Top Twelve Memories of 2012

We all know the entire ordeal of 2012 has been a whirlwind of a time.  Here are things that will make me smile most to look back on:

12) HUSKY HUNT

Some hated the Hunt, some slept through it, and some even went mysteriously missing.  I’m a competitive and enthusiastic person, though, so I took it seriously and went hard, going on a two-hour walk (getting romantic with Meredith under an archway in a park--Sorry, Eric), a six-hour bike ride through Cambridge in the coldest hours of night (spying a rather beautiful sunrise), and a 5-hour walk through Beacon Hill (encountering men dressed as a vampire gangster, a smoking Santa, and a hot dog).  The Rubik’s Cubes (Shannon, LV, Mer, Eric, Laura, Ryan, Al, Andy, Harrison, Joe, Aimee, and myself) did a lot of bonding, invented some creative Lion poses, and placed at a proud 28 out of 50.

11) Fiction of the Year

I need a broad topic to acknowledge a few things I fan-girled over this year: Doctor Who, Rod McKuen’s poetry, and How I Met Your Mother, plus how I reaffirmed my love affair with Harry Potter.  The Whovians of Northeastern (Laura, Lauren Belle, and Mer) turned me onto the BBC show Doctor Who in 2011, but it wasn’t until this year that I watched the 2005 Revival in its entirety.  I am enamored.  Like many, Ten is my favorite Doctor--his cheekiness, arrogance, and scientific, timey-wimey jargon never fail to delight--but I adored Eleven’s relationship with Amy and Rory and cried as though real people died at the end of The Angels Take Manhattan.  Plus, after converting Eric into a more obsessed Whovian than I am, we explored some Scarf-y Fourth Doctor silliness.  It’s an excellent show.  I apologize for losing many of you in that rant.  On a more lovey-dovey note, I fell in even deeper amour 
with the poetry of Rod McKuen.  Don’t take my word for it, just check his books out.  I’ll leave you with some sweet one-liners for inspiration: “I’ll stay awhile / and track the hidden country of your smile,” “I want to see the world within the circle of your arms,” and “You see how easily we fit together, as if God’s own hand had cradled only us.”  Go.  Read.  Bask in the Romance.  Delia and I discovered How I Met Your Mother this year and watch

Character pose!

 every episode together.  It’s our thing.  It’s a brilliantly crafted sitcom that I dwelled on enough in my Broken Jaw post.  Lastly, Andrea, Rebecca, and I rekindled our love for Harry Potter this summer by instating a book and movie club, culminating in a costume party double feature of the 7th and 8th movies: I dressed as Luna, Andrea as Dobby (complete with an authentic pillow case dress), Rebecca as Mad-Eye Moody, and even Jacqui donned feathers and hooted that she was Hedwig.  (Only my character survived.)  Danielle, Paige, and Christina made it to some events, and we even brewed Butterbeer.  Those nights MADE my summer.  

10) Classy Dinner Party

I think that that evening, which preceded Hurricane Monday, is a nice way to commemorate my friendship with the Duplex and generally how wonderful life is with the lovely ladies of WVF616.  My fantastic roomies humored me by helping make high-effort food (a.k.a. it required more work than just microwave preparation), cleaning (you could see the tabletop for the first time in WEEKS), and dressing all fancy for the occasion (not that they needed telling twice, those foxes!).  We had Mer, Belle, LV, Sarah, Laura, Shannon, Chris*, Nick, Charlie, Adam (1), and Adam (2) in attendance.  Lots of inside jokes were born, including those associated with hair gel.

9) North End Adventure

A freshman year classic.  On a whim, Sarah, Meredith, Lauren Belle, and I decided we’d love ourselves some Italian chow for dinner.  No one else was around to invite, so we just set sail for the North End, spawning jokes like “Two ships passing in the night,” Spite houses/babies, and immature playground silliness, in addition to scoring an awesome dinner at Cafe Pompeii.  We still sometimes reference that random adventure, just because it’s such a perfect example of the casual, random craziness of our little group of friends.

8) Sonata Arctica

What would even be the point of a Top 2012 list without the year's top music?  I finally got to see my favorite band in the world (literally, out of all world music), Sonata Arctica, live at the Palladium.  They're a Finnish power metal band that I've been in music love with since I was 16.  Andy took the trek to Worcester with me and we had a good time reconnecting on the long train ride.  Eric was kind enough to chauffeur us around the city, stating plainly that it wasn't a fantastic area to be walking around in at night.  The warm-up acts sucked and the venue was a frigid little cavern, but the band and their loud, melodic music, played at speeds to rival Olympian track runners, lived up to every expectation I've set for them in the last three years.  

