12/29/11

Top 5 Green Family Christmas Traditions.

1. Picking the Christmas Tree
Every year, my family and I go to the Christmas tree farm together to select the perfect Green Family Christmas Tree! Well...my mom and dad pick it out...while my brother and I play hide and seek. It starts out pretty easy; hiding behind a wall or in a different section of trees, etc. But then it gets intense. One year, my brother buried himself in this pile of around twenty trees! I was SO frustrated because I had NO idea where he was and couldn't find him for the majority of the time we were there. He won that year, but damn was he sticky.



2. New Ornaments
Each of us has our own box of ornaments we've collected over the years. And every year, we get a new ornament that may or may not symbolize something important that has happened to us during that year. I say "may not" because I got a gag one this year. It's a National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation one that sings this song that begins the movie, which I LOVE. I've been singing it ALL BREAK. Other ornaments include: three "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments, none of which have the correct year I was born, a ballerina from when I used to dance, and a wooden snowman my friend got me this year in our ornament exchange!




3. Never Staying in Town
Family Reunion!
We never seem to stick around for the Holidays. My mother's side of our family lives in San Diego, dad's side lives near Sacramento, and we live almost in Central. For those of you know know nothing about the geography of California, they are on opposite ends. These people don't necessarily get along very well, so we're forced to alternate between them. Sometimes it can be a pain, but it's a constant, and a promise that we'll see them both at least once a year, and for that, I'm grateful.



Josh is always so happy. 
4. "Pre-Christmas"
A nice part about spending Christmas somewhere else is that usually on the day we leave our house, we celebrate a Pre-Christmas! Basically, we open our gifts to each other, and our gifts from the side of the family we won't be seeing that year. It's a nice way to spend time with each other before we're surrounded by other family. Last year I got my brother a bunch of gag gifts. I filled a can full of pennies and wrapped it three times with duct tape. That was pretty entertaining. This year he got his ears pierced and asked for earrings. I felt so weird walking out of Claire's with a pair for my brother. A dude. They were cute, too.


5. Midnight Mass & Family Portraits
Midnight mass has always been a big event for us. Everyone gets all dressed up in their holiday best and we spend some time reflecting the true meaning of this holiday. The birth of Christ! Woo! I'm a little uncertain about where I stand with my religious beliefs at present, but it's always a nice reminder of the community I was brought up in and how I was raised. When we get back from mass,  since everyone's looking snazzy, we take family photos to celebrate being with each other at the conclusion of another fabulous year!

All Seven Grandchildren :)

12/16/11

It's Hard to Say Goodbye.

The semester is over, and here I am sitting in an airport getting ready to make my way back to my sunny California (yup, even in the wintertime). Back where my mom’s waiting to watch movies and eat junk-food with me while we unpack my things, where my dad and I will crack jokes night and day, where my brother will be gaming/working/partying 24/7, and where all my high school friends are a drive away.

You’d think I’d be thrilled to be going back here. Well..to an extent, yes, of course I am. I’m excited for spending the Christmas season with people I love. But this transition has its down sides as well. This past semester, a new group of people nuzzled their way into my heart.


I started hanging out with a new group of friends this semester. And I love them. It’s been a while since I’ve made friends who I really care about; who I trust and who I can depend on. Who would let me lounge around their suite until the wee hours of the morning just because I didn’t want to be alone in my room. Who trusted me popping their zits. Who came to see the play almost every night. Who would let me squeeze the bejeezus out of their hands while some girl drove a needle through my nose. Who would offer to give me a ride to the airport and leave a whole hour earlier just so I could make my flight. I mean these people just let me sit with them at lunch out of nowhere. It’s really an irreplaceable feeling to have friends that care about you. I didn’t really have that until this semester, and I found myself super dismayed by the idea of leaving them for home. Especially because one’s leaving for TWO semesters starting in January for London and then going to Chicago in September.


