the original fangirl

I know I've mentioned it a few times before, but let me just share this one more time:

I am SO EXCITED about the new Les Mis movie!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm also a little sad. Because loving Les Mis has always been my thing. And I'm finding myself stuck in that pissy hipster frame of mind where I want everyone to know that I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED LES MIS, EVEN BEFORE IT WAS COOL (ie: before it gets nominated for a million Oscars, which it apparently will be) and now that the general public is also going to be Les Mis-crazy...it's like...a little bit of a bummer. I mean, it's good...because it's only the greatest story/musical ever, and good things deserve to be known about. But it's sad because...I don't know, it just is.

So for the record, I want you all to know that I loved it first. Maybe not first-first...because I'm guessing the novel had reached "classics" status about a hundred years before I read it. And because someone recognized the musical-potential and wrote a freaking amazing musical when I was a mere toddler. But from the time I've been old enough to know and understand greatness-- I've loved it most.

I don't even remember when or where I first heard the musical, but by early high school, I was completely obsessed. I spent all of my free time at home locked in my room, performing along with the soundtrack at the top of my lungs. Yes I was super cool and popular, why do you ask? In tenth grade, I tackled the novel. It took FOREVER, because you basically had to learn French in order to make it through. And Google Translate didn't exist. I know, I was a martyr for Les Mis. But anyway, I did it. Read the whole thing. And then started back at the beginning again because it is that good. I spent most of my free time (when I wasn't reading or singing) dreaming about and begging my parents to take me to NYC so that I could see it on Broadway and/or get "discovered" and become Fantine. Of course.

I never got to see it in New York, and now that it's not playing anymore, I have basically no reason to ever go to NYC. Haters.

BUT in 2003, the off-Broadway touring production DID come through Georgia, so my Dad happily escorted me to my first-and-only live theater performance of Les Mis. So glad I got this amaaaazing picture for posterity!

Try not to be jealous of my sweet choker and googly eyes. It's tough being a girl in love.

In other great acts of fan-dom, I got the giant playbill poster (ya know, the 3 feet by 4 feet version of the thing I'm holding above) that adorned the walls of my room/dorm/house for a good many years. If you knew me back when AOL Instant Messenger was the coolest thing ever, you'd know that my screen name was LesMis01...and actually, to this day, pretty much all of my online usernames are still LesMis01 (ya know, to pay bills online, etc.). 

And so now you know that when the new and sure-to-be-amazing (unlike all the previous versions of the movie...shudder) movie hits theaters in a mere 26 days, and I'm there screaming and singing and sobbing in the front (okay, maybe not FRONT...solid middle's more my style) row that I love it the most. However much you are loving the story and the songs and the costumes...I have loved them longer. And that translates to more. And I don't know why I feel so incredibly possessive and competitive about this-- it's actually a little creepy-- but I just feel like I'm losing a little bit of my corner on the market once this thing goes mainstream. Tons of people feel this way when that little garage or coffeeshop band they've been following for a decade suddenly gets "discovered" and goes mainstream. This is just the less-cool drama club version of that feeling. You can respect that, right? Right.

Well. So between this and yesterday's tale about my less-than-pleasant-smelling-feet...I think I've firmly established myself as the least cool blogger on the entire Internet. Truly a noteworthy accomplishment. At any rate...back to my awesome Life Plans for the evening. AKA paying bills and catching up on DVRd episodes of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (lovin' Yolanda this season...anyone else?). Peace!