The Greatest Show on Earth pt. 2

I know, I know... you've been anxiously waiting for this all day right?

Well, wait no further; the exciting conclusion to my epic Dawson's Creek post is here. Let's get right to it:

--Capeside High must have the longest sophomore year on the planet. The core four were sophomores for two entire seasons...

--This show is constantly poking fun at itself with discussions of the ridiculousness of cliff-hangers, the false-seriousness of teen dramas and their vocabulary being too big for its own good.

--I think James van der Beek might have a pretty good singing voice. You have to listen close, but when you've seen these episodes as many times as I have, you've got time to do that.

--I think it's odd that the Eve-being-Jen's-long-lost-stepsister-she-never-knew-she-had storyline falls away in one episode and never returns again.

--I remain astounded at the fact that Meredith Monroe was thirty-two years old when she took on the role of innocent sixteen-year-old high school sophomore Andie McPhee.

--The older I grow, the more I "get" this show. When I was younger, the literary, artistic, film, and television references were all but lost on me (admittedly, they still occasionally baffle me), but now I appreciate the humor, the innuendos, and the double entendres, and my love for the creek is further enhanced.

--The letter from Joey's mother she read before graduation = sobfest.

--I think it's so amazing the way that these friends always let each other know how proud they are of each other and how much they mean to each other. Incredibly gooby, yes, but really amazing.

--There are some definite moments when Joey is a real downer, Pacey is a real ass, Jen is a real witch, and Dawson is a real snooze.

--As if Pacey is not physically and emotionally attractive enough, the fact that he sails adds so much to his character.

--The music on this show is always so great. They always take the most unknown, obscure artists and songs and seamlessly plug them into the perfect scenes.

--The cutest guys always go to Joey. Think about it: Pacey, Jack, Eddie, Elliott, Charlie, Professor Wilder--all fabulously foxy.

--The way that Pacey reacts to/handles Andie's family situation and personal neuroses is one of the sweetest things I've ever seen.

--Dawson is funny sometimes, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't mean to be.

--Jack is also really funny sometimes, but he's more in tune with it, I think.

--As much of a fanatic as I am now, I actually missed the first few seasons when they first aired. Seeing as I was thirteen years old, my mom had a tiny issue with allowing me to watch a show where discussions of sex, marital indescretion, and blasphemy abounded. When I finally was able to creep out from under my mother's thumb a little bit, I still had to tape it, for my exceedingly full extracurricular schedule didn't really allow for a lot of tv time. I think my mother liked it that way...

--It shocks me that Dawson wasn't an honor graduate. His wardrobe alone was enough to propel him into the world of academic excellence.

--There is one episode in the fifth season where, everytime Audrey needs to talk to Joey, she spills food on herself or dumps her entire plate in her lap. This episode is hilarious and never fails to keep me in stitches.

--I love the -isms of the creek: "Cruella DeValentine," "sexiled," "deja-screw," etc...

--"My Grams is dating a sixty-year-old African American man whose name is Clifton Smalls."--Quite possibly one of the best quotes of the entire series.

--I love when Pacey and Jack live with Emma. I'm a big fan of the idea of a male roommate, especially a gay one.

--If there is one thing Pacey Whitter loves it is to throw the perfect punch.

--Without a doubt, the most fabulous aspect of this show is the relationship between Pacey and Joey. When their relationship takes priority in the storyline, I find myself speeding through these episodes with unbelievable fervor.

--Season two is supposedly the second half of sophomore year, yet it is football season and the gang attends Homecoming. Make sense? Not to me either.

--Do guys really exist that are anything like Pacey Whitter? I don't care that he wears Hawaiian shirts or that he humiliated Joey by chewing her out at the senior prom. It's the things like teaching her to drive, buying her a wall, the night spent in K-Mart and the fact that he sails that make Pacey the dreamboat that he is. Ah, swoon...

--When I finish one of my marathons, I find myself talking like Kevin Williamson [Dawson's Creek creator] has written the script for my life. I pretend to be embarrassed, but that's merely a facade.

--"Son or not, Dawson. You are one of my favorite people."--There are not enough Kleenex in the world to soak this one up.

--"Other Joey" is a lot more fun that the actual Joey.

--My favorite episode of the entire series has always been and will forever be the one entitled Castaways, in which Pacey and Joey spend the night locked inside K-Mart.

--Shortly followed by one of the last episodes of the sixth season, entitled Joey Potter and the Capeside Redemption.

