Epic

I impulse bought both seasons of Rome on DVD at Barnes and Noble. They were having a 'buy two get the third free' sale, so I got the two box sets of Rome and season 1 of The Twilight Zone. The next day I went back and bought the first two seasons of The Tudors and the 3rd season of The Twilight Zone. Between the first and third seasons I have most of the classic TZT episodes, such as Two, It's a Good Life, Time Enough at Last, To Serve Man, The Monster's Are Due On Maple Street, and One For the Angels. I am so happy. I also have a few episodes never before seen at TZT, which also is exciting.

I've started watching Rome. Unlike with the other two shows I bought, I had never seen a single episode of Rome. It's epic. I love it. I'm on episode 5. It seems that Cleopatra enters into things around episode 8, and having once been Queen of the Nile myself, I'm awaiting her with baited breath. Of course, we have to get through the whole affair with Caesar before we get to any of the things about which I am knowledgeable, but I'm okay with that.

Other epic adventures in my life include working over 40 hours a week since I have three job commitments. I'm working nearly everyday either at Bella, Wren, or in CW. As much as I like the money, I did not intend to spend my entire summer working-- I wanted something like 30 hours a week-- because I really don't want to need a vacation from vacation when I'm starting my master's program. It will be intense and time-consuming, so I want a little time for me now. It's too late for July, which is already scheduled, but I e-mailed the Wren building and told them that I couldn't work in August, which means I will only have my Bella and CW commitments. This will be nice because I can have time off for my birthday, plus my mother and I are planning a trip to Prince Edward Island, Canada to see the Anne of Green Gables things.

I had my first day back in CW yesterday, and it was so much fun. The other intern, Elise, and I had a "CastIron Chef Bake-Off" and we made pound cakes. We were allowed to rummage upstairs and add any spices or fruits to the cake and then they were to be judged at the end of the day by Frank. I had to leave before they were done baking, but tomorrow at the Randolph Kitchens I will get to try a little of each cake and they will let me know who won. Not that it was that much of a contest-- neither Elise nor I had ever made poundcake before (especially not from a colonial recipe), so we helped each other immensely.

And finally, today I went to Surry for a piece of Peanut Raisin Pie at the Surry Carriage House Restaurant, and then found a State Park that I hadn't ever known existed. It was called Chippokes Plantation State Park, and had a lovely quiet beach on the James and an antebellum Great House (built in 1854). It early evening, so the weather wasn't quite as hot as it could have been, and it was lovely wandering on the beach and through the gardens. Oh, how I love Virginia in the summer.

Homecooked Exoticism

The other night I went to Maggie and Elijah's for a dinner party. Elijah and Caroline both work at the Blue Talon Bistro, and they both had the night off, so they decided to cook for us. I think this was their greatest success to date.

The day had been a long one of Gone With the Wind at the Wren building, but the evening started out most pleasantly as one of my graduated I.T. friends, Adam, invited me to have a glass of wine with him at the Cheese Shop. We ended up getting a bottle of hard cider unlike any I have tasted. It was tart and had a bite at the end, made only of fermented apple juice with no added sugar. I really enjoyed it; it made me think that this must be what cider tasted like originally, what everyone in the 18th century meant when they spoke of cider. Earlier though, as I prepared to meet Adam, Maggie sent me a text inviting me to dinner. Adam had also been invited, and as we finished our cider Rachel called to see where we were. Rachel also works at the Blue Talon and had the night off. She told us that dinner was going to be shark steaks and vegetables.

Shark steaks. At this point I was thinking maybe I should have stuck with my former dinner plans and just gone to Panera. Shark steaks. I had never had shark before, and furthermore, did any of these people know how to prepare shark? I took heart at the thought that they work at the Blue Talon, and some different foods are served there, but shark? I prayed that Stephen would again bring breadends and cheese, just so I could be sure of having something to eat that I knew I liked, but when he arrived he was empty-handed. Shark.

The meal took quite awhile to prepare, and in the meantime we played "F*** You Pyramid," a drinking game in which one can end up drinking quite alot. I played with lemonade, so no one felt the need to actually make me drink, and called me out for my beverage choice quite often, but I didn't mind much. As we played, Elijah and Caroline scurried in and out cooking the shark at the grill, grilling kebabs of green and red peppers and lemons, and grilling unshucked sweet corn. Rachel, meanwhile, checked on the progress of her homemade carrot cake. By homemade, I mean when I arrived she was grating carrots for it.

