An Education

    The funny thing about an education is that, the most important lessons we learn in our life normally don't come from the confines of a brick building filled with text books. But rather, they come from the world that we are taught nothing about. There are no courses in common sense. There are no courses in relationships, or emotions. Nothing! But if the time were to ever come in the world when one was needed to recall the battle tactics of King Charles VI of France, well, you would be in luck. Well, at least I would.
    I came to England to study television. While I have learned and experienced a tremendous amount with television. The lessons I have learned outside the confines of the brick walls is what has made this experience an education. In the past five months I have learned more about myself and the world than I would have staying back in America. I have always been asked, "Why did you come to Portsmouth?" The only reason I can truly say is to get away, to experience life and have some excitement in my life.I also was afraid of getting stuck and watching all the goals I had set out for myself slip away.
    As I pack the last of suitcases, take my final pictures and hand in my keys. I am left to reflect on these past five months and how dramatically I have been changed. I couldn't begin to explain to you how I've changed. I just feel as if an old man's knowledge has been bestowed upon me. But yet, I feel like I still have the world to discover.
    But I couldn't have made it this far without three amazing people. Who have taught me so much and who in return I hope to have made a similar difference. To: Kathryn, you have taught me to always speak my mind and never hold back. To: Rachel, you have taught me to thoroughly enjoy life and not care about what other people think. Finally, to: Jonathan, you have taught me to question what I know and think about things outside of the box. It is all of you that has made this an education I will never forget.
    I was asked, "Do you regret anything?" Normally, I don't regret anything. But this experience has changed that thought for me. There is one thing I regret looking back now. I regret packing this much clothing and shoes. Honestly, KLM is going to make a fortune off of me.
   With this I write to you all my final blog from England as I debark on my next adventure. I wish you all the best and will see you soon.

Roman Holiday

In 1175 Alain De Lille said, "Mille viae ducunt homines per saecula Romam", or as we would say today, "All roads lead to Rome." Well, I'm not sure about you, but, mine certainly does. I know that all of you loyal readers have been waiting to read more about my life after my two week hiatus. So here it is, my very own Audrey Hepburn styled Roman Holiday. Although, I do warn you there is no runaway royalty or Vespas involved. But, it does involve Italian; shoes, bags, paintings, and above all FOOD. Rome has always been a dream for me. The people, history, culture. Jessica came with me as holiday support, although in the end it was I supporting her and her ridiculous choice in shoes and coming from a kid with more shoes than most socialites, it should come with some weight. We started our Roman Holiday at Birmingham International Airport, one of the most amusing places to people watch at and never did it disappoint. My shear favorite group of highly intellectual, productive members of society were a group of 30-40 year old men dressed in animal onesies. Oh yes, the best was the penguin who left something metal in his pouch and had to be searched by a guard. Nothing like watching a grown man in uniform search a 40 year old penguin. It was only 6:30 in the morning, this was sure to be an amazing holiday.