7) Family Holidays

I can never stress enough how critical my family is to me every day of my life.  Of course there's my brother, who made me the sweetest Doctor Who themed Christmas card; my sister, who, though full of sass sometimes, still admits to missing me and needing help other times; my dad, who thinks in the same erratic patterns as I do and shares my affinities for coffee, Mulberry Street pizza, and the TNT show Leverage; and my mom, who never stops giving to her children and supports all the endeavors we undertake, from driving to and from rehearsals to cheering on the benches at a freezing November dek hockey game.  

Then, there's all the extended family we see at as many holidays as we can: Nonni, with her world-renowned Christmas cookies; Nonno, with the stern face he wears when he asks about boys; Aunt Terry, who always wore the silly Halloween sweatshirt and socks because I asked her to; Uncle Vic, who teases incessantly; Cassie, who we eagerly catch up with the few times we see her; Bella, who fits in as easily talking with the older cousins as she does making trouble with the little ones; Uncle Ettore, who we always seem to give Pannettone for Christmas; "Uncle" Paul, who said Hermi-one until I corrected him; Aunt Renee, with her sweet smile; crazy Robbie, who hasn't let me hug him since he was 3; Michael, who has not followed in Robbie's footsteps and still smiles for my pictures; Uncle Bruce, who might be the most patient person I've ever met; Aunt Michelle, who designates me babysitter for these holiday gatherings, since being around kids is "the best birth control, and you're old enough to be told this!"; Dario, who has the same voice as Uncle Bruce; Sebastian Pasquale, who's too little to be sassy yet; Uncle Frank, who apparently rolled under a couch as an infant; Uncle Gianni, whose eyes smile when he tells stories about his merry life as a bus driver; (Aunt Maria, who had the heartiest, happiest laughter I ever heard); Uncle Mark, who's young 

enough to make relatable jokes about the craziness of college but also old enough to whack me upside the head for the same craziness; sweet Aunt Angela, who we beg to make pecan pies to every holiday; Luke, the little cousin who's cute enough to get away with making mischief; Ava, who puts on my makeup when I'm not looking; Uncle Mario, who always says "Ciao, bella," when he hugs; Aunt Angela, who's been all over the world and shares my birthday; Aunt Grace, my scatter-brained, silly, and loving Godmother; Uncle Ignazio, who taught us to sing I Dodici Giorni di Natale; and Marianna, who's kind enough to still hang out with the kiddies even though she's thoroughly a grown-up these days.  

Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Samuel Johannes

And so on and so forth.  Any holiday.  Every holiday.  

6) Company

Go on, roll your eyes.  I wander around humming songs, I quote the lyrics whether or not anyone knows what I'm talking about, and I always cite it as one of the most interestingly interpreted shows ever.  Quite obviously, I'm actually just saying how lucky I was to be a part of Northeastern's fabulous production.  I'm lucky I had so many friends come see it and share the experience with me and I can't wait for the next one.  But seriously, give the show a shot.  

5) Freshman Year Move-Out

No, this wasn't a happy memory.  It was actually one of the saddest days ever, but that was purely because my freshman year was such a good memory--and I mean every minute of it.  The whole feeling of my first year as a Husky is mirrored in how sad I was to leave in April.  I was sad to see the end of all those fantastic times: Zombie musicals, late night Dominoes after MIT parties, hours in the piano rooms, gathering the usual suspects for dinner, movie nights, common room shenanigans, and Trojan War tactics are just a few of the ridiculous happenings that gave flavor to my freshman year.  Moving out was a sad day because it would be the end of those times, but the sadness only reflected how fantastic a year it was.

4) Woodloch Pines

I've written an entire blog about this beautiful little patch of the universe already.  If you don't understand how it can be such a monumental cornerstone in the lives of my family and the Schizzanos by this point, then I can't help you understand anymore.  

3) Getting My Braces Off

The joy of being officially done with all things dental (save for wearing a retainer very night) far exceeded the irritation of my gums bleeding for a few days.  That day was a reflection of all the things my family and I had survived: a year of braces and surgical wires, a six-hour surgery, the most horrible night in the hospital, and weeks of numbness and an all-liquid diet.  Well, I'm still numb, but in the scheme of everything else, I'll take what I can get.  We survived!

2) Delia's Sweet Sixteen

I've written a whole blog on this one too, which you should check out if you haven't.  Here's an abridged version: When a Sweet Sixteen is done right, it's both a party and an emotional experience.  We had a fantastic time at Delia's, dancing and singing, watching the video her friends prepared as a surprise, her emotional candle ceremony (I cried my fake eye lashes off), and taking pictures with the beautiful birthday princess.  We had all of Delia's friends in attendance, plus Chelsea, Sydney, Mr. & Mrs. Schizzano, Miss Denise the ballet 

ACTUALLY a fairy princess.

teacher, all the Brengel cousins (even if the boys were being difficult about dancing), Justin (who let us put a pink crown on him for half a second), the Miliones, the Finellis, and Ginger.  We had our traditional eating leftover food and opening gifts into the wee hours of the morning session afterwards.  It certainly was a fairy-tale of an evening with the whole family.






