We're off to see the wizard

Last night the Mr. took me see the ever popular musical Wicked. We have been hearing nothing but praises about this show and had to see for ourselves what all the noise what about. Before I launch into my review of the show I must tell you what happened on our way to the theater. I know it sounds like the set up for a joke but it's not. We try to live our lives as much as possible without allowing the fear of terrorism to interfere. But we can't turn a blind eye to it either especially living in a city like London. Not to mention it's the holiday season and we've been reading about some foiled plots recently. So onto the subway we go and notice immediately that there is a lone briefcase near our seats. At the very same moment another couple notices and we begin to ask the passengers around us if it belongs to them. Everyone looks at us as if we are speaking Chinese and don't seem at all bothered that there is an unclaimed briefcase on the subway. At the next stop Zach and I hop off and tell the conductor what we found. He then completely stops the tube to investigate and then makes an announcement that everyone has to get off the tube. Some passengers huffed and puffed and some understood. Zach and I couldn't get away fast enough. We actually got a knot in our stomach. It was weird. Were we over reacting? I don't think so, not by today's standards. Will I let fear control my life? No, but I won't turn a blind eye either. Anyway, back to Wicked. Wicked was fun because I love the story of the Wizard of Oz and the costumes and set design were amazing. However, I was disappointed with some of the performances. On one number the prince's voice cracked, twice! The dancers were on the heavy side which made the lifts slow and made me nervous. At times I felt as if I was watching a high school production. Thank God for the two lead females who were great. I felt like there were in a different show. In Sept. we saw Guys and Dolls which blew me away. The dance numbers left me in awe. The songs were incredible and the cast was great. I am happy we saw Wicked, I was just expecting so much more.

Why I love living in London: part one

As long as I can remember I've been in love with all things English. When I was eleven or so I discovered a show from across the pond on MTV one morning. The Young Ones was the funniest, most disgusting bit of toilet humor I've ever seen. Correction, I have never seen! We didn't have anything in the States remotely close to it. My siblings, cousins, and I couldn't get enough of it. Whenever they had an all day marathon we would plant ourselves in front of the tv and watch one episode after another. Then I discovered music. I loved and still love, The Smiths, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, Tears for Fears, The Police, The Clash, etc. Somehow I knew that I would love this place before having set foot on the island. So it's surreal to actually live here now. I love the accent, the weather and mood it creates, the museums and the fact that they are free, and the culture. If it's rainning out you can still find the pubs full of people in a great social environment or out for a walk in the beautiful parks. There have been some rough patches as well but I'll save those for a future blog. For this blog I toast the Brits. Cheers!

It's official

On Tuesday Zach was sworn in during a small ceremony in Downtown L.A. The ceremony was actually in the law firm that he works for and a fourth circuit judge performed the ceremony. It's really amazing how the time flew while he was in law school. I remember when he was studying for the LSAT. I am so proud of Zach and he has been such an inspiration for me on so many levels.

Homeward bound, I wish I was....

Zach and I are are back in the US for one week and one week only. We are here primarily for his swearing in ceremony but we were lucky enough to catch my nephew's first ever karate tournament this past Sunday. I felt like we were on the set for The Karate Kid. I know my pal CK would appreciate this. All I kept hearing in my head was "sweep the leg", "put him in a body bag johnny!", and "look eye, always look eye". What makes this even more rich is that I just saw part one and part two in London last week on the telly. If you haven't been to karate tournament I highly recommend that you do. It provided us with hours of entertainment. There were kids of all ages competing, the youngest was four and the oldest was ten. Some kids were really into it, you could see it in there eyes. Other kids looked like they were a million miles away and were merely going through the motions. We had a blast and I can't wait for his next tournament.

Congratulations to my super husband

Just wanted to congratulate Zach for passing the bar exam in California, one of the toughest states to pass. We are flying home on Saturday so he can get sworn in. I am so proud of you babe!

I want my mtv (oh, and internet too)

Three months without home access to the almighty internet and I feel like I could lose it.I've had to drag my laptop to some bar/coffee shop, look for an available outlet, and inhale secondhand smoke just to do the thing you all take for granted, surf the net at home. Well all that is coming to an end next Moday, or so they say. I've had problems with my laptop so that's why I haven't been able to upload pics to my blog. Other than that, the new place is treating us well. We finally got furniture and cable tv! WOW! Ha ha, all of my non tv friends back in Oakland are probably cringing right about now. More to come soon.

Ahhh, the joys of moving.....

How I hate to move. Hopefully it won't happen again for a long, long, time. We just moved into our new flat and we are loving it. However, before we moved in we decided a fresh coat of paint would be needed. Then there was the moving of our items from the old falt to the new. Since we don't have a car and renting one would cost us our first born we took three taxi rides and a few trips by foot. Fun, fun, fun. Now that all the moving is done I finally feel like we are settling down and getting comfy. We have a great yard with herbs and a nice table. Our yard has a gate which opens onto a canal with a great path for running or bike riding. We have great access to Angel which is a nice neighborhood full of restuarants, bars, shops, movie theater, etc. Our home also has a very cosy feel to it. I'll be sure to post some pictures of it soon. Til then, ta ta.