Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014

At first this post was going to be the usual review of the year I do, normally right before my birthday. Then it was going to focus on my hopes/plans/dreams/etc for 2014 and New Years Resolutions.

Then I thought 'screw it, I'll do both'. So here we go:

2013: The Good

1. I met Idina Menzel. And saw her live twice. I don't know if there can ever be a bigger highlight than that. Sometimes I still think I dreamed that and I have to look at the photo to remind myself it was real. She is just so amazing and I love her. Her voice is huge, you just get goosebumps. I can't wait until we get to the US next year to (hopefully) see If/Then. 
2. I was in the same room as Julie Freaking Andrews. If I had met her, it honestly would have topped Idina. But I didn't have $700 to afford to meet her at the time, so... Idina wins. But just being in the same space as Julie Andrews was such an amazing experience. And then being part of a room singing 'Edelweiss' with Julie Andrews... just amazing.
3. Seeing Wicked again!! Twice!! 18 months is too long not to see this show, seriously. And whilst seeing the new cast was such a good experience (although sad, but I really do miss a few of the past cast members in particular); nothing beats Jemma Rix as Elphaba. She just is the green girl with every breath, and even after so many shows (she is the longest-running Elphaba ever in English), it still feels new. 
4. Musicals/theatre/shows in general. Legally Blonde (5 times in 2013), Grease (3 times), Jemma Rix: The Random Variety, Amanda Harrison: Up Close and Reasonably Personal, Hats Off: to the Classics, Driving Miss Daisy (and seeing Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones at Stage Door- Disney legends). 
5. And I also saw Adam Hills (Aussie comedian) live. He called me his "22 year old friend". I will live by that forever (even though I'm no longer 22).
6. I got a job (always a good thing!). I got to work alongside great teachers, and meet so many wonderful kids. Plus, I think (hope) I improved as a teacher and learned some things. 
7. I wrote a story that was extremely difficult, emotionally, for me to do. But I did it, I survived, and people liked it! I don't know whether I was happier I survived the writing of it, the posting of it, or just the research of it! (So much research!!! Note to self: next time you write a story involving lots of research, pick a less depressing subject). 
8. I went to New Zealand. OK, it was for a day. And all we really saw was the airport, the theatre and the roads between the two. But it counts.
9. I had an awesome holiday in Queensland with my friends. And it was just after I learned I had a job, so I could really relax and enjoy myself.
10. I have a job for 2014- without applying for it. Thank Oz for that. I hate writing job applications. Mostly because I'm not very good at talking myself up on paper. 
11. I made some awesome new friends via Twitter and fanfiction. And I like making friends. Even though I swear there is a trend I make friends with on Twitter that I know through FF because I'm reading their stuff and/or they're reading mine; and then they stop reviewing my stories. LOL. Don't ask me how, but it happens. Frequently.

2013: The Bad

1. I was unemployed for Term 1. I hadn't been unemployed since I was 16. Turns out, I don't cope very well at being unemployed. Namely because I stress a lot... meaning more so than I stress when I do have a job. I get depressed and I question everything- "Am I a good teacher? Is this what I'm meant to be doing with my life? Where is God going with this? On a scale of 1-10, how much do I suck as a teacher/person/whatever?" Plus, I was writing Come What May at the time, so combining the two... I was in a giant spiral of depression and self-pity and self-hate. The silver lining here is that I am hugely grateful for all my friends who helped me through those 17 weeks (counting Christmas holidays, because that counted too). 
2. For my new job (yay!) I moved 7hrs away from home. And I had exactly one visitor in the entire 9 months I was there. The bright side was I couldn't get homesick too often because I was so busy with school work and all the stuff mentioned above on the 'good' list. Plus, it was so much easier to do things from where I was this year.
3. I flew a lot. Now don't get me wrong, I like flying. I do. I hate airports. And flying is exhausting. So, this is kind of good and bad.

