Finally a blog about "IT"

Why do we blog? Is it to truly write about how you are truly feeling because you don’t want to say it out loud? Is it easier to write? What would happen if everyone in the world started blogging? I asked myself that question this morning and the answer I gave myself is…I don’t have that much time in my day to read all my friends blogs. I also know that most of my friends rely on status updates, tweets and one on one, face to face conversations. So why did I start to blog? Beats me! I thought to myself one day…I’m pretty funny, the things my friends and I do are pretty funny…so why not write about it? So I did and I can look back at these blogs and laugh. Laughing is what keeps me going, it’s my life force. Then I asked myself, why did you stop blogging? Even people asked me why I stopped blogging. Then I realized I stopped blogging after “IT” happened. By “IT” I mean the dreaded Face book relationship status change. I know it sounds so Junior High School but I realized I can’t write a blog about anything funny without writing about “IT.” The laughter never stopped in my life after “IT” happened. The laughter became greater; I have the most amazing people in my life that never allowed the laughter to go away. So, why was I so scared to write about “IT?” Well, I’m not so here we go, the blog about “IT.”

What can be said about a year and half relationship? A year and a half ago I just lost 113lbs. I was a new person in a new body. I had new clothes and a new outlook on life. I had a good job, amazing friends and life was great. I was getting phone numbers from people who looked past me and I generally threw them away because I didn’t change on the inside only the outside. One night at a party I met someone and I went full tilt lesbian (sorry girls but you know what I’m talking about), I u-hauled, big time! Was it wrong? No. Was it fair to jump on a relationship before I fully had time to discover the new JJ? No. Do I feel like I hurt myself and my partner by doing this? HELL YES! I wouldn’t take back the past year and a half. To say there wasn’t good times would be wrong, there were a lot of good times, but also a lot of change in both of our lives. I realized at 32 I had a routine, I was used-to my life the way it was. I changed a lot about myself but deep inside I wasn’t happy about it. But that also doesn’t mean that change was needed. You can’t go through a huge life change like lap-band surgery and not expect to change yourself. No one told me that if you gain 5 pounds, you are going to look in the mirror and see yourself at 331 pounds again. No one told you how to act a dinner party when someone asks you “why aren’t you eating a lot?” No one tells you that the slightest bit of hanging skin makes you feel un-sexual and no matter how much your partner say its okay your brain tells you different. These are not facts that they tell you before you embark on your journey of weight loss. So where does that fit in when you start dating again?  Guess what it doesn’t. It consumes you; it puts strains on the relationship. Was it all my fault? No. Do I blame the other person? No…I leave that to my friends J I spent the last year and 2 months happy and I spent the other 4 trying to save something that couldn’t be saved. When you are in a relationship you change and so does the other person. It’s human nature and it can’t be stopped. I know we both saw something in each other when we first met. We were both at a cross road in our lives and I think it was easier to seize the moment and grasp onto a relationship that we both wanted so badly. Is that a good thing? Yes it was. Did it unfortunately kill us? It sure did. There is no blame on either sides just a moment when you finally say, “I’m not happy” and move on. Then you think to yourself, “Okay, what the hell do I do now?” Well, you do just that you move on. In your head you spent the last two months of your relationship going through all the break up steps and when it’s over you’ve reached the last step of acceptance, you smile and say “okay, it’s been a great ride and now it’s time to get off.”

So here I am, a year and a half later. I’m finishing school, I just closed a musical that came at time when I needed to forget my sorrows, I’m surrounded by friends and family, NYS state passed gay marriage, I’m laughing everyday and signing four postcards for gay marriage open a wonderful new door to even more laughs & smiles makes the fact the I’m sleeping on an air mattress until the new mattress arrives make “IT” more bearable. And the fact that a little cat named Zoe makes it easier to come home to an empty apartment.

So, I guess that’s the answer to the question…we blog because “IT” does get better with writing….

GCC Prof. Ashley Anglin and her Germanna 'family' play big part in 'The Sound of Music'

Left to right, GCC's Matthew McKinney, Prof. Ashley Anglin and Hannah Martino play key roles in a community production of "The Sound of Music" that runs July 28-31.

