AJ's Online Journal

New Years Eve!

I know I have been busy, as most of you have during these stress filled days we call the Holidays, but I will return to my normal blog self once life gets back to normal. I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Years... Eve. :) I hope everyone has a drunk filled, making an ass of, making out with strangers, waking up hugging a toilet, hang over filled celebration. :) I will do my best to do just that, though I will try to keep that making out with strangers thing on a down low. I mean, I'm not that young party animal that most of you remember me as. :) But anyhoo, I'm off to Tahoe tomorrow for some snow boarding and I need to call and make sure my health insurance is up to date, so I will end this entry on a very big thanks to all that took time out of their life this holiday season to call/write/show up on my doorstep and wish me a Merry Christmas. It was very appreciated! Thanks for thinking of me... it means a lot. Here's to a happy new year.......

Christmas!

Merry Christmas and/or Holidays, whatever is more PC these days. Just wanted to wish everyone a glorious holiday season. I miss everyone and hope to hear how everyones holiday went. Talk to ya again soon. Click here for a holiday greeting.

Shape block knocker

Do you remember when you were a kid and you had that little wooden bench thing that had a wooden hammer and you pounded the circle into the round hole, the square into the square hole, and the tri… ok I think you get the point. Monica called it a shape block knocker so let it forever be known as that! I was thinking of that toy today and how it is a very good symbol for the things we want in life. Each little hole represents something we desire and all we have to do is get our shape to fit into the hole and *booom* goal achieved! Let’s say the circle represents family and all you have to do is find your round peg and hammer it into the hole. Easy as that! Wow… I really didn’t mean that to be so suggestive, but oh well. I guess the point that I am making is this… what if you want the triangle slot filled and alas you don’t have a triangle? Instead you have this rhombus pointy looking thingy of a shape and you don’t really know what to do with it? I mean do you wait for someone to come along and add a hole to fit your special shape, do you pull out the ol’ hack saw and make a triangle, or do you just accept the fact that you just have to leave that coveted triangle slot empty? I only bring this up because I recently looked down at my shape block knocker and discovered a new shape slot. One that looked very much like my rhombus pointy thing! Oh joy, the angels in heaven are rejoicing! But alas, even being the same shape, it was a hair smaller than my shape. And no matter how much I hit it with my little wooden hammer… it just wouldn’t fit. It nearly broke my heart. But what do I do now? I’m very inclined to get that hack saw, but the idealist in me says I should wait for that perfect fit, the one that completes the puzzle, the one that makes everything else fit just right. I guess at this point I will just keep on … keep on truckin’, ya know? I will be happy with the shapes that I have in place and for now screw that damn triangle! I will keep following the advice from my favorite song in the movie White Christmas by going to sleep at night counting my blessings. It’s all I can do, right? I guess when I was two years old I didn’t put so much thought into my shape block knocker, but now that I’m older these thoughts seem to consume me. Damn brain! Out! Out with you!

The Simple Life

So, Matt talked about Paris Hilton in his blog a few weeks ago and I guess it’s now my turn. So, I am sure most of you know that Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are doing their own reality show called, “The Simple Life”. It puts these two spoiled girls out in the middle of hicksville with the rednecks, their cows, and an ol’ beat up pick-up truck living the so called simple life. While watching this for the first time, because alas it doesn’t air in London, I discovered a scary little fact. This little show was filmed in a small town right outside my home town. It’s nice to know that where I grew up is being mocked with as much sincerity as I have always done. And the episode I saw, Paris and Nicole snuck off into “town” to hit the bars and do their best interpretation of being whores. Well, the “town” they went into was Fort Smith, my home town. How truly sad this is, but I don’t know if I’m sad because I come from this “Simple Life” or because I wasn’t at that bar watching them pole dance with my own eyes. :) And it’s really funny that between the two, Paris is the more conservative one. Go figure! Nicole Richie is sooooo much worse than Paris Hilton. So, in the end you have two skanky hot girls who are fearlessly stupid living in BFE Arkansas for 5 weeks. Short skirts, live stock, Arkansans, and Beverly Hills whores… how could you go wrong? And this is why this show will be a success. Sad, but true. So, I’m sorry Matt, but you will probably be seeing more and more of your favorite gal pal, Paris Hilton! And for the next week, I too will be in Arkansas living the simple life. So, until next time… “Ya’ll come back now…ya hear?”

Praha!

Well, we made it back from Prague, or as the locals call it, Praha. It was cold and wet, but still a good time had by all. The city is so beautiful. I guess by never putting up a fight when being invaded by Germans or Russians or whatever, they were able to keep the city undamaged. There are several structures that still remain, even after 600 years. The cathedral that you see below was built before Christopher Columbus was even born. Kind of gives you an idea how young our own country truly is. And as most of you know, 9 years ago I directed a play about Wenceslas Square and life in Praha after the Russian occupation in the 60's. Well, it only took me 9 years, but I finally made it there and I enclosed a picture below. So, I'm off to the states tomorrow, so I need to do laundry and all that cool stuff. I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was lovely, even though I have a slight cold now. :( Oh well... see ya in the states!

