This Day By the Lake Went Too Fast

Posted on August 1, 2013 by judisunshine

So as you may have read, I went to a Christian all-girls sleepaway camp in 1989, the summer I turned 14. And while there were good times to be had in the form of eating contests and songwriting, for the most part, it wasn’t my jam. I’m positive it was healthy for me to do at the time, but I tend to be a homebody, and very shy (no, really!).

A week out of my comfort zone with mostly girls I’d never met before, food this picky eater did not care for, a pea-sized bladder, a love of seltzer water, and a bathroom that was a trek away in the dark, not to mention my vampiric tendencies of staying up all night, especially in the summer as a kid?

It did not add up to a week of comfort.

But there was one night/morning in particular, that would have made it all worth the experience, even if the other things had been ten times more uncomfortable. That was the night of the sleepout.

We went hiking – I feel like it was all of camp, but maybe it was just the older groups. And it wasn’t a big hike, just a little bit to the outskirts of the little island we were on.

When we got there, we laid camp. Only we didn’t set up tents. Instead, we lay heavy-duty tarps on the ground. Then we put our sleeping bags on top of them.

All the while, people were building an amazing bonfire, so when nightfall hit, we were prepared – with guitars and most importantly, s’mores ingredients. I’d never had a s’more before, and wondered exactly why it had taken me so long to try one. At the same time, I was glad it had, because there underneath the night sky, amidst the smell of upstate New York mountain air, and bonfire smoke, and the sounds of singing – that was the perfect way to lose my s’mores virginity.

Then it came time for sleep. Despite aforementioned vampiric tendencies, I crawled into my blue sleeping bag super excited, because never had I done this before – prepared for sleep under a sky of beaming stars. I lay awake for awhile, grateful to have my best friend Shannon falling asleep next to me, and marveling at the experience at large. We talked, read, and heard a lot about God that week, but that was by far the moment in which I felt closest to Him.

It would have seemed the awesome climax had been reached and in the morning, the denouement. But such was not the case because while it was sad to wake up after an amazing night, when you’re a teenager you feel as though each awesome night is just a portent of great things to come. This morning was no exception. Upon awaking, I smelled and felt the dew in the air, but thanks to the tarp, my sleeping bag was still totally cozy. And as awesome as the nighttime mountain air is in upstate New York, the morning air might be even more amazing.

We all rustled out of “bed” with varying levels of bleary eyes, and packed up our sleeping bags and the tarps, preparing for the journey “home.” But not too fast, because it was breakfast time!

This was no ordinary breakfast. Instead, we were told to group into pairs. Shannon and I were given a huge coffee can and a Sterno, and told to go set it up – find a spot on the beach, then put the Sterno under the coffee can (that had a ventilation hole in each side).

At which point, counselors came around with breakfast offerings: raw eggs, bacon, sausage. In a life twist, I got everything but the eggs – Shannon got everything. Because you see, you could take these breakfast ingredients and cook them on the coffee can! The Sterno turned it into a little stove, and the camp called them Buddy Burners.

Breakfast had never tasted so amazing as it did that morning next to the lake with my best friend. Getting out of my comfort zone actually ended up comforting me.

Afterwards, we went to the lake to scrape our coffee cans with sand from the lake, so they…could be used again? I’m not sure. But it was a good and cleansing capper to one of the best overall experiences of my life — literally and figuratively!

Posted in Childhood, Friends, Miscellaneous, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

5 Television Rock Stars

Posted on July 28, 2013 by judisunshine

So as y’all probably know, I kind of am in love with television. And in my ever-humble opinion, those who say that everything on TV sucks? Haven’t been paying attention for the past 19 years.

Hopefully that disclaimer will show you just how very serious I am about the forthcoming list. Because as amazing as television can be, and as dynamic as some of my very-favorite characters are, I shall always be a sucker for rock-star presence. And that is what I want to focus on today: the characters/actors who even amidst the glory that is good TV, stand alone in a larger-than-life presence.

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano

Had to start off with him. I am not okay whatsoever that he is no longer with us. But I am so grateful for his multi-year commitment to embodying Tony Soprano. “The Sopranos” was so not my flavor, in terms of what I’d seek to watch whilst living single. But damn if it didn’t grab me by the balls and get me to rush home if I was out, every single Sunday night. When I was commuting to and from NYC for work, there were always mysteriously worded posters for upcoming “Sopranos” seasons and though I hated commuting, those posters brought joy to my heart. While that show was in no means a solo effort – the entire cast was impeccable, stellar, all the glorious adjectives – James Gandolfini was the glue. Usually, my rock star characters are supporting, so I get even more psyched when the brightest star in the cast is also the lead. Rest in peace, Mr. Gandolfini. You are terribly missed.

James Marsters as Spike

If you are a “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” fan, you needn’t read further – because you know. If you’ve never watched BTVS, you should, because it’s FREAKING awesome. For those just tuning in, this show is my “Star Trek,” in terms of obsession and geekery.

And Spike is a huge part of that. He’s not my favorite character; that honor goes to Willow and Faith, all day. But Spike is a bonafide rock star, and not just because Marsters did lead guitar and vocals in Ghost of the Robot (I saw them live!!!!). Spike is a rock star because he is Spike. Bad ass, rocks the leather trenchcoat – and what’s awesome about that coat btw, is that the episode in which you find out its troubling backstory? Is probably James Marsters’s finest work on the show, because it’s Spike’s most important ep.

Spike shows up with a vengeance in “School Hard,” and from that S2 ep through the (SPOILER ALERT HENCEFORTH!) S7 finale, experiences probably the most dynamic character development of anyone in the series. He brings the laughs, the tears, and the controversy until going down in a literal blaze of glory in the series finale.

 

Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore

If I’ve learned one thing about “Gilmore Girls” over the year in terms of audience, is that it’s not for everyone. If I’ve learned even one more important thing, is that it’s not a show to be shrugged off because you think it’s just a bunch of women sitting around and talking really fast. I mean, it is, but it’s also so much more, and beneath its fluffy pink girly surface, “Gilmore Girls” has got some scathing wit and deceptively “guy” worldview going on. That’s in quotes because hello, 2013! Or 2000-2007, as it were. Point is, “Gilmore Girls” is girly, but not a chick flick as far as these things go, IMO.

I give so much credit for all of that to the creator/writer Amy-Sherman Palladino, as well as the spectacular supporting cast. But I’m not sure if “Gilmore Girls” would have gotten the buzz that it did, and the ensuing longevity, had it not been for Lauren Graham’s Lorelai. Talk about your fierce, bad-ass ingénue who defies stereotypes. Because LG was in her 30s when the series started, a few years IRL older than Lorelai, who was a 32-year-old mother to a 16-year-old daughter. I was 25 when the show came out, feeling very old indeed, not to mention self conscious because I’d managed to gain 30 pounds that year.

And here was Ms. Graham as this glorious specimen of a human being, all gorgeous yet not Hollywood, enviously fit but not super skinny. Best of all, Lorelai was in her 30s – still seven years older than me, then, and the hottest woman around. Not because she wore sexified outfits all the time, either (though she rocked those too). Mainly, she wore jeans and ironic t-shirts.

