Sarina's Parisian Adventure Day 4 & 5

After a crazy few days we wanted need to chill out for a bit. It was Sunday and that is the day when all of the markets are happening. Not far from our apartment in Montparnasse there is a stretch of road that is where artists display and sell their work. We saw some art ranging from classical to avant garde. This one guy made creatures out of reclaimed materials, they were pretty neato and steampunkish. We also looked for something nice that we can put on display in our house, but was also able to travel back with us and not be too expensive. We found this little French lady who made these ink drawings of Parisian landmarks. She didn't speak any English but we were able to negotiate a sale with her. After walking around a bit more, we headed off to another market.

St. Paul is a Bohemian little neighborhood. There are little courtyards in between buildings and in those courtyards vendors set up antiques and wares. We had fun browsing the area and saw some interesting things. There was a lot of weird 80s clothes, dishes and books. What we loved most was this one little tent that had vintage posters. I bought one for my little brother Billy (so he can decorate his new Dorm room with it). Tim found old wind up toys (Tim has a weakness for toys) so he got a cool robot. I was on the search for gifts for my lady friends and came across antique postcards, some of them even had stuff written on them! The vendor came up and talked to us a bit in French and we just did the ol' smile and nod. I ended up some for my friends and an extra for me! When I got home I framed them and handed them out. Its quite the cute momento.

After our market adventure we wandered around a bit more. We saw where the bastille was. In its place is this monument and a mega opera house across from it. Then we got lost some more and ended up in a park. We sat and hung out for a bit and enjoyed the scenery. In the distance we heard a band complete with accordion playing. We also noticed the trees in the park were square.. lots of square trees in France! We also noticed that their park budget must be crazy because every park is immaculate!

We did some more wandering and got sorbet on the way. I got mango and it was scrumptious! Along the way we saw some more street performers including another accordion player and a puppeteer. Then we unbeknownst to us we ran into the Notre Dame again... geeze its like that things is the center of the city or something (please note the sarcasm) 

The rest of the day was kind of a bust because of rain :( Unfortunately for us it rained a lot on this trip. I guess I shouldn't be too mad because I did want to see Paris in the rain. Before our trip we watched Midnight in Paris and Owen Wilson's character would always say Paris is beautiful in the rain. Don't get me wrong, it certainly was but soggy shoes are not beautiful.

After the rain let up a bit we headed to Jardin du Luxembourg. It one of the biggest public parks in Paris, and yes it is immaculate and beautiful just like every other park in Paris. It even has the same square trees! The grounds also contained yet another royal palace. There are royal palaces all over the city its ridiculous! I guess everyone who had come into power wanted their own digs. Those bastards deserved to get their heads chopped off! My guide book also told me some interesting tidbits about the garden. When times were tough for Ernest Hemingway he used to stroll through the garden with a stroller. He would then proceed to break the necks of squirrels and pigeons then stuff them in the stroller and that would be his dinner. Further proof that Hemingway was awesome.

Afterwards we went to dinner at a hip little joint just outside of our apartment. That was where we had probably the best meal of the entire trip. Here are our delicious dishes.

 

The next day we decided to make the trip back to the Eiffel tower and climb that bad boy! Went on the metro and we got some great views of the tour from the train! Then we walked on over to the tower. When we got there like last time, the line was crazy! Turns out it was so nuts because only one elevator was working. We opted to walk up the stairs (the line was shorter and a bit cheaper) So we walked up about a gabillion steps. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it and I had to stop a few times. Once we reached the first level and I saw the view the trek up the stairs was well worth it. We saw some amazing views of the city. We opted not to go to the tippy top because you can only get there via elevator (and the line was ridiculous so we skipped it) Plus you have to pay a few more bucks to go to the top! 

While admiring the view we noticed the boat tours launched off near by. We walked up and down the Sienne looking for a good tour boat. 

For that evening's entertainment we went to a jazz club. We went to the Latin Quarter for the club. We entered and were led down a few steps into the basement which was like a forgotten ruin with a stage in the middle of it. I had never actually seen a jazz band before so it was pretty interesting. The band consisted of a drummer, double bass, guitar and trumpet. The drummer was by far the most talented. He hit his drums with such precision and skill all making it look effortless. 

