30.5.08

tagged


i saw this on a blog i frequently visit and thought i'd go for it too. beware old embarrassing pictures of me to follow.

what i was doing 10 years ago:

summer 1998, i was 22 years old and attending college in central washington as a music education major. college was very complicated for me. i was thrust completely out of my comfort zone socially, academically and emotionally. i had a lot of worries for someone of my age including trying to pay for college myself and i seriously struggled to cope. looking back i'm surprised i didn't drop out but i'm glad i somehow made it.

that year i was in orchestra and symphonic band. i remember staying up all hours studying for dr roth's music history exams. i wore jeans and t-shirts, anything that was comfortable and wasn't bothered about trying to be girly. i didn't have time to listen to much on the radio besides the required for classes. i remember finally getting over a crush i had on a particular boy and vowing to avoid all things that would bring me in contact with males in future. i never practiced my instruments like i should have. i worked close to 6 part time jobs that summer to try to make ends meet including working at the gorge summer concert series making baja burritos. saw rod stewart, james taylor, the b-52's and metallica because of it which was a plus. ate lots and lots of ramen noodles. had a born again christian as a roommate for a term who tried constantly to save my soul. was active in church although i didn't have many friends. started counselling later that year. started an exercise routine of running at 5 in the morning that lasted one week.

i have to admit its weird thinking of where i was then 10 years ago and where i am now. talk about progress.



5 things on my to do list today:

1. listen to teenie boppers perform
2. go to the bank
3. see 'sex and the city' the movie

4. dishes
5. sleeping

5 things on my lifelong to do list:

1. learn how to swim & ride a bike
2. visit my friend lucy in india
3. drive across italy or the south of france

4. make a difference somehow
5. run a marathon or hike through the andes or nepal.

{sorry its hard to pick just 5}

{took a picture before our first 5 a.m. run}

sweets i enjoy:


jelly bellys. organic ice cream. really really dark chocolate. blueberry or chocolate muffins. chocolate fondant. rhubarb or lemon tarts. warm chocolate chip cookies.

last 3 books i read:

1. no country for old men
2. a new earth
3. the power of now

last 3 movies i saw:

1. indiana jones 4 {ugh, disappointing}
2. into the wild
3. daddy day care

places i have lived before:

utah
idaho
louisiana
washington
england {currently}

people i want to know more about {or anybody who wants to play too}:

jess
carly
lori
erika
jenny

24.5.08

picnic with diana krall

i am so incredibly excited as we've booked tickets to see diana krall, {one of the coolest jazz vocalists on the planet} for early aug. the best part is its up on hampstead heath which has beautiful views of london and you can enjoy the evening with a pre-concert picnic from one of our favorite restaurants carluccio's. i know its a couple of months away but i'm really looking forward to good music, good views, good food and good company {james}. we don't do nearly enough concerts like this and that's why it will be such an amazing treat for this summer!

16.5.08

books & the city

i saw a list recently compiled by my favorite bookshop waterstones with books either set in or about the city of london. this list made me think of a blog post a few months back and a request from a reader for a list of good books on london or by london writers. so although its late i think its better late than never and a great list to share for all those who love a good read like me! the area bold is the title, followed by the author in italics and in {parenthesis} is the area of london discussed/set in the books:

