Idan Raichel concert was
amazing. Besides the music being awesome, so many people I knew were there. Gabe, Amy, Yael, Alex, Brooke, Marty, Oren, Dan, Eric...and people I didn't run into that I know where there! At one point I was standing next to Gabe, looked across the room, and saw Potek!! Turns out a whole Michigan group had driven in, just for the concert! Awesome to see Potek (it had been
ages), and Rachel Jacobson, and Josh Berman...Awesome.
Still singing "Bo'i"...
I was looking at some pictures on
facebook, when all of a sudden I was looking at a picture of Jeff Grey. Immediately I burst into tears. It's been awhile since I've cried about him, even though I think about him all the time...Looked on his
myspace account, read everything people have posted, and cried harder...
It's been a little over 6 months, and it still doesn't seem real... And of course thinking about Jeff made me think about Kenny, and the tears kept coming. Three years...
And now I just feel
off, in this sad place that I can't really get away from, memories flowing...even though in general things are really good right now--got a job on Friday, went to this awesome club (
Ohm) Saturday night w/Jo, went for brunch with Jenny Farber & Marty Wasserman today (cutest couple
ever, btw), going to see
Idan Raichel on Tuesday night...
But then thoughts of Jeff or thoughts of Kenny sneak into my mind, and I can't get rid of the sadness, can't stop wishing that I had more time with them, or that I had used my time with them better...I don't know, it doesn't really get easier, does it? I mean, you get passed the point of crying non-stop, of having this constant nauseous feeling...but then the fact that you're NOT sad,
makes you sad, and the emotions slap you and knock the wind out of you and leaving you feeling drained...
Okay, okay, I
know, I've been horrible about posting. So here is the end of my trip, London, as promised forever ago:
December 11th-19th, London
I left Amsterdam on Monday morning. Took a train to Brussels, then the Eurostar to London. One of the kids from Bob's, Nick, ended up on my first train on his way to Paris. Made the train ride
much more entertaining, he's a funny kid.
When I got to London I made my way to this hostel that Ivan & Nick (2 kids from Bob's) had recommended, The Generator. It was this massive hostel, 800 people when it's full. Definitely a scene, but a bit too much for me. I like the smaller hostels I stayed at (like Legends in Rome)
much better.
London is a crazy expensive city, but there are a bunch of free things too: the
NewLondon free walking tour, Changing of the Guard, the National Gallery, Tate Modern, British Museum, Museum of Natural History...
On my tour I met this Aussie, Chris, who was staying at the Generator also, so him & I hung out a bunch. Besides all the free stuff, we also went to see "Avenue Q" (
hysterical) and the "Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year" exhibit, absolutely breathtaking pictures.
I got to see Shakespeare's Globe Theatre during Bankside's Frost Festival. So fun, I love that stuff.
Met up with Peter, said goodbye. Kinda crazy after spending so long pseudo traveling with him.... Went out with John (Aussie from Interlaken/Munich/Berlin...) whose living/working in London now. Crazy kid...
Went out with Katy Reiff, a friend from Tamarack in '01, soooo amazing to see her again. Ended up leaving the Generator and staying with her starting Saturday night. Soooo much fun. Her friends were awesome, fun to play with, even ran into another girl I had worked at camp with back in '99. Out at this pub, saw Baby Spice and then a couple nights later Gweneth Paltrow! So cool, to all my self control not to act like some crazy fan and take a million pictures of her...
My last full day, Monday, I went up to Stonehenge, and Salisbury. Very cool to see, despite the weather not being amazing.
Monday night Katy & I went to see this awesome band, friends of hers,
Playground Legend.
And then Tuesday morning I went to Heathrow to head back to the States, adventure over...
December 19th-January 3rd, Detroit/D.C./Pittsburgh/Detroit
So I got back to the States, landed at Detroit Metro, and Joshy picked me up at the airport. Spent the evening in West Bloomfield, then drove to DC in the morning. The whole fam was in town, so much fun. I spent a week there (not everyone was there the whole time, but for the weekend we were).
Met up with friends, Jamie, Bobby, Zac & Shaina (and their beautiful new baby girl!)... On Christmas Katie & I met up with Bobby at the
Matzo Ball, fun time.
Jake went back to work, Katie & Josh left for Israel on a Hillel trip, I stuck around for a few more days, then also left.
Stopped in Pittsburgh for the night before heading to Detroit for Shabbas. Stayed with Suz, but got to see Nanny & Popop, Uncle Tommy, the Drozs...
Stayed with Kimmie & Bryan for Shabbas at his parents', had a great time. Shira & Ari have gotten so big, it's amazing. Spent New Years with PA & Kevin in A2, fun little dinner party with friends of theirs.
Now...And now, I'm back in Chicago, looking for a job. Spent the first week I was back putting together photo books from my trip (which turned AMAZING, btw), and now I'm just doing the whole job hunt thing. The newest plan (career wise) is photography, so been sending out tons of resumes and waiting for someone to call me back.
Nice being back in my apartment, awesome seeing friends again, but so weird to just be in one place. I want to travel again so badly...And I for sure need to make it out west and do some snowboarding at some point this season. My snowboard is just sitting there, teasing me... So I'm sure I'll be back on the road soon! :)
