for a moment backstage to see if she might know anything of the history of Bethel, when Rebecca Britton, another professor in the drama department, overheard our conversation.

"You know that place is haunted," she said.

We looked at each other, then turned back to Ms. Britton. "We've heard rumors."

"Oh, it is," she told us with absolute certainty. "I've had several students that had experiences there."

We asked her if she might be interested in an interview with the Vanguard and she readily agreed.

"When I got here, I heard there were ghosts in the Bethel and that was just from the students here and there," she told us. "I have a respect for that. I have a Grandmother that was a Fundamentalist Presbyterian that used to talk about some of the spirits that she and her brothers contacted during seances and she handed that respect along to me. I can tell you that I never had a problem with the theatre ghosts. My students, however, kept coming to me with stories about seeing the Bethel ghosts and what we came down to was that there were indeed two - one a little girl in Victorian dress and the other a seaman - an older seaman. Apparently they had been haunting the Bethel before we got it. Of course, when they moved it out here, who knew the ghosts would come with it?

"I never had any problems with the ghosts but one night when I was in the costume shop late at night, I had something happen. We'd already locked the doors up for the night and I was downstairs in the basement working. So I was simply working along when all of a sudden I heard someone walking around upstairs. There was no way anyone could have gotten in because no one else had any keys except some of the faculty - but the next day when I asked them if they had been there, they all said I must have been dreaming.

"That was the only personal thing I have of that.

"The other is a student that got permission to work in the shop late one night. His name was David and he was working on finishing up a wedding gown for a friend of his. Well, it was about two in the morning and he was sitting at the cutting table when he looked up and there was a little girl there, just watching what he was doing.

We asked her how it was that the Theatre came to belong to the Honors Department.

"There was a big feud between the Drama & Honors Departments over who would get control of the Bethel," Ms. Britton explained. "We put up a good fight for it, but in the end it was given to the honors students. Though, there have been several people that have told me that the ghosts are more restless now that we have moved out."

When we asked her to elaborate, she said, "Well, the ghosts never really bothered us. They were just...curious. But now I've heard they're causing a bit of trouble."

Intrigued by the interview with Ms. Britton, we renewed our investigation full force. What was once a simple historical assignment suddenly became a ghost hunt.

Several more trips were made out to the Bethel on various occasions. We'd sit around and play a few games of chess, just waiting for some spirit to decide to show up and tell us a little bit more about who they were and why they were there.

The sea captain was easy enough to figure out. The Bethel having been a sanctuary for weary sailors, there were probably some very strong connections to the place. But why the young girl in the basement? What history did she have there?

As we began to research the stories more in depth, we had several people approach us with their own experiences and tales.

One girl, choosing to remain anonymous, told us about a seance that she and some of her friends held one evening in the Bethel. Armed with candles and a Ouija board, they decided to do it in the basement area, hoping to get in touch with the little girl that lived down there. They turned off the lights and sat in the dull glow of the candle, softly calling out to whatever spirits might be present.

After about half an hour, they began to give up and become disinterested when suddenly one girl jumped up, her face pale and frightened. Her friends asked her what was wrong and she said she felt a cold chill on the back of her neck like someone had just rubbed ice against it.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity of speaking with the ghost, one of the girls turned to the board and voiced the question "What is your name?" and delicately placed her fingers on the marker. After a moment of nothing happening, the pointer suddenly moved slowly across the board and spelled out a name - Anne.

"Why are you here?" one of the others girls asked and again the pointer moved.

'Protect', the word read.

"Protect? Protect from what?" the girl asked...when suddenly the sound of loud footsteps was heard.

The four friends jumped and then stayed still. They were afraid one of the Campus Police was upstairs walking about and that they would find them holding a seance. The footsteps continued - pacing back and forth - heavy and with a slight dragging sound.

Finally the footsteps stopped and after a few minutes, the girls quietly gathered up their things and prepared to leave. However, upon going upstairs they found no one there...all the doors were locked just as they had been when they came and the lights were still off. Nothing was moved about or meddled with and all four girls were quite certain they'd experienced a supernatural phenomenon. Shaken, they ran from the Bethel and did not come back for some time.

Excited by the feedback we were receiving, we continued our search for what lay in the dark past of the old Bethel. Several times we attempted to sneak into the Bethel late at night but we were thwarted by Honor students that seemed to actually be studying (we're still not quite sure what all that was about). So we decided to leave them to their pastimes and come back at a more reasonably late hour when they were gone.

On our final trip to the Bethel, we decided to really make it worth something. After making a recording of the history that could be found on the wall beneath the pictures, we settled in for a bit. We'd brought our mutual friend, Buzz, along with us (who knows, maybe the ghosts would like him more than us) and together the three of us sat in the dark for some time, simply listening.

After about ten minutes, an honor student wandered through and we spooked her by sitting around in the dark so silently. She asked to know what we were doing there and we explained we were reporters doing research.

The mood was sufficiently killed.

We decided there was nothing we were going to get out of that evening, and so the lights were turned back on so we could finish writing down what we needed.

Unfortunately, the lights didn't come on directly and so we sat there and waited...and waited...and waited. The lights usually took awhile to come on, but never this long.

I (Angela) finally got frustrated with the lack of lighting and kindly requested that the ghost behave himself and turn on the lights for us.

At that moment one light flickered on.

Curious now, I looked about and then posed the question, "Is there a ghost here?"

The next light came to life.

The three of us turned and smiled at each other before I remarked, "You know, it'd be great if you turned on all three lights."

The last light came on.

Satisfied that our work was indeed done for the night, we headed back to our dorm room to begin work on the Seaman's Bethel story.

Sadly, the story left us with more questions than answers. Why is there not a lot of history known about the building? Why has the sea captain never shown himself to anyone? Was it his footsteps that Ms. Britton and the girls heard pacing about? Why is the young girl in the basement? What or who was she trying to protect the night of the seance?

Is the Seaman's Bethel really haunted?

Though the article is done, our research continues. If you have a story pertaining to the Seaman's Bethel or are interested in assisting us in finding out more, please contact us at: add403@jaguar1.usouthal.edu

Haunted or not? True tales of spirits or the ramblings of delusional college students? Ghosts or merely an old creaking building? That is simply for you to decide.

Happy Halloween.

2005-10-25T14:12:00.000-05:00

Bat Cave Happenings has been updated.

More quizzes

2005-10-24T22:53:00.000-05:00

Well, since that first one was so dead-on...let's see what else we got here...

How about this - I'll only post the ones that are right, so everyone can learn a bit more about me. Sound fun? Alrighty then, let's go!

How You Are In Love

You take a while to fall in love with someone. Trust takes time.

You give and take equally in relationships.

You need your space and privacy. You don't like to be smothered.

You love your partner unconditionally and don't try to make them change.

You stay in love for a long time, even if you aren't loved back. When you fall, you fall hard.

How Are You In Love?

You Are Likely a First Born

At your darkest moments, you feel guilty.
At work and school, you do best when you're researching.
When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often.

In friendship, you are considerate and compromising.
Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking.
You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.

The Birth Order Predictor

Your Ideal Relationship is Friends Only

Honestly, you're not really ready for a relationship right now.
And you prefer to keep things platonic, for now.
That's not to say that one of your friends could be dating material.
You're just taking a break for now.

What's Your Ideal Relationship?

Your Birthdate: September 24

Born on the 24th, you have a greater capacity for responsibility and helping others than your may have realized.
You may also become the mediator and peacemaker in inharmonious situations.
Devoted to family, you tend to manage and protect.

This birth date adds to the emotional nature and perhaps to the sensitivities.
Affections are important to you; both the giving and the receiving.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Your Personality Profile

You are dependable, popular, and observant.
Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness.
In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do.

You are unique, creative, and expressive.
You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while.
And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Haha...go figure! Looks like I got my hair color right.

Your Hair Should Be Red

Passionate, fiery, and sassy.
You're a total smart aleck who's got the biggest personality around.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

What Your Sleeping Position Says

You are calm and rational.
You are also giving and kind - a great friend.
You are easy going and trusting.
However, you are too sensible to fall for mind games.

What Does Your Sleeping Position Say About You?

Your Irish Name Is...

Avril Ahearne

What's your Irish Name?

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Super Falcon
Your Superpower is Raised by animals
Your Weakness is Salt
Your Weapon is Your Power Analyzer
Your Mode of Transportation is Sled

What's your Superhero Name?

You Are Somewhat Machiavellian

You're not going to mow over everyone to get ahead...
But you're also powerful enough to make things happen for yourself.
You understand how the world works, even when it's an ugly place.
You just don't get ugly yourself - unless you have to!

How Machiavellian Are You?

How You Life Your Life

You are honest and direct. You tell it like it is.
You're laid back and chill, but sometimes you care too much about what others think.
You prefer a variety of friends and tend to change friends quickly.
You have one big dream in your life, and you never lose sight of it.

How Do You Live Your Life?

Your Brain's Pattern

You're a simple thinker, and this is actually a very good thing.
You don't complicate matters when you don't have to.
You look for the simplest explanation or solution, and you go with that.
As a result, your mind is uncluttered and free of stress.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

You Are 40% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird...
But too weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

Your Mood Ring is Magenta

Weird
Creative
Insipired
Thriving

Mood Ring Generator

You are a Believer

You believe in God and your chosen religion.
Whether you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu..
Your convictions are strong and unwavering.
You think your religion is the one true way, for everyone.

What's Your Religious Philosophy?

Your World View

You are a fairly broadminded romantic and reasonably content.
You value kindness and try to live by your ideals.
You have strong need for security, which may be either emotional or material.

You respect truth and are flexible.
You like people, and they can readily make friends with you.
You are not very adventurous, but this does not bother you.

What Is Your World View?

Your Seduction Style: Sweet Talker

Your seduction technique can be summed up with "charm"
You know that if you have the chance to talk to someone...
Well, you won't be talking for long! ;-)

You're great at telling potential lovers what they want to hear.
Partially, because you're a great reflective listener and good at complementing.
The other part of your formula? Focusing your conversation completely on the other person.

Your "sweet talking" ways have taken you far in romance - and in life.
You can finess your way through any difficult situation, with a smile on your face.
Speeding tickets, job interviews... bring it on! You truly live a *charmed life*

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

Your Blog Should Be Green

Your blog is smart and thoughtful - not a lot of fluff.
You enjoy a good discussion, especially if it involves picking apart ideas.
However, you tend to get easily annoyed by any thoughtless comments in your blog.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

Whoo...I think I'm done now...

Quizzes

2005-10-24T22:52:00.000-05:00

Wow...I have never taken a quiz that had me so spot-on!...

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free.

In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored.

You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was insecure and in constant need of reassurance.

Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage something you've always wanted... though you haven't really thought about it.

In this moment, you think of love as something you don't need. You just feel like flirting around and playing right now.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

2005-10-24T18:05:00.000-05:00

This is me...updating so that I do not have to put myself on my own "retired" list.

My car's tag was stolen the other night which made me rather put-out. I figure it's riding around on some stolen pimped-up car with massive spinning rims, purple shag carpet and those little hydraulic things on the bottom that make the car bounce up and down.

Yeah...so defiling my poor Corsica's good name.

In other news, "Batman Begins" finally came out on DVD which was super great! We had a movie night to watch it over at the Bat Cave and that only added to the beauty of the film. Hah, of course the highlight of the whole night was right at the dramatic/tense part when Rachel figures out who Batman really is and Aaron said, "...Lucius?!"

Very well played.

I'm planning out next movie night so you'll have to check into the Bat Cave's happenings to find out more at a later hour. I have the movie Sahara which may be worth watching...but then, we may wind up playing instead since we didn't play any D&D on Friday.

However, we did sneak into the Seaman's Bethel for a bit. I wound up playing an five million hour long game of chess with Kandie (okay, maybe I exaggerate...a little) and Chris, Kevin & Whitney just kinda chilled. I'm suppose to be writing an article on the Bethel and its "haunted" history for the Vanguard...but my muse has been so silent lately I don't quite know how that's going to work out.

I figure I just need to go the the Bethel one night with no one else there...and just write.

Though I fear this act would invoke more of my "short story" muses (Kain, Ariana, Lucius...) then my "newspaper article muses" (they-who-must-not-be-named).

Ah well. A muse is a muse. Fates know I could use a few more of them running about.

Well, as it is, I'm about to trail off towards the Laidlaw Center to see the "Mithril" concert. So I'll go on and bring this entry to a close now with high hopes of writing further at a later hour this evening.

(Ah, and on a side note, watch for a layout change soon... Not sure into what yet, but I'm boring myself again with this one.)

2005-10-16T23:16:00.000-05:00

Pictures from Alice in Wonderland are up!!

Pictures this way!

2005-10-16T11:15:00.000-05:00

When inspired, you can get enough ideas running through your head to keep you busy for hours. Your hobbies are sometimes a little different from other people's because you can't express yourself in the same ways everyone else does.

Our Potentially Ridiculous Hobby Suggestion For You:
Writing Haiku
If you can get your syllables right, you can write Haiku. Make a hundred of them and put them on the internet, it'll be cool.

Your scores:

23.83

23.83

22.07

20.6

17.73

Raw evil score: 40%

you are lavender
#E6E6FA

Your dominant hue is blue, making you a good friend who people love and trust. You're good in social situations and want to fit in. Just be careful not to compromise who you are to make them happy.

Your saturation level is very low - you have better things to do than jump headfirst into every little project. You make sure your actions are going to really accomplish something before you start because you hate wasting energy making everyone else think you're working.

Your outlook on life is bright. You see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

2005-10-12T15:53:00.000-05:00

{ current mood : busy}

Whew. What a schedule. Since Sunday I have truly not had a chance to stop and breathe. Yet I'm still going strong. I really am enjoying what I'm doing. Hmm...though I may look into changing my theory of skipping breakfast and lunch and not eating until midnight...

-shrugs helplessly- Theatre.

