update from ireland!!!

hi friends <3

oh, how i miss you all so dearly.

i'm in ireland right now. no, like, RIGHT NOW. not like, i got home yesterday. or, i got home 5 minutes ago - i'm there RIGHT NOW. um, crazy.

so, quite quickly, we arrived in dublin on tuesday morning around 8am. none of us had slept all night long so we were super tired. i guess i don't really understand what jet lag is, because everyone kept saying that we weren't supposed to be tired at 8am, but that's when i usually go back to bed anyways, so i don't know. i was confused. but, tired.

we knew it would be a bad idea to sleep right away, so we dropped our bags off at the hostel and then headed out walking. we walked a lot. and took lots of naps on benches, in cafes, and at trinity college. they didn't mind. we also drank lots of coffee.

ate peanut butter and jelly for supper in our hostel room. then were all in bed by around 8pm. slept right through until 8am which was super great.

wednesday we were ready to take on ireland by storm!!!!! we walked all the way to the western part of the city and had a tour of this really amazing jail. or, 'gaol', as they say. it was really awesome. i loved it. would definitely do it again if i'm ever in dublin again.

then, walked waaaaaaay around some more. we seriously stormed the city by foot. found a sweet little place called the Cinnamon Cafe to eat in. delish. then aliya, elizabeth and i walked around to find the writer's museum. we walked in. looked around. decided we didn't want to pay for the tour, so we hung out in the bookshop.

wednesday night we ended up in the Palace Bar pretty close to our hotel, where we met up with some other Hampshire kids!!! Will and Dave. great (looking) people. had a beer with them. planned to hang out more the next day.

thursday was museum day. we did the national museum, national library, ummm.....was that it? maybe that was it. saw this really incredible exhibit called Bog Bodies. omg, it was like, all of a sudden, these workers started finding all these bodies in the bogs in Ireland, Denmark, Norway, etc, and they were all so perfectly preserved. and they had some of the bodies on display. it was really moving and sort of terrifying. it made me remember my forensic anthropology class and all the feelings i had holding real human bones. and seeing the machete marks in the skulls. it was heavy.

then we got ready to go out to this other bar that Will and Dave knew of. kind of. they had met this band in the street and the band said they would be at this bar. but, we had no idea where the bar was. so, we found it. but the band had already stopped playing. whatevs. we stayed and had drinks anyways.

then moved onto another bar. but, we never actually got there because a drunk irish man stopped us in the street and proceeded to yell at us for about 2 hours telling us we need to stand up for our country and also change the entire thing. and also somehow tell Obama to do better. whatevs. but, at the end of the night, we ended up getting kicked out of this irish bar. .....morelater.....

i guess that's all. now we're in Ennis. i really like it here. there are super nice people working at the hostel. tonight we move onto Doolin. for two nights and then Galway. then back to Dublin, and then north a little for the wedding ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!!!!

i now have a lime green strap on my duffle bag because they broke it off at the airport. this was right after the custom's guy was being angry at me because apparently i didn't bring enough money. this made me really upset and i was recalling it again yesterday and was still really upset. it all seemed fine. he was asking me normal customs things and then all of a sudden:

CUSTOM'S GUY: How much money did you bring with you?
JULIE: How much do I have in cash?
CUSTOM'S GUY: How much money will you have access to while you're here?
JULIE: Ummm......(says amount)
CUSTOM'S GUY: Is that all?
JULIE: Um, I think so.
CUSTOM'S GUY: (makes a face) Are all you're hotels paid for?
JULIE: Um, the booking fees are. We're paying once we get there.
CUSTOM'S GUY: And where are you staying?
JULIE: Abagail's for the first three nights, then we're heading west.
CUSTOM'S GUY: And you only have ($ amount) for your whole trip?
JULIE: Yeah, I guess.
CUSTOM'S GUY: That's not very much.
JULIE: Yeah...I guess...I know....
CUSTOM'S GUY: We expect you to contribute back to our economy. I mean, what would happen if you got sick and needed to be in the hospital while you were here? We want you to be able to take care of yourself. And you didn't bring much money for that.
JULIE: Okay...
CUSTOM'S GUY: How long are you here total?
JULIE: About two weeks.
CUSTOM'S GUY: ($ amount) is not very much for two weeks. D' you understand?
JULIE: Yes.

i was super upset about this. i just wanted to scream at him. scream something like, 'UM, HOW MANY DAYS OFF HAVE YOU HAD IN THE PAST THREE MONTHS?!?!?!' for serious!! he had no right to say those things to me. and it makes me angry everytime i think about it. i had been working for three months straight to save money for this trip and it was the number one thing i was stressing about. and then i was free from work, all set, landed in dublin, feeling good, and then he goes and says these things to me. UGH. he had no idea of my situation and i think it was completely out of line.

and, i bet he didn't know he was talking to the number one hater of airport and custom's employees. he had no idea. and he did not help me get over this at all.

whatevs. i try not to think about it.

but, i'm going to charge my ipod now. and then we're leaving for the bus stop. yesterday we were on the hottest bus in the world for about 5 hours. it was horrible. the most hottest i've ever been for such a long period of time. it was like, 100 degrees C. no joke.

anyways. hope you all are having lovely times whatever you're doing!! i'd still love to hear from you. i check my email somewhat frequently. i love you all. miss you all. perhaps another update before the wedding??? i think this upcoming hostel has free laundry and detergent. so that's exciting.

OK! LOVE YOU!!!!!

<3<3.Jacuzzi.Jacuzzi.<3<3

turtle:::update

NO TURTLE GETS LEFT BEHIND!!!!

<3

we're in Boston at kate's beautiful house. cambridge in the morning. davis square in the early afternoon-ish. logan in the late afternoon. ireland in the evening!!!!

<3

:::buck:::

(i like that my last two blog entry titles have rhymed!)


so, the big debate is whether or not i should bring Buck to ireland. my mom says absolutely not. i think kara said that too.

i was assuming i would just bring him. he's never been to Ireland before either.

i guess i just have to blog about this a little because it upsets me.

in my 8+ years of having Buck, i've only slept without him for one night. it was the night of Amy's wedding. the night the 7th Harry Potter book was released. i was planning on sleeping over Matt and Meg's after the wedding and i just forgot to bring him.

this is why i like bringing Buck places: he makes a great pillow. he can turn any uncomfortable situation into a comfortable one. for serious.

i don't know. i guess part of me is like,

JULIE 1: Yeah, why would you bring such a large stuffed animal to Ireland with you? He's just going to take up space. Also, you're 23, get over it.

and the other part of me is like,

JULIE 2: Why wouldn't you bring him to Ireland?? You've only slept one night without him in 8 years! You've taken him on all your other vacations, why is this one any different? Who cares if you're 23?!?! Not Buck.

i suppose he's a security thing. but, i never thought of him like that until now. so maybe he isn't. it was never like, "ok, i need buck there too." it was always like, "oh great, buck is coming!"

the people love buck. he's been up the east coast, over to the canadian west coast, the canadian east coast, driven through the rocky mountains, been to his homeland of florida multiple times....he loves vacationing!

i don't know. i suppose if there's room i'll bring him. i just feel like if i don't bring him, i'll be upset about it. sleeping alone in a foreign country with no Buck?? ugh. what a horrible time.

i guess i'd be willing to sacrifice clothing space for Buck. i could probably make room for him in my backpack. there was talk yesterday of adding straps to him and adding a zipper to his shell to turn him into a backpack.

i feel bad about even having this debate. why wouldn't Buck come!?! he'd love Ireland! it makes me nervous if i think about not bringing him.

i guess i'll let you know what i decide.



here are Buck, Oscar and Pooka napping in the hotel in Montreal. the housekeeper aligned them with Kara's pillow, thinking that the clown design belonged to the little child in our family. when, in fact, the three stuffed animals belonged to me, with the fancy teal design pillow next to the clown pillow. (ps::what a creeper clown on that pillow!)


ok. back to the pack.


:::PS::: the other day aliya and i were driving and, at a stop light, we pulled up next to this couple on a motorcycle. and the lady on the back had a sticker on her helmet that read, "Don't make me turn on my bitch switch!" we immediately decided it was the trip motto.


