Who I ran for

Today would have been my Aunt Melanie's 44th birthday. She is definitely on my mind. In rememberance of her  I am wearing the ring and necklace my grandfather brought her back from Egypt in 1973, just to feel like I have a piece of her with me. Last month I did something for the first time in her honour. I participated in the CIBC Run for the Cure. I am not an athletic person in the least, but something got into me this fall and for the very first time I participated in a run/walk for Diabetes and the Run for Breast Cancer.

I didn't really properly train, and I am not in shape like I was in summer 2012, so I did a mix of running and walking, but I am okay with that. The important thing is that I got out there and did it. I am hoping that next year if I train all summer I will be able to run the whole schmeer no problem.

The Diabetes run was really small in comparison. The CIBC run had a more festival like atmosphere. It was neat seeing some of the team names that people came up with. People were decked out in pink boas wigs etc. I don't think the rain dampened anyone's spirits There were over 1500 participants at my location, a wee bit more than the 40 at the Diabetes run.

 It was alot more emotional than I thought it would be more so seeing the survivors in their special pink tees wishing Mel was one of them. It was kind of crazy just seeing so many people affected by this disease. It was great seeing all the men supporting them too. The local MP participated which was nice to see. I has my pic taken with some fire fighter's in pink suits. I will leave you with a pic of Mel's ring and of me at the race with the firefighters.

Theatre and hallowe'en: a match made in heaven

It goes with out saying that costumes and theatre go hand in hand. I have to admit that Hallowe'en has been heavily  influenced by my love of theatre. At my work dressing up is a really big thing, we even have a costume contest. For three out of the five years that I participated I dressed up as characters from a musical.

The first time was going as Tracey Turnblad from Hairspray, this was before I lost the weight, As bigger woman I really found Tracey an inspiration. No one really understood who I was, I think they just thought I was a school girl. Doing the hair was a really bitch, my grandma Betty who had been  hairdresser in the 60's helped me tease it.  Here's a pic of me getting ready:

 
The next year I was Scaramouche from We Will Rock You. This was the first time I actually made a costume from scratch. My short skirt helped me flirt with my future boyfriend, and we got together a few months later. Again no one really got who I was until I showed them a pic from my WWRY programme. I am not sure what they thought I was, but DEFINATELY out of the orindary, plus my hair was purple, boy was that fun washing out... I had borrowed my mom's Eddie Bauer jacket and there was a purple ring around the neck that I got out without her ever knowing about it lol.. Here's a pic of me in costume, and a snap of the from the programme.

 
The next year I went as Velma Kelly from Chicago. I didn't recreate the Catherine Zeta-Jones movie version. Most people just thought I was a flapper, but I did have a little toy gun with me. That red dress I made got a lot of mileage. That fall I knew I was volunteering for a theatre fundraiser where we had to dress up from the 20's so it was kind of a no brainer what I was going to do for Hallowe'en. I also wore it to a Hallowe'en party the boyfriend and I had, plus a year later I wore it to another work event where we dressed up from the 20's to go a party for the Boardwalk Season 2 premiere. I placed in the top ten with this costume.

 
 Last year I placed again, but my costume wasn't from a musical this time. It was definitely more conceptual.I was a garden. I just saw the wings and knew I had to do something with them, aside from being a butterfly. Again I don't know if people quite got what I was at first, but once I said garden they got it.



 This year was more influenced my interest in women's history. I went as Rosie the Riveter/Bomb girls from the 1940's. For those who don't know they were the women who worked the factories while the men were off at war. People thought I was a mechanic or a cleaning woman, not everyone got it, however the word adorable was bandied about quite a bit and I placed 8th. I will leave you witha pic of this years costume.

 

Anything Goes and TIFF

I will make up for my lack of posting with a very long, newsy post. I have been to Toronto quite a few times in August and September, some times for shows, and for TIFF, one day I went just to be a foodie

On my foodie day, I went to the Chickery, which is run by  Celebrity chef, David Adjey. It was okay, the chicken tenders were moist, but I prefere my dad's beer can chicken and my mama's coleslaw. I really liked his ranch dipping sauces though. I don't think the value was there. Here's a pic of the food:
  

Afterwards I went to go a Magum pop up shop. The Magnum brand is pretty new to North America, but it is a British ice cream bar. This pop up shop let you customize your bar, with choices of what kind of ice cream, chocolate coating (dark, white or milk), and toppings, some of the flavours are crazy for example grape nerds! Seriously! There was a line to get into the store to be served by a "pleasure maker" which is what the employees are called. I hada vanilla ice cream bar, with white chocolate coating, macadamia nuts, strawberries and toffee bits for toppings and milk chocolate drizzle. It was $6 and worth every penny, glad I got to try it, as the store was only around until the end of August. Here's a pic of the goodie:

