Downton Abbey Christmas Special aka ARGH FINALLY YOU TWO.

It was a 1 hour 32 min worth of angsty angsty angsty angst. Until the last 5 minutes where everything was just joy joy joy JOY.

All the wait, the exhausting flailing of emotions and the need to just smack the both of them on the head, FINALLY it happened. But before we get on to that (with visuals!) I need to say that Mrs Patmore deserves a gold star for her trolling ouija board ways. That woman should NEVER be messed with when you just won't listen to what she tells you to do.

And Thomas and Isis and Fenton 2.0. That was hilarious. Not only was Thomas vulnerable but it made for comic relief because seriously, a man running around for the dog like that? I know Isis should have a role but I didn't know that Julian Fellowes will actually troll in that manner.

Anna and Bates left me weeping everytime they came on screen so let's not get into that.

Mary and Matthew. Mary and Matthew.




This was pretty much when you knew that something was hopefully going to happen. The way she looks at him when he's not looking tells us that
a) MICHELLE DOCKERY FOR ALL THE AWARDS
b) Damn Dan Stevens has a nice side profile
c) AHHH! MARY AND MATTHEW <333333

And then it was bla bla bla Matthew interrupts Mary and Richard fighting bla bla  bla Matthew wants to see Mary bla bla Matthew interrupts Richard fighting again bla bla bla MATTHEW PUNCHES RICHARD bla bla ugly vase that Maggie Smith hated bla bla bla St Lavinia's grave and Mrs Crawley telling Matthew he's an idiot since two old ladies need to tell him that Mary still loves him (no she didn't but she did say something to that nature) bla bla DANCE YOU TWO, DANCE. Then...




The LOOK he gives her. I want to eventually be on the receiving end of that look. *Weeps* And he starts being all school boy "Must you go?? Why can't you stayyyyyy?" on her which then reminds you of how eerily this is beginning to sound like the last scene in the last episode of season 1 where you were more upset about them breaking up than you were about the war.

And then Matthew said "Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you," and Mary's all "But you must do the whole shebang because I've only been waiting for this for like 8 years and I don't care if I'm freezing to death in this dress, YOU MUST KNEEL DOWN AND DO THIS PERFECTLY SO THE FANS WILL CRY AND FLAIL."

And he did.



*cue Firah*



And then OBVIOUSLY she said yes




And I was pretty much like this




But it was awesome and it was exhausting because I mean that was 8 years worth of angst there but in the end YAYY!!! So now, we wait. Because we know that Julian Fellowes will find a way to frack things up for these two in September. Until then, we shall live in this beautiful Mary and Matthew bubble we have created.

Happy Holidays Everyone and Happy 2012

It's the annual Things I'm Thankful For List for 2011 and although I do have a very long list, here are some of the things that have made the most impact in my life this year.

- Conferences and IIUM -
It was a spur of the moment decision and I guess a part of me just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it and I did. I managed to present a paper at one of the conferences organized by my alma mater and it was an amazing experience. I came into it without anyone, and without any reservations or hesitance. A lot of fear though, for I was afraid that I would fail epicly despite it being my third time presenting at a conference. But thankfully, with a full room and a session that was extended longer than it was supposed to, I guess I did quite well. And as much as I may, at times, resent certain things about the academic profession, that moment was definitely not one of them.


- My New Job -
Nothing much to say except I quit my job and I took on a new one. And despite the problems that I am still facing, I'm happy. I know that in my profession, I've been able to accomplish so much compared to my peers and I am very very blessed to be able to do it with the people who were in my team. Without them, I'd be the most complacent lecturer ever.


- My Friends -
I realize that friends come and go, and I realize that people change. One thing I'm thankful for every year are friends who have always been there for me no matter the circumstances. I'm thankful that I have friends who are willing to drop things in their busy schedule to hear me out or to help me out. I'm thankful that my friends are always there no matter what. And I'm glad that we always make an effort to spend some time together to strengthen that friendship. (And I'm glad that I was FINALLY able to spend a weekend together with two special friends last weekend. We've been through so much and it was...perfect to have three days together) And I'm thankful for Farah for being the Shawn to my Gus. *FIST BUMP*


- My Nephew -
I love that boy so very very much. 



