Ramblings!!!

Nerd Alert!

So I am a big fan of bruise boasting, what is bruise boasting you may ask? Well anyone who grew up playing sports understands what I am talking about.

Imagine the dusty softball field, the batter steps up to the plate. The first baseman pounds the inside of her glove with anticipation. Batter lets the first pitch slide right on by. She taps her cleat with the aluminum cylinder and steps back in the box. Pitcher winds up and releases the ball, the batter steps forward and makes bat to ball contact, but sadly it has just reached the tip and the ball careens its way towards first base where the baseman is waiting with a smirk of acknowledgement that this batter, who like the ball is now plowing her way towards the base, is inevitably OUT. The confident first baseman scoops up the melon-sized ball and carelessly strides across the base. BAMB, batter and baseman collide, the blue-shirted baseman is airborn sideways and lands now gripping her swollen ear that made direct contact with the runner's hard plastic helmet. Shaking the daze out of her head she stands up and trots to the dough-out a little wobbly but glad that the inning is over.

Well that blue shirted first baseman was me. I had a striped bruise from my right cheek bone across my ear, the point where the helmet's brim met my head. I wore that bruise with pride. We victoriously beat the red shirted team in the play-offs and went on to the finals. So that bruise was a battle scar, I took one for the team if you will.

However that was nearly 10 years ago. I now have two parallel line bruises on my upper hip. They are about 5 inches long and a ghastly purple. I wish I had some honorable story I could tell you about how I landed on a racket during a highly competitive tennis match, but no not even close. I was leaving a friends house the other evening, my car was parked on a hill so I had responsibly pulled my parking break. Not realising that by engaging the break some things had shifted around my console. I open the door and plopped down in my seat full force, no grace involved on this decent thanks to the sore legs from cycling. All of a sudden I realize that I have direct hip to case contact and I loose complete balance and the door comes crashing down on my left foot. What kind of case could have caused such pandemonium, well that is where the title of this comes into play. Nerd Alert. It was a case that contains the 10 CDs of my most recent book-on-Cd that I have been listening to as I troll around the city. That is right, Carl Hiaasen's Basket Case  has left a tender wound on my right side! Don't worry I made sure to show it off to friends and boast of how far my coolness factor has fallen in the past decade.

(Possibly my favorite thing I have ever written!!)

On the topic of Love

Well On the topic of love, no I don't think I have ever been in love. I love all the time with the people I am around, the things I enjoy, my environment in general and just the cognitive process....but as in becoming enraptured by the concept of loving one individual...no. Not that I wouldn't lend myself freely to it I just have neither been in the right place nor met the right person.

I tell myself that it is most likely not going to happen till I am a little more stable in my surroundings. But that is a bit of a copout because the truth of the matter is that I have never met anyone who has inspired me to that point.

I want to leave this town and seek out new surroundings and new people, not because of any disdain for this town, it is ........Columbia it is my home, but to be honest it is not where I am at rest... I am always looking around the corner waiting for a flash or a jolt or a moment to just sweep me off my feet and although I have had amazing moments they have been fleeting! I have somewhat unrealistic dreams about love and romance. I want what I want and although I believe in compromise I do not believe in settling! One should never give up a piece of what they want to accept what somebody else has to give them...they should meld together to create a better whole a sum larger and greater.

That is why I live in the romance in my head...it will rain outside and I will imagine taking someone's hand to run out and play in it, but when I realize that there has yet to be an individual in my life that I would share a playful moment as such with me then I am left with the scene in my head. One day I am sure I will have that hand to reach out to and pull along but not now, not yet.

I have also slated myself to being OK with the idea of never finding that fire in another person. I think some people want it so badly that they are unwilling to wait or face the fact that it may not be in their cards....and I will wait and if I never turn that corner I will be OK. I will always have companionship but I will never pretend to love someone I don't, for the sake of winning the game!

(This was written in 2008, things have changed a bit...)

Vacation of qualifying statements...

