Live in New York City once...

The following is a speech by George Carlin.


Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. 

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

25 Days of Giving

Last year I used the power of Facebook to spread the word about 25 charities and donated to each one as a personal christmas gift to whomever recommended that charity.

This year I was inspired by this video called "Advent Conspiracy"

"Spend Less on Gifts, Give More Presence."


The Charities I supported last year included the following. If anyone is considering buying me a Christmas present this year, a donation to one of these would be preferred:

1.     Terrence Higgins for world AIDS day

2.     Human Rights Campaign 

3.     Jimmyv.org 

4.     http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

5.     www.nhctf.org 

6.     http://www.nhcadsv.org/

7.     International Justice Mission 

8.     Aspca 

9.     Post secret hopeline

10. joyful noise leukemia foundation

11. hoops for heroes

12. Haiti yele

13. invisible children

14. toys for tots

15. Courage campaign 

16. Girls on the run NH

17. Breast cancer awareness

18. Heifer international 

19. Let’s move 

20. National inclusion project 

21. Charity for cancer survivors

23. Faith Hope and Love Foundation 

24. Defenders of Wildlife 
25.Momentary Times           (I'm not sure where 22 went, my blog is being funky with the lay-out and HTML... I'll edit more later.)


        *also, if anyone else has other websites or organizations they would like to recommend to me, please do so!! 

Love one another. X

On trying to Act in NYC

Here we go. I've jumped into the acting world of New York City. It is competitive and harsh and you only get places by knowing the right people.  You can have talent and try really hard and still fail.

So far since being here I have applied to numerous projects, including feature films, television shows, student films, web series, and commercials. I have gone on a few auditions and even landed a few roles. The projects that I have done are a web-series filmed in Brooklyn and an episode from a television show for a class at NYU. Both were unpaid but it was great to use them as experiences to learn more about film acting and to meet new people. Also, it's building up my resume!

How I found out about these parts were by constantly searching online. The two websites I use most are Mandy.com and NYCastings.com. Mandy is free and it has mostly student films and non-paid work. NYCastings cost about $10 a month and it has everything from background work on Gossip Girl to models for Hair Shows. I have received more feedback from Mandy, but I got both of the gigs I actually ended up doing from NYCastings. Both websites allow you to upload headshots and resumes, however NYCastings also lets you upload a multi-media reel.

I think the ultimate goal is to eventually get an agent and be in a union. For now, just doing non-union non-paid stuff is fun. I have a few days off a week from work so I can go to auditions and have time to film, but eventually I hope that acting can be my full-time job.


Here's to making your dreams come true!

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New Home

So I'm leaving Manhattan and moving to a nice place in the Bronx. My rent is reasonable and the commute to my jobs is only about half an hour on the subway.

I also was asked to stay at American Apparel as a full-time employee so I need to think about what that means for my other job and my free time as well as trying to start auditioning and doing theatre again.

Oh, and it snowed the other day and snow in NYC is the worst.

oops!

Oh gosh, I haven't posted in so long! New York is so busy and crazy and every day I wake up, go to work, get home from work, and spend hours on the computer searching for a new place to live. I have to leave my room i'm in on Monday and I don't have a new home yet! It is scary, but I'll find a place I hope. I have to figure out my work schedule because I've been offered instead of part-time positions at my jobs, full-time and I can't do two full-time! Life is so crazy!

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One Year in Photos

I've had a Flickaday Account for over a year now, and this is a video of one year of my life in photos:

http://www.flickaday.com/swfs/flickadayviewer.swf?id=7774

The Joys of Craigslist.

I was really lucky and found a great sublet here in Washington Heights. My roommates are fun and quiet and clean, the apartment is huge and my room is fully furnished. Unfortunately for me I need to move out Nov. 1, so the search for another place to live begins.

 Now I have two jobs, so I think I can start the process of applying for my own apartment. However, I then need to deal with real estate agents, brokers fees, and finding furniture ( not to mention kitchen utensils, bathroom supplies, setting up utilities etc.) I'm 23 and it's about time I get my own place (with or without a roommate.) I've never actually lived alone. It's possible, but not preferred.

Anyway, I'm still searching the NYC craigslist sublet section just in case there's a place that looks promising. I would love to stay on the Upper West Side so my commute to work isn't bad, but I've heard a lot of good things about Brooklyn.

