Zoo and pub

Hey everyone. In case this is your first time following me I last left off during my Christmas break from Uni, right after my friend and I got home from Paris.

Today I visited the Edinburgh zoo, one of the most famous zoos in Britain I am told. They had just gotten in a pair of pandas and so that was the main focus of the exhibit. They are beautiful creatures but my particular visit was a bit lackluster. The handlers did not let them out of their indoor exhibits and so they laid around the whole time, sleeping and having a poo.

My favorite part would probably have to be the penguins, they were the liveliest and most spirited of the animals and they were so cute waddling around. at around 2 they went on their daily "march" around the street. They have apparently done this every day for the past 50 years since one of the employees left a door open by mistake and some penguins wandered out. This walk is optional, they don't entice the penguins out with food or anything so it consists of whichever penguins want to walk. It was very cute.

I also had fun watching the big cats, the birds and the sea lion (who incidentally swam right up to me and left before I could get my camera out.)Another cool part of the zoo was the Living Links exhibit which show different animals along the links of human's evolutionary chain. (that and baby monkeys are so cute!)

For the evening's festivities I decided to go pub hopping, something I had done a few times before. I go to one pub have a drink and a chat and go on to the next. Tonight I started out with the Ghillie Dhu (very Scottish by the sound of the name.) I was a fine place, mostly full of middle aged middle class men just off of work. I stayed for a drink then left.

Right next door was a place I had been dying to try: The Rat Pack. Those of you who know me know that I am a huge Rat Pack fan, anything to do with those guys or their kind of music and I immediately begin to salivate. I had even more reason to salivate tonight because just after I arrived three of the most beautiful young men I have ever seen came in. Turns out one of them was playing a gig tonight on piano and his two friends had come to watch. We were the only ones in the pub and they invited me to join them. At some point midway through the first half hour of that set and I decided to forsake my pub hopping plans and see where this night was headed.

I seem to have had a good track record lately, first I'm hanging out with two gorgeous guys at a rugby game, now it's three in a piano bar, fingers crossed for four tomorrow!

But seriously, I had absolutely the best time singing along and talking and cheering and making merriment with everyone. If I had not met them, I would have probably gone home early and been in bed by 10, how boring. Instead I stuck around enjoying the company and the music. Three hours later the set was over and it was time to head home. They invited me back to their place, just a train ride away near Glasgow, and I was tempted but had to decline. They generously dropped me off at my place, so I didn't have to spend money on a cab, and went on their way. I was hoping for a kiss goodnight from one of them but alas... not tonight. But who knows what the future will bring? I got lucky tonight, I wandered into the right pub at the right time, maybe I'll get lucky again.

and for tomorrow...Christmas Market in Prince's Street Gardens.

Ta ta for now.

Arthur's Seat

Sorry this is a bit out of order, I was so busy with school I didn't have much time to write. I climbed Arthur's Seat, the inactive volcano here in Edinburgh, with my friends Kelsey and Maria recently, but I wanted to talk about my trip to Paris first so it was still fresh in my mind.

We went in the early afternoon after class one day. My friends are in such good shape that I couldn't keep up with them as they climbed like billy goats up the steep hill. It didn't help that I stopped every few seconds to take pictures, but they were very nice and patient and waited for me.

The journey to the top was very tiring, my legs felt like jelly up there but the view was spectacular. It was absolutely worth the climb. Since the sun sets so early here in the fall I was able to catch the sunset over the city and got some great shots. there was a 360 degree view of everything around, and I was really happy to share that sight with my friends. The wind was blowing really hard, so you could literally lean over the edge and the wind would hold you up. Don't worry I didn't actually try this, and you shouldn't either, but it was pretty cool.

I am doing this photo project where I bring a plush of Woody from Disney's Toy Story around on my trips and take pictures of him in various interesting or historical spots. I brought him to Arthur's Seat but forgot to take any pictures of him until I was already on may way down the hill. I managed to get some good ones though, which I have posted to facebook.

My friends had to be back by a certain time but I wanted to get more pictures of the sunset so I told them to go on ahead. I followed a different path down the hill and it was a much gentler slope and easier to navigate in the dark. I also got some great pictures on the other side of the hill so I'm glad I took the long way. It was a very long walk home but if I keep walking like I did that day I'll be in shape in no time.

I plan on going back up to Arthur's Seat on the first of May. It is said that at dawn on May first if you wash your face from the dew on the slopes of Arthur's Seat you will be granted eternal youth.

Thanks for reading, take care.

Paris

I just recently got back from a 3 night trip to Paris with my friend and flatmate Brooke and I cant even begin to describe what an amazing time I had.