Today was our first performances and they went very well! There were a bunch of little first graders that came and they were sooo cute. Every time the Cheshire Cat would come out onstage they would start squealing and laughing and pointing at him. It was adorable!

lol, when the caterpillar came out, one little boy yelled out "It's a cow!!" Haha, he was so excited to see that big, blue "cow" that no one had the heart to correct him.

Then there was one boy that, when Alice forgot her lines, snickered and yelled "Bad actress!"

Yeah, performing for a bunch of kids is way better than performing for adults!

When I was heading out, I heard one of the girls describing how cute she thought the Mad Hatter was. That one was funny! I cannot wait to tell Brad once I go back. She and all her little friends were just giggling and swooning away over him.

So..yeah, we all had alot of fun. I'm excited about the next few performances. It's going to be so sad once its all over. I've only been with this cast for a brief time and already I'm so attached to them. They're all so great and friendly. I've enjoyed getting to know them and having the opportunity to make friends with them.

People like Brad and and Mike and Patrick...and, yes, even Michael...remind me why it is that I love the theatre so much.

2005-10-11T14:55:00.000-05:00

I really am beginning to fall in love with backstage work. Man, I needed this theatre fix like woah!

Final rehearsals tonight and then first performance tomorrow morning. I'm so excited!

Brad (the Mad Hatter) and Maya (Stage Manager) came over to the Bat Cave last night after rehearsals (around 12:30) and ate burritos. That was alot of fun. Brad made me laugh so hard at his own ridiculousness. He kept trying to be "mean" ("because nice girls like the mean boys") but he's just way too nice to even attempt at being mean. Even when he really, truly was trying to be insulting, it just fell completely short and we all wound up laughing at him instead... Hah, though that could also have to do with the fact that it was about 2:00 in the morning and we were all completely exhausted.

Michael has started talking to Whitney and I... And I really am just going to leave that one right where it is. -smirks at whitney-

Oh, I talked with Mike (the Caterpillar) for awhile last night and he was a pretty cool guy. He actually doesnt go to school here but somehow managed to get cast...go figure! He's got this great long brown hair that reminds me alot of Stephen's when he grew his out...and then these dazzling blue eyes. These blue eyes are probably heightened by his face make-up that has lots of blue hues, but its amazing how much they stand out nevertheless. Hah, poor guy keeps slipping in and out of character though backstage, which is really amusing.

Agh! Then there was this one flower that...goodness!...ugh. All the other flowers are dancing all nice and sweet and pretty...and then here she is doing some kinda pelvic thrusts and hip rolls or something and I'm standing in the wings going "...O.O?!..." (-grins at whit-) Then her pants were waaayyy lower then I've seen them worn in a long time and I just wanted to dart out there and jerk them up onto her hips and then run back off.

-sighs and shakes her head- some girls...

But yeah, things are going good. I haven't hit a crashing point yet so that's good.

Oh, and as far as anything going on in the Bat Cave this weekend, I'm going to have to talk to whit on that one. It will have to be after 10 since we have a performance that night....but we'll see what we can work out.

But, anyways...back to work i go again! Got about half an hour before I head out from here and move onward to the theatre. Going to get there early and see what all I can lend a hand in.

2005-10-10T10:49:00.000-05:00

This week promises to be a long one! Whitney and I have been asked to act as Assistant Stage Managers for the South production of "Alice In Wonderland". We had our first run-through last night and it really was something like a breath of fresh air to be back in the theatre again. We ran spotlights for the opening Narrative act, and then assisted backstage with props and wardrobe malfunctions. One time we almost got ourselves trampled while waiting in the wings...that was exciting. lol.

I love doing backstage work...almost as much as I like being on the stage itself. Without fail, there is always something interesting that happens back there. Hah, while there may be a performance going on onstage...the *real* show is what goes on behind the scenes! Even the downtimes are filled with that on-edge feeling as you wait for your next call or cue.

The rest of the week is going to be hectic. Every day, from about 8:30 in the morning to 11:30 at night (or later) I will not have stopped going. Classes in the morning...straight to work...then straight to the theatre.

-sighs- I love the life of the theatre.

I think this was exactly what I needed too. I've been kinda down the past couple of days for one reason or another...but last night made me focus my thoughts on something beyond my own personal worries and troubles. I was able to laugh and smile and work without a second thought beyond what was taking place right there upon the stage.

It helped to that I got to meet Brad (the Mad Hatter). That kid is quite possibly one of the funniest people I have ever met!

I feel like I'm back in a place where I really belong too. This is what God has placed a passion in me for. The theatrical arts. Anything beyond that is merely just...living.

2005-10-07T11:20:00.000-05:00

Just so everyone knows, I have updated my Vanguard blog and I've also added a link to it on the sidebar.

Another new addition to the sidebar is the Bat Cave Happenings. Instead of trying to call around to everyone and let people know when things are happening, you can just find it right there! I will post times and information of whatever is going on in the Cave. Keep an eye on this site, because it will also contain information on when events are canceled so make sure you stay up to date there.

http://batcavehappenings.blogspot.com/

2005-10-07T10:43:00.000-05:00

Bat Cave notice: No Movie Night Tonight!

Well, as almost everyone knows by now, my Dad went in to the hospital for a heart cath on Tuesday. Sorry I didn't write about it or talk about it openly, but Dad is really proud when it comes to his health and all and didn't really want it to be broadcasted to everyone. Granted, there are a few people I meant to tell anyways, but things came up and my mind was just kinda flighty and not all there. However, he's doing fine and I do thank everyone for their prayers. The doctor says there's no need for open-heart surgery so all he really has to do is rest for a few days and he should be right as rain.

I just got a call from Mom, letting me know that Amy got the role of Chistory (one of the flying monkeys) in their production for Wizard of Oz. She really, really wanted the Scarecrow, but I personally think she'll do better at the monkey. She's a silly girl by nature, so I'm sure she'll enjoy crawling, bouncing and climbing about the stage. Besides, Whitney and I are going to be designing costumes so that means we get to make hers the best monkey costume *ever*!

Everyone be sure to visit Amy's journal and leave her a tag of congratulations!

In other news, Whitney's life is going very well! As of today, she will officially have both a job (Carpe Diem) and a vehicle! She's also been offered an apprenticeship with the costuming department at South, which she is very excited about...and I am extremely happy for her! Costuming is one thing Whitney really, really enjoys and so that apprenticeship will be a dream-come-true for her!

My life continues to move onward. Things are a little stressful here and there, but nothing that I can't really handle. I'm beginning to learn how to sew and make different kinds of clothes from Whitney, which has been fun. Today I'm going to go home and try to piece together some kind of an Amy Brown-esque fairy costume to sell. I think I already have a good idea in my mind of how I want it to be done, but it will be the actual *doing* that's interesting.

Oh, speaking of costumes, I finally decided what I'm going to be for Halloween. Whitney and I have decided to go as Harley Quinn & Poison Ivey. Whitney has a green corset I'm going to be able to make use of, I'll be dying my hair red again (though a darker red this time), and I already have some ivey and flowers I'm going to use to "decorate" with. Now I just need to make the skirt and I should be good to go! Oliver has already said he'll do a photo shoot for Whitney and I, so once it gets closer to Halloween, I'll be sure to post those pictures up.

Well, that's the news around here. I'm going to go grab me some coffee now. Hope everyone is having a lovely day! :)

2005-10-03T10:42:00.000-05:00

So I added a new section to my journal - a place where I can keep all the articles that I write for the Vanguard in one section. The way it will work is, I will post the article as I wrote it onto my journal...and then give a link to the "edited" article where it is posted on the Vanguard website. I like for others to be able to see my original work as opposed to the edited version because sometimes people miss out on some things when its edited...and the original always feels a bit more personal to me. When it goes through editing, it almost feels as though someone is just attempting to interpret what I had to say. But I have a good editor, so I'm not disappointed...but nevertheless, here is the link -

Angela's Vanguard Articles

Right now it is in a bland blogger template, but I will soon have my own up on it and hopefully add on a tagboard and bloglet to it as well. Woot.

Last night was a wonderful night...something I really needed after all the stress and worry I've gone through lately. On Saturday night some things went down at the dorm room that caused me to be a little freaked out and stuff...nothing that I really care to write about, but stressful nevertheless. Then on Sunday evening, Kevin was upset as to the outcome of our church business meeting...and I guess that was just really bogging down on me. I mean, it would break my heart to lose he and Cassandra...those two have no idea how much they mean to my life... But at the same time, being a minister's child, I've been on the personal end of all this and I know what they're going through. How many times have I demanded of Dad to know why he stays when people are tearing him down? "Because this is where God has led me..." he always says...and he stays. But maybe God is done with Kevin here. Maybe He wants him to move on. That's something I don't know...

I'm torn, however. Part of me wants him to leave. To get away from all these people that are causing him such pain in his life. I want for him to be happy and to be at a place where he knows that his skills are appreciated and loved... But then, on the other hand, I want him to stay. He has done so much for our youth group. The heads of the church may look over him, but our youth adore him. He is one of the first youth ministers that has stayed there for them... We have gone through four youth ministers since I have been going here in 2001. After a time, our kids became afraid to allow themselves to trust the next minister because they knew that he would eventually leave them as well just as they were beginning to open up to him. Kevin has stuck with them and built bonds with them... He has loved them despite their backgrounds and their appearances.

It was because of Kevin that I was saved. Coming from a church where I hated the youth group and they hated me, it was something completely new to me to see someone that openly cared for the students (all of them!), no matter what their past. There were no strings attached. You could come in with all black nailpolish, earrings, gothic clothing, hair dyed, dark make-up on...and Kevin would still look on them as though they were no different than the others. "Grace-full" love, Whitney called it. And I agree. Some youth don't know that its okay to be different...ours do. You look at our youth group, and there is such variety! That's because of Kevin. We have some punks, some goths, some preps, some skaters, some athletes, some nerds, some mixtures of different groups...some strong christians, some still searching, some that don't know quite what to believe, some that are struggling...and its okay! They know they are free to express themselves because it's okay to be different and unique. You won't find that in most youth groups. But because of Kevin, you can find it here. He gave some of us a chance when we thought we were completely out of chances. There may not be hundreds of youth rushing to the altar every night to pray...but perhaps even more importantly then that, each one of them knows for a fact that they are loved in the way that Christ has taught us to love others - full and complete, without any regard for their backgrounds, past, social status, or any such measures.

And Cassandra? I honestly don't even know what to begin to say about her... I have never met a youth minister's wife that cared as much for the youth group as her. My past expierence with youth minister's wives is that they've always picked out their select favorites and showered affections and attention on them...rarely took part in any activities that went on in the group...stood as something of a shadow behind the minister. Not Cassandra, though. She has always made herself readily available to the youth, should they ever need her. I have gone to her for mentoring several times, and her advice is always just exactly what I needed to hear. She's not afraid to hold others accountable, and stands alongside of Kevin in everything that he does. I love to watch them interact. God has given them such a beautiful relationship...they balance one another out perfectly in all aspects. Though she does enjoy working "behind the scenes" on alot of things, I truly don't believe our youth group would be half of what it is now, were it not for her.

I thank God so much that I've been able to become closer to the both of them.

Fates, I don't want for him to be sad anymore...but in my own selfish way, I don't want to be sad at his leaving either... This whole situation is so very frustrating.

Oi...I wrote a journal entry nearly exactly like this one three days before BroKen resigned...

Tis such a muddle...

But anyway, I'm digressing from the wonder of the night... -glances back up at all she wrote- Wow...I really digressed! Sorry...but I had to get all that out...

Anyways! After we got home from church, neither Whitney nor I felt the need to go to sleep, so we headed out for a walk around campus. We stopped off at Kevin's (henceforth refered to as "Buzz" to keep from confusing him with Kevin the youth minister) room and invited him to journey with us (since it's always good to have a guy along when venturing about) and we walked over to the Intramural Field. Whitney and I decided to "get our hobbit on" (copyright Buzz) and go barefoot, so we stashed our shoes in some nearby bushes and went out onto the field. We walked about twice, during the time which we saw several spiders, crickets, earwigs and other such "creepy crawlies". I told Buzz the story of my caterpillar, Jimmy, that I accidentally crushed with a book and he shared with us a little about the "most enjoyable" punk concert he went to the other night.

After walking about twice, we got bored with that and decided to head back. I made mention that I wanted to go somewhere dark and lay out and look at the stars... Somehow, I cant quite remember the context of the conversation, Buzz mentioned there being a cemetary near the school that we could walk to. Both Whitney & I were thrilled with this prospect, so we went back to the dorm to grab some flashlights and tennis shoes before taking off for the cemetary.

Along the way we passed the sorority houses and commented on their chandeliers in the foyers. One was big and gawdy...one was small and simple...another large with crystal "drops" hanging off... We figured there must be a contest for the best chandelier.

We headed back into the woods, along the path that Buzz knew. We found one path that led off in another direction and decided to briefly explore it, but it led to a dead-end, so we turned back and went back to the main path. This small, dirt road led into the cemetary and we wandered through it for awhile. Both Whitney and I commented on the curiosity that we did not pick up on any "weird" vibes at all. One would think that walking through an old cemetary late at night would be chilling...but it was no more frightening then walking about the well-lit Intramural field. We wove our way in and out of the headstones and gravesites before pausing for a time to look at the stars and pick out a few constellations.

After about half an hour of wandering about, we turned and went back towards the Bat Cave. On the way back, we decided to make use of one of the sorority house's benches since we figured no one else ever used them. So we sat outside the sorority house for awhile and talked before finally heading back.

It really was a wonderful outing that allowed me to get some restlessness out and do something spontaneous. I was also able to think and draw things into a bit more perspective then I had the past few days. I'm quite glad we were able to do it...and am curious to see what other adventures we get ourselves into throughout our stay at South.

Well, I think I've written enough for today, so back to work I go! Later dayz.

