This post is brought to you by Priya, who actually said the last one was “helpful”. Hahaha…

So, SMILE. (In all caps, nonetheless.) This is a musical about a beauty pageant, which of course is about much more than physical beauty. (echo: of course!) On the one hand you have Brenda Freelander, the primary pageant organizer, Big Bob Freelander, her husband, and Tommy French, the choreographer, all trying to make the pageant match their ideas of what it should be. On the other, you have the most competitive contestants, Sandra-Kay (nearly perfect, but not actually a large role), Maria (disliked…

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Well, it’s Facebook-official (no, not a girlfriend). I now have (approximately¹) ten more Berkeley Facebook friends than CHS Facebook friends.

Of course, there are people from each that I’m friends in real life but not on Facebook, and (like many other people) I have Facebook friends who I hardly ever talk(ed) to. But it’s a milestone of course, and the gap can only widen.

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I have a penchant for ambiguous phrases, which is why I call myself Chigaijin and why this post is so oddly titled. Even if the presence or absence of the slash sorta indicates which side of the ambiguity the meaning falls on.

This weekend was my second visit back at CHS. (I’ve been home but haven’t interacted with my old high school and friends until now.) I should spare a few thoughts for last week’s choir concert (the day of the earthquake, no less). Mr. Aron commented that he didn’t realize Cantos (Adv. Women) was “earth-shatteringly good.” (I think he meant “earth-shaking” but whatever.) But the real stars of the show, as always (sorry, other choirs!) was Cappella, the Advanced Mixed Choir I was in during the last two years. They were amazing, performing (as usual) more songs than any other group, and with the addition of a music shell I think they were actually better than the UC Men’s Chorale.

And really, that’s not an insult to us but a testament to the amazingness of Mr. Aron, who I owe a lot of my current singingness to.

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