The crowd was a very interesting mix of young college students and older folk. I noticed that the two groups sat together and even mingled together. Then a few of them started dancing together. I had told Tim earlier "I am going to make you dance" but then I saw them dance and I immediately changed my mind because I am a horrible dancer and those French, damn they know how to dance.  At one point one dancer, dripping sweat was twirling around two ladies. Yeah I couldn't dance anything like that so I opted to enjoy the show from my seat. 

It was a very exciting night and one of my favorites of the entire trip!

Sarina's Parisian Adventure Day 3

Since it was going to by nice out all day, we decided to spend our day living like royalty at Versailles. We headed out and took the RER train to Versailles. The palace is outside of the Paris city limits but you can take a train to Versailles and walk to the Palace from the station. The RER is a bit more complicated than the Metro but luckily we were able to just follow all of the tourists. I took note of a group of American girls and followed them. When we got on the train and I noticed them get off before our stop I urged Tim that we should get off. We went up and asked them if they were going to Versailles and to my relief they said yes and that we were on the wrong train!

 When in doubt go with the crowd! If you are a neurotic freak like me, trying to navigate your way through a foreign country is beyond stressful. Luckily,  if you go to a tourist hot spot, you are not the only tourist! Some one one will speak English and some one will help!

So we got on the next train, got off on our stop and we followed the mass of people. The town was really quaint and charming. Then we turned a corner there it was, the Palace of Versailles. We were greeted by a big statue of Louis XIV. Looking at it I thought, "No wonder the French people revolted." A sentiment that was repeated while walking around the palace. But before that we had to get tickets!

Considering an investment in French real estate. What do you think?

The line was crazy long, after waiting on line for like 40 minutes Tim noticed a sign that said "Ticket Machine" and he went got the tickets and we left the line. Boy did we feel a bit dumb. Anyway, we made it ! The first thing we wanted to see was the garden, and this ended up being where we spent most of our day. We lucked out because there are only certain days of the year and times of the day that the fountains are on. The gardens were grand and vast. The pictures really don't show how big it actually is! It just keeps going! And there are more paths and hidden gardens throughout. We love the gardens so much that we only saw one wing of the palace. It just wasn't as impressive or amazing as the gardens.

After a long day walking around the gardens, we needed some rest! We went back to the apartment and relaxed for a bit. We then decided that we would have our fancy dinner that night. So we dressed up real nice and went to a restaurant in the Latin Quarter. It seemed like a nice place but unbeknownst to us, it was the equivalent to a sports bar. We were there during a soccer game and got to watch Europeans yell at the TV, so that was cool. As for dinner I was excited to try something very French, snails! It comes out piping hot and you get a special clamp to hold the shell as you use a tiny fork to scoop out the good stuff. I knew this was going one of two ways, either really good or really gross. Luckily it was delicious! If you love sea food then I recommend Escargot. I really enjoyed scooping up all of the sauce with some pieces of bread.. so good! Our main course was also delicious.

SNAILS!

After dinner we walked around a bit and ended up in front of the Notre Dame. I read in our guide book how after the sun goes down, the courtyard in front of the Notre Dame is taken over by street performers. We saw some guys doing roller blade stunts and break dancing but the coolest bit were the fire twirlers!

After that excitement we took the metro back to our apartment to rest up for another exciting day.

Sarina's Parisian Adventure Day 2

We awoke the next morning to construction work. When we looked out the massive windows of our apartment, we saw scaffolding set up on our side of the building... awesome. I remembered something that Phillipe, our tour guide, had told us. Paris is a city that loves its history so much that a lot of buildings are registered with the historical society as artifacts and landmarks. If any work is to be done it is a strenuous process that involves hammers and chisels.


Anyway, it woke us up! So we planned out our day, check out the Eiffel Tower then head on over to the Rodin Musuem which is in the vicinity. So we were off via metro!


