I had a dream

I had a dream the other night. It wasn't especially profound, or action-packed, or even particularly glamorous, but it has given me a lot of food for thought.

In the dream, I was exploring the country, spending 2 weeks to a month living in each major geographic section of the U.S. I'd try and absorb as much of the local culture as I could before I moved on to the next place in the hopes that I'd become familiar with the way people lived in this nation. I was so disappointed when I woke up and discovered it wasn't real.

After the initial longing-to-be-back-in-the-dream phase, I realized that this dream had touched me in a very real way. Despite having lived in America my whole life, I don't really know what the U.S. is really like. I live in New England, in a very liberal bubble which isn't representative of the rest of the U.S. (or even the rest of my state) lives.

I've barely been outside of New England - when my family travels, we go to England. That is where my grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins all live and if we can afford to travel, then we go see them. Even when we went to France we stayed with my aunt. I have been to New Mexico and North Carolina once, but those were for academic programs in contained, isolated campuses and I didn't get to really explore the area.

This dream made me realize just how much I don't know about this country. How is life different in California, in Texas, in the deep south? The food, the culture, the politics - I want to experience it, all of the quirky differences that make them unique. I need to know what living in the U.S. is like, above and beyond the tiny little community that I live in (ok, I live in a big city, but that city has a very strong community identity). As each day passes, I feel the desire to live out this dream strengthen and I know that I need to do it.

The question is, how? Road trip? Pay a small fortune to plane-hop my way around America? Stay in hotels or try and stay with host families in order to get a better sense of how the average person lives? How can I possibly hope to fund this trip?

Uh-oh....

I look young for my age. Everyone says so. When I was 18, I was still passing for 12 (my parents (who love to pinch pennies) were delighted, and made sure that they always got the 12-and-under discount for me, even in my first year of college).When I was 21, I was mistaken for a 14-year-old. Even last month, someone told me that I didn't look a day over 18, despite being 23. I suppose that in about 10 years time, I'll find it very flattering :-)

It doesn't help that I'm very short (5ft2) and have a high-pitched voice. When telemarketers call the house, they always ask "Hi sweetie, is your mommy there?" Yep, that's right, they think I'm young enough to call my mom "Mommy."

I think that's all about to change. In the past couple of months, whenever people call the house and I pick up the phone they think they're talking to my mother. Not just telemarketers, but family friends and my mom's coworkers, people she talks to every single day. And every time I let them know that it's just me, not my mom, they say "Oh, really? You sound just like your mother." Let me repeat that: you sound just like your mother.

I caught myself hollering at a group of teens the other day asking them for the billionth time to please set the table so that I could serve dinner. And then I mentally rolled my eyes and said a prayer for patience.

Is this it? Am I going to turn into my mother?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi!

I know I haven't posted in forever...sorry about that. I feel as if I haven't done much, though that's really not true. Here's a quick recap:

Went to the North End with a friend and at a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Italian food - fresh, homemade pasta with green beans and a homemade pesto sauce. Oh, and a delicious appetizer of fried zucchini blossoms with ricotta and prosciutto. While there, we took the time to check out a bookbinding program (I had considered going there, but decided to go to grad school for book conservation in England instead).

I also went to the Harry Potter Exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science (twice - the second time was accidental). The first time I went with an out-of-town friend and I was dragging my heels because I thought it would be overcrowded and cheesy. Much to my surprise, I LOVED it and was fascinated to see all the details of the costumes and wands in close detail, as well as the props and sets from the movie. My only quibble was that it wasn't even slightly science related and was obviously a ploy to get more museum-goers through the doors during a recession. If you're going to see the exhibit, definitely go on a weekday as I did so that there are no people there and you can stay as long as you want. Also? Be sure to check out Umbridge's Ministry of Magic decrees! The last line of the text simply goes "Blah Blah Blabl Ahlblah..." Very funny :-)

Had a 4-hour-long job interview which I hope will lead to a job for me because it is:
a. perfect
b. I am running out of $$
c. at a Very Important Institution That I Cannot Name Yet But Will Look Excellent On My Resume

I can't think of anything else right now. I think I'm going to go to the gym this afternoon, then maybe to a friends house.

Christmas Recap

Yeah, yeah, I know. Christmas is so 2009. But what can I say? This December was busy (but amazingly fun). And so, without further ado, here are some photos of Christmas. We celebrate in the same way every year. Wake up and eat a late breakfast: ham, eggs, sourdough toast, English mustard (which we always make fresh that morning), and tea.

My dad's English, so the recurring theme of Christmas is always tea, and lots of it. Also, a few English Christmas traditions thrown in - the only thing missing this year were Christmas cake and Christmas pudding, both of which you have to make at least 3 months in advance and ply with brandy periodically in order to preserve it. We didn't make ours in time, so alas no flaming plum pudding (you actually set it alight by pouring flaming brandy on it).

After breakfast, we do the dishes, then clear all the old bread out of the freezer. We go for a long walk along the river, and on the way back we take our sacks of bread and feed them to the geese.
Cheeky little bugger, isn't he? Every time he felt like he wasn't getting enough bread, he'd waddle around behind me and nip the back of my knees.
We then go home and drink more tea. It's about 1-2pm at this point, so we start Christmas dinner preparations. This year, I made duck (with an awesome garlic butter sauce), leek risotto, roasted carrots, onions, and turnips, and brussels sprouts with roasted chestnuts. The candlesticks (pictured below) have been in the family since 1820!

