Thursday, March 15, 2012

Delayed Post Part One: Dancing With The Stars Finale and R.I.P. Uncle Brian


Hello, world! Sorry I haven't blogged in such a long time. A lot has happened since my last post. So much has happened in the past almost 5 months, that I'm going to have to do a date-by-date of the important events that occurred since my last post on November 22nd, my True Blood post. My life would change forever hours after that post. 


                                   November 21st, 2011
My mom took me with her to camper today so I could get my shoes and dresses for Dancing With The Stars. She also had to take Uncle Brian to get his tires fixed because he and my baby cousin Kyle were going to Oklahoma later in the day. When they came back, my mom and I left and my uncle asked if I tonight was the night I was supposed to go. I said yes and he said "Elana, don't flail your arms back and forth like an ass on TV! We'll find you, don't worry!" and then he was messing around with me on giving me my aunt's new number. Who would think that this would be the last time I ever saw him... After that, my mom and I went to the storage to get some more things. Long story short, we got into a fight and she took off. Bree was working, so I had to get ready all by myself and I had a slight malfunction with my dress: my slip kept popping out.


After Grandma dropped me off, Sierra and I went to Dancing With The Stars for the finale!!!! We were seated in "The Zone", which is like right next to the staircase where they all run up to get their results after they dance. We saw SO many Celebrities! Nancy Grace, Chaz Bono, Carson Kressley, Mark Ballas, Chelsea Kane, Tristan MacManus (I squealed when I saw him. "OMG IT'S TRISTAN!" Hehehe), Maksim and Val Chermikovsky, Kirstie Alley, Hope Solo,The Kardashian Klan (BLLLEEECCCH!), and some of the cast members from All My Children. We got to dance on the dance floor again and we saw Maksim and tried to rush to get a picture but it was too late. I told Sierra that this really was a once in a lifetime experience, and she said it was a "TWICE" in a lifetime experience :) IT WAS! We saw Roger, the audience coordinator who gave us the passes last time, and he was so thrilled to see us that he announced us to the entire house!!!! That was awesome! Every time the couples ran up the stairs we would tell them they did a great job and such-in-such. Ricki Lake said "Thank you so much!" after her second dance and Karina and J.R. thanked us after both of their dances. I didn't think Rob's second dance was that great, and J.R. was totally jilted with the scoring on his first dance. Here's a video of both Rob and Cheryl and J.R. and Karina's second dances, which you can see me in! 

Rob Kardashian and Cheryl Burke: Freestyle to "Minnie The Moocher" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfOzmeAv6nQ&list=PLCC19EB270F08ABB6&index=16&feature=plpp_video
4:00-4:04 I'm on the left side in the white dress!

J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff: Freestyle to "Whine Up" by Kat DeLuna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPpwKrWHvOk&feature=BFa&list=PLCC19EB270F08ABB6&lf=plpp_video
4:24-4:27 Me again (Yeah, I know I look bad!), and like a dumb ass, ON THE PHONE!


I forgot to add that I was able to sneak my phone in. Sure enough, I got caught and was forced to delete the picture and video I took! I was so embarrassed, but I was rather polite and immediately complied with their orders, I wasn't going to put up a fit like the lady that was there the last time we went. There were 65 other people that had their phones out in the open, and I was the only one that got caught. WHAT A GENIUS!... NOT! Lol oh well, you live and you learn, but at the time I was so embarrassed I cried when we left! Lol here's a picture of Sierra and I at The Grove after we left. She's such a great friend, Love you sugar! 







                                       November 22nd, 2011
Today was just a normal day. I still hadn't heard from my mom. I went for a jog with Bree in the park, passed out, blogged about True Blood, then in the late afternoon sat on my ass and watched Toddlers and Tiaras and then All American Muslim with my grandma and Bree. We decided that we'd watch the DWTS finale and tape it so I had both shows. I had to rush and take an online quiz for my class before NCIS started. 


