"A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of."
May 23, 2014
Dear Jane,
How truly right you are in the above sentiment, for a large income seems to be one of the ONLY recipes for happiness at this time! Must making a living be so incredibly difficult, Jane? Why won't a kind, elderly gentleman or lady bestow an endowment upon me with the hopes that, because of their admirable generosity, I will become the most remarkable artist I can be? I confess that I struggled between using the above quotation and one other for my headline, so I shall share it, as it is equally relevant to this conversation.
"I am sorry to tell you that I am getting very extravagant, and spending all my money, and, what is worse for you, I have been spending yours too."
~Letter to Cassandra (1811-04-18) [Letters of Jane Austen -- Brabourne Edition]
It is a true comfort to know that I am not the only one who enjoys being "extravagant" now and again. (And by extravagant I mean grocery shopping.... But also buying rings from a splendid website called Etsy. So far I have bought an Anne Boleyn portrait ring and a brilliant Harry Potter ring. I would argue that these are more necessary than extravagant, but perhaps that is the root of my monetary troubles. )
Now, Jane, although I am becoming a distinguished lady, co-hosting tea parties and such, I would be remiss if I did not say that even the loveliest of ladies have their embarassing moments. Whether or not I should share these moments is another matter all together. However, seeing as we are the most intimate of friends, I will tell you my tale...
It was a day like any other when I decided to sit down and view a few episodes of a television program known as "Hey Arnold!" Now, Jane, because you are not familiar with this program, I will describe it to you. It is a clever (albeit animated) show about a sensitive boy with an (American) football shaped head who gets into all sort of shenanigans with his neighborhood friends. "Hey Arnold!," although meant for children has found it's way back into the hearts of the adults who watched it as children themselves in the mid 1990's, and I am not ashamed to say that I am one of them.
I digress. Anyway, I wanted to connect the show to our larger television instead of just watching it endlessly on my computer, so I followed the directions and all was well. Shortly after I began my viewing, the program continued to be interrupted and have "playback errors." As this was unacceptable to me, I promptly dialed Amazon customer care in the hopes that a representative would be able to repair the distressing matter. Little did I realize, I would have to speak to someone about what I was watching. For some reason, it wounds one's pride to tell another adult that you are watching a children's television show, no matter how witty and delightful it is.
Finally, I am connected with a young gentleman (whom for all I know could have been the answer to my nonexsistent marriage prospects) and he asks me what show I was having the playback errors with. Now, I, being the respecful lady that I am could not in good conscious tell him that I was watching a program for young children, so I scrolled tirelessly through the "Amazon Prime" menu, searching for appropriate adult television shows and couldn't find anything; I fear my nerves got the better of me! Finally, after repeatedly saying, "Err. Sorry. One second. It closed. I forgot." I found the show, "24," and confidently told the gentleman that this was in fact the show with which I was having issues. My lie was unforgivable, Jane. Nevertheless, karma got the better of me for the sharp, young man, stated cooly, that he could not find that on my account and only saw, "Hey Arnold!" listed. It was in this moment that panic and shame washed over me and I promptly said, "Oh! That's so very odd. Funny, seems to be working now. Goodbye!" Of course right afterwards I came up with one million things that I could have said in reply, my favorite being: "Oh yes, dreadfully sorry, my husband was trying to watch "24" but my daughter was having trouble with 'Hey Arnold!' He must never have gotten it to work. Pity." In another favorable scenario, I could have pretended to be watching after a child as their governess. No matter, I learned my lesson: Just watch television on your computer and stop trying to be fancy.
Lastly, I just wanted to share with you that I have taken an interest in writing more of my own songs as of late, and I happened to have written one about you yesterday! I hope to share it in the near future, Jane.
Best wishes until our next letter, my dear friend!
Yours Faithfully,
Amanda
Dear Jane,
How truly right you are in the above sentiment, for a large income seems to be one of the ONLY recipes for happiness at this time! Must making a living be so incredibly difficult, Jane? Why won't a kind, elderly gentleman or lady bestow an endowment upon me with the hopes that, because of their admirable generosity, I will become the most remarkable artist I can be? I confess that I struggled between using the above quotation and one other for my headline, so I shall share it, as it is equally relevant to this conversation.
"I am sorry to tell you that I am getting very extravagant, and spending all my money, and, what is worse for you, I have been spending yours too."
~Letter to Cassandra (1811-04-18) [Letters of Jane Austen -- Brabourne Edition]
It is a true comfort to know that I am not the only one who enjoys being "extravagant" now and again. (And by extravagant I mean grocery shopping.... But also buying rings from a splendid website called Etsy. So far I have bought an Anne Boleyn portrait ring and a brilliant Harry Potter ring. I would argue that these are more necessary than extravagant, but perhaps that is the root of my monetary troubles. )
Anyway, enough about this dreadful subject of income. Let us talk of more enjoyable things, for I abhor a prolonged discussion of money. Why speak of it if one has none?