2005-09-28T16:20:00.000-05:00

Ugh, I have been sick for the past three days and I hate it! I'm feeling alot better now...still really weak and everything as my body tries to recouperate...but it's still such a terribly annoying thing. Having the cold and not being able to breathe because you're all congested and not having any manner of an appetite... blah, I'm ready for this bug to be over with!

Last night I went to a lecture on "The Crucible" at the library and it was wonderful! (yes, I really am just that big of a dork). They will be performing "The Crucible" at the opera this year and I am so excited about seeing it! That along with the Dracula ballet are at the very top of my list on "Must-sees" right now. Woot!

But right now I really do have to be off so I can work on my Vanguard article. I'll write more later since I'm finally feeling better.

2005-09-25T20:29:00.000-05:00

Listen to:
Wildflowers: Tom Petty

Ever since Whitney first had me listen to it, I have been having an affair with the song "Wildflowers". That song, in a nutshell, completely sums up the kind of guy that I am looking for. A guy that sees my indepdent nature and, instead of trying to "tame" it, looks upon it in awe and wonder as one of my most beautiful aspects.

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
Sail away, kill off the hours
You belong somewhere you feel free

I never did understand the girls that absolutely *had* to have boyfriends in order to make themselves feel complete. Those girls that feel like a piece of themselves is missing without that "signifigant other" and that they're not quite whole. I have never been that kind of a girl.

Run away, find you a lover
Go away somewhere bright and new
I have seen no other
Who compares with you

I guess maybe I've just always been something of a gypsy at heart - well, in theory at the least. I hate the feeling of being tied down...and I have been in too many relationships that have done to me just that. I've had guys find me as a "challenge" - and I'm saying this quite seriously, I've had guys tell me this. They know that I am not really the "dating kind" and so they decide they'll try their hand...see if they can't be the one to bring me under some form of a "relationship control". Then when I get into said relationship, I always feel like I'm backed up against a wall. Like they're hanging onto me with a tight grip, not leting loose of my ties lest I should escape them.

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong somewhere you feel free

It reminds me of the old proverb of the man and his bird. If he takes the bird out of its cage and lets it go...and it does not return...then that bird was never his to begin with. But if he takes the bird of out its cage and lets it go...and it returns to him...then there is a bond between the two that cannot be expressed by any mere words.

I think more guys need to learn how to let go...

Run away, go find a lover
Run away, let your heart be your guide
You deserve the deepest of cover
You belong in that home by and by

I guess that's why I like this song so much. It expresses a love for a young lady that is free and independent and carefree...and the singer loves her because of that. He finds those qualities endearing and amazing. He realizes that there's something special about her. She's not going to be sweet and quiet and submissive to him just so he'll stay with her... She has a brain and is not afraid to speak her mind. In her heart, she carries many passions and desires and dreams that cannot be held back and she is going to pursue those with her every last breath...and should he choose to join her on this journey, he will find himself caught up in one of the most incredible expierences of his life. But should he choose to try and hold her back and suppress her dreams...she will inevitably slip right through his fingers.

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong somewhere close to me
Far away from your trouble and worry
You belong somewhere you feel free
You belong somewhere you feel free

I don't think of myself as being the piece to some "greater puzzle" so that I must wander through life looking for the other piece I connect to. I think of myself as the strawberries to the cheesecake. A bunch of strawberries are great by themselves...a slice of cheesecake is great by itself... But you put the two together and its simply heavenly!

Now, of course, I don't lump all guys together on this, mind you. I have several guy friends that have made it very clear to me that they love this aspect of my personality. I only refer to past relationships and expierence that I have had. I do believe that someday I will find that special guy that sees the beauty in the independence and feminity God has given to me (yeah, I totally agree with Whitney on her beliefs of feminity) and will accept it and not make any attempts at changing it. I have never been a girl to worry about what her boyfriend thinks about the things she's doing or the decisions she makes (be it where she goes to school, or who she chooses to talk to, or what book she's currently reading)...and someday I will find a guy that will be willing to allow me that freedom I so require in a relationship.

But until that time, I remain happily single and walking through my field of wildflowers.

2005-09-24T14:38:00.000-05:00

Goodness, out of the twenty people I invited to my party, only about five people are going to be able to make it. That's so sad. Hah, who had to come up with the brilliant idea to make college students work on Saturdays? That's why most of them won't be here. Curse schedules and attempting to work around them.

Ah well, more cake for me!

Whitney and I are up in the Attik right now awaiting the guests. Whitney's compiling a CD for me of a whole bunch of our favorite songs to play during the party. Wootness!

Last night we had a small family birthday party and Whitney, Amy, Jonathan and I all went to see 'Corpse Bride'. I thought it was a great movie (though I have yet to see a Tim Burton movie that isn't). Whitney didn't care too much for it, but all in all I found it quite enjoyable. The plotline reminded me *alot* of 'Phantom of the Opera'...only in reverse! In this one, the young man is taken away to the "underworld" by a young woman and spends the whole movie trying to get back to his one true love...whilst finding himself falling somewhat in love with the bride that abducted him as well.

I could draw out the Phantom parallels (and believe me, there are quite a few) but right now I'll leave that one be. lol.

Melanie came over and spent the night last night...which was good. We were able to talk over a few things and catch up on some stuff.

Oh, and Amy got me the "Tenth Kingdom" DVDs for my birthday! I was so excited! I finished watching the first two DVDs today (the movie is about 6 hours long - it was a miniseries) and plan on finishing the third later on this evening hopefully. I had forgotten what a great show that was. Still makes me sad they didnt continue it.

In theatre news, Frank Wildhorn is writing a musical of "Cyrano de Bergerac" with Douglas Sills as the lead. This is a *very* big deal! Frank Wildhorn is one of my favorite musical writers (he wrote two of my favorite musicals, "Jekyll & Hyde" and "Scarlet Pimpernel")..."Cyrano de Bergerac" is one of my favorite plays...and Douglas Sills has got to be my favorite Broadway actor! I WIN! I'm so excited about it.

He is also writing "Camille Claudel"...which interests me but I'm not going to put too much hope into it just yet. After all, Dracula was a bust!

But I need to go now. Betti is here so I'm going to go talk with her.

Woot for being 20!

2005-09-23T12:32:00.000-05:00

Just so everyone knows, we will not be having a movie night at the Bat Cave tonight. Whitney, Amy, Jonathan & I are all going to see Corpse Bride, and then we're going back to my house to have a small family party.

Thank you so much to all my well-wishers. Ya'll make me feel so loved! :)

Oh, and hey, yesterday was John Morgan's birthday, so happy birthday to him too!

I actually have alot more to post about the past few days...but right now I need to be working so I am going to do that.

-waves- Will post later!

2005-09-20T15:06:00.000-05:00

Hah, last night was so much fun!

In honor of National Talk Like A Pirate Day, Whitney & I decided to celebrate by wearing our new pirate shirts that Todd bought us and watching 'Pirates of the Caribbean' while toasting to the memory of all our seafaring brethren. Since Kevin had been having a "bleh" kind of day, we decided to invite him too and I wrote him a letter in pirate and taped it to his door so he would see it when he got back from classes. Greg joined us too and we all had a lovely time.

After the movie was over, David dropped by for a little while which was interesting since I haven't really seen him in a good long time. So that was pretty cool. Though from last I spoke with him, he and Hayden were having problems in their relationship...which makes me sad since they were always so adorable together.

I have been busy like woah lately! Had two tests today...one that I think I did okay on, the other which I think I bombed. Blah. On top of that I continue to work nonstop at PC|Mac. They're uping me in the ranks so my responsibilities are getting bigger.

Ohh, speaking of which, back to work I go! Meeting time!

2005-09-19T13:27:00.000-05:00

Ahoy mateys! Today be National Talk Like A Pirate day and as such I have decided t' write this whole entry in...pirate!
Ye will note that off t' t' side, me icon has changed yet again in honor o' t' day. Later on this evenin' I will be uploadin' a few sea chanties sung by our piratin' brethren o' long ago.

Well then, let's see here... I suppose a few quizzes be in order then t' mark this occaision...

My pirate name is:

Black Anne Flint

Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

You Are A Pirate!

What Type Of Swashbuckler Are You?
brought to you by Maddog Varuka & Dawg Brown

Arr...Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day, everyone!

2005-09-16T12:34:00.000-05:00

{ current mood : restless}

I have been sitting at this computer for three hours now, and my eyes are really beginning to hurt. Ugh, sometimes it just really sucks working at a computer company. I get so bored and restless and I just have to get up and take a stroll round and about the office.

I wrote my first story for the Vanguard yesterday and had it approved! That was pretty cool. I was quite excited about that. I'll post it on my journal sometime next week...but for now I just dont have the energy to do it.

Money... Man, I hate money so much. I am so tired of having to worry and fret over money. I got my pay check yesterday and became really worried because I honestly dont know how I am going to be able to pay my tuition, making what I am right now... I mean, I could get another job and work more hours...but I'm killing myself already as it is.

-sighs- So need to get on the ball selling some of my stuff on ebay. It wont bring in a ton, granted, but it should at least bring in a small amount here and there...

Anyone know any quick and easy ways to make money?

I actually think I'm going to start making Disciple's Crosses again. I made those for awhile and sold them and they sold pretty good. I made them with different school's colors and such like that on there.

Hmm...maybe I can sell them up in the HeBrewz Cafe...that may work. Then I could even donate some of the money to the youth!

Hmm...this I will need to take into consideration. Right now I'm desperate for any kind of extra income I can be making.

Oi, well, back to work I go.

2005-09-14T10:25:00.000-05:00

{ current mood : bouncy}

Birthday party updates!

Okay, ya'll, here's the information on the much-awaited 'Angela's 20th Birthday Party'!! ...

Date: September 24, 2005
Place: The Attik (at the church)
Time: 3:00 - 6:00(?)

We'll have birthday cake (yes, I'm baking again!!) and ice cream...movies...Twister... Oohh, and presents! Dont forget the presents! The Bat Cave needs filling! Show some BatLove! lol.

..."I am Angela's caffeine-high hyperness"...

Everyone is invited! Seriously. If you're reading this journal entry, you're invited! Consider this your formal invitation. I had better see you there or I will be most distraught and upset.

So...yes, that's the update. I'll probably be sending out an email later on in the week to remind everyone, but for now, that's the plan!

Oohh, and I added a section so that I can put up my icon of the day/week/month/etc. I just saw that icon and had to have it somewhere on my journal.

-winks at whitney- "It's the INDY!"

2005-09-13T14:49:00.000-05:00

Heh, some of you may have realized a sudden minimization (yes, it's a word!) of my friends list. I decided to go through and "weed out" those that didnt really blog a whole lot anymore from those that still maintained theirs. But dont worry, the links arent gone (and I still love you!), I just put them towards the bottom of the right column under "Retired Blogs". If your blog is there and you start blogging again, just let me know and I will replace the link! I just wanted to have all the active blogs at the top so I didn't have to go trudging through a bunch of dead links.

All good then? Woot.

I am also going to be redoing the links on the side a bit. There's a few that just need revamping and updating and such.

Oh, but I did update the photo album so you can check that out whenever you wish. I should be adding more pics to it later on...

To everyone that kept my family in your prayers, thank you so much! Hah, they worked! Last night I was able to have a sit-down-heart-to-heart talk with my Dad and the result of it all is that I'm now feeling a million times better about the whole situation. It really helped everything knowing that he was completely behind me and in support of me 100% when I most need it... The whole conversation truly helped to rejuvenate my spirit and bring us closer together then before.

In fact, I was so rejuvenated, I went back to the Bat Cave and jumped on my bed in circles while eating Frosted Mini Wheats. It was lovely!

So then, times are better and everything is going to be okay!

Oh, I am working on my first official story for the Vanguard on the Disaster Relief Team that we have working here in Mobile. I am considering opening a new journal just to keep all my Vanguard stuff in, so I will be sure to set up a link to it when I get that up and running so ya'll can read whatever articles I'm working on. (Yeah, because I know ya'll are all just dying to see what I have to write!....why else would you be here?...)

Whitney may be getting a job soon, which makes me happy. That poor girl needs a job! ...or rather, needs the money that comes *from* a job...

I remember a time when my entrys were filled with substance and things people actually wanted to read about... Oh, treacherous Muse, why hast thou abandoned me in this my time of need?

Hmm...clearly I'm going to have to work on finding her again...

2005-09-12T13:45:00.000-05:00

Yes, its been awhile since I've really posted on here... Things have just been extremely busy and up in the air lately...and even when I do have time to post, I either have nothing at all to write about...or way too much to even consider beginning. (more commonly the latter)

Let me begin by saying that being hypoglycemic sucks! Ha, I havent eaten anything today so right now I'm shaking like a leaf in a storm and my mind has slowed to the state of molasses in winter.

see? already I've used two cliche analogies! Oi.

Point is...forgive me if this post is random and vacant.

Anyways...a bit of an update on present situations...

This weekened, a team of ours went out to Bayou la Batre to clean up some yards and get some things taken care of after the storm. It really was quite a bit of fun. As odd as it may sound, I really like getting outside and raking up a yard and seeing all the improvements we make...especially as it is for a good cause!

Besides, I get to work on my tan that way, right? lol.

Pictures: http://photobucket.com/albums/v671/element2/Hurricane%20Clean%20Up/

Beyond that, I will be working on my first story (actually, *stories*) for the Vanguard this evening. My editor wants a story on the play that is being done at the Theatre Guild this weekend (Big Bang) and a story on the National Disaster Relief's efforts after the storm. I will also be beginning work on a "Theatre Spotlight of the Month" on the Mobile Saenger theatre. I'm quite excited about getting a chance to explore this historical theatre a bit more in depth.

... "I am Angela's dorky state of existance." ...

Fates, it's cold in here!

Hey guys, be praying for me. There have been some personal matters come up in my family lately that have really been effecting all of us. I know we'll make it through them...but it's the "getting through them" that is the hard part. Just keep us in your thoughts and prayers, hm?