Another thing was was only around in August was the touring production of Anything Goes. This was one show that I knew I wanted to see when Mirvish announced it was coming. It didn't disapoint, it was everything I love about musicals, the costumes, the sets, the dancing, great music. Cole Porter really knew his stuff. I would love to play the part of Reno Sweeney, it seems like a fun role. The one negative, I kept on wishing it was Sutton Foster playing Reno, not Rachel York, even though she did a fine job. I love the title number... "god knows Anything Goes"

The show was being performed at the Princess of Wales Theatre which will eventually be demolished to make way for ugly condo buildings. In case you can't tell, just a little bitter about this. I have known about this for a while but it makes it sort of bitter sweet when I go to the PoW because of that, everytime, I wonder, will this be the last time. This time I noticed something I never noticed before: a letter to Ed Mirvish signed by Princess Diana! I took a pic:

 

I also found myself in Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival.  My friend Siob had offered my tickets to a South African made kids movie called Khumba, it was really cute. It was about an zebra (Khumba) born with out stripes on his backside, (so he had a white bum) the other zebra's thought he was cursed because of this, and blamed him for the drought, so he sets out to earn his stripes. On the first Saturday I dragged my friend Alex along and we were on the road at 7 am to make it on time for the early morning screening. The Q&A with the director was fun, I got a kick out of watching the kids ask questions. We were the first North American audience to see the film.

After the movie we were walking down King St plotting our next move, what celebs we wanted to try and meet etc. I saw people waiting at the red carpet at Roy Thomson hall in the rain no less. We found out Mike Myers was coming in an hour or so for his directorial debut "Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon" so we stuck around. I was talking to this guy from etalk who was covering the red carpet, and we found out Alice Cooper was going to be there too.Apparently my eyes lit up, and the guy from etalk tried to talk to me but I was interview me, but I was speechless, this girl next too me, called me cute. While we were waiting this guy came right over to me, and asked me if I wanted tickets to the movie, um let me think.... Yes! I would have been happy enough just to meet those two, sadly because of timing, they couldn't spend alot of time with the fans so I didn't get to, because they had to go do the interviews. Here's the pick I snapped of Mike Myers and Tom Arnold.

  

As we entered the hall, I was greeted by Yvan Pedenault who was the lead in We Will Rock You back in 2007, he didn't recognize me from the multiple stage doors (I was over sixty pounds heavier back then) We also noticed that out tickets were Red Carpet Lounge ones, when we asked, even though there was only 5 minutes before the movie, we got to go into a lounge were that they gave us free drinks and snacks. I tried Chablis for the first time, it was nice. I don't know why we didn't take pics of the room though. Alex and previously quipped that the only thing that could have made this day better was free alcohol, I didn't think that would happen, little did I know! We even had reserved seats. I don't know how I got so lucky, my theory is the guy thought I was cute, or was attracted by my hot pink Betsy Johnson tights and scarf. (The tights dyed my feet pink by the way, because my Michael Kors boots got wet in the rain)

The movie itself was interesting, it is doctumentry about the life of this manager Shep Gordon. It had some really funny moments and poignant ones. After Mike and Shep were interviewed on stage. It would have been better if the audience could have answered questions. I did learn neat factoids though like why Alice Cooper performed his new stuff during the movie Wayne's World. Basically Shep his manager said if you don't let him, then you can't have him. (I love Wayne's World) Alice Cooper didn't come on stage even though he was interviewed in the movie, he just sat in the audience (He got mobbed afterwards)

 

Day 2 was just about the red carpet, and I dragged my friend Verena along for the ride. I wanted to meet Sandra Bullock, so I found myself outside the Princess of Wales theatre where the premiere for Gravity was happening, I got to be right up front of the barricades. It was kind of crazy seeing King St closed off to traffic other than street cars. The poor security guard, who had to lift the pile ons everytime time one need to get by. My impression of Sandra is she is a real lady, who seems to really care about her fans, she came early and spent a decent amount of time on the red carpet. I was lucky enough to get my copy of Miss Congeniality signed. I was a little more prepared this time and had brought stuff to get signed. I thought George Clooney was going to be there, but he wasn't. Here's a pic of Sandra signing and of my DVD:

 

After that I wandered over to the Elgin for the main event. I was a hugh Colin Firth fan, so my mission was to met him when I heard he was going to be in town. I got to the red carpet for Devil's Knot nice and early, and was right up front. I had brought my copy of Bridget Jone's Diary to have him sign, I wasn't sure if his Devil's Knot co-star Reese Witherspoon was going to be there, so I didn't grab one of my many movies with her in it, so I ended up running into to the Eaton Centre and buying Pleasantville for $8.

