Day 14- I Dreamed a Dreamed

Day 8 – A song to match your mood. 
Day 9 – Something you are proud of. 
Day 10 – A photo of your favorite place to eat. 
Day 11 – A photo from high school? 
Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in. 


I'm skipping day 13 because I feel like. And it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to! ...wait what?


Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to. 
Titile- Originally it's from Les Mis (duh.) But gLee does a version of it that is fantastic. My favorite version of the song ever recorded. 


So. Here's the thing. I don't watch TV. I don't have a TV. I don't even like TV. But I do love gLee. And yes, I know. It's cheesy and predictable and whatever. But I love it none the less. The thing that I love about gLee is that the creators of the show KNOW that gLee is cheesy and predictable and whatever. The humor is all tongue and cheek and sarcastic and just my style. And I don't care if it promotes teen sexuality and drinking and whatever. To me, it is just plain fun. And that's all that matters. So. I'm a gLeek. Get over it.  

Tanka 3/30/11

Lying in the dark
This room's emptiness returns.
A sharp reminder.
My darkest of nights were spent
Buried between these grave sheets.

Day 12- How To Return Home

Day 7 – Your dream wedding. 
Day 8 – A song to match your mood. 
Day 9 – Something you are proud of. 
Day 10 – A photo of your favorite place to eat. 
Day 11 – A photo from high school? 



Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in.
Title- How To Return Home from my new favorite album Our First Mistake by Kerrigan-Lowdermilk. I chose this song because it's all about returning home after being away to school. And this blog is about the town I live in. And since I live in two, I thought it was appropriate. 

Price is the town I live in during school. I like it for the most part. I love the down town area. It's small and old and I just love the atmosphere. The only downer about the area is that it's small and it is an hours drive through a canyon to the nearest city so there isn't a lot of entertainment options, especially since nothing, including Wal Mart, is open 24/7.

Tooele is where my family lives and where I grew up. I still do, and always will, consider it home. I love the area so much! It is considerably larger than Prce. It has most of your average entertainment options, but if you get bored , it's only a thirty minute drive from SLC. As you can see it is simply a beautiful place. You can see, but not smell the great salt lake from most places in town and the sunsets are to die for. Also, what I love about Tooele is that from basically anywhere in town, an American Flag is visible. I love home. I'm definitely proud of where I come from. :]

Day 11- Five Minutes to Midnight

Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet. 
Day 7 – Your dream wedding. 
Day 8 – A song to match your mood. 
Day 9 – Something you are proud of. 
Day 10 – A photo of your favorite place to eat. 




Day 11 – A photo from high school.
Title- Five Minutes to Midnight by Boys Like Girls because it always reminds me of high school. :D




So, as I was looking through some pictures from high school, I found three that stood out to me, and I couldn't decide which one to choose! So i gave up and decided to post all three. So here goes!

This is my senior year during my last play in high school with my good pal Zach. We are posing with a mannequin that always stood in the men's dressing room. We named her chastity. What devious boys we were! Fun times!

My junior year a bunch of friends and I went to Monster Mash dressed as the Wizard of Oz! I was Toto, my date Brittany was Dorothy. This was one of the best dances I went to and one of the best dates I went on. So much fun!
MMOCHO FOREVER!!!!!

Definitely one of my very favorite pics from HS. Me and my two best friends Donovan and Zach. This is right after closing night of Joseph my Junior year. The last time the three of us were ever in a play together. Great memories. :]

Day 10- "McDonalds Girl"

Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.
Day 7 – Your dream wedding.
Day 8 – A song to match your mood.
Day 9 – Something you are proud of.

Day 10 – A photo of your favorite place to eat.
Title- McDonalds Girl is a hilarious song! It's been recorded by a handful of different people. I thought this song was appropriate for this post. :]

It wouln't take you very long after getting to know me for one to learn that I am definitely a fast food junkie. I'd probably much rather have a burger and fries than most anything in this world. But this fast food restaurant in Tooele has to be my favorite. Dairy Delight is a locally owned and operated burger joint that has the best burgers and soda you'll ever eat. My family and I have been going since I was just a wee lad. There probably hasn't been a week or two since I was a child that we didn't go there. This is probably a huge reason why I love it so much. There are so many family memories in that building. The operators of the store have become really really good family friends over the years. They have even given me a job. I worked the counter, fryer and grill of Dairy Delight for the better part of my high school and some of my college years. Thankfully, working there hasn't diminished my love for the food. :]

Day 9- Stand Out

Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend. 
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago. 
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet. 
Day 7 – Your dream wedding. 
Day 8 – A song to match your mood.


