the past few months, in summary.

hello readers. yes, i realize how much time has passed since my last post. currently you find me freezing and struggling to finalize my thesis topic. i'll try to give you a quick run through of all the lovely accounts of my happenings of january and february.

i suppose we will start where i left off. new years. so new years came and went without much fuss. i definitely missed ringing in the new year with friends and family at our annual new years brunch. a huge thank you to all of you who mailed christmas cards, new years cards, valentines cards, candies, cookies, and general americana to me. although the royal mail sucks, i appreciated all of them, regardless of how long it took for them to arrive! all the cards are still proudly on display in my room. along with the new year came essay deadlines and many days at the gallery, as well as a trip to paris!

in the middle of january i was talking with my good friend, E, who lives in dc. she was helping me brainstorm for ideas of a weekend getaway. on a whim, we decided to see if there were any last minute mlk weekend flight deals to europe. lucky for us, she found a reasonable flight to paris. she instantly booked an international flight, i booked my first eurostar ticket, we found a hotel and rendez-vous-ed in paris 36 hours later! i am so thankful i have such a willing and adventurous (and future travel show co-host) to drop everything and jet-set to europe for a few days! being my third time in paris, i willingly took E around to a few of my favorite spots around the city, trekked through museums, and explored new sights around the city. the eurostar trip was pleasant. it only took about 2 hours to cross the channel and arrive in the city center. the first night we picked up the paris staples: brie, bread, bugles, pretzels, nutella, and wine, and ate our meal in the comfort of our little hotel room in the bastille. (coincidentally, we stayed in the same hotel B and i stayed in during my first trip to paris.) the next morning, we awoke to an amazing sunny 50 degrees (and the sun stayed out until after 5!) for those of you who have yet to experience the grim, grey, and misty london winter you have no idea how appreciative i was of the sun...i mean literally seeing the ENTIRE sun...for more than 15 minutes, and past 4 pm. (london goes from grey, to lighter grey, to light grey, to dark grey, to black all day every day. although, i must give the city credit as it has not been getting dark until 5 or 5:30 as of late.) after consuming the typical french breakfast, croissants, nutella, bread, etc. we began our day at notre dame. being a sunday we even caught a bit of mass during our visit. we then walked through the catacombs, lunched in the luxembourg gardens, wandered through saint germain, and then tackled the d'orsay. day 2, brought some rain and colder weather, but we still managed to cram a lot in. we went to the eiffel tower, champs elysees, the musee l'orangerie, strolled around the louvre, and then visited the pompidou. the next morning we woke up early and took the rer out to versailles. the palace was absolutely beautiful (and free to european students). after touring the palace, we had to scope out the gardens. unfortunately the weather wasn't the best so we didn't linger too long. i had to visit my favorite book shop, shakespeare & co. (i bought a new book called ghostwritten by david mitchell which i am currently reading.) for our last night we had a lovely french meal with onion soup and salad and mousse. the next morning, after consuming more bread, pastries, crepes, and nutella than one person should in the span of 3 days, we both had to depart to our respective cities. it was so nice to escape london and the uk, as i haven't left either since i've arrived. (ok i did go to liverpool for 2 days, but we all know how that turned out.) it was even better to have a friend from home go with me.

parieeee.

sun!

more sun!

the infamous lilypads at l'orangerie.

christmas trees were still everywhere in the city.

it even made up for my lack of christmas cheer during the holiday season.

the chapel in versailles.

my weekend home.

february proved to be a busy month. and those 28 days always go by so quickly. school and my internship have been busy. when not working or studying, i've been discovering new restaurants throughout the city, cooking with friends, and trying to bake more. i made some strawberry cupcakes for valentines day, followed by cookies, and i just baked one of my favorite smitten kitchen recipes for a friends birthday. there have been a few sunny days here and there in london, but it seems the winter weather is back for bit. i'm so ready for spring and don't want to hear anymore stories about the sunny sc weather!

march and april will be bringing lots of traveling for me. i am excited to see some new places, as i really haven't taken advantage during my time here. i suppose that's part of growing up and having responsibilities.

tomorrow i am making homemade pizza for the first time since being here. i have really missed pizza. the british don't seem to believe in it. i will be making my version of mellow mushroom's kosmic karma. i can not wait. it's been months since i've had a homemade pizza (which was usually a weekly thing back in the states.)

for those of you who beg or anxiously await for facebook pictures, i am sorry i am lazy and never seem to have the time or energy to upload pictures. one day when you are least expecting it, they will appear. for now you will have to suffice with the limited selection i post here.

