Three days until the show

This week I have seen more guys underwear then I ever want to in a lifetime. Besides that though the musical is going beautifully. I'm at school 14 hours and it's becoming more home then my house is. It's the week before show week and the pressure is on flying costume changes, cramming homework during songs, but it's fun! I have made more friends the lat few weeks then my last two years of school. Today I even went in for set build where we finished building and painting some of the sets. I realized today I can't paint texture and ended of sewing sparkley pink buttons on to Elle's pink suit. What I have discovered through and it's probably the reason I live this theater thing so much despite its insane-ness is that its finally a place I can throw in my major talants and thy are actually used and admired. Sewing, organizing making things look pretty, doing hair, and just being creative in general. Although I love band, creativity is not a big part of it. So that's all, short and sweet eh?

Exhusting Greatness

I'm sitting in bed drinking tea listening to hyper music, my eyelids dropping as I strive to write this entry. My eyelids are drooping, and although it is only 10:22 pm I am utterly exhausted, but it is a good type of tiredness. Satisfying. In books they always say that, and I couldn't figure out for the life of me how tiredness could be satisfying, but now I know. Today after school let out at 2:30 I was immediately at musical rehearsal adjusting things, and getting to run around like a chicken with my head cut off, something I love doing. (I'm honestly not being sarcastic right now.)
So for two years you, audience have gotten to hear all my band stories, but tonight we start a new chronicle. That of the Musical!!! (At this point in the entry you can tell exactly how tired I am)
For this year's musical (Legally Blond) I am in the costume department, and my job is to help dress the main character Elle Woods (which is simply what I shall refer to the girl playing her on this blog as). The musical world is just so different from the band one it's stunning. For everyone who is involved in one or both you may be saying duh! But for me they both had the slightly outsider geeks involved (well not exactly true with the musical, but whatever.) Both centered around music, and movement, both were directed by an adult, I mean what could be different! Sooooo much.
I just wanted to check in with this, and there are so many funny musical stories to come, but for now I just wanted to mention a funny incident that happened today. I was sitting in the back corner back stage trying to get math homework done while waiting for Elle to come off, but it was super difficult as these red lights kept flashing, and the flies kept coming down and up again. The ropes and simple machines creaking and clicking. The rumblings of gigantic sets over the wooden stage floor. With my bed bent over my work I honestly thought for a few minutes that I was on some amusement park ride.
OK that's all for now! Tootles!

Picture Credits: Me, as usual! Florida ocean early in the morning.

Fifth Anniversary

Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of NVT Ohio. Celebrations started out "early" in the morning. OK so on Friday night mum goes "The flag raising will be at 7:45 am. And so I groan and say "Why can't it be at nine seven is way to early. Well mua ha ha schedule! I got my way as after everyone finally finished eating which, of course, had to be done before flag raising and then A sangalpa was made of the event (deciding as a group how it would go, and making an intention) it was nine O' clock by the time the flag was raised. It was all I could do but laugh as my mother and the people who created the schedule glared at me.
Anyhow it would take a whole novel to go through every event and how it went. The thing I realized though partway through mid morning was that for the first time in a couple months I was at the temple and really enjoying myself. From the previous night actually when we were cleaning the building, getting ready for the next day. It was so quiet and the place seemed so big and glorious i was just contented to be there. Then the whole next day through crazy abishekums, freezing cold deity bathing ceremonies ( we dipped the deities in the river, and guess who also feel in trying to get a good shot? Yep yours truly!) I just really enjoyed being there around the deities, and people in my gorgeous half sari. then Swamiji's sweet and short satsang, that I honestly don't remember a word of, but it was fun. I think also what made it special was the fact a group from Toronto drove down, and being with fresh vibrant people is always a blessing. So That's it! I have now known Swamiji for five years as of this weekend. (I met him right before the temple opened) Also I'll write here since he is such a supporter of my blog Happy Birthday Dad! (It was yesterday, but still!)

Photo credits: I have no idea who took this photo but it was sometime in the middle of the night, right before the Toronto Temple opened. Paz and I doing typical temple event work!

Travel? Yes!