- My Books of 2011 List -
That list single-handedly saved this blog. And I'm glad I decided to do the list because I don't think I'd be able to actively read again if I didn't. Although I do wish to receive comments from strangers, from the post views that I've been getting, I'm glad that there are people out there who are at least reading this blog. So thank you :)


- Downton Abbey -
You guys, I love Downton Abbey. I love Dan Stevens. I love Michelle Dockery. No show has resulted in me waking up at 4am every Monday morning just to watch the bloody show live from the UK. And no show has made me follow RPG Twitter accounts JUST to fill up the gaps in between episodes. JULIAN FELLOWES, WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?! (I will blog more about the Downton Christmas Special in a post after this)


- Life -
I'm thankful for life. I am always thankful for life. And I am thankful that I have been given the strength to stop tolerating people's crap. And I'm thankful for travelling. I know I don't travel to exotic places but honestly, I don't really care mostly because I'm more concerned about the people I'm with. No sense in travelling when you're not happy.


- Beats -
Yeah. Um, I'm thankful for my headphones. Because I love them.


So that's my 2011 post. I don't really make resolutions simply because it's always the same every year:

1) Be happier than the year before
2) Don't take shit from people who are not worth your time
3) Try to complain less
4) Handle pain and anger with humor
5) Have some class
6) Drink lots of water every day

So I hope you guys had a good 2011 and a great 2012!


Love,

Firah

RAMIN KARIMLOO I LAV YOUUUUU

Remember when I flipped out because Dan Stevens replied to me on Twitter? It was really to this tweet:

Generic, I know but my life is boring so things like these, responses like these from my favourite celebrities get me excited, OK? 

So today, I decided to tweet Ramin Karimloo just for fun. Since he was tweeting about having problems, ah, tweeting, I just assumed that he wouldn't see my tweet. 

THEN THIS HAPPENED. 

The end.

ETA: I had to blank out my Twitter ID because it's my public account. If you know it, ok cool. If you don't then... yeah. 

The Point of No Return Is On Loop In My Head

This, ladies and gentleman, is Mr Ramin Karimloo: The voice that's been looping in my head for the whole week.

Yeah, I know. I didn't know that The Phantom was so hot underneath that mask either. 

And the last part of the song? CHILLS. Personally, I was always Team Raoul. Sure he was vanilla and a little bit of a mama's boy but I just...liked him. We can blame it on the part where he goes, "Anywhere you go, let me go too..". But after watching Love Never Dies, I was Team Erik all the way. It may have something to do with the fact that Ramin was the Phantom. I mean, LOOK AT HIM. And LISTEN TO THAT VOICE. 

Sierra's not too shabby either. I LOVE HER. 

I first knew about Sierra when she was cast as Ariel in the Broadway production for The Little Mermaid. I was able to catch the bootleg for the musical and she was simply divine. She was so much like Ariel that Jodi Benson would be proud. And when I found out that she was Christine, it just blew my mind.

Now, The Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary at the Royal Albert Hall.

It was magical. And I may have played it for the 3rd time today. Maybe it's because I'm biased and I'll pretty much lap up anything and everything to do with POTO but something about the production made it simply magical. Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo took on Christine and The Phantom and I must say, apart from having Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford reprise the roles that they originated, I don't think two other people could have done a better job.

Sierra and Ramin have not only played their respective roles in productions prior to this 25th anniversary celebration, but they also originated the roles for Christine and The Phantom in Love Never Dies, the tragical sequel to Phantom of the Opera. I say tragical because it really is not as bad as people say it is but somehow, the musical received so much negative press that it ended before it truly managed to lift off. I managed to watch the bootleg for Love Never Dies on YouTube before the channel was taken down due to copyright reasons and I must say, I LOVED IT. 

The music was so beau-freaking-tiful that it may just bring tears to your eyes. And to have these two, who already have history together in Love Never Dies, to come back to play the younger version of their characters, it was truly spectacular. 

I love that the camera was allowed to zoom in on their facial expressions. We are able to see angles that would have otherwise be considered unknown when you sit in the audience. And there were times when you could hear Sierra and Ramin's voices be slightly not pitch-perfect. I feel that that adds more to the rawness of the performance and adds more to the emotions.

And the ending, where Andrew Lloyd Webber came out. And Michael Crawford came out. AND SARAH BRIGHTMAN CAME OUT. AND SANG.

GAH.

*starts to flail*

It was just magical. And I just love this musical so MUCH. SO MUCH.

And yeah. The DVD and album will be out in March and Amazon is torturing me with the discounted pre-sale booking but I SHALL RESIST. *Resolute face*

Also, I don't really know how to end this, so I'm just going to give you a video of Sierra and Ramin being all adorable.




