Karlsplatz

There is an U-Bahn (the subway system) stop that has become a landmark for us here in Vienna. Karlsplatz station is that "downward slope" hotspot of Vienna. Every city has one. The one area of town that when you start hanging out there, you know you have hit rock bottom. There is enough drugs, alcohol, and more illegal substances than I want to know about going through just this one strech of this underground. You would be able to tell what area I am talking about when you see without knowing where it is because as soon as you get there your lungs cry in despair. Walking through this one area that only takes about two minutes to walk through will make your clothes and hair smell for the rest of the day.
I have many fond memories which I will always remember from Karlsplatz, but we had a choice incident yesterday. As we boarded the UBahn there was a man you was obviously drunk with a bottle in one hand and a glazed look on his face. When we sat down Kimberlee was telling some story from earlier in the night to Kim and I. The man is staring at Kim and nodding along to her story and showing expressions that infer that he too is part of the conversation. We are beginning to feel uncomfortable when we hear that beautiful melody by Mr. William Joel. "It's 9 o'clock on a Saturday. The regular crowd shuffles in. There's an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin." Our Karlsplatz friend broke into song and when I say broke I mean that something had to have broken because it was awful and very loud. He is basically serenading us in the middle of this jammed metro car. Some are looking at us as if it is our fault, some are blank faced in true Austrian fashion, and some are smiling in sympathy. After he finishes the chorus he yells, "Nevada!" To which Kim responds, "Nein, California." After some drunken German murmurings we had to get off the train, but I will never forget the night I was serenaded by the the old man sitting next to me making love to his tonic and gin.

Concentration Camp

The bus ride to Salzburg was a fairly typical one. As usual, my friend Megan and discussed all of the "drama" that we get wrapped up in.
"Why doesn't he get it? Is he blind?"
"He is so hard to read! What do you think he meant when he said that?"
"Are you worried about Jim and Pam getting together so soon? Because I am!"
"I just don't know if I should get her something from Vienna or Italy."
"Is McDreamy really going to leave Meredith?"
These are the kinds of problems that were occupying our thoughts on that bus ride, until we got to Mathausen. Mathausen is a labor camp is located about an hour outside of Salzburg. We heard stories about men who had been forced to leave their homes to come to the camp without any knowledge of what became of their families. We saw the gate they entered after being crammed into trains and trucks. Later, we walked through the gas chambers and execution rooms which was the most creepy thing I have ever done. I am not using creepy in the "The Sixth Sense is so creepy" way but in the sense that human beings killed other human beings by the roomful there. The last leg of the tour at Mathausen takes you to this gorgeous cliff that overlooks a little river. The cliff has a set of stairs cut out of it that has more steps than I have ever seen. This is where the prisoners were forced to carry the large boulders up to the camp and if they were too weak by the time they got to the top of the stairs they were unburdened from the rock and then thrown off the cliff into that sweet, little river. As Megan and I walked down the stairs, we talked about how stupid we are. My main thought as I walked through that camp was how lucky I am to have my big concerns be about tv shows and guys. This whole trip has taught me a lot about myself and that expereince was definitely one that helped.

And now, blog thoughts...

It has been quite a while since I have written anything here which has recently made me very sad. The reason it has made me sad is because I am coming to the halting relization that my days here in Europe are numbered and the numbers are getting ever so close to zero. I have never been very good at keeping a journal, so this blog is acting as my journal. Pathetic, isn't it? Three months in Europe and I all have to show for it is some boring travel log entries. I have had a lot of blog-worthy moments as of late so I am going to try and recount some of these over the next week or so. Please keep in mind that my thoughts are not anything grand but just things that I want to write down for my own benefit. Sorry, if I am being selfish, dear readers, but you'll get over it...

America the Beautiful

Do not get me wrong. I love Europe. I am having the time of life and am loving absolutely every second. I am not trying to brag, but I am. Just to bring me down from cloud nine, let's list the things that I miss about America:

1. Free water. I don't think we appreciate this the way we should. They charge you for tap water here! Crazy.
2. In direct correlation with number 1, free refills. Oh how I miss my endless supply of Diet Coke.
3. A good salad or Jamba Juice. This is probably because I am eating cheap which means a lot of schnitz and brauts, but I feel like I am not getting a lot of fresh food. I would kill for a good salad bar.
4. Bathrooms. Free ones, mind you. They have them here but you are expected to pay for most of them.
5. Having to schedule everything. I miss being able just bring friends home and have it be ok.
6. The "y" key. On German keyboards, the "z" key and the "y" key are switched and you never realize how much you use the "y" key until you keep typing "Ellen Llozd" or "zours trulz". It is quite annozing.
7. Prices. Stuff is expensive here, especially when you factor in conversion. I long for my good old Target.
8. Smiling. I miss smiling. I am a smiler. When you smile here, people think that you have mental problems.
9. People minding their own business and not telling you to cover your mouth when you yawn. Yes, this happened to me.
10. English. I miss English.

So, there they are. Again, I am not complaining, just documenting the things that I miss.

