Best Vacation Ever: China

The prompt today is best or worst vacation ever and I have been racking my brain for a story about the worst vacation ever and strangely enough I don't think it exists. I was privileged enough to have parents who took us on road trips and vacations all over the country. We visited numerous state and national parks as well as family along the way. However the absolute best trip I have been on has to be China.

6 years ago I was lucky enough to get to visit China with my family. My Uncle received a fullbright scholarship to teach in Xiamen for a year. My parents thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get to visit a country we would have never otherwise travelled to.

We spent a week in Xiamen with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. Followed by 3 days in Xian (where the terra cotta soldiers are located) and lastly Beijing for 4 days. The trip was an incredible two weeks of seeing the iconic sites of china up close and personal as well as eating lots of food. Sometimes I dream about eating all that food again, I didn't have a single bad meal while there.

Instead of rambling on about my experiences I figured I would just post some of my favorite photos from the trip (prepare yourself I am not good at choosing).

Before and After our 2 week adventure

We ate so much yummy food except the sea worms (top right)

Buddhist monk from the temple next to my Aunt and Uncle's took a particular liking to my cousin.

Tea shop, not only were the walls full of tea but a we had a whole tea tasting before our purchase

We visited "The Round Houses" which are old villages in rural areas.

The Terra Cotta soldiers in Xian

Xian is the only city that still has it's complete city wall in tact. You can ride bicycles all the way around the perimeter (1 mile). This photo was taken only about 5 minutes into the ride and my sister already had her feet up... it was a long ride. 

Our overnight train ride in a sleeper car from Xian to Beijing

The Great Wall of China, it was as incredible as you think it would be. 

We went on a Hutong petticab tour in Beijing. Some very strong gentlemen pulled 3 of us in each of their carts.

You can actually buy luck crickets in the marketplace.

And my favorite.... American's aren't the only ones who put their kids on leashes!

My Aunt and Uncle are back in China this year and my little brother is going to be there for school next summer, I would give anything to go and visit all of them, if only I had thousands of dollars laying around.

10 Things I'd Tell Myself When I Started Blogging

I started blogging just over a year ago and it's been a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I feel like I still don't have a good grip on what my blog is about or a good routine to write consistently. Despite all that I have grown a lot as a writer and a blogger in the past year.

So here are the 10 things I wish I could tell myself before I started blogging:

1.  Proofread! Proofread! Proofread! My first few posts were rife with grammar and spelling errors.

2. Always be drinking a glass of wine while blogging. It makes me feel fancier and more like an adult.

3. Don't "forget" to blog. There is no way for me to practice writing if I don't ever write.

4. Make time for writing. Along the same vein, I am finally figuring out that I have to schedule writing time the same way I schedule my work outs.

5. Write all your blogs at 3am. Because I am funnier and have no filter.

6. Be Patient. Don't feel intimidated by all the blogging culture. I am still taking the time to figure out my voice, and it's so hard not to compare myself to established bloggers who have been blogging for years.

7. Take Photos. Blog posts are more interesting to read and more personal if I could just remember to take more pictures of my life.

8. When an idea comes to you write it down. I can't tell you how many blog ideas I had that were lost to the black hole of my mind

9. If you can't drink a glass of wine at least have a cup of tea. It's just cozier.

10. Write for yourself! I sometimes get so caught up in if people are reading my blog, if the like my blog, if the care about what I am writing about, or even if they are annoyed by my Facebook posts about my blog. But then I remember that I started blogging for myself (and so my mom and grandma could keep up with my life) so it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks or if they even read it, because it's for me.

"Better to write for yourself and have no public, 

than to write for the public and have no self" 

-Cyril Connolly

My Fall Bucket List

Oh gosh, I am blogging so late at night!! Today was another crazy day mostly because I slept in and let myself have a lazy morning. But I did work out and went to my Level 4 conservatory show followed by seeing the Musical Improv Conservatory Level 6 show. 

I had a blast today performing with Bad Reunion! We had some weird shit happen on stage, which is pretty par for the course for shows with this group! I am so glad I get to perform with all of them and keep trucking along through this program and growing as an ensemble.

