Lawrenzzz's Xanga

Consolidation

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:08:39 GMT

For the longest time I have had 3 different blogs going.. and that meant basically that I had no blogs going. There is something to be said for streamlining your life.. as a blogger, and otherwise.

So unfortunately, Xanga, you've been downsized. You are the weakest link. Goodbye.

The GOOD NEWS is that I am blogging frequently now that I only have one blog. And thanks to my brother Zane's artwork I have a spiffy new letterhead.

PLEASE STOP BYE AND SAY HELLO

Greek Grannies

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:05:30 GMT

This is what all the old women in Greece look like.

One Cretian Urn...

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:27:53 GMT

I have already described to you the amazing Samaria Gorge. Now I have to tell you about the rest of my time in Crete. Unfortunately I am already 2 islands behind, but I don't want to shortchange Crete, especially since it was extremely surprising. First- look at C's parents' home: Tucked away just outside of a little town called Afrata.

The first great surprise that Crete has to offer are some incredible beaches. Some of the "beaches" that we have seen so far on the trip are not the kind of beaches I am used to enjoying. For instance, some of them are not sandy beaches, but with stones of various sizes instead. The stony beaches are interesting in their own right, but then there is nothing like a fierce good old fashioned huge sandy beach. The 2 nicest beaches of the latter kind that we visited are called Marathi and Falassarna. When Constantine was little his parents always took him to Marathi. There is a big peninsula just across from where the beach is located, and there are small sailing and fishing boats scattered in the harbor. It was a really fun beach, but Falassarna took the cake among Cretan beaches. Expansive and gorgeous, we had such a fun day swimming and playing in the crystal clear water and frolicking in the sand.

After a day of sightseeing, Constantine and I drove out to this remote Monastery where Constantine went as a child. It is a unassuming church at the top of a hill, and there is a great hike down into (another!) gorge, but a much smaller one. The hike was SO fun. Along the way we started playing with the color highlight feature on C's AMAZING camera. These were some of my favorites of me.

We also spent some significant time in Hania, which boasts a very charming old port with lots of shops, restaurants and quaint little streets. One night there were even fireworks to mark the occasion.

But our most oft visited place in all of Crete was a favorite restaurant of Constantine's, Koo Koo Vaya, called incorrectly by me the first night when trying to recall the real name: Koo Koo Roo. This restaurant is owned by a family friend of the Germanacoses, and we went there I think 4 times during the 6 day stay. Or maybe it was just three, but in any case it was really great food, a very happening hotspot, and a spectacular way to see an incredible view of Hania.

More to come!

Crete is Gorge-ous

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:00:20 GMT

One of the main attractions that Crete has to offer (second only to the 3000+ year old Minoan palace of Knossos- which I also went to!) is the Samaria Gorge. It is the longest gorge in Europe. That might not sound that cool, but just wait till you see these photos. The trip through the gorge is a full day event, and quite an experience. The day begins by taking a bus up to the very top of the gorge to the village of Omalos. This is about 1 hour from Hania and 1250 meters above sea level! Once there, and faced with the majestic site of Mt. Ida (where Zeus is said to have been born and kept hidden from his jealous father Kronos) you hike your way down into the gorge, which takes about two hours descending on rocky paths and steps. Along the way, there are curious rock stacks that people have made-- almost like little zen gardens to say "I was here" without etching "I was here" tactlessly into trees or stones. It was really cute. As you see above, I fit in well with the rock stacks. The views on the way down are absolutely breathtaking.

There is never a dull moment while hiking the gorge because of the ever shifting scenery that unfolds before you and arouses your sense of wonderment. Because of reports from Constantine's sometimes pessimistic father that we would never make the trek in under 5 hours (which is perfectly realistic goal to set), we sometime found ourselves wanting to stay ahead of other hikers that we encountered. After identifying some of the other hikers and their nationalities, Constantine exclaimed, "This totally feels like the amazing race, or the Olympics, or both!" We had the American team (us), an Italian team, a pseudo-Rasta Canadian team, a German team, and a late emerging Lithuanian team. That is the "Olympics" version of our race. The "Amazing Race" version was the gay couple (us), the total yuppies (the italians), the stoner hippie Rastas (Canadians), the older under-dog couple (the Germans), and the Euro student travelers (the Lithuanians). VERY FUN. As if the rocks were not enough, we had these games to keep us motivated to push past our slowly forming blisters and keep the pace. In somewhat of an upset, we took the silver medal (or the 2nd place in the amazing race). No matter how you slice it, we are not going to get the big endorsement deals, or the million dollars. Ti na kanoume? (what can we do?)