Day 9 - Something you are proud of.
Title- Stand Out is from A Goofy Movie. I really fell in love with this song while I was in high school. One of my closest friend's says it still reminds her of me whenever she hears it. The reason I chose it today is because the things that I am proud of, I feel like stood out amongst the other things that I've accomplished in my life. 


When thinking about the things in my life that I am proud, acting, of course, pops up first in my head. I am honestly really proud of a lot of the plays that I have performed in. The reason that I chose these in particular is because I feel like I had to do a lot of work in order to accomplish them. These weren't plays that audiences liked more than others. These were plays that were all challenging pieces, and I feel like I rose to the occasion.

 Dead Man's Cell Phone was a really fun piece. I got to drop the F bomb a few times, I had a hot costume, and I got to work with an awesome cast. The play is a really weird, abstract piece that was challenging on many levels. But I think the cast pulled it off. I was dead, eyes open and sitting straight up in a chair for the first fifteen minutes of the play (uncomfortable!), I had to memorize a nine page monologue, and I had to create a character completely different than me (arrogant, charming and good looking. Way far from me, I know. ;] )

1776 was a challenge vocally and character wise. The song I had to sing was difficult. It was emotional as well as strenuous on my voice. I also had a lot of physicality during the song, as you can tell. I was exhausted every night, but it felt good. It was a challenge character wise because my character had motivations and ideas that I simply disagreed with. The major scene I was in focused on slavery. And my character fought, and won, to keep slavery constitutional and legal. Talk about controversial! I loved this piece because I got to take the audiences breath away every night. I never got applause after my song because the audience was stunned into silence. It felt incredible! Also, my costume was the most beautiful on stage. Which is always a plus.

Endgame is an absurdist piece in which I played an ANCIENT man, with no legs, who lived in a trashcan. Pretty out there, and that isn't even the half of it. When I first read the piece, I literally HATED it. I didn't understand it, and I new the audiences wouldn't either. This was definitely a challenge. I spent the entire show in a trashcan, and had to speak in an old Irish brogue. I can honestly say that this play made me a much better actor. Because I was confined to the can, I had to focus on creating emotion with my face and voice. By the end of the second week of rehearsals, my entire opinion of the play (and of absurdism in general) changed. I ended up loving the piece and, surprisingly, most of the audiences did too. It became one of the best theatrical experiences of my life. 


Among others, these roles shaped who I am as an artist. And I am looking forward to dozens of more roles just like them that will help me grow and become an awesome actor.


-mikey- 

Day 8- "Friday"

Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.
Day 7 – Your dream wedding.

Day 8 – A song to match your mood.

Today i chose Friday by Rebecca Black, possibly the worst song in the history of bad songs. Why, then would I choose it to match my mood? Because it is my guess that if you listened to this catchy little number, by the end of minute 2 you would feel just as annoyed as I do right now.

It is a little after 8:00 am. After being up until four this morning, blogging and watching Gaga interviews, Michael Scott Johnson was nestled comfortably in his nice warm bed. The fan was blowing lightly on his face and the morning sun was just beginning to shine through the cracks in his blinds. It was the kind of sleep when one feels incredibly heavy, but in a comfortable sort of SCREETCH. SCREETCH. SCREETCH. SCREETCH.

..what the... really?

SCREETCH. SCREETCH. SCREETCH. SCREETCH.

...this better be one F***ING awesome fire.

SCREETCH. SCREETCH. SCREETCH. SCREETCH.

...maybe if I just go back to sleep it will--

SCREETCH. SCREETCH. SCREETCH. SCREETCH.

...awesome.

Don't you just love living on campus when you HAVE to get out of the building when the fire alarm goes off or you get a fine of over $200?