How interesting, how did I make it here. A child who rebelled is now a woman with a plan. Time passes and time has passed, I reflect and move on but never forget those stories untold. Back in this house with walls so tall stairs that speak with their rhythmic creaks. A family few and far between, listless love broken against as anger drops to its knees. Eyes so deep with the memory of it all. Your face that haunts and your voice incomplete...your presence when I sleep. You rest in the souls of my feet and run through my hollows an emptiness your absence will always ignite. A dance and a song another moment gone my hands in the air spinning with the beat a foggy glance and improbable romance forced through the thick. Silk ridden anger sailing through the piercing bliss, chalk covered faces with purple highlighted bones where is the name the drum the endless rest. Finding a muse from a ruse drifting through prickled lettered bulletins following through staged belief. Pursed lips lingered flick unanswered call with click and a fall. Qualified life and spirited gloss rubbed in the raw. Gentle brush tiny chill putting fill. Waking moss with bruised blankets covering it all. Inserting a silent cough to take hold and tumble fall. Wiggled pose with assertive glow, course and lush grained with steel pressed with sacred scents.  Guiding my life past the rips and stringing a cord to call a tale and pushing it forward and persevering through it all.

(Posted Date: : Jun 12, 2006 10:21 PM <---- crazy talk)

Poetic Attempts...

PULP 

Balancing on the precipice of change.

Teetering on the brink of gratified destruction;

Taking them down.

The fear and enthusiasm, paralyzed and exhilarating,

Forcefully, categorically forward.

Knowing, trusting to step, gracefully, assuredly.

A sturdy base to stand on; cultivated.

Kneaded, nourished with breadth

On the verge, the breakdown, standing, staring,

Stand and stare, unmovable.

The energy the spirit propelling forward,

Kept moving, not stopping.

Gone.

The peaceful quiet awoken.

A tumbling mass, exuberance, electric pulse, the pulp.

A body tired but yearning, a beating, prove and withstand, a chance.

Push, pull, set, test…limitless.

A mind, relieved, unquestioned, constant.

Wandering singularly without reproach; unchained…

Grow, learn, blossom.

A heart poised, ready, unheeding, at home to thrive,

The pulse the prance, a beat of the drum.

Pounds alone, for everyone, masterful, palpable,

A new little tune, rhythms and groove.

Corners to turn, new corners, sights and faces…

Unexplored, unquestioned, conquerable. 

 Sep 3, 2007

Red Velvet Rocking Chair

The red velvet rocking chair

Where you rest your weary bones,

Its arms surround you like your

Father's lost embrace.

The Christmas tree stands solemnly

Offering the warming glow

That casts the green light passively

Across your tear glazed jowl.

The time of year tip-toes around

The absence of his merry sound.

Those roaring laughs with great resound.

You wait for him to drop us off,

To take your chance with love.

We're welcomed with your clanking glass,

Wrapped with this year grudge.

Destinée Manifeste

His hand slides down

the contours of her slender arm,

her eyes focus on a spot in the sky.

His pecan hand

slowly streaks down

her white gown, firmly

resting on her inner thigh.

There is heat in her cheeks, a warm

brush stroke of pink

across her caramel skin;

her breath begins to hasten

as the music quickens its beat.

He tightens his hands between

her fingers and thighs, as gentle

winds flow from the speaker 

whispering time to begin. 

He lifts her towards the heavens

as she arches her lovely spine,

 the point of her foot extended

as he spins her, keeping time.

The pads of her feet press

lightly as he lowers her to the ground,

their movements, mirror images,

like a poems use of sound.

Their story is a solemn one,

of passion, lust and loss.

He dies there on that stage each night

as she weeps, her cursed luck.

She spins around his body

contorted on the floor.

Her arms cross her chest,

her heavy feet drag

left, right, left,

slowing the rhythm of her dance.

The burden of his gruesome death

pressed heavily on her chest

She collapses on that wooden stage

with one last glance at God

the story ends as it began

lying there, hand in hand.

