Glee auditions are now open, and I'm trying out!

So, I've been planning on entering the open auditions for Glee and I'm pretty excited!  Yesterday I received an email from Fox that they've opened auditions from March 30 to April 26.  You make a video with a 1 minute introduction and explanation of why you want to be on Glee and then you sing your song.  Unfortunately for me you have to pick a song from their song list...that scares me.  They are also having you submit the auditions through MySpace (something I haven't used for YEARS) with either a karaoke style accompaniment found on MySpace or a cappella, and they're letting fans (on MySpace) vote for who gets to be on the show...again, terrifying.  (But since I'm just doing this for fun and do not expect anything out of it but fun, that's totally fine!  yay!)  So I thought I'd enlist the help of the (few) people who read my blog to see if I could get any good suggestions.  Most of you know my voice fairly well, so let me know what you think I should sing for my audition.

Here's the song list.  I'm posting the title etc. as well as recordings from the show and the original artist.  Thanks for your help!  :)

And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going - Dreamgirls





Gold Digger (Radio Version) - Kanye West



Rehab - Amy Winehouse





You Can't Always Get What You Want - The Rolling Stones





Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon





Don't Rain On My Parade - Barbara Streisand





Hate On Me - Jill Scott





Keep Holding On - Avril Lavigne





Lean On Me - Bill Wither





True Colors - Phil Collins


(Sorry about the lame slideshow)




So yeah...none of them are very "me", but tell me what you think!

~Manda

4T's concert opera video

This is the video of the opera scene from the 4T's concert I was in a while ago...I tried uploading the double quartet one, but it wouldn't work...I'll get it up eventually tho.  Enjoy!

~Manda

A super quick (super sad and morbid) fairy tale!

So, my friend asked for my help writing a fairy tale, so I wrote him one really quick (all he had was "once upon a time" and I plugged one out in a few minutes...but neither of us liked it.)  Well, then I came up with this awesome one, but everyone died in the end, and he didn't like that, but I LOVED it!  So, before I forget it all I want to share it...so I can eventually make it into an epic poem!  So, rough draft numero uno starts....now:

(By the way, this is straight from our conversation...so it's super choppy...it's my response to a suggestion about two men growing up best friends, put in competition for a princess's hand in marriage, and being convinced by a mythical creature that they must fight to the death, but that's not the challenge at all...this is how I answered...I talk too much!)

have a jousting scene...and have the princess totally fall for one of them before this deal is ever made, so the guys are like brothers, but the princess falls for the one and the other falls in love with her (love triangle! woot) and then they are told of the competition for her love which is a series of challenges (like in the tri-wizard tournament sort of challenges) The final challenge is a mystery and will not be divulged to the contestants till right before it happens...the final two are the friends and they have been told by said mythical creature that the final challenge is a battle to the death. The one in love with her begins to totally loathe his best friend, knowing that she loves his sweetness and goodness and chivalry etc. and prepares to kill him, the other knows he cannot kill his friend. They go to the final challenge, believing it's to the death. The final challenge is a series of things from tournament (like sword fighting, joust, etc.) but for points rather than blood. It gets all epic at some point and the friend in love with the princess says he cannot fight any longer, the other friend, partially out of rage for the superior fighting skills of his friend, partially because this surrender was unexpected, mortally wounds his friend.  The princess rushes to his side as the man she loves dies in her arms. The king is outraged and the champion explains what has happened (and earlier, when this guy decided to kill he is possessed by the creature...make it a specter...they're cool evil ghost guys!) and the king has the creature cast out of the kingdom and killed. The princess ends up marrying the winner as promised and the winner later commits suicide (hangs himself) out of guilt for killing his friend. Due to all the death around her she flings herself off a bridge over a river full of alligators. The whole kingdom becomes cursed and serves as a lesson to surrounding areas to not be jealous or greedy...it'll feel all old fashioned legit fairy tale with all the blood, gore, and gloom!

Yeah, sorry it's sooo choppy and poorly written, but I thought it was pretty cool!  So that's all...well, that and I've been way sick all day...fun fun fun!  Adios people!