When the meal was prepared I cautiously took a bit of shark steak, an ear of corn, and the vegetable kababs. I took a bite of shark steak-- it was the most amazing thing I had ever tasted! The texture was fantastic, the lemon baste and seasoning flavorful. I went back for seconds and thirds. Then I shucked the corn and took a bite-- as Stephen put it, "This is God's flavoring." It was sweet and moist and wonderful; I had two ears. Even the grilled peppers were better than I've had before due to the lemon on the kabab. It really gave the peppers a nice additional flavor that was wonderful and unusual. After dinner came the carrot cake. Rachel had made a three layer cake with homemade cream cheese icing and I swear I've never had a better carrot cake in my life (plus carrot cake, next to red velvet cake, is my favorite). The evening ended with another type of drinking game in which we guessed cards, though I still played with lemonade. I returned home full and happy.

In other news, yesterday I picked up my colonial costumes from the CDC, so I can start at the Governor's Palace on Monday. My clothes aren't as pretty this time, because my prettiest clothes last time were winter clothes, and apparently they quit giving summer hires stays. I'm very disappointed about this, but I still have my jumps at least. I need to lace them. My fitted short jacket is very nice, too, though not as nice as last time. It's a cream color with a lacy pattern and brown lining. My mom came down to Williamsburg yesterday, and she looked at the costumes and loved them, but I'm still on the fence about some of the pieces. She also brought me a sewing machine!!! I'm very excited to begin sewing. I love cross-stitching, but I would like to make clothing items, too, not just pretty pictures. I did finish my dad's Christmas cross-stitch though, and I've started on a new one for Kay, so that's coming along nicely. Plus, I'm about halfway through Gone With the Wind and my InterLibrary Loan book of Anansi Boys has arrived at Swem!

Oh, and Master Craftsman fixed my Found Ring yesterday! It's again wearable!

EDIT: Added a picture to post Then You May Take Me to the Faire, so that you all can see the beautiful corset that I tried on.

Historic Triangle in a Day

My cousin Josh came to visit me late last week! Josh is an amazing guy. My whole family is very spread out over the globe, but when I was a freshman in college Josh and his part of the family moved to NoVA from Africa so suddenly I had some cousins in the area. I often say that he is more like a brother to me than a cousin. We can talk about anything and everything. It's nice to have some part of the family that I feel really close to. Anyways, Josh came down to visit on Thursday. We went to a dinner party at Maggie and Elijah's where we played Loaded Questions. My friend Stephen brought appetizers in the form of Cheese Shop breadends, house dressing, and three types of cheeses plus crackers, we had several bottles of wine passing around, and Elijah made fettuccine Alfredo and we had caramelized pineapple with rose petal honey for dessert. It was a very pleasant evening. Josh and I ended up at home early-ish though (we were both tired), watched an episode of NCIS (a show we both love), then turned in around 11:00.

The next day, we went exploring! We had breakfast at Aroma's (chocolate/strawberry crepes for me, and quiche for Josh), then borrowed Zan's WM ID so that Josh could get in free to places, and we drove to Jamestown. I had no idea they had colonial glassblowing, but they do! Josh remembered it from long ago when he was here with his dad, so we went to see it. It was really cool to watch the 'settler' form a candle holder out of glass right in front of us. I told Josh if he liked this, he needed to get to Murano, the island off of Venice famous for glass. We then tried to go to Jamestown Island, but WM IDs don't work there, so we went to Jamestown settlement instead, where I showed Josh the Shakespeare First Folio, then we looked around at the 'Fort', the ships, and the 'Powhatten Camp' before deciding to head over to Yorktown. In Yorktown we parked by the waterfront, got some Ben and Jerry's ice cream, then sat eating it on the beach for awhile. We looked into some of the shops after that, then drove to the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor's Center. We arrived just in time to catch a showing of "Story of a Patriot." It's a really cheesy video made around 1956, extremely historically inaccurate in most cases, but still a lot of fun. Despite myself, it makes me feel patriotic. And the theatre they have put it in is beautiful! It's got stadium seating with high walls so you feel as if you are the only one there, and they have digitally restored the video so the sound and color are superb.