Leaving all of my personal issues of yore aside, Lauren Graham was just phenomenal as Lorelai. I’ve read that LG always takes the younger actresses under her wing, and that is so freaking cool. It shows in her interaction with Alexis Bledel so much. Graham just radiates this confidence that defies description, which is possibly why I keep going on tangents. Bottom line: upon my millionth rewatch, it’s nearing the end of Season Seven. And I’m going to miss Lorelai all over again.

(vvv A huge part of “Gilmore Girls”‘ charm is its dialogue, but/so the scenes without so much of it rock. This is possibly my favorite scene from the show. vvv)

Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin

“Weeds” is full of rock stars, but MLP is the rock starriest one of all. She carries that show with an effortlessness I can’t even fathom as a former actress. Nancy delves into some major shit and MLP just roams around in her tall sandals whilst sipping her Big Gulps, unphased. I know a lot of people stopped watching the show around the third season, but I highly recommend seeing the series through, based on MLP’s performance alone.

Josh Holloway as Sawyer

If my memory serves me correctly, Sawyer was originally supposed to be a Wall-Street type in the “LOST” audition – white collar to the extreme. And I think Holloway prepared an audition for that, but ended up getting cast with his Southern accent, and they revamped Sawyer’s character to fit Josh Holloway a bit more.

How awesome is that? To not only get to play the ostensibly coolest character, but to have J.J. Abrams & Co. revamp said cool character on your very being.

Apologies if I’ve given incorrect info, but Google is failing me atm. Bottom line is: Sawyer is awesome. A lot of times, a badass character is measured by how often s/he’s like, “No apologies.” Sawyer gives tons of apologies, even if sometimes they’re only regret in his eyes. Like Spike, Sawyer IMO is the most dynamic character on a show packed with dynamic characters.

Posted in Celebrities, Entertainment, Lists, Miscellaneous, TV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Such Great Heights

Posted on July 24, 2013 by judisunshine

Everything looks perfect from far away

~ The Postal Service

Looking back on it, I’m not sure that I ever liked heights very much, per se. I’ve always loved amusement parks, and there was a time that I loved flying. Basically, heights never bothered me when I was younger, but they were more accidental accompaniments to other adrenaline rushes than anything else.

But as with aforementioned flying, as I got older, the phobia increased. To the point where when I’m somewhere high up, my legs will do this shaky thing that I can’t control. Shaky maybe isn’t the right word. It’s more like a fierce numbness combined with an otherworldly tingling. Sometimes I feel like I’m going to pass out. It’s like there is something in my body or subconscious somewhere that is convinced I’m destined to fall.

Metastatement? Perhaps. But the good news is, there were five times in the past two years that I managed in varying degrees to overcome the fear/sensation. And here they are!

1) Seven Falls

Most out there who’ve been to Seven Falls are right now probably like, “Erm. Really?” But yes, really! On Josh’s first visit to Colorado, we did it up vacay-style and hit a bunch of the tourist traps! Which to be fair are not trappy in Colorado so much as awesome. But basically, Seven Falls features waterfalls (hence the name!) and trails – but it also features steps. Lots and lots of steps. Steep steps. High steps! They go up really, really far. When I walked up with Josh, I was relatively okay. But going down was another story entirely. Because from way up high, you can see just how far up you are, and there is no choice but to climb down, every terrifying bit of the way. Well, it was terrifying to me. Josh was very sweet and never made me feel bad for being such a baby. When I hit flat land, it felt amazing and though I was weirded out by how scared I was to begin with, it felt great to have faced my fear, albeit with some horror movie eye-hiding along the way.

2) Hiking at a Place I Will Edit As Soon As Josh Reminds Me of Where It Was

Last summer, Josh and I went on several hikes led by our friend Paul, who is an excellent hike leader and tour guide. Though this was not our first hike and though I’d done the Incline with little fear, the hike that day was different. Cody had joined us, and that was the good part, but the bad part was the point where I realized it was a steep fall down, and there was nothing to stop us from doing just that, AND that I had no choice but to keep going, because turning back would have also been scary, plus: fail. I kept pep talking myself, but the fear overcame me and I actually started crying. While fear is my arch nemesis, the times are extremely few and far between that it brings me to tears. Yet there I was, traipsing a mountain with the boys and while I wanted to be Kate from “LOST,” instead I was all dissolved into a puddle of tears. Embarrassing, yet self-schadenfreude saved the day. Josh, Paul, and Cody were very sweet and told me to take as long as I needed. When I was “ready,” they took turns grabbing my hands and leading me past the scary part. Then it got awesome again, and afterwards we went for beer and pierogies and P.J.’s, and the day felt all in all successful!

3) The Royal Gorge

Oh, Royal Gorge. Get better soon. (This summer’s fires destroyed a lot of its structures, though thankfully not the bridge.)

Royal Gorge was the first place besides Briarhurst Manor that I went to with my family, when I came out to visit them in 2009. That weekend was awesome. I got to see my family again, got to see their awesome house, and I just loved Colorado. But it was also brutal, because I got bad altitude sickness. So I was never sure which it was, the upset stomach or the fear of heights that kept me from crossing the Royal Gorge bridge that day. I took about 10 steps until I got that leg-ringing/passout feeling, and went back to the mainland to get a slice of pizza and a root beer instead. Walking across that bridge, that day, felt like a physical impossibility.

When I prepared to move to Colorado in 2011, everything in my life was changing. An important and long-term relationship had ended. I’d left my job. I lost my car by default, as it wouldn’t have made the 2,000-mile drive. I was leaving friends, family, and the only state I’d known for 35 years to enter the unknown, save for my family. It was sad and scary, yet invigorating, because now I could be fearless. “I will ride the Sky Coaster!” I said to everyone who’d listen. The Sky Coaster drops you from a harness and has you swing over the very-deep Royal Gorge.

Yet I didn’t go back to Royal Gorge until last summer, with Josh. There again, was the bridge. This time, I knew what I was in for – kind of. I knew I’d be scared, and that the bridge waved around in the wind. But I stepped onto the bridge and kept going. I clung to the railing and to Josh, and didn’t dare look down or around, but I got to the other side. Then after hiking around and seeing the animals (yay!), we had to go back across.

I knew I could do the bridge again, because the first journey was successful. But there was also the option of the tram. It takes you back across the Gorge, suspended from a cable. Terrifying! But it seemed wrong to turn down the challenge. We had to wait for it to come back, and every minute of waiting was excruciating. My fight-or-flight reflex was roaring in a bipolar way. My legs didn’t ring this time, but itched to run out of the waiting area and back across the bridge. But I stayed put. A family joined Josh and me on the tram, and the kids were laughing at how scared I was. That was actually comforting, and here I am to tell the tale.

Though I still have not done the Sky Coaster.

4) Tower of Doom

On one of Josh’s later visits to Colorado, we stayed in Denver and had the most glorious extended Halloween weekend. On the Sunday in between the Saturday of celebration and the Monday of actual Halloween, we went to Elitch Gardens, Denver’s amusement park. As I mentioned, I am or at least was an amusement-park junkie. Tons of things in this life scare the bejeezus out of me, but an amusement park was never one of them.