well, hopefully i won't leave you hanging for so long next time. i am sure my upcoming travels will bring lots of stories and mishaps, as is often the case. so i will have to let the suspense build and will share all in good time. for those of you back in the sunny homestead bottle the vitamin d and mail some my way :)

happy thanksgiving!

today marks the first time i've really been away from home for thanksgiving. i was studying abroad in 2007, but i was with americans, and we had a banging thanksgiving feast. it wasn't quite the real thing, but pretty darn close. ok back to thanksgiving 2k10, today was just like any other day. i had to go to my internship, work until 7, blah blah. no macy's thanksgiving day parade, or being lazy all day, or spending half the day in the kitchen, before stuffing my face and taking a nap. D and i managed to find a restaurant, the breakfast club, that was serving an american thanksgiving meal. it was pretty traditional, ok well there were lots of things i never eat on thanksgiving, but it's the thought that counts, right? the meal started with fried feta and cranberries. the main course consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes, a few sweet potatoes and roasted potatoes, and then a bunch of stuff i didn't eat. for dessert, there was no pumpkin pie, but a pumpkin cheese cake. it was pretty good. all in all a successful day, but nothing to write home about. the highlight of my day was when i returned home and the front door was decorated for me!

see, mom and dad, i am in london!

the feta and cranberries.

see, lots of questionable items.

the door to my flat!

hope all of you back in the states had a wonderful turkey day!

happy fall y'all.

happy halloween from across the pond!!! (or the same side of the pond, depending where my readers are.) halloween here definitely isn't celebrated to the same level as it is at home, sweet home. with that being said, last night D and i manage to round up a group of north americans to celebrate one of the great fall holidays. i was surprised that there were quite a large number of people dressed up and out and about last night to celebrate. we found a bar that had a 'fancy dress' night. (yes, over here it isn't called a costume party, it's referred to as a fancy dress party.) the whole pumpkin carving, pumpkin flavored treats, halloween decorations, insane amounts of halloween candy, and trick-or-treating haven't quite caught on over here, but the dressing up has. while in the states, many people try to come up with more clever costumes, over here most of the costumes tend to be along the more traditional blood and gore, zombie, witches costumes, etc. i also watched hocus pocus to get into the holiday spirit. halloween wouldn't have been complete without listening to a few cult classics including 'the monster mash', 'i put a spell on you', and of course 'thriller'. sadly, this year i didn't have a pumpkin to carve. but, thank you to all of the wonderful people who sent me cards and candy to put me in the halloween spirit! my window sill has been quite festive the past week or two. see?

my window sill and the view from my room.

along with halloween came the annual 'fall back'. gaining an hour is always a nice feeling, but i'm not sure that i'm ready for everything that goes along with it. rumor has it that it gets dark here around 4 pm...so that should be interesting. in honor of apple season, and to satiate my cravings, i baked an apple pie. and i've been talking about this for weeks! last week i bought some fresh fall apples at the borough market. i bought a prepared crust from the store. it's not the best though. i'll have to do some shopping around next time. homemade crust is always the best. i don't think i'm brave enough to attempt it here though. i am definitely missing the kitchen aid mixer at home! i baked cookies a few weeks back. i forgot how long it takes to mix cookies by hand. ah, the luxuries of home!

before.

after. happy halloween!!!

oh yes, i finally got a replacement battery for my camera. there will be more pictures coming soon!

british-isms

so tonight i had my first major american-british language mishap. K and i (both greenville natives) set off in search of mexican food, which is hard to come by here. not only is it hard to come by, but it's not corona's prices either. in a moment of not thinking, we ordered a side of chips. obviously, we have to take it in stride that an endless basket of chips and salsa isn't immediately brought to our table upon our arrival. that aside, you can only imagine the disappointment that spread across our faces when a basket of fries was brought to our table. rather than fill up on chips and salsa before my enchilada, we downed some ketchup and fries. not the same effect. next time i know to specify for tortilla chips. don't try this at home kids, stick with the usual chips and salsa. and eat a few extra for me!