After the film, we drove back to my flat, then headed to Swem Library because I needed a few books to read at my jobs. I picked up The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and Gone with the Wind. I started Gone with the Wind at the Wren Building on Saturday, and continued it yesterday. So far, I love it. I told my dad that I was reading it and he said, "Careful, it may turn you into a Civil War buff." So it might; right now I find that I am drawn up into the story much more easily and willingly than I thought I would be.

Anyways, that night we ate dinner at Retro's, hung out at Mike, Zan, Allison, Thomas, and Annie's apartment, and Kacey came to stay with me because she had a wedding to attend the next morning. Saturday, all of my company departed and I was left to go to the Wren building for work. I really dislike working at the Wren. I don't know why-- I thought I would like it, and the other day when I could just read was ok, but for some reason Saturday was terrible. Alternately, I love working at Bella. I feel like I have actual things to do at Bella, and I'm learning retail skills, and the atmosphere is so warm and cozy with bright, happy lights and silky things, and jazzy music, but the Wren is cold and dark and silent. Literally, I was sitting in the Center Hall shivering from cold, but when I opened a door to let in some warm air I was asked to close it again by the permanent staff. And every tourist comments on how poorly lit a place is the Wren. Well, I've only worked there two days, maybe it will get better. Sigh. Oh, but Bella is wonderful! And I think I will get more hours, because the other shopgirl found a different job and is quitting! Hooray for a wonderful job!

The Handmaid's Tale

Tuesday was my first day at my other job: proctoring at the Wren Building. The first hour of the day was spent learning how to open the building, which lights to turn on, which keys open what, how to work the handicapped lift, and figuring out how to use the tools of the Wren, such as the mallet. Yes, there is a mallet.

The rest of the day was spent reading, because really, there's not a whole lot that needs doing at the Wren during the summer. I sat in the mostly quiet and empty information center reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and I finished it later that night. The novel is amazing and I highly recommend it to those of you who have never read it. The premise is that in the 1990s the Christian right and the Feminist movement joined together in an attempt to protect women by stripping them of their rights. Women can no longer hold property, vote, dress as they choose, engage in sexual behavior of their own volition, and-- most shockingly-- they aren't allowed to read. The narrator is a women who is now a handmaid, which means she lives in the house of a childless Commander and his wife, and once a month she has to sleep with the Commander and hope he makes her pregnant, otherwise she will be condemned as an Unwoman. The narrator remembers the time before-- the time we are experiencing now, for instance-- when she was married and had a child of her own. She had a job, money, friends, read books and magazines, and painted her toenails.

The scary part of the book is thinking how easily such a thing could happen, how easily rights can be taken away. It's also scary to think how much we take for granted and how hard women before us have worked to allow us rights-- such as the right to vote or even the right to sign a lease without a man co-signing (which, through the 1960s and 1970s couldn't happen). We have the right to use birth control, the right to see whomever we choose, the right to read and the right to acquire any knowledge that we so desire about any subject. With some of the current events of the day (the murder of Dr. Tiller and the permanent closure of his clinic), I think it's important that women read this book to understand that we cannot let any of our rights go without putting up a fight. It's a slippery-slope from where we are now to where The Handmaid's Tale begins.

On a happier note, Tuesday night I made smoothies at Richard's with Maggie, Elijah, and Christina (most of them new friends, except for Maggie). They were most excellent-- strawberry cookies and cream. Today my cousin Josh is arriving for a visit and we are going to a dinner party at Maggie's and Elijah's, which is very exciting as Elijah is a magnificent chef!

Settling.

I'm still trying to feel at home in my new place. I don't even know what to call it; I can't very well call it "the townhouse" (though that's what it is) since that's what we call my parent's place, and it's larger than an apartment. Perhaps this is indicative of the problem.

Let's call it a flat, shall we? I'm still trying to feel at home in my flat.

