ADVENTURE UPDATE!!!!

hi friends!!!

i haven't updated in a few days, and i can just imagine you, sitting there, on the edge of your seat waiting for another update.

what's that you say? you've been sitting at the computer for two days pressing the refresh button on the blog website?!?!?! aww. you shouldn't have.

anyways!

i MADE IT TO CHICAGO!!!! i'm here right now! not like i left yesterday, or secretly never left new hampshire - NO! - I'M IN CHICAGO RIGHT NOW!!!!!

i left Cleveland right at 8am on thursday. i was very prompt. got some gas. got some Dunkin Donuts.

i also got a blueberry bagel. yum! and i got in the car and said,

JULIE: Okay, I don't want to get any cream cheese on this sweater, so I'll take the sweater off.

so, i took my sweater off and placed it on the seat next to me. and then i pick up my bagel. what happens next?

almost immediately i drop the bagel, cream-cheese side down, directly onto the sweater.

THEN! the bagel bounces off the sweater, off the box of food and lands directly on the floor of the car, also cream-cheese side down.

i couldn't believe it while it was happening.

but, i laughed about it for about 20 miles. so, it was alright in the end.

i was SUPER tired during the first part of the drive. i couldn't even believe how tired i was. i had to stop and walk around for a bit to try and wake up.

finally, i did. and then i got more coffee, which helped.

and i belted along to every song that came on. but, there was one event which got me really excited, and i couldn't wait to tell you about it!!!!!

remember how on wednesday night the song, 'Mexico' came on RIGHT as i was entering Buffalo? and i switched out the words and it totally made my night? YEAH.

WELL.

i'm driving along. in the midwest. and i see a sign for a rest area and it says, "last rest area in Ohio." and i got excited because i was about to enter a new state!!! i had never been to Indiana before!!!

AND THEN, what song came on my shuffle?????

'California' by Phantom Planet!!!!!!! and what fits perfectly instead of 'California?' UM, 'INDIANA!!!!!!!!!'

it was probably the most exciting part of the entire drive. it TOTALLY got me excited for Chicago!!!!! and woke me up.

so, Indiana was great. i thought about Elizabeth the whole time, which was lovely. i saw two deer, which was horrible, as deer are the thing i am most afraid of.

it's something about deer. because, i didn't freak out when i saw that loose donkey. and i passed tons of horses and cows. i'm fine. it's just deer. they are so scary.

the landscape was so interesting to me. it was EXACTLY how i imagined the midwest! flat. lots of water towers. lots of radio towers. lots of farms. crazy!

i was excited to pass through Gary, Indiana. pretty much every time i saw a sign for Gary i would sing the famous line from The Music Man. yeah. that happened a lot.

and so finally - i got there!!! and WHO KNEW - Gary, Indiana is probably the ugliest city i've ever seen. it's a machine! the whole city is made out of a machine! one of the things i thought almost immediately was,

JULIE: The robot city from 'Robots' is prettier than Gary, Indiana.

yep. when i wasn't thinking about The Music Man, i was thinking about Robots.

and once i passed Gary, i was only 20 miles from Chicago!!!!!! awesome!!!!!

and then i saw it!!!! CHICAGO SKYLINE!!!! i paid the toll and was on my way!!!

AND THEN I SAW IT - rush hour traffic. bummer. yeah, it took almost two hours to go maybe....6 miles?

and i was sitting in traffic when my playlist started to repeat. the playlist was like, 15.5 hours long. and it repeated just as i was entering chicago.

the end was LONG.

BUT I MADE IT!!!! once i got off the exit, i found my way with not one problem!!!! i got a parking space right outside of Kerianne and Noel's house!!!

both Kerianne and Noel were at work, but Aliya was there! so, i called Aliya and she came down to meet me.

SO NICE. friends!

we hung out and relaxed a bit at Kerianne's house - which is super cute and awesome! i met Molly, their dog, who reminds me SO MUCH of Ruby Tuesday, it's crazy.

after a little while, we walked to the El station and took the train into the city!!!! about a half hour ride?

one thing i learned = CHICAGO IS HUGE. such a big city.

we got off at Merchandise Mart and found our way to the restaurant we were meeting Kerianne, Noel and Aliya's brother Sam at.