P.S. I'm looking for the bootleg for LND again. I stupidly deleted it after I ripped it off YouTube because I thought there'd be a better version but sadly there hasn't been one. Anyone who can help me with this, I'll pay you if it means I can get the full version :( 

To Hold Me and To Hide Me

I'm still coming down from the ultimate high that is the release of the 25th Anniversary of Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall so forgive me while I post this picture of the original Phantom and Christine as well as (methinks) is the best Phantom and Christine of this decade.

Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford with Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo.

My heart, it has so many feelings right now. I've been playing the OBCR for Phantom of the Opera and Love Never Dies to help subside this wave but that may have been the worst decision :/

Let us take a moment to revisit that one time where I went to watch POTO live.

One Day by David Nicholls: A Review

It's rare - it happens but it's rare - for you to read a book that makes you whimper as you cry. But this was one of those books. And I'm so glad that Farah was kind of my "OK GIRL, YOU NEED TO READ IT!" signal to proceed in reading the book.

I have to be honest, I was rather sceptical initially mostly because when you break it down to the core, it's really a romance novel. And based on previous experiences, some romance readers, ah, tend to go a wee bit overboard with their reactions towards the books they read. And even when I started reading it, I felt that it had the potential of going badly or becoming pretty epic. Double point-of-view romances aren't really my thing mostly because writers tend to go overboard with the whole 'Prince Charming but she won't know it till Chapter 3' formula (yes, that was a Beauty and the Beast reference) which will usually be accompanied with cheesy dialogue about how the characters are not able to live without each other because they are each other's souls, life, blood and what's in me is in you bla bla bla.

This wasn't the case, thankfully. Firstly, it took them close to 20 bloody years to finally discover their feelings. Secondly, I love how their friendship presided the relationship because really, at the end of the day, if you can't be best friends with the one you love, what's the point? The parts that gripped me the most was how Emma and Dex complimented each other. They were so different when apart but when together, so similar. And that made for a beautiful story. I won't spoil the ending but let's just say that...

7.50pm: This was me after I finished reading One Day.




And because Anne Hathaway's movies are rather difficult to pass up on, I decided to just go on and watch the movie after reading the book. Anne was rather lovely, although I know there was a lot of criticism about her. Sturgess was ADORABLE. And you just wanted to hug him and...he reminded me of Dan Stevens.

And....

10.30pm: This was me after I finished watching One Day

Michelle Pfeiffer Is Flawless

I think I was about 8 or 9 when I first saw Married to the Mob with my late mom. That movie sparked one of my many childhood OTPs. Mike and Angela. And it pretty much sparked my whole girl crush on Michelle Pfeiffer. 

And there was The Fabulous Baker Boys where it left me wondering how it felt like to have the attention of 2 men at the same time.

I obtained the original VCD for Up Close and Personal. Y'all know I mean serious biznis if I buy the original stuff. 

And then there was: 

I am Catwoman. Hear me roar.

Selina Kyle: A kiss under the mistletoe. You know, mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it.
Bruce Wayne: But a kiss can be even deadlier... if you mean it.

There's just something about her. I just love her. 

And I am kind of loving this friendship that she's struck with Zac Efron. He's positively gushing about her in this video.

And here, he's just besotted with her whenever she talks.

Her poise, elegance and charm. Everthing about her.

And people need to check Frankie and Johnnie out because that movie is SO. GOOD.

“She hated that she was still so desperate for a glimpse of him, but it had been this way for years.”
 ― Julia Quinn, The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever

 to

 “I thought of all the others who had tried to tie her to the ground and failed. So I resisted showing her the songs and poems I had written, knowing that too much truth can ruin a thing. And if that meant she wasn't entirely mine, what of it? I would be the one she could always return to without fear of recrimination or question. So I did not try to win her and contented myself with playing a beautiful game. But there was always a part of me that hoped for more, and so there was a part of me that was always a fool.” ― Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man's Fear

 to

"“We're cool," I say calmly, although I feel something else. I feel... sad. Like I've lost something I never quite had.” ― Christine Seifert, The Predicteds


 

It's like I've known you all my life but I don't know you at all.

Loss

"“Loss,” he tells me, “is a theme that I think a lot about, and it’s something in my work that I dwell on. I think when you experience any kind of loss, especially the kind I did, you have questions about survival: Why do some people thrive in situations that others can’t tolerate? Would I be able to survive and get on in the world on my own?”" - Anderson Cooper