When Josh and I went to Elitch, it had been quite awhile since I’d done anything ride-wise besides carnival fare. Ten years, to be exact, unless you count Adventureland, which I don’t, though I love it. And I was startled to realize what an absolute baby I’d become. Everything scared me! Even the freaking Octopus! That’s not what it’s called at Elitch, but the Octopus was my favorite ride at the Cure of Ars fair since I was a little kid.

However, nothing could have prepared me for the Tower of Doom. I THOUGHT it was going to be like the Dr. Doom ride at Islands of Adventure. Not only do they share the word “Doom,” but they’re set up the same way. Dr. Doom shoots you up and/or down, depending on where you sit, IIRC. Also, you feel really strapped in, and the ride isn’t super high.

Tower of Doom was another story altogether. You’re in like, a seatbelt, and just feel the world fall away from you as you creep up…and up…

…And up! I can’t remember ever feeling more scared on a ride. Like at any moment, I’d just fall right out of the seat. Once at the top, I figured we’d go back down again slowly, but no! You just WOOSH right down, seeing every moment that had lasted a lifetime just a second ago whiz past.

Once we were back on ground, I understood the faces of those who’d gone before me while I was waiting on line. They start out psyched, and end up looking traumatized.

A year later, Josh was now living in Colorado, and we decided to go back to Elitch. Rides and Benny Blanco’s ftw! This time I was like, let’s go on Tower of Doom FIRST. I wanted to consolidate my fear into that ripping off the band-aid experience, so as to enjoy the roller coasters properly.

When the attendant strapped me into the seat, my body rang with an “Are you freaking kidding me?” reaction. But I was prepared this time. When or how I came up with this approach I don’t know, but it was planned. As the ride took me up, up, and up even higher, I thought of Elijah Wood in “Sin City.” SPOILER ALERT FOR THE MOVIE! I thought that if he can get eaten away by wolves whilst retaining a poker face, surely I could do the same on Tower of Doom. I stared straight ahead and didn’t look anywhere else. When the ride reached the top, I let out a breath. There would be a drop, and I knew this. The important thing was that I’d made it to the top without feeling fear. And if I recall correctly, we went back on that ride before going home that day.

5) Cave of the Winds

As with Royal Gorge, Josh and I got a free pass to go to Cave of the Winds. The outdoor attractions close at seven, so when we arrived at around six a couple of weeks ago, we took a look around, decided to come back earlier another time, and went to see “This Is the End” instead.

Last week, we went back to Cave of the Winds. I’d seen the outdoor ropes course, and was very psyched to do it. Or so I’d thought. We went for it first – got harnessed in, and headed up the steps.

The first thing that tripped me up was realizing that part of the course was right over a canyon of some nature. Pardon my lack of geological knowledge. But basically, the whole shebang features all different kinds of ropes and balance beams. You are in a harness, but whoa. It looked WAY less intimidating when I saw it from the ground.

And when I got to the point where I had to walk on a narrow piece of wood fairly far off the ground, I lost it. I tried to think of Elijah Wood. I tried to kick my own ass, mentally.

But it was one of those times where mind does not triumph matter. I couldn’t move. My legs were once again threatening to give out.

There was a time 20 years ago, when I did a high-ropes course at Smuggler’s Notch. Though it scared me, I pitied the people who had to bow out. Now here I was, having one dude yell at me to move because I was blocking the way for all of the non-cowards.

So I moved, back down the staircase, slinking with shame, while telling Josh to please stay and have fun.

The guy who’d harnessed me in was all, “Whaaaa,” at my return. “I just couldn’t,” I replied. And that was true. But I didn’t accept that it was true for all time – not even for all day, because when would I next get a free pass to do something that back in the day would have fueled me with vigor?

I settled into my table of shame, drank Powerade, and watched Josh traipse all over the place – moving up to the second level, when I couldn’t even approach the first. I watched as kids flew around the scariest part of the course, the one over the canyon. The fear and self loathing threatened to overtake me. I sat there and wondered what exactly had happened to me over the years, to make me so fearful. Why I was sitting at a picnic table when I could be having an invigorating time.

It was one of the select times that my analytical tendencies kicked in. I watched what people were doing, and by doing so gained proxy-sense memory. I could do this. I COULD. Just not quite yet.

Of course, the fear of the ropes course was compounded by my fear of the humiliation of going back up to get harnessed in again. Surely they would know that I’d failed once, and the next attempt would be a futile effort.

But then one girl who’d already won my heart by sassing off to a rude customer told me effusively that there was nothing to worry about, that she was terrified the first time and couldn’t do it, but now she does cartwheels off the equipment, and the harnesses are gold.

Josh came down eventually. I cheered for his bravery and said I wanted to do the Bat-a-pult. Which is basically a zipline, only you’re not in a harness, but something akin to the Ferris Wheel seats that are not enclosed. He was like, are you sure? I explained that heights terrify me, but if I’m forced into equipment that moves without me, it’s easier than having to force myself to move. Still when I waited on line with him, I couldn’t look at views. I could barely talk; I was too scared to like, deal with life in that moment.

We got to the seat, and I pointedly did not look at anything but that seat. I looked at Josh, at the attendant. Anything but the terrifying expanse of land I was about to fly over. But I got in the seat.

Then we were shot off, and both of us were like, whoa. This is actually relaxing. The ground below was not that far away, and the experience was fun.

When we got off, I was ready, almost, for the ropes course. First, I needed some “food,” so we got nachos, and ate them in the very-nice seating area that overlooks some beautiful land, and also reminds me of going on retreats in high school.

And then I was as ready as I’d ever be. Thank the Lord, the people working the ropes course were not the same ones who’d witnessed my shame earlier. One dude was particularly awesome, calling the harness “bomb equipment,” which helped immensely.

It wasn’t some immediate success story. I was still terrified, and Josh had to lead me every literal step of the way, for awhile. But I did the first level of the course. Then we went up to the second, and it was even scarier. But I did it.

At that point, Josh wanted to do the over-the-canyon section of the course, and I just couldn’t. I almost went down again, to the ground. Instead, I decided to try the first level again. This time, it was way less scary, and I started channeling the nine-year-old kid that used to be me, who used to go to the playground to work the balance beam on the weekend. After a few times around the first level, I went back up to the second. It was scary, but not nearly as much, this time.

Josh started to go over the canyon again. I was so inspired by how he kept challenging himself. When I knew he wasn’t looking, I was filled with a surge of determination. The night before, we’d watched the “LOST” where Hurley finds the van. Instead of trying to channel Elijah Wood’s lack of feeling, I tried to embrace Charlie’s attitude when he gets in the passenger seat: Maybe it’s dangerous, but such is life – live a little, why not?

There is still one challenge I didn’t do on that course. There is still the Sky Coaster. There is still something at Elitch that shoots you into the air and makes everyone who goes on it scream, and I haven’t done that either. They are all now on my bucket list. The older I get, the more cognizant I get of how and why I am afraid of such things. I’d like to spend the next half (God willing) of my life facing and embracing those fears.