Here are some craigslist postings that made me laugh:

Beautiful Pot Plants

Naked Guy

Dear world: Normal 23 yr old female seeks normal roommates my age with a fully furnished bedroom, not expensive, not far from manhattan, laundry near building, elevator preferred, pets are fine, clean and tidy and semi-quiet & safe..... does it exist?

weekend recap

oops, went on a little mini-vacation there and I haven't posted in a few days. Sorry about that! Wednesday Josh & I went to see 50/50 with Seth Rogan & Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It was a really funny movie with very sad parts too. The movie was based on the true story of Rogan's friend.

Thursday I took Megabus from NYC to Boston (and was late by 2 minutes) so I missed the 6:15 Concord Coach bus to NH and instead took the 7:15.  Got home late after a long day of travel on Thursday, then woke up and went to Vermont for the day Friday, saw my family, watched "Everything Must Go"with Will Ferrel. I prefer will as a comedian.

Went back to NH on Saturday morning & caught a bus to Boston, and another Megabus back to NYC. Sunday I made a delightful dinner with my roommate & also started looking at more sublets.

TODAY is my first day of work at American Apparel.

First NYC audition

I've been in the city exactly a week now and I got my first film audition! I spent all morning applying to films on Mandy.com and I got an email back around 8pm asking me to audition downtown at 9pm. I made it on time and it was fun! It is for a student short film about two friends at a bar. I'm starting to get the hang of things here! :)

Everything is coming up roses!

OH hey! So all of a sudden I have a place to live and TWO new jobs. I have a really nice sublet on the upper West Side of Manhattan, and I am going to be starting to work at not only American Apparel but also Trader Joe's grocery store. Yay, I am finally ready to get into a routine with work and living in New York! :)

Starting my new job

Yesterday I started my job at American Apparel. I stopped by to talk to the manager and fill out my working papers. I'm going to be starting as a part-time temp for the Halloween Season. Their busiest season is actually Halloween. It should be fun!

After my meeting I went to Grand Central and took the Metro-north to New Rochelle to hang out with my friend Kate. I love how easy it is to just take a break from the city for a night.

Staten Island

Today I went on another apartment search- looked at a great studio in my price range but I couldn't apply for it because I didn't have a job. BUT- I just got an email saying that I can work part-time at American Apparel clothing stores. So now I can start getting serious about finding a place!

I met up with my friend Kate and I accompanied her to Staten Island. We took the ferry and went to an audition that Kate had. It was a lot of fun!  I have awesome sunset pictures of the Statue of Liberty I need to upload.

FIrst Interview

I had my first interview here in the city today at Khirma Eliazov handbags. They were looking for a social media intern. The position is unpaid and only a few days a week, but the interview seemed to go well, so we'll see. It's always good to get your foot in the door and make some connections.

After my interview I was lucky enough to meet up with my NH friend Lenny who works at 151 Studios, hopefully I will be able to help him out with some film or photography projects.

...And to top off the night, I met up with Josh in Lincoln center for the New York City Ballet. We saw three pieces: Square Dance, In Memory Of, and West Side Story. Really beautiful!!

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First day in the city

Soooo city life is overwhelming & stressful.

Today I looked at 6 apartments. I applied for 4 jobs. I walked for miles and took subways and cabs.


It will all work out.

Traveling to NYC

I spent the day monday packing my stuff, and then left the house and got to Heathrow around 4:30. Got through security very quickly, then sat around for awhile waiting for my gate to open. The plane left around 7:30 PM. Pretty good flight, a little turbulence. I watched "Win Win" and "Monte Carlo." The food was not so good, haha. Landed in Boston around 10pm and my super nice friend Michelle picked me up! Stayed at her apartment last night and now I am on a Lucky Star Chinatown bus to NYC- only $15! Here's to hoping I can find my future roomie Josh when I get there.

I can't believe yesterday I was in London, this morning I was in Boston and now I'm going to be in New York.

My goals for my new life in New York City include:
-finding an affordable apartment
-furnishing apartment
-getting a paying job
-auditioning for film/tv
-auditioning for modeling agencies
-continuing to cook and eat healthy/balanced meals
-start running/working out again
-find a church I can call home
-Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!
-New Years!

