mumble and gloria.

Today is a super awesome day. Why? Because it's Ashley's birthday, of course!

You should know that Ashley and I are personality twins, separated at birth, perhaps. In the five years we've been friends, I think the only discrepancies that we've discovered in our lives are our political views and 90's boy band loyalties. Otherwise, we share the same passion for dance, ability to remember choreography from years ago, obsession with watching old recital videos, apathy towards getting drunk, love of crafting and Sharpee markers, and tendency to indulge our inner 6-year-old. (Oh, and as for the title of this post, we're penguin pals since we played Gloria and Mumble from Happy Feet in the winter recital of '06.)

We also have the same thoughts and feelings about a lot of things, specifically those things that make me think I'm crazy and weird. Do you know how awesome it is to find out that someone else shares your special brand of crazy? Our opinions are so mirrored that, when one of us is trying to explain how we feel about something, the other person usually interrupts and says, yes, I totally understand, we're the same person, remember?

Last weekend we had an early celebration for her birthday, which was slightly insane but tons of fun. There were games of Kings, Never Have I Ever, and of course, Ash and I rehashed some old choreography. Which, I should mention, has become so commonplace that nobody blinked an eye (except maybe E, who'd never witnessed it before) and people actually joined in if they were passing through our makeshift "stage" in the kitchen. The party was so good that the date has already been set for next year's, which I will definitely be attending.

Happy birthday Ash! ♥

tu-tu birthday celebration.

I find myself looking over the pictures from Friday night and almost not recognizing myself.

Maybe it was the new eye makeup I've been using. Maybe it was my haircut finally starting to feel like me. Maybe it was the flash from the camera amidst the dark lighting, making my skin look flawless. Maybe it was being giddy to see my dancers again, being out dancing for the first time in a long time, or getting to introduce my boyfriend to my little dance family. Or, maybe it was the vodka.

I keep doing double-takes at the beaming, bright-eyed face smiling back at me through those pictures. She's radiating positive energy. Her eyes are so bright, not tired and not adorned with bags. She isn't just posing for the mandatory picture-taking and plastering a smile on her face to convince everyone she's alright. And you know what? I don't think it's because of any of the reasons listed above. It's simply because she is - I am - happy.

Friday night was fantastic. I was coming off of a high from spending the previous night at E's place and was ready to dance the night away to celebrate Cortney's twenty-second (tu-tu) birthday. It was so great to see Lisa and introduce her to E, to get a picture with most of the LM Lifer crew, to drink and laugh and act silly. This night out was just what I needed to reconnect with my dancers, especially when we were rehashing old inside jokes. Even if the music was crappy and way too loud (seriously, my ears were ringing all the way home), I had an absolutely amazing time.

by me, beside me.

Recital 2005: 'Last Dance.'

Five years ago, I was at my dancing peak. I had classes at least three days a week, though that number grew as we approached summer, our competitions and our recital. I remember sitting in our studio and finding a friendship with a 13-year-old girl. Because a lot of the girls in my class went to high school together, sometimes it was hard being the girl from private school. Dance class became social hour and all the day’s drama was dished. I loved these girls, there’s no doubt about it; occasionally, though, I felt left out.

Julianne, Shirley and I, rehearsals for Recital 2005.

I befriended that 13-year-old, Julianne, for many reasons. Not only were we out of the high school drama loop, but we were both passionate about dance. We took stretching seriously, worked on parts of the dance we hadn’t perfected yet, and learned choreography quickly. She was obviously amazing; being the youngest in the group by at least three years, she out-danced a good number of them.

Dress rehearsal for Proud Mary.

Five years ago, after late-night rehearsals and our final show day passed, I had a conversation with Julianne, discussing her future. A huge decision weighed on her shoulders on whether or not she should continue at our dance school, the one she had been with for at least five or six years. We talked about many things – how it would affect our dance ‘family’ and what she was truly looking for – and a decision was made.

