Revenge of the Dust Bunnies

For anyone who knows me, you know that I like things clean.  I'm what i like to call a semi-neat freak, because i'm not totally OCD about it, well. . . all the time that is.  About four weeks ago our vaccum cleaner broke, and well, the world came crashing down.  As the weeks started to drag on with nothing to suck away the new "friends" that our flat started collecting, i started to get more and more irratated.  I would be doing my crunches on my floor and i would look over and "they" would be laughing at me, saying "ha, ha ha, you can't get us away from you, we are here to stay, this is our revenge."  After I checked myself it the pshyc ward because I was hearing voices, I decided that I must fix the vaccum cleaner.  I decided to put on my best Mr. Fix-It man hat, and do what i could.  After much war, mainly with a large hairball that was clogging it up, i finally came out on top and it worked.  I, then, through laughing hystaria began to kill all of the dust bunnies and their laughing little selves.  I have conquered, and I will always conquer. 

Basic Update

I'm headed to London next weekend to do a new talent weekend with the BBC.  38 of the Joseph finalists are returning.  It is a great opportunity to work with some amazing professionals from the UK, and one of the biggest casting agents is going to be there, who actually knows me already and may give me an audition for the original London Cast of Hairspray.  I'll let you know when i find out anymore.

I just finished my cabaret, and it went really well.  It was professionally recorded so I will put it up on YouTube as soon as i have it in my possesion so everyone can see it.

I'm also headed back to Florida on the 14th of June to be in my cousin Megan's wedding.  Our whole family will be there so its going to be a fun trip.  :)

Currently Listening See the Morning By Chris Tomlin see related

Back to America or Not?

I just spent an amazing break down in Florida with my brother and his family.  It was so relaxing and to be able to spend it with two of my greatest friends and thier kids, well, it was awesome.   Then my mom and dad, brother and sister showed up and suprised me by driving 14 hours to come see me, crazy, I guess that's love.  And then too top it all of Ben got to fly down from Chicago for a few days.  So all in all, it was so nice to be back in America again having fun in FL with my family.

A couple updates over here.  If you want to see the Joseph show I was in go to youtube.com and type in Any Dream Will Do Week 1 or Week 2.  You will catch glimpes of me througout, but they cut me out of most of it because of the whole reason why I had to leave.  I am actually heading down to London this weekend to watch the live show and to see my friends who are in the top12.  It's weird knowing all the people on the show, strage really.  Also, the BBC is flying me down to London June 1-3 to do a weekend of workshops with a bunch of directors and coaches from the BBC studio as they are looking for new talent.  This is an amazing opportunity and, hey, I don't have to pay for anything, so that's even better.

I'm also doing a gig down in London with five of the other students on my course.  It's supposed to be really prestigious, and the're are going to be a lot of . . . well, rich people there.  We're they're to help our school raise money.

I started taking tap dance lessons today, and it just made me so happy.  I've wanted to do this since I was a little kid, and finally at 25 I am able to do it.  It really was so much fun and they teacher talked to me afterwards telling me that I am going to pick it up so quick and she is going to move me to the intermediate level soon.  That's crazy seeing that I've never done it before. :)

I'm headed back to Florida in June to go to my cousin Megan's wedding. I'm so excited that it worked out that I would get to go.  It will be a crazy weekend for me and i'm sure I will be totally knackered by the end of it.

The reason for the title of this post is because I may stay in London when I graduate in September.  I have so many connections and opportunites over here, it may be the wisest thing to do right now.  Just giving everyone a heads up, just in case I don't return quite so soon.  I do want to live in the states in the end though, I miss my country. :)

Why am I American?

Well, my time in London is done unfortunately.  :(  I made it to the top 20 guys out of 10,000, but in the end I wasn't able to make the top 12 because of my student visa.  It sucked, but  I guess there are a lot worse reasons not to have made the top 12. :)  I had a great experience though, and seriously was so much fun and met some amazing people.  It's going to be weird watching my now friends on tv every saturday night.  Oh yes, I will be on the first two shows, so if anyone is able to get BBC one with there satalite dish or cable, you can see me this saturday night and the next.  I don't know exactly what time it is on, but you can check on the website for Any Dream Will Do.  Some praises from the journey are that the Andrew Lloyd Webber foundation may pay for the rest of my schooling.  Yah, this would be pretty amazing so pray that it comes through.  Also I have a open invitation from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Bill Kenright( a huge producer over here) to audition for any of there shows in the future.  They told us top 20 that we are the top in the country and they want us in their shows.  So that's really cool, seeing that I will need a job when I graduate in septmeber, and this almost seals the dea.  So even though I wasn't able to make the live shows, it was still an amazing ride and one that I will always remember.  Thanks for cheering for me.  Maybe sometime I'll do one of these shows in the states so that I won't have to worry about a stupid visa.  My brother Jeremiah really wants me to audition for American Idol next year, so we'll see what happens. :)

Currently Listening Grace Kelly By Mika see related

Am I Joseph?