I am thinking that I will be updating my music player on here every Monday. Just swap out the songs each week for a bit of variety.

I also want to add a place for some icons. I've come across quite a few that I would like to use, but I dont have a place for them quite yet so I'll need to work on that.

I'm also in the process on working on a code that will switch out my skins for me. For example, say you liked the "muse" layout better than you like this ship layout...all you would have to do is click a button and it will reskin the whole journal for you so that its in that layout. Or maybe you liked my old Batman layout better...just a click of a button and, voila!, different templateyness!

Eh...only problem is that it deals with lots of scripting codes...and I suck at scripting...

we'll see how it goes.

Whitney and I are going to start selling some of our items that we've made on ebay soon...and hopefully we'll get a webpage to upload it all to as well. I'll keep ya'll updated on those fronts.

Hmm...well, I think that's enough rambling for now... Hopefully my next journal entry will be a bit less erradict (...eradic?...arradic?...aradic?...oradict?...). Heh, by that time I should have gotten some food into my system.

So..anyways...yes, I'm out!

2005-09-10T18:12:00.000-05:00

Oohhh, new templateyness! Behold the majesty!

Oh, and check it out, I added an MP3 player to the side that I will be listing some of my favorite songs. Right now its in "beta" version so it'll get a better selection soon. But for now I'm too tired to deal with it. lol.

Expect more posts to be coming soon!

2005-09-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

yeah...this poor journal has been so neglected...

every time i sit down to write in it...I have nothing!

....this is me....acting like i have something to write...and in fact, writing nothing at all...

2005-09-03T13:48:00.000-05:00

Well, after Melanie uploaded her "College Fun", I decided to have a go at it as well and give you a behind the scenes look of what goes on in the Bat Cave. (Don't worry, its all clean! I've edited to make sure! ;) )

Enjoy!

Pictures are this way!

an open invitation

2005-09-02T13:55:00.000-05:00

hey guys, it's whitney posting for angela again.

here's the scoop.

movie night, bat cave, 7.30 tonight.

we want to watch the old adam west batman movie, but we don't have it, so if someone could bring it, that'd be great. otherwise, just bring some cool movie and we'll decide from there.

until we meet again, i remain
~dementia

2005-08-31T10:21:00.000-05:00

Fates...this has been a rough one.

As far as Mobile goes, beyond some power outages and such, we seem to have made it through relatively okay (granted, there are *always* exceptions). But New Orleans...man.

Dad came in last night and basically just broke down because he was so overwhelmed with the whole thing. Being in charge of our Disaster Relief Team here in Mobile, he received several reports on things that were taking place in New Orleans...and he said the entire city has been more or less completely destroyed.

The Saenger Theatre... Man, that was my favorite theatre *ever*! Absolutely stunning in all aspects. I havent heard about how much damage it received yet but...I guess I can only really assume the worst...

But...yeah...anyways. Still no power back at home so the whole family came over to the Bat Cave to seek out a bit of cool air. They will probably be staying the night if things dont change sometime soon.

But..yes, we made it through fine. The Bat Cave did in fact get a bit of a leak, but nothing too terribly bad.

I thank eac of you for your prayers and thoughts...and please remain in prayer for all those that once knew New Orleans as home.

2005-08-30T09:38:00.000-05:00

I cannot type long because I am working off my laptop's battery (as we have lost power) but I just wanted everyone to know we are safe and made it through the hurricane fine. Whitney & I snuck on campus last night to check on the Bat Cave and it looks like it made it through fine as well. No water or leaks of such. Right now we're just waiting for our power to come back.

I'll update you once everything is back to rights.

2005-08-28T14:04:00.000-05:00

So Katrina has escalated overnight to a Category 5 with 175 mph winds...and naturally, we're on the eastern side. Fun times.

So back to the hurricane shelter we go. I'll keep everyone updated on what's going on and we'll see what happens. Hopefully it will all blow over soon.

Hurricanes bore me.

2005-08-22T15:27:00.000-05:00

Woot! I am so excited! I just got made a reporter for the Theatre Arts section of my college newspaper!

Yesterday, Kandie, Neil, Whitney & I all went to the Campus Faire where all the clubs had booths set up. Our school newspaper, the Vanguard, had one set up so I decided to go over and check it out. I snagged a piece of pizza they were giving away and grabbed one of the newest issues of the Vanguard and was preparing to turn and walk away when one of the girl's stopped me and said "Hey, are you interested in writing for the paper? We have a sign-up sheet for all who are interested." I thoughtfully munched on my pizza and shrugged. Sure. What the heck? Maybe it would give me a creative outlet for some of my writing.

So I set my pizza aside and leaned over to sign up. Name. E-mail address. Phone Number. Interest...

Interest...that was the one that caught me. Immediately I knew exactly what I would love to write for. A theatre section! That would be so awesome! To get to go and see all the operas and plays around Mobile and write up my own reviews and thoughts on them. Maybe even get to meet the casts... How perfect!

Well, it just so happened that at that point the assistant editor of the Arts & Entertainment section was watching over my shoulder. She noted that I wrote down "theatre arts" under my interests and when I was turning to grab my pizza and walk away, she grabbed me and pulled me aside. Briefly she asked me about my expierence in the theatre and why I was interested in writing for the section and what writing expierence I'd had. I answered all her questions and she said she would be in touch and let me go.

Then today I got an email from the head Editor of the E&A section, asking me for a bit more information about myself and my vision for the newspaper... I wrote up my response, emailed it to her...

...and a few hours later I was hired!

2005-08-22T13:34:00.000-05:00

current song I'm having an affair with: "You belong among the wildflowers"
by: Tom Petty

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
Sail away, kill off the hours
You belong somewhere you feel free

Run away, find you a lover
Go away somewhere all bright and new
I have seen no other
Who compares with you

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong somewhere you feel free

Run away, go find a lover
Run away, let your heart be your guide
You deserve the deepest of cover
You belong in that home by and by

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong somewhere close to me
Far away from your trouble and worries
You belong somewhere you feel free
You belong somewhere you feel free

2005-08-21T22:12:00.000-05:00

We are *finally* completely moved into the dorm...but I am far too exhausted to write about all of it right now. Just wanted to let all of you know that things are going well and that whit and I are safely kept away within the Bat Cave now.

And now...to go finish watching 'Amadeus'...

2005-08-19T07:25:00.000-05:00

By the Fates, I cannot remember the last time I was this stressed out!

Since Monday morning, Whitney and I have been running around non-stop in a mad scramble to get everything that has to be completed done. Getting Whit a job, getting her reclassified, packing all my stuff, moving into the dorm, buying stuff for the dorm, setting our schedules up, scrounging around for furniture... I swear to you, we have not stopped going until around 11 o'clock each night when we finally wind up just crashing.

Today marks the final day for it all, hopefully. Today I pack the last of my things and we move completely into the dorm. Tonight will be my first night spent there.

I...am...so...stressed!!

-breathes deeply...listens to some Josh Groban...does some yoga...eats some chocolate-

Okay...focus...focus...

It was so weird yesterday to be packing all my things away. I never would have dreamed that I finally would have the chance to do all this. Moving into the dorm rooms with my best friend, just as we've planned since we were 12.

Going through my "nick-nacks" shelf brought back so many memories. Most people wouldn't think twice about all the silly and unusual trinkets I have on display there...but for me, each one has a personal story. All the way from the plastic dolphion&whale that Kody bought me in 3rd grade because he thought it looked like they were kissing...to a ceramic dove given to me by my Grandma before she died...to the glass blue rose given to me by Chris. Small things that, as i went through them, brought back such a wide array of emotions & memories.

This whole moving thing is actually alot harder then I thought it would be. (emotionallly, not physically)

But anyways...beyond all that, the moving goes well and I'm excited about it all. Heh, I'm just ready for it to be over and be settled. As much as I love change, I dont like this "completely up in the air" feeling. I want things to just calm down so I can refocus and think without my brain going a million miles and hour.

Hmm...random note...just checked movie times and Red Eye will be showing at 10:05 tonight. -sighs- That will be a splendid way to end the day!

Oi..well, I guess its time for me to get this day started. Lots to do and people to see... I'm off.

Later dayz!

2005-08-16T22:57:00.000-05:00

Oi...the past few days have been *so* bloody long! The very thought of everything that's taken place makes me quite tired...so I'm going to give a quick sum-up:

Monday
- got to see our new dorm (The Bat Cave) and it is *enormous*! Pictures soon to follow.
- Whitney managed to get a job working at Cici's
- We came home and watched First Daughter (cute movie...Katie was a better actress in it than she was in Batman)

Tuesday
- Whitney was able to procure her driver's license, social security card & voter registration all in a matter of a few hours
- Whitney was hired "full time" as our webpage designer so she can reclassify for instate tuition
- We were able to go on and check in to The Bat Cave
- Whitney & I watched Clue
- We went around with Soupie & Neil to Wal-Mart
- I was asked to take part in training over in Gulf Shores for the computer company I work with so I'll be busy with that all day long tomorrow

Right now I am beginning to stress over this whole move. I mean, its the first time I'll be moving out of the house and all that kinda stuff...and its just so weird. I mean, I have lived in this little apartment room nearly my whole life. Now I'm going to be moving into a massive dorm with my best friend...and while certainly excited about the whole thing, I am also admittedly overwhelmed.

Friday Whitney & I will officially be moving into the Bat Cave...and then going and seeing "Red Eye".

Mmm...Red Eye...that alone makes me feel all better! lol.

2005-08-12T21:00:00.000-05:00

well, everyone, I decided to be a bit random and dye my hair red today...so I did! lol.

Check out the pictures of it... http://photobucket.com/albums/y121/museofthemusic/Red%20Hair/

More Free Association

2005-08-12T11:51:00.000-05:00

Shelter:: sanctuary
Karate Kid:: betti
Andrew:: nuss
Rib:: barbecue sauce
Push it:: strain
Creep:: stalk
Chainlink:: metal chains
Squash:: bug
No mercy:: cruel
Superhero:: batman

Judge:: gavel
Detroit:: illinois (...?)
Hyphen:: comma
Get it right:: angry
Pulsating:: heartbeat
Yoga:: tranquility/agility
Memorable:: dance
Financial advisor:: suit & tie
Ten million:: dollars
I:: strength

2005-08-12T10:34:00.000-05:00

current music: Scooby Doo Theme Song (...yeah, makes me sad too...)
current mood: restless

So, yesterday was Jared's birthday and we all went out to the movie theater to celebrate. The movie was The Island and it was....interesting... I still haven't decided if I actually liked it or not. Apart from Star Wars, I am not at all into the sci-fi thing and while this movie was based in our time and on the Earth, it had a very distinct sci-fi feel to it.

I actually think the director of the movie went through and thought of all the things that he could possibly show when dealing with clones that would make his audience feel most uncomfortable...and showed them! I mean, "harvesting" humans with the promise of letting them one day go to The Island...only to take them into an operating room and start hacking them open? Ugh, thanks, but no! I agree with Kandie when she wrote that it was alot like Brave New World. It definitely had that feel to it!

Besides, the whole idea of clones squicks me anyways... Like I was telling David last night, I am actually very anti-clones! I think that humans will only abuse a power that should belong to God alone. But if there was the possibility that Stephen or little Jacob could have been saved by means of cloning....? Man, I would have been one of the most adamant supporters ever.

It really is a fine line, I guess...

Anyways, after watching the movie we all went out and ate at O'Charley's for dinner. That was alot of fun. Nice just being back with everyone again.

Hah, Im still trying to decide what I'm gonna do for my birthday this year. I mean, come on, its my 20th birthday! That's a pretty big deal. I'm gonna have to throw a really big party for it! hehe.

Gah, I am so ready to move into the dorms! I can't wait! I mean, its not that I want to leave my family or anything like that (quite the opposite in fact), but I am so excited about Whitney & I having a place of our own. Its something we've talked about since we were little and so now for it to finally be happening... woot! I am so excited!

So if anyone is interested in helping Whitney and I move on the 20th, let me know because we're gonna need all the help we can get! lol.

But anyways...I guess I'm out. I told Morgan I would work on getting her a blog set up.

So, until next I post... Later dayz!

New Design

2005-08-11T10:55:00.000-05:00

Well, here it is then, ladies and gentlemen, the new design! As promised!

I still have a few things to tweak on the navigational side...some links to update, some to take off, some countdowns to add links to....but on the whole, the design itself is completed.

I'm actually quite pleased with the way it turned out. This is the first time I've created a "column" design so I was not too sure how it would turn out. But I think I managed okay.

....hmm...just looked at the design on my work computer and the pictures at the top are really, really dark. Odd. They seem light on my computer. Maybe its just my office computer....does the pictures at the top seem really dark on anyone else's screen? If so, I'll have to go in and change it...if not, I'll just leave it as is and those with dark screens can deal. lol.

But anyways... welcome to Masqerade Version 6.0!

2005-08-11T00:48:00.000-05:00

Tonight marks the one month "anniversary" since Stephen's death... Tomorrow I plan on going out to the cemetary and at least visiting his site.

My new design will have to wait until tomorrow to be uploaded. I had the choice between going to the funeral of Jacob tonight...or taking Amy & Jonathan to the youth bowling night. Seeing as how I've dealt with Death way more than is healthy as of late...I opted for taking Amy & Jonathan.

Beginning to get restless. I *so* want to hurry up and get moved in to the dorms.

Jared's birthday is tomorrow and I havent a clue what I'm going to get him! We're going to see The Island and then go out to eat tomorrow afternoon.

Oi, but the hour is late and I must be off. I shall post more anon!

Later dayz.

2005-08-10T10:49:00.000-05:00

wow...four posts on here yesterday! Thats gotta be some kind of record for me.

...granted, one of them was by whitney...and another was free association...and another was only two sentences long....

But still! Its the principle of the matter here!