2014: Plans (so far) 

1. Seeing Beauty and the Beast at Melbourne Zoo on Australia Day (Jan 26). David Harris (former Fiyero and Emmett in Legally Blonde) is the Beast; Rob Mills (former Fiyero, Warner and current Danny Zuko in Grease) is Gaston; and Patrice Tipoki (soon to star in Les Mis and former Elphaba) is Belle. Plus, it's Beauty and the Beast. At the zoo!! 
2. Wickedly Broadway at Taronga Zoo in Sydney in March, including David Harris and Lucy Durack (former Glinda and Elle Woods... who will once again be Glinda as of May). Again- Broadway. At the Zoo. LOVE IT.
3. Moving and new job. Not so much loving the moving (so over it), but looking forward to the new job. As much as I'll miss the kids and staff from where I was this year. 
4. Lion King in April! And my cousins wedding. But I'm more excited for the Lion King (sorry, Cameron and Sheridan. I'm looking forward to your wedding too, but I've been wanting to see this show for a decade). 
5. Wicked back in Oz! Hallelujah. Already have 3 shows booked for May. Cannot wait. There's other musicals coming this year I want to see, but Wicked owns my heart. Sorry. 
6. Trip to the US! Fingers crossed this goes according to plan. Oklahoma, Florida and New York. Dream come true.

New Year's Resolution(s):

1. To be more organised- mostly when it comes to the new job.
2. To complete at least 2 big fanfics. Maybe 3. This mostly involves me actually putting aside time to write. This year, it's been slightly neglected at times because of teaching stuff and other life things.
3. To be a better friend. 

Does anyone else do New Year's Resolutions? What are yours for 2014?

Don't Tell the Bride: The Invitations

Elphaba:

So these are the invites I picked for Elphaba to pick-

Except blue, not pink.

Fiyero:

Sample of map invitations

Another map invite- this one comes with little people you can move around the map!!

A map of Oz, so you can get the idea of what Elphaba and Fiyero's invites would look like.

Story Idea

Last night when I saw The Hobbit movie at the cinemas with my dad and brother, we had to endure a thousand ads before the movie started. Not previews, ads. (OK, I may be exaggerating... slightly. It might have been just less than a thousand. But it was a lot okay?)

Anyway, one of the commercials was for Coca-cola and they had a song in the background, as commercials tend to do. I really loved the song, so I made a note of the name and artist and bought it when I got home.

It's called "Make you mine" by Benny Tipene and yeah, it reminded me of Fiyeraba, Actually, it could probably fit any fandom, Wicked is just usually my brain's first stop.

Here is the song:

So, usually I'd just be all "write a one-shot" but there are so many ways you could make this song fit, and I really loved the lines,

"There's a thousand ways and a thousand times that I could say I will make you mine."

Then I had the idea maybe a series of one-shots, and "hey wouldn't it be cool if I could do a thousand to fit in with the song?" Whilst I don't think that's likely, my brain's response to that was "I really don't think I could come up with a thousand little things to write about."

And then I had the other idea- prompts. From you guys, the people who actually read what I write.... sometimes.

I often get requests for  one-shots for birthdays, or between stories or something. Sometimes I get bored, or writer's block on whatever big fic I'm working on at the time. Sometimes something happens in my life (good or bad) and I want to share that with you all through a one-shot.

So have a listen to the song and let me know what you think! If you have any prompts.... shoot 'em my way!

Don't Tell the Bride: Wedding Venues

Fiyero:

Basically, when I was googling wedding venues, a bridge popped up and I thought it was pretty cool. Between my actually having the idea and writing it, the bridge involved into something like the bridge at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies.

The original picture that gave me the idea

Another picture

The Harry Potter bridge. 

Elphaba:
The Ozian Historical Museum isn't really based on one place in particular. I think I stole the idea of getting married in a museum from The Vow, but I made it a history museum, not an art museum.
If I had to pick a real place it resembles in my head, it would have to be the National Museum in Singapore, because wow, that is a gorgeous building.

The Museum in Singapore

dome ceiling thing.

I also really like fancy staircases. I have no idea why.

So, kinda like that, but with more columns and frescoes and stuff.