We took off on the morning of the 11th and arrived just after 10 in the morning at Beauvais airport. We didn't know this at the time but the airport was actually about an hour drive away from the city centre, so if you ever plan on flying to Paris via Beauvais make sure you have a ride into town. We had booked a shuttle a few days before so we were all set.

We stayed at the Hotel Moris Grands Boulevards and that was the best decision we made. It was situated in the center of town right next to a metro and we had the room to ourselves. If we had booked a hostel it would have not been much cheaper, it would have been away from the city, and we would have had to share with many people. It wasn't time for check in yet so we put our bags down and hit the city.

The first thing we did was take the metro to the Eiffel Tower. I have seen many and more pictures of this but nothing can prepare you for such an awe inspiring sight. We got off the metro, climbed up the stairs, turned a corner and there it was. We were pretty far away and still I had to crane my neck up to see the top. We walked across the square and the street and arrived at the base. each of the four legs was a building where you could buy tickets. It was cold and cloudy so there weren't very many people there and we didn't have to wait too long in line.

You have to take two separate lifts to get to the top and they are packed full of people. We went so high that we literally disappeared in the clouds. From the top it was hard to see out too far but it was still incredibly beautiful. We took many pictures and had a lot of fun. If there were such a thing as past lives I think I worked on skyscrapers in one of mine because I was very comfortable being up so high, in fact I wanted to go higher. After a while my hands became numb despite the gloves I was wearing so we decided to go back down.

By then it was time we checked into our hotel. there were a couple of bad reviews online about the walls being too thin and the room being too small but it was just perfect for us. There were two comfy twin beds a view of the courtyard, and a bath, a real actual bath. Brook and I were really excited about that because we only have a tiny shower in our flat. It then became our plan to each take a bath that night sipping on French champagne and eating chocolates.

Next stop: Shopping.
We went to the Galeries Lafayette and looked around at the incredible luxury imagining the day when we can afford to drop 500 Euro on a simple cocktail dress. The first floor was about a quarter of a mile square and it was entirely filled with shoes. The second floor was just as big and housed makeup perfume and jewelry. The next three floors held different styles of clothing and we had a good time picking out really ridiculous clothing and laughing at the extortionate prices. We looked for a restaurant inside but found they were all just as expensive as the clothing so we wandered around looking for a good place to eat.

We found a cute little pizzeria and I had BACON PIZZA, no lie. My French is extremely limited so I thought it was supposed to have ham but it was actual bacon, and it was so good. That was probably the most unexpected meal I've ever had. Also, bottled coke is so much sweeter in Paris, so we had a lot of that. After dinner we wandered around for a bit. It was a bit rainy but somehow the moisture kept it from being too cold. Paris at night is stunning. It is lit up with Christmas lights and decorations and reminds me of a little village except it goes on forever.

We got the champagne and chocolates and went back to the room and stayed up all night drinking and talking, didn't manage to get that bath though.

The next morning we accidentally slept in late so we rushed out to seize the day. It was much clearer than the day before so we took full advantage of it. We got ourselves lost trying to find a Lolita store for Brooke. Lolita is a type of dressing very popular in Japan which projects ultra-girly innocence and there was one such shop in Paris. We had fun looking at all the super cute dresses and accessories and Brooke bought herself some super cute socks.

A funny thing happened while we were still looking for the store, a homeless lady approached us begging for money. We told her sorry but we didn't have anything for her and she kept at us. We told her we had no cash only a card and she said you can buy me food with your card then, I couldn't believe her gall, that has never happened to me before. Finally she gave up but I was getting so frustrated with her. Other than that, most people were incredibly nice and helpful, and even better, everyone spoke English.

After that we went to see Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle. Sainte Chapelle was the single most gorgeous room I have ever seen and it was good we went on a sunny day because the light streamed in through the stained glass and thousands of colors lit up the room. It seems a little silly but tears actually welled in my eyes when I saw it.

Next we walked all the way to the Musee d'Orsay only to find out it was closed on Mondays. I was bummed because we had walked all that way and poor Brooke got blisters all over her feet and I didn't get to see a museum. That's OK though cause I'm sure I'll get another chance. We walked just a little way farther and hopped on the giant Ferris wheel in the Place De La Concorde. It was sunset by then so we got to see the city lighting up. It was so cool to look at the Eiffel Tower and other various monuments from there. The traffic in the square was incredibly packed, we were so surprised that anyone could drive in those conditions, but there they all were below us, honking away at each other.