Oddly enough, I've suddenly had a Blogging Muse strike. I think its the fact that I'll be moving out of the house soon and into the dorms...all new expierences just waiting to happen! My mundane "ho-hum" life will soon be turned upside down and I will have *plenty* to write about. Plus I'll need to keep everyone abreast on what's going on so...heh, back to my journal I go!

But along with starting up again, so must I begin with a new template. My Dark Knight has served me well, but its time for a new bit of eye candy. I actually have a piece I'm working on right now that should be finished soon...hopefully up by this afternoon. Just a little something to spice the site up a bit again.

So while I've been on this blogger kick, I helped Amy & Cherry set up their new journals. I will be adding their links on here soon once they have them up and running and ready to go. Heh, I also did a lil work on Melanie's journal to spruce it up a bit.

-sighs- I love being a designer...

well, Im going to get back to work now. I will post more later on today when I get the new design up and running.

Skywatcher Alert

2005-08-09T18:04:00.000-05:00

The Space Shuttle Discovery landed this morning at 8:12AM ET at Edwards Air Force Base in California. All crew members are safe and sound.

2005-08-09T16:03:00.000-05:00

hah, thank you very much, whitney, for the post!

Unconscious mutterings

...And now its time for some more free association...

Complexion:: skin/face/smooth
Teach:: mentor
Back to school:: hermione
Months:: vast expansion of time
Nominate:: presidency
Favorite curse word:: bloody hell!
Concerned:: worried/fatigued
Better:: pompous
Escalate:: ...elevator
Unveil:: sirius

Useless:: sad
Radiant:: light
W:: bush
Unpaid:: volunteer
Geek:: woot!
Unfaithful:: adultery
Reboot:: restart computer
No!:: panic/fear
Squad:: police
Fetish:: bondage

Exhibit:: museum
Evolution:: darwin/monkeys
Loser:: fingers in the shape of an 'l' on the forehead
Hypnotic:: seductive/enticing
Unlikely:: not propable
Interrupt:: annoyance/narrowed eyes
Ambivalent:: ....huh?
Rise and fall:: "the rise and the fall...Ive lived through it all" (lyrics)
Indian:: dark eyes
Prophecy:: Snape

Renewal:: library
Someone to talk to:: companion
Count:: dracula
Expiration:: date
Upload:: computer
Publish:: book/blog
Holy:: aura
Change in the air:: weather
Titillating:: sensual
Glorious:: awe-inspiring

in absentia

2005-08-09T14:44:00.000-05:00

hey guys. since angela seems to be away from her blog for a bit, i, whitney, have decided to take over. just for a bit anyway. her posts are generally far too long for me to try to imitate, so i'm not even going to try.

let's see...what's been going on in angela's life lately that i can remember and tell you about? life has been mostly normal for her lately. she's still working at pc|mac and up at the church, working on templates and reading an inordinate amount of fan fiction in her spare time. we're both getting really psyched to move into the dorms though. we're excited about finally having a place to ourselves and getting settled in and somehow, in a really nerdy sort of way, excited about starting school again. it keeps us occupied and out of trouble...mostly. i'm sure that between our jobs and school, we'll somehow manage to get into some kind of trouble. it's the spice of life, you know? of course...you're only in trouble if you get caught.

and guess what we're naming our dorm?

you get three guesses.

yep. the bat cave.

we figure we're going to have to raise our daily bad joke limit from one to five per diem because with a dorm name like that, the bad jokes are going to spike and we need to raise our limit accordingly.

anyway, my little brother is wanting me to come play Champions: Return to Arms with him and who am i to argue? i have to run now.

until she fails to post again, i remain,
~ dementia

2005-08-09T12:08:00.000-05:00

yesterday was a really rough day.

got a call at about 1 o'clock from mom saying that one of our friend's son (little jacob) had been in a 3 wheeler accident and was being taken to the hospital. having just gone through stephen's death, this all hit me pretty hard.

at about 5 i got another call saying that he'd died. broken neck and a fractured skull.

he was three years old! not even a chance to truly live... and his parents called him their little "miracle child" because when he was born prematurely, he weighed only one pound. he fought for almost a year to stay alive and made it through...

...only to be killed...

i dont understand

kenneth (his grandfather) was the one that was riding with him and decided to go up the embankment that flipped the 3 wheeler over. i cant even begin to imagine what he's going through right now... little jacob was his pride and joy and now for this to happen...

i know there's a reason for everything....but this is one i will never be able to understand.

im so very tired of dealing with Death.

when the people from the funeral home came to take jacob away from the hospital, kim wouldn't let him go. she just sat there holding him the whole time... his dad was trying to be strong but occaisionally he would disappear into the bathroom for a time and come out with his eyes all red and puffy... his brother wouldn't even go into the back to see him. he'd been there when jacob died and had even tried to give him cpr, but it was already too late...

fates, i just wish i could understand why this had to happen... i mean, at least stephen was able to live for a time and expierence life. but jacob was only three!...and why did he live through that one year of fighting only to die in such a sudden and traumatic way...?

i just wish i could understand.

Lama Song

2005-08-04T09:03:00.000-05:00

Presenting the greatest song in the world.... lol.

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama.php

Here's a lama,
there's a lama,
and another little lama,
fuzzy lama,
funny lama,
lama lama duck.

Lama, lama,
cheesecake lama,
tablet, brick, potatoe, lama,
lama lama, mushrooms lama,
lama lama duck.

I was once a tree house,
I lived in a cake,
But I never saw the way,
The orange slayed the rake,
I was only 3 years dead,
But it told a tale,
And now listen little child,
To the safety rail.

If you ever see a lama,
kiss a lama, on the lama,
lama's lama, tastes of lama,
lama lama duck.

Half a lama,
twice a lama,
not a lama,
farmer lama,
lama in the car,
alarm a lama,
lama lama duck...

2005-07-28T15:59:00.000-05:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

2005-07-27T09:37:00.000-05:00

So, here's a bit of irony for you...

On a day when I have alot going on and plenty to write about and post into my journal...I dont get around to it because I'm so busy. Hah, but on days when things are a bit more relaxed and I have time to write...I have nothing to write about because it was a boring day!

"Funny ol' world, innit?" - Jack Sparrow

So..anyways... Hah, wanna see what Whitney and I have been up to throughout the past two weeks? Trust me, it's proof that we really are helpless...

Angela & Whitney's Movie Log
7-11-05 : Scarlet Pimpernel (Broadway musical)
7-12-05: Into The Woods ; Sweeney Todd
7-14-05: "Behind the Scenes" of Wicked; Hellboy
7-15-05: Finished Hellboy
7-16-05: Charlie & The Chocolate Factory; Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory; Beauty & The Beast
7-19-05: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
7-20-05: Elf
7-21-05: Batman; Batman Returns
7-22-05: Immortal Beloved; Merchant of Venice
7-23-05: Batman Begins
7-24-05: Batman Forever; Batman & Robin; First Knight

I actually think there were more beyond that...but I can't think of them right off.

Hah, Whitney and I have a list of movies that we want to watch...and thus far we're making decent enough progress on it. I will post our movie list a bit later on today, hopefully...then, if anyone has any recommendations, we can add them! :)

Skywatcher Alert

2005-07-26T09:21:00.000-05:00

Space Shuttle Discovery is set to launch today at 10:39AM ET. You can watch live coverage of it on AOL here... http://news.aol.com/spaceshuttle

2005-07-25T11:12:00.000-05:00

Unconscious Mutterings

Some free association excercises...

Believing:: Faith
Invasion:: Death...destruction...
Boys:: Eye-candy
Island:: Solitude
Repeatedly:: Continuance
Normal:: Boring
Hex:: Evil Spell
Tuxedo:: Sexy
Virgin:: Purity
Cereal:: Corn Flakes

Tolerate:: Annoyed
Release:: Free
My soul:: Uncertainty
Sax;:: Saxophone
HP:: Harry Potter
Worth:: Price
Rockstar:: Long hair
Terrify:: Scare
Knock me off my feet:: Love
Taunt:: Columbine Killers

Do-it-yourself:: pushed aside
Pickpocket:: theif/gamin/Artful Dodger
Ballet:: beauty/Swan Lake
Resumé:: application
Phenom:: Phenomenon
Love/Hate:: angst
Unusual:: strange
Intense:: Eyes
Interruption:: Annoyance
Not enough:: Spoiled

Statistics:: Research
Grin:: Happiness/Laughter
Saturn:: Rings
Fulfilled:: Content
Life plan:: Future
Cult:: Wiccan ceremony
Lily:: Pure flower
Stalemate:: aggression
Celebration:: fireworks
Underwear:: hidden

2005-07-25T09:19:00.000-05:00

Well, as of tomorrow evening, whitney will be gone again for about three weeks. She's heading back up to asheville to spend time with her family and then out to decatur for awhile... I'm really glad she's gonna get this last chance to be with her family a bit more before school starts.

Been doing alot of thinking about Stephen again lately... I try not to. It's not exactly something that's healthy for me to dwell on. It's just the fact that I've come to realize how short life is...and how we're never promised tomorrow...you know, stuff like that that a death usually conjures thoughts of.

Mostly its been in regards to whitney though... What would happen if I lost her...?

The other night I had a dream. I looked down at my hands and saw two long, red gashes cut across them and one sliced into my hip. I immediately knew Whitney was in trouble and so I started running around the room trying to get people to help me find her - but nobody cared. I talked to her mom...her sister..random people. No one would help me. I looked all around the room but she wasn't there and I could feel her trouble growing as I looked down at my steadily bleeding hands... Even Allison told me that I needed to back off and leave her alone and stop worrying about her so much.

Scene shifted and it was in a funeral parlor. A casket (Whitney's I'll assume) was positioned in the very center of the big room. I walked over towards it, not daring to look in, and then slumped down to sit with my back against it. I looked down at my hands again as they continued to bleed...

I truly cant imagine what I would do if I lost her... I know she probably thinks I'm overprotective sometimes or just a worrier or something... But, Fates, I've lost Stephen...and I've come to realize we arent as immortal as we like to think we are...

anyways, on to a much happier kind of subject...

Whitney and I finished off the Batman Series yesterday by watching "Batman Forever" & "Batman and Robin". Those two movies...oi! They disgrace the name of Batdom everywhere! Simply horrid. hah, though Jim Carrey & Tommy Lee Jones help to spice it all up a bit so...

We also watched "First Knight" before going to bed. Hah, I love that movie! Just such a wonderful classic. Sean Connery and Richard Gere...mmm, the eye candiness of it all. Ugh, though I am still of the opinion that Guinevere should have remained with Arthur!

Oh! Speaking of eye candy!...Whitney & I watched "The Merchant of Venice" the other day and that movie was....woooow. Jeremy Irons was simply stunning! Agh, and his relationship with his young "ward" was actually quite...mesmerizing. lol. Al Pacino played the role of the Jew and, again, a fantastic performance. All around, an extremely well-done movie and version. Shakespeare would have been proud!

Hmm...well, I have some work I should be doing right now so I think I'm going to get on with that. I shall write more in here anon.

Later dayz!

2005-07-22T11:20:00.000-05:00

I really should write in here more, shouldn't I?... Hah, I remember a time when I couldn't go the day without writing at least a paragraph in my journal....now its weeks at a time before I update.

Partly because I am so busy...partly because I am so lazy...and mostly because, now with Whitney here, we've taken to spending all our freetime reading, writing, creating templates and watching movies together. (yes, we truly are just that big a dorks). Besides, working two jobs and getting ready for school to start can be trying on anybody!

Yesterday Whitney & I had a bit of a random 'orange' moment. When I got home from work, we decided to go and have a picnic out in the park and simply read for a little while(we've been reading the new HP book to one another so we can finish it together and stay in the same place). So we did just that! We packed up some sandwiches, chips, drinks, oreos & pudding...and headed out!

Whitney knew of an awesome little place in the middle of all these trees that was perfect for a picnic. While certainly a bit hot, the shade helped a bit and we thoroughly enjoyed simply being able to kick back and relax for a bit. Hah, we decided it was something our two characters (Jesse & Tristan) must have done while journeying towards the Kingdom of Tillana...chilled out in a soft meadow and ate pudding cups.

Today promises to be a hopefully relaxing day. We watched the first two Batman movies last night (Batman & Batman Begins) so tonight we'll watch Batman Forever & Batman and Robin. 'Immortal Beloved' is also playing on Pay-per-view this week so we may have to look into that one as well. Gary Oldman plays a most lovely Beethoven.

Anyways...I'm at work right now, so I best get back to doing that work thing I do. I am going to make an honest attempt at updating from here on out...(yeah, I know, how many times have I said that...?). Probably try and write a lil somethin' each night before bed and update it in the mornings.

Be on the lookout for a new template design coming soon as well!

Later dayz!

2005-07-15T20:16:00.000-05:00

Whitney and I are watching the Sweeney Todd Concert directly. George Hearn is playing the title role which makes me happy...I mean, after all, he *is* the original Sweeney Todd. I dont know if I could see someone else playing him...though it might be interesting... Heh, still, I'd always compare the performance to George.

Patti LuPone plays Mrs. Lovette and I really love her interpretation of the character. The original (Angela Lansbury) plays Mrs. Lovette as sort of a...crazy...woman. And while she certainly *is* crazy (I mean, after all, she is the one to ultimately cause Sweeney to begin his killing spree) Angela plays her in such a way so that there's no real connection and romance between Lovette & Todd. Its more just a communing of two like-minded spirits...two crazies. But when Patti plays her...there is a *definitely* chemistry between the two characters....if not the actors themselves. During the curtain bow itself, there's certainly 'a moment' between the two that makes me smile.

I also like the fact that she seems to realize that Todd is a definite threat to her person. Angela Lansbury was just so crazy she never really noticed until it was too late... Patti, however, is very keen on the knowledge that Sweeney Todd can (and ultimately, *shall*) do her harm.

The man that plays Toby..oh,don't get me started on that boy! Incredible...beautiful...his rendition of "While I'm Around" is the perfect mix of sweetness, innocence and with just a hint of romance to it. (I've always felt there was a Lovette/Toby 'ship going on...not that I'm a fan of it so much...but, I definitely think its there!)

