Love

Thoughts on this topic have been running around in my brain recently, and I have been wanting to write this entry for a while. Growing up is a funny/interesting/painful/wonderful inevitability. My favorite part about it is figuring out why I act and react the way I do to certain things, which in turn allows me to more fully understand why others act and react the way they do towards certain things.

The thoughts and knee-jerk reactions I have previously had regarding "Love" have recently been exposed and placed in the center ring for no one else but me, myself, and I to watch passively and note the horrific disfunction.

Mind blowing discovery #1: Love is not something to fear, or to fear the loss of. This seems like common sense, obviously. However, it is human nature to want what we cannot have. To hold onto that which is scarce. Love is not a supply-demand kind of business. Love should be always abundant. Not smothering, but active, aware.

Love is not tumultuous - it is peaceful, and that serenity comes from confidence in oneself and in the relationship. I can't tell you how many times I have made excuses and convinced myself that I was the one who was wrong for feeling upset, disappointed, or left high and dry. Its almost as if people love and thrive off of the drama, the pull and the abuse of a "relationship." At least they have something to vent about to their friends (or on a blog, haha).

Here's a bible verse that you have probably heard read at nearly every wedding you've ever attended; rightfully so, because it rings true, now, for me, more than ever.

"Love is patient, Love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast.

It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,

and endures all things."

Corinthians 13:4-7

Organized Chaos

Does anyone else find it peculiar that we all are assigned a name and a number? Quite a few numbers at that. Starting the second we arrive on this planet, the government catalogues our existence with a number. "United States Citizen Number 795-xxx-xxxx." When taking into account the miracle (or complex scientific coincidence, however you may choose to look at it) that is life, it seems rather neanderthal to attempt to file it as just another occurrence. Then we get a bit older, and we get a drivers license, earn a degree, accumulate medical records, bank statements, credit histories, etc - all of which are carefully documented. So much paperwork is involved in being a functioning human, its exhausting to think about, and makes vagrancy almost sound appealing... And yet, we have all accepted this as "the way things are," because of what? Fear? That people would run wild in the streets if a piece of cardboard with a number on it didn't hold them to a certain standard of conduct? What would happen if people were just people, and not a stack of paperwork, telling them who they were? I think there would be more creativity, for one. Chaos: maybe. Things would certainly be a lot more interesting.

YAY... Athens!

Being shown a city by someone who knows is the best! As much as I love playing tour guide, I also appreciate a little guidance. Here are some photos of my Athens experience, thanks to a one Mr. Joshua Piller.

This afternoon, I am in Istanbul. As I write this, I sit amidst green plants and blooming flowers on the perfectly-sized garden terrace connected to my hotel room. It is peaceful and quiet, save for a few birds chirping at each other. I don't mind them. This is one of those moments I feel full of thanks and appreciation for my life and the wonderful people in it.

Yesterday by 11am, I was laying on a white cushioned lounge chair on the Grecian coast at Cape Sounio, soda water with lemon and lime in hand, enjoying the sun and the GORGEOUS Mediterranean with my tour family. About 200 yards away from the beach, the ancient Poseidon's Temple sat (and still sits) majestically atop a cliff facing the Sea; at one point welcoming travelers coming to pay homage, and warning sea-faring armies that the gods were with Greece. I kept imagining what it must have felt like to have traveled days/weeks/months by sail boat, and after any and every hardship to finally see that temple break the horizon.

We were completely spoiled yesterday. After working up a ridiculous appetite by jet-skiing, rock skipping, volleyball playing and sun bathing, there was a feast of epic proportions set up on the dock for us. By the way, the tomatoes in this region of the world are absolutely delicious. So red, sweet, and ripe. I kind of want to buy a bag full and smuggle them home.

We unwillingly left the beach at 4:30 to go to Turkey and must have been a sight to see at the airport; 20 or so sunburnt, exhausted, people navigating giant Burton bags through and around other confused travelers.

Upon arriving in Istanbul, a friend of a friend, Ceren, offered to take me out. She and a group of friends was having dinner at a swanky place on the water, Anjelik. On one side, you can pull up in a car, but if you just can't bring yourself to be seen on four wheels, there is always the dock in the back where one can valet his yacht. Noted for next time! :)

Ceren said it was close to the hotel, so I hopped in a cab, with the thought that I would be at the restaurant in 7 minutes (the doorman's quote). My cab driver apparently had the wrong place in mind, however, because he took me 20 minutes out of the way before stopping to ask directions. We had to turn around. The traffic going the other way was completely stopped, and rather than wait in it, he proceeded to drive down the WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD into oncoming traffic! There were cars honking at us and narrowly swerving to avoid a collision...meanwhile Ceren is texting that my fish and my salad are waiting for me, but the restaurant is turning into a club, and they are replacing the dinner tables with high bar tables. By the time I finally arrived at the club, it was packed, and blaring techno music. Ceren and co had a spot upstairs overlooking the water - three banquette tables raised to bar height, and one small table against the railing still lowered to dining height, with a chair and my dinner perfectly laid out. It was so cute, and I couldn't help but laugh and feel a little embarrassed. I enjoyed my first meal in Istanbul sitting while everyone else stood drinking champagne and leaning down to talk to me. They insisted that it be this way.

One of the photos below shows a white mosque (1,000 years old!), and a suspension bridge, which they tell me is the first of its kind - it connects two continents. We were dining and chatting on the Bosphorous, which is a 32 kilometer strait connecting the Black Sea, and the Sea of Marmara. While sitting and chatting on the continent of Europe, we gazed across the water at the continent of Asia. wild. Cheers to new friends!

