There is no past
I love this moment
As my last
There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret
Or life is yours to miss
No other road
No other way
No day but today

Roger & Mimi in Rent, "Another Day"
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The Wilshire Theater is currently hosting Rent for the month of December. I was laughing and bawling at the same time. When one of my favorite characters die in the middle of Act 2, I absolutely started crying like a small child. It was a little embarassing; I loved it. There are times when a particular piece of art just strikes you in the right way that it never did before and maybe never will again. Eponine's solo to open Act 2 of Les Miserables, "On My Own," did that for me when I was in college. For me now, that song is still great, but for some reason doesn't carry the same weight as it did then. All you can do is recognize that your experiences and your thoughts and your emotions are all being evoked on the stage or on the canvas, and it makes you feel like some higher benevolent being is speaking to you specifically, cradling you in the moment. God only speaks two languages that humans can understand: mathematics and music. I had a fantastic time at the show, and I highly recommend it.

I have to admit that I do indulge myself in a lot of what some may call "sophisticated" ventures. I like to treat myself well. Sometimes treating yourself well is buying the big box of cashews from Costco. One of the lessons I learned from Twin Peaks is that you should give yourself a gift everyday; don't plan on it, just do it. This morning I treated myself to a box of chocolate covered espresso beans. I haven't opened it yet, but I'm already antsy in anticipation of the caffeine rush.

Speaking of caffeine, there's a new Strong Bad Email. If you ever wanted to find out about all the secret stuff in the Flash animations, check this site out. It's pretty thorough, and also gives a pretty good synopsis to all the emails.