Vienna So Far- A Readers Digest Version

Vienna is awesome so far! I live with a Kimberlee and a Kimberly, and oddly enough I am the only one with a nickname. Here I am known as Ayon, the Spanish pronunciation of my name. I love living with the Kims because we have so much fun together. Even when we are lost in Vienna, we are having a blast cracking ourselves up and looking like obvious outsiders. Our couple that we live with are the sweetest people ever. Helmut and Edit. Helmut was described to us as a teddy bear and that is Helmut to a tee. He is this big teddy bear who is always cracking jokes and trying to make sure that we don’t get lost again. Edit is his cute little wife who is always rushing around us to make sure we have enough Nutella (God’s greatest creation) and yogurt to keep us happy at breakfast. We get breakfast every morning and it is always this awesome spread of meat, cheese, toast, yogurt with muselee (sp?), toast with Nutella, juices, and fruit teas for my sore throat. Food here is basically amazing. Edit took us on a walk through the Vienna Woods and we ended up at this restaurant that had every meat you can imagine schnitzeled. It was awesome. School is going really good and I can already feel my German improving. The city is gorgeous and the people are very helpful. We just got back from our day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia where it downpoured all day long, but we still had a really good time. I will try to be more consistent with my blog entries now that I am caught up, so until next time, Schuss!

Day 13 - Vienna! At Last!

On this day, I awoke to Vienna. From the train station we made our way to the Institute where we would be going to school and waited for the rest of our group. At this point, nothing was more welcome to me than the thought of unloading my luggage, seeing other people besides the three I had spent the last two weeks with, and showering. We were to stay in a hotel in our first night in Vienna. Before, checking into our hotel, we all had to go on a walk around Vienna. This was all fine and dandy except Kimberlee and I had not showered in 65 hours! We know, we counted. So, after our walk we got to our hotel and showered. I can’t remember feeling so refreshed. That night we ate at this really good pizza place, paid for by the institute. I had this really strange pizza, but it was awesome. It had shrimp, some sort of leafy lettuce, and a more biting cheese than your normal mozzarella. That night, the girls in my room and I stayed up and chatted for a while.

Day 12 - Switzerland

I awoke in Switzerland and having to lug my bags off the train. We had to settle some things in Geneva, but after that was all done we got on the train to Zurich. This train ride only made me sad that we were not spending more time in Switzerland, because the countryside there is beautiful. We drove past some of the cutest little towns I have ever seen. Most of our time in Zurich was spent in the train station with our stuff but we did take turns getting out and seeing some of the city. It was really fun and I had my first brutal wake up call that I was going to be speaking German for the next 3-4 months. We eventually got on our night train to Vienna.

Day 11 - Barcelona

For this day, there is not a whole lot to say because we had a bit of drama, which I dread like the plague, and I do not really feel like delving into that again. Highlights, without going into a ton of details would be:

1) I got to see the Barcelona Football Club and I bought a jersey. It was basically awesome and I was muy triste that I didn’t
get to see a game.
2) We went to a park that Gaudi designed some pieces in and that was pretty cool.
3) I got to eat some delicious fruit in a market.

That was pretty much my last day in Barcelona. I was a tad disappointed that we did not get more in, but such is life. Unfortunately, this did carry onto the next day a bit. We took the night train to Geneva, Switzerland that night. So for the record the night before was the last time I got to shower until Vienna. The train was fun because Kimberlee and I were sharing our car with the cutest little Catalan lady. She sat and peeled her apple with her little pocket knife and laid out all of her clothes for the next day.

Day 10 - Barcelona

Barcelona started with finding our hostel. (Are you noticing theme here?) After another disastrous search that ends with us eventually getting settled we went to lunch at this really good place that Rick Steves recommends. (Rick Steves has the best travel books, in my opinion, for future travelers) After lunch we headed towards La Pedrera which is an apartment complex designed by Antoni Gaudi. He definitely has a different style which I don’t really like all that much but it is definitely something that you have to see because it is quite a sight. We rounded off the Gaudi tour by going to La Sagrada Familia, which is a church that Gaudi designed and has been in the works since the 20s. It is still not supposed to be finished for another 50 years. After the Gaudi bonanza we got some food and wandered along Las Ramblas, which is the shopping area of Barcelona, until we reached the Mediterranean. After sitting there for a while we headed back to our hostel to close another day.

Day 9 - Cordoba

I awoke the next day feeling un-flu-like but very cold-like. I toughed it out though to see the beautiful gardens of the Alcazar palace. It was worth it, even if it was sweltering hot and I sounded like a hoarse man. There is not much else to be said for this day other than we got on another train and headed to Barcelona. We had hoped that getting into the Barcelona train station at midnight, we could just chill there all night and not have to get another night at a hostel because we had to cancel our plans to be in Sevilla that night. When we found out that we were going to get kicked out at 1, we rushed to find a hotel and the closest we found was a pretty swanky place off of the station. We were not used to places with lobbies. Lobbies with chandeliers, nonetheless. The place was pretty nice but it had this really gross, weird, almost pornographic painting in our room right over the bed. If you want to see a picture let me know. So we got a pretty decent night sleep on that night.

Day 8 - Cordoba

Cordoba was next on the agenda and this meant another train ride. We got into town at about 8:30 am and started the search for yet another hostel. This one was as cute as the last and had the most amazing air conditioning ever. I actually don’t know how amazing it was but it sure was a relief in this city, because it was hot. In fact, with all this heat I was feeling not so hot. As we headed for the Mesquita (another Muslim palace) I could feel something was not right. To put it delicately, I became well acquainted with what the inside of the toilet at the palace looked like, which was not part of the tour. The coolest part was that I met a family who was picking up there twin sons who both served their missions in different parts of Spain and oddly enough grew up with my buddy, Starr. I was so glad that I was meeting people looking as hot as I am sure I did. I decided to sit out on wandering the street of Cordoba for a while and went back to the hostel. I awoke to my group telling me that we would be going to a Flamenco show that night. The Flamenco was fun and a given when in Spain. I went to bed that night hoping that I would feel better the next morning.

