Last night my family and I went to see a live production of A Christmas Carol at the Lyric Theater here in Oklahoma City. If you have been reading my blog you know I talk up the Muppet's Christmas Carol a lot but outside of that movie it is probably one of my favorite Christmas stories. I bet Charles Dickens when he wrote didn't know how many movies would be made out of his story, which is about 80 pages long, and really takes no time to read. My mom likes the 1970 version of it called "Scrooge" and my step mom likes one that was made in 1951. But no matter what version you like it is a great story about how people can change, I guess that is why I like it.
Back to going to see the live version. It is always cool to see how a live production does things that you have only seen done on film with special effects. Since the plot of the movie is so well known I can not critique it and I really have nothing to say towards the acting because it was good (corny when it needed to be but not overly so). But kudos to the make up department because looking at the cast of who is who the guy who played Scrooge was actually really young but until I looked at the pictures I thought he was old. I usually like the ghost of Christmas Present, mostly because they seem more witty and a little more sarcastic then the other ghost but in this show the ghost of Christmas Past had more wit and humors lines and she was doing it all hanging from the ceiling. Also particular to this production the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, the creature usually has no face and I guess kind of looks like the grim reaper but this ghost looked like a big skeleton in a black cape but he had a face kind of ET looking (so my brother in law and I thought).
Over all a great production, even though it was not a musical, I liked the songs they sung in between the scenes were traditional Christmas songs, so I did sing a long (but softly). Also one of the street vendors came down the aisle and asked me if I wanted to buy a center piece for my table. So good interaction with the audience. So if you are in the Oklahoma city area and can get tickets go see it, or maybe try it for next year.
One thing I like seeing about multiple versions is comparing and contrasting them. I know you shouldn't always do this as you are always to prefer one version of one thing better than another, it is just natural. But I actually like seeing the similarities between the versions, like which lines sick. For example in multiple versions when Bob Cratchit makes a toast to Mr. Scrooge, the founder of the feast, Mrs. Cratchit says "The founder of the feast indeed... I would give him a piece of my mind and I hope he has a big appetite." Of course Miss Piggy playing Mrs. Cratchit says "I would give him a piece of my mind and I bet he would choke." But there are other similarities so two Christmases ago after seeing the Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey I decided to read the original source. It is not that long but Dickens can go into tangents about the conditions of society, that didn't really help the story, but I think he was paid by the word. But it helped me understand the story better.
A few more days till Christmas, hope you my lovely readers are having a good Christmas season.
Thanks for much for your continuous support as I took a little time away from this blog as I worked on finishing up this semester. But now it is winter break... YEAH!!!
Of course it hasn't actually snowed here.
The number one thing I want to do besides seeing my family is writing. If you don't know I have been attempting to write a story similiar to the plot line of Sense and Sensability. Sadly though with school I haven't had that much time and energy to write. So if you want to catch up on my writing click here for my story The Sister's of Pine Haven. (I only have written 9 post on that blog so it will be easy to catch up.)
I want to write so much that I even started carrying my little notebook around with me and have written a bit on the T (subway for Boston). Which is quite difficult when I am standing and holding my travel mug of coffee. But I must write... or else I will go bonkers.
I also want to read a lot. I have been reading the same book since October. Usually I am a much faster reader but like I said before no time. I have been reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. (It is not about the Civil War.) And the only reason I have been able to pick it up and put it down so much is because I watched the minniseries on it a few months ago. I wrote more about the minniseries in my Love some Melodrama? post. I am happy I have a flight home to get some reading and writing in.
I also hope to watch some good Christmas Movies. I have done well on listening to Christmas music thanks to Spotify. (An online service kind of like Pandora but you chose your own music and you can re listen to songs). But I haven't watched many Christmas movies and I want to. (From the classics to the not so classics.)
I am also looking forward to spending unscheduled time with my friends. True, genuine time not just a pass by "hello."
Any way that is my winter break list. I know it will go by too fast and soon I will be in school again, so I want to remember to enjoy the month.
I love Christmas but sadly this year has not felt much like Christmas. First I will blame the weather. The weather here in Boston has been unusually warm (I mean like 40s to almost 50s) which is great because I don't have to bundle up but it is sad because it doesn't have the feeling of Christmas in the air. No Jack Frost nipping at the nose and no real reason to climb under the blankets and drink hot coco. It is kind of sad because come February I will be complaining about the cold weather but now I kind of long for it to get the Christmas feeling. Second I will blame grad school/ full time job. I haven't had much energy to decorate my apartment and prepare for Christmas. But I have to say my office looks very Christmasy which feels nice and as finishing up the semester I am listening to Christmas music. So I get some Christmas feelings. I just wish I felt Christmasy on the inside.