...but if i get a real hankering for tex-mex there's a (drumroll, please) CHIPOTLE in london!!! you have no idea how excited that makes me!

uni.

last week was my first week of uni(versity). tuesdays, i have class at the design museum. the design museum is just up the tube line from where i live. it takes me about 20 minutes by tube to get there, plus about 20 minutes walking from the station. the design museum is located along the thames, close to the tower bridge. (in case you needed a visual.) along my walk i get to pass the infamous london bridge, city hall (design by norman foster), peer across the river at the tower of london, pass by the tower bridge, and then i reach the museum. it's a pleasant walk, but the wind gave me a small taste of what's to come when i gets cold. i got to meet our adjunct professor (or tutor as they seem to call it), who is the head of the curatorial team at the design museum. we also got to meet all the members of the curatorial team. they described their work and took us through two of the current exhibitions that they curated. both are very interesting. one exhibit is the brit insurance designs of the year and the other is the architect's john pawson's works.

wednesdays, i have class in kingston. i have to take a bus from where i live to the train station. the train takes about 25 minutes. the big if in getting to kingston is the bus. the bus should only take about 10-15 minutes to get to the station. that's only if i don't have to go during rush hour. however, the rain on top of rush hour makes for a long journey. ie on wednesday, i left around 8:10, and it was raining. so i didn't arrive to the station until after 9. good thing i left super early! wednesday we went to the kingston gallery and met the director there. we got an introduction to what the gallery does and how students are involved. then, we got a slight introduction to an upcoming exhibit the gallery is putting on. apparently there will be some student involvement...as to how much i'm not quite sure yet. we got a little vip tour to the stanley picker house in kingston as well. stanley picker was a wealthy american, living in london, who was an art enthusiast and collector. he has quite a range of art pieces all displayed in his house, yard, and a small detached gallery on the property. we got to tour it because a-he left the house as a trust for the university and left the money to build the gallery at kingston and b-the project we will be involved with is based off of the house. the upcoming project/exhibition will actually be put on by ab rogers--richard rogers' son. he is practicing in london and we have the opportunity to meet with him in a week or two. i'm excited!

hmm, on another note....i had my first official high tea. yes it was as british as it sounds, complete with delicious scones. i actually had a greenville native, K, who is a friend of friends, take me to tea. she just completed her masters in london and is currently looking for a job. so yay for new friends, and one from home! there's also been some patches of nice weather here and there. when it has been sunny, or pleasant, i've been taking advantage of my close proximity to clapham common. it takes me about 5-10 minutes to run there. and it's quite nice to be back on a workout routine, albeit a slightly half-assed one. believe it or not, friday was sunny for most of the day and was about 70. sunday was quite nice as well. i ventured out to hyde park and the serpentine gallery. the gallery was ok, but the park was very nice. due to the nice weather and the half-marathon finish line in hyde park (who knew?) there were tons of people out and about. but, there were some crisp fall leaves, lots of green, and sunny weather, so i spent the better part of my day reading in the grass. also, i have decided i have the worst bus timing ever. every time i walk to the bus station, i can see my bus approaching, but there is no possible way for me to make it in time. while this may not seem terrible, it literally happens to me every-single-time. and then i have to wait for about 10 minutes (usually a few more) for the next one. 10 minutes isn't that long, but i'm not looking forward to that when it is pouring down rain or in the middle of winter. otherwise, i've been missing pumpkin spice lattes, football games, and other fall luxuries those of you in the states are fortunate enough to have. i think that about sums up my daily happenings over the past week or so. until next time!

behold, the future.

for those of you who care (or only keep up with me via the blog?) i finally, finally, finally have a plan! drum roll please.....in one week, i will be moving to london. yes, i realize this sounds all too familiar. this go round i will be working towards a masters in curating contemporary design at kingston university. kingston is a small suburb on the outskirts of london. i will be studying there, as well as working with the design museum in central london. unlike the failed au pair trip, or europe round two as i like to call it, i will not be going alone. by shear luck, i met a girl from greenville who also will be studying at kingston. i have learned, by trial and error, about power in numbers, or rather the comfort of having a familiar shoulder to lean on.

currently, this post finds me packing and wondering what the future holds. i have all those similar feelings of anxiety and anticipation that lingers with the beginning of something new.

i now have one week to soak up the good ole us of a and take full advantage of my parents' good graces. next time i check back in, you will probably learn more than you ever cared to know about flat-hunting in london and all this mishaps that will undoubtedly follow me during my trans-atlantic move.

may day

wow...is it really the middle of may already? where does the time go? i feel so old saying that, but it's true. one minute it's the end of february with winter still lurking around the corner. the next, it's frigging 90 degrees and halfway through may. i won't bore you with all the exciting non-events of my life the past few weeks. i'll just run through some of the highlights...