(The above was written after watching a dance performance by Terrence Henderson's Vibrations Dance Company)

Rekindling

The night began with a drink in her hand.

The liquor she sips unzipping all of her stresses,

Swaying and stepping to the sounds of this band,

Wonder if he noticed how pretty her dress is.

Ruby cheeked with no chance for defeat

playing it cool now time to charm and to fool.

Catching her breath walking back to her seat

He touches her arm catching fire from her fuel.

She'll never ignite without some sort of fight

Batting her lashes while strutting right past him.

With a pause for composure he regains his might

this war is worth winning, but this battle's looking grim.

Now hand in hand he feels like a dominant man

But she smiles to herself, amused by her master plan.

Glimpse

I carefully pull back the albums plastic,

Torn brittle and dry from too many years

That passed by. Your smile ear to ear

seductively taunted by the last candle lit.

Your beauty, your power, chilling and tragic

Passed down year by year. So many revere

The way your warming eyes are mysteriously clear.

Or how you skillfully charm all the men with your wit.

It was as a child I learned of your tricks

Your pillar possessed no crevice for fear,

Pushing through opposition, never shedding a tear,

a woman's right to be valiant, you fought bit by bit

You taught me your ways, so subtle yet brave

So tomorrow I'll take a rose to your grave

The Ravine

The door echoes through the hollow floor.

As sunlight pours through the windows,

the carpeted room surrounds the girl,

her bronzed skin polished by a somber rouge;

she stifles a cry and takes her place in line.

The portrait delicately illuminates the corner,

cold hands softly pass one by one.

The girl rests her gazes upon the coffee stain,

violently discoloring the neatly tailored suite.

A hand brushes her shoulder,

the thick room is thrust back into view.

The wooden chairs tenderly placed

side by side begin to fill;

they are filled with eyes, glances stares,

all watching the girl, waiting, praying.

The black rim of her hat dips,

the aroma of flowers overwhelms her senses;

she fingers a porous petal and sits in silence.

Like a shadow banished by the light

her hat raises, revealing her strong features

threatened by a wave of insolent tears.

Bye Bye My...

Well let's see, six years ago I liked a boy, that boy was in a band. I google'd said band and it led me to a Web site called Myspace. I had never heard of this site before, but was interested. I wanted to know more about this guy/band so I created a profile....and thus began my love affair with social media. I mean I ROCKED it on Myspace for a while. I had tons of friends and fun and took quizzes and posted bulletins EG and I checked our "stuff" we uploaded pics. I mean we had picture taking sessions just to put on Myspace, hey we were in our early 20s it was acceptable behavior back then...right??!!

It caused drama in relationships, I had to block more than one guy who insisted on sending me nude pictures REALLY guy, am I honestly going to be like ooh yeah I'm in love..NOOO!!!! But I have to say one of the good things that I started on the site was blogging. I would write randomly or post poems, articles and other stories that I have written.

So I have come to the conclusion that I need to cancel that account. I mean I never check it and the pictures, although super exciting, are unfortunately out of date and I don't want to be one of those women who posts pictures of herself from 5 years ago, because come on I look different now. I like the way I looked then and I like the way I look now, besides I'm not trying to front!

But there are some things from there that I don't want to lose in the cancellation. So I will post them here...on my somewhat more advanced "big girl blog" ha!

First my About Me. This was last edited while I was an in college maybe 4 years ago:

Let the woman you look upon be wise or vain, beautiful or homely, rich or poor, she has but one thing that she can give or refuse- her heart. Her beauty, her wit, her accomplishments, she may sell to you; but her love is the treasure without money and without price. She asks only in return that when you look upon her your eyes shall speak devotion; that when you address her your voice shall be gentle, loving, and kind...for, when misfortune and evil have defeated your greatest purposes, her love remains to console you." -Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie @--------^-----------

Yes I yell and I laugh and I love, but most of all I live. I want no one to settle for OK. Be great, be bad, get dirty, whatever you want just live life hard! My MO, learn from my mistakes, and ohh I have made some good ones. So I wish everyone a little insight into their own life, find your style and kick it! Wake up and pay attention and swim in all the ish. Take it live it love it...get CRAZY.

