Happy things
Since my last 2 posts have been pretty depressing, today's post will be about happy things in my life at the moment. Just for a change of pace. ;)
First off, 2 weeks from today I will be driving to Miami to go on the very first Celtic Thunder Cruise!! It actually leaves on Saturday the 2nd, but I'm driving down the afternoon/night before just to be on the safe side (I don't trust my car to not break down if I go the day of, lol). The cruise is for 5 days, and our ports of call are Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Grand Cayman. To be honest, I don't care about the ports much at all (I live in Florida, so the tropical ports are not all that exciting), but I'm just super excited to be going on the first, and most likely only, Celtic Thunder cruise. I've become such a big fan of them in the last year since I saw them live for the first time last November. That's when I learned about the cruise, but I waited to book it until March, when I was making a nice bit of money at a job that's better left out of this shiny, happy post. But then I lost that job and I really wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up with the payments. But with a bit of finagling and a lot of help from my mom, the cruise is now payed off and it's just around the corner! And it sounds like it's going to be a non-stop 5-day Irish party! They have so many shows and other events scheduled that I doubt I'll be getting any sleep or relaxation on this cruise, lol. We're going on the Carnival Victory. The last time I went on a cruise, it was on the Carnival Sensation, which was perfectly nice. This ship is a little bigger and newer, so I'm expecting to have a great time. I'm rooming with a nice lady from Texas whom I met through the Celtic Thunder forums where we were both looking for cabin mates. We booked a balcony room (last time I just had an oceanview), so I'm excited for that, too! All in all, I just can't wait for this trip!
Also, Celtic Thunder just came out with a new Christmas album, and I'm loving it! Funnily enough, two of the songs that they put on the album are ones that I'm doing in Exsultate this year, which I thought was pretty cool. :)
Which brings me to Exsultate. Singing has always been the thing that keeps me sane. This year's music is pretty awesome, so I'm very excited. The Christmas ones are a lot easier than in past years (but I still really like them), but that's mostly because our second 2 concerts are much more challenging and Mr. Johns wants to use some of the rehearsal time in the first cycle to touch on those pieces as well. Also, my mom wrote a set of 4 songs from poems she also wrote that describe the different seasons of the Adirondacks, where she grew up. I've heard all of them (I was asked for opinions here and there), and I gotta say, they are REALLY good! Not overly challenging, but very beautiful, and I'm quite proud of her for being able to do that. So we're singing those on February. We're also doing Morten Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna (you should look it up), and John Rutter's Requiem, which I just sang in Carnegie Hall in NY this past May, under the direction of the composer himself, John Rutter. It was quite a wonderful experience, and I'm very happy to be revisiting the piece because it's GORGEOUS. And this is the last season we'll be singing at Grace church, where the group has performed since it began, because next year we will be performing in the brand new Venice Performing Arts Hall. So that's all very exciting.
Another good thing is my new job. Well, it's not the best job in the world or anything, but after being unemployed for 5 months, it's definitely a good thing. I'm working at Comcast, although technically I'm working for a temp agency that contracted me out to Comcast. I was given the impression at first that I'd be working on the counter helping customers, due to my customer service background. Turns out that's not the case at all. Instead, I'm their warehouse person, boxing up returned equipment and putting the new stuff on shelves and making sure the front reps' carts are stocked so they can stay out front helping customers and not be running back to get stuff all the time. In a way, this might be better for me than being out front. For one, I don't have to deal with customers (YAY!), and I can just hang out in the back and do my thing and not have as much pressure put on me. It's a lot more physically taxing than my previous jobs, but it's nothing I can't handle (though I'm learning to hate DVRs because they're so damn heavy and they keep them on the bottom shelves, lol). Since I've been out of work for so long, it's just taking a little bit for my body to get used to working hard again. But it's been 3 weeks now, and so far it's been pretty good. The rest of the employees are very nice and like to have fun with their job, and even though I'm a temp, they treat me like one of the team. So I'm liking it. Of course, right now I have a lot of downtime because season hasn't fully gotten into swing yet, so I guess I'll have to wait and see what it's like when it starts getting really busy.