-i saw passion pit in concert a few weeks ago.

-artisphere in greenville was awesome. i saw a few of brian olsen's art in action performances. i also helped with the artists' of the upstate exhibit still up at centre stage through the last weekend in may.

-all of my wonderful siblings are home for the summer, which means a cramped house and learning how to live with them again.

-i still have yet to finish devil in the white city and wicked.

-it's been over a year since i graduated from clemson! (and what do i have to show for it?) oh and they have the nerve to send me letters asking for donations. haha, what a joke!

-one month until my birthday!

well, ta-ta for now!

whoops.

has it really been 3ish weeks since my last post? i suppose the two week olympic hiatus proved to be true. yes i had olympic fever. i had it bad. especially the first week. second week, not so much. well, i got a little addicted to curling. also, lack of posting is due to my busy life schedule. not gonna lie, my life has gone up a notch on the busy meter. i got a job about 2 weeks ago. i didn't even go looking for this one. it's not what you know, it's who you know. i must say it's nice to have a slight purpose in life beyond entertaining myself all day. however, the job factor did put a kink in my non-routine daily routine. actually the whole j-o-b really disrupts my workout schedule ie the only really productive thing i do everyday. i would proudly like to state that i have gone to the gym a few days a week, before work. (meaning i get up long before the sun comes out so i can be at work by 8.) i know you want to know all the dirty deets about the job, but let's just say it isn't exactly up my alley and not in a bad way. i am working in the medical realm so mostly i just do what i am told and work diligently to remain in the good graces of those who tell me what to do. the job has its perks and is interesting, in a i'm-not-really-in-my-element-kind-of-way and it's nice to have a solid paycheck en route to my checking account. plus i work with some characters, and i mean this as a compliment.

i am still waiting to hear back from some grad schools. i had an interview with one this past week. more to come later. slash when i actually have some information to give. i would really love some non-loan money tips though.

i haven't really been baking so i have no new recipes. i'll save the book club stuff for later because my reading pace has slowed considerably.

oh it snowed all day on march the second. yes, i thought it was crazy when it snowed on march the first last year. this weekend it is in the high 50s-low 60s. go figure.

anddddd i'm leaving for key west tomorrow. my first big travel adventure since the great european tour. and yes, i have a free place to stay. that's how i roll. we all know i am an expert on doing it cheap and doing it well.

(that's what she said)

with, that i'm gone again, but hopefully more exciting updates coming soon!

travel writing and reading.

it's time for the book club update...

i finished the bell jar last week. it didn't end quite like i was expecting. the book ended a little ambiguously, allowing the reader to come to whichever conclusion or fate they want esther to take. next, i have decided to pick up eat, pray, love by elizabeth gilbert. from what i've read, some of her travels based on self-discovery and the no obligations philosophy takes me back to several months ago during my soul searching european travels. while i left for europe under much different pretenses, some of this book (albeit she is still in italy) it reads much like my diary. and i am forever envious of anyone who gets to travel and get paid for it. if only they could share the wealth!

on another note, and as mentioned in my previous post, i've mostly been glued the to tv watching the olympics. also, friday afternoon we got about 3"-4" inches of beautiful, fluffy snow. of course the sun was out bright and early saturday morning so it was very short-lived. also, i am failing at the job search. someone please help, i'm going crazy!

two years of waiting.

and olympic season is finally here!

i prefer the summer games, but the winter games are a nice filler every two years. i'm totes an olympic junkie, so see you in two weeks!

the king of pop.

yesterday, i watched this is it. (yes, the michael jackson movie.) as a child, i remember listening to, and loving, billie jean. i always liked him. obviously during his dark ages, i became a quieter fan, but that phased out sometime in high school. in college my friends and i were all huge mj fans. i think this was a solid foundation to our friendship, that and being architecture majors. we even took it so far as celebrating a friend's 21st each as a respective michael era/song (with the appropriate attire and not to mention music) in the comfort of our apartment. all the bases were covered...baby michael, billie jean, thriller, black and white, even trial michael. (in case you're curious, i was thriller michael.) sorry i won't be posting any photos. those of you who know me have facebook privileges. to get back on track, i was quite shocked when i learned of his sudden death. not only because the king of pop had died, but because this forever ruined my chances of ever seeing mj perform live. no, i did not have tickets to his up and coming show. i remember having arguments with people about whether or not he still had 'it'. i did not doubt that he had still had 'it' because performing truly was his essence. even numerous scandals, bad press, and countless plastic surgeries could not affect the pure talent it takes move your body like he could. after watching this is it, my hypotheses were proved fact...michael still had 'it'. even at 50 he could move just like he did at that billie jean performance when he captivated millions with the moonwalk. the july show would have been unforgettable, and michael was planning on pushing the boundaries yet again. i am sorry that he never got the comeback he planned for. bottom line, if you like mj, you can't go wrong with this movie. it's nonstop rehearsal footage of all his best songs with the complete dancing, stage, etc, etc, etc. for now i will leave you with one of the most iconic moments of pop culture and the music industry.