Day 7- Granada

Next stop was Granada, so we got up very early to catch the train and made the journey without too much hassle. After scavenge through the city to find our hostel, we arrived at the cutest little place you have ever seen. After lackluster chain hotels, this place had all the charm that a little 4-story complex could contain. When we had all settled we headed to the Alhambra, which was the palace, the Muslims had when they were in control of southern Spain. We made the long journey only to find out that the tickets to get in were sold out so we were only able to walk around the outside. I had been here on my previous trip to Spain, so I did not entirely mind but I felt bad for the others. We ended the day just right, though by having an amazing dinner where we were seated outside the restaurant along this quaint little street. Throughout dinner we were entertained by the cutest little boy who apparently could only say “Hola, Que tal?” But, in the cutest way possible. It was quite funny. We wandered a bit after dinner and got some gelato. I got Chocolate Orange and then banana. So good. We came across this street show where this group of drummers were playing and everyone was in the streets dancing. It was way fun. All together, we had an awesome day in Granada, even if we didn’t get into the Alhambra.

Day 6 - Madrid

So, on the next day in Madrid we went to the Prado and saw some awesome art, which I had already seen in my last trip to Spain, but it was still cool. Don’t get me wrong, I love art, but I would never call myself an aficionado and I was getting a little tired of the museum scene. After the Prado, we found some lunch, which ended up being a mistake because we mistook the cheap prices for a great deal as opposed to what it really was, gross, cheap, crap. We wandered a little bit after lunch and saw some cool stuff and then made our way to the Palacio Real. It was amazing. The craziest thing about these palaces is that people actually lived in these places and didn’t wander through them with velvet ropes keeping you from going through the entire room, as I was. After much time in the Palacio, we made our way to a park so that Eric could take a load off, seeing as how he was still very sick (I don’t remember if I mentioned, but Eric was sick throughout most of Paris). It was pretty fun to just chill for a while as opposed to rushing from one place to the next. Then, we did the only shopping that Kimberlee and I asked to do on the whole trip, which is not bad for two girls in Europe. I mean, we didn’t even ask to go into one store in Paris! So, the guys waited for an hour while Kimberlee and I went to H&M. Best store ever. And they are all over the place here. For dinner, we just got some snacks at a store and then headed back to the hotel.

Day 5 - Madrid

Day 5 does not have much to report. After sleeping for a grand total of about two hours and reading pretty much all of my book for the other ten hours of our train ride, we arrived in Madrid. When we got through the train station, to the Metro station, we found out that our hotel was out in the boondocks of Madrid and that it was going to take a bit of a trip to get there. We set off and after about an hour of changing metro lines and changing buses a few times and taking an overpriced taxi, we reached our glamorous hotel. We were all so tired, though, that we didn’t take any notice. After we unloaded our stuff we decided to power through the rest of the evening and then just get to bed earlier. We took our journey back to the city now more seasoned professionals and we eliminated the taxi. We found and internet café and each sent off our one email that cost 2 Euro. Then we found some random place to eat. We all got mediocre paella with mediocre drinks, mediocre table, and even worse service. This lady did not like us for some reason. Maybe some American early-twenty-somethings committed some heinous crime against her and she now takes it out on all of us, I don’t know. We walked around Madrid a bit and then started the epic journey back to our hotel in no man’s land. After a long day of lugging my bags around, I cannot think of bliss much greater than that of climbing into bed.

Day 4 - Paris

Today started off with a surprise. We were going to let ourselves sleep in and wake up at 8:30 rather than our normal 5 or 6. I am the only one in our group with an alarm clock and am in charge of waking everyone. This morning I learned that my travel alarm has to be open to make the alarm go off because I awoke to the cleaning people coming. I thought it was strange for someone to just be walking into our room and then leave, then I looked at the clock and realized it was 11:30!! Meaning we were supposed to check out an hour ago, so we basically rushed out of there and set off for the Rodin Museum. We did the obligatory poses with “The Thinker” and saw some amazing sculptures. For lunch, we bought some sandwiches at the café that was in the gardens of the museum. I found that 80% of my diet here in Europe has consisted of baguette usually with ham and chesse. The French put butter with this combination and it is awesome, I highly recommend. After lunch we headed over to the Monet museum but it was closed so we went to the Modern Art Museum but that was also closed. Word to the wise, when in Paris don’t plan on going to museums on a Tuesday because apparently they all take their day of rest on Tuesdays. Seeing as how we were not aware of this, we just walked around some more. This always ends up being my favorite thing to do in other countries because you get more of a feel for what the culture is like as opposed to what the tourism market makes it. We ended up doing our favorite thing in Europe and found somewhere to eat. Kimberlee and I went for gelato. We have both found that when food is very expensive and you have no money, apparently your stomach shrinks from lack of food. This has been pretty beneficial to us in the money department, which was root of this in the first place. Funny how things come full circle like that. This gelato shop was awesome! First of all, beautiful, beyond delicious gelato and second of all, an awesome Italian gelato shop in a gorgeous area of Paris and it is playing “Born in the USA” over the speakers. The irony was too much for Kimberlee and I so we filmed it. After we all finished our meals of sorts we started heading back to our hotel to get our bags and head back to the train station to catch our night train to Madrid. Note for future European travelers: When taking a night train just splurge for a sleeping car. It is really not worth it to try and sleep with all of the lights on and legroom that is not even adequate when sitting up. This day did end in as much bliss, but it had been pretty blissful.

