G and I went with our friend Mike to the newly-renovated NC Museum of Art. The visit was mainly to celebrate Mike's 60th birthday, so we spent a good amt. of time in the European collection (Mike was a European History major in college and is still a big-time history buff). I got to tell him about the process involved in religious icon-writing, we talked a lot about life in the Middle Ages, and we checked out the Museum's new Rodin sculpture garden, which had a lily pond at the center. It's been a fantastic day and I can't wait to go back to visit the parts we didn't see today!

I went to Hair the musical on Broadway last night. It was excellent.

Steel Burkhardt, the actor who plays Berger, is the most beautiful man alive.

^^ Wasn't it excellent? And yeah, he was ahhmazing. He was in the production down here, too -- I guess it's the same cast along this coast, or are they all touring the U.S. together?

Learning German through the medium of Mad Sin!

If you had told me a year ago that their lead singer was teaching me the language I would have laughed!

^^It's actually a tour. Here's their schedule: http://hairontour.com/schedule.php

Yesterday I went to see the Alexander McQueen exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was fantastic! They had a ton of his dresses and accessories. The museum folks did a fabulous job putting the exhibit together. But it was beyond crowded! We waited online for an hour and a half before we could get in, and once we got in it was hard to move around because we were packed like sardines in there! LOL Enjoyed the exhibit anyway, but I wish I they would have allowed us to take pictures.

Me and Michael went to the Ontario Science Centre last week.
Watched a film in the Omnimax theatre.
Plan for next week is CNE on Wednesday. Like we go every year. And the Royal Ontario Museum on Friday. I mean why not. We get in for free.

It was my last day at one of my jobs yesterday, since school starts in two weeks. Over 20 of my co-workers gathered for a going away party for me which was absolutely awesome. We made the bar/restaurant we went to pretty rich, and I was shown so much love I can't describe it. I now live only 5 minutes away from the restaurant I've worked at since I decided to return to school after my 7 year hiatus, so I can visit and hang out with everyone whenever. Plus the university I'm attending is in a town where half the staff live and a few go there as well. Still, this is like a huge chapter of my life finishing, since I've formed so many friendships that have become really strong. With school going to be busy, and the video game quickly moving to important steps like speaking with lawyers and graphic designers, I might not see them for a bit; but I can't stay away for too long.

That's awesome! It's good to still be around the same people. I know that when I quit my job, quit school, and moved back home it was a jarring experience. The love of friends is one of the greatest things in this life. I still regret not seeing you on your Texan excursion.

My cousin posted this link on my facebook this morning, and I was shocked to find myself on the article. Its from the hearse club meet from Sat.. It made me laugh how the writer said some people came out in full goth look, like it was some planned costume (because isn't all clothes a costume of some sort?). Anyway, I had no one else to share this with, so I'm bothering you all with my nonsense.

(I'm the first one in the photo gallery...the one doing the weird arm thing. That wasn't my idea, by the way)

^^ Demeaning reporting re: what the reporter chooses not to understand... ahh it drives me nuts -- but it's still great that the event got coverage! And congrats on being in the article's "cover" photo!

I took a test yesterday to see whether I am a synesthete.
Synesthesia
The test site

I've always associated letters and numbers with certain colors, but never knew whether it was due to the colorful letter/number magnets I played with when I was little, or just how my mind works. I always thought it was weird so I tried to fight it and ignore it -- but it does help me remember names and numbers really well. Anyway, my test scores are just past the range of the clinical definitions of synesthesia -- so I'm not, but I tested close. It was interesting and fun.

^^Very interesting! I didn't know that existed.

Spent the weekend in Lincoln NE for a conference. Then I went to Oktoberfest!!!

Just got back from my trip to the south. I went to two different state parks to find gators but I didn't see any . I even went during prime basking time and made sure I found signs that said "dont feed the alligators."

I also ate fried pickles which were amazing and got to see many pretty mansions.

^^ Sorry about the lack of gators, but apart from that, hope you had a good time. I never had the nerve to touch fried pickles, I give you credit! After seeing someone take part in a fried-pickle-eating contest (it was a half-time show between roller derby bouts... the poor girl), I couldn't think about trying one. They're good though?

^^^I think fried pickles are awesome, however I dont think they, or anything, would taste good after an eating contest

I went with Gareth and his parents to New Zealand! The trip was our Christmas present. We visited the North and South islands. The trip in a nutshell:

It was theoretically summer there, but unfortunately they were having a stint of cold, rainy, windy, damp weather during our trip. And lucky me, I brought only warm-weather clothes except for a sweatshirt and jeans, lol. We did get in a few clear days, though. We saw plenty of extended family, saw my sis-in-law's new townhouse (she is officially a veterinarian now! She starts work Jan. 23rd, lucky gal), and stayed at a cousin's new B&B for a night. We shopped a little on Ponsonby Row (where I got a great sleeveless black dress that I'll probably have for a decade); I got some beads too. We did plenty of hiking -- not quite enough, though, to burn off all the ice cream NZ ice cream is amazing! The hiking was serious; lots of steep trails with sheer cliff drop-offs, but the flora and the waterfalls offset the acrophobia. So thankful for sneakers with good tread! New Year's by the shore was beautiful and fun, though bone-chillingly damp. Another of Gareth's cousins runs an albatross-watching tour boat, so we got to see albatrosses -- wingspans of 5-6 feet -- and seal colonies as well.

Partway through the trip Gareth and I headed up to Russell for a few days, near the tip of the North Island, where it was warm sunny and clear. We finally had beach weather. I pocketed a few shells, of course, and on one hike (elevations are extreme in NZ b/c of its volcanic history) we found another beach, one with warnings about it being a kiwi reserve, and a note about it being a "naturist" beach. We thought that had a conservation meaning to it; not quite...

We did a lot of driving through the countryside, too (ok, not me; I didn't quite trust myself to drive on the left). LOTS of sheep, cows, horses, and the occasional alpaca farm. Rolling hills, more of those steep cliffs, and fish & chip shops (Gareth sampled most of them, lol).

Oh -- and there was archery; see left. Turns out I'm pretty decent at it. I think I want to take it up; got to find classes around here.

My favorite hike: Fairy Falls, Auckland
The albatross tour

^I always seem to pack the wrong clothes whenever I go on trips You're trip sounds wonderful! Even with the occasional "naturist"

That sounds like an amazing trip Red, sounds like you saw and did some great things.

Also, albatross-watching tour, for the absolute win.

Red: The trip sounds amazing! The Fairy Falls are gorgeous