Happy Easter!

I don't have too much planned for today. I had a bit of chocolate for breakfast and listened to the church bells ring. Talked to some family and friends, and have a really random date with Cute Guy tonight up in SLO (which feels a little weird). Really, not a bad day's work.

Saw Les Miserables last night - it's fantastic, as should be expected. It's a very simplistic version - there is not a lot of set, and people expecting the famous turntable are going to be disappointed. But the opposite of that is that is it very character-focused and story-driven, as opposed to spectacle, which is nice. It's great in the Marian, and well worth the ticket price, but honestly, I think it will be absolutely phenomenal outdoors in Solvang.

On a side note, I'm really really really tempted to get tickets to see David Copperfield either in Long Beach at the end of this month or Bakersfield at the beginning of next month. Not that I'm a particularly big fan of Copperfield's (in fact, I turned down a chance to be a personal assistant for him four years ago - less than two weeks later, I was sm'ing for this illusionist named John Gabriel), but with the exception of going to the Magic Castle with John and Steve before I moved back to Santa Maria, I haven't seen anyone else's live magic act since I started working for John. John's the best, of course, but I'm really interested in seeing what it's like to watch someone else now that I know a lot more about what is going on. And no, for me, knowing the secret doesn't ruin the trick. It's all about the showmanship and style. Criss Angel and David Blaine ruin tricks for me, simply because I don't care for their style. Knowing what they are doing doesn't, and, since five illusionists can do the same trick five different ways, figuring out how *I* would do it is fun. Oh, and if you're a nerd like me or just want to kill some time, go to YouTube - yeah, I know, but this is worth it - and search "50 Greatest Magic Tricks" (or just click the above link). A list of 50 videos will come up (I haven't been able to find it as one video, sadly), and while I don't agree with all of their rankings, it's an awesome collection of both modern and classic illusions and magic routines. Well worth watching! (In fact, I might go watch it again!) My absolute favorites are Paul Daniels' chop cup routine (#8), Harry Blackstone's floating lightbulb (#13) and Penn & Teller's magic bullet (#11). The shuttle disappearance (#50) is probably pretty good, except for one MAJOR clue that anyone who knows anything about the shuttle fleet would pick up on and squirm about and I just couldn't get behind the trick because of that. Anyway, lots of famous and not so famous, contemporary and classic illusionists in there, and definitely something for everyone!

Also started my next class yesterday. ASCI 511 - Remote Sensing and Observation. It's not bad. A lot of the guys in 512 are in this one, too, and I'm not the only girl for once! There are actually three girls (counting me). One spent the entire class talking to the guy next to her, and the other seems nice enough but "can't do that math stuff." Um, honey, you're in a masters class in aeronautical science, and the formulas we're using aren't exactly high-level calculus. Sigh. The teacher is this little Chinese guy and he seems very sweet. We probably won't have a midterm or final, but will definitely have a term paper/presentation and LOTS of homework exercises. (Which I should probably start working on soon...)

Looking at maybe going down to LA again on either Tuesday or Friday to do that house manager interview. It hasn't been scheduled yet, but those would be the days I'd miss the least amount of martial arts. Midterming on April 22nd, and if I keep at this pace, I think I'll be testing for second dan in October. Not sure, though. And, of course, it depends on when I get pulled for Basic and Tech School. I really wanted to go to Disneyland with the magic crew this coming weekend, but no one has responded to my suggestion, so I don't think that's gonna happen =(

Going to go find some lunch that doesn't involve chocolate. Happy Easter!