We got off the metro and just like with the Notre Dame, were trying to find it then we turned a corner and boom, you can't miss something like the Eiffel Tower. There is a massive park in front of it so we walked through and approached it slowly. Some one was nice enough to take our picture. The only bummer was the weather.. but I wasn't letting mother nature ruin my trip! We walked closer and I couldn't believe how big that thing actually is!

We sat on a park bench marveling on this giant engineering wonder. At that time we noticed there were tons of school field trips happening. I noticed a group of little French kids giggling and playing around. Hearing little kids speak French is just about the most adorable thing I have ever come across in my entire life.

Afterwards we were going to actually go climb the Eiffel tower but the wait was super crazy and we decided to save it for another day. We then made our way over to the Musee' Rodin. While walking Tim's stomach started rumbling and we just so happen to pass a bakery so we grabbed a few quiches and chococlate eclaire's to go. We stopped in a park and chowed down. That quiche was the best damn quiche I have ever had. Tim immediatley went for the eclair after he finished his quiche, but I saved mine for later. Although based on his reaction to the eclair it was pretty darn good as well.

With our belly's full we went to get some culture at Musee' Rodin. The garden of the musuem is a big feature, so we were very excited that the weather got really nice just when we got there! The first thing we saw when we got there was what is perhaps Rodin's most famous work, the Thinker. Rodin's Thinker seems as if he has all of the world's problems on his mind all at once. Tim mentioned that Rodin seemed to capture him thinking with every single muscle in his body. That was after we looked at it from behind and I mentioned he looks like he could use a massage. The rest of the museum was simply stunning featuring a fountain and of course more sculptures! Even if you are not an art lover, the Musee' Rodin is a Paris attraction I highly recommend.

After that we need to take a break so we went back to the apartment and took a little cat nap

Break up the day! I went on this trip wanted to see as much as humanly possible! Your body can only take so much so we had a nice little routine going, we'd do something in the morning, take a break at the apartment then do another round of things. It was good because it helped prevent us from getting burnt out.


So we had our little refresher nap then we decided to head out to the Lourve for the second half of our day. The day we chose to do the Louvre turned out to be ideal because it was Friday! I know what you are thinking, but everyone likes to get down on Friday, but our tour guide Phillipe gave us a good tip. He said that the Louvre closes late on Fridays so going there later in the day is beneficial because all those pesky tourists are gone by then. Also just F.Y.I. this place also huge, impressive and amazing like everything else we had seen in France up to that point. We entered through the iconic Pyramid entrance which was interesting modern architecture that clashed with the classical look of the palace. Once we got in there, there was little to no wait. We got tickets right away. The ticket guy asked if any of us were under 26 (which I still am) and I got in for free! Wooo!

We did some exploring in one of the galleries and we learned it is very easy to get lost for days in this place! One thing that kind of got annoying, was that the layout of the building. Once we reached the end of a gallery the only exit was to walk right back through everything we had just seen. We still saw some cool stuff like the Napoleon apartments and for a small guy he was certainly living large (hehe). We also looked at some sculptures which are probably my favorite things to look at. I love the ties to Greek myths and the symbolism hidden in each piece. Also this one statue looks like my friend Joe Lentini.

 After getting lost for a bit we entered the wing housing all of the famous art, Denon. Walking there we came to a stair case where I saw a beautiful work called Winged Victory. I remember studying it when I took an art history class, I always thought it was striking. Although missing a head and limbs the presence of a victorious Nike is still present and you get to behold her and all of her glory! Moving on we went into another gallery and saw good ol' Mona Lisa herself. It was tiny and to be honest not all that impressive, but hey I can say that I have seen it in person. Across from Mona, is a gigantic epic painting that is way more interesting but no museum patrons are noticing (which sadly I forgot to take a picture of!) Maybe that's what Mona is smiling about, she just like, "you idiots I'm just a woman sitting here behind two inches of bullet proof glass." We saw some more classical works (pictured below) including the Venus de Milo.