At the halfway mark, there is a picnic area where everyone stops and rests for the final (and most impressive) section of the gorge. In the picnic area there is also a charming little chapel and an old venetian fort for your edification. After that you go right into the "gorge" part of the walk. That is where I started freaking out. You come out from a thicket of trees and suddenly this enormous gorge appears before you. It was just so majestic walking through these huge towering rock walls which had been eroded by years of wind and water and have the appearance of marble-ized paper. Pointing the way there is also a trickling brook (which I'm sure pales with how it looks in the height of winter) serving as a quiet companion. It is quite impossible to describe how awesome it is. The giant stone hewn walls gradually close in on you until they reach about 3 meters at their narrowest. It was a truly a spiritual experience!

After about 9 miles the nature hike is suddenly over and you find yourself walking through a series of restaurants (Don and I would call this being "Disneyland-ed" aka forced to walk through stores or shops after a ride) on your way to the tiny port town, only accessible by boat. On the way we also passed some sheep and goat herds, a beautiful whitewashed forlorn church, and a seriously dilapidated bridge sitting in a dry river bed that looks like its about 200 years old. Speaking of dry, the last mile of the path is on hot concrete with no tree cover. We passed through the small port village of Ayia Rumeli and stopped briefly to buy our tickets to the ferry boat out of the village, which would leave in just over an hour. By the time we got to the port, we were sweltering. As if by design, just when you are at your hottest, you reach this black pebble beach with inviting cool water from the Libyan sea (!). We ravenously threw on our swim suits and sunk our swollen feet into the heavenly water. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! After such a long and beautiful hike it was something like a catharsis to sit in the water with the tide drifting over us and reflect on all of the beauty of the gorge. We rested from our labors.

Too soon, we saw the flocks of people drifting toward the ferry boat, the one and only way to exit the village. Our deserved beauty rest continued as we slowly moved through calm blue water toward Sfakia, where we could catch a bus back to Hania. The whole day had proceeded without a single hitch in our plans..

Knowing that it might be somewhat crowded finding a seat on the bus back to Hania, and Constantine knowing the demeritorious nature of Greek public transit, we made sure that we were the first people (team?) off the boat. We hurried out of the port past small tavernas and gift shops up some stone steps to the landing where the buses stop. As we reached the top of the stairs we saw a group of probably 200 stringy-haired, exhausted and wary-looking travelers standing in a clump trying to talk to a man who was shouting in Greek. I mean this in the most polite way: it looked like a refugee camp, and we were joining. As our champion Greek speaker, Constantine ascertained that the bus was not here yet. But was there really only going to be one bus back to Hania? How in the world is this going to work? Who is going to get on this bus?! The refugees seemed restless as the Greek shouter walked away. It was still sunny and everyone was seeking shade and trying to keep their bags and knapsacks in organized piles. Suddenly a bus rounded the corner. Like a starving pack of vultures everyone lunged toward the bus. Constantine and I held back, noticing that the bus did not say Hania. The bus, seeming unaware that it was the subject of so much fervor, simply made its way past the throng and then merrily reversed into what seemed to be its normal parking place. Then another bus came, and confusion increased as some of the first vultures could not decide which carcass looked meatier. This bus also pulled forward past everyone, then reversed into position parallel to the first. More mayhem. Among all the chaos of the two arriving buses, a third bus quietly appeared. Constantine saw that it said Hania, and then I noticed it as well. My eyes got big, and just as I was ready to lunge for positioning Constantine said, "Don't look at it! Everyone will know!!" Assuming (correctly) that the third bus would follow suite, we waited patiently exactly where we predicted the 3rd bus's door would end up-- we were EXACTLY in the right spot, and the 3rd bus was indeed the bus to Hania. As the bus pulled into position, we felt like we had outsmarted all the other refugees. Gratified, we showed our pre-purchased tickets and with a prideful sigh we boarded that vessel or victory.

Maybe we had taken the silver in the actual event finals, but we felt like nothing less than gold medal winners as we settled into the spacious front seats of the large air-conditioned bus which took us on what seemed to be our glorious and exultant road back to Hania.

Museum part 2

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:41:04 GMT

Yes, I am doing part 2 first. Now that we got that out of the way.. our second day of museum trekking took us to the most famous of Athenian museums: the Athens Archaeological Museum. This is me in front of it! Inside are some pretty famous pieces, although honestly the rest of the world has some of the more famous works of art from the Ancient Greek world. The Louvre in Paris has probably the most famous one, the Venus de Milo. But of course there is also the infamous Elgin Marbles, which are currently at the British Museum in London. The Met Museum of art in NYC also has a HUGE collection of Greek sculpture and many Roman copies as well. Just so you can see some of the art that the Athens museum has to offer, I am going to offer you my favorites smattered along the way here. One of the more interesting things at the beginning of museum is the collection of the Kouros, which is the depiction of the ancient Greek ideal male. There is also the Kure, which is ideal female (basically Beyonce's body). I mean.. as you can see I am pretty close on this one. I wanted to strip and really see how I measured up, but I was told that would be "inappropriate". For anyone who knows about Egyptian art, this might look very similar to some Egyptian statues from around the same period. However, as you can see from what is inside museums all over the world, the Greeks took things a lot farther than the Egyptians ever did. The Greek sculptors quite quickly developed more imaginative and created much more unique, specific, and realistic works. There were quite a few other neat sculptures, and we spent the majority of our time walking through and examining them. And as usual I clowned around a bit.

