Why I'm kind of obsessed with Julie Halpern!

I really like this cover! It reminds me of my dirndl that I bought in Austria.

Have you read anything by Julie Halpern? I have! I first read her book Into the Wild Nerd Yonder last December and I think I read it within 4 hours. I could. not. put. it. down. It was that good. I even wrote her a fan letter saying how awesome I thought she was. It was very fangirlish but I was really excited about her book and then I found out that she was a librarian and it made me squeel with glee. Seriously. There was actual squeeling going on. AND THEN she wrote me back, and it was awesome and I felt very much like I felt when I meet famous people, even though I didn't really meet her.



Anyways! Since December I've been following her blog and commenting on it sometimes and found out that not only does she like The Monkees (!!!), she also interned on The Adventures of Pete and Pete which you all should know is a very awesome show that I own the DVDs of because it's part of my childhood and I cling to my childhood like Linus to his blanket. Seriously. A few months ago her new book came out, Don't Stop Now, and she held a contest where she was giving away a signed copy of her book. I entered it and I WON!!! I love winning stuff. It's fun :)

Look! It's me! With my book! It's even signed too!

Anyways I finished Don't Stop Now in a night. It was great. It's about two friends who take an unexpected and unplanned road trip quest. It made me yearn for those days right after high school where I felt invincible. It made me want to go on a road trip at least, I've never been on one with friends. I mean, I've been places with my family and I've been places by myself but I've never gone with a boyfriend or my best friend... hmm I'll have to change that soon. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but I really enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters. I think that most young people can relate to wading that murky water between friends and maybe something more. Heck, I still wade that water. But I like the ribbon of confidence that is woven throughout the book, the message, "don't stop now". In my mind, it's kind of like "just do it" or "just go for it", which I think a lot of people don't really do. We think too much. I think too much about things and then you lose the moment. I don't want to lose moments anymore. Anyways, you should check out Julie Halpern's books. They are funny and witty and she has a real knack for depicting realistic teenage characters. :)
  

Why I don't even bother to see scary movies anymore...

I promise that this post has at least some literary content. A tiny bit, but it's there.

So you may have noticed that Daniel Radcliffe aka Harry Potter is going to be in a new movie, "The Woman in Black". This is causing me much distress because as much as I want to support Daniel Radcliffe because he portrayed my beloved Harry Potter, I have serious issues with this film, the play that the film was based on and the book that the play was based on. It basically comes down to the fact that it scares the crap out of me.

In July of 2007 I went on a 3 week study abroad trip to Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland. It was extremely fun, I had been to England, Wales, and Scotland before but never to Ireland and that was the main reason I wanted to go on the trip. My grandmother's father was from Ireland and the story goes that his brother died on the Titanic come over to America (I later found this to be false, I was doing some genealogical work and the records and names didn't match up, apparently my uncle had found this out too but neglected to tell my mother). Anyways, I feel a strong connection to Ireland, wanted to go, and so I did. It was amazing, one of the best trips of my life and I think about going back every single day.

 

 

 

This is me at the Rock of Cashel.

Anyways, after Ireland we crossed the Irish Sea and traveled around a bit and ended out stay in London. That was where I saw the dreaded play. I didn't have very many shows on my list to see whilst in London, so when the professor asked if I had anything in particular I said "We Will Rock You" (the Queen musical) and whatever else. It was impossible to get tickets to Equus (with Richard Griffiths and a naked Dan Radcliffe) so I didn't really care what I saw. She got me tickets to "The Woman in Black".

A group of us went out to dinner and then took the tube to the theater. I'm very glad that it was a group of us because I went to see "We Will Rock You" by myself and I would not have been able to make it through the entire play if I was by myself. Basically the play is about an older man who has written a play of his life which he takes to a younger actor to see about having it performed. It's kind of a play within a play that way. Anyways they go about acting out the script which tells the story of a young lawyer having to deal with the estate of an old woman who had passed away. He travels to a town that is haunted by the Woman in Black, a spectre that brings bad luck and death to all who see here. I won't go to much into the tale, you can read the plot summary if you like on wikipedia. It's a very accurate description. As someone who was heavily involved in theater in high school I'm pretty knowledgeable and aware of how things are done on stage. I know that it's fake and there is a crew member or some sort of machinery that is causing a  rocking chair to move or doors to slam. I know that it's a P.A. system that magnifies the Woman in Black's scream. I know it's all fake. I. KNOW. THESE. THINGS. And yet it still scared the crap out of me. So much so that I jumped out of my seat and grabbed the guy next to me's leg and broke skin. With my non-existent nails that I constantly bite, I broke the skin! There is a twist at the end that really freaked me out (see the wikipedia article) and I think it was the twist that allowed me to stay freaked out by this play for the rest of the trip and now that I'm at home.

I'm still afraid of this play. If I wake up in the middle of the night and I'm disoriented? I think of the Woman in Black. If I'm alone at night and it's late and I hear weird noises? I think of the Woman in Black. It still haunts me. Logically I can look at that and say, "Wow, what a great piece of theater, to still have me thinking about it about 4 years", but honestly, I kind of just want to forget about it.