After the Louvre our stomachs were ready for some serious dinner and we needed it fast! We found a cafe not too far from the Museum and we ate as the sun was going down. It really through us off because it was really late! We had no idea that it doesn't get dark until like 10:30. Anyway, we had an amazing meal and finished it off with creme brulee and espresso. The creme bruelee was really good but the espresso was really bitter. I originally wondered why the waiter gave me so much sugar, I learned that the hard way. With the creme brule eaten, my bitter espresso drunk we walked around a bit and got lost on the Paris streets.

Let me just clarify that we didn't really get lost, I meant in a romantic kind of way. We walked the streets. We ended up back over by the river Siene and Ponte Neuf. As beautiful as these landmarks are in the day time, they are even more intriguing while lit up. We got some great views and we even noticed the Eiffel Tower in the background. Then it started raining again so we grabbed the metro back to the apartment. 

Sarina's Parisian Adventure Day 1 continued

Not sure to count this as the first day or not because the flight during the night kind of screwed everything up. Anywho here is what we did next!

After about an hour of nap time I woke up. Tim kept right on snoozing but I couldn't help it.. I was thrilled to be where I was! So I looked up something that we could do. I came across these walking tours that were free. Discover Walks Paris provides free tours of several Parisian neighborhoods and your guide is native! So I poked Tim awake and told him that we could make one of the evening tours on Île de la Cité. So we got our butts in gear and set out for the metro.

We lucked out with our apartment because it was right in front of a Metro station,
Montparnasse – Bienvenüe, which proved to be centrally located. Paris metro system is super easy to figure out and navigate. The MTA can take a lesson from them.. I've lived in New York all of my life and have taken frequent trips into the city and I still do not understand the NYC subway system, but after a week in Paris we were pros at on the Metro. Also my guide book featured a subway map so we were able to plan out our day while out and on the go. We learned a lot from the Metro so here are some tips:

 

You will save money if you buy ten tickets at once. We did this and we only had to buy tickets a few times. The tickets are teenie tiny, so make sure you have a safe place to put them so they won't get lost. I used my little headphone pouch and it worked perfectly. Enough about the metro onto the rest of our day!

We took the Metro to Île de la Cité. There is small island in the middle of Paris and this was originally the city which obviously expanded. The tiny island also houses one of the most famous landmarks ever... the Notre Dame Cathedral. After getting off the Metro I knew the tour met in front of the Cathedral so we were trying to find it. We turned one corner and there was no missing it. The pictures do not do it justice, it is amazing, massive and beautiful. I've spent my life going to theme parks like Disney and Universal and all of the landmarks there are fake and strive to give the illusion of something big and massive and they use optical tricks to achieve it. It was amazing to see the Notre Dame and know that this was real! 

Separating the island from the rest of the city is the River Siene. It was beautiful seeing the river bank and river boats making their way through. We noticed a lot of locals we some drinks sitting on the river bank just hanging out. Turns out this is pretty common and legal as long as you are sitting and drinking. 

On the other side of the river Siene is the Latin Quarter. We had read and heard that this is a pretty neat place known for being a college hang out and ethnic neighborhood. There is a giant epic fountain of st. Michel as well as tons of cafes and interesting side streets. However we also noticed it be very touristy, but whatever we were tourists! 

We headed back to the Notre Dame for the start of our tour! It met infront of a giant statue of Chalemange. While waiting we again just marveled at the massive beauty of the Notre Dame when we noticed a guy wearing a pink vest, it was our tour guide. His name was Phillipe and he was great. He was funny, sassy and quite the snazzy dresser, but what else would you expect from a hip gay frenchman. He was very against the Latin Quarter, he said it was full of bo-bos. When Phillipe noticed a tour of confused people he explained that a bo-bo is a bohemian bourgeoisie, rich people who dress poor (a.k.a. hipsters) Phillipe explained that he identifies as a sub-bo, subversive bourgeoise. 