  1. 253, geoff ryman { elephant & castle}
  2. bleak house, charles dickens {chancery courts}
  3. brick lane, monica ali {brick lane)
  4. the buddha of suburbia, hanif kureishi {bromley}
  5. the crimson petal and the white, michael faber {notting hill}
  6. the end of an affair, graham greene {clapham common}
  7. fingersmith, sarah waters {borough/lant street}
  8. a handful of dust, evelyn waugh {belgravia}
  9. hangover square, patrick hamilton {earl's court}
  10. keep the apidistra flying, george orwell {hampstead}
  11. lady's maid, margaret forster {marylebone}
  12. london, edward rutherfurd {tower bridge & more)
  13. london fields, martin amis {portobello road}
  14. neverwhere, neil gaiman {knightsbridge}
  15. saturday, ian mcewan {cleveland street, w1}
  16. small island, andrea levy {earl's court}
  17. white teeth, zadie smith {willesdon}
  18. wise children, angela carter {brixton}
  19. the book of dave, will self {richmond}
  20. how to be good, nick hornby {camden}
  21. the line of beauty, alan hollinghurst {notting hill}
  22. the drowned world, jg ballard {leicester square}
  23. hawksmoor, peter ackroyd {spitalfields}
  24. notes on a scandal, zoe heller {islington}
  25. the ballad of peckham rye, muriel spark {peckham rye}
  26. the lonely londoners, sam selvon {notting hill}
  27. london novels, colin macinnes {notting hill}
  28. jonathan strange & mr norrell, susanna clarke {hanover square}
  29. mrs dalloway, virginia woolf {westminster}
  30. notting hell, rachel johnson {notting hill}
  31. londonstani, gautam malkani {hounslow}
  32. the adventures of sherlock holmes, arthur conan doyle {baker street}
  33. a dead man in deptford, anthony burgess {deptford}
  34. a metropolitan murder, lee jackson {baker street}
  35. diary of nobody, george & weedon grossmith {holloway}
  36. 4.50 from paddington, agatha christie {paddington}
  37. the heat of the day, elizabeth bowen {regent's park}
  38. twenty thousand streets under the sky, patrick hamilton {euston road}
  39. the long firm, jake arnott {soho}
  40. mother london, michael moorcok {notting hill}
  41. the necropolois railway, andrew martin {waterloo}
  42. only in london, hanan al-shaykh {bayswater/westminster}
  43. possession, as byatt {british museum}
  44. three men in a boat, kingston upon thames {kingston upon thames}
  45. the tiger in the smoke, margery allingham {mayfair}
  46. towards the end of morning, michael frayn {elephant & castle}
  47. the last days of newgate, andrew pepper {city}
  48. sleep with me, joanna briscoe {bloomsbury}
  49. the queen of the tambourine, jane gardam {merton}
  50. under the net, iris murdoch {camden}
  51. growing yams in london, sophia acheampong {cricklewood}
  52. harry potter & the philosopher's stone, jk rowling {kings cross}
  53. the haunting of alaizabel cray, piccadilly circus {piccadilly circus}
  54. paddington bear, michael bond {paddington}
  55. peter pan, jm barrie {kensington gardens}
  56. stoneheart, charlie fletcher {natural history museum}
  57. stormbreaker, anthony horowotiz {science museum}
  58. madeline in london, ludwig bermelmans {buckingham palace}
  59. this is london, miroslav sasek {st paul's cathedral}
  60. raven queen, pauline francis {tower of london}

6.5.08

brave boy


9 years, 10 months is how long james has had facial hair. i've known him for 9 years and been with him for 7 1/2. besides pictures from the past, i've never seen him sans goatee until yesterday. i dared him to be different and he surprisingly just went with the moment. whether this will last, its hard to say--but how super brave is this? change is good now and then and i think its shaved years off not only his looks but his spirit as well.

1.5.08

photo rebel


i'm really resisting at the moment having to listen to pre-pubescant musicians from across the country perform endless interpretations of 'titanic' and who give a new meaning to 'in tune' {thank goodness i'm paid for this pleasure}, so i decided i would treat you to my newly discovered work distraction: flickr mosaics. the above are random photos i've taken over the years.

off to yoga soon which i'm certain will give me at least a bit of 'zen' or inner harmony to get through a few more hours of performances. at least due to statistics i'm destined to hear at least a little inspiring music every now and then. although i do have a confession and admit i secretly enjoy doing this even if its only temporary. heck-without those painful to hear, the truly excellent wouldn't sound half as sweet.

have a good weekend.