Absence

    So much has happened in my life over the last few months that I find it difficult to chronicle it all; even in this easy format. Since my last post, I have been to 3 different countries, had 3 unexpected subway hang-outs, cooked and eaten 1 waterfowl (and was attacked by another, and fell in love with a third), played 1 show, booked 4 more, had 1 spontaneous bluegrass jam session, hung with 4 ex-boyfriends in a 2 day period (and sneaked a date somewhere in between), bumped into 1 guy I was seeing on a date with someone else, decided to leave my New Jersey job next year, found 2 potential roommates, had 1 website and album debut, and auditioned for a role on Glee.

    Boy, I'm glad I got that all off my chest. My trip was to England and France, and it was incredible. I spent 8 days with one of my best friends whom I never get to see due to her enlistment in the United States Air Force. I love her. Especially when she tries to impersonate a Cockatoo to a Cockatoo in a public space. I miss her so much it hurts. Then, of course, we went to Paris, where I spent time with my friend from college and also got to meet up, briefly, with a friend from high school. Meandering the streets of Paris is a pastime of mine...if something done twice in one's life can be considered a pastime.

    Perhaps the greatest moment in Paris was on the final night, where my USAF friend and I decided to go to a Japanese restaurant in the Saint Germain section of Paris near L'Opera. We had the entertaining task of explaining to the waiter my food allergies. Now, for some reason, every time I am in a foreign country I assume that Asian people there speak English. In my silly mind, all Asian people are Asian-Americans, so of course they speak English. When they speak only French and Japanese, it boggles my fragile mind. Once we came to the conclusion that we did not speak a language in common, my friend and I tried, somewhat pathetically, to get our waitress to understand my food issues. I said 'lait...no'. My friend tried to throw the French word for sick along with the words for milk, butter, etc. However, it was to no avail. Finally, I remembered the word for peanut (a useful thing for an allergic person to know), and she gave an understanding, 'ohhhh'. It was clear we had finally bridged the language gap. Thank goodness she brought us some beer after that. It definitely helped with the embarrassment that our joint French deserved.

    I was truly sad to go. The English countryside is beautiful; especially if you loved "Trogdor" in middle school. There are thatched roofs everywhere. And the archaeologist living inside of me was screaming with delight when seeing houses and castles from the 1200s all over. There are also sheep lurking in every pasture. And let me tell you, there are lots of pastures. It's practically all pastures with the exception of the occasional thatched roof cottage/mansion. I will never forget my time there, and I will certainly not forget the day we went to Leeds Castle in Kent. The 3 hour car ride that should have been 1 hour; the torrential downpour we had to walk in to get to the castle; screaming, "we fucking hate Kent" at the top of our lungs; the goose/German attack; and then the beautiful sun coming out as we walked around the rest of the grounds. I also won't forget finding the love of our lives at 221b Baker St.

    I can't think of a better way to spend a vacation. Thanks, Maddie and Allie.

    As for other things, they come, they go. The band has a few big shows coming up. We now have a real and functional website (www.bakerstband.com). Our album can be downloaded for free. We're going to make a music video this summer. We're also going to record a 'single' which is, in actuality, 2 songs. The music business is odd, but I think I may potentially be starting to sort of figure it out.

    We'll see how it goes. In the meantime, I'm going to get a few real-er jobs so that I can get a place with some friends in the city rather than continually mooch off of my parents. I'm hoping that will make me need to be more responsible/effective as a human being.

P.S.-I promise to start posting more, and to start posting some more interesting things.