And the biggest, most monumental moment of my 2012?

1) Moving In for Sophomore Year

I remember crystal clearly that when we drove over the I-90 bridge and the city of Boston came into view, Big City Nights by the Scorpions was playing and I was giddy with excitement to see all my Huskies again.  Maybe I didn't know exactly what was in store for the year but we all knew if it was anything like last year had been, every day would be an adventure.  And every day has been a greater adventure than the last, filled with Photo shoots, Mixfest, TV Show Viewing Parties, Aquarium detours, Birthday dinners, Boston Pops concerts, Holiday festivities, getting dressed up to go teach other's concerts, and  random city excursions.  What's most special about life at Northeastern, though, is how sitting at home playing Cards Against Humanity, improvising ridiculous song lyrics, watching Trapped in the Closet, playing enough music to peel the skin off my fingers, having random dance breaks, or even just catching up on each others' lives over a bowl of cookie dough is just as fulfilling as any big adventure.  I can't confine all the laughing, nerding-out, dancing, teasing, screaming, craziness of life at Northeastern into one concise memory, so instead, my top memory from this year is the giddy anticipation I felt that day in the car for all of the times that would be had.  I can't thank my mom and dad enough for supporting me in my decision to be a Northeastern Husky and I couldn't be more blessed to have met the fantastic people that I did. 

Thank you EVERYONE in my life for all the wonderful things you gave me this year.  It certainly wasn't an easy year, what with a broken jaw, a hurricane, losing two elderly aunts, and the lamentable loss of a friend.  I truly don't know how I'd have gotten through without the support, advice, and warm embraces of all my family and friends.  My resolution for 2013 is to give as much back to you all as you've given me.  



*Editor's Note: Chris dislikes when I refer to him as Chrissy.

