Day 572: Actors & Why I Love Them

I have this new, extreme respect for actors. And honestly I've been planning this blog post for a few weeks, but now that I'm sitting here writing it, I just don't remember what I was going to say, so we'll see how this all works out.

Oh, right! I remember!

A week or so ago I spent a good amount of time filming a video, which hopefully will be done in the near future. Actually, I spend a lot of time filming videos lately, which is both good and bad. It takes enough time to film them, much less get them edited and on YouTube, but after doing a full blown shoot (although I was all by myself), I totally have some seriously respect for them.

In a matter of a few hours, I was the director, writer, actress, stunt double, driver, security and just about everything else. I had three different outfits, did my hair and makeup three different times, received two injuries, jumped off a fallen tree more times than I can honestly count and had so many takes I can't even count them all. I imagine it's a little bit easier when you have a crew behind you, meaning that you can focus more on your acting and what you're doing, but at the same time, there's still a job there, and they love what they do.

I mean, think about it. When you're an actor, you have to work with all sorts of people, often times punching them, or having them punch you, kissing each other, showcasing these fake relationships on screen and it's your job to make sure they seem real. I don't know if I could do that. And memorizing lines. Gosh, it takes me forever to get through one script for a video. It's just difficult to do.

And then, in many cases, or at least with my favorite actors, they go home and have a real life behind the scenes, and as much as I'd love to see pictures of them with their family, I pick my favorite actors and actresses on a very high standard, which is how much they keep their private life private. I don't need to know everything that's going on in their lives, although an update or picture of a dog is often times nice, just to know they're doing good. Because I wouldn't want people outside my door either.

I always say that I don't want to be famous, at least not really famous. I want to be famous on a level where I can go to meet other famous people and have a real, honest discussion with them aside from talking across a table or something, because I look up to these people, not because they're famous and bloody amazing at their jobs, but because I love how they handle the cameras and the interviews and themselves. But on the opposite side, I want to be just not-famous enough that no one cares about me and the media will, largely, leave me alone. That would be great. I like to keep my private life private, thank you very much. You can see it even in my social media usage. You don't see a lot of my family aside from my cat and my brother every once and a while. And it's going to stay that way. You don't need to know about my relationships or my family otherwise. You just don't, and I don't want to share. End of story.

Which is why I have respect for the actors I call my favorites. Take Josh and Ginny for instance. It's been how many months now and we have yet to see a real picture of Oliver. Which is great, because kids like that shouldn't be in the spotlight all the time. I know he's adorable though. I just know it.

So thank you to all the wonderful actors out there, especially those that control and keep their professional and private lives separate from one another. I respect that. If I'm ever famous, that's how I want to be, and I know I would be with you guys as role models.

Also, I need a stunt double. Filming taught me that one for sure. No more jumping off fallen trees.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 28).

Day 571: Disney Convert

One of my proudest accomplishments in life is the fact that I've basically converted my friends to Disney addicts. The way I figure it, there are different terms at play here, at least in my vocabulary. A Disney addict is just about anyone actually addicted to Disney, whether that be the parks or movies or both. But then there's the Disney Convert, which is a personal who grew up enjoying Disney but was influenced by an external force to become a Disney addict.

I am that external force.

I guess I'm kind of like a teacher. Megan and I say that she's been taking my class for ages, and at this point I probably could teach about five or six college level classes just on Disney things, from animation to films in general to Walt Disney himself and the theme parks (probably individually) and then throw in Once and you've got a whole semester of classes. She's taken all of them, whether she wanted to or not, and has the highest scores.

And then there's Ashley, who I also influenced to be addicted to Disney. We have conversations just about every day about how we just want to go to Disney World and so on and so forth. It's kind of nice, having people to share my excitement with once again. That doesn't happen to me very often, since I generally am stuck being excited all by myself.

But I have most certainly converted them to Disney addicts, at least I think so. Maybe they're not quite as crazy as I am all the time, but they'll get there. Plus, once we get closer to the trip (and Megan and I finish with this semester and can sleep normally again), things are going to get more exciting than ever.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 28).

Day 570: Excitement Level Zero

The fair has once again come to town, but this year it's a bit different for all of us.

First off, I'm no longer in 4-H, which means that I didn't have any projects to do. In fact I was hardly at the fair at all this year, which was great. I've never really been a huge fan of the fair, and that's something my friends could never really understand. At least, until now. 

As you may know (or may not since I haven't actually written those blog posts yet), I recently got back from a trip to Walt Disney World with two of my best friends. Three days is a bit difficult to fit much of the world in, but we did alright (although that's certainly a blog post for a different day...like one from a really long time ago). 