After we walked through the neolithic section, as well as the Cycladic art, we visited the Egyptian collection. It was pretty good, although not as large as the Met's collection in NYC. And of course I saw a lot more, um, in Egypt. Anyway, on our way out of Egyptian, we witnessed this tourist posing next to a mummy case, and just as her friend was about to snap the picture, the room attendant stopped her and said something in Greek and motioned to the way her arms were crossed, as if to tell her to uncross them. After the young lady apologized, I asked Constantine to ask her why she had stopped them from taking the picture, just out of curiosity. The woman explained that the mummy was a statement in itself, and that the young woman didn't need to comment on it by mimicking its pose, and that it was disrespectful to the art to do so. The woman explained that the mummy alone was worth photographing. I was perplexed. So this wasn't a museum rule, I thought, just a preference of that woman in that particular room. After all as you can see I imitated the Kouros just downstairs and nobody stopped me. I voiced my objection and Maria said, well, it's that woman's room to watch over and she has the right to do what she wants in her room. I then thought to myself.. oh really? So if I am the room moderator of a room can I send away people wearing blue because it reflects onto the statues and disrespects the color the artist chose for the originals? Or can I tell people they are not allowed to speak in front of the art as any talking disrespects it? We got in quite a discussion about it and Constantine pointed out that maybe this young woman was merely trying to make a connection to the art, and after all one should be grateful that a young person wants to come to a museum to see where she came from, and how the people from a different time have chosen to be remembered. Maybe she SHOULD be mimicking the art, in fact, as a way of understanding herself better. I still thought it was kind of lame that this woman would try to make up some random rules according to her own criteria, and not the museums. It annoyed me. So I started breaking things. Expensive things.. no I'm kidding, but Constantine and I did become sort of delirious at that point and started making fun of everything.

We had seen nearly everything the museum had to offer, but we had not seen any of the pottery on the second floor yet, and it had already been over 3 hours. The pottery collection is absolutely huge, from the older geometric pottery, to black figure pottery and then finally to red figure, so we knew we had to go up and at least walk through. When we got upstairs, we started entertaining ourselves in ways which we thought were pretty funny, although Albertina and Maria didn't quite feel the same about it. OK so I'm sure you know how we always say, "yes queen" to someone who is living their life to the fullest, or wearing a really extravagant outfit, or freaking out in public over something. Well, sometimes you can say yes_______ if you want to.. for instance Karen was watching TV and this woman was drinking Vodka and living for it so Karen said, out loud (even though she was alone) "Yes Vodka!". Or, when Karen and I were watching the Olympics we kept seeing that Claritin commercial with Shannon Miller, the former Olympic gymnast. It was clear that she had had a very significant rhinoplasty since her younger years, so every time we saw her commercial we just shouted out.. "Yes nose job!" I think you get the drift. So Constantine started looking at all the vases that had really long and complicated names and saying things like, "Yes Attica red figure Bell-krater depicting the return of Persephone to her mother, the goddess Demeter.. get it! You are fierce! Live!" It was so funny and became even funnier the longer the titles became. We were laughing really hard. And then Constantine became even more hilarious because he was looking at the pots and saying things like, "Well, this one is OK but its just giving me weird colors and its too busy-- I prefer sleeker and cleaner lines.. like Calvin Klein home decor stuff-- its just a little more streamlined and simple, which I like. I mean what are these people on here giving me? Its like I don't know what I am looking at. I am sure this is just a trend that will go out as quickly as neon colors in the 80s." It was so so so so so funny. At that point we realized it was time for us to go home, and we did.

Food, Glorious.. (passes out and can't finish singing because he's so full)

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 22:14:56 GMT

OK. I might have mentioned this in my first post but I must elaborate. The FOOD!!!! But first of all I have to catch you up on my movements. Today Constantine and I headed back to the airport for our first big change of scenery. We boarded the Aegean Air 7:30 today from Athens to Hania or Chania, Crete. (pronounced more like Hhhania, but the h is like the J sound from spanish like in naranjo-- and the accent of the word is on the final A sound in the name. hhhan-YA basically! are you confused yet?) Constantine was raised bi-coastal if you consider the aegean a coast, which you should since it is! He lived part of the year here in Crete and usually he spent his summers in San Francisco.