This was around 7:30 pm when  my cousin Kyle called Bree and told her that he hadn't seen their dad (Uncle Brian) in over an hour and a half since they sat down to dinner, that he wasn't feeling well and that he said he went to get something to drink but he never came back. Grandma saw she had a missed call on her phone from an Oklahoma area code. Bree called and it was a recording for 3 different hospitals in Oklahoma. She had to call all 3 of them and I think the last one was the one he was at, and she told Kyle to get there ASAP, and then asked me to get ahold of my mom to see if she had talked to my aunt, Deena. I called her and told her to go to Deena. When Kyle got to the hospital, they wouldn't let him see my uncle, but told him to go to the family waiting room and that somebody would be with him shortly. Grandma said that that wasn't good news and was crying. 


Suddenly, I hear Bree cry out "KYLE COME HOME!!!!" and start bawling, and then she told us that Uncle Brian had had a massive heart attack and died instantly. Grandma collapsed to the ground crying and I was just in shock (Not just over that, but I was still taking a test. I rushed and finished to join my family. I still can't believe I got an 84%) but started to cry, and then my other uncle, Ira, came out of his room and started crying (and I thought he was mocking us, but he wasn't.) I had to be the one to tell my mother that her baby brother died. I could hardly get the words out "He's gone... Uncle Brian died." and I just started crying. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It's not the same as telling her that Whitney Houston died (which I actually did a few days ago- bottom line is, there's a VAST difference). 


Of course, I couldn't get a hold of my father, so I had to text his wife and all she said was OK when I texted her telling her that my uncle died. I FINALLY got my dad on the phone and he was SO nonchalant about it, that you would think that I told him that SOMEBODY ELSE'S uncle died. "Oh wow. Oh really? Oh that's terrible. I'm sorry." and apparently he told me to have my mom call him (I had to hang up because my platonic aunt Kathy was on the other line), but I can hardly remember. I just had to tell my mom that her brother died, excuse me for being a tad frazzled and shaken up. What the hell was wrong with both of them?!? All she writes is "OK." and he could care less?!? He's known my uncle for over 25 years, HOW DARE HE! 


My mom told me not to cry in front of Grandma, because my mom was worried that she was going to have a heart attack. Mary, Grandma's neighbor across the street and one of her best friends for over 47 years came over right away. Then Tonio, Bree's bf at the time came over, then Janna, Cait, Amanda, and Andrew, Bree's friends (that are also my friends through her, except I know Andrew the least) all came over also. Everything was in such a frenzy, all Bree wanted to do was to get to Kyle, she wanted to see her baby brother. Everybody rushed to find Bree a flight and get her packed. Some dude named Nick came over to Aunt Deena's and said he worked for the Coast Guard and could get Bree and Deena a flight (He's full of shit and everybody was pissed at him). Then, Kim and Corey came over and then Jim Schooler. Corey is Kyle's best friend and Kim is his mother and my aunt's best friend. Kim's fiance, John, was one of Uncle Brian's best friends. Jim Schooler has known Uncle Brian since they were teenagers, but they hadn't talked in a while. I thought he was this other guy named Jim that my uncle knows. Anyways, then Jordan, Bree's ex boyfriend, came over (Nick tried to say that he called him and that he DGAF'ed, but that's a bunch of bullsh*t).


Bree was making some comment about how now she had a 16 year old son to raise, and Jim Schooler told her to be quiet and act like a lady. I don't know what the hell happened, but the instant he said that, Bree and I simultaneously looked over at each other and gave this look like "Did he really just say that? WTF??" It was definitely cosmic, I swear. I don't care if I sound crazy, it's true.  Bree had to go over to Aunt Deena's and I wanted to see my mom so she said I could come with her. Cait and Janna drove us over there. Bree kept making jokes and all that but then kept crying. Before we left when we were in the driveway, Bree held onto Jordan for a really long time and was crying. She's not a very affectionate person, so I didn't know when to hug her. 


