2009 in Review

Last year I posted a 2008 in Review blog and said that I was going to try to make it an annual occurrence. Well, it now officially is, except I accidentally published this one over the old one. Guh! Oh, well. Out with the old, in with the new, I suppose…

Best Overall Experience: Dating & Marrying Lauren
Gosh, I love that girl. I can’t believe that we got this far without her being freaked out by me and running. Also, we’ve gotten this far without ever having an actual fight (unless you count play-fights, which I don’t.) She doesn’t feel the need to change who she is for me, and she doesn’t expect me to change who I am for her. She can take care of herself, but she lets me do what I can to take care of her. She’s slowly converting to all my loves (Saved by the Bell, horror movies, Friends, Buffy, etc.). Best of all, she loves me at least half as much as I love her.

Favorite Personal Theatrical Experiences: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Chess, Little Shop of Horrors
I loved my staff of Joseph, and despite all of the crap that happened with the cast, it was an amazing, rewarding experience to see my vision end up on stage. Chess wasn’t the greatest show I’ve ever worked on, but it was such an incredible personal experience, and I loved almost every single cast member. Also, I have a major man crush on Dave Tinney, and he’s one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with. This also leads to Little Shop. Other than one obnoxious person, I DID love the entire cast. And Dave and the Hales/Swensons were fantastic to work with. Also, the quality of the show was outstanding.

Runners-Up: The Monkey’s Paw

Least Favorite Personal Theatrical Experiences: Stellaluna, Shakespeare Competition
Stellaluna was a nightmare. The music was TERRIBLE. The cast tried their best, but it was just ugly music. Also, the director seemed to not have any organizational skills (and one director left halfway through the process) and my time was wasted a lot. Then, they didn’t get into runs, so I never got to go and actually help polish the music. I orchestrated the music, though, and I made it tolerable (to myself, at least). Getting my kids ready for Shakespeare was ridiculous. They were not committed, not focused, and many of them were just plain lazy. Then to go to the competition and have the kids not get a single award was pretty stinky, although when we calculated rehearsal hours, it was obvious why they didn’t. Blargh.

Runners-Up: None.

Favorite Local Theatre Productions: Singin’ in the Rain (HCTO), As You Like It (HCTO)
I hate Singin’. HATE. But they did a fantastic job with it. Music aside (which I arranged/orchestrated and even composed some), AYLI was FANTASTIC. I was able to see both casts, and it was really tough trying to choose a favorite cast. Each actor was very well cast. Chris Clark is a freaking genius. Even people I know who usually don’t “get” Shakespeare seemed to enjoy themselves. Except for the horrendously fat people next to Teri and me, who left at intermission. Not that we complained.

Runners-Up: None.

Favorite Professional Theatre Productions: White Christmas, In the Heights (Both Broadway)
I never really cared for the movie of White Christmas, but I had heard that the Broadway version had been fixed up and made more “Christmassy.” I had to find out. It was true, and it was incredible. It had the feel of a golden age musical, but a modern feel to the pace (not unlike the current Broadway production of South Pacific). The cast was amazing, the choreography was stunning, the sets were to-die-for, and the tech was fantastic. Loved every aspect. In the Heights was almost as good the second time. Most of the leads were the originals, with the exceptions of Usnavi, Vanessa, Piragua Guy, Graffiti Pete, and Kevin (who was SO much better than the original). I would have probably been completely consumed by the story, had it not been for the fact that the audience was less classy than before, and people talked and shuffled throughout.

Runners-Up: None.

Least Favorite Professional Theatre Production: Aida (Tuacahn)
I don’t even want to talk about it because of the post-traumatic stress. It was so much about the spectacle that I forgot there was a small story. The stage-flooding was ridiculous. The camel was just silly. Of the leads, the only one who was consistently on pitch was Aida, and the others were so far off sometimes that it was pathetic. I was embarrassed for the cast, and as my first show at Tuacahn, it left me unimpressed with the company.

Runners-Up: None.

Favorite Movies: Drag Me To Hell, Up, Star Trek
Drag Me was the return of classic Sam Raimi, and I loved every second. Up made me cry, multiple times. It was an incredible story with very relatable characters. Star Trek was the first time I’ve ever not only just enjoyed a Star Trek movie, but loved it.

