Friday, August 17, 2007

Do I Need to Grow Up or What?

Some of you may not like or appreciate this post. But once again. My blog. My words.

OK. I am at least not in denial.

I'm aware of the radical situation here. Really.

I’m thirty-eight years old. I told myself, “Self, do not do this. Restrain yourself. You are an adult; a middle-aged adult, almost ready to celebrate her 20th reunion from high school. You are on the brink of becoming a novelist (how long must I endure this BRINK, self asks?). You are a mature, seemingly so anyway, woman. With a family. Responsibilities. An image to upkeep.

I told myself, repeatedly. I tried to make myself understand. I mentally said, “Do not blog about this. No one will care. Keep it inside. Enjoy the moments on your own. Pull them from your memory when needed. Whistle the tunes quietly, if you must. Sneak through the magazines when you think no one is looking in the grocery store. But, don’t let them know of your addiction…

But I cannot hold it in any longer.

The secret must be shared. And tonight, I shall share it…

I have been waiting for this night all summer long now, and alas, I have already broken my promise to not blog about it…

BUT I CAN’T NOT BLOG ABOUT IT!

Some of you loyal readers, you know. You know what I’m about to tell you. Yes, you, CMommy, and you, March of the Seas…, for I believe you are two who share in the addiction.

And that addiction, my friends is High School Musical...

Two.


In fact, I am such a High School Musical Dork – slash – addict that I posted blog notes during the commercials…

Let me take you there, if you dare …

I’m in the middle of watching HSM2, and just now, Mr. Manic looks over to me and says, “You are giggling like a 16-year-old.”

I am! I love it! It totally reminds me of the two summers I worked at a bath and tennis club, complete with the summer romance! The best summer of my life. I was working at a resort-like place, there were rich people all around, and us kids were shlepping them tuna salad on pineapple boats, getting exactly 15 percent tips from the lunching tennis ladies, who actually would pull out their calculators to determine 15 percent of 7.95. But there was also the ‘staff’ side of the job, where everyone was working to make money for college, everyone was looking for the next party, or, in my case, the next boy to kiss. It was a summer full of memories, not unlike the summer depicted in HSM2, and one that I’ll always remember, and I’ll always cherish the first moments I had at that summer job, falling in love with a lifeguard, while I was on the other side of the tracks, because lifeguards and waitstaff were world’s apart and shouldn’t mingle. Actually, now that I think about it, I was much like Juliet to my lifeguard’s Romeo – drawn together, yet pulled apart, the Montague’s and the … who was the other family?

Anyway, digressing, but there was no accidental death in this particular summer romance; just a confession from Mr. Romeo Lifeguard who admitted he had another Juliet back at college, yet he really could be in love with two Juliets at the same time. Yeah. Right. I wanted to be THE Juliet, not the I'm-The-Summer-Juliet-While-I've-Got-A-College-Juliet-As-Soon-As-School-Starts-Back-Up Juliet.

OK, now I’m bummed out.

Enough of my wistful reminiscing. Back to the show…

Ryan and Sharpay are HILARIOUS. They are spying on Gabriella and Troy, and Ryan has a walkie-talkie and when he calls Sharpay, he says: “Goldenthroat. It’s Jazz Square.”

Get it? I guess you’ll only get it if you know the characters. It’s freaking hilarious! Like Sharpay is named Goldenthroat for her singing ability. I am cracking up over this show. And Ryan calls himself Jazz Square… well, if you didn’t see High School Musical One, then, well, you just won’t get it. But, we all know how many times I have blogged about HSM. I am like the biggest dorkiest fan in the thirty-plus range!

Are there any fans of the show in the thirty-plus range? I’m scaring myself.

OK, I’m blogging during commercials, and they just did the I Don’t Dance song on the baseball field. And then Sharpay gets mad and when she’s walking out of the dance room, she says to the drummer, “Give me a beat.” Like as in Janet Jackson, Ms. Jackson if You’re Nasty Give-Me-A-Beat… And then struts out of the room. And then she rips on the Wildcats saying, “What is this? A production of Grease?”

Really though, High School Musical is so much better than Grease ever was. And I’ve blogged about this too. Sure, maybe it’s unbelievable, but I would love for my kids to have friends like the Wildcats in high school. There are no drugs, no unplanned pregnancies to deal with. No keggers. No one-hitters, no bongs, no tin-foil prepped pipes…

OK, so it’s Disney, folks. But it’s so nice. And safe. And I want my children to be safe. And it sends off an extraordinary message… a message about being in the moment, and not forgetting who you are to get where you think the future has to take you. It’s about staying true to yourself, and your friends, and having fun along the way. It’s a great message. One I really admire.

So, I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I have a major crush on Troy Bolton, and Corbin Bleu, and the whole cast is amazing, and they all appear to be very hard workers, and I think these kids deserve the success they’ve achieved.