Julianne ended up switching schools, and as much as it hurt to see her leave the ‘family,’ I knew it was best for her. She grew in leaps and bounds, something I observed through Facebook videos and performances at the local street fair. Every time I saw her, she became even more amazing and inspiring. I was like a proud older sister watching her flourish the way she did.

Last weekend, I attended her final recital. Just like during my ‘graduation’ recital, she danced in routine after routine, and she stole the show every time. Her face was lit up with a bright smile or whatever emotion was needed. You could tell she was having the time of her life. When it came time for her solo, she was incredible beyond my expectation. I found myself unable to stop tears from springing to my eyes because I was so amazed and proud. It really sunk in that this wasn’t little Julianne from five years ago, but a more mature and seasoned dancer. It was a moment I’ll never forget.

After her graduate recital.

Five years seems to have flown by ridiculously fast- it was only that long ago that I stood on stage, across from this girl in a pair of pointe shoes and a shiny copper costume. And even then, I knew in my heart that she would be something great.

Recital 2005: 'Troy.' We're both in front.

birthdays, birthdays, and more birthdays!

Oh, there have been too many birthdays lately. Not that there could ever be such a thing - because I love birthdays - but every time I turned around I had to start prepping someone else's gift. In true Cait style, I got a little crafty and, in one case, did some Target searching for cute things for the birthday celebrations.

First up was Melissa's birthday in April. Hers was a very last-minute, spur-of-the-moment idea, although you would never know it. It turned out amazingly, if I do say so myself. I mean, I always set out to do really good work, but I'm a huge critic and it's rare that it passes my own standards. I'll let you decide.

'Basically just 4 years of pure insanity' is the new tag line to our friendship. Also, PIPE CLEANERS AND FOAM DEALIES.

Next up, at the very beginning of May, it was my dance twin Ashley's 25th birthday bash. Since the first project went so well, I decided to go the same route and I was equally as impressed with myself.

Penguin love!

Finally, my BFF Danielle's birthday was two days ago, although we surprised her with a little birthday celebration during our reunion last week. Natalie and I set up my family room with leftover luau decorations and some delicious drinks, and we ordered in from Chili's and watched Hairspray. It was fabulous. I went scouting for gifts at Target and wound up with an adorable stationary set, picture frame, and jasmine-scented candle.

Yes, I bought three. One for me, one for Dani, and one to use as an emergency gift for someone.


Perfection.

I've got one major birthday left - my cousin - and I'm at a loss because she and I have done everything crafty for each other. I made her a scrapbook and gave her several picture frames and collages, she's made me a big collage and gave me a lovely speech at my graduation. Her birthday's next week and I'm totally going blank. Any ideas, crafty or not, are appreciated.

So that's what I've been up to craft-wise. I'm saving up all my creativity for my grandmother's scrapbook which we'll hopefully get started on soon - we only have about a month to go!

{Also, as I finished up this post I realized that today is also my friend Kyle's birthday! So, happy birthday!}

just dance.

I have a little secret to share: when I wrote about missing dance in last week's post, I already knew I was going back to class. Yes, it’s true – last Wednesday night, I got together with a few other alumnae from my dance school and a friend of one of those girls and we had a full-fledged hip-hop/jazz class.

Although I forgot to bring the right shoes (I literally brought every other pair except for my sneakers) and was dressed more for lyrical than hip hop, I slipped easily into my old routine. The warm-up stretches came right back to me, along with the across-the-floor kicks, turns, and leaps. And in case you were wondering, I’ve totally still got it when it comes to my tour j’etes.

Class was exhilarating, fun, and a total body workout. I’m not the greatest at freestyle or making up my own choreography – instead, I love to pick up other people’s choreography. There’s a rush I get in executing something that someone else thought up in their head, working to make it the best that I can. I laughed and goofed around, but I also broke a sweat and had to catch my breath a few times.