But when we were discussing the fair, my one friend commented on the fact that it just wasn't the same after she went to Disney. And I instantly couldn't help but laugh. I've been saying this literally for years. It's the reason I'm not a huge fair fan and won't spend all that money to go on all the rides. Why should I do that when I'm lucky enough to go to Disney and experience the real thing. 

Granted, Megan and I figured out this year that the fair is totally a city type of thing. If you live in town, then you go to the fair just about every day. It's hard not to when you can hear the music and noise from miles away (often times even out at our house). But when you live in the country as we do, there's just not much appeal in having to drive in to the fair and pay for parking (even if I don't have to since my brother is still in 4-H and we have a pass). 

The truth is, the fair just isn't fun once you've experienced Walt Disney World. Even the attractions that are very similar just seem off because you're used to the spectacular stuff down in Florida. And don't get me started on the food. After fair week, I'm perfectly fine with not eating fast food for a long while. Food at Disney may be expensive, but at least it's a bit healthy. I'm not too sure what I ate all of fair week was any good for me. 

Either way, fair is over now, and I'm glad. We get our town back. At least for another week or so before Hamburger Fest pulls in. Between now and then I think I'll just enjoy the fact that the people driving on Main Street actually know that it isn't two lanes and the speed limit is 25. 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on August 1st). 

Day 569: Vlogs are Up!

You all know how I don't like to make a blog post about my Disney trips until all the vlogs from said trip are finished, right? Well I have some great news. All 5 vlogs from my March trip to Walt Disney World are finished and live on YouTube. With everything going on it always takes a bit of time to get around to actually editing them, and then because of my lack of internet at home, I have to make around a half hour drive to get to internet that I can use to upload the video (I go to my college, because I could use the internet at the local library but I don't want to make it slow for everyone else by sitting and uploading a video. That would be super rude).

The point is, they're all finally up and ready for you to watch now, if you so wish. They get kind of long, but when you have six hours of video from a five day trip, of course it's going to be hard to narrow that down. Plus, I always try to put a variety of stuff in for my friends.

Next up? The vlogs from the band trip, and then the giant project that is the Seymour High School 2014 Band Trip Video. It'll be interesting to say the least.

So there you have it, my adventures from five days at Walt Disney World this spring. I'm currently in the process of working on another YouTube series as well, which just went up on my channel, so be sure to check that out too! 

Other than that, work progresses slowly on the front of catching up on the blog. I don't even know how many days I have left to write before the end of the summer, but it's a ridiculous number. Hopefully I'll be able to get it all done! 

Have a magical day!

Day 568: Welcome Aboard Mate

Yes, I do LOVE Once Upon A Time, and Yes, I AM trying to get everyone I know to watch it because I want it to continue for a very long time (or at least for like...Season 5...but let's get through Season 4 first). So of course I'm trying to catch one of my close friends up on the entire series. It started several months ago, when we began at the beginning of the show and slowly made our way through seasons one and two. Back then she swore she would never like Captain Hook or ship CaptainSwan like I do, but it seems those days are over.

Now we're over halfway through Season 3, and she's been going crazy. I regularly check the #CaptainSwan tag on Instagram, and I generally know most of the spoilers for the upcomming season, although I'm trying to be better about it this time (it's not working). All else aside, I'm a huge CS shipper. No doubt about it.

What I didn't expect was for a front row seat for the "This is what Lizzie looks like when freaking out" show.

My friends are always teasing me about how much I am addicted to this show, but we've previously discussed why that is. About how in reality this show is like my constant and I need it to survive and it gives me something to look forward to each and every week and so on and so forth. And when we watched the season finale, my friends debating videoing me just so I could see what I look like when I freak out.

Turns out we don't need that at all, because my friend is going to show me anyways, only it won't be her pretending to be me. No, she's freaking out all on her own. Megan and I, both of whom are caught up on the show and have been patiently waiting for Season 4 for the past however many days, are kind of evil though. When she wants to watch Once we spend as much time as possible doing random crap just to make the "hiatus" for her longer, which is generally only a day or two. But boy is it going to be a good time when we get to the end of Season 3 and she still has to wait at least a little bit of the hiatus that's left until Season 4.

My biggest accomplishment here though is the simple fact that I got one of my friends super addicted to Once Upon a Time, just like I am. And it really is entertaining to watch her flail around because she ships CaptainSwan so much. It's a new experience for me since I'm generally the one doing the flailing and freaking out. Some of it is real, most of it is acting, but one thing is for sure: it's seriously entertaining.