Flying over Rome is like something from Under the Tuscan Sun. Complete with rolling hills of golden flowers and creepy Italian trees and in the distance sits massive domed basilicas and bell towers. The only problem is we still had to get into the city and when traveling with someone who has the same in seem length as a Barbie Doll it can prove hazardous. Fiumicno Airport is a very well laid out airport and is easy to get around, The train station that probably predates Christ is a different story. You have three areas to purchase your tickets from, all of which look like a scam. Once you purchase your ticket you don't put it in a turnstile, oh no, you put it in a stamp machine, circa 1950. We then made a rather dramatic dash to the train as we only had one minute left. The train take about 30 minutes to get into Rome. Once we had arrived in Rome I was given a tour of the train station including the spot where her and Larissa had decided to play it homeless and sleep on their last night in Rome. From the train we walked to our hotel. The hotel was something out of a Versailles wet dream. Everything was gilded with silk damask walk paper and chandeliers in the Room, after all, "When in Rome." From the hotel we headed to explore the birthplace of one of the greatest empire the world had ever scene, the Roman Forum. Upon your first glance it looks like nothing more than a bunch of collapsed columns and ruins. Then you think of everything that happened there. It was where everything was decided in the empire and where some of the most historically important men ruled, from; Julius Ceasar, to Marc Antony, and Octavius. Leading up to the Forum in the Victor Emmanuel II Monument. You wouldn't think it was a monument, you would think that it must be a former Royal Palace or the Italian Parliament Building, but no, It's a monument that had a museum put in it. It stands in front of grand piazza. with grand staircases leading up to a massive statue of Victor Emmanuel on a horse the towers over 30 feet in the air. and up further stair you come to an imposing neoclassic pavilion that looks over all of Rome. Adjacent to the monument is a grand cobblestone avenue that leads to the Colosseum. I always underestimated the shear size of the Colosseum.  For a building that has survived 2,000 years and countless attacks it is in amazing shape. The Colosseum stands over 150 feet tall and at one time could seat over 55,000 people.
On the other side of historic Rome you have the Pantheon, the oldest church in Rome and one of the best preserved buildings from the Roman Empire. From the outside it looks like a beaten unimpressive domed building, but as mothers always say, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." Isn't that the biggest understatement ever. When you walk into the former temple you are left in awe from the dome although on the outside it looks small it triples in size in the interior. It also is decorated in intricate moldings, and to think that the building is 2,000 years old, There is a giant oculous in center of the dome which is the only source of light. Basking in the light it emits with my eyes closed and taking in my surroundings and where I was was by far one of the most incredible experiences I had ever had and I highly recommend it to everyone who goes to Rome. Encompassing the entire interior are grand marble pillars, statues and walls that reflect it's significance.
On the top of lists of things to see was the Vatican. It was by far one of the most incredible imposing places I had ever been. We decided to take a tour of the city with a tour and although we were able to skip the line. The guide was absolutely atrocious and needs to rethink his mid life crisis career choice. He could not take away from the grandeur a mystic of the city. I can not seemingly describe everything about the city. From the grand marble statue galleries, to the intricate frescoes on the walls and ceilings. To the manicured landscaping which look like Jesus himself had done, pun intended. But among all jewels was the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo's greatest masterpiece. the ceiling is the fresco of all frescoes. and depicts everything from the creation of the earth to the Great Flood. Each scene gradually becomes larger and faces right side from the Pope's chair as His Holiness would not have to strain to see each scene. Seeing the creation was by far one of the coolest things I had ever seen and is actually quite impressive. And as I am a dedicated author for you, my loyal readers, I incurred the wrath of the wanna be Swiss Guards security officers who worked at the museum. Apparently, it says you can't take photos in the Sistine Chapel, thankfully for you all I elected to not be able to observe signs for that hour and took a series of photos, only to be rudely interrupted by a mono toned guard who apparently only could only say, "No photos" in English. So, I decided to act like I only spoke French, "Tu Parle Francais?" After the museum we proceeded to St. Peter's Basilica. Walking into the basilica you are immediately struck by a magnificent golden stained glassed window that encompasses a clock at the altar of the basilica. As you walk through you are then struck by the ever enlarging size of the basilica. You don't realize the shear size of the basilica until you  look upon a huge bronze canopy that is about 100 feet tall. The canopy known as, Bernini's Baldachinni can actually fit inside the uppermost dome of the basilica which when you look at the uppermost dome and then the size of the canopy makes you realize the actual size of the basilica. Upon leaving the basilica and looking upon St. Peter's Square, the giant Egyptian obelisk  and the grand avenue leading up to the Vatican you feel this greatness come over you.
Then there is the Trevi Fountain. Considered to be Bernini's greatest masterpiece the traverstine stone fountain is one of the most famous in the world. 3,000 euros a day are thrown into the fountain, which are then used to finance a market for homeless people. As per tradition with the fountain you throw a coin in over your head into the fountain and it will ensure you a return visit to Rome. I certainly hope this is the case.
Rome was everything I dreamed it would be. During my holiday It made me realize that I want to live in Rome and subsequently I will set out to go to grad school in Rome.

From the food, which was like heaven. You have not truly lived until you have had real Italian food. to the people, all of which have an Italian way of live which is like something from La Dolce Vita. To the clothes, all of the men look like they had a free for all in my closets. And of course the art. I won't bore you all with my confessions of shopping, but, all I will say is that an influx of the Italian way of live is headed to New York. To the dismay of my mother I would like to call Rome home one day and I find it the perfect place to raise a family. Who knows what the future will bring, but as far as the Trevi Fountain is concerned Rome has yet to see the last of me.