Kerianne! Noel! Sam! it was so exciting to see everyone. i hadn't seen Kerianne and Noel since we left Ireland almost a year ago!!!! crazy!

and then we ate delicious Thai food. then Aliya and Sam went off to a fancy show they had tickets for. Kerianne, Noel and I walked Kerianne back to work. she was working a 2pm thursday until 7am friday shift! crazy! she took us on a tour of her office, which was awesome.

then, we said goodbye. Noel and I walked back to the El station and took the train back to their house. we hung out, watched some tv and then went to bed. Noel was tired from working all day and i was tired from driving across half the country.

i slept a lot.

woke up on friday and Kerianne and i made brunch!! it was so great to hang out and catch up.

in the afternoon, Kerianne had to run back into work and drop off some paperwork - SO - instead of taking the El and having it take forever - we decided to drive. i convinced her it would be fine to pull up to the building, put on her hazard lights, i would stay in the car and protect it, and she would run up to work.

so we did that! and it was fine! great idea, me. i own this city.

then we drove back North and into Lincoln Square, which is this super hip, cute area right near her house. we walked around, got some German food to bring home, poked into a few stores, and then drove back home. what a great area!

then Aliya came back!!!!! we hung around for a bit and then started making dinner!!! we were making coconut curry! we added mushrooms, chickpeas, normal peas and onions to the curry and it was delish!

we also had wine.

then, sadly, Aliya had to leave again. she was attending a fancy conference where she was a team leader!!!!! because she's a fancy business lady who takes charge and makes important decisions!!!!!

but, we'll see Aliya again tomorrow! (sunday!)

THEN, one of Kerianne's friends, who i had met in Ireland, Audrey, came over! she is a 5th grade teacher and it was her last day of school! so she came over for dinner!

then we all went out to this neighborhood bar, Time Out, and drank beer and watched the Blackhawks game.

i had never been to an event like this. where people sit around and cheer on a sports team, but aren't actually at a sports game. it was really fun to see how excited and upset people get.

i kept relating it to a Crash Kings concert. where i stand and jump around and cheer on a band. these people were doing basically the same thing, only for a sports team. and, being a person who passionately loves being a fan, i could appreciate that.

(although secretly i was cheering for both teams because i don't really believe in competition.)
(but don't tell anyone in Chicago that, because they all really hated Philadelphia.)
(but, i've always wanted to live in Philadelphia! and i've really been embracing the color orange lately! and i was just there seeing Crash Kings, so HOW could i hate that city??)
(and i just kept thinking about how excited the Flyers fans were, even when the Blackhawks fans were bumming.)
(Philadelphia Flyers won, and so that was a whole bunch of people that were super excited - and i support general excitement :) )

and then we drank more beer. went home around 1am.

woke up at 11:30! had breakfast!!! GOT READY FOR THE CRASH KINGS CONCERT TODAY!!!!!

um, YEAH. because in the middle of this already awesome, 'friend-fantastic' trip to chicago - was a Crash Kings show!

everything worked out perfect.

AND THAT'S WHERE I'LL STOP for right now. :)

i'll just say that YES, i attended a Crash Kings show today.

YES i got a hug from Jason.
YES i initiated another Mike hug.
and as soon as Tony saw me he started smiling and laughing and said,

TONY: Heeyy!! Oh my God - what are you doing here?!!?

it was super exciting. we got to chat with them for a bit. it was Kerianne's first Crash Kings show and also the first time meeting rockstars after the show! awesome!!! she was super impressed that Tony not only knew who i was, but also knew where i was from, and that i didn't belong in Chicago. it was great. i love those guys.

SO NOW - it's only 12:20am. my computer says, 1:20am because it's still on east coast time.

OH! i forgot to tell you about when i drove across the time zone!!!! i'll do it another time, promise. because i'm sure you're interested.

anyways! i think today (sunday) we're going to this Chicago hot-dog place for lunch. and then Aliya comes back and then we're all going out for Ethiopian food!!!! i've never had it before, so i'm excited to try!!!!

i hope you are having a great time and had a great week and are enjoying life as much as i am right now.

today was a great day. full of awesome friends and awesome rockstars. wow.

