Annie spouts her views on the world

That was short

2008-11-21T16:02:00.002-05:00

Well, we are back to not-dating status. 3 dates with 3 guys from the web in 2 weeks led me to determine I am no longer interested in online dating. I really was looking for something to click, and when it did with the last guy, he was only interested in sex. So, I'm no longer lookin' for love in the Big Apple. Just gonna bide my time until I depart in July. (more on this later)

The streets of NYC after Obama's win

2008-11-05T09:37:00.000-05:00

A magical night. After our broomball game, we walked out to electric streets. An amazing night.

The Streets After Obama's Win

When I Grow Up, I Want to Work in Advertising

2008-10-06T12:46:00.000-04:00

After 8 months at Ogilvy, I now know how true this is.

The return to the dating world - first date back.

2008-10-06T12:36:00.003-04:00

Had an interesting first date Friday night.

Guy walks up and starts complaining. Just a drag. Then tells me about how he likes to beat up on those who work for him (he's a chef), how he no longer drinks after his twenties (and he's happy to tell me all about it), how he can't stand most people, how he's a control freak, how he works 6 days a week and always brings the stress home with him and that will never change. He also said, "wow, I thought you would be more dressed up at work."

Classy.

So after dinner (which I knew wasn't a good idea for a first date) I said I was going to see my sister so I had to go. As we walked out he said he is blunt about who he is because at 38 he's not going to change. Then he tried to maul my face. Then he text me that night to ask if I liked him. Then sunday morning to see if I thought I would like him. I text back saying I didn't thimk we were a match and good luck.

Too much to update!

2008-09-25T09:13:00.002-04:00

Damn it, I've gots lots to catch you up on and very little energy to divulge :) (I feel I've said this many times on here...)

1. Since October 1, I've left the MS Society, headed to Ogilvy, and then started at a prominent magazine publisher doing digital marketing.
2. My health has gotten significantly better after a very challenging few months around this time last year.
3. In the past week, I've found myself broke. Somehow I've lost control of my spending. Well, tightening the belt commences.
4. I'm doing the Mongol Rallly! More on that later.
5. I'm really sleepy today...

Colombia

2008-06-10T09:41:00.001-04:00

I guess this is getting buzz, and that is what they wanted...

2007-06-22T22:07:00.000-04:00

A Brazilian yogurt company is now running ads saying,

"Forget about it. Men's preference will never change. Fit Light Yogurt."

Below is one of the photos from the campaign.

The premise is to place overweight women in iconic sexy female roles to imply they are no longer attractive if they are "chunky."

Here's to perpetuating low-self esteem!

"It's a very evolved little squiggle."

2007-04-18T10:05:00.000-04:00

Listen to this NPR story.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9560048
"When you see a cat pounce on a rat, it seems like a classic story about a predator and prey.

But scientists have recently discovered that sometimes the main actor is actually a tiny parasite in the rat's brain that makes the normally fearful rat think "oh how nice" when it smells a cat.

The parasite wants the rat to be caught by the cat because it needs to be in the cat's stomach to reproduce. New research sheds light on how this surprising little organism can manipulate a rodent to do its will."

Photos from Australia

2007-04-10T22:11:00.000-04:00

Double click on slideshow for larger images.

Sex is happening!

2006-12-21T09:37:00.000-05:00

Yes, I'm very vocal about safe sex and sexual education. And you know what? I'm right to be. We need to get away from the abstinence programs. It causes more harm and fear than help. We need a frank and open dialog about what is wrong (and what is right) with sex. Damn puritanical heritage.

Brief:
Challenge to no-sex campaign

James Bone
NEW YORK A report that concludes that 95 per cent of Americans have sex before marriage — and have been doing so for decades — calls into question the spending of almost $1 billion by the Bush Administration on abstinence-only programmes.
The study found that even among women born in the 1940s, nearly nine out of ten had engaged in premarital sex. "Not only is premarital sex nearly universal by age 30, but it is also very common at much younger ages," Dr Lawrence Finer, the report's author, wrote. Dr Finer is research director at the Guttmacher Institute, a private New York-based think-tank that opposes the abstinence-only approach.

The Bush Administration has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the controversial programmes and is requesting $204 million more next year.

Want more?