When the stars arrived, they literally stopped traffic on Yonge St, so that the starts could go see the fans, who had been lined up across the street from the theatre. Pretty crazy! Here's what the set up looked like:

Colin Firth apparently didn't like me, because he missed me on his first run by, and when he came by the second time, he completely ignored me when I was holding out my DVD, and said please Mr Firth. I know he saw me because he looked right at me. I don't know maybe he thought I was too eager or something, and thought you get nothing. What a jerk. So needless to say I am not a fan anymore. I might give him a chance to redeem himself in the future, but right now I am still bitter. Here's a pic:

 

Back to the positive, it was a really pleasant surprise to see True Blood's Stephen Moyer (he plays Bill) he didn't come near my part of the line.Here's my blurry pic of him:

Reese was prefectly polite, she almost crossed the back across the street, but stayed when fans called to her. She didn't sign the blank paper the lady next to me was holding out. I almost got a poised pic with her but Verena couldn't get the camera to work. I did however get Pleasantville signed so it was worth the money. So that was TIFF for this year, I will leave you with a pic of Reese and my autograph:

 

How I beat type 2 diabetes

I got some great medical news on Wednesday. For those who didn't get to flow the Myspace blog, I will give you a bit of backstory. On December 26 2011 (Boxing Day) I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I had gone to the ER because of a spot in my vision, and bloodwork showed I was "badly" diabetic, I still question can you by "goodly" diabetic? They wanted to admit me but I refused, I left the hospital with a couple of perscriptions and being told that I would get a phone call from some form of medical group, as I didn't have a family doctor that the time (A call never came) The diagnosis was really overwhelming at first, I cried my first trip to the grocery store not knowing what I could have or not have.

 I ended up finding a diabetes management clinic online, and timing worked out well, because even though they were closed a nurse Wendy who just happened to have to stopped in to pick something was there, and saw me right away. She set me up with a glucose metre to test my sugars, and showed me how to use it, Wendy fixed up me with an endocrine doctor  Dr Z. to oversee me. I got a basic idea of what to do food wise, and a follow up appointment with a nutritionist Nicole the following week. Wendy also supplemented my dose of metformin with glicazide (also known as diamicron).

For a person with well controlled diabetes your A1C sugar results should be between a 7-7.5%, mine was13.5%. A1C is a 3 month average of your blood sugars. To give you an idea when I was in the hospital my sugars were a 25, before eating you should be between a 4-7 and a 5-10 after eating. I was way off the charts. I hate taking pills, so right from the start I was determined to get off the meds. That was my goal, I very much had a can do attitude, I can and will reverse this. By mid March 2012  things were well enough for my to stop the glicazide, then in May, under supervision I reduced the dose of Metformin. By the end of May 2012 I had stopped the meds all together.
 

This was accomplished by radically changing the way I ate. I began to count carbohydrates, limited by number to 8 a day, and making sure to balance it out with protein, and making sure to eat my veggies as well.  The way it was explained to me, my dinner plate should be a 1/4 each of protein and a starch and 1/2 veggies. I made changes like eating half a banana instead of a full one because of the sugar content, switched to rye bread because there is no added sugar, switching to cheeses with less that 20% milk fat. Diet was huge, I needed to feel normal, so I went through the McDonald's drive thru ordering thing based on their nutritional info for people with Diabetes. Eating out for the first time was overwhelming, so I planned with Nicole, where I should go and what I should eat when I was heading to Toronto to see the show American Idiot. Here is a diabetic friendly version of fish and chips I made one night. I like to call it pink fish and chips, it is made with unbreaded salmon and sweet potato fries.
 

For a while it was a journey of discovery because I would find new sugar free or no sugar added items like Jelly Bellys, Twizzlers, ice cream or Reeses mini cups or even salt water taffy. Going through the holidays was a little tough like valentine's, I got through by making a diabetic friendly dark chocolate raspberry soufflee. (It was a definite change for me because I am the type of baker that likes making things like lemon meringue pie completely from scratch.) My mom was supportive though, she bought my no sugar added treats for Easter. For my first Hallowe'en I brought some no sugar added treats to work, because I knew there would be lots of candy. I got through it, here's a pic of some no sugar added treats and the soufflee.



