Nutcracker & new stuff

So you may have noticed this place looks a bit...different. Yes, I changed the layout and added a bit of navigation - you can access my Adventures Series (vacation blogs) now from the top menu bar, as well as my Bon Jovi blog (if you so wish) and my profile (About Me). Hope that's simple enough.

Anyway, tonight Gran took me to see The Nutcracker for the first time. I loved it! It was my first ballet as well, and it's something to get used to a story told solely through dance/music - but I enjoyed it. The music is beautiful, the dancing is amazing, and the colors and decoration are vibrant enough to really bring you into the setting. Aside from the fidgeting, whispering, squealing, crying children...it was nice! And now I can say that I've seen The Nutcracker, even if I never see it again. Some things you just need to experience, at least once, in this lifetime. Or at least, that's what I believe. :)

My Adventures Series - vacation blogs

So, since I clearly do not have the time to post here as often as I'd like, I figured the least I could do was archive my vacation blogs on here. And in the future, any trips I take will be blogged and archived here as well - so it's kind of like my travel blog more than anything, I think.

Anyway, the directory is here (as well as on a separate page when you click the link in the top menu bar):

_______________
PAST ADVENTURES:

My Adventures: Greetings From Paris
July 2009
The City of Romance! From the dazzling lights of the Eiffel Tower, to the magnificent Notre Dame, to the topless sunbathers along the Seine, Paris was a treat. Hot and muggy, beautiful and cultured, we made the most of our stay and soaked it all in...by foot.

My Adventures: Holland II
Dec. 2008 - Jan. 2009
Exactly one year after the first trip, I flew back to Amsterdam and spent two cold, wintry weeks with my boyfriend in the Netherlands. Entertain yourself as I journal about my first time in the snow, excellent home cooking, and a fairy-tale amusement park, among other things...

My Adventures: Holland & London
Dec. 2007 - Jan. 2008
It was my first time abroad, and I chronicled every minute of it. From mispronouncing Dutch words in the Netherlands to getting lost in London, it was my long-awaited dream trip. And you can read all about it.


___________________
UPCOMING ADVENTURES:

Italy & Greece - summer 2010 (postponed)

Maya Angelou speech tonight

I just got back - okay, actually, I got back about 4 hours ago - from a special event held on campus at CSUN tonight: Dr. Maya Angelou graced us with her presence for an evening and a speech.

I have always admired this woman - I did a report on her for Black History Month in middle school, and read her most famous book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I developed an interest and a respect for her, and learned more about what an amazing influence she is on this world:

An esteemed and very well-beloved poet, artist, author, singer, civil rights activist, playwright, memoirist, educator, historian, filmmaker, and producer, has received three Grammy Awards, the 2000 Presidential Medal of Arts, 2008 Lincoln Medal, and over 30 honorary degrees, and she has served on two presidential committees.

To say she is a phenomenal woman is the understatement of my lifetime.

So when I heard she'd be here, at CSUN, speaking to us, and students got in free, I was ecstatic.

And after her speech/appearance tonight, I am even more in awe of her, and have even deeper respect. She has a beautiful, strong and courageous soul, and it simply radiates off everything she does and says.

To wrap up my evening and share with you a taste of her pervasive and beautiful ideals, I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes of her from tonight. (I'm writing an article on her speech for my reporting class, so I had to take notes. ;))

Enjoy.

______________

"According to Genesis, God put a rainbow in the sky. I was inspired by the idea that the rainbow was put into the clouds, and not just the sky, giving the possibility of seeing the light."

This was her third time visiting CSUN in 20 years: "I come because I know Northridge is a rainbow in the clouds.”

“Laugh as much as possible…and never trust anybody who doesn’t laugh.”

She looked out at the audience of students and said, “Someone’s [pointing at individuals] going to help us dissolve this horrid, horrid question of racism, ageism, and sexism."

"You’re all the best we have. And we need you so desperately....I see the future in you.”

“Courage is the most important of all virtues – for without courage, you can’t practice other values consistently.”

“I don’t think anyone is born with courage. I think you’re born with the ability to be courageous.”

Racism was “created to dehumanize human beings.”

“Try not to be in any company where racism is the majority. Just don’t do it.”

“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

“I always say yes to a good thing, and then I pray…and then I go to someone who knows a thing or two about it, and then I go to the little people and ask, ‘what do you know on this subject?’ and then I pray some more.”

“I shall die, but that is all I will do for death.”


“See yourselves as rainbows in the sky.”

“I am in love with the search for truth.”

“We are the true wonder of the world.”

Professors told her when she was a young woman, for the first time in her life, “You can do it. And I did it.”

Food for thought...

I had my favorite class of the semester this afternoon - Visual Communication. It's a once-a-week, hour-and-40-minute-long class (unfortunately) that I simply adore because the professor is not only hilarious and sarcastic, but the content is downright interesting.

Today's topic was political cartoons, and he showed us many that insulted, offended, inspired, and elicited uproarious laughter from the class...so I wanted to share a few of my favorites.

Enjoy. :)

(Click on the images to open full size)

Nightmare

So I had a nightmare last night/early this morning that Bjorn died.