A Smattering of the Many Things I'm Grateful For this Thanksgiving

Christmas Trees     Chuck Palahniuk novels     Live music     Spotify     Jello     Mom's homemade mashed potatoes     Late nights watching How I Met Your Mother with Delia     The Thanksgiving Day Parade     Considering myself a part of two of the most beautiful cities in existence     Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church     Doctor Who     How Dad never complains about picking me up from the city     That Sandy killed my backyard but left my house and family in perfect health     The incredible amount of support I've had from countless friends and family lately     Starbucks     Gustav, the most beautiful bass I could have asked for     Halloween candy     Being a part of Company     Every tiny, insignificant thing about Northeastern     That I didn't make the kick line team in ninth grade and became a music kid instead     Slippers     My adorable little cousins     The advice and guidance from my older cousins     Skiing     Drummers     Flat irons      Shredded cheese     Harry Potter books     That of all thirteen schools I applied to, I ended up at Northeastern University     Husky Hunt     Crepes     The Pep Band     Nutella     Northeastern Hockey Games     That Nonni and Nonno and Grandma Mary are healthy and happy as ever     Lifeteen     Seinfeld     e.e. cummings poetry     Cozy sweatshirts     The friends who hugged me when I cried at the cemetery yesterday     Buona Sera garlic knots     That Alice in Wonderland exists    Musicals in and about New York City     My correctly aligned jaw     That my parents met and fell in love and got married and had me to begin with     That Laura is so accommodating about my messiness and wacky music schedule     Wedges and high heels     That 2 am no-boundaries conversation with Meredith the other night     Chinese food     Bruce Springsteen music     Nerdfighter culture     New York pizza     Being Italian     That Eric texts me goodnight, every night    That I loved Smithtown High School West so much     Pit orchestras     Flip Flops     Breaking Amish   Aunt Grace and Uncle Kenny, my godparents     That Chris, Charlie, Peter, Lauren V, Lauren B, Laura, Ryan, Sarah, Andy, Harrison, and Alfred came to see and hear me in Company     Blogger     Disney magic     That Chris would rather spend three hours tutoring me in Stats than be bored while I spend one hour at the professor's Office Hours     Yearbooks     Everything I learned from Aunt Maria while she fought cancer     Billy Joel     Mr. Nolan's English class     EVERYTHING from the Romantic Era     Easter eggs     That I could have made things work at any university, but that things just work beautifully at Northeastern     Delia's dance recitals     Andy's unbiased and unabashed honesty and advice     That Christie, Brianna, and Alissa are at Northeastern too     David Tennant     My beautiful and sexy 616 apartment and even sexier roommates     That Alaric gives the best hugs known to humankind     Orange soda     How beautiful everything looks when it's snowing     Holiday decorations     That Mom cares enough to bug me for every detail of my life     That I've had my heart broken so few times     The unfathomable potential of every human being     Board games     Chick flicks     My room at home     All the wonderful things Sarah bakes     The picture perfect memories from the Last Day of High School, Prom, and Graduation     That there's never been anything I can't confide in my sister     J.K. Rowling's entire life     Crappy magazines like Rolling Stone and Cosmo     Cheesy flamingo memorabilia     Woodloch Pines     My fairy-tale Sweet Sixteen and all the amazing things I learned from having it     That Lauren Bell never gets annoyed at me for asking for Accounting help     Husky Hunt the second time around    That Dad was so thoughtful to pick me up a 7-11 coffee this morning     Cinnabons     June Claire Dance Centers     That even though we're stressed like crazy getting ready to have 18 guests over, we do have 18 happy and healthy guests we love and can't wait to see     Wicked the musical, but also the book because it gave someone the idea for the musical     That Lauren V is always telling me how fantastic and perfect we all are     That Nothing Changes     That I have the two legs, feet, arms, hands, ears, and eyes; ten fingers and toes; and a nose, mouth, and brain that God gave me to appreciate the world with     Finnish power metal     Mark Twain's writing     Tampons     Eye lash curlers     Converse sneakers     Facebook     That Shannon visits so often even though she doesn't live with us     That Ginger could come to both my and my sister's Sweet Sixteen     When Mom gives me a back scratch     Harry Potter World     What the Pluck?!    Living next door to the Geriens     Marshall Half Stacks     That one time I got to play a Juzek bass in a hole-in-the-wall jazz shop     IV Dining hall pizza     Elevators, ramps, the wheels on my bass case, and all the sympathetic people that hold the door open     Eleven years of bus rides with Jacqui     Stetson East cookies     Every piece of music I've ever listened to and every piece that's waiting to be heard     That I have a bed to sleep in every night     Books and sheet music that smell old     Paws the Husky     That my family misses me when I'm gone, and that I miss them too     Fourth of July Fireworks     Italian ices     Everything that's caramel-flavored     Music     Too many perfect Blue Flamingo vacations to count     Rebecca's Cafe brunches with Christie     That Northeastern's campus is so beautiful, especially for a city school     The Charles River    That picture-perfect moment when Train was singing "Drops of Jupiter" and I was standing alone in the rain     The sights, sounds, odds, ends, and quirks of New York City     Every confused morning when the story of last night gets told to me     That Marianna is only ever a text away when I need her     That Delia asked me to be her sponsor     Twitter     Stephen Sondheim     That Uncle Vic married Aunt Terry     Apple picking as a family tradition     Woodloch crumb cake     That so many people cared enough to check on me this summer when my jaw was banded shut     That my jaw was banded shut and my liquid diet lost me fifteen pounds     Rubber ducks     Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky     The fantastic family vacations Mom and Dad work so hard to take us on     That I had my nineteenth birthday this year     102.3 WBAB     My mac     Grimm, Perrault, and Andersen fairy tales     That Gustav and I played at Staller Center, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center together     Sade, my creamsicle colored bass guitar     That Delia still asks for my help picking out outfits     My crazy curly hair     Secret brand deodorant     Aerie underwear     Glitter glue     That I'm part of the Honors Program at such a good school in such a wonderful city     Rebecca's Cafe sandwiches     My job at Au Bon Pain     That I'm so in love with my major, literally every day of my life     The bright walls in my room     The Cousins Day we had at Lorella, Danielle, Bob, and Justin's this summer     Those vacations we took to Montauk with Aunt Angela, Uncle Mario, Marianna, and Alessia all those years ago     That Nonni and Nonno care about their time and resource-consuming grandkids as much as they do     All the Tooth Fairy, Easter bunny, and Santa Claus stories Mom and Dad fabricated so well for us     Cursive handwriting     That I was School President in fifth grade     That Mr. Roth, my middle school orchestra teacher, had such a positive influence on my appreciation for music     The Smithtown West Music Department family     That the twelve basses I was Section Leader to still call me Mom     Old photos     The Doll House Nonno made for me and Deels     That Nonni taught me how to sew     Grilled cheese sandwiches     Leonardo DiCaprio movies     All the hours they tolerate my presence in the Duplex     All the classy literature and art and music Danielle and I obsess over     Everything I learned my freshman year of college; in the classroom, about life, and about myself     The entertaining antics of Alfred and Harrison     My friendship with Mary, even if it's so much more difficult to maintain since she moved to North Carolina seven years ago     Sweet Sixteen Season     My twin, Brian     Thelemon-scented candle Mrs. Ralph bought me     The purple V neck that Richie wears     That Brianna, Rebecca, Danielle, and Sean called to check on me last Thursday     Ms. Riccoboni's Italian class     Winky, my little Nissan Altima that's as old as I am     Springy beds     Fan fiction     Bananas     That Mike is so good at pestering me to keep in touch with him     Family Gatherings on every Holiday we can     Lindt chocolate     New York bagels     Becca-Brina Christmases     That Tasha was an awesome freshman year roommate     The Blue Flamingo Tradition     The Northeastern bass family: Peter, Colin, Jason, and me     Cold weather     That Lauren kept me company when I sadly and slowly packed up my life in 933 IV last April     That Rebecca knows how much I love and need her, even when I'm God awful at keeping in touch     That Deels and Alex became friends, and then so did Sarah and I over a Play-Doh bakery in fourth grade     That Kimmie and I grew a beautiful friendship out of seeing each other once a week at tap class     Rod McKuen's writing     That Alyssa lived around the block from me in Kindergarten     Sudoku     Carlsson bass rosin     Centennial Quad     How beautiful and quirky Beacon Hill is     New England Clam Chowder     The memory of Deels and I staring jaw-dropped at each other when Daniel Radcliffe got hoisted into the air for the Opening scene of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying     Condiments with Joanna     The Port Jeff ferry     Huntington Avenue     Upton Basses in Mystic, Connecticut     Diaries     My signed copy of Diary, the book     Reeds from Palm Sunday     Northeastern's Husky Hockey team and the hot hockey players     How beautiful Boston is     The T     The way Rebecca and Mike wiped away the tears during our last Adoration together     The fantastic inside jokes Paige and Danielle and I had in Mr. (CrapICan'tRemeberHisName)'s AP Euro class Tenth Grade     Harry Potter as a cultural phenomenon     Eoin Colfer and the Artemis Fowl series     Gas stations     Vanity Plates     Paved roads     That I've never had to go hungry     Charities     The BSO and Boston Pops     The Lilac-themed tea house Brian and I went to for lunch one time     The feeling of being a Goddess when you shave your legs     The color of Dan Frank's hair at prom     The Lifeteen Core that still inspire me     The amazing evening the five of us girls saw Legally Blonde together     That there's a Heaven waiting for all the loved ones I've lost     Rosaries     That Aunt Maria, Aunt Ruth, Uncle George, Grandpa Ken, and Katie will always be a part of me on some level     The feeling of being hugged by someone who loves you     The number of family members and friends I love and who love me back     The way two people's faces light up when they see each other after a long time apart     All the things I take for granted     Every kind of love

