Three days too late...but, whoa! Michael Jackson died! I know we've all been bombarded with the MJ news but I can't help and say a few words about this. Now that I'm back in class [more on that later], I was a tad bit late in hearing the latest developments. After logging onto facebook, I couldn't believe the vast amount of status updates pertaining to this. First off, I had no idea Farrah Fawcett had passed earlier that day so that was saddening enough, but when I saw all these freak outs about Michael Jackson, I couldn't help but log onto CNN, MSNBC, Perez Hilton and TMZ at lightening speed. At the time, his death wasn't confirmed but come on..who didn't know that annoucement wasn't around the corner? So, I sat there watching CNN live and witnessed the confirmation. That was some sad stuff...
I come from the camp that Michael Jackson belonged to the looney farm. And I'm not convinced of his acquittal from the child molestation case either. Let's call a spade a spade, people...he was weird. However despite his inner demons and scandals, during the following hours of news coverage, I just sat their amazed at how unbelievably talented he was. I could not stop watching all the clips of him performing. My favorite was when he busted out the moonwalk for the first time while performing Billie Jean [Jim's favorite MJ song, by the way]. Wow. I seriously can't stop watching it. People probably dedicate a ton of bucks and time with a dance instructor to gain moves Michael was born with.
His music was utterly fantastic as well. On Friday morning as I drove to class, every radio statio was playing his songs and I was forced to listen to ones that I wouldn't have given the time of day to before [ie. "Man in the Mirror"]. I'm now ashamed to say that I'm one of those people who downloaded MJ tunes and my playlist has grown from 5 or 6 songs to probably 20. Yes, I have broadened my horizons beyond "Thriller" :)
I don't agree with the way he lived. I don't agree with his endless plastic surgeries or his wacky obsession with childhood. I most definitely don't come anywhere close to agreeing with his Jehovah Witness beliefs or his apparent drug dependence. While some people might be quick to judge and point fingers at his many disgraces, I can't help but be a little sad that he didn't take the time to resovle these issues and find peace. I think one of the hardest things to watch is his performances with the Jackson 5. His innocence and smile is both heartwarming and gut wrenching, especially since we all now know his final fate. But man, oh man...could he dance and sing! Anyone who denies this is...is...is just plain blind and deaf. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm choosing to focus on his talent and the fantastic music and performances he gave to the world rather the scandals and weirdness. It's a shame the entertainment world lost such a talented and innovative performer. To say that he paved the way for future artists is quite the understatement.
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After 6 luxurious weeks off, I finally headed back to class this past week. Those of you who live in Wisconsin know the slow start to summer we had, so it wasn't shocking to me to see our first 90 degree temps at the end of my break. I could sit and whine about it but let's be real...I could either be sitting in a stinky, drafty, sun deprived office for 8 hours a day or I could read my Anatomy book while sitting in the sun between classes. I choose the latter.
Regardless, this semester might be a tad rough. I'm taking close to the same workload as I did during the spring semester. But this time, instead of doing it in 16 weeks, I'm forced to cram it all into 8. There's pros and cons to this. It's going to be tortorous working at lightening speeds [2 Chemistry labs in one week...ugh...my own personal hell] but it is only 8 weeks. As my mother-in-law put it - "You can do ANYTHING painful in 8 weeks. There is an end in sight." That's my mantra during my 2.5 hour Anatomy lecture on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Plus, I can't help but think my professors are hating this as well. On Friday, my Chemistry prof informed us we are officially 12.5% done with this semester already. My kind of teacher!
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Last night Jim and I took a spontaneous trip down to Summerfest. Jim has been dying to see this band who I really could care less about and he had plans to head down there with his brother. Well, yesterday afternoon, Jim still hadn't heard from Joe to confirm their plans and I could tell he was a bit disappointed, so I offered to go down with him in the event Joe bailed. Shortly thereafter Jim got a phone call nixing their plans and I would be lying if I said I wasn't bummed to have to sit through an hour of hard rock music. About an hour before we left it started raining and there was a part of me hoping Jim would cancel..but of course he didn't.
My mood changed though while we were driving down to the grounds. Jim told me he was kind of hoping Joe would bail after I offered to go the concert with him. He said he would much rather spend the night with me :) The night turned out to be quite enjoyable if I do say so myself. And I actually ended up digging the band! Who knew?!
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There aren't too many more updates on my part. I have another photoshoot to post soon. I had the joy of photographing a 3 month old. So freakin' cute. But now I must work on my physics lab write up. It's due on Tuesday but my Mondays are dedicated to The Bachlorette.
Have a great Monday!