Success!

On the last evening of No Jeans October, I have to say we rocked it pretty hard!  The hardest weeks for me were the first and last.  During our preparatory phase I really had no idea how to focus on the challenge.  I bought a couple pairs of leggings and some long shirts (the basic London uniform) but was really unsure about how to branch out from there.  Were I to do the shopping trip again I would get a couple pairs of non-jean pants to round out the wardrobe.  Because I had such a limited supply of leg coverings I felt as if I was wearing the same thing over and over for a while.  Adding a simple pair of black pants made a huge difference.  The first week frustrations also revolved around getting more comfortable with my body and with having it on public display.  One can just hide soooo much with jeans!  Now, I have to say, I feel much more confident in much more form-fitting outfits and am more confident in my ability to successfully branch out into new fashion territory (I'll probably never get as out there and funky as I would like to think I could but it's all about baby steps, right?)  The only real struggle the last week was in the lack of variety again.  I am really glad I did the challenge.  I now see myself as more fashionably flexible and less jean-centric.  Jeans will definitely no longer be part of my outfit every day (skirts and leggings are far too comfortable for that!!!)

Materialistic

When I was wandering around Rome last week (I know I should be literary and say roaming around Rome but that's too predictable), I came across the book Tony Cragg: Nothing But Material.  The main reason it caught my eye was that it was the only English title in a sea of Italian.  He's a native of Liverpool so I was accidentally getting some British culture while abroad.  Being an especially tactile person (I have an egg of silly putty in my bag all the time these days) I appreciate the concept of sculpture that begs to be touched.  At the back of the book was an interview with the artist.  Here's a part I thought was interesting:

Q: Do you believe that the material also has a spiritual dimension? 

A: In a certain sense.  Although man tends to consider it only in its utilitarian dimension.  Utilitarianism is the greatest censor of our reality because only useful things survive.  Only science and art can test new materials without submitting to the tyranny of function and consider them what they are, aside from their possible functions.  (Italics added by me. I liked the way he put that and the notion of experimenting with material strictly for the purpose of experimentation, not to try and discover a possible use.  The underlining also added by me, I liked the phrase a lot.  To me it emphasized the fact that every artist faces a potential trap when they begin with a material because it is already associated with a certain function; potentially with a preconceived form.  Tyranny just felt like a great way to emphasize that.  Hey, I like words and get excited about small things such as this.  I warned you from the beginning!) 

In another section he says: "I consider the material to be an extension of ourselves, something surrounding us and taking form through the function given it by man: furniture, clothes, cars."

Check out some of these pics and tell me if you would be able to resist the urge to touch the sculptures.  I certainly wouldn't be able to.  (Click on the pics for bigger images)

(As a weird and interesting side-note, likely of little interest to you but quite exciting to me...he moved to Wuppertal, Germany at one point, a place I wouldn't know except that it was used in the filming of the Princess and the Warrior - a German film I love.  The train they ride in it is an overground but one that hangs from a beam rather than rides on rails and I was so fascinated by it in the movie.  I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where that train was.  That was years ago!  I was really happy to see Wuppertal in this artist's biography.  Now I have a renewed interset in visiting that city as his sculptures are all over the place there!)  

So Much to Do, So Much to See, So What's Wrong with Taking the Back Streets?

And back streets I did take (thanks Smashmouth).  I am full of tales to tell from my week and a half in Spain and Italy.  I think you may have a lot of posts to wade through between now and Wednesday (tomorrow probably not so much as I am busy from 6am to 10pm.  yeah, it'll be a long one).  The biggest problem I have is trying to figure out how to get everything organized.  I kept my cupcake book with me at all times and wrote down pretty much anything that seemed remotely interesting or that I wanted to look into when I returned.  Needless to say there are quite a few pages.  Ok ok, the pages are only about 10 square inches but still.