And most importantly, I'm thankful for everyone I've ever met because whether you suspect it or not, you've influenced me along the way to becoming the person I am today.  I can't thank you enough for helping me into living the life I do.  

Thank you.

I can't work in fast food all my life...

I kind of wanted to do a legitimate review of The Da Vinci Code because it was such a riveting read, but it's also a profoundly controversial one.  I don't want to offend anyone, so I'll just touch on why I was so engrossed by it.  The books I get most attached to make a point of developing characters and fostering all kinds of relationships between them.  This did nothing like that.  The only character that was developed at all was Leigh Teabing, and even that was only to heighten the intensity of a later plot twist.  The only semblance of characters interacting in a way that wasn't directly necessary for the progression of the plot was a kiss between the two protagonists in the last chapter of the book.  It's completely unprecedented.  Readers may suspect this is coming because that's precisely what happened between Robert Langdon and Vittoria in Angels and Demons, which was Dan Brown's first Langdon-narrated novel.  Nothing ever came of that from the first book to this one, and Langdon often reflects on being used to life as a bachelor.  There's exactly one moment, when Langdon smells Sophie's perfume, that he appears to take any notice of her as a person.  This lack of human development is something plenty of good books can have, but it's not something I've found in any of my favorite reads before.  I guess I'm just shocked that a book with virtually no characterization or human element could hold my attention so strongly.  


That aside, The Da Vinci Code is an eye-opening read because it's so rooted in facts and history.  After finishing, I did a lot of reading into the Gnostic Gospels, the Merovingian dynasty, and the real Priory of Sion.  There are varying amounts of historical evidence for all of these, which was intriguing to learn of.  Despite conspiracy theories and pseudo-historical claims, I really recommend this book.  Just go in with an open mind and be prepared to sort out your own thoughts afterwards.


Gosh, that took longer than I imagined it was going to for not even being a full review. 




Now onto more mundane and happy topics!