 Alcohol was a whole other kettle of fish. I have never been a big drinker, but I am one of those girly drinkers who likes coolers and drinks where you can't taste the booze. Alcohol is basically liquid sugar and or carbs, so some modifications on what I could drink was in order. My metabolism changed as I result I can get buzzed off half a pint of cider, cheap but not always fun. It was interesting trying to sort out what wines I could have. I was so happy when I found out that Woody's makes a light cooler, that is low carb and made with sucralose! 

I also had to be more active, so it got to the point where I was using my Wii Fit 4 to 5 times a week for half an hour.  Within 6 months I lost 30 pounds (10 of which I have gained back sadly) all of this contributed to getting the diabetes under control. It is still a struggle trying to remain as physically active as I should be.

The fall showed that my A1C was in the pre-diabetic range, and when I saw my doctor in January 2013 she changed my diagnosis to pre-diabetic.I admittedly haven't been as strict as I should have been these past six months, far too much tasty but bad for me fast food, and the occasional sugary treat. On Wednesday, I was very anxious to see how the latest results would come back. I was really happy to have the doctor tell me I am not longer even pre-diabetic, and that my diabetes is in remission and that my A1C was 5.9%. 

This doesn't mean I can revert to my bad habits, or start having sugary sodas frequently again It is quite possible for it to come right back, especially if I gain weight. I am one of the lucky ones, because not everyone's body will allow them to even get off the medication, let alone reverse it. I worked hard to get to this point and I am going to keep it going.  As conceited as this might sound, I hope I can be an inspiration  to those living with this disease, you can control diabetes, it doesn't have to control you!

It wasn't always a picnic there were times when I did feel sorry for myself. I am very grateful I was diagnosed when I was, because had it gone undiagnosed my story would be quite a different one. I could have had kidney problems or lost a limb. I am also really thankful to my friends, family and boyfriend who encouraged and supported me through my journey, this sounds cliched but I couldn't have done it with out them!

What I did on my summer vacation.

I took the first week of July off because I wanted a chance to enjoy the nice weather especially because I work strictly evenings. It was mostly a stay-cation, but I spent more money than I wanted to even though I did as many free things as I could. (Because I totally needed that $22 Little Mermaid t-shirt with original poster art, really)

I tend to win stuff off the radio, movie passes, lunches etc. My boyfriend N. and I don't get days off together because of our work schedules, so that was a nice treat. We took advantage of it, and went up to Pentaguishine to check out "world famous Dock lunch". It was okay, (Webers north of Orillia is way better) The free gravy was pretty sweet though. We also checked out this beautiful Jesuit church, and snuck up into the choir loft to check out the pipe organ. I also manged to find a used copy of Book Five in the Mortal Instrument series.  (again spending $$) After Penetang we went to Midland and watched The Lone Ranger, just for a change of pace going to a different theatre. (I enjoyed it, the 2 and 1 /2 hours totally flew by) The we made our way to Orillia for Arby's and Target. I got a shirt for $1 from Northern Reflections because the one location was closing down. What can I say, I love bargains? Here's a pic of my famous lunch and the church.

  The next day, we took my neighbours Matt and Marilyn to a movie, because I won free movie passes with drinks and popcorn. We saw This is the End, it was funny, but not something I would see again. It was cool seeing Emma Watson, especially having seen in her in person at the Toronto International Film Festival last year (Siobhan won tickets to the premiere of Perks of Being a Wallflower, and we were front row for the cast q&a) Anyway prior to going to the movie we used a voucher for  a wing place and had a good appy sampler, so we didn't pay for dinner either. I had also got a free drink voucher from this bakery/cafe and N. had a pastry coupon for signing up for their loyalty programme so that was another free excursion.

I spent a fair bit of time at the beach too, soaking up the sun reading the Mortal Instrument books. I wore my first bikini in about 17 years or so. For those new to my blog, this is signficant because in the last 4 1/2 years I have lost 65-70 pounds. I also have a lot of body image issues because of the weight loss and struggle with disordered eating,

Of course there was some theatre involved. I went to the Toronto Fringe Festival and saw the show The Musical of the Musicals (The Musical) with my friend Siobahn. It was a really campy spoofy production. It had 5 different vignettes playing of the works of Roger's and Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim etc. Each of the vignettes had the same basic plot a young ingenue can't pay her rent. I learned that the same team wrote Chicago, Cabaret and Kiss of the Spiderwoman. I really like Chicago, and do a mean cover of All that jazz, but I lost all cred last time I performed it by falling off the stage and twisting my ankle at a work Christmas party but I digress) You would have had to seen alot of the shows to get most of the jokes.

