Thanksgiving Surprise

Well I just have to start by saying that I love thanksgiving. I love to eat so what a perfect holiday for it! I have just always loved the time spent with family and it's always simple and I rather enjoy that. Every year my mom, being the mom she is, always makes sure to invite people who may not have some place to go. So she invited some people here and there but everyone has somewhere to go this year. As of a few days ago we thought it was just going to be the three of us. So I mentioned this to my good friend Grace and asked what she was doing for the holiday being that she is from Canada and living in Nashville. She said she wasn't doing much of anything and one thing led to another and she's coming to the NJ for Thanksgiving!!! I am too excited for words. She is such a good friend and I so rarely get the chance to see her. And now I get to spend a holiday with her. It is truly a blessing!

Across The Universe

So on Sunday Stephen took me on a date and we had dinner (Thai of course) and then saw "Across the Universe" which is a musical set in the late 1960's and the score is all music by the Beatles. Now being a Beatles purist I thought I would cringe at every song sang. But I didn't. Songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" were actually very tastefully done. Most of the songs were sung with a different feel but kept the beauty of the melody. Of course there were a few songs that did make me cringe. "Helter Skelter" being one of my favorite Beatles tunes did indeed make me want to leave the theatre. "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" wasn't great either but it was during the credits so I only had to listen for a bit. "Strawberry Fields", "Dear Prudence" and "Hey Jude" where some of my favorites and I have to admit I never thought I would enjoy those three being that they are on my top 10 list of all-time best Beatles songs. "I am the Walrus", sung by Bono, as well as "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite", which was hardly sung at all, were both a little too strange for me. Being that they were during scenes of LSD use it did seem appropriate. Although, there wasn't much drug use at all. They story line was simple. Boy loves girl. Boy loses girl. Boy finds girl again. Happy ending. The part I thought was powerful were the parts depicting the Vietnam war and the way they portrayed the process of "brainwashing" the soldiers. Very interesting indeed. All in all I thought it was very enjoyable. Stephen didn't really like it but I thought it was fantastic and very surprising. Not worth seeing in the theatres though. I would have been just as happy waiting for the DVD. But I was hardly disappointed the way I thought I would be.

Thoughts on Dance

I took a ballet class last night for the first time I think since the spring. It felt pretty good. Emotionally. Not physically! Although I'm not as sore as I thought I would be. Every time I get back into class I remember all the reasons I wanted to be a famous ballerina. And I also remember all the reasons I quit. After deciding I no longer wanted to pursue dance as a career I felt so free and unburdened but as time goes on I realize it was something I had always wanted and I really do have some feelings of regret. As I think about it deeper though I do remember all the emotions connected with my leaving that life behind. I know God will bless me for following his plans for my life and I really do look forward to seeing what they are. I have also spent alot of time thinking about the importance my dance education had on my life. And I found some really invaluable things. I posses a skill that few others do, I am confident and disciplined, I had some fantastic opportunities, and I have gained an appreciation of all art that I will have for the rest of my life. Not bad for 14 years of my life.

This is a picture of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev in rehearsal. She was what I had always aspired to be. She was a true artist who loved ballet not for the perfection but for the beauty of the dance.