Part of the old town square from the view from the clock tower.

The city skyline view.

The 600 year old cathedral that sits surrounded by a castle.

Just a street, and since I don't speak Czech, I don't know the name. :)

And finally, AJ in Wenceslas Square!

Flying away!

I'm not going to be able to post anything for a few days. I'm on holiday this weekend and then I return to the states on Tuesday. Here's my schedule for the next few days just in case you are interested. Which I doubt you are. ;)
Friday December 12th
London, England to Vienna, Austria- 769 Miles
Vienna, Austria to Prague, Czech Republic- 156 Miles

Sunday December 14th
Prague, Czech Republic to Vienna, Austria- 156 Miles
Vienna, Austria to London, England- 769 Miles

Tuesday December 16th
London, England to San Francisco, Ca.- 5371 Miles

Wednesday December 17th
San Francisco, Ca. to Dallas, Tx.- 1493 Miles
Dallas, Tx. to Fort Smith, Ar.- 224 Miles

Total miles flown- 8,938 (And thats assuming we fly in a straight line)

Oh well, enjoy your weekend and I will post again as soon as humanly possible. I will have my computer with me so hopefully I will be able to jack in and do blog upkeep over the holidays as well. So until then...

Mean?

I don't know if this is funny or just mean?
I must admit, I laughed my ass off!

Sunday Sight Seeing

Julie took me sight seeing yesterday. We went down to the Churchill war rooms, walked around a bit, and then saw Buckingham Palace and other cool building type things. :) So, heres another photo day for everyone... I know I'm being lazy, but so have you. :P Talk at ya later...

The skyline with the London Eye (the big wheel thingy)

Some big statue thing with Big Ben in the distance.

Buckingham Palace and again with that statue thingy. :)

These were the Birds that ataacked me in the park.

A very cold AJ who just wants his eggnog latte!

Capitalism

I guess everyone knows Starbucks has taken over the world. I’m in a whole other country and at every turn am bombarded with the Starbucks logo. In San Francisco I knew of two Starbucks on the same block. Two doors down from each other for Christ sake! Now at what point do we stand up as consumers and say, “Enough is enough!”? We are human beings who enjoy some variety in life don’t we? Or have we settled into what is comfortable and familiar? Can we not go into an unknown coffee store for a Latte or Café Mocha? It’s not like we are going into a dark ally asking for an illegal abortion. I am pretty sure that unknown coffee tastes pretty much the same as Starbucks coffee, but CHEAPER! I admit that I have never been a huge fan of Starfucks, until recently. I just happened to find the most glorious drink in the world. A eggnog latte! I can’t say if I like it because of the eggnog, the coffee, or just the fact I like saying NAWWWWWG! It’s a fun word… especially after drinking 4 of them and have a caffeine-blood content of .86 . Nog…. It’s funny. And I don’t care that I pay over five bucks a cup… it’s tasty and funny. But alas, I feel sort of bad. But I’m over it now… so let’s move on. Today I am waiting for a bus in front of a Burger King. I look directly across the street and see a Burger King. Thinking, “Maybe I had too many Eggnog latte’s. I might be staring in a mirror or something?” So, I promptly turn around and see a Burger King. What the hell? Can people not cross the street to get to the first Burger King? Were they thinking, “Ya know, if customers are across the street and see our business, they may not want to cross the street to eat here.” So the genius that is Burger King corporate says, “Then we should build a Burger King here as well!” Obviously somebody thought it was a good idea. And on another note, if they would have both been busy I would have said, “ok”, but they were both just moderately packed. So very silly. I’m thinking I will write in to either Starbucks or Burger King and say, “If I had a coffee shop or a burger place in my house… I would be more inclined to use them than if I had to leave my house. Please think about renting my spare closet for the future of your franchise.” And then just see what they would say. I am almost scared to even think what they might do. I might wake up in the mornings, roll out of bed, and on my way to the bathroom pick up some French toast stix and my eggnog latte. How glorious that would be!!! I change my mind, screw local business!! Long live capitalism!!! :)

Jog in the park

Well, for the second day in a row I don't feel much like talking...sorry. I did take some photos during my jog through the park today. This is the park right beside our house, called Hampstead Heath. In the summer time they have ponds that people can swim in. And actually theres even a nude one, though from what I hear it's mostly gay men. Which brings an interesting question, Why is it that the thought of nude women swimming naked in the park is such a beautiful, spirited thing, but the thought of gay men swimming together just seems so seedy? At first I thought that I was being homophobic, but then I realized that in the states, parks are a huge hook up place for gay married men. I guess just that thought puts a stigma in my minds eye. Sorry if I offend. ;) Anyhoo, enjoy the pics and I will try and write something tomorrow. But please don't let my foul mood deter you from leaving comments. :)

Maybe

Maybe God wanted us to meet the wrong people before meeting the right
one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be
grateful for that gift.