Update: Don't tell the bride, fanfiction, life

1. Life
Let's be honest, if you're reading this, you're probably least interested in an update on my life than the other two topics in the title of this blog post. However, as my life does affect my writing and subsequently affects the other two topics mentioned, we may as well start with this one.
So- I have a job for next year (yay). Which means I'm moving again (not yay), and means I have to say goodbye to all my students and colleagues from this year (double not yay).
The school year is wrapping up here in the merry old land of Oz (sorry, I had to do that), and the main projects of this term have been writing exams, marking said exams and then writing reports. So that all fried my brain a little, which slows the writing process.
Plus there's been a few side trips to Sydney to see Grease, and as the weekends are when I do most of my writing... you get the point.
But any time I have energy/motivation/time I am writing, I promise you.

2. Don't Tell the Bride
This is my current work in progress. I'm currently on chapter 8 of 25, close to chapter 9.
I think I mentioned in 40 Weeks that certain elements of the story were added because I got bored and needed something other than pregnancy things to write?
Well, as fun as it is writing Elphaba and Fiyero planning their individual versions of their weddings (especially Fiyero), I felt like it wasn't that exciting.
So, I've added flashback scenes of different moments in Elpahba and Fiyero's relationship into the story, which just flesh it out a bit more. Because this story is set in it's own universe, not as a sequel to any other story I've written; the flashbacks mean you get to see their relationship unfold throughout the story as they plan the wedding. Kind of like juxtaposition- you're seeing how they got to where they are... but not in order.
I'm hoping to have this up by the end of 2013, even if I'm not finished. As long as I'm over the halfway mark, and have plenty of time to write, I may start posting. I don't usually do this, but... we'll see.

3. Fanfiction
Other than DTTB, um... I'm just working on developing some of the fics in my "to write" folder, so they're good to go once DTTB is finished.
It's kind of funny.... one is done and I've started a little, but I got writer's block and I'm still not sure how to break past that. One is done, but I just don't know how to start it; and a third is done, but lacks a title and I need a title before I start writing.
I kind of want to leave that one because the other two I have waiting have been there and planned for a really long time. It's just this stupid writers block.  However, that being said (because it is driving me crazy having no title), I may end up asking for your opinions on the title.

Sisters

Sometimes I'm pretty sure my siblings hate me.

OK, maybe I'm being overdramatic. But it does feel that way sometimes. Not my brother, I hear from him the most and we have the most in common. I'm usually pretty up to date on his life.

But my sisters... they don't seem to want anything to do with me. One sister won't even be my Facebook friend. The last time I spoke to her was in October.

And it just... it sucks. Not just because I (shockingly) take an interest in their lives and well-being, but one day our parents are going to be dead, and it'll be just us.
I don't want to only hear from them on birthdays and holidays.

I'm not saying we have to be best friends, but some kind of relationship would be nice besides "everything you like is stupid", which seems to be the current official line.

People always go off at movies for creating unrealistic ideals for relationships. We're all agreed that we should just be allowed to marry fictional characters, because they're clearly the best guys.
But it's not just the romantic relationships they do this with. Family relationships, whether siblings or parents, usually fall into two categories.

Either they're BFFs, or the sibling/parent/whoever is like... the Devil incarnate.

There are some that are painted more realistically and bridge the gap, but often it's one extreme or the other.

My sisters are not the devil. One can certainly be a bitch at times, but they're not evil. But we're definitely not BFFs either.

I know that we're very different people. My two sisters are much more alike, than either of them are with me. But I take an interest in their lives, the things they like, even if I don't like them. But my sisters just dismiss me, and dismiss everything I like. And it hurts.

Ozian Technology Question

I have a question for research for a fic. I can't explain why, just go with it.

So, as I've mentioned before, I set my Oz no later than 1939. But if you were to write about an Oz 100 years after Elphaba's time, just where would technology sit?

100 years makes it 2039, so even further ahead than us. So, I guess the question is: "how fast would technology is Oz progress?"

Would it be advanced? Do I split the technology and make it the technological equivalent of the 1980s?

Let me know what you guys think on this matter please!

Disney Parents

I’ve been watching a lot of The Little Mermaid TV series today, and it occurred to me a few episodes in that King Triton doesn’t really do much.

