Today's episode brought to you by the letter K

I spent the weekend in Tennessee with my girlfriends. It was a blast, we rented a cabin in the woods and pretty much did nothing all weekend. We did go into Gatlinburg to check out the lovely attractions for a few hours...you have to laugh at a place like that. How does someplace like that get started??

Traveling south magnifies one of the unfortunate situations in the English language...C and K can make the same sound. And, to top things off, people feel inclined to switch the letters when they name their business. Why do people do this???
Kontrary to their thought process, kool with a k is not kool or katchy and it's definitely not klassy. I am not more inklined to stop at your restaurant or store just bekause it is named Kastle Inn, Krazy Karts or Kidz Kutz (I'll save my komments on the letter Z for a later post) and definitely not Kontry Kookin (in this case, I'm actually skared away). It klearly gets my attention, but it's not positive, money-spending attention...it's mokkery. I also realize this regrettable mistake aktually happens in beautiful, sophistikated Ohio as well, but it was definitely worse south of the river. So, if you're ever brainstorming what to name your new business, do yourself a favor, get a diktionary and think of something more klever than kool with a k.

In case you were wondering, and you probably weren't...

I've decided Alias and 24 aren't really comparable. I watched the first episode of the end of Alias last night and it reminded me what a great show it is!! I'm looking forward to getting all my questions answered. If you want to find out what all the hype is about you can borrow my DVDs.

My Favorite Thing

This post is for my dad. Growing up he would always ask me what my favorite thing was when I came back from a trip, and he still does. The question always frustrated me and I got annoyed because I didn't like trying to answer it. But I'm starting to appreciate the question. I just happened to see a video where my uncle was asking his kids what the favorite part of their vacation was. I think it is a "dad thing." They are just interested in their kids and what they took away from their experience. Am I right Dad?
So, my favorite thing from my London trip was definitely the London Eye. From the ride you can see some amazing views (see my last post) of the entire city from Big Ben, to Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey and it has a cool location on the Thames. The structure itself is also pretty cool. I tried to take some artistic pictures of it but I'm no photography major. Of course, you can only really experience the city by walking the streets. But all in all it is a great way to get a panoramic glimpse of the city. You can see the rest of my pictures from the trip here.

Can you picture it?

I'm back! There will be more on my trip later. But for now, I know there are those of you tuning in to keep track of my incredibly interesting life so I thought I'd post a few pictures.

Can you picture me living there? (this is the view from the London Eye) I tried all weekend and it's a very surreal feeling. I can't really turn down the opportunity and I'm excited about the possibility. On the other hand, the thought of moving there scares me to death and I get sick to my stomach. It was a great trip...now I'm just trying to get used to the idea.

I'm going to London to see the Queen

Hello from London. After 2 hours of sleep on the plane to London, I made it through a whole day of meetings at P&G that went pretty well. Then it was on to the hotel and I slept all the way through the night! Today we're headed to some drug stores to check out some beauty products. Apparently we are only a few minutes from Windsor so we'll be stopping there to see Windsor Castle. Even better, today is Queen Elizabeth's birthday and she was at Windsor Castle this morning for a breakfast brunch. Maybe we'll run into her while we're there. This afternoon I'm going to get a chance to talk to some people at P&G about moving and living in London. Hopefully I'll get some valuable information.

One step closer

At the risk of appearing "out of touch with reality" as my family might say, there is good news on the TV front. It looks like Alias is one step closer to redeeming itself with the remaining episodes. I saw a preview last night saying that Michael Vartan is returning in this weeks episode. In my earlier post on Alias vs. 24 I commented on how the show has lost it's emotional connection with the viewers by killing off or getting rid of several main characters. Hopefully the producers have realized that one sure-fire way to end things on a good note, and make the fans happy, is to bring back Vaughn. Don't worry, I assure you, I am in touch with reality.

London...

This week I'm actually going to London. Two days of meetings, one day of exploring. I'm not really sure what I'll be able to figure out in that amount of time but I'm hoping to figure out something! Take a stroll, ride the tube, maybe catch a show. Plus, I need to figure out how much things cost. Currently $1 equals about 0.57 pounds. In case you're wondering, that's not good for me. I need to go back to Thailand and Laos where $1 buys a wonderful, heaping plate of pad thai! Also, I think the weather is in the upper 50s right now (I'm eventually going to have to figure out celsius if I move). I'll have to see what I think of the climate since it has a rather rainy reputation and I'm not a fan of rain- but I guess you don't go to London for the weather.
I'll try to keep you posted on my trip at least once while I'm gone and definitely when I get back. I'm sure I'll have plenty of things to comment on!

