Chapter 35: Paparazzi

Today, oddly enough, was a very good day. I woke up late, and not in the way that I usually say is late but actually late - 8:45am, when I was supposed to be at work at 9:30am. Fortunately, it wasn't too much of an issue. You see, at my job we are not allowed overtime at all, so if you wind up stuck there late on any given day, you have to cut whatever amount of time you were late off of a shift later in the week. It just so happened that on Monday I was there about 25 extra minutes and last night I was there about 15. I called my sister and told her that I had woken up late and got approved to not come in until 10:30am. So, I dicked around on the internet, took a nice long shower and picked out an outfit, (that I wound up hating halfway through the day,) and got to be very leisurely about it all. Just before we were about to walk out the door, we got a knock. It's pretty rare that we get unexpected knocks on our door, so this seemed pretty odd. Turns out, it was FedEx, with a shipment for us: a very large, rectangular box that my Mom and I both recognized immediately. It was my keyboard! Unfortunately, being that we were about to walk out the door, I didn't get to open it or anything at that time. I really wished then that I could call in to work and just spend the day playing with my new best friend Casio! Sadly, that wasn't really an option and I had to get my shit together and get to work.

Work today was the same as yesterday; not too busy but not too slow. My co-workers and I all spent a good deal of time talking today, which was pretty nice. Despite the fact that there are very few people at my job who I can find a lot of ways to relate to, I still enjoy getting to talk with them all and getting to learn more about them and their lives. I also find it interesting how, despite the fact that we don't see each other outside of work or anything, a lot of my co-workers are very supportive of me. When I tell them about things that I am doing or trying to do outside of work, like driving, they all have a lot of helpful tips and kind words. It is nice that even though we don't always all get along and we aren't all best friends we can still take an interest in one another. There is this one guy there who I have absolutely nothing in common with, (he's one of those "thug" type guys,) but I find him kind of fascinating. He is one of those people who always thinks whatever he says is right, solely on the basis that he is the person saying it so there isn't any chance that it couldn't be right. He also has this really over-the-top, "hard" exterior, but I will catch so many moments of him breaking out of that and seeming genuine about things. I find that very interesting and endearing. I like when people can be an extreme personality but still stay true to themselves and allow themselves to show their softer sides. I am kind of like that, in a lot of ways. I put out an image of myself, and I make it a point not to veer from it too often, but I am always willing to let people see the other sides of me; most of them, anyway.

I do also have to mention something that happened yesterday but I didn't get to in the blog because I didn't feel really sure about it then. My dear friend Nate, (the one with the youtube channel mentioned in some of my other posts,) has offered to teach me how to drive. As I mentioned before, I kind of figured I would be able to get by with learning to drive with my Mom or my sister and didn't really think of asking anybody else, but once he made the offer it clicked: He'd be perfect! I have ridden with him many times in the past and have always found him to be a good driver, better than most of my friends, and he is also a pretty patient, understanding kind of guy. Those are both traits that I think are necessary in teaching somebody to drive. Plus, he has always been very supportive of me in whatever I am trying to do, so I think he would be able to be really supportive in this capacity, as well. Support is definitely something I will need in the whole process, too. So, that just leaves getting my learner's permit so that I can start learning. This is all just further evidence that the universe is working in my favor and lining things up perfectly for me to achieve my goals. I don't know if I say it or express it enough, but I am extremely grateful for everything that the universe has lined up for me these days and can't wait to get myself into a position to give some back.

I didn't walk home from work today. I got stuck on a call and got out late, which was really convenient because my Mom got stuck on a call, as well, and got to her last break only moments after and drove me home. I don't know that I would want to walk home every day, but maybe a couple days a week. When I got home today the first thing I did was get out of that outfit that I wound up hating, then I ripped open the box that my keyboard was in. It came with a stand, which is awesome and not the usual when you buy a keyboard, so I spent a little time putting that together and watching Adam Lambert on The View today. Adam, as you all should know by now, is absolutely incredible and I completely adore him. His interview on The View was really good. It was interesting to see that Elizabeth Hasselbeck kind of fan-girled on him, despite her belief that he shouldn't have the same rights that she does. She seemed to honestly be a big fan of his, and why wouldn't she be? He is absolutely amazing. On the topic of Adam, as well, I didn't wake up in time for the 7am hour radio contest and had no luck in the 8pm one. They did say in the 8pm hour that they would still be doing the giveaway on Saturday, so hopefully I will be able to win tickets at some point. If not, it's not a terrible loss, but if I can I would be thrilled.

So, my Mom came home after work and we ate chili and watched last night's "Glee," which was the fall finale. The show will not be back until April, which is awful, but they certainly went out with a bang! Of the 13 episodes of the fall portion of the season, this was by far the best. It made me and my Mom both cry a few times. It was beautiful and the music in this episode was amazing. It's pretty sad, though, that when the show comes back from break my Mom and I will likely only be able to watch a few of the episodes together before I move. One other tidbit about "Glee," though, is that the Hollywood Reporter is reporting that one of my all-time favorite Broadway starts, Idina Menzel, is in talks to join the cast for the remaining 9 episodes when the show returns. That would be absolutely incredible! The only thing I can think of that may be more incredible would be if they somehow managed to bring back Kristin Chenoweth's character for one of the episodes with Idina and made them duet again, (after having famously originated the roles of Glinda and Elphaba in "Wicked.") I really hope this turns out to be true, with Kristin Chenoweth or without, because I would love to see Idina on one of the most popular and best new shows of the season. It would be great exposure for her in the mainstream realm; exposure that she could definitely use.

After "Glee" was over I did some minor cleaning for tomorrow night, since my friend from work is coming over for dinner. I just figure the house should be at least a little presentable, since she's never been here before. Then I figured out the perfect spot for my keyboard in my bedroom, right near the computer so I could simply swivel my chair and alternate between the two. This positioning came in very handy this evening because, for my first act with the keyboard, I decided to try to learn to play a song. Not just any song, though. The first song I learned to play had to be a special one. I decided on my very favorite song from the first Lady GaGa record, "Paparazzi." Sitting down to the keyboard and piecing the song together for the very first time, with the help of a youtube tutorial, it just immediately felt so much more comfortable than the guitar ever did. I learned to play the vocal part, (the right hand part,) of the verses and chorus of the song right off the bat. I also learned the chord part, (the left hand part,) pretty easily, as well. I haven't managed to play the two together yet, but compared to the guitar this is immense progress for my first time. Even sitting down to it for the very first time, the keyboard just feels right for me. It just gave me a really great feeling right off the bat; like my questions had been answered and I am at the beginning of making my destiny happen. It is a really powerful, amazing feeling and I couldn't be happier with the whole thing. The keyboard is gorgeous, too. I love the feeling of pressing the keys softly and generating the sound that I want. It is amazing and I just can't wait to learn more. I figured that learning a song by somebody else would be an excellent jumping off point for me, too, because learning the way somebody else's song is constructed makes it easier for me to understand how to construct my own songs. I am just really excited about the whole thing. I can't wait to learn more.

Now I absolutely must get to bed. I wound up working on playing "Paparazzi" for much longer than I expected and put off the blog much longer than I should have. For this reason, it is 12:45am and I absolutely must get to bed. It was a really good day, though, and I am excited for more days like it. For now, though, it is time for rest.