Runners-Up: Paranormal Activity (Until the ending), Michael Jackson’s This Is It, Disney’s A Christmas Carol

Least Favorite Movie: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
SO terrible. Even though it was the first movie Lauren and I saw as a couple. It gave me one of the worst headaches of my life.

Runners-Up: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Paranormal Activity (Because of the ending)

Favorite Movie-Going Experience: Toy Story & Toy Story 2 in 3-D
Lauren and I had the entire theater to ourselves for the latter, and it was a really nice change of pace.

Runners-Up: Disney’s A Christmas Carol with the Varneys (Do families REALLY all go to movies together?!), GI Joe with Phil & Nick

Least Favorite Movie-Going Experience: None.

Strangely enough, nothing was TOO bad this year.

Runner-Up: None.

Favorite New TV Shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel, Community
Neither of the first two was actually on TV new this year, but I watched them both in less than 6 months, and they were fantastic. Community is fast-becoming as clever as the first few seasons of The Office. I love the characters, I love the situations, and I love the humor. I haven’t really started watching any other new shows this year (which is good), although I really wanted to watch V. I’ll catch it on DVD.

Runner-Up: Parks and Recreation, Glee

Least Favorite New TV Show: Accidentally on Purpose
I tried to get into it because my friend Rachel sings on it, apparently. After a few episodes, I didn’t hear/see Rachel, and I wanted to die over how stupid it was.

Runners-Up: Glee (so hit and miss that sometimes it’s a favorite, sometimes I despise it)

Favorite SNL Sketches: “Say Anything,” “Digital Short: Doogie Howser Theme”
Loved them.

Runner-Up: “what up with that?” with Mindy Kaling as the guest. Her expressions were priceless.

Favorite Albums: Kelly Clarkson’s All I Ever Wanted, The Fray’s The Fray, OneRepublic’s Waking Up, Mat Kearney’s City of Black & White
Even though I don’t love Kelly much anymore, her album was my favorite of the year. It was perfect, except for one song (you know, Matt). I had it on repeat for WEEKS, and it got me through student teaching. The Fray was fantastic. Nothing new, but it was more of the classic Fray sound I love. Same with OneRepublic. Nothing too different (except maybe the children’s choir), but I loved it. Ryan Tedder is a brilliant producer, no matter what Kelly says. Mat’s newest was fantastic, too.

Runners-Up: Rodney Carrington’s Make It Christmas, Jack’s Mannequin’s The Glass Passenger (new to me), Vedera’s The Weight of an Empty Room (also new to me)

Least Favorite Album: None.
I didn’t purchase any this year that I didn’t like.

Runners-Up: None.

Favorite Trips: Southern California with family, New York honeymoon 
Everyone got along fairly well for once (other than one person, who I “kindly” chastised a couple times) and despite Glenn’s car getting burglarized, and the fact that the San Diego Zoo is boring when you’re not an animal lover, a good time was had by all. New York was great, for many reasons. Most of which, I won’t share, due to the fact I’m a gentleman.

Runners-Up: None.

Least Favorite Trip: St. George/Las Vegas with family
All we did was shop. I DID get some fantastic hats, though.

Runners-Up: None.

Favorite Class: Student Teaching
Yes, it counted as a class. Yes, I complained while it was happening. However, I learned SO MUCH, and I’ve bumped into some of the kids since I finished, and I DID make a difference in their lives.

Runner-Up: None.

Least Favorite Class: Classroom Management II
Remember the education professor that I NEVER liked? Yeah. He taught it. Enough said.

Runners-Up: None! I only had two this year!

Best Concerts: The Fray & Jack’s Mannequin, The Killers, Mat Kearney & Vedera
The first was amazing because of the music, the second had great spectacle (which fit the music), and the third was the first intimate club-setting I’ve ever attended (also, probably the last).

Runners-Up: Jim Brickman, Rascal Flatts

Worst Concerts: Kelly Clarkson, Lonestar

Kelly sang a short set, and the experience itself was miserable. Lonestar just wasn’t the same without Richie as the lead singer.