Posted in Lists, Miscellaneous, Romance, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

4 Tales of Rebellion In a Christian High School :o

Posted on July 19, 2013 by judisunshine

Don’t drink, don’t smoke

What do you do?

 ~ Adam Ant

We were asked this many times, the students at South Shore Christian School, because despite some exceptions, for the most part, we didn’t drink, nor smoke (anything), nor even have The Sex. But that doesn’t mean that we couldn’t get downright edgy. For example, there was the incident of my 7th-grade-suspension over potato chips. There were also fires, spinning, and washing machines. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are some more!

  1. Man-E-Faces

We had a math teacher who was really awesome and a great teacher, but/so we liked to make fun of her. She could be moody, and waver from jokey to Serious Teacher to grumpy. But we always made fun of her to her face! And speaking of faces, one day Mary Kate brought in Man-E-Faces from Masters of the Universe. For those at home not as cool as me – okay fine, as cool as my brother Robb who schooled me on all the characters – Man-E-Faces, to quote Wiki Grayskull, has the ability “to change his face from his regular human face to that of a robot and a monster.” There is more, but that is all you need to know for the story. That, and you could switch the faces on his action figure, as well.

So yeah, one day Mary Kate brought in Man-E-Faces and just sat it quietly either on her desk or the empty one beside her, forget which. Either way, we were a very tiny class in a very tiny classroom, so obviously the teacher noticed Man-E-Faces sitting there, all human at the time. Mary Kate explained that it was to track the teacher’s mood swings, but because the teacher was all happy and still in human-face mode, she smirked, rolled her eyes, let it slide, and went on with class. At which point after several minutes, Mary Kate slowwwly reached over, never taking her eyes off the teacher, and switched Man-E-Faces to robot. After the teacher noticed this a few minutes later, she started laughing despite herself, so Man-E-Faces went back to human.

This went on IIRC for pretty much the whole year. The most exciting part was always when the teacher was grumpy or pissed at one of us and Mary Kate would switch Man-E-Faces to the monster – would the teacher laugh and restore the humanity, or would Mary Kate get detention?

  1. The Dress of Doom

Speaking of aforementioned math teacher, Mary Kate’s BFF Dare took the reins for this glorious prank. Somewhere along the line, we as a class realized that there was a strong overlap between the days when we’d have tests in this class, and the days when the teacher would wear this one dress – a dark-teal floral dress. It was cute and looked very nice, but we started referring to it as The Dress of Doom, because of the test-day coincidence. At a certain point, the teacher awesomely started wearing it on purpose without fail if we had a test, and sometimes just to strike fear into our hearts because, hello pop quiz!

Pop quiz unpredictability aside, we were always warned ahead of time for tests. Now here are some things you need to know:

1)      Our math class was right after lunch.

2)      Our math teacher coached softball at lunch, at least on this particular day.

3)      Dare and Teacher were similar sizes.

All of which led to Dare’s convoluting a reason to IIRC borrow the teacher’s car keys? Either way, she got the dress out of Teacher’s car when Teacher was in softball-coaching gear. Dare wore the Dress of Doom to class, even taking down her hair to complete the look. I don’t remember much else about that day except that it was one of those laugh-till-your-stomach-hurts moments, especially when the teacher awesomely laughed harder than anyone.

3. The New Kid

In the beginning of my junior year, I was dating Chad, who was also friends with many of the people at SSCS, due to church groups, Campus Life, et al. I.e., everyone was psyched to see him in the high school hallway this one September day. Possibly Rosh Hashanah, as it would fit both the time and that he would have off when we did not, as he went to public school.

I honestly don’t remember how much of it was planned? What I do remember is that he was wearing the guys’ uniform – white button-down shirt with gray pants, and Mike lent him an extra tie from either his locker or the Lost & Found. After this, Chad looked every bit the part of SSCS student, so obviously, we went on the road! To…

…Spanish class! That was taught by a very sweet woman from Germany. Natch. And speaking of other countries, the start of 11th grade had brought with it an awesome exchange student from Finland, and a kickass girl who’d moved from Argentina the year before. Along with a couple of other kids from various parts of Long Island, though I’m not sure if any of them were in my grade. Anyway point is, it really was not Mrs. Richter’s fault that she didn’t know Chad wasn’t really a new student, especially considering that we told her he was. New students were par for the course (no pun intended).

“iBienvenido, Chad!” she exclaimed with a smile that quickly turned into a frown when we students couldn’t help but laugh, though we were trying not to. She told us that we were being very rude to this nice young man, and not acting very Christianlike to laugh at him!

After some more back and forth, I think we mostly felt bad and admitted that Chad was not actually a student after all. But the whole shenanigan was awesome while it lasted.

  1. The Taboo Buzzer

As I’ve mentioned, we had a lounge in our senior year, so obviously there were board games. Okay, Taboo doesn’t actually have a board, but it was our favorite. And at one point, it was discovered that the buzzer sounded exactly like the intercom buzzers that they used to have in classrooms, or maybe still do. With ours, if the teacher picked it up, it would automatically call the principal’s office.

So some of the people in our class started going around during periods off and hitting the Taboo buzzer right outside the classrooms, next to the where the intercom was. This led to a hilarious sequence of events wherein the teacher would pick up the intercom, thinking that the office was calling, when really the teacher was calling the office 😀  One day, poor Sultan – decidedly less of a troublemaker than most of the class, though full of mischievous spirit — got caught doing it. He received a detention, and our Taboo buzzer was confiscated.

More stories to come — please share yours! And as always, I especially am psyched for stories from fellow SSCS alumni, as well as corrections/clarifications to these if need be! Holler and shiver to the 20-year anniversary of graduating high school in 1993 ❤

Posted in Childhood, Friends, Lists, Miscellaneous, School, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Things That Turn You On Turn You Around

Posted on July 11, 2013 by judisunshine

How come the things that make us happy make us sad
Well it seems to me that
Joy and pain are like sunshine and rain

~ Maze

There was just a CRACK of intense thunder in the air, and it made me really sad. Because that sound used to make me really happy. Now it sends my heart racing like it is right now because a year after the Waldo Canyon fires, every downfall can mean destruction.

I am no scientist, so please forgive my limited understanding of the issue, but basically, the fires last year left a burn scar. The lack of vegetation there means that rain has nowhere to rest I guess, so it can lead to flash floods with mud and debris.

Has led to flash floods, I should say. Last week was the last time I got happy at the sound of thunder. It’s been really hot for Colorado, and as I work outdoors, a bit of rain was nice; it was invigorating. But meanwhile literally around the block, three homes were being destroyed and parked cars were moving around.

So yesterday when it rained, it was scary. We’d been warned as a community for awhile now, that this could and probably would happen. The local papers have been doing an amazing job at laying out all the info, and there have been multiple town meetings on the issue. Places like Adam’s Mountain Cafe have sandbags, due to their location near the creek – usually beautiful, but not so awesome if it overflows.

