"Nice Beaver!"

Hi Everyone,

It sure has been a couple of exciting weeks...
Most exciting and most important - Brett's visa was approved!  After sitting on the desk at the consulate for months and months gathering dust, it finally got looked at two weeks ago and was approved within a couple of days - unbelievable.  Now, that's a classic case of bureaucracy.  So now we're in mode to get Brett here.  He has the task of getting the place rented out and storing all of his cars and getting our little Jack ready to board the plane.  We're thinking it will be around the end of July by the time he gets here, but at least we know now, which is the most important thing.  I've got two weeks travel in July to Miami and Argentina, so it doesn't make sense for Brett to get here when I'm not.

So with more excitement, Friday week ago, I got a last minute invitation to go to Radiohead concert with Lindsay (Broadway friend)  As a lover of live music, I was an instant yes!  I met her after work (unfortunately dressed daggily from work having not planned on going out the night), and after a battle of finding each other at Penn Station, we boarded the train to Prudential Center at Newark, New Jersey.  As we line up to get in, Lindsay explained she got the tix from her husband's cousin, who is the location manager (I think that's the title) for the band.... you know the one that makes sure there are 250 green M&Ms, or a fountain with 10 white swans, or a room of 500 hookers... you get the picture.  Anyway, very excitededly, we make our way to our seats, through the section that has it's own private bar, and then she proceeds to tell me we also have wrist bands for us to go to the after party!  Though, as Lindsay's in rehearsals for a show at the moment, she wasn't sure if we would go.  Onto that later...  Anyway, walking in the stadium there's a huge waft of dope smoke - clearly those on security are not so strict on the anti-smoking laws, let alone anti-drug laws.  It was extraordinary.   Anyway, the concert was excellent - super energy charged and visually awesome.   Hyped up from the show (and possibly the passive smoking!), Lindsay said we have to go to the afterparty - like I needed any convincing!  We made our way back to Manhattan to the Jane Hotel in Meat Packing district, and walk towards the room, and the bouncer at the door says "I'm sorry, this is a private party girls"... smuggly, we raise our wrists and flash our bands and proceed on into the party.  It was pretty cool, but most excitedly Jude Law was there!!!  Obviously not channeling my cultural roots, I didn't build up enough dutch courage to ask for a photo.  Here's the two of us there.

So, then I was in Miami for the past week doing some training and having a meeting with my team - it's always good when we can get together face to face.  I got back late Friday night after having to take off just after one of the most extraordinary storms I had ever been in - the thunder was so, so, so, so loud - I was seriously so close to moving my flight to Saturday, but pushed through and luckily the storm cleared up by the time I took off.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to Teena and Matt's for Matt's sister's 21 birthday.  Teena had been sick all week so I wanted to be an extra set of hands for them.  It was a Mad Hatter's tea party theme and the dress was 'quirky'.   Very sweet

Matt's sister, Chelsea, is living in NYC to go to film and acting school and has made a really nice bunch of friends who are also actors.  One of the girls there was recently on NYPD Blue, another was in a music video, and Chelsea has written a play that is being produced.  Anyway, one of her friends Brian, definitely went full quirky with the theme....

... what can I say, actors are an individual bunch (with Teena on the right and Matt's sister Simone...or should I say Alice...on the left)

We went afterwards to a bar "LeBain".  Matt, Simone and I were on chaperone duty... gee, I'm getting so mature :)  This place was another quite extraordinary one... there was a really nice rooftop bar, but then one floor down was a dance floor with giant jacuzzi (or spa in Aussie) next to it (bizarre)... and people were actually going into it.  I personally wouldn't recommend it unless you want to pick up some sort of mysterious bacteria.  So, after seeing Jude Law the week before, the first celeb after a huge dry patch, I then saw Emma Watson (Hermima from Harry Potter).  She looked completely unassuming and I really had to stare to see if it was her - her hair was really plain and she was wearing quite a daggy outfit.  After being frustrated at myself from the previous week for not asking Jude Law for a photo, I built up the courage eventually and asked her for a photo, but she said no :(  Oh well, at least I tried.

I've been also taking much better care of myself.  I've been walking or jogging nearly every day, either along the boulevard or around the nearby park.  Yesterday, it was really funny, I came across a beaver!

He looked so funny!  He was a decent size, the size of a small dog.

Then on my walk at the park today, I noticed in the lake a whole lot of turtles!  Check these ones out:

So, after a couple of very exciting weeks, tomorrow I'm flying off to Colombia for the week - my first time there.  Don't worry, I'll make sure I leave the boogy board bag at home!

Ciao!
Michele