HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone out there who read my blog!!! Hope you had a great time welcoming the New Year. My celebration was pretty quiet, nothing spectacular…I'm pretty excited about the next couple of weeks! In two weekends, I'm going to NYC just to have a personal vacation, just to get away from everything and everyone I've been surrounded and familiar with, even just briefly. I don't want to be away from everything for so long, but I just want some "me" time, and do something outside of the usual routine…I'm going to be starting school fairly soon and I'll be working on top of that, so it's going to be pretty crazy for me. But I'll manage somehow, by God's grace. If things don't work out, I can always go back to Canada. Well, I just hope this year will be better than the last, more blessings and growth, emotionally, AND most importantly, spiritually. I pray the same for my loved ones, friends and you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, whaddya know? It’s Turkey day today! Thanksgiving day, always something I look forward to every year. There’s a lot to be thankful for, I tell yah that much. God has been good, well, He’s always good, but I just want to take this opportunity to say that. These past few months have been hard on all of us. This country has been a target of inexplicable evil and so many lives have been lost because of some senseless acts of violence…and it hasn’t stopped…yet. But there is some good that came out of these very horrible circumstances of the last couple of months, it has brought people closer together and, most notably, closer to God. God is amazing!

Rockapella Concert - Lancaster Center for the Performing Arts, Lancaster, CA - October 26, 2001

Waiting for 4 months to see the boys again in concert was not an easy thing to do. The last time I saw them was at Hofstra University in June for Camp Heartland. You can imagine the excitement that I felt to see these 5 very talented men once more. My cousins and I arrived at the Lancaster Performing Arts Centre a tad bit late, and walked in at the end of the 3rd song, "So Much Better." After a brief intro by Elliott, they went right into "No Doubt At All," the new tune El wrote, which I (and my cousins) absolutely adore! I love jazz music and I love how El sings those jazz tunes, his voice is so perfect for them, so mellow. Great arrangement and I love the exchange between El's scatting and Jeff's "drumming" towards the middle of the song. The song is adorable! They segued right into "Dancing in the Streets" complete with Kevin's own brand of "shake-down" much to the delight of the audience. After the song, Barry takes center-stage and does his "manly/wimpy" speech, and goes right into "16 Tons." During the song, the audience started to clap along as the guys were singing, but at one point, the audience went off-beat with their clapping, almost throwing off the guys and causing Elliott to laugh! Barry started snapping on beat, but he still couldn't get the audience to clap along on beat, which caused one of the guys to say, "they are determined, aren't they?" which I thought was very amusing. "Use Me" was up next. Again, this song always puts a smile on my face. It's got a great fast R&B feel to it, and the fact the Jeff is drumming and singing at the same time makes it even more fun to watch. Oh, and I love the BGV's - "usein-me-ga-git-gotcha-ooh-ahh-usein-me" - now, that's clever. Scott also gets a chance to "set-off" his vocal pyrotechnics during this song (even more so than in other songs), which is why this song is one of my absolute favorites in their repertoire. Before singing "A Change in My Life," Kevin took a moment to talk about how it was great to be in Lancaster, and to be back in Southern California once again. He mentioned that Bear was from Los Angeles and being back "home" makes Bear happy. (LOL) The guys went right into "Dance With Me" a '70's song, I believe, which Scott arranged. This is starting to become my new favorite Rockapella tune. It's so beautifully arranged, the harmonies are very tight and you can dance to it! J This song brings back childhood memories for me. I remember my uncle playing this record when I was a little kid. After a 10-minute intermission, the boys were back on stage again, doing "Love Potion #9." Then, El stepped up and introduced Rockapella's "greatest hit" which is, of course, Folger's "Rockin' Morning." They also did "Holiday Wake-Up" complete with the bells, much to the audience's delight. Elliott also mentioned that the Christmas Folger's commercial will be aired again this season. Yay! "Don't Do It" was next, followed by "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress." After the song, Kevin commented that Scott didn't smack his bottom like he usually does and that he misses it. (Uh, okay Kev…LOL) Then Kevin walked off-stage and into the audience to look for his "Pretty Woman." Sandy was the PW of the night and she did a fabulous job. They followed PW with "Don't Tell Me You Do" which was a total surprise to me! It is my favorite Rockapella song of all-time and I was absolutely thrilled when I heard the first chord of song - I let out a shriek which startled Mr. Leonard, almost causing him to lose his concentration (my apologies to Scott and the guys, LOL). This song is what got me hooked to Rockapella. I will never get tired of hearing this song. They should put it back on their repertoire, permanently! After Scott's "girly man" bit, Bear took center-stage again to sing, "Big, Bad John, a new Bear song, which was also arranged by Scott. ;-) This song is very enjoyable. I love Scott's facial expressions! And I love the arrangement, you couldn't tell that it was originally a country tune. Jeff had some kick-butt moments in this song as well. WITWICS followed which "rocked da house" and Jeff's VP solo -whoa! It clocked in just a little under 3 minutes. They ended the show after 2 sets of encores. They sang the Star Spangled Banner of course, and during the song, the American flag was lowered behind them. That was a very moving moment. The show was great, it was definitely worth my 4-month wait. Thank you guys again for a wonderful weekend! Come back soon!