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2740714&page=1

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&resnum=0&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&tab=wn&ncl=1112123601

This really upset me

2006-12-13T15:05:00.000-05:00

China's white dolphin called extinct after 20 million years

BEIJING, China (AP) -- An expedition searching for a rare Yangtze River dolphin ended Wednesday without a single sighting and with the team's leader saying one of the world's oldest species was effectively extinct.

The white dolphin known as baiji, shy and nearly blind, dates back some 20 million years. Its disappearance is believed to be the first time in a half-century, since hunting killed off the Caribbean monk seal, that a large aquatic mammal has been driven to extinction.
A few baiji may still exist in their native Yangtze habitat in eastern China but not in sufficient numbers to breed and ward off extinction, said August Pfluger, the Swiss co-leader of the joint Chinese-foreign expedition.

"We have to accept the fact, that the Baiji is functionally extinct. We lost the race," Pfluger said in a statement released by the expedition. "It is a tragedy, a loss not only for China, but for the entire world. We are all incredibly sad."

Click on the link to read the rest of the article. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300304.html

More in NYT article http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/weekinreview/17basics.html?ei=5090&en=a6baf971611f621c&ex=1324011600&pagewanted=all

Redhead Articles

2006-11-21T21:31:00.000-05:00

My doctor and I were discussing illnesses that are known to affect redheads more often than other "breeds." He wanted me to try and find the NYT article so I went on the hunt. I came across a redhead community site - like friendster and myspace - but for redheads only. (No, I did not join.) On the site they have news articles about people with our fiery locks. I thought I would share some amusing ones.

Radio Neatherlands
Blondes might have more fun, and gentlemen may well marry brunettes, but redheads are remembered. For while they have had a troubled history - being burned as witches, sacrificed to gods and condemned as unlucky or insane, to give just a few examples, there has always been an edgy glamour attached to women with red hair, from Cleopatra to Rita Hayworth to Julianne Moore. A recent report by the Oxford Hair Foundation in the UK has caused shockwaves in the Netherlands: redheads, it says, are dying out, and could become extinct as soon as 2060.

Special gene found in red haired women
by Tim Utton
Blondes, they say, have more fun. But redheads have a definite edge when the going gets tough, according to scientists. A gene found in flame-haired women means they are better at coping with pain than blondes or brunettes. The research could help to explain the strong character of famous redheads down the ages - from Cleopatra, Nell Gwynne and Florence Nightingale to Lulu.

The gene, called Mc1r, is linked to ginger hair and fair skin. But while it gives women a higher pain threshold, it does not have the same effect on their male counterparts, researchers found.

Read more

Redheads 'have more sex than blondes or brunettes'
Daily Mail - UK 15th August 2006
Blondes may have more fun but redheads have more sex, according to new research in Germany. The study by Hamburg Sex Researcher Professor Dr Werner Habermehl looked at the sex lives of hundreds of German women and compared them with their hair colour.

Read more

"Annie, This is why we don't use Wikipedia as a resource. - Michael."

2006-08-04T21:51:00.000-04:00

Wikipedia Celebrates 750 Years Of American IndependenceFounding Fathers, Patriots, Mr. T. Honored

July 26, 2006 Issue 4230
The Onion

NEW YORK - Wikipedia, the online, reader-edited encyclopedia, honored the 750th anniversary of American independence on July 25 with a special featured section on its main page Tuesday.

Three girls march toward the White House on Elm St. in Washington, DC, as part of the Inderpendance Day Parade."It would have been a major oversight to ignore this portentous anniversary," said Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, whose site now boasts over 4,300,000 articles in multiple languages, over one-quarter of which are in English, including 11,000 concerning popular toys of the 1980s alone. "At 750 years, the U.S. is by far the world's oldest surviving democracy, and is certainly deserving of our recognition," Wales said. "According to our database, that's 212 years older than the Eiffel Tower, 347 years older than the earliest-known woolly-mammoth fossil, and a full 493 years older than the microwave oven."

Slut!

2006-07-14T21:58:00.000-04:00

Not the most revolutionary article on earth - most of it "bleeding obvious" (to quote Basil Fawlty - god I'm a dork) - but interesting. Especially interesting to see in the NY Times. Ok, and who doesn't like knowing the etymology of a word?