We went back to the hotel to get all dressed up for a fancy dinner. We went back to the Eiffel Tower to get night pictures and had dinner at a nice restaurant. I had steak with Bearnaise sauce and wine and for dessert we split chocolate macaroons with raspberry, it was all so delicious.

The next day was Disneyland! we hopped on the metro and about 45 min later we were there. Disneyland Paris is SO cool. It has five lands: Main street, Frontierland, Adventureland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland. Like the one in SoCal it had rides like Indian Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Haunted Mansion but each were different in some way. Haunted mansion was much scarier with a sort of killer bride theme and more corpses, also I didn't see a hidden mickey in the ballroom. Indiana Jones was based on the Temple of Doom and most of the ride was outside. Both Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain went upside down, which was scary on Space Mountain because you're entirely in the dark. The park was so empty, we never waited more than 10 minutes for a ride. And we ended up doing everything twice. I thought I saw a hidden mickey in Pirates in the treasure room but was unable to get a good picture. We took tons of pictures, rode the rides, watched the parade and shopped. One weird thing about Disneyland Paris was that it closed at 7 pm instead of 9 or 10 like we expected, but by then we were done and ready to go home anyway.

For our last dinner in Paris we went to a Creperie, which we thought was only fitting. We each had savory crepes and for dessert we split a chocolate, banana and apple crepe which was very bizarre but tasty. We went back to the hotel, each had a bubble bath and some more champagne and watched the movie Stardust in French. Foreign language actually improved the movie, which was cheesy and stupid to begin with but we had fun making up funny dialogue and guessing what would happen next. We did the same thing with an old episode of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman which I swear featured Fabio.

It was loads of fun but it was over way too soon. We woke up the next morning and got ready to go home. The weather must have sensed our moods cause that morning it was gray and dreary again, but our time had come. We got home in the late afternoon and I spent the rest of that day and the next trying to finish my essay. I turned it in today and I am so happy and relieved to finally be done with school until mid January.

Pictures soon to follow, thanks for reading.

Going Plaid: School

First of all I want to say sorry for not posting sooner. Life is really catching up to me here in Scotland.

I have heard for years that other school systems are much better than those in the US, and I assumed that I was going to have my work cut out for me here. Not only is the grading system vastly different (70% is an A) I thought their expectations would be much higher. I was simply wrong.

This is week 8 of school and so far I have been breezing through. True the first few weeks are easy, and all the work comes at the end but I was very surprised at how the same effort I make at home is working just fine for me here. It's a big relief because I was under the assumption that when it came down to the middle of the trimester I would no longer see the light of day shut away in my room studying and writing papers.

I also have never had a more exciting and beautiful campus. Napier has many campuses and I think I lucked out with the best one. It's called Craighouse and it used to be a mental hospital, but don't let that creep you out. It is situated on top of a hill with a fantastic view of the city. (and at night no one can hear you scream muhahahaha j.k.) The main building is like a castle with a magnificent great hall where they hold wedding receptions just about every weekend. The classrooms themselves are all different, one is a beautiful yellow and blue room with white detailing all over the place, another is a large dark wood paneled room with an alcove in the corner, a fireplace and a window. The classes are also in all different places, there's rooms right off the great hall and there's hundreds more to be found if you like to explore.

And you have to explore it too because it's like a maze, there are 3 wings and each wing has its own staircases that lead you to the different floors, but once you're on the 5th floor in the East wing for example, you cant just walk over to the 5th floor in the West wing because they're not connected. They say its set up like that so the mental patients had a harder time getting out, very clever. On my explorations I found many disused rooms and offices and once even a hidden dark spiral staircase that lead all the way down and out of the building, I was afraid to open the door at the bottom though, because I thought it might set off the fire alarm. My friends say it's creepy but I think it is so much fun. There is a little tower at the top of the highest point and it is my goal to find out how to get up there. I've already been to the highest accessible room but maybe there's a door that leads to the roof.

One of the best things about my campus is its nature paths. There are dozens of dirt paths that lead off the campus in different directions, one of them even leads to another campus. I had a great time one day getting lost in the woods, but before you freak out I was never really lost, my phone has GPS. It was great to see all the beautiful trees and paths that opened up to grassy hills and even better views of the city. It's starting to get cold so I need to do as much exploring as I can before the first snows come in.

The classes themselves are fun too. I'm meeting a lot of cool new people and learning great things. In Modern Drama I just did an excerpt from The Glass Menagerie where I put on a hammy southern accent. In music we're studying modern musical movements from the late 1800s to present day, and in Global Current Affairs we just got done discussing the Occupy Wall Street movement and how it is spreading to a global level. I am going to have a discussion with my program coordinator here and see if I can join the Feature Writing course next trimester because if I can I will be able to graduate this spring!