 

Here’s to an incredible 2010!!!

No More Whedon Before Bed

Back at the end of April, I picked up a new habit. Due to SO many friends telling me of its brilliance over the past 10 or so years, I decided to give Buffy the Vampire Slayer a try.

If you know me well, you know that I’ve ALWAYS loved Buffy. But not in TV form. Well, (don’t tell Lauren) I have had a massive crush on Sarah Michelle Gellar since I saw her in I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2 11 years ago. (Teri, remember when we went to IKWYDLS in the theater, and Miranda wasn’t quite 17 and wouldn’t lie about her age? Good times.)

My love for Buffy was purely cinematic. Now that I’m older and watch the movie, I laugh at how ridiculously stupid it is. But, to a 6th grader who loved horror, comedy, and Kristy Swanson, Buffy was pretty much the greatest movie ever. (I still find it better than Citizen Kane, though. What a lame movie.)

When I heard that the new WB network was creating a TV show of Buffy, I freaked out a little. I remember the night that it premiered. We were having a late dinner and finished just in time. I turned it on, and I remember my mom groaning about how “disgusting” it was. I didn’t find it disgusting, but it was not the Buffy I loved. It was too serious. The vampires had stupid crinkly foreheads. When they were staked, they turned into dust. This Buffy SUCKED.

I was in high school, and NOBODY I knew had given the show a try, so I couldn’t compare my opinion to others’. I decided that like Baby Boom, Parenthood, and Look Who’s Talking, a TV show can only ruin a beloved childhood movie. The best option was to not watch it and just wait for it to be canceled after a season or so. (Sidenote: I’m actually excited for the NEW TV adaptation of Parenthood.) (Second sidenote: I apparently really like parentheses tonight.)

Fast forward back to April of 2009. I was browsing DVDs at Wal-Mart, and spotted the first season of Buffy for $15. After years of recommendations and an obsession with Dr. Horrible and Firefly, I figured it was worth the $15 to try it.

I LOVED IT.

Watching it as an adult, I got it. I realized that it was so much more than a cheesy high school vampire show. I watched the first disc and the next time I was at Wal-Mart, I bought seasons 2-3. I started watching the show every night before bed. I have a hard time shutting my brain off before bed, and usually watching TV helps me do that. I got into some episodes so much that it was hard to fall asleep some nights. I would usually get through 2 episodes before I’d fall asleep. Some nights, I got through an entire disc of 4 episodes.

By the time I was into season 2, I realized that I would definitely want to see the whole series, so I bought seasons 4, 6, and 7. (Not a single Wal-Mart carried season 5, and I couldn’t bring myself to spend $40 at Best Buy for it.)

Halfway through season 2, I started to realize that I was going to have to get into Angel as well, so I started buying those sets. By the end of May, I had 2 discs left in season 3 of Buffy, so I brought those on my trip to California along with season 4 and the first season of Angel. By the time I was home, I had finished 3 and was watching 4 in tandem with Angel. As I got busier with Joseph rehearsals, both shows slowed down a little. As I got busier dating Lauren, the slow pace continued (worth it). When Joseph ended, the pace picked up a little, but quickly slowed down again as school started.

A few weeks ago, I FINALLY finished Buffy. It was bittersweet. My favorite season was 3, and I felt like it peaked there. Other than some amazing standalone episodes (Hush, The Body, Once More with Feeling, etc.) I never really loved the show as much as the first 3 seasons. I never really cared for Anya or Dawn. I missed Oz. Willow’s sudden lesbianism and witchiness seemed to come from nowhere. Tara didn’t grow on me until Willow first started getting evil. Riley was no Angel. Spike became cool and fascinating, but I did NOT like him as a love interest for Buffy. I HATED the nerds in season 6, and I wish Andrew could have died then instead of staying through the end of the series. Caleb was pretty much the coolest villain since The Mayor, but he came out of nowhere at the end and it made me realize how much better season 7 could have been if he would have been there the whole time.

I still loved Buffy when all was said and done. The final episode almost made me tear up, but not quite. I would have gone through withdrawals if I didn’t have a final season of Angel.

