If I could teach the world to sing

Do you ever hear songs that instantly transport you back in time?  Or remind you immediately of a single person so much that it becomes "their" song?  I know we all have things like that.  When I hear 'California' by Phantom Planet, I'm transported to college, sitting in my friend's dorm room watching endless hours of The OC.  When I hear 'Amarillo by Morning' by George Strait, I'm a kid again, playing with my sisters.  When I hear 'Macarena', I'm ten, dancing to it in my best friend's bedroom.  And when I hear our ridiculous song, I'm sent back to freshman year, sitting in the hallway of my dorm, talking to you on the phone about everything under the sun, including what a strangely awesome song 'Come On Eileen' is.  Do you think it's strange that I, being a freshman in college, a woman of the world, should have had such a relationship with such a youngun as yourself?  Do you think it's strange that our relationship has lasted through the years?  There are songs I can't listen to now, you know.  Songs that have nothing to do with you, and yet remind me of you, and our in and out relationship.  And the way it ended.  However, I have gotten better.  Today when I heard our song, I laughed.  I didn't cry.  And that within itself is a big step.  It's the first time I've heard it since right after.  That shows progress, don't you think?  It was a complete surprise, and you haven't been on my mind for a while.  All of a sudden, I was sitting in the laundry room talking to you about Queens and your childhood.  I know so much, and yet so little.  You talked so much, and said so little.  You're like the Doctor in that way, you know.  You probably don't.  You didn't know how much I love that show.  There are a lot of things you didn't know.  Like how after that one time, I was so mad at you, and couldn't show it because your friends were there.  Or after that one huge fight we had, I cried myself to sleep over your idiocy.  Or after you kissed me at your birthday party, I was a complete mixed up fool.  And how I had finally decided to stop our cycle.  But I guess you did it for us, didn't you.  That's one good thing to come out of this I guess.  Though truthfully, I'd be all right with continuing the cycle, because it would mean you were here and not there.  This is the most I've written to you in a while.  I feel weird, and kind of bad, because I feel like I always want to talk to you, or talk about you, or something.  Do you think people are tired of it?  I feel like I'd be a little tired of it.  But I try not to bring it up too much.  I don't want to annoy people.  You were annoying, did you know that?  You drove me nuts sometimes.  But I always loved you.  And I always will, my Toto.

Repeats

There are a lot of people I know who read a book once or watch a movie once or a TV series once and they're done with it.  They don't need to read it or watch it again because they've already seen it or read it, and they know what happens.  I am not at all one of those people.  I think there are two sides to this coin, as there are to every situation.  The one side is that by only doing something once opens you up to new things, and you don't get bogged down doing the same thing over and over and over again (which if you expect the same thing each time is the definition of insanity).  Reading or watching the same things can be a way of becoming stuck in a constant, never-moving area.  You don't get to try new things because you're drawn by the compulsion to do the same things you've already done, and if you're not careful, you get stuck there for a very long time.  Thus you become boring and blah.

The other side is that by repeating books or movies or TV shows, not only do you get to continue your relationship with said story (because let's face it, it is a relationship of sorts, albeit a one-sided one), you also learn new things every time you read or watch.  For example, I am currently reading two books which I have read before.  One is a classic, a fantastic book that I've read a million and twelve times and every time I read it, I find something that strikes me anew (review coming soon Linds!).  The other is a continuation of a series I've read before, but I have only read this book once.  I'm rereading it because I got the final books in the series for Christmas and I found myself forgetting who characters were and what the deal was.  So I'm rereading and on this second read I am able to look past the basic story into the deeper connections between the characters and the events happening in the story.  There are people who can do that their first read through, but I am not one of them.  I first read for the story, then I reread for the details.

It's the same thing with movies and TV shows.  Of course some movies I rewatch because of the story or the dialogue or whatever, but there are some I just feel compelled to watch because I missed something the first time.  Or I caught it but I didn't realize its significance.  Which brings me to my dilemma for this weekend.  For the first time in a while I have absolutely nothing to do.  I have a little laundry to be done and my dishes need washed, but other than those rather small chores, my weekend lies wide open.  Here is my problem.  I want to have a marathon of sorts, where I hunker down on the couch and watch a series only to emerge for food sleep and church.  But what should I watch?  I am in full nerd mode at the moment, so I'm fluctuating between rewatching Season 1 and Season 2 of Sherlock, rewatching the entire 6 seasons of Doctor Who,  or jumping into a completely new series, such as Firefly, which wouldn't take me long, since there's only one season, or Supernatural.  Or should I watching something completely different, like Gilmore Girls or Friends?  I have a feeling it will end up being me drawing names from a hat or playing eenie meenie minie mo.  But I'll let you know how it turns out :-). 

Wedding Plans

Now before we all freak out because "What do you MEAN WEDDING PLANS?! YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED?!"  No, I am not getting married, at the moment or any time in the near future.  My future husband is releasing a new record in a month, so he's a little busy.  Plus he has no idea who I am, but hey I'm optimistic :-).

ANYWAYS!  I'm not getting married, but two of my best friends have accepted a marriage proposal from their significant others, and so they're getting married, and have both asked me to be in the wedding.  Well it was less of an ask, and more of an assumption.  I mean I've known one of these girls for twenty years (WHAT?!) and we've always said we would be in each other's weddings, and the other I've known for twelve years, and that's a pretty long time as well!!  So yeah, I've been asked to be in two weddings this year, and I've accepted both.

When I accepted the first, it was a total no brainer.  I'd be there with bells on my fingers and rings on my toes.  When I accepted the second, it of course was a no brainer as well, but it was more thought about because OMG what if they overlap?  That would totally and completely SUCK.  However, there are two potential dates for one, and a pretty sure date for the other and while they're close, they don't overlap.

My beautiful amazing friend Ally is getting married November 23.  When I first heard that, I had a slight freak out  which I think I hid pretty well from her.  In my head, that was the weekend after Thanksgiving.  My family goes to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving, and I had no idea how I was going to get from Oklahoma to San Antonio in a reasonable amount of time without flying and not having a car there.  But then I checked.  Thanksgiving is the NEXT week, which means my freak out was for nothing.  Yay for nothing freakouts!

My amazingly wonderful friend Amber has two potential dates working for her, and from what I can tell, they'd both be fine with me.  Though one is Nov. 8th, and that would put both weddings in November.  Though that might work out better!  Who knows!

All I know is I am very excited and honored to be a part of these two wonderful women's special days.  Now it's time to start saving for them!!!