Thanks for reading. X

super sunday

Today is my last full day in London, I leave tomorrow :(

I went with Matt to the NBS the bar where he is having his concert tomorrow. He did a sound check and everything sounds good! It was another really hot day in london- sunshine is a wonderful thing.

For dinner we made a Sunday roast with chicken, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding. I made cookies and frosting. I'm not much of a cook so I'm really grateful for all my British cooking lessons. We got to enjoy my last dinner here with my friend Jess, and of course watching X-factor.

busy busy day

Buckingham Palace!

I Woke up early at 7am to get tickets to go inside Buckingham Palace. I arrived to the palace and stood in line for about an hour waiting to get the tickets, but it wasn't so bad. I met my friend Jess there and we went together. Inside the Palace I was able to see the state rooms, with lavish carpets, gold leafing, amazing paintings etc. I also was lucky enough to see Kate Middleton's wedding dress, shoes, and wedding cake. I couldn't take any pictures inside unfortunately. After that we walked around piccadilly, and got lunch. Then we had discount tickets from TKTS and went to a play called "Backbeat" about the Beatles before they were the Beatles. After the show I walked around Leicester Square more,  had dinner and went to a movie called "Tinker Tailor Solider Spy", it was a very British spy movie and I'm not sure I quite understood it, but it was good acting (Colin Firth etc.) Good day!

A day at the V&A

I met Terence at the Victoria & Albert Museum for a nice lunch. We walked around and looked at some of the exhibits too. I really wanted to see the theatre & performance exhibit. They had costumes from tons of different performances, a section on set design, sound design and lighting.. it was really neat (and made me miss theatre...)

After the museum I spent some time with friends in Hyde Park. Another really hot day, and being outside was nice... but I think I got a sunburn (In London?!)

Tomorrow I'm standing in line really early to get tickets to go to Buckingham!

london heat?

I spent the day today going to modeling agencies and showing them my portfolio. It was a good experience over-all but I didn't get any positive feedback. Most places have a very specific type in mind- girls aged 14-16 that are already at least 5'8". I'm afraid I've picked a profession I'm too old for.

Anyway, walking around the tube and city streets in high-heels when it's nearly 80 degrees (F) is not much fun. Luckily I had a nice mexican lunch with my friend from home :)

Beautiful Day in London Town

I had a really fun day with my friend Jess! We met up for lunch on Oxford street at a really yummy Dim Sum place called Ping Pong. Then we took the tube to South Kensington and I got some Snog frozen yogurt. I walked from South Kensington to St. Alban's Grove where I used to live in 2008 (ahhh the memories). And from there we walked to the Kensington Palace gardens where we had a nice rest on a bench :) I'm going to be very sad to leave this place.

Public Transportation

Tube map & Oyster Card

My friends on the Tube

I am a big fan of public transportation. trains, planes, buses and subways. I haven't been to every city in the world but I have to say that I love the London public transportation. The tube is my best friend because it is so easy to figure out and for the most part it is reliable, clean and safe. Of course everything has issues and at times the tube has delays, is too crowded, or the stations are under construction. Even with these faults, I wish every subway system in the world was like this, with color-coded, stations with fun names, really cool advertising on the escalators, nice british lady voices that say "this is a picadilly line to cockfosters."

The bus is pretty great too, easy and cheap and runs 24 hours a day. I haven't quite mastered the system yet, but they are pretty convenient. 

And to make planning your London journey even easier here's the Transport For London Journey Planner which has made my life really easy. Just plug in where you're starting and where you're going and it will tell you the quickest route, whether it's via tube or bus. Piece of cake!

music :)

I've been living in a very musical household (rehearsals are going on right now for matt's upcoming concert) So I figured I'd share a bit of popular music here in the UK right now.

Alot of the artists are also popular in America, but then there's some that I had never heard of but I'm glad I've been introduced to them because they're really great!

The Chart in the US: Week of Sept. 24
1. Moves Like Jagger- Maroon 5/ Xtina
2.Someone Like You - Adele (from the UK)
3. Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People

The Chart in the UK: Week of Sept. 26
1. No Regrets- Dappy
2. Moves Like Jagger- Maroon 5/ Xtina
3. What Makes You Beautiful- One Direction (saw them in concert! see previous Blog)


Other music you should know:
Pixie Lott
Example
Ellie Goulding
Jessie J.
Saturdays
Leona Lewis
Tinie Tempah
Ed Sheeran

:)

British TV

I haven't really had too much time to watch British "Telly" but from what I've seen so far, it's pretty entertaining.

