Chicken

So, Chick-Fil-A. What the hell, right?

In my opinion, they're entitled to their opinion. Everyone is. If you are anti-gay and that's really what you believe, that's fine. That's your personal choice. It's even cool if you want to donate your own money to an organization with the same beliefs. That's all your own, personal decision. I even feel like if you want to donate money that your company has made, that's cool too.

The thing is, that's PERSONAL information. It's inappropriate for a business to be stating. You don't walk up to your customers and tell them about how you watched your grandfather flatline when you were 8. You don't walk up to your customers and tell them about how your wife left you after a torrid affair. You don't walk up to your customers and tell them you're spending all their money to buy yourself plastic surgery. And if you do, you should be fired.

If you want to be anti-gay, okay (I don't agree with you but it's not really any of my business) but you don't need to share that with the world. That's something you tell your friends and your family and people you know personally. Just the same if you are gay. That's never what you lead with. You don't meet people and say "Hi, I'm John. I sell chicken. I'm gay." because that's weird. No one cares. So you don't need to say "Hi, I'm John. I sell chicken. I'm against gay marriage." Both of these encounters will make people afraid of you, and it won't be because of your beliefs.

So keep your personal business personal. And next time you feel like announcing some things, stop and think "Is this public information? Would I tell someone I met on the street this information?" And if the answer is no, shut your mouth and go home. Tell your wife, tell your friend, tell your pool boy. Don't tell a camera or a microphone.

But if you do decide to be that creepy person that tells you too much information when no one asked you any questions, don't expect the people that disagree with you to provide you with cash for cars and pools and hate organizations. Just like you're entitled to your opinion, so is everyone else and they tend to get a little testy when you openly talk about their friends and family being abominations.  

Also, don't kill chickens.

My non-Hunger Games thoughts on Josh Hutcherson

So there's this guy. His name is Josh but I'm afraid most people know him better as Peeta these days.

Now, I love The Hunger Games. The books are fantastic emotional rides that I can't help speeding through; the movie was less good. But still, good. And when they opted to cast talent over name I was thrilled, but now I can't seem to escape the Team Peeta fans. No one wants to talk about Josh anymore.

It was 2006 when this boy first crossed my tv screen -long before The Hunger Games was even written- and I was mesmerized. His skills were astonishing. I was in love with his acting. I watched every film of his I could. I couldn't get over the way he embodied every character he played. And he became almost unrecognizable in every role.

He brought all the same skills to the table when he took on Peeta, even dying his hair, one of the few things that makes him recognizable, to fully portray the guy. But see, here's the thing about all that: The Hunger Games didn't change him, it changed his fans. He went from being virtually unknown and underground to people driving 6 hours to his family's house in KY on the off chance he'd be home for Thanksgiving, then watching him eat dinner through the window.

I guess that while that's a little creepy, it's not a bad thing. But now anytime I suggest watching one of his movies or interviews I feel like another fangirl. But Bridge to Terabithia, The Vampire's Assistant, The Kids Are All Right, these films that show a promising young actor doing what he does best, existed in the world and on my DVD shelf long before The Hunger Games, and his talent will keep shining long after they have gone.

So, yeah. I like Peeta. All for him. But I'm not in love with Josh Hutcherson because the world changed his name to a fictional characters. I'm in love with him for other reasons. Because that didn't sound creepy and fangirly at all...

Oh Brother.

You say it's your birthday nanananana it's my birthday too!

No seriously,
Happy birthday Matt. I have to say, 20? 20!? 20??????????????? Are we sure about this? Can't we go back to everybody being 1 something? I liked 19, I was good with 19. Yep. I've decided, 19 it is.

But again, seriously, I love you. I can't believe that you're 20. And all the time now it seems you guys are leaving me in the dust. First, I was the only one that was still a single digit age, then I was the only minor, now here you've gone and left me, again, to be the only teenager. But you know why I'm happy about that? You really are growing up. For the first time I feel like the only teenager. You've taken so much initiative in moving forward with your life. Don't get me wrong, you've still got a long way to go, but who doesn't? Moving in the right direction is all anyone can ever do right? 

WARNING: That in no way gives you permission to stop making progress. Don't even think about it. Think about Pink Elephants instead. (They are better than blue ones, magic powers and all)

Robert, I said don't think about it! Think about the elephants!

