I heard the people sing

I feel as though I failed all five (I flatter myself) of you who might actually be reading this. I know you have all been sitting, waiting anxiously to hear what I thought about the movie adaptation of Les Miserables. Well, wait no longer because I am here to let you know what I thought!

Contrary to what most theatre-fan type people are saying, I actually liked it. I mean, it definitely had it's faults, but . For one, Russell Crowe wasn't a the best choice for Javert. When the announcement was made that he would be playing this iconic part, I had my doubts. I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised, but my doubts unfortunately were confirmed. His singing was...okay, and okay just isn't good enough when everyone else is great, and in some cases incredible. I felt as though his mediocre singing made him a less than effective villain.
Hugh Jackman was a wonderful Jean Valjean, Anne Hathaway's Fantine was emotional and raw, Amanda Seyfried pulled her own as Cosette, and Eddie Redmayne didn't make me hate Marius, like, hardly at all. Samantha Barks was just as wonderful as Eponine on the big screen as she was in the 25th anniversary concert. However, I am still having a hard time with the placement of everyone's favorite song of unrequited love: On My Own. I just feel that without the scenes that surround the song in it's original context, Eponine's character was not portrayed in quite the same way. The film makes her seem less lovelorn, and more masochistic. Instead of dying because of her loyalty and devotion to Marius, she dies from a self-inflicted wound stemming from an ill-fated attempt to get Marius's attention. Tragic.
And then there's Aaron. Enjolras. My favorite. He was wonderful, of course. Perfect, really. He led those hipster school boys to, well, to their deaths...but his heart was in the right place, and when he dangled out that window, he dangled for freedom!
Les Mis is just such a touching story, told through beautiful music (which, if you haven't heard, was sung live on camera. By the actors. Which is apparently a big deal even though theatre actors do this for eight shows a week.)
By the end of the movie I was in tears, and judging by the amount of sniffling in the theatre, I wasn't the only one. But, in order to add a little light heartedness to what can be a pretty weighty and heavy story, I give you a bit of humor:

It's the perfect blendship!!

Best friends + Lunch + Shopping + Coffee + More shopping + Pizza (& cheesy bread) + At home-spa night + Mani/pedis + Drinks + Chick flicks + Giggles + Brunch + Celebrity sighting + Antiquing = Perfect weekend!

I got to visit two of my 'fristers' (friend+sister) this weekend. I haven't seen the girls since October, so this visit was long overdue!! It was like college all over again (in a good way). After a quick stop at her lab, Kathy took us to a giant mall...where she tested our shopping stamina (Kathy's shopping skills cannot be matched). After mall walking (which was good training for my 5k!) we decided to stay in for the night. We ordered a pizza and we were all in jammies by 7:30! We had an old-fashioned, no-boys-allowed slumber party...just like the old days!

This morning, we drove to downtown Orange for brunch, and there just happened to be a car show happening. It was like stepping into a time machine! And of course, no Southern California experience would be complete without a celebrity sighting! We noticed Milo Ventimiglia (Jess from Gilmore Girls) checking all the cool old cars.

At first we thought it was just a hipster taking pictures...then we realized it was a famous hipster. We didn't want to bother him...but I kinda wanted to. First, seeing celebrities is still kind of a big deal for me. I am from the central valley, we don't have many celebrities in these parts. Second, Gilmore Girls was what these girls and I bonded over all those years ago in the Freshman dorms at CLU!! In part, we owe our friendship to that show!

I just love that even though we spend a lot of time apart, we always pick up right where we left off when we get back together!!

Today I decided...

to go back to school...
Okay, traffic school. For that ticket I got back in June.
I signed up for an online course, and it's a good thing there weren't any cops in my house cause I sped through that at approximately 82 miles an hour (the speed that got me the ticket in the first place). College really honed my skimming skills, and what my mom predicted would take all day took me all of 45 minutes...

Back when I got my little citation and traffic school was given as an option to erase this transgression from my permanent record, mom was keen to send me to an in-class traffic school..."maybe you'll meet someone" was her justification.
Which means I would have to plan a cute outfit, because as a friend of mine says (and my mother would agree) "you never know when you're going to meet your husband" which is a really lame way to go through life, but it seems as if that's everyone's concern for my life right now (especially my mother)
Wednesday I went to the store with my mom and we were talking about the Middle School Gathering I just got back from, and she actually asked if there were "any single, male youth directors there"...because I have time to check that out while I'm busy wrangling nine 6th-8th graders.
But seriously, this is her favorite question. My first summer at camp she was all "did you meet any nice boys?" Which, yeah-they guys at camp were nice...they were also like brothers after the summer, which y'know, is gross.
Last night we were talking about this hipster long-term sub at my dad's school (mostly because my sister and I think it's funny that hipsters exist in Tulare) and my mom was all "is he single?" (The answer, in case you were all wondering-is no. He has a girlfriend in Spain...because, as a hipster, he spent time there after college).

So I decided that I'm going to make up an imaginary boyfriend to get my mother (and the rest of my family this Christmas) off my case. I think I'll call him 'Drew' and tell everyone I met him at that 'singles Bible study' my mom is always telling me to go to...I already know what I want my ideal guy to be like, so making up a personality shouldn't be difficult...that should keep them off my back for a while.

"Along the Way"

Yes, it is a quarter to 1. In the A M. No, I don't have tomorrow off from work. What I DO have however, (besides insomnia) is a new imaginary boyfriend.
Dear reader(s), I would like to introduce you to Aaron Tveit!!

Seriously...I can't stop watching this.
He is way too adorable. And I realize I am gushing like a 12 year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert.
It started about a year ago as a 'voice-crush'. I get these quite often, because I listen to a lot of Broadway Cast albums. I was voice-crushing hardcore listening to the Next to Normal soundtrack without ever having seen his face. That's the beauty of the voice-crush. Faces are unnecessary.
But wait...there's more!
I was watching an episode of Ugly Betty and there was this totally adorable (in a nerdy, hipster way) playwright character. I was in face-crush mode with out knowing the name of said hipster playwright. Roll credits. Seriously. That voice belongs to that face.
Voice-crush + face-crush = yes, I am that shallow.
Then I came across this video today. I am past face-crush mode. I am past voice-crush mode. Enter imaginary boyfriend mode.
And as it turns out, Aaron has a pretty impressive theatrical resume. In addition to originating the role of Gabe in Next to Normal, he as also been a dreamy Link Larkin, a super yummy Fiyero, previewed the role of Frank Abagnale Jr.* (charmingly, of course), and recently rocked out as Roger in the Hollywood Bowl adaptation of Rent. (Alliteration alert on that last one.)
That being said, can you really blame me? How many straight 27-year-olds are there on Broadway? Especially with voices and faces like that?
(I know my sister will totally criticize me for this. She's always on my case about my delusional celebrity boy-crushes. But real boys kinda suck)

*Catch Me If You Can, The Musical workshopped/previewed in Seattle summer 2009. It is currently being nipped, tucked and tweaked for a planned Broadway opening for Spring 2011. Aaron has already signed on to reprise his role. I am already looking at plane tickets to get me there.