Day 3 - Paris

Today we woke up at 5 am to get to our Chunnel to Paris at 7 am. This meant getting to carry all of my stuff all over London and Paris again. I slept on the train for pretty much the entire thing. When we got to Paris, we got our museum passes and then tried to figure out the Metro system. To make a very long, painful, tiring, experience short, we got to our hotel by 1 pm. This one is much better than the last. I can actually stand up straight in it. We started our sightseeing by going to the Louvre, as any sightseeing in Paris should start. We saw everything one should see in the Louvre, namely Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, etc. We walked around outside the Louvre. The amazing thing about the Louvre is that not only is it full of beautiful paintings but the museum itself and the grounds are gorgeous. After strolling for a while we found a café and got some sandwiches but decided we still wanted more, so we took the metro over to an area with a lot of markets. Kimberlee and I went a bakery to get a baguette. When we got to the front of line they had just gotten out loaves from the oven so our baguette was hot, fresh and delicious. We went down the street to another market and got drinks and these great ice cream bars. After this we walked down the Champs Elysees (sp?) and to the Arc. We started heading to the Eiffel Tower. By the time we got there, they were just starting to light it up. It was beautiful. We all just sat in a little park and talked while looking up at the Eiffel Tower. These have been my favorite kinds of moments in Europe so far, the kind where we are just sitting and chillaxing in front of amazing architecture, history, or sights. After this we headed home, and here I am writing this blog while eating my leftover baguette. I am in bliss.

Day 2 - London

Do not let these titles scare you faithful reader, I am not planning on writing a novel for everyday over the course of the next four months. I just have so much sightseeing within the next two weeks that I have to document it. Day 2 was supposed to start at 8 am but Kimberlee and I later realized that I had actually set my travel alarm clock too late so we actually started at 7 am. We started by buying some breakfast snacks to eat on the tube on the way to Parliament and Westminster. We took some pics around Big Ben and Parliament but could not go in because it was Sunday. This fact did end up helping us in another regard, though, because we ended up doing a service at Westminster Abbey. This was very cool, because as you sit and listen to their awesome choir you also get to look around at all the cool architecture. Also, the sermon, which was on love, was very good. We walked around the abbey some more after the service and then across the Thames. We saw the London Eye and lots more from this bridge. After this we bought passes on one of those tour-guide-double-decker buses. Cheesy, I know, but we actually got to see a lot of the city that we would not have seen otherwise this way. We were able to get off and get back on wherever and whenever we wanted. Our first stop was at London Tower where we walked around, but did not go in because it was too busy and long. Our second stop was in Covent Garden to find me a bookstore. I told my group that I only had one request in London. I wanted to find a bookstore so that I could get all of my books that I can’t get in the US. This ended up being much more of hassle than I intended, but I did end up seeing a lot of cool bookshops on the way. In the end, we found a Borders (I know I am in London and I go to Borders). This ended being an ultra success, because a) I found three books (I would have gotten more but I barely had enough room in my bags for one) and b) the cashier was super cute. After that we went to a pub to get fish and chips. While we were waiting we watched a Man-U game at the bar. It was awesome. Kimberlee and I got fish and chips and Eric got a dish called toad in a hole. We felt these were pretty British. For dessert, we got this really good apple crisp and a toffee sponge cake. So good! After dinner/lunch we got on the bus again and just drove around and chatted until they kicked us off. We wandered around a little bit longer and then headed back to Chiswick. We started our quest of searching for an Internet café. We found one that was closing so I got ten minutes to email. We stopped at a café on the way home and got some ice cream. For those of you who have not experienced European ice cream, you are missing out. It is amazing. We walked back to our hotel and I got ready for bed. I fell asleep reading one of my new books. I am in bliss.

