ladies and gentleman... my big brother!!!

for those of you who might not know, my big brother benji is living in taiwan.  he's currently in the top 12 of taiwan's hit tv show "super idol", which is the chinese equivalent of "american idol".  yep, he's kind of a big deal.  they absolutely love him.  the picture posted above is one of the many cartoon characters that benji's fans have made of him wearing his outfits from the shows. isn't it adorable?  he's so cute i wanna squish him. my brother is a freakin' cartoon!  what a guy.  here's a little clip where you can hear benji's flawless mandarin, beautiful vocals and see how much his fans love him... just remember that i'll always be your biggest fan, benj!!

how embarrassing...

so i warned you that becca has her blonde moments.  my family and friends have had such a hay day telling people about my two recent incidents, that i figured i might as well share them and get the embarrassment over with in one foul swoop...  and have a good laugh myself.

after graduation about a week and a half ago, we wanted to take a picture of me jumping in the air in my graduation gown.  so, naturally, i decided to climb on top of a huge wall surrounded by bushes right outside of one of the buildings on campus.  keep in mind that i had to climb on top of a trash can, then a railing and then shimmy my way onto the wall, which left me on all fours before i could get enough balance to stand up.  it was in that very moment of patheticness, whist down on all fours, that who should come walking up the stairwell down below me but the dean of my college accompanied by dallin h. oaks (an apostle of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints).  i happen to know the dean quite well because he toured with the young ambassadors to china back in 2005.  they looked up at me and the dean smiled.... and then the smile melted into a look of confusion.  and luckily, he look away and just kept walking instead of inquiring after the new graduate perched 15 feet above him in the air like parrot.  how embarassing.  this picture says it all...

embarrassing moment #2.  ben, cory and i sat down to dinner at jr.s last friday before seeing billy elliot (just fyi, never eat at jr.s... no matter how amazing cory stephens tells you it is.  it's nothing more than a glorified denny's.  their cheesecake, however, is delicious). 

i just want to preface this story by saying that it had been a long day of shopping and running around and i was tired.  so there we are, looking at the menu (which was frustrating in and of itself because nothing looked good and i just wanted to get ordering out of the way).  it comes time for me to order, i glance down at the menu and say flippantly, "i'll have the chicken par-ma-gee-ana"  the waiter looked at me with a knowing pitty smile and said, "the chicken parmagiana?".  i'll never live that one down.

is he diggin' your treats?

the other morning in the city, i was waiting for ben and cory on the street near the subway.  as i was waiting, i was people watching, of course, as people came up out of the subway stop.  and as i was watching and waiting, i encountered a classic straight/gay moment that made me smile.  

one guy came out of the subway all spiffed up in a suit for work.  as he walked by me, he gave me a smile and checked me out a little.  i smiled back and he went on his way.  

another guy came out of the subway and we happened to catch each other's eye, so i gave him a little courteous smile.  he, on the other hand, looked caught off guard.  he gave a bit of a confused look, an awkward, forced smile and turned the corner as quickly as he could.  i should've taken the hint from his tight pants and pretty hair. he was definitely gay. don't worry mr. cute gay man whoever you are, i wasn't trying to flirt with you, i swear! 

i do find it funny that i get hit on in ny more than any other city i've been to.  however, this past visit, we spent a lot of time in the theatre community so i got a little overlooked because i was hanging out with cory and ben.  better luck next time, i guess... 

ny treasures

one of my favorite things about new york city is that it's full of little treasures.  there are so many whole-in-the-wall restaurants that are hugely ambianceful and make some of the best food you've ever tasted.  there are also adorable little shops, amazing hole-in-the-wall jazz clubs and so much more!  i love exploring the city and finding new treasures every time i'm there.  here are a few of the treasures we found last week...

"baked by melissa".  located 529 broadway (on spring st. btw. broadway and mercer).  they are the tiniest, tastiest little cupcakes in the city.  adorable.  while buying some i met melissa herself, who is a doll.  if you're ever in the city, try them! 

my new d&g sunglasses, which i bought on canal street (real d&g, of course).  we found lots of fun purchases on canal street that day

the shake shack.  best burger you'll ever eat.  or so i hear.  i was sick with food poisoning the night before everyone ate here, so i wasn't quite ready to handle a burger. but everyone raved about this place and i intend to try it next time i'm in the city.

5 napkins.  so ambianceful.  really yummy gourmet burgers.

 cosi. a fancy cafe downtown with amazing pizza!

max brenner.  this place is unreal.  yummy food and famous for their chocolate desserts, which will change your life.  they literally bring you a shot of melted chocolate with every dessert you buy.  try it, you'll love it!

and, of course, central park.  cory, ben and i took a walk here one day.  it is b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l.  a great place for walking and reflection.  it's amazing how you can get lost in there and forget that you're in new york city.  i love how lush and green it is.  made me miss the east coast.  this will be my sanctuary when i live in the city.

new york

this is a little picture i took peering out into the city from central park last week while i was in ny.  yes, ladies and gentleman... new york city... my ambianceful city!  it was so good to be back there.  i love it.  i love the people watching.  i love the architecture.  i love that the city is centered around what i love to do.  and i loved sharing the week with friends that i love so much!  

i was in the city to perform in the byu bfa senior showcase.  there were 19 of us featured in a showcase that we performed for casting directors and agents at the sage theatre.  it was a really successful week!  and we were excited to have had representatives from telsey, tara reubin, theatre works and other prestigious agencies and casting companies who attended.  

we saw four shows while we were there.  i saw in the heights (my second time. life changing), west side story (cy, cory, jeff, courney and i bawled), 9 to 5 and billy elliot.  i loved all of them.  my favorite moment of all the shows was watching stephanie j. block sing "get out, stay out."  oh mylanta!  i wanted to jump to my feet and give her a standing ovation as soon as the number was done.  her vocals were unreal and her acting was incredible. dear stephie block... thanks for changing my life last week!

i got to see heidi while i was there too!  she saved me from the hostel and let me stay with her for most of the week.  thanks heidsies, i love you!

besides staying with heidi, we stayed here...

the central park hostel on 103rd... right by the projects

in the heights with courtney, jeff, chelsea, presty, cory, ben, emily, jenny, kevin and cy

daniel, ben, cy, julie, cory, alexis and i after the showcase at sage theatre

times square with my boysies ben and cory. i love you boys!

west side story with jeff and courtney, cory, ben and cy

john came to visit me while he was in the city :) thanks johnny!

billy elliot with ben, presty (who was dying of swine flu in this picture), jenny and cory

unwritten

this is a picture of my 7-year-old self getting ready to dive into a fjord in norway.  here i am 17 years later, and i'm still feeling a lot like i did in this picture.  here i go, jumping into the unknown.  the rest of my life is still unwritten...

 

wicked

my friend cody invited me to go to wicked with him and his family the night before i flew out to new york.  we had so much fun!  cody and i ate at cafe trio before the show. it was so ambianceful and yummy.  if you ever need a great place to eat in slc, try it out! 

i loved seeing wicked again. that show is brilliantly written.  it's so clever and witty.  it was really fun to see it with cody for his first time. defying gravity and for good really got me that night.  maybe it had something to do with graduating and moving on with life!  

thanks for such a fun night and for being such an inspiration to me, cody!!

codes and i at capitol theatre