When we got to my aunt and uncle's, I had my mom meet us outside. We both ran into her and started crying in her arms. Janna walked up and my mom pulled her in for a hug, too. My mom hugged Cait also, I had to introduce them (Mom's met Maddie, Cait's adorable Mini-Me daughter, several times before). Janna told Nick to leave that he shouldn't have been there because it was PERSONAL. There were a bunch of people there. Linda Hogan (Yep, THAT Linda Hogan. She was a friend of my aunt and uncle's), was there with her boyfriend Charlie (who helped my mom get back in the camper because Jagger locked her out), Aunt Deena's dad and her middle sister Chrissy were there also, Kim and Corey had gotten there right before us and of course John was there, and Nick and Mercedes, his girlfriend. My aunt was just laying in the dark, crying. Like I said in my speech at his memorial a few weeks later (this is included in Part Two of this post), he was the love of her life, and she was definitely the love of his. Bree just kept hugging my mom and crying. 


I write this obviously knowing my cousin my whole life. Essentially, she is my sister. Sometimes, I love her and sometimes I can't f**k*ng stand her. At the end of the day, whatever's happened, it doesn't matter because we're still a family. I've seen her at her worst and at her best, but I have never seen her like this before. What I'm saying by this is is that even people that are somewhat sheltered and have a guard up eventually bring it down. It's rather unfortunate that this was the way it happened. Brian was always there for Brianna, no matter what. He was her father, her best friend, her confidant, her hero. I also write this with knowing that I don't have a great relationship with my father, but Bree and Kyle did. He was definitely their hero. 


During the middle of all this, I found out that J.R. and Karina won DWTS. Amy and I promised each other we wouldn't look early, but I needed something to soften the blow. Congrats, J.R. and Karina!!!!








I couldn't help but think of something that happened to me a couple a weeks before my uncle died. There's this girl named Gracy that I have taken my required acting classes with at school for almost 2 years. We didn't talk so much in Beginning Acting, but we ended up talking more in Intermediate Acting and Costume and Makeup Design I (before I had to drop it). She actually turned out to be a pretty chill and motivated girl but kept telling me stories that I believed to be far fetched. I have pretty much been cursed when it comes to partner/group projects for classes because either nobody picks me or whomever I ask IMMEDIATELY has a partner upon me asking them, so this reared it's ugly head in Intermediate Acting because our final was to perform a 3-5 minute scene from a play with a partner. Gracy approached me and asked if I had a partner and when I said no she told me that I had one now because it was going to be her and gave me a hug. I was really touched and I thought it would be an interesting to work with her, which is why I selected a scene from The Bad Seed for us to perform. Shortly after that, she kept either leaving from class or not showing up at all. I texted her one day and she told me she spent the previous day (SUNDAY) in the E.R. having emergency tests done because she has a brain tumor. Not knowing what to believe, I wished her good luck and to contact me if she needed anything, then asked if I should tell our teacher Don anything. Gracy's reply was "Just tell him that I'm dying and may need to be dropped from class." That was the moment that I was pretty sure this was all a joke. How could somebody be so nonchalant and cavalier about a BRAIN TUMOR? It's one thing to pretend you have a cold or something to get out of school, but it's a completely different thing to fabricate something so serious. Our mutual friend Posey (who is rather gullible) believed Gracy because her mother had a brain tumor also but survived. I happened to tell my friend Mora and she said that Gracy is a liar and that she wouldn't put it past her to be making this up. Luckily, I was able to get to Don first (Apparently Gracy told Posey to talk to him as well, but she would have just ended up sugarcoating it) and tell him the story, and the odd look on his face once I finished said it all. Even he agreed it didn't sound entirely accurate. Gracy never came back and whenever I've asked her about the whole thing she is completely oblivious and in denial. This is why I would NEVER EVER fabricate something as serious or in the same degree as this in attempts to obtain sympathy and recognition from it.