<3

:::luck:::

it happens every now and then
i hear the words i need to hear
coming from the tiny speakers
that i shove into my ears


our trip is here. our Ireland trip. we're leaving tomorrow, Monday. our flight is at 7pm from Boston.

we're heading to Boston today, sunday, to stay at Kate's house. she is a friend from Hampshire. we're meeting up with some of Aliya's friends on monday morning and will probably have a hip, hang-out day until our trek to the airport.

we've been packing and watching wedding movies all night. first was 27 Dresses. then was Mamma Mia. both were great and gave us some awesome tips for weddings!!!! now we know what is happening.

i made all my wedding jewelery today. earrings, bracelet, anklet. i ended up making the anklet in fear that there wouldn't be enough red accessories. aliya assured me i had enough. so, i'll bring the anket, but i might not wear it. i'm not that crazy about it.

i bought a backpack. from LL Bean. one of those backpacks. i don't know that i've ever owned anything from LL Bean before. i was going in hoping for a cheap, sale backpack that was teal. and i went there and asked the lady working,

JULIE: Hi! So, I'm looking for a backpack. Not like a super backpack, just a normal one.
LL BEAN WORKER: So, just a bookpack?
JULIE: ...Yeah.
LL BEAN WORKER: Ok, they are over by the kids shoes towards the back.
JULIE: And, do you have a clearance section?
LL BEAN WORKER: We actually don't. That's pretty much all we have because we're getting in all our summer stock. We'll have more sales towards the fall.
JULIE: Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Great, thanks!

so, i left this conversation and headed back to the backpack section. now i was totally thinking that i wouldn't buy one because it wouldn't be on sale. and they were $40! yime that's a lot of money. so, i was like, "ah well, no backpack tonight."

but then, i saw them. and i was looking through it. and looking at all the different pocket options. and it did seem really useful. and i decided it would definitely be a good trip bag. so, i purchased. navy blue.

and immediately i was like, "how can i make this prettier?!" (more later)

ALSO: the LL Bean store is in The Powerhouse Mall. now, before tonight, i had never been into this mall. but, i assumed that they didn't reall mean it was a mall, it was just the area that they called the LL Bean. BUT NO! it's a mall!!!

and so, i walk in the doors expecting to walk into the LL Bean, but no - i was walking into the mall! what a surprise! there are other stores ON THE INSIDE! there was a candy store! i stood there for a minute trying to figure out where i was, since i was not in the LL Bean. unexpected, and i will have to explore this more later.

so then, i also had to run into JoAnn's and buy some necklace clasps. did that. also found some pretty buttons with birds on them to sew onto my new backpack. everything was on sale because of Memorial Day, and then i had a 10% off coupon. perf.

and then i decided i needed a notebook. and some socks. and gum. so, i tripped to wal-mart. found some Sasquatch notebooks. i like them a lot. bought some socks. gum. pens. and a 5$ watch.

we're not bringing cell phones, so the question was, 'how are we going to know what time it is??' and so i wandered into the kids jewelery section for a watch. found a sparkly teal one for five bucks. nice.

headed home. organized. packed slightly. turned the watch into a necklace. aliya trimmed my hair. consolidated my bobby pins. cleaned out my purse and wallet.

ended up sewing three things onto my backpack:

1. bird button purchased tonight
2. CITIZEN pin from aliya's div 3
3. lucky turtle charm from my mom

i did all my laundry. washed and dryed. tomorrow i will sort and pack.

OK. i guess this might be the last update before i leave.....before i get back? i'll try hard to update from Ireland, but i'm not promising anything. i will keep a journal, duh, to update you as much as possible when i return.

i'll take pictures for you to see. i'm actually pretty excited about my backpack.

alright, friends. i'll miss you.

tonight marks my THE END OF MY THREE MONTH WORKING STRAIGHT MARATHON. words cannot express how happy i am about this. i was starting to go crazy in this house.

and now, i feel like i have to bring things back for the girls. because i live with them.

whatever, i won't get into that because i have lots of feeling and opinions about it which i am too tired to express.

man, i'll really miss you. will we seriously not be talking for over two weeks?!??! no, i'll have to make time. for you? definitely.


love you.


j.ulie

"reach and throw, but never go"

that's the motto you have to remember if you are helping someone who is drowning. you can reach to them, and throw something to them, but never GO to them. UNLESS they are in water that is waist deep or below. or, if you're like, an olympic swimmer. because when someone is drowning and they realize that someone is there to rescue them, they will immediately try and climb on top of you to get out of the water. and then the situation could turn from bad to worse and become a double drowning.

i learned this and other super important information at water safety training tonight in claremont, new hampshire. it was a required course for residential staff. especially because it's summertime now and that's when people like to go swimming.

i found this training highly emotional. it took a lot to get through it. there were many times in the evening where i just wanted to cry. so hard. it was basically like 2.5 hours of "how children die."

did you know that drowning is the number 2 accidential cause of death in the united states overall, but number one in the state of new hampshire? NH is the only state where it's number one! and he said that new hampshire has some of the strictest water safety regs ever. so, that just doesn't make sense.

it only takes 10 seconds for someone to drown. TEN SECONDS. i had no idea. if you are watching people in the water you have to do face counts every 10 seconds. and we practiced this. he chose random people from the class and assigned them rows to count every 10 seconds. i was chosen and i had 12 people i had to count. there wasn't enough time in between the face counts to do anything else! no talking to others. no reading a book. changing a diaper. taking out a splinter.

and then we had to watch this movie. it's the only footage in the world of people actual drowning. taken from Orchard Beach in the bronx. there's this like, huge drop off underwater and tons of people get caught it in and drown. so, this guy who made the movie was the head life guard there and set up a camera on the back of the lifeguard chair and filmed it for a few days.

omg. soooooo strange to watch. i mean, the water would be JAM PACKED with people. and he'd be like, "see that boy in the back? he's drowning." and he would be surrounded by people who clearly just thought he was splashing and playing. it was horrible. and then at the last minute the lifeguard would swim in and save them.

except for this one guy. 6 foot tall man who had been drinking. drowned in 4 feet of water.

and then, at the end of the movie the narrator (who was the head lifeguard at the beach) was like, "i'd like to end by telling you this tragic story." and it was like, 'oh great, a tragic story to end with.' and he was telling the story and started crying and it was just awful.

so, the training was so eye opening. and also really scary to think that thousands of parents will take their children to the beaches this summer not knowing all this information. and that some of these parents will lose their children because of things that probably could have been prevented.

UGH.

so, the training was 2.5 hours. and he started by saying, "this is a 6 hour training that we're condensing to 2.5 hours! so i'm going to go really fast!!!" and then he'd be like, "oh, we can make it, we've only got half an hour!" or, "hang in there, almost done!!" and this just really bothered me that he had to keep saying this.

like, this is so important. we shouldn't be rushing through it. and i wrote that on the evaluation of the class. (i was the last person writing the evaluation in the room and i thank Hampshire College for that.) like, make the training longer. why does it have to be 2.5 hours? make it a whole day. get some pizza involved. get more comfy chairs. there's no reason this has to be rushed.

also, this guy teaching. he was really animated and very easy to listen to. and i kept hearing that all week leading up to the training..."oh, this is a great training, the guy does a great job." and yeah, he did do a great job and he was very engaging to watch. but, at the same time, i thought he was borderline insensitive. and that also really bothered me. and i wrote that on the evaluation too.

so, after the training i just felt like i was in this weird space. like, 'okay, so i just listened to hours about how children die....now what?' and it made me feel even weirder than it didn't seem that anyone else felt this way.

like, the first question i was asked after the training was, "can we stop at dairy twirl on the way home??" and it was like, "how can you think about ice cream after that?" it just didn't make sense to me. (we didn't end up going to dairy twirl because we went a different way home.)

hm. so, now i have a certificate from the training. i hope i never have to use any of the information i learned. we also got whistles. they are the second most powerful type of whistle in the world. they can be heard for 2 miles! and they are bright orange. and they float! and they are self-emptying of water. i feel like i should make it into a necklace and wear it all the time.

soooo. water safety training is done. not again for another three years. i'm glad about that. it was hard.

aliya is here now!!!! adventure begin!!! we're having a blogging session right now. and then we're going to go to bed.

tomorrow is my last morning of work until 12 JUNE!!!!! i can't believe it's here.

my last overnight is saturday night. EXACTLY THREE MONTHS from when i had my last night off. these last few weeks have been really hard to get through. it's like i feel semi-trapped in this place right now. and i've been in kind of a panic in trying to separate work from home. i realized how hard that is. and how stressed it makes me. it's a lot harder than i thought it would be.

i have more to say, but i think i'm done for now. i'm really tired and still feel sad from training. i'm very happy aliya is here, though. we have lots of projects to complete. awesome. i'm excited.

alright friends. have a good end of the week. and a good weekend. and everything in between. i'll talk to you soon again, promise.


<3

bad decision

i was like, "oh, i've got an hour before water safety training, i'll just watch the Private Practice season finale. it will probably be super dramatic and emotional, but i'll risk it anyways."


I SHOULD NOT HAVE RISKED IT.

pretty lame

i know, i know. i promised you the part 2 update and i haven't given it to you. YET. i'm too busy and tired. but let's recap some exciting things i've done over the past few days:

1. became red cross certified in first aid.
2. wrote 3 songs and finished recording a cd with andrew.
3. make 4 possible red earring choices for kerianne's wedding.
4. watched A Chorus Line.
5. bought a pair of yoga pants for all the non-yoga i will be doing.
6. made my student loan payment early because it's due while i am away.

hooray for me. tonight is thursday, i think. tonight i am going to be certified in water safety. it's summertime, and that's when some people like to go swimming.

anyways. i think i will eventually need another bead case. i have soooo many beads!! (i am saying BEADS, not BEES, for all you Gobs reading....) and they are all gorgeous. i just want to quit everything and become a jewelery maker. and also a broadway star.

actually, i really just want Michael Douglas's job where he just sits at the desk in the audience and judges people. i guess that could also be Simon Cowell.

the bottom of my toes have cuts on them and they hurt when i walk. i've tried putting band-aids on them but they just fall off immediately. that's my sad news.

aliya is coming up tonight!!!! we are going to make curtains for my living room. i'm pretty excited about this.

i'm supposed to get the movie Incendiary in the mail today. this is the one with Michelle Williams and Ewan Mcgregor. where she is having an affair with him and she's married and has a little boy. and then one day when she's away with Ewan, her husband and son are killed in a terrorist bombing and she never forgives herself for not being there with them. the first time i saw the preview i cried my eyes out. so, we'll see how the movie goes.

i'll hopefully also get Last Chance Harvey on saturday. i'm excited to see it because i want Emma Thompson to be my best friend.

ok. i prrrrrromise that the part 2 update will be coming soon. WITH PICTURES. oh, it will be great.

have a nice day. i hear it's supposed to be hott and sunny. dreadful.