~Manda

Wish List

Ok, I'm tired of everything right now!  I've been go go go go go go go go go alllllllllllll daaaaaaaayyyyy!!!!!!  It's been crazy!!!  I taught a mock lesson in my Elementary Music Methods class today, studied (and studied and studied) for an Art History test I have tomorrow, was in a recital and right after that I went straight to work (where the whole time I just couldn't wait to get home to study).  That might not sound like a lot, but believe you me, it is!  And I have a lot tomorrow too!!!  It was funny, after the recital we were all talking about how busy we were (oh, and on top of it all, I think I'm getting sick...I can't stop coughing and sneezing) my friend said she wanted to write a tragic opera about how I get sick, and die, and then I study till I die, and then I practice and practice and practice some more, and die, and perform, and die, and take a test, and die, all in a 24 hour period...(that story may or may not have something to do with something I may or may not have said right before she said she wanted to write the opera...and now we'll never know...dun dun dun!)  I'm going crazy...it's just that time of the school year.  So, I thought I'd take a little break from studying and mention a few things that make me happy...or could!  Here's my right now wish list:

1. I want to own and learn to play the ukulele (preferably green...due to my nearly six year desire to own a green acoustic guitar)

2. I want Michael Bublé to come and serenade me while I do my homework...or to be more realistic, I want all his albums!

So, that's what I wish for right now!  It's a short list right now, but that's ok...other than that I don't really want much else besides doing well in school.  Oh, that and I also wish I could find all my missing stuff...*sigh*  It's ok though, life is good when it's so busy it drives you to the loony bin...plus, I hear straight jackets are in this year!  hahahahaha, k, that was a bad joke!

Sooooooo....back to the studying till my brain falls out!

~Manda

And now it's time for some happy songs!


One reason I want a ukulele...her songs are just so cute...her voice is way cute too!!





Michael Bublé!!!!!  LOVE that voice!!!!!  mmmmmmm :)

Wonderful St. Patty's, wonderful Spring Break!!!

So it's not only a holiday, but it's the first day of Spring Break!!!!!  And instead of getting caught up on homework and working on memorization etc. guess what I did:  nothing!  Well, that's not completely true, I did nothing school related.  I worked on the book I've been writing (something that I NEVER do because I should be doing school stuff instead), I went grocery shopping, I talked to my dad on the phone, I texted my darling aunt Jean, I hung out with my wonderful cousin Rachel, I slept in, stayed in bed and "stumbled", (I did practice a little, but don't tell anyone), I stuck to my diet for the second day in a row (yay me!), donated food to a food drive, and I chatted with many friends I haven't seen in a while...all while looking like a very girly, modern, (tall) leprechaun!  It was an absolutely marvelous, low stress way to start off a spring break right!!!

So while I was "stumbling" (that is, going on stumbleupon.com for far too long....only go if you want to find the best way to be distracted for hours, procrastinate, and get absolutely nothing productive done...and if you go, don't say I didn't try to warn you) I found the funniest thing!  It was what happened to fairy tale characters long after the stories ended...so I must share!  (warning:  Belle's freaked me out and Ariel's did a little too)

Snow White

Little Red

Jasmine (I LOVE this one...she looks sooo hard core!)

Belle (see, ewwww)

Cinderella

Sleeping Beauty (I think this one is my favorite!!!)

Ariel (yeah, freaky, just a little)

So yes, those are the pics....some funny, some freaky, (some I don't completely "get"...ok, it's the Cinderella one where I just go "huh?")  But they were exciting!

Love all who read this...it makes me feel important!  hahahahahaha

~Manda

I've got this song stuck in my head and it goes a little like this:

So, everyone has those times where they just can't get a song out of there head.  Well, I've been having that same problem recently, however I've been having a greater problem: I haven't been able to remember what exactly it sounds like.

I absolutely LOVE my music history class.  Well, we were studying Mahler a (recent) while ago and we focused a lot on the correlation between a song cycle of his and his first symphony.  Well, instead of focusing on details that probably interest me more than you I'll get to my point.  The final movement of this symphony was practically life changing for me.  We didn't listen to the whole thing (it's a really long movement) but it's incredible!

The movement starts out in the wrong key (it's in F minor and is supposed to be in D major) and it starts out big, lound, and kind of scary.  You can hear two themes going along, one that is oppressive and kind of evil sounding, the other heroically struggling.  This is representative of a man fighting the devil for redemption (after death).  You hear this go on for a while, and then there's this cadence (that has religious significance here referring to the atonement of Christ, and has historical influence referencing back to Liszt and Wagner, and monks...but that's beside the point) and it's peaceful (and major, but still in the wrong key) for a while...we believe our hero to be triumphant right?  But no, the devil comes back and we find ourselves in the middle of the struggle again.  After a while you hear the cadence come back but this time instead of resolving like normal and keeping us in the wrong key Mahler just takes the entire thing and moves it to the right key, no modulation or anything!  It was a risky move for Mahler because if he had done it wrong in the slightest the move would've sounded choppy, clunky, and sloppy...just plain awkward, but the way it's done is absolutely beautiful.  This move represents how no matter how we fight the natural man (the fighting melody lindes at the beginning) the only way to return to God (the "right" key) is through the atonement of Christ (the cadence that takes the piece with one key to the other with no modulation).  It's absolutely beautiful, and the first time I heard it I got this image in my head that just hasn't left...so that's what's been stuck in my head for a while!  I'm working on it (a man fighting the devil for redemption, surrounded by tiny demons, all black and red and fire and brimstone-y, with a little corner of hope in the top right corner...that's what I see), and hopefully I'll be able to pull it off.  (Oh, the movement ends referencing other parts of the symphony and playing that cadence a few more times and then finishing out all major and peaceful and happy...yay, the guy got to heaven!!!)