Karaoke momma.

Call me the Karaoke Queen…LOL I went with a friend of mine to her cousin's house for a birthday party, and as soon as we walked in the door, she told me that I couldn't leave until I sing karaoke. After getting my grub on, my friend's cousin set up the karaoke machine so we could start singing. Well, whaddya know?! They have I Will Always Love You, sung by Whitney Houston, on laser disc! Of course I HAD to sing it… It never fails, it's like a curse, everytime I go karaoke-ing (if that's even a word, lol), I always end up singing that song. But hey, I ain't complaining one bit. I love to ham it up, well, once-in-a-while, with the whole karaoke thing. I even have my "money song," Nobody's Supposed to Be Here by Deborah Cox (a fellow Canuck). Anyway, I knew I wasn't gonna be able to leave that place without doing one more song…LOL So, I did Celine Dion's Because You Loved Me complete with her Quebecian-like (okay, so I don't think that is a word either) accent…LOL

Childhood and growing up.

I saw a couple of my childhood friends today who I haven’t seen in ages, it seems like. These people have been friends of mine since we were in diapers, and I just can’t believe that they’re both married, and one of them has kids already. Anyway, they went off today on some cruise along with their other married friends and it’s just so weird being around all of them. I felt so out-of-place and so much younger than they are. But, that’s the thing, I am not much younger than they are. We’re all within the same age-group, grew up in the same decade, I just thought it was bizarre. My good friend asked me what my plans are as far as moving back to Toronto is concerned. It’s so weird discussing my plans with her and to have her talk about her kids (adorable, btw), and her husband and all the marital issues of the day. We’ve totally gone on our own different paths in life, and I’m happy for her because she has a great life, a great marriage and great family. I just felt so “single” when I talked to her. LOL But despite the fact that I feel so much younger than they are when I’m around my friends who are married, there’s this part of me that feels so “grown-up” knowing the fact that I do have friends who are married and have children and have careers. Can’t wait ’til I too am married, and go off on some married couples’ cruise, but first, I have to find a “significant other.” LOL It’s all in God’s hands.

More than you'll ever know.

I found out this morning that one of my favorite music groups just added another show during their October California tour. Whoo-hoo! *cabbage patches around the room* I’m pretty excited about this, can’t you tell?! Anyway, work has been pretty slow and I’m kinda getting antsy, and now I’m really wishing that I’m moving back to Toronto sooner than later. *sigh* This weekend, my bestfriend from Toronto called me and we had a great conversation, which made me want to go back even more! I miss her and it was great talking with her again.

I was listening to this song by Watermark earlier today, on my way to Starbucks (what else is new? LOL), and I just love the message of the song. I dedicate this song to all of my friends who have been an encouragement to me and who’ve lifted me up in prayer. The song is called “More Than You’ll Ever Know.” And the song goes (the lyrics may not be accurate though):

“You’ve been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies,
‘Cause you have spoken truth over my life;
And you’ll never know what it means to me
Just to know you get on your knees for me,
Oh, you have blessed my life….
MORE THAN YOU’LL EVER KNOW…
You’ve carried me, you’ve taken upon the burden
that wasn’t your own;
May the blessings return to you a hundred-fold.”