No seriously, pink elephants, what a concept, I was gobsmacked. Did you know there are pink DOLPHINS?? I want to swim with one, but they're in South America or something. I don't like shots.

I digress. 

Since you have officially left teenager/child life behind, I would like to remind you of a few things you're never allowed to forget:

Oh this too: EVERYTHING OK!

• Yoda dolls hurt if you get in the eye with them.
• Each of us has a little Criss Angel inside us. (you can remember this when you eat corn) 
• Beyblades will be cool no matter how old we get, but they DO NOT work in cardboard boxes. 
• On Wednesdays you should call your sister. Okay, not every Wednesday, but every now and then. 
• Seto Kaiba and Prince Zuko got nothin' on all those other anime jerks. 
• I once beat you at a duel. (no excuses! I said none!) 
• Snape has gotten kind of fat and his nose got larger. 
• Dad's "I fixed it!" face. :D
• "NINJA! Where you go?"
• The chicken-butts WILL peck your finger off.
• "Do what?" doesn't make sense in most circumstances. Try "What did you say?" :P
• Never argue grammar with mom, you will always lose. Always. 
• Never argue grammar with me, you will always lose. Most of the time. 
• Whether you bend and aim or not, WASH YOUR HANDS! 

Also, Matt, don't forget this either: I love you, I mean, a lot of the time I hate you, but you're my brother, that's how that works. It's a very specific rule. It's in the sibling handbook. I think you were sick that day. But I have it. I know the rule. And I love you, even if I hate you. But don't make me hate you, okay? Oh! And don't tell anyone about this love thing. I can't have you go ruining my reputation or anything. 

So, in short, Happy birthday old man, I love you and I'm proud of you, and stop this old thing. (but not the growing up thing. you're thinking about it still aren't you? Geez. You can't be trusted at all) 

15 songs.

Recently, the drummer from my favorite band, (Jake Bundrick from Mayday Parade) compiled his life into ten songs. After listening to it I was tempted to try it myself. I had a few more then ten, but I think I got everything big. So, here's my life in fifteen (diverse) songs:

1. Vienna- Billy Joel

I first heard this song watching 13 going on 30. It's always been one of my favorite movies and it has the greatest messages. I always remember everything I learned from this movie when I hear this song. 

2. Jessie's Girl- Rick Springfield

When I was still young and impressionable, my mother decided to live her life-long dream and write a biography about Rick Springfield. There was never a time his music wasn't playing. We went to concerts to see him. She traveled a few times to do interviews. It was constant for what seems like years in my mind. At the time, I didn't understand "80's popstar" or "17 top 40 songs". He was just Rick. And his music will follow me for the rest of my life. 

3. Vegas- All Time Low

 

This song is my entire driving music playlist. I first heard So Wrong, It's Right in spring of 2008. I had never heard of All Time Low at that point and I fell in love. I have since gotten all of their releases the week they came out (if not the day) and gotten all their old EPs and such. But through the 70 some songs I have, this one has always spoken to me and will always be my favorite. 

4. I Kissed A Girl- Katy Perry

I heard of Katy Perry before most of my friends did. She wasn't always auto-tuned and over produced, she used to be kinda indie, but when this song surfaced, not one of my friends could stop singing it. Mostly the guys. This song holds so many memories of crazy times in junior high and how we used to amuse ourselves. 

5. Firefly- Breaking Benjamin 

This song was on the soundtrack to one of the Smackdown vs. Raw video games. My dad always used to play them when I was a kid and I still play them now. I have found over the years that it brings back so many memories of my family just going on with our lives, and when I remember things I find if I listen hard enough I can hear this song playing in the background. I just associate it with family. I did also learn the words and I fall in love with the song all on it's own. The memories are just a bonus.

6. Just Friends- The Jonas Brothers

I had my Jonas phase. I was 12. It happens. And as I've matured and gotten space, I still maintain that Nick Jonas has a lot of talent (best used in theater, not gonna lie), but I could be biased. This is my absolute favorite song of theirs. I love the sound of it and I love the story. Every time I hear it I get to be a boy band obsessed preteen again and pretend that this song has something to do with my "Future Mrs. Jonas" shirt. 

