wicked good.

i finally jumped on the wicked bandwagon. although, i've heard much praise for the production for quite some time, i never seemed to get into the phenomena. i've never read the book, nor heard much music beyond popular here and there. i must admit the closest i've come to knowing much about the story is a friend giving me a synopsis on the book and hearing defying gravity on glee. thus, when i heard wicked was coming to greenville i didn't feel the urge to bust open my thin wallet and buy a ticket. in the newspaper, i read that 2 hours before every show there is a lottery where 20 lucky people can purchase an orchestra pit ticket for $25. i figured it was worth a shot. on opening day i did not prove to be so lucky. i returned the next evening, a little more hopeful. seeing as i never win anything, i was really surprised when my name was picked! i had third row seats to the second day of the show! now, i must admit, there was a reason the ticket was cheap. i was on the end, therefore some of the stage was obscured. but regardless, i paid $125 less than the person sitting to my right, and they couldn't see much more than me. overall, i thought the show was great. the set design (what i could see of it) was excellent, the characters were so well cast, and the play was much more humorous than i expected. all in all, it was an enjoyable evening. hell, i might even try my luck for a second time and sit on the opposite side of the row this time!

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)

londontown.

my last european hoorah was spent in london with T, a friend from camp and true londoner. i left on thursday the 22nd and my trip got off to an eventful start. i arrived at the barcelona airport with adequate time before my flight. due to the rain(?) my flight was delayed approximately 45 minutes, then another 45, then at 4 pm (an hour and a half after my flight was supposed to leave) my flight got cancelled. i guess there's got to be a first time for everything. craziness ensued, including a mad rush of angry brits and spaniards, along with myself, racing behind an airline worker, backtracking through passport control, racing through baggage claim and to the easyjet ticketing desk to get on the next flight to london. i was one of the lucky ones who was able to get on the 6 o'clock flight. i had to trade in my ticket, then for the second time of the day-check in, go through security, back through passport control, and proceed to the terminal where i had spent the better part of my afternoon. i arrived about 30 minutes before boarding and finally was off to london. i arrived in gatwick about 4 hours later than planned.

passport control in london was also quite an experience. i had to fill out a detailed sheet explaining how long i was staying, where i was staying, etc. before getting my stamp i was involved in a game of twenty questions. how long are you staying? why are you here? where are you staying? what does your friend do? what do you do? why aren't you working right now? when are you going back to the states? what are your plans when you return to the states? where else have you visited in europe? where are you going after this? ok, so maybe not twenty, but i am not making up those questions. i mean why does it matter to passport security what my plans are for the rest of my life??? and thanks for bringing up that sensitive issue. the trip may have gotten off to a rough start, i have zero complaints about the rest of my stay. i then took the train to the victoria station where T met me and then we took the tube to his house in north london where a wonderful much needed warm meal awaited me.

the following morning i woke up to my first full english breakfast. (toast with baked beans, bacon, sausage, fried egg, mushrooms, and tea. ok i admit, quite strange, but it was better than it sounds.) we then took the tube and headed towards the thames. although too full to actually take advantage of all the wonderful foods, we wandered through the borough market anyways. after, we walked down the thames to the tate modern, where we experienced some good modern art. we walked back along the thames, caught the tube and ate yet another huge meal, this time the adopted national food of britain, curry. we headed down to south london for the night where i got to experience a british 30th birthday party at a rather smart (nice for you americans) place.

the first stop of the day.

tate modern.

saturday morning i took a solo outing to the tate britain. when i left, the cloudy weather had cleared and i walked up to the parliament building/big ben/westminster area. i continued to wander around the thames. after dinner, we headed back out to south london for another birthday party at a swanky bar.

big ben and the london eye.

parliament.

sunday morning, well early afternoon, i headed in search of brick lane. the sunday market is crazy. the street was packed with food vendors, vintage stores, and tons of people. again, i was quite full so i could not take full advantage of all the delicious looking foods. there was even a mexican stand. i did some serious withholding. once i escaped the crowds, i went to the whitechapel art gallery. there was a great sophie calle exhibit that was featured at the 2007 venice biennale based on a true life break-up email. afterwards, i tubed back to north london and had a typical british sunday roast.

the next day consisted of some architectural hunts. my first stop was the gherkin. from there i wandered to the tower of london, as did every other tourist in london. i walked across the tower bridge and along the southbank to the design museum. after grabbing some tea, i headed to city hall, and up the thames, across millennium bridge, to st. pauls and the surrounding area. i caught the tube up to notting hill and found some premium american shopping. whole foods, tk maxx (don't ask), urban outfitters, and american apparel all within an arm's reach from each other.

the london skyline.

tuesday morning i ventured around the highgate neighborhood. T and i grabbed breakfast at an english cafe and did some shopping for our curry cooking and cheesecake making for later in the day. i also had my first hobnobs and tea experience. (hobnobs are cookies, btw.) we then headed to the british museum, which was overrun by children. we saw some ok art and lots of ancient arch before calling it a day. when walking back to the tube i totally found some reeses in a news agent. you can imagine the excitement! that evening we made some fish curry and a massive cheesecake. we headed over to brick lane for the night to see a few bands and were also graced with the presence of the ever-intense london samba club.

the british museum.

my last full day in london involved baking some cookies before stopping by buckingham palace, the royal academy, and general city wanderings. that evening i had traditional british fish n chips and we went to a bar in north london with T and some uni(versity) friends.

thursday morning i packed my things and enjoyed a breakfast of champions...cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies, and tea. then headed towards the airport and had a much smoother journey back.

in case you couldn't tell by the numerous food references and market visits, the food in britain was really good. a few strange combos, but nothing like the bad british food rep though. i was exposed to some good and not so good british tv. some of the humor just doesn't translate. also, all the british-isms kept me entertained. there are definitely too many to list. and besides, i'm rambling. all-in-all i was very impressed with london. i only have 3 more days in europe. it's hard to believe it's coming to a close!