Before I knew it, we were finished and packing up our stuff. I could’ve continued for three more hours thanks to my body still being trained from spending countless hours in the studio. If you ask me to go running, I can barely make it longer than thirty seconds, but throw me in a dance studio with seven dances to rehearse and I could be there all night.

The next morning I woke up and smiled as I felt the all-too-familiar soreness in my body. It was a welcome feeling – I may be crazy for liking a stiff neck or sore calves, but it was comforting in a way. I used to feel sore all the time when I was in class several days a week. My friends at school who also took dance and I would compare “battle wounds” with each other – what was sore and what was bruised, and why.

I’m so happy to be dancing again. Over the weekend I was down the shore with my dance crew for my BFF Ashley’s birthday and, as always, we eventually broke out the dance mix and started doing choreography on the deck. It was too much fun.

Class isn’t supposed to be for too long – just a few weeks – but I’ll take as much as I can get. I’m off again tonight for my second class, for my chance to get away from life and just dance.

whirlwind weekends

This past weekend was the last of my crazy tendency to plan outings on consecutive days.

My four-day weekend of madness started Thursday night. I saw Sara Bareilles, Maroon 5, and Counting Crows in concert. Yeah.. we headed out before Counting Crows had set up because we were tired and starving, and not willing to spend our life savings on food from the venue. Anyway. We arrived just in time to see Sara Bareilles finish her set. She sang Gravity, which is my absolute favorite song of hers. Then Maroon 5 came out and THEY WERE AMAZING. Adam Levine is a tasty looking man, especially when he's really sweaty. Mmmm. They really mixed up their set a lot, doing songs from their old album as well as the new one. I was happy.


We had a pretty decent view from our lawn seats, but my camera is crap so this is the best picture I have.

The following day was spent running around like a crazy person for my friend Barb's surprise going-away party, since she's moving to Las Vegas in a mere ten days. The party was fun, but in some respects, not worth all the stress I put into it. However, she absolutely adored the scrapbook we made for her (that was one of the secret projects I mentioned here).

Saturday was little miss Isabella's third birthday party! When I went to get her gift a few weeks ago, I realized how easy it is to shop for little kids. All I had to do was walk into a store, look for anything covered in Disney princesses, The Little Mermaid, or Hannah Montana, and I was set. I ended up getting her a huge Disney princess coloring book, new crayons, and some Disney stickers. She got a ton of adorable clothes, which she kept throwing on the ground after opening. I forgot how boring clothes are for little kids. And of course, there was the oh-so-expected moment where Isabella and her 5-year-old cousin, Daniel, were tearing wrapping paper from a box of clothes. As soon as the paper was off, Daniel held it thoughtfully for a moment before proclaiming, "oh, it's just a box." I absolutely remember that sentiment as a child. I would look up at my parents and go, really? A box? How thoughtful of you. Oh, there are CLOTHES inside. ...I still don't care.


The birthday girl, eating her cake.


The birthday girl and myself with her new coloring book, after tearfully insisting that we go inside and paint instead of just using crayons. Well, it's her party and she'll cry if she wants to.

Sunday was way more laid back. I slept in and went to see Lyndsay in the late afternoon. We played DDR, packed for her Disney cruise, watched the Olympics, and witnessed the most ridiculous (yet hilarious!) stuff on YouTube.

So that was my last OMGIdon'thavetimetobreathe weekend. I've done a pretty good job of spreading out the rest of my social calendar over the next two weeks, so I should be able to get back to sleeping normal hours. That is, if I ever get out of the habit of blogging at 4am.

Oh, and the haircut is scheduled for this week, so be prepared for either my Elated Hair Success Story or my Panicky Ultimate FAIL Hair Story. Let's hope for the former, shall we?

weirdness, work, and weekends

Every so often, I get into a very strange mood where I act like I'm ten years old and buzz around my parents, annoying the life out of them. Literally. I can see the days peeling off of their lives as they look at me thinking, wait a second, aren't you twenty-one now? I really don't know what triggers these moods.

