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.