Ah bless that brings back memories!

Now I will go through and take my blog postings and post them on here...I imagine some will be pretty funny, while others are pretty (melo)dramatic!

So enjoy as I say farewell to an interesting part of my social existence!

You got spark, you got spunk!

So a bit of a fail on my part on the Liberty Sparkle Hearts front. I tell you what though this girl has been kicking it busy style. I feel like so much has changed in this past month that it would be hard to try and rehash. Somethings that stand out might be that we are now in a new year 2011. Yeah baby, what does everyone think about that? I mean I know that 2010 was crazy because I started it off in Xi'an, China style and ended it all up in South Carolina getting my party on! Both were equally fantastic but for extremely different reasons.

Well let's see in China I started the night off with my parents and roommate Lindsay at BEST Cooking, our favorite restaurant in the city. Then we headed to Oscar's Bar and just relaxed and drank a bit of mulled wine supplied by THE DCFW! The night quickly crept towards midnight and we realized that a change of venue was imperative! So we tried to catch a cab, which was all in vain since they were not stopping for our group of foreign bodies. Finally we Lindsay and I climbed in a Boom Boom (omgah boom boom's total China flash back with this one) which is basically a motorized scooter that has a box attached to the back for passengers to ride. The traffic was heavy as usual inside the city wall and L and I were concerned that our driver's extra slow pass would cause us to spend "the ball drop" on the rainy Xian street. With luck and the Boom Boomer's mad navigational skills we made it to Club Salsa (not a salsa club, go figure). Our friends met us at the metal detectors (they do NOT play) and escorted us to our table. The dance floor was packed and there were Chinese girls everywhere dressed in pink chiffon handing out lollipops, it was a brilliant site. Unfortunately D and his girlfriend Terry did not take the Boom Boom with us so they made it to the club after we did and spent the countdown standing at the door. But they made it over and hugs and kisses were administered all around! The rest of the night was spent dancing around our bottle service table enjoying the loud music and good company. And by company I mean the one guy that really caught a crush from me. Not ever sure what his actual name was but we called him Glasses. Ooo he was tall and smooth and fun to dance with and be around! After that we probably street fooded it up and headed home, where I am positive that I ended up on my soapbox for about an hour! Sorry about that Linz! :)

This year was similar in that it was fantastic, but it was inevitably completely different. A bit of drama and fighting friends surrounded the week leading up to the day but as things are with friends everything was smoothed out in time for a great night! Donning a pair of hot pink spandex leggings from American Apparel I began the day planning my outfit (clearly) around said leggings. (I apologize to Columbia for unleashing those leggings upon you with reckless abandon). Met up with my friend Lydia and hit the gym where we worked out then steamed/polled/hot tubbed it up! Delightful. Most of the afternoon was spent concocting Snooki Drops (my aptly named Jell-o shots) we made a variety of colors and flavors. They may have been perfect (and by may I mean were!) I went home napped/showered/dressed NSD, and then headed to Sara and Tony's house where my friends were congregating to watch the Gamecocks take on The Seminoles (that is the only time I will mention that game) and join together for good food and merriment. After a proper amount of time was spent house-partying it I headed downtown DD in the front attitude in the back. I think the pants brought out the sassy in me that night! We headed to The Whig briefly, one of my favorite local spots! Then off with Margey and Aaron to the glorious home of MP, design editor for the new mag I will be writing for Undefined! We rang in 2011 surrounded by beautiful and fabulous people. In honor of the new year I was ready to turn the party up to 11 and headed off to the Art Bar. (want to make sure to say that each trip was handled by a designated driver RESPONSIBLE is the name of the 2011 game!) Not quite sure of all the events that took place past this point, but I do remember leaving the club and a thick fog had rolled over the city. the closest thing to the China NYE grey cloudy starless sky! It is OK though I had so much sparkle that night I must have stolen their spot light!! ;)

Overall I could never say which night was better but I can say that they were both brave and bold, the way life should be.