I did notice, however, a few weeks ago I was doing it to overcompensate. It was the day after The Boy and I broke up... went on break... WHATEVER it is that we're doing right now. I don't think my parents expected me to be upset, and yet I bounced down the stairs and into the kitchen, humming and acting like I was experiencing a full-blown sugar rush. And this was after just waking up. I definitely realized that I was thinking pshhhh! This break-up thing is nothing. I'm totally fine! Look! PERFECT EXAMPLE OF FINE-NESS. Ahem.

Not that I was necessarily too broken up about it anyway. But.. that's another story for another day.

*

Sooner or later, I knew that my tasks at work would turn into manual labor. Fun, right? Here's the scoop - my boss runs a small branch of a publishing company from her house. Usually I do a lot of data entry and typing on the computer (while simultaneously wasting my life away on teh internetz). However. Recently she sold her house and has the unfortunate task of packing up not only her own stuff, but all the business-type stuff as well. Enter: me. Especially since there's been a dearth of computer work for me. So this afternoon, most of my two hours was spent putting old files into boxes, checking them for CDs or other disks and throwing those away. Joy and joyness.

I can't lie - I love my job. Although recently, I think it's just that I like the idea of my job. I have very flexible hours and usually go in for only two to three hours at a time. I get to sit at a computer the whole time, which means constant internet access, I can talk on the phone, I can bring food.. basically, I get to do whatever I want as long as my work gets done. The only problem is that the work I do is the most boring stuff on the face of the planet. I deal with it because I don't mind data entry, but there are some days when I wanna slam my head through the computer screen. Additionally, my boss tends to be very unorganized, making her my polar opposite. My organizational tendencies are off the charts and are borderline OCD. So that occasionally frustrates me beyond belief. But you know what? It's a job. It's my only source of income. I think I'll deal with it.

*

This weekend was quite lovely. Saturday was spent with The Boy, and that's all I'm saying there. Sunday I went out with my favorites from my dance school - Ashley, Barbara, and Cort. We're all kinda bummed because Barb's moving to Vegas at the end of the summer, so we're trying to get all our quality time in before then.

First we went mini-golfing in the heat. Guess who got sunburned?!


(LAMENESS FACTOR NUMBER 1: I am incredibly, disgustingly pale.)

Then we escaped to Friendly's for food and stuff. And the waitress took way too long to serve us our drinks, seen here:



And as you can see, we ordered ice cream. Well, sort of.


(LAMENESS FACTOR NUMBER 2: I ordered fruit sherbet at Friendly's. FRUIT. SHERBET. WITH MANDARIN ORANGES. Seriously, WTF.)

That was my weekend. What did YOU do?

time flies when you're sleeping late

It honestly doesn't feel like I've been out of school for a whole week now. I guess I can attribute that to sleeping until 2pm or later every day. Additionally, I've been out of touch with my roommates and it's not bothering me yet. Strange.

This week was a blur. After an exhausting day last Friday, I spent the weekend down the shore (DTS) with my dancers. In the short span of twenty-four hours, I: had a total blast, ate way too much junk food, didn't drink more than two sips of my friends' Malibu Bay Breezes, and got addicted to Sex and the City. Sunday night I pretty much crashed as soon as I got home and unpacked. I don't remember much of the rest of the week.. there was a lot more junk food consumption (which was always regretted), going back to dance class and back to work, and having lengthy AIM conversations. And, ta-da, it's Friday.

So what does one do on a Friday night away from school? Nothing, that's what. Especially when it's raining. Okay, so I'm a liar, and I already went out to support Lyndsay's cheerleading team. They were having a pasta dinner, and it was really nice. I was prepared for undercooked pasta, uncomfortable seating, and sitting by myself. Luckily her grandparents were there too, so I had someone to sit and talk with. The food was surprisingly delicious. The cheerleaders were so cute - they all had their matching black shorts and pink cheer shirts, and each had their own knee socks - and they made sure everybody got their food as quickly as possible.