Before the show, I had gotten a little lost and found my way in the wrong end of the city, because the map said Clafouti -(this cafe I was looking for - was at Queen St east not west. Fortunately everthing worked out, and I made it to the cafe and to the show on time. I wanted to hit the cafe Clatoufi to try something called a "crookie". It basically a croissant with Oreo cookies baked inside, boy is it good!  I blame my friend Judy, because I never would have consumed the 500 calories, if she hadn't turned on the news when it was being featured. I would have never known about it. Something I had to try though, a once in a lifetime thing, just like the lobster poutine I had that day. Here's a pic of the crookie and poutine

Getting back to my bargoons I was quite excited to find the Kobo cover I have been lusting after ever since I got one for Christmas was on sale for $10! It is regularly priced $48, but I saw on the Indigo website that is was on sale, but the cover I wanted was sold out. I called my local store and double checked that it wasn't just an online thing, and it wasn't so they held one for me.I raced over in my beachwear to get it as it was near closing time. I am a huge Jane Austen fan , and have read all her work  (I still get emails from the Jane Austen Society of North America from when I was living in London, Ontario) I digress I really wanted the Pride and Prejudice kobo cover even though they are trying to pass it off as the first edition cover art. (It's not because any Jane-ite knows that P&P wasn't initially published under her name, but by "a lady". It wasn't until after her death that her identity was revealed. Anyway here's a pic:

                                                                                           
I ended my vacation at my Aunt Michelle's farm having a birthday barbeque for my grandmother Joan. One of the highlights was getting to hold a baby chick which I haven't done since I was a baby. Here's a pic of my Grandma Betty, Grandpa Dan and I with a chick when I was a baby and here's one of me from the farm.

All in all it was a relaxing vacay, mother nature co operated for the most part, because I was expecting a lot more rain.

Everything is Rent

So I have called this blog confessions of a theatre addict, and I have yet to really talk about theatre. I think it is about time I fix that. One of my favourite musicals of all time is Rent. My introduction to it was in 2005 when the film version came out. I was living up in Sudbury, I was so excited for this movie everytime I saw the trailers. I just knew I was going to love it. I bought the soundtrack before I had even seen the movie. I was at one of the first screenings, and that was it, I was hooked. I saw it at least 8 times in theatres. I wanted nothing more than to see the show on stage. I spent over $50 ordering the Rent Bible through Coles, and got the DVD the day it came out.

In 2007 I had tossed around the idea of going to NYC that summer for the first time. The day I heard that two of the original cast members Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal (who were also in the movie)  were going to be reprising their roles of Mark and Roger for a limited engagement, I bought my ticket then and there. Funnily enough a fellow theatre geek Sara -who I met in a lottery line for the musical We Will Rock You- bought tickets for the same performance, just a few rows back from me. Rent was the last show I saw that trip, (having seen Spring Awakening and Wicked first). I was so excited, arriving at the show, I was third row on the left. It was everything I could have hoped. I was just so excited to see them. Anthony Rapp was one of my idols I guess, I loved his book Without You. During the curtain call I watched him send up three claps to Rent's deceased creator Johnathan Larson.

Afterwards the crowds at the stage door was insane. People that hadn't gone to the show, had lined up waiting to meet them. There was pushing and shoving. I was lucky and got my programme and Anthony's autobiography signed. Here's a pic of the stage door crowd:

The next time I saw Rent was on my 27th birthday, March 16 2008. It would be last time I saw it on broadway. as it closed a few months later. At time one of the original ensemble member's Rodney Hicks was playing Benny, I tried to talk to him, but he walked right past me, so I never did get my Rent bible signed by him. I had saved up to buy souvieners a little stuffed cow, a t-shirt, and a backpack that had a programme in it. The big thing about that performance is I got to see Karmine Alers perform Mimi, she was apparently Johnathon Larson's first choice to play her, but for whatever reason couldn't.Here's a pic of me and my Rent memorabilia

I saw Rent was a week later, when the touring company had come to Toronto. (I think Sara had tickets to that show too weirdly enough, as if they wasn't weird enough, the people I sat beside the week before were also going to the same show as they were Canadian too!) I had dragged my little sister who hates rent with a passion. The most exciting thing about that performance was meeting South Africian Idol winner Heinz Winkler. I totally made an ass of myself later, as I was going to my sister, I can't believe we met him, not knowing he was right behind us. Whoops! Here's me and Heinz