Happy Birthday to my beautiful and beloved (and thoroughly missed) Shannon!  Nineteen and Crazy indeed!


Saturday was also Sydney's Sweet Sixteen.  I've been to precisely 13 formal Sweet Sixteens with ball-gown-and-tiara-wielding birthday girls.  Generally, these are preppy occasions.  I've seen dresses in red, orange, gold, green, aqua, teal, purple, fuchsia, hot pink, baby pink, and white.  Girls usually walk in to pop songs like "Gotta Feelin'," "When I Grow Up," or "Party," or equally peppy songs related to the party's theme, like "Supermodel," (Fashion) or "Ever Ever After," (Disney Princesses).  I hadn't been to a single party where the birthday girl didn't do a full or partial updo accompanied by curling iron curls.  
I really have to commend Sydney on throwing a definitively Sydney party.  Very few girls could pull off wearing black at their own parties, entering with a complete Thriller dance number, and requesting songs like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Sell Out."  Her hair was pulled back just enough that she wouldn't get sweaty on the dance floor, and it was her customary straight, dark red.  I'm just very impressed by how atypically she designed her red, black, and gold Masquerade-themed party.  I'm really proud of her.  I remember the days when our parents would go out to dinner and leave Chelsea, Sydney, Deels, Eric and me at one of our houses and we'd be ridiculous and crazy together for hours at a time.  Remember that time we heard Jake (their dog) running up and down the stairs, and we though he was a burglar?  It was super S's to the rescue that day, armed with brooms and rakes against a cocker spaniel.  Seeing Sydney all grown up and lady-like made me feel nostalgic, but also proud that our families have been so involved with each other for over a decade.  That connection is really special, and I'm beyond honored that we were called up for a candle.  
Basically, Sydney, I loved the unique quality of your party and I'm honored to have been a part of it.  I love you guys a lot and I can't wait until Woodloch 2012!


On an even more mundane note, I today was lovely.  We saw The Avengers which was stunning to watch, even if it didn't have the most clever or original plot.  I say "stunning" because the graphics were unreal.  If you plan on seeing it, it's worth spending the money to see it on the big screen.  Also, Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans are wonderful to look at.  A side note would be that I do agree with Andy: some of the dialogue was painful to listen to.  Some though, usually any involving Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr., for those living under a rock), were witty enough.  I then did like 10 minutes of Zumba to let off steam and then helped my sister with her Trig homework.  I'm so proud of myself for recalling enough math to actually be helpful! Who knew?  


In other news, I've lost 10 pounds on my all-liquids diet, and have reduced my Advil intake from 90 milliliters a day to 50.  I'm allowed to sleep in my own bed again, and no more decongestants either!  I still can't drive, speak properly, or eat regularly, but we're getting there.  My next check-up is Thursday, which means that with any luck, I can progress to soft foods.  Having pastina on my birthday would make my life much more pleasurable at this point in time.  


I'm having video issues with my beautiful Boston friends, so I'm finishing this blog instead of hanging out with them in Google Plus for a few minutes to give my lazy computer a break.  It should be good now, or so I hope.  Until next time, my darlings.

Storybook endings, fairy tales coming true.

The most important happening of the last few weeks would undoubtedly be Delia's Sweet Sixteen.  The whole occasion was beautiful, both aesthetically and in nature.  The whole affair was actually about twelve hours long and they were the most perfect twelve hours.

I guess things got started around 1:30 pm when Deels had her hair appointment.  I was curling my hair in the bathroom downstairs already because I had to have enough time afterwards to get dressed and do my own makeup as well as Delia's.  Eric was with me, watching the Doctor Who Season 2 Finale.  It was really sweet because the whole weekend was so focused on Deels that spending two hours with Eric pestering me ("What'd he do that for?" "Are they going to explain that?" "WHAT?!" "Pleeeaaase tell me!") was really nice.

She got back around 3:30, at which point I did her makeup.  This took like an hour.  But was entirely worth it!  It then took her 45 minutes to get into her own dress and shoes, over the course of which I finished my hair, did my own makeup, and got dressed.

We left the house at 5:30 and got to the hotel with plenty of time to set up candles and centerpieces and take lots of pictures with the help of our beautiful and professionally dressed photographer, Cristina! She did a fantastic job and I'm DYING to see all the pictures!

It was wonderful to have all the family together again.  All the Raggis, Brengels, Gasperis, Scagliolas, Stracquadanios, Finellis, Miliones, Ginger, and the Schizzanos (because what's the difference really, when we've been so involved in each other's lives for thirteen years) were all together with all of Delia's close friends, dance friends, Lifeteen friends, theater friends, and family friends.  Lots of dancing and merriment. Except for like the 14 cousins that refused to dance with me.  Let me tell you, you missed out.

