Hairspray

Well, I'm back from a nice long vacation. It was really great to be back home, and mainly away from State College for a couple weeks. Not that I don't like State College, but sometimes one just has to get away for a while.

The first couple days I had off I spent in Uniontown with Ingrid. We went to see Revenge of the Sith. I thought it was a good movie, definitely better than the previous two sequels, especially the first. The first prequel was the worst. It's sad when the animated creatures are better actors than the kid that was hired to play Anakin. There must have been a major crunch when it came to filming to hire that kid.

The next day we went hiking around Ohiopyle falls. I got some great pictures from there. Maybe even some that are frame-worthy. After I ate dinner at her house, I went to the hotel to leave my car and get up really early for my flight. While I did that, I watched the daytime emmys and was very happy that one of my favorite actresses from my favorite soap finally (!) won an award. She's deserved it for so long. This year was definitely one of her best.

Being at home was great. The first week, I hardly did anything but read and watch TV. I definitely needed the mental relaxation after the candidacy exam. It was really nice to just sleep as long as I wanted to chat with Mom and Bree. I also got some free meals from Grandma and Grandpa. We did some exciting stuff too. We went shopping in Milwaukee after my flight landed. That was fun, even though I was incredibly exhausted after that day.

I think the most exciting thing we did while I was home was going to see Hairspray. It's such a great musical! I absolutely loved it. I knew even before we went to see it that it had to be good because it won so many Tonys and I saw the closing number when I watched the Tonys the year it won. It impressed me so much that I bought the soundtrack without even having seen the show. Based on that, I thought the show had to be great. And it totally lived up to my expectations, even exceeding them. I'd be tempted to go see it again.

We also got to go to the NEW zoo in Green Bay. It's an excellent zoo, on par with some in some bigger cities. I think I got some good pictures of some animals there, but I won't know how they turned out until I get them developed.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip home. I didn't want to leave, but alas, I had to so I could get some research done. So, I'm back, and surprisingly motivated. Hopefully it lasts throughout the summer. Now, all I need to do is find the motivation to find a new apartment. Actually it's the time. I'm sure I can find it though. Hopefully I can find a decent apartment for a good price. We'll see, though.

I guess I should get going. It's time to just chill out and surf the net for a while before bed.