Shmurf.

NaBloPoMo. Oh no. It's so late. Early.

I don't really know what to post about, but today my date brought me my ticket for prom along with this book he is lending me, both of which I am quite excited about. The book is called Cloud Atlas and is by David Mitchell. I am only a few pages into it now, but it is really good. My date tells me it's about the deterioration of the English language. So far, the beginning has a lot of really weird words I've never heard before. I haven't looked them up, though. :/ That's what our English teacher says we should do, but it does sort of ruin the fluidity of reading to be looking at the dictionary every few minutes. Oh well.
Anyway, I'm really excited about it, so I'll post more when I am done. :)

Hooray!

The AP English test went really well! I may have even got a five! The multiple choice was definitely the easiest, but I felt really good about my essays, too! We'll see about it! :)
Leslie, you need to come over!

Welll...

Tomorrow is the AP English Literature test and I feel very prepared for it. Today I went to my friend Christina's house and we reviewed Hamlet together because it's one of those plays we can never remember. :) After the test, my entire class is going to Chipotle, which should be fun!
What else? Lately I have been rereading Pride and Prejudice, which only gets better every time. Mr. Darcy is probably every woman's default boyfriend. Har har har. I am working on writing new music, which is fun, but going slightly slow.
Also, subconsciously and sometimes with definite thought, I am thinking and planning for prom! :)

Take Two: Donating Blood

Today I donated blood for the SECOND time ever! It was fairly scary because the lady was kind of new (you can just tell) and she couldn't find my vein. It was somewhat painful and made me very dizzy. I blacked out a little on the way out, so when I got home, I laid down on the floor in the living room and put my feet on the couch.
Donating blood is important, so even if this experience wasn't quite as idyllic as the last, I still did SOMETHING good today. I am happy. :)

More News About BYU!!

I know where I'm going to live next year! Last week I got my housing all ready and such and I also found out who my roommates are and added them on facebook! They seem really cool! One is from South Africa.
I am so psyched about being able to study what I want to study at college! I am going to be double majoring in English and Music Composition! It's going to be amazing!!!
Plus, I have all these cousins who will be there and we are going to rule the campus!
In unrelated news, I took the AP Government Test today and it wasn't half bad. :)

Hmmmm....

Not much to post about tonight, so this is mostly just so I can keep doing NaBloPoMo.
Today, my grandmother came over and we planned some more of our Paris trip this summer. We're also thinking of stopping in Copenhagen to see the Christus and stuff, and because we have ancestors there. I am so psyched!!!

If the Pizza Girl met the Latte Boy...

As some of you may know, the Jonas Brothers (popular fraternal teen boy band) recently came out with a song called "Pizza Girl." Likewise, Kirsten Chenoweth sang a cute song a little while back called "Taylor the Latte Boy."

The question is, then, since both food-associated persons are so apparently entrancing, why don't Pizza Girl and Latte Boy get together???

Just a random thought. Someone should set them up.

LESLIE, YOU NEED TO READ THIS.

This is NaBloPoMo Post number one, guys! The theme for May is sweet, apparently, and in that vein, I'm sure I will think of a lot to write about.

For instance, there is the matter of food.
Family can occasionally be sweet.
Movies, chick flicks specifically, can be sweet.

But, more specifically, this post is about something rather romantic/sweet that happened to me yesterday.

Yes, friends, relatives, blogstalkers.

I got asked to prom by an awesome guy.

YYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(jumps up and down in a happy dance, my sister adds)

I am terribly, explosively, and incandescently happy.

Pluse, I just went to Mormon Prom last weekend, so I have already had a practice version. So I pretty much know exactly what I'm going to look like, only this time I can do it better. Bwahaha.

YES!

Take the Quiz here!

Just a quick post!

I'm home this morning because, due to Standardized testing, seniors don't have to go to school until 10:50! It's really nice and I don't have to get up quite so early. 

Anyway, I just wanted to post about this: 

My friend and I wrote a song for graduation which we've been working on all year. Recently, we invited our other guy friend to play the guitar with us. We rehearsed the song a few times and it sounded really good. We all sing, so I was on the piano, this guy on guitar, and all of us harmonizing. We tried out last Friday to sing at graduation and we won! I am really happy about it. :))))

Also, I am working on a new classical song! We'll see how it turns out! :)

"Wake up and find themselves here..."

