President of the “I Don’t Like Raoul Fanclub”

So I really don’t like Raoul from The Phantom of the Opera.

I love the book The Phantom of the Opera.

But for me it is all about the Phantom, Erik

And one character I really do not like is Raoul.

Hate him

Now I’m going off the Raul in the book, I know they changed his character for the play, but I don’t really give a care about that. I like to stick with the original source material.

Raul is a pansy. I’m totally throwing that out there. He is a little wimp. He was raised by his aunts and older brother who catered to his every whim and never made him have to work for anything. Therefore he comes off a lot of time as sounding like a naive and silly little boy.

NO You Don’t

He and Christine knew each other as children, which I don’t think is a good idea to try and base a relationship on. I mean people change, they become different people. You can’t just walk into someone’s life and be like “I love you” outta nowhere like that.

Plus for a Mr. I love you so much, he sure doesn’t trust Christine Daaé. After she is spirited away by the Phantom (her own choice), Raul goes searching for her trying to find her. He goes to her old music teacher and companion Madame Valérius. She tells him that Christine has gone off with her music teacher, to study. At least that’s what she assumes, as she doesn’t even know where Christine is. And instead of Raul waiting to hear her side of the story or trusting her, he immediately thinks that she’s a slut.

“Oh what a miserable, little, insignificant, silly young man was M. le Vicomte de Chagny! thought Raoul furiously. And she, what a bold and d***able sly creature!” (pg. 87)

He’s just as bad as Christian in Moulin Rouge. I mean, yeah it doesn’t look good for her, but still when you truly love someone you trust and give them the benefit of the doubt. Especially someone who has never given you a reason to doubt. Jeez! Jerk!

He then decides he is going to go out on the town and prove that he doesn’t need her and can do better. What a loser. Why would anyone want this guy?

I mean he is sooooo full of himself. Christine asks him to meet her at the ball and he does. She tries to tell him what is up, but he keeps interrupting her and going on about her infidelities. She decides to leave as he is being a blockhead.

Raul follows her and overhears her pitying Erik, the Phantom. She keeps saying poor Erik over and over. And you know what Raul does? He keeps going on about himself and how he’s the victim.

“Why was she pitying Erik when Raoul was so unhappy?” (pg. 97)

I don’t think the two are in actual “Love”, I always believed that they were playing at it. Mostly because they are so young and that Raul doesn’t really know what romantic love consists of.

“They kissed like a despairing brother and sister who has been smitten with a common loss and who meet to mourn a dead parent.” (pg. 108)

That does not sound like love to me.

This is how it ends in my mind.

For more on The Phantom of the Opera, go to Le Fantôme de l’Opéra

For more book-filled posts, go to Book Club Picks: The Secret Of Chimneys

I Must Stay Strong

So the other day I went to the bookstore, and you know how much I love that.

But this time I had a plan. I had far too many books at home that I had yet to read; so I wasn’t going to buy myself anything, just birthday shop for my friend.

But then when I started looking I found all these books half off.

So I grabbed a bunch I liked along with some potentials for my friend. But then I looked at the bargain books. They were beautiful hardcover classics and oh, my I wanted them all.

So there I was with stacks of books, looking and wanting them all.

Nothing else I seem to have this problem, except with books.

But then reality hit me. I already needed more shelf space, and really have books spilling everywhere.

So I did one of the hardest things, I had to put some of the books back.

Instead I bought one book, a selection of stories from One Thousand and One Nights, in a beautiful hardcover book for only $8.

I then bought a copy of Tarzan of the Apes for $2.50; a steal of a deal.

But then I had to do something with all the books I wasn’t taking home. So I stacked them on top of each other and carried them around the store putting them back. One of the employees saw me and asked if I needed a cart, but said no I was putting things back. He was worried about me carrying so many. But I was like I work in a library, I do heavy lifting like this all the time.

Because you know, that’s how I roll.

For more book-filled posts, go to One Hot Date

For more on bookstores, go to Walk My Way

Here I Go Again

So here we go again. Yes here we go again…

Couldn’t resist

So those of you who don’t know, those are lyrics from the song.

So here we go again, another post on our “Getting Over a Heartbreak Series”.

22) Here I Go Again by Whitesnake

Now if I had to pick my favorite song, absolutely had to pick one it would be this one. I love this song so, so, so, so, so much.

This is the song that has gotten me through everything. Any horrible events, broken friendships, break ups, moving, and making any drastic changes. It always helps empower me and make me feel like I can get through anything.