Yeah. Me too. fml.


-mikey-

Day 7- Raise Your Glass

Day 2 – Tell us about your job. 
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date. 
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend. 
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago. 
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet. 



Day 7 – Your dream wedding.
Title- Just cause it's my theme song. I love it. 

I admit that I've been avoiding this blog. In fact I honestly considered just skipping it, kind of like I skipped class the day we were discussing the issue in my National Government class. But in the end I thought "what the hell?" If I can't blog about something personal, and at times painful, then I shouldn't be able to blog at all.


The truth is that marriage is an incredibly difficult thing for me to think about, much less write about. And it isn't because it isn't legal (yet). There is not a single doubt in my mind that there will be a day when every state will allow and recognize gay marriage. Perhaps it will be many years. Perhaps it will be one. But I do believe it will happen. I just pray that I will be alive to see it. It wasn't until 1967 that people of different races were allowed to marry, forty years later it seems silly to think otherwise. Hopefully gay marriage isn't too far behind.


But this isn't a political blog about human rights. And, like I said, the topic isn't difficult because of the legality of gay marriage. It could be perfectly legal, and it would still be a tender subject. 


It's tender to me because weddings are supposed to be a happy time. And on the day of my wedding, and yes ladies and gents, whether legal or not there will be a wedding, it won't be a happy time for everyone. Family is the most important thing in my life. The decision to live as a gay man was painful only because of I was afraid for my family. Notice I say for and not of. I didn't want to disappoint or hurt those members of my family that do not agree with my decisions. I still wanted to be the perfect, polite, talented and intelligent nephew, cousin, and grandson that I have always been. But, I suppose, that image is shattered. At least for some of them. 


The idea that on the day that I become a husband, I will not be able to look out and see every member of my family smiling and wishing me the best, is murder. Don't get me wrong, I love my family. I truly have the greatest family in the world. I know that not a single member of my family would do anything to hurt me intentionally. And I know that they will love me through it all. I simply don't want to hurt or disappoint or embarrass any of them. And I know receiving a wedding announcement, or shaking hands with my husband, or getting a Christmas card with two male names on it would do just that. It would hurt. It would disappoint. And it would embarrass. I don't blame them for that. It's the way they were brought up. The way they were taught. Changing that would take more than love. It would take a miracle. I'm not the kind of person who can just say "Screw them. Who cares what they think?" Because, the answer is simple. I care what they think. And more importantly I care how they feel. Because I love them.


I don't mean to whine. I have it so much better than so many others. I didn't get kicked out or disowned. I didn't lose my foundation and my life. I just don't get to have what my cousins or my brothers will have. But that's life I suppose.


So, my dream wedding. I don't care about colors or flowers or tuxes. My dream wedding would be one single day when everyone in my life put down the bible, put down the Book of Mormon, turned off Glenn Beck, forgot about Conference talks and Tea Party rallies and just watched me be in love. One day when everyone could be happy that I was happy. One day when just maybe they could be proud of me because I was doing what I wanted. That's my dream wedding. 


I'm sorry if I sound preachy and annoying. I like to think that I'm not the stereotyped loud mouth homosexual who shouts about rights and peace and love. I believe in all those things, but I don't feel the need to shout about them. I don't think that's how battles get won. But this time, I guess I just decided to speak my peace. I hope I didn't offend anyone. I love my family. I love my life. And someday I will love my husband. And in the end, I think that's enough for me.


-mikey-

Day 6- Your Song

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.
Day 2 – Tell us about your job.
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.

Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.
This was a no brainer.

Ever since I stumbled upon a picture of one of these little cuties about a year ago, I've wanted one so bad! They are completely domesticated and trainable. And just darn cute. And they make this cute little piggy noise! Sadly, I don't think I'll ever have one. I live in dorms, so pets are a no no. Plus Mr. Anderson doesn't like the idea very much. :(

But hey. A guy can dream, right?
 
