I'm Golden

I came all the way from 1984 to say this:

Happy birthday to me.

I mentioned on another of the blogs I write (are you keeping up? I didn't think so) that today is my birthday. My 25th. The Golden Birthday that I share with Katy Perry. *waves to birthday twin*

Now, I had been planning this particular birthday for years. Literally. Years. Back in 2005, back when I was still terrified of karaoke, a girl sang "What's Up?" by 4-Non-Blondes at a karaoke bar, and I knew I wanted to sing it on my 25th birthday (because the opening lyric references being twenty-five). And then a year ago, when I was doing karaoke regularly on Sunday nights, I realized that my 25th birthday would fall on a Sunday, and I knew, I KNEW, that I had to follow through on that dream.

(Side note: on the eve of my 24th birthday last year, I sang "What's My Age Again" at karaoke, just for the line "Nobody likes you when you're twenty-three").

What I didn't know was that I would be in rehearsal all freaking day. From noon to midnight, at least (with a break for dinner, but still). And that even if I went out to karaoke on my birthday, no one else would have the will or energy to go with me. I also didn't know that my roommate would have a matinee tomorrow morning and needs her beauty sleep, so I can't throw myself a party post-rehearsal.

For the record, if today had been my ideal 25th-golden birthday, I would've shown up to karaoke in a gold dress, sang "What's Up?" and a Katy Perry song (in honor of my twin... probably "(I Do Not) Hook Up" if they had it, as it applies to my life rather nicely at the moment... but since I doubt they'd have that at karaoke, perhaps "Ur So Gay", "I Kissed a Girl", or "Hot n Cold"). I would've gone to Disney World (as it's only two hours away and in 2009 they had a special thing where you could get in free on your birthday). I would've ordered the really delicious champagne I had when Jenn hosted a wine-tasting party last year, and would've had several bottles on hand in my kitchen, ready to serve.

But life isn't like perfect.

So it's 2:00am right now, and it's my birthday. I got home from rehearsal at 12:45am, loaded the dishwasher, e-mailed my mother (wishing her a happy anniversary of surviving labor), and decided that, gosh-darn it, I wanted to sing "What's Up?"

I made you all a video. I'm tired. I still have half of my make-up on from our dress run of Mystery Plays. My hair is still up in the style that it will be for my (probably lesbian) lawyer character from Act II. I'm wearing a yellow t-shirt that says, "I can't... I have rehearsal" (which I thought was particularly appropriate. I look completely terrible, horrible, no good, very bad. And I had to sing really quietly a cappella, as my thinly-walled condo contains two sleeping roommates (who might forgive me for waking them up, since it's my birthday and neither of them have anything to do tomorrow, but I'd rather not disturb if I can avoid it).

Enjoy.

What's Up? By Angela from Angela Boration on Vimeo.

(ETA: The video does not appear to be working. Will try again later.)

25 of the Lessons I've Learned:

1. It's hard to accomplish anything without setting goals first.

2. Some people are never going to like me, no matter how much I try to win them over.

3. The best part about being single is the freedom to flirt.

4. It's important to give emotions the respect that they deserve. Otherwise, they will find a really inconvenient time to show up, take over, and take their revenge.

5. The best way to bond with someone is just to listen.

6. Part of wanting someone is knowing that they want you. But if that's the predominant reason you want them, then there's a problem.

7. Life is greatly improved by knowing how to take joy in small things.

8. The most stressful, strange, and scary things that we survive in life are usually the ones that make the best stories later on.

9. Feeding your passions is always a worthwhile endeavor.

10. Lying to yourself rarely gets you anywhere.

11. Movies are often better the second or third time you watch them. But books are almost always best the first time you read them.

12. It's okay to be wrong sometimes.

13. Just because a day (a week, a month, a year) isn't particularly good, doesn't mean it has to be bad.

14. There is not just one right path in life. It's not a maze that you have to escape without hitting a dead end. You have to just try to choose whatever roads are going to have the most interesting scenery and hope for the best.

15. Supporting your competitors often gets you farther than fighting against them. And it's usually a more positive way to go about things.

16. Being genuine is always going to get you further than trying to emulate someone else. True in life, truer in theatre.

17. Making a decision, even if you're not sure it's the right one, is usually better than not deciding and waiting for someone/something else to decide for you.

18. Obey laws (unless they're stupid). Try to do things that you think God would approve of (whichever God you believe in, if at all). Avoid getting fired or kicked out of school. Beyond those, the only rules that you should abide by are the ones you make for yourself.

19. Don't tell people more than you want them to know. It's okay to keep some things private.

20. If you want something to be private, don't put it on the internet.

21. Without change, life is boring.

22. Having good manners will never hurt you.

23. Taking out loans when you need them does not make you a weak person.

24. The hardest skill to acquire is ease.

25. Over-thinking is underrated.



Those are mostly for me, but if you get anything out of them, then that's cool, too.


May you never stop learning.

~A~


P.S. Two of the tech students are throwing me a birthday party tomorrow after tech. And the stage manager induced a round of "Happy Birthday to You" at midnight tonight. And my roommates are taking me out for dinner tomorrow. So don't feel too badly for me.