Mice, The Former Capital of the Confederate States of America, the Kidlies and Chesapeake Bay at 6:30 am

The blog title says it all--no need to explain these pictures now, is there?

Sorry it has been 2 days short of a month since my last post.... I just got back from Northern Europe and Russia and was instantaneously consumed in the busy life that awaited me back in NYC. (yeah, yeah, yeah--and I'm lazy)

Enjoy, and I vow to post some pictures of my band "The Academics' " last gig....

but for now: its just Travis taking care of the rodent problem in our apartment, Richmond in all its post-Confederate glory, my favorite New York under-five-ers and the view from 30,000ft over the Chesapeake at 6:30 in the morning!

Oslo and the Viking Ship Musuem

So, after that raucous and irreverent descent into narcissistic revelry, I thought I'd briefly return to my recent trip to the Northern Nations and post a few pictures of my last stop. Oslo, Norway....this is for you Timand the Vikingskipshuset (Viking Ship Musuem) and the Forskningsparken (which I have to call the Naked Statue Park because I don't know exactly how it is in English... The Forsking Park? Tim?)

I really liked Oslo alot. I wish I had had more time to spend there--I was only there two days and I'm sure the city has a great deal to offer. But, right now, besides the Viking Ship Musuem and the Naked People Park all I really tell people about Oslo is how EXPENSIVE it was!--and how many prostitutes approached me every night on Karl Johhan's Gate (The main street in Oslo that runs from the train station to the Royal Palace--

Oh--also Henrik Ibsen, very significant to the development of modern theatrical form, is from Norway and has a street named after him just west of the Royal Palace.... Henrik Ibsen's Gate (Gate means street, right?)

Also--on the train from Bergen to Oslo I met three awesome young ladies who are studying for an semester at the University of Oslo--Frouke and Leida who are from Amsterdam and Kirsi from.....FINLAND!!!!

We went to dinner that evening and I got a burger for 108 kroner (1 US Dollar=5.1 Kroner....you do the math...okay, I'll do it--yes that's $21.00...and no, it wasn't an upscale restaraunt--just a little pubby place)


All the money issues aside, it was WORTH it to visit the Viking Ship Musuem and, of course, just to be in Norway--I've always been fascinated by the Viking period and the image of the beautifuly restored Oseberg ship resting in this elegant light filled white hall was something I'd seen in so many books--it was really moving to be there in that room....

There are actually three restored ships in the musuem in three adjoined halls, as well as displays of artifacts and items from the period found along with the ships....

Here are a few pictures from the Naked Statues Park

And getting ready to board Finair (the second safest airline in the world) Airbus home to New York.

I've been TAGGED!

THE ABC'S of ME!!!

for Allison Dawn Green Moschetti and for those of you who are not blogger freaks--this is a little tag game that's being played through out blogdom...

someone tags someone else and they have to complete this ABC's of me thing...which is an opportunity to talk profusely about one's self and all the singular things that make one so...singular...

Allison tagged me and now I am doing it and am going to tag others, but you won't know who those others are unless you read through this alphabetical list of things about ME!

ATTACHED OR SINGLE?

Attached to Travis and A LOT of debt for the infinitely useful MFA degree I'm about to recieve from Columbia University....(so much in fact that its the first thing that came to my mind when answering this question and NOT Travis...this is sad, right? Why am I worrying about money above all else? Hmmmm....) Anyway-- Travis and Me!

BEST FRIEND...

Well, this is quite hard because I have never been able to honestly answer this question with out really listing like 15 people... yes, I am that luckly and tolerated by that many....

so here is the list in no particular order with explanations

(if you didn't make the list...I'm not sure what that means....ah, who am I kidding? Like 4 people read this)

Heather ( I live across the street from her and Matt and their children and see her almost everyday and have known her and Matt since I was 15)

Matt (above's husband)

My Dad ( he is the most like me...see the bit about worrying about $$$)

My Mom (she is the most unlike me...so we get along well)

Travis (of course)

Allison ( because she alone can pop zits in places that....its not appropriate for blogger land) (from what we are wearing in this picture you might think it was the mid to late 90's, but no....you'd be wrong...it was last year....)


Martha (my big sister because she actually calls me regularly and seems genuinely interested)

Matt Chappina ( my favorite Italian American from Massapequa, LI and a damn fine playwright and human being)

Cassandra Purricelli Chappina (above's wife and a better person and Italian American)

and a better picture of Cassandra because I want you all to see how beautiful Casey is, and not just how crazy she is AND it was another chance to post a picture of ME!


Heather Riggs ( also has known and tolerated me since I was 15)

all my brothers and sisters, who I will name later

and sincerely alot more and I am sure I have left someone off, but naming BEST friends makes me a little ill because there are soooo many who I am soo grateful for!