The Taming of the Slur
By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM - New York Times

WHISPERS follow her like so many eyes. She is the one who will go home with you, the sure bet, the kind of girl you can lie down with and then walk all over. She is ogled, envied and often ostracized. She is the slut.

The word, which originated in the Middle Ages, has emerged from a schoolyard barb to become commonplace in popular culture, marketing and casual conversation. In his duet with the rapper Eminem, Nate Dogg describes his hunt for a big old slut in the single Shake That. The ample-bosomed puppet in the Broadway musical Avenue Q is called Lucy the Slut.

Read On...

2005-08-19T22:59:00.001-04:00

Hi you guys,
I guess if you are reading this, you deserve a update about the past year.

Here is a super fast outline of the past year+. I guess last time I updated most of you, I was leaving my Siberia...

May 2004

Flew from Irkutsk, to Moscow. (6 hours on a plane from 1975 with everything written in English. do we think this could have been a quick sell-off from the decline of TWA or Pan-Am? The seats reclined all the way back, so the nice HUGE man in front of me was in my lap the entire flight. Since 6 hours is a "puddle jumper" there was no movie or music but some sort of fried meat. I know that is shocking to those of you who know Russian cuisine.) I was hugely disappointed because I soooo close to Mongolia, so close to Lake Baikal... but I was so sick and exhausted and worn down, I needed to go home. Some day I'll get there. I know I will.
Parents spotted me the cash to fly back from Moscow to NY, where they now reside. I moved in with Mom and Dad for the first time since the summer of 1998. It is really kinda lovely being near them. They are great people.
I took a few weeks and finally found a paid PR internship with the NYC chapter of a wonderful health oriented non-profit. My boss took me under her wing. I have learned so much from this wonderful woman. She is the best boss (and such a great friend).
Emanuele and I still talked but it was over. We couldn't find a way to get him over here without us getting married. We discussed it seriously but that was too much to do right then. New country, away from his family for the first time in his life, different language, marriage... so we both started dating other people. But to this day, we still remain very good friends. He seems very happy with his new (Italian) girlfriend, which makes me happy, even tho I'm protective.

Lots of stuff happened... and more stuff... and then some more...

September 2004

Celimene and Magali, friends from France, stayed with our family. I'm so glad they were around for my fabulous birthday extravaganza. My 25th birthday had people from all times of my life - grammar school, middle school, high school (in Florida), college, and present time! I eventually lost one of my fabulous pumps in a diner around 4am.

October 2004

I moved into a fantastic apartment in the city. I have two roommates. I found this place through work - one roommate was also an intern at the chapter.
Started seriously thinking about getting the purse business up and running. Still trying to do that.

November 2004

Met my boyfriend, who I ended up dating for four months before he moved to Chicago (his home.) He is a great guy and it was a lot of fun. hmmmmm...
I began working a second job on nights and weekend. I did customer relations for a prestigious orchestra. I loved the people I worked with - so much fun. I adore them but the people you work for - the customers - are the most cruel people I have met. They treat you like you are below dirt. I had an old German man, using a walker, come after me screaming "You Nazi." The customers made me cry twice in public. bawling. (have you ever seen me cry?) They just break you down. Needless to say, I quit a few months later.

December 2004

Claire, Rogers, Autumn, Kevin, and Hannah made visits out to see me.

March 2005

New roommate moved into our apartment.
Amanda (my best female friend in NYC) moved to Japan :( She is one of the greatest people I have ever known in my life.
I went to the UK for a vacation. Claire (my roommate from Venice) let me stay on her couch. I adore Claire and had the greatest time dashing about the city. (I dashed alone while she was at work). Saw a play that blew my mind there - "Breathing Corpses." Scared the shit out of me. I had my face in poor Claire's shoulder the whole time. I also spent some time with Emma M (who I met while I was backpacking thru Italy and tagged along with in some towns travels) and Gin & Andrew (who I met in a hostel in Berlin).
Then I headed North to the Lake District. I stayed with my wonderful friends Callum and Eloise (who I met while working in Scotland.) They were so kind and let me sleep on the blow-up mattress, at the foot of their bed, for days! They really had no room and were so kind to let me take up a lot of space. I loved catching up with them and hiking about the mountains. Met a wonderful old woman on top of a hill one day and we talked about travels and politics. She really gave me some great insight.
My boss at the non-profit quit to go to a position at the National headquarters. The boss at the orchestra called me out of the blue and offered me a full-time position. As I was about to take the orchestra job (which I would have hated but would be good pay, great coworkers, and HEALTH INSURANCE) my non-profit boss told her new employers that she needed me to come with her. So, the National office made a new position for me, "National Public Relations Associate," and offered me more money than the orchestra.
The boyfriend and I broke up. He was moving back to Chicago.
Eric, my best guy friend in the city, got a job next door to my apartment, so now we have dinner dates and get drunk while trying to figure out each other's love lives :)