...ugh, and the Judge just wigs me out... Why they decided to put his scene back into the play...I will never understand... should have been left out... -shivers-

Hah, but for those who know nothing about Sweeney Todd...

Its been a long week. Lotsa stuff happening... More will come on all that later. But for now I think I'm going to pay attention to this movie. Hah, Stephen Sondheim is one of the most brilliant Broadway writers ever so I think I should at least respect it.

So...I'll update later..but until then...

Later dayz!

2005-07-11T22:23:00.000-05:00

And so it is that time moves onward...

The hurricane that threatened to blow Mobile away, turned out to be little more than a simple summer bluster... Not that I'm complaining, per se, but I was hoping that if we'd taken the time to move into a storm shelter, the least we could do is have a few limbs down or something...you know, maybe some power out for about half an hour, right?

Ugh, but it was nothing at all to talk about!

Today was a nice day. After everything that's taken place...the death, Whitney's arrival, the wake, the party, the funeral, the hurricane...ugh, it was just nice to get back to some semblance of order again!

Whitney and I spent most of the day prowling about Goodwill & The Thrift Store and managed to procure some nice things. I got a pair of black & khaki pants and the sequel to one of the books I've been reading.

-smirks- And Whit found her a great shirt at Wal-mart that had a guitar on it and said "No Strings Attached" on it. Very amusing.

Tomorrow its back to work I go again...and I'm really hoping David is going to be in our office again. He is such a great guy and always manages to make our day just that much more entertaining! Jim too....hah, and Andy is beginning to come around slowly as well... Poor Sashank is doing his best to keep us all in order.

But for now, I'm off... Just wanted to let everyone know that all was good here. We're safe and sound and things are going back to normal!

But until I have a bit more time and more to post on...Later dayz!

2005-07-09T21:31:00.000-05:00

The past few days have been…ugh, one of the worst emotional rollercoasters I’ve been on in a good long time. Even now I’m barely able to keep my eyes open as I write this…and its only 4:00.

Wednesday night, Amanda came to church and alerted me that a really good friend of mine – Stephen Little – had been injured in a motorcycle accident. At first I thought it was some kind of a really cruel joke, because I have told him *so* many times that I don’t like his having a motorcycle and that he would eventually get hurt. Often times he would ask me if I would go riding with him on his bike one day and I would always say no. I’ve seen a motorcycle accident personally…and I know what it can do to a person. He eventually asked me if I trusted him…and I told him that I trusted him with my life…and he told me that I then needed to learn to trust him with his own.

That was really one of the last things said on that subject.

I ran outside to call my Mom and see if she’d heard anything because he was said to be taken to the hospital she works as a nurse at. She said that she didn’t have any news, but that she would call my Dad and get him to come up and get me so that I could get to the hospital (as I was already not in the state to drive). All I really wanted was to be able to see him one more time and be able to really say good-bye… However, by the time we got to the hospital, I was greeted by the news that he had been killed on impact.

I really cant remember a lot of what happened right after I had heard the news…its all just a bit of a muddle of emotions and tears and crying. All I can remember is my vocabulary suddenly becoming limited down to one word (“no”) and the phrase “I don’t want to be here”…as I wanted nothing more than to get out of the hospital. Suddenly it was such a dead, terrible, cold place. I wanted out of there as fast as I could…and all the time I kept screaming “no”…still not wanting to believe that this was all real…and that there was no joke to it.

I have not hurt that bad…in a very, very long time.

We drove an hour up to the camp that Jonathan (my brother) was at to tell him what had happened personally so he wouldn’t find out through the news or something. He was close to Stephen as well and it really hurt him to hear of what happened…

That night I sobbed myself to sleep.

The next day, I had to wake up and go to work… My eyes were still red and puffy from waking up crying off and on throughout the night and I could not fully open them. They were also really dry and salty from all the tears I’d shed. I was completely exhausted…and miserable. I kept asking “Why?”…

I was in so much pain. My heart was quite literally broken and I didn’t want to move onward and face the upcoming day. I almost felt as though it was a slam to his memory to just go on with my life as though nothing had taken place…but at the same time I knew it would be for the better. He wouldn’t have wanted for me to mourn his death so despairingly.

I skipped out on work at PC|Mac and instead went up to the church to try and fix things up in the coffeeshop a bit…and just distract my mind. I was up there a good two hours by myself…which was good, because I needed that time alone to think. Then, when Soupie came up there and we went out to eat with Neil…well, things slowly started to get better. Being around people that loved me and that were there to help lift me up really helped. My heart wasn’t so burdened and troubled…

I knew that I couldn’t dwell on it. To do that would only be to let it consume me…and that would be an unhealthy state to place myself in it. Though I didn’t understand why he had to die…I knew there was a far greater power than myself at work and a far greater plan than I could imagine. I simply had to allow myself to trust that all would work out towards a better end…

The wake was a very hard thing to go through…

The funeral parlor was full. So many people there…a lot of them that I recognized. Most of the girl’s were crying…and the guys simply very somber and distant. My heart broke to see such despair…and the same pain that I was expierencing written on their faces.

Coach Finnegan was there, however…man, I miss him so much. He was my science teacher my senior year and truly an incredible man. Possibly my favorite teacher at Davidson…alongside of Mr. Richardson. I truly do adore him. He has meant so much to me…and seeing him there and getting to talk to him for the first time in a long time helped. It was nice to not have that “student-teacher” line present…but to simply be able to talk to him as a friend.

Seeing Stephen in his coffin hurt…though I thought I’d almost become numb. It didn’t look like him at all. His wild, curly hair was gone…his head completely shaved to reveal a deep, terrible laceration down the center of his crown. His hands, folded in that sickeningly serene way, were bruised and purple all over… Those bright, happy, smiling eyes were closed…and his whole face looked so strange without his big, goofy grin.

Some people comment on how peaceful some people look in death…but Stephen didn’t look peaceful to me. He simply looked….dead.

I moved across the parlor to where his family was and was met with his brother, Chris, first. I hugged him and whispered to him my quiet condolences…and he hugged me back. His mother was next and my heart broke seeing her… She’s such an amazingly strong woman. When I moved to hug her, it was almost like she was giving me strength rather than myself lending my strength to her. Such an incredible woman she is…to be able to go through this tragedy and yet remain strong…

His Dad was last and I gave him a hug and he pulled me slightly off to the side and whispered “You were one of his good friends….you know that?” And I felt tears spring to my eyes again and I whispered my thanks for that and moved onward.

Out in the parlor, Tyler approached me and wrapped me up in a hug and asked me how I was doing. To be honest, seeing him broke my heart and I started crying again… Tyler was to Stephen as Whitney is to me…and I can only imagine what he is going through right now…and here he is asking *me* how I’m holding up and trying to comfort me… For so long it was the four of us…myself, Tyler, Stephen & Mr. Gralapp.

Now two of us are gone…

Kody Cortopassi was there as well…and it was amazing to see him. He’s completely changed…not at all the little “teddy bear” I knew…but he’s filled out with muscle and taken on more of his manly countenance. But his eyes…those sweet, brown eyes…those haven’t changed in the least bit at all.

I saw Kaleigh, Robby & Mrs. Robertson as well… It was good to see them there… Kaleigh had been close to Stephen as well…

I made my way out of the funeral parlor…and it was done. I’d managed to find that certain amount of closure that I needed… Now it was time to move onward in life…just as Stephen would have wanted for all of us to do. Besides, Whitney had finally moved to Mobile…our dreams together were beginning…and Stephen was so excited for me when he heard about her coming down. I know he wouldn’t have wanted for me to be so sad on a day that should be bringing me great joy.

And so…we move onward…happy that I was so very blessed to have a friend like Stephen in my life…and content in the wonderful memories that I shared with him.

2005-07-07T23:44:00.000-05:00

Last night a very good friend of mine, Stephen, died in a motorcycle accident. I'm still really having trouble dealing with it... His wake is tomorrow evening at 6...funeral Saturday at 1.

Hurricane Dennis is now a category 4 hurricane...predicted to reach 5 by the time it makes landfall. As such, Dad wants us to evacuate early saturday morn.... I may not be able to go to Stephen's funeral.

From all this comes the inspiration for my new template design... http://blogskins.com/apply.php?sid=52730&action=Preview

There is a saving grace amongst all this... Whitney is moving down tomorrow. Just in time...I've never needed her more.

Fates, I know we'll never be given more than we can handle...but this whole situation is truly a trial upon me... I'm just trying to maintain the dignity, humility and grace i need to get through it all.

I'm so very exhausted.

Pirateyness!

2005-07-03T09:36:00.000-05:00

Your LiveJournal Pirate Crew
LiveJournal Username
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest!
Cutlass or pistol?
What is the name of your pirate ship?
Where is your secret pirate base?
What kind of loot do you prefer?
What do you and your crew prefer to be called?
Parrot or monkey?
Argh!

Your capable first mate	Whitney
Your bumbling cabin boy with a heart of gold	Soupie ;) hehe
The aloof, yet honorable, pirate with a mysterious past	-smirks- Kain...
Is always the first one into the fray	Candle! :-D
Is the naval officer who ruthlessly pursues your ship	Will
Is the comical pirate who is always drunk on grog	Jared ;)
Is currently in Davy Jones's locker	Braden (...well, he's not at school anymore so...that counts, right?)
The amount of money you make as a pirate	$62,157


This Fun Quiz created by Lynn at BlogQuiz.Net

Pisces Horoscope at DailyHoroscopes.Biz

Home again...

2005-07-02T20:46:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to write in a quick post to let everyone know we are home again - safe and sound!

I just finished watching a very interesting movie called "Hellboy"...and I actually think I liked it, despite thinking that i wouldn't. Alot of the comic-book movies have been completely duds...but this one at least managed to relatively hold my attention. I wasn't keen on the actress at all...she was so dead and bland and annoying! However, the character of Hellboy &..um...crap, forgot his name...the little blue aqua guy were both really interesting. Hellboy had a lovely, deep voice.

Hah, though perhaps above all, what caught my interest was seeing the inspiration for Eric's character - Reid. He used the silent assassin (sorry, again dont know names) as the base idea and...I can definitely see why he chose him. Hah, though since I know him as Reid, it was a bit odd to see him in another setting...but, as I said, interesting never the less.

We are about to settle in and watch 'Jumanji' now, so I'm heading out. Just wanted to place in a quick post to let everyone know we made it home and all is well.

Panama City Day Five

2005-07-01T22:54:00.000-05:00

We are finally all packed up and ready to head out first thing tomorrow morning.

Whew! I am going to be so happy to be home again! I mean, I love doing the vacation thing and all...and I especially love being on the beach so near to the water that inspires me so...but I am so ready to get home and have a nice, long decent shower without having to hurry so the next person in line can get in. :-P

Today was a lovely day - we went to the aquarium here in Panama City called GulfWorld. The aquarium itself actually wasnt that big...they had some very small exhibits of a few of the gulf-life here and there...but the biggest part of the park was actually their shows. You started the shows at one place and worked your way through the park, a new show every hour in each place. They were actually alot of fun. They had shows for the dolphins, parrots, "creepy creatures" (amphibians/reptiles/arachnids), & sea lions. Each one did their own cute little tricks and stuff and the interaction between them and their trainers really is simply amazing.

Ooohhh, and they had some penguins too! I love penguins! They are the greatest animals *ever*! The way they kinda waddle around....the cute slapping noise their feet make on the ground...their silly and playful nature. I just cant help but adore them. lol, I could so just sit there for hours and watch them and be amazed and amused at their antics. I want one to take home with me and cuddle! hehe.

During the evening, we went and ate at a nice steakhouse called Angelo's (-smirks at whitney-) and then headed out for a magic show that was being held by one of the touring magicians.

Now...I'll write something here now that few may know about me. I use to be *big* into magic and illusions and sleight-of-hand. There was this one big phase that I went through where I was completely devoted to studying the craft. I read books on how to perform different card tricks...watched magic shows almost every evening...I studied the performers to see if I could figure out how they did their biggest illusions... I really was quite obsessed.

In the midst of it all was Mr. Gralapp. He was actually the one that kinda spurred one my infatuation with magic. We would spend hours discussing the latest tricks that I'd been working on...he'd help me to learn how I could perfect them and even taught me a few that he knew. I would come to school the next day and tell him of an illusion I'd seen on a show the night before and together we'd work through how it must have been staged in order for it to work. He helped introduce me to my favorite magician of all times - David Copperfield - by letting me know when one of his specials was coming on TV one night.

But...well, then he died...and quite frankly, magic just lost all its joy for me. There just wasnt a whole lot of point or fun to it anymore. I became really cinical with regards to it... Tricks that once could have held me mezmerized for hours just didn't really matter anymore because it was all just an illusion. Just a man on a stage with something up his sleeve. My "suspension of disbelief" was no longer and all I really had was the reality that had hit me so sharply. Magic had just sorta lost its...well...magic.

About five years later now, and this evening was my first magic show I've watched since Mr. Gralapp's death. Amazing, really. At first the thought of going to it made me feel a bit uncomfortable, though I couldn't quite put my finger on why... A closer observation of my subconscious mind revealed the above to me. I had unintentionally linked magic and illusionary with a very dark period of my life...and had not attempted to see it in any other light since that time.

However, despite my first feelings on the matter, the show was actually quite good. The guy that performed was sharp-witted and very amusing and would actually make a good stand-up comedian... He performed a few of the old-skool tricks that I'd long-since figure out...and even added a few into the mix of his own.

One trick he performed as the finale actually made me feel a bit teary-eyed... It was an old trick of David Copperfield's in which he made it snow throughout the entire theatre... It was the one illusion I'd never quite been able to figure out...and for the first time in very long, I didn't even try to figure it out. I simply allowed myself to sit back...and fall into that innocent "suspension of disbelief".