Maybe when the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times
we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been
opened for us.

Maybe the best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and
swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the
best conversation you've ever had.

Maybe it is true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but
it is also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it
arrives.

Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that
fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile
to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just
want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real. Dream what you
want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make
you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can't
go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so that when you die, you are the one smiling and
everyone around you is crying.

*I don't know who wrote this, but they asked to pass it on.... so I did. :)

Polter Gooses!

I awoke this morning to sign for a package and while trying to go back to sleep a strange thing happened to me. I was laying there almost ready to doze off when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Ya know the feeling that someone or something is right behind you? Well, I open my eyes and from my view I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but obviously I couldn't see what was behind me. But in this case, the only thing behind me was the wall. But I'm there thinking, " I'm not going to fall back asleep until I turn around and ease my wondering mind". Well, have you ever been in that state where you can think and look around, but can't move your body? At that point you realize you must be asleep, right? Well, that feeling on my neck got even stronger so I began forcing myself to move... but can't. Eventually, I feel like my body is starting to move , but at that moment I hear a womans voice whisper something in my ear. Freaking out, I am finally able to get my body moving enough to turn around only to find a huge man eating troll! Ok, so there wasn't anything there, but I definitely felt that something was there. It didn't feel like a good thing, but who knows? I just wish I could have understood what the voice was saying. I think it said, "Eat more processed cheese.", but I could be wrong. :) But in any case..... very weird.

Photo by: Me

Signs signs everywhere signs

Do you believe in destiny or fate? Something guiding you through life? Something flashing you little signs telling you what decisions to make? I can't say if I have ever really believed one way or the other. My left brain believes in such magic that makes everything so fantastical and romantic, but my right brain doesn't so much. It's sort of dueling banjo's in my head minus that whole deliverance reference. It seems that these days I am being presented with little signs and the big question I am battling is if I choose to see them as signs or not? Everyone knows how analytical I can be at times so maybe I am just over thinking things? Or maybe I am driving blind through life? How does one actually know? I guess thats the mystery we call life. One reason I bring this up is because I am sitting here watching "Only You". You know with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr.? Well Marisa is off trying to find this guy she feels is her destiny to marry. The only problem is that she has never met this guy, she just knows the name from asking a Ouija board when she was a young girl. So, while searching down her destiny she misses all of these signs that point her in the direction of who she was truly meant to be with. I guess it's just saying that one shouldn't let their head get in the way of their heart. But isn't fate no more than series of decisions we make? Ok, that was the right brain talking. I guess at this point in my life I am seeing the signs, but I am very scared where they will take me. I have no doubt that it is something very exciting and beautiful, but it's just so frightening. What do you do? Only time will tell... but I'm sure whatever happens... was truly meant to be. :) (My left brain talking) So, just for those who are curious about the end of "Only You" , it concludes when Marisa finally opens her eyes and goes to Robert. And without even speaking a word....kiss as the movie romance music plays loudly in the background. They live happily ever after. The End.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

So, I was actually going to write about my Sunday yesterday, but I got way too busy to talk about myself. :) So, now I will briefly talk about my weekend. Sorry. Saturday was VERY rainy and VERY cold so I did one of my favorite things, curl up on the couch with a warm blanket and watch movies all day. :) I must admit, I watched the 1954 movie musical "White Christmas". Now, I honestly think this is one of my favorite movies...EVER. Not only do you get great dancing and singing, but you get this wonderful love story of two people who finally stop thinking with their heads enough to give into the love in their heart. Very beautiful. Oh and of course *cough cough* theres some cool kick ass shoot 'em up scenes with war and stuff. A real mans movie, ya know what I'm talkin' about. :)
And yesterday I went with Julie down to Camden market for shopping and a very delicious banana cream/Nutella Crepe. Mmmmm...... Nutella. I also did another very manly thing and bought a lovely pair of shoes. And for those who know how many pairs of shoes I have... well no longer! When I moved I got rid of all of them except maybe 6 or 7 pairs. So, at last I am back to a decent level. Ya know, enough to actually go buy more. :) Anyhoo, finished the night off by doing some work, some emailing, and watching two football games. And sadly both games they showed were blow outs so it really was very disappointing. Oh well, I have been getting some requests to show more snap shots of London.... so heres some shots from yesterday. Enjoy!

This is South End Green. My neighborhood shopping area.
And look at the old guy checking out those girls ass' !

Another picture of South End Green.

And finally just a snap shot of a "small" section of Camden Market.