--In the final episode of the series, Dawson, Joey and Pacey are in the car. Joey's phone rings, and it is her current boyfriend, Christopher. Dawson says, "And the triangle becomes a square." This could be my favorite line of the entire show.

--It would be hard for me to pinpoint which of the core four I identify with most. At first thought, I leaned toward Dawson, for I also allow myself to get wrapped up in absurd, far-fetched ideals about "the way things should be." However, I can't discount the heavy dose of sarcasm and humor that reside in me, and that brings in a little of Pacey's character. My egocentric, self-centeredness accounts for a little bit of Jen. And I've got a big dose of Joey, too, with my big dreams but sometimes too harsh realism as well as my sometimes less than chipper attitude. Therefore, maybe I'm an eclectic mix of them all. Perhaps that's what the creators were hoping for when they created these characters with strengths and insecurities that could resonate in all of us?

The Greatest Show on Earth pt. 1

It is finished.

My Dawson's Creek marathon, that is.

And, no, I don't really think this is the greatest show on earth, but I do like it an awful lot. During this last viewing of the series, I observed many things I'd forgotten and a number of things I'd never seen before. Therefore, in my typical style, I wanted to share these observations with you. There's simply too many for one post, so this will be a double installment. I know you're on the edge of your seat already, right?

Alright, without any further ado... here goes:

--Joey says everything to meatheads and bullies I've ever wanted to say. My favorite Joism: "Sure. Pick me up right after my lobotomy."

--I love how Pacey pokes fun at himself and The Mighty Ducks, talking about how great Emilio Estevez was in "those duck movies."

--I find it hilarious that Dawson goes from not even knowing the bow from the stern to practically usurping Captain Ahab in the course of one short episode.

--This show is so 90s it's horrifying. From the straight-leg jeans to the thick-heeled boots to the chunky sandals to the butterfly clips. It's embarrassing, really. I can say that because my wardrobe was equally embarrassing.

--This show can coin some great catch-phrases. Case in point: "deja-screw."

--Like Dawson, I, too, look for answers to life's questions in the movies. However, I also look to books and, obviously, television shows. It's pretty silly, I know, but it's true.

--Joey can rock a Mexican tuxedo like few I've ever seen.

--I think Grams is just about the coolest grandmother on the planet.

--Arguably the most unrealistic aspect of this entire show is the full-blown, off-the-charts parties the gang goes to, both in high school and college.

--Pacey spitting in Mr. Peterson's face stirred something in me. I've never felt so right about something so obviously wrong.

--I always thought the fifth season was a real snore, but this time I actually loved it.

--Say what you will about the content of the show, but there is absolutely no denying the fact that there are a lot of foxy male specimens appearing throughout the series.

--Jack asking Emma to marry him so she can stay in the country is right up there with Joey wanting to marry Rachel when she got pregnant on Friends. So sweet.

--I find it so ironic that Jen's most gorgeous boyfriend (CJ) comes into her life at the exact same time as her most heinous haircut (the bluntest of all blunt cuts with curtain-like bangs to enhance the glory).

--Sometimes I want to laugh out loud at the constant sentimentality and seriousness of this show; lines like "I don't want to close my eyes..." get me every time.

--When people on this show wake up in the morning, why is it that they never have morning breath or express the need to brush their teeth?

--Any television show that does a take-off on The Breakfast Club is okay in my book.

--The wittiness of Pacey is fabulous. One of my favorite Paceyisms comes when Pacey's father walks in and sees the gang sitting around a table with their books open around them. When he asks what they're doing, Pacey calmly responds that they're "writing a peace treaty."

--No matter how many times I watch the episode where Andie leaves for Italy, I still sob like I've never seen it before.

--Dawson's Creek is something I don't think people feel mediocre about. From my experience and observation, you either love it and wholeheartedly buy into each of its neurotic melodramas, or you see it as utterly embarrassing and a discredit to your generation, if not the entire human race.

--Although I find the "wife-beater" to be an icon of horrific fashion, I think it doesn't look half-bad on Pacey.

--I think Katie Holmes is gorgeous, and she was certainly gorgeous as Joey. Upon further review, however, I think I may have discovered her physical flaw. Dare I say it... cankles?

--I take pride in the fact that Capeside's graduation robes are the exact same shade of royal blue as my own Heritage Academy commencement costume.

--I love Audrey and her viewpoint on life so much.

--Did the producers of this show think Joey had a good singing voice? If not, why did they always have her singing those awkward solos?

--After I saw the episode where Joey got mugged, I was convinced that the same thing was eventually going to happen to me.

