Lots of new stuff [BEDA August 4]

So I went to the doctor today. I, A) discovered that my albuterol inhalers that I've been using for the last four years have actually started to make my asthma symptoms worse, and B) had to get two shots. On the upside, my hair looked fantastic all day!

On a different note, I move to Chicago in twenty two days. Commence omg-I'm-going-to-college-really-far-away-from-home freak out! My roommate seems pretty cool from the emails we've exchanged, even though it's mostly been about minifridges and majors. I've got orientation on Monday, and I'm seriously nervous. First thing is my audition for level placement. Yea. Freaking out.

On another different note, I think I want to start vlogging. I don't know yet. It wouldn't replace my blogging -- probably -- but it might be a fun new chapter in this whole venture.

Until tomorrow:)

BEDA two days late...

So I have decided to do BEDA, or Blog Every Day in August. I'm two days late getting started on this. Blame Pottermore. I've been so concerned and distracted lately about my Pottermore registration. For those that do not know, Pottermore is a website where fans will be offered an extended HP experience. Jo Rowling is releasing more info on the stories and every user will be sorted by a test designed by Jo herself, and will be given a wand. Basically every single person in the HP fandom wants to be part of this, and as of October they can be.

However, the beta version of the site will be available to 1 million people starting in a few days. The trouble with this is that there are certain clues going up at certain hours and then a semi-complicated process to follow to sign up. After you register you are supposed to receive a verification email and activate your account within 48 hours of registering. Later however, we discovered that they were having issues with Yahoo accounts. The emails had apparently been sent out, but Yahoo accounts were receiving theirs extremely slowly.

I have a Yahoo account. Eff my life.

So according to the Pottermore blog, they were "...currently talking to Yahoo in order to resolve this problem and will update this blog post with new information as we get it." Then later they updated the blog with this little gem. "Is there any update on the Yahoo! Mail issue?
This has now been resolved and everyone who registered with a Yahoo! Mail account on Sunday or Monday should now have received their validation email."

This however was a blatant lie. I had not received mine, and shortly thereafter, my 48 hours had run out.

I can register again, but I'm REALLY pissed. And the best part? There's really no way at all to contact Pottermore. You can tweet them your issues on Twitter, but it does absolutely no good, because they never @reply.

Where everything is magi-cool!

I am sitting in the airport. I am waiting for my flight back to Columbus. There is a woman sitting in front of me who is entirely too old to wear a tube top and mini skirt, but is doing exactly that. These things make me extremely sad because this past week was, quite possibly, the best week of my life. This past week was LeakyCon.

For those not in-the-know, LeakyCon is a giant Harry Potter conference put on by a website called The Leaky Cauldron (Visit it! You'll love it...unless you don't like HP, in which case, I don't think we can be friends anymore). The first LeakyCon was held in 2009 in Boston, which my sister attended. That was where she saw her first wizard-rock show and really started getting involved in the HP fandom. This time LeakyCon was going to coincide with the release of the second part of the seventh HP movie and I knew I HAD to go!

This post is mainly a list of my favorite 10 moments – kind of in order, kind of not – of the last five days.

10. Opening Festivities. At the opening ceremony for the conference Melissa Anelli asked a “randomly chosen fan” to come up on stage to “help with something”. When the fan got to the stage her boyfriend came out from backstage and proposed. After all the marital cuteness there was a video chronicling the journey that the HP fandom has taken from the very beginning. Between sections of the video there were live performances from Harry and the Potters, Hank Green, Starkid's Joey Richter and Lauren Lopez singing “Granger Danger,” and a live performance by The Potter Puppet Pals.

9. Open at the Close. This was the private overnight event at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This part of the park is designed to look like Hogsmede, including an owlery, Zonko's joke shop, Honeydukes candy shop, the Hogshead pub, the Three Broomsticks pub, and a 1/6 scale model of Hogwarts.

8. Closing festivities. On Sunday morning there was a huge brunch in the conference center. On stage the Starkid cast came out and started singing “Days of Summer.”

I don't wanna see you go,
But it's not forever, not forever!
Even it was,
You know that I would never let it get me down.
You're the part of me that makes me better,
Wherever I go!
So I will try
Not to cry--
But no one needs to say goodbye...
I, and everyone around me, was crying when they sang it. Then the Leaky staffers came out when they broke back into “Going Back to Hogwarts.”

7. Starkid t-shirt issues. In the vendor room the Starkid merch table was constantly surrounded by a huge crowd of fangirls, so my friends and I decided to wait until the Starkid signing time-slot to get our Starkid merch. However this meant that they had started to run out of a lot of their shirts, which they were printing on-the-spot. When I was second in line and ready to ask for my small black V-neck with a homemade darkmark design, the girl in front of me was getting the regular silver Starkid logo, also on a small black V-neck. However, the shirt came out with a splotch of silver beneath the logo so the t-shirt guy tossed it aside and re-ironed it on the LAST small black V-neck that they had. When I told him what I had wanted, he took the messed up shirt, and placed a small Pigfarts crest transfer over the splotch and then re-ironed it. It wound up looking cooler than the shirt I had originally wanted, so he offered it to me and comped a pair of pink Starkid sunglasses too!