Kerianne said at the concert,

KERIANNE: It's so weird to see them in person after seeing their pictures in your blog so much!!

AAAHHHHH we had so much fun.

OKAY! i'm going to reheat my leftover pad thai and probably watch more Friday Night Lights. yay! what a great day!!!

love you, friends!!!! thanks for reading!!! i'll talk to you soon!!!!


lovelovelove,
Julie

OH, HI

i didn't see you there.

wait, hold on.

OH, HI, OH i didn't see you there!

i was trying to work in my favorite greeting with the current state i am in. did it work?

whatever! i'm in OHIO!!!!!! i've never been here before!!!!!! and now i'm here! in a suburb of Cleveland!!!! who would have ever thought i would be here?! not me.

these are the states i was in today:

- new hampshire
- vermont
- massachusetts (because i missed my exit)
- new york
- pennsylvania
- ohio

wow! and now i'm in the Midwest! my first time here. it's windy. right when i got south of Buffalo it started to get windy. and then it started to rain. and it kept getting more and more windy and i just kept thinking, "if i die in a tornado before i make it to chicago i'm going to be so mad."

(but at the same time i kept thinking about how cool it would be to see a tornado. i've always wanted to be a storm chaser.)

when i was getting into Buffalo the song 'Mexico' by River City Extension came on my shuffle. literally, right as i was entering Buffalo. and i realized that Mexico and Buffalo are similar sounding, three syllable names.

so what did i do? i sang the song at the top of my lungs and changed the words from Mexico to Buffalo!!!!!

you wouldn't think that something so small would make someone so happy. but i was so freaking excited about this, it was INSANE. like, yeah. i smiled about it for like, 20 miles after Buffalo. no joke.

ALSO, i drove a lot today. like, from 9am until about 8:30pm. i stopped at three rest areas to use the bathroom. but it was pretty much straight driving.

boy did i have great music, though! and once i realized that Twizzlers could double as fake drum sticks, things got a lot more interesting.

BUT! here's the donkey story:

i was driving through South Wallingford, Vermont when all of a sudden there was a huge traffic holdup ahead. i could see all the cars stopped on the other side of the road. and only one car stopped on my side.

so i slowed down. and finally i stopped. and wondered why everyone else was stopped.

and then - i see this donkey going crazy on the side of the road! like, running around like a wild donkey. and then i look across the street and it's a donkey farm.

so, we're all stopped because this one donkey has gotten loose.

AND THEN - like, everyone gets out of their cars to try and help the donkey get back home.

like, people that were just going somewhere, they see a loose donkey and think, "oh, i can help."

what!?

i was sitting in my car like, "yeah, sorry donkey, you're on your own."

i couldn't believe people actually got out to help. so finally, the donkey runs into this field and starts to calm down. and then cars can start to drive again. slowly. it was crazy.

anyways. i'm super tired now. it's 11:55 PM and i think i'm going to bed. i can't remember the last time i thought about going to bed during a PM hour. hm. no, i really can't remember.

plan for thursday:

- wake up at 7
- leave at 8
- arrive in chicago 6 hours later.... but it will only be 1pm because of the TIME CHANGE!!!!

i've never driven across a time zone before!!!!!!! how crazy is that?! i imagine there's this giant wall made of iridescent jelly that you drive through. and then there's a 'welcome to the new time zone' parade on the other side!!! how great would that be?!!

like a giant time zone force field. yes. that's what i imagine. i've flown across time zones before. hm. maybe the force field doesn't reach up into the sky.

anyways. like i said, i'm really tired. so, i'm going to go to sleep pretty shortly.

tomorrow i'll meet up with ALIYA! KERIANNE! NOEL! TYLER! (SAM?!) oh i can't wait.

the home city of our president!!!! cool. today i was in the birthplace of uncle sam. Troy, NY. who knew!? i thought Uncle Sam was a fake person. was he a real person?

and FUNNY STORY:

so, i missed my exit in Vermont that would have taken me straight to New York, so instead i went on Rt. 2 west which i picked up in Massachusetts.

and so, i'm on 2 west and i leave Troy and continue towards the signs for 87 south. and i'm thinking, "hm, this kind of looks familiar."