--I wonder who would win: David Wilder or Jeremiah Lasky?

--There are so many parallels that exist within this show. There are words, phrases, and ideas that are repeated episodes or even seasons later. They're not hard to catch if you're really paying attention (or if you've seen all the episodes forty times like I have).

--Jonathan Lipnicki as the little boy Pacey mentors is just as cute as he was in Jerry Maguire when he informs us that "the human head weighs eight pounds."

--Jack and Jen have the sweetest, most supportive frienship in the world. Michelle Williams and Kerr Smith have fabulous chemistry.

--I'm continuously fascinated at how often the show pops info my head. I see or hear something and think, "That's just like on Dawson's Creek when..."

--I find it odd that, as much as these characters say what they feel, they so rarely say "I love you."

So there you have it... ramblings, musings, observations, and questions straight from Capeside, Massachusetts. Stay tuned for the exciting completion...

Thank You All

Y'all know how I love to keep a sort of running commentary of an awards show, and of course I wasn't going to slack on the job for the biggest movie night of the year. The following are the unimportant and only slightly entertaining musings that popped into my head while I was watching this most epic of award shows:

--Mickey Rourke weirds me out. There... I said it.

--Does it really get any better than Hugh Jackman? To me, he is he definition of "total package" and that accent doesn't hurt anything.

--Did anyone else think Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick were painfully awkward on the red carpet?

--I heart Tiraji P. Henson.

--Kate Winslet = stunning, AS ALWAYS.

--How much gel did Zack Effron have to use to make his hair look like that?

--The Oscars uses any excuse to create a movie montage, as evidenced by the homage to the accountants.

--Jack Black can steal the show even in a tiny segment on the red carpet.

--BEST. OPENING. NUMBER. EVER.

--They certainly did pick some obscure women to give out the award for supporting actress.

--I think Amy Adams is the true embodiment of a Disney character come to life.

--I am truly afraid of Tilda Swinton. Seriously, she frightens me.

--"Has anyone ever fainted up here?"-Penelope Cruz. Classic.

--Steve Martin and Tina Fey: talk about a DYNAMIC DUO.

--The child who wrote Milk looks like maybe he should still have a seat at the kids table.

--2008 movie yearbook: what a great idea!

--Jack Black looks really thin; it's nice.

--I think being an art director would be an amazingly cool job. I feel the same way about costume designer.

--I might have teared up at the romance portion of the movie yearbook...

--Ben Stiller "being" Joaquin Phoenix = HILARIOUS.

--Natalie Portman is stunning.

--I should have known no major American broadcast could take place without an appearance from Beyonce.

--If you ask me, there can never be too many huge song and dance numbers.

--What does Philip Seymour Hoffman have on his head?

--Josh Brolin and Diane Lane make a fabulously gorgeous couple.

--Could the Ledger family be any more poignant, eloquent, and inspirational?

--The action section of the movie yearbook was badass, and I don't even like action movies.

--Only Will Smith could call Brad Pitt a "garden gnome" and get away with it.

--Spotted: John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston. Foxy.

--Jerry Lewis' huge heart caught me totally off-guard.

--Best Song and Best Score are always one of my favorite parts of the whole show, probably because my secret dream is to be a part of the Academy Awards Orchestra.

--I don't think I've ever seen Alicia Keys look so gorgeous.

--Although Slumdog Millionaire was an unbelievable movie, it would not have been the same without its music. Both of the musical Oscars it received were incredibly well-deserved.

--John Legend's voice gets me every time.

--I've seen Reese Witherspoon wear some truly exceptional dresses; tonight's selection, however, was not one of those. Sorry, Reese.

--Danny Boyle's Tigger tribute = too cute.

--I hope Reese Witherspoon really is as friendly as she seems.

--Talk about dynamite: Loren, MacLaine,Cotillard, Kidman, and Berry. The presenters for Best Actress were off-the-charts.

--I am not a huge Anne Hathaway fan, but I was so moved by her emotion when Shirley MacLaine was talking about her nomination.

--Could Angelina Jolie be any more effortlessly beautiful?

--Kate Winslet's win needs no more recognition than this: FINALLY.

--All of a sudden, Robert DeNiro looks so old.

--Although Sean Penn's political views differ from my own, I can't deny the fact that, for some reason, I just like him, and I think he's a fabulous actor.

--I think this year's films might be some of the best made in years, and all of the nominees are so talented and deserving.

--I think the kids in Slumdog Millionaire are the cutest things I've ever seen.