This body of water you see here between Greece and Turkey is the Aegean. It is known for its beautiful islands, and Crete is obviously the largest of them all. Hania is on the northwestern edge of Crete.. and if you have ever heard of Crete you might know about Knossos or maybe the Minoan Civilization. (We are going to go to Knossos in about a week on our way to another island you will will see and hear more about it if you keep coming back for more fun!) With that said, I am going to backtrack a bit back to the last few days in Athens because they were fun and very interesting, and I don't have anything to say about Crete yet because I just got here tonight!

So, you might be wondering about the title. If you know me you know that food for me is enjoyable at times, but for the most part I am someone who eats because if I don't I know I will die. Its very utilitarian. If I didn't have to to live, I don't know that I would do much of it. Well, with a little more time here I think that might just change. Lets start with figs. Constantine and Albertina were getting ready to leave the apartment for some outings, and Maria and I were already ready. So Maria decided we should go out into the area below Albertina's second story balcony and pick some ripe figs. I have to admit here that I knew there was something on the tree outside her balcony, but I really didn't know what a ripe fig looked like. Apparently they exist in grocery stores from time to time but I probably just didn't notice because I've never really had a ripe fig. Of course from knowing Constantine I have become more aware of dried figs in salads and in candle scents, as well as this great unisex cologne that Constantine bought for me called Fico (fig in Italian). It smells really nice-- not too fruity, but kind of sweet and spicy (I love it and so do the mosquitos!) So being slightly aware of figs in general, I was mildly excited about trying them straight from a tree. But like some other things so far in this trip, I wasn't ready. Maria walked downstairs, I grabbed the ladder and followed, and before I knew it Maria was pulling figs down from the tree one by one by using a plastic broom to grab branches and reel them in and then drop them into a small bucket that I was holding. I was also carefully steadying the ladder just making sure that Maria didn't topple down and make fig paste with me as the mixing bowl. Before long Maria declared we had a sufficient amount, and then as we walked through the door, "Clark was the best help with the figs I have ever had, and I am totally astonished at his dazzling good looks and inhuman brilliance." (Ok I added the last part, but she did say I was the best fig helper EVER which is pretty huge) Now I don't want to draw this out any more that I have to so I will just mention in passing that by this time Constantine was out of the shower and ready to go, and there just in time to teach me how to peel the fig properly. There was some pretty thumb and dull knife choreography that I had to learn, but eventually I got it right, and soon I was biting into my first fresh fig of my 30 year life. It was so sweet, but so satisfying. It was a an exotic, distinctive flavor that I can compare to little else. No wonder they use this in so many salads and other recipes in this area. It was wonderful! I totally ate too many and then this morning before we left Athens I ate several more. (AND they have figs trees here in the yard too I am told, so this is not the end of my salacious relationship with the daring fico. Bring it on.

Since this is already really long, I am going to save our museum visits in Athens for another post, and I will just continue to focus on my food experiences.. and I'll share just one more for the moment. Last night was the meal to end all meals. It probably could have been the last supper because I almost died. This was a big family dinner out at a great restaurant in Athens that the Germanacos family frequents on special occasions. Since I got here, I have eaten out several times but I haven't ordered anything, and that isn't because the menus have been only in Greek. Most of the restaurants in Athens that we have gone to have had at least basic English descriptions. The reason I have not ordered is because compared to the Germanacos family I don't know sh*t about food. So last night I met Constantine's half-brother Christos (that's quite a name to live up to, eh?), and his wife Jill along with one of Albertina's good friends. Constantine's cousin Lora also joined us for the event. Albertina ordered basically everything on the menu, and pretty soon the food started coming in like the tide.. nonstop. For the first 20 minutes all I remember is that I was talking a lot, taking bites of everything I could reach, and trying as diligently as I could to help make room on the table for all the plates that just kept coming. I had this amazing dried fig (OMG again!!!!) and pomegranite salad, this lamb with puree of eggplant, mashed chickpeas called Hava, some random french fries, some meatballs, about 3 other salads and several other dishes that I can't even remember anymore. After about an hour of this, and literally an hour of eating a bite of this and a bit of that, the waiter came and dropped this giant platter the size of a human torso full of grilled meat. I literally started laughing. I was certainly full, and I know for a fact that almost everyone else was too. We all looked like we were going to pass out. AND NOW THIS??! I felt like claiming to be a vegetarian just to be able to forego this carnivorous extravaganza, but then I just pictured the whole bustling restaurant coming to a complete halt as someone yells full voice at me, "WHAT DO YA MEAN YA DON'T EAT NO MEAT?!? IT'S OK-- I make you lamb." So I just kept eating, but at this point I was pretty much done. Then the desserts came. There were so many of them! It was like the Hitchcock movie "The Birds". The desserts were swooping in from everywhere. At this point there was a flurry of spoons and then there was no more dessert. And that was the evening. I was again, wide eyed and amazed at the way everyone ate, but I think I was more surprised at the way I ate. I ate differently. I ate more, yes, but that is not all. I ate and I really enjoyed it. Should I eat like that every day, probably not. Should I have eaten like that on my dream vacation to Greece? Heck ya I should!