Despite all of the warnings and even after last week’s flood, I was not prepared to see Highway 24 transformed into a sea of mud yesterday, with cars helplessly flailing about, controlled by other forces. The night I lost control of my car in early ’08 was the most terrifying night of my life, even moreso than the day of September 11th.

After September 11th, I stayed home for weeks from my freelance-yet-steady job in Manhattan, vaguely catatonic, fearing to go back to the greatest city in the world, the one I’d loved for as long as I could remember.

After I lost control of my car, it was a good year before I could be in one either as a driver or a passenger, and not experience rapid heartbeat at best, panic attacks at worst. And driving used to be one of my greatest joys.

Yesterday when it started to rain, I got scared, but I also tried to do what I hadn’t in the past, when associations with things that I loved took a turn for the worse. I stood outside, and tried to soak up literally and figuratively, everything that I’d always loved about rain – the scent, the feel, the sound of the thunder. It was amazing. The air was warm, but the drops of water were cold, and though they were not hail, there was a harder texture than usual to them.

Since I started writing this blog, the thunder got louder, and the rain came down harder. Now it seems to be clearing up and winding down, and I hope everyone is okay. But it just felt like, necessary, to not put on the news this time. Between living in such a tiny town and the Internet itself, AND not having a car even though I’m not skurred of them anymore, some days it really does feel, to quote Jenny, that “the weight is crushing down on my lungs; I know I can’t breathe, and hope someone will save me this time.”

I suppose I’m going to have to save myself. That the longer I live, the more the things I used to view as perfect will gain bad associations. Shannon used to grow weary of how after I’d get dumped by a dude, I couldn’t go to like, multiple movie theaters and restaurants, due to woe where happiness used to be. And she told me what her little sister Caitlin said: that instead of thinking, “Oh this is the place where I used to go with so-and-so, and so it’s sad now, I will choose to say, hey this is now the place where I’m with my awesome sisters/friends.”

Fantastic. Yet something I forget all the time because I’m crying over the fallen trees in a beautiful forest.

In the summer of 1990, I felt myself getting really callous, emotionally. That was the time I spent in equal parts reading non-fiction books about serial killers and going to Christian rock concerts. While I didn’t see them live, Petra via CD urged me to not let my heart be hardened. There was something peaceful though, about letting numbness wash over me, and that was scarier than the wracking sobs and fear that could sometimes overtake me.

23 years later, I still don’t want to let my heart be hardened. But in order for that to happen without having a nervous breakdown, I need to, in the words of Olivia Newton-John, “Toughen up! Enough is enough!” I’m almost 38 and can’t spare a year anymore, to stop having fear struck into my heart over things that I always loved and are usually harmless.

Starting with thunder ❤

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p92xXdKjasI&list=PL3D6E524901C02103

Posted in Apartments & Other Domiciles, Manitou | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

3 Movies I’ve Seen Alone In the Theater

Posted on July 4, 2013 by judisunshine

I waver drastically between wanting to be alone and never wanting to be left alone. The time I most embraced this dichotomy was in my early 20s, when I was pursuing acting as a career. NYC will do that to you by default, if not choice.

That was the time I learned how awesome it could be, to dine alone at a TGI Fridays and read a new script whilst eating broccoli-cheese soup. And of course, tipping extra well for the server’s time and occupation of his or her table!

It was also the time I learned that I loved going to the movies by myself. My dad went through a phase in the ‘80s where he went for walks and to see movies alone, and I always thought that sounded so magical. Movies are great for dates, and for group-hangs (TM “The O.C.”), but as it turns out, they are really fun solo dates, as well.

All in all, I’ve only seen three theater movies by myself in the past 20 years, but they were three very memorable experiences. Here they are!

Richie Rich

In 1994, I joined my church’s dance group. The days that weren’t Sunday, I’d bike back and forth from Baldwin to Malverne, but one Sunday there was a practice scheduled for later in the afternoon. As I went to church for both the 9 and 11 am services (one youth group, one regular service, and sometimes working in the nursery), there was no reason to get a ride home with Mom, only to bike the IIRC 14-mile round trip.

Especially when just across the street, there was the awesome Malverne Twin! It’s since become (last time I checked, hope it’s still there!), a more expansive theater that caters to indies, including Long Island homegrown productions. Which is awesome. But back in ’94, there was one movie airing in the afternoon that I had some time to kill: “Richie Rich.”

Macauley Culkin’s career had always fascinated me. As a former child actress that never got past “Romper Room” Hollywood(?)-wise, kid actors as a rule held my interest, and Macauley was a bonafide star.

So I was interested to see what movie Culkin would do next, and I grew up reading “Richie Rich.” Even as a kid, I remember having little sympathy for Richie’s family plights because hello, money! But I had empathy for Richie, because he was just a kid, and seemed to have a jolly spirit.

Regarding this movie, I remember next to nothing, as far as the deets. But I do remember thinking that Macauley Culkin was a dynamic Richie Rich. And I remember feeling very empowered – a word I tend to hate, so use very sparingly and specifically – by sitting in the movie theater by myself that day.

That Thing You Do!

Two years after “Richie Rich,” I was vascillating, spiritually. I no longer went to the nine and 11 am services, all the time. I did go to rock church, which was run by some awesome friends.

I did go to still dance practice, as for some reason that I can’t recall, our one famous dance (as far as these things go) had been brought back by popular demand! So we had to practice. And in the meantime, for another reason I can’t recall, I had more time to kill, and obviously, Malverne Twin was yet again the obvious choice!

It kind of shocks me that I’ve not written more about “That Thing You Do!,” as it is one of my Life Movies. That day in the theater – I almost never feel bliss, but that day, I felt bliss. Everything about “That Thing You Do!” is just so awesome. 17 years later, joyful tears still spring to my eyes when I think of the scene where the Oh-Nee-ders single gets played on the radio, and Liv Tyler runs screaming through town, and the eventual scene in the….washer/dryer store?

Details like how the money gets made still escape me, but the visceral ecstasy does not. That day in the theater likewise never did, either. And speaking of Liv Tyler, there are almost no movies in the world that have both my girl and boy crushes. Liv Tyler is erstwhile, but Tom Everett Scott held my heart that day, in my single, 21-year-old way. I’m a guitarist girl but when I saw “That Thing You Do!”, to paraphrase Wilco, I fell in love with a drummer. Then I fell out because I found out he is married, and even in fictional ’90s crushes, I was never trying to mess with some other chick’s man.

Superbad

“Superbad” bears the distinction of being the one movie on this list that I’d already seen – in the theater, no less! And also the movie that inspired the blog, as I went with Josh to see “This Is the End” last week in the theater, and now I feel addicted to movie theaters. It’s so easy to “wait for it on DVD,” but that’s not how I grew up, especially when you consider that my family didn’t even have a VCR until December 1987.

Anyway.

I went to Rockville Centre to watch “Superbad” with my friend, back in the day, and we got there a little bit late. The place was absolutely packed, and we had to sit on the left at the RVC Fantasy – one main middle row, two tiny rows on the left and right. I totally still love the Fantasy, but I’m not certain that it’s well constructed as far as these things go.