<3

dee lay

ATTN::: there will be a delay for part 2 of my graduation day posting. i'm too tired. it was a long night at work and i was just not in a good mood. i felt bad for the girls because i was irritable. and stressed.

anyways. i'm going to sleep now. i'll update some tomorrow.

have a great start to the week!

"stay away from people who high-five and call you bro when they're not a sibling."

there was some serious life-changing advice happening yesterday at the Hampshire College Commencement. i'll get to that later, let me start by telling you about my great Friday.

(aliya! elizabeth! joe! graduated!!!!!)

FRIDAY, 15 MAY 2009

i had a great day full of adventure. woke up fairly early. i think by 1. got up. made some eggs and coffee for breakfast. did some business online. not really business, though. probably celebrity gossip research. for the blog! so, i guess it was businessy.

decided not to wash my hair. i was going to. but then i decided i would wait and wash it later that night so i wouldn't have to wash it saturday morning. good decision, j.

got dressed. packed up my things. i needed to run errands and i had a lot of things to pack up. checks to deposit, netflix to return, mailing to mail. it was just a lot.

so, i left my apartment just after 4. i had to stop in the office to pick up some money from baby girl watching, and i stopped in at just the right time!!!! i got to meet Venessa Acham - the president of the board of directors for Hannah House!! it was great! she was so happy to meet me and kept saying how happy she was that i was working there, etc. i mean, i have no idea if she had even heard my name before, but it was still nice to hear some praise. she was really beautiful, too. she just seemed like a nice lady.

then she headed out and it was just me, Sue and Diane in the office. i asked them both a simple question:

JULIE: Do you know of any bead stores in the area?
SUE AND DIANE: ENFIELD.

then they went on and on about this supposedly amazing bead store in Enfield, New Hampshire right on Mascoma Lake. neither had been before, though. so then they were trying to give me directions and they were getting all excited about the thought of me going.

apparently, Sue has a sister who makes a lot of jewerly and always goes to this incredible bead store. but, it's very out of the way and nobody really knew anything factual about it.

so, Diane was getting very excited about learning all this new information, and the thought of me having an adventure, so, she did some googling and found the address, directions and a phone number. and then she called them to find out their hours and everything. she is so great. and they were both so excited for me. so that made me super excited!! so, i made a plan to go and then report back to them.

SO. i left the office at 4:45 and headed to the post office. closes at 5! yikes! got a great parking spot right out front. ran in, checked my mail. i got something for the wrong box. and i also wanted to make sure that my letter that i was mailing wasn't over the weight limit. IT WAS! good thing i checked. i had to pay $.17 extra. which, should have been $0.00 since postage should be free. whatevs.

left the post office. drove over to the bank. another great parking spot! the ladies at the counter were talking about all different kinds of alcoholic drinks. one of them mentioned a raspberry white russian which i think sounds incredibly good. i didn't ask where they were talking about, though. i thought that might seem awkward. so, i deposited some checks which is a good deal.

then, i headed over to Best Buy. i needed a memory card for my digital camera. i need one for Ireland because without it my camera can take a grand total of 9 pictures. and that wasn't going to cut it.

now, i had never been into this Best Buy yet, and i was kind of dreading it because i don't really understand anything about technology. so, i walk in and quickly find the camera section. and then i find the memory card section.

now, i had looked up exactly what i needed the night before, but of course, i had absolutely no memory of what it was supposed to be. so, i'm standing, staring at these alien-life form products, when i hear a voice behind me,

MAN: Excuse me, could I find someone to help you today?
JULIE: Umm....actually, that would be great.
MAN: Great! I'm Sean, and you are...?
JULIE: .....I'm Julie.
SEAN: Thanks Julie, I'll bring someone right over.

now, i thought this a bit odd. this Best Buy worker was not wearing a blue shirt and khakis. he was wearing a white shirt, black pants, had a very important looking headset on, and was carrying like, 5 clipboards. (actually, maybe only 2) and now we were like.....friends? it was strange.

so, i'm standing there still, and then Sean comes back with a blue shirt and khakis Best Buy employee.

SEAN: Hi Julie, I'd like to introduce you to Gary, he's going to be helping you out today.
GARY: (holds out his hand) Gary. Nice to meet you.
JULIE: (shakes his hand) I'm Julie....nice to meet you too.
SEAN: Great!
JULIE: Thanks Sean...

now, i'm still thinking this whole thing kind of strange. like, he wanted to introduce me to Gary....like we were on a date or something. whatevs.

JULIE: (takes out her camera) So, okay, this is my camera and I need a memory card for it.
GARY: Alright......it's a cybershot blah blah blah foreign technology speak blah blah....

and i ended up with a memory card! success!! Gary was a lovely gentleman. i was now very grateful for his help. and the fact that we were introduced.

so, then i also wanted to take a peek at the external harddrives. when in rome. so, i walk over to the computer section and find the hard drives. i see the two that i had been comparing online. they both look pretty much the same to me. i was just going to compare boxes and take off. but then! i heard that sweet familar voice behind me......

SEAN: Hi! Can I bring someone over to help you out here?!!
JULIE: Um....actually, I think I'm all set.
SEAN: Great! Just let me know if you need any help.
JULIE: I will! Thanks so much!

what a great guy, that Sean. so, i must have momentarily forgotten that i don't understand technology speak. and i had no idea what i was reading. and i really just wanted a hard drive that wouldn't crap out on me. so, i decided that i DID want some help. but now...where was Sean....

so, i'm peering my head over some of the aisles looking for him and i can't find him anywhere. so i go back into my aisle and wait. he would come around eventually, i had a feeling about this.

AND THEN THERE HE WAS! asking every customer if they wanted help. i could tell everyone was saying "no thanks." but not me!

JULIE: Hey Sean, I actually think I do want some help over in the hard drives.
SEAN: Great! I'll send someone right over.
JULIE: Thank you so much!
SEAN: No problem!

my new BFF. so, i waited and then around the corner, he came. with another guy in a white shirt and black pants.

SEAN: Julie, I've brought over Jason from the Geek Squad.
JASON: Hey.
JULIE: Hi.
SEAN: Alright, great!
JULIE: Thank you!

i could tell Jason kind of thought he was hott stuff. those geek squad guys all do.

JULIE: So, I had an external hard drive but it recently died, and I'm just kind of wondering what you would recommend.....I've been looking at either the Seagate, or the -
JASON: Western Digital?
JULIE: Yes!
JASON: Yeah, those are basically the two top brands in the hard drives. You really can't go wrong with both.
JULIE: Is there one you would recommend over the other?
JASON: Um...well, I've owned both of them before. I've got a couple Seagates right now on my desk. But, I think they're pretty interchangable. Really, whichever is the better deal.

so, we ended up having a nice conversation. he was a nice guy. ONCE AGAIN - Sean chose the right guy. he does his job pretty damn well.

aanndd....i ended up with this on-sale, green external harddrive that's 320gb and not too much bigger than my iPod. CR-AZY.

i left Best Buy in SUCH a good mood, it was insane. those people were nice and helpful. Sean just made my day. i might see if i can compliment him online or something.

i just wanted to hang out with every best buy employee!!!! they're the best!!!

anyways. so, after that, i stopped and got a coffee. i said, "what would make me even more happy right now??!" and the answer was a coffee.

and then i headed on my adventure to the bead store. which, was open until 9pm. so, for those of you who have visited me and taken exit 17.....you know how you take a left at the end of the exit? well, i went as if you would take a right! the other way!

and i had never been down there before. as soon as i drove onto uncharted territory i shouted,

JULIE: Adventure BEGIN!!

it was pretty easy. route 4 to 4A. then a left onto Shaker Boulevard. and then it was on that road. so, there's a huge Shaker Village in Enfield, NH. i had only ever heard about it.

so, i'm driving, driving through all this farm land and sweet little cottages and things. and then up on the right, there is this HUGE church. and it has a three-tier cemetary behind it with all kinds of fancy things. it's like, the cemetary was going up the hill. and it was seriously huge. i couldn't believe it.

and then, just as i'm focusing back on the farmland, i drive around a corner and there are these ENORMOUS stone buildings. it looked like Gringotts from Harry Potter. like, a giant stone building with large stone columns and everything. in like, the middle of a field. and there was another huge stone building right next to it. it looked insane. and there were all these farm houses behind it. all part of the Shaker Village. i definitely want to go see what all this crazy-ness is about.

and then! just past the Shaker Village is this gorgeous lake! Mascoma Lake! it was so beautiful! and lots of nice lake front homes. and in the middle of all these mountains. lovely.

so, i totally drive right past Shaker Boulevard. eventually, i turn around and find it. it's a little tiny road that's hidden in the woods. and i'm like, "where the heck am i going!?!" and it's up all these narrow, windy roads next to the lake and then suddenly - i see it! the bead store!