Schools Out For Ever, Well Maybe Just the Summer

There are three things all University students have in common; we are born, we die, and if it's the end of the semester, we study. Welcome to the final two weeks of the spring semester, a prescribed mixture of late nights, Starbucks Coffee and the library. Although I promised you that my life would become something out of a Steven Spielberg movie, it hasn't since I've been back. But I did manage to write a 20 page essay in a matter of  5 hours. Can you consider 20 pages and essay? Probably not. What else is on the agenda? I have another 5 essays to write for my radio class, I have to put the producers portfolio together for the BBC project and write another horrid essay for my video industry class. All of which get to be written in the third person, limited, oh, what a joy. As with anything though there is a silver lining. Before the dust has settled on the library books and the toner has dried up in the printers I will have escaped to spend my remaining weeks in Italy & Spain while soaking up the sun in Ibiza and becoming enlightened at the Vatican. Unfortunately, I have spent more time writing this blog than writing any of my portfolio essays, plus, I'm out of caffeine. Until next time. 

Leaving on a Jet Plane, I Do Know when I'll Be Back Again!

Where to begin? Well, These past two weeks back in New York have been a whirl wind. Coming home from a long period abroad is the weirdest thing. When people ask you, "How is it over there? Are you having a great time?" To try and explain to people such a massive part of your life in sentences is one of the hardest things about coming home. The other thing that was foreign was how little peoples lives had changed but for me, my entire life had changed, it's an describable feeling, at times you almost feel like a stranger or foreigner yourself. It wasn't bad, it was just an adjustment! While I was home home I received my acceptance letter to one of the best journalism programs in the country. So come August, I will become a resident of Minneapolis. While home I was able to see some of my family, my best friend and so many other loved ones! Including my kitty cat, Mr. Shark; he could totally kick your cats ass. Mr. Shark thinks he's a dog. He eats dog food and rolls around in the drive away like our dog, I'm waiting for him to start chasing after sticks, or rocks. It was awesome to see the store and restaurant, and see how much they have grown and changed. Unfortunately I have no epic experiences to tell you. All I have is an update to tell you where I'm at, actually I don't even know. I think I'm somewhere on the Hudson River between Albany and Poughkeepsie. But I could be mistaken! With my life I'm sure I will have an epic tale once I'm Back in Portsmouth, maybe involving me fighting off dragons or finding Jimmy Hoffa's body. But until then your lives are probably more interesting than mine!