As the tour went on he explained some history of the Notre Dame (because it was right in front of us) and he took us right in front of us and showed us how the foot print of the medieval village is outlined in stone. Some small narrow streets back then I must say. He then showed us around the island some more which included the Palace of Justice, more of the River Sienne and Pont Neuf. The last one is a bridge, the New bridge which is ironic because it is actually the oldest bridge in France. There is a big statue of Henry IV who stopped religious persecution in France. There is a small island at the bottom of the bridge which provides some excellent views of the city. It was there that our tour ended. 


Which was good because we were starving. So we ran back to the Latin Quarter and had a nice meal of Mussels and frites! After dinner it was getting late so we went back to the apartment and passed out at around 11. I make it a point to mention that it was 11 because it meant to beat the jet lag, allow me to explain. 

Jet lag can ruin your trip. Especially when you have to adjust going eight hours into the future. I read a bunch of different articles on how to best avoid jet lag and I developed my own routine. First off, no alcohol on the plane, you'll just feel like crap later. Then sleep as much as you can on the plane. We did technically loose a night of sleep, so catch up as much as you can. Then when you get to your destination if you feel that you need sleep, set an alarm and force yourself to get up after an hour! Otherwise you will wake up to find out you've lost three days! Don't let that happen to you so get up and do something and just say up till 11. That's what time I usually go to bed at home so I wanted to get my body to adjust to this time zone. It worked pretty well and were were refreshed the next day to explore more of the city!

Sarina's Parisian Adventure

Ever since I was a teenager I had always yearned to travel. I have gone on a few cruises and been to Canada a few times, but for as long as I can remember I have had my heart set on Europe. When Tim and I were planning our wedding and we discussed honeymoon I campaigned for some where in Europe. However because a lack of funds, we postponed our honeymoon. When we started looking for houses we thought, maybe we should do this now before the opportunity to travel gets away from us, because if we don't do it now, it may never happen. So we decided to take our dream vacation and booked a flight for Paris!

Without further ado I present to you a series of posts detailed all of our Parisian adventures! Spread through out are some travel tips that I hope you can use if you plan to do your own European adventure.

The big day finally came and I was super nervous and it was quite the day of travel. Our friend Greg gave us a life to the train station, which we then had to take to Jamaica queens to take the sir train to JFK airport. Well some dingus decided it was a great time to schedule track work, we had to take a bus to the next train station. ARG! I was a stressy mess! Luckily we made to Jamaica then JFK without a problem.

We had the fun part of going through customs, the line was super long but it moved pretty quickly. I was nervous going through customs because I had recently chopped all of my hair off and my passport has the ol' long hair do, but I was fine. We made it to our terminal and soon after boarded the plane.

We searched around for flight, Tim got email reminders about the latest deals. We scored and got two tickets for under $2,000. The air line we went with was Aer Lingus. Its an Irish airline and was so excited to get on the plane and hear their Irish accents. The captain also had a really awesome name, Balldrick. We enjoyed these stupid details because it was my first little sliver of Europe!

The plane itself was pretty snazzy, everyone got a blanket and a pillow and each seat got its own little TV screen. I thought they would have shows from the U.K. but to my surprise it was all American stuff, so I watched 21 Jump Street. Also on the meal we got a meal! I can't remember the last time I got a meal on a plane. To make it even weirder the food was actually really good!

Oh hey that's Ireland!

Soon after I ate I fell asleep as the sun was going down. A few hours later I woke up as a flight attendant handed me a cup of orange juice and said good morning. I peeked outside the window and saw the sun was rising. It was definitely a head trip because about few short hours had passed between seeing the sun set then rise. At that time we were also making our decent (we had a stop over in Dublin). We looked out the window and Tim said nonchalantly, " Oh hey that's Ireland."

We had a short layover, so walked around the Terminal for a bit. We got a kick out of looking at European snacks.. not sure why we found this so amusing but we did. We did some people watching and I was even very tempted to have a Guinness, but that probably was not best for my jet lagged body.

Soon after we boarded our second plane that was Paris bound! On that plane I noticed a lot of Irish and British children. I kept wondering why they were going to Paris, then I heard someone mention Disney... of course Euro Disney is just outside of Paris! Its funny to think but a flight like this must seem like a domestic flight to some one back in the U.S. Instead of trekking down to Florida for Disney trips, they just go to Paris. Weird.

