Horoscope

When I was younger, I loved horoscopes. I checked out what was in store for Libra each day.

The 12 zodiac signs are also constellations in the sky. Today in my Astronomy lab, I learned the astrological signs are determined by the constellation in which the sky appears on the date of your birth. So the range of the zodiac sign is the time frame the sun is in that constellation.

However, the earth's position in the sky changes, and the zodiac ranges we know are outdated. Using the computer program, I found out the sun was in Virgo the day I was born. So I'm technically not a Libra, but I feel like one. I always weigh in options and try to balance them.

This still isn't enough to make me check my horoscope everyday.

Camp Rock 2 Tour

Rolling Stone said this is "The worst-selling summer concert season in recent memory." It breaks my heart that the Jonas Brothers had to cancel about 20 shows. I know what it's like to WANT to see these guys perform. To have that opportunity taken away is NOT fun. I am fortunate because there is always going to be an L.A. show.

It did not immediately occur to me that this show was going to be everything I have ever wanted.
My favorite band? Check.
Good venue? Check.
Good show? Check.
Last stop of the tour? Check!
Now, if it was filmed for a DVD, then I would be in nirvana.
Oh my gosh! "Please Be Mine" is on the set list!
Are you FOR REAL!?

I also felt this would be the last JB tour... at least for a while.

I didn't buy tickets at the Team Jonas presale. I have been checking LiveNation everyday since March 22 for decent seats. Finally, on Thursday, September 16, around 1pm, I purchased Orchestra 2 [center], Row N [13]. I had to purchase them as singles. It's a good thing I have ticket-buying luck skills.

There was traffic exiting for the venue. Irvine Meadows has free parking =] They made people line up in an orderly fashion to enter the venue. The line went all the way around the lot to the waterpark. It wasn't too bad, I was just scared we weren't going to make it on time. We saw Chelsea Staub ride up in a golf cart. We said, "Hi Chelsea!" and she said hi back. She was probably trying to be stealth. Oh well. She rocks.

Alyson Stoner was on stage when we entered, but she was just talking. She taught us choreography to "Heart and Soul." They brought up volunteers from the audience. Lindsay Taylor (lthiphop) went up. She had straight hair.

-Megan Martin and Chloe Bridges were in attendance, but they only came out to say hi.
-Anna Maria Perez de Tagle dances in heel the entire time!
-There wasn't real fire during "Fire." 
-The choreography to "Start the Party" and "We Rock" was different than the movie.

Demi Lovato's set started right after the Camp Rock friends. She was really tan! It was a weird contrast from the movie trailers they showed on screen, where she's really pale. She must be getting in that GTL.

"Catch Me" started off really sweet. The background was a spinning carousel at dusk. The sky gets darker during "Don't Forget." When the song starts to rock hard, it started raining. Intense!

Her solo set seemed quick, but she performed so well. Her voice is just wow.

She changed clothes and shoes for another Camp Rock set. I danced along to "Brand New Day," "We Can't Back Down," and "It's On." She sang "Maybe It's Not Too Late," which wasn't in the movie.

We got snacks after her set. In the village, guess who we got to take a picture with:

Made you look!

OfficeMax had life-size cardboard cut-outs of the Jonas Brothers.

Back at our seats, a crowd emerged in the front of Orchestra 1. Ashley Greene was in the house. I went over to try to get a picture, but there were too many people. Her friends kept saying, "She just wants to watch the concert!" (a polite way of saying GO AWAY). Eventually, security got involved. Ashley must really like Joe to put up with that.

BOUNCE played through the speakers. We all did the Ham and Cheese and then the Chicken Wing. As soon as it finished, the lights went out, and the live music started.