May 2005

Started new job. It is challenging but I love working here. They are giving me so much responsibility. The head boss is fantastic as well. Took me a long time to get my barrings (uhm... August I started to feel comfortable... FINALLY).
My little sister, Yoda, graduated with honors!!!!!!! And two minors! I am sooooo incredibly proud of her. I love this girl. She is amazing in so many ways!

July 2005

Broke ankle walking down the subway stairs on my way to work. I spent 3 days on it thinking it was a sprain. Finally, my boss made me go to the doctors. Yup, broken.
We had our first all family party. All of us invited friends. It was fantastic. Kirsten and Adam flew in from LA. Kevin, Kevin and Autumn came up from DC. Trista, Maciej and Jyoti came down from Boston. Tons of friends came up from the city. People from all periods of my life were there & all the different groups I hang out with (you can see I like this theme). And my parents' friends from many periods of their lives were there. And my sister's too!
I was in the New York Post as one of their dating guinea pigs. The Post's dating journalist had seen my profile on Friendster and wrote me. She asked if she could use me for her column. They put my profile in the paper, with 2 other women's profiles and this guy got to choose one of us. Also, the public got to vote. He did not choose me, but I got 70% of the public vote. Hells yeah New York loves Annie!

August 2005

Went to a nutritionist my doctor recommended to help get rid of my migraines and stomach pains. This is how I described it to Amanda: "I had the most amusing nutritionist appointment last night. this doctor wants me off dairy and wheat. so I went to his nutritionist. She wants me to go to hypnotherapy, have coffee enemas and colonics, write letters to those who have hurt me forgiving them and then burn the letters, not eat 'dead birds and dead animals' but some fish are ok because they still have the 'lifeforce.' Every drop of alcohol is killing me, as well as using a microwave. Actually, I shouldn't even own one. then she had this energy healer - and old Jewish man in a bad jump suit - he rubbed my back while singing 'you're just too good to be true.'" I have to write more on that experience.
Went to Little E's wedding in Indiana. I can not begin to describe how wonderful it was. My sister was my date - we stayed at Grandma's one night (she lives in Louisville) and then drove up to the wedding. Kevin (& gf), Kate (& fiance), Erica (& gf), Rob, Mary, Caitlin, and Bodi were there!!!!! It was in the garden of her husband's parents house, the most beautiful home i have ever seen - 1800s. Amazing place. Erin looked like a goddess and she was so happy. Gabe, the hubby, is a doll. Her "new" friends are wonderful people, with strong social consciousnesses :) We danced and drank all night. I even decorated my boot with fake flowers :)
Ankle is healed. Health took a bit of a turn for the worse, but they think it is just stress. And in the past week it has gotten sooooo much better. The migraines have gone, which is lovely.

You would think I could dress myself.

2004-11-03T09:39:00.000-05:00

I know you guys have been missing the antics of annie over email...

so let's take this morning.

I put on a really hot dress. I love this dress. Makes me look like a 1940's pin-up. (This goes with my theory that I should have been born in another era, where I would have been a goddess to all men... but that is just a theory.) Cleavage bearing, flowy, showing off my legs. Worn with some kick ass boots. It fits me so perfectly, that I don't wear a bra with it.

So... I'm just wearing my blue panties covered with stars. Which to be honest, makes me feel a little naughty, so I am definitely walking with a sway of the hips.Everyone has stopped me this morning -- my roommates, my coworkers, men on the street... to tell me that I look great. (nice feeling, since usually I look like an afro'ed dirtball) And I'm not even wearing makeup! My boss even said, "that is a great dress. Now that is what you should be wearing on dates. Sooo sexy."