And I remember not being crazy about the movie. Mind you, for better or for worse, this was many years after my churchgoing days. I don’t consider myself a prude, but “Superbad” felt kinda vulgar to me. At the same time, I knew that wasn’t quite the right word. I also knew that the scene where Michael Cera accidentally touches his crush Becca’s boob, was uber-brilliant.

A month after this first viewing, I was working a double at Boulder Creek. It was slow, but I had to work the dinner shift, so they gave me several hours off. While my apartment was only five minutes away, it seemed too soul-crushing to leave and come back. So I meandered across the parking lot to Broadway Mall, and moseyed up to the upstairs movie theater, that was awesomely next to the indoor playground.

“Superbad” was playing. In the literal sense; it had started 20 minutes ago. It felt so right to buy a ticket – just one, please – and go sit in the dark for the next hour and a half.

As it turned out, there was only one couple in the theater. The rest of the patrons were scattered, single dudes ranging from teens to middle age. I felt strongly, the vibe, of everyone just out for a random laff in the afternoon on a Wednesday.

And this time, I really liked “Superbad.” There was something about being back again, alone in a movie theater, that really helped me appreciate the artistry of an on-the-surface base comedy.

Posted in Childhood, Entertainment, Going Out, Miscellaneous, Movies, Women | 4 Comments

To Nanny, On Her 91st Birthday

Posted on June 13, 2013 by judisunshine

Arrive. DING-donggggg. Shuffle shuffle inside. Tentative door open that got less tentative once she saw who it was. Echoey voices in the hallway leading up to the kitchen, where we’d say our hellos and have The Punch – filled with sherbet from a punch bowl and served in little teeny cups. Also sometimes, crab-stuffed mushrooms that tasted better than any other stuffed mushrooms you could make or buy. Sometimes, there were no mushrooms, just the crab and we’d have crackers.

Those moments when my family would pull up to that house in Merrick, New York and step inside were some of the very happiest of my entire life. My grandmother baby-sat me so my mother could work part-time when I was little. I specifically remember telling my mother to race the other cars when we were on the Meadowbrook Parkway towards my grandparents’ house. “Faster, faster!” I’d cheer. Partly even then just to troll, but I really did want to get there as soon as I could. In retrospect, there was something so reverse-glamorous (in a good way) about how in the morning, my grandparents’ kitchen didn’t smell like roasts and the usual bustle of holidays. It smelled like sunshine and Body Buddies cereal. Not coffee, because my Pop-Pop always lamented how much he loved the ice cream, but hated the drink. Instead, there would be juice out of tin cups and my Nanny never forgot to ask which color cup I wanted that day.

The yard was a place to both explore and find haven, as it was always mysterious but always unchanging. There was a pink rose bush in the front, and every time since then that I bury my face in a rose, I feel the sun on my face and the splintery wooden fence on my hands. And I smell the rose, even though most roses you get don’t smell like anything.

And there was the basement. That smell never changed. It was clean but unfinished, and smelled like time standing still and board games and the television from the ‘50s or ‘60s that had the perma-veil inch of static that would make your hands tingle. When I was eight and sick one day, my Nanny baby-sat me again, and randomly thought that “Cujo” would be a great movie to watch. The dulcet sounds of the horror dog lulled me to sleep on her lap, and salved the pain of my sickness. When I was 11, it was the fitting TV on which to sneak downstairs during a Sunday dinner and watch “Married with Children,” another inappropriate viewing choice for a child, yet so innocent, overall, as I knew my grandmother would have LOLed at Kelly.

There were two other rooms in the basement. One was my Pop-Pop’s office. There was a lamp not unlike the one on my desk right now – a banker’s lamp, before my cat broke the shade. There were papers everywhere, many yellowed with age, and a closet filled with my grandmother’s clothes from various years that even when I was costuming myself for a repertoire theater that did a lot of period pieces, I never wanted to invade because some things should just get to stay as they are, as they were.

If you opened a different door in that room you’d find not a closet, but a small concrete staircase that led to metal doors you could push up and enter the yard. Not sure whether it was for tornadoes or bombs or just a design trend of the time, but there was never a time that I pushed up those doors where I didn’t feel like a kid all over again, and where the world didn’t feel like a magical place.

The third room had the washer and dryer, and around the bend from that, it held all of my grandfather’s records from his meteorologist days, as well as the tool area where no matter how busy or how tired he was, when many men especially from his generation could have just passed me back to his wife to deal with, Pop Pop always gave me a (dulled, though I didn’t realize at the time) saw, so that I could join him in whatever project he was working on. He’d ask me about my life and seem genuinely interested, even though I was only four. That basement has changed very little, over the years, and that room has never changed since he died in 1991.

And my grandmother has never left that house. I mean she has in the literal sense, but she never wanted to move from the house where Pop-Pop shunned sleep in his off hours so that he could redo the kitchen floor, fix up and paint what became the dining room, and transform half of the upstairs from an attic-esque storage space to a beautiful bedroom and bathroom.

Nanny’s had her stays in physical rehab places, because as she always says, “Growing old is not for sissies.” But what’s awesome is that her out-of-home stays are sometimes related to her eternal sassiness, such as the time she tried to take out the garbage during a storm. The wind knocked her down, and firemen and neighbors helped her get back inside, then fixed up again.

And when she was fixed up again, she went back home. To the place that will always be not just a part of my memory, but my soul. As terrified as I was to fly again this past February, there was no way I could say no to the opportunity to go back to Hemlock Street, to the house that built me, and to the magnificent woman that is and will always be, one of my VERY favorite people.

Happy 91st birthday, Nanny. I love you so much.

Nannyfromkristy

Posted in Apartments & Other Domiciles, Childhood, Family, Food, Miscellaneous, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

In a Manitou Minute

Posted on June 3, 2013 by judisunshine

It’s incredible, really. One minute, you’re standing in this new city with nothing but your suitcase, and then you look around and suddenly, you realize you’re surrounded by family.

~ Felicity

As the 2013 summer season begins to kick off, I can’t believe that this is my third summer working at Townhouse Lounge. Despite all that’s changed since 2011, there are shifts at Townhouse that hurtle me at lightning speed to two years ago, when my entire world felt pretty shattered, yet I had a job, thanks to the kindness of Pete who took my resume that one day and passed it onto the owners who were willing to take a chance on an unknown (35-year-old) kid (TM Travis Birkenstock (minus the 35-year-old part)).

Back then I was struck, though not surprised by, the loving atmosphere amongst the staff at Townhouse. I felt like an outsider, because I usually do anyway, and this time, I was a native New Yorker living in the Springs, entering the world of people who were not just a staff, but a family. It was beautiful, but intimidating, and sometimes lonely-making. My own family (that was not my immediate family) was mostly back East, and my friends-family were too. Witnessing the familial vibe at Townhouse made me miss what I’d left behind, though I was happy for the people who’d found it together in Manitou.

Still as time went on that summer two years ago, I got to know some people. Like aforementioned Pete, then a few others, and then Chad the bartender, who bought the place along with three others two months after I started working there. I loved the former owners, and loved the new (and current) owners. A few things changed, but the feeling of family did not.

