l'amour: la langue universale

I do so love the song “Say Goodbye to Hollywood” by Billy Joel.  This song is especially pertinent this summer because I did recently say goodbye to Hollywood.  When I left California, I did leave a little piece of my heart there.  I met some amazing people, had some great experiences, and overall had a crazy-busy awesome summer.  Now I’m saying goodbye to A-town (which honestly isn’t as hard, other than a couple friends) and tomorrow I’ll be back in Southern MN, where I feel my heart truly is.  Some people think that’s weird, but it’s true.  And it’s not because it’s “cool” or because I’m “rebelling” or because I “don’t appreciate” how I’ve grown up, it’s just that my heart has always wanted more room to roam than just a small-town in Northern Wisco, and this summer has proved that to me.

I’m beyond stoked to be going back to school tomorrow (even though I technically can’t move in until Sunday morning. I’m beyond stoked to be starting Greeter training. I’m beyond stoked for this year in general.  Yeah, I said goodbye to Hollywood…but I’ll keep finding bigger and better things until my heart sings again. :)

Do you ever get so frustrated by a person or a situation that you just want to scream?  Sometimes when really big things happen, people feel that way. But what if you feel that frustrated and enraged when you aren’t even sure if it’s a big enough deal to be angry about? What if you aren’t sure if you’re overreacting?  What if you don’t even know if you have the right to be frustrated? *sigh* Oh, life. Ha. I shall ease my troubles with this random survey/questionaire thingy stolen from a friend:

Best Dance Song: “Telephone” or “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga. Obviously.
Most Romantic Song: “The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra or “She’s Got a Way” by Billy Joel
Most Annoying Song: Anything by Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, or Kesha.
Song to Rock Out to when You’re Angry: “Big Shot” by Billy Joel, hands down. This line says it all: “Go on and cry in your coffee but DON’T come bitchin to me!!”
Song to Cry to: “My Immortal” by Evanescance, “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John, “Between the Lines” by Sara Bareilles
Best TV Theme Song:  “How Soon Is Now?” by Love Spit Love (theme for Charmed)
Best Musical Moment in a Movie: “Bennie and the Jets” scene in 27 Dresses OR “Say a Little Prayer” scene in My Best Friend’s Wedding
Song to Sing Into a Hairbrush (while jumping on the bed): “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift
Song to Inspire You: “Your Love is a Song” or “Love is the Movement” by Switchfoot
Funniest Song You Know: “Mood Rings” by Relient K
Best 60’s Song: Oh lord…the Beatles…love them all but probs “Revolution,” “Across the Universe,” “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” “All You Need is Love,” “Hey Jude”…….I could go on.
Best 70’s Song: “Bennie and the Jets” by Elton!!
Best 80’s Song: Another reeeeally hard choice… Bryan Adams “Summer of 69”…”It’s Still Rock’n’Roll to Me” Billy Joel…”Don’t Stop Believin” Journey…”Hotel California” The Eagles…”Love is a Battlefield” Pat Benetar…”Keep on Lovin You” REO Speedwagon…”Time After Time” Cyndi Lauper…”With or Without You” U2…there are too many classics!!
Best 90’s Song: “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” by Elton, “Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears, “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne (was that 90’s or 00’s??)…ohhh the 90’s. Good times.
Best Rap Song: “Lose Yourself” by Eminem…I don’t like rap really but that song is amazing lyrically. We’ve all been there.
Song That Cheers You Up, No Matter What: “Haven’t Met You Yet” by Michael Buble
Song to Sing Loudly to in the Car: “Piano Man” by Billy Joel, “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar
Sexiest Singer: Michael Buble hands down…he’s got that whole “I’m a ridiculously hot Canadian” thing going for him…plus his voice is amazing and he played hockey in school. True love? I think yes.
Best Classical Composer: Well, if you mean classical as in the GENRE, not the period, then Chopin. If you literally mean the Classical period (capital C), then Mozart. (And Beethoven who is half Classical half Romantic. lol)
Best Country Song: Hmm. I like mostly anything Carrie Underwood or Taylor Swift…but other than that I’m not much of a country gal.
Best Disney Music: Hercules. No question.
Best Song in a Foreign Language: “Con te Partiro” (Italian) by Andrea Bocelli (his voice is STELLAR) or “Me Voila” (French) by Bryan Adams…or “Au Soleil” (French) by Jenifer.
Guilty Pleasure: Britney Spears…Spice Girls…
And lastly…a song that perfectly describes you/your life: “Can’t Hold Us Down” by Christina Aguilera

You’re either covering it,
Laughing it off,
Kicking it,
Kissing it,
Busting it,
Trying to get a piece of it,
Behaving like one,
Or living with one.