And, I guess I’m missing a big part of my youth too. It’s sad really, to start feeling old, and to know your kids are getting just old enough that they’re not going to want to Bop, Bop, Bop, Bop to the Top with you for much longer. And that pretty soon they’ll realize exactly how much of an embarrassment their mom is really going to be to them when they get smart enough to know that most moms don’t try a jazz square or try to sing the latest Disney songs at the top of their lungs while driving in the minivan. Sad, really. I’m very sad.

Know what’ll make me happy? I think I’ll go watch an encore presentation of High School Musical 2… because You’ve got the music in me….

PS… To view all previous posts about High School Musical check here (there are really too many to post individually:

High School Musical Previous Posts on Manic Mom.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are not alone!! We had such a party here tonight to celebrate, with decorations and posters, pictures of Zach and we even had the new High School Musical CD playing full blast hours before the movie. When they kissed at the end, and the fireworks went off, you could hear the screaming into the next town. Total bliss. AND it's on a few more times this weekend. I think we should stand up and be proud. Or lie and say our kids love it and they ask us to watch it with them. But I even got a High School Musical Cookie Cake. Pretty sick, I know. But, hey, We're all in this together! XOXO

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

Eileen--I LOVE Cookie Cakes!! Did everyone fight for a piece of Zac?

YUM! And I want his hair color!!!!

SOOO Much fun to pretend to be 12 again!

We only had three kids over to watch, and they were in the basement so I watched upstairs, partially alone, partially with Mr. Manic rolling his eyes and calling me 16!

Sunday night though--THE SING-ALONG ENCORE PRESENTATION!

Thanks for "dorking" out with me!

xxxx said...

I cannot believe you LIVE-BLOGGED during HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL! Ha ha ha ha. I DID go to a High School Musical party, though, oh, yes I did. It was cute. All the little girls liked Sharpay the best, I think because of her clothes.

Have you SEEN the cover of Rolling Stone with Zac Efron? WOW. I mean, WOW. Hot, hot, dirty hot. Yes, I would. OH, YES, I would.

mamashine said...

I TOTALLY wanted to live blog it but I didn't want to miss anything while getting the laptop. It was so fun! I don't think I like Zac's hair color in this one as much though.

Sunday night encore? I'm so there!

Anonymous said...

My kids are dying to see Hsm2 and I have to admit so am I.... it doesnt come out until the 26 September over here

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

I'm ashamed to admit that I rolled my eyes about HSM1 and 2 but not so secretly really enjoyed watching both of them with my kids. In fact, my younger two started losing interest and horsing around and I found myself shshing them and sending them to their rooms because they were distracting me... I mean my oldest! ;o) I thought the dancing numbers were great fun! I think my favorite one was the baseball game. I love that Ryan character and Sharpay always steals the scenes she is in.

I bought the CDs for my kids but find myself singing HSM songs to myself as I'm driving or working. My husband called me Dorkgirl cause I told him I couldn't get something for him until the commercial break. You know my house will be catching repeats all week long!

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

OK, Thank YOU Ladies for making me feel less geeky!!! ANd for sharing in the excitement with me!

Swish, I am soooo getting that Rolling Stone mag... for um... Diva. Yeah, Diva would want to see Zac... ON FI-YAAAA!!!! (That says... On Fire, but shout it out with a twang cuz that's what I just did... HOT!)

Kelli--Maybe I'll do a live recap on Sunday night, with commentary and everything! Maybe I can even do a YouTube vid... LOL!

Alex--Get the EFF of my blog! I don't want your stinkin' ideas for money. If you can't come on here and at least tell me how much you loved HSM2 before you try to pimp your 'get rich quick' gig, then I ain't clicking. Talk to the hand, cuz you're outttaaaa here!

Ramble On--Oh man, You have another month till you get to see the movie! Had I known, and if I knew how to work my VCR with tapes I would have made you a copy but I can't figure out this new high tech shit. You'll just have to take my word for it... IT ROCKED.

Ello--I'm with ya! I was seriously the only one in the family room watching it. The kids were downstairs, with the TV on, but they were doing other stuff too. Hubby ended up just going to bed. I think he was tired of me kicking my legs in excitement and then giggling like I had a huge crush!

OK, everybody else, it's time to come out of the HSM2 closet....!

Monnik said...

swishy! What's with you and the younguns?!? First it was little Matt Saracen and now Zac? Tsk, tsk.

I must admit. I've not seen either HSM. I never thought I'd feel the pull of blog peer pressure to check it out, but I want to see what it's pull is!

Alicia said...

The HSM2 actors were in Orlando a couple of weeks ago and danced with my daughter on their makeshift stage.

She was loving it.

Anonymous said...