Well, the bugs have found me. I have the window open to get some cool Crete air, and I think the bugs have finally realized that my illuminated computer screen can be a lot of fun for them too.. however they are making it significantly less fun for me. And with that I bid you, and the bugs, kali nihhhta (there is that pesky sound again.. can you do it?)

Welcome to Greece..

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:47:59 GMT

Well, I am back with a passion. I realized that the last time I really and truly used this blog was while Donn and I were doing our fantabulous "Rainbow Tour" of Europe (basically our symbolic 3rd national Yugoslavian tour of the non-equity production of Evita with no money and poor billing, but with the best leads you can imagine-- Donn was clearly Eva but I was the mistress with is still pretty good..) so I thought I would come back to the familiar xanga sky and make my mark once again.

OK. I have 2 words for you, "jet lag". Its pretty serious. But I'm getting ahead of myself. My travel day started at LaGuardia Airport about 8:30 am on Wednesday. Because I had a credit on US Airways from the last time Constantinos and I were planning to go to Greece, I had to fly down to Philly, the US hub for said airline, and wait until 4:30 pm to depart for Athens. I thought the flight might seem a little long since the last time I traveled this far was 3 years ago when my mom and I went to China, but the flight was a breeze. I sat down in my chair hoping to have an empty seat next to me, only to realize that no only would that one be empty but several others near me would go unfilled as well. I guess the strong Euro has the Americanis down and out. Not me! However, in spite of the ample legroom, I didn't get much sleep on the flight, which arrived in Athens at 9:30 am, which is 2:30am in New York. I spent nearly the whole flight reading, which was a lot of fun, but arrived very tired. Constantine arrived about ah hour later and so I just waited at baggage claim for his flight to land, and then, armed with our new Patagonia suitcases, we walked out into the street to meet Constantine's half sister, Albertina, who joyously picked us up. She was so happy to see Constantine, and I heard the words agapimoo and pedimoo (my love, my child). It was so fun to meet her, and her enthusiasm was very contagious. I felt instantly charmed as we drove into Athens. The city is a sprawling white organism which stretches out into the distance in all directions against the rugged mountain background. Greeted once again by a different alphabet on all the signs and walls, I was transported back to my first day in Russia, cruising around Moscow on a tour bus with 40 fellow North Americans trying to read the signs. And that is all I am doing.. trying to read like a 5 year old. I think it's charming but no one else really does. Though when I say a word correctly everyone nods in approval. Greek is interesting in its spelling. Like in English, certain letter combinations change the way certain vowels and consonants are pronounced, and also like English, there are lots of irregulars and exceptions. In spite of that, I plunge bravely forward with the basest of Greek speech.

The first thing I said to Albertina's daughter Christina in Greek probably sounded like this to her, "and what do think you Father place." I was trying to say what do you usually do when you are at your father's house. Everyone looked quizzically toward me and then Albertina just said in English, "What do you need sweetie?" I should have said I need to speak this language without making any effort at all. Or maybe just a tiny smidge of effort. This is the first time I have visited a country where the language is not English and been wholly unprepared for it. Normally I study like crazy and become quite proficient before ever setting foot in the country. Albertina and her daughter live with Maria, who at first meeting is just a very nice normal Greek young woman. Later that evening, I saw just how "normal" she is.. but again, I'm getting ahead of myself. I have absolutely no right to speak any Greek, but in spite of that I am doing quite well so far for a beginner, and I have nothing but Greek words running through my head most of the day. I have even encouraged everyone to go ahead and speak Greek in front of me. Even if I don't know what the heck is going on, I look really cute listening and pretending to understand and trying to hear the occasional familiar word. And that's what really counts, at least that's what I am going to keep telling myself.

After resting profusely for the majority of the afternoon we made our way out into downtown Athens just below the acropolis. OK. Let me just say that seeing the acropolis for the first time completely shocked me. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.. while strolling down a quaint narrow street, Albertina and Maria said very off the cuff, "and there is the acropolis," at which point I looked up from this cute street scene to see this gorgeously lit hill up above rife with standing columns and rugged rocks. I tried so hard with my shizzy camera to capture the moment, quickly realizing that no camera could do this view justice. Then Constantine took a picture with his better camera and suddenly it looked a lot more in a photo like it should. Then I started bothering him a lot to take pictures with his camera. Plus my "quirky" camera is using 5 year old rechargeable batteries that basically let you take one picture and then die. Its a good way to not get self-conscious though, because you can't really look at them after you take them.