2011, what can I say..

Make Revolutions Not Resolutions

Embrace the Sparkle!

Turkish Delight!

Have you ever actually eaten Turkish Delight??? I have and I wouldn't recommend it! Not that it is that bad it just cannot in any way ever lead up to the magical delicious powers that it possesses in the classic CS Lewis story The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. That book is one of my absolute favorites. Not only the book but any and ALL movie adaptations. I actually like the small budget BBC version the best. Maybe because I watched it every year of my life, that I can remember of course. When I was in 8th grade at Hand Middle School for our dance performance we did a ballet version of the classic tale. I was Father Christmas. It was fantastic I had a solo and got to dance with some of my best friends! Speaking of Father Christmas I want to give a little shout out to this guy:

Black Santa. One of my coworkers at work has this guy on her door. He is my favorite. When I was a kid my dad would give us black Santa Christmas cards, it doesn't really have anything to do with race, it was just another one of his ways of showing us that things are not always the way people think. Open you mind a little more and accept the concept that if there IS a Santa, he might be black...who are we to put a color on his skin. So I have adopted this notion and love it more every year.

Christmas time is a lot different this year. First of all I cannot believe that it is the 6th of December already. I mean whoa time sloooow down. I do love this time of year though. I mean I am the brokest of the broke so it is forcing me to get creative with my Christmas presents this year. I am going to make some wreaths and other decorations as gifts. Making stuff n general is just so much nicer than buying something. I mean hey I love to be bought for but if you take time to think about me, and what I might really like and then you MAKE IT FOR ME...whoa. Awesome. My family hasn't decided what they are going to do for Christmas yet so it is kind of up in the air. Which is OK. No matter what it will be a world different than last year. In a gesture unmatched by any in my life my family showed me support by spending their Christmas Eve '09 on a plane. They boarded a plane and flew to China to be with me. Now it wasn't the smoothest trip, but honestly China isn't really one of those places you can just hop a plane and go vacay for a week. The language and the society are so different that it takes a lot more preparation. Unfortunately I was ill the week they arrived, not a surprise I was sick at least once a month. I also had only lived there a few months and so I was unprepared to show them around. I only knew a bit of the language and IT WAS FREAKING COLD!! But I will never forget that they got on that plane and came to see me all the way on the other side of the world.

One thing that I gained in China that I will continue to appreciate in my life is Indian food!! I mean I think Mexican food is #1 in my world but there is a serious lack of it in China. I didn't eat a taco for over a year...sad state of affairs! BUT almost as if the world was like sorry for taking away your favorite try this, and thus I was introduced to Delhi Darbar. It was a restaurant that after the first time I ate there I went to at least once a month and that was the bare minimum. It was the regular dinner spot for my roommate Lindsay and me. She, being from England, was well versed in the way of the curry. It never occurred to me that because we live next to Mexico that we would have more readily available Mexican food, where as England is closer to India and therefore they have more Indian food. Now I am not discounting that either country does not have varying degrees of each but between the two of us we just noticed that it worked out that way. and when Lindsay comes to the US she is going to get a major dose of Mexican deliciousness! Anywho back to Indian food. there were several occasions where David and I would start out to try a new restaurant and would just end up talking ourselves into Delhi Darbar. Well I fell in love, with the spices and the colors and the whole experience. Needless to say I have been craving since my return home. The other day on our ride home from work we were a bit out of the way and K pointed out an Indian food restaurant that he says is comparable to the greatness he enjoyed in Japan. So we decided that it was 100% necessary to have Ifood night, and we did. EG and I went to K&L's for dinner one night. K called in our order and brought it back for us. I ordered this:

Murgh (chicken) Tikka Masala, which was my favorite dish in China. We also had veggie samosas and lemon rice. We had some yummy red wine to wash it all down and I tell you what ladies and gentleman, I was one satisfied diner. K got us level 3 spice which was perfect although I think I will step it up to a level 4 next time. It needs to hurt a little bit right! One day I will go all out and get the vindaloo, hard core right.