Day 1 - London

And what a day it has been! My flight started off in San Francisco where I flew to Cincinnati. In Cinci I met up with Kimberlee and Eric where we boarded the flight into London Gatwick Airport. There is not much to say for the flight because, honestly, I took Tylenol PM after a half an hour into it and I don’t remember much after that. It was fabulous. I woke up over Glasgow and eagerly awaited my London experience. Those of you who know mw know that I have always wanted to come here. It could not have been better. Our flight arrived early and customs was a breeze. (Anecdote: I get off the plane impressing my fellow travelers with my knowledge of all the slang and shops and such. Needless, to say I am feeling pretty cool… until the customs agent smiled when I said the name of my hostel, The Chiswick Hotel. Apparently the w is silent.) Anyways, we get done with customs but we still have to wait for our fourth member of our group, Andrew, who was supposed to get in ten minutes after us. Three and half hours later we met up with him. It was horrible! My first hours in London, let alone England, and I have to sit in an airport. Although, it was fun to listen to all fun accents. We took the Gatwick Express to London Victoria and it was insane. It was so busy and then none of our cards were working in the ticket teller machines. We finally got on the tube and headed for our hostel. By the way did I mention that I am doing all of this waiting and walking and maneuvering through the Underground with a very heavy backpack (or as they say here, “rucksack”) on my front and another very heavy and large backpack on my back? I am carrying at least 80 pounds. We get off at the Turnham Green station and have a bit of a walk to the hostel, so that by the time we finally get there, I am about to keel over. By the time we checked in it was six hours after we landed and then we went to our rooms. Funniest thing I have ever seen. I could have gotten just a queen for Kimberlee and I because that is how close our two twins have to be in our tiny room. I have some pics here. We got ourselves settled and then set out again. Andrew and his friend we met up with wanted to go to the Imperial War Museum, but Eric, Kimberlee and I wanted to go to the British Library. After a somewhat stressful day, this was perfect. I saw the Magna Carta, the Guttenberg Bible, Davinci’s notebook, Handel’s original composition of The Messiah and then, my Mecca. I feel like this is the crowning moment of my trip so far because it is like I have made a pilgrimage. They had Jane Austen’s letters and short stories all written by hand on top of her writing desk. THE desk upon which she most likely wrote my favorite books. It was awe-inspiring. After I had reached my Zen we went and met the others at the Imperial War Museum and then headed for Piccadilly Circus. I love this place it is like Times Square with all of the lights and shops and restaurants but set into these old buildings. It is somewhat surreal. We decided to buy discount tickets to see Spamalot and then we went in search of food. None of us had eaten anything since the mediocre bagel on the plane so this was a welcome quest. We wanted a pub for fish and chips but apparently everyone else in London did too so we went to this Italian Café instead. It was good and I probably would have enjoyed it even more if I weren’t scarfing down my food because a) we had to make it to the show and b) I was starving. Spamalot was really funny, but I probably would have enjoyed it more if I weren’t so exhausted. So after a well-deserved shower I lay in my dodgy bed, listening to football highlights on BBC 1. I am in bliss.

Passport Drama

Since this blog is being kept to document my wonderous European adventures, I figured I should record the stress I had to go through to get there. On Friday, I left work around 11 because I had to take care of some things to get ready for my trip. I feel this some good intuitive on my part considering what proceeded to happen. My passport was supposed to arrive on Tuesday so I was hoping it would be waiting for me in my mailbox so that I could mail it off with my visa application. When my passport wasn't there my mom and I were furious because I had already put three rushes on it and still needed to apply for my visa. Seeing as how I avoid confrontaion like the plauge, my mom called the passport people and boy, did she give them a piece or as Dylan later said, "she opened a can of whoop ass." Mom and I went down to San Francisco and after waiting an hour to get up to the counter to request them to pull up my file we had to wait another half hour to find out that they had not even touched my application. They told us that my passport would be ready by six. At this point it was four and I had everyone coming over to my house to go out to dinner for my birthday at 6:30 and I still had to drive from San Francisco during rush hour on a Friday. Mom ended up staying in SF to get my passport while Dad drove to meet her there and I rushed home as fast as was possible in rush hour traffic. In the end it all worked out, but as you can probably imagine it was very stressful at the time.

In birthday celebration news, my dinner was super fun and I got some awesome presents (thanks girls!). On Saturday I went and dropped off my visa application at the post office and then I got my new birthday running shoes. That night, Starr, Mom and I went and saw Stardust. It was so good and everyone must see it. I loved it!

Now, I must go because Flight of the Conchords is on!

One of life's greater joys

On occasion, while driving home from work I will have a moment of unabashed happiness. This moment is found when I am in a lively mood and for some reason, when I am in rush hour traffic. My car is stopped behind a large suburban with that stick figure family smiling back at me. Why a family with two kids needs an eight passenger vehicle is beyond me. To my right, an angst ridden teen is obviously getting off of some job he hates and feels that listening to his loud screaming music makes him much tougher than his turquoise Geo would ever convey. To my left, a woman in her 60s, who is wearing bright pink lipstick closer to her nose than nature ever intended her to, looks like she just arrived from Palm Beach where big hair, fake gold and polyester still run wild. I sit in my car with the AC running fiercely to cool my blazing hot steering wheel, taking slight notice of my comrades on the battlefield that is the freeway as some song ends. Then that moment comes. It is almost as if my iPod knows how vulnerable I am in this very moment and it plays the song. You know The Song. It is the one song that, in that moment in time, will make you want to dance no matter what the circumstances are. The Song is never the same, it will morph itself into another song entirely by tomorrow, but in that day and moment it knows exactly what it is doing. Then in front of God, the stick family, the moody Metallica fan, and the fake-tanned grandma, I dance. It is as if I have been possessed. I can’t help myself, I am dancing with no shame and singing as if I were trying to reach the ears of the people in the back of the theatre. Everyone is staring at me or at least trying to act like they are not. Situations such as this usually conjure embarrassment and dread, but not this time. I only feel vivacity and a brazen sense of disregard. My fellow commuters slowly inch past me, some laugh or smile, some give looks of pity. The Song ends. Songs that follow inspire bobbing of the head and maybe singing along with the chorus, but nothing compared to that moment. So, until tomorrow, The Song.

This may not be news to anyone, but...