After strolling around and walking through several open market streets, which were still bustling with tourists well into the night, we settled down at a cute little restaurant at a table that was outside on the street. We ate like kings, which I think is going to be one of the more recurrent themes of this trip. We were joined at dinner by a tiny emaciated cat who sat by our table hoping for scraps. He was so cute that he got fed like a king as well. (looks always helps don't let anyone tell you differently) He was eating the bread scraps that were tossed so lovingly into his vicinity, which surprised me, but then he seemed to think the bread was too hard so like any good Greeks would, Albertina and Maria dipped the bread in olive oil and gave it to him, which like any good Greek cat would, he voraciously devoured. An aside about olive oil: Albertina literally has a gallon jug of olive oil, and she's not afraid to use it. Watching her do a sensible pour onto our salad today provided me with one of my more droll moments of the day. I mentioned how fun it was to me that she had a gallon sized can of the sacred stuff, and then she said, "Sweetie-- look under the sink!" I opened the cupboard and there saw the holy grail of cooking lubricants: a looming 10 gallon canister just waiting to be blissfully enjoyed over many a wonderful meal. Amazing. Anyway, back to our feline friend. After that he sprawled out looking so satisfied with the love dipped morsels he had eaten that he might as well have lit a cigarette. In spite of this apparent distention, we still pitied his nicole richie'esque size such that while the waiters' backs were turned we cut up all the sausage that we could not finish and just dumped t onto the ground for him to finish at his leisure. He started immediately. I hope he didn't try to eat it all at once.. he might be dead now if he did. He was full but still eating, just like someone who knows how to enjoy life to the fullest.

Speaking of good Greeks and all that is stereotypically expected of them, olive oil is not the only expectation that has proven true. While we were looking for a parking space in the Plaka area earlier that evening, a large van suddenly stopped in front of us and put itself conveniently into reverse aimed apparently at a parking space that it had already passed by two car-lengths. Since we were following closely, we were also forced to stop. Not seeming to care much that he had stopped traffic on this narrow but quite busy 2 way street, the driver of the van continued to reverse slowly, but then realizing that he might not be able to convince the 4+ cars who had been forced to stop behind him that his cause was worthy, he just parked himself and proceeded to evacuate his van of all its passengers. By this point, approximately 30 seconds into this series of events both Albertina and Maria seemed quite annoyed, but no more than anyone else would be in the situation. This is where Maria acted exactly as someone straight out of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" would be expected to act. In other words, she took it to the next level in a big fat Greek way. When she started rolling down the window in a flurry of fricatives of the Greek persuasion directed at the innocents who had exited the vehicle, I was surprised but not overwhelmingly so. But then, wide-eyed, I watched the situation escalate even more as she opened the door and got out of the car and continued the stream of her inspired and passionate soliloquy, complete with all of the hand gesturing you could want. It was amazing. From my perspective, it had really come from nowhere. I mean, yes, this guy had stopped in a very abrupt manner without seeming to consider the consequences, but how did Maria end up outside of the car yelling at those people within 45 seconds of stopping the car? What was even more fascinating to behold was that between rolling down of the window and actually getting out of the car, one of the women who had left the bus seemed mysteriously to know where this was going and made a conciliatory arm gesture toward Maria that seemed to say, "you don't need to get out of the car and yell at us, we know the driver is being inconsiderate." Its hard to describe how this gesture said so much, but it somehow did. Needless to say the gesture was lost on Maria, who of course DID get out of the car and spoke her piece. Eventually we saw that oncoming traffic was broken for a moment, so Maria, still miffed, got back in and we went around the offending van. Olive oil was true, even for the Greek cats, and apparently this was true too.

I think I'm in for a big fat Greek adventure. (sorry, couldn't help myself) Still jet lagged, I am excited and primed for culture and fun. Stay tuned!

I just remembered I have this blog

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 04:48:14 GMT

Its so strange. I just read so much sh*t I forgot all about. I have to say impartially that I am very witty. I find myself to be witty. Am I still? I'm not sure. I'll just keep streaming my consciousness and find out. I mean, the stream says "give" so you better just "give oh give" or else it will "hurry down the hill" without you. "Air quotes rock" "yeah totally" Anyway, no one is going to read this but I want to start writing here again just for the sake of keeping a journal. I just hate the fact that whole chapters of my life are unrecorded. The rest is still unwritten.

I have been back in NY from doing "the Mia" in Vegas. I was there pretty much all of 2007. It was AWESOME. I had a rad one bedroom and some pretty serious wheels. (Ford Escort-- can someone please back me up-- this car is PIMP!) I shared the car with this girl named Tracy.. I loved her and we had a ball. We joined the show about the same time and we left the exact same day: december 16, 2007. I loved Mamma Mia! and I loved Vegas. I would hit that shiz up again any day.

After I quit that job I went home and was there for my AMAZING niece to be born.. december 26, 2007 madeline kate eller se dio a luz. What a huge blessing in such a small package. From what I hear the blessing is breastfeeding really well now and so the package is growing in increments. This is a good thing. My sister Jocelyn is the proud mother and I think she is just ecstatic about this addition to the Johnsen clan. Zane has apparently really taken to baby maddie.. which is probably the cutest thing ever. I love seeing Zane hold that baby.