The song came out in 1982, but then was re-recorded and released in 1987. The 1987 version is the one I love. It was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on VH1‘s 100 Greatest Songs of the ’80s.

The song was written by  the lead singer, David Coverdale, and former Whitesnake guitarist, Bernie Marsden. 

I just feel that this song is absolutely amazing! I cannot stress that enough. I included it at this point in the breakup list as I feel it goes perfectly after the last song. Here you are going on with your life. Here you go on your own. You are making a vow to not wasting anymore time moping and crying. Here I go again. 🙂

I don’t know where I’m going
But, I sure know where I’ve been
Hanging on the promises
In songs of yesterday
An’ I’ve made up my mind,
I ain’t wasting no more time
But, here I go again
Here I go again

Tho’ I keep searching for an answer,
I never seem to find what I’m looking for
Oh Lord, I pray
You give me strength to carry on,
‘Cos I know what it means
To walk along the lonely street of dreams

An’ here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
An’ I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wasting no more time

I’m just another heart in need of rescue,
Waiting on love’s sweet charity
An’ I’m gonna hold on
For the rest of my days,
‘Cos I know what it means
To walk along the lonely street of dreams

An’ here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
An’ I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wasting no more time

But, here I go again,
Here I go again,
Here I go again,
Here I go…

An’ I’ve made up my mind,
I ain’t wasting no more time

An’ here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
‘Cos I know what it means
To walk along the lonely street of dreams

An’ here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
An’ I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wasting no more time…

But, here I go again,
Here I go again,
Here I go again,
Here I go,
Here I go again…

And I have to say that I also absolutely love the version by Rock of Ages.

Remember:

Because:

Go on along the road:

And above all remember:

To start the “Getting Over a Heartbreak” series from the beginning, go to If It Means A Lot to You

For the previous post, go to I Don’t Wanna Be in Love (Dance Floor Anthem)

For more ’80s songs, go to Missing You

For more of my fav songs, go to Over You

For more on Audrey Hepburn, go to Women in Black

For more on James Joyce, go to Good or Bad

For more on Mandy Hale, go to But It’s Alright

For more on Rock of Ages, go to Nothing But a Good Time

Red Rubber Ball

So I couldn’t find a quote that was all about being okay and having moved on. All the ones I could find this weekl were sad so I pulled one from a previous song, Gone Forever, by Three Days Grace. Yep, this is another song in the “Getting Over a Heartbreak List”:

19) Red Rubber Ball by The Cyrkle

I really like this song, although the opening chords always make me think of the theme song from Friends. It was written in 1966 and made #2 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was written by Paul Simon and Bruce Woodley. Simon offered it to The Cyrkle and the rest is history.

It has been covered by numerous bands, such as; Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Diamond, Eggchair, The Diodes, Streetlight Manifesto, Cilla Black, Del Shannon, and Mel Torme. But I think The Cyrkles are the  best.

So the song is about a guy who’s heart was broken. As he looks back at everything, he is doing great. He is moving on with his life, focusing on himself, and doing so much better without that person in his life. It’s like a combination of But It’s Alright and  Move Along.

I should have known you’d bid me farewell There’s a lesson to be learned from this and I learned it very well Now, I know you’re not the only starfish in the sea If I never hear your name again, it’s all the same to me

And I think it’s gonna be alright Yeah, the worst is over now The mornin’ sun is shinin’ like a red rubber ball

You never care for secrets I confide For you, I’m just an ornament, somethin’ for your pride Always runnin’, never carin’, that’s the life you live Stolen minutes of your time were all you had to give

And I think it’s gonna be alright Yeah, the worst is over now The mornin’ sun is shinin’ like a red rubber ball

The story’s in the past with nothin’ to recall I’ve got my life to live and I don’t need you at all The roller-coaster ride we took is nearly at an end I bought my ticket with my tears, that’s all I’m gonna spend And I think it’s gonna be alright Yeah, the worst is over now The mornin’ sun is shinin’ like a red rubber ball

Oh, I think it’s gonna be alright Yeah, the worst is over now The mornin’ sun is shinin’ like a red rubber ball

After all:

To start the “Getting Over a Heartbreak Series” from the beginning, go to If It Means a Lot to You

To go to the previous post, go to Up and Up

For more of my favorite songs, go to Move Along

For more of my favorite quotes, go to Since U Been Gone

For more on Three Days Grace, go to Gone Forever

For more on Meg Cabot, go to Would You Like a Pizza My Heart?