I love Jane Austen. My cousins and I have been having a bit of a fest as of late, considering I have every Jane Austen adaptation known to man. I just introduced them to the ITV adaptations that were done this year (anyone who I have not made watch these, you must) and they were fabulous. Chel and I decided that I am a cross between Catherine Morland and Elizabeth Bennet. We decided that Chelsea is probably the same, but then we took a quiz which said she is Mary Crawford from Mansfield Park (this is hysterical because Mary is super promiscuous). I took a quiz that said Henry Tilney is my Austen hero which is completely fine with me. The lesser known of the Austen heroes, Tilney is a perfect blend of wit and charm.

On the European Excursion front, I have only 11 more days until I leave, which I would be completely and utterly overjoyed about if only I had my passport and visa within my possession. Seeing as how I have neither, I am stressing out a tad. Having to call the passport customer service line and be on hold for a half an hour each does not help with this mounting stress. So until that day comes when I am the proud owner of a passport and visa courtesy of the Austrian Consulate.

I went and saw Bourne Ultimatum this weekend and anytime he was in a new location running from various government officials I got to lean over with pride and tell my mom "I get to go there!" Also, I will add that the exotic locations were not the only splendor my eyes beheld in that movie, if you follow me.

I created a photo sharing site that I will be using for all of my pics on the trip, so feel free to check it out although it is not very exciting at the moment.

Ellen: Music from the Motion Picture by Various Artists

here's how it works:
1. open your music library
2. put it on shuffle
3. press play
4. for every question, type the song that's playing
5. when you go to a new question, press the next button
6. don't lie and try to pretend you're cool.
Ok, here goes my soundtrack:

opening credits: "That Time" by Regina Spektor (This is an awesome song for the opening credits! I love tangerines!)

waking up: "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" by Carole King (Appropriate seeing as how I look very natural in the morning.)

first day at school: "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses (Hmm...Interesting)

in love: "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones (I would love to be in love to this song)

fight song: "Over My Head" by The Fray (I would be over my head in a fight)

breaking up: "I'm the Man Who Loves You" by Wilco (Oooh, I left him for another man! Scandalous!)

prom: "Start the Commotion" by The Wiseguys (I am starting the commotion at every party)

life's ok: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Spamalot (This needs to be my anthem when life is just ok)

mental breakdown: “The Mess Inside" by The Mountain Goats (Ha)

driving: "Jump in the Line" by Harry Belafonte (This is perfect! One time I was driving and anytime this song comes on I have to dance to it because I have done so since I could walk. A carful of guys were mocking me, but I didn't care. They were just jealous that I was having more fun than them in rush hour traffic.)

flashback: "Chiquitita" by ABBA (This does conjure flashbacks...)

getting back together: "Any Way You Want It" by Journey (That's right. I would have to have it my way to get back together)

wedding: "Eight Days A Week" by The Beatles (Interesting selection)

birth of child: "My Girl" by The Temptations (Aww, that is perfect)

final battle: "Super Trouper" by ABBA (The fact that I have so much ABBA on my soundtrack does not help its coolness level)


death scene: "Blister in the Sun" by Violent Femmes (Interesting selection again)

funeral song: "It's the End of the World as We Know It" by REM (Thats right, the world will end when I die)

end credits: "One Sweet Love" by Sara Bareilles (I like that)


Overall, I feel that this is a pretty good soundtrack. Very eclectic, which works for my soundtrack.

Ok Jillian...

I was tagged as number one, so I have to fill it out:

places I've worked
1-PGP Valuation
2-NorCal Appraisals
3-Legends Grille as part of the DW Mafia and then graduated to sandwich/ pizza maker
4-Tower Books for a total of five days when I was then offered more money to go back to PGP

movies I can watch over and over
1-Pride and Prejudice
2-Much Ado About Nothing (Damian Lewis edition)
3-Tommy Boy
4-You've Got Mail (By the way, all of the above movies have been watched over and over again)

places I've lived
1-Lubbock, Texas
2-Limestone, Maine
3-Spokane, Washington
4-Sacramento, CA and Provo, UT

favorite tv shows
1-Office (comprising of both editions)
2-Arrested Development
3-Psych
4-Currently I am going to have to go with Flight of the Conchords


places I've been
1-Hawaii
2-New York City
3-Spain
4-Seattle

favorite foods
1-Pasta
2-Mint Milanos
3-My BBQ chicken pizza with olives
4-popsicles

majors I've considered
1-Elementary Education
2-Journalism
3-English
4- Marriage, Family, Human Development

places I'd rather be
1-England
2-New York
3-Anywhere in Europe
4-In Good-Dream Land

friends i would like to tag (meaning: it's your turn to fill in the blanks)
1-Seeing as how
2-Jillian is probably my only current reader
3-I don't have anyone to pressure into
4-doing this survey

Well, I am going to go to sleep now to the dulcet tones of my mom's snoring and her blaring Ghost Hunters. Good night, reader.