So, that's all...enjoy!

~Manda

So much to do...so much to do!

This video pretty much made my morning!!!  Thought I'd share!

So, pretty much been way busy.  I had one of those nights where you completely lose track of time when you're studying and then you yawn, look at the clock, and all of the sudden it's 2 am!!!!  I'm so frazzled...and you can tell by my hair, skin, diet, lack of a social life,etc.  (I had Cracker Jacks last night and skipped out on two parties, one of which I helped decorate...so much to do before Monday...no rest for the slacker!)  So yeah, I'm gonna go back to memorizing (let me just tell you: memorizing music is SOOOO much easier when you have accompaniment...and thus, I'm struggling.)  I also need to do some research and outlining, plan a lesson (not for church...for a school assignment) take a shower, clean, get ready for cleaning checks (so deep clean...yuck!)  and hopefully spend at least a little time out of my apartment.  Oh, and side note:  I'm frustrated with guys!  haven't been on a date in ages, I get one and it's now been rescheduled 3 times and last night it got postponed again....I might just consider giving up or something...oh well!

That's all...back to homework I go!

~Manda

Probably in too many words...but today was the BEST DAY EVER!!!

Ever had one of those days where everything seems to be absolutely perfect and you think that life couldn't possibly get any better?  And then WHAM!!!!!  God reminds you how mortal you are and how carnal, natural, and misguided you can be at times, but in the kindest, most loving way possible?  Kind of like when your mom is so happy that you're getting along with friends, doing well in school, doing everything a good little girl should and then she finds that little corner of the wall that you drew on when you were bored one day about a month ago (that you forgot about, but never completely) and you get severely scolded, but not as bad as if you were doing so many other things wrong too.  Yeah, that happened to me today.

I've had an AMAZING day!!!  I seriously LOVE Mondays now!  I love having to start school earlier than any day (it's amazing what a great start to the week that is).  I had a great voice lesson to start the day off.  I love my teacher!!!  This is her last semester teaching because she is retiring so she and her husband can serve a mission.  She is so incredibly talented and I'm so sad that I can't study with her for longer.

After that I had a great (and I mean GREAT...as in my pen hardly ever left the paper great) lecture in my Music History and Literature class.  It was an introduction to 20th century music.  I have been looking soooo forward to this for a semester and a half!!!  I can't wait to learn more so I can better appreciate it (like modern art...I hated it till I learned about it, now modern art is my absolute favorite and the more abstract and revolutionary the more I ADORE it...usually).

Later today I had Art History (the class I, without fail, always enjoy).  We've been in Abstract Expressionism for two days now, and today we got to study Jackson Pollock...he pretty much IS A.E.!!!  I always love that class, so it's no surprise there that it made my day wonderful.

Another great thing...well, I've been using my time on the bus to study my scriptures.  It's not the most ideal place, but I personally believe it's perfect!!!  With my bus ride to school I have a half hour scripture study automatically scheduled into my day, and depending on how many times I'm on the bus, there's another half our of study.  Well, today I read Alma 26 and FELL IN LOVE with it!!!!  Ammon is my favorite!!!  I especially love the very quintessential sibling-y conversation you see in v. 10-11....that made me smile sooo big!!! (Isn't Ammon just totally AWESOME!!!!!?!!!?!)

Me with a bunch of UCAS kids...I'm the one on the far left...

with ther really light hair (wow!)  We were getting ready for yearbook pics 

for the yearbook people and Student Government.