Then, of course, there was the whole spiel of Sweet Sixteen traditions over the course of the evening.  We had her photo montage of every adorable picture ever taken of Deels from birth to like the week before the party.  Seeing as every picture taken of my photogenic sister is adorable, there were lots of pictures.  I'm flattered by the number of pictures I was in with her. :)

Her friends that love her so much put together a sweet video in which they re-wrote the lyrics to "I Will Survive" to be about surviving our parents' bad dancing at the party, with verses about how each of them met her and her importance in their lives.  Since I don't exactly remember meeting her for the first time, my verse was just fluff like "Our inside jokes range from pretzel dance to wedge of lime."  It makes sense, I swear. ("Manic waitress at Ninety-Nine: "WOULD YOU LIKE A WEDGE OF LIME WITH THAT?!") She was entirely shocked and thrilled.  The whole thing went over nicely.

THE FOOD WAS GODLY.

Then of course there was her candle lighting ceremony.  Guys, remember all the crying we did at mine?  We did just as much, if not more at Delia's.  She's always been a fantastic writer and she really shined with these seventeen candles.  I am more than honored to receive her second out of seventeen candles.  I talk a lot about how close we are, but hearing her talk about it, and how difficult it gets when I'm in Boston and she's home, made it sound all different.  I started crying at the second candle and never really stopped.   "Sisters by blood, but more importantly, sisters by choice." :') <3

She then had her father-daughter dance and her grandfather-daughter dance and we had ice cream.  There was also a Grease Sing Along and a Hand jive competition.  It was rather excellent.

The party ended at 11, but it was midnight before we got home, considering all the decorations, centerpieces, favors, gifts, leftover food and cake, and goodbyes.  Once we were all changed into the most comfortable slippers (heels are hard on your feet!) and pajamas we own, we ate our way through a lot of the leftover food and cake and opened all her gifts.  "We" includes Ginger, who we are always thrilled to have stay with us.  We started missing her the hour she left. :( But Delia got some truly precious things!  I had a playlist running of all the songs that had been involved in the party-her entrance, her candles, the favorites played by the DJ- and it was a great hour and a half to close up the festivities.  I remember how hard it was after my party to just go home and go to bed when you were still all abuzz.  This tradition is almost as precious as the party.

As everyone else went to sleep, Deels and I then continued our long-standing tradition of hanging out in my bed and talking before going to sleep.  At this point we were both exhausted and only lasted about a half hour before falling asleep together.  It was kind of cute except we felt gross waking up with our faces still caked in makeup.

The moral of the story is that it was a beautiful day.  The only tiny glitch was that it was awful hair weather out.  Let's be honest; if that's the biggest problem we had, then we're truly lucky.

I was trying to explain all of this to Andy, who looked at me a combination of confusion and disbelief at all the components of the party.  He said, "It sounds like some bizarre coming-of-age ritual from another culture."  It kind of is.  It's a really fun thing, but it's also a deeply emotional thing.  My Sweet Sixteen was the night of my life and this was the night of Delia's.  I could not be more blessed to have the sister I do and I'm grateful we got to share these nights with each other.

:) <3

On another note,

I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.

I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.

I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.

I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.

I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.

I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.

I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.  I hate braces.    

I actually physically wrote out that sentence forty-two times without copying or pasting to make it clear just how much I hate braces.  I actually do not plan to ever have kids, partly so I never have to put them through anything related to the Orthodontist.  

I generally make it a point to be a happy person.  I like to bask in the happiness of all my family and friends and music and books and just be happy.  Do you ever get filled with negative energy?  There are times when I'm just filled unnecessarily with anxious or angry energy and it's all I can do to get rid of it healthily. It's the most aggravating thing ever.  You know the feeling; that one Facebook post on someone else's wall that implies you're being left out, that assignment that you're entirely restructuring the night before it's due, that friendship you tried so hard to keep alive but is just useless now, that bracket that fell off your tooth when you weren't even eating something chewy, (and the fact that you have to go through the braces crap for a second time anyway)--things that just make you go a little crazy.  My advice for coping when you just want to yell and punch your pillow is to invest some time and money in a spoon, a jar of Nutella, and some old Seinfeld re-runs.  

Watching Grease:

"I feel like a defective typewriter." Rizzo

"I hope you don't plan to need that line..." Sean

It was much, much funnier in the moment.

"ME WOVE WOO." Deels
"HOW COME ANY TIME I DO SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE THEY MAKE A WEIRD FACE AT ME?" Also Deels

"You don't have any reason to sing a sad song like that." Me

"I'm sad because I'M ALONE." Deels
"BUT YOU HAVE ME!" Eric
(It's rather less funny without the screaming and accents and pushing each other around.)