So I'm back in the gran manzana. Its pretty schweet. I have been auditioning lots.. in fact I have a final callback tomorrow for the Chorus Line tour. I honestly should be in bed "but it's so hard.. babysittin' these guys" but I am kind of excited. I hope it goes well. I am not necessarily ichin' to leave the city again, but for that money I would really want to do the show. Plus its kind of a great chance to do an iconic show in musical theater. Now that I have done West Side Story (Tuts in Houston Winter 2006), Chorus Line is pretty much the final frontier for a dancer. So we will see what happens. If I get this, it will mean that I leave for 6-9 months, but it will also mean that my chance to buy an apartment is 100% secure. That is a huge goal of mine and I would be SO GRATEFUL to have it come to pass. It came to pass that I totally want to dwell in a tent. 'Nuff said biotch.

Today is Valentine's day YO! Constantine and I met up around 7:30 tonight and then caught a WONDERFUL film called "Caramel". It was like the Lebanese version of Steel Magnolias. It was really really great.. so simple yet so moving. This arabic looking girl was next to us in the theater at lincoln plaza, and she was totally crying throughout the movie. She was GTI but hey those are her girls up there. I loved being next to her and Constantine-- 2 people who were really appreciating this movie. Since I'm still a little sick we decided to end the night there.. I just came home and didn't make a night of it with the ring-a-ding kid. But there's always the weekend. The rest is still unwritten.

So that about catches us up.. NOT. Its so not even an approximation but it will have to do. The rest is still.. oh well, you know.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 17:24:51 GMT

AN UPDATE!! This is so fun. OMG (gosh). Hey guys-- it's clarkster. I am back online. Things have been great here. I never thought that my life could be so stress free-- especially considering I don't have a job and I don't really have anything huge coming down the tubes so far. I guess it just goes to show that contentedness is a state of being and has relatively nothing to do with your circumstances!

I am back in New York City auditioning lots for shows and commercials. I get calls all the time from my commercial agency especially about last minute casting opportunities. Today for instance they called me at about noon and wondered if I was free to go to an audition at 2:15. So-- I think that there is something to be said about being around.. being available and willing to go on a moment's notice. I did a photo shoot under those same circumstances. I am not even EVER submitted in the agency's print dept.. but I randomly got this call and the girl was like-- Hi, I'm in the print dept. and we got your name from so and so in the on camera dept. and we wondered if you are available to do this editorial for a magazine next monday. I was like.. yeah, sure. She was all-- ok, what kind of dance do you do? Then I told her a bit about my background etc. and she said-- ok.. let me call you back. 5 minutes later she called back told me that they wanted to go ahead and book me, and gave me all the info. I didn't have to do ANYTHING but be available. So that is pretty cool. At first I was having a hard time adjusting to collecting money from New York State and just doing what I do. But I'm feeling fine now so I guess I adjusted. It is so nice to be available for auditions and jobs and not have to worry about having someone cover this or that shift at the last minute. Wow I am really lucky.

In other news, I have been dating a TON. I said I would be willing to date anyone that I found interesting regardless of gender-- but that usually turns into me just dating boys because I rarely find anything that motivates me personally to persue a girl romantically. And I am OK with that because I really don't have a choice in the matter. I've tried pushing my (pu shing) myself before and it never gets me interested-- on the contrary I usually resent everyone I meet for a while before I finally quit trying to do something that it's not in me to do in that moment. So.. I had a couple of guys that I liked quite a bit-- really just 2, and I liked one of them more than the other. So, I have been seeing him-- his name is Constantine -- nearly every day for about a week and a half. It has been really great for me. I feel like I am very relaxed and comfortable in my own skin, and I feel like it is very positive for me in every way. We are taking things really slow, and trying to not get ahead of ourselves, but I like him a lot. We laugh all the time and it feels really good to be around him. We sort of have this little routine-- he lives on 68th and Broadway-- right by lincoln center and the church-- above a Food Emporium grocery store. So we usually meet at his place, walk over and pick out what we want for dinner and then go back up to his apt. and watch stuff his DVR recorded while we eat our microwave dinners. It's fun. We have gone to see a couple of movies and we have also hung out with some of his friends as well as some of mine. Don was in town last weekend and we met Constantine for a late dinner in midtown. Don really liked him as well-- and said what he always says when he likes someone for me -- Clark, you better marry him. I think that's a little fast-- don't you?? Anyway, it's been good. I realized that since I have been back in the city I haven't had a single headache. I don't know if it is just coincidence-- certianly it could be-- but I do feel less pressure to be something that I don't know if I am made to be. And that is a relief. Anyway, I better run to my last minute audition now.. laterz