Well, sitting at my desk, I realize there are strings hanging off. FUCK, dress is starting to unravel. But I stop it. While I am cutting off the strings, I notice I can see my underwear. I stand up. Holy shit, the dress is see thru under the florescent lights of my office.

The pattern on the dress is large enough that I think no one will notice... but yes... today I have gone to work with a see-thru dress. I am now covered up in my long jacket claiming that I am really cold when in fact, they have the heat on high in the office and sweat is running down my back.

The Cons of Working in Non-Profit

2004-08-04T15:37:00.000-04:00

This is intended to be an amusing email. Seriously snarky, but amusing. Not bitching. Because who can bitch when they only work 3 days a week :)

1 quick thing about working in Non-profits. You deal with great people, and you deal with real shit heads.
Let's talk about the shit heads.
Did PR for a huge benefit last week. As I deal with the press, for part of the time I was put on the press booth. Did you know that there is a whole underground web of people who falsify press credentials so that they can sneak into events for free and get food and drinks. But come on! How low can you be to sneak into an event that pays to help save lives! How low can you be? Especially when you see how expensive the clothes are that these scammers are wearing!
Some characters I met who I could tell you stories about - but don't have much time:
There was shaggy, who is notorious. He wrote an article in the New York Times about how he can scam all of the PR people in NY. My boss was pissed.
Then his date.
Then the old little Latino man in the fedora who 6 of us rejected. Then he scammed a ticket off of someone and thought he could sneak in. And each time he was rejected, he threw a fit. Then we got the security to carry him out.
The drunk guy who claimed he wrote for the Post and Maxim. Said he didn't have his press pass but he had his note book (it said New York Post on it). he was angry when we didn't let him in.

But the impetus for the email is the phone call my co-worker just got. She was trying to help a man get his Newsletter sent to him and was having some trouble with him because he was irate he had missed his newsletter. He ended the phone call with "I will take your whole office out. I will firebomb you. The Neurological conference at the Waldorf Astoria next week -- you are mine."

Lovely. All this over a newsletter. Really, not that interesting. I'll read it to him over the phone.

But in all honesty... it is just amusing. I work with and for some amazing people. And I am surrounded by great spirits. I could seriously write a book on the slime tho :)

Just thought I would share.

Kisses.

Getting back into the swing of New York

2004-06-16T19:06:00.000-04:00

hey babies!

I just wanted to write a quick note and tell you I'm alive and safe in NY. My parents, in September, moved back to the house i grew up in. I moved from here when i was 15 to Florida. It is really nice to be back here.

I feel like a bit of a loser living with the parents for the period, but there is no way in hell i can afford a NYC apartment, so after weighing being broke or being a loser, i chose a loser... hell, i was pretty close to a loser before anyway :)

hehehehe

I am definitely missing travelling. But it is nice to be settled somewhere for a while. I'm doing really well. Got a part-time job doing PR/communications for a health related non-profit. Feeling really good about working for a good cause/non-profit. Got my own email, phone, desk... have a pseudo big girl job :)

Planning on taking off again on the road in 1 year (max! hopefully only 8 months) You all know I HATE talking about politics or even thinking about them, but I definitely am sticking around to vote in November. I'm pretty damn embarrassed by our reputation abroad. Not that every country has their problems, but some days it seems we are just so proud of being asses.

Missing "my man." We broke up because we knew it was going to be too hard to do the long distance over an ocean. We were ok an hour by plane away, but almost 7 hours and an ocean... a little much for us. But we are still good friends (god, doesn't that sound fake? but it is strangely true. damn mature relationships :) heheheheh ) I'm loving being single in the city again. Been having a great time. :)

Been hanging out with alot of old friends. Many from when i lived up here (almost 10 years ago), many from florida (most of whom i haven't seen since i graduated in 1997), and, of course my, uni buddies who have moved here from michigan. It's been great.

And my family is absolutely wonderful! They are being fantastic! My sister gets back in 2 weeks from a semester studying in Capetown. Kelsey, my dog, is doing wonderfully, but my dad has totally brainwashed her to love him more :)

Ok, I miss and love you all. I hope this finds you happy and safe.
Drop me a line sometime. Better yet, come visit!

