chills mchillerson!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trailer (Trailer #2) - IMDb:

'via Blog this'

back to school

class is in session, my friends! i hope you have your TI-83 calculators and 5 star single subject notebooks.

(seriously, though....people who can actually use a TI-83 calculator in the way it's intended boggle my mind. i could never ever ever get the hang of it. the only thing i could do was store formulas in the notes section so i could cheat on tests and play space invaders...usually during the test because math beyond the basics is not something my mind can grasp. i had a testing method of answering the problems i could solve, then leaving the rest blank and playing space invaders until the last few minutes in which i would just write some numbers and letters in and hope for the best. anyway.)

one of the things that confused me most when we moved here was the difference between all of the terms you hear tossed around to describe the countries and people of these islands. i was like "who is british? who is english? are they the same? are we in the UK or great britain? what is the deal with ireland? how long will it take to meet prince harry and make him fall in love with me and have a polygamous marriage with rich and me?"

and other such important questions.

as explained to me by the other puppeteer, fitchy, and without getting political or too in-depth, here are the absolute simplest definitions* and a map to help you visualize:

Great Britain is England, Scotland, and Wales.  

the United Kingdom is technically the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state comprised of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

the Republic of Ireland is its own country.

residents of Great Britain can identify themselves as British, or as English, Scottish, or Welsh. it's a matter of personal preference as to how one refers to oneself. for example, fitchy is very proud of the United Kingdom, and refers to himself as british first, then english.

therefore, we are technically touring Great Britain as we are not going into Northern Ireland (boo!), but calling it a UK tour is perfectly acceptable.

and in case you've forgotten what a union jack flag looks like, ginger spice is here to jog your memory:

and that's that. now i am going to the cinema on a rare night off (yes! plus two nights in the same hotel! utter luxury!) with a brit, a scotsman, an aussie, and an american. the best part of the night is definitely going to be the inevitable moment (usually after a few beers) when we all start trying to talk like each other. trust me, it's pathetic and offensive and hilarious all at once.

cheers!

xoxo, liv

*disclaimer: if i effed up any of the definitions and offended any brits, i am very sorry. 

i am punished enough by the horrible exchange rate. please forgive me.

colored pencils image via here

uk map via here

ginger spice image via here

when you're on tour...

...there comes a day.

a day when you cannot stand to live out of a suitcase anymore.

or wear the same jacket you have worn literally every day since july 16.

or move to a different premier inn every single night.

or eat another tuna sandwich from a gas petrol station.

or feel sort of grimy all the time.

or always have a messy bun of hair.

or be exhausted from constantly moving, 

and feeling guilty about that because your actual work in the theatre takes 3 hours.

a day when you hate everyone and everyone hates you because you are a walking thundercloud.

that day just inevitably comes.

we left nyc on july 16.

72 days ago.

today is almost exactly the halfway point.

so it makes sense that today is THAT day.

but then.

but then you think about what you would normally be doing on a sunday.

(i would be exhausted from working 5-6 bartending shifts 

over the last 4 days.)

and the fact that you are in glasgow, scotland

and it's raining

and you hate your clothes

and would kill for a good hair day

and would cry with joy to see your friends and family

seems to be more manageable.

is this such a downer of a second post?!?!?

just trying to keep it real, y'all.

being on tour is amazing.

the opportunity to travel is priceless.

getting paid in pounds sterling is excellent 

(sorry, usd, but you can't keep up).

but the truth is that there is always that

ONE DAY.

and that one day is almost over!

davidji and i are getting cozy in the ether and meditating together.

i will be writing a post about brighton.

i will be writing a gratitude list.

there will be a few more days, i'm sure.

but the hardest one, THAT DAY, is almost behind me.

yes!

livving out loud

hi friends and fam,

i am not really sure what to say to start-

so i will state the obvious:

welcome to my blog.

for years, i have loved this quote:

if you ask me what i came into this life to do, i, an artist, will tell you:

i came to live out loud.

-emile zola

so this blog is me, olivia, liv, living out loud. 

i have toyed with the idea of starting a blog for a long time, 

and it seems like now is the time.

also, my editor (read: rich) gave me a tight deadline 

and in typical olivia fashion, it's up in 40 minutes. 

so i'm writing in a hotel in chesterfield, england.

i am not a huge hemingway fan, but i am a huge fan of these words of his:

all you have to do is write one true sentence.

so, here goes. all my true sentences. and maybe even some fiction.

books, intenSati, acting, marriage, friends, family, fashion, comedy, music, film, interior design, DIY...it shall all be here at some point.

capital letters probably won't be here very often. 

please ignore the ugly template for now- i am surprisingly super tech savvy 

when i get going, so it will be beautiful soon, 

but the important thing today was to get anything at all up.

so this is it. my awkward first time post.

good news is that i never have to hit "publish" for the first time again.

coming up soon:

places i've (we've) been

where we are now

pics galore

why i love intenSati

beautiful music

magical books

and most of all:

an explanation of the UK vs Great Britain, 

British vs English etc etc etc.

because i know you don't get it either.

we will kick off with brighton, where we spent a magical day 

(cut short by the fact that i made us miss the first train...

i was trying to put my hair in some crazy milkmaid braids 

and then bought a turban in brighton anyway so it didn't matter).

(oh yes....a turban)

get ready for it!


sneak peek:

love, liv xx (one for each cheek...très european)