One Post to Rule Them All

Please be advised that the lack of posts is not due to me neglecting my commitment but due to lack of internet access. I took my final final on Wednesday and from there went straight to Gatwick airport to catch my flight to Barcelona. Yesterday my parents and I wandered around the city-a HUGE city, might I add. We were here in 2001 but only for an afternoon/evening. That short span of time was full of excitement though. As it was December we came upon dozens of Christmas markets selling every style of nativity set you can imagine and witnessed the strange tradition of kids hitting a log with a stick. That fateful night was also the one during which my mom's purse was stolen at an internet cafe. Don't worry though, I stole it back from the perpetrator before he knew what had happened. One of my prouder moments.

As promised, here are the posts I haven't been able to get online until now:

~We Specialized in Pencils~

My parents arrived in London on Monday. Being fed up with studies, I decided to meet them at the airport. The ride isn't exactly riveting but it was nice to turn my brain off for a bit and just kick back doing absolutely nothing. Once they arrived we dropped their bags off at a friend's house (thanks L!) and caught the train up north to Highgate Cemetery (link). The two sides -east and west- are separated by a narrow, steep road. On the west is the more overgrown, dark, gothic-foresty area which boasts a lot of creative headstones as well as some famous people; Karl Marx likely being the most well-known. Wandering around is not allowed on the west side, visitors must go on guided tours (I guess it might be to prevent tourists from stealing bits of things? Who knows). The east side, however, is open to meander through. We spent an hour or so enjoying a stroll through the forest. The cemetery is absolutely massive! Many of the graves were really not that old (I expected some ancient relics for some reason) but the vines had overgrown the majority of the markers which gave it a warm, earthy feel. Recently I have grown to enjoy cemeteries a lot. They used to really freak me out when I was young. The thought of treading the ground over someone's body seemed incredibly disrespectful and, well, just plain rude. I don't know what changed my feelings about it but I find them really peaceful now. That doesn't change the fact that I refuse (as much as any dead person can) to ever be buried in one. I don't want my remains to be stuck in one place. I want them to be scattered to the earth and seas so they are in thousands of places at once. I want my ashes to become part of growing plants and animals. I want to be in the flowers in the mountains and in an octopus in the sea. Being at this cemetery though I can see why some people would want their bodies there for eternity. It really is gorgeous.

During one of our train rides my dad and I were discussing pickpockets. We both admitted that we really wish we could be a good pickpocket. It seems not only cool but also pretty handy. A recession-proof skill. Apparently my dad went one step farther than I in his career. He and a friend actually attempted to become pickers of pockets during his school days. They “specialized in pencils” as he put it. Each week they would take as many pencils from people's pockets as possible and the person with the most at the end of the week was the winner. He didn't say what the reward would be, other than a huge pile of pencils, but he did say they were quite successful. That is, they were until his friend stole from the school bully and things got a little more dangerous.

~Bad Habits~

Not much to write about as I studied most of the day. We did have a good drink though that is worth mentioning. Mom and Dad met me at school in the evening to get a tour and we ended up having dinner there in the bar downstairs. Yes, all you Utahns and state-school kids, I said bar. At school. Things are different in wonderful ways here in London! Dad ordered a Bad Habit shot which, though he didn't share, looked delicious. So whip out your double shot glass and give this a go. First pour in a shot of Peach Schnapps (if you know me AT ALL you know that I firmly believe this to be the best way to start any drink). Next, take a spoon and flip so the curve side is up and slowly pour a shot of vodka over that. The aim being to allow it to float on top of the schnapps. Ok. So now you have two shots of clear stuff and, while you can see a line where the two meet, it isn't very sexy. For the final touch put a tiny bit of a berry juice in the spoon -curved side down this time, of course (our bartender used black currant but that's a lot more prevalent here than at home so use whatever berry juice you can come up with). Really lightly, barely touch the spoon to the side of the glass above the vodka so that the juice makes contact and seeps down between the layers. The result is a beautiful shot; clear all the way through with a magical hint of color in the middle. Well, what are you doing still reading? Off to the liquor closet with you!