I'm Coming Home, Oh Wait. I Am Home

Well I know all of you have been anxiously awaiting a new blog post, so, here it is. Where do I Begin? well Since the last time I posted I have been to Dublin, London, Bath, Stratford upon Avon, Ledbury, and Oxford and actually as I write this blog post I'm on the Ethan Allen service up to Albany. I will try to organize these bizarre series of events chronologically, but I'm not promising anything. I first started out in London with the arrival of my sister, Larissa. Now in my life I must always be fashionable, not always practical. Well, I purchased a new pair of shoes the day pryer for the occasion. Now I'm always lectured about this and still I never listen, but when you mix a full day of walking in London with new shoes and stereotypical English weather, you get an angry bipolar Josh, which apparently taxes everyone else. I refuse to see the correlation between the two. From there we set out to Oxford to tour my future home, Blenheim Palace. Whilst at my home we meet up with my neighbors whom we seem to only ever see while in England or some other exotic land. We were also able to take a tour of the private apartments of the Duke and his family whom still take up residence at the palace. Which was amusing to me. As you walk through the private apartments you are surrounded by some of the finest baroque design elements and some of the finest paintings in the world, which one room's paintings could equal a multimillion dollar fortune. But that isn't the amusing part as you walk through these rooms decorated in grandeur you run into evidence of the families presence. For instance in their living room they have a plasma television like most of us do, but it sits upon an 18th century Louis XVI styled chest that once was in the Palace of Versailles. Or in the hall you have portraits of Consuelo Vanderbilt done by Sargent and next to it is a pair of the Duke's boots. After Oxford it was off to Bath, and toured the Roman Baths. When you stand at the baths and really think about the knowledge that people had two millennium ago is mind blowing. The baths were in a bath house with vaulted ceilings that measured over 30 feet. The baths were also self cleaning and had constant fresh spring water circulating. Just to walk through the remains of the complex and around the bath itself, which still has spring water circulating through it although no one is allows to go in do to bacteria. But I thought if the Romans did it, I could. Well, after I put a couple fingers in, I couldn't do it! Due to the nutrients and minerals in the water my fingers turned orange and was not easily washable. But all of those things aside, the water was the perfect temperature and at the end of the tour you even got to drink it! As I grew up on well water it was just like being home! From Bath we went onwards to Redditch to recoup and prepare for my trip to Dublin. We all have our stereotypes of what we presume cities and people to be like. I personally found this to be half true in the case of Dublin. The Dubliners were as I suspected, they loved their Guinness. As for the city, it was not what I expected. Dublin is a economically thriving city, as most major corporations choose Dublin as their European headquarters because it's a tax haven. The city also had a very rich history and the people of Dublin were very proud of their heritage and their culture. While in Dublin some of my highlights that I toured were Dublin Castle, The Kilmainham Jail, and the Guinness brewery. We also took a bus tour of the entire city. On our last day in Ireland we went outside of Dublin and drive through the seaside and went to Powercourt, which was an aristocratic manor atop the hills outside of Dublin the looked over some of the most magnificent gardening and landscaping I have ever seen. I would have the audacity to say that their gardens trumped those of Versailles. Once back from Dublin we went to Stratford Upon Avon; the birthplace of William Shakespeare, for Easter and toured a couple other cute small market towns. Currently though I am making my way up to Albany for a couple weeks and then I'll be back to England. Now, I'm sure you all have been waiting for some of my brilliantly witty comedic satire and don't worry it sits two rows in front of me. It sits in the form of a hippy and his asian wife. Like John and Yoko, except they are definitely not as glamorous, they are quite possibly bat shit crazy and smell. John Jr., as we'll call him, he keeps bursting out on these rants about how he doesn't care what people think. Well obviously guy! You appear to be homeless, or possibly without plumbing facilities and you keep shouting about your thought. As for the asian wife she is the ball crusher of the relationship, like Yoko =o, yes I did acknowledge that Yoko is the reason for The Beatles dismemberment. But Anyways, as soon as she boarded my carriage she threatened him that she had her steel toe punk boots on and would use them. Well I'm glad at least out of the two, one knows about the existence of footwear. But the story gets better, the charming psychologist who is wearing a gorgeous Chanel suit in the row across from me and was discussing the two specimen with me earlier has had several verbally abusive outbursts on her cell to her poor understudy. Well folks, my train is coming ever so close to Albany and it's time to rap this up. I'll be performing at the Apple Barrel for the next two weeks so come on down and be entertained! tips are expected ;)