Now for my Fall Bucket List (which will be relatively redundant from this post earlier in the fall, but I will try my best)

• Get a Pumpkin (preferably from a pumpkin patch) and carve it up real nice. 
• Buy a nice good pair of boots to wear with all my peacoats and scarves. 
• Bake fall themed cookies. 
• Throw or attend and Autumnal Party. 
• Come up with a really bomb ass Halloween costume (this almost never happens). 
• Have an even more festive Friendsgiving than last year. 
• Take a really "artsy" photo using the fall foliage
• Drink A LOT of Pumpkin Beer
• Buy a bunch of cute scarves and sweaters to bolster my already large collection.
• Find a really good recipe for alcoholic hot apple cider
• Cuddle up and actually watch Beetlejuice and Hocus Pocus without falling asleep. 

But most of all brace myself for the inevitable cold that is going to rip through the charming, slightly chili fall we are having. 

Favorite Instagram Post

First of all, last night I had an incredible time performing in my first sketch show with a group of incredibly talented individuals who also happen to be my best friends. I am super duper excited to continue working with them as we continue to write sketch show for the coming spring!

My Favorite Instagram Post

It's so hard to choose a favorite instagram post. I feel like most of the pictures that I post on instagram have some significance to me even if it's just a small significance (hence why I post them, I guess). After looking through all my posts for quite a while trying to narrow it down to my favorite I decided on this one:

Working at the Lookingglass Theatre was one of the greatest theatrical experiences in my life, and to be honest was a life changing experience. Seeing so many talented artists working together and collaborating as a brand new play gets brought to life was so incredible. And Megan was so supportive of me during this show. I spent more time in the theatre than I did at home and so I didn't get to see her very often. But she was so great about meeting me for dinner, coming to see the show and all around supporting me and putting up with me coming home at midnight and being exhausted.

This one was a close second:

A moment of quiet escape from the bustle of the city.

Tomorrows prompt is going to be a lot of fun! You know how much I love fall!

What is One Thing I Could Not Live Without

I had a super busy day yesterday between work, an improv workshop, and performing in my first sketch show in Chicago (!!!!!!!), I had very little time to write. But I did have a lot of time to think because I can't seems to catch a break with these long waits for busses and trains.

What is the one thing I could not live without? 

My immediate gut reaction to this is to be really sappy and say my friends and family, which could be regarded as one entity and therefor still playing by the rules. 

However my second reaction is to say really unimpressive and silly things like fuzzy blankets, a good book, or the ability to take long hot showers. Which really is lame compared to friends and family. 

When it really comes down to it though its probably caffeine. I can't even get through the first two waking hours of my day without a hot cup of tea or a diet coke. 

Am I proud of this? No, but it's probably the truth.

Last night I performed in my first sketch show in Chicago! It was just a 20 minute sampling of the sketches that On Hiatus has been writing, but I had a blast! There is nothing like being reminded why you love doing what you're doing. And despite that fact that our show was at midnight and we played to an audience of maybe 12 people we still had a blast! 

Thanks to Travis for actually remembering to take some photos. 

What is My Dream Job?

Despite the fact that ever since you're old enough to think people have been asking you what you want to be when you grow up, it seems pretty crazy that I still have no idea. I can't say that I ever had a single Dream Job at any given point in my childhood I've always wanted to be dozens of things, often at the same time.

The only job I know that I never considered having was a Doctor. Both of my parents are doctors and much to their chagrin, not a single one of their 4 children have any desire to pursue medicine or even science at all.

Instead, here is what I wanted to be:

-Pilot- I am not entirely sure why because I actually hate flying.

-Marine Biologist- This one still sounds like fun. I would love to go out into the ocean and study marine animals. I have also always wanted to be a Dolphin (but that's the answer to a different question).

-Teacher- Of many different subjects including but not limited to; art, history, english, elementary, theater.

-Olympic/Professional Triathlete

-Olympic/Professional Figure Skater

-Olympic/Professional Gymnast

-Olympic/Professional Swimmer

-Olympic/Professional Synchronized Swimmer
          -Needless to say I only actually did one of these things (swimming) so how I ever hoped to
          achieve a professional level at figure skating is truly beyond me.

-Labor and Delivery Nurse- This is the closest I came to my parents being proud of me.

-Astronaut- Until I found out about all the math and science

-Cosmetologist- Because, why not?