 That fall I drove to Newmarket to go see a screening of the final broadway performance at the movies, because it wasn't playing where I live. ( I can admit when I am totally geeking out, that was one of those moments) I ended up getting the DVD for my birthday in March 2009. One thing that is really cool is I had seen alot of the people in the recording perform on broadway. I was back in NYC for Christmas 2008, and I made a point of having a Rent theme and having my Christmas breakfast on Avenue B. (For those who don't know Rent starts of on Christmas Eve in NYC's east village) I had originally wanted to go to the Life Cafe, for huevos rancheros, but it was closed so I went back on boxing day (Huevos Rancheros are mentioned in the song La Vie Boheme which is set in The Life Cafe). I signed the Renthead register while I was there, I didn't even see it the first time I went to the Life Cafe with Sara and her friend Mindy after I saw Rent the first time  Here's a pic of me sitting at the Jonathan Larson bench with the heuvos:

The next time I saw Rent was in January 2009 in Buffalo, New York (Funnily enough Sara was there too, again we had bought tickets separately) Adam and Anthony were going to be touring with a lot of the  people that had been on broadway and on the DVD. Originally they were supposed to come to Toronto, but Buffalo was as close as they were coming, so I went. When I bought the ticket, I had originally got a ticket for the matinee, and it was a decent seat. For some inexplicable reason, I looked at evening show tickets, and found a second row seat. What does a sane person do? They go to both shows on the same day. So in the middle of winter, I did a day trip to Buffalo for Rent. I remember getting stuck behind the bus on the way back. Too be honest I don't even remember if I got Anthony to sign anything that trip, I took pics at the stage door. They didn't do any poised pics.

Because fate has a wicked sense of humour, Adam and Anthony eventually came on tour with Rent to Toronto the following January. Yes I went. This time I went to the stage door before the show. It worked out well, because I was able to get posed pics with both of them, as well as original broadway cast member Gwen Stewart. (All of them signed my Rent bible too!)  There is a really funny Gwen story that goes along with this. There was a small group of us waiting around for Gwen, and when she comes out, someone says to her "we're waiting for Gwen Stewart", then Gwen says "I am Gwen", the supposed fan replies... "you look different than you do in the movie" to which Gwen replies that she wasn't in the movie. Total face palm moment! Here's some pics of me and Gwen and one of me and Adam:

When Anthony was in town this trip, he did a signing at Indigo in the Eaton Centre, so I went to that as well. I got certain stuff personalized, like his cd, and autobiography. He also signed a calendar that he didn't know he was being quoted in. It turns out the quote about fearlessly being yourself wasn't even his. It was someone he was quoting.Here's me and Anthony and the calendar:

The last time I saw Rent on stage was a local production in 2011. It was a little scarring, I have never looked at the line trim her tree the same away since. The actress playing Mimi really sucked. It was an all white cast, so that was an interesting spin. I ended up working on another show with the actress who played Maureen.

I have some other occasions where I met some of the original cast members in different circumstances. Those who are a fan of Wicked <3 <3 and Glee will no doubt be familiar with the name Idina Menzel. (For those who don't know she was the original wicked witch of the west Elphaba in Wicked, original Maureen in Rent, and plays Shelby on Glee). She had her first concert in Toronto back in 2008 at the Danforth Music Hall. She did a lot of her solo music, with nods to Rent and Wicked. The stage door was crazy there must have been about 70 of us that waited around for the stage door. There was confusion though, and those who had been waiting right outside the doors got the shaft as she was ushered to her tour bus across the street and lost their prime spots. Despite holding my Rent bible high in the air, it remained unsigned. I came away with nothing, but disappointment, but I enjoyed her concert. I had barely got there on time because traffic was horrific it took me over 40 minutes to get from the highway 400 near the 401 to Yorkdale Mall where I catch the subway. I think the AC/DC concert that night might of had something to do with it.