I didn't realize how much I related to the author of this book until I got near the end. Dillard plummeted from childhood into adulthood, banging away on the piano, writing poetry in the style of classics and in foreign languages, reading books endlessly, and falling in love (all while disappointing everyone and not caring). I read this book just when I felt like my childhood was going. My brother had left for college, I couldn't stop thinking about everything, and I felt trapped inside my skull. When I read An American Childhood, I realized that other people had felt the way I did. To an extent, I felt as if the book were a little about me.

Look at this Book!

I just had to post on this, since I found this book on the internet a long time ago and then discovered a file with this picture on the computer. I love how they write my name!It looks like such a cute book. Maybe someone who reads this will know what it's about. Haha.

Senioritis

So.... I go to school every day, get to Economics first period, and then I wish I was at home. This happens in 2nd period, 3rd, and so on. Except maybe not 4th because the guy I like is in that class. Ha.

It seems like during second semester- no, way before second semester- all my classes seem useless and pointless. That is, going to my classes doesn't really help me learn or pass whatever AP test I am working toward. Come on! I've already been accepted into college! Can I just go now?
This particular instance had more to back it up, however. On Thursday I got really sick and my Mom let me come home, so I slept forever and took painkillers, etc.
I guess I'm not necessarily homesick, then. More like anywhere-but-PDHS-sick.

Dresses

Okay.  In the event that I do get in to Open Call (which I find out about tonight) I will need a dress. Also, when I go to Mormon Prom (and normal prom) this year, I will need a dress. These will, in all probability, be the same dress. And I am already scouring the internet for the right one. So what about these?

$235

$115

$385

The site says the purple one and the red one are in good condition. Not so much for the green, but I really like the color. :/ What do you think, reader(s)?

The World is Really An Awesome Place

I GOT IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BEE WHY YOU

OHMYGOSH. Applications are all in, first semester is over, and everyone in high school has senioritis and is SO READY for college. NOW! I've already been accepted to Idaho and Hawaii, but, of course, BYU's admission decision is the last to come. They started sending letters beginning this Monday, and the last day to find out is February 27th. I want to go there so much. They have the most amazing English and Music programs ever, which is what I'm double majoring in. Plus their Honors program is super awesome and makes me ecstatic just thinking about it.

Well, I have to go start learning my music for All-State in March. Hooray music!

My Audition

I know the suspense has been killing you, reader, so here is what transpired at my Open Call audition last night.

Mom drove me to the McCallum around 8:30, since the email I got from them said to be there fifteen minutes early. My audition was at nine. I was wearing a white scoopneck blouse, a navy pencil skirt, and these new heels I got a few weeks ago. (I'm just saying... I put thought into this. I had to look like a gorgeous prodigy composer, whether I really am or not.)

When we arrived, I went in the back door of the theatre, signed in, and went to the green room. (Luckily, I had a performance there in December with my choir, so I was already familiar) The Varsity Dance Team from my high school was there, and had just tried out, and so I said hi to the girls I knew. Also, the kid who won last year (who's about a year younger than me, I think) and his two sisters were all there. 

I felt kind of embarrassed that I didn' t know anyone really well. Plus, all these people had at least some experience with Open Call, so I was a bit inept in comparison. The audition before mine was the guy and his sisters; they played a very cool trio all together on the piano, even though I only heard a little of it when someone opened the door. I stayed in the green room and talked to one of the girls from the dance team and pretty soon, I was alone in the Green Room. I was the last one to audition.

When a lady came in and told me I was next, I walked through the stage door and out to center stage, trying to keep good posture and look confident, and said,

"Good evening; my name is Emily Brown. I am seventeen years old; I'm from Rancho Mirage, and I will be performing a piece I composed called, 'June Impression.'"

Then I walked over to the piano, sat down and took a deep breath, placing my fingers on the keys.

Then I took another breath, and began to play.

The first thought I had was how beautiful the tone of the piano was. It was a Steinway, and while the keys appeared somewhat worn, the piano was spectacularly in tune, with a clear, smooth tone unlike any piano I have ever played before. I kept my shoulders back and concentrated on dynamics, remembering to keep certain bits stacatto.

Somewhere near the middle, and slowest part of the piece I felt somewhat nervous and started shaking a little. The muscles of my calf were spastically quivering while I held down the sustain pedal. I plunged myself in the music, and finished the piece with some small mistakes.

