Disappearing for a few days...

...all in the name of the project!

But where-oh-where are my shenanigans taking me this time? Well, you'll find out soon enough.

I ch-ch-choose you!

Be back soon, with tons of photos and anecdotes in tow.

If you haven't checked out "Claus and a Cause", please do so! The CWF approved my poster (made by the wonderful T. Gregory Argall), press releases have started to go out and the decor/costumes have been bought. Step by step it's all coming together.

I hope to see you there.

<3,

m

78. Have a cute boy serenade me. (Or, "Rock Out With Your Cop-Out!")

Because this very well could be perceived as a cop-out, especially after days of blog negligence. Such abandonment is particularly heinous since its still the month of NaBloPoMo. Oh blog, don't worry. I've just been busy planning my super exciting fundraiser. So do not fret, not-so-private online confidante. I'll never leave you. Never. I'm sorry if I ever gave you that impression. Baby, I can change!

Ahem. Anyways.

You might have to suspend disbelief for this one. Then again, if you know me well, suspending disbelief in kinda par for the course.

I've developed something of a celebrity crush. Actually, it's more so a celebrity crush in a specific moment.Before I explain, meet the lovely Darren Criss. He's the typical actor-singer-guy-with-a-guitar who just got his big break on Fox's "GLEE" and at this point the rest of my sentence just kinda trails off as his jpeg loads and I start to get distrasjfv3e!22

I'M BACK. Sorry.

Let's face it, he's cute. And mixed too. We could have super cute mixed babies together, thus leading to the continuation of "WAT RACE R U?" my favourite game played by strangers trying to know me.

But this is a blog dedicated to personal growth. While it's very easy to see why one would be grateful for something so easy on the eyes, what the heck does his prettiness have to do with knocking off a number on my list?

Well, it doesn't have anything to do with it, necessarily. It's a contributing factor.

You see, the other week, I landed on an episode of GLEE. Now, I have a love-hate relationship with this show. I was one of its biggest fans when it first came out. I went to an arts high school so I can definitely appreciate the idea of bursting out into choreographed song and dance. I enjoyed that this group was a team of underdogs and rebels. I loved the sharp characterizations and the witty dialogue, not to mention the fantastic song choices.

As the second season started up, it was clear that the show had ignored its own successful formula. Plot lines became too ridiculous, even for a musical episodic. Character development was ignored in favour for celebrity appearances. And simply put, the lovely teacher protagonist turned into a big douche.

But for one mere episode (or at least, one small plotline), the show seemed to remember what had made it work in the first place: heart. Let's face it, you got have a lot of passion to start singing in public in the first place.

Long synopsis short, one of the main characters is bullied for being gay. In the meantime, he's asked to do reconnaissance work and spy on a rival glee club from another school. With the help of a giant plot hole, he somehow manages to sneak into the school as a new student where he's met by the school's alpha-cool acapella leader (played by Darren Criss) who serenades him with the power of awesomeness. (And Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream", a pop-tart I wouldn't necessarily describe as awesome, but Criss's rendition of her work sure is.)

"Marisa, this is really great and all, but I find it really tragic that your blog now reads like unsnarky televisionwithoutpity snark."

Okay, okay, still with me? Ready to shelve that disbelief ?

There's something so incredibly beautiful that Darren Criss does in his rendition that makes my little heart swell. I'm not sure if its because I think it's a refreshing change of portrayed sincerity in a GLEE performance. I'm not sure if it's because of the context and the inspiration it gives to a character who so clearly is struggling to be accepted. I'm not sure if it's a calculated move on the showrunners to melt the hearts of Ice Queen bloggers everywhere by catapulting the star of A Harry Potter Musical into fame. Probably the last one. But anyways, and I say this with my nose crinkling out of bashfulness, when I watch this clip of Darren singing, I feel like he's singing to me.

Oops, the Disbelief Shelf just fell off the wall.

YEAH YEAH YEAH. I know what I typed. I know I just admitted on a public blog that I am so filled with joy from a melodramatic television show that I want to throw a dance party in my room. I recognize the hilarity of being so wonderfully flustered by both a character who does not exist and a moment that never happened. I get it. But there's something so sweet and endearing about his performance that makes me smile everytime I watch it. Also, it's such an incredibly catchy rendition of the song - it makes me want to dance it out! I'm grateful for my ineloquence here because what it really comes down to is that this song makes me happy.