The little bar on the top right hand side of my mac tells me I only have 21% battery power left, and since I am at the temple and forgot my power cord this will actually be a short entry. We arrived back home last night, and this morning jumped right back into the thick of things. It was Easter (happy Easter everyone!) so I was woken up early (uhg) to hunt for our baskets of candy (yippee!) and that's pretty much what I had for breakfast. Then went back to bed, but was dragged out again when I decided to go to Swamiji's webinar today which was specially for youth. Well his version of youth ages 18-42. The webinar was one of the best I listened to for a while, from my point of view, it was really good. He talked about how millions of youth from around the world are addicted to the internet (so true!) and other stuff but the main thing that hit me was he said it would be good for all youth to go on a parivarajaka (not sure about that spelling) but from my point of view it's a journey one takes. A pilgrimage basically that isn't totally planned out and you just wander giving up the normal physical nessisties. I cannot remember if I have talked about it or not, but I have made arrangements to graduate from high school a year early and then spend a year in Ireland. But lately (even before the webinar) I got to thinking, I would really like to travel all over the world, but cut myself off with the question how. Money basically being the issue.
But Swamiji said to take a parivarajaka and if you lived in India to travel the length and breath of India, and i you lived elsewhere to travel the world learning about different cultures and traditions and just really living. Those words were all I needed, one more year of high school and then I will be 18 and I will do it. My first year as an official youth and I will do my parivarajaka. and I have a year to go, I'll figure out the money. So I've got 16% left and that's all for now. Bye!

Day Three of Paradise

Well maybe not paradise, but as close as it can get. Although my mother may scoff when reading this considering the numerous scawbbles with my sister, I am completely serious when saying these have been the best three days of my life since January. Besides those minor blips I just feel so utterly content. I don't know if it's a trick of the mind, being in a new place, the amazing weather, or the constant water from canals, to lagoons, to my walk on the beach this morning, but what ever it is I love it.
To go into detail of the last three days I would bore you, and type my fingers to death so lets suffice to say we have seen a lot of wildlife (mama & baby manatee, baby alligator, pelicans, fish, sea turtles, squirrels and rabbits, other sea birds, and snakes (black rat I think). We went to the coolest little resturaunt today, and walked on a 60 minutes walk on the beach this morning (20 minutes away from my grandmother's house)and went to Pelican Island the first ever wildlife refuge in the USA. Mum says she doesn't want to do anything tomorrow. Ha we'll see.
Just tonight at 9:00 mummy comes over and asks if I want to go swimming at the pool. It is completely safe and fun. So my whole family gets swim ready except Sasha because she didn't want to swim and I voted to take my Grandmother's Golf cart and we drove over to the community pool which is open till 10:00. (P.S. I drove the golf cart and they are super fun! Even if going over speed bumps fast is agonizing.) so we swam around in the dark goofing off, doing laps, and gymnastic tricks. The usual right? Then drove home as fast as we could, going the long way of course. So sitting here now, cold water dripping down my back hoping that every one can be this happy this week. Ok that's all for now enjoy the pictures!

Mind oh Mind

Hello readers!
How are all of you? Things have been super busy lately, but today my family is driving from Ohio to Vero Beach Florida to visit my Grandmother, and the drive is only 18 hours so I finally have a lot of to write! Not directly of course I am writing this in Open Office, and then will post later. It is 5:41 pm and we left at 4:00 am and can I tell you my butt is sore!
Anyway though that's not what I wanted to write about, although maybe I will later. What I really wanted to discuss was the past week. I have been going through all this internal struggle and I'm not sure if it is due to 2012 phenomenon, just being a teenager, or barn stuff. But Although I am activily living it, it is also interesting to watch what I am going through, sorry if that doesn't make any sence, but it's the only way to say it. I see myself starting fights with my little sister, getting mad, and getting irritated, then trying to calm myself down. The good thing is about watching this, since I have started doing it, I am a lot more aware of what I am doing and am starting to work on stopping myself my getting mad before it starts, although I am no where near perfect.
The other thing this week that is connected to this is I have realized a swift reduction of thoughts. It's just as if there is a big gapping hole in my mind that things I try and think about, and extra thoughts are falling into. On the one hand it is nice because I don't have thoughts constantly running throughout my head, but on the other it's frustrating. Like I was at the store yesterday trying to decide between two different clothing articles and I literally could not think about it my mind could not bend to the task, so I'm going to keep watching that and see what happens. I supposed I'll sign off with that, I cannot wait to write about my trip and post pictures. Mum has seen a Starbucks and is now ecstatic (as am I) who doesn't want liquid sugar?