Cornbread.

This post is a little overdue, but better late than never.

Before leaving VA Beach, I spent my last day in rural North Carolina. I saw lots of cotton fields. And some goats.

The people were so nice. At schools, and just in general. I went into a supermarket, and every person I passed on the way in the door said hi to me. If this were to happen to me in Boston, I would think that I accidentally forgot my shirt when I got dressed.

At the second school I went to, I talked to a woman named Suzanne for a while. She was really sweet. She was pregnant and we talked about Disney World. I gave her a yo yo on my way out and she hugged me. The people at the schools in NC were so grateful that I was there, they said they'd never had anything like me before. I was in an extremely rural part of the state. There was nothing, for miles. The center of the first town had a gas station/supermarket and a post office, the second town had those two things plus a pizza grill. I feel lucky to have grown up in a city such as Boston- it's played a big part in who I am. I feel like a place like Gatesville, NC is probably quite wholesome, but probably quite difficult to ever leave- to see the world.

On my way back to the airport, I was stopped by road construction and a flagger named Cornbread. We chatted for what seemed like 20 minutes until the road was clear for me to pass. He was kind. He had a beard and told me how he was planning on painting it white for the holidays for the kids in his neighborhood-so he could be Santa Claus. He also told me I was the kind of person that could change someone's life just by meeting them. Was he hitting on me? Maybe. But I prefer just to think he was a kind old man.

My yoyo show is really shaping up. I feel confident that I'm doing well. I'm happier, not stressed anymore. It's sinking into that place where I start the first line of the show and the rest of it just flows out of my mouth. That's a pretty good place to be. It makes it a lot easier to deal with curve balls.

This week will be a very short 2 days, then Thanksgiving. I can not wait for Thanksgiving.

Va va va VA Beach

I am in Virginia Beach. Yo-yoing. The shows here have been going well, people are much nicer here than they are in Boston. Now I get what everyone says about us New Englanders. Not that I mean every Bostonian is mean, because they are clearly not, but in my experience of showing up at a school and actually needing help and time for people- the Virginians are much more accepting of my requests. People from NH are pretty good too, and also East Boston. That's a surprising mix.

As far as the yos go, it's getting better and better. I'm landing my tricks more often than not now, and totally wowing little children. I hope this only continues.

Today I had the day off, because it is Veteran's Day. No school. Woo hoo!

I took it upon myself to explore VA Beach. The first place I headed to this morning was the boardwalk. I was excited. As I left my hotel, the sun was beaming and it seemed to be getting warmer; however, as I drove eastward on I-264, the clouds began to roll in. I got to the gray beach a few moments later. I didn't let the clouds stop me, I walked on the boardwalk two miles down the beach to get to the pier. When I got to the pier I discovered it was closed for the season- I also discovered that had it been open, someone would have charged me $2 to walk out on a dock. Seriously? Where is the world at these days?

Well, I walked to the other side of the pier and proceeded to take my shoes off and stick my feet in the ocean. I did this while Virginians walked the boardwalk in coats and scarves. It was a balmy 53 today. The beach itself was lovely, so clean and crisp, with huge waves.

I walked back to my car along the strip, and poked my head into some cheesy gift shops along the way. The sun poked its head out for a brief moment, and it that moment I ran back to the beach and snapped the picture above.

I was hoping it'd be warm enough to actually lay out in my bathing suit on the sand, and maybe go swimming, but no such luck. I'll just have to wait until next month when I head to the D.R.(not yo-yo related).

I then took the rest of the day to explore the city.....it didn't take long. Strip mall after strip mall, chain restaurant after chain restaurant. I was hoping to find a quaint Sherman-esque coffee shop where I could do some reading, but no luck there either. I thought that perhaps the center of VA Beach would have something similar- the "center" of VA Beach is an office park where the town hall, crime solvers and other random governmental stuff meet. It was back to the strip malls for me.

This made me think about the rest of America. And how lucky we Bostonians are. Not only the Bostonians, but the New Yorkers, the San Franciscans, the Seattle-ites...the people that live in L.A.- we live in a city with character. A city where a lot of the things in it can't really be found anywhere else. When I'm driving down the road here in VA Beach, I could easily be back in Kansas City, or even in Orlando. My boyfriend told me that the average American watches 4 hours of T.V. a day. I can see how this is possible, when the biggest thing to do where you live is go to the mall- and even that closes by 9:00.

I do thoroughly enjoy the beach though.

