Day 111: "I just play the blues and pay my dues."


Priya and I ended up switching from our Spanish film last night to one centered around Hispanic culture, though not in Spanish. From Prada to Nada is totally a chick flick, but is very well done, and based on Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. I really enjoyed the smattering of Spanish, the choice of lead actor, and the happy ending -- but I'm a sucker for romantic comedies. Objectively speaking, I'd give it 3.5 stars, but it was the perfect movie for the night.

This morning, I read my daily dose of Shakespeare and Ovid before finishing up my lyrics for the original song Melvin and I were to record later. Since half of the song is in Spanish and my Spanish is hopeless, I enlisted the help of my bud Ryan Ackerman. Thanks, bro!


As I was concluding my consultation with Ryan, Katie Pope picked me up and we went to lunch. After briefly catching up, we headed to her house-cum-studio, where I recorded the vocals for our new song.

Melvin then added some brilliant layers of guitar to the track, as Matt (family friend and sound engineer) edited the song to perfection. Matt is such a kind and talented guy, and all of us had a great time goofing off together at the Pope residence today!

After filming a few takes of video (the finished product should be up soon), I got to rest my voice and Katie and I went to the movies. We saw New Year's Eve, an outlier even in the oh-so-classy world of romantic comedy.


Our main reason for choosing the film had been the fact that it stars Ashton Kutcher, but we ended up leaving with a lot more respect for Zac Efron. Teenage girl jokes aside, it's a fun film with the same structure as Valentine's Day, and offers an interesting insight into how people view the new year as a time to reevaluate and forgive. I would certainly recommend it as an enjoyable movie that is also appropriately thought-provoking. It can have 5 stars from me!

Having left the theater with tears streaming down our cheeks, Katie and I then headed to South Moon Under, where Katie purchased some clothing for her blog. As most of you can probably tell, I've never had much of an interest in fashion -- but I find Fashion Prowess artistically and aesthetically excellent. You all should check it out!

Katie dropped me home just in time for a rather late workout and a healthy meal. (Over dinner, I had what Priya calls an "existential crisis" and pointed out to the little sis that the two acts that make me most happy are performing music and reading literature.) Having gone through a few iterations of mock District Band auditions, Priya and I are now ready to party it up! In other words, we are going to study some Latin together before going to bed.

Bonam noctem vobis!

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