I'm also learning something new outside the classroom: improv. There's a comedy group called the Improverts who put on a show every week, much like Who's Line is it Anyway, and host free workshops on the weekends. My roomate and her boyfriend instantly befriended the group and they all convinced me to go to a workshop. It was so much fun. I'm not very good at making things up on the spot but it's worth getting up there for a few minutes just so you can experience how funny everyone is.

That's all for the moment but now that I'm making myself sit down and write you should keep on the lookout for more posts.

See you next time!

Kt

Going Plaid 2: The first week and Fringe

The plane from Newark arrived late so straight after Tom and Eunice (the wonderful amazing glorious family that agreed to house me and love me and take care of me this year) picked me up. We went to their place dropped off my stuff, changed called the family, and immediately went out for the whole day. We went to the fringe festival, got tickets for 3 different programs High Jinx with the Hamiltons, Wedding Band and Silence in Court. The Hamiltons are a celebrity couple, the husband is an ex politician who left politics because of a scandal, and together they started this chat show. They featured guests who were all having shows at the fringe so it was good to watch them first that way we could figure out what was worth seeing and what wasn’t. It was a fun show and from watching it we decided to see one of the featured artists in his little play Wedding Band. It’s a typical wedding and the singer and his mates are making all the preparations to play that night. The main character was great but his friend stole the show, it was funny and simple and sweet.

Next we walked around Edinburgh for a bit, we went all down the Royal Mile. (the road that leads from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace) the road was cut off from traffic and the streets were lines with touists street performers and an endless sea of people handing out fliers for their fringe shows. Then we had dinner at a Californian restaurant. It was pretty good too, I didn’t realize that there could be a wholly Californian restaurant, but I liked it immensely. After dinner they asked me if I was tired yet and wants some sleep, and of course I was too excited, I was starting to feel tired but I couldn’t let that stop me.

Our last show was a great drama. I basically presided over a rape case, and I totally called it. The premise is the audience is the jury, there are no witnesses and no evidence, just his story against hers. You hear them out and you get to cross examine them. The actors and actresses had to be very fluid in their lines and had to be ready to answer our questions. The way the end was done changed each time depending on the verdict, and it was by far my favorite fringe show.

Edinburgh is BEAUTIFUL! I can’t believe how incredibly gorgeous it is, the buildings are all artistic in design and structure and you can tell there is a story and a history in every brick, in every cobblestone. I spent the whole time gawping at the view, it is really just sensational, I didn’t even bother to bring out my camera that first day, I was too much in awe, plus I would have really looked like a tourist. That night we caught a cab home, talked to my parents once more and finally went to sleep.

End of Day 1

On Day 2 I slept in until noon. But each day I began to get more and more on track with the time difference and over my jetlag. Some days we went out, other days I went out with Ross and Julie. (Tom and Eunice’s daughter and son in law) We walked in and out of the closes (alleys) listened to folk music, wandered through Grassmarket (a great part of town) and saw a lot of street performers. My favorite part of that week was going to Camera Obscura with Tom. A camera obscura is a camera or type of pinhole camera placed up high with a 360 degree view of the city, it is projected down into a small room where people can see, but that was just the beginning. This place was 7 floors high with something new and fascinating on each floor. On one floor is a bunch of history, old pictures of Edinburgh when the city was being built and modernized, pinhole camera photos and so much information. Other floors featured optical illusions holograms and play areas like photo booths that morph your face, a make your own kaleidoscope program, an infrared camera, and a mirror image camera. There were also a mirror maze room, a morph mirror room, a tricolor shadow room, a 'leave your shadow behind on the wall' area and so much more. It costs something to go to the actual camera obscura show but I think free to visit all the rest of the floors, and its right on the Royal Mile where the real heart of the city is.

Our last experience with the Fringe festival ended on a somewhat sour note. We went to see a comedy chat show, where people from the festival talked and did bits from their routines. It was completely vulgar. I am usually all for people having a right to say whatever they want, its what freedom of expression is all about, but someone should have warned me what that show was, and I wouldn’t have gone, because I was literally cringing in embarrassment. I was so uncomfortable that I sank lower and lower in my chair and wished I was anywhere else. I knew that Tom and Eunice were just as uncomfortable as me but we didn’t have an easy path to the door and were too cowardly to walk out from the front row. They all used crude language, which in itself I wouldn’t have minded much, but the subject matter was mostly about sex and just gross for grossness sake. We learned our lesson from that show and vowed to never again be shy about leaving a show you don’t like.