Germanna Community College Prof. Ashley Anglin jokes that she's looking forward to adding singing soprano in Latin to her resume when she performs with students Hannah Martino and Matt McKinney Thursday through Sunday in a community theater production of "The Sound of Music" at Spotsylvania High School. Anglin is a professor of Spanish and Italian and the GCC Department of Modern Foreign Languages chair.
"And she sings it beautifully," says Marilyn Scott, who is the director of the show and of the local Christian Community Theater, a branch of the Christian Youth Theater.
This will be the first Fredericksburg CCT show. CCT is all ages. The cutoff age for CYT is 18.
Martino, 20, will play the lead role of Maria, McKinney will play Rolf, and Anglin will play Sister Sophia. Austin Fitzhugh, another former student of Anglin's, plays Max. Anna Godfrey, the show's stage manager, is a GCC student who has applied to the nursing program.
Anglin earns a 4.9 out 5.0 on RateMyProfessors.com for making learning fun. "We have a competition to see who can be rated the meanest teacher," she says with a laugh.
"She is so creative and so funny that she makes learning very easy," Martino says of Anglin.
Anglin, who earned degrees at Catholic University and William & Mary, taught at Northern Virginia Community College before coming to Germanna four years ago.
The 17-year-old McKinney, who has been a Dual Enrollment student at Germanna, won a GCC award for academic excellence in math. Martino, who has a semester to go, has been a member of the student government.
McKinney's character, Rolf, is a teenage boy who becomes a Nazi. The sweet-natured McKinney says playing the role is difficult. "I kind of turn into a jerk," he says with a smile. "It's hard for me to be mean. Hopefully, I can pull it off. I also have to be a flirt, which I really don't know how to do."
For Martino, playing Maria comes naturally. "I love being with the children," she says. She has worked as a full-time, live-in nanny and as a tutor." Singing harmony with so many young children is a bit difficult, though, she said.
"I grew up with Julie Andrews," she says. She says "The Sound of Music" is her parents' favorite movie. "My dad cries when [Andrews] sings 'Edelweiss.' " she says.
Pointing out that Martino's first role was Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz," Anglin says with a laugh, "My first part was 'dancer No. 14.' "
Martino has been involved in CYT Fredericksburg since she was 16 in 2007. With CYT, she's also been in "Seussical the Musical" (Mrs. Mayor), "Les Miserables" (Fantine), "The Music Man" (Marian), and "Guys and Dolls" (Sarah Brown). She hopes to help disadvantaged children through the performing arts.


What: "The Sound of Music"
Where: Spotsylvania High School, 6975 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania
When: July 28-31, 7 p.m.; 2 p.m. performances also on July 30-31 Cost: $13 online, $15 at the door, $11 group discount (10-ticket minimum)

For more:

The Free Lance-Star

Korean Movies #97-101 AKA So I Watched Some More Korean Movies

'Hello Ghost' (2010) 6.5/10

'Phone' (2002) 6/10

'The President's Last Bang' (2005) 7.5/10

'Princess Aurora' (2005) 7/10

'Oasis' (2002) 6/10

1. A Moment To Remember 9.5/10
2. Tae Guk Gi - Brotherhood 9/10
3. The Good, The Bad & The Weird 9/10
4. Friend 8.5/10
5. Il Mare 8.5/10
6. Oldboy 8.5/10
7. A Bittersweet Life 8.5/10
8. Humming 8.5/10
9. Sad Movie 8.5/10
10. Sensitive Couple 8.5/10
11. 71 Into The Fire 8/10
    
12. A Man Who Was Superman 8/10
13. Memories Of Murder 8/10
14. Antique 8/10
15. The Chaser 8/10
16. Private Eye 8/10
17. My Boyfriend Is Type B 8/10
18. Castaway On The Moon 8/10
19. Daisy 7.5/10
20. Lovers Concerto 7.5/10
21. Almost Love 7.5/10
22. Rainbow Eyes 7.5/10
23. The President's Last Bang 7.5/10
24. My Sassy Girl 7.5/10
25. Man from Nowhere 7.5/10
26. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....and Spring 7.5/10
    