Here’s the problem with Angel, though. I loved the first two seasons, up until the stupid final story arc of season 2 where they went to Lorne’s homeworld. LAME. Although, it brought us Fred, who I loved. Season 3 was pretty darn good for the most part. I NEVER liked the character of Connor, though. And I actually started to miss Darla after she left the show. Season 4 sucked, though. It sucked in a way that no Joss show has ever sucked before. It was a big pile of poo, other than the return of Faith, who I love and had missed since she went to prison. The latter part of the season was especially awful. I found myself struggling to get through it, and even though I had been watching it in tandem with Buffy, I started watching more of the latter.

Another problem with Angel was the fact that I hate, hate, HATE Cordelia. I wish she could have gotten killed on graduation day, nstead of spinning off to Angel. I could have even dealt with her getting lost in the ensemble of Buffy. It was hard to care about a show when I hated a main character. It was REALLY hard to care about it when she and Angel started having feelings for each other. And when she went whacko in season 4, it almost ruined the show for me.

And then came season 5.

Wow.

If the whole series could have been as good as season 5, I would be blogging about how the quality of Angel surpassed its parent show. It killed me watching season 5 and knowing that it was the last. I didn’t even mind Connor (still didn’t like him, though) or Harmony. I liked what they were doing with Lindsey enough to ignore his butt-ugly hair. I love that Marcus was a MUCH better fit for the show than the tranny demon goddess in season 4 (though not as good as Caleb in Buffy). I didn’t even gag myself when Cordy came back for an episode.

It wasn’t without problems, though. Illyria was annoying, and I had major Fred withdrawals. The episode about the Nacho Libre-type wrestler was irritating. The finale was frustrating due to the lack of closure. However, it was a decent ending to the Buffyverse.

Oddly enough, the point of this blog wasn’t to talk all about the two shows, but to share what happened as I wrapped up my time with Joss.

Right after I finished Buffy, I went to the Shakespeare competition in Cedar City. The first night I was there, I didn’t sleep well. Not because I was starting to get this awful cold that I STILL HAVE. Not because I was worried about the competition. Not because the boys in the room next to me were talking too loudly. I didn’t sleep well because I was having insane dreams about killing zombies all night. I don’t really remember details, other than the fact that Lauren’s sister Courtney was there, and I kept trying to protect her and keep her from seeing the zombie carnage. Also, Buffy was there helping me to kill the zombies. I wouldn’t really call them nightmares, because I wasn’t ever scared, but DANG! Those dreams kept me up all night.

I kind of forgot about the dreams until this week.

A few nights ago, I finished Angel around 2:30 in the morning. I couldn’t stop watching it, knowing that I was that close to the end. The rest of that night, I had more intense dreams. This time, I fully blame the fact that I got no resolution to Angel.

I can’t remember all the details, but I remember hanging out with the Justice League as though it was a common occurrence. We got a call that something was going down with Angel Investigations in Los Angeles, and we went to help. On the way, we had to go down poles to get to the Batcave. Each member of the League and I took our own pole, but Batman and Robin went down the same pole at the same time. I guess this confirms that they’re gay.

We ended up participating in the battle between Angel and the minions that Wolfram & Hart sent after him, but we didn’t kill all of them. Many of them ran away, and we went back to our lives until we were needed again.

The next part I remember was waiting for a piano student to show up. Somebody was giving me crap about teaching piano instead of fighting in the apocalypse, but I don’t remember who it was (I want to say it was Angel himself). I said I was planning to go back and fight after this ONE lesson, and they warned me that it was a bad idea.

My student showed up, and it was a boy. (I’m pretty sure it was the kid from the episode where Lindsey was in the Hell dimension.) When I opened the door to let him in, I noticed it was raining outside. I also noticed that several large SUVs with darkened windows were pulling up on the street in front and parking. The boy’s mother had walked him up to the door, and she told me she’d be back to get him soon.

Over the course of the lesson, I started to realize something wasn’t right. The boy was acting strange, and the rain was more intense outside. I remember the lesson ending, and talking to the boy’s mother about how the ultimate betrayal would be if Wolfram & Hart were able to infiltrate my piano studio. She looked at me with a blank expression and said “Sorry.” I realized that she was evil, and that my downfall had begun. I looked at the SUVs and noticed that some men had gotten out of them and were drowning as they walked across my flooded yard to get to my house.