I love my family like a lot, a lot, a lot.  I'm so grateful that they came all the way to Boston for a two hour orchestra concert, and even managed to all be excited about it.
Side note, my brother is starting to know more about the history of Doctor Who than I know, in addition to teaching himself the main theme on cello.  As far as brothers go, it really doesn't get any better.

God, I am blessed to live the life I do.  When I get whiny, don't let me forget that.

As Dreamers Do.

Generally speaking, this has been an excellent week home.  I've gotten to see and talk to and hug so many of the people I've been missing, like Brian, Mike, Chelsea, Sarah, Sean, Eric, and the ENTIRE Lifeteen congregation.  Do you ever get that feeling that your body may actually explode because your heart swells so much to fit all your happiness inside? That's been my last six days, and it's beautiful.


Lunch with Brian was wonderful, as we never got to have one over Christmas break.  Favorite quotes of the day:
Me: "How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb?"
Brian: "It depends how much weed they have."


"It can be explained by a diagram of the diffraction of light.  Except in your case, it's the diffraction of a bullet.  And the distribution of them."


"The time has come to pick something off the menu and enjoy it.  Not eat it!  Just enjoy it."


Twins <3




Meanwhile, the drive to Chelsea's school with Sarah and Christie was full of excellent banter and girl talk, as was our lunch date at Panera.  Trouble is, you can't be nearly as loud or as honest in public, so we relocated to a nice deserted picnic table.  Cheers, girlies.  




There is a small part of me that is heartbroken.  I very much enjoyed making the candle holders for Delia's Disney Princess themed party, and blast Disney classics via Spotify whenever I work on something party-related.  I decided the other night was the night to watch a Disney classic, so I went for Snow White since it's one of the Princesses for the party and it was the predominant movie of my childhood.  I put the VHS in the VCR... and it got eaten.  Since I had to physically pull the tape out, I was actually the one to break the tape.  I cried.  I feel like I've personally murdered Snow White with the huntsman's dagger.  


The obvious move was to put in Pinocchio, another childhood classic.  What do you know, the first advertisement to come on is for Snow White.  Ouch.


That movie is so stereotypical in its portrayal of Italians.  Stromboli's Italian ramblings actually have Italian in them, just incomprehensible Italian.  Also, the Blue Fairy is totally Marilyn Monroe.  And Jiminy absolutely cat calls at her.


And on that note, now is a good time for a Disney-instigated rant on the sacredness of childhood.  I have very capital R Romantic tendencies-- think Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Hoffman, Shelley, Wordsworth, and Coleridge--and many of these apply to the natural wonder and beauty that are childhood, for the Romantic Era was about faith in untamed nature and feelings, not in knowledge.  There is something inherently beautiful about childhood, perhaps because it's so dependent on nature and feeling.  The Disney Classics all draw upon these in their development.  Although Disney gets a lot of crap for its stereotyping and its less than worthwhile messages, it somehow still ignites the same feelings of grandeur and the power of imagination that are emphasized by Romantics.  This may have a lot to do with Disney's gift for excellent scoring.  (Reader, if you're familiar with my blogs, you're aware how dangerous it is to let me openly ramble about music and yet here we go.)  
I suppose a better question is whether my childhood memories of Disney movies, and consequently Disney's classic hits--think Someday My Prince Will Come, When You Wish Upon A Star, Once Upon A Dream--make these songs meaningful for me, or whether these songs are what make my attachment to Disney so profound.  Just Googling "Disney's Greatest Music" brings you to a page of Disney's Top 100 Songs.  Even the last page, numbers 76-100, is filled with songs I know and love.  Of course the top twenty five are undisputedly the best, including Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty Waltz, now called "Once Upon A Dream," the classics listed above, Part of Your World, and A Whole New World, which was apparently playing when I was born.  Listen to these, or look at their lyrics.  They will all take you somewhere else entirely.  They draw upon wishes that we have in our hearts, however illogical or silly, and let us dream openly about them.  And so Disney's masterpieces foster imagination and the ability to dream and love and everything that's important in childhood.  And so Disney is beautiful.




On a vaguely related note, I am an expert at making bows.  I made seventeen for the candles, but each of those seventeen consist of one tulle and one ribbon bow, each tied with wire, then tied together, and then tied to a glass candle holder.  Each one takes like a half hour to make.  I'm just a wizard.  Also, Bow is the name of my street and it just feels like destiny.


Lastly, I finished Season Five of Doctor Who and I had to watch each part of the season finale twice to fully get what was going on.
"Something old, something new, something borrowed something blue; I remember you, Raggedy Doctor and YOU ARE LATE FOR MY WEDDING!"
Spoilers ;)