thirtieth new thing...

there seems to be a trend throughout a lot of these new things. and that theme is art. of any kind. of different kinds. movies. music. and now, theatre. for the thirtieth of the 52 new things (ahhhhh, thirty! this is it?!? this is the last day? help me!! help me!), i attended my first shakspeare play.

and not just any production of a shakespeare play. no, that would be too easy. i went to a production of as you like it set in the turbulent 60's. yes, a story about how a girl-- disguised as a boy-- taught the object of her affection (one of my favorite movies) how to woo the object of his affection while not realizing that the boy helping him woo said girl was actually the girl he was wooing all while the turbulent protesting free-love 60s was spinning around them. i guess that is why they call it a "gender bending" comedy of eros. but really the entire event was sort of a comedy of errors.

curt and i arrived at ogelthorpe university, home of the georgia shakespeare festival about 10 minutes before show time. i had a coupon (yes, i am a spendthrift) for 20% off. little did i know that was for the $40 tickets. we elected to go with the cheap seats (for $15 there isn't a theatre big enough in the world that would put us too far away) and while ringing us up the ticket lady (who was cute and crafty...she almost got us to buy $50 worth of tickets when $30 would do) said that the showing was selling slow so we were eligible for a free upgrade (sweet!) to the lower level back row. giddy with our good fortune we headed into the theatre where we were promptly cornered by some officially looking guy with one of those radio transmitter things in his ears. he informed us that we were eligible for an upgrade (wait, another upgrade! seriously?) and we wound up in the third row. yes. the third row! seriously!

the production itself was quite enjoyable. it did take me about 15 minutes before i could follow the shakespeare-speak but by the middle of the first act i was laughing at the jokes and contemplating the right lines of the soliloquies. the actors were quite enjoyable, especially the tall drink of water that played touchstone. the one thing that was terribly distracting: the costuming. i mean, i know it is suppose to be the 60's, the summer of love, but honestly, do you think you would get any play with this on?

maybe if all the world was a stage as shakespeare suggested, there would be more love and less hate. hope you enjoyed your summer of love. it's almost over ya'll.

twenty-ninth new thing...

one thing this year-long project has done for me is allow me to be more adventurous. and, some would say, reckless. see, i'm a very responsible person. an honest days work for an honest days pay and all that. it wasn't that long ago that i was an hourly-wage veterinary technician working 72 hours a week for $10. but i have a wild streak-- sometimes. so for the twenty-ninth new thing i did something that i characterize as completely irresponsible, i went to a movie in the middle of a work day. without permission and without telling anyone where i was going.

so how would i spend this indulgent afternoon movie opportunity on opening day of one of the most anticipated comic book films of the year? why see a musical, of course. but in order to pull this off i would have to utilize some sly james-bond like moves. so at lunch, i walked out to the car with my purse and various other accoutrement, placed them in laurel and calmly walked back up to my desk. about an hour later i got up, walked out to the parking lot, got into the car and left. not a word to anyone.

though frightening as hell (we do have a little bit of a gestapo-esque hr director) i really enjoyed being a little crazy. alright, fine. it's not like i jumped out of a plane. or quit my job. or flew to an undisclosed location (though that may be coming later). but for me, it was crazy. and out of character. and completely liberating. kind of like breaking into song in the middle of my mundane workday.

twenty-eighth new thing...

i'll be the first to admit there was a bit of an emotional letdown after my amazing trip to california back in july. and that certainly led to a new thing letdown. but the year goes on, and with it so do the 52 new things. so for the twenty-eighth of my new things i decided to take it a little easy and resurrect an event from my past. i created my own turner classic movie sunday and watched an old school movie.

since i haven't had cable since the great audit of the winter of 2007, i had to improvise to make this happen. so i turned to my trusty laptop computer and began a search of the greatest website for tv and movies currently out there, hulu. seriously, if you haven't used hulu yet, drop what you are doing and get over there right now. watch a little arrested development. or discover the new series in plain sight. or prep for the next season of terminator: the sarah connor chonicles. seriously, go. i'll wait. but hurry back.

besides television, hulu also has full-length feature films-- both new and old-- available for streaming. and i found the perfect sunday night movie: voyage to the bottom of the sea. a great disaster, science fiction movie that reminds you what film was like before cgi. produced and directed by irwin allen, the so-called "master of disaster", vttbots was a movie before its time. released in 1961 it centered around the impossible to imagine (at the time) earth destroying phenomena of global warming (oh, the horror!) and involved the quintessential destruction of the day...icebergs! giant squids! a saboteur! a cute furry animal that the saboteur pets in a menacing manner!

i did my own research before we started the film so that we could have our own robert osborne moment. madison and i enjoyed a sunday evening on the couch with a couple dos equis amber (me) and some rosemary popcorn (maddie loves her gourmet snacks). i recommend that you try it out one night. cuddle with a loved one and watch an old school movie you've never seen before. it might just turn out to be pretty awesome.

twenty-seventh new thing...