Coffee snob

Not only am I addicted to spy shows, I'm also addicted to coffee. Apparently I'm revealing all my vices this week, stay tuned ;)

Tonight I had to go out and buy coffee filters because I ran out and I need my coffee in the morning. Well, I was already out so it wasn't too inconvenient to stop. It's so bad that I don't really even get hyper from it anymore. I can drink it and pretty much go right to bed afterwards. I do find, though, that it helps me focus in the afternoon at work. It helps me make it from 3 until 6.

I don't drink bad coffee either. Don't give me Folgers or Maxwell House, or most instant coffees. I want the real thing, it tastes so much better. Starbucks is okay, but I think they roast a lot of the flavor out of their beans. I prefer a bold taste and organic usually has the best flavor. I'm also somewhat of a fair trade advocate when it comes to coffee but I admit I'm somewhat fickle on this point. Still, I guarantee you'll get a great cup of coffee at Rohs Street Cafe, a fair trade, organic coffee shop in Clifton. Definitely better than Starbucks. I'll even bet you that you'll like it better. Although that's risky because if you like crap coffee I can't be held responsible for your bad taste...but you should try it anyway. You can also catch great, live music there on the weekends. Jazz on Thursdays is my favorite.

24 vs. Alias

Alright, so you may have guessed from the name of my blog and my profile, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm obsessed with spy shows. I've been a hardcore Alias fan for 5 years and in the last year I've become a fan of 24.

But the question is which is better? I honestly don't know if the two are entirely comparable or if I can come to a fair conclusion but I'm going to try and see where I end up. Please feel free to chime in with your thoughts.

The obvious place to start is to compare Jack Bauer and Sydney Bristow. Now, since I'm a girl I have to put a vote in for Sydney here (girl power!). She managed to balance her education and life as a secret agent and has done her best to maintain a personal life. This is where a major part of the show's appeal comes in. Over the years the viewers have developed an emotional connection with Sydney as she endured challenges in her relationships, the largest of which was the up and down with Vaughn. The rest of the appeal is the action packed spy drama - not to mention the cliffhangers.

On the other hand, the action is the main appeal of 24. Jack Bauer is a freakin' awesome, kick butt counter terrorist agent...but he lacks the emotional connection. Plus we all know Jack's never been good at balancing his work and his personal life. Maybe the show doesn't need the emotional connection because it has enough action. I also think Jack Bauer's character is a little more predictable...can you really argue with me on this one?

Now, let's look at Sidney's and Jack's wardrobes. You have to admit Alias definitely wins on this point. Since 24 takes place all in one day there are no wardrobe changes- don't those clothes get dirty after all the months of shooting? However, Alias has an endless number of wardrobe changes and fun costumes.

Moving on for now. What do the two shows have in common? They both love bringing people back from the dead. Both shows have staged deaths in order to protect agents from the enemy. Also, neither show shies away from killing people off, although the body count is definitely higher on 24.

Okay, let's examine the believability aspect...well, neither score very high in this area but is that really why we watch TV? One strong point for 24, though, is that they don't get into weird, supernatural issues like Rimbaldi.

I have such a history with Alias that I have a hard time saying 24 is better. That being said, Alias has some serious ground to cover to maintain their status this season. They've definitely gotten away from their roots and have let me down. They killed off many of the long time characters and since they drive the emotional/personal connection, that element has suffered. Their main point of differentiation may end up being their demise if they can't recover. Since 24 doesn't rely on the emotional connection they have nothing to lose on that point. But the previews for the last episodes of the Alias have given me high hopes that they will tie up a lot of loose ends. If they can pull that off they will walk away with my vote. If not, I'm afraid 24 will have surpassed them.

New pictures up...

Check out some new pictures including some from Echo.

All Talk

This may not be news to some of you...but sometimes I'm all talk. As I elaborated on in my last post (volatilly) I'm a little stressed out about the possibility of moving to London and the lack of details at the moment. So yesterday I was talking to some friends about it and they reminded me of all the uncertainty they had gone through over the last year through moving and other challenges. Now, I remember when that was all going down I thought to myself, "Wow, what an awesome time to trust God! God totally has it covered and this is going to be the coolest experience for them."

Fast forward. I'm sure you know where I'm going with this--Where is that attitude when it's my own life?