 
Title- "Your Song" from the movie musical Mouling Rouge really has nothing do with teacup pigs. The only reason I chose it was because it was in my head this morning when I woke up. Some friends and I broke Lisha Lynn's Moulin Rouge cherry last night. CAN YOU BELIEVE SHE'D NEVER SEEN IT?! Anyway, it reminded me just how much I love that movie. I remember I was pretty young when it came out. Too young to really understand it I think. The first time I saw it was when my grandmother (who babysat me at the time) rented it. I just remember sitting on the couch and being so confused for two hours. But I loved the colors and the singing and the dancing. The half naked women everywhere had little effect on me. Looking back, maybe that should have been a sign. ;]
 
-mikey-

Day 5- The Life of The Party

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was. 
Day 2 – Tell us about your job. 
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date. 
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend. 


Day 5- A photo of yourself two years ago. 
Title- "The Life of the Party" is from the off-Broadway musical The Wild Party with book, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, based on the epic poem by Joseph Moncure March (not to be confused with the Broadway musical with the same title, based on the same poem, which opened the same year, but was written by Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe). I chose this song because I came across it my freshman year of college when this picture was taken. And every time I hear it I get the bitter-sweet feeling in my stomach of that spring, which was a huge turning point in my life.

This picture was taken almost exactly two years ago. These are two very amazing people. The three of us were basically inseparable my Freshman year. I truly believe that God had a hand in placing us together. As the the school year began to close, my first huge "episode" of depression was beginning to set in (you can tell by the pale skin and the god awful bags under my eyes in that picture). I was about to have one of the hardest Springs I have ever had, or will ever have. As my two closest friends watched my downward spiral into darkness, they each took a hand and walked with me. This picture was taken on one of the very last nights we had together before school ended and Casey went off on his mission. Seeing that I was having a particularly hard time that day, they kidnapped me and trekked me out to Moab for a trip to Arches National Park. This was one of the best nights of my life. I was able to forget about my life and my pain, and just focus on having an amazing last night with my two best friends. I will always remember laying on one of the huge rocks in the park, nuzzled between my two favorite people and staring up at the stars, listening to the wind and just feeling completely free and happy. I will never forget what they did for me. I will love them always :]


-mikey-

Day 4- Astonishing

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.
Day 2 – Tell us about your job.
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.

Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Title- From the musical Little Women. I chose this song because it reminds me every time of my bestie. He's the reason I first heard the song and it's now one of my faves. The song also reminds me of him because like the Jo, the character singing, Tanner has amazing ambition to be an amazing and successful person. 

Well, truth be told, I have a lot of "best friends." Like I've said in the past, I've been blessed with an amazing group of people surrounding me. But I've mentioned a lot my best friends in the past so I won't bore you all by repeating it. But this guy, for some reason, I've yet to talk about in this blog. 

 So this is my best friend in the whole world, Mr. Tanner Ivan Snow. Not only is he my best friend, but he is literally one of my favorite people in the whole world. He is talented, hilarious, caring, and the best friend I've ever had. We've been through a lot of shit together. He has stood by me through my darkest times and has been the light in my life since the day we became friends. I wouldn't trade his friendship for the world. He's living in Florida currently, chasing his dreams and I'm so proud and happy for him. This is my favorite picture of us. For my twenty first birthday, he flew out to Utah and took me out for a night on the town! We spent the weekend together and went to a haunted house, clubbing dancing, and rekindled our friendship. I don't think he realizes just how much this night meant to me. This was a really hard time for me, and he was there to pick up the pieces, just like he always does! I love you Tan-Tan. I can't wait 'til I can see you again! :]

-mikey-

Day 3. Too lazy to find a decent title.

Exhausted. My sleeping schedule is all kinds of screwed up. I really don't feel tired at night until it's 2:30 or 3:00 am. And then having to get up at 8:00 is just torture. And, because few people have class in this building on Fridays, I rarely have anyone to tutor. Which means I spend three hours every Friday morning staring at a computer screen and trying to keep my eyes open. Thankfully I have my iPod (which is currently playing Dashboard Confessional) to keep me company and StumbleUpon to keep the time moving relatively quickly. I'll be glad when I can sleep in tomorrow and pretty much spend the day doing nothing. :]

Today's Challenge: Tell us about your perfect first date.