book club.

seeing as my life is fairly uneventful, i have taken full advantage of this by immersing myself into books. i am currently reading by 6th book already this year. i most recently finished the help by kathryn stockett. i think it might be the best book i've read this year. it takes place in jackson, mississippi during the heat of the civil rights movement. the book centers around skeeter phelan, a rich white girl, who is secretly involved with several black women, the help of many of her married friends. skeeter and the help are writing a book chronicling the good, the bad, and the ugly throughout years of raising young white children on top of doing all the cooking and cleaning for wealthy southern families. i found myself laughing throughout much of the book and crying towards the end. i definitely recommend this book to anyone out there. i finished never let me go last week. i'm not sure whether i liked or disliked the book. overall, it was a good read and i wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it. however, upon finishing the book i wanted more out of it. mostly, i think i just felt sorry for the characters and the book ended much as i expected or what i could anticipate while reading it. not that that was a bad thing, i was just hoping for something better for kathy.

currently i'm reading the bell jar by sylvia plath. i spent much of my high school english classes reading her poetry, and have been wanting to pick up this book for several years. finally i am. from what i've read, it reads much faster than i thought it would, considering it contains such a dense and morose subject matter.

in case you're interested in other books i've read or talked about the list is as follows:

the brief, wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz

the glass castle by jeannette walls

her perfect symmetry by audrey niffenger

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro

my favorite things.

one of my favorite things is the hours between 6 and 8 monday through friday. why, you ask. it's because of the world cafe broadcast. although i don't listen to it nearly enough, i do stalk david dye's website and music selections. the guests are always great, and much of my new music discoveries, i must attribute to dye's ear. plus, it's npr. how could you go wrong?

growing up, my parents constantly listened to npr. we (my 3 siblings and i) used to moan and grow tired of the constant talking and world updates. to this day my mom still cooks listening to all things considered. my parents have even seen michael feldman's whad'ya know? live. although, i can't get totally into some of these shows i think they're happy that npr has rubbed off on me.

snow.

last night/today we got some snow in sc. yay! i love snow. partially because it gives me a good excuse to stay in and drink hot chocolate, watch movies, and read. i used to love exploring on snow days. i still do. so i think i will go do that now.

better late than never.

because nothing exciting has happened the past few days, i thought i would review 2009. although it doesn't feel like it, all in all, i had a pretty good year. i had some big things happen to me. (how big, depends on how you define it, but it's all relative.)

-received my bachelors of architecture

-returned to europe, after 2 years of longing

-flew thousands of miles to discover that i don't like doing other people's laundry

-featured in the greenville news 3 times (yes, i am quite the local celeb)

-suffered and survived the worst stomach bug of my life

-saw ozzy osborne in person

-managed not to get the swine flu (knock on wood)

-had a jack-o-lantern that burned for 36 hours straight

-realized the real world isn't all it's cracked up to be

...ok this list keeps getting worse. so for your sake, and mine, i will leave you with my 2009 in review.

catch-up.

i've been meaning to blog all week, but it seems i'm just too busy. ok, you called it, that may be a lie. although, for not having a full-time job somehow the days seem to go pretty quickly. i've inquired about several jobs, and had 5 interviews, and have only managed to score a 2 day a week babysitting job. i started this past week. i pick the kids up from school and hangout until 5-ish. it's decent money. also, i have been working out everyday--hold all applause until the end please. since i have nothing better to do, i might as well be getting into shape. i actually quite enjoy it. i've been getting back into running, do lots of yoga, and i have even tested the waters with zumba.

when i last wrote, i was currently reading the glass castle and her perfect symmetry. i finished both this past week. bringing my book count for 2010 to 3! her perfect symmetry was no time traveler's wife, but a good read. the story did not unfold as i was expecting and had a morbid undertone. that's to be expected as the book centers around the highgate cemetery, in highgate (northern london). the glass castle, a memoir, depicts the rough childhood of jeanette walls and her unusual and difficult upbringing. while, her childhood has a number of dark patches, she and 2 of her 3 siblings, managed to break away from their past and begin new lives in new york city. now i am reading never let me go by kazuo ishiguro.