--In my opinion, this was the best Academy Awards show I've seen in years. Something about it just resurrected the idea of old Hollywood and the entertainment that movies bring into our lives. I loved every minute of it.

About Time

This week I learned, and I mean really learned, a difficult life lesson. It's been two years in the making, but Thursday afternoon I finally decided to pull my head out of the sand and get with the program.
Sometimes you hear people say things like "If you want something bad enough, it will come true" or "You just have to will it into existence; make it happen." That may or may not be true when talking about landing the perfect job, finding the perfect cocktail dress, smoothing those pesky fly-aways, or learning all the pertinent information for a final exam. Perhaps it is possible to will inanimate objects into producing the outcome you desire; that's a personal opinion, I guess. However, in my life experience, I have found it to be factual that, when it comes to human beings and their emotions, those generalizations simply don't hold up. There's too many unknowns, too many rogue factors, and often far too much at stake.
Those are all the notions that became crystal clear to me Thursday afternoon, as I drove back to Starkville from Columbus. I realized that, no matter how much I want something to happen, it's not within my control to make the equation work to my advantage, for I only hold half the variables; I'm only playing with half the deck. I know this sounds like an elementary concept, and some of you may be saying, "So what? Where's the rocket science in that discovery?" and you would be exactly right. This wasn't a groundbreaking discovery for the world at large, but it was exactly what I needed to be able to put a painful, maddening situation to rest once and for all.
I woke up Friday morning (er... afternoon) with a whole new attitude and an outlook I hadn't experienced in quite a while; it was fabulous. I had finally come to terms with the fact that I can't resent another person because I want him/her to be something that is just not possible for him/her to fulfill. And, more than that, this transcends this particular situation and creates a new insight into so many situations and relationships in my life. It's been quite the philosophical weekend, I assure you.
I know some of you may be wondering just what in the world all of this is about, but the specifics really aren't important. I'll just leave it at this: it is, as you've probably guessed, of course about a boy; I mean, let's be honest, ladies, when is it not?
Positively 2009, good to see you again, friend.

The Weekend's Too Short

Wow... what a great weekend.

From start to finish, this one really was fabulous.

It kicked off when Amanda arrived in town Thursday afternoon. We had a fun, relaxed night at out, meeting Alex for dinner at the Bin then heading downtown to Barrister's. Although there weren't too many people out, we somehow managed to have a good time. Yeah, right... with our solid crew there was no shortage of laughter.

Most of the day Friday was spend traipsing around Starkville in the rain in search of "the perfect top" for Amanda to wear out Saturday night in Oxford. If you know anything about Starkville, you know that if there's one thing we are sorely lacking, it's clothing stores. We refused to be discouraged, however, and we found her something really cute to wear. (For those of you who didn't know it, I fantasize that I am a little tiny bit of Stacy London from TLC's What Not to Wear, so this little adventure was secretly right up my alley.)

Friday night we had dinner/drinks at The Grill then headed back to Barrister's. Amanda and I had the greatest time together, cracking all these "hilarious" jokes and entertaining each other to no end. We took some absolutely ridiculous pictures, tried our hand at a game called darts, laughed for hours, and had so much fun.
Saturday Alex and Amanda headed to Oxford for a concert, and I headed to Columbus to spend the day with my mom. I had the best day with her. She kept cracking me up with the crazy stuff she was saying, and I had one of the most fun, relaxed visits I've had with her in a really long time. I'm not too proud to admit that Valentine's Day is often a sad day for me, and I sometimes get a little bitter, but this year was the complete opposite. I headed back to Starkville late last night, watched a movie, and headed to bed.

Today I had lunch with Alex and Amanda then headed to the movie theater to see Slumdog Millionaire. I have been wanting to see this movie for weeks, and I was shocked and ecstatic when I heard it would actually be playing in Starkville. It was absolutely amazing, and I would recommend it to anyone. If you want to see all that I had to say about it, check out my review on my movie blog.

After the movie, I came back here and did the tiny bit of schoolwork I had left for the week and have been lost in Capeside, Massachusetts, ever since. (Yes, I'm obviously still on my Dawson's Creek kick... I'm not ashamed.) It was such a fun, relaxed weekend, and I am so thankful to have been able to spend it with such special people.

I Don't Want to Wait

So, I have a confession.

My blogging lately has definitely been less than frequent, and there are two slightly embarrassing words that can completely account for my absence.

Dawson's Creek.

I know, right? It's shameful and juvenile and ridiculous, but it's oh-so-true.