I went sightseeing and shopping and wandering around. One day Tom and Eunice said “go off wandering for a bit” they gave me bus fair and set me off. I went over to the west end of Prince’s street, the main shopping strip, walked over to the Scott Monument (my favorite building) and wandered back to the place I’ll be staying for the year. From there I caught the bus back to Tom and Eunice’s house. They were proud that I figured out where to go and how to get there on my own.

The jetlag and pushing myself out into the cold lowered my immune system a bit and I caught a small cold on the last few days. It didn’t move down to my chest thankfully, just lingered in my sinuses. Eunice knew just how to take care of me, she made me soup and gave me ibuprofen and gave me vapor rub to put on my chest within a few days it was gone. She also wouldn’t let me out of the house one day until I had my jacket and scarf on. It’s really sweet the way she takes care of me.

The rest of the week was just me getting used to the city and getting ready to move in. Next post I’ll share my first experience in my new flat and Fresher’s Week.

Going Plaid- Getting Ready

A Year’s hard work has gotten me to this point. It was September of last year when I walked into my international student’s office at my local university and asked about coming to Scotland. When I first asked they said they don’t have, in their school’s study abroad program, a school in Scotland that I could go to. They had programs for Manchester and Ulster and London, but not where I had hoped to go.

That was when I discovered the International Student Exchange Program, ISEP. My University had just begun to provide this program for students and it included two options for study in Scotland, Napier in Edinburgh and Strathclyde in Glasgow. I decided Napier had a better communications program and Edinburgh would be a more ideal setting for me (even though my biggest Scottish crush, David Tennant is from Glasgow.) As part of this program, though, I would have to pay for all my own tuition and housing, rather than exchange with a student in Edinburgh for a lower rate. This meant getting my hands on a considerable amount of money, but that wasn’t going to stop me. I applied constantly for scholarships and in the end I took out loans.

I had been working on my application all throughout that quarter in between my classes and was ready to submit it by November, but the due date for the application wasn’t until March. I had some time to dream and contemplate and sweat it out before discovering that I was accepted.

Once accepted, this is when the real work began. I first applied for loans; after all, what’s the point in coming to Scotland if you’ll run out of money after the first month? I got together what savings I had and put away all the money from my part-time job to help pay for this.  I got a tip from a friend to try a certain loan company and they accepted right away.  My fees for the year, which included my tuition and housing amounted to $22,000. I already had a little saved and a little more coming from my local university, so I asked the loan company for 23,400 when I could’ve been safe and asked for 25,000.

The company accepted that amount and sent the money to my school, which the school promptly rejected. CSUB said I did not need nearly that much to live on and they were only prepared to accept 12,000. I then showed them that my fees alone greatly outweighed the amount they were prepared to loan me.  I filled out a lot of forms and made a lot of calls to raise the amount to its proper place, and it almost worked. In the end the school settled on 19,000 from the loan company and I stopped fighting that losing battle.

I still don’t understand my school’s decision to only accept 19,000 even though the loan company was already prepared to give me the full amount. What should it matter to the school how much I owe a private company? Surely I am an adult and know exactly what I am doing, and surely I would know better than they do the cost of living the country I’ve been researching for a year.

Despite all this, I was very excited; I had removed another obstacle from my path. My next step was to apply for a visa. Since I would be here for a year I needed the Tier 4 general student visa, which is much harder to get than a simple student visitor pass. I waited very impatiently while the border agency first told me I had not sent the right paperwork and if I didn’t send it within 3 days they would reject my visa. They next told me I didn’t have enough money to live on over here, so I needed to provide proof that I was receiving a loan and was only waiting on the school to give me the money.

While I was still waiting my parents threw a huge going away party for me, in which my favorite local band Whiskey Galore played for me. Family and friends came from all up and down California and brought me gifts and hugs and warm wishes for my trip. It was a wonderful party and I’m glad everything worked out, ( I would’ve been very embarrassed giving all the gifts back if it didn’t.)

More than anything else I was afraid my visa would get rejected and my plans for Scotland would come to a screeching halt. I wasn’t going to give up if it did, but if i couldn’t get approved in the allotted time, then school would start without me and I would be stuck.  I waited for what felt like an eternity, and finally I got the news that I had been accepted.

For the first time I was sure that I was going, and the elation I felt was just incredible. Here was a moment I had been dreaming about. I started making lists of things I would need to pack, things I would need shipped over and things I would need to do once I got there.