on an entirely different note, i am obsessed with

i am so glad they took the golden globe for best tv series. last night they snagged the sag award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series. the entire cast is amazing. i have a special spot in my heart for all of them, especially cory monteith. jane lynch and matthew morrison are close seconds.

i think that's all i will be leaving you with for now. until next time...

new year, new you.

as for above, that's what i keep hearing, and i'm sure you do too. so my new year's resolution is to blog more...just kidding. if you thought leaving you hanging for two weeks was bad, how did you feel about the two months?

the past two months in review...living back at home has taken some adjustments. it does have it's advantages though. mainly, free food, no rent, free gym membership, free cable...you get the drift. thanksgiving was wonderful as always. definitely lots of turkey, mashed potatoes, pies, etc. involved there. christmas came and went as it always does. some surprises on christmas morning, but mostly just the formality of opening the gifts i've already picked out. don't get me wrong, i like picking out my gifts and genuinely love christmas and everything that comes along with the holiday season. but, ever since i cracked the case on old mr. claus, christmas isn't as magical as it used to be. the fam took the annual trek up to cincinnati for brief holiday merriment with all the relatives.

as for the job search, not so much. the economy is just as terrible as i left it. i will most likely be devoting the next few months to babysitting as nothing else seems a terribly viable option. it took me about, oh a week, to figure out that this job thing isn't all it's cracked up to be. as an effort to defy the economy and unemployment i decided to apply to grad schools because taking out thousands of dollars in school loans sure beats unemployment. i'll reveal the details all in good time.

on a lighter note, i slightly enjoy being unemployed, minus the whole lack of money thing. i have time to work out everyday, catch up on tv shows, and watch lots of movies. i'm slowing working through both entourage and arrested development. i've also been watching far too much glee (which i am obsessed with, btw). i've also got a nice stack of books just waiting to be read. i recently finished the brief wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz. currently i am reading the glass castle by jeannette walls and her fearful symmetry by audrey niffenger (author of the time traveler's wife--one of my top 10 favorites).

obviously this isn't a full account of the past two months, but let's be honest, not much has been happening these days. i promise not to neglect the blog for two months again, regardless of how boring things may seem.

happy 2010!

it's been a long time, shouldn't have left you.

for all you loyal readers, this one's for you.

i had 5 or 6 glorious days in barcelona after my london vacay. my last few days in barcelona were mostly spent wandering around (big surprise), recording raval characters, consuming my last bit of spanish beer and foods, revisiting favorite places, yada, yada, yada. actually, my last few days in barcelona were really wonderful, i'm just lazy and don't feel like recounting all the dirty details.

on 4 november i said my farewells and left my beloved europe. i flew barcelona. dublin. boston. dc. J and mom were graciously waiting for me in baggage and then we headed off to bethesda. the next morning J and i ran to catch our bus to nyc. we were reunited with L and S and spent 4 short days in the big apple. i consumed lots of delicious foods, including a pumpkin spiced latte and some pumpkin beer. don't worry, that wasn't all i consumed in four days, but you probably don't want to know about all of that. i also was able to watch my first clemson game of the season, complete with classic tailgate food. after our weekend getaway, i hopped around the dc metropolitan area to visit R and E and do some baltimore/dc site seeing. on thursday, one week after my arrival in the states, mom dad, and D drove up to dc. we did the typical tourist stuff...monuments, and loads of museums. there was tons of rain to make our trip extra special. the following saturday we departed for the good ole sc.

home is home. i can't have too many complaints, right? it's been good catching up with friends and familiar places. i've been doing some slight job searching and grad school research. nothing promising yet. it's funny how quickly the days pass. i mean how does anyone have time for a job? i've babysat twice. i think 2 days of work has quadrupled my cash flow. gah, i love this economy. ok so coming home has brought the sarcasm up a notch, can you blame me? also, i'm not sure why the aliyah lyric for the title, but it seemed fitting on several levels. for not posting in oh like two and a half weeks, sorry for this thing being so short and sweet. but, i no longer have european adventures to feed my blogging. i suppose you will have to settle, and read about the random thoughts and events of my mundane life as they come. get ready, i sure as hell am. (not)