By the way, our seats were great! Totally worth the wait.We got VIP seating, without paying the extra $100. [Begin VIP rant] Besides good seating, sound check is the component of value in the VIP package, but is it really the same worth as the concert? Not to me. The VIP lanyard doesn't even say Jonas Brothers/Camp Rock tour. It says LiveNation, and they write in the date of the concert. LAME. The gym bag was cool. It had a JB logo, but that's still not enough to justify the extra cost. Finally, it doesn't come with a meet and greet, which is what I really want! [End rant]

It's so great seeing Kevin, Joe, Nick, and the rest of the band on stage again. Three years later, their performances still bring a huge smile to my face.

Joe challenged Nick to perform "Introducing Me" in 1:59. He totally read my mind! I challenged him to sing it in under 2 minutes. I got really nervous (and excited) as the clock ran down. He sang the song really fast and finished in 1 minute, 53 seconds, 6 seconds to spare. Go Nick J!

The "Who I Am" fan submissions were really cute. I probably would have put "simple" or "fan." The girl who did put "fan" showed off all her JB CDs, including It's About Time. I have them all too!

The Shane and Mitchie duets were cute. The former Jemi duo acted like professionals. A girl in the front, Orchestra 3 held up a sign that said "vampires suck." OUCH. There was red pyro rain at the end of "Wouldn't Change a Thing."


It's too bad they cut "This Is Our Song" from the set list. I didn't get to sing na, na na na na, hey ya! Did people not LOVE that song as much as I did? Is it because at the beginning of the tour, Camp Rock 2 hadn't come out yet, so people didn't know why they should love the song? It's just a bummer because it took out the only opportunity to have the whole Camp Rock cast-- well, at least those on tour-- to be on stage together.

I have been waiting and hoping to see them perform "Please Be Mine" live for three years. They showed old photos on the screen. Kevin and Danielle's wedding photo came up during the last chorus when they sang "All our hopes and our dreams will come true." AWWW! The guys said they haven't changed much. I beg to differ. They have changed. I'm not saying that's a bad thing; people grow. Kevin, Joe, and Nick have matured, but they still retain that essence that keeps me coming back.

Lovebug was really cute! There were dancers dressed old school like the music video. JB wore white blazers. Confetti was released at the rockin climax of the song. That was fun, but I wish they had foamed us. I was finally close enough.

Grace said their shows aren't complete unless they perform "S.O.S." She's right. Kevin did his dance, but not full on. They closed with "Burning Up". There was fire. Big Rob came out and rapped. A couple of girls (idiots) jumped off on stage. Security grabbed them so fast! You go, security!

Other Highlights:
- I borrowed my brother's FlipVideo, but the lights drowned out their faces in the video

- Kevin spin took place during "Play My Music" instead of "Hold On"
- Dancers on bouncy stilts came out during "Year 3000"
- Frankie Jonas played tambourine during L.A. baby!
- China McClain performed "You Biggest Fan" with Nick
- The guys flew during "Fly With Me"... Well, the platform they were on rose.

It didn't feel like a final show. I was expecting pranks and extra songs. I wanted more, but what they gave was more than enough. What I'm trying to say is that I can never get enough. Please don't be the last Jonas Brothers tour. That's not a proper goodbye.

I need an annual pass!

I wanted to be at Disneyland yesterday for the opening rope drop, but that didn't happen. I'm amazed that City Hall always seems to have a long line! We went to the information kiosk in front of Carnation Plaza Inn instead. The nice lady told us that Peter Pan was in Fantasyland at the moment. We went over and looked for him, but he wasn't in sight. So, we just rode Peter Pan's Flight. After, I wanted to take a picture by the old abandoned Skyway entrance. Guess who was there! The awesome Peter Pan. This one was better than the one we met on my birthday last year. He saw Erik's shirt (coincidentally, it was the same shirt he wore to meet the other Peter Pan), and said, "Nice!" He started to walk away, but he called out, "Come on, Lost Boy!" We were both really happy.

The boy that never grew up

Like the Motorboats loading dock, it's just THERE.

We got on the Mark Twain, but got rejected to ride with the pilot, or I wasn't sure what she had said. We got off so we could ride the Columbia instead, but our friends were at the entrance.