This one was a no brainer for me. I haven't really dated much in the past. In fact I could probably count on my fingers how many "dates" I've actually been on. It really just isn't my style I guess. To me, dates just feel like auditions that I have to pay for! I'd much rather get to know someone in a less formal, pressureless enviornment then on a "date" where you have to force yourself to keep conversation going and you're constantly worried that they are going to order something too expensive and you aren't going to have enough money for a tip. How can you get to know someone in that setting? My perfect first date would be one that neither party even realizes is a "date" until after the fact. There is a moment when you are spending time with someone, when being alone with that person suddenly becomes the ONLY thing you want to do and you realize that your feelings for he or she have extended past friendship and gone into the dark recesses of the "more than friend zone." Why not relax, and let these moments find you instead of constantly trying to force them? The idea of meeting someone at a party/club/bar, getting their number, and then taking them out on an expensive, cliche, and boring "dinner and a movie" date simply grosses me out. Why put yourself through that much trouble? Something I always have to tell myself: "Chill out! Let chemistry happen naturally. Stop focusing on the end result and just have some fun!"

Day 2- I Can Do Better Than That

Today's Challenge: Tell us about your job.

You might here me, sometime, complaining about my job or whining about being bored at work. But here's the truth: I love my job. The only bad part about my job is that the pay sucks and I don't get the hours that I wish I did. But while I'm actually at work, I love it! I'm a writing tutor for the English department here at school. Which means students come to me for help with papers, writing exams, etc.

The thing that I love about my job is that there really isn't a down side to what I do. If no one comes in for tutoring during my shift, I simply get paid to be on Facebook (or blog. whichever the case may be). And when someone does come in for tutoring I get paid to share my passion for words with someone. It doesn't get much better than that!

I love helping students with writing. The greatest part is when I take a student by surprise. They think they are coming in to have some loser correct their grammar and move some commas around. But, soon, after I have forced them to sit down and go through the paper with me, they are thinking in ways they haven't thought before, sharing ideas they've never shared, and expressed themselves in a way they didn't know they could. It's awesome to see a light bulb go off in someones head when they find that perfect word, or that perfect way to structure a sentence. And I learn something every time as well. One student can teach me that simplicity is just as, if not more, effective as complexity. Another can teach me that saying "well" instead of good can sound pretentious and just plain stupid. In short, I've learned that you can ignore the rules just as often as you follow them.

But most of all, I've realized that I have a talent for reaching out to people. Theatre is not the only tool I have to change someones life or help them. Sometimes you have to take someone's head, and force it to look down at a piece of paper, at their scene in a play, or at their life in general and realize that they "Can Do "Better Than That" (which brings me to the Title of this blog. Which comes from the Jason Robert Brown musical, The Last Five Years. Another HUGE favorite of mine).

I don't want to be a teacher. I hate the book keeping, paperwork, grading side of teaching. I don't want to be restricted to a curriculum. I want to be able to show people things in my own way. And being a tutor has helped me do that. I love tutoring. And I have a feeling I won't be stopping any time soon.

:]
-mikey-

Day 1- Just Another Day

Today's challenge: A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.
Title: I've decided to name each "challenge blog" with a title of a song that coincides with the challenge. Today's title comes from the opening number of one of my very favorite musicals Next To Normal.

I love this picture of me. I'm not an incredibly photogenic person. So it's rare that I find a picture of me that I like. I like this one because I'm smiling and you can actually see my eyes! I have really heavy eyelids so whenever I smile my eyes just disappear. I think this picture just looks really natural and relaxed. You can tell that in that moment I was just really genuinely happy. :]

So. My day. Like the title says, it was really just another day. I slept in and missed my tutoring shift (oops!) but got really great sleep. So that's a good thing. Went to my one and only class that I have on Wednesdays. Government usually puts me in a bad mood because there are people in that class that drive me freaking insane. But today we had a quiz that I totally kicked ass in. So needless to say I was in a good mood. I've been drinking a lot of water lately. I gave up Dr. Pepper for lent (no I'm not Catholic) so I figured i would just replace it with water. I seriously drank SO much water today. And it feels really good to know that I've actually been kind of healthy, for once. I really want to start making healthier choices. I took a nap today with the boy. It was nice to just take a half hour or so and relax, to do nothing but enjoy being in his arms and just sleep. Probably the highlight of my day. :] So now I'm just blogging and having some Me Time while I wait for tonight when Lish and I are going to do some homework. So there you have it. Day 1 of the challenge is complete!