Here he is, king of the sea, single father of seven daughters, and all he seems to do is yell at Ariel for whatever thing she’s done that episode, occasionally rescue her when she gets in trouble (not every episode though), and sit on his throne. That’s pretty much the gist of his role in the entire series, as much as I can tell.

This is apparently what is required to rule Atlantica.

And then I got thinking about his role in the movie vs. the TV show; and from there about the role that other Disney parents play (you know, those Disney parents that aren’t dead). Hence, this list of the most active Disney parents. And by ‘active’, I mean those that help their children the most throughout the movie.

Then of course, we go to the most inactive Disney parents. You know, those that do nothing. I’m just making this list from animated Disney movies. Counting Pixar and sequels. I listed every alive Disney parent I could think of, and then ordered them most active to least.

Mufasa (Lion King)

Mufasa wins because he dies to save Simba, ok? And his death still gets me every time. But even before the saddest moment ever, Mufasa proves that he is the most awesome dad ever. He gets up at the crack of dawn to show his son the kingdom and teach him about the circle of life; would clearly rather teach Simba to pounce than listen to Zazu’s morning report (although that could be more about Zazu); rescues Simba and Nala from the hyenas; and even when he has to lecture Simba and parent, he still makes it clear that he loves his son, and works in more life lessons (with the whole stars thing). Plus, did I mention that he dies saving Simba from a stampede?! Ok, it was Scar’s fault that he died, but it still counts. Mufasa is the greatest. RIP (sob).

Marlin (Finding Nemo)

Marlin comes a very close second, just because he lived. But let’s face it, there is no Finding Nemo without Marlin to actually find Nemo. For a clownfish who wouldn’t leave his anemone, he goes to facing sharks and jellyfish and really creepy fish; just to bring his son home. He gets swallowed (well, almost) by a whale, surfs the EAC and jumps in a pelican’s mouth, all for Nemo. I think that’s totally awesome.

Pongo and Perdita (101 Dalmatians)

I debated whether Pongo and Perdita were deserving of spot #2 or #3 on this list. In the end, Marlin edged them out, because he had to face sharks and all those sea creatures. Whilst Pongo and Perdita were totally all over finding their puppies, the scariest thing they faced was Cruella de Vil. And don’t get me wrong, she’s scary, but not as scary as sharks.

But they organised all the Twilight Bark, and then went searching for their children. And didn’t hesitate to adopt and rescue the other 84 puppies that had been kidnapped (dognapped? Puppynapped?) by Cruella.

Maurice (Beauty and the Beast)

Ah, Maurice. When Gaston and all the townspeople laughed at him and called him crazy for claiming his daughter had been taken by a Beast; he simply packed up his supplies and headed off into the middle of the forest trying to find the castle to rescue her. This is a Beast who he thought was a complete monster and was about three times his size.

And he’s old too, he’s not exactly fit and healthy. Even with his health, he was determined to rescue Belle. He would have died for her if he had to, I just know it.

Ariel (The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea)

From the second Ariel discovered her daughter was in danger, she cut herself off from the sea- her home and her favourite place, and her family to try and protect Melody. And when Melody ran away, Ariel and Eric went searching for her and Ariel even got herself transformed back into a mermaid.

I think that’s pretty awesome parenting. We’ll just ignore the fact that it probably would have been better if Ariel and Eric had just told Melody the truth (or some version of the truth), and this probably never would have happened.  Hey, but then we have no movie.

Simba (Lion King II: Simba’s Pride)

So Simba is a tad overprotective of his daughter. However, I find that adorable. And it’s obvious he adores Kiara, and he tries so hard to impart all the wisdom Mufasa told him as a child to her. He loses a few points for having Timon and Pumbaa look out for her instead of doing it directly, but I assume he’s doing important pride leader stuff, ok? And he’d give his life for her, just as Mufasa did for him. Above all, he just wants to keep Kiara safe.