7. Ocean and Atlantic- Mayday Parade

"We don't all need a home but just a place to sleep." A Lesson in Romantics is my favorite album. Literally. And although there are 12 amazing songs on this album and it's impossible to choose a favorite, this is the song I have always gravitated towards. Whenever I start to think I'm losing, I hear this song in my head and it reminds to keep running, no matter what. 

8. Whenever You Remember- Carrie Underwood

My mothers motto has always been "Change is Bad", but the biggest thing I've learned is everything changes and it's not really a bad thing. This song always reminds me of all the old friends, houses, plans and general different lives I've lived. Every time something changed, something else to get attached to showed up, but I still like to remember. 

9. We've Got a Big Mess On Our Hands- The Academy Is...

One of the greatest bands I can think of, this song gives me the best ideas. I have thought multiple times about throwing my phone in a public pool. The line "I always put myself in destructive situations" is one of the truest things I have ever heard. I never get to far from this song because it's like a best friend you tell all your problems to. I've always got it on an iPod or CD or phone somewhere.

10. Everything's An Illusion- Mayday Parade

Just a few weeks after this album came out, a good friend of mine I hadn't seen in quite a while died. I didn't find out until after the funeral, so I never really got a goodbye. This song spoke to me instantly and I played it constantly. It was on repeat in my house all day. I wasn't all that surprised to find out that the song was written about a friend of Jake's who died. It made perfect sense to me that this was the song I chose to get me through because it turned out he had also missed the funeral and felt like he hadn't had a proper goodbye. 

11. Soundtrack to Your Life- Ashley Parker Angel

In 7th grade my show choir went to Disney World. We flew from Chicago to Orlando and I listened to this one song the whole flight. It plays into the "life's to short" outlook nicely. It always makes me think "How do you want to remember this?" And it's very fitting to the show choir trip. I'm pretty sure I had an explosive fight with every person I was friends with at that time and hope(d) that I won't see any of them again, but Disney was one of my favorite memories. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

12. Metalingus- Alter Bridge

As I mentioned before, the WWE has been a big part of my life. I believe I was 3 or 4 when I first saw Edge. He was on in my house a lot growing up even though my dad's favorite was Undertaker. When my dad moved Wrestling was never on anymore. Not for any particular reason, it was just that he hadn't turned it on. Then one day about 4 years ago I was flipping through channels and landed on Smackdown. The wrestlers were a little older, some of them unfamiliar faces, but I fell right back in. This song was Edge's theme music then and until the day he retired. This song reminds me of the first time I saw Edge and all the matches I've seen since. 

13. Therapy- All Time Low

I had an immediate connection to this song. First time through the record I picked up on it and I understood. I had no idea that in the next few months things would change drastically and this song would become my life raft. Thankfully, it kept me afloat long enough to get to the next ship and I owe ATL a lot for it. 

14. Skyway Avenue- We The Kings

My first We The Kings song back in 2008, 3 albums later I haven't found a song of theirs I don't like. I could probably list any song here, but every time I hear this song I remember the first time I heard them. Then seeing them on the End of the World tour, I'm pretty sure they moved into my top 5 favorite bands. This song is one of my favorites. I can't lie, I came to this band for Travis Clark's hair, but I stayed for the music.

15. Miserable At Best- Mayday Parade

Another song off A Lesson In Romantics, this song always comes out on a rainy day. I had heard of Mayday Parade quite a while before this song was a single, but I had never really followed them (what was I thinking?) until I heard this song playing on the computer at a friends house one day and recognized the singers. I was obsessed of course and followed them closely, I knew every tour they went on and every song they released. They have set me straight so many times. Their music is truly important to my life. It can be argued that without them, I wouldn't have a life right now. This song will always remind me of my first rock show, the End of the Word 2012 tour. One of the greatest days of my life.

So there you have it. My life in fifteen songs. :]

FLorida.

Greetings all. I come to you, not quite so live, from Orlando.

My life currently consists of limited internet usage, excessive text messages, rapid concert going, and phone calls from my sister updating me on the current state of her children. I am attempting to step up my internet communications, connecting things to mobile and whatnot. Today I redesigned my tumblr, twitter and various blogs for more updates/user friendly usage. So. You should follow me on twitter and tumblr. http://poundthegavel.tumblr.com/  https://twitter.com/#!/mymusicalnotes and youtube, why not. http://www.youtube.com/mymusicalnotes

Mommy.