The show really was very well done and I think that Mr. Gralapp would have enjoyed seeing it... I know I would have enjoyed talking to him about it.

After the performance, we went to get some ice cream (as is tradition each night before heading back to the camp) and then upon arriving, we began to pack...heh, and here I now sit!

Tomorrow morning we will finally be going home! Woot! I am so going to catch up on so much sleep when I get home! lol.

But for now...I'm going to go read for a bit. I am finishing up HP hopefully rather quickly so I can start work on the Farseer Trilogy, which I'm rereading. I will attempt to post once we're home safe and sound...

...so, for now, this is Angela signing off from her final journal entry in the P.C.

Panama City - Day Four

2005-06-30T23:23:00.000-05:00

Well, children, as much as I truly do hate to do this...I'm going to have to go without writing yesterday's entry for right now. I know I promised an update on yesterday but...I'm actually very tired right now and heading towards bed. So, a Day Three post will come probably tomorrow...just not now.

Today was actually rather laid-back, all things considered. However, I think I've managed to come down with a small illness because the whole day I've felt sick and queasy. Not enough to be nauseated or stomach-cramped or anything...just kind of an overall "bleh" feeling. I spent most of the day curled up in bed watching TV with my sister or reading the HP book...oh, and I also got a ton of writing finished up on a post I've been meaning to get around to for several weeks now. Hah, despite feeling a little under-the-weather, my muse has been feeling just fine...in fact, she's been talking a million miles an hour as of late.

-sighs- The beach always manages to inspire my muse...

So I spent most of the day out of the sun...until time came around for the jazz concert. We headed over to the park where the band was playing and set up chairs there. The concert was wonderful! They played alot of smooth, mellow jazz and had a few singers with lovely, rich voices...and it was an all-in-all very enjoyable expierence. Just a chance to lay back and listen to some sweet rhythms while the sun set and made way for a beautiful expansion of dark skies, glistening with stars.

After the concert, we ran by TGI Friday's to eat and so now we're back and home and heading towards bed. I have a few things I want to check on before I go to sleep so I'm going to go on and call this entry to a close.

Heh, I promise to write more tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be feeling a little better then.

Panama City - Intermission

2005-06-30T00:21:00.000-05:00

Oi...I would love to post about all we did today, but we just got back home, its past midnight, and I'm actually feeling kinda 'bleh'. I think its from a lil bit of overexposure to the sun today. I got a great tan...but along with that came a burn along my upper arms, back, and face from where the sun was hitting me directly throughout the boat cruise. Its not a painful burn, per se (thank goodness!), but its the kind that's left me feeling rather sick and feverish. Heh, so Im gonna go rub some aloe vera on it and then curl up and go to sleep. Tomorrow morn I will post more of my adventures in the P.C. ... but until then - good night!

Panama City Day Two - Part 2

2005-06-28T21:58:00.000-05:00

Oi...well, its 10:00pm and I'm actually quite tired so I think I'm going to be making this post a bit quick.

Due to rain throughout most of the day, we spent most of the day in the pop-up at the campsite. This was good - I'd been wanting the chance to work on a template for Whitney's journal. She liked the Batman template so I decided to make her one with her favorite character - Scarecrow. You can see this template displayed right now on http://foggytemplates.blogspots.com . I think its actually one of my better works thus far. I'm really enjoying this template-making thing! :)

Apart from creating that new template, we went out and ate at a restraunt called Po'Folks and then went and checked on some of the prices and information on attractions around here. By the end of the day we'd decided that tomorrow we're going on a boat cruise (I am *so* excited about that!), Thursday we're going to the jazz concert, Friday we're going to the aquarium & then on Saturday we're heading home! In between all those activities we'll be hanging out at the beach and lounging at the campsite....a most lovely, relaxing vacation.

We just got back from getting ice cream at a small parlor near here. Mmm...I *love* Mint Chocolate Chip icecream! I could so live off of that!

Hmm...lets see...what else has happened...?

All in all its actually been a rather laid-back day...which has been good. Nothing too much to write about. Got a bit more in my HP book read...played around with a few ideas for some new templates...

Well, I can either ramble on on nothing for awhile or I can go on and pull this to a close...which is exactly what I think I'm going to do. Hah. I'm going to go on and turn in for the night now.

Later Dayz!

Panama City Day 2 - Part 1

2005-06-28T11:23:00.000-05:00

Woke up early this morning after a rather...bizarre dream.

I dreamed that our youth group was out on some kind of retreat and that Brent and I had gone off with one another to look about. While we were out, he got very quiet and shy and I asked him what was wrong. He kept trying to tell me, but it only embarassed him, so instead he showed me a note he and Neil had written back and forth to one another in church. On there it said:

- So, when are you going to tell her?
- I'm afraid to.
- You have to tell Angela that you like her.
- Fine.

So I looked up at Brent and smiled and said something along the lines of "So, I guess this means we're going out?" and he just smiled and shrugged, still looking rather shy, and we went off together holding hands.

The scene changed and we were going into the upstairs area of some large building, when I heard someone calling out my name. I turned around and was shocked to see David Williams running up the stairs behind us. The moment he reached the top stair, I threw myself into his arms, so happy to see him. Brent took a step away, clearly not pleased with this display of affection... I felt as though I would cry, I'd missed David so much, and when I looked down on my finger I saw that I was wearing a ring Brent had given me. Not wanting to have David know that I was dating someone and break his heart, I slipped the ring off and as we pulled apart, I pocketed it.

He looked at me thoughtfully for a moment and then said "You know, Angela, sometimes people come into our lives...and we find ourselves wishing that they never had. Maybe then we would be spared our pain."

I knew exactly what he was talking about and could only nod, beginning to tear up. He just smiled sadly and stepped away. I glanced over to where Brent was waiting and when I turned back, David had turned and walked away - knowing we could never be together.

I moved to follow after Brent and slid the ring back onto my finger... When I awoke, I realized that I had taken my claddaugh that I wear and turned it into the upright "taken" position in my sleep.

So, anyways... This morning it was raining kinda bad so I decided to hop on the computer and upload a couple of new songs onto my player. While doing thus, I began working on an idea for a new template that I think I'm going to start pulling together soon. Probably wont be used on here, but I can at least put it on blogskins.com for anyone that wants to use it.

After doing thus, I decided to go for a walk around the camp a bit. The rain had softened a bit and the puddles of water were already warmed by the morning sun as I walked through them barefoot. There was this amazingly sweet scent in the air that smelled alot like mangos...or some other such tropical fruit. The animals in the zoo were all quiet and everything was just so peaceful...and still... Absolutely wonderful.

Now comes the afternoon and the time for deciding what we'll be doing for the day. I think there was talk of going to the mall for awhile since its still raining a bit. Someone also mentioned going to the aquarium. On Thursday we'll be going to a Jazz concert which is going to be alot of fun! But until that point, I think I'm going to lounge around a bit and just be lazy.

Shall write more later.

Panama City - Day 1

2005-06-27T18:32:00.000-05:00

Well then, its about 6:30 right now and I am in Panama City doing the family vacation thing.

So far, its been a good trip. We got here within a reasonable amount of time without too much traffic along the way to stop us. I'm rereading the last Harry Potter book so that I can remember what all happened when I go to read the new one. (Amy and I went and reserved our copy yesterday! -winks- Who's up for the Harry Potter celebration at Books-A-Million? hehe)

So yesterday evening I decided to just give in to my wants and get me an Ipod. Unfortunately the Apple Ipod seemed to hate my Windows laptop (" that's wotcha call ironic...") so I had to take it back to Best Buys this morning and exchange it for a more Windows-friendly mp3 player. However, I'm not upset. The one I got is actually alot more spiffy then that Ipod. It has a colored screen and one GB more space for my music. It also has the ability to download and view pictures and create slideshows with your pictures. So I'm very pleased with the purchase! Right now I'm sitting here swooning away to my Batman Begins soundtrack on it.

(Yes, yes, David, I know you said I should wait on getting a player...but hey, we all gotta splurge sometime, right? hehe, just be kind and dont say "I told you so" when I come whining to you about having no college money. -winks- )

Oi, okay, so the past several years that we've come to Panama City, we've traditionally stayed at this little campsite called Pine Glen. But this year they decided that teenagers were no longer allowed so we couldnt go there...so instead we're at this new campground named Emerald Coast. It's a nice place, all and all...perhaps a bit more "ritzy" then I usually prefer my campgrounds...but its managable.

There's alot of pavement though...that kind of annoys me. When I go camping, I want to have the "nature feel" to sink into. I mean, i know being in a pop-up isnt exactly "roughing it" (I mean, Im on wireless, for goodness sakes!)...but, you know, its just kinda nice to sneak away and hide amongst some foresty area and just write for a bit. Nothing like that around here though... Closest thing to that around here is some decorative palm trees.

Ugh, and perhaps the worst thing about this new spot is that we're right next door to the zoo. Now, the first few times I heard the tiger growl...and the parrots start squawking up a storm...and the monkeys "hooping and hollering"...it was kinda cool. Having it carrying on for near three hours now? Yeah...not so much a fan.

Especially considering just on the other side of our gate is the howler monkeys. Do you guys know how loud howler monkeys are...? Very...*very*...loud!

I'm just praying they all have a reasonable bedtime. This is going to give me a headache!

But other than those two elements, its really a nice place...and we'll probably be spending most of our time out at the beach anyways. Today has been our day to lounge around the campsite. Which has been nice. I already have a notebook out that I've been writing in. Couple of vignettes from Kain...some letters to a few people...some ideas for some template designs... Being out in nature definitely manages to spark my muse.

Being on the beach even moreso. I cant wait till tomorrow. Just lay out on the beach...hear the rolling of the waves along the shore...soak in the warmth of the sun... -sighs- Yeah, its nice.

Hah, but you wont catch me *in* the water. I had a terrible expierence as a child. Got caught by a Man-Of-War. I thought it was a plastic bag so I swam out to pick it up...but when I got too close, it wrapped its tentacles all the way around my legs several times. A wave washed it up on me so that I was entangled with it for quite awhile. It hurt like woah! Heh, so since then I've not been too keen on the beach water...

But you should see me build a sandcastle! -grins-

In other news...eleven days till Whitney moves to Mobile. Wow. That right there is ridiculously heavy! Like her, I have mixed emotions on the situation...excitement, fear, curiosity, eagerness, anxiety, wonder, apprehensiveness, happiness... It's going to open up such a whole new world for the two of us...and its going to prove to be such a difference in our relationship. I really think it's going to wind up being one heck of an expierence.

But anyways...I have a bit of a headache right now so I think I'm going to go take me some Advil, curl up with my Batman soundtrack, and just rest for a bit. (Hmm...maybe get me some food...curse hypoglycemia!)

I shall continue to post throughout my adventure so I can keep everyone up to heel on whats going on! I think I'm going to do a bit of "sprucing up" around the journal as well so stay tuned for those updates. Dont forget that my tagboard is under "Communications" now so be sure to check that out and leave me a note! Oh, and you can also sign up for my Bloglet to keep you updated on when I post in my journal!

I'm finally back and ready to write!

New Template

2005-06-26T08:31:00.000-05:00

Testing of the new template... I'm actually rather pleased with how well it turned out. Still have some fixes here and there to make on it (the text on some parts is still in black) but for right now I must be heading out...

(psst...click on the bats below to be taken to different areas of my page ;) )

More later! Panama City Vacation next week!

2005-06-13T19:36:00.000-05:00

Current mood: excited
Current music: "This Moment" - Wicked

Hah, well, the "tropical storm" that we were suppose to have fizzled out and turned into being little more at all then a bit of wind and rain. Seriously, I've seen some afternoon showers that packed more force than this little bluster did...

Not that I'm complaining, mind you! I mean, after Ivan last year (wow…has it really been a year?!) I'll be content not to see another hurricane for a little while... But it just frustrates me when the weather people get you all riled up and anxious and prepared for this big, monster storm....and then you get nothing! All that energy and anticipation and worry becoming nothing more than just wasted energy.

But, ah well...like I said, I’m not complaining. The hurricane season has only just begun so the promise of a big storm is in the waiting.

Right now I am composing this entry on my laptop as we drive down the rode on the way to Pensacola to pick Amy & Dad up from the airport. They've been up in the Spokane, WA area for the past two weeks working with a team to help build a new church up in that area. Amy has had a good time, but I'm gonna be glad to get her back at home with me. Hah, I miss havin' my lil girl there to talk to.

Oi, she is going to be exhausted though... She has twenty-four hours to rest and get all her laundry done and stuff like that...and then she's heading out with our youth group to Atlanta Fest. Hah, poor thing is going to be exhausted!

I am excited about AtlantaFest. Thousand Foot Krutch will be playing this year! I really wish Relient K was coming back...but TFK is going to be incredible! I cannot *wait*!

Agh, and all the roller coasters I am going to ride! I'm already making plans to make Whitney a coaster-addict! Mwahaha. Actually, no, not just Whitney...I have a whole group of coaster-newbies that I need to convert to the dark side! Already I'm getting my checklist ready. Not a single roller coaster will go missed by me! They cannot build them too high or too fast or too scary for me! I will take on anything you throw at me!

...-cowers- Except a haunted house...I don't like things jumping out at me...

But that’s not a roller coaster so it doesn't count!

Well, let's see then…in other news, Michael Jackson has been acquitted. Go figure. Mom & I actually turned off Gilmore Girls to watch the news as the verdict came in... I really don't have any big opinions on it one way or another... I just think that all celebrity trials are nothing but garbage. I mean, just look at the OJ trial... It's just ridiculous. I think the whole thing got way more publicity then it should have. I mean, we have men over in Iraq dying nearly every day...and here we are concerned over whether a star is going to get off jail.

Whatever.