                                     December 10th, 2011
Today was my uncle's memorial. My friend Jason and my Aunt Kathy came to support my mom and I. We all spoke (Aunt Deena, Grandma, Uncle Ira, My mom, Me, John and Kim and Keith my uncle's best friends, my cousin Kyle and Bree) and there were a lot of laughs and tears. Afterwards, Bree presented her video and of course it was a tearjerker, especially the last song, "Slipped Away" by Avril Lavigne. It's such a beautiful song and Avril is so gifted. I've been choreographing a waltz routine to the song since I heard it, but every time I start working on it I start crying. Will I ever finish it? Here's Bree's tribute video, she did such a great job and I'm so proud of her. I've also included a couple of pictures of my uncle. I want to write more about him, but I feel like I'm going to start crying. Maybe this won't be as hard one day, but I hate the feeling like something's missing and then I remember. I hope one day I'll be able to write something remarkable about him instead of so mundane. He was such a blast and a really fun guy, freaking hilarious, always making prank calls in funny accents. He was also very popular and I definitely fulfilled a wish on his bucket list by smoking pot with him haha. He always took an interest with whatever I had to say, whether I be blabbing about my guy problems or it was watching True Blood and all the Real Housewives series. I later found out after the memorial that he HATED the Real Housewives series, but rather just watched them to have something in common with me. Like I stated earlier, my final memory of him was before I went to Dancing With The Stars, and I'll always remember it. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYd8_dBHKUA&context=C3568cd9ADOEgsToPDskI-tSXv7weu7bsIeMaw2tRH







                                             Thursday, March 15th, 2012
Let's just say, things have become really discombobulated for my cousin. There's been a lot of arguing over money and such-in-such between her, my aunt, and cousin. Now, some of my uncle's "friends" are getting in the middle of it and sticking their noses in when they shouldn't be. My cousin finally got the guts to send my aunt a letter she's been writing to her over the years, and I am so proud of her. I stand by her side and support her in her every endeavor, unless it's something truly dangerous. She's in a lot of pain, she lost her best friend, her confidant, her hero, her partner in crime. Brian was all she had. Her mother got into an accident when she was a little girl that made her pretty much brain dead, so she pretty much just had her dad and my mom and grandma as her mother. In essence, she is my sister. I hope this all resolves itself sooner than later. Family should stick together, NO MATTER WHAT. Except my cousin and aunt are being terrible towards Bree. Here's some pictures of us from Christmas. 







My 21st birthday party got ruined by some creepy guy and Richie Incognito of the Miami Dolphins picked up the tab, so I'm most likely going to have a second birthday party (especially since my mom wasn't there for this one). I'm one of the lead hair and make up artists for the school production of Chicago as well as working on the EATM (Exotic Animal Training Management) Spring Spectacular Show! I'll be writing about all that soon. 


As always, I'll close with my tagline regardless of the current time it is:
Good Night Moon, Good Morning, Morning World. Until I blog Again


Elana Jade Rebel<3

4 comments:

  1. Wow, a lot has seriously happened since the last time you posted. No lie, your life makes my life seem really really boring, haha.

    It's beyond cool that you got to attend the DWTS taping, loved how you were on your phone in the second clip! I'm terribly sorry about your uncles' passing & the issues your family's going through.

    Happy belated Birthday, you look super cute in that collage of photos. Congratulations on being the lead hair/makeup for Chicago, that's way awesome! I'm actually going to buying tickets to see it at the Pantages in May, so exciting.

    Can't wait to read more of your posts!

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    1. Awwww haha I'm sure your life isn't really really boring, your blog is so much fun! Regardless, since the last time I blogged, yes, A LOT has happened. It's all been hard to take in, one day at a time. Thank you for your kind words, I really appreciate it. Tomorrow it will be 4 months that he's been gone and I'm still in shock, it's almost too surreal sometimes. It's like I wake up and something's missing and then I remember every time I walk past his picture. Did you see the video? Bree did such a great job.

      It really is a phenomenal once in a lifetime experience, and I got to go twice! Read my other post from my first time :) Yeah that's what got me in trouble! Hahaha that and I looked terrible, I promise I look better than that! Hahaha.

      Thank you! Those pictures were from Christmas, I'll post more of me if/when I ever have that second birthday brunch. Haha and thanks you're so sweet! I'm not the main lead, it's me and 2 other girls and the teacher. I hope I get my name in the program! :) That's bitchen, I wanna go! Where do you live? You should definitely come to Moorpark's production, it opens next week.

      I should be posting soon, hope you comment again. Gladly return the favor I enjoy reading your posts!

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  2. hey gr8 blog dear love the header pic of urs ...what abt following each other..?

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    1. Thanks so much! I'll follow you now. Keep reading! :)

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