 Next on the agenda: arrange a flight and find out when to arrive. As soon as all my family heard about my plans they were all excited as well. My aunt told me she had a friend that was born and raised in Edinburgh and her parents live there still and that I should meet them. I asked if there was any way they might find me a place to stay in Edinburgh for a week before I can move into my flat, and they said you’ll never find a hotel this late, everyone’s in town for the fringe festival, so why don’t you come stay with us?

 I couldn’t believe my luck, here was a family, who I never met, prepared to take me in and show me around the city and generally be there for me all year! My family and I met them (one in person, one via Skype) and we made arrangements and asked tons of questions. In the end they became my fairy godparents, I would have been so completely lost without them.

So I went shopping and packed and bought a laptop, packed, researched everything, and packed some more. I got my flight arranged for the 24-25 of August and it only cost me about $650, really awesome for an international flight.  The week preceding my departure was fun but difficult. There were so many friends and family members I wanted to see one last time before leaving and I had difficulty squeezing them all in. In the end we just had an open house and anyone could see me if they wished.

We departed for lax early the next morning. We went along the freeway singing tunes and having a good time. We stopped for breakfast and Mum had to constantly be doing things to keep the tears from welling up. But she’s been incredibly strong throughout this whole thing, given the circumstances. We got to the airport, got my luggage checked and it was time to say goodbye. I didn’t have much time, by then it was 11 and my flight left at noon.  Several rounds of hugs and kisses later I was heading off to my terminal.

For once going through security was a breeze, I didn’t beep, they didn’t screen and rescreen my things and I was clear to go. I wanted to say a quick online goodbye to my friends but there was no wifi in the terminal. I texted my two besties and boarded my plane.

My first flight was about 5 hours to Newark. This was just after the earthquake and just before Hurricane Irene. On the plane I put on my soft music and my noise cancelling headphones put a mask over my eyes and zonked out. I don’t think I slept deeply for very long, I remember fading in and out a lot. I was sitting in the middle with a guy on either side of me, and we were in the exit row so we had some extra legroom. The guy to my left was a workaholic; he had one laptop on his lap and another on his tray table and was switching back and forth. The guy on my right was a ninja, while I was fading in and out I detected some movement on my right, like he was getting up; by the time I took off my mask he was already in the isle heading toward the bathroom, I didn’t even feel him go past me.

Once in Newark I found out where my next terminal was, had some food, and went exploring. I had a little time so I skyped my parents and tell them I was ok. Boarding began from the second plane, and I found out I had a row to myself. This plane was nice, I got 3 pillows and 3 blankets and 3 screens to watch movies or TV, play games, or listen to music. I played around a little but needed to get back to sleep.  I woke up as we began descent over Scotland; I looked out the window and saw patchwork green fields and a deep blue ocean.

We landed, I gathered my things and set off to begin my adventure.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

This film is the culmination, the epic finale of seven books, eight films, billions of dollars and is what millions upon millions of fans have been waiting for. It was important that the makers of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 come through for us. I, as a long time and admittedly biased fan, had very high expectations for this movie, and all in all, it did not disappoint.

When I first heard that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows would be split into two films I was outraged. I thought once again here was a chance for the filmmakers, including author JK Rowling, to rifle through the world’s pockets and take everything they could find. I thought they would ruin a perfectly good storyline just to make an extra few million. I resented their decision to split the book until I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

To my surprise, the story flowed well and stayed as true to the books as possible under the circumstances. Looking back, I realize this couldn’t have been done nearly as well if it wasn’t split. DH2 did enough back-story to get you caught up but mostly just moved smoothly onward from where DH1 ended. They could have made both movies a bit longer and more detailed, after all why split up the movies if, when you put them together again, it’s not even as long as Gone with the Wind? It would have been so much more worth it, I feel, if they were each 3 hours long; (no longer than each Lord of the Rings film) and I’m sure they could have filled in the time very nicely for both DH1 and DH2.

That being said, it was still very well done. It was exciting and thrilling and fascinating in a way that only the world of Harry Potter can provide. Most of that was thanks to the visual effects department. Make up wardrobe and CGI were all brilliant. There is a particularly powerful scene where the people of Hogwarts are gearing up for battle. What follows is a great digital animation sequence showing statues coming to life and a protective barrier springing up to guard the school. Since this is a wizard battle, they fight with magic. There are no swords to choreograph, no weapons, just little sticks waving around; and it’s up to the special effects department to painstakingly digitally add in all the flashing lights and make believe creatures, which they did to enormous success.