Idina ended up returning to Toronto three years later this time performing with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra which was conducted by none other than legendary composer Marvin Hamlisch. I can remember commenting to my boyfriend N, just think one day we'll be able to say we saw him conduct, I didn't know that moment would be six months later! I digress this was a little different, because the show was being filmed for a PBS special and for a CD recording, so technically you can say I was Idina's back up because the audience sang along during a couple of numbers like No Day but today from Rent, and Pokerface (Which she had covered on Glee). There were more broadway standards less original music which is a shame, because I think N. would have enjoyed himself more. He was pretty stocked when he met Idina's husband though movie star Taye Diggs. Taye and Idina had met while they were in the original cast of Rent, he played her nemesis Benny. (They both reprised their roles in the film version) Taye came out and did a surprise song and dance number with her, that was really cute, and Marvin had referred to him as his twin. (I remember thinking postively on the drive there  that he would be there and I would get to meet him. The stage door was alot better this time, it was indoor at the Royal Conservatory of Music. I actually got posed pics with both Idina and Taye, and they both signed my Rent bible. They were both really sweet too. That night at the stage door, I randomly ran into this girl Siobahn who I'd met in two months earlier at a book signing at Word on the Street festival, and we've been good friends ever since. Here's are the pics of me and Taye and Idina

This past December Anthony Rapp was back in Toronto, this time for his one man show Without You, which is based on his autobiography. I have mentioned this book a few time now, I better tell you what it is about, it is basically about his experience with Rent taking off, losing it's creator and losing his mother to cancer. (Total tearjerker ) I happened to be in the city going to see the ballet Giselle, and Anthony was going to be giving a free concert at Indigo, so I made a point of going. Siobahn had held a spot for me, I also knew that Sara was going to be there. As I was arriving I literally ran into her! Turns out she and Siobhan and met before, and Siob and told Sara about the concert, and Sara told me even though I already knew about it. What a small world! The concert was great, and I got a poised pic of Anthony and a signed copy of his show's soundtrack.

The next week I actually went to see his show, and when I was getting a copy of his book signed as a Christmas present for my cousin, he apologized for not remembering my name, but said he recognized my face. I was totally geeking out over that.

That is basically my story thus far of Rent. I hope to have all the original cast sign my bible one day, so far I am at 5 of 15. I will leave you with a pic:

Gatsby, playing spiderman, Swift disapoints and subway time warping

First off Happy Canada Day! Things have been pretty quiet lately no thanks to the fact my boyfriend N. sprained his ankle and hasn't been up to much. There is a bit of a back story. The day before this happened, I was an idiot and locked my keys in the house, so I had to try and spiderman my way to my back door twice. I successful got to the door, but couldn't jimmy it with a credit card so I, had to go get the N's key from him at work.

The next night, N. and I planned to go see a late screening of the Great Gatsby, which I had been really looking forward to. I was greeted with Honey, we need to go to emerg. N. had locked his keys, and rather than waiting the 30 mins until I got back, he decides to try and spiderman his way in and fell and hurt himself. The ER wasn't too bad I think we were in and out in just a couple of hours. It's been tough because we can't do everything we like to do like go for walks, it sucks especially with the weather being so nice now.

We did go see Gatbsy the following week. I thought it was great (cheesy pun totally intended). Visually it was beautiful, the music sucked though. I didn't really like the modern music, I rolled my eyes and wasn't surprised that Jay Z the music producer put his wife's music on the album. I have to say it was pretty faithful to the book, which I have since read. (I was never forced to read it in high school)

Despite things being quiet I have managed to get to Toronto a couple of times this month. I went to Taylor Swift's concert at the Roger's Centre on June15th .  As much as I like her music, I am left feeling kind of meh. I think the venue had a lot to do with it, I had never been a concert at the Roger's Centre before, and I knew I was getting nosebleed seats, but my experience with nosebleed seats at the Air Canada Centre is that you can still get a decent view and photos. I think I might spring for the better seats next time or just not go.  My view was partially obstructed, as I got the cheapest ticket I could because I am saving up for a trip so I am watching my pennies. The three opening acts were okay, they didn't really hold my attention, they were young guys meant to appeal to the teeny boppers Austin Mahone I think was one of them.

I was surprised how unfamiliar I was with alot of the songs, even though I had listened to Taylor's new ablum (Which I had won off the radio) in its entireity. The songs I know she did were Stay, stay, stay; 22; I knew you were trouble; You belong with me; We are never ever ever getting back together; Mean and Love Story (I may have rioted if she didn't sing that one ;O) ) Plus there were songs I have heard over the years over the radio, I was really surprised when she didn't do her song Fifteen or Mine or even Back to December.  I was even more surprised that she didn't do an encore. It's rare that I got to a concert of an artist I really like and leave liking them less. She didn't seem genuine at all, very fake "I'm standing here with 45,000 of my closest friends" and "if you've been to my concert before welcome back I've missed you" (can you just see my eyes rolling?) I didn't leave with one of those happy post concerts rush, OMG that was amazing.