AND THEN I WOKE UP.

It was stressful. Borderline nightmare. I had no Justice League, no Angel Investigations-- nothing. I was all alone, and they had gotten to my piano lessons.

I’m back to watching comedies before bed now. I spent a couple nights watching Halloween episodes of Roseanne, and now I’m on the second season of Rodney.

It kind of stinks that the only way to continue the stories of Buffy and Angel is through comic books. I actually thought about getting into them, but I read some synopses of them, and I think it’s best to keep my memories of the shows as they are. Unless, of course, they actually do my prophesied Justice League of America crossovers.

I’m going to rewatch Firefly soon (get ready, Lauren – I’m introducing you) and I’m going to look into getting Dollhouse on DVD or Blu-Ray.

But in the meantime, I’ll have my dreams. (And really long blogs with lots of parentheses.)

[Insert (attempt at) Clever Title]

I’m really tired, but I’m clearing off my DVR tonight so that it doesn’t get too full while I’m gone for the rest of the week. It’s sad that my priority is TV and not packing. I will probably get to the competition and find that I forgot to pack underwear because I was so tired when I packed. Oh, well. Sometimes TV is worth going commando. In the meantime, I’m watching/recording stuff off my DVR and recording random thoughts.

I wish I was a better writer, like Trash or Julie. My blogs are more lists than actual writings lately, and that saddens me. I used to LOVE to write and always wanted to make it better. Now, I just throw a list together and call it good, like I’m a theatre reviewer for the Deseret News or something.

I’ve had a weird feeling all night. I can’t put my finger on it. I don’t know if it’s about Shakespeare Competition, Urinetown, or something else that’s not as present on my mind. Whatever it is, I’m not liking it, and I wish it would go away.

I also dislike feeling like somebody is bugged by me, and they won’t say why so I can fix whatever I’m doing to bug them. 9 out of 10 times that I feel this way, it’s usually me just being stupid/sensitive. But tonight, I had several moments, and I’m paranoid. It doesn’t help that I’ve had that other yucky feeling.

I’m not going to see Lauren again until Sunday. This sucks. Luckily, though, we live in an age where there are cell phones for texting and calling anytime. I could not have survived in Shakespeare’s time.

I want to be in a show. I want to perform somehow. It kills me that UVU is doing shows that I would love to be in – AFTER I’ve graduated. I know I’m not very good at acting and singing, and that I can’t ever get cast in anything but A Christmas Carol, but I’m dying to be on the other side of the table at auditions for once. I love directing. I like music directing. I LOVE teaching/coaching. I just miss the days when I balanced it better and went back and forth between music directing and acting. Sadly, I don’t see any performing in my future. As long as I don’t have a full-time job, I have to only do jobs where I can get paid, and acting isn’t one.

I don’t want to be sitting on a bus with students for 5 hours tomorrow. I bought some new headphones that are REALLY good at noise-canceling. We’re driving straight from Orem to St. George to see Aida at Tuacahn. Please, God, give me the strength to not kill any children.

I’m missing the following people right now (for different reasons): Grandma Orton, The Culps, Heidi T., Bryan, John, The Masons, Pre-Crazy/Skanky Mariah Carey

Saturday Night Live has not been funny this year. I think I’ve only chuckled a couple times so far. That was pretty funny when the new girl said the f word, though. And that freakish thing that was dancing inside a giant metal atom was pretty laughable. I’m told she’s some famous singer, though.

I think I’ve finally narrowed down my Halloween costume to a few choices. I’m not terribly excited about any of them, which leads me to believe that maybe I should just not dress up this year.

I’ve been blogging semi-regularly for 3 1/2 years, and while this isn’t a huge accomplishment, it’s pretty big for me. I’ve NEVER been good at keeping a journal, so it’s fascinating to go back and read my thoughts on what was going on and how I was feeling months or years ago. When I look back on this post, I’m going to think: “Wow. I was a real downer that night.”