There’s a funeral today.

Most of y’all probably know I do a lot of work with To Write Love On Her Arms.  TWLOHA is a national non-profit that deals with suicide prevention, among other things.

 I’ve heard people say that it’s not a widespread cause - “Why not support something like preventing domestic abuse, that’s much more common”…I hear many comments like that.

I’ve noticed that a lot of times people’s first thought when you mention suicide is the celebrity scene.

 Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Heath Ledger, Kurt Cobain, we can all name about a zillion celebs who killed themselves.

People don’t think that it’s not just famous people.

It’s family.

It’s friends.

It’s KIDS.

My sister is 12 years old. She is on her way to a visitation for 2 of her friends from school: a 10-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy. Brothers.

Sad, isn’t it? That’s not even the saddest part. The saddest part is, these boys committed suicide.

Just a month or two ago, the 12-year-old (who is in my sister’s class) was at Disneyland with their class. He, like my sister, would be entering middle school this fall.

It’s not natural for a 12-year-old to be going to a friend’s funeral. A great-grandparent, sure. But their friends who are the same age, and younger? No. It’s not right.

It hurts to watch my sister go through this.

How do you explain to a 12-year-old why another 12-year-old and a 10-year-old would take their own life?

so it’s not just celebrities. it’s not just the “popular” cause at the moment.

suicide is a real issue. and I’m going to work towards its prevention in whatever way I can.

News: Ke$ha has won yet another music award for her shitty music.
My Take: Honestly, I used to hate Ke$ha. Now, however, I have a different opinion.  The thing is, as a music major, Ke$ha inspires me.  After all, if she can win awards and have a successful music career with her (lack of) talent, even I can make it in the music business!!

News: Justin Bieber has plans to publish a memoir this fall.
My Take: I expect it to be about 40 pages long, have a pullout coloring section, a how-to section on How To Come Out of the Closet, and a chapter on hair styling.

 News: Lady Gaga admits she still occasionally does drugs (namely, weed).  The press is appalled.
My Take: Come on. I would say probably 80% or more of celebrities do drugs, alcohol or both. At least Lady Gaga is honest about it. And at least she’s not shooting heroin or meth.

News: Ali picked Roberto on The Bachelorette, even though she should have chosen Chris.
My Take: Chris is now free to date me. I’m ready whenever you are Chris!

While I respect the fact that you are in your own yard and doing your own construction (which of course you have the right to do), I must inform you that your construction is causing me a LOT of hell in my life.

First of all, your drilling and sawing early in the morning is REALLY obnoxious, especially on the precious few days I get to sleep in. Second of all, with you being out in your yard during every single second of daylight, any time my dogs need to pee, they go outside, see you, and bark at you.  This in turn has caused other neighbors to get mad at ME for my barking dogs, which forces me to keep the dogs inside all day.  By doing this, my dogs are now whiny and growly at me all day, begging to go outside.  Since I can’t let them go outside (or risk having the police called about our dogs), every time I turn my back, they chew something up.  For example, I made the mistake of going to the bathroom today.  I left the door open to keep an eye on things, but apparently I peed just a little too long because I came out to find Molly chewing up a pen off the kitchen table and Isaac and Daisy chewing up kleenexes. They also chew up things while I sleep, which is not a good way for me to get a good night’s rest.  I’ve resorted to not leaving my living room except in extreme circumstances (I did have to go put in a load of laundry, so I kennelled the dogs while I did that).  If I do have to leave the living room (even to pee), I now have to kennel the dogs. This is a pain in the ass, neighbor.

I realize that this is probably more of a flaw with my dogs than your construction, but I’m choosing to blame you instead.  So finish up your handyman project and go back in your house so that I can return to peace with my dogs.

Love,

Brit