Now, I'm not going to lie. When I wrote "78. Have a cute boy serenade me", I imagined convincing some Chris Pine lookalike to whip out a guitar at a coffee house and publicly serenade me with Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes". How I would convince him, I wasn't entirely clear. But..what would be the point? To feel somehow personally justified that someone publicly declared affection for me in song? Really, Marisa? That's a goal?

How about instead coming to terms with that goofy, romantic side of you that isn't afraid to admit that "Yes. I am goofy and romantic and that is okay!"? How about publicly acknowledging when things make you happy, even if you know that others may not be successful in suspending disbelief or judgement for your reasoning? Now, how's that for personal growth?

I'm posting the clip of Darren singing "Teenage Dream" because frankly, I like it, it makes me happy, and I think he's cute.

Man, I should've just let that sentence encapsulate this entire blog post. Oh well. Live and learn.

Oh, and this is my new ringtone so...I guess this really does complete my number!

<3,

m

"If you build it, they will come."

Or, "If I throw it, will anyone show up?"

#59. Throw a charity Christmas party.

Tonight, via Facebook, I revealed what the Mystery Event Formerly Known as Dec. 23rd But Actually Is Dec.16 is: it's a party. A do-good, feel-good party. A party that will aim to raise money for the Canadian Women's Foundation (cdnwomen.org). A party that I hope will end off an extremely successful year of fun, learning, and an abundance of personal growth.

On Thurs. Dec. 16th, I'm throwing a dance party fundraiser at The Boat in Kensington Market. My friend DJ Cool Adam (a.k.a Adam) is spinning great music from VINYL. There'll be baked goods, prizes, funny costumes to try on, mistletoe headbands, and much, much more.

I received my approval from the CWF today and nearly jumped out of my skin with joy. Prevention of violence against women is a cause that is close to my heart and, in recent years, has grown more and more important to me. The CWF helps to fund so many fantastic initiatives; in Ontario alone, they support programs that provide loans to women who are leaving abusive relationships, help mothers rebuild their lives after violence and after their children have witnessed violence, assist female youth who may be at risk of involvement in the sex trade industry, and many, many other issues. The foundation supports campaigns for women of all cultures, creeds, sexual orientations, languages and abilities. Heck, of COURSE I will raise money for them!

The CWF also starts issuing tax receipts at $10 so that's extra fantastic. Also, it seems to be run by cool people. An extra bonus.

But this is the part where I cross my fingers. I will plan and shop and budget and decorate and advertise to my heart's content, but the success of the evening depends on others. I just have to work hard and be prepared for the night, no matter want.

I want this to be a success. I really do. I planned for this entry to be longer and more detailed, but I'm just so nervous as it is. I've released the kraken. Here we go, folks.

And if you've stumbled upon this little blog entry, I hope to see you there on the 16th!

<3,

m

HARK! I HATH BIRTHED GENIUS

#43. Paint a canvas.

Before I begin, I'd like to to introduce Jo.

Blog, meet Jo.

Jo, blog.

Beyond having extraordinarily good taste in 60's inspired fashion for murder mystery fundraisers, Jo's a super talented visual artist. She also has a bunch of othergreat qualities but this isn't a dating site, so I'm not going to bother with them. Its her artistry that I pretty much used to my advantage.

I can't quite put into words the level of her skill, so instead I'll use a visual aid to exemplify her level of talent:

This is mine:

Naturally, Jo was the ideal person to help me with this number.

I've always wanted to learn to paint but I knew it took time, effort, precision and innate talent that I just don't possess. Looking back on the list, I'm so glad I didn't write "MASTER THE VISUAL ARTS" and instead made things simple for myself. Marisa, you shall paint a canvas, and should you be lucky enough to have the right help, it shall be good.

There's a certain meditative quality that painting provides which I'm drawn to. (Get it? Drawn?) The fact that you have an idea in your head that can be made real and tangible is an exciting creative force. As someone who grew up with theatre arts, I can respect that. I'm also a little jealous that painting seems to be a little less neuroses-inducing...although I'm sure it can be oodles frustrating. To sum up, this number found its way onto my list because it was something I always wanted to do. When it came to art, I had written many decent words in my adulthood but had never painted a single darn thing.

Perhaps this can be attributed to Grade 4 art class in private school where the art teacher's guidance would more or less be something like this:

HER: "Oh. I see you're using that blue for your ocean."