Mmmm, probably not, but let me explain.  The director of our course here, Donna Soto-Morretini, was asked by a very major casting director to participate on the judges panel for an upcoming reality tv show over here entitled Any Dream Will Do.  The show follows in the same vain as last year's How to Solve a Problem Like Maria where they were looking to cast the new Maria in Sound of Music on the West End in London.  Those from the states may understand the format of this by looking at the show that's currently on in the states casting for Grease.  Anyway they are not casting for the role of Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  My director is only on the judges panal for one of the audition days in Manchester, and not for the one that was here in Glasgow, but she wanted all of us guys to audition because the head guy is a huge casting director for the West End, and she said that it would be a great chance to audition for him.  So I went to audition on Friday and let me just say that it was so weird being there with all the cameras and interviews and things.   Quite surreal, even more so, than when i auditioned for The One: Making a Music Star, for those of you who remember when I did that.  Anyway, needless to say, amazingly, I made it past the first two rounds and won a trip to London for two days to go the next callback.  This is the equivilant of making it to Hollywood week on American Idol.  So ya, I'm stoked and so excited that I get to days in London for free.  They pay for my lodging, food and fly me down, with another person whom I pick.  One othe guy on our course made it as well, Michael, and I'm so excited for him as well.  What happens next is that I will sing three songs for a panel of judges in London; one song from Joseph, one song from a musical; and one contemporary song.  This will take place on March 11.  At the end of this day the will announce the men who will be moving on to the next round and to the "Joseph School".  If I make this, I then will have to pack the very next day and move down to London for a week to attend the so called Joseph school.  During this week, trainers, voice teachers and professionals will be working with the guys getting them ready.  By the end of the week they will eliminate all but 20.  Those 20 will then perform for Andrew Lloyd Webber.  For insane people who do not know who that is, he is the guy who wrote that musical and probably his most famous work is Phantom of the Opera.  He will then pick the top 12 who will star in the show starting mid-April.  Crazy, huh?  i definitely think so, didn't really expect this, and it's kind of weird to think about, but hey, I get a free trip to London!!!!  Can't beat that!!!

Currently Listening You Give Me Something see related

I hope your happy

This is for Amy.   (hee hee)

Today, I got about around 7:45 and jumped into the shower for about ten minutes.  After that I went back into my room, got dressed and dried my hair.  My next steps led me into the kitchen where I cooked two eggs.  I then cut some cheese to add to the top of the eggs, poured my self a bowl of cereal, and cut a half of a grapefruit.  Devouring of breakfast came next.  I then went back into my room and opened up my Bible and read from Luke 8.  After which I went ( ooo, wait, I fogot that I peed when I first woke up), back into the bathroom to decide whether or not to do my hair.  I opted against it seeing that my first class was dance class and it would look horrific after that anyway.  As I walked out of my flat I turned my Sony MP3 player on to the album "Feels Like Today" by Rascal Flats.  I then trudged to school for the next 25 minutes, thinking, listening, and analyzing/judging weird people who would walk by me. ( I wore my Scotland beanie)  Upon arriving at the Academy I then went in to dance class where I literally worked my butt off, because we were working on our buts and thighs for the most part of the class.  I remember thinking "I will be feeling this tomorrow".  The next stage in my day was lunch.  I got dressed for the rest of the day and then headed off to Hula Cafe with Allan, Robbie, Kieran, and Andree.  I had a chicken breast and mustard mayo sandwhich as well as a Snapple.  We then exited after about an hour and went into Costa for a coffee.  This marked the first time in about three weeks that I let myself by a coffee.  It was diving.  I had a medium vanilla latte.  I was in heaven, well, not quite.  Next was time for Josh to go be inspiring and write a song.  So I proceeded into a room sat at the piano and began writing a song called Explore or The World We Were Given, I have yet to decide.  2:00 came around (yes, we are only at 2) and it was time for Wild Honey rehearsal with DSM (Donna Soto-Morretini, my director)  It went pretty well, and again, I had to weep on stage for ten minutes, so much fun, actually it was difficult as, mmm, what can I say, well, you fill in your own word. :)  After becoming extremely Chekovian, I went up to the computer lab to type out the song I was working on and the song that I wrote last week or was it the week before? called Face the Rain.  (which by the way has became a great hit among my commrades)  I then made the small trek to UK Theatre School to get ready to talk above a bunch of children all ready to perform.  I arrived early and worked a little more on my song.   I then had 2 hours and 15 min. of teaching that seemed to go pretty well, nothing terribly exciting, but I enjoyed being with the kids, and felt a sense of accomplishment that God had given me the gifts to teach them.  Anyway, after this I walked home (the mile and half) while I sang other songs that I have written in the last year.  Finally realizing that I was going to use all original songs in my Caberet in May.  It was a brilliant idea, and now I'm definitely doing it.  I got back home, and cooked myself some pasta as I made it just in time to catch an episode of America's Next Top Model.  Good fun!  :)  Next I went into Becca's room and asked her to sing one of my songs in my caberet with me, "You Said Goodbye", which some of you reading my remember from this last summer that Katie and I performed at Family Camp.  Going back in my room and waiting for Evan to get off the computer and get that thing that he has drying in the sink so that I actually can go to bed came next.   And then, vualah, the computer became free and the wet jazz pant exited the sink.  I now sit here at the computer hoping that my wonderful girlfriend will have made it to the end of my day, and somehow been a part of it with me.  And for anyone else, I am so, so, sorry if you read this whole thing.   I mean, seriously, get a life, because you can't have mine. :) Miss everybody!!!!

J