New book, new problems...

So I finished this book last night called Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Its about this guy who comes home to find a package waiting for him on his doorstep with his name on it. It's a shabby old shoebox poorly wrapped in brown paper and with no return address.... Spooky, right? Well, inside the box are seven cassette tapes. What's on the tapes you might ask? Its the voice of a girl who killed herself nearly two weeks ago.

Weird, right? Gets better!

The main character finds out from his dearly departed crush (yeah, he kinda this thing for her) that she had made these tapes to explain why she killed herself, saying that thirteen people lead to her death.

And our hero is one of them.

Sound good? I thought it was. It was a good book, as well as the author's first novel. Pick it up, if you like that sort of thing. And even if you don't want to read it, suggest it to your friends.

At any rate, the book got me to thinking: It helped me realize how fragile people can be and how serious teen suicide can really be. Now i look around school and try to ask myself, "If someone were to kill themselves, who would it be?"

I know that may seem really creepy, but it gets you thinking, you know? I mean, you kinda have to be in the moment to know what I mean. When you read a book like this, see a movie, TV show or whatever on a subject like this, I suppose you can't help but wonder if there's someone you could help, someone to be a hero for....

I know my words might seem weird, but we've all been in the position before: you want to just help someone just to be a hero, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that...

Well, let me put it this way: you see someone you think needs help, ACT RIGHT THEN!!! Don't wait, because they might be gone before you know it.

Peace love and granola,

-Andrew

Easter!?

Easter, kind of a weird holiday, isn't it? I mean, Jesus rose from the dead, and I can definitely celebrate that, but...

Well, Jim Gaffigan explains it best:

-"Easter, yay! The day Jesus rose from the dead! What should we do?"
-"How 'bout eggs?"
-"But what does that have to do with Jesus?"
-"Alright, we'll hide them!"
-"I... I don't follow your logic...."
-"Oh, don't worry, there's a bunny."

Happy Easter everyone!

Overwhelmed, but not discouraged!

3/15/2008- Mass. Drama State Festival Competition- Semi-Finals

After giving the performance of a lifetime, figuring life could not get any better, guess what?

It did, in so many ways....

God, being on stage again felt so good, and the crowd loved us. To be honest, by the time the day was over, I certain that my school was movin' on. No reason why not. The only mishap was my damn coat, it just wouldn't unbutton itself. But when it did, I was already off and running.

Laughs, laughs, and more laughs came from the audience, and we were all in high spirits. Deafening applause at the end assured us a place at the finals before the results were even announced... could things get any better?

After pizza and the usual discussions of, "You're play was awesome, I really liked this person/character/thing," the music started to play, and we all started to dance.

The dance is a way for the students to pass the time between dinner and the awards ceremony. You don't want to get too full, or else you'll get sick. And eating too little will cause you to faint due to lack of energy... that is, if you plan on dancing alot.

So, I decide to not be anti-social and dance the night away. I'm having fun with my sunglasses on and my hat sideways... so badass. And in the midst of the crowd I spy this girl... beautiful and graceful, and we begin to dance. By the end of the night, parting comes hard for the both of us, but the prospect of instant messaging and MySpace keep us from total despair.

The awards are being given now. Individuals recognized for individual talent and/or excellence. Out of our nine cast members, five get awards, and guess who was one of them? The judge pronounced my name wrong, but I forgave him, said my thanks, and the night continued....

After a long, painful wait, the final results are announced.

And the winners are.........

My school.

Screaming, yelling and carrying on erupted from our section of the audience. We laughed, we cried, it was a wonderful experience.

The other school to move on to state finals? It was none other than the school of my dance floor princess. It gives me great joy that we shall meet again.

One of the best days of my life, and it all ends so well.

Finals coming up soon... can't wait any longer. I hope to write before then.

'Till next time, be good to yourselves, and have a Happy Easter! I mean, common!
How can you not, it's the day Jesus rose from the flippin' dead!

Peace, love, and granola,

-Andrew

We made it!!!

After a long, hard, fun, and fruitful day at a neighboring high school, the drama club's efforts did not go to waste: we have now made it to the state semi-finals! Woo Hoo! Best part is now we get to host one of the semi-final rounds at our own school, so no more 5 A.M. wake-up calls for me this year... I hope....

At any rate, I'm just writing to pass the time. I'm waiting to for my DVD to finish burning. I have a history Power Point due Wednesday on D-Day, and I thought it would be interesting to put some Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers in there somehow...

Damn daylight savings time, screwed me up so much this weekend... that and the fact my dad insisted we go back and forth to the cape twice this weekend to visit my grandfather. Not that I have any problem visiting my grandfather, I love the man. Its just the poor planning of the weekend that baffles me. I mean, the only reason we came back was so I could go to work both yesterday and today, which doesn't make sense at all. If he had planed this better, I wouldn't be working and I would have been able to enjoy my time on the Cape. Unbelievable...

Well, I can look forward to a busy week (dammit!) because of rehearsal and all.... Here we go again!

-Andrew