AND THEN! i realize that i'm on the same road that Ryan and I stayed on after we saw Crash Kings in Clifton Park, NY!! remember it was that super horrible confusing road and we couldn't figure out how to get to our hotel??

it was construction mixed with Crash Kings post-show fluster/excitement. but mainly construction. it's like, this giant 8 lane road and the whole thing was just covered in orange cones. like, create your own path.

but, today there was more order. still construction. LAME.

but, how funny! the same road! i didn't even know i would end up there. hm. that was THE FIRST DAY i met Ryan!!! how crazy! and now we've been on so many awesome trips together!

and now she's in Houston and i'm in Cleveland.

it's so weird that i'm in cleveland! i can't get over it. it's like one of those cities that you joke about going to. right? Cleveland. Denver. Detroit. right? they're just kind of funny seeming.

and tonight i was in a CVS just down the road and saw people and kept thinking, "wow these people live here!"

it's so weird. maybe it's not weird. i mean, everyone has to live in some city.

OK. i have to go to bed now. it's AM now. 12:09am.

i'll update everyone when i get to CHICAGO!!!! cool, right? i can't believe i'm going! and i'm driving! and i made it this far!!! whoa. that's kind of cool, i think.

i'm just like, "okay, i'm going now. i missed the turn? oh, i'll just pull over and figure out a different route." that's what i did! i just pulled over, looked at the map and made a new route!

so cool.

ok now i'm really going to bed. talk to you all later!!!! hope you're having a great night!

<3


"if you can't get behind your own life, get behind the driving wheel. and GO. just GO. find a place that you don't know..."

great adventure

I AM ABOUT TO EMBARK ON AN ADVENTURE!!!!!! LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT IT!!!!!



WEDNESDAY - 2 JUNE 2010 (morning)
* begin trip to Chicago, IL, USA. leaving from Lebanon, NH, USA

WEDNESDAY - 2 JUNE 2010 (approx. 10 hrs from departure)
* arrive in Willoughby, OH, USA
* suburb of Cleveland; city chosen obviously because of the character in Sense and Sensibility.
* spend the night!

THURSDAY - 3 JUNE 2010 (morning)
* depart from Willoughby, OH

THURSDAY - 3 JUNE 2010 (approx. 5 hours after departure)
* ARRIVE IN CHICAGO OMG!!!!!
* FIND ALIYA!! FIND KERIANNE UNLESS SHE'S WORKING!! FIND NOEL!!!!

THURSDAY 3 JUNE 2010 (evening), FRIDAY 4 JUNE 2010 (all day)
* LOTS OF AWESOME ALL THE TIME

SATURDAY - 5 JUNE 2010 (daytime, maybe?)
* SEE CRASH KINGS PERFORM IN TINLEY, PARK!!!!!!!!! no freaking way. just two weekends after seeing them, i'm seeing them again! how perf that we're all going to be in the same city! omgican'twait.

SUNDAY - 6 JUNE 2010 (all day)
* MORE AWESOME THINGS ALL THE TIME

MONDAY - 7 JUNE 2010 (all day)
* EVEN MORE AWESOME THINGS EVERYWHERE

TUESDAY - 8 JUNE 2010 (morning)
* sadly depart Chicago

TUESDAY - 8 JUNE 2010 (evening)
* arrive in Buffalo, NY, USA
* spend the night!

WEDNESDAY - 9 JUNE 2010 (late afternoon?)
* arrive back in Lebanon, NH
* my dad and Ruby Tuesday will be excitedly waiting for me :)



i've never been to Chicago! i hear it's a great time. well, DUH, because Kerianne and Aliya will be there!!! oohhh man it's gonna rock. ALSO GONNA ROCK - crash kings. i'm seeing them. #11. holy moly.

it's kind of crazy how much awesome there will be.

and both nights i'm staying in the hotel i have a king sized bed! i'm secretly really excited about that because i don't think i've ever slept in a king sized bed. yep. totes lame.

semi-nervous about the solo drive. BUT, i can do it. i just won't get lost or flustered. i'm just gonna GO GO GO until i reach Willoughby.

that's actually my goal in life. just go until you reach Mr. Willoughby. he kind of might not treat Marianne very nice... but i mean...come on. they're both such hopeless romantics! and he loved her.

anyways.

i have a lot to do before i leave wednesday morning. i have made lots of sticky notes on my desktop with lists. (but, i made the notes with transparent backgrounds so i can still see my supersexy Crash Kings background...don't worry.)