Additionally from the visual effects department, there was a nice use of age-changing technology. There are moments where some key characters are portrayed younger or older. Normally someone new would be brought in to portray the older or younger person, but it’s much harder to make the audience believe that this stranger on screen is the same character they have been identifying with for years. This technology allowed them to use the same actors, rather than bring in someone new, and the effect was nearly flawless.

As far as the plot goes, they could have mentioned the Deathly Hallows more, after all it’s only the title of the movie. This essential part of the story got shunted sideways to make room for the rest of the film and as a result I feel it is very lacking in explanation. All it would have taken was a few seconds of well-chosen dialogue at the end to successfully summarize the significance of the Deathly Hallows, but they didn’t do it.

The end battle was great to watch. It really captured the essence of the book well, though the final Harry/Voldemort faceoff could have been done better. The book shows it as a seven-page dialogue, where Harry reveals some key information, and if repeated on film exactly as in the book, it would have looked very anticlimactic. I don’t begrudge them spicing it up a little, but dueling and dialogue don’t go together, and this key information needed to be revealed somehow. They added a cheesy few lines that were not effective and only made the fight look awkward. Furthermore, everyone in the castle was supposed to be watching this epic battle. This is the crucial moment, the reason the stories exist and I think it would have had more impact if all fighting around them stopped as both sides watched Harry and Voldemort’s final duel.

By far the best scene was when Harry enters the memories of supposed dark wizard Severus Snape. Alan Rickman deserves an Oscar for his performance in this role. He is nothing short of captivating and I don’t think Rowling herself could have asked for a better actor to play this role. All throughout the series Snape has been the most dynamic and most mysterious character; his story finally comes together and becomes the pivotal point of the film. They needed a phenomenal actor to convey this character and Rickman was perfect.

The acting from all the cast was very well done, I particularly enjoyed Helena Bonham Carter’s portrayal of Bellatrix Lestrange, and Matt Lewis as Neville Longbottom. There are only a handful of moments in any film that I can say are better than the book and Neville’s monologue is one of them. It was heartwarming and defiant and really shows how courageous he is in the face of danger. Another moment I enjoyed more than the book was Harry’s speech to Snape; it was much more powerful and fantastic than what I had imagined. It also was great to see a number of characters returning from previous films to help in the fight.

The reason it has taken me so long to write this review is I had not yet had the opportunity to see it in 3D. Now that I have I wish I had just written the review. DH2 in 3D was OK but not great. There were quite a few parts that really needed 3D, like the battle scenes, that somehow just fell short. I felt like I was still watching it in 2D. The day has come and gone where 3D needs to be gimmicky with pop-outs and stuff flying in your face at every moment. Instead, 3D is supposed to enhance the overall experience. For me, at an extra three dollars per ticket at the box office, I was hoping the 3D version would be a little snazzier and it just wasn’t. The biggest 3D moment was when a certain dark wizard is destroyed and he disintegrates into many pieces. The ashy bits of him float up in your face and it feels so gross. Apparently, that scene the best they could do with their 3D technology, but it was an overall unpleasant effect and the least appealing of the pop-out moments.

Composer Alexandre Desplat should be commended for his great use of music. It was very soft and subtle; it didn’t overpower the scenes at all. It was dark and dangerous and then switched to hopeful and uplifting in all the right places. He also went back to basics. There were threads of the original score from the first film woven into this score, which enhanced the magical feeling of it and made me remember how it all began. Equally as impressive was the use of silence, in the most vital moments the silence and stillness made the scenes extremely powerful. Not a shuffle of snacks or even the sound of breathing was heard in the theater at these moments. I haven’t heard a Harry Potter score this brilliant since Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004.

Overall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was a great success. It was much more accurate and more fun to watch than many of the others. There are rumors that this film will have a huge number of deleted scenes which will be included in the DVD, and I hope this is true. I really want to see if anything that was lacking will be made up for with these scenes. I will definitely be seeing it again and I hope you all will too. I do suggest watching DH1 as a sort of refresher course before you see DH2, especially if you haven’t read the books (though if you haven’t by now, what is wrong with you?)

Your Car Doesn't Care

Driving is like a rite of passage in this country, especially for teens. Nobody can describe that feeling of exaltation when you get behind the wheel on your own for the first time. As a new driver your possibilities are limitless. You can take a road trip to the coast with your friends, your parents can send you out to pick up groceries, and you can sleep in on weekday mornings because you know you won’t have to catch the bus to school.

