I’ve had an idea for a post percolating for awhile about how I don’t really like irony. That’s a pretty sweeping statement, hm. Let me get more specific: what bothers me about irony is that I think it contributes to a cultural feeling that genuinely liking things — specifically, happy things — isn’t cool.¹ Liking things that are artistic, or weird, or only little-known (but never popular, god no) is fine, but the only way to like something silly or fun for the sake of being fun, is to like it ironically. Which means, you know, you like it, but you don’t really like it, because that’s Uncool, and you’re way too Cool to ever just like something for fun. To me, there’s just something sad about the idea that products created just to be enjoyable aren’t worth really liking; I think it devalues joy, and I don’t understand why anyone would want to do that.

Luckily, I realized many years ago that I will never be Cool. I had angst about that for, oh, four or five minutes, then came to terms with my nerdiness and did my best to stop worrying about what other people would think of me based on the things I enjoy. And it’s very freeing! It means that when I like something, even if it is silly or ridiculous or aimed at people roughly 13 years younger than I am,² I am free to enjoy and squee and fangirl shamelessly.

This, however, is not that post. That was merely prologue, brought up so you will all know I am not exaggerating my glee when I can share this news: Today, I sort-of-kind-of met Corbin Bleu, and oh my god I love him so much!!!11!!one

Let me back up: a few years ago, I watched and kind of enjoyed High School Musical. A year after that, the creatively-named sequel, High School Musical 2, aired on Disney. And I loved it. Love. Present tense. And after that, High School Musical 3: Senior Year was an actual theatrical release³ and yeah, I saw it in the theaters three times. These movies are ridiculous. I can’t give you plot summaries, because the “plots” are nonsensical. But the cast is adorable, the songs are fun, and the dances are wonderful.⁴ These movies are 100% joy, and my love for them is 100% genuine. I keep the music from all three on my iPod just in case I need an instant shot of joy during my day, and they never fail to pick me up.

Obviously, Corbin Bleu is one of the afore-mentioned adorable cast members. And while I’ve said before that I’ll basically see anything with any of these kids in it, no matter how bad, Corbin is my favorite. Except that should be italicized and have way more vowels stuck in, and ideally be read in a sing-songy voice: faaaaaaavorite. He’s ridiculously talented, and in interviews, he always comes across as genuinely sweet. (And let’s face it, he’s cuter than a box of kittens.) And… look, I could go on for paragraphs and paragraphs, but I think you get the point.

I’ve watched a lot of things just because Corbin is in them. Most of them are not very good.⁵ So a couple months ago, when it was announced that he’d be starring in In the Heights on Broadway — something that is actually good, not just gleeful, and which might actually show off his strengths as a performer — I made a noise so squeaky it’s possible only dogs could hear me, and then convinced my sister and two of my BFFies to come with me. (This consisted of saying, “Hey, want to go see In the Heights with me?” It was not a hard sell.)

At which point Jess — my co-blogger — pointed out, you know, hanging out at the stage door to meet actors is basically a thing that it’s okay to do with Broadway shows. And then I fainted and had to be revived via smelling salts.⁶

I wish there was something more to the story than that, like, oh, a sudden gaze into one another’s eyes, instant true love,⁷ and a marriage proposal. But in actuality, it was a brief but lovely moment; he was very nice (to me and my sistren, the girls in their early teens who also started shrieking when he came outside), even more adorable up close, and YOU GUYS, I LOVE HIM A LOT.

Oh, and the show was good, too. I don’t want to understate that. I’m not nearly knowledgeable enough about such things to really critique it, but it certainly seemed to me to be very well done. Loved the music, loved the use of the setting, loved the interwoven stories. (Though my favorite moment was the joke about the 1/9 train, and how the 9 no longer exists — or more specifically, the audience reaction. Which is to say, only a handful of people laughed, a nice way of picking out who was not a tourist in the crowd.)