Tomorrow, it's back to the bean. It's been a nice little jaunt. Thanks for everything Virginia!

The fruits of my labor.

So on Friday I had a lovely little show in Attleboro. It went very well. The principal even gave me a cupcake!

Well, on Sunday, I left for my first solo tour. Virginia Beach baby. I've been meaning to write since then, but it's been a busy few days.

I had a good trip down. A suprisingly long trip down here, actually. I had a layover in Newark for about 3 hours. Anyone who's been through Newark, you can feel me on this. But, it was shockingly not crowded! Well, not as crowded as I have seen it get anyway. I spent the majority of my 3 hours reading in a Starbucks and eating the lunch that my wonderful boyfriend bought for me and sent me on the plane with. While sitting, I had lots of time to ponder.

Couples with matching luggage. I watched a middle aged couple walk by me, with matching silver carry-ons. They were sweet. I thought about them going to some tropical place, and thought about them still really being in love. There's something to be said for that. Loving someone so much that you even want your luggage to match. They didn't wear matching jumpsuits and fannypacks, though that may have been just as sweet. May have been.

Pretzels. I sat for a while by the Auntie Anne's pretzel stand. This made me realize Americans really love their pretzels. And ice cream. And hotdogs. Being in Virginia has made me realize even more how Americans love their Sonics, McDonalds' and strip malls. It makes me feel lucky to live in a place where these things are few and far between- relatively speaking.

Children. Children are to thank for my job. And they are the future. Really. I was a child once, and here I am, in the future. All that aside, no one wants to sit in front of a small child on a plane. Or anywhere near a baby.

Small planes. I rode two of the smallest planes I have been on in my life to get here- save the one I jumped out of in Spain. They were so tiny we got on from a staircase on the runway, and no carry-on suitcases were allowed on board- there was no room for them. So small, not even a complimentary beverage was served. Or it is possible that's a new FAA regulation. Which brings me to another thought...

Food on planes. Not the kind that you may or may not get from the flight attendant, but the kind that you buy at the random place at the airport. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. You're sitting on the plane, and then some guy gets on with Pizza Hut. It smells so good. No matter what it is, even if it's something you'd never ever eat, you want it. And I can almost guarantee everyone else on the plane wants it too. I have been this guy once or twice- one time I had Bojangles (a gift brought from North Carolina to my southern boyfriend up north), and one time I had a hotdog. A hot dog with mustard and sauerkraut. Everyone wanted the hotdog. The flight attendant asked me where I got it. The guy next to me said it looked good. The guy diagonally behind me was all "Is that sauerkraut?!?!", and proceeded to ask me how it was while I ate it. I then offered him a bite.

He didn't accept.

So, I guess to sum it all up, if you want to make friends on a plane, bring enough sauerkraut for everyone.

I'm going to have the day off here in VA Beach on Thursday. I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully there'll be some sights to see, and maybe, just maybe, it'll be warm enough to go to the beach.

Signing off for now, xoxo

Ow.

That's a bruise from yo-yoing. Ow.

They told me I need to throw it harder......

Hopefully I build up some beef and don't get bruises anymore. Yeah. That'd be good.

There'll be much more to update next week, I'm going on my first solo tour- to Virginia Beach! Woooooo!

The Silence.

Sooooo, after I've last written, some things have happened. Some.

I went to the Space Needle. Yeah, it was touristy, but it really is a must see. On a clear day. Because when it is clear in Seattle, you can see mountains and ocean for miles. I had fun, I took pictures. I drank a space beer. I bought a t-shirt.

Then I was back off to the airport to a red eye back to the bean. I may have slept the best I've ever slept on a plane. There was more sleep, and when I woke up, I had no voice.

I lost the voz near the end of my second show on Tuesday, but could still make noise. By Thursday morning, there was no noise. I was a little freaked. I went to the doctor to discover that I had Viral Layrngitis and had to go on Steroids. Yep, roids. Awesome. Needless to say, I had to take a sick day on Friday. After a lovely, but quieter than normal weekend, I was very pumped for my show today.

See today, I only had one show, and it was in Charlestown. A 9 minute drive from my house- so perfect! Unfortunately when I got the the school, I discovered that they had cancelled their show last week....and due to....whatever....I never got the message. No yo-yo show today. Wa wa waaaaa. Let's only hope tomorrow I'll at least get in the door- then proceed to knock of socks with my mad yo-in' skill. Mhm.