The performance was fine, no complaints other than the aforementioned missing songs. She is talented, she played three different intstruments during the show. I liked the fact she had a separate mini stage near the back of the floor that she went and sang on for a for a few numbers. To get there she sort of crowd surfed with her dancers as she sang 22. She made her way back to the main stage walking through the crowd -heavily guarded- as she sang different song, and she touched peoples hands along the way though. I did like that part, I also liked that parts of the stage raised and the fireworks. There was a lot of theatricality that I did enjoy, she put on a show. The costumes were cool, she must have had at least 20. During I knew you were trouble, she was wearing this oversized white dress then, she had her dancers around her and then all of a sudden it was gone and she was wearing a mini black one when her dancers left her. I do like the fact that her outfits were appropriate I think, some were cutesy, others were a little more sexy, but nothing really raunchy. I have a lot of respect for artists that don't go overly sexy especially when they are idolized by young girls. Here are a few pics of the concert

 I think the last really big concerts I went to was Katy Perry and Judas Priest back in 2011, I've been to other concert's since then (Alanis Morissette (my hero), Idina Menzel, Jann Arden, Kristin Chenowith, Joan Jett, Amanda Marshall, Testament, ZZTop, Bangles & B52's), but they were smaller scale, in both venure and production. (I don't even think they removed the astroturf off the baseball diamond, I could see the baselines!  When I saw Katy Perry it was at the Air Canada Centre, and had lost of costume changes and theatrics, (Judas Priest was also at the ACC, as it was a metal concert, they didn't have costume changes or fancy choreography.)

Speaking of choreography, I participated in a subway dance party on the TTC  on Saturday with my friends Siobahn and Alex. It was SOOO much fun. We just randomly started to dance one by one to our mp3 players. It was awesome. We danced all the way from museum to eglinton and back again. The first train was one of the newer ones that didn't have separate cars and was airconditioned, whereas the second one was older and wasn't air conditioned. It felt like a sauna, but it was a good work out. I totally did the timewarp, jumping to the left and stepping to the right, and all the hand motions to the Spice Girls song Stop (Laura W you would have loved it). Siobahn had told me about it, and I dragged Alex along. I will leave you with a pic of the action.



My Aunt Melanie

Something I often talked about in my old blog with my Aunt Melanie. For those who have followed my old blog before, you would be pretty familiar with her. For those who don't know, let me tell you about her. She was my mom's younger sister, the middle child. She was more like a big sister to me than an aunt. We were only 11 years apart, in fact we were closer in age than my sister and I (who is 13 years younger than me). Today -June 19- marks 9 years since she lost her battle with breast cancer.

Mel was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer when she was 30 years old in the spring of 2000. The previous fall, she was misdiagnosed when she first discovered the lump. The doctor said it could have been from drinking too much coffee or the fact that she had a son in April 1998. This misdiagnosis may have been what cost Mel her life. By the time spring 2004 came around the cancer had spread, and she lost mobility in her legs, because of the tumors and was confined to a wheelchair. I had moved away to grad school in London in May and she died the next month. The last time I ever saw her was the day I graduated from university, I stopped in to see her and showed her my degree.

I say she was like a sister to me, because she lived with me and my parents when I was a kid. She and I used to drive up to St. Charles in her red Chrysler Daytona on the weekends to visit my grandparents, so we spent alot of time in that car together. One of my cherished pics is of the two of us with her car. My mom told me she was so mad when she left a can of 7UP in her new car and in exploded, I remember seeing the spots from it all over her dashboard. I can remember listening to MC Hammer can't touch this on cassette in her car!  When I was older I lived with her and her family the summer after my first year of university.

I still think about her all the time and miss her alot. I don't know if I ever really be over her death. It just seems so unfair that she was so young, 34, that is only 2 years older than I am. Scary. It's hearbreaking that she left her then six year old son behind. I try to think of the happy memories and stories: going to my first bingo with her, or going garage saleing with her, Something that still makes me smile is I wanted Alanis Morissette's album for my 15th birthday, and Mel bought it for me and sent it in the mail. There was a parental advisory on it for explicit lyrics and she highlighted it to bring it to my parents attention. Or my mom telling me when they worked together after watching part of Little Mermaid with me in the morning, Mel was singing Under the sea all day at work even though she didn't really know the lyrics. Or how she was so archnophobic she couldn't watch the scene with Aragog in the second Harry Potter movie.

In a random bit of weirdness. James Gandolfini  who played Tony Soprano died today of a heart attack. The Sopranos was one of Mel's favourite shows. While James' passing is sad and my heart goes out to his loved one, I can't help being slightly amused by the timing. I digress and will leave you with a one of my favourite pics of me and Mel and one of us with the Daytona.