Well since I have been talking about Indian cuisine I might as well tell you about a book that read while I was in China, a book that in some ways changed my life. Shantaram. Lindsay found this book in a hostel that we frequently went to to drink beer and play pool. She read it first, and I tell this girl could read, the book is roughly 1000 pages and she finished it in like a month (it took me 4 months). She would sit on the couch and read and laugh or read and cry and she would just say, wait till you read it then you will understand. And understand I did. the reason it took me 4 months to read the book is because it forced me to take it slowly. I began reading and was instantly mesmerized by the writing. It is really thick at first but once you start to appreciate it you are hooked. I found it brought out the lit. minor in me. I would read it with a pencil and a note pad underlining and writing in the margins. Taking notes on things that I needed to look up or ideas to cross reference. It is seriously a brilliant and intricately told story. The first half of the book is one that I can see myself reading over and over again. The second half is thrilling but it in no way compares to the beginning. It is philosophical and beautiful and tragic and terrifying. And it all takes place in India. A land that I have always had an interest in but is made even more magical after reading this story. I would suggest this book to anyone and even gave it to EG as a gift, although I don't think she has even picked it up. It is intimidating, but once you start you will be transported to another world entirely! You can check out some info about it here, and to tell you just seeing this cover makes my heart beat a little faster

Well if you check it out happy reading everyone!

What are you reading, or what have you read that has changed your world a little bit??

xox

Time to remember...

What a week what a week. Last week really was special. It also already feels like it was nine years ago! Time is flying by so quickly. It is already December! I am not quite sure what I think about that, I mean it is great go DECEMBER but in general I like to savor my time and it is hard to do that when you blink and a year has gone by. I have to go ahead throw some mad props out to my dear friends April and Andrew for hosting the most amazing Thanksgiving extravaganza I have ever had. They were gracious, the food was amazing, Andrew cooked the most delicious turkey I have EVER eaten EVER! I am not exaggerating! It was his first try and it was the best. April out did herself. She is already a phenomenal cook but the macaroni and cheese, soup, dressing and especially the homemade sweet potato pie were so delicious. Also she made an amazing turkey salad for sandwiches the next day that rivals any chicken salad I have ever had! Watch your back Gourmet Shop ;)

So thinking back on a couple of past Thanksgivings, last year I was in China. Obviously. At the time I was the only American in our program so it was really interesting being surrounded by so many people who just do NOT celebrate this super American holiday. I had to teach on the Thursday but I had no problem with that because I was at Huanghe the primary school where I taught 3rd grade. I had three classes each class had aprox. 50 students in each and they were my little rays of sunshine in smoggy Xi'an. I taught them from the first day of their 3rd grade year to the last day and I watch them grow and change so much. Their little sparkling personalities shining and changing and growing and melding. I could see some of the students really take a great interest in English. They would ask questions and really try to talk to me! Oh brilliant! Anywho, I took that Thanksgiving Thursday and veered away from my usual lesson plan to tell them about this special holiday. I gave them vocabulary words like pilgrims, native Americans, turkey, family, thanks, feast, harvest. I, along with my assistant teacher, explained the history of the tradition and then how it is celebrated to this day in our country. After telling them how it is spent with your family, eating and giving thanks they asked me if I was going to go and see my family and friends. I remember getting teary-eyed in class and telling them no, that it was too far for me to travel. They were sad, they didn't understand why I would move so far away from my family. They wanted me to be happy, and I told them that I was very happy because I was extremely thankful for them. Then we went around the room and they got to tell me in English what they were thankful for, which with their limited vocabulary was a lot of the same things. Family and food, but when you think about it isn't that usually what we are thankful for as well?! After being a bit emotional it was time to have some thankful fun. So I passed out plain sheets of paper and told them to get out their markers. Then I went to the chalk board and traced an outline of my hand...then drew a face on the thumb and some little red chin turkey dangles and stick legs. When I showed it to the kids they all cheered and were so excited. Although I can't remember the actual Chinese name for a turkey I know that the literal translation is fire bird, interesting considering we fire them up each year! Well each student took to drawing out their own turkey hands. I wrote  GOBBLE GOBBLE in big letters on the board and by the end of class everyone was gobble gobbling around the class. It was the most fun. By the end of class they handed in their pictures, and almost all of them had dedicated them to me. They wrote in English and Chinese Happy Thanksgiving Sumner we love you. They wrote me messages saying how thankful they were for me because I teach them my language and because I am beautiful and funny. It may have been the most amazing day of my life.