6. The last Oliver Boyd performance. Christian Caldeira retired as Oliver Boyd and the Rememberalls last November at Wrockstock. However, he wound up getting talked into coming back to play one more show at LeakyCon. His performance was amazing and he even played a re-worked version of one of his most popular songs called “End of an Era” (which I played a cover of at Senior Spotlight).

5. The Nerdfighters gathering. I got to do a “GOOD MORNING JOHN IT'S WEDNESDAY!” greeting for the beginning of a Hank video, which is something I've always wanted to do. I got to hear an excerpt from John's book that comes out next March, which I've already pre-ordered on Amazon. I got to hear Hank play A Song About An Anglerfish, and several others, live. I got to join a bunch of other nerdfighters in following Maureen Johnson's instructions via Twitter (including randomly standing up, jumping up and down, and laying on the floor all while Hank talked). Also, Hank explained colonoscopies. It was an incredibly fun experience.

4. The Ministry of Magic show, and The Remus Lupins' last show at the Deathly Hallows after concert. At one point during the Ministry of Magic set, I was right up against the stage and Mark Jennings was leaning way out over the crowd – doing that thing where they hold the microphone out to the crowd, like it'll actually pick up our voices – and leaning right over me. I had to cease my fist-pumping/jumping to avoid punching him in the face. Also, a couple weeks before LeakyCon my favorite Wrock band, The Remus Lupins announced that their show at LeakyCon would be the last show they would ever play together. This was the most energized show I have ever seen! The cheering, and screaming, and clapping was deafening! After their last song, after Alex and Tyler walked off stage, the entire 3,000 people in the audience began chanting “One more song! One more song!” until Alex came back on stage to play...one more song. The love and sense of total community I felt in that room, at that moment, is just indescribable!

3. Deathly Hallows Part II. The movie!!!! Because we were at LeakyCon we were able to see the movie a little more than five hours before the midnight release. Granted, a lot of the Leaky staffers had already seen the movie weeks or days prior, but it was still amazing. Several of the actors from the movie, including Ellie Darcey-Alden (young Lily), Arthur Bowen (Albus Severus), Will Dunn (James Potter II), Ryan Turner (Hugo Weasley), Rohan Gotobed (young Sirius), Benedict Clarke (young Snape), Helena Barlow (Rose Weasley), Scarlett Byrne (Pansy Parkinson), Christopher Rankin (Percy Weasley), and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) were at LeakyCon, and one of the kids commented that seeing the movie with Leaky fans was much better than the London premiere.

2. The Weapon. The one song that basically HAS to be played at any major HP event is a song written by Harry and the Potters called “The Weapon.”

And there's
One thing that I've got
One thing that you've got inside you too
One thing that we've got
And the one thing we've got is enough
To save us all

The weapon we have is love

At the end of the Harry and the Potters show on Friday night they began to sing this. Every single person in the audience joined in and began linking arms with the people next to them, and we created a huge circle. At the end of the song everyone jumped and ran back into a giant mosh-pit of love and Harry and the Potters went right into their song “Smells like Harry Potter” with Evanna Lynch on bass!

1. Frak. Frankie Franco III, is a member of Pottercast, was one of the Leaky staffers, and is also my favorite artist. People call him “Frak” because the way he signs “Frank” on his artwork looks like the N is missing. About 2 years ago at Christmas my dad got me one of his sketchbooks, and my sister filmed me opening it and flipping out. Frak saw the video after Madeline posted it to Youtube, and retweeted it. So when we met him at LeakyCon we mentioned that I was the girl from that video, and he said he was really excited to meet me! *insert fangirl moment here* I went to his art workshops (which were so much fun!) and he signed and looked through my sketchbook! *insert more fangirling here* That was basically the most epic moment ever!

It does not do to dwell on tattoos

I plan to get at least one tattoo this summer. There are two that I know I want, but I don't know if I want to get the other this summer, or if I can financially justify getting both this summer.

I am the only one in my family who likes/wants tattoos. Neither of my parents like them at all, and I think my sister kind of likes them in moderation but would just never want one herself. So I've been facing a lot of disapproval lately about it from my family and I think I'm writing this post mainly to justify myself to them.