The Go-To for our flat has been X-Factor (UK version the USA version has begun too)

Matt made it to Boot camp the past two years and we just saw him on x-factor last night which was fun to watch!

Another show I watched yesterday was Fawlty Towers, which is always a good laugh. (Some people don't really get British comedies, but I think they're hilarious)

As far as reality TV goes I've seen "Don't tell the Bride" which was so awesomely bad I really want to catch another episode. The bride has no say in her wedding plans at all as the groom does all the planning without telling her.

Then there's Top Gear, which I started watching in the states, it's all about cars- and now I can't help but stare at all the Audis, Maseratis, Aston Martins and Mercedes I see everywhere in London.

Greenwich

 The Royal Observatory

The View

Today I went to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. It's the home of the Prime Meridian! Yay time!

Greenwich is a lovely spot. Greenwich park was a nice place to walk around with lots of dogs. Once you get up the steep hill to the observatory you get a spectacular view of the city as well! It is also home to london's only planetarium, with really awesome photos of the sky on display.

The Tempest

Tonight I am going to see Ralph Fiennes in "The Tempest" at the Royal Haymarket Theatre!

Director: Trevor Nunn
Starring: Ralph Fiennes as Prospero, Nicholas Lyndhurst as Trinculo, Elisabeth Hopper as Miranda

The play lasted three hours including the interval, which was quite a long time to sit but for the most part the action kept me interested and I wasn't bored at all. Ariel was pretty neat, with his spritely friends doing cirque du soleil acrobats in the air. The music was pretty and the lighting was gorgeous, at some points Ariel's singing was a bit strange being in such a high register I'm assuming to get a androgynous idea for him (it). Ralph really was great, but there were a few times when he was alone on stage with his hands up that I could see and hear Voldemort coming out. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Overall I was just very grateful I got to see it. :)

English Food

Tonight's dinner!

Tonight Matt helped me to learn how to cook a proper English meal. We had steak, baked potatoes, carrots and cabbage. For the most part I did the majority of the cooking, which is a big deal for me! Last week we made an English Roast with Chicken, potatoes, Carrots, Broccoli and Potatoes. We also made a Yorkshire Pudding which is not a dessert or even a pudding at all so I'm a bit confused about the name.  

Last night I also had my first fish and chips! I know, something I should have had long ago but never got around to it. Went to a nice restaurant and had fried haddock with lemon & tartar sauce with chips (french fries) and vinegar. 

Hmmm now I'm hungry.

Walking through the city

 Buckingham Palace

Hot Chocolate

Today I met my friend Jess at chapel and we went with her friend lauren to a nice little food market for lunch. I got a yummy ham & cheese crepe for only 4 pounds. After that we walked past the palace through St. Jamess Park and past Parliament down to the South Bank for hot chocolate at Caffe Vergnano. The hot chocolate was literally creamy thick melted chocolate sauce but it was delicious!

Soane Museum

 Front of the British Museum

Outside the Soane Museum

Today I met up with Terence at the British Museum for lunch. He used to work for the museum in the antiquities department but has been retired for a while. The last time we went to the museum he gave me my own private tour, looking at such artifacts as the Rosetta Stone. After lunch we went to the Soane Museum, the former home of architect John Soane. Upon reaching the entrance all visitors are asked to turn off cellphones (oops I mean Mobile), place purses in plastic bags and refrain from taking photographs. There is only one entrance in and out, so the number of people allowed inside at once is limited. Once inside we were asked to sign in to the guestbook. The museum is a large Georgian style home (three actually, all together). In each room there are original carpets, furniture, paintings etc. One room holds several Holgarth paintings, others hold various antiques including the Egyptian sarcophagus of Seti I. (A lovely piece to keep in the basement.) Alas, I wasn't able to take pictures inside so we are left with one of me outside the building.