One thing I love about Christmas is getting Christmas cards and sending Christmas cards. But I don't think this year I will get my Christmas cards out on time before Christmas is here so I am going to type a long post instead as if was a traditional Christmas card letter. This will be fun reflecting on the year past...
For me personally I don't feel like much has happened in my life (well I feel that no big event in my life has changed it). Last January I started my first semester in grad school. I took two classes one in Reference Library and one in Slave History. I only took two classes as I worked a full time job in Membership Accounting. In January my little nephew Jayden came into this world on January 14th, 2011.
During that semester I went to my first Boston Celtics game. It took me back to all basketball games I used to go to with my mom and step-dad when we cheered on the Seattle Sonics. I am happy to report the Celtics won. But I felt I spent most of the semester studying. So I will skip ahead to the summer.
In May, my month off before summer school. I went down to Cape Cod. I had only been there once before with my dad and step-mom but it was in November and I am sad I don't remember much of it. But this was a nice trip. Tried to dip my toe in the water but it was far too cold to get in any further than my toe. Also during May I celebrated my 25th birthday in a three day event. My birthday was on Thursday and originally I had nothing planned because it was on a work day, but then my co-worker had tickets to the Red Sox game he wasn't able to go to. So I bought them from him and went to the game. Red Sox won it was a great way to celebrate. Then on Friday night some of my co-workers and I went out for drinks to celebrate my birthday. Also almost all my co-workers wore pink for my birthday and threw me a little party with my favorite things (harvest cheddar sun chips, Dr. Pepper, and German chocolate cake) I love my co-workers. Then on Saturday as a gift to myself I got my hair cut and treated myself to a pedicure. My hair cut was a big deal because I had been growing it out since August for my younger sister's wedding but then she told me I could cut it. And I did really short. Also on Saturday my friends went out for Karaoke. I wanted to do something I had never done before for this big birthday and loved it. My friends and I sung "Baby" by Justin Beiber, attempted to sing "Telephone" by Lady Gaga and we did one Spice Girls song. It was lots of fun. I wonder how I will top it for my 26th. For other post on my birthday click here.
My friend and I singing.
Next on my fast pace moving May was a trip down to Atlanta to see one of my best friends. We didn't do anything too touristy as I kind of wanted to see her life. I had never really been to Atlanta so it was lots of fun getting away from Boston for the Memorial Day holiday and just hang out. I loved Atlanta and if I was to move south of the Mason Dixon line I could see myself living there. It had its southern charm but where my friend lived it had a good indie vibe. I am not indie but I like to pretend to be sometimes. I am happy to say I will be going back there soon when I watch my friend become a Mrs.
Sadly in June my grandma, on my dad's side passed away. It is sad but it is also really great now she is up in heaven. We pulled out all her photo albums and filled up a ping pong table and 2 card tables with all the photo albums she had. We were able to go through them and take the pictures we wanted. I got a lot of pics from my childhood that I didn't even knew existed. For other post on my grandma click here.
Then I had to start summer school where I took Technology for the Information Professional. I learned about HTML, CSS, and other geeky things. But June was also a good month as I watched my younger sister get married. Weddings are another time I love. It is great watching two people who are so in love with each other commit their lives together. I also loved when my sister told her husband that he will always be her number 2 in her life as God is her number 1. And I loved when her husband put on chap stick before kissing her (it was so him). For other post on my sister's wedding click here.
My cat hiding
Most of July was spent at work and at school. I was writing more on this blog, which was nice then by August I was a full out blogger. I was also getting ready for my move. I grabbed boxes from my job or if I saw them sitting on the street. My cat was starting too get worried so she started hiding in the boxes.
I also attended another friend's wedding in August in upstate New York. I must say I like going to weddings where I am not busy doing other things so I can just kick off my shoes and just dance the night away. I did dance the night away and it was lots of fun. For other post on that wedding click here. (I love having this blog to sort of remind me what I did through out my year).
My cat blocking my reading
Then September 1st I moved. The move all went very well even with Hurricane Irene hitting the weekend before. I had some really good friends that came over in the storm and helped me pack. I spent labor day weekend unpacking and getting everything ready before school started this semester. This semester I am taking an Introduction to Cataloging and Historical Methods and still working my job. Next semester I will be going in as a full time student where I will be taking my last two core requirement Library Science classes (Evaluation and Management) and I will be taking my first Archiving class in which I will have an internship to do. It is not set up yet but I am really looking forward to being a full time student.
I am getting ahead of myself... back to this semester. I have tried to be better at juggling work and school but still remembering to take care of myself by taking naps even if they are for 20 minutes, hanging out with my friends even if all we do is crash on the couch and watch a movie. The big news of this semester is that my really close friends (practically family) had their little baby girl Brianna on Oct. 20th. I was so happy when I saw the first picture of her I began to cry. Then when I got to hold her I was over joyed. (If you haven't figured it our I love babies).
