'Nuff said? Allow me to explain...
I directed a play! Er... music directed a play. ...let me rephrase that further- I was the musical director. Aw yes, much better.
Now, you're probably thinking something like, "But Shauntel, you're such an attention nut! Why in the world would you choose to take a management position and not to be on the stage?"
I'll answer that with a simple question- what am I doing in approximately two months and a week?
...Oh yeah, graduating.* Kind of a big deal.
See, I've always wanted to be a part of the management team, and this was honestly that last time I would ever for sure get a chance to do that. It's an experience I'd always wanted to have, so I took a leap of faith and did it.
And you know what? I had a blast. No regrets on that one. Pictures (hopefully) to follow. (Or you could just, you know, look at my Facebook or something...)
So yeah, that's been my life since January (it ended about two weeks ago... hence the lack of blogging. In all seriousness, I have not had a brain at all in that time. Everything non-vocal training related either A) went down the toilet, or B) was dealt with poorly...). Spring break, for a variety of reasons, could not have come at a better time.
But you know what spring break means? No school! And you know what that means? Books!! (And also 12 hour Lord of the Rings extended edition marathons. But that's besides the point.) So yeah, I've actually been reading. Quite a bit actually. (I have most definitely not abandoned my new book blog! It shall be updated in due time... But in the meantime, I'll give you snippets of what's to come.)
Finally finished the Mortal Instruments series (although I guess their author is going to write more of them... I'll probably end up giving them a shot.). And you know what? I ended up really enjoying them. The third one was easily the best of the three, and I actually legitimately liked it. I complained rather loudly in the review of the first one that there were too many characters with no actual purpose. Well... most of them had a point by the end. (There are still a few who I just don't understand why they were even written.... But whatever, I'll still just go with it.) So yeah- this series is officially recommended. So go get it. Right now.
I also read Hero, by Perry Moore, and am absolutely in love. Alright, it wasn't perfect (a couple of the secrets just weren't secret enough, and it got a wee bit too trigger happy at the end) but come on- it's comic book superheros in regular book format. And yes, I mean the super cheesy, catch-phrase spouting, spandex wearing ones. It simply does not get any better than this, people. It's not exactly a secret that I'm a total sucker for superheroes, and this could be the beginning of a whole new genre. *crosses fingers*
I pride myself in having very tough skin. Very rarely do I actually cringe at something horrifying and/or disturbing and/or scandalous that happens in a book. But this... *shudders* Lord of the White Hell went as far as to combine some of those categories. Cheesy cover aside, this is not a YA book. Can I just leave it at that? (Plus it had a terribly cruel ending. Which is lame, because I totally saw it coming, yet I couldn't help but throw a fit anyway. And then the sequel wasn't at the library. Or at the bookstore. I'm still waiting for it to come in the mail. Is it trying to torture me further?)**
Point is, I might have to break out the sharpie for this one.
I just started The Book Thief not too long ago, so nothing much to say yet except that it is very good. Go read it. I'll elaborate further when I can.
(No, I didn't read all of these in a week. There are just some of the things I've read since January. Keyword, of course, being some. The ones with interesting back stories that is.)
Oh! My ADD brain just remembered- research papers. I hate them. I just finished this huge (not really) one on the short story EPICAC and let me tell you... that was the single most painful thing I have ever had to write. I just... with every fiber of my being, I didn't want to do it. There wasn't any reason- I just really, really didn't want to. That's what happens when homework gets assigned on the holy period of rest that is spring break. It's... not cool. Not cool at all.
And because I'm such a responsible student, I started it about two days ago and barely finished it this evening. (My school is awesome and doesn't go back until Tuesday.) So yeah... EPICAC... supercomputer... I'm just gonna stop right there.
Oh! I dyed my hair. Booyah! First time ever too. If I can ever take a decent picture, I'll put one up. In the meantime, I'll just say that it's red...ish. And also blonde streaked. Double wammy. So yeah, 'tis awesome.
But yeah, school tomorrow. At least I have my after school time back... for now...
*sigh* Easter Pageant starts next week. Don't get me wrong- I'm super excited. But... it is one more thing I have to prepare for.
(Scholarship auditions, concerts, school projects... where did my life go?)
*Woah. I'd never actually calculated the exact time until now. Nine weeks... May 26th... Hot dang- I'm officially old.
**I just made the book sound terrible, didn't I. No, no- there are so many good things about it. The plot, the politics, the world... Crazy good. And the characters- *~amazing~*. I honestly cannot speak more highly of its good aspects.
But hot dang- why must all the best books be so unrecommendable?
(Wicked... Watchmen... heck, even the Bible when you think about it...)