Ok... I'm off to bed. I promise I will be less sporatic about writing. (heard that before, haven't ya)
buona notte
Annabelle

Annabelle takes a break from the road

2004-04-27T19:53:00.000-04:00

(Taken from the train a few days ago)

A woman this morning made a great point, "You're only human and this isn’t a battle to prove your strength."

Yesterday, near the boarder of Mongolia, in Irkutsk, I lost it. I couldn’t take anymore. Even tho this has been an amazing adventure and I have met some of the best people I could have ever hoped to meet. And there has definitely been a guardian angel on my side, helping me out... doing this trip alone without a grasp of Russian is too much for me. The weather is crap, the people are nasty (not just rude) and constantly out to scam you, I have been cheated, roughed up, scammed, and pick pocketed more than I have in the past 2 years in these past 3 weeks. I have never been so scared for my safety as I have been here. There is a bad feeling all around. And there is a definite lack in other tourists. Usually I would enjoy that - here I feel like it makes me even more of a target.

I think I will try again sometime, but only with another person. (Emma R, let me know when you are heading out... maybe Ill meet you somewhere...) The trains have been great alone, and you meet so many wonderful Russian people who try to take you under their wings and the small villages are wonderful! It is only the cities that I can no longer take.

I stood in the middle of the street yesterday bawling my eyes out after a truck of drunken men (they were waving/throwing their bottles at me) tried to hit me on the curb, I couldn’t find my hostel, which was a minibus ride away in the suburbs, and a lot of countless little shit. Life is still wonderful and I am lucky that I am safe and healthy... but I think I need to recharge.

So, I bought a cheap flight to Moscow for tomorrow morning. Got the cheapest ticket I could find from there to New York, and come Friday night, I will be asleep in my parents' house.

I don’t know what the next plan is. Feeling pretty shitty I didn’t make it to Mongolia, but after talking to bunches of couples that just came from there, they said the weather is shitty and they wouldn’t recommend traveling as a female without a guide, especially as it is still winter and no one is expecting tourists.

So... plan of action... RECHARGE MY BATTERIES! sleep, go into hiding for a few days. Then I will call all you fine folks and catch up. I will probably get a job until August. Then probably take off on the road again. Thought in mind is South America or getting a museum job outside of London.

Anyway...

love you all...

Ill send an email when I’m out of hiding...give me until Monday.

Kisses...

Annie

PS.Gerry - I am so sorry I wont be making it to see you this trip! May be thinking about the round the world ticket, and if so, I’m coming to see you first!

St. Pete

2004-04-16T16:41:00.000-04:00

Hi there!
Gonna probably get a Russian number tomorrow so you can call or i can call.

Was freaked out here yesterday. didn't know what the hell i was doing! there were problems with the visa (actually, the issue was that the company I bought my visa from never told me I would have to stay at a particular hotel to register my visa and make it valid, so had to pay another company $30 to get it done). The city has absolutely no English, or signs written in the Roman font. It was incredibly daunting. I was feeling lonely, scared, and sorry for myself and my puss filled, itchy eyes. Today is much much better, tho I am weary of everyone.

The people are nice here and try to help me, but the language barrier makes me really nervous... like when a man grabbed my arm yesterday and started trying to get me to follow him. I did for a little while, but finally I refused to move anymore. I stood in the middle of the sidewalk while he tried to convince me to move in broken French and frenetic arm movements. He kept trying to point to something. I finally looked in the distance and there was the street I had been trying to find. He kissed my hand and said "good bye America!" and ran off across the street! kinda cool.

feeling a little more confident about this trip, tho if you asked me honestly yesterday, i would have caught the next flight out of here. The language is going to be a big barrier. And water. my god! You cant brush your teeth in st. petersburg because of this protozoan. Ive been using bottled water, but i forgot this morning and wet my brush with the faucet... then ditched the idea of brushing my teeth. hehehehe

I'm too nervous to take a shower here... but I will in Moscow and I have some handiwipes and febreeze.

Went to the Hermitage today. it was wonderful! Especially when I walked up to the building and the Military Band was practicing! Incredible! I have cool videos to show you!