I have artwork now, for the walls, but as of yet it's still sitting on the ground, waiting for me to buy picture hangers. I've new sheets, and a bedspread my dad bought for me in China a few years ago, so the bedroom at least feels more like mine than theirs. I recently brought down my own books to fill the bookshelves, which helped my mental attitude immensely, and I've added touches to the dining room and kitchen, but somehow... it still doesn't quite feel like home. I don't sleep well at night yet, and the study feels both bare and cluttered. There seems to be so much left to do in each room to organize and to make it cheerful. And the cleaning never stops-- always more dishes to be washed, more trash to be thrown away, the bed to make, clothes to pick up and launder... The family room is the exception. Sitting on my couch with my pillows and Dr. Bear on the chairs, my new rug on the floor, my DVDs and games in the corner, and my TV on the table I feel safe and comfortable.

Then you may take me to the Faire...

Yesterday I went to the Virginia Renaissance Faire for the the first time ever, which is rather surprising considering that I like Ren Faire type things and that I have had a friend in the cast for the past two years. I had an absolutely fantastic time. The fair is at Lake Anna Winery, about an hour and forty-five minutes from Williamsburg, so I listened to The Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack on the way up-- how did that movie get a G-rating? The song "Hellfire" alone should have given it a PG.

Anyways, I got to the Faire and waited a bit for Katie and her friend from grad school, Amanda, to arrive. Once we were all met, the Faire was fantastic. I hadn't seen Katie for more than five minutes in a very long while, and it was wonderful to finally have time to spend with her. We started at a jewelry vendor who had amazing rings, although he somewhat sketchily asked Katie to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. We were all slightly weirded out. We wandered to the Noble's Glade to find Callie/Cass after that. She came over to talk to us for a bit, but seemed a bit busy. We decided to get food next; we went to the Fish and Chips vendor which had surprisingly good food, and we ate in the pub where there was much carousing. A storyteller/magician named Croaker was behind us in the food line and made things somewhat awkward, but maybe that was just a hold-over from the man at the jewelry vendor. No matter; Katie and I had a chance to actually catch up a bit during lunch, and I got to know Amanda a bit. We had a really nice lunch.

After lunch, we tried on corsets. Amanda bought a beautiful blue custom-made corset, and I tried on a gorgeous corset with a silvery/purple Celtic design. So beautiful. I wanted the pretty. It was quality made and cinched my waist to probably 19 inches and I loved it, but I just couldn't justify the purchase. I sadly let it slip through my fingers. I did, however, buy a Galadriel tiara at another vendor's booth-- it's bronze with a sparkling white drop bead. Where else could I find such a beautiful, elven looking headpiece? No where, that's where. Maybe a different Ren faire, but certainly not in any store in Williamsburg. I wore it for the rest of the day. I was so happy with my purchase. While we were at the tiara place, Kay arrived!!!! We grabbed more drinks at the pub, and found Callie/Cass, then Kay tried on a corset and we admired her. Callie/Cass and her friend entertained us as their Faire characters for a bit, then we looked at Alpacas. By that time it was about four o'clock, and I decided to start back to the 'burg, since my parents were visiting and I wanted to spend time with them.

Today was my first day at my new job at Bella. I really enjoyed it. The store is so cozy and stuffed with beautiful items. I even bought a new piece for myself-- I had been eyeing it for months, and with a thirty-percent discount I couldn't pass it up, especially after giving up a corset the day before. I think I'm going to really like working there. I began reading "The Lingerie Handbook" and it's wonderful.

Tonight I ended up at the Leafe with Maggie and some new friends, so at least I know I won't be lonely this summer! Things seem on track, for once. I have a wonderful job, wonderful friends even if they are spread around the globe, and a whole new summer group forming.

Of Art and Crowns

Dental work is a fiasco.

Many of you may know that in December a tooth that had previously had a root canal got painfully re-infected, so in early January I had to have an endodontic retreatment procedure. It turns out that the crown on the tooth, from my original root canal, was made of entirely porcelain instead of metal and porcelain, so I needed a new crown. My dentist in NoVA said it wasn't pressing and could be done in May when I returned from college.