The festive tubes to the right of the plates are Christmas crackers, an English tradition. Two people pull on either end of the tube and the cracker lets out a huge crack (there's a small amount of gunpowder in them - it's totally safe but you can definitely smell it when it goes pop) and splits apart. Inside are a paper party hat (pictured below), a paper with a joke, riddle, and fun fact, and a toy/trinket (the quality of which depends upon how much you spend on the Christmas cracker itself).
Finally, after a day's work of cooking, eating and walking, we get around to the presents. This year, we started around 6pm (but one year we started at 9pm!), a time that surprises most Americans. "Wait," they say, "How on earth did you manage to get your kids to wait the whole day to open presents when they could see them under the tree?"Simple, really. My sister and I were raised so that presents always happened after breakfast, after the walk, and after dinner. Sure, I can remember one or two Christmases where it was agony to wait, but I really treasure this tradition in our family. Instead of the 5 minute tear 'n shred present-fest that occurs on 6am on Christmas morning in most households, we have a whole day's worth of fun beforehand, then take turns to open presents, one at a time. The process of opening presents takes a while because we usually ooh and ah over each gift as it is unwrapped. We get to savor the moment of giving and see the other person's face light up over a homemade gift. Christmas occupies a whole day rather than being over in a flurry of early morning unwrapping.

Our Christmas celebration is very family oriented - we spend the day with each other - talking, cooking, laughing. There's a TV (and now internet/computer) ban on December 25th so that there aren't a whole lot of distractions from face-to-face family time. We sing Christmas carols together and call our relatives in England and France. It's a truly wonderful way to spend the day and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Pictures of my costume!

With my stage family

In the green room wearing my full costume

I've mentioned a couple of times that I'm in a Christmas show, but I haven't had a chance to post pictures of my costume yet. Well, here it is! Despite the petticoat, long dress, apron, bonnet, and kerchief it is amazingly comfortable - even more comfortable than jeans. I also love the way it looks - for some reason, that dress shape is very flattering to my figure :-) Too bad prairie dresses aren't in fashion right now!

We just finished our 6th show - 11 more to go! I'm having so much fun singing shape note and Appalachian music and the people in the cast are fabulous. It's past midnight now, so I'll wrap it up and try to write more later.

Birthday Girl

Now that it's past midnight, I can officially say it - it's my birthday! I'm 23 years old today :-) I just got in from my birthday party. I have such truly amazing friends and I couldn't imagine a better way to ring in my birthday than with them!

How to waste a day at the DMV

Whenever I've heard anyone mention the DMV, it's accompanied by an eye-roll, a groan, or a snort of derisive laughter. Having only been in there a couple of times (and not since 2005, when I got my license), I wasn't quite yet at the point where I hated the experience. Sure, I knew it could be a hassle, but could it really be as bad as everyone said it was?

After today, I can indeed confirm that the DMV lives up to all the hype.

I had to go renew my license (which expires on Saturday), so I went over hoping to make it a quick trip and thinking that I'd spend the remaining 2 hours between engagements shopping for a new sweater.

When I arrived at the office, however, I was greeted by a packed room and a line snaking waaaaaay out into the mall. Quick? Not likely! Before I could even wait in the long line inside the DMV office, I first had to queue up in an even longer pre-line to even be given a number to be seen! After waiting forever in the pre-line, I finally reached the front only to be told that the licensing system had just crashed across the entire state of Massachusetts.

What?!?!? I asked if they knew when it would be back up. No. Would it be up and running by the end of today? No...maybe...they didn't know. Try back in an hour.

Ok, fine. I went over to Target to shop. After an hour, I came back to the DMV. I waited in the pre-line again and finally got to the front. Was the system back up yet? Yes. Success!!!! They issued me a number and told me to wait (again).

When I glanced down at my ticket, it was at least 15 people out (and there were only 2 stations and you know how long it takes to serve people at the DMV). And yet, clear as day, the estimated wait time on my ticket was listed as 4 minutes. I know now that this number was a fabricated work of fiction belonging to the world of fairies, unicorns, and make believe.

A good 40 minutes later, I finally got to the front of the line. You know how they always demand 12 different forms of ID to prove this, that, and the other about yourself? I came supplied with a bagful of stuff including, but not limited to: driver's license, passport, U.K. passport, birth certificate, 2 separate bills, credit cards, etc. Do you know how many of these they looked at? 0, zip, nada, zilch. Of course, had I brought only my driver's license, they would have needed everything else :-)

Oh, and when I finally got everything sorted out, the woman asked me how to spell my street address. I looked at her oddly as I spelled it - wasn't it on the form/in the system from my previous card? I checked out my old license to be sure. In 4.5 years of owning it, I'd somehow missed the fact that they spelled my street incorrectly. OOPS! At least it's correct now :-)

And that, my friends, is the story of how the RMV stole took my 50 dollars and exchanged it for a piece of plastic worth 5 cents.