New Years

I had a whole year-in-review post written and I thought I had published it, but apparently Blogger glitched and only up to March got published. So, there is that. I'll rewrite it later, but right now, my goal is to talk about New Years.

I don't usually do anything for New Years. I usually spend it on my parents farm, watching movies with my dad (my mom, who works very early in the mornings, is usually in bed by that time.) But this time, I was back in Red Deer, so I spent it with my dearest friends.

Ben, Dylan and Matt hosted the "party" at their townhouse on campus. We had a potluck - Ben cooked a ham, which was amazing and completely took me by surprise, and mashed potatoes and roasted veggies, and there was a really delicious casserole and cheesecake and it was just wonderful. It hit me how much more like an adult it made me feel. A potluck is a very adult thing to have, no?

After dinner, we all headed down to their basement to watch movies. The new Start Trek was already playing, so we finished that, and watched some Arrested Development and a few episodes of The Office and Community.

Ben suggested Monopoly, so Lauren, Dylan, Ben and I crowded around the kitchen table. Dylan has Nintendo Monopoly, which was awesome. I took the lead early, buying about half a dozen properties in the first few rounds, but my lead didn't last long. There was one point when I was down to $36. But thanks to Dylan's generosity (aka giving me money to buy hotels to stop Ben, who was kicking all of our butts, from winning) and mortgaging a few properties, I got back into the game, and ended up winning, thanks to the hotels on my properties.

It was only about 8:00 by this point, though it felt ore like 11:00. We retreated back downstairs and continued to peruse Netflix. Until it was decided we would watch Attack of the Clones. Well, I can say I had never watched Star Wars that way before. There wasn't a horribly written/delivered line that we didn't  ridicule, or a ridiculous filming choice that we didn't laugh at. It was quite brilliant, actually.

Midnight came with a chorus "Happy New Years!" (and a New Years kiss) and then we settled back into Star Wars.

Really, it wasn't that much different from any other time my friends and I hang out. It just included some wine, and a potluck. It was definitely my best New Years celebration yet.

Secret Santa!!

An owl plushie, Christmas candy, mix CD
and 11's Sonic Screwdriver!

I got my HPA Secret Santa gift in the mail today, and it made my day. Getting things that aren't bills in the mail makes me happy normally, so to find out that it was a) from a wizard b) all nerdy stuff and c) for Christmas made me the absolute happiest of pandas! Not to mention that it is from one of the greatest people in the world, miss Eileen Smith. Words can't explain how much I adore her. <3

SONIC SCREWDRIVER!

On PayPal

Last night/this morning, the online Harry Potter fandom kind of exploded over this article. Basically, what happened, is Regretsy was collecting money so that they could send gifts to kids in need. They collected the donations through the PayPal donate button, and PayPal ended up freezing their account for reasons that don't make very much sense. (Such as "what you're doing is not a worthy cause, it's a charity" therefore they can't use the "Donate" button. Uhm.)

The Potter fandom kind of went BOOM! and people are talking about boycotting PayPal by closing their accounts. While I am thrilled that we as a community are so passionate about doing right, I don't think cutting off all connections with PayPal is the right answer. There are shops online that you can only use PayPal through - such as Etsy. If you cut off your PayPal, you would no longer be able to support the independent artists on Etsy, which I for one am not willing to do. Some of those people may only use their crafting as their income, and I for one am more than happy to support them, even if it does mean using PayPal.

Yes, I agree that we should fight for change. Yes, I agree that we should cut PayPal out where we can, but because they have such a huge stronghold, it's difficult. So I am going to be cutting PayPal out where I can, and where I can't, I am going to send emails, asking for the website (such as Etsy, or DFTBA records) to find a new way for their customers to purchase merchandise. If there is enough demand, they'll want to change.

Toad of Toad Hall & Procrastination

It has been over a month since I last posted. I promise it isn't just because I've been lazy. I've actually been insanely busy, and haven't even thought about blogging.

The reason? Toad of Toad Hall, RDC's latest production. I was the Design Assistant, so I was just a little bit busy. But loving it so very very much. Sure, there were times I wanted to tear my hair out, but you know what? It's so worth it. It's definitely one of the projects where the joys outweigh everything else by about a million.

I'm currently working on university applications. Specifically for UVic. I am so not used to writing essays anymore. Or writing anything, really. I really do think I want to start writing Alchemy again. I also realllly want to start crafting. And eventually open up an etsy shop. I just don't know what kind of crafts to do. I think I'm going to see if I can't find some crafting blogs to follow. Anyone have any suggestions?

Anyway, that's me right now. I've got a bit of a lull between show and strike, so I have some time, which is both nice and horrid. I should be getting so much more accomplished. I have found myself procrastinating far too much. (Hence, the blog.)

Announcement!

I have decided something. I am going to resign from No New Stuff. I have done it for the past three-ish months, and I only cheated once, which I think is good. I don't have the desire to buy stuff like I used to, and I just don't really see the point of it anymore. I think it was a great experiment, and very useful. I just don't think it's useful anymore. Especially because I haven't been updating this to keep track of my progress. I know my progress. I haven't broken my rules - I don't want to break my rules. *shrug*

(And yes, I know, I still haven't written the review for Lola. *facepalm* It's mostly typed out, I just need to edit it and make it make sense to more people than just me. SOON. I promise!)

Happy 6 Years HPA!

Yesterday, October 20, 2011, was the HPA's 6th birthday! Wowee! I can't believe that last year so many staffers were gathering to celebrate 5 years in Boston. I can't believe all that I've done in the past year and a bit that I've been on staff, and how much I've changed and just started to love more. I can't believe the friends I made and the memories I made and all the good we have done because of this beloved organization. I can not imagine my life without the HPA and the amazing, amazing people involved.

So HPA, happy birthday. Have a slice of cake on my tonight. And here's to another six years!

(PS: school is crazy, which is why I haven't been keeping up with No New Stuff bogs. But I haven't purchased anything that I didn't need for school! So I'm still going good! But oh man, I want the Lion King so bad. I sure hope I get it for Christmas.)

(PPS: Look for a review of "Lola and the Boy Next Door" soon. In the mean time, take some advice, READ IT, IT'S AMAZING.)

I have been failing so hard at keeping up with blogging. I have been up to my eyebrows in school work the past week, plus I worked on stage for Alberta Arts Days all weekend and I just feel overwhelmed right now. But that could have something to do with the fact that we found out today we can only sign 1 year leases for our apartment, when we were under the impression we could sign a shorter one. So now I'm feeling slightly trapped. This is so very inconvenient, especially seems as I'm playing with the idea of moving to Victoria for design school next year. (I have three options running through my head: UVic for Design, U of A for Design or RDC for MPA. I'm going to apply to all three and see what happens, I think. Put off the decision for as long as I can.)

But No New Stuff is going well. I haven't broken any rules in the past week, so yay for that!