I got laid off after the Emma Crawford Coffin Races, which I was expecting. The only thing I did not expect was to be kept so long into the year, as I was told when I was hired that it was just for the summer.

I kept going to Townhouse throughout that winter for karaoke, and after Josh moved to Manitou in early ’12, we sometimes walked down just to get nachos and other food that I missed during the downtime. We went for Superbowl; though neither of us could give a lick about football, the Superbowl atmosphere at Townhouse was undeniable and irresistible. As we sat at a patio table brought in from outside at Chad’s urging, one of the tables I’d wiped down countless times in preceding months, I was so proud to have worked at this place, to know I was going to work there again in the Spring, and to share it with Josh. I was proud to be a part of this family, even if I did feel like the second cousin by marriage at the reunion that most know by face more than name.

After that winter off from ’11-‘12, I was honored that they kept me during the winter from ’12-’13. That was when I started to give a lick about football, because Townhouse football Sundays are incomparable and infectious (in the good way).

Before that, I made friends with a wonderful couple who had a beautiful baby girl. Their baby shower for her was on the patio deck. People from the whole town came to support and celebrate.

Halloween night was finished out at Townhouse, where we had a “Buffy” singalong via the jukebox, and where else do you get to do that?

In bits and pieces, the people at Townhouse, both staff and regulars, became part of my life, and in turn, I felt like a part of theirs.

The 2013 summer season has just barely begun, yet already this year has sealed the deal for me, and made it official: I have family here. Sometimes we leave the “original set,” and there are dance recitals, cat-sitting, and apartment-moving involved. Most of the time, and usually after those off-set occasions occur, we end up back at Townhouse. Because Cheers has got nothing on that place.

Sunday-night dance parties are now a thing! Even though some Sundays like last night, we dance less, and discuss philosophy more. And “any given Sunday” really extends to any given day that ends with “y,” because no matter what day it is or what time it is, so long as Townhouse is open, if you go to Manitou, even if you are flying solo, you can know there is a place you can go to, where even if everybody doesn’t know your name, they will by the time you leave. Even if you leave to go back to Texas, or St. Louis, or Philly. Et al.

I feel so honored and so blessed to be a part of that.

Thank you, Townhouse, and everyone who is part of it. You have given me a home away from home, and no matter which way the road bends next, family is forever, and you are now part of mine ❤

PR: If you visit Manitou Springs, don’t miss out on visiting this bar that really IMO is the heart of the town!

PS: Now I have to go get ready for work!

Posted in Apartments & Other Domiciles, Family, Friends, Going Out, Manitou, Miscellaneous, Work | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mermaids

Posted on May 27, 2013 by judisunshine

When I was seven years old, there were two things I loved most in the world, aside from my family and Santa Claus. One was Lake George. The other was playing with Barbie dolls.

But when I played with Barbies, it wasn’t just the trademarked dolls. It was anything and everyone under the sun, that could ostensibly fit in.

And there was one set of dolls – NO idea what they were, but there was one that was a mermaid, and I loved her. Her flowing whitish-blonde long hair led me to name her Sylvia.

The twains met in 1982, as I was staying in Lake George once again. I’d always loved the sound of the creek. When I’d go to sleep there, I’d look out the window and see “the scary tree” (TM young me), and though it was terrifying, the fact that it was just before The Lake brought me amazing comfort.

Yet as much as I loved the lake itself, beyond the tree, was a creek. The rumbling waters of it was the only sound when you went to sleep in Hewlett’s Landing (my grandparents’ place), aside from the noise of cars going across the bridge – across the creek.

What a wonderful sound to this insomniac’s ears. Bubbling, coursing, moving, 24/7. So incredibly comforting, and I think maybe it spoiled me a bit.

One morning in 1982, I woke up and really wanted to play with my dolls. And though I was too young to walk down to the lake by myself, I was allowed to play in the creek.

And what a magical place it was. Right in my grandparents’ backyard, yet with the added mystery and awesomeness of running under the bridge that used to shake the summer house when people drove over it.

This one particular morning, I took great joy in placing Sylvia on the water, and watching as the water took her in its wake. Currents rushed, and so did Sylvia, as she performed her best “Anne of Green Gables” “Lady of Shallot” impression.

It was a beautiful morning, full of innocent fun. But I never truly appreciated its majesty, until 30 years later, I walked home to a place that ran over a creek. Josh and I visited it, when he first moved out. Now, we have to walk over it every time we want to get back to our apartment.

Tonight, I walked home alone, as Josh is visiting his family in California. Though I was walking with a steadfast pace, I just had to stop when I heard and saw the creek. Earlier in the day, I saw a little girl in a bathing suit, just wading and playing.

Experiencing the magic.

Creeks are no oceans. Not lakes, even. But they are magical. When I saw the little girl playing in it, I felt that – her joy and wonderment. Because creeks are awesome. Little tiny rivers, moving at a rapid pace, flowing over the rocks.

When I went home tonight, I stopped and looked, and listened to the rushing water. It’s so freaking easy to take for granted, things like creeks. Yet that is the exact reason I wanted to live out here, in Manitou. Not for the creeks per se, but for the magic.

And tonight as I stopped and looked at the rushing water, heard it – life cynicism aside, I wished that I had a Mermaid Sylvia to rush down the ersatz river.

Posted in Childhood, Family, Miscellaneous, The '80s, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

5 Reasons to Watch “The O.C.”

Posted on May 18, 2013 by judisunshine

As y’all know, being topical is my number-one priority, and today is no exception, for this is no repost! I’ve been rewatching the series with Josh, and have to say that I love it more than ever. I totally expected to loathe this show, yet fell in love with it instead. While it dipped in S2 and 3, it was still entertaining and beyond palatable on DVD, and S1 and 4 ROCK.

So I recommend this show with two thumbs up, and here is why!

1) The Cast

Surprise, I know! It always goes back to the cast, for me. This is how I know about the Gulden’s mustard campaign starring Cindy Crawford from “Picture Perfect.” Anyway, I’ve written about Peter Gallagher’s Sandy before, but the entire cast is pretty amazing. Mischa Barton’s Marissa could be hit or miss, but I’m one of her apologists because she had some amazing moments and I relate to her mood swings and love for wounded men. And on a shallow note, she’s just so heartbreakingly pretty.

Also, Summer loved Marissa, and that is good enough for me, because Rachel Bilson’s Summer is one of my all-time favorite characters, and my favorite on the show, which is saying a lot. Josh said earlier that she is the most dynamic one on the show in terms of character development, and I couldn’t agree more. I think it’s cool that she was only supposed to be on for a handful of episodes, but was so beloved and wonderful that she became part of the core cast.

^^^ Plus! Little Miss Vixen ftw! ^^^

I’m sure you’ve all heard about Adam Brody’s success, and the ensuing backlash. And while I appreciate the hipsterism of not wanting geek to go mainstream, I think Brody’s Seth was an awesome character, and that he was awesome in the role. He was funny, self-deprecating, and I think helped usher in a new wave of television, because sometimes the people with the money need to see the money to know that someone is worth putting on screen. Do you know what I mean? Also I think that Adam Brody did some damn-fine acting on “The O.C.”