And lastly, I'm really enjoying the new fall tv season this year! Every year I say I can't watch any new shows because I already watch so many, and every year I end up watching the new ones anyway, lol. I watch at least 2 shows every night (except for Saturday), and sometimes more. My favorite new show is definitely Sleepy Hollow. I said this on Facebook, but it's definitely giving me season 1 Supernatural vibes and I'm digging it! I've missed the creepy monster-of-the-week format on SPN for a long time, and this is filling that void nicely. Plus, the guy who plays Ichabod is incredibly hot and he and the female lead have really great chemistry. ;) And not a new show by any means, but I just got back into Grey's Anatomy over the summer. I had stopped watching at the end of season 5, but over the summer I decided to rewatch the seasons I'd seen, then I just kept going and I got sucked back in in a major way, lol. So now I've picked that back up to watch live again. For anyone curious, this is what my tv watching schedule looks like for the fall:
Monday:
2 Broke Girls (may drop this...it's really not that funny anymore and sometimes is rather offensive)
Sleepy Hollow
Tuesday:
Supernatural
New Girl
Wednesday:
Law and Order: SVU (I will watch until the bitter end, apparently)
The Tomorrow People (not sure if I like this yet, but it has pretty people and Lucifer, so there's that, lol)
Thursday:
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (not sure about this, either, but it's only 13 eps, so I'll see probably finish the season)
Glee
Grey's Anatomy
Reign (Damn it, CW, why can't I quit you?!)
Friday:
The Carrie Diaries (hasn't started yet, but I loved season 1)
Dracula (again, hasn't started yet, and I HATE all things vampire, but I will apparently do anything for Jonathan Rhys Myers)
Sunday:
Once Upon a Time (I don't care, I still LOVE this show and I'm digging the Neverland plot- MORE HOOK, YAY!)
Revenge
It's a good thing I don't work nights, or I'd be totally screwed trying to keep up with all that, lol.
So those are the major good things in my life. Hopefully I can add more to this list soon.
First off, 2 weeks from today I will be driving to Miami to go on the very first Celtic Thunder Cruise!! It actually leaves on Saturday the 2nd, but I'm driving down the afternoon/night before just to be on the safe side (I don't trust my car to not break down if I go the day of, lol). The cruise is for 5 days, and our ports of call are Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Grand Cayman. To be honest, I don't care about the ports much at all (I live in Florida, so the tropical ports are not all that exciting), but I'm just super excited to be going on the first, and most likely only, Celtic Thunder cruise. I've become such a big fan of them in the last year since I saw them live for the first time last November. That's when I learned about the cruise, but I waited to book it until March, when I was making a nice bit of money at a job that's better left out of this shiny, happy post. But then I lost that job and I really wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up with the payments. But with a bit of finagling and a lot of help from my mom, the cruise is now payed off and it's just around the corner! And it sounds like it's going to be a non-stop 5-day Irish party! They have so many shows and other events scheduled that I doubt I'll be getting any sleep or relaxation on this cruise, lol. We're going on the Carnival Victory. The last time I went on a cruise, it was on the Carnival Sensation, which was perfectly nice. This ship is a little bigger and newer, so I'm expecting to have a great time. I'm rooming with a nice lady from Texas whom I met through the Celtic Thunder forums where we were both looking for cabin mates. We booked a balcony room (last time I just had an oceanview), so I'm excited for that, too! All in all, I just can't wait for this trip!