Road trip: Washington

So, I'm back in Seattle. It was time to follow up on my training, so I was flown here for three days, to do two shows that my trainer could watch. Because of booking, or the PTO in Seattle, or whatever, my shows were in Wenatchee, WA. Which is about a 3 hour drive from my Seattle home base. Needless to say, when I first discovered this, I was a little peeved. 3 hours is a long drive. Especially long after 9 hours of flying. But, when I awoke at 5:00 yesterday morning to leave, I was pleasantly surprised. The drive to Central WA from Seattle is one of the most beautiful I've ever been on. Imagine the sun rising while you pass through mountains like this:

And then, passing quaint little towns like this:

The sign says, "Rocky says: Welcome to Skykomish, A Great Northern Town"

A river was coursing through the mountains my entire ride, I wanted to jump out of my car and run into it. This picture doesn't do it justice. It was warmer on my ride home, but just above freezing on my ride in. I was a an elevation of 3600 ft abouve sea level- which I believe is pretty high.

And, tucked inside of all of this natural beauty, after driving for 90 miles without seeing any civilization, I stumbled upon the town of Leavenworth.

Leavenworth, WA is an interesting place. It is modeled to be a Bavarian town. Like you may find in the alps. Everything has a certain look to it, like this:

Yeah, even Starbucks dressed up. And Subway, and the gas stations. There was German music being pumped through the town center. The street signs were in German. This little town intrigued me so much, I took it upon myself to do a little bit of research.

Turns out, Leavenworth was first settled with folks looking for gold, and other things that pioneers did on the Oregon trail. In the 1890s, the Great Northern Railroad decided to plant its tracks right through the town, which apparently turned it into a bustling place of opportunity-complete with a sawmill. The railroad was re-routed sometime around the great depression, taking with it all of the prosperity this small town had. The people lived on the brink of extinction for thirty years- until someone said, "Hey, let's turn our podunk mountain town into a Bavarian tourist destination!". Which worked. According to the town's website, they see a million visitors a year, they have a huge Oktoberfest,and a Christmas Tree Lighting. Who knew?

After all of this adventure, I found myself at a school in a place called Rock Island, about to do a show that my boss would watch. Well, it went just as I had expected. Pretty bad. The yoyo master makes me a little nervous. But then, my second show, well, that was something to write home about. I did all of my yo-yo tricks, like a pro- which is what I'm supposed to be, after all. I was glad. Trainer said I've clearly improved and it's great to see. Phew.

Well, now I sit in a cafe in Edmonds, WA writing to you. I just sat on this beach for a little while:

And, I have 5 hours and 20 minutes until my flight home. I think I'll finally be a tourist and go check out the Space Needle.

Hazards of the Job.

Yup. That's a blood blister. From yo-yoing.

"That's tiny!" You may say. "Insignificant!" "You're a wimp!" Well, yes, you may think this things. And truth is...it's doesn't even hurt. But have you ever gotten a blood blister from a yo-yo? Yeah, that's what I thought.

This week was good, minus Connecticut which always sucks.

Friday I had a morning show in E.Boston, which was super fun, because I got to speak a lot of Spanish. It was so great I wish I could request doing inner city schools every day. Yeah, if the kids were older, it would be a little rough. But they aren't, they're super cute, and so unbelievably appreciative to have a show- and a fun one at that. I was told that I was the first assembly these kids had seen since 2008. That did make me feel kind of cool. Also, the city kids seem to be much more impressed with my yo-yo skill, which is a definite plus.

After the Eastie school, I was off to Longmeadow. East Boston and Longmeadow in the same day you say? Yes. Yes that is what I had to do. But to make the most of it, I went up to Northampton after my shows were over. I love the Pioneer Valley. The weather was beautiful, I walked, I shopped, I thrifted, and I ate the best grilled cheese known to man from the Haymarket Cafe. Yeah, you UMass kids know what I'm talking about. It was so nice. I didn't want to leave. The fall is the most perfect of times to be in Noho.

I could get used to this having weekends thing. It's nice. I went out dancing on Friday, made new friends and it was super fun. Yesterday, slept in with the BF and made omelets. Also, I helped out a couple of friends open a show- which I recommend- find out more at www.unorthodoxarts.org.

Tomorrow, I head back to Seattle. It's time for a follow-up on my training. My trainer is going to watch me do 3 shows, and then tell me what I'm doing wrong. Please don't let me mess up any yo-yo tricks.