Now, before I present far superior tidings than my lack of consistent income, first, let me introduce you to one of my favorite quotations from a very special movie (in order to give you a hint of my news):
"Winds in the east, mist coming in.
Like somethin' is brewin' and bout to begin.
Can't put me finger on what lies in store,
But I fear what's to happen all happened before."
Dearest Jane, I am quite happy to relay the exciting news that I will be spending the summer months in the state of Ohio performing in a stage production of the beloved movie-musical, "Mary Poppins." I was quite overjoyed that another company was keen to hire me for my general theatrical abilities, as it is quite a gamble at open auditions! I will, unsuprisingly, be portraying the role of the elderly, evil, nanny, Miss Andrew. She is truly dreadful (in the best way) and I am quite excited to delve into the rehearsal process. I will be performing this theatrical venture at LaComedia Dinner Theatre, and I have found that it is to be a most extensive production as it runs from the eighth of July until the thirty-first of August. In truth, I am not sure if you would approve of my participating in such an undertaking but in today's society, I assure you, to be an actor has become quite a respected profession.
This photo was taken from http://lacomedia.com/playbill/
Visit http://www.lacomedia.com for more information, gentle readers!
On the eighteenth of May in the Year of Our Lord, two-thousand and fourteen, my charming sisters and I prepared our second annual tea party for our dear Mother in honor of Mother's Day. It was such a diverting day, Jane! Regina, Rachael and I prepared the most delictable dishes, lovely cocktails (the most important part of a modern tea party), and exquisite vanilla tea. The menu consisted of four varities of homemade finger sandwiches, lemon-blueberry scones, fruit salad, miniature cheesecakes, dates, blueberry jam, and fresh whipped cream. It was simply divine, and all four of us had a splendid time. We wore our finest dresses and fascinators in true British fashion.
The Second Annual
Mother's Day Tea
May 18, 2014
Now, Jane, although I am becoming a distinguished lady, co-hosting tea parties and such, I would be remiss if I did not say that even the loveliest of ladies have their embarassing moments. Whether or not I should share these moments is another matter all together. However, seeing as we are the most intimate of friends, I will tell you my tale...
It was a day like any other when I decided to sit down and view a few episodes of a television program known as "Hey Arnold!" Now, Jane, because you are not familiar with this program, I will describe it to you. It is a clever (albeit animated) show about a sensitive boy with an (American) football shaped head who gets into all sort of shenanigans with his neighborhood friends. "Hey Arnold!," although meant for children has found it's way back into the hearts of the adults who watched it as children themselves in the mid 1990's, and I am not ashamed to say that I am one of them.
I digress. Anyway, I wanted to connect the show to our larger television instead of just watching it endlessly on my computer, so I followed the directions and all was well. Shortly after I began my viewing, the program continued to be interrupted and have "playback errors." As this was unacceptable to me, I promptly dialed Amazon customer care in the hopes that a representative would be able to repair the distressing matter. Little did I realize, I would have to speak to someone about what I was watching. For some reason, it wounds one's pride to tell another adult that you are watching a children's television show, no matter how witty and delightful it is.
Finally, I am connected with a young gentleman (whom for all I know could have been the answer to my nonexsistent marriage prospects) and he asks me what show I was having the playback errors with. Now, I, being the respecful lady that I am could not in good conscious tell him that I was watching a program for young children, so I scrolled tirelessly through the "Amazon Prime" menu, searching for appropriate adult television shows and couldn't find anything; I fear my nerves got the better of me! Finally, after repeatedly saying, "Err. Sorry. One second. It closed. I forgot." I found the show, "24," and confidently told the gentleman that this was in fact the show with which I was having issues. My lie was unforgivable, Jane. Nevertheless, karma got the better of me for the sharp, young man, stated cooly, that he could not find that on my account and only saw, "Hey Arnold!" listed. It was in this moment that panic and shame washed over me and I promptly said, "Oh! That's so very odd. Funny, seems to be working now. Goodbye!" Of course right afterwards I came up with one million things that I could have said in reply, my favorite being: "Oh yes, dreadfully sorry, my husband was trying to watch "24" but my daughter was having trouble with 'Hey Arnold!' He must never have gotten it to work. Pity." In another favorable scenario, I could have pretended to be watching after a child as their governess. No matter, I learned my lesson: Just watch television on your computer and stop trying to be fancy.
 |
| The gracious follow-up message...of shame. |
Lastly, I just wanted to share with you that I have taken an interest in writing more of my own songs as of late, and I happened to have written one about you yesterday! I hope to share it in the near future, Jane.
Best wishes until our next letter, my dear friend!
Yours Faithfully,
Amanda
Dearest Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI watched Barney until freshman year of high school. I admire your strength to admit your "Hey Arnold" watching to Jane.
Regards,
Linley
Thank you for your kind words and understanding! It is most appreciated, Linley! :D
ReplyDelete1. I want that Harry Potter ring.
ReplyDelete2. I love your blog!
3. Ain't no shame in watching Hey Arnold!
4. Congrats on Mary Poppins!
Your kind words are better late than never, dear sister. :)
Delete