OK.

I am OK and am in OK...haha...I just came up with that all on my own.

I know, I should stay as far away from comedy as a profession as possible.

Got a late start, but being a night owl, it didn't make a difference to me. The drive has been pretty much totally uneventful. I still hate Memphis with a passion, and try to spend as little time as possible there, but of course I hit rush hour traffic the Friday of a holiday weekend...yeah, I was fuming after a bit...

I got the hook up on a hotel room! I didn't even ask for it, but it has a microwave AND a fridge...too bad I don't have anything to put into either...and there is this ginormous bed in it! I really think it's a California King...too firm for my taste, but I am really looking forward to sprawling...I have been sleeping on a twin which is SO not long enough for me...

So...I've been expecting gas prices to go up, due to the oil spill AND being that this is Memorial Day weekend...has anyone noticed that they have gone down? I noticed that in 'Bama...

And then I get into Oklahoma. I seriously need to consider moving here. Gas is $2.23 where I filled up last. That's 35 cents cheaper than it was in Alabama...the lady who was filling up next to me said that last week they were 50 cents higher...Seriously, why are gas prices going down? Is the economy finally leveling out or something? Do we have a surplus of gasoline?

I thought of one more thing I am going to miss as I was driving along. This car was up beside me for a bit, and I looked over right when the front passenger looked at me, and he smiled and nodded his head, and so did I. I LOVE Southern manners and hospitality. There is nothing like it in any other part of the country that I have been to. I will miss that. I won't miss false manners...you know when someone is being polite when they really are angry and want to say something else entirely...I think people should be honest, but in a respectful way...anyways, I will miss true Southern hospitality a lot...

Anyways...I am safe. I had a good dinner, there are cops EVERYWHERE, so even if I wanted to speed I wouldn't, but I have kept within 5 mph of the speed limit the entire time (which is something close to a miracle for me), and am staying far away from scary drivers.

Night ya'll...(yep, already missing Alabama...)

Goodbye Sweet Home Alabama

Things I will/won't miss about Alabama:

Will: Lightning Bugs...they are just so fun!
Won't: Any other kind of bug that grows to ginormous sizes here.

Will: GREAT BBQ, GREAT Fried Chicken, GREAT Fried Fish.
Won't: Most other Southern cuisine due to the fact that pretty much all of it is either fried or dripping with fat...

Will: Green grass that grows everywhere without watering it. And all the beautiful flowers...the hydrangea bushes are astoundingly beautiful right now. And in the fall, the turning of the leaves!
Won't: Allergies.

Will: Having FOUR seasons (as opposed to Arizona...which has Summer One, Summer Two, and the short period that falls under spring-like weather).
Won't: Winter.

Will: The rivers that are actually rivers (not creeks like we have in AZ and NM) and the natural lakes (unlike all the man made lakes back west).
Won't: Massive amounts of rainfall that cause flooding that the South is prone to...

Will: Trees...massive trees, and they are everywhere...and they just grow, you don't have to plant or water them!
Won't: Hurricanes, tornados, and thunderstorms...they are scary enough on their own, but the idea of the wind and rain knocking over one of these massive trees onto me, my house or my car scares me A LOT. The sound of a falling tree is one that still haunts me whenever it is stormy outside...

Will: Alabama Football and tailgating. Rolllllllll Tide Roll!!!
Won't: The traffic that goes with Alabama Football.

Will: Driving with my windows down during the spring and fall.
Won't: Walking outside or opening the door to get out of the car and my sunglasses fogging up due to the humidity that just slammed me in the face.

Will: The Gulf Coast beaches...beautiful beautiful beaches...
Won't: Oil spills.

Will: The beautiful Southern accents. Love them.
Won't: Not being able to understand certain Southern accents.

Will: All my friends that I have made here...I am truly going to miss them. Today was tough for me, saying goodbye to a bunch of my Tuscaloosa friends. I seriously was given two honest to goodness job offers today so that I would stay. Both by good friends.
Won't: Being so far away from my family. And not having a date in...well, let's just say it has been a very long time.

I will be on my way to Oklahoma City tomorrow morning, and then Saturday will get to my parents home in NM. Goodbye Alabama. Hello new chapter in my life.

Ah Lee...

Well, I can't say I am surprised about Lee winning, however much I wanted Crystal to win. I tried calling both lines just to see how busy things were with the voting last night, and all of Lee's lines were constantly giving me a busy signal, whereas Crystal's I got through 4 out of 5 times...I called about 30 times for her before I got tired of hitting the buttons on my phone.

I thought he was good and deserved the win. I took a listen to the demo of his single on itunes, and I liked it even better than his live performance. I guess they got rid of having them sing a new song as the hit single they first put out, since he did a cover of U2's 'Beautiful Day'. Like the song, and he sounds good on it.

One of my favorite things about the two finalists was that they were both very humble. For some people, this is the thing that they hated most about this season...no one was out for blood, no one was trying to win this no matter what the cost. There was no controversy stirring up ratings. But this is exactly what I loved the most about the contestants this year. It really was refreshing, as opposed to other 'reality' shows where the contestants don't get along, back bite each other, and even try to sabotage one another. American Idol, for the most part, isn't like that. The contestants didn't forget where they came from, and it's obvious that they will stay that way. That's one thing I really like about David Cook (American Idol winner 2 years ago)...I voted for him, he won, and he has not forgotten where he came from. He does tons of charity work for cancer research, due to losing his brother to it. He has stayed close to his family, and far away from controversy. And here he is, still recording and doing very well. Love it. It is too bad that he wasn't able to attend tonight...you would think that the charity event could've been rescheduled to a day or two later so that he could attend tonight...he was the only American Idol winner that wasn't there tonight.