However, the whole OJ trial did lead to some interesting speeches in speech class. -grins and winks at Whitney-

Well, I have a post that I need to finish writing so I think I am going to head out and work on that for a bit. I will be taking my laptop with me to Atlanta so I should be able to keep things updated from there. -nods- So watch for that.
Anyways, I'm out now. Oh, if anyone else gets a bloglet thing on their journal, let me know! I would love to stay up to date on everyone elses journals and I will sign up for anyones that has one! -grins-

2005-06-11T11:26:00.000-05:00

current mood: cold
current music: "Journey On" - Ragtime

Well then...here I am again... After having taken a rather lengthy stay away from my journal, it looks like its about time to start posting again. People have been asking about it a bit more as of late, asking when I plan on updating again and such like that... Heh, so, I guess with enough encouragement, here I am - back again!

Perhaps one of the biggest happenings as of late comes from the crash of the Ezboard system... As most people know, I take part in several different writing boards online at Ezboards and have been writing on them for nearly two years now. Well, last Tuesday, some hacker managed to get into the system and destroy alot of their data. This destroyed all of the boards and erased nearly all of the writing that had been put upon them.

In one fatal swoop, two years worth of my writing was gone...

It was really, really hard to see that happen... And not just because it was *my* writing...but because it was my writing with fellow authors that have come to mean alot to me. Eric & I lost almost all of our threads with each other... A few of the threads I had with David were deleted...some with Josh... All the wonderful stories that we'd managed to weave were just gone! And of course I never saw such a happening occuring and so I'd not even thought to back up my work. Oi! Last time I do that one.

However, in light of dark news, Eric stayed up nearly the entire night one evening after he found a way to run a google search and draw some of our threads from out of the cache. He went through anything he could find and salvaged what bit that he could. Along with it, he found almost all of our threads together...with the exception of the two really important ones that we wanted back. :p

But then, hey, something is better than nothing at all, right?

And even as I write, Ezboards is still attempting to run its back-up data back out into the system...so we may yet be able to salvage some of our lost writing. I'm just holding out hope on that one.

Hmm...well, let's see...in other news, I managed to procure a gorgeous dress the other day from Goodwill for only 25 dollars! I snagged a few pictures of it to show it off that you can see here: http://photobucket.com/albums/y121/museofthemusic/Gown%20for%20the%20Opera

Hah, now I just need an opera to actually wear it to!

Well, we will soon be hit by our first tropical storm of the hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arlene... Already we're under hurricane and tornado warnings as they think it might increase in speed and strength as it comes out over the warm gulf waters. It's suppose to hit ashore within the hour so right now we're expierencing that eerie "calm before the storm". We shall see though...I'm not too terribly concerned over it quite yet. After going through Ivan, this will seem like nothing but a simple bluster.

All that said, I do believe I am going to head out. Look for updates in the near future... I'm hoping to get back into the habit of writing on here once more. I'm also going to design another layout. I like this one, but its better to be used by people that dont have alot of links and such like I have on the left. I need something with a bit more room. -nods-

But we shall see what I can come up with.

Until next I write though...heh, have a lovely day...

2005-05-25T10:47:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! I just signed up with a site called Bloglet - basically it allows you to type in your email address, and it will alert you of when I have updated my blog. That way you dont have to check back on it all the time. ;)

Everybody should get one of these! I would so sign up for all of them. I get so bad about staying up to date on people's blogs. I just forget to check! But this would help remind me. hehe.

So subscribe to my new bloglet and stay up to date! :D

2005-05-24T11:31:00.000-05:00

Well, this is my first trial run of the new design. I'm still working on making it "perfect" so hang in there with me while I play with and tweak some things...

If you have any suggestions, feel free to voice them! :)

2005-05-24T10:10:00.000-05:00

I got the horizontal scrollbars on my design figured out! -dances about happily-

Hopefully I'll be uploading it to this site soon. :)

2005-05-24T09:20:00.000-05:00

So I've been playing around the past couple of days with a couple of ideas for some new journal designs and templates that I want to create. One of them worked out fairly well (considering it was my first attempt at designing a template fully from scratch) but the other one...agh, its just giving me a hassle! I cant seem to get rid of these lil horizontal scrollbar thingies! (check out my "testing" site http://foggytemplates.blogspot.com and you'll see what I mean.

Ah well... I may just scrap that design and start over again. We'll see. I keep hoping I can figure out some way around it because I kinda like the layout itself.

Anyways...the last couple of days have been fairly busy. David & I have started writing again and we have a huge plotline in the works that we're playing with a bit. It should be interesting to see how far it goes...because technically, if we can play our cards right, then we will be able to practically control the board. -insert shifty eyes here-

Scott's trying to join up on LoD again...and I think he's going to be able to accomplish that. Only thing is, most of the staff wants him to create a whole new character. -shrugs- we'll see how that goes over, I guess...

But in non-board/writing-related news, I am beginning to very much understand what it means to be a "broke college student". I am working like crazy trying to raise enough money for the coming fall college semester...and with having to pay for a dorm room as well, its just getting ridiculously pricey! I really dont know if I'll be able to pay it off. I've tried for scholarships/grants/financial aid...but I just cant seem to be able to get any! I am working two part time jobs now and am actually playing with the thought of getting a third...but that would just stress me to no end!

Plus, I wouldn't have enough time to write anymore...not happening!

So if anyone knows of any sure-fire "money making" ideas, I sure would be open to them! I am in desperate need.

blah...financial difficulties suck...

Anyways, I'm at work right now so I must be off. I wil write more later on. -nods-

Later dayz!

2005-05-19T22:22:00.000-05:00

Angela: Well, everyone, I have a special guest here with me tonight... Amy has so kindly volunteered to assist me in the writing of this journal entry, as I seem to be having a bit of difficulty with my muse. So, Amy, go on and say hello...and we'll get this thing started off...

Amy: Hello my freaky darlings...this is wicked!!

Angela: Alright, now that everyone is acquainted...Let's get this party started.

(Warning: possible spoilers ahead... consider yourself forewarned!)
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Last night was an absolutely crazy night! We got to the theatre at about 10:30 and already it was quite full. There were people standing all out in the lobby air milling about. One guy was in full Darth Vader costume - a very sexy look....until he removed his helmet and I realized there was a really ugly dork guy underneath. -sighs and shakes her head- Should have kept the helmet on...

With all the guys running about in cloaks and robes, it made me wonder why on earth guys dont choose this style as something to wear more often! There was not a guy there last night that didn't look absolutely stunning in his cloak/robe. They even seemed to have a different way of walking...a bit taller...with a more regal baring. Yes, guys should *definitely* choose to wear them more often.

Amy:The lobby was most definatly crowded.Some of us were siting on the floor chillin,talkin,and rubbing one anothers shoulders. (Chris is a good back massager)
We final got into the theater..I total agree with Angel on how hot the guys looked in there robes/cloaks::drools: I wish guys would always were those.

There were so many people get upset because they were 23 minutes late showing the movie and then it kept shutting of ever ten minutes.

Angela: Ugh! Yes, that was annoying! The movie was suppose to start at 12:00....it finally started just a bit after 12:30 or something like that...but even then it kept shutting off during the trailers. Then, even when the movie finally started, it shut off again about thirty minutes into it. -laughs- I thought there was gonna be a riot right there in the theatre! It was getting crazy! I think the movie finally started sometime around...2:00? Yeah, it was crazy.

Amy:Well Jake and Jacob sure were all for a riot. :laughs: There was also some other very upset fans that were leaving or yelling at the screen. I thought Jake was about to start a riot when he started to yell and other joined in on the yelling.

Angela: Oi...Jake was killing me. That is one ADD kid...but the guys next to him were kinda cute.... Okay! Enough about the cute guys!

Amy: NEVER YOU CAN'T TAKE THEM AWAY FRM ME ::sobs in corner::

Angela: -...eyes Amy...-Moving on to the movie itself now...

That was probably my favorite of the prequels. It was very dark...and to quote from an earlier conversation, it left me feeling very "threatened and uncomfortable". The dialogue was very poorly written in some parts...and the acting was horrid in others...but the movie as a whole was very well done! Probably the best (and most heartbreaking) scene in the whole thing was the killing of the Jedi... Oh man, I really did want to cry. Especially when Anakin killed all the padawans...and when Yoda was expierencing all of their deaths... Oh man, that whole scene was so sad..and so beautifully done! Sheer artisticness! Amazing music... Everything about it left me in awe...and horror....

Amy: I did cry!! ::laughs::Yeah that was very sad. I really just wanted to jump in the movie and slap Anakin really hard!! But he did all of that for Padma and then he try to kill her!!Word freak much...I also thought the part with the twins being seperated was so sad.::tear,tear,cry
cry::
It was very scary in some parts.It make you just think about certain things when all off the Jedi,s die.It made you wonder how Anakin felt about all the people he kills...did he care?
I really feel sorry for him because he lost everything but it was his fault.(cought,jerk,cough,cough)Obi-Wan is cute.(Hahah I am talking about the cute guys again)

Angela: Oh man, Obi Wan *was* cute.....agh! No! We're not gonna do this! -smacks Amy-

Amy: -falls off bed-Well that wasn,t called for!You started it!!-throws pillow at Angel-

Angela: -glares at Amy- I dont think I was very much a fan of Mace Windu's death. All in all it was just too overdramatic... Agh! And I kept wanting to see a "ghostly QuiGon" being reunited with ObiWan! I mean, Yoda even talked about him and everything! Lucas, you horrid tease!!

Amy: Oi,with the poodles!!
I agree it really stunk bad!! Well since you mentioned QuiGon...just joking! Ok we are of the hot guy topic! :sobs:

Angela: -perks up- Oh, no wait, we can talk about Qui Gon!

Amy: I swear when the movie when off the last time and then Jake started to scream..I am not trying to be mean but,I wanted to throw Jake threw the screen. I was really happy when Yoda said that QuiGon hade defeated death and all that jazz! Did you see Obi? He was so happy.
(Awwww)It was so sweet! love Obi-Wan.He is so kewl!!

Well I loved the movie!!But it was sorta hard to follow when it went off every ten minutes!!::growls::

Angela: Yeah, but after those first few minutes they got it fixed and it was all good...no big. But anyways....yes, definitely a great movie. I need to go see it again. Beautiful lightsaber fights! I especially loved it when the glass window shattered.. Oh, and Yoda battling with Palpatine in the Senate Chambers was a very nice touch... Heh, and I couldn't help but love Padme's line about liberty dying amidst applause.

-sighs- It was so nice to see all the threads finally pulled all together as one. I did hope they were going to play up the ObiWan/Padme idea a bit more in sort of an "Othello" kind of way with Palpatine playing Iago...but I guess it worked out all good in the end.

wooh, I am just glad that it's all over with now. We have finally seen all the Star Wars!

Unless Lucas plays an idiot and decides to make the sequel trilogy... :-P

Ah, but now its time to go to bed. I am so sleepy! Say goodnight, Amy.

Amy: Good night, Amy! -throws a pillow at Angela for good measure-

Angela: -uses the Force to propel the pillow back at her- Bye everyone!

(no subject)

2005-05-19T20:42:00.000-05:00

Wow...today has been a signifigantly blah day...

I hate the fact that my second "return to the journal" post is going to be a "bleh" kind of post...but, man, today has been rough! More likely than not it was because I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night (about three hours worth) so that automatically makes me ten times more irritable and emotional than usual...but, still, it's just been a crappy day.

I have lots to say on the Star Wars movie...but that will come a bit later when I feel a bit more up to typing through it all.

Well, woke up really early this morning to go to work at PCMac. I was already suffering from a really bad headache (usually a sure sign that I need to eat something), but I just ignored it as best I could, drank some herbal tea to help calm it and went about my work. The hours I had to work seemed somewhat longer than usual, and I had a ton to get accomplished but my mind just didn't want to focus in on anything. That got really frustrating.

After getting off work at 12:30, I went up to the Attik to get things cleaned a bit from last night and work on the webpage. Again, still had a bad headache, but decided to wait on Melanie before going to eat anything...

3:00 rolled around and still hadn't heard anything from Melanie so I'd still not eaten anything... So, in a very, very stupid move on my part, I decided I would just not even bother with it. I was rather caught up in the webpage I was working on, so I didn't feel like going and getting anything. Plus, I was in a bit of a "mood" so I'd kinda lost my appetite... Besides, dinner was gonna be in about another 3 hours so I figured I could wade it out.

Bad, bad, bad idea...

My blood sugar does uber insanely crazy things when I don't eat - and though I'd tried to push aside the bad feelings I was having throughout the day, they suddenly all caught up to me. In a matter of five minutes, I began to feel completely faint, nauseated, weak and trembling all over. I truly felt like I was going to simply black out if I went any further. I couldn't form sentences in my mind...I couldn't understand what it was that Shane was typing to me over AIM...I could barely even stand up without swaying on my feet.

It was probably one of the worst spells of hypoglycemia I have had...ever...

So I texted Soupie (which was surprisingly difficult considering my hands were shaking like woah) and told him that I had to head home before I wasn't able to even drive (which, technically, again was a bad idea since I was *already* unfit to drive). So I headed out and got about half way home when I started to have my vision blur a bit and black in and out along the edges. I decided I couldn't risk driving any further without food.

So I drove into the closest thing (a Burger King) and picked up a small kid's meal. Since they had Star Wars toys, I thought that would at least cheer me up....but unfortunately, when I looked in my bag I found a most horrid Jabba the Hutt toy.

Somehow that made my day ironically complete. (No, seriously, it's not all that bad...I've been laughing about it since then.)

So...yeah...after I got home, I collapsed on the couch and managed to eat my food while watching Gilmore Girls. A hot shower, phone call from Josh and a pack of SnowCaps later, I was feeling a lot better...

So here I am now...and now having written all that out, I really am feeling a lot better. Being hypoglycemic is not fun in the least bit...but, then, like I told Soupie, at least you'll never have to worry about me going anorexic.

So now that I've gotten all my whining and crying and frustrations out...I do believe I am in a good enough mood to write about our evening last night at the theatre...

-goes off to write her next post...because last night deserves a post of its own!-