Gemstar Gemstone Company. a sign told me to park on the street. so, i did. and i get out of my car and there's a kitty in the road! a black kitty rolling around in the dirt. prety much begging me to come over and pat it. so, i did. and kitty started purring and being extremely sweet. i loved it.

and then my beading adventure began. i walked up the little hill to the store. and it's like, behind this fence. and i enter the fence and it's like a Narnia world transformation. all outside there are giant crystals and gemstones. like, HUGE ones. just like, piles upon piles of sparkly rocks. everywhere. just hanging outside. it was probably the second most curious place i've visited since moving up here. (White River Junction, Vermont takes the cake)





so, i'm kind of exploring this Gemstone yard and then i see a bead table! just outside. so, i walk over to it. and i'm like, "oh, there's just one table....hm, okay." i mean, it was a pretty big table, but still. i thought there would be more.


so, i'm browsing through the beads and then a lady appears around the corner.

she was probably a witch. she had long grey hair and a long black dress and she never made eye contact with me.

WITCH LADY: Can I help you find something?
JULIE: Yes! I'm looking for some fancy red beads!
WITCH LADY: Dark red or bright red?
JULIE: Umm....I'm not sure yet.
WITCH LADY: Come this way...

and she beckoned me! like, with her finger. witch confirmed. and i'm thinking she's going to take me into this secret red bead room. it very much reminded me of being on Canal Street in New York City. and you go into the store and ask for a particular knock-off handbag and they take you to the back of the store, open this secret door in the wall and there's a whole other room full of knock-offs.

but really, she was just leading me to the main store. there WAS a bigger bead store.

we walk up this ramp to the store and she opens the door........BEADS EVERYWHERE. hanging from the ceiling, in bins and bins on the counters. twists and turns of shelving and cabinets just pregnant with beads. i felt like i was underwater for some reason. with strands and strands of beads hanging everywhere. it was so beautiful. so many colors, textures, shapes. loves it.

and she gave me a mini red bead tour of the store. and the store was packed! i was shocked! other people come here too!!!

so, she gave me a bead basket and i was on my own. i wandered a lot. dug through piles and piles of beads. simply beautiful beads. it was incredible. i wish i could find photos of the inside of this place.

and i quickly filled the basket. everything was pretty cheap on it's own. but then it's like, "oh, i'll just get this, and this, and this, and this." i kept finding amazing beautiful things. i could have spent a whole day in that store.

i probably spent a good hour. the witch lady would frequently pass by. there were two nicer guys working at the counter. and i got some nice red beads. and some nice not-red beads. i'm super excited about everything.

and then i went to check out...

WITCH LADY: Are you all set?
JULIE: Yeah!
WITCH LADY: Alright. (walks over, starts to ring everything up. then, one of the guys walks over. she says to the man,) Do you want to finish this up?
MAN: Do you want to finish it?
WITCH LADY: Well, I have other things I could be doing.
MAN: Okay, I'll finish it.
(finishes everything)
JULIE: This store is so beautiful!
MAN: Thanks so much for coming in!
JULIE: I'll definitely be back.
MAN: Thank you.

and then i left Gemstar Gemstone. what a great place!!! i can't wait until i need to go back. so curious. and the whole thing overlooked Mascoma Lake. incredible!

oh, i was just in the loveliest of moods. such a great day. such wonderful places i went and people i met.

came home to the even more perfect thing: a quiet house. nothing was going on. exactly what i wanted.

upstairs. watched Bride Wars. really good actually! i cried a lot in the end. it's a great best friend movie. and it left me feeling conflicted about weddings. like, super big fancy dream weddings. like, everything looked so beautiful and elegant. but, it was all so stupid. a seven tier cake? come on. it was just all so unnecessary. a june wedding at the plaza. that was the dream setting. ugh, no way jose.

if i get married, i either want a spring or fall wedding.

anyways. enough about that. went to bed saturday morning around 4am.

SATURDAY, 16 MAY 2009

Hampshire College Commencement!!!! woke up at 7am. got ready. took longer getting ready than anticipated. left the house around 8:15. stopped at dunkers for coffee and bagel. delish.

and then i was on my way. had some good tunes all set. it was a good drive. an easy drive. 91 south brings you right into northampton.

i had to park on the grass. there were Mount Holyoke pub safety on segways all around campus. it looked really strange.

i had plans to sit with Julia and Kate, because they were saving seats for Elizabeth, Aliya and Joe's families. so, i quickly found them and then the ceremony started very soon after that.

SO GREAT to be on campus. i can't believe it's been a year since i graduated. it was strange to see people who were my orientees graduating. some of the kids in the group that Emily, Jenny and I led. weird.

overall, it was a great ceremony.

Ralph spoke first. good thing. i have no idea what he even said. as always. he said a good movie to describe Hampshire would be called, "There's Something About Hampshire." and then he said something about how nobody should ever be defending their education at Hampshire. i don't know.

so then, Nick Lane, the student moderator got up and moderated. Julia told me he had this awesome Div 3 where he created this musical about being gay. sounded pretty great. so, he gets up and he's like,

NICK LANE: I have to respectfully disagree with the President. I would say a better Hampshire College movie would be....Brokeback Mountain. Ya know, hanging out in the mountains, trying to work things out with your buddy...

that was funny.

Unique Robinson did a great job as the student speaker. she was enthusiastic and beautiful. i thought her shout-outs in the beginning were very touching. and there was this girl sitting a few seats down from us who kept shouting things like, "SAY IT GIRL!" i think she really liked it.

Bobcat Goldthwait was the keynote speaker. he was really funny. he did this thing where he was like, "yeah, i've never done this before, but Oprah has done it a bunch of times, so i'm just going to use one of her speeches." and then he started reading an Oprah speech that she gave at Wellesley College. it was pretty funny. his daughter was graduating from Hampshire yesterday, so he talked some about that, which was really sweet.

i thought he was much better than Dean from Dean's Beans, who was our graduation speaker. he was basically like, "so, this is what you do if you want to start your own organic coffee company. do exactly like i did." he was lame. but Bobcat was cool.

and then the alumni speaker was Ken Burns. he made a really lame but awesome joke about how his graduation was inside, but this one was 'in-tents'. Unique had said something in her speech about how everyone uses the word "intense" to describe everything. it was funny. oh, ken burns.

he gave a really good speech. it was very thoughtful. definitely more of a traditional speech compared to Bobcat's, which was a great combination. i think it helped to not have two organic food guys. whatevs.

all i could think while Ken was speaking was, "OMG YOU'VE BEEN TO THE ACADEMY AWARDS." that's the definition of a true success.

there was one part that i liked. he was generally talking about life and he said, "it's not about having the answers, it's having a relationship with the problems." i liked that. it was also funny when he was talking about giving Hampshire money.

nicely done, Ken Burns. he really had some great things to say about Hampshire.

if you would like to watch all or part of the ceremony (and i would encourage it, of course) please click the link!!

everyone was dressed pretty tame, i thought. there was one girl who was wearing a neon teal wig and i was super jealous. Aliya made her own dress for the occasion, and Elizabeth did some gorgeous pinning of a sparkly teal scarf to her outfit. they looked beautiful, duh.

and it was so great to see Aliya's parents and grandparents again! and to meet Elizabeth's parents and Joe's father!! and to see Julia's mom again! they are such wonderful, amazing people!!!! we all felt like one family.

we had lunch. i saw Jenny and Gwen for about 35 seconds!!!!! that was lovely, but i wish it had been longer. it's such a great feeling to have all these generations of friends!!!! and to see them all in the place that i miss the most.

on me and Aliya's way to see Matt and Amanda, we were quietly walking when suddenly -

WOMAN: JULIE!!! JULIE EVANS!!!

i look and who is it?!?!?!?!?! my creative writing professor and Div 2 chair - Nell Arnold. she was shouting my name and running over to me.

i was shocked she recognized me and remembered my name. we talked for a few minutes. she was very curious as to what i was doing now and if it was a good place to be in. i said that i was very happy and that right now, it feels like a good thing. she was glad to hear that. and then!

NELL: So, do you have a copy of your Div 3 in the library?
JULIE: I don't! I have to do that.
NELL: Oh! Yes, you have to do that, because I've been referring students to go read it!
JULIE: You have?! What?!?
NELL: I've been telling them to go read it because it's a great piece of writing with a strong female character.
JULIE: Wow, thank you so much.
NELL: So, you must get a copy in the library!
JULIE: I will! I will!!

so now i have actual motivation to do it. she's been referring students to my div 3!!!?!?!!?!?! i couldn't believe it. it was like, exactly what i have been wanting to hear ever since i graduated. because, as proud as i am of my div 3, i was kind of thinking, "okay, so it's done. that's that." and like, what was it all about? but THAT'S what it's all about! she's been telling other students to go read it!! YES!!!!! success. it made me so happy. and especially coming from a professor who is so respected and admired on campus.

*

i have much more to say!!!! but, i have to go now and get ready for work. working 3:30-10pm. which actually means 3:30 - 8am. i really don't feel like working. i'm tired. i just want to lounge all day. and my right cheek keeps twitching which i don't like.

ah well.

but! i will leave you with a preview of my next entry, which will be part 2 of this one, to entice you to come back and read more!!!!!!!

PREVIEW SECTION:

I am currently sitting in my new rock garden.

END PREVIEW SECTION!!!!!!!!!!

wow. what a great preview/hint to the next entry!!! you're so excited.

well, have a great sunday evening/afternoon. i guess it should be afternoon/evening. i'll write the part 2 tonight, so check back tomorrow for it. or, late tonight if you're awake.

love you. i'll talk to you soon!!

