Cynics have all the fun.

First, the good. The Vagina Monologues went off without a hitch. People made comments that we put on the best performance of the show they had seen at Shepherd, which is truly an honor. There has been an incredible amount of talent in the show in Shepherdstown in the past few years, I'm so proud to be among them. 

People told me I made mother's cry with my piece, my own mother told me I really captured the emotions that a woman experiences when she goes through childbirth. 

There were 600 performances of The Vagina Monologues across the country this weekend. At our own little show, we raised somewhere over $1200 for the Shenandoah Women's Center. I can't even imagine the sort of revenue performances in big cities brought in. It was such an empowering experience for me. I missed the stage. I missed the adrenaline. I missed the feelings of happiness I used to draw from it. It was incredible. 

I expected more people to come. So many people said they were excited to see me, to support the cause, or experience the show for the first time. Countless, countless people. 

The usual suspects, Jillian, Kelly, John, my mom, Becca, Neena, and Marie occupied a row on opening night. All but John were V-Day Virgins. They really enjoyed the show, and it was so nice to have people to look out at when I was talking. It had been so long since I performed, my performance anxiety was really up there. I saw them laughing...which was incredible. 

I expected more people to be there on Saturday. Actually, I expected people to be there period. I found out right before the show that there was a required concert, and I figured everyone else would be out because of Valentine's Day. Still...I wanted someone to be there. 

When I talked to my mom about this she called me the last optimist. I honestly believe people when they tell me things. Especially things like, "I'll be there." People tell me things a lot. I'm always disappointed with no follow through. Last night was important to me. It really threw me off, I think my better show was Friday. So I guess it's best that everyone came that night. 

Still, I just wish...if people weren't going to do something...they would tell me. I believe in the best possible scenario. I believe people mean everything they say. It's my favorite quality about myself. It's also the reason I've been burned in relationships so much, and the reason I am so easily disappointed. My friends know this about me. I wish they would remember. 

I really should just conform to the general cynical outlook the rest of my generation has. I just don't want to. It just seems so much less hurtful. 

Jello, Theft, and Vagina Monologues

Now that I have your attention, prepare yourself for what has been happening since I tried, and failed, to seduce a Genius at the Tyson's Corner Apple Store. Computer is doing great, by the way. 

Let's see, Saturday it was lovely out and I came out of my shell of British, Women's, and Young Adult literature to actually go to a party. Party was good, epic, even. I either forgot or didn't care that I'm positively terrified of Jello and tried a Jello shot. It was just as bad as I thought it would be. It wiggled and glided down my throat and into my stomach, where I am assured it returned to its liquid form. 

Right. Poor choices were had by all. 

I woke up and got going early on Sunday to play a little clarinet in church. Now, whenever I get in my car, I lean on the center console to slide across the seat. Imagine my surprise when the console was completely flipped up. Continue to imagine my surprised when I saw the cups out of the cup holders and on the floor, but my GPS completely missing. 

Cool, right? 

Apparently, some asshole slim jimed their way into my car, felt the need to knock a whole mess of cups over onto the floor, stole my GPS, and proceeded to LOCK MY CAR BACK UP. 

Seriously? Why bother?

Naturally, the cops didn't care and I found out later from a friend that four cars he knew of were broken into in the neighborhood. No clue if anyone called the cops as it was happening, but they were apparently in a dark SUV of some sort. At least my window wasn't broken like the another car. 

Which leads me to my last thing: The Vagina Monologues. If you don't know, learn more here before you judge. No, it's not all man-hating, yes, it's both funny and serious, and yes, I'm in them this year at Shepherd. 

We had our dress rehearsal last night, and I think it went really well. Our first performance is on Friday. If you're in the area, that means at 7:00 in Reynolds Hall on campus. Same goes for Saturday and all proceeds benefit the Shenandoah Women's Center. (You're not allowed to perform the monologues unless you have a beneficiary!) 

And, on that note, I'm going to finally shower and hit the books (again) before my class starts.