Volatilly

My friends and I were going to write a book about the volatility of life in your 20s titled "Volatilly." I can't exactly remember how we got to that title (no, it's not a typo) but nonetheless...it was going to be a collection of random essays exemplifying the unpredictable time of life. I think now would be the perfect time to write it.

Three weeks ago I was going about life in Cincinnati and now here I am, anticipating moving to London in a few months. BUT, it's still not official. I still have no real details except that, "they're working on the details." I think it's going to happen and I'm hoping for that, but I have this nagging feeling it will fall through. I don't think they know how they've turned my life upside down. It's just about all I can think about sometimes...but when I go to work no one is really talking about it because the majority of the people don't even know. I'm just supposed to go about life like nothing is going on. Life in limbo is not the easiest. How much longer will I be here? When am I leaving? Where will I live? How the heck will I get over there? You get the picture.

I'm going to London in a couple weeks...I think. Again, I still don't really know.

As I'm sure you're realizing by now I don't like this whole not-knowing-thing. I like control. I think there was something about that in the sermon this week. Oh, that's right, I'm supposed to give that to God. Well, I'm working on it. I know He's got it covered better than I ever could and I just have to trust that.

Turning 25, Post #1

As I mentioned before, I'm about to turn 25 and that means I'm one year closer to 30...I'm not trying to be dramatic but it's true. So I've been thinking, when I turn 30 and look back what will I be able to say about my 20s? As fast as the last two years have gone since grad school, it seems like it would be easy to lose track of time and when I look back all I'd be able to say is "Well, I had a pretty good job." Admittedly, that's an overly dark picture of things. I love my life. God is awesome and my family and friends are great. But I wanted to set some goals to accomplish by the time I'm 30. Not really things that define my life, but just some things I'd like to do. I want to come up with 5, so far I have 3 so I'm taking suggestions.

1. Be able to play Moonlight Sonata again- I'm getting close on this one.
2. Hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back out- You may be thinking this doesn't sound like a very "Emily" goal but I was inspired by the book "Through Painted Deserts" and I think it will be an awesome experience.
3. Go on a relief and development trip to Africa. This is just something I've been thinking about for awhile.

Now for the remaining two...I figure it would be cheating to add "live in London" now that I know I'm probably moving there. I'd originally wanted to keep the amount of expensive travel on the list relatively low so I didn't have to be made of money to cross them off the list. But maybe I will add something about traveling around Europe. I don't want to be too hasty to add things on the list because I really want to be able to finish them. For now I'm still thinking.

PS. I promise my blog won't always be lists.

My life is complete

And now I reveal the real reason I started my blog...to be mentioned on Steve's blog!

No wonder Chad Johnson lives here

I have to say Walnut Hills is the greatest neighborhood in Cincinnati. Now, I know there are several obvious arguments against this statement but allow me to explain. Walnut Hills has so many positives going for it that you might not put all together if you don't live there.

1. There is interesting and beautiful, historic architecture. Not the most important point but worth mentioning.
   
2. It's extremely close to downtown- just hop on Gilbert or Columbia Pkwy and you're there. It's a quick commute to work, the theater, sports games and Newport.
3. Although it doesn't have many of it's own shops or restaurants it's minutes from Hyde Park and Rookwood so you can get your fill there
4. Diversity. Hyde Park doesn't have it...
   
5. The hills...and not just me...Living around hills is just more interesting than the plains.
6. Echo Church. God's gonna do big things with this awesome group of people.
   
7. Eden Park. No one can argue with this one. You've got Playhouse in the Park, the Art Museum, Krohn Conservatory, mirror lake and the gazebo. Even better, there are some of the greatest views of the river and the city. Eden Park is the most beautiful place in Cincinnati.
   

Maybe I'm riding high after the first few sunny days of spring but I think I've got something going with this.

Hi, I'm Emily. No, I'm not a secret agent.

But it sounds cooler than "life as an account manager." Plus it's fun to pretend...

My decision to start a blog stems from a few things I suppose. If you haven't heard, there's a good chance I'm moving to London this summer. So that's pretty big news and I figure I should have at least a few interesting things to say before I go and once I get there. Maybe I'll make fun of all the weird British TV shows or funny sayings. Remind me not to give this link to my new British friends. Second, I'm about to turn 25...twenty days and counting. So that's had me thinking a lot as well. I'm starting to get comfortable with the concept. Twenty five is gonna be my year.

It's an interesting proposition really, that people are interested in reading my musings on everyday life (and maybe they aren't). My hesitancy in starting it is that I won't keep it up, which is unfortunately why I often don't start things, but I'll give it a try.