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Tue, 03 Jan 2006 17:55:02 GMT

Hi everybody. We have a brand new set up in our humble harlem abode.. and I am writing this epistle from a brand new "faux internet cafe" like table that Clay and John Mortensen made yesterday with their bare hands. it is totally mooch to say the least. So we are just now trying to get everything organized. It is actually going quite well. I have to say, I am completely dumbfounded by the total and utter efficiency of my brother clay in just getting up yesterday (his last day off mind you), taking very specific measurements, going and buying materials, and then coming back and promptly creating a custom desk for our instant installment and use. Suddenly there were three computers sitting neatly on the new desk, and I instantly sat down and finally beat the germans and conquered the world-- my civ. but that's another story. So today I have just been continuing the process of cleaning and unpacking. Yesterday I cleaned the sh*t our of the bathroom-- reorganized several of our cabinets and vacuumed some more. It is going well.. what we really really need is a dresser though. I have been trying to look online, but w/o a car it is going to be hard to find something in our price range that I don't have to go and get. We will see how it goes down, but by the end of the week I am going to have this room in killer shape if it absolutely kills me.

So, in other news, my trips were all amazing successes. My week in Utah was absolutely wonderful. I stayed with CE (cousin Erik) the entire week, and had such a blast with him. It was like we had lived in the same place all along with no interruptions. He has a great roommate, Ryan, and they live in a private entry basement in Erik's very Danish grandmother's house. It is very functional and inexpensive. It is a comfy little spot that they can call someone else's.. well, maybe their own for however long they want. I went to the Y, saw tons of faculty-- visited the dancers' company rehearsal, went to an MDT proficiency, saw the Forgotten Carols at Provo Theater Company and went to a bunch of dinner parties. I was so enamored with Utah again. It was just so amazing to see the way people live.. the space the comfort and the ease with which they seem to be able to do everything. I of course was driving a great rental car all over Salzburg and having a wonderful time. I saw my friend Mike who is in law school at the U, and that was way fun as well. Really it was with a great deal of reluctance that I departed and headed for my next destination.. Akron, Oh.

Ok, I know what you are thinking-- all this glamor in one month is not fair. I know Akron is a top spot on the travel list of anyone who is anyone, but don't by jealous. Perhaps you will come upon another mr. collins. (pride and prejudice) Timmy is in the 2nd year of his OB/GYN residency at the Summa something or other hospital in Akron. He works insane hours, as do most residents, and is on call like every 3 or 4 days. It is crazy. How he even has the energy to comb his hair is beyond me. I guess you can get used to anything.. even torture if needs be. A man will confess to anything, under torture. (that's from elizabeth) His two boys are growing at a rapid pace-- they are adorable and satanic all at the same time. I really just rolled up my sleeves and dove in to helping Gwen with anything I could. Shopping, cleaning, naps, diapers you name it. I had a great time doing it, but had a lot of up and down emotions during the process. At moments I was like, dang-- I'm really glad that I am going to Houston in a few days so I can SLEEP. And I didn't even have to wake up in the middle of the night to put one of the boys back to bed. They had me in the boys room and moved the boys into their bedroom, where they slept restlessly the whole duration of my stay. Finally the last day-- Gwen had gotten so little sleep that I volunteered to take Isaac, the nearly 2 year old in my room with me, because he was the one waking up and if he was up all night oh well I was going to Texas the next day and could sleep on the plane. Well, as fate would have it he didn't wake up once all night and everyone got to sleep. Anyway, the interesting moments I had with the boys came in moments when I least expected it. I would be sitting there reading a book to Caleb, who is 3, and suddenly for no apparent reason I would become overcome with emotion. A combination of having such a young and bright little person sitting on my lap and reading these sweet childrens stories just nailed me in a way I am not even sure I totally comprehend. But it happened a few times reading to caleb, and one night when I was putting Isaac to sleep I was singing him Christmas songs and for some reason I was literally SOBBING out little drummer boy. I don't know what it was about having that baby in my arms so innocent and lovely and singing "I have no gift to bring that's fit to give a king-- I sang my best for him etc. well you know the words. Wow. I was just overcome with emotion. It reminded me of when my dad would read to us that book about "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always.." He would always cry and we didn't know why. Well I still don't know why, but I was crying too.

So then off to Texas I went. The weather was some of the best weather I think I can ever remember. Every day was just a gem of a day. I played tennis, football, ultimate, and numerous other outdoor sports including one so fun nightime sport called blind man's bluff. I haven't been part of such a great group activity for a long while. I LOVED it. The whole fortnight was just absolutely everything I needed and more. Christmas was great-- everyone came home and we did all of our fun Johnsen traditions. We made a movie or 2, and I spent a lot of time with my mom. It was a great time.

So now I am back in the city.. there are some auditions coming up-- I am officially collecting unemployment here we go toward the next set of adventures!!