Whether it was given to you as a 16^th birthday present, or you built it up from scratch; a person’s relationship with their car is almost akin to that of family or friendship. You take care of your car and give it what it needs, and in return it works reliably for you, doing what you want it to do and taking you where you want to go. Your car doesn’t judge you, doesn’t discriminate, and doesn’t care about what else you do while you’re driving.

Your car doesn’t care how you look, with your fruit-flavored shimmery pink lip gloss or your XXL mascara. It won’t tell you you’re fat, or pimply or wearing too much makeup. Your car doesn’t care if you’re not wearing shoes, because those spike heels you wore to the prom are too uncomfortable to wear now.

Your car doesn’t care that you don’t buckle your seat belt. After all you’re only driving five minutes away from home, what’s the worst that could happen?

Your car doesn’t care if you’re going to be the next singing sensation on American Idol, or a multi-platinum rap star. It doesn’t care if you spit the maddest lyrics or belt out that high note while the radio plays your favorite song.

Your car doesn’t care that you are a dancing diva, that you can bust a move to any beat, any time, any place. It doesn’t applaud for you when you strut your stuff at the traffic light.

Your car doesn’t care that you absolutely MUST hear that song on your IPod, or that it takes you a few minutes to look for it. It doesn’t care that your stereo is hard to navigate or that you have to look away from the road to do it.

Your car doesn’t care how well you multitask, that you can read a book, finish that crossword or wrap up your homework assignment due today. It won’t be impressed that you pulled an all-nighter studying for that big exam, and that sleep is about to catch up with you.

Your car doesn’t care that your friend just texted you the biggest news: that she won a pair of Lady Gaga tickets and you’re coming with her to the concert. It doesn’t care that you just HAVE to respond with a quick “OMG LOL :D,” with your hands off the wheel and eyes off the road. It doesn’t listen when you say you can handle it because you have the fastest thumbs in the west.

Your car doesn’t care that your boss is calling to tell you off for being late to work again, or that you have to answer her RIGHT NOW otherwise you may lose your job. It doesn’t have any sympathy for you when you can’t afford Bluetooth, and have to hold the phone up to your ear.

Your car doesn’t care about the crazy parties you go to, or how well you can hold your liquor. It doesn’t mind that you drive home afterward, even though you know it’s against the law. It doesn’t respond when you tell yourself you’re still OK to drive.

Your car doesn’t care how daring you are, that you are not afraid to race your friends, play chicken, or set your own personal land speed record.

Your car doesn’t care that you juggle too many tasks, and says nothing when you put those tasks at a higher priority than your own safety.

Your car doesn’t care when a little boy chases his ball into the road, or that you are too distracted to notice him. It doesn’t warn you to look out, brake, or move out of the way.

And your car doesn’t care if you end up splattered on the pavement.

So, just who are you trying to impress?

The Hangover 2 review

The hangover 2 is supposed to be one of the funniest movies of the year. Whoever decided that must be on whatever drugs the characters took. It was a little funny but all the humor in the sequel could have been found in the original movie. And what little humor there was in no way made up for the scars on my retinas for the crude images flaunted incessantly. At times it was literally painful to watch.

The ushers were definitely right to check IDs at the entrance, because this movie should have been rated NC-17. It also largely employed dumb humor. It reminded me of a high school freshman who thinks cursing and being vulgar is cool and takes it to the extreme just to fit in. If the whole thing was filmed in an inventive, neat or artful way, then it might have made up for its obvious lack of propriety, but no; the filming techniques were pretty typical, reusing some motifs from the first film, and bringing nothing new to the table.

The full frontal male nudity was uncomfortable to watch, and I couldn’t imagine how much worse it would have been if I had seen the film with any members of my family. The idea of the smoking drug dealing monkey was cool and pretty original, not to mention the monkey was a better actor than some of the people. The character Alan, played by Zach Galifianakis, was annoying and dumb. It was hard to believe that a character like that had any friends. The others were not much better. The constantly freaked out groom-to-be, Stu, played by Ed Helms, grated on your nerves after a while, and I’m not sure if best man, Phil, played by Bradley Cooper even had a purpose in this film.

The story was superficial at best and even though it wasn’t predictable, you almost didn’t care what happened in the plot because you knew they would get out of it safely and everything would be OK. It was easy to root out the source of drugs that caused the crazy night; too much emphasis was put into foreshadowing that scene so it was super easy to catch.

This movie was all about shock and eww. There was not much to it but gross-out humor, drug induced stupidity, and uncomfortably embarrassing situations. Word to the wise, don’t watch this with your family. If you liked the first one, and you don’t mind repetition and being scarred for life, then this is the movie for you.

I rate this movie 2 out of five stars and hope that others like it more than I did.