We got Yellow section World of Color Seating for the 10:15 show. Then, Tower of Terror and Mullhulland Madness.

We all had them (man-catching) beignets from the Mint Julep Bar. They were delicious!!!

Liz and Ivan got Dole Whips. I thought I saw Maynard, but I couldn't see his nametag, so I wasn't sure.

We left the park to have dinner at In-N-Out--best idea of the night! Burgers sounded so good, and we didn't want to spend a lot of money. There weren't any empty tables inside, so we sat on the curb by the car.

Haunted Mansion Holiday upgraded this year! The loading scene added Sally, the scientist, the vampires and more. There were more subtle upgrades throughout the ride. I approve! The ride stopped while we were in the graveyard. It wasn't because of us this time, I promise!

Later, I saw that the CM at the Tiki Room from earlier WAS Maynard!! The queue was empty because most people were at Fantasmic and the Fireworks. I walked up to him, and he thought we wanted to go to the show. I asked for a picture, and the people he was talking with said, "See! We're not the only ones! [Fans]" That made me feel better too. We posed behind the fence. He did his kind of scary face, haha. It was awesome. My friends thought I was weird.

Maynard!

Ghost Galaxy was fun. Rovee and Aireen fist pumped in the picture. The fireworks were going off as we were exiting the park. It's one-way traffic through the square, and we got to walk in front of the castle. OH MY GOODNESS! It is ASTRONOMICALLY AMAZING from up there! The castle is sooooooo pretty! I must watch from there one day.

World of Color was way better this time. We decided to stay in the Wet Zone. The floor boards weren't soaked from the last show, so I didn't think we'd get too wet. There were just heavy mists at times. I saw the Cheshire Cat too! Yay!

There's too much pressure in going to Disneyland without an Annual Pass. I always have so much I want to do, but I can't do them all!

I Don't Wanna Be

The opening theme song is back for Season 8 of One Tree Hill !

Thank you for shout outs to Lucas and Peyton.

Hooray for Grease and writing letters on paper.

=D

Toppers

Toppers Pizza Place is a franchise with seven locations all over Ventura County.


Today, we went to the new location on the Channel Islands Harbor. It's an awesome location. There was fog and marine layer, but the Toppers sign shined bright. It was Friday night, it was the beginning of a long weekend, and for whatever reason, the place was PACKED. We got lucky and found two booths for ten people.

There were only two soda machines for the entire restaurant. The lines for each got pretty long. But behold, the future of soft drink dispensing:

They are pretty gnarly machines. With the touchscreen menu, you first select which brand you would like.

From there, you have different flavors from which to choose.

We're talking vanilla, orange, lime, and cherry Coke.
strawberry, rasperry, cherry Lemonade,
grape and peach Sprite,
and many more!

Of course, you could make these flavors with a regular dispenser by mixing the flavors yourself, without the long line, but technology makes it so much easier...

For desert, a freshly baked cookie topped with vanilla ice cream. They call it a Pookie. I think Maureen named it, haha. There's only one flavor, and the cookie comes with nuts. Pizookies from BJ's are better.

The Final Jam

Okay. I just watched Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. I love Disney on Demand =]

I didn’t have high expectations. (Side note: Ticketmaster released about 600 seats for the Irvine concert the other day. A pair of orchestra seats are available at the moment.) It seems like people aren’t excited about this. Why? Was it the off-screen relationship and breakup? Was it marketing? “It’s On” was Disney Channel’s summer slogan. Maybe it was too hyped.

However, I was kind of blown away by the movie! Grace and I YouTubed most of the official musical numbers last Friday. The songs tell the story, and they’re not cut too short. The scenes were cool, and they were way more amazing in context of the movie. I know the movie isn’t officially out yet, but I cannot wait to write my review! I have a lot to say, and I think I’ll try a more journalistic approach—or at least I’ll try to keep it up. No promises.