Rollin' on the River Like a Too Proud Mary

Pride is a funny thing and how it can effect people. Earlier this week my Mom and Aunt arrived in England, as this was my last week of Uni before I break for Easter they decided to go on the good ole narrow boat in Nottingham and as with the rest of my life this too had it's share of adventure. We begin last Wednesday as I made my way up to Redditch, Normally when taking the train I don't go via London, I now know why. I made my way from Portsmouth to London on the train with no problems, when I arrived at the Waterloo Station the turnstile wasn't accepting my ticket, I didn't think anything of it as these machines are more faulty than Lindsay Lohan's blood alcohol tests. A nice employee opened the gate for me with no problem and onwards I went across London on the tube to another train station. Once at the Euston train station I proceeded to my platform and got my ticket out handed it to the conductor and he informed me that my ticket was for the not for that day but the following day. Well naturally many unchristian words came into my head, so I dragged my luggage back to the ticketing counter to get the problem sorted out. Now I thoroughly enjoy the bureaucratic red tape in American politics, but the England rail service certainly has it beat. While waiting in line I was scooping out the person I perceived to be most maternal, well I got that one wrong this woman was probably the most satanic woman I have ever met, and I work in retail. After a lengthy battle with her she informed be that it would cost me £50 to change the ticket as it was not there fault because the Portsmouth station is not a Virgin station and the problem is on Southwestern's end. Now I try to be a kind respectful human but this female dog was asking for it. Well after some kind stern words, I got the manager and after a failed attempt and flashing my horsey white teeth and arguing for 15 minutes he finally reduced it to £20. Still too much, but at this point I wanted to leave. Finally getting to Redditch I just wanted to relax and kick my feet back, but why would I get this chance? My darling sister decided to wake me up the following day at 8 and had me clean with her until 5, just because my mother would be coming to her house for a few hours, you would have thought that the Queen and her deceased predecessors were coming to visit. Once we had finally cleaned and went to bed I got to get up at 5 the next morning because apparently the only planes to Birmingham from New York arrive at 6 A.M. Once we had collected my family we went back to my sisters house for a few hours, where the cleaning was not admired, before heading to the boat in Nottingham. I would say I come from a boating enthused family, yet I did not get this gene, well besides the whole clothing part, I can wear a mean nautical outfit. Once we got the boat out of the marina and into the water I insisted on driving and being in charge as I have too much pride. I then proceeded to nearly kill us twice and crash the boat 3 times surrounded by other boats and people where my pride was effectively diminished and I soon sought the shelter of the kitchen away from the rest of the boating community and become the tea and biscuit boy. The excursion also had it's fare share of sibling battles, but we'll save that for the family reunion. On Sunday myself and my brother - in -law could not to escape the ship and cruise for land. But once again I can never have a normal train trip although this was my fault. As I wanted to get to Portsmouth earlier rather than later I got on an earlier train thinking it wouldn't be a big deal, well I was soon corrected half way to Portsmouth I was told I would have to get off and wait until my scheduled train came through. I was also told that I would have to pay some bogus penalty, conveniently though there was a hold on my card whilst I was traveling on the train and I wasn't able to pay it and got away scotch free. I finally made it to Portsmouth at my scheduled time. As for the latest happenings in England, global warming has seemed to fall upon England as for the pat week the average temperature has been 70's and blue skies, who needs to go to Spain when you can get your tan on in England? So lets say I will have a nice English glow when I arrive back in New York for my Easter holiday, yes you heard correctly! Thanks to frequent flyer miles and enough work shifts to back my European tour that much better. I will be gracing New York for 2 weeks with my lovely presence...but will be mainly working rather than leading the social scene. As for my upcoming travels, Larissa flies in on Saturday and from there my family and I will be traveling through England to Ireland for a week. So until next time, stay classy and dance.

P.S. Mrs. Brooks I will not be proof reading this... as I fell asleep writing this :) enjoy!

Eggs N' No Kegs

As per special request I will be highlighting on St. Patty's Day, UK style. I'm sure most of you remember the infamous Kegs N' Eggs Riots last year in DT Albany, if you don't, go on youtube and look it up. Seeing as I am in the kingdom responsible for St. Patty's Day I thought they would put America to shame, thankfully I did not put money down on my hypothesis. St. Patty's Day here, well at least in Portsmouth seems to be nonexistent. There is no green beer, no excess of green clothing, no riots, nothing. It actually seemed like a quieter night. I didn't add to the spirit as the strongest drink I had last night was apple juice. As for the rest of my week we had our first day of shooting for the BBC project on the Isle of Wight. We started filming at the vintage steam railway which dates back to the reign of Queen Victoria, they actually have the train coach she used to travel in when she would come to her palace on the isle. The Isle of Wight also is like a miniature England. The center of isle reminds me of the midlands in England and as you go towards the coast it mirrors England's coast especially in the town of Ryde which is like a mirror image of Brighton. We still have a few more days of shooting to accomplish before we go into a post production edit. My radio show is coming along nicely too, just have to do a few interviews and finish up my portfolio and it will be time to go off the air. It's been a very low key week in Portsmouth and the weather has been amazing, definitely not your typical English spring. As it is Mum's Day in the UK, I would like to wish my mum a happy Mother's Day and I lover her very much and I can't wait until I see her next week!!!! Until Next time!