When I was done, I lifted my fingers from the keys gently, (which my piano teachers have been trying to teach me to do as long as I can remember) and stood up. The judges applauded politely. I said, "Thank you," though maybe not audibly enough, bowed, and began to walk off stage.

"Emily," said one of twenty or thirty judges. This one was a guy, about fifty, to my right.

I stopped.

"Are you classically trained?"

"Yes, I am," I replied.

"Who are some of your favorite composers?"

"Mmm...Chopin, Debussy...I have a favorite piece by Grieg," I trailed.

"Yes," he said. "That piece reminded me so much of Debussy."

I smiled again, said "Thank you," bowed, while they applauded again, and walked off stage.

On the way out, the guy in charge of sound said goodbye to me; so did some other people. I went back to the Green Room and got my bag. Another guy said goodbye and asked if I got my tape and then laughed when he realized I obviously didn't have a tape. Coming to the back door, I said goodbye to the guy at the front desk, and then pushed my way into the cold air outside.

And then- it was as if there was not enough air in the world. I literally started gasping for breath, shaking all over and crying. All I could think about was how much I wanted this, to get in to the show and perform my piece for everyone who would listen. I kept this up, until I got to the car. Then I took another breath, smiled, and got in to tell Mom how it went.

Hopefully I made it, guys. Everyone cross your fingers!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!

By the way, I want a piano just like this one:

It's got an interesting story behind it, too. Click on the picture for a link! :)

Rhymes with Coeppen (a rare surname in the U.S.) Thrall

Unscramble the letters to figure out this phrase!

celp anlo

Can you decode this clever anagram?

CLAP NOEL

27. Of the following responses, choose the best answer:

What is the name of the Coachella Valley wide talent show, hosted by the McCallum Theatre?

a. Free For All, a title which makes clear the fact that all amateur performers are invited to participate.

b. Big and Small, which means people of all sizes are free to join in the show.

c. Open Call, a name which basically sucks but reflects the idea nonetheless.

If you chose answer "A," you are for human rights! Congratulations! You should be a Libertarian, since Libertarians are awesome and they wish the government would leave everyone's rights alone.

If you chose answer "B," you are probably short or tall and wish more talent shows would accomodate your size.

If you chose answer "C," you have something in common with the staff of the McCallum Theatre, since they chose that name over the vastly superior "Free for All." (Plus, also, wouldn't it be cool if the show was at the Civic Center Park and it was actually free?)

Yes, reader. The correct answer to all three questions and the title is...

Open Call.

This year, it is vaguely important to me that I get into Open Call. I've never tried out before, and since I'm off to college next year, this is sort of my last chance. I sent in an audio recording of "June Impression," one of my compositions, and as of Thursday night, I have made it to the next level: Live Auditions. So now I've been practicing my song over and over, trying to act like I have some level of stage presence. I just want them to know that this is really important. This is my composition. My baby! If they don't pick me, it's like a diss to my life's work!

Which brings me to the fact that when I finally grow up, I want to write scores for movies. To practice, I am going to buy movies, strip the sound from them, and then write new soundtracks. I think that will be really fun. :)

In entirely unrelated news, I have basically memorized Dylan Thomas's "Fern Hill," my new favorite poem, with less than seventeen mess-up points. Thus:

"Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs,

About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green...

Umm. As the grass was green...

Argh."

I actually do know the next line. That's just a scenario of what it's like at different points in the poem. Very scary.

Anyway, everyone please cross your fingers that I make it into Open Call!

I can't remember whether I wrote about this fountain when I was in Visby, but as you can see, it is a girl holding a seashell, which is spurting water. As we walked past this fountain one of the first few times, I imagined her saying, "I can hear the ocean... Hey- I can feel the ocean!"

Anyway, I just found these pictures on my computer and I thought I would tell that little story. 

In recent news, I have been riding the bike I got for Christmas everywhere and will post pictures of it soon. I rode it to church yesterday, which was an adventure. My skirt kept scooting up my legs. Mom thinks maybe I could get weights for my skirt, like the ones you put on a tablecloth. Also, as I was crossing Monterey, my shoe fell off, so I had to pick it up, turn around, and start across the intersection all over again. Phew!

I have to go clean so I can go to the movies with Madelyn, but I will write a new post as soon as I think of something interesting to write about!