First Blog

Hi there! I am starting this blog to document my trip to Vienna which I leave for in 28 days. Needless to say, I am super stoked. In celebration of my first blog, I will take a page from Jillian's book and do the 100 facts about me. So, here goes:

1.I am a movie buff. My mom has basically raised to be a prodigy of the movie trivia variety. Let me tell you, that skill comes in handy.
2.I was born in Lubbock, Texas home of Jimmy Dean the Sausage King.
3.I moved to Limestone, Maine when I was about one year old. Look it up on a map and you will see how I basically lived on the Canadian border. In fact, we used to have to go to Canada to go to church.
4.I moved to Spokane, Washington when I was 5 years old.
5.I moved to Sacramento, California when I was 8 years old. I had been visiting Sacramento since I was little to visit Grandma and Grandpa McCoy.
6.My immediate family consists of my mom and dad and my two brothers, Ryan and Dylan. Ryan is 18 and Dylan is 15.
7.I have never broken a bone in my body or anyone else's for that matter.
8.I attended three different schools during my year in kindergarten and four different classes.
9.When I was five my aspiration for when I grew up was to be a bus driver. Most kids want to be a princess or a cowboy, but I wanted to be a bus driver. In all fairness to myself, my bus driver was really nice.
10.I prefer to eat my vegatables frozen. No, not frozen as opposed to canned, I mean actually frozen. It is like a healthy popscicle. I prefer broccoli and corn.
11.My friend, Danny, and I once made a bet as to who could memorize the words to "Baby Got Back". I won, of course, but must now bear the burden of knowing all the words to "Baby Got Back".
12.I have read Pride and Prejudice 11 times.
13.I love to wear skirts and dresses and DressBarn is my secret weapon.
14.I have music ADD, where I will listen to a song or artist for a week or two and wear it out and then move on to something that is usually completely different.
15.I love the show "The Office" and that covers both the US and the UK version.
16.I was in 8(?) plays in high school, but my first experience with the stage was in 3rd grade when I starred as the Head (that is right, I said Head) Cherry Blossom Dancer in the China segment of our Children Across the World assembly.
17.Whereas Jillian is a fan of the elipses...I find that use parentheses a lot (yes, these parentheses).
18.I am a rambler. No, not the car. I get talking or even writing an email and I cannot stop. I am sure most of you have experienced this with me. My dad says that I would sit in the car and have conversations with him, but in all honesty have no use for him.
19.I bit my nails until I was 10 and now in place of that I click my nails in between my nails. Jillian and Adrienne love this.
20.In high school, our fantastic foursome was Jillian, Adrienne, Krystal, and myself.
21.When Krystal and Adrienne got boyfriends, Jillian and I became BFF. (Jillian and I are totally the type of girls to use the term BFF. Ha.)
22.Jillian and I have known each other since we were 6 or something, but didn’t start hanging a lot until high school.
23.We have never fought about anything, which I base solely on my ability to put up with Jillian. (Apparently, it is truly a talent. JKing, Jill.)
24.I realize that this next fact is going to make me sound like a crazy person, but it is a fact. After reading all of my British books, which I would read with a British accent in my head, I realized that the voice in my head speaks with a British accent. Like I said, I am not crazy.
25.My favorite vacation I have taken was when I went to New York City with my mom, Jillian, her mom and her sister, Morgan. It was super fun.
26.When I was little, I hated having loose teeth and would not let my parents anywhere near them. My mom always said that if I didn’t just pull them out, I was going to swallow them and then the tooth fairy wasn’t going to be able to visit. I swallowed one when I was eating a cob of corn and didn’t tell her about it for a few days. When she noticed it was gone, I broke down crying because the tooth fairy wasn’t going to visit.
27.I have a birthmark on my left eye.
28.I hate any kind of beans except for green beans. That grainy, mushy texture. Egh.
29.I was traumatized as a child at a zoo by a hippo and to this day, they creep me out. Besides, more people die from hippo attacks than lion attacks. They are just mean and useless. Anytime you see them at the zoo, they are just sitting there.
30.I have a beginner’s level in Spanish, ASL, and German, but hope to be better at German after Vienna (!).
31.My iBook is named “The Cracka” and it’s friend is Jillian’s computer, “The Brotha”.
32.My dog’s name is Buck. He is an overweight arthritic golden lab, but I love him anyways.
33.I cry all the time in movies, which I blame entirely on my mother.
34.First movie I can remember crying in was Bambi. I was wrecked for a week.
35.I have been told many times that I am very mothering. My mom would have to remind me who the mom in the family was and Starr and Jillian are always saying “Thanks, Mom” to me.
36.Starr is my other roommate besides Jillian in Apartment 130. Starr is living with my family and I this summer. (I am told my family is lot different than other people’s families. Hmm…)
37.I had a favorite backpack in kindergarten, it was pink with glitter hearts all over. Then, one day Ryan was sick in the car and my mom gave him my backpack to throw up in. I still haven’t forgotten that, Mom and Ryan.
38.My favorite candy is either Bottlecaps or Violet Crumbles. The fact that practically the only place in the country that carries Violet Crumbles is the BYU Bookstore is not a good thing for me.
39.My first crush that I can remember was on some kid named Colin in 3rd grade.
40.My first celebrity crush was Jonathan Taylor Thomas, but what eight year old girl didn’t love him?
41.I have many nicknames in my family and friends circle. First one is Ellen Melon Head. My parents have been calling me this since I was born, because I have a huge head. There are some variations on this name. I get Melon, Mels, Ellen Melon, etc.