After finishing teaching I went home and met up with my roommate Lindsay and our friend/ coworker Rob. Both R and L are from England so they had no real commitment to this holiday but decided to share it with me. I am not sure if they will ever know how much that meant to me. Hotels in the city were pretty good about serving appropriate Western feasts. So we hopped in a cab and headed off to the west side of the city to the Sheraton, they were offering a Tgiving buffet with all you can drink wine and beer for $180 kuai which is about $30. I'll take it!!! We lived on the east side and just had to go straight through the city wall and out the other side to get to our dinner destination, but it still took an hour to get there. Traffic in China is the craziest!! Once at the hotel we were seated and served, we quickly hit the buffet where we saw some much missed delicacies, like SALAD and CHEESE. It was brilliant! I ate and drank and ate and drank...then ate some more. It was gluttonous for sure, and it may be a sin but I deserved it! The three of us had a great time. We made our way to the dessert table more than once. This was the first time we were introduced to some of the weird ice cream flavors they serve, mushroom and green tea and something purple but I can't remember what it was! After dinner I introduced Rob and Linz to the Thanksgiving waddle, what we all are used to, the trying to move after having eaten our weight in turkey in fixins. We took a cab to Oscar's to continue the festivities but I quickly headed home. I had had a gracious plenty and was stuffed and sleepy. The day had been beautiful but challenging. It was cold and I was so far from home. I was thankful to be there and for the opportunity to grow and experience the world in such a dramatically different way, but I was homesick.

It is a Thanksgiving that I will never forget!!!

Good Day Friends!!!

I am on my lunch break right now so this is going to have to be a pretty quick post...hahaha. Right. If I can get writing I am not going to stop myself. I would rather stay a little bit late at work to be able to finish my post. So what's been going on in your world? Not much or tons of stuff? For me it is a bit of both.

I want to start us out on a pleasant note so let me show you a picture I took yesterday.

We had an early afternoon rehearsal for Sealed for Freshness, and as I was walking into the building I saw this lovely picture...ah if I were to own a home I would have this painted on my bathroom ceiling! 

OK so let's back up a bit. I went to see the midnight Harry Potter showing last Thursday night/Friday morning...loved it, can't wait for the next one. Proceeded to be a lazy bum and sit around all day Friday just watching HP movies in reverse chronological order. It was nice, well except for the fact that my roommate and I don't have a couch so I had to spend the entire time on the floor...which I am generally OK with especially because it is a carpeted floor! I motivated myself to get up and ready to go meet with EG, B and MRJ. We had dinner at Hunter Gatherer. It was delicious and the place was packed so it is indeed a hot spot for a Friday night! Might be the whole they brew their own beer thing...too bad I am not a big beer drinker. After dinner we went to Workshop Theatre to see their production of A Few Good Men. It was well done. I mean there are always things that could be better in almost every show so of course it was by no means perfect but they did a great job with a hard script. Aaron Sorkin who is one of my favorite writers wrote the show as a stage play but looking back he must have had screen play aspirations in mind when he was pounding it out because it just screams film. Anywho it was nice...we had post-show drinks at Goatfeathers and I was home and in bed pretty early.