OK. i promised myself i would go to bed early TONIGHT so i could wake up early on tuesday, so i could go to bed early on tuesday night, in order to wake up early on wednesday.

and, it's 2:09am. i think i have failed in my promise to myself. i just had to watch an episode of Friday Night Lights. i couldn't help myself.

SO NOW, i'll go to bed. i'm tired. Ruby just woke up because she saw a moth.

alright! have a great day! talk to you soon!!


<3

truly the miserables

now, i love the Jonas Brothers as much as the next person. actually probably more than the next person.

BUT CAN I JUST SAY that i do not support Nick Jonas playing the role of Marius in the new London production of Les Miserables. NOPE. do not support this.

i first learned this via Nick's twitter. i will neither confirm nor deny that i follow Nick on twitter. and i was shocked and horrified. and then i forgot about it. and then i read it somewhere else. and i just got plain angry.

i think one of the most beautiful lines in a musical ever written is when Marius sings, "i did not live until today" when he sees Cosette. and i can not, and don't want to, picture Nick Jonas singing this line.

also - Empty Chairs at Empty Tables. can a Jonas really pull that off?? can NICK JONAS really pull that off??

oh man i REALLY don't want him to 'boy-band-ify' that show.

like, when Zac Efron was in talks to remake Footloose - i was fine with that. cause it's Footloose. not Les Mis. and not Nick Jonas.

aw man this whole thing just makes me feel depressed.

ok, i'll make it easy for you

i just can't stand it anymore. the thought of you, out there, alone, maybe scared, and NOT listening to this music is just horrible.

so, i'm going to make it very easy for you. NO MATTER what your situation - i guarantee this music will make you happier and therefore put you on the path for a more complete, satisfying life.

YES - i have gone that far. i have gone that far to say that THIS MUSIC will make you a more complete person.

* PLEASE CLICK HERE to purchase the River City Extension record, The Unmistakable Man for $9.99

* PLEASE CLICK HERE to purchase the Blackbells EP, Blackbells for $4

and if for some reason, you cannot purchase these items immediately (perhaps for lack of funds...and i completely sympathize), then at least click those links and listen to the music.

maybe you're having a bad day? bummed that the weekend is over? i BLOG PROMISE that you will enjoy those tunes.

know what River City Extension song i love? 'Adrienne.' the line i can't stop thinking about is, "i'm on the top of everything but the signal's just not clear." i LOVE that line. i don't know why! it's a pretty average line. BUT I LOVE IT!!!! i could listen to that one part allll day and be totally happy.

and know what Blackbells song i love? 'High Healer.' i decided that if i ever finish any ONE of the many screenplay ideas i have brewing in my head - THAT SONG will be in one of them. in my movie!!

i even know exactly how the song will be cut. i love it. i love that song.


IN OTHER QUICK NEWS: finished The O.C. cried. cried a lot when Seth and Summer were saying goodbye to each other at the bus. and then cried a lot when Seth and Ryan hugged each other goodbye. it was like, laugh-crying because Seth was being so funny. can't wait to watch the whole series over again with Kara!!!!

IN OTHER QUICK NEWS: Matt and Aliya have talked me into watching the show Friday Night Lights. (Matt actually threatened the future of our Twitter friendship had i not started watching the show...) So - i'm on episode three. MAJOR drama already! so far, so good. i'm going to keep watching.

IN OTHER QUICK NEWS: ummm.....i don't know if i have anything else. i had a really weird dream last night that i can't shake. it's kind of been hanging over me all day.


ok! i think that about does it. have a GREAT finale to your weekend. i'd love to hear what everyone was up to. anything fun happen? any nice weather where you are? any bad weather where you are? do i have any readers?

TAKE CARE! enjoy the start of the week :)


<3