And now just a few pictures from my school's Coyote Ugly themed dance the other night. It was super fun to let loose and dance and play for a few hours. I'm so glad Sterling drug me there. :]

CHALLENGE!

So my good friend Mr Kelton K Wells has started a thirty day blog challenge to get his blog going again. I was inspired to do so too. So my other blog buddy, Lisha Lynn Michel, and I are going to accept this challenge. And hopefully I'll be able to convince Farrah Nelson to do the same. :]  I looked through the list and I'm really excited about some of them. So here goes nothing. I'm a bit worried. I can barely remember to brush my teeth every day much less blog every day! Wish me luck! :]

30 Day Blog Challenge:

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.
Day 2 – Tell us about your job.
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.
Day 7 – Your dream wedding.
Day 8 – A song to match your mood.
Day 9 – Something you are proud of.
Day 10 – A photo of your favorite place to eat.
Day 11 – A photo from high school?
Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in.
Day 13 –Explain a hobby of yours
Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to.
Day 15 – Your favorite childhood show.
Day 16 – Your celebrity crush.
Day 17 – A photo of you and your family.
Day 18 – Something you crave a lot.
Day 19 – Another picture of yourself.
Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 – Your favorite trip you have been on.
Day 23 –  Your dream house
Day 25 – A Photo of something that means a lot to you.
Day 26 – Whats your most recent entertainment?
Day 27 – A picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?
Day 28 – Your favorite movie.
Day 29 - Your biggest Pet Peeve
Day 30 – Something you could never get tired of doing.
Day 31 – A photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened to you today.

Let's Get Down to Business! ...to defeat the huns?

Just a short, casual blog because I'm bored as hell at work.

Spring break is over. Time to get back to work. And in all honesty, I'm excited. It's funny, for years I would hear people say things like "I'm so glad I didn't get cast in that play! Now I finally have time for school!" In those situations I would usually roll my eyes to myself thinking that they were just trying to cover their disappointment. But, now that I'm actually in that situation, I'm beginning to think they had a point. As disappointed as I am that The Odd Couple didn't work out, a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It seems like everything I was stressed about has suddenly lost weight. It's an amazing feeling to finally have enough time in your day to get things done. I would still rather be at rehearsal. But hey, what can ya do?

Spring break was fun. I spent the weekend with my best friend Lisha Lynn. We saw an incredible production of The Lion in Winter at Weber State. I've always been a huge fan of the play and film. I was afraid they wouldn't be able to do it justice. But I was pleasantly surprised. :] I spent the rest of the week sitting at home relaxing. Watched a few movies. I finally saw Burlesque (wanted it to be better. But it is what it is.) and The Social Network (I was completely blown away. Definitely one of my new favorites.). And I also saw For Colored Girls because it was recommended to me. I was blown away by this movie as well. The talent was undeniable. It was a bit on the melodrama side, which I disliked. There were only a few parts that bothered me. All in all I loved it. Still on my list of films to watch are The Kings Speech and Rabbit Hole.

It's nice to be back. I missed my friends. And my room. And my computer. And my blankets. And my... complicated. ;] But I already miss my puppies and my Mommy. I wish that my two lives (home and school) weren't so far away from each other. I wish I could have my family near me as well as my friends and school. Hopefully next semester (you know, when I'm attending The UNIVERSITY OF UTAH) it'll be better. That way I'll be the one going home for Sunday dinners and dragging my friends with me. :]

So it looks like I'll be auditioning for The King and I in a few weeks. It's a summer production in Tooele. I'll have to miss the first few weeks of rehearsal because of school but the director didn't seem to think that was a big deal. So who knows? In a couple months I may have spray tan and a shaved head. ...then again maybe not. ;]

Basically that's all. My life really isn't that exciting. I just was in the mood to blog. Which doesn't happen often. So when it does I need to seize the opportunity!