King Triton (The Little Mermaid)

Like I said earlier, King Triton doesn’t do much in the TV series. And he doesn’t do much more in the movie. However, he is so high on this list, because when he does something, he goes big. Yes, when Ariel originally goes missing, he doesn’t search for her himself. He just lets no one in his kingdom sleep while they do all the looking. However, then he takes Ariel’s place in her contract with Ursula and is willing to become a... shrimp thingy to save her. And then lets her go be with the man she loves. And while I’m not sure if I’d like Triton to be my father (he yells a lot), I think he is a pretty good dad. Although he clearly plays favourites with Ariel, which is just mean.

Lady and Tramp (Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure)

Just like Pongo and Perdita, Tramp and Lady (as well as Jim Dear and Darling) are really active in the search when Scamp runs away. Not as active as their Dalmatian counterparts, but Scamp really didn’t go as far as the Dalmatian puppies did, he was still in the neighbourhood. And really, Tramp was more active than Lady. The difference is that 101 Dalmatians was in a way more about the parents than the puppies; whereas Lady and the Tramp II was more about Scamp than Lady and Tramp. But they get points for looking so hard for Scamp.

Bambi’s parents (Bambi)

Again, Bambi’s mother gets points because she dies, one of Disney’s saddest moments. (I’m pretty sure when people talk sad moments in Disney films, the winners are Mufasa’s death, Bambi’s mother and Up, apparently- which I still haven’t seen somehow...). Bambi’s mother still made sure to teach him all about life and the forest; and when she realises hunters are nearby, her priority is getting Bambi to safety.

As for Bambi’s father, it’s pretty much stated that he has nothing to do with his fawns. But when Bambi’s mother dies, he steps up. Which earns points. Even though, I’m pretty sure he scared me when I watched the movie when I was a kid.

Duchess (Aristocats)

Duchess is different because she was missing with her kittens, so she was in just as much trouble as they were. However, she tried to keep them safe and keep their hopes up that they were going to get home and everything was ok.  And she managed to get them a stepfather while she was at it, haha.

Powhatan (Pocahontas)

So Powhatan starts off  by setting up his daughter with Kocoum, who I get is a respected warrior in the tribe and all; but he’s the complete opposite of Pocahontas. And a lot of his motivation for wanting to destroy John Smith and the Englishmen is to protect her. And he saves Smith at the end to make his daughter happy, which is always a lovely gesture.

Geppetto (Pinocchio)

To be honest, I don’t really like Pinocchio. I never did. I like it more than I used to, but I still don’t love it. So, it took me a while to remember what Geppetto actually did when Pinocchio went missing. And then I remembered the whole “swallowed by a whale” thing, so I had to give points for that. But we don’t have much more to go on than that.

Sultan (Aladdin)

The Sultan doesn’t really do much. He changes a law to allow Jasmine and Aladdin to marry; and he gets mad and yells at Jafar, but other than that... he does nothing. He’s just under Jafar’s power. I quite like the Sultan, but despite being the Sultan, he can’t help save his daughter when she’s in trouble. But then again, this is Aladdin’s story, so we want Aladdin to save Jasmine.

Fa Zhou (Mulan)

Mulan’s father is difficult to place on this list. Simply because he can’t help Mulan, in fact, he is helping her by not helping her. Because, as he tells his wife, if he exposes Mulan as a woman, she’ll be killed.

So all they can do is hope that she’s not killed during the war or exposed and killed. It’s a super tough spot to be in.

Zeus (Hercules)

Zeus was tricky, because even in Greek mythology, the Godly parents don’t help their mortal children much. If you go by the Percy Jackson series, this is because the Fates (and Zeus) don’t really let them interfere with their children’s fates and quests. In the Disney film, Zeus at least does tell Hercules’ what he has to do in order to rejoin his parents- albeit really vaguely. And when Hercules’ is in his most trouble, Zeus and the gods are busy fighting the Titans, so he’s not really in a position to help. But still.

Rapunzel’s Parents (Tangled)

Yeah, Rapunzel’s parents don’t do much. I mean, Flynn tells us that “the kingdom searched high and low” when Rapunzel first went missing; but other than that.... all they do is release a lot of lanterns once a year. And I really feel for them, but compared to some of the other parents on this list, its’ nothing.