Meeting new friends.

Wasn’t able to sleep-in today. I had to get up early today to meet up with a friend that April and I made in The Blenders club. Her name is Sarah and she’s from Arizona. It was great meeting her and swapping stories about The Blenders. We had lunch in Westwood and headed over to The Block in Orange and walked around, window-shopped and played in the arcade. She had to meet up with her dad and some relatives later on in the evening so we drove her over to where they were supposed to meet. Anyway, after dropping her off, April, our friend Jeremy, and I went to go see “The Others” at the AMC at The Block. The movie reminded me a lot of “The Sixth Sense.” The twists in the plot were definitely unexpected. Man, the movie just straight freaked me out! LOL

Where in the world is Wayne Brady?

I'm watching my Rockapella video collection right now, and I'm a little miffed that The Wayne Brady Show wasn't on tonight. I thought they were going to premiere it?! Or did I completely miss it? I love Wayne Brady, he's so good at the "musical" improv on the show, and he's not a bad singer either! Anyway, I was watching "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" (hilarious show, btw, one of my faves) and was laughing so hard, my cheeks and sides started to hurt and I started tearing! LOL I used the watch the British version on Comedy Central before they had the American version. Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie are two of the funniest people on earth!….Another show that I absolutely love is "Will & Grace." I love this show, they have such a great cast! And I got a chance to watch a taping of the season finale last year, and got to meet Sean Hayes (Just Jack!), he's sooo adorable and really nice in person. And I absolutely adore Will, a.k.a. Eric McCormack. Got a chance to see him play the lead in the musical The Music Man on Broadway this summer. He's too cute! But throughout the show I kept thinking that Grace, Jack and Karen are going to show up. LOL

Back to my Rockapella videos…Gosh, watching some of the old stuff they had done and their Carmen stint, I'm thinking, they have certainly changed a lot over the years, looks-wise, which is definitely not a bad thing at all! Oh gosh, I wonder if they ever watch any of the old episodes of Carmen? All I can really say is "Wow". LOL

Bowling anyone?

Went bowling with the family last night. I haven’t bowled in years and I totally forgot how fun bowling could be! Hey, and I didn’t do so bad either, I had the 3rd highest score at the end of the evening. And there were about 10 of us playing! Not too shabby eh? Anyway, my arm is sore from last night. I just might go again next Monday. LOL

The one about Music.

Saw one of my favorite bands, Dakota Moon, last night at The Whiskey in West Hollywood. Man, they are too good! They rocked so hard! The band is great to watch live, it was kind of annoying though that the microphones were a little muffled, so you couldn't really understand a word they're singing. But I guess that didn't really matter because these guys can play and blend so well. Individually, they all sound great, but the 2 lead vocals, Malloy and Ty stick out the most. Malloy's voice is very soothing and full, can't help but swoon everytime he sings. And Ty, his voice soars…when he reaches those high notes, oh my gosh, it's insane! I'm such a sucker for guys who can sing and, hands down, Malloy and Ty are 2 of the best vocalists I've heard in my entire life. I can't wait for their new CD to come out, it's tentatively titled "A Place to Land" and the title track will be used by NBC to promote their fall line-up this year. The CD is coming out in October.

I went with my cousin to the Lighthouse Christian Bookstore today. I went there to pick up a copy of the latest Avalon CD but ended up getting copy of the new Katinas' CD called "Destiny" and All Together Separate's live worship CD called "Ardent Worship." "Ardent" means passionate; fervent, and "worship" means honor paid to God. When you listen to the CD, the title is very appropriate. One of the better live worship CDs I've heard in a long time. They sang "oldie-but-goodie" worship songs, but added a funk, jazz, soul twist to all of 'em. My favorite, of course, is their cover of the Martin Smith (Deliriou5?) christian anthem "Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?" And while we're on the subject of worship, my cousin and I went to Christian Assembly this evening to attend their Saturday evening service. Was hoping that Tommy Walker, famous Praise and Worship leader, would be leading P&W tonight, but he wasn't there. Anyway, his substitute was and he did a great job leading the congregation in worship. It was very uplifting and heart-filling (for lack of a better way to describe the experience I guess, LOL).