Ben McKenzie’s Ryan is great. From an acting standpoint, I think he got one of the more thankless roles, because when he’s not punching people, he mainly plays the straight man, but Ben IMO develops so much as an actor over “The O.C.’s” four seasons, and got a more….thankful…bit of meat to chew on in Season Four, and knocks it out of the park.

“I always had a soft spot for Taylor Townsend,” one of my friends commented recently and WHO CAN BLAME HIM because Autumn Reeser’s Taylor shows up like a firework, and singlehandedly improves the show with her presence. I literally and fittingly started clapping and cheering when she appeared on my television in the S3 DVDs that Josh so kindly bought for us.

There are many other “Youngs” that were so awesome – Luke, a character that I never stopped missing when he left the show to go be on “Smallville,” Alex, my personal ‘ship for Marissa. Anna, who is an awesome part of one of my favorite scenes on the show (Wonder Woman versus comic artist!). The fabulous Trey and Volchok, great Ostensible Villains With Hearts. Caitlin, who must have had so much fun playing that role, and who gets better and better the more she works with the cast around her. Even Johnny and Chili and “Freaks and Geeks” Maureen, though I did not so much enjoy that whole storyline, were good in their roles. Same thing with Zach. The list goes on.

I do not remember whether it was Danny Drennan or Tara Ariano who coined the phrase “The Olds,” in relation to “Beverly Hills 90210,” but it is an awesome way of describing the parents et al., who star in a teen soap yet are not teens. I say this as someone who’s troublingly more in this age bracket than The Youngs, here in 2013. But the gist from the term “The Olds” is that adults are boring, especially when you have pretty teenagers (albeit in their 20s) going to high school in California.

However, The Olds on “The O.C.” are pretty freaking awesome. Alan Howe’s Caleb Nichol (RIP) was the oldest, and instead of being one of those dudes in a blue suit from ‘70s movies, was more slick, “Game of Thrones” meets “Sopranos” patriarch.

Kelly Rowan’s Kirsten, like Ryan, got an often-thankless role, but is perfect in every single scene that she is ever in, and her relationship with Ryan is one of my favorites on the show.

Melinda Clarke’s Julie Cooper is – where to begin. First of all, that woman does not look like a real human person so much as an a feline anime queen, and I mean that as a total compliment. I. Freaking. LOVE Julie Cooper. It’s funny watching the series with Josh because these people show up behaving reprehensibly and I’m all SQUEE because I know how awesome they become, like Taylor and Julie. The evolution of Julie Cooper is reason enough to watch this show. And rewatching the show now is going to finally get me to break down and watch “Vampire Diaries,” because I need my Melinda Clarke fix.

And again, there are many other Olds on the show who I think are great. I have a heart for poor downtrodden Jimmy Cooper, and really liked Hayley, though she’s sort of in between the two age groups, as far as the show goes.

Anyway you get my point: Good Cast, so let’s move on!

2) The Music

I think it’s really cool that Deathcab for Cutie found greater success because of “The O.C.” heavily featuring them, and that it was because Adam Brody loved the band so much, kind of like Moldy Peaches in “Juno.” While I actually knew and loved Deathcab before “The O.C.,” (HIPSTER ALERT!) the show used Deathcab’s music so well that it helped seal them into my musical soul.

I didn’t think Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” could ever mean more to me, until “The O.C.” showed me that it could. Same with Mazzy Starr’s “Into Dust.” “The O.C.” also does an amazing job at featuring awesome covers used really well, from Jem’s “Amazed” to whoever covered a Radiohead song in the last ep we watched (I did not know this; Josh told me). To…something I will discuss in a later bullet point! Also, I was introduced to a lot of awesome new songs, thanks to this show.

The score on this show is either underlying and not noticeable, or it reminds me of Christophe Beck who scored “Buffy” S1-4. Both of these are good things. Even the earworm that is Phantom Planet’s “O.C.” theme song is perfect. I like also that the times this show uses older music (covers notwithstanding) are few, far between, and fitting.

3) The OCD-Level Meta

Back in the day, I wrote a blog wherein I complained about the heavy meta of this show. Upon rewatch, I can understand my former PoV, but especially now with the perspective of having seen the entire series, I find the meta kind of charming, often impressive, and usually comforting.

And then there are things like how – I don’t want to be overly spoilery, so I will just say it was cool how S1 featured “Hallelujah” in the finale after using it in “The Model Home,” then in S2’s finale featured Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek,” then in the S3 finale used Imogen Heap covering “Hallelujah.” Shit like that brings me great joy. Today’s S4 ep usage of an “Into Dust” cover reminded me of just how clever the show can be. I also like all of their references to other teen/women soaps, such as when Dr. Roberts went to work at Seattle Grace, and the time when someone in the background had a sign saying “Marissa Cooper Graduates.” The list of these shoutouts goes on and on and on, and it pleases me to wonder how many are flying right over my head.



4) My Boyfriend Likes It

Josh is insanely accommodating to my ridiculousness at large. He Netflixed S1 of “The O.C.” because he knew how much I wanted to watch it again. And while I know that he would have humored my desire to watch it with him, it’s always fun to see him get into a show that I like, especially one that could be conceived as girly. He gets a lot of the Seth references about comics, video games, music, and cinema, and hearing him expand on them makes me feel cooler by proxy. Watching it with him has brought not only many a guffaw from me due to Josh’s snarkiness, but also much deeper insight into the characters, including California itself.

5) How They Pulled It Together

TWoP’s summation of this show has always broken my heart a little bit, because it’s spot on, and also true to my experience as a viewer. They said that “The O.C.” started feeling stale in S2 after “a stellar first season,” and that “a strong fourth season wasn’t enough to undo the damage.” In terms of viewership, not quality.

Fair ‘nuff. I wrote rant-y blogs during S2 and S3, and fell out of touch somewhere during S3, due in equal parts to my frustration with the show, and round-the-clock work hours with no DVR.

So I only saw S4 for the first time a few years ago, and man, does it rock. I actually loved rewatching S2 and 3 and as I mentioned before, I don’t hate Marissa like many people do. So I love the entire show, but S4 rivals S1 in terms of greatness. Honestly, I don’t know which season I like better, but 4 has the competitive advantage of the built-up story history and developed characters. The ep we watched today was the last Chrismukkah episode of the series, and that made me very emotional! Then very pleased, as I did not remember much of the episode whatsoever. While I have an insane television memory, as with most things, I need repeated viewings for an ep to stick in my brain. It’s fun seeing “new” “O.C.s.” All of the solidest actors are still doing their thing (Sandy, Kirsten, Julie, Seth), while The (other) Youngs kick ass, now awesome actors in their own right. The presence of Taylor alone makes the show 200% more fantastic, as well.

I don’t remember much about the series finale save for one detail, but I do remember that it was absolutely fabulous. Though I will sob at saying goodbye to this show again, I’m looking forward to it all the same.

Posted in AcTING!, Celebrities, Entertainment, Lists, Miscellaneous, Romance, Superheroes/Villains, TV, Video Games, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment