The Light in the Piazza (OBCR)

A few weeks ago I was browsing the CD selection at the Goodwill close to my school and my friend found The Light in the Piazza. I knew that Kelli O'Hara (who I think has an insanely beautiful voice) was one of the leads in the show. I also knew from my aunt that it was about mental illness of some sort, but I didn't know much more about it, other than that she had seen and loved it. Being as interested in shows with unconventional topics as I am (Next to Normal is one of my favorites), I bought it and gave it a try. It was $1 and I've already gotten more use of it than what it cost me. It has quickly become one of my favorite musicals. The songs are beautiful on their own, but listening to them all together for the first time is what made me fall for this show. It's a beautiful piece, beautifully sung and acted, even just through the recording.

It also came with a book of lyrics including pictures from the original Broadway production, only further justifying the $1 I spent on it. It was a beautiful find and would recommend this show to anyone, even if you have to buy it at full price. I can't imagine why the original owner would've given it to Goodwill in the first place. The only downside to it is that the outer casing is pretty beat up and sports a few odd stains. The Light in the Piazza is stunning and I'm glad that I took my aunt's word and picked it up.

Goodwill is expensive?

I'm getting disappointed in Goodwill's prices. Two years ago I got my first Fruits Basket book there for a quarter. Granted, it's not in the best condition, but I love the book and I can't complain. It's just yellowed a bit with a bend in the cover. A few weeks ago I found my second Fruits Basket there with the price bumped up to a dollar. More expensive, but not drastically so. It's still not a splurge by any means, especially when this series is something I really want to have for my own. Last week I went to Goodwill and they had the manga series Pita Ten. I'd never heard of it, though it did pique my interest. Each volume was marked $1. After deliberating, today I returned and decided I'd buy a few of the volumes if they were still there. They were. And to my dismay, they cost $2 each. You're telling me that a few weeks I could've bought four of these books for $4, and now I'd only get two of them for that price? I know it's still not a lot of money. But it's Goodwill. I'm a poor college student. It just feels wrong to me. I guess because someone's buying the manga now they're bumping up prices. Who knows. But I know I won't be trying any new books anytime soon, I'll just keep looking for my Fruits Basket and pray that they don't get bumped too (though I'm sure they will).

Just another example of me being disappointed in prices recently: My brothers and I are big fans of Pokemon. I remember as a kid having gold plated Pokemon cards from Burger King that my dad got for us special. And last week, I walked into Goodwill and they had two of them. I was basically overjoyed to see them and ready to spend probably $5 on one of them. I flipped the box over - and at first I saw $1.00. WOW! What a steal! Then I noticed it actually cost ten dollars. Tagged twice so no mistakes made. I realize buying it off the internet would likely be more expensive, but really, HOW MUCH more expensive? This is Goodwill. They priced it that high because they knew they could because it was classic Pokemon and someone would buy it. I was disappointed and honestly a little bit disgusted. Back on the shelf it went.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs DVD

For a few months now, I've been hunting for Disney Princess DVDs any time I've gone thrift shopping, and up until today, I had no luck. But my brother and I stopped at a yard sale on the way home from Goodwill today and looking through the CDs I found Snow White. I was really excited, except for the fact that there was no case. I generally like having my CDs and such in the casing. After a little deliberation, I decided that $1 for a Disney classic couldn't be beat (Snow White was also my second favorite princess as a kid), and I bought the movie. Upon closer inspection after buying it, I was surprised to see Japanese (or Chinese, or Korean) characters on the DVD below the title and in the disk's information. I got scared that the movie might be completely in a different language, but putting it in my computer showed me English was an option. It seemed almost like a secondary option, but as long as it's there, I can't complain! And if I ever decide to watch it in Japanese I'll always have the option now, haha.

Fruits Basket (Vol. 2)

It was almost two years ago when I found the first Fruits Basket at my local Goodwill. Every Goodwill visit that followed I always looked  at the bookshelves, hoping to find more of the series (one of my absolute favorites of any, manga or book). Today was the first time I saw another, and I excitedly reached over a woman's cart to grab it off the shelf. I am so HAPPY. At first I thought it was another copy of the first volume, and I figured I'd just buy it again because the first one I got is bent on the cover and yellowed inside. I was even more excited when I saw it was not only a different volume, but the second one in the series, so so far I have them in order. It's in much better condition than my first one and I can't even begin to explain how overjoyed I was to finally find one again. I looked desperately at the shelves after finding this one, thinking the person who donated it might have had a collection they gave away, but it was the only volume there. Disappointingly, this was $1 as opposed to my previous installment which cost me $.25 cents. Here's hoping this summer is good to me in finding more!

The Little Mermaid Soundtrack - 2006

I try and frequent my local 2nd and Charles store as much as possible, and recently I've been looking for The Little Mermaid soundtrack. I wasn't having any luck. Last month they had it - in Spanish. Today I walked up to the Soundtracks section of the CDs and it was at the front of its row! I picked it up immediately. I'm so happy to have finally found it. Ariel was my favorite princess as a child, and I still love Disney everything. The "Special Edition" part of this is kind of lame, sadly. It's just an extra disk with TLM songs sung by the Jonas Brothers, Ashley Tisdale, Raven, and Jessica Simpson (what?). Not exactly what I'd be looking for when buying a The Little Mermaid CD, and I'm guessing it's the same way for most other people, but thankfully it's on the second disk and I can just ignore it. The first disk has all of the songs and the entire score from the movie I love, which is all I can ask. Like the sticker on front says, it cost $5.25.

Superman Pez Dispenser

This was one of the first things I saw when I walked into the store. I know that Seinfeld not only has a Superman hidden or referenced in every episode, but there's also (at least) one episode dedicated to the candy Pez dispensers. My mom is a huge Seinfeld fan so I got it just for her. I'm not sure if it's in working condition. I can't remember exactly how Pez dispensers work, but the top of it wobbles up and down a bit, and when pulled all the way out it quickly slides back down when not being held. I don't think my mom would be eating Pez out of it anyway, I got it for the novelty. It cost $1. 

Romeo and Juliet (1968) Record Soundtrack

I've always loved the story of Romeo and Juliet, and my freshman year of high school we watched the Franco Zeffirelli film adaptation in my English class. I was absolutely enchanted by the movie (and the actors) and never really stopped thinking about it. Yesterday I went to Goodwill (for the first time in a while) and was elated when I found the soundtrack among the old records. I carried it around the store with me as I continued browsing and started to think about how if I bought it it would just sit around my house, unused. I decided to put it back. I placed it discreetly in the middle of one of the shelves just in case. By today I was really regretting not buying it, so I went back and made my purchase. It's beautiful and I'm really happy with it.