Last night a few of us had a slumber party in the suite and fell asleep to talking about our future kids names like we could any other night,
except that it was Jessica’s last night with us.
My alarm went off in the morning and I hated myself for putting my phone all the way by the window the night before. It was a gloomy, rainy day. I went back to sleep because no one was up yet, and didn’t wake back up until JUST BEFORE Jess left. We all hugged her goodbye, but it’s always harder to see someone walk away than to actually say goodbye to them. Right when the door closed behind her the tears ambushed me. This really took me by surprise. I NEVER CRY. Never for events that happen in real life, anyway. We all ran to the window and knelt there like puppies watching until she drove away with her hand out the window. It’s weird to think about the fact that someone who has become an essential part of my daily routine for the past three months I won’t be seeing much of at all for the next couple years. I'm really gonna miss her a lot. But how exciting does that sound?! A whole eight months somewhere completely different! That takes some serious courage. And the things she's going to learn and experience! I'm really excited for her :)

Well, now I’m back at home, just sort of moping around,
but seriously enjoying doing nothing.
This past semester was just such a stress-fest!
Time to sit back and relax :)

12/5/11

There & Back, Again.

So...I’ve really been putting off writing this entry, could you tell? I feel like once I’ve finished writing it, this crazy wonderful period of my life will be closed. People will no longer feel the same energy they once felt when bursting out into random songs about paradoxes and pirates. The secrets of the show that once connected us have all been revealed, and what’s left? A recording of some college’s performance of The Pirates of Penzance, and a few good memories.

Well, I guess I’d better share those with you then--

This play was a blasty blast if I've ever experienced one. I’ve never felt more strong or powerful or beautiful in my life; which I think is kind of remarkable considering I was a 47-year old nurse-pirate wench.

I made some new friends,



got to wear the most awesome costume ever
(complete with extra boobs and two extra butt pads
which people squeezed for good luck),



had my mother come visit and see me perform,
sang and performed for a full audience in a lead role
(check that off my bucketlist!!),



became a better singer,
and laughed the entire time.

What a great looking bunch of people :)



I think one of the most amazing parts was singing a solo onstage. I can’t even describe the intensity of it. All I can remember is complete silence in the auditorium - except for my own voice - which everyone was there to listen to. Now that is a crazy thought. The stage lights blinding me when I looked into the audience only made it seem that much more surreal. It was such a special moment. But the best part was the fact that there were so many people there; this show meant SO much to me, and the fact that I got to share it with them just made me want to cry, I was so happy. I literally loved every person who came, especially the people who were important to me. One of my friends came and saw it three of the four nights, my choir conductor, who knew I had been working my ass off for this thing, came and said she was blown away, my mother flew out from California to see it, and another friend of mine said he wasn’t going to be able to make it, then surprised me by coming to the last performance. All these people made the show worth doing every night, and I’m more happy to have shared those few nights with them than I would be if I got to spend my whole life onstage.

Here’s one of the recordings -- its the opening of the show.
I think the whole first act is online if you've got an extra 45 minutes to spare ;)

It’s funny - Recently, I’ve been asked many times why I perform, and every time I find it an extremely difficult question to answer. Normally, I say I do it for myself, but, I think this production has led me to thoroughly enjoy acting as a means of connecting to people in the audience.Theater has the power to largely impact people; I’m entranced forever and a day by performances I see, here in Chicago (which is why I am so sad not to have seen any theater this whole semester!!). I know exactly how it feels to leave a show and be mesmerized by an actor’s performance, or concepts of the show, or even something as simple as a single line in it. And to be the cause of that mesmerization, to actively stimulate someone’s mind other than by simply stating an obvious truth, I think, is an incredible power.

On the other hand, when I say I perform for myself, I mean that I love it because performing the most awesome way to explore human capacity. Think of all the emotions you’ve ever felt in your life. Now think of all the different ways of expressing those emotions. THERE ARE TRILLIONS! The one regret I would have were I to die this very instant would be that I didn’t know everything I’m capable of doing or experiencing. You’re probably asking, “Well, why don’t you go do the real thing, then?” Truthfully, I’m scared. Who in their right mind thinks it’s easy to tell people how you really feel about them? Or that you get the chance everyday to bitch out the person you loathe? Or to lie straight to someone’s face to get what you want? And who in the hell actually gets to experience love at first sight anyways? Acting gives us the opportunity to explore such rare human emotions, for the most part, without consequences.

Well, now I'm getting side-tracked. Anyways, here’s to the amazing performance, a great cast, and many more memories to come!