We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams

I went to music school in Hollywood. I've always known that I wanted to be a musician: In my fifth grade yearbook, there is a section in the back where all the 5th graders in my class wrote one sentence describing what dreams we had for ourselves. While almost every kid's quote was "To go to UCLA/USC, get married and have two kids and a golden retriever named Scooter," mine was this: "To be a singer-piano player in one." No college specified (like a 10 year old really knows what University she wants to attend...in the same way we adopt our parents religions and political positions, we apparently also absorb their collegiate loyalties...need to please, anyone?). I have always been a dreamer, and I intend to keep it that way.

While at music school, I made some truly amazing friends, with whom I still keep in touch today. My friends Ryan and Justin's apartment was closest to school, and therefore became our clubhouse. We would make grilled cheese, listen to loud music, and talk about nothing and everything. The late night jam sessions were my favorite. We would all pick up an instrument, and play songs we all knew, or teach each other songs we'd written, and sing into the wee hours of the morning. No one ever complained about the noise, surprisingly enough. One such night, several sandwiches (and several beers, no doubt) in, we took down the giant corona bottle cap Justin and Ryan had hanging on the wall, and signed the back of it with a sharpie. We all joked that it would be worth a lot of money on Ebay one day. Now, five years later, each one of us is making a living sharing our gifts throughout the globe. Amazing, isn't it? Sometimes I forget to be in constant awe of that fact and then something jogs my memory, and I am blown away all over again. How did I get here? How did we get here?

NEVER NEVER NEVER forget about your dreams. We all have them. Keep working and living every day toward them, and for them. Things may not turn out exactly how you would have planned, but then again, you just may not be the only one doing the planning.

Photography Lesson

Mid-year resolution: To post more frequently. In an effort to jump start this notion, here is a pretty neat thing I have been toying around with recently. I'm sure some of you already knew this on some level (friendster photo-shoots, anyone?), but I didn't, or had forgotten. So here's a reminder, or a lesson in photo editing. You can pretty much take any picture, taken from any camera (I am going to show a few taken with my blackberry), tweak it, using something as common and accessible as iPhoto, and turn it into a masterpiece. (okay, I could be exaggerating slightly, but you get the picture. ha. get it, "the picture..." schwing!)

All I did here was enhance the photo (which you can do automatically in the iphoto edit screen), boost the color using the pre-determined filter provided in iphoto and mess with the black/white balance a little bit, in the "adjust" window. Doing that really brings out the shadows and the detail in the blades of grass. By the way, it helps to make the original as large as possible while editing, which you can do by holding ctrl and alt (option) and clicking "edit using full screen."

Here, I obviously used the "sepia" filter. Then I changed the "adjust" window settings slightly (which I posted below, so take a look!)

Below are a few more examples of what can be done...and also just pretty photos, I think, so I hope you liiiiike. :)

Taken at the artist's entrance at the NRJ awards in Cannes

Taken in the sky over Norway

"I don't drink coffee, I take tea my dear"

Current location: Sheffield, UK

Currently Listening: "Tenderoni - MSTRKRFT Remix" by Chromeo

Currently munching: Prawn skewers and pumpkin and feta salad

I write to you now after spending an amazing four days in London. I realized I write about London and Paris quite frequently on this blog - which, besides NY and LA of course, are the cities I am in the most. I also have made some wonderful friends in those cities, and because of them have been introduced to what are now favorite places to see, eat, and enjoy. I've also had the most time to go on solo adventures, exploring new areas and stumbling over little gems along the way.

This most recent trip felt different, however. I got to play tour guide to someone who had never been to London, and be lead, simultaneously. Seeing the city with him made me appreciate it with a new kind of vigor. Everything was new and fresh for him, and became that way for me again; and of course there were things he wanted to do and see that I never would have thought to look for, and so my experience there was again enriched. The first night we went to Dean Street Town House, in the Soho area of London, for dinner and some very unique cocktails (Mine involved earl grey tea, mint, gin and lemon, all over ice). There were six of us, and after mussels, sea bass, risotto, and other delicious bites, we closed the place down.

The next two days were spent sightseeing: Tower of London, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, etc. etc, and shopping. I have been saving my dollars and being very good in order to be able to take advantage of lovely London findings, and my friends...advantage was taken. Hardcore. I finally made it back to Rellik, an vintage store with the most amazing selections, http://www.relliklondon.co.uk/ and found some BEAUTIFUL pieces, including a silk Chloe dress, and Louis Vuitton strappy heels. (at sweet vintage prices. Score!)

On our last day in London, we went on a little Pub crawl, which started in Kensington at the Churchill Arms, and ended in East London at the Red Lion Pub.

That night was my first experience in East London, and if ever I were to relocate to that city, East London would be my home. The closest thing I can compare that area to is Manhattan's East Village/Lower East Side. Artists, interior designers, musicians, photographers, and all renaissance folk can be found here. We went to dinner with a bunch of friends at a Vietnamese restaurant called Loong Kee Cafe. GO THERE GO THERE GO THERE, if you happen to be in London! Great food, really fresh and light, and so inexpensive. We ordered the majority of the menu, and it still ended up only being around 15 Pounds per person. Oh, and it's BYOB, so bring an Asahi or Cobra beer for the perfect pairing.

After dinner we walked over to Shoreditch House. It is owned an operated by the same people responsible for the SOHO Houses, and it is absolutely gorgeous. And massive! Complete with bowling alley, rooftop pool (that allows night swimming), cozy lounge with giant chairs and dripping candelabras. All that was great and all, but the real reason I will return is the hot chocolate. They bring steamed milk out in a big ceramic mug, and a little carafe of melted dark chocolate meant to be poured into the mug. oh. my. gosh.

Now we are continuing our tour through the UK, with two shows in a row - Sheffield and Nottingham. Our next day off will be in Manchester. A few of the dancers are teaching classes, and I am going to (attempt) to take them... pray for me!