We were in some sort of cart/cage type thing suspended on cables, 300 feet in the air, at what I assume was a Bon Jovi show. Late in the show I noticed Bjorn was sitting on the outside bar of the cart, watching the big screen behind us. I got nervous, as he was facing the outside, and before I could reach out to pull him inside the cart, he moved. It seemed as though he was readjusting himself, but his arms were crossed, he had no support, and he slid right off the bar.

It was something straight out of a movie: everything went silent, I couldn't even hear the band, as I speechlessly watched him fall 300 feet to the ground. I remember watching and mentally telling myself to prepare for the fact that once he hit the ground, he'd be dead. He finally slammed into the ground and lay sprawled out, and I watched from 300 feet above in sheer horror...he lifted his head briefly, then fell back down, and I remember screaming and grabbing for the cables to lower the cart to the ground.

The people on the ground were screaming and the paramedics were there suddenly...his body was bruised and bloody (obviously), and I remember a few fingers were missing on his left hand...the paramedics rushed him onto the gurney and into the ambulance, and I followed, crying hysterically.

They did several surgeries, and I was just waiting in the waiting room with Katie...I guess Mom didn't even know what happened until the next day when I emailed updates to Katie and Mom read them over her shoulder (??) I stayed in the hospital with Bjorn that night and I remember holding his right hand (with all fingers, although severely bruised, intact) and telling him not to "leave me".

The dream broke up a bit then, but it ended with him dying in the hospital...and I woke up literally shaking and crying and sick to my stomach. After I woke up enough to realize it was a dream, I grabbed my cell phone and lo and behold, there were two text messages from him, which made me cry even more because it was proof that he was alive.

He called me and I told him the whole story (and broke down twice more, remembering the details), and I felt a bit better after he promised not to get into any cable carts or sit on the edge of anything 300 feet in the air.

But I can't shake the dream from my mind - it was SO vivid. I've never had such a vivid and detailed dream of death like that, and it has me utterly freaked out. :(

Wondering how to get my mind off of it...

Man In the Mirror

As my first (official) post, I thought I'd shine a little spotlight on the song I'm currently really into: "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson.

I've always been a fan of Michael's, and ever since the tragic news this past June, his Number Ones album has been on repeat in my car stereo. (Seriously, I think it's time to take it out...)

Well I love the good ol' "Billie Jean" (my namesake), "Thriller" (I'm learning the dance!!), and "Beat It", and of course I will just bump up "Smooth Criminal" and "Bad" to top volume...but for the first time in a long time, I listened to "Man in the Mirror" the other day.

It was a simple trip to Target, but I could not stop thinking about the song - most importantly, the lyrics. It's absolutely beautiful, and I have since (of course) learned every word and played it, oh, about 500 times in five days.

Read them:

I'm gonna make a change
For once in my life
It's gonna feel real good
Gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right

As I turned up the collar on
My favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin' my mind
I see the kids in the street
With not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind
Pretending not to see their needs

A summer's disregard
A broken bottle top
And a one man's soul
They follow each other
On the wind you know
'Cause they got nowhere to go
That's why I want you to know

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change

I've been a victim of
A selfish kinda love
It's time that I realize
There are some with no home
Not a nickel to loan
Could it be really me
Pretending that they're not alone

A willow deeply scarred
Somebody's broken heart
And a washed out dream
They follow the pattern of the wind, you see
'Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change

(chorus x2)

You gotta get it right, while you got the time
'Cause when you close your heart
Then you close your mind

(chorus and ad-libbing)

Make that change.


And take a listen:

This is the kind of music I love: talented musicians singing words with meaning. None of this hip-hop, rap, booty-shaking, grinding and gettin' down, "pop rock junk" currently flooding mainstream media.

But then, of course, there's the other side of the token: not only singing/liking/listening to words with meaning, but walking the walk.

If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.

Testing...

Some people were confused about the email notification settings.

For those of you who prefer not to join Blogger, I've added your email address manually so you receive an email version of my post in your inbox. I usually don't like to do that because then no one actually visits my blog (as you can read the post in your email message), but it works.

Let me know if those of you got this post to your email...

So I did it.

I started a personal blog.

We'll see how long this lasts. lol

Anyway, if you want to follow my quirks, ramblings, reviews, reflections, ponderings, and any other thoughts that enter my brain that I simply have to blog about, kindly join the "Friends" section over on the left. (If you don't have a Blogger account, you can make one in about 10 seconds.)

To get updates whenever I post, use the "follow me" feature over there (<-----) and select your fancy - updates via email, Google toolbar, etc.

To leave comments, click on the actual number in the parentheses next to "comments" just below the title info of each post. I really thrive on comments and feedback (as most of you know), so please don't hesitate to let me know what you think. I also welcome discussion on the posts that merit it.

To view past posts, click on the post title listed in the Blog Archive (also <------). They are archived by month, so if it's November and you're looking for something from October, just click on "October". It will produce a drop down of all the posts published on October. Voila!

Thanks to everyone who responded so warmly to my tentative suggestion about starting this thing. We'll see where it goes!!

♥ Becky