But Lee. Lee is a funny one. One thing that did bug me about him was that he didn't move comfortably around the stage...as the weeks went on, he got better and better at it though. I really hope now that he has won this that he will be coached up on stage presence by an experienced teacher. The 'deer in headlights' look still comes back every once in a while. And the man needs to learn how to smile! He hardly ever smiled, and when he did, there usually weren't any teeth showing.

I do like his voice, and I think he will do well. I think Crystal will become a bigger star, but who knows. I have been wrong before.

Crystal vs Lee

Yes, I am still moving, but I took time to watch the essentials on TV tonight. Is there anyone else in the world that isn't happy that American Idol and NCIS are on at the exact same time Tuesday nights?

I watched NCIS live...didn't really feel like a season finale, felt like a normal show. I was expecting a LOT more intensity, but after that Grey's Anatomy finale I don't think any show will be catching up for a long time...yes, I watch entirely too much TV in the evenings.

Anyways, I got online and watched Crystal and Lee perform all three of their songs. Thank you youtubers...

After last week, I was leaning towards Lee winning, but Crystal hands down was the best tonight. She totally blew Lee out of the water. Black Velvet was AMAZING. And like Simon said, that one is difficult to really pull off. She really pulled out all the stops tonight.

I think I am the only one voting. Right at midnight, all of a sudden every call I make goes through. Ryan Seacrest said the lines were open for 4 hours, and I always wait an hour at the least before I cast a vote...either everyone got the wrong message, or Lee is going to win. I won't mind if he does, but based on tonight's performance, Crystal won. Hands down.

Ok, back to packing. Blah...at least it's easier this time...half my stuff was still in boxes when I started Monday. :)

Moving

I am moving to Albuquerque, NM for a few months until I land a teaching position in the fall.

The move will be sometime next week. Not sure what day yet...

I would prefer to get a job in AZ, but anywhere within a hours drive of at least one family member would work...yes, I am even looking at Utah. Ugh.

No I have not graduated, but there is still a chance for that.

I have discovered that I already have the credentials to teach at a community college with all the graduate courses I have taken, and I really think that it is a MUCH better fit for me than teaching at a university anyways. At least, for right now it is.

Yes, I am extremely happy to finally be moving on with my life. More like relieved. It's been a long time coming.

Ta dah!

So...what book on tape should I get for the trip back? It will be a 2 day trip, and YES, I am a big girl and am driving solo. I will probably stop in Oklahoma City and then finish out the trip the next day.

Carpul Tunnel

I believe that my carpul tunnel problem has resurfaced. Why? I have absolutely NO idea. I have been practicing my cello lately, but not that much. The area just underneath my left thumb is seriously hurting though, and my thumb started going numb within the last hour...

Great.

So, the black hand brace has made his glorious return. I will be sleeping with him tonight. (gosh, that sounds a bit scandalous, doesn't it?) Perhaps I am sleeping weirdly or something...anyways.

Announcement coming soon. Don't hold your breath, cause it's not that soon. And it's not all that big.

Movies

Spent the entire evening yesterday at the movie theater. I got the hook up! It was awesome...it's been a LONG time since I've drunk that much soda!

K, my reviews:

Letters to Juliet

I liked it. The movie joked about this story (Amanda Seyfried plays a writer who chronicles the journey she makes with the lady looking for her true love) making people want to go to Italy. Well, I too want to go to Verona, Italy now. I could've used a letter from Juliet a time or two. The one thing that I did NOT like was the very end. The lines were over the top cheesy, and the song they used at the end just didn't feel right...I really was expecting it to go back into the Taylor Swift song, but oh well...too bad I wasn't the music producer on this film. ;)

I loved the woman playing the grandmother, Vanessa Redgrave. She looked SO much like the late Natasha Richardson, and even sounded like her with the exact same English accent...I was astonished to find out that Vanessa was not only her mother, but also Joely Richardson's mother. Talk about an acting family. Their grandfather also was a renowned actor (Goodbye, Mr. Chips was one movie he was in that I recognized) and was even knighted! Anyways, I loved her performance, and after reading up on her I appreciated it even more so. This movie had a good bit of tragedy in it, which Vanessa in her real life has had recently, losing Natasha last year, and then two siblings within the last month or so...talk about relating to your character...I believe her love life even somewhat resembles the story in this movie, but I am not too sure about that.

There were parts of the movie where it felt quite awkward, but it made the situation more realistic, which I really liked...of course, until the very end...not so much that it ruins the movie, but it seems like that ending should be a lot better, and that their test audiences would've clued them into it...anyways, go see it...the story overall is lovely.

K, now for Robin Hood...


I liked it. The story line of the tale is changed up a bit, which I found interesting. And they left it open for a sequel at the end, which totally surprised me.

I loved that Robin Hood wasn't this young, know it all, totally sure of himself character. They really humanized the character in this film, made him seem believable.

I don't mind telling you this, cause we all know the story of Robin Hood: they didn't bring King Richard back at the end...pretty much all versions of the Robin Hood story have King Richard making his triumphal entry, throwing down his petty brother John back to the pig sty where he belongs, and they all live happily ever after. At least, the 'fairytale' ones that I have read and seen. This movie was an explanation of how Robin Hood became 'Robin Hood', the outlaw, and how he and his group of merry men came together and how he and Marian met and fell in love. I liked it. Of course, John did succeed Richard in reality, but not before Richard returned to England after the crusades, so...who knows if they will do a sequel or not to this movie.