27. Mother 7.5/10
    
28. Romantic Island 7.5/10
    
29. My Tutor Friend 7.5/10
30. Once Upon A Time In High School 7.5/10
31. Ride Away 7.5/10
32. Time 7.5/10
33. 3 Iron 7.5/10
    
34. Summer Whispers 7.5/10
35. A Millionaire's First Love 7/10
36. Sympathy For Mr Vengeance 7/10
    
37. Thirst 7/10
38. Joint Security Area 7/10
39. All For Love 7/10
40. Breathless 7/10
41. Daddy Long Legs 7/10
42. Ghost House 7/10
43. Secret Reunion 7/10
    
44. Hansel & Gretel 7/10
    
45. He Was Cool 7/10
46. My Love 7/10
47. Lovers of 6 Years 7/10
    
48. I Saw The Devil 7/10
49. Maundy Thursday 7/10
50. Once In A Summer 7/10
    
51. Someone Special 7/10
52. Princess Aurora 7/10
53. The Classic 7/10
54. Ditto 7/10
    
55. Hot For Teacher 7/10
56. A Dirty Carnival 6.5/10
    
57. Hello Ghost 6.5/10
58. Break Out 6.5/10
59. Miracle on 1st Street 6.5/10
60. Jongduk/Addicted 6.5/10
61. Guns & Talks 6.5/10
62. Holiday 6.5/10
63. A Love 6.5/10
64. Love Phobia 6.5/10
    
65. Ing 6.5/10
66. The Housemaid 6.5/10
    
67. More Than Blue 6.5/10
68. Speedy Scandal 6.5/10
    
69. Two Faces Of My Girlfriend 6.5/10
70. Secret 6.5/10
    
71. Daytime Drinking 6.5/10
72. Babo 6.5/10
73. Bad Guy 6/10
74. Bestseller 6/10
    
75. Midnight FM 6/10
76. Beautiful 6/10
    
77. Big Bang 6/10
    
78. Phone 6/10
79. Bungee Jumping Of Their Own 6/10
80. The Host 6/10
81. My Wife Is A Gangster 6/10
    
82. My Little Bride 6/10
    
83. Oh My God 6/10
84. My Scary Girl 6/10
    
85. Oasis 6/10
86. City of Violence 6/10
87. Moss 5.5/10
88. 200 Pounds Beauty 5/10
89. A Tale Of Two Sisters 5/10
90. April Snow 5/10
91. A Man Who Came From Mars/Letter From Mars 5/10
92. See You After School 5/10
    
93. Death Bell 5/10
94. Whispering Corridors 5: A Blood Pledge 5/10
    
95. Venus & Mars 4.5/10
96. Psychic 4.5/10
97. A Better Tomorrow
98. My Girl & I 4/10
99. A Million 4/10
    
100. Living Death 4/10
101. Gangster High 3/10

These Enterprising Fool delivers Already began awaiting in Line for the iPhone 5

Rob Shoesmith is either the smartest man alive or the most anserine. I can't quite adjudicate. Why? For Shoesmith is already in line for the not-even-announced iPhone 5. Stuuuupid, right? Well, he's also received $64,000 worth of goods in sponsorships for doing so.

The 29-year-old merchandising administrator for Medl Mobile, a company that makes iPhone apps, has camped outside the Covent Garden Apple Store in London and is using his blog to document the experience of adjusting ludicrously early. Astutely, he asked companies to help him out (in exchange, he'd promote their products on his blog) and the companies have come out in troves (I guess they're the real dumb ones?)! Agreeing to the Metro News, he's inclined "everything from nosed candles and after-shave lotion to use of a $32,600 Chevrolet car, $1300 worth of outdoor gear and food from top restaurants."

The publicity stunt seems to be working pretty damn well. But with still a month or two before the iPhone 5 even appears, is Shoesmith a genius or a fool? Free stuff anathemises, I don't think I coulded he's doing. [Rob Shoesmith via Metro UK via App Advice]

Update: Rob has adjoined us and made clear that he has not began camping for the iPhone 5 yet. He doesn't know when he will start but I think turning his encamping process into a sponsorable online auction is certifiably brilliance. Touche, Shoesmith. Can't knock the hustle. Read a lot of on his blog.