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Scammers Suck

In my attempt to find a flat and a job in the UK I have been searching online. My first attempt at being a nanny led me to findaupair where I set up a profile and had several families contact me. I met some nice people and was able to skype interview with them, but decided that agreeing to live with someone over the internet was not what I wanted to do. I also decided to cancel my profile there because one "family" sent me pictures and a contract without ever interviewing me or asking for references. They offered me 950 GBP a month with room included and it sounded like a pretty sweet deal. here's a bit of the email they sent:

"We hope that you are fine. With respect to your services, your basic duties would be to take care of our kids. We have a housekeeper who undertakes the household duties and responsibilities hence, your basic responsibility is with our children. Our sons are Danny and Alex. In this email you will find attached our family pictures. In our family pictures includes I, Harry, my wife, Jackie, Danny and Alex.

Your monthly salary will be 950GBP which would be paid to you at the end of every month and 350GBP will be given to you at the middle of every month for your up-keep and this is subjected to change with respect to your approach to services in our family. We would expect our Au Pair to work about 30 hours per week as well as two nights babysitting.. You will have weekends as your off-duty days. 

We will take the responsibility of accommodating you in our home throughout the duration of your stay with us. A room in our house will be made readily available for you during the preparation of your arrival into the UK to stay with us.

 

Feel free to call anytime via my direct mobile number (+44) 704 557 8342. You can send some of your recent pictures and some important information about you e.g. *Your full name*  *Present location/Nationality*  *Current Occupation*  *Marital status*  *Your likes and dislikes*  *Your hobbies*  * Your Mobile Number For Easy Contact *  to enable us to prepare an Invitation/Offer Letter for you with the help of our family lawyer. We wish you a very happy and fulfilling day ahead."

Sounds pretty great, right? but then in the next email they sent along a contract that i needed to sign and fill out with my personal info "for their lawyer."

Another place I've been getting scammed is in the real-estate section of craigslist. If it sounds too good to be true then I promise it is. Like the 3 bedroom manhattan apartment for $1,000 I found. Yeah, not real.

Ways to tell if it's a scam: 

1.The ad on the website has a very low price for a really nice place.

2. The person e-mails you back very quickly

3. The email seems like it has been copy and pasted over and over

4. They say they are a doctor or a diplomat or someone of high standing

5. They ask you to sign a contract or send money 

6. The pictures are really awesome 

7. the email address of the person doesn't match their name

8. The grammar isn't very good

9. They don't want to know more about you before offering you a job.

10.  they delete their account or advertisement (or it was deleted for them)

Check out this website for more scam info

Rational Thinking

Today I attended a church service at The Westminster Chapel, the church I attended when I studied abroad in 2008. I met my friend Terence there and we had lunch with everyone at the church after the service. Today's service was a special one because Will Graham from America was there to give the sermon. It was a nice message about rational thinking and having faith in God.

After lunch I went to Notting Hill and walked around a bit. A bird pooped on my coat! :)


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What makes you beautiful!

So this is going to be a short post just because we have people over to the house right now and I'm about to go out for the night. I spent the morning at a cafe writing postcards, so people at home be waiting by your post boxes!!

This afternoon I met my friend Jessica and we went to Camden Market where we met up with Danielle, Ellen and Kim and walked around for a bit.

TONIGHT.. we are all going out to a concert "One Direction" is a popular British boyband. This is their one single so far:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJO3ROT-A4E&ob=av2e


UPDATE: Here's some pictures from the concert!!

We went to the concert at a club called Heaven. It was very crowded, but a lot of fun. The boys in the band were so cute and nice, they got a cake for being #1 in the UK and then threw the cake everywhere! One of the boys, Harry, actually fell down because he slipped on the cake! Harry also recognized my friend Matt in the crowd! You can see that at the end of this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDx4lUzQ8mM

Thanks to all my new friends for a fun night!

x

A day in South Kensington

 Natural History Museum

Harrods

Today I went exploring around South Kensington (near where I lived before, so I've actually already been to all these places but it was nice to go again). I started at the Natural history museum, where I explored the dinosaur exhibit, the mineral exhibit and the big giant whale. Then I walked down to Harrods for some window shopping and got a really delicioius wild-berry gelato at the Harrods' ice cream parlor. Good day!

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Athenaeum Lunch

 The Athenaeum Club

Terence in Trafalgar Square

So today was a lovely day with my friend Terence. I met Terence at the London chapel I attended in 2008, and I had the opportunity to see him again when he came to NH in 2010 for a school reunion.