Have a magical day!

(This blog post was written on July 23, 2014).

Day 567: Match the Quotes

Time for another fun game when it comes to Oh My Disney!

Making up blog posts is weird simply because I take the simplest thing and make it into an entire blog post but THAT'S OK! Because every little thing in my daily life that somehow relates back to Disney certainly has a lot to do with the whole point of this blog.

Anyway, right. Game time.

You can play the game for yourself HERE if you want to follow along!

First off, yes, I am the person reciting all the lines in the Haunted Mansion stretching room out loud, and I'm working on learning those last couple words to "Yo Ho." Oh, and let's not even underestimate my ability to say every line of Spaceship Earth in time and with an accent.

So this quiz should be a breeze.

"Thank the phoenicians." HAHAHA. Spaceship Earth.

"You see the excellence of this invention?" Not going to lie, this ones a bit harder, but that's probably because it comes from Disneyland and I obviously have less experience there. Either way, Indiana Jones.

"And, of course, these little beauties." SOARIN'!

"You are not the first to pass this way nor shall you be the last." A moment of silence for Malestrom.

"We're not gonna make it, we're not gonna make it!" And yet we made it back, with a Dinosaur.

"The backside of water!" is the 8th wonder of the world...at least it is on Jungle Cruise.

"Make it a stretch...in fact, make it a super stretch." Another one that's a little harder since I don't ride this...ever...but we all should know this is Rock N' Roller Coaster!

"I'd like to borrow some aluminum foil, a clothespin, and a candle." Oh Bill Nye, what are you up to now?

"Some imagination, huh?" *Drastic hand movements timed to the music of the Fantasmic Finale*

"A salute to all nations, but mostly America." Probably my favorite Muppets line of all time.

"Kindly step all the way in please and make room for everyone." Is this even a question?

"But keep a weather eye open, mates, and hold on tight, with both hands if you please." Mates gave it away, didn't it?

"We're going to make you all disappear!" Now I'm going to be singing all night.

"I know you're in a hurry, hurry, hurry, but for your safety, safety, safety." I don't go to Disneyland often, and I've never even been on this one, but for some reason without even reading the options I knew it was California Screamin'.

"Now, something is about to happen that will change all that." How is that I've never been on half of these and still know all the answers? TOT.

A perfect score, huh? Go figure.

What was your score? Were these easy, or hard or somewhere in between? And are you like me? Do you narrate every attraction simply because you can?

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on September 18).

Day 566: Thunderstorms

There aren't many things in life that I absolutely HATE, but thunderstorms? Yeah, that's one of them.

I can't really pinpoint WHY I hate thunderstorms, and in all reality there's no logical reason as to why I should hate them or be afraid of them or whatever. It's just...I do. I absolutely HATE thunderstorms. I mean, the only thing I really can come up with is my love of the Wizard of Oz as a kid and the stupid tornadoes at the beginning that apparently instilled some outrageous terror into me that still lingers today, since if there's one thing I hate on this earth even more than thunderstorms and planes and buses and everything else put together, it's tornadoes.

But as I sit here trying to get work done on Operation Last Week of Summer (because in all reality, it's August 18th as I'm writing this. Not July 20), my window is cracked and the soft pitter patter of rain along with the stupid booming sound of thunder is ever present. And I'm here all alone. I hate thunderstorms...but I hate them even more when I'm alone during them. Especially when the weather box goes off to tell me there's a severe thunderstorm warning for south of here. At least it's not for here. I can calm myself down a little bit.

I texted Megan about my fears just now, about how the thunder is coming in and GOD I JUST SAW LIGHTNING and how I really hate storms, but being the super awesome person she is, she had a response for me, and I very much approve.

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but some time ago on Instagram one of my fellow Disney Geeks mentioned something and I'll never be able to look at thunderstorms the same way, or at least won't be able to now that Megan mentioned it again. They mentioned that whenever there's a thunderstorm they just pretend that they're riding on Living with the Land at Epcot...and it occurred to me that this is pretty much the most BRILLIANT IDEA OF ALL TIME.

So now I'm just going to pretend I'm on a boat going through the rainforest or past some buffalo as a fire rages on because of a lightning strike or...maybe not that second one. But the first one for sure. Sitting in the Land at Epcot sounds a lot nicer than sitting here in my bedroom all alone trying not to freak out while I also attempt to get work done. Yes, that sounds great.

If you need me I'll be learning about our delicate ecosystem. Thanks.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 18).