Now the movie is coming out. I know that the play is different from the book, and I think the movie is going to be more like the book than the play but I'm still afraid to see it. The only thing that I can think that might make me feel better about it, is that the play within the play scenario and the twist at the end really bothered me the most. I hope the movie doesn't have those elements, because then I might be able to not be scared out of my mind for the next 4 years.

Here is the trailer for "The Woman in Black". What do you think? Are you going to see it?

Why?

Creepy/crazy guy: Are you going to be working here long?

Teenage Librarian: Tonight?

C/CG: No, for a long time.. you're not going to quit?

TL: Uh.. no.

C/CG: Could you come here and look at my computer?

TL: Sure. *gets up, goes around desk and looks at his computer*

C/CG: Why is it requiring me to enter a cell phone number?

C/CG has clicked on one of those ads that says that if they click there, and enter their number, they will get a free $500 gift card to whatever. You all know those ads, right? The super scammy looking ones? Yea. That's what he clicked. 

TL: It's part of their requirements. In order to receive whatever they are giving out, they are requiring you to enter your cell phone number.

I don't think most people understand how much of my job I spend reading directions to people. Seriously, they ask me why their e-mail isn't coming up. When it says on the page PASSWORD ENTERED INCORRECTLY!!! and then I tell them that it seems like their password was entered incorrectly. And then they ask what should they do if they forgot their password and I tell them to click on the link that says "Forgot your password?" and then they do and I have to read each and every prompt to them. Because apparently if you walk into a library you can't read. /digression

C/CG: Well,  I'm currently in between cell phone numbers. Could I enter yours?

TL: No

C/CG: Why not?

TL: Because it's my cell phone number and it would be inappropriate.

C/CG: But it's $500!

TL: No. Sorry *walks away*

Seriously? What would inspire people to think that this would be okay? I would NEVER ask some stranger that. EVER! Ugh. People.

I had a dream when I was in high school, that I attended the Punk Rock Academy

Did I mention that my best friend is moving back to town? No? Well, she is! I'm very excited Carolyn and I have been friends for a very long time. She moved up to Berkeley a few years ago to attend school (at UC Berkeley, she's a smart one!) and now she's moving back to town and since I moved back to Orange County, we're going to be living only 15 minutes apart. YAY! 

Me in the Ramones shirt and Carolyn showing off our Mole Cupcakes

Carolyn and I go way back, officially meeting in my freshman(her sophomore) year. We were quite the duo, if I may say so myself. 

We were both involved in theater.

This is us stage managing. Obviously.

We both loved Disneyland!

This is us on Splash Mountain, granted not in high school. This was a few years ago. 

We just had a lot in common. Our parents, our musical tastes, we just meshed well together. Carolyn was/is more outgoing and has a ton of friends. I don't and am more shy in situations until I feel everyone out. It was the perfect fit.  We used to hit up Disneyland every weekend and just walk around, ride the rides, people watch and it was fabulous. Our parents were even totally cool about it and mine would drive us and hers would pick us up. When I finally got my license, I would drive us around town and we'd do stupid stuff like play music loud, hang out at parks and at Hammer's(a friend) house.

I remember one time we were in line at the Carl's Jr, and then decided that we didn't want Carl's Jr but instead In-n-Out. I backed out of the curved drive thru lane. It sucked, but it's a silly memory I have. I also remember going to her Nana's house for teas, or her aunt's house for a Christmas tea and getting to try on this really awesome vintage hats. I remember stupid stuff like, we ditched our last class of the day to go to Planned Parenthood, or we drove up to LA to meet her friend Sam. I remember spending Halloween at her house watching Rosemary's Baby, or being bummed out because her boyfriend couldn't pick us up and drive us around (I was the ULTIMATE 3rd wheel in high school). We had sleepovers at my house with our boyfriends, or at my boyfriends house with her and her boyfriend. We went to homecoming together, and I went to her Disneyland grad night with her. It was just fun fun fun.

Carolyn graduated and went on to OCC and got really involved in theater there. She introduced me to my exboyfriend and then the dark time happened. Exboyfriend was recently back from Iraq and had "issues", and naively I thought that I wanted to be with him more than my best friend and so when he had issues with Carolyn, I had issues with Carolyn and we stopped talking for about a year.

I don't remember what brought us back together, I remember seeing her at the Ryan Dallas Cook memorial but I don't remember the specific event where we hung out again. Maybe she does.

It doesn't really matter in a lot of ways, we got back together, we're friends now and it's all good. But I still feel guilty about leaving my best friend for a guy. It was stupid. It is stupid, but it's the past.

But basically this post is about how much I miss my best friend and how glad I am she's coming home. Sometimes it's hard to not have your best friend around. We have so much history and know each other so well that when we DO get to hang out, it's like we never missed each other, but I am really happy she'll be closer.  It's nice to have someone to talk to who knows your whole history. :)

I will leave you with this. Carolyn introduced me to the movie Rock and Roll High School. I'll never forget it!