Also, Celtic Thunder just came out with a new Christmas album, and I'm loving it! Funnily enough, two of the songs that they put on the album are ones that I'm doing in Exsultate this year, which I thought was pretty cool. :)
Which brings me to Exsultate. Singing has always been the thing that keeps me sane. This year's music is pretty awesome, so I'm very excited. The Christmas ones are a lot easier than in past years (but I still really like them), but that's mostly because our second 2 concerts are much more challenging and Mr. Johns wants to use some of the rehearsal time in the first cycle to touch on those pieces as well. Also, my mom wrote a set of 4 songs from poems she also wrote that describe the different seasons of the Adirondacks, where she grew up. I've heard all of them (I was asked for opinions here and there), and I gotta say, they are REALLY good! Not overly challenging, but very beautiful, and I'm quite proud of her for being able to do that. So we're singing those on February. We're also doing Morten Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna (you should look it up), and John Rutter's Requiem, which I just sang in Carnegie Hall in NY this past May, under the direction of the composer himself, John Rutter. It was quite a wonderful experience, and I'm very happy to be revisiting the piece because it's GORGEOUS. And this is the last season we'll be singing at Grace church, where the group has performed since it began, because next year we will be performing in the brand new Venice Performing Arts Hall. So that's all very exciting.
Another good thing is my new job. Well, it's not the best job in the world or anything, but after being unemployed for 5 months, it's definitely a good thing. I'm working at Comcast, although technically I'm working for a temp agency that contracted me out to Comcast. I was given the impression at first that I'd be working on the counter helping customers, due to my customer service background. Turns out that's not the case at all. Instead, I'm their warehouse person, boxing up returned equipment and putting the new stuff on shelves and making sure the front reps' carts are stocked so they can stay out front helping customers and not be running back to get stuff all the time. In a way, this might be better for me than being out front. For one, I don't have to deal with customers (YAY!), and I can just hang out in the back and do my thing and not have as much pressure put on me. It's a lot more physically taxing than my previous jobs, but it's nothing I can't handle (though I'm learning to hate DVRs because they're so damn heavy and they keep them on the bottom shelves, lol). Since I've been out of work for so long, it's just taking a little bit for my body to get used to working hard again. But it's been 3 weeks now, and so far it's been pretty good. The rest of the employees are very nice and like to have fun with their job, and even though I'm a temp, they treat me like one of the team. So I'm liking it. Of course, right now I have a lot of downtime because season hasn't fully gotten into swing yet, so I guess I'll have to wait and see what it's like when it starts getting really busy.
And lastly, I'm really enjoying the new fall tv season this year! Every year I say I can't watch any new shows because I already watch so many, and every year I end up watching the new ones anyway, lol. I watch at least 2 shows every night (except for Saturday), and sometimes more. My favorite new show is definitely Sleepy Hollow. I said this on Facebook, but it's definitely giving me season 1 Supernatural vibes and I'm digging it! I've missed the creepy monster-of-the-week format on SPN for a long time, and this is filling that void nicely. Plus, the guy who plays Ichabod is incredibly hot and he and the female lead have really great chemistry. ;) And not a new show by any means, but I just got back into Grey's Anatomy over the summer. I had stopped watching at the end of season 5, but over the summer I decided to rewatch the seasons I'd seen, then I just kept going and I got sucked back in in a major way, lol. So now I've picked that back up to watch live again. For anyone curious, this is what my tv watching schedule looks like for the fall:
Monday:
2 Broke Girls (may drop this...it's really not that funny anymore and sometimes is rather offensive)
Sleepy Hollow
Tuesday:
Supernatural
New Girl
Wednesday:
Law and Order: SVU (I will watch until the bitter end, apparently)
The Tomorrow People (not sure if I like this yet, but it has pretty people and Lucifer, so there's that, lol)
Thursday:
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (not sure about this, either, but it's only 13 eps, so I'll see probably finish the season)
Glee
Grey's Anatomy
Reign (Damn it, CW, why can't I quit you?!)
Friday:
The Carrie Diaries (hasn't started yet, but I loved season 1)
Dracula (again, hasn't started yet, and I HATE all things vampire, but I will apparently do anything for Jonathan Rhys Myers)
Sunday:
Once Upon a Time (I don't care, I still LOVE this show and I'm digging the Neverland plot- MORE HOOK, YAY!)
Revenge
It's a good thing I don't work nights, or I'd be totally screwed trying to keep up with all that, lol.
So those are the major good things in my life. Hopefully I can add more to this list soon.