Some other big happenings in my life is if you have been following this blog you might have seen some changes in my life. In October I was kind of going through an identity crisis (more of a purpose crisis). I was wondering what I was suppose to be doing with my life. I have always wanted to be a wife and a mother and that felt so far away from me. That I honestly didn't know what to do. Of course this has a long back story of being upset at God. But some where in between my A Page from my Diary (Sept 28) to my Thought for Thursday (Oct. 20th) and even now my life has really changed. I still don't know what I am suppose to be doing but I lean a lot more on God to remind me to live in the moment and He has a beautiful future for me. I am also reminded on a constant basis that I have been blessed so much that I need not worry about the future for it too will be blessed. I am also letting go of my past (mostly my mistakes) so I can move on to a bright future.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. I hope even with all the stress comes from this Christmas time that you are able to remember the real reason for the season. It is not about presents, decorations and parities. It is about getting together with loved ones (friends and family) and celebrating the greatest gift of all when God gave us his son to live and then die for our sins. I was just told about this article from the Huffington Post on the Real War on Christmas a good little reminder.
Linus explaining what Christmas is all about.
I was talking to a married couple in my bible study and the wife was telling me she was worried about her kids having a good Christmas. She wasn't worried about the gifts necessarily she just wanted he kids to have a great Christmas. It reminded me why I love Christmas so much. I can't tell you everything I have gotten. But the memories that stick out to me was spending the night at my Mema and Grangran's house waking up on Christmas morning with all my family there. Then after eating a huge meal my mema would ask if any of us wanted dessert but we were too stuffed to say anything. Then when I got older I remember two years I made my dad cry (good cry) over the gifts I gave him. One year it was picture of me sitting on his lap resting my head on his shoulder the other year was I wrote him a poem about how I needed him. Other Christmas memories are my uncles fighting over Oklahoma State and Oklahoma University football and my mema who was as mild as a mouse usually but when we played chicken foot she was the most competitive woman. None of these memories cost much money and have little to do with the gifts it is more about the time we have had together.
Now the one thing I am looking forward to is getting home and when I land I know my dad will be there and he will give me one of his big hugs all of which will tell me I am home and loved. (I guess I am getting a little homesick in eager anticipation for Christmas).
So there is my Christmas, year in review, letter. I hope you enjoyed.
Is it bad that its not even Thanksgiving and I am already thinking about Christmas. I am very much a person who believes in one holiday at a time and I get mad at stores that put Christmas stuff out before Halloween. After having a sister that worked in a craft store I understand more why they get it because there is just so much stuff they have to put it out, but I still don't like it... I like Christmas to be sacred.
Growing up my mom wouldn't let us listen to a Christmas song or watch a Christmas movie till after we had watched White Christmas, which we did on Thanksgiving day or the day after. And I loved sitting there with my slice of pecan pie and maybe hot coco letting the Christmas season begin. My mom would fill the house with little Annalees and I got to do the nativity scene, which was always my favorite as it was really the only decorating I did. Then when it was all gone, I remember the house looked so empty.
An Example of an Annalee
A Fontanini nativity set.
But now I see on facebook that a lot of people are already watching Christmas movies and listening to Christmas songs... and I want to join in but I can't because I still believe Christmas should be sacred and we should wait till after Thanksgiving to celebrate the season of Christmas. But I so badly want watch my favorite Christmas movies and sing Christmas songs.
I know my mom reads, this and will probably be thinking "you are an adult, you can watch Christmas movies whenever you want." That true mom, I can but I like Christmas being at Christmas time. So I am holding out for after Thanksgiving to start decking the halls.
I think I like the idea of Christmas because it means going home, seeing my family, and reliving traditions. I have a lot of fond family memories surrounding Christmas. It also means a time away from school and stress and I could use that right now. So maybe I am not jealous of the people already watching Christmas movies, I am jealous of the mind set they are in.
Okay that is my random tangent of the day.... If you are in the Christmas mindset already please consider Advent Conspiracy. The idea of it is to remember the real meaning of Christmas.
One thing I like seeing about multiple versions is comparing and contrasting them. I know you shouldn't always do this as you are always to prefer one version of one thing better than another, it is just natural. But I actually like seeing the similarities between the versions, like which lines sick. For example in multiple versions when Bob Cratchit makes a toast to Mr. Scrooge, the founder of the feast, Mrs. Cratchit says "The founder of the feast indeed... I would give him a piece of my mind and I hope he has a big appetite." Of course Miss Piggy playing Mrs. Cratchit says "I would give him a piece of my mind and I bet he would choke." But there are other similarities so two Christmases ago after seeing the Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey I decided to read the original source. It is not that long but Dickens can go into tangents about the conditions of society, that didn't really help the story, but I think he was paid by the word. But it helped me understand the story better.