-Actress- For a while when I saw a movie or play that I really loved I would lock myself in my room and perform the scenes from it in front of the audiences of thousands of adoring fans.

It's really no surprise that I got into acting and improvisation because how else could I be all of these things? Just in the past week I have been an Ancient Egyptian Queen, a character from a Dicken's novel, a menopausal woman, a cracked out kid, and the woman from this iconic picture:

Quite frankly if I was asked this question today the list would be nearly as long. I can't bring myself to decide how I want to spend the rest of my life. 

My new list looks a little like this. 

-Performer- Sketch, improv, film, theatre, you name it I want to do it. 

-Writer- Between my new found love of blogging and my desire to write great Second City worthy sketches I have found a passion for writing. Some days I just want to write everything! Novels, children's books, sitcoms, jokes for late night television, sketches for Second City, sketches for SNL, how to books, and much much more!

-Singer/Songwriter- (Yes Mom, you read that correctly) A girl can dream can't she? 

-Director- I would love to direct theatre and sketch shows in Chicago. It just seems like so much fun! 

-Stage Manager- No matter how much I think I love writing and performing sometimes I miss the power and control of sitting in the booth making sure everything goes well. 

If I could really have my Dream Job, I would be able to do all of these things as I feel inspired and as the opportunities presented themselves. I would never have to worry about a job, I would always just have projects lined up in one of the categories listed above. 

And now for my Autumn pictures of the day!

Someone is clearly not enjoying Fall as much as me!  

Fall Colors!!

Blogtober14: If I won the Lottery

Hey guys! I decided to embark on this really cool and super challenging project called #Blogtober14 which a a blogging challenge coordinated by my good friend Taylor and her fellow blogger Helene! The challenge consists of 31 blogging prompts to help encourage creativity to write a different blog post every single day for the entire month of October!

Seeing as I have been trying to challenge myself to write more I figured this would be a great opportunity to combat writers block and motivate myself to committing time every day to write. So for the following month I will be writing in accordance with the prompts provided by Taylor and Helene! I am so excited for this I even stopped watching the season premiere of Once Upon a Time to start writing... and that's huge!!

So let's get this show on the rode: 

If I won the lottery... Honestly, I would probably start out with some pretty responsible spending plans. I would most definitely pay off my student loans and credit card debt. It would be tough to enjoy a bunch of new fancy things if the government still has a hold over me for trying to get a higher education. I would meet with a financial planner and get some money invested for future use.  I would travel a little, and maybe send my parents on a fun trip or two and thank them for always supporting me and slipping me money so as to make sure I eat. Well that's enough responsible stuff for now.

I have always thought that if I had a lot of money, aside from spending it on a decent wardrobe and maybe some bedsheets that don't look like I just graduated from high school, I would invest in being creative without the strain of financial worries. Wouldn't it be fantastic if I didn't have to nanny to feed myself and keep a roof over my head. 

I think my days would look something like this: 

9:00am- Wake up, make breakfast and drink a cup of tea while reading a book

9:45am- Shower and get ready

10:30am- Paint, sketch, draw, etc... (and of course because I won the lottery I would have my own art studio)

1:00pm-Make lunch

1:30pm- Write

3:30pm- Play musical instruments, write songs (again, because I have won the lottery I will have several musical instruments including but not limited to a piano and a guitar. And of course I will have paid for lessons so that I can play them all really well). 

5:30pm- Start making a delicious and nutritious dinner for myself and whomever else would like to join me. 

Then I would be free to spend my evenings and nights hanging out with friends attending rehearsals, classes, shows, and whatever else strikes my fancy. 

In hindsight after typing this I realized that I would never adhere to such a strict creative schedule. But the idea is there. I would spend my time creating art, traveling the world, learning things I never had time or money for before, and enjoying the small things in life. I might even publish a book, write a few songs, and put my art up in a gallery somewhere.

I also think that with the right amount of money it would be super awesome to renovate an old theatre (kind of like the old Uptown movie theater) and transform it into a bunch different theatre spaces for all different types of artists to showcase their work. There would be art by local artists in the lobby, a couple different theaters in different styles to suit different types of shows, and rehearsal spaces that groups could rent out for a low cost. 

Isn't that every artists dream to be able to fully pursue their work without the burdens of a modern society obsessed with having to trade actual money for goods and services.