Today we met at the Athenaeum Club on Pall Mall for lunch. It was a really lovely place built in 1824 with columns, chandeliers, a winding staircase and a gold statue of Athena. We sat and chatted a bit in the "drawing room" that was filled with old books and leather chairs. We talked about religion, politics, travel, and history, including some of his very interesting family history. Turns out his dad was a part of the "Bloomsbury Group"  with Virginia Woolf. He was an artist which is pretty neat. Terence also invited me to his family home in the country in Sussex where there are historical homes from some of the  Group members like Vanessa Bell.

Lunch was lovely. A three-course meal that included a starter, main course and dessert. I had pear waldorf Salad, Swordfish with vegetables, and a lovely chocolate cake and hot chocolate. The club was quite nice and i feel very lucky to have been invited.

After lunch Terence escorted me to Trafalgar square and the National Gallery as well as the National Portrait Gallery. Loved the art and also Terence's commentary on all the paintings, about British history and art.

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London Calling

Well I'm here! Landed at Heathrow Tuesday night around 7:30 PM and took the tube to my friend Matt's house, I got to his place around 10pm. Total travel time 8am EST- 10PM London time so that's about 10 hours. The worst part was carrying my suitcases up stairs in the tube stations. The best part was watching "Bridesmaids" on the plane.

Woke up this morning and had some yummy tea, I'm so English. Going to go exploring now.

My bags are packed...

.... I'm ready to go...

Thanks for that, John Denver. Now I'm worried about leaving on a jetplane.

Anyway-
I am the luckiest girl in the world when it comes to having amazing and caring people in my life. Josh came  to my house on Thursday and ended up staying until Saturday helping me to clean and organize (I would say my room, but in reality it was my entire life.) Every paper I've had lying around is now either thrown away or safely organized by type and date. Every bit of clothing is now in storage, given to charity, or packed in my suitcase. My bedroom is packed and ready for a big move, whenever that may be, with all boxes labeled. Mission complete!

Advice on how to pack your life away:
1. Get a best friend like mine.
2. Buy lots of rubber-maid containers in different colors and giant zip-lock bags.
3. Get those handy plastic file folder things for papers.
4. Lots of labels and a marker.
5. Clothes- do you need it? when was the last time your wore it?
6. Shoes- do they fit? are they old? will you ever wear them again?
7. Have music playing to sing along to (optional).
8. Have your suitcase available to remind you how much will fit inside.
9. Roll your clothes up tight or get those vacuum bags.
10. Just keep going until your done.

Okay, I'm off. The next blog post will be from London most likely.

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Hello Haiku!

I've recently started writing a lot of Haikus, not really true to form, but just for fun.

some examples:
I did quit my job.
Yes, I'm going to London,
to Carpe Diem.


words with friends is fun-
 double points for dirty words?
Sorry Scrabble, bye.


Then I got into a bit of a Haiku War with my friends on Facebook;

There was one summer
The only way I talked was
By using haikus.
-Joe


Krista Tunnell smells
Like sunshine in a glass jar
When it is opened
-Jon

you can always change your mind.

Last day of work at a wonderful job.


"whatever choice you make, I hope you take a minute to enjoy it."- BO


"have a party in your heart that you're about to live more than most people ever get to dream of." - JB

Hoops for Heroes

If you haven't heard of Hoops for Heroes then you definitely need to check this out.  Dave Cummings is from NH and is on his way to making one million free throw shots in order to raise money for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

On Friday, Sept. 2nd, Dave will be at the Waterville Valley Recreation Department going for a Guinness World Record of shooting 21,000 shots in a 24-hr period. He will be honoring Marc Paul Decoteau's 21st birthday. Look at  this article for more info.

Happy birthday, Marc. Thanks for all you do, Dave!

Mean Irene

Rt. 49 into Waterville Valley, NH

While I was at first going to make this post entitled "How to Survive A Hurricane" I decided instead to make this more about how you can help out after disaster has struck. My area of New Hampshire was hit pretty hard, check out the local news. The road I take to work was washed out, the dam down the road was breeched. All in all though, I was perfectly safe and happy playing Apples to Apples and watching movies (thank God for generators). Others were not so lucky and I would like to turn my attention now to Hurricane relief efforts in my second favorite state- Vermont.