<3,
Julie

dreamy day

my horoscope for friday tells me to

1. get a haircut
2. daydream all day in order to let the universe know what i want in my life

best day ever? totally. i had actually been thinking about getting a haircut. more like a trim, of course. today i straightened my hair and i exclaimed, 'i have mermaid hair!' it was so long. best thing ever. but, it does need to be cut. last time i had it cut was in Amherst. i think that was last spring. when i went with Kerianne and Elizabeth and then i was late for my 8-11 shift in the APL.

and i can totally daydream all day. i do that every day. i would guess the universe is pretty sick of seeing what my perfect life would be like. actually, nevermind. i don't even know what my perfect life would be like. i have to figure out what i want to do.

hey! it's Courtney's birthday today!!!! i'm very excited for her. she has friday, saturday, sunday and monday off!!!!! Courtney just got a haircut earlier this week. i should have asked her where she got it. i'm glad we're working together every Thursday now.

tonight, i went to Hollywood Video to return some movies, and that was all. i didn't even go in and buy 8 thousand movies. i quite surprised myself. AND LAST WEEK. i was in the drive thru at dunkers and i could see over to Hollywood Video and they had many signs outside that said, "DVD SALE TODAY!!!!" and i didn't even go. I DIDN'T GO. i think it was the most self control i've ever shown in my whole life. a dvd sale and i didn't go. i still can't believe it. what was i thinking??? what was happening in my life that was better than a dvd sale?? i can't even remember. that probably means i should have gone to the dvd sale. because at least then, i would remember what movies i bought. whereas now, i can't even remember what great event pulled me away from the dvd sale!

anyways. maybe i'm a changing girl. changling. not really though. not at all.

the pregnant girl here today found out she's having a boy. she was really excited because that's what she wanted. it was exciting. it was the first time i had ever really seen her excited about being pregnant. she was so happy to show me her ultrasound pictures. they are beautiful. it's so crazy to see his little foot and little legs. she's definitely starting to show.

the toddler's mother has been having to sign incident reports at the toddler's daycare, though. i guess she's been biting other kids. yikes.

i had to go to wal-mart tonight to pick up a prescription for a baby. there was a very nice gentleman working and he was wearing a yellow shirt. he was helpful and enjoyable to talk to. i asked if i could pay some with cash and some with credit to which he replied,

YELLOW SHIRT PHARMACIST: Of course. We also accept tips.

it just made me laugh.

OMG. last night, i had a bad dream. i had a dream that i was away from the house for a while, and when i came back, it was covered in bed bugs. but not normal sized bed bugs. they were the size of CRABS. and they were everywhere. and they would travel in packs. and it was kind of like a disney movie, or something, because they were marching in very straight lines all in sync.

i guess it was kind a whimsical bad dream. if such a thing exists.

i really want to see the batman movie again. i wonder if that was one of the ones for sale in the dvd sale last week. i was listening to the Finale from les mis the other night and there's a line that goes, "even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise." and i thought, "hey - the dark knight!" and now i want to see it again. the new Heath Ledger movie is premiering at Cannes this week. have you seen the pictures of Jude, Colin and Johnny dressed up as his character? creeper mcgee at how much they all look alike. i think it will be strange.

aaaahhhhhh okay. i'm tried now. actually, i was tired half an hour ago but decided it was worth staying up and saying hello. it was totally worth it.

today i have to run errands. hit up the bank. possibly go to Best Buy and purchase a memory card for my camera. i need one for my trip. while i'm there, i might look at the external hard drives as well. i need another one since my old one died.

actually, i don't even really need another one since all my big files were on the old one, and now they're gone. fantastic.

ok. i'm going to bed now. and i'm not going to dream of bed bug crabs.

goodnight! love you!! it's friday!!! hampshire college graduation tomorrow!!!!!

<3

you know i'd do anything for love, but nina, what were you thinking of?

(i couldn't decide on a subject so i pressed play on my iPod and said, "okay, the first line i hear will be the subject." and it was that. Jens Lekman, A Postcard to Nina.)

wow. what a great opener. i bet i really hooked you guys. it's gotta be uphill from here.


so today i did absolutely nothing. i went to bed around 2am. no, 2:30am. woke up at 6:30 for work. downstairs time was super easy. toddler had a fever so she stayed home from daycare. her mom also needed to stay home from school to take care of her. so, they were upstairs. girls left for school at 7:05am. i hung out downstairs until 7:35 and then came back up.

back to bed. slept really well until 10:10 when my alarm went off. woke up. hit snooze. back to sleep. woke up. got up. made coffee. baby girl came around 10:50. she had just woken up and was hungry.

so i fed her. 4 oz. yum....? baby formula has a very distinct smell. after that, it was almost noontime. and she started yawning really big. i knew she was tired. but, she was trying to fight it.

i remembered from last week that she had fallen asleep around 12:30, so i figured it must be a normal time for her to nap. so, i rocked her to sleep. we walked around the house. at first she wanted to look at everything. so we did that. we looked outside for a while.

then i decided we needed to listen to some good music. and i decided it should be broadway music! so then i went through all my broadway music on my iPod trying to decide what we should listen to. decided Phantom of the Opera was too scary, Les Mis was too violent, Hair is just totally inappropriate, Godspell wasn't exciting enough, Jesus Christ Superstar might also be too scary, Titanic was too sad.......AND THEN I FOUND IT!!! The Lion King!!! so perf! such awesome music!

i think she really liked it. she fell asleep during 'Shadowland.' love that song. i think 'The Stampede' might be my fave, though.

but, i stood and rocked her for about 45 minutes before she was out. it was the best time of the day.

and then i put her in her carseat to sleep and she immediately wakes up. so, i pick her up again and rock her back to sleep. put her back in the carseat. still asleep! so then i get into my bed and sleep. well, until she wakes up like, 20 minutes later. she was fussy.

so, i got up. held her. changed her diaper. and then rocked her back to sleep. she slept for a long time!

i got up before her. ate a sandwich. watched the end of Footloose. and then baby woke up. Footloose had so much fighting in it. i was really surprised. there seemed to be more fighting than dancing. i thought there was actual singing in it. like, i thought Kevin Bacon would be singing everywhere. but no! it's just like, a movie with a really great soundtrack. i think most of the songs were written for the movie though, is that right?

but, i liked it. Sarah Jessica Parker was in it. she had a huge part! she looked like a little baby.

the baby left just after 5:30. i watched some of The Office. i didn't realize i was so far behind. then i took a bath. killed a spider in my room. at first i thought it was a bed bug. omg, i freaked out. i have never been so happy to see a spider in my life.

then i went downstairs to check in with Courtney. things were fine overall. we're working together again tomorrow night. there's like, one million doctor's appointments scheduled for tomorrow. and Courtney has to come in at 10am so she can do them all. i don't think that's fair, actually. they shouldn't have scheduled all these appointments for the same day! one girl has two appointments for herself and one for her baby. two appointments are happening at the same time. it took Courtney like, half an hour just to figure out how she would get all the girls to all these appointments. i don't know. it didn't seem fair to me.

soooo......i watched like, half of Sense and Sensibility tonight. i had been wanting to watch it since seeing the musical. the world premiere musical. man i love that movie. i love their dresses.

and watching the movie kept triggering memories from Saturday that i had forgotten. triggering good memories, though. not like Dr. Hunt on Grey's seeing the ceiling fan and it triggering a helicopter memory and then he went and strangled Christina. it wasn't like that.

so, Saturday might be slowly coming back to me. when Elinor was telling Brandon about how Marianne needs to get more in touch with reality, i remember this beautiful song that Brandon had telling Elinor never to change Marianne. that she is wonderful the way she is. oh, it was beautiful.

and then! i remembered a super sad moment from the musical when Willoughby is writing Marianne the letter he sends her. and he wanted to start it with, 'My Dearest Marianne,' but then lame Miss Grey made him write, 'My Dear Madam.' UGH MISS GREY. and he was so sad to write it and marianne was so sad to read it. but, it was a beautiful song.

also while watching the movie i remembered a part that i didn't find clear in the musical. and i wished i had remembered it at the time to write it on my comment sheet. i guess i could still email them.

ok. i'm going to bed now. OH WAIT! i haven't told you my plan for tomorrow. so you know where i'll be if you need to find me:

- 6:30 - 8am = work
- 10:30 - 3:30 = baby is here
- 3:30 - 10 = work with Courtney

busy day. OH ALIYA! i saw that you called this afternoon, but i was feeding the baby and couldn't answer the phone. and then i just remembered it now. i'll try to call tomorrow when baby is napping.

ok. now i'm going to bed. i slept really well last night. i love my bed. i hope everyone loves their bed as much as i love mine.

OH WAIT!!! one more thing. did everyone see the new cast of HAIR performing on David Letterman?!!?!?!?!? you must watch it!!!! it's so much fun! someone please go see this with me!! aahhhh i can't wait until they release their cd! the quality of my Hair soundtrack is lacking. it's in CD form, but sounds like it was recorded in the early 1900's. sometimes i read what Hair has to say on Twitter. great!

ok. i think that's everything. i'll for sure talk to you tomorrow. have a great thursday! i can't believe it's thursday already. the week is flying.

love ya!

<3

put a ring on it

OMG JUST WATCHED GREY'S FROM LAST WEEK. yeah, definitely cried for like, 15 minutes straight. it was like maxed out with happy/sadness. love that show.