I've always wanted to get a tattoo, even when I was little, but with maturity my opinion about them has changed. I know getting a tattoo is permanent. I know that whatever I get now, I will still have when I'm 85 years old. I know that being a professional dancer and having tattoos can sometimes be frowned upon. However these days it is much more widely accepted, and in fact I personally know, and know of quite a few professional dancers with small tattoos, and even several with large tattoos. Also, the tattoos I want have real meaning to me, so it's not just like I plan to go into a tattoo shop, pick a picture of a flaming skull off a display on the wall and have it stamped on me for all time. I want them to actually serve a purpose and serve as constant, permanent reminders to me.

The first one I want to get is the phrase "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." on the right side of my ribs. It is my favorite thing that  Dumbledore says to Harry in the first HP book. It will also constantly remind me to make the most of every moment. Dreaming is a great thing to do, but if your dreams of grandeur are keeping you from appreciating what you already have, then they do more harm than good. I tend to dream of grandeur, so I need a reality check every once in a while. I am also aware that with this being a rib tattoo, it is going to hurt. Big. Freaking. Time. Rib tattoos are exceedingly painful, so this is yet another reason why I'm not taking this lightly.

The second tattoo I want is a little smaller and will hurt significantly less. I want to get the letters D.F.T.B.A. on the inside of my left wrist. For those not in the know about this particular initialism (Yes: initialism. Acronyms spell out something pronounceable like "N.A.S.A.") D.F.T.B.A. stands for Don't Forget To Be Awesome. This is a tattoo that I would see all the time and would mimic the bracelet I currently have that has these letters on it, and that I always wear on my left wrist. Whenever I am facing something challenging like an audition or a difficult rehearsal (read: rehearsals with Miss Johnson or people like her) I glance at my bracelet and it gives me the courage to take a deep breath and deal with whatever I have to. As small a thing as this may seem, I am extremely phone shy, and whenever I have to call to make a doctor's appointment or something equally important, I freeze up. But when I look at my wrist to the letters D.F.T.B.A. I'm able to find the guts to make the important call.

My mom would KILL me if I ever got a tattoo on my shoulders or across my back, because as she always says, "Those are the tattoos that you can't possibly cover up in a wedding dress someday." I have no problem conceding that. I know that my parents will probably never fully approve of my having tattoos, but the most I can hope for is that they will at least understand now why I want them.

Don't be a drag, just be a queen!

Another insomnia-inspired post.

As I sit here eating improvised smores (nutella instead of chocolate....we were unfortunately out of chocolate) I think back to last night. I was having a late night conversation with my bestie Amber, and we began to talk about Lady Gaga.

I do not usually buy into pop music. It's good for dance classes and sometimes choreography, but it's not really my taste.

Except for Lady Gaga. There is something different about Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta's music.

Maybe it's because she's classically trained, maybe it's subliminal messaging hidden beneath her lyrics, swaying me to love her songs. More likely it is the non-subliminal messaging in her music. The lyrics themselves.

"I'm beautiful in my way
'cause god makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way"

 The lyrics of her song Born This Way speak directly about being confident in the body and personality you were blessed with. Ignoring race, gender, religion, or orientation. It may just be me that feels this way but when I hear positive messages I get happy. Call me weird, but whatever.

Beyond her lyrics, her iconic fashion choices may seem insane (Seriously? A meat-dress? It's not just weird because I'm a vegetarian.) but I do believe there is a method to her madness. As my dad always says "she knows how to work the system". Which I agree with. She has made herself so iconic and gained a following of millions of people in the matter of a couple of years. But even more than the money-making, fame-gathering side of things, I think her ridiculous fashion choices reach deeper than that.

It has become more than crazy fashion, and become even a culture of self-accepting fashionistas. With the courage to step out the door in a headdress of horns or a dress made of tin-foil, one expresses a certain peace with oneself. When you catch to world off-guard they never know quite how to respond, which builds a sort of immunity. A fashion force field.

So basically I'm really beyond the negative messages the world constantly regurgitates at the general public. Give me something positive. Give me some Gaga.

There's nothing really sweet about bittersweet

This is a bittersweet day. I just performed my last recital with my dance studio of the last 15 years, and now I am done. I gave them everything that I had to give; money, energy, time, blood, sweat, and so many tears, and now I am done.

I am sad because for the first 13 years that I danced there, they nurtured my love for dance, they helped me grow and appreciate hard work. They made me feel like part of a family.

I am happy because for the last 2 years, my life there has been a living hell. I have been made to feel stupid, excluded, unworthy, unskilled, unloved, unappreciated, misunderstood, patronized, fat, and just plain sad.

I am glad that it's over........but I wish that they hadn't made me glad that it's over.

I'm a slacker, I know...

So I know I haven't posted in FOREVER!!!!! [RAWRRRR] But I've got like, four more days of high school left, and as soon as that diploma is in my hand I am going to write one reeeaaallly long update post explaining the absolute chaos of the past several weeks. I just have not had any time to write at all :((

So, until then

Fare thee well!