For more on Streetlight Manifesto, go to The End

The End by Silverstein

Please keep reading, you won;t be disappointed,

2) The End by Silverstein

So if you remember from my earlier post If It Means A Lot to You, I am doing a countdown of my favorite heartbreak songs to help one get over a break up. Now I did do an earlier post on this song when Michael and I broke up back in December, The End, but I only briefly talked about it. The album A Shipwreck in the Sand is kind of depressing, but still good:

The album details the story of a guy who is cheated on by his girlfriend. To make it even worse, its not just any guy but his best friend. He eventually goes crazy and sets his house on fire, very Secret Window-esque. Even though they broke his trust he still loves his best friend and girlfriend still so he ends up saving them from the fire, but still goes to court for his crimes. He is acquitted but loses his daughter to his girlfriend. He realizes he can’t go on living and ends up taking his life, hence The End.

Like A Day to Remember and Avenged Sevenfold, Silverstein was a band that Michael got me into, one of the several CDs he gave me. (Like I mentioned before a lot of these songs came from him. Is it irony or full circle?)

Like It Meant A Lot To You this song really expressed how I felt about the breakup. So here we go:

The first time we met
Your face became etched
In my mind

So the first time I saw his face, it wasn’t exactly etched in my mind, I mean I didn’t even think he liked me until a couple weeks later. But I also couldn’t stop thinking about him. He intrigued me and I wanted to know more about him.

You were the sun
I was the one
Who worshiped you.
My hands were your guns
Your eyes were my muse.

And I knew you could never love me
I had so much sorrow inside
You could never reach
But can I still keep
A place in your heart?

This was how I felt after he dumped me. I thought it was all my fault, that I was the reason we broke up. Now I know that it wasn’t necessarily what I did, I mean I still have no clue what went wrong between us, but a breakup isn’t one sided, there us far too much that to have it be blamed on only one person (except when cheating is involved.)

And all I kept thinking and hoping (at the time) was maybe he would change his mind, maybe I could hold a place in his heart (I know pathetic 😦 But people act different when they care for others, they don’t do things they normally would. You just aren’t in your right mind)

You broke my heart
You promised me the moon and stars
I fell for your dreams. I fell for your lies
There was no other way
You know I tried

Now this part of the song is sung by the gf but for me all I could think after we broke up was everything that Michael had promised me. Now I know some things were silly, like him planning our trip to Disneyland (I’m not that dense) but I thought that he meant it when we talked about seeing each other in the upcoming months, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, etc. And the worst thing is that I mentioned these things, and he knew he had already decided to break up with me but didn’t have the guts to let me know.

And I knew you could never love me
I had so much sorrow inside
You could never reach
But can I still keep
A place in your heart?

There is something
I want you to know
I think you know exactly what it is
I didn’t want to save you
I didn’t want to save you
I set our house on fire
To watch it burn
But I couldn’t just leave you there

I’m talking figuratively here. Don’t actually be burning things.

And I knew you could never love me
I had so much sorrow inside
You could never reach
But I’ll ask you this

Will you still miss me?
(Yes I’ll miss you)
Do you love me?
(Yes I love you)

Planes fill the sky
We’ll both die tonight
We’ll both die tonight
Hands from the sky
Swat us away like flies
As we follow the light

Planes fill the sky
We’ll both die tonight
We’ll both die tonight
Hands from the sky
Swat us away like flies
As we follow the light

We’ll both die tonight
We’ll both die tonight

Swat us away like flies
(We’ll both die tonight)
As we follow the light
(As we follow the light)

This union, a battle fought and lost
This union was not about the cause
This union was never about love

But you know what, even though it hurt at the time it probably was for the best. If he couldn’t tell me what was going on with him, couldn’t give me any attention,and just wasn’t as invested in our relationship like I was, it was good that we broke up.

Although it did make me sad:

But it can be better to end than to continue something that was not making both parties truly happy. (BTW by using the above pic I do not want anyone out there to think that I’m  still wallowing [that’s over] or anything, it just fit well with what I was saying)

And you’ll meet someone great who will be just right for you.

For more on the Heartbreak Series, go to If It Means a Lot to You

Otherwise here are a few posts you may be interested in

For more on Avenged Sevenfold, go to Belle of the Ball

For more on stories of betrayal by those close to you, check out Wake Up Dad 

For more on what a real man is, go to A Real Man

For more of my favorite songs, go to Once Upon a Time