9 YEAR OLD SELF: "Yeah! Gosh, painting is fun!"

HER: "That's nice. That's not a decision I'd make. But what do I know? I'VE ONLY HAD MY WORK EXHIBITED AT 100s OF GALLERIES ACROSS THE PROVINCE FOR THE PAST DECADE. CLEARLY, I MUST BE AN AMATEUR. BUT NO. GREAT CHOICE OF BLUE."

I digress.

Jo suggested I choose something simple to paint so we Google imaged flowers. This is the image we both agreed would a) look nice from a first timer and b) not be so incredibly frustrating we'd stab ourselves in the eyes with our elbows.

I had bought my own canvas and Jo was generous enough to share her paints. During our painting lesson, she was extremely patient with me. Man, it takes forever to blend and shade and show depth and you know, display an overall talent! It was pretty difficult for this newbie but with some great coaching, it slowly started coming along:

Precision really does pay off because in a little more time, the entire flower was done!

Folks, that is a legitimate F$@%@$@ flower RIGHT there!

I unfortunately didn't get a chance to finish the background, but I did get halfway. Hopefully Jo's patience with me will extend to another night and I'll have created my masterpiece.

It might sound really goofy, but it felt so good to..well...create art. And of course, this little painting of mine might not fit your definition of art but to me, it works.

I CREATED ART.

And that, my friends, is pretty cool.

Stay tuned for news about Dec. 16 (a.k.a" The Mystery Event Formerly Known as Dec. 23").

<3,

m

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!

Oh, blog! Please don't think I've forsaken you. Especially on this holiest of holy Blog months, NaBloPoMo.

There is no excuse for an absence in posting...but I'll make one anyways. I've been busy! And, I'm happy to admit, I've been working on/planning on the completion of a few numbers.

But which one am I currently pursuing at the moment?

#27: TAKE A COUPLE'S DANCE CLASS

First off, some clarification: I'm not part of "a couple". When 2008 Marisa wrote the list, her goofy romanticism anticipated that she probably would be at this point in her life. Fact is, I'm not and I don't particularly want to be. Why was I waiting around on the universe to grant me something and someone to complete my own list? Oh, 2008 Marisa. You never learn, do you.

I am, however, always game for dancing so I decided to re-interpret this number. What if I enrolled in a class that, yes, requires partnering, but in a fun, non-intimidating/ kind of way? Ya dig? So I of course had to go with...

SWING DANCING!

A dance form that is truly where it's at, you swell cats and dolls. Ehm, dudes..and girls. Hep hipsters and...oh god, I wouldn't be cool enough in the '40s, either.

I decided to enroll in the Beginner's Swing Class at Bee's Knees Dance for the month of November. The first class is always free and after that, each hour-long class is only $10. I could learn a new skill with only $10! Swing -or specifically The Lindy Hop- is also a dance form that doesn't require a partner and features "social dancing", so you're always swinging from one partner to another. And yes, that's what she said. My friend Kevin volunteered (re: was voluntold) to try out the class with me, which was great seeing as how new experiences are made even better with friends. Also, if I managed to break my neck during the class, I at least had someone I knew to tell my mom I loved her and to take care of my Grade 7 recorder.

Everyone in the class was super. freakin. nice. For many, it was their first class as well and we all shared the giddy nervousness experienced by kids on their first day of grade school. No matter how scared I was, I could always rely on the comforting thought that I had 14 years of dance experience behind me and a decade-long hiatus wouldn't have really affected me, right?

I got my ass handed to me.

That's probably an exaggeration, but the class wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. The steps were simple enough but I learned I am a terrible follower. Although I bounced happily like an excited puppy from one partner to the next (I literally shoved my hand at each person down the circle and shrieked in number-following bliss "HI!I'MMARISAANDI'MSUPEREXCITEDTOBEHEREISN'TTHISABLAST?"), I had great difficulty in letting go and letting someone else lead. I furrowed my brow and kept time in my head, refusing to let my body just enjoy it. This isn't to say I didn't have an amazing time, because I truly did. The class was a good reminder that, with all new things, there are always challenges...which make it even MORE fun.

It was a great work-out and I'm definitely returning back to the class. I'd recommend it to anyone who just wants to try something different. You don't have to have any sort of dance experience at all and it's a great way to meet new people. New people? I love new people!

Tomorrow is dedicated to another number, but I feel I shouldn't blog about it until it's complete.

And then...there's Dec. 23.

What's Dec. 23?

Oh. Stay tuned, my friends. Stay tuned.

<3,

m