IN OTHER NEWS. omg, this almost made me cry too. you've probably read this online by now, but whether or not you have or haven't, i'm going to go on about it right now. and probably for the rest of the week.


LEO gave KATE a GOLD RING. ENGRAVED with something!! and she wears it with her wedding ring!!!!!!! she won't say what it says on the inside. OMG most romantic thing ever for "friends" to do. just please get married already. i would even marry Sam so that he would take it easier.

HA! that's what i'll do. i'll propose this: I will marry Sam Mendes, if Kate and Leo get married. we can have a double wedding!

hey sam, forget about your oscar-winning, total knockout wife and please marry me, a broke twenty-three year old, unsuccessful flat bread maker who sleeps with three stuffed animals. that will help him get his mind off kate.

but, if that deal falls through, we'll just stick with the original plan where Leo marries me.

we would get married in Italy. at the house that i want to live in. yup, still my dream.

hmmm. anyways. almost 1am now. how does it always get to be so late?!!? i'm going to bed now. hopefully baby will sleep tomorrow and i can take a mom nap.

goodnight friends! have great wednesdays!!!!


<3

yaaawn

tired! went to sleep last night around quarter to 5. the sky was getting lighter! i just wasn't tired. the baby in the monitor was cranky and fussy. i finally fell to sleep.

up at 6 am with a phone call. back to bed. up again for work at 6:30. downstairs to french braid hair. girls leave for school at 7:05. i leave for daycare with the toddler around 7:20. she drew me a picture this morning. it's quite beautiful and i hung it immediately on the fridge. i even wrote her name and the date on the back.

8am went back to bed. slept until 11, when my alarm went off. snooze. snooze. snoozed many times. then finally at 11:40, i said to myself, "okay, i'm getting up now." and then i shut off my alarm clock and got right back into bed. and fell immediately asleep.

woke up at 12:27. staff meeting is at 12:30. whoops.

jumped out of bed. immediately got dressed. did hair and makeup. downstairs by 12:32. they hadn't even started yet!

and it gets better. Courtney's birthday is on friday and so today was her birthday staff meeting celebration! we had ice cream and cupcakes. delish.

and then! after staff meeting there was a party upstairs for one of the girls who has been here for three years. we had lots of chips and ice cream cake. and soda.

and that's all i've eaten today. crap junk food. but so good.

i had the baby girl up here from 4:30 until 8:30. she ate a little. fussed a little. slept a little. we played on the floor for a little bit. practiced her reaching and grabbing.

i tried to take a mom nap while she napped, but that didn't really happen. she slept from 6pm until 6:23. and i think i fell asleep right around 6:20. ah well.

i have her again tomorrow from 10:30 until 5:30. i'm going to bed early tonight.

can't believe it's 9 o'clock! what the what?!

man i'm tired. maybe it's because i'm still listening to the baby lullabyes. they're just so nice and soothing. there must be some subliminal messaging in them saying, "go to sleep....you're so tired....sleeepp...." or something.

i'm hungry.

i realized this afternoon in staff meeting that i'm leaving for ireland in less than 2 weeks. OMG. and then i got really sick feeling and realized that i have so much to do. i need shoes and accessories!!!!! i can't find anything red!!!! i also need a little sweater item for over my dress incase it's cold. what will the weather in ireland be like?

the light in my kitchen burnt out last week and i don't know how to change it. it's like, on the ceiling. like, a globe type light. and it's too high to reach. and i don't have anything to stand on. because i have no chairs. so, i had to move the light from the cave room into the kitchen. and now it's weird. it was a weird atmosphere change. i'll have to figure out how to change it.

also, i have had offers of people wanting to help me put in my air conditioners, so that makes me happy. and very grateful because i have never had air conditioning in my life. i kind of assumed that it just worked like a window fan. you just put it in the window and plugged it in. but apparently there are screws involved.

ok. i'm going downstairs to check in. and then i will eat supper. and then i will go to bed.

talk to you later. hope your night is well.

<3

find me now, find me here

so today did not go as planned. remember how i was planning on waking up at a normal time and then blogging all day? yeah......no. i tried to wake up by noontime. i got up. shut off my alarm clock. put socks on. got back into bed. and fell right to sleep again. woke up at 3.

got up. made a sandwich. washed my hair. got dressed. went to the post office. i made it on time!!! left the house at 4:48 and they close at 5!!! i knew i wouldn't have time for another trip until friday. and i needed Bride Wars asap.

there was a new man working at the window! and i kind of was in love with him for a little bit. he was ruggedly handsome. i handed him my 'yellow package slip.'

HANDSOME POSTAL WORKER: How are you today?
JULIE: Good! How are you doing?
HANDSOME POSTAL WORKER: Good! Box number?
JULIE: 2057.
HANDSOME POSTAL WORKER: Twenty fifty-seven?
JULIE: ...yes!
(a moment passes)
HANDSOME POSTAL WORKER: (emerges from out back) 2-0-5-7?
JULIE: Yep.
HANDSOME POSTAL WORKER: Hm, I didn't see anything.
JULIE: It should be a Netflix.
HANDSOME POSTAL WORKER: Hm, ok.
(he goes back to the mail room)
HANDSOME POSTAL WORKER: (shouts from out back) AH HA!!! (come back out) I found it! Someone had put it on the wrong shelf. Thank you.
JULIE: Thank you very much!
HANDSOME POSTAL WORKER: Have a great afternoon!
JULIE: You too!!

it was a pleasant exchange. i hope i see him more often.

so then, as i'm pulling out of the post office parking lot, i think to myself, 'crap, i was supposed to go to the bank.' and it was quite unfortunate, because i didn't have my two checks to deposit. ah well.

i headed to the grocery store instead.

bought some lettuce. tomatoes. chicken salad. flour. brown sugar. an Honest Tea - Moroccan Mint variety. it's not as good as the mint tea from the Moroccan place in Northampton, Massachusetts. where i want to go really badly.

came home. put groceries away. looked up 'flat bread' recipes online. called kara to see what i could use for a shortening substitute. i asked, "applesauce?" she answered, "butter." and it was settled.

then i filled out my time sheet! this is always quite a process. the first time i did it, it took me roughly 45 minutes. now i've got it down to about 20ish. it's hard because i have so many half hours, quarter hours and three-quarter hours. and i have to separate my "overnight" hours from my "daytime" hours. it just takes me a while.

but! the result this time was surprising. i worked more hours overnight hours than ever before! 17!! seventeen hours in the overnight!!! that's like working in the airport lounge. that was 18 hours for two weeks. so, that's pretty good.

and in my daytime hours, i worked 48. not a record, but still good. my longest day was 13 hours. yime! i think that was the day i was in the ER until 2am.

so then i brought my time sheet downstairs. fun. saw some babies.

came back up. took a nice bath. very calming.

OH - BAD NEWS. the bed bug guys came today and they still found alive ones. IN A DIFFERENT ROOM. so, the old room with them is all better, but now there's a new infected room. SUCKS.

and one of the bed bug guys said he had never seen a bed bug as big as one of them that he found. GROSS GROSS GROSS.

i still haven't seen any up here. or, any more up here.

but, the girls told me tonight they the guys said they don't think the bugs are breeding here. they think someone keeps bringing them in. GROSS.

i guess i'll have to keep living in fear until the problem is remedied. i think the whole house needs to be sprayed.

IN GOOD NEWS! i made flat bread tonight!! it was really easy to make. although, it only came out so-so. I DIDN'T HAVE:

- shortening, so i used butter
- a rolling pin, so i used a bottle of apple cider vinegar
- a griddle, so i used a baking sheet

i also didn't measure a lot of the ingredients. and i added garlic and onion powder. i mean, it's not bad flat bread. it's pretty good. tasty. it just kind of tastes like baked dough. instead of bread.

so, i took a sturdy enough piece, cut it in half, and made it into a sandwich! with chicken salad, lettuce and tomato!! it's quite good. i'm trying to recreate the best sandwich i've ever had in my life, from Davenport's. can't quite get there. i'll have to keep trying. i love flat bread.

hm. what else about my day.

last time i went to Davenport's i had just gotten my ear pierced. crazy. it's still sore sometimes. and i heard that KERIANNE GOT HER EARS PIERCED!!!!! both of them!!!! pierced!!!!!! insane! which, i guess, brings me to my saturday and how i found this out.

ok, let's move along. (i just took a deep breath. i think i am ready to recreate this day for you.)


SATURDAY, 9 MAY, 2009


today was a big day. i had big plans. i had a ticket reserved for the world premiere of Sense and Sensibility: The Musical. this was the first big step. now, i had wanted to see this musical for two reasons, but really only one main reason.
1. i heart sense and sensibility.
2. josh young was originating the role of mr. willoughby.

reason 2 is the main reason. remember Josh Young? i remember him. i first saw him EIGHT years ago in portsmouth in Titanic: The Musical. then i saw him in A Chorus Line and Hair. all the same summer. and then i didn't see him in anything UNTIL this past fall when he performed as Marius in Les Miserables in Ogunquit, Maine.

that was a long stretch of time. in between Hair and Les Mis. but, in the meantime, i had bought his CD and written this livejournal entry, which then Josh Young and Josh Young's mother went onto read. yikes.

(if you would like to refer to my livejournal entry after seeing Josh in Les Mis this past fall, please click here.) (it was also the day before david's birthday!!)