i feel like i do a lot of apologizing these days when i talk about my blog. every time someone asks me how it's coming along i always feel a pang of both pride and guilt. i'm proud that so many people read and keep up with my little project. but i'm also guilty of not keeping up with it every week like i promised i would. and i hate people who don't keep their promises. so i am here to begin again. a renewed commitment. and what better way than with the official post for the new thing that was the impetus for this whole project. for my twenty-seventh new thing i traveled to california and put my toes in the pacific ocean. now, on to the rest.

i know this trip is true, the redlands chronicles...

i know some time has passed since i was in the great state of california, but i still think it is important to tie up some loose ends. the mcpeak's and i spent the fourth of july in and around redlands, as planned, but we also headed out on a little unplanned adventure, too. we started the morning in a little diner in downtown redlands where i had some of the best pancakes i'd had in a while. even though charles and i were unsuccessful at convincing the little lady that we should return to san diego for a couple of tattoos from nothing sacred, we did manage to talk her into a trip up to big bear mountain.

as you should all know, not only am i from the south but i also haven't traveled much. so, the thought of heading up a mountain to over 8,000 feet is exactly how i would want to spend the birthday of our nation. as carly and i made our way to the cooler temperatures of big bear, we did manage to stop for some pictures along the way.

like with our friend smokey here. crabs and bears don't normally get along, but, hey, it's the fourth of july. the scenery itself was gorgeous and completely foreign to me. however, the car sickness was not. i always forget that i get motion sickness since i developed it later in life until i have already agreed to do something that makes me car sick. and then i just end up sitting (or, inevitably, laying down) in the back of the car trying not to throw up my yummy pancakes.

but, boy was it worth it once we got up there. there was still snow on the top of the highest peak (which we didn't make it to, unfortch. we ran out of time. appointments and all.) and you could definitely feel a difference in the temperature. and the air quality. but oddly enough, not the altitude.

after our trip up the windy mountain (punctuated by a stop at a little restaurant where i was not able to consume anything other a carbonated beverage because of my queasy tummy, we headed back down the mountain, a much less vomit-inducing enterprise. i guess i knew the end was in sight.

a few minutes at the apartment and then we were off again, this time on our way to the football stadium on the university of redlands campus for the fun fourth of july festivities there. we found some seats in the bleachers and watched the sunset behind the san bernadino mountains. little did we know the 2 hours of pre-fireworks fun that was about to occur. the community band of redlands, headed by their very own harold hill. old school czechoslovakia jets flyover. new school dc-7 flyover. skydivers (landing on the stadium track, no less). rod stewart, cher and elvis impersonators (all the way from vegas! really?). and then fireworks. and boy were they some fireworks. it was a fabulous end to a wonderful day and a fitting end to a wonderful trip.

happy fourth of july, ya'll!

i know this trip is true, the los angeles chronicles...

hello there everybody! another sunny day in cali has begun. my internal clock is all screwed up by all the late night (for me anyway) fun we've been having. we had another late night last night (i tumbled into bed around midnight) and we didn't even make it to karaoke-- which is probably a good thing. our day yesterday consisted mostly of eating in various places and doing a lot of walking from one place to eat to another place to eat. it was surely enjoyable. see pictures here.

we did go to the walt disney concert hall which is quickly beginning to rival the chrysler building as my favorite piece of architecture. i think the WDCH may have an unfair advantage because i could actually touch it. we also went to the arclight- next to the old cinerama dome theatre- and saw "wanted". it was...interesting. i don't know if i would suggest it to the common folk, but if you think angelina jolie is hot, that you would see her in any movie and you are able to suspend disbelief the moment the lights go down, this film is for you. it was the most clear picture quality i have ever seen in a theatre. they didn't have any caramel corn, but other than that it was a pure enjoyable experience.

we ended the day at PINK'S, and i had one of the best chili cheese dogs ever. still, nothing beats noshville's fran cheesey. i miss you music city. i'll be home soon....

today we are hanging around redlands for a fun fourth of july festivity. there will be fireworks, hot dogs, beer and cher impersonators. you know, the usual. i leave tomorrow to head back to atlanta. it's been a fun trip. i hope to be back soon. happy fourth of july everybody.

i know this trip is true, the san diego chronicles...

well, it's a little late, but it's here. the first entry for my california trip. pictures from day one are up at picasa in the california dreamin' web album. we are heading out to LA this morning, but i wanted to touch base quickly and give a couple brief highlights from the day yesterday and explain some of the photos.

i decided to chronicle the trip from the perspective of carly the crab, one of madison's squeaky toys and also a good surrogate for the american idol singer that brought me out to san diego in the first place. so you might see a picture of carly enjoying television on the plane or a burger at the field in san diego (the restaurant her namesake worked at before joining the show). just humor me, ok.

as far as highlights so far:
* putting my toes in the pacific ocean (it was just as cold as i thought it would be)
* eating at the field and enjoying (yes, enjoying) my first guinness
* walking through hillcrest, the gayborhood in san diego, and buying fun vintage t-shirts
* seeing carly smithson perform in her hometown!
* getting the most random sunburn on my chest that i have ever had
* staying awake for 22 straight hours (didn't get to bed here until 1AM local time...)

today we are doing the sightsee-y things in LA and going to the arclight to see the new angelina jolie movie. thanks for checking in. come back tomorrow. more photos. and maybe some captions to explain it all. in the meantime...

carly singing "bring me to life"