Why call it a night so early on Friday...well because my brother asked me to be a volunteer for the annual Shandon Turkey Trot. I may have mentioned it before. It was a lot of fun. I got up early and treated myself to some Starbucks coffee and went to my post. I was on the corner of Duncan and Holly. I just had to make sure that no cars tried to drive over any runners. I tell you what it was a total inspiration watching those runners out there doing their thing. It was chilly and early but they were there running it out. It really made me want to get out there and do it too! I just might. There were kids out there with their parents and I really cannot think of a better way to spend time with your kids then partaking in a community event like this one! You get involved and you are teaching them about health and fitness two of the most important things we can teach our kids.

After the last runner finished I headed over to my parent's house because my step-sister was in town with my two nephews. One of which I had not seen since my return from China. He is 11 now and it is absolutely amazing to see how much he has grown and changed...and matured. That boy is a rock. He has a great head on his shoulders...the term "well adjusted" pops into my head! My other nephew is 5. He is a nut case in the most brilliant of ways. He would own the show Kids Say the Darndest Things. He is constantly entertaining us with some funny story or joke...I mean he is five but he can get us rolling. He says things like "WHAT THE.." and "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME.." adorable.

Well they were in town because we were all heading to Charleston for a celebration. OK follow along while I spell this out. My step-mom Anne's older brother Allen and his wife Sharon were celebrating their 50 wedding anniversary. 50 YEARS!!! Crazy talk!!! Anyway, Anne and Allen put together a surprise party getting a lot of the family together without Sharon knowing. It was held in Charleston, SC (one of the most interesting and beautiful cities in the world) at the Confederate Widows and Orphans home. They have a connection to this place but the details are a but fuzzy...I think someone told me while I was carrying boxes and trays into the room to set up...this place was absolutely majestic. It had a lush garden court yard area  and it had an old charm of hard wood floors giant spiraling staircases...and it is located right on Broad St. one of the oldest streets in the city. I snapped this picture as we were carrying in decorations at dusk:

That is a beautiful church that was right down the road and a Palmetto tree, many of which line the street. I love this town. I would love to go down there for a weekend and just walk around. There is so much to see, so much history and quirky little corners. You should definitely treat yourself to a trip there! The party was lovely and Sharon was surprised, but before you know it the weekend was over and I was on my way back to Columbia. I rode down and back with my dad, which was nice because I was able to ask him a whole host of questions.

The show I am doing (see above ;) is set in 1968 and my character would have been around 25-30 years old which is the same age range of my dad at that time! So I picked his brain a bit. Music, mindset, lifestyle...just some preliminary research. My father is a wealth of knowledge about so much stuff. I just love picking his brain!

After we returned to Columbia I went to the gym for some BodyFlow action, which I love. It is a mixture of yoga and taichi. I need that so much. I love the way stretching feels. But it hasn't done too much to help the piercing pain I feel in my back...constantly, like the muscles in between my shoulder blades are on fire. Not sure what to do about it, but something must be done!!

After the gym I rehearsed and went home to watch the AMAs which was fun. I haven;t seen an awards show in forever so it was entertaining. I loved some more than others but was just excited to see some fancy foot work and magical production. I would love to run a show like that, by run I mean stage manage! #Aspiration

Not it is Monday. I actually made it up this a.m. and went to the gym now I am plowing through my day. I am going to rehearse tonight then go grab a drink with a friend, JH. He is down from the District and I look forward to his entertaining with.

Other than that I am just making it through the week until...THANKSGIVING! I have so much to be thankful for...so I know you will get an ear/eye full of that on Thursday...unless I am in a food coma and it gets posted on Friday...

Well I look forward to talking with you again soon!

xoxox

PS a guy just walked by my office with some amazing cologne. The odor is splendiferous. I tell you what men's cologne can really get me. #blush