SO. back to saturday. i had a ticket for Sense and Sensibility and was going by myself! i was scared to do this, because we've established that i hate doing news things and going new places by myself. it's like, the hardest thing in the world.

AND. i had made a deal with myself. a self-promise. i said,

JULIE: The only way I'm going to let you go to this performance is if you promise that you will go up and say hi to Josh Young afterwards.

and i promised myself. and it was done. i reserved a ticket. i made the promise.

OH, i should mention this also. the whole production was being directed by Sam Scalamoni. now, i had worked with Sam when I was in 6th grade in a production of Annie at Hackmatack Playhouse. i was too tall at the time to play an orphan, so i was a homeless person in the Hooverville scene, and a tourist in the NYC scene. (and there was one performance where me and Maria - who was also in the show - were backstage with our tourist cameras and mine totally fell apart and made the loudest CRASH on the floor. and we were laughing so hard, and we still laugh about it to this day.)

so, i knew the director of the show too. and i have a picture with him somewhere at home. so, that was a cool thing because now he's a big shot and all.

anyways - back to saturday. so, i left my house just after 10:30. i needed to stop at the post office and get gas and get dunkers. i also wanted to leave time incase i got lost.

oh! you don't know where i'm going. i was headed to Lenox, Massachusetts. which is in the Berkshires, off the Mass Pike. about 45 minutes south of Hampshire College. so, i made plans with Aliya, Elizabeth and Joe to stop in on the way back!! exciting!!!!

now, the drive down was nice. i love the drive on 91 south through Vermont. it's so pretty. and the drive through MA is nice too, because i hadn't been south of Hampshire, since going to Hampshire. it brought back some nice memories, of course.

so, i picked up the Mass Pike in Chicopee and headed west. i was SHOCKED AND THRILLED to see that i didn't have to pay when i got off!!!! i had been saving up my $1's all week knowing that i would have to pay an outrageous toll. but i didn't have to!!! that was the first sign that this was going to be a good day.

ALSO: this was my horoscope for 9 May:

Count to ten before you say anything more complicated than 'hi' today. Your brain and your mouth are a little out of sync for the moment, but they'll be back to normal by tomorrow.

reading this on friday night was making me even more nervous than i already was to say hi to Josh Young. i did think this was a pretty perfect horoscope, though.

OK.

so, i drive into Lenox. um, hello cutest most sweetest town ever! i couldn't believe it! everything was so pretty. if i remember correctly, there was a pink restaurant in town! there were lakes and flowers and sunshine and it was beautiful. who knew?!?!

i find my way to where the show is playing, in the Elayne P. Bernstein theater. there is this whole Shakespeare Company in Lenox that has this, like, huge campus. and Sense and Sensibility was playing in one of their theaters, but was being put on by the Berkshire Musical Theater Workshop.

so, i drive onto this property (which is in the middle of like, all these huge mansions) and find my way around. there's a roundabout. a lake. many buildings. but, there are signs pointing me to where i'm going. thank you, shakespeare and company.

i park in this huge muddy parking lot. and just as i'm pulling in, who else is pulling in? Sam Scalamoni. the director. hm, i think. so, we get out of our respective cars. he makes a comment to me about the muddyness of the ground. and then i basically just say to him,

JULIE: So, you're not going to remember this, but I was in Annie at Hackmatack Playhouse!

he was surprised to hear that. we talked about it a little. the cast, etc. it was a nice chat. and we walked into the theater together. and then he was bombared with people excited to see him. he did ask me what brought me to the show and i said that i was a fan of Josh Young. i think he was also surprised to hear that. but, he said that Josh was a good guy and did a great job in the show. (um, duh.)


:::sidenote::: i'm still eating that chicken salad sandwich on the flat bread i made, and i just decided that the bread is disgusting. it's just like eating chicken salad wrapped in dough. i won't be finishing it :::end sidenote:::


so, Sam and i part ways inside. he does tell me that if i would like to meet Josh Young, to just flag him down after the show and he'll introduce us.

i get my ticket from the box office. use the restroom. and then stand in line. the doors to the theater haven't opened yet, so there's a crowd of people waiting outside. it was kind of scary. i didn't have anyone to stand with. anyone to talk to. it was then where i realized, 'holy crap, i'm doing this alone.'

it's kind of like the first time you go see a movie by yourself. like, it's okay once the movie starts, because nobody talks anyways. it's just the social aspects of the outing you are missing. and it's those that are the hardest to get over. now i love going to see movies by myself. (my first "alone movie" was Crash)

so, the doors open and i find a seat. there are tons of seats reserved for important people. i choose the first "non-reserved" seat in the back row. on the 'stage right' side.

now, this show wasn't a full production. it was just a staged reading. which, i had never experienced before, so i was quite curious. the stage was empty save for chairs and water bottles. i was getting super excited because it was the world premiere! nobody else had ever seen the show before!!!!! well, not an audience.

also starring in the show was the great Todd Alan Johnson. (he doesn't have a website, but back in the fall, i stumbled across this site which asks the question, 'Does Todd Alan Johnson look like John Travolta?' it's a very in-depth site devoted to the debate. pretty hiliarious, actually.)

so, i had seen him also in Les Mis in Ogunquit! he played Javert. and i was in love with him for 1. playing Javert, because he's my fave. and 2. Stars. that song, Stars, that Javert sings. still, to this very day, i can still remember the feeling i had listening to him sing that song. chills. one of the greatest musical theater performances i've ever seen. ever. the only thing that could distract me from Josh Young that night was this guy singing. intermission conversation:

MOM: How are you liking the show?!
JULIE: I love it. Did you hear that guy sing Stars?!??
MOM: Yeah, he was good. How about Josh Young?
JULIE: Yeah....BUT JAVERT!!!!

i was very excited to see him because he was playing Col. Brandon. alan rickman! and i had been hoping the entire way down that there would be an Edward/Willoughby/Brandon song. somewhere along the lines of 'The Blame' from Titanic: The Musical and 'Agony' from Into the Woods. but, there was no such song. ah well.

SO - the show starts. Josh Young is there. it's a great show. like, a super really great show. very funny. very sweet. and the casting was outstanding. all of the actors completely looked like the characters they were playing. it was extrodinary. especially for Sir John and Mrs. Jennings and John and Fannie. and Mrs. Dashwood. oh, just everybody.

Marianne had this great song called 'Destiny' which was really sweet. about love at first sight and soul mates, etc. i love Marianne.

anyways! so, GREAT SHOW. if you ever get the chance to see it, SEE IT. funny, touching. i almost cried during the song at the end when Elinor is begging Marianne to live. and to not die of a broken heart.

during intermission i started talking with the lady next to me. she was an older lady wearing a teal jacket and a straw hat. i liked her a lot. she was somehow related to the director of the Berkshire Musical Theater Workshop, who was also playing Marianne in the show. so, we chatted a lot about the first act.

LADY NEXT TO ME: What do you think of the acting?
JULIE: Oh, I think it's incredible how much the actors look like their characters!
LADY NEXT TO ME: I agree. This casting is just incredible. Who is your favorite?
JULIE: I like Col. Brandon a lot, although I feel he hasn't really gotten a chance to express himself yet. I want him to have a song.
LADY NEXT TO ME: I agree, we'll tell them that after the show. I do wish they would speak a little clearer, but I bet they're all used to speaking with mics on.
JULIE: Yeah, that's a good point.
LADY NEXT TO ME: I do like that John Willoughby. He's really projects his voice.
JULIE: (omg she's talking about Josh Young!!) He's got a beautiful voice.

so, it was a nice conversation. and then the second act started. great! the whole show was just awesome. the music was great. they really did a good job of condensing the story. but, keeping in the good parts and not losing the overall feeling.

and even with no sets or costumes i could totally see the whole thing! that was cool. to just see the actors performing in their regular clothes.

they had handed out surveys on our chairs about the show, so i gave some good feedback. and there was a 'talk-back' after the show, which was really interesting. everyone thought that Brandon needed more stage time. and that the relationship between him and Marianne at the end needed to be expanded. i was really thinking, 'i wish col. brandon would just sing Stars already.'

and there was one comment that i really liked about Marianne and Willoughby. the lady said,

LADY COMMENTING: I wanted to see more of why Marianne loved Willoughby, rather than Elinor's disapproval of her loving him.

i was like, 'BRILLZ!!' i thought that was very insightful and well-said.

so then, the show was over. and now i had to say hi to josh young. so, i start to pack up my things and then he goes backstage.