It was exciting to make our decent into Paris because we were able to get our first glimpses of the city. The moment when it felt real was when I saw the Eiffel Tower. I thought, " Holy crap I am actually here." 

We landed, got our bags and set out for the city. We were a little disorientated, most everything was in French and we weren't exactly sure where to go. We figured out that we had to take a train into the city then try to locate our apartment. After some confusion as to what train to get on we finally found it and were able to chill out for about a half an hour. Tim was dozing off but I was observing everything outside as we passed Parisian suburbs. After we got off the train we were walking up and down the street in which our apartment was located, Montparnasse. We were a little freaked out because we weren't sure where to go. Despite this little stress I took some time to look around. I noticed some interesting things about Paris, for one thing a lot of the rumors are true: Yes, people do walk around with baguettes under their arms. Yes, every street corner is an adorable cobble stoned street with outdoor cafes. Yes, everyone smokes ... a lot! I also noticed the tiny cars they drive, the funny sound the ambulance siren makes and the air that is so sweet. I'd like to think it is from all of the wine they drink.

We eventually made it to the apartment and met the owner, Jacques. He showed us in and put us in the perhaps the tiniest elevator I have ever been in. He showed us the room which was great! It had a living space then a little lofty upstairs with the kitchen bathroom and bed. We also had wifi, which Jacques pronounced 'whiffy' lol. Soon after he left and me and Tim took a much needed nap.

How did I get here?

This morning I found myself behind the wheel of a large automobile, and I was asking myself, "how did I get here?" I was on my way to Queens College for my Commencement ceremony, I was about to graduate with my Masters Degree in Library and Information Science, the next week I will be going to Paris. About a month after we get home from Europe, my husband and I will get to move into our new house. Again I will be asking myself, "how did I get here?"


In 2004 I graduated from Longwood High School. I was very ambitious and had dreams of working in television or film, I always liked the idea of telling stories. Unfortunately my funds didn't match my ambition. So I decided to give Suffolk Community College a try until I figured things out. It was kind of hard to watch other classmates go away to college, I did have some twinges of jealousy. It wasn't all bad though, a few High School friends joined me at Suffolk and we had fun (no regrets!). Also I am NOT up to my eyeballs in debt.

That same day I started Suffolk, I also started a new job. I was hired as a page at Longwood Public Library. That first day I had no idea how much that place would shape my life, in fact I hated it there at first. I think it was just hard for me to get used to a new job, but my time in between the stacks introduced me to an entire literary world that I missed out on during childhood. More important than that, I met a bunch of amazing people. The support and environment there was not like any other job I had before! I went from having one mother to having several! It made it really hard when a few years later I was approaching the end of Suffolk and I applied to study film at Hunter College which was in the big city. At the same time I was up for a promotion at the library. I was really confused, what to do with my life? Commute to the city until I go insane, then beg my parents to pay for my New York City apartment? I really couldn't bring myself to that. So I gave up on my city film dreams and decided to take the semester off to figure things out.

It was on that break from school that I helped some librarians at a special function. It was a show by a group of children's performers called the Hip Pickles. I went with the head of the children's department Dianne and the second in command Kim. We were working crowd control. In the middle of the show the Hip Pickles asked for volunteers from the audience and they insisted Diann and Kim go up. Seeing them perform with a bunch of kids is when it clicked for me. These were people that genuinely enjoyed their job. It was such a relief to see that not everyone hated their job, work wasn't something bad, you can enjoy it. That's when I decided to become a librarian. A librarian is like a keeper of knowledge (which you have to admit sounds pretty bad ass) and its a job that gives back to the community. I felt like I could do that for the rest of my life. I didn't want to work my way up the corporate ladder, go swimming with sharks or sell useless junk to people. I wanted to help people and read stories to children.