Well, after going home to get the DVDs I forgot to take with me to school so I could return them and getting back to school to return them I ran into someone from UCAS...this is where mom found that little corner that I drew all over the wall paper and then forgot about but not really.  As I said, I ran into a kid that I knew, but not very well, from my good ol' UCAS days.  I went over and talked to him.  He'd been home from his mission for a few months and was going to school and working at a high school and life was good for him.  Well, then, after talking with him for a while about various things we'd been up to like his mission, my schooling, Maine...well after all that, the bad news came in the form of the inevitable conversation piece between to first year UCAS students: UCAS.  I typically LOVE talking about high school.  I had a bunch of friends and knew nearly everyone in the school, I was super involved in a bunch of stuff, and ended up being one of those people who had quite a few pictures in the yearbook.  High school was pretty good to me and I got out of it relatively whole.  I'd had an amazing bestest best friend (Ruthie), I dated all the time, and I had was happily friends with a majority of the kids at school.  But apparently I'd never talked to him in high school (or gone out of my way to be nice...oops).  Also, he knew a bunch of people that thought I was kind of mean and really stuck up.  And last of all he was best friends with a guy I wasn't exceptionally kind to.  Yeah, three strikes.  I felt terrible.  It's always a little painful to see yourself from the eyes of someone outside your circle of friends (no matter how large) especially when it doesn't paint you in the best light.  But we talked and he left thinking I wasn't as bad as my high school self would have him believe...so that's pretty ok in the end!

After that I decided to stick around and get some much needed studying done, and was approached by this girl who told me about a meeting with President Holland (UVU's president) so I went to that and was able to be in this open discussion with about 10 other students and President Holland about our concerns and comments about the University.  It was pretty much awesome!!!  I was happy that I was able to personally thank him for all the support he's given to the Music Department and the School of the Arts.  He told me a lot of the plans they are making for the progression of the School of the Arts.  It was really cool and I'm really grateful that I had to go back to school and decided to stick around and study in the library!

I then went home and was home for no more than a few minutes when my FHE family came over (reminding me it was Monday...a fact that I had previously forgotten).  And we all went to the Bean Museum and that was fun!

Now I'm home after a great day (with a new, not so fun, perspective on the person I was in high school) and I still have quite a bit to get done on my "to do list", but I had a terrific day!

~Manda

This video makes all of life better!!!

So my friend had this posted on her facebook wall.  I watched it and LOVED it!  I've seen Mean Girls a few times (odd movie) and I absolutely adore Disney princesses...It was pretty much awesome in every sense of the word!  (If you're into that sort of thing)...Enjoy!



~Manda

Drowning my sorrows in a pint of Moose Tracks

Ok, so that's not completely true.  It's not Moose Tracks (which is too bad because it has become my new all time favorite flavor of ice cream...it's got the vanilla that I love and then all the peanut butter and chocolate, but it doesn't over power the vanilla...yum), it's chocolate custard from Coneys.  And I didn't have a pint (which would have been WAY too much ice cream).  But yes, the sorrows part is true.  The promotion I keep getting promised (and have been getting promised since I started working at Coneys) has been given to yet another person before being given to me.  And to top that off, the additional jobs I have been looking at are starting to lay people off and cut hours of their employees, so there's no way I'm getting hired.  Very sad day for my small paycheck.

But on a more joyous note, I have stake conference this weekend.  It's already been amazing!  I do love me some stake conference.  (And I honestly haven't minded that today's session doesn't start till 2...very nice change from the normal 9 o'clock Sunday meetings I'm used to.)

Well, I'd best be getting the rest of the way ready for church.  And lets all hope I looked a little more composed (like this pic) rather than the one at the beginning of my post with all my ice cream drowning.  hahahahaha  Love you all!

~Manda

A great night of greatness

So, I was able to get a good chunk of homework done while I was on the elliptical today so that gave me some time for fun.  I stopped by the library at my school and picked up some DVDs before I went home.  I got You Can't Take it With You, Amadeus, Little Women (the newer one), and the Importance of Being Earnest (also the newer one).  I was able to watch the first two tonight.

I watched Amadeus first (now mind you, it's not the director's cut that's rated R, it's the theatrical cut that's rated PG...I made sure).  I've only ever seen a clip of it in my humanities class in high school, but I fell in love with it and have wanted to see it ever since.  It was great!!!  It kind of reminded me of Marie Antoinette (one of my FAVORITE movies!!!)  It was kind of sad though.  I really want to own it one day!

Part way through the movie Shuey came over and we went to 7-Eleven where I got a Slurpee and some gummy worms.  When we got back I worked on ironing and folding and hanging my clothes while he worked on homework.  (Exciting, I know.)

After Amadeus was over I popped in You Can't Take it With You.  I've seen the stage production countless times when I was on the sound crew for it in 9th grade.  I absolutely LOVE the show and I've wanted to see the movie for forever.  It's such a great, funny movie!  One day I'll own it, Twelve Angry Men, and And Then There Were None.  Boy do I love those movies/plays...Three favorites of mine!!!

So, while you might see this night as boring and eventless I see it as great night of greatness!!!!  Its been so relaxing and I've gotten so much done while relaxing and enjoying myself...what an incredible night!!!

So, that's all...I mostly I discovered movies that I really, really want in my personal collection, but it was such a fun night for me!!!  And that's all.

~Manda