Hey Steph

Just got back from vacation where the highlight of the week was watching HSM2 on Friday night. When we got home this morning and Kelsey went in her room, there was the new CD waiting for her on her bed from her dad (he didn't stay for the whole vacation). Now I get to listen to it ALL DAY LONG!! "SOARING, FLYING!!!"

Patti said...

this is one of those great secrets to have...i mean to have had!

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

Sharon--are you anonymous??? I think I remembered you were going to Michigan right?

School starts for us on Monday--so much for us getting to your pool!!!

Miss you all!

March2theSea said...

little march had 5 girls over..I watched upstairs, them down..i had to shut it off..because they kept asking me for 'more popcorn, more water..more etc". I got so bent I was missing stuff i gave up! I then tried to DVR it "later" but its not listed at least right now.

I have soooo much to blog about early next week regarding this "sleepover" I must be insane...

XYZinn said...

My sister and her kids were going crazy thinking about HSM2 all week! Since I don't have kids that age who want to watch anything besides Elmo and Blue's Clue's I decided to get on the band wagon and see what all the hype was about. So I recorded 1 and 2 and now I just have to find time to watch them. I heard that they are already writing number 3 and that it might be on the big screen.
Did you have a big party for the premier?

Jenster said...

We missed it last night because we were out of town. BUT it will be on again in one hour and twenty minutes, much to Todd's mortification. Katie is in the shower right now so she'll be all clean and good smelling for Zach -- I mean the movie. And I'm excited!! So you're not alone.

Jenster said...

How's this for hysterical? Todd was griping about Katie and I taking over the "good" TV to watch our "silly" movie (he should be hurt for these comments). He said he still had over an hour to watch the Phillys play before he was relagated to the basement. So he flips the channel to the game and guess what they're playing? Yup! The "hey batter, batter, part to "I Don't Dance." I started cracking up and told him what the song was from. He just rolled his eyes and said, "I can't escape!" Bwahahahahaha...

Also, please forgive me for spelling Zac as "Zach". I've no idea what I was thinking!

Jenster said...

I'm back because there's no one else to discuss these things with.

Is it just me, or does Zac Efron look like a young Robert Conrad?

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

OK, who's Robert Conrad? The dad from Father Knows Best?

Seriously.

Oh, and I have to get upstairs now to watch the last 40 minutes of the show tonight!

Jenster said...

*sigh* I was afraid you wouldn't know the name. He was the guy who played Jim West in the TV show "Wild West". He was also in those Rayovac (I think) battery commercials where he puts it on his shoulder and says, "I dare you to knock it off," or something like that.

He's in his 70's now, but he was pretty hot when he was younger.

Good show. Especially with two White Russians. Drinks, not people because the only White Russian I know is my oncologist and the thought of watching HSM2 or any other movie with him is funny in a gee-that's-strange sort of way.

cubmommy said...

You crack me up! I haven't seen either show but that is because my daughter is only two months old. Maybe I should watch them the boys loved the show So You Think You Can Dance they might like all the dancing in this.

You are such a geek and I love that!

Anonymous said...

Oh man I wouldn't know about this show without the 6 and 4 year old boys I have! I actually am very happy with the Disney Channel these days. I remember the days of Mickey Mouse club and all the shows always have good morals, im glad that Disney has stuck to the G rating, but kicked it up! I love that they have made a GREASE fan love HSM and HSM 2, its catchy!

Liane Spicer said...

Capulets, I think. The other R&J family, I mean.

I know nothing of this HSM business. Gotta ask my niece, the flibbertigibbet... As for Grease, I watched it again as a full blown adult and was horrified at the messages in that movie. But when I first saw it I was bowled over - mad for Travolta, crazed by the disco mania, young, in love, blah blah blah...

Don't be sad. Although kids are terminally embarrassed by parents, there's no guarantee that yours will be that way. My son loved my craziness... or maybe he was just too kind to show his embarrassment. *sigh*

Anonymous said...

I'M HERE!

"Hello, my name is Cmommy and I am a HSM addict."

We Tivo-ed all three 'versions'. Now, that is desperation! After the 1st viewing, I thought, "Hhm, that was a tad too long. The songs had too many bridges. Why didn't Disney put this on in June at the beginning of summer? Gabriella is waaaaay too laid back about Sharpay's boy-stealing schemes." During the Sat. night showing, I warmed up; the "I Don't Dance" song is still running through my head! Sundays' sing-along was terrific--LilDollyGirl knows every word and inflection to "Fabulous".

I am so proud.

FoxnFriends announced THIS morning that HSM3 is in the works for a theater release next year! GET UP OFF OF THE FLOOR, I know you've just fallen out of your chair! :-)
(ps: thanks for the shout-out!)

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

CMom--I JUST imported the CD to my itunes and the kids and I just got through listening to Fabulous and I Don't Dance.

In fact, Diva is sitting next to me saying, "I want more!" and asking me what a "PRada Toe" is! LOL!

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. It is always great pleasure to read your posts.