Thanks for reading! Peace and blessings!

My Top Ten

Inspired by Miss Lisha Lynn Michel

My Top 10

1) Life without Dr. Pepper is no life at all.
2) I have few really close friends. But those few friends mean everything to me. I'm an extremely loyal friend.
3) No one on this planet has a better family than I do. It's been proven through multiple scientific studies.
4) I always forgive. I never forget.
5) Falling in love is easy. It's falling out that I struggle with.
6) I like boys. nbd.
7) I'm a snob when it comes to theatre and film. Ask anyone.
8) I'm a virgo. Ask anyone.
9) Music has a large influence on my life. I'm always looking for new music to fall in love with.
10) I honestly like who I am. And sometimes that gets me in trouble.

A Change of Plans. ..or sunthin...

I should learn to knock on wood when I say that things seem to be going my way. Or maybe I should just learn to keep my mouth shut in the first place. I find it interesting how quickly things can turn around or change. One decision, one word or one mistake can take away something you have been working hard for. So much of this business I am in, performing, leaves me powerless when it comes to decision making. If, for some reason, I am suddenly not what a company is looking for, they can change their mind on a dime and go with someone else. Good actors are a dime a dozen. I'm not that important. I guess I should get used to that fact. But humble pie tastes like crap. Just saying.

A situation arose recently with the company of The Odd Couple. A situation that, I felt, was out of my, or anyone else's, control. I admit, I made a mistake, an error of judgement. I created a miscommunication that wasted a lot of peoples time. But mistakes were made on the other side of the line as well. The situation was not handled professionally, or even kindly. People said and did things that I wouldn't expect from adults. Much less friends and mentors. Decisions were made without giving me the opportunity to defend myself or my actions. But, in the end, it was decided, by people higher than me, that it was in the best interest of the company and the play to have me replaced. I want to strongly stress that I acknowledge that the decision was in the responsibility of the producer and director. They made a decision that was not easy for them. I know they only did what they thought was right and best for the cast, company and play. Although I hold no grudge, anger or resentment toward those who made the decision, I will not pretend that I agree with the decision that was made. Nor am I ashamed of it. I will not hang my head or hide. I will simply say that what is done, is done. And it is time to move on.

But move one to what, exactly? The show, most certainly, must go on. I admire the cast of the Odd Couple for their immediate action. They embraced the replacement and didn't ask questions, which is how things should be handled in these delicate situations. I have every confidence that the play will be a success, with or without me. My replacement is an extremely talented young man. And I am looking forward to seeing what he does with the role (yes. I am planning on attending the play). But what about me? I'm not sure how to approach my future with the company. Spring break definitely came at a good time. It will give me a chance to ease my anxiety and pain, and to plan for the future.

Part of me wants to be the "bigger man" and to show the company that I'm dedicated to them, whether or not they believe it. I most certainly will not be involved in The Odd Couple. This is more out of protection of me and my feelings than out of a grudge toward the producer or director. I think it would be to painful to watch something that was so important to me move on without me. But what about after the play? The company still has one more very small production this year and a few activities to celebrate the end of the year. I think that my approach to these events will either make or break my "image" at this company. My time at this school is coming to a close. So, in a way, my image isn't incredibly important. If I wanted to, I could completely avoid the company members and events for the rest of the semester without any real, immediate consequences. But I think my character prevents that. I have put a lot of hard work into this company over the last three years, and they have given me just as much back. I don't want to be remembered as the guy who got replaced in one show and disappeared. And I don't want to remember the company as the theatre that kicked me in the ass while I wasn't looking.

But, I suppose, the issue of how to approach the up coming events should be left for another day. For now I'm going to concentrate on getting my head on straight. I've overcome a lot of bitterness and pain over the last couple of days. But I still have a long way to go. Eventually, maybe I'll understand why this happened and what I have to learn.

On a happier note, the future looks bright. I still have the U in the fall. I still have fantastic friends and a strong support group. And now, with my schedule suddenly opened wide, I have the chance to turn my focus onto other things that have gone neglected.

I'm going to be ok.