I give props to Paul Hoen and his direction. The film begins with the familiar faces of Mitchie and Connect 3 making their way back to Camp Rock for the summer. They didn’t have the boarding pass lanyards =[  The movie entered the “musical border” at “Brand New Day.” It flowed so well! The choreography was equipped with jazz hands/spirit fingers. It was the PERFECT opening number. We are filled with excitement, and we are ready for a terrific summer. Then, we learn a new camp has opened across the lake.

With Camp Star in business, there is lower enrollment at Camp Rock. At an opening bon-“Fire,” we discover Camp Star has more glitz and glamour. They recruit steal most of Camp Rock’s staff, and Camp Rock is forced to close down.

Mitchie won’t let that happen. She reassures her fellow campers that they “Can’t Back Down” in a huge and hard dance number. She and her friends take charge and become the new camp counselors.

At first, it is hectic. In a quick montage, we witness the chaos, but eventually everything starts to work itself out. There was a continuity error! After things improve and the montage ends, there is a scene where Shane tries to whisk Mitchie away from her clipboard. Unfortunately for him, Connie needs help in the kitchen. Connie says the situation isn’t working after we already saw it get better. To top it off, Mitchie is wearing the same outfit from the first hectic day. Yes, I noticed. Hello! It’s a distinct purple ensemble that she wore during the huge dance number!

They regain their confidence as the best camp and decide to challenge Camp Star. "It’s On" is so much fun! I want to do the dance when I’m at the Verizon Amphitheatre. There’s extra choreography I can learn! Axel turns the whole thing into a worldwide competition to be televised. It would have been more consistent if Hot Tunes TV  had broadcasted the show, not Hitz TV. (That is probably a really dorky thing to notice, but I can be hardcore.)

Shane really wants to spend time with Mitchie, but she’s too wrapped up in trying to run and save the camp. You kind of want to strangle her at times because you think, “Really? Who died and made you boss of everything?” But, then you understand she’s doing this to save something she really loves. Joe is so good at looking at her! You can always see love in his eyes.

Nate has a Romeo-and-Juliet love interest in Dana, whose father owns Camp Star. Nick does a really good job portraying an unintentional douche bag. He just didn’t know how to express himself. It was adorable! I love “Introducing Me.” I challenge Mr. Nick J to perform it in less than 2 minutes!

After only ten minutes into the movie, Kevin was already hilarious. He stood there, soaking wet, and didn’t say a word, and I could not stop laughing.

In the end, JASON GOT HIS BIRDHOUSE! It is the most ROCKING birdhouse EVER!

Connect 3 did not have to become brothers, but it was nice to see their brotherly love on screen. I can’t help but LOVE watching them perform "Heart and Soul." This image cracked me up:

What's with the horse? LOL

Frankie wasn’t as much of a scene-stealer as I thought he would be.

All the other campers had smaller roles this time around. I’m glad they let Alison shine as a dancer. B-girl Shorty from the Beat Freaks and Courtney Galiano from SYTYCD got a lot of camera time.

Here is another dorky thing to notice: each girl basically sports a distinct hairstyle throughout the movie. It’s not exact like in the first film. There are slight variations. For example, Ella wears a hat mostly, but she also wore headbands. Mitchie mostly wears red hues, Shane wears blue, like in the first film.

I wasn't fond of Joe's leather jacket during "What We Came Here For." It looked like he borrowed it from Camp Star. I did love the use of beach balls. It would be awesome if they do that on tour. My little brother is going through a henley phase, and that's basically all Shane wore.

I won’t spoil the ending. I LOVE how the result of Camp Wars was revealed. It was INTENSE. Demi’s eyes and everyone’s facials were greatly performed.

I want to sing na, na na na na, hey ya!

The final scene warms my heart. “Our Song” is the PERFECT ending number. I truly wish that would happen to me in real life. I want to sing with my friends (and an awesome boy ;]) around a campfire.

A Camp Rock 3 isn’t necessary, so please don’t.

In summation: I loved this movie!