They reminded me of my days working events for school. I did everything: ushered at the school play the years I wasn't in it; was a prize runner for raffle nights; served food at the craft fair; lead tours during open houses. I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff, and I kinda miss it. At college, I got involved with RHA because I like to run events, not for the generic reason of wanting something good to put on my résumé. Which is probably why I have a hard time quitting even when everyone else is because they're sick of it. Yeah, it's stressful.. but I never really get sick of it.

Ah well, college is almost over for me anyway. Ew, that's gross to actually type out. I was reminded the other day that we are officially seniors now. GROSS. That's all I have to say about that.

This entry is quickly going all over the place, so I'm going to end it here. I'm off to update my iPod, which I've been meaning to do for about three months now. Oh the things you can do when you don't have school to worry about.

new and old

Yesterday I experienced another one of my late-blooming firsts in life - I went clubbing. Okay, so I didn't technically go clubbing. I went to a club to see a bunch of awesome dance performances. But it still counts, okay? Because I still got the full club experience of getting carded, buying really expensive alcohol, and getting asked to dance by a creeper.

We spent an hour driving through the city, where we were supposed to be finding a club called Hiro, which was located on 16th Street between 8th and 9th. And yet somehow, we ended up passing by Ground Zero. (Note: I am completely unaware of the geography of NYC, but when I told my roommates this, they were like, "wow, you guys were really off track.") Luckily, because my studio director had reserved a table, we were able to get in without waiting in line and we got an awesome little place to sit on the second floor of the club.


Our view.


Ashley and myself.

I was so glad to actually have someplace to sit, because I made the mistake of wearing really uncomfortable shoes and would've died had I had to stand on the floor. I didn't dance much, except towards the end when they kicked us out of our table area. But I had a blast. Watching my studio director and our friends get buzzed was entertainment enough for me, especially with the drive home and stopping at the diner at 4:30am.


Chris being his typical self at the diner. I'm not capable of repeating the conversation that brought on this picture.

**

It seems that the way I'll be able to stop biting my nails is if I'm constantly distracted. And I mean constantly. Because it took the past two days of back-to-back activities for them to grow. I just sat down at the computer an hour ago and noticed that they had grown out a little bit. Of course, as soon I realize they're growing.. the urge to bite them is even stronger. I've already chewed off a few of them. Here's hoping for more willpower so that they can finally grow out completely.

**

I just spent a half hour freaking out because of my recurring addiction to the television show So You Think You Can Dance? (SYTYCD?). A quick summary of my serious, serious issues regarding this show goes something like this - I watched the second season, got really attached to two dancers that were partnered (whom I also believed WAS COMPLETELY CONVINCED were dating and destined to marry), saw their tour twice (including a secret trip to Connecticut), continued to thoroughly obsess over them, and made a point of going to every event they were at whenever possible. Which included trips to Long Island and Pennsylvania, where I spent my time developing relationships with people I had only known online. Yeah, I had issues.

Finally though, I got over a lot of it, mainly because it was consuming my life and also, I realized I was acting a little crazy. But. I still have an attachment to that pair of dancers, specifically the girl, Donyelle Jones. Because she's the fiercest dancer I've ever seen.

ANYWAY. Tonight was Idol Gives Back, which I totally forgot started at 7:30pm. I meant to watch because a rumor had it that a few dancers from all three seasons of SYTYCD? were slated to be making appearances. Had I not forgotten, my ass would've been glued to my chair from the moment the show started. However. It turned out that their main performance was the opening act, and I had only realized it was tonight at 8:30pm. Craptastic. But then! I found a crappy YouTube conversion of the routine, I realized that HOLY SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS, Donyelle was in there somewhere. I knew a handful of the dancers would be there, but there were waaaaay more than I expected. So what did I do? Bought the performance on iTunes. And watched it about five times now

..maybe the obsession isn't completely gone yet. A-heh.