Slip Sliding Away.

ticking down the hours
now.

my stomach is getting very queasy or that could just be the enormous list of to-do's that i have yet to

do.

i've been thinking lots about how others prepare themselves for a long/short journeys and have come up with oodles of questions on the matter.

1. is three and a half weeks a journey, excursion, adventure, or trip?
2. how and what does one pack for visiting with family in germany, going to an nighttime electronic music festival in serbia, and roaming around london in one piece of luggage?
3. what music should a corruptly old dinosaur of an ipod contain that i won't get sick of?
4. can one plan for everything in one piece of luggage? should one try to?

...the list really goes on, but alas my stomach is actually just rumbling from food this time. off to get a delicious brie and apple cinnamon crepe one last time before i go!

In the Spirit!

so i'm quite positive that we have all know about and have seen the lovely, little, handy-dandy notebook known as moleskine.

you know::: notes, quotes, pockets for everyday paraphernalia you deem it necessary to keep, jotting down those music threads that might escape you, and hell even pulling out your watercolors for the little wonders...

well for a while now i've seen the little “city notebooks” that they seem to be selling at the Strand in New York (highly recommended if you've never been...hours have been spent there!) every Barnes and Noble...well since they came out.

and finally...
finally!

i found a reason to purchase one!
...though it is not for me...

in the spirit of giving and really wanting a friend who is coming to visit me soon in boston (once i return from my excursions of which he will be a part from serbia through london) to thoroughly enjoy this town for what it is...i decided to get him one. I also cleverly disguised the city notebook for boston amongst a cute little book about berlin art, getting around germany, and vanity fair (no, not the magazine). i went up to the counter to ask the salesgirl where vanity fair was in the bookstore and she gave me a completely blank stare and pointed to the magazines. i then suggested that i was looking for the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray (what a name!) and she totally snapped out of her daze and took me to where it was. in my own attempts to try to get insights into other cultures i like to try and read a classic piece of literature, famous author, or novel set in the place that i will be visiting. its really a nice way of making sure i get the classics that interest me (more so than most contemporary literature) read and thought about the country/city/region i will be heading to a bit more.

i'm so excited...the city notebook for boston sounds and looks and feels (?) so promising! Plus, the real deal-maker for me was the fact that the maps even show::::

MY NEIGHBORHOOD!

huzzah! so...thank you moleskine for recognizing my neighborhood.

and now it is time to finish preparing things before I head out in T-minus 3 days and counting. still awaiting suggestions for Frankfurt, Munchen, Budapest, Berlin, Koln, London, Serbia!

BONUS:::
some favorites/books that I have read in the past /am reading for some of the adventures that i've made/will be making:::

-The Rum Diary, Hunter S. Thompson -read before going to the Caribbean, Guadeloupe, to work on an excavation, drink rum, and be in the hot hot heat

-Solitude, Victor Catala and The City of Marvels, Eduardo Mendoza -read before going to Barcelona, city of wonder!, on two separate occasions

-The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway -read before going to Spain at a different time.

-The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho -read before taking a jaunt to Marrakech, Morocco

-Faust Books 1&2, Goethe -have read before i take this journey to Frankfurt (where Goethe was from)

-”Deutschland,” Heinrich Heine -of which i posted last summer and am glad to have read before taking this excursion!

drumrolllll please.

ah yes...i can almost smell it (10 more days away)

i will shortly be heading out for my 3.5 week long adventure.

however, before i go i would like to announce my travel plans so that i can get any and all wisdom that anyone would like to share with me.

i will actually be going to visit family in Frankfurt, Germany on 23rd June for a few weeks with my mother. we will also make our way to Berlin and München meeting friends and cohorts along the way from the looks of it.

after Germany i will be freighting myself via the superbly better set up (than the US that is) European Railway System through Germany, Austria, and Hungary to Serbia and Montenegro to attend the music festival of which I have spoken of several times before...

and then:::
a quick jaunt over to Zagreb, Croatia to jet over to LONDON for a few days before returning back to the summer heat in Boston on 18 July.

this will definitely be an interesting adventure with very good friends and most likely some new ones to be made along the way. however, i would love to hear of ANY and ALL suggestions about "musts" for my travel itinerary

food to eat...shops to visit...walks to take...activities to do...music to see (espesh on/around my birthday in Frankfurt -4 July)...clubs to visit...restaurants not to be missed...vintage stores to wade through...random events that visitors wouldnt know about...

ill take any and all suggestions with a very large smile...AND...a warmly warmly put 'thank you.'

til then...hope to hear from you!

mint juleps taste nice.

well really. cute.
i went in to work yesterday to pick up a few presents and i realized how much i love my job at Mint Julep.

its so great to completely adore the place that you are employed and the coworkers that you know you 'll every time you are at work. i mean...really. i wanted to point a look towards the blog that one of my coworkers writes for the store because of three things:::

1) its adorable and pink
2) it might give you ideas for wardrobe refreshers (always key, especially when you're in a funk with clothes or have no outlet for new expression)
3) its my job!

i would also like to give my first mention to the only boston street fashion blog worth mentioning:

beyond boston chic
because she has a tasteful eye and doesn't just look for fashion-spiration at dance nights and the vegan restaurant down the street. also as i was doing the daily internet browsin' i was delightfully surprised to see a picture of my coworker and a shout-out to Mint Julep as her post for today! thanks gal!

cheers y'all, enjoy the weekend.
i know i will.

sweet sweet obsession.

well yes.

graduation is imminent (sunday!). but my mind is elsewhere. i find myself obsessively checking the exit festival website for updates and these excursions definitely do not disappoint. with each new click, i become increasingly titillated and excited...

i mean let's face it. when i saw the initial lineup a few months ago i was super-stoked on Claude Vonstroke, 2 Many DJs, Gogol Bordello, Sven Vath, M.I.A., and Primal Scream (really?!)

but then...
the obsession began:::
i am going to see Booka Shade?! Soulwax? Laurent Garnier?! Tiga?!! Kruder & Dorfmeister?!

and then it hit me for real...there was no turning back, the obsession had taken over:::
i would be dancing to Audion! to Roni Size, and now the latest tinge of sweetness for me to dream of for this summer, Noisia!

yes, yes, yes, yes. the obsession has surely consumed me and the exit festival website has totally delivered. but, i'm open to letting this excitement infect me up until 10 july when i will be at this excellent summer festival. oh yes, i'm fine with that. keep it coming wonderful festival organizors.