I am a devoted Dawson's fan and have been since the beginning. I own all the seasons; I know all the storylines by heart; I secretly want to visit Wilmington, North Carolina, where the series was filmed. There's no denying it any longer: I'm a huge geek about this.

Ten days ago I felt the urge to start from the beginning watching the whole series, and I have currently made it just a few episodes shy of the end of the fourth season. Almost four entire seasons in ten days is insane, especially when you factor in the time spent at work, in class, or doing schoolwork...

I know what some of you must be thinking; I've heard all the arguments before. Yes, the show is admittedly unrealistic and completely far-fetched; obviously the actors are far above the age they are supposedly playing (I actually discovered today that Meredith Monroe, the actress who played Andie McPhee--who I thought actually looked the most youthful of the cast--was thirty-two-years-old when she roamed the halls of Capeside High. Sheesh.); high school kids don't usually make reference to artists like Cezanne and watch movies in black and white; no one actually speaks with the vocabulary these adolescent characters spout out without a moment's hesitation--words like "agog" and "angst" and "verbiage."

I know all of these things to be true, yet I love it still.

Who cares that Dawson's hairstyle changes more than any other character on the show, yet each one seems to be glaringly more awful than the first? Who cares that the affection these teenagers show each other, even in the friend relationships, is ever-present and ever-unrealistic (you know what I'm talking about: the constant hand holding, kisses on the forehead, full-frontal-lasts-forever hugs, etc., etc., etc...)? Who cares that characters are introduced and then never seen or accounted for again, and sometimes the chronology of events doesn't exactly line up?

I certainly don't.

I don't watch this show for any of these things.

And, however unbelievable it may be, I don't just watch it for Pacey, either. Really.

I watch it because I think the overall message, what this show is all about when you get right down to it, is one that we can all benefit from and one that I know I need to be constantly reminded of. This show is about unconditional love and the people in your life who you know will always be there for you, no matter where you go to college, who you dance with at Homecoming, or how much you push them away. I know it sounds kind of silly, but everytime I watch this show I remember how much the people in my life mean to me.

Write This Down

Yesterday I turned in a pretty interesting project for one of my classes. It was a cultural genogram, in which we looked back at our parents and grandparents to see how our cultural definitions had come to be established. The project had several different parts we had to complete, but the coolest part by far was the self portrait. We could use any medium or mode of expression to comvey an accurate picture of who we are.
It should come as no surprise to any of you that this assignment was right up my alley.
Of course, my original idea was my go-to for pretty much any and all assignments dealin in self-expression--writing. I thought about writing a poem or some unique play on words; I just wanted to do something different, though.
Then it hit me.
If you know me well, you either already know or would probably guess that I am an avid journal-keeper. These days, my blog is my primary journal (although there are a few stories, details, names and emotions that I don't broadcast here...), but I've been putting my "innermost thoughts" down on paper since the fifth grade. And, as if that's not crazy enough, I still have every one of those journals. (It's okay if words like "packrat," "hoarder," and "absurd" just popped into your head.) Therefore, what could be more obvious than looking back through those journals and seeing what emerged as my story. I decided I would take several direct excerpts from my journals throughout the years to make up the puzzle pieces of my self portrait.
So, Saturday I hunkered down on my couch with a blanket and my journals. I quickly remembered that I used to make myself write everyday, whether or not I had anything to say. Granted, that proved a little monotonous, but it was surreal to read a play-by-play of a typical day in the eighth grade. The things I found in those journals blew me away. I was engrossed in my former self, and many, many of the people I've come into contact with since the time I was eleven made appearances in those pages.
In one day, I sat down and looked at the cycles of the last thirteen years of my life. I laughed at how sillly I was, cringed at how naive and unrealistic I was, and marveled at how much I have changed. So many things became so clear, and I never expected that to happen. My junior high insecurities and self-loathing jumped off the page; my repetition of college mistakes played like a cd on repeat; the divide between who I was and who I am became as wide as the proverbial Grand Canyon.
I realized how hard I was on myself; I realized how the times I was having the most "fun" were the times I liked myself the least and respected myself even less; I realized how much I have grown and changed without even knowing it. I realized I have the strength to be myself, and I am proud of the person I am. I know I'm not perfect and I struggle with insecurities, but now I am honest about who I am and how I feel. Beyond all of that, however, I realized the things that are the most important now are the things that have always been the most important: my faith, my family, and my friendships. I hope I continue to grow and evolve, but I know these things will remain true, remain important, forever.