Ireland Adventure for 1

So I spent last weekend in Ireland and I have to say that I felt right at home. The people are so nice there and so down-to-earth! I had a little old man befriend me on the bus to Dublin from the airport and he told me all the best places to go to and exactly how to get to the area where my hostel was. It was a little nerve-racking at first trying to figure out a new city all by yourself, but I conquered it pretty easily! I found out that Gormon is actually a very important name in Ireland and that you can trace my surname all the way back to the clan that ruled Ireland in the 2nd Dynasty of Ireland (we ruled until the Vikings invaded). Any time I had to give my name out to a touring company the guide would tell me "oh Gormon is it? That's a good Irish name!" It was really quite wonderful to know that my last name meant something. I found my family crest and found out where my ancestor's lived.
On the Saturday of my four day weekend I took a trip up to Wicklow for the day where I went to Sally's Gap (where P.S.- I Love You) was filmed. I loved seeing nothing but green fields and mountains (which were actually dormant volcanoes!). My cousin said that Ireland must be what heaven looks like, and I'm going to have to agree with her!
More Later!!
~See You Soon!

The Most Beautiful Place Ever

On Monday me and Carlene went to Regent's Park and I absolutely love it. I think it's my favorite place that I have been to so far on this trip. There was a man there hand-feeding the squirrels and it was the cutest thing I have ever seen. He would whistle for them (like a dog) and they would run up, stretch up on their hind legs and grab the peanut right out of his hand. He saw us watching and let us feed the squirrels. Then we went to the inner circle of the park and there was a huge rose garden. There was every single color/shade of rose you could image and were about 2ft tall.
That night in Regent's Park we went to see my favorite play The Importance of Being Earnest in the Open-Air Theater. It was everything I imagined it would be, all the characters were spot on in there choices. The set was abstract and the costumes were period. I was laughing almost the entire time. We got the ten pound tickets where you sat on the grass on the sides of the stage. We got about 4 feet from the stage. I got to meet the actor who played my favorite character 'Algie.' He was like "Hey, you were the girl in the front who laughed a lot." I was very embarrassed and apologized and he reassured me that it was great to hear laughter in the audience. I asked him how scary it was to walk down the huge wet ramp (it rained several times during the play). He told us that it was the first time they had performed in the rain and had to help Lady Bracknell down the ramp which he hadn't had to do before. I would have been very nervous to walk down that steep, wet ramp in period heels.

I write more later but I have to let some of the other ladies on the computer!
Cheers!!

Entry 1

Wow. I have just finished my first week in London and it has gone by very quickly! On Monday we all took a double decker bus tour of London and I got to see the major attractions of London from the top of the bus. I was able to take a lot of wonderful pictures this way and plan out different places that I want to see. I even got a really good shot of Big Ben looking through the London Eye. Cathy made sure to point out the National Theater as we passed by on the boat tour portion. The next day (Tuesday) I went to Leicester Square and got tickets to see The Woman In Black. My professor Steven Roten recommended that I see it because he enjoyed while he was in London. It is a horror play about a woman who lost her child in the marshes and comes back as a ghost to take other people’s children away. I saw it with Carlene, Amanda, and Kimberly and we all got scared by it! It was the fun kind of scare-your-pants-off! We also did the transportation museum that had actual vehicles (from the time of horse-drawn coaches onward) that you could walk through. It was a great place to take pictures because of that fact and you really got a sense of what it would have been like. A bunch of us went to the National Gallery and saw famous works of art by Reuben, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and a little artist named Vincent van Gogh. One of my favorite paintings was there and I just about cried when I saw it: Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Its so much more beautiful in person, and surprisingly a lot smaller. Later on in the week on Thursday Spencer, Amanda, and I got tickets to Phantom of the Opera. I had tried to see that show 5 times in my life but it was always sold out. Its my favorite musical so it was a true to life wish fulfillment. Even better was when we stage-doored the show and I got to talk to the guy who played the phantom! We talked about acting for at least 20 minutes. He told me he especially liked Meisner and Stanislovski and since I had just taken two courses on stanislovski we had a lot to talk about. He was very nice, only 30, and had no training what so ever. He told me that he was in a rock band and decided to try the ‘whole acting thing’ so he went to London and auditioned for Phantom and there ya go!.... makes me very hopeful as an actress. The next big thing on my agenda is that I got tickets for Waiting for Godot with Sir Ian and Patrick Stewart on the 11th!

Until next time!
Cheers!!

Predeparture No.2-- No words to express this feeling

Ha! How cliche right? I don't think that a single word alone can express what ever emotion this is consuming my body right now. I think I have got every thing re-figured out. I had a 3 day mini-melt down that started with me buying the wrong shoes that killed my feet. Not a huge deal right? But then that got me started on the other clothes that I had already packed being appropriate for London or not. I checked the weather forecast for London and Dublin.... totally not right. I started having nightmares of being the fat, annoying American with sun burned skin and a camera strapped around my next, asking people to say something in London. Geez....
So then I took my meds, and then was saved by God and (surprisingly enough) the Google Search Engine from being completely bald from tearing out my own hair. Google and God (or as I call them G squared) brought me this fabulous clothing store that's London-based that carries clothes specifically for my body shape!! I felt so much better seeing these colorful, flashy clothes!! Anyone that knows me, knows that I cannot go too long wearing all black and dreary colors or my soul will die a long slow death. Just ask anyone during tech week when I'm running tech.
Next-- I am packing lightly and trying to save as much money as possible to buy clothes at the London store and see shows and travel to amazing places. Which doesn't leave much of anything else to do except read this 800 page monstrosity called Bleak House. I know back then authors were paid by the word... but seriously... i need some of this detail cut out. I will read it. I will get through it because I am a good student. I just hope it doesn't kill me before I get to see London.

More Later! Gotta read some mo'
~M

Predeparture No. 1

So I haven't ever done a blog thingy before, so here goes!!
First item:
The title of this blog is my favorite quote from the movie 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall.' It pops into my head every time I think about actually being there. With my luck it will pop into my head the first time a cute British guy speaks to me in a pub. Anyway if you haven't seen it... you should. The end.
Second item:
I AM SO DONE WITH SUMMER SCHOOL. It makes sense to take a summer course if you really want to get something out of the way, but seriously???? Do NOT take more than one at a time. I am taking English 200 right now and I have had a paper due every week (in a four day week), if not every other day. I don't know. This is my last week so I understand that I am probably just a little burned out with the course. I usually happens. Whatever right? It will be done in a few days. And then I'll have a week off and after that.......
Third item:
OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I am going to London in two weeks. Granted it's not my first time abroad, but I think that now that I'm a little older I can appreciate it more. There's so much to do that I think my biggest worry is that I won't be able to get it all in, or that I've picked the wrong places to go to and they'll be too pack with other tourists to enjoy. I am however going to have a lunch date with my Dad's friend Julie who used to live in London and still goes there frequently. And hopefully I'm going to see Abbey soon so I can get the inside scoop on Dublin!

Anyway I love you all and I will try and keep this blog updated as much as possible!

Later :)