(please note that in most of these pictures, in addition to seeing an image of one of my BEST friends, you were also able to see another image of ME!!!)

CAKE OR PIE?

Are you kidding? Anyone who knows me knows I'll eat ANYTHING, particularly cake AND pie and if they have representatives from BOTH of these factions I WILL eat BOTH of them....at the same time...and it is quite possible that I will eat ALL of them... BUT if I had to be pinned down to ONE of them I would and could eat THE CAKE OF NUTTY GOODNESS as prepared by Heather Anna Corrigan Herrick for the rest of my days....
'tis a pity I have not a picture of this sweet sweet fantasy dessert...

DAY OF CHOICE

I've always liked Fridays....

ESSENTIAL ITEM

My legs and a pair of good running shoes...

this is ME!!! beating someone at the end of the Cherry Festival a couple years ago....

FAVORITE COLORS

Blue and Orange TOGETHER... last night I was playing with Mags and Cole and Margaret wanted to make fake pies (mmmmm) and this of course meant using the "pies" and "pieces" of pie from the Trivial Pursuit game... I made my tasty "fake pie" all blue and orange.... it was pretty!

GUMMIE BEARS or WORMS

See above expanation on cake or pie.... except I loved that Disney cartoon about Gummie Bears...well not so much the cartoon but the theme song.... "Gummie Bears bouncing here and there and everywhere, High Adventure thats beyond compare, They are the Gummie Bears!" You know you liked the tune, too.

INDULGENCES

(that's all you need to know about my indulgent side)

JANUARY or JULY

I'm very egalitarian and am able to see the merits of both these fine months...I love to snowboard and to swim.... (yes that's me in the Superman Speedo..... and Andy my bro, too....)

KIDS


My own-no. But I sure do love these two and spend a lot of time with them! They are leaving for Utah tomorrow for Thanksgiving and I just got back from Europe so I'm a little sad!

LIFE IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT...

Love.

(This is called the Triangular Theory of Love and it is complicated and I don't know what it means--I found it when I image searched "love")

I like this theory of love alot more...


MARRIAGE DATES

....in Sweden or Canada or Finland or Massachussetts or somewhere someday...

NUMBER OF SYBLINGS

7! 4 brothers and 3 sisters! Martha, me, Andy, Sarah, Cathern, Bobby, Timmy and Peter... (now this IS the 90's...the Black Hills of South Dakota...1990 to be exact)

ORANGES or APPLES

It's sixes of the one, half a dozen of the other...it's a slippery slope...teach a man to fish and there's no i in team...

BUT I love OJ! I love orange JUICE alot more than I like apple juice!

PHOBIAS OR FEARS

This is the Airbus A380--the largest airplane in the world...it can seat over 500 people--it terrifies me...

but thanks to this----I may be able to fly on it someday!!!!

QUOTES

Love one another as I have loved you...

REASON TO SMILE

So so so so so many....all of the things listed above and below make me smile...but recently this place made me smile the most...
FINLAND!!

This is ME!!! in Helsinki, Finland


SEASON, SPRING or FALL

FALL!!!

I!!! (ME!!!) I was born in late August just in time to welcome the fall on the shores of Grand Traverse Bay...


TAG 3

Heather Anna Herrick, Heather Anna Riggs and Kelly Jo Horner Worth! (Now you can stop reading because I've got to the tagging part)

UNKOWN FACT

Everyone knows everything about me--I can't stop talking about ME!!!!

WORST HABIT

Besides being very prone to procrastination and very prone to spend money on things that are only gratifying and not investment-based and being very prone to spend the day exercising or cooking instead of writing like a good playwright I am far to prone to talk about ME!!!

X-RAY or ULTRASOUND

I had an x-ray when I was about 13 or 14 when Bobby (my borther of 5 at the time) tripped me and I broke my thumb....my mother, a very fine nurse, was convinced it was only dislocated and only took me to get it x-rayed when it became really painful (I may be exagerating--she probably took me right away)....it was broken and I got a cast...

YOUR FAVORITE FOOD

Once again...refer to the cake or pie question... I literally will eat anything and enjoy it... but lately I'm really into getting a bowl and putting raw almonds, walnuts, raisons, a little raw instant oatmeal, honey and some milk in it and eating it!

ZODIAC

Virgo the virgin...yes... (hey it kinda looks like Mariah...my indulgence) I just read that Virgos are supposed to be the critics of the Zodiac....that may be true but there is one thing I will never criticize....

ME!!!


So, those are the ABC's of me...and what is the lesson learned?

Never Nudge Nathan toward an opportuntiy to talk about himself, especially in a forum such as this where photographs are involved!

I look forward to reading and seeing the ABC's of those I tagged!