Going to pick up my passport next and buy a night train ticket to Moscow. Then.. who knows.
Tomorrow I'm planning on doing a walking tour.

I hope all is well!!!

Photos from Finland

2004-04-10T22:09:00.000-04:00

(Editor's note from 12/2007 Taina, a wonderful woman I worked with in Ireland let me visit her in Finland (her home). One of the greatest people I've met on my travels, she's just the sweetest! And so smart! And funny! She even agreed to be my friend after i introduced myself in the showers (not many people wouldnt be creeped out when the new girl tries to introduce herself while naked). The night of the first and second pictures, while at the bar, I made her go talk to the guy she thought was cute at the bar -- they are still together, thank you very much. I am completely taking claim for that one :) )

Leaving the Continent

2004-03-23T08:36:00.000-05:00

Well kids,
I'm doing it again. Seems I can't stay put. Finally doing the Mongolia trip!!!

March 31st, I leave my flat in Prague (giving it up to a nice guy from St. Louis) and flying to see Emanuelle in Venezia.

Then, April 5th, I got a 10 euro flight to Stockholm. Gonna spend a few days there...
And then to go see Taina in Finland!!!!!

YEAH!!!!! For those of you who dont know her, Taina is the awesome diva I met in the shower in Ireland. hehehehe, yeah, you can imagine this. Person in the stall next to me... bumbling Annie walks up "Hi, Im Annie. Im new here. Oh, Im sorry. You're naked. Maybe this isn't the right time to introduce myself..." Shockingly, she wasnt too freaked out by my bumbling bubbliness and is letting me come see her! We might be going ICE FISHING at her cabin!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!! So geeked!! Im actually going to try ICE FISHING!

Who wants to place the bets about how long it takes me to fall in?

Then... April 15, I enter St. Petersburg... and go East... through... you guessed it... MONGOLIA!!!!!!

I have a visa to enter China May 15. Then...

uhm... maybe Ill have one of these job as a hiking guide in France or Italy. If not... uhm... don't want to think about it. Im just going to keep applying for jobs. Maybe Ill find something in Mongolia.

But yes... Ill be back in time for the wedding in July. No worries. I cant wait to try on my eggplant dress and Im already scoping out silver stilettos here (but they are going to be tacky, Im warning ya!)

Ok... Gots to be going...

Annabelle-ova

Hey... Eric - Im off to Praha playoffs tomorrow!! I have hockey tickets - got sick of waiting to be invited, so I got 4th row tickets to a promisingly violent game!! Ill take picts for ya!

Stupid Visas

2004-03-17T12:31:00.000-05:00

Guess what I learned this morning...

You cant get a Russian or Chinese visa while in the Czech Republic, unless you have a work visa for the Czech Republic!

So... kinda screwed there...

So now, trying to see if I can send my passport home, and get my parents to usea rush visa company. (hmmm... pretty nervous about sending my passport to another continent...)

They also claim I need to have proof of PLANE tickets to use this service... butI will be taking a TRAIN from my friend's house in Helsinki, and taking a TRAIN into Mongolia... uhm... and the TRAIN tickets are 75% cheaper to buy in thecountry...

Oh well, we will see...a little frustrated by this... but, so is the lovely life of the paper work ofInternational Travel (which is just going to get worse as the America heightens our laws... other countries are going to make it worse for us out of spite [ok, maybe not spite, "security"]).

Well, I should go...

They are playing polka here in the Internet cafe. wow, have i heard more accordion these past 2 months than ever before in my life.
Any suggestions, let me know...
Annie

Prague.

2004-03-03T10:41:00.000-05:00

Well kids...
I know, I know... Ive been very bad about emails, especially the mass variety, recently. But... lucky you, you can now read this one...

Welll... where to begin...
Ive been living in Prague for 2 months now.
I am leaving at the end of this month.

I enjoy it, but it has been rough. I really wanted to get a job to advance my career, in something, but hopefully PR. REALLY WANTED A JOB. Besides the money, its trying spending 2 months in an apartment of working people and feeling like a slacker... but really I am lucky that I have enough money at the moment that I dont have to work just any job, so ... I could wait to see if I could get an office job. But...after 7 rejections and over 40 applications, I became really disheartened. I went into a total funk.