~Barcelona~

The sun can never be far from the nearest palm tree and Barcelona is full of them. It is also full of tall, dark, handsome Spanish men so that's an extra bonus. I decided I am going to contribute to the hot guys reading books blog so I am always on the prowl for a suitable subject. While we were on our tour bus yesterday I also resolved to create a Hot Guys Riding Bikes blog. Dad and I began discussing the possibilities of new sites and came up with: “Trashy Chicks Throwing Up” and “Get a Room” (dedicated to pictures of unabashed and socially inappropriate PDA; inspired by a couple in the park that were going at it so fiercely we were worried someone might get hurt).

Also of note is my habit of now looking right when I cross streets instead of left. I did not anticipate getting programmed so quickly for the backwards-driving ways of the Brits but I have almost stepped in front of several cars here in Spain and am trying to rewire my mind again. Oh! And I saw a t-shirt I really liked. The essence of it is this: the usual evolution tee with various stages of man's existence. First, the chimp, predictably. Second, a man standing upright. Third, a man bent over with the weight of carrying a cross. Fourth, a man standing upright with the Pi symbol above his head. I'm not sure how to google that to find a picture but I will give it a shot.

Funny line of the day: Mom offered Dad a bite of her sandwich and when he took it from her he asked,”Can I pick my zone?” I laughed so hard! I mean everyone does that when they are offered a taste of someone else's food, right? If someone hands me Ben & Jerry's I always scout out the chunkiest bite or if it's, say, a pizza I look for the most satisfying section. It just made me laugh that Dad actually put words to it.

Things Barcelona does better than London: Sun. Sangria. Spanish. Strollers. Nachos!!!

No L s

As I type, I am sitting on a train to our next destination. I can't get inspired to read a book or even take a nap. What I want to do is run around. My body was dedicated to studying for so many days that it is craving a good hearty burst of exercise. I want to hike a mountain, or ride a bike for hours, or go swimming, or run. Not even yoga sounds enticing. I want something that exhausts my entire body so much that I can't move my arms for the next two days. Perhaps if the doors didn't prevent me from doing so, I might exercise up and down the cabin. That may seem odd to the other passengers but at this point I am not sure that I care.

Things I Miss from Utah (besides all my lovely friends :)

Decaf Chai Tea from the Tea Grotto

Nachos from D'Edge

Brewvies

Brewvies with Kristen

Briewvies with Kristen & Alex

Book Club

BBQ's

Parties at the condo

My bike

The mountains

The way it smells when it rains in Utah

Real Milkshakes

Walks at Liberty Park

Park Cafe

Barbacoa

Andrea, the girl who cuts my hair

Being excited when it rains because it has been soooo long

24-hour Smith's right across the street

Tank top weather

Ruth's Diner Biscuits

Um, Yes Please!

I must confess I like to be purposefully vague and cryptic in my blog posts and facebook updates.  As it turns out that leaves a lot of room for questions and interpretation (kind of the point I suppose).  Here's clarification about this post as it has been questioned...I spent far too much time this day looking at far too many blogs and time-suck websites.  These are the things I liked best :) 

"Hot Guys Reading Books" was SUCH a wonderful / terrible discovery!!!

Let us dissect: On a train in a remote place: check.  Reading in a language foreign to mine: check.  Perfect dark hair, dark stubble, and dark-framed glasses: check, check, and check.    

Yeah, this puppy loves him hard and there's just no way a puppy would love a person who isn't awesome.  Plus again, the hot and the reading just make this fantastic. 

My Dream Dining Room - Perfection!

You know when you LOVE a song?  As in REALLY LOVE a song?  You play it over and over and over and over and over hoping to absorb every last drop, every note, every fluctuation?  This is my new one of those songs...Who Says by John Mayer (I never promised it would be a respectable song, musically, or lyrically, or even this-guy-has-got-to-be-the-biggest-asshole-ely speaking but I love it).  Also, you may get in a bad habit of watching the video over and over and over because he is BEEEEautiful!  (see minute 2:45 in the video as proof of this statement.  As I explained to a friend, you will want to rip off his wife beater, clasp his tattooed bicep and jump in the pool.  Seek help immediately if you do not feel this way)