He's incompetant. His office is disorganized, and he always makes me feel like I'm an annoyance. He gave me a crown on Tuesday; it fell off on Wednesday, after I'd already driven back to Williamsburg after making a special trip to D.C to have it put on. He wanted me to drive back at least one more time to look at it again, probably a few more times. So I found a dentist in Williamsburg. I went in this morning and he told me he could not in good conscience put the crown made by the other dentist onto my tooth. He showed me all the ways that it was made incorrectly, and corroborated what I already knew about the incompetance of my former dentist-- such as the fact that he never shaped the tooth, nor did he give me a temporary crown while the permanent was being made, nor did he put in the crown himself, nor did he check the "permanent" crown after it was put in, and the list goes on. So I have to have the entire crowning procedure re-done through July. Grrr. The bright spot is the new dentist-- he's amazing at what he does, plus he's a VMI guy! He was a senior while my dad was in Rat year, so we bonded.

As to the art part of the title-- I bought new art for my home today! J.C. Penny was having a sale on the most beautiful framed paintings, so I bought them to put in my dining room, bedroom, and living room. Finally I can take down the rather shabby posters left by the owners! It will look like a real home!!! I'm so excited about the paintings-- one is of Venice, one of a French village by the sea, and the other a print from a Renaissance painting which shows a map of the earth. North America is oddly shaped, and the globe is surrounded by paintings which supposedly represent the continents-- it's so beautiful. I spent several hours today picking out the paintings and carting them home and figuring out where they will go. I couldn't be happier with the artistic choices or with how they make the house seem much less white-washed. Things seem to be coming together nicely. Maybe this summer will be wonderful, after all. :)

Once More Unto the Breach, Dear Friends

Welcome to my life, in the Real World. Sort of.

Last time I kept a regular blog or journal of any sort was during my semester abroad in Bath, England (http://adventuresofanabigail.blogspot.com) and I kind of miss it. It's nice to look back and see what was going on once upon a time, and I know that I enjoy reading my friends blogs and livejournals, so I thought I would start again. We'll see how far I get.

I purport to be in the "Real World" now, but that's not entirely true. First of all, even if such a thing exists, I am happily buying time away from it now. I graduated on May 17th with a B.A in History, so I'm no longer an undergrad and thus no longer able to rely on the safety of campus housing and a meal plan. People expect me to pay rent, pay bills, buy my own groceries, cook my own food, and have a steady job that pays more than $6.55 an hour. Additionally, I need to really, really work on getting qualifications for jobs that I think I might want in the future, especially if I decide to look into dramaturgy programs or museum careers.

On the other hand, I've only moved about half a mile away from my former dorm into a nice little townhouse just off of Prince George Street. I'm leasing it from two professors for the next year while I complete my coursework in the Master's Program in Comparative History. The program is only a year long (two 12 credit semesters) with the following year to complete a thesis. The thesis can be completed anywhere, so I'm hoping to finally be leaving Williamsburg around this time next year. As to my thesis topic... that's up in the air right now. I know I want to do something with British history, but really, I love anything British-- including Wales and Scotland in addition to English, for those of you who read British and think "English"-- and I could happily work on any time period from 1000-1850. After 1850 things start getting a bit icky and too industrial. In my opinion. Although that could change, I suppose, if I learned from the right professor. I like the 1920s, too, but mostly for the ex-patriot literature coming out of Paris, so I probably won't do a history thesis about that. Right now, I'm debating about a thesis involving Renaissance theater or a thesis involving Georgian England/Scotland and Colonization. Both are fascinating to me.

Plus, I'm really happy because I got funding! I have a $4000 stipend, which is awesome for a master's program, and I am interning in the Reves Center for International Studies next year. I'm not entirely sure what my responsibilities there will include, but I'm really excited to get to work with study abroad programs and the Global Jobs center; maybe it will help me find something in England so I can complete my thesis abroad.

For the summer, I'm in Williamsburg. I am working at the Wren Building; I have an unpaid internship in Colonial Williamsburg's Foodways division, meaning I will be cooking in the governor's kitchen in 18th-century clothing, and I just got another job today! I will be a shopgirl at Bella, the lingerie store in merchant square. My best friend Kay worked there for the past two years and loved it, so I'm really excited to be starting a job where I get to be around pretties all day. Even if it is excruciatingly hard not to buy some of them... so expensive.

So, that's where I'm at now. I'm not exactly picking up where I left off with The Many Adventures of Me, but I felt that I should let that blog be-- it's a beautiful reminder of a happy semester, but it feels very complete to me. About year has passed since my last entry there, and it's been an eventful, oftentimes trying, time. My life now deserves a new space.

Welcome to Abigail and the Real World.