That, and Emanuele and I were having problems because of the distance and him going through one of the most difficult times in his life with his family and work.

And this town is the party capital of the world. Like Berlin after the fall of the Wall, people are going nuts. Coke parties in my apartment from 3am to 9am, prostitutes and brothels, the russian maffia... dont worry, I still dont do coke, but I feel really uncool when I leave the bars at 2am (on a tuesday) when everyone else, including 30 year old executives, are going home 5 hours later, in time to shower for work.

And old men, if they have some power over drugs, have all of the hot teenage and college girls in there hands. It is insane. These young 20 year old girls will faun (and more) all over these 50 year old guys for free drugs.

And everyone around me drinks to the point of puking. And Prague is this blackhole where expats come... and never leave. Everyone comes for 6 months... and some have been here for up to 10 years now...

REGARLDESS OF THE UNFORTUNATE SHIT... I AM SO HAPPY.

But... Kirsten has been in and out of my life for the past 6 weeks as she has been backpacking, and she has been a saviour! She rocks... and whats worse... she left today! I miss her already. We went two places: Cseky Krumlov, a beautiful village in southwest CZ, and Berlin, which I fell in love with and would move to in a second. Oh! The art world there is so amazing. People are creating and there is an amazing vibe coming out of the place. I would move, if not for the 20 percent unemployment...

This weekend, I went to Milan for a night to see Emanuele and we talked it all out... we are going to back off a bit, still date, but be a little less stressed about...us... dont worry, makes sense to us... just hard to discribe over email. we are still dating seriously but can see other people until we are together again and putting no emphasis on the future... uhm... yeah :)

Then, Saturday, I flew to England to go to Pete and Mandy's wedding!!!!! AH!!!! It was so amazing to see my friends from Scotland. Their wedding was amazing, she is going to pop with the baby sooooooo soon, and Callum spun me above his head, per usual. I would have to say, if anyone could pull me out of a funk, it would be my babies from the hotel I worked in in Scotland. It was the 12 of us romping around a pig farm with a 1100s castle and church on the grounds, a house that is from the 1300s (if I remember correctly)... and they lived in a caravan near the house. It was all hilarious.... much to tell about it, but none of you know them... so it might be pointless :) and boring.

Anyway... was going to try and get a job in Italy, so I could be closer to the guy... but... I am having a bitch with the work visa... so... remember that trip to Mongolia?
If I can get the travelling visas in time, Im off in April. Im going to see Emanuele really quickly, and then, off to Moscow...

Im going to apply to a bunch of jobs around Europe, and see if I can get a job before I go... but if not... well, Ill figure that out when I get there. I have 3 job applications for hiking guide jobs in Italy. Other than that, possibly see if I can get some where else. But I WILL NOT GO BACK TO VENICE, that is rule number 1.

And Im going to try and stay over here a while longer, before heading back to the states... gonna try to do some film school apps, maybe... but if I leave now and head back to the US, I know I will settle down to try and start my life, and Im not ready to settle down yet... And if I leave, it gives Emanuele and I no shot, which maybe we wont have in the long run, but it is nice to not cut the relationship off before it has had its whole run.

And to be honest, I dont want to come home yet because...
the mobility and freedom are addicting.

Once I got out of my one month funk this weekend (yes, I have been very selfdepricating, thank you very much), I am now so full of energy and desire to fight for the next place.

So... in essence... Prague not for me... off again. Dont send any mail to Prague anymore...

Miss you much.

Will be back in July for Matt and Jackie's wedding in Michigan.

Ok... must go. so like the czech say, "ahoj" (yes, that would be pronounced "Ahoy," like a pirate...)

Annabelle

love, me

2004-01-23T09:38:00.000-05:00

enjoy.
my friend claims this is right up my alley. how inconcievable.

oh yes, would also like to say that the low will be 2 degrees F today. a high of 19F. hmmmm... it is cold. prague... beautiful and wonderful as it may be, is incredibly cold. so i went to a film festival with my friend beth. saw a great brazilian film.
it is decievingly bright out.
but fucking cold.
coming home from the gym last night, walking across the river to my flat, steam was rising from my body like i was a fresh cow paddy.
nice image, i know.

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