When it rains it pours. A statement I had never really fully grasped. I've got it now.

My dear, darling sister is currently laid up, 8 1/2 months pregnant, patiently waiting for the 29th when the doctor will break her water and she will be able to stand up straight again.

Her husband is recovering. He had back surgery just a little over a week ago and is now on medications that make him not quite himself.

And where, might you ask, are the 2 children they already have? My living room. Watching Elmo.

I have inherited two small children. Small children have A LOT of stuff. Last week my mom and I spent several hours rearranging our house to make it "Child Proof" and create a pseudo bedroom complete with "Cars bed!" as Andrew calls his child mattress with a plush cars blanket and a small playpen/crib for Caleb.

My floor, couch and kitchen are now covered in various legos, blocks, puzzles, books and hot wheels. My bathtub is filled with toy boats and animals (not to mention slightly stained from all the purple, green and orange baths they've been taking). There are juice boxes in my refrigerator, diapers in my garbage can, and tiny child hangers with tiny child clothes in my closet. Who on earth would allow such a thing to happen to their home? Who would let children drool and wipe their noses all over their shirt? Who would sit through Thomas the Train after Thomas the Train episode? There is a name for this person. Mommy. This is the type of person I have become. I change diapers. I clean up toys after the children fall asleep. And I am very tired. But somehow, I get all the energy I need to take care of them when I hear that small voice say "Aunt Tori? I lolve you." or see that big smile come toddling toward me saying "MOMOMOMOM" And I never, never get tired of the warm hugs and slimy little kisses.

So here it is: Rent-A-Mom, Open for Business.

Dear Nephew too Young to Read:

Well Caleb, I thought you weren't going to make an appearance. You little trickster; I should have known the second we turned around to go home you would decide it was time to be born. Well we got you in the end. They played the little "Someone had a baby" music they play in the hospital lobby and we all jumped up and down and said "That's our baby!"

That wasn't a year ago was it? I couldn't have been a whole year younger when I babysat your brother while mom and grandma made a midnight run to the hospital. I wasn't a year younger when I sat in the lobby of a different hospital singing Ke$ha songs at 1am. (Thankfully it was just family at that point; family I'm convinced you were hiding from) Was it really a year ago that I sat with aunt Brittany on one side and uncle Matt on the other as we discussed at length Blue's Clues changing from Steve to Joe? I believe Matt had some things to say about drugs, I was more interested in the "Blue-ska-doo we can too" thing he did all wrong. Of course you have no idea who Steve is you little 21st century baby. We pulled chairs up to a table along the wall and tried to out Criss Angel each other. We all failed miserably; apparently we aren't magician material.

Could it really have been an entire year since we laughed at your great grandfather snoring on the hospital couch? He was waiting around to meet you before he had to drive back to Kentucky that night. No it definitely wasn't a year ago I got so tired that I hoped and hoped you were a girl. I saw the pictures and refused to go and meet you. Naturally, I went to meet you. I came back the next day and the next day. No I'm sure there hasn't been a whole year since your brother and I unwrapped you from your warm blanket because he really, really needed to make sure you had feet. He promptly tickled them.

Alas, it's been a year. I have one tiny sense of time, almost unnoticeable and sure to be forgotten at some point. It was my cell phone. You were taking so long my phone started dying and I had to pull a chair over to an outlet to plug it in. That night your cousin texted me to tell me he was hanging out with his friend Captain Morgan and something about... Blueberries? Your great aunt called to make sure he wasn't drunk. Nope, he was messing with us. That conversation. That's how I know it's truly been a year. The phone I was using (the blue and white Gravity from TMo that chimed obnoxiously, shut off if you held it wrong, didn't vibrate anymore, had cracks in the screen and had been beaten so badly the space bar didn't work) hadn't worked for months, but I upgraded just after Halloween.

There you have it. I guess it was a year ago which means, to my horror, you are exactly 1 year old today. Brat. Now you say words and stand up on your own and go about your little one year old life. Brat. So while you're playing with buttons and napping on people and learning things from your brother, (who isn't always a good source of information; I taught him that) remember AuntT loves you. And really wishes you would stop getting bigger. Happy Birthday Brat.