JULIE 1: (thinking) Oh, he's so busy with all his friends. He doesn't have any time. I'll do it next time.
JULIE 2: (thinking) NO JULIE! YOU PROMISED YOURSELF! You have to do it! Just do it!!! Just DO IT!
JULIE 1: (thinking) Ok, ok. I'll fill out my survey and then catch him on his way out. (OMG)

so, i fill out my survey. i said that i wished Col. Brandon had a better song. that he's such a nice guy, but we really didn't see that until later. and we're supposed to know that he loves Marianne and that he's much more better for her than Willoughby. so, i suggested that he have a really great solo song that told the audience of his love for her, while keeping Marianne oblivious still. (again, just have him sing Stars.) he could be swearing on the stars that he will never rest until he marries Marianne. could make sense. Marianne and Jean Valjean have the same number of syllables and kind of sound the same at the end.

nevermind. i'm listening to Stars now. it couldn't make sense.
1. he never says 'Jean Valjean' so that rhyme is out.
2. the whole part with him talking about the fugitive and wanting him behind bars probably couldn't be worked into the story.

sorry. it won't work. WHAT!? why am i even talking about this?!?! ok, back.

so then, i'm at the end of my survey and just as i look up, Josh Young is walking out from backstage. i hurry again to pack my things up and walk down to the stage. he's been intercepted by other people. surely not fans of 8 years, i assume. and, i'm standing there completely freaking out. like, totally the most nervous i've ever been in my life. that's probably not true. but actually, may be true. i don't know. so, then he starts to walk away. and i somehow gather my voice and say,

JULIE: Hey Josh Young!

and he turns, and it begins. 8 years of build up, for these next 3ish minutes. i'm not going to recount our conversation. i'm pretty sure i remember what was said, i just don't remember any of it happening. but i remember him looking at me. i remember him. he remembered the blog incident*, which i brought up. i think i was insanly nervous and he probably thought i was a crazy person. he did tell he'll be back in maine this summer doing (insert tony award winning musical here). it hasn't been announced yet on his website, so i don't want to announce it here. Josh, i'll let you be the first.

*where his mother found my other gushy livejournal entry and sent him the link. and then he commented. (link to entry is above)

SO. it happened. i spoke to Josh Young. we shook hands. we walked out of the theater together. he told me to "have a safe drive" in the parking lot. it was wonderful. i wish i could remember it better. although, if i remembered it better, i'd probably want to re-do it over completely. anyways, it was perfect enough.

and as technology would have it, we are all able to experience the wonderfully talented and beautiful Josh Young courtesy of Youtube.

(actually, 'wonderfully talented' really doesn't cut it. can't find words right now to describe what an amazing performer he is.)

here we go:::publicity:::

:::Josh singing "Later" from 'A Little Night Music.' um, this is incredible. stick it out through the shakyness in the beginning, it only lasts about 19 seconds.

:::Josh singing "Maria" from 'West Side Story.' so beautiful. someone commented on the video and declared it, "the best vocal performance on youtube." agreed.

:::Josh singing "Run Away With Me". my favorite track on his CD. the most beautiful song ever. from the Kerrigan and Loudermilk musical, 'The Unauthorized Biography of Samatha Brown.'

those are the three best. if i had a video of him singing "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from ogunquit OH MAN that would be up there. number one.

SO. moving along. i got in my car after meeting Josh Young and couldn't focus. i was able to text Aliya telling her i was on my way to Hampshire. but that was all. i seriously drove out of the parking lot and wasn't even paying any attention. it took me like, 5 minutes until i was like, "holy crap am i even going the right way!!?" i was, luckily. i was blindly driving. then i realized i needed to focus on driving. because even though Kate Winslet has won her Oscar, even though I had now met Josh Young, i still needed to live.

the drive up to Hampshire was nice. i was again, thrilled that i didn't have to pay any money to get off the Pike.

Hampshire College was as beautiful as ever. even more beautiful on this beautiful day. everything just looked better after meeting Josh Young. the world was just a better place. much like i felt after Kate won the Oscar. or, the feeling you get when you drive into Canada. it's just nicer.

i parked in Enfield and Elizabeth came running out to greet me!!!!! she was beautiful as always. saw their modmates Emily, Luke, and for a minute, Ian. and then Aliya! also gorgeous as always. sooooooo wonderful to see them. after a few minutes, Joe and Julia came in! the whole gang! minus Kerianne. but, we talked about her a lot. which is how i found out she got HER EARS PIERCED. crazyness.

they made an awesome dinner. pesto risotto with roasted red peppers, tomato and cheese salad, broccoli and cabbage salad (is this right?), and then a high-protein, gluten free chocolate torte for dessert which was delish! everything was great. it was so much fun. even managed to get in a glass of local beer! yum...?

we talked a lot about our trip to Ireland IN TWO WEEKS. did lots of online researching. which, didn't really amount to anything. just more confusion and indecision. but, it was still fun.

i could only spend about 2 hours there because i had to drive two hours back to Lebanon. and it started thundering, lightening and downpouring. i left a bit earlier because i knew i wasn't going to be driving as fast in this weather.

sad to leave. but - i'll see them next weekend for graduation!!!!!! holy crap! graduation!!!!

oh - it was terrible driving away from Hampshire. i hate it. i just want to stay there. miss it so much.

and then i returned home. still in a daze. i couldn't wait to tell Courtney about my exciting day. i basically told her:

JULIE: I just went to see the world premiere of Sense and Sensibility: The Musical!
COURTNEY: Hahahaha.
JULIE: It was great!! I love Sense and Sensibility and musicals, so this was perfect. And this actor that I really like was in it, so that was fun.
COURTNEY: Wow, sounds like a great day for you!!

ha, that's how i described Josh Young. "this actor that i really like" yeah, and then i go and gush about him forever and forever in my blog again. IF ONLY you had been there that night that i first saw him in Titanic. you would understand. it must have been the way the stars were aligned. (well, my dad was there and Josh didn't seem to have the same effect on him as he did me...) and it just means even more that it was Titanic. would i have had the same reaction had i seen him first in Les Mis? um, probably. what about Hair? um, most definitely. so, really, it doesn't matter what i see him in. he's just perfect and beautiful. and that voice....

SO, friends, that was my lovely and incredible saturday, 9 may, 2009. one for the history books.

it's almost 4am now. it's taken me a super long time to write this. but there's so much audience interaction! links galore, videos to watch! please, experience it all. just indulge me. and support Josh Young!!

i hope you all had a lovely start to the week. it's tuesday now. here's my schedule for today:

- 6:30 - 8am = work
- 12:30 - 4:30pm = staff meeting
- 4:30 - 8:30pm = babysitting newborn baby girl

should be a busy day. i might take a mom nap when baby is sleeping. i am excited to listen to those rockabye lullabyes again. i was almost going to play them tonight while i was in the living room, but then i said, "no, you are 23. save the lullabyes for when there are 2 month olds around."

ok ok!! have great tuesdays. sorry for the delay in this posting. i'm really still in airport lounge posting time.

love you! i'll talk to you again soon!!


let me be your ride outta town
let me be the place that you hide
we can make our lives on the go
run away with me

<3,
.Jacuzzi.Jacuzzi.

something's coming

oh, there will be an update. i'm mentally preparing myself. i'm planning on going to bed semi-early tonight so i can blog all day monday. (i would make a joke and say that i'm kidding.....but i'm actually not.)

i have to update. i tried to concentrate on Footloose tonight, and couldn't. i can't concentrate on anything. not even Kevin Bacon's tortured teenage self, solo-dancing in a warehouse!!!

so - yes - there will be an update. most likely posted at some time on monday.

other things to do monday include (but are not limited to)::

- post office (i'm getting bride wars from netflix. number one priority.)
- bank
-

i guess that's it. maybe not. i can't even concentrate on a schedule. my head is still spinning.

i had a very good drive home from maine tonight. i was in a belty mood. so i belted a lot of songs. it was fun.

i listened to Les Mis. started at 'the confrontation' and went until 'building the barricade.' it was great! although, for some strange, odd reason tonight, i got really mad at Marius. it's the part where Eponine says to him

EPONINE: I like the way you grow your hair -
MARIUS: I like the way you always tease!
EPONINE: Little he knows, little he sees.

and i just went, "UGH MARIUS GET THE PICTURE!" anyways. i'm so in love with "Javert's Intervention" which takes place in 'The Robbery' song. during the scene where Marius bumps into Cosette. OH, JAVERT. he will always have my heart.

OK. MORE TOMORROW. i must away to bed. i'm quite tired.

goodnight, loved ones.

Could it be he's some old jailbird
that the tide now washes in
Heard my name and started running
had the brand upon his skin,
and the girl who stood beside him,
when I turned they both had gone
could he be the man I've hunted
could it be he's Jean Valjean?

<3

"i did not live until today"

so much to say. but i have no words to say it. today has been amazing. there are no words to describe the wonderfulness of today. it was such a complete, lovely day. full of love.

i love everything about this day. oh, that it would never end!

and it's not like i just loved the day as a whole, i loved every single thing that happened. every single wonderful thing. (although, there was a moment where i lamented about my lost teal jacket. it's been two years. 5 may was the anniversary.)

but - this day. wonderful. i screamed in excitement many times. I STILL cannot stop smiling. i bet out of this 24-hour day, i have smiled ear-to-ear for about 14 hours.

this is one for the history books. if i can find words, i will explain. promise.

until then - happy mother's day.



me and my gorgeous mother!!!! she's incredible and i love her so much.


<3

ps: song

check this out! it's Cobra Starship featuring Leighton Meester!!! a new song!

FIERCE.

ah HA!!!!

Hilary Duff thought no one would notice that she wore the same dress as Kate Winslet!!!!! well, apparently Hilary has never heard of ME.



Hilary shown here, wearing this dress in a mustard color. i think it's a poor color choice for her. this was from this past wednesday, i believe.



Kate shown here, at one of the premieres for The Reader. SAME DRESS, better color.


Hilary's dress is a bit shorter than Kate's, so she must have had it shortened. but, i've analyzed them quite thoroughly and it's the same dress.

YOU'RE WELCOME. i haven't seen anyone else on the internet point out this fashion revelation. you saw it here first.

talk to you later!!!!!

<3