You can donate directly to the VT/ NH Red Cross or check out this article via Seven Days about other ways to get involved.

When it comes to disaster relief and fundraising I always feel a bit helpless like there's nothing I can do, and whatever $10 I donate via text message isn't going to do much good. But this disaster is right in my backyard and I feel the NEED to do something. If anyone reading this wants to have a benefit concert or drive to Vermont with me and help out or help me set up a donations area somewhere... let me know.  I'm still brainstorming but would love some help.. helping.

anything or everything?

When you're a young 20-something with the world at your feet, what do you do? When you've had dreams and goals your whole life to do something and they suddenly don't seem so exciting is it time to find new dreams?

I am at the very fortunate point in life where I can drop everything and go anywhere and do anything. I can move anywhere and apply for jobs. I can travel forever until I'm bored of it. I could meet a nice guy and get married and have babies. Or, I could stay here in my hometown at the job I enjoy and not change a thing.

I'm still going to London I think, because of a non-refundable ticket.

I'm starting to realize that maybe what is important in life isn't where you are or what you're doing but the people you are with.

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plans change.

In a matter of 24 hours my life went from perfectly planned to a complete mess.

Yesterday I was moving to London with my best friend in September & going to North Carolina this weekend for a lovely road trip.

Today I have no idea if I should go to London anymore as I will be going alone. I am not going to North Carolina at all (Thanks Mean Irene) but at least SouthWest will give me credit for my flight home.

Who knows. I'm just a little leaf in the wind.

X

Super Sick.

I went to the doctor's last monday (10 days ago) and I was told I had an ear infection. I was prescribed anti-biotic Z-pack for five days and took a lot of sudafed and nyquil. It just got worse and worse. Now my symptoms include a stuffy nose, pressure, ear ache and a deep-chest cough. I asked around for some advice that would naturally cure me without having to spend more money by going to the doctor. Most people said trying a Neti Pot. Those things scare me, I'm afraid I'll drown.

I went to my local natural foods store and bought garlic & willow oil drops for my ears. Right now it just feels like there's oil in my ears. Not sure if it's working.

I have to get on a plane in 5 days. I hope I don't explode.

*update: After a second trip back to the doctor I was prescribed an albuterol inhaler. Fun.

Crazy Weather

So as far as Summer in NH goes, the weather has been pretty normal- a little rainy but there were some nice warm sunny days too. However, today there was an earthquake... I didn't feel it but people just down the road did. Apparently the 5.9 quake had its epicenter all the way down in Virginia. Shake, Rattle & Roll. While researching the Earthquake I also discovered that on Sunday there was a Tornado? There was quite a crazy storm here on Sunday, high winds and torrential rain that kept me up all night.

To add to this crazy weather, Hurricane Irene is going to be moving up the East Coast this weekend- very convenient as I am going to be driving with my friend down to North Carolina. Awesome. Here's to hoping my flight home to Manchvegas won't be delayed!

So what causes all this craziness? End of the world? :0) Let's hope not because I've got a flight to London in about a month and nothings going to stop me.

A little kindness.

Today at work I noticed one of our guests had an accent so I asked where she was visiting from. She said Brighton, UK. I told her I was moving to London and that I had no real plan of what I was doing. She automatically wrote down her name and number and told me to call if I needed any help.

It made me smile, after all of the e-mails and skype interviews I've done trying to find a nanny job and feeling like there was nobody to trust and nothing to do.

It also made me realize how kind everyone I've encountered in this past year has been. (pretty much my whole life of course as well).

I graduated in May 2010, got two jobs with help from people, and I've pretty much had a free place to live since then ( in fact three different places).

One thing I want to work on in the next few months is learning how to be grateful & gracious for the kindness people give me, instead of feeling bad and unworthy or selfish and like i'm a leech.

Pay it forward.

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London, take 3

London. September 13, 2011. Carpe Diem.

working on it

I had a blog before when I went to London: you can check it out at www.kristainlondon.livejournal.com

This Blog I hope to update daily, I hope to eventually get money and freebies by doing some research online and writing for different websites doing reviews etc.

The biggest thing I will be writing about is my upcoming journey to the UK in September- but I will always remember to Live Free or Die with the Granite State on my mind.

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