I know to some people it sounds like I settled, gave up on my dreams and just went with the easy option. Well you my friend are wrong. It was after I made that decision that I stopped waiting for my life to start and I made it happen, and I started with my personal life. I was in a relationship that should have ended a lot sooner than it did. So I had some serious internal conflict when I noticed a cute new male librarian working in the adult department. The little voice in my head said, "No, Sarina you all ready have a boyfriend" and "He is way too good looking for you, so don't even think about it" also "You are not his type, he probably has eyes for one of the other young hotties you work with." So I found it strange when I noticed he was sent over to the children's department for no real reason and that we just happen to be on breaks at the same time. It was on one of those breaks that we began talking. I was amazed that he not only knew the bands I loved, but he loved them as well and was even more amazed that he was a true nerd like me. When I really knew this guy was special was when he showed me this old library book he had from the 80s (and never returned it! Scandalous!) It was one of those "How to Draw books" and it was of monsters. I thought it was really adorable. That's when I knew what I had to do. I followed my heart and I went for the cute librarian. His name was Tim and now he is my husband.

Soon after I began dating Tim, I found myself in the midst of another crisis. I woke up one morning to find that my Dad and brother Billy were moving to Florida (with or without me). It was kind of a no brainer for me to stay on Long Island (sorry state of Florida). Although I moved in with my Mom, I got my first taste of adult hood in that I did my own laundry, paid for my own things etc. Tim and I also fell in love with my Mom's dog, Gypsy. So naturally we took her when Tim and I found an apartment. From there things moved pretty fast, I finished my bachelor's degree, got engaged, moved in with Tim and started grad school in a very action packed summer. That Fall I got my first librarian job at the Port Jefferson Free Library. Now here I am married, College graduate, Librarian and pretty soon, homeowner. 

I can't believe I have made it here. The past five years have really shaped who I am today. I know a lot of people thought my talents lied in other areas and that I have settled or gave up on my dreams. Not true, my dreams have changed. True, I wanted to make movies and TV shows, even if I was just getting someone's coffee, but that changed. Now I love reading stories to children, decorating the library and introducing some nerdy tech thing into my job. I love what I am doing and thankful for things that got me here. I am not going to reflect on my life and wonder, "what if I did things differently??" what I am going to wonder is "what did I do to deserve this, how did I get here?"

If went back in time and met myself (even though that could disrupt the space time continuum!) I'd tell myself, "Look these grandiose dreams don't really pan out like you think, but trust me you are still going to have an amazing life. Your going to be a librarian instead of a movie director, but that's ok because all you ever really wanted to do was tell stories, and guess what? You do that, and your critics are children, but they always give you rave reviews and really get into it."

Also I would play past self this song from Fleet Foxes.

Stay tuned to see how my life will change in another five years.

Where oh where has Sarina been?

Hello world,

I know I have been absent from the blog for way too long. A lot of exciting things have been going on in my life which has left me either too anxious or tired to blog. So sorry about my absence. But let me tell you what I have been up to!

Thesis Madness is OVER!
This past semester has been a lot of work. Thank god I only took the one class! Also I am eternally grateful to my thesis ladies, Peggy and Diedre. Together we kicked some serious thesis butt!

Pull that, Press here, Smell this: Interactive Children's Literature on Prezi

 Now all I have to do is go to graduation .... and pay off student loans for the rest of my life! Here is what else is going on.....

Paris (in less than a month!) 

I am very excited for our trip to Paris! We have an apartment booked in the 6th arrondissement. We were really hoping for the 5th (where the Latin Quarter is) but its still great! I have been going through my travel book planning what sights we are going to see. So far it includes all of the touristy things such as: the Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Lourve and maybe hopefully the Rodan Museum.  I am also planning some French meals.. escargot and cheese platters! I am very excited and I picture entire experience to be like the movie Amelie.

Finally ... big big news... me and Tim have a house! We found a place and fell in love! Its beautiful and we are really excited! We don't move in until July but we are pretty pumped. Tim already is planning on building some furniture. I am pretty excited to start hitting up garage sales and thirfting. Now I will have a space to work on things!

For now I have a few week before all of this crazy business happens.. so I plan on working on making some small things and finally make some graphics for the blog!

Stay tuned!