42.Second name is Ells Bells or Ells, not sure where this originated, though. Apparently that extra syllable is a real drag.
43.My dad has called my Peanut since I was a baby or occasionally Neaput.
44.I was hit 73 times in the head with a ball (on separate occasions) throughout the course of my sixth grade year. One of the yard duties made me a helmet that I was supposed to wear, but it was way more embarrassing than getting hit in the head.
45.I am LDS.
46.Fact: I am a Mormon girl, but I cannot scrapbook. It is not as if it is physically impossible for me, it just never looks as good as it should.
47.I can suck my upper lip into my nose.
48.I am probably the least coordinated person you will ever meet.
49.I am a hopeless romantic. Jillian makes fun of me because I can be reading a gruesome mystery novel and it is the sexual tension between the detective and the victim’s sister that really gets me.
50.I would pick to live in the city over a small town any day.
51.My favorite colors are green and yellow.
52.My guilty pleasures include Disney Channel stuff (dang you, Jillian), ABBA, and Anne of Green Gables.
53.I have recently been told that I inhale a lot when I laugh.
54.I grew up in a different environment than I would think most LDS people did. I am not saying that it was evil or anything, but whereas a lot of kids watch Disney movies and sing-alongs (which I did watch), I was watching Saturday Night Live and Young Frankenstein at age 4.
55.My first concert was the Beach Boys on the Fourth of July when I was 4.
56.I like pretty much any genre of music except for hardcore gangsta rap, most country, and my brother’s screaming music.
57.I love bookstores. There is something about them that just brings me a sense of serenity.
58.I currently own approximately 280 movies. (Movies are my weakness).
59.This weekend will mark my second time being a bridesmaid.
60.I am a Leo.
61.I share my birthday with Alfred Hitchcock.
62.Ever since I watched Stephen King’s It when I was about 9, clowns have creeped me out.
63.When I am really pissed off about something I do one or all of the following: listen to Alanis Morrisette’s “You Oughta Know”, box, or do archery.
64.I love to go camping. My family has gone to Santa Cruz on Memorial Day weekend every year since we moved to Sacramento.
65.Jillian and I both got stuffed penguins when we were at Sea World for part of our senior trip extravaganza. My penguins name is Earl, as in Duke of.
66.If I could improve on any one trait it would be to have more confidence.
67.My favorite food is pasta and popsicles. No, not together.
68.I have a fish named Mozart. Jillian and I each bought a fish last summer at WalMart. Her fish was named Butch Cassidy (we came up with the names from the Office), but he unfortunately passed away which I think really annoyed Jillian because I do not take car of Mozart at all.
69.I can safely bet that my embarrassing story is more embarrassing than yours. For those of you that know, it involves a chain link fence. If you are really curious, ask me and I may tell you.
70.My porno name would be Skye Andrews. (Dylan’s is the best: Ace Dickman)
71.My first CD I bought was the Spice Girls. Yeah, I know I was cool.
72.I have been to Disneyland six times.
73.I was arrested outside of an Olive Garden when I was 11. I know, I am so hardcore.
74.My Jamba Juice of choice is Orange-A-Peel.
75.My first roller-coaster was the Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
76.My number one quality that I am attracted to is sense of humor.
77.The movies Kindergarten Cop and Mary Poppins will always make me think of my Grandma’s house.
78.The most I have ever cried was when she died.
79.So far, the only countries beside the US that I have been to are Spain and Canada. Plus, I could see Africa from the Rock of Gibralter.
80.Besides Utah, I have never lived in a non-coastal state.
81.At the moment, I am thinking my major will be Print Journalism. That is subject to change, however.
82.I have seen three shows on Broadway.
83.I have never been very good at making decisions. When I do make a decision, I usually stick by it, but it is the actual deciding process that throws me through a loop.
84.My mom says that I would actually break down in the middle of the cereal aisle when faced with the choice between Lucky Charms or Fruity Pebbles.
85.I can suck in my nose (I am not sure how best to describe it, but I end up looking like Michael Jackson when I do it).
86.I lost my retainer three times (at the bottom of the garbage can at Woody’s, at the beach, and at the bottom of Folsom Lake), but I still have it.
87.When I told my mom that I thought I needed glasses, she didn’t believe me. Thanks a lot, Mom.
88.I am good at baking but need to improve in my cooking skills, because I basically just eat Pasta-A-Roni at school.
89.My favorite flower is the daisy.
90.I have been told many times, that I was born in the wrong decade or wrong country.
91.Very little known fact: I write stories in my spare time.
92.I ski but have never been snowboarding.
93.I have worked in the food industry once and hope to never again. (I do make a mean pizza and sandwich, though)
94.I don’t like Red Vines and for some reason I always forget this.
95.I could probably quote the movies Tommy Boy, The Sandlot, Empire Records, That Thing You Do, The Little Mermaid, and Happy Gilmore word for word.
96.The only videogames that I am any good at are Guitar Hero and DDR. Although, I can kick some serious trash at Guitar Hero. (Not as much as Jillian, though.)
97.Favorite TV shows include The Office, Coupling, Da Ali G Show, Scrubs, Stella, Arrested Development, Veronica Mars, Mystery Science Theatre 300, Psych, Extras, and The Soup.
98.I can pretty much kill at Scene-it. Challengers welcome.
99.For some reason, I usually give DVDs as presents. I can’t think of why that is, though.
100.Ice cream flavor of choice is English Toffee.

I wanted to end on a bang. Well, there it is, 100 facts about me. Compelling stuff, right?