But let’s face it: above and beyond all that, I love this guy:

So thank you, sir, for existing, and making my not-at-all-inner fangirl very, very happy. ♥

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I feel like I should say something because it’s the end of the year, and decade¹. And also because I haven’t updated in awhile. So.

I was thinking about why I never update, and it’s because I feel like every post needs to be long and have a central thesis and be well thought out.² That’s what the original point of this blog was, sort of, several years ago. But I don’t actually have a lot of deep, thinky posts in me, and it seems silly to feel like I can’t post on my own personal blog unless it’s something big and deep, when I am a small and rarely deep person. So: either I’ll post more in the upcoming year, but it will be less thoughtful, or I will continue to not post much. Either way. Shrug.

Regarding goals I had for this year: I didn’t accomplish any of them. Whoops? This was the first year in ages I’d bothered making any sort of resolutions, and now I remember why I don’t usually. But actually, it’s pretty indicative of my year in general. It wasn’t a bad year, but I didn’t have a lot of forward motion in it. So I’ve got some sort of mental goals for the upcoming year, but I don’t feel like putting them out on the internet, so I won’t. So there.

Let’s see. Other things I can talk about…

We got a Wii fit! If my year was stagnant, well, so was I; aside from the three months of physical therapy for my wrists, I don’t think I did anything involving working out or moving or not sitting on my ass. My sister thought the Wii Fit would be fun, and so it is. I’ve worked out more in the last week than in the few months leading up to it, which is good.

Good, fun things: I was skeptical of how much actual working out would happen with a video game, and I still have no idea how accurate it really is in terms of calories burnt and such. But I certainly feel like I’ve worked out after I’m done for the day. If nothing else, it’s moving and stretching, and I’ve recently rediscovered the muscles in my thighs and abs. So there’s that!

I also like working out with it because it is super fun. Little Mii characters are constantly applauding and encouraging you, even for things like jogging, which I absolutely hate doing, you know, in real life. (Also: it’s cold outside, but warm in my apartment.) And, dorky confession that should surprise absolutely no one who knows me at all, when we first got the Wii we made a whole bunch of silly Miis based on TV and movie characters. I… may have made the entire cast of High School Musical.³ But jogging is way more fun with, say, Chad Danforth!⁴

On the other hand, it’s pretty problematic in that if it measures your BMI as above “normal,” or you gain weight between days, it berates you. That’s neither healthy nor helpful; at best, it’s obnoxious, and at worst, potentially triggering for people with disordered eating.

(And on a personal level, it makes fun of me. Much of the Fit’s whole shebang is based around balance and posture; and while my posture is pretty great, thanks to the physical therapy, my balance… uh… Look, some of us failed out of ballet class when we were four because we fell over too much, even for toddlers. Why yes, Wii Fit, I do often fall down in my daily life, thanks so much for asking sarcastically.)

Other than that, not much going on. I’m on vacation for a week and I enjoy sitting around doing nothing quite a bit.⁵ For at least the third (probably fourth) year in a row, I’m going to do New Years karaoke tonight. Should be good times.

Here, have something adorable to end your year with:

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While I’ve occasionally written about Disney here, I’m not sure the nerdy High School Musical fangirl has ever come out. So, for those of you who’ve never had the, uh, pleasure of hearing me talk about it person: I love High School Musical. Like… Love. Like, I have poster of Corbin Bleu in my bedroom and carry my MetroCard in a plastic HSM wallet and have a poster hanging above my desk at work. I saw the third movie in the theater three times. And I will watch, essentially, anything with a HSM alum in it.

Anything.

Which is why I not only watched I Kissed a Vampire — a parody rock musical webseries featuring HSM alumns Lucas Grabeel and Drew Seeley — but also went to the premier.

Pro: Lucas Grabeel and Drew Seeley were there! I love them! A lot!

Con: It was really, really bad. (Review over at Tweenage Wasteland.)

But on the upside, look at how cute these gentlemen are! I love them!

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