Allison's Wonderland

Sometimes as gills we can just be . . . well, plain loud. It isn't anything we can help. It just is what it is. Get six girls who were in theater together and what you get is a whole lot of noise.
The story begins with my gill Laura from NYC coming to town this past weekend. Now remember, I haven't seen this gill since her wedding in December and catching up with her is like a breath of clean ocean air. Micah, Sarah, Laura and myself met up at La Carretta for lunch on Saturday. La Carretta is a local Mexican restaurant which was one of our main stomping grounds back in college. Arturo, our Mexican, creepy waiter, gave the usual side hug in which he always seems to get a little too friendly and with the side boob grab along with the hug. A little awkward, and especially since Laura's married now she did not appreciate it. Lunch was great, and then we decided to spend the afternoon together doing a photoshoot downtown. What's better than a photoshoot downtown with Laura gill? Nothing. :) After the photoshoot we went our seperate ways, but then gathered together back at the A-P-T. The official name of the gills apartment. :) We were just hanging out, me, Micah, Rachel, Jennifer, Laura and Sarah. Then we get the brilliant idea to make a music video. Mind you this was at like 11:00 at night. Granted it was on a Saturday, but still, we're on the third floor and sometimes our neighbors can be a little angry at times. So after doing our video till three in the morning, Monday I get an email from my landlord. She told us that we were too loud and if it continued we would be evicted. Seriously, don't people have fun anymore? What's with this world? Next time Laura comes to town we won't do a thing different. :)

By my title you probably couldn't tell what I am about to write about. So, I will elaborate. If you haven't guessed, it's February and that means another concert. After researching over twenty artists that I would love to see in concert I came up with zilch. Big fat goose egg. Every band/singer I wanted to see was either in Europe or Australia on tour. I contemplated buying a plane ticket to Munich, Germany just to see Maroon 5 along with Sara Bareilles. Money is a little too tight for a trip like that so I reverted to something a little closer to home. My friend Shaun approached me with the idea of seeing Josh Radin, a singer you could say I was pretty unfamiliar with at the time, in Charlottesville at the historic Jefferson Theater. I researched and found out that Josh is a pretty cool guy and had a hit I really liked off of the "Dear John" soundtrack. For two weeks straight I tuned into Josh Radin Radio on Pandora and discovered my new love. We left work early on Friday the 11th and took the journey to what the locals call CVille. We got dressed up in our best hipster apparel and headed downtown. Thanks to my handy GPS we found it in a jiffy. We contemplated where to eat and decided on the C&O Restaurant(www.candorestaurant.com). One of my favorite things in life is trying out a new restaurant. Three things I look for in order to meet my restaurant standards is character, atmosphere and good food. What started out as a railroad bunkhouse, has blossomed into one of the “must eats” in Charlottesville. Let me tell you what. Best meal I’ve ever had. Like seriously. Maybe not ever had, but one of the best. It was wonderful. I had two glasses of their cheapest wine (cheap wine tends to be the best) and then ordered the Steak Chinoise with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus cooked to perfection. I was in edible heaven. Shaun ordered the rabbit which was good, but not as good as my steak. We stayed at the restaurant for almost two hours enjoying the atmosphere and the obnoxious couple sitting behind me who, whenever they spoke to each other where in a constant state of arguing and hostility. Awkward. Next was the concert.The Josh Radin concert was held in the historical Jefferson Theater (www.jeffersontheater.com) located on the downtown mall. Beautiful theater. Simply beautiful. One of my favorite acts was Andrew Allen who opened for Josh. I actually ended up buying his CD and I’ve already listened to it way too much www.myspace.com/andrewallenlive). I also loved Anya Marina (www.anyamarina.com) who was the second act. She was so different than anything I ever heard before and sang her rendition of “You can Have Whatever you Like” originally by TI, and her song “All the Same to Me” which incorporates the children song “Old McDonald” with a line in the chorus containing“E-I-E-I-O”.I had to buy that song as well..She was awesome. Josh Radin was everything I hoped he would be. We moved to the balcony to watch his act so we could see better. We got out of there at like 10:30, made our mark on the downtown mall chalkboard and headed back to the hotel. Next day we had lunch at the Michie Tavern(www.michietavern.com)which was established in 1784.Charlottesville is the home of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, and showcases his home, Monticello as one of the main attractions.The Michie Tavern is a mile down the road from Monticello and has some wonderful, home-cooked, soul food. While we were there they had a cozy fire and we were able to eat off of pewter plates and mugs. So awesome! After our time at the tavern, we once again ventured to the downtown mall and visited antique shops and the quaintest book store where John Grisham,(www.jgrisham.com) writer of best sellers such as “A Time to Kill” and “The Rainmaker, frequents often. All in all it was a wonderful weekend and I can’t wait to do it again! Next concert…Josh Ritter! Not sure what the “Mystery” part of my title really was…but hey, it rhymed 

The title of this post is a little odd. I will be the first to admit it. But as a little girl, for all you females out there, did you ever wish you were a boy? I know I did and maybe still do just a little. I had an older brother and older brothers tend to be pretty influential. I am also a sucker for a good list. So I decided to come up with a list of reasons I wish I was a guy. Don't get me wrong, I am happy being female. There are plenty of perks to the finer sex, but if I got the chance to walk the world for one day in the shoes of a man...I'd jump at the opportunity. So here goes the list:

#1 - Guys get to Pee standing up
Most men totally take this little gem for granted. And I know that if I were a guy I probably would do the same. But boys, do I envy you.
#2 - Guys don't have to go to baby, bridal, lingerie (you name it) showers
Not going to lie. I hate showers. They are pretty awkward for the most part and you have to sit and watch someone open a million gifts that are not for you. It really isn't fun.
#3 - Guys can travel alone
Okay. Okay! I know girls can do this alone too. But it's pretty unsafe and most father's would not let their little baby girls do this. Just the way it is.
#4 - Guys don't have to birth babies
This list is in no particular order. But if it was, this would be at the top of the list. No pain. No 8 lb baby coming out of a hole the size of a pee. Nope nope...guys just get to hit it and quit it. Excuse me, but it's true. Not fair.
#5 - Guys don't have to worry about rape (for the most part)
This one speaks for itself. No explanation needed.
#6 - Guys don't have to worry about PMS and what comes after
No monthly visitor. Must be real nice.
#7 - Guys don't have to worry about weight
This might not be completely accurate. But guys definitely do not need to be as concerned about their image as girls. We're constantly worried about our weight and what we look like. It's all part of the curse.
#8 - Guys can be forwarad
Girls can't just go around asking out guys. It's just no right. But guys can. And they do. And it's not fair.
#9 - Guys don't have to shower as much
Females are the daintier sex. They must smell good, shave their legs, and armpits. Guys can get away without showering because they just can because their guys.
#10 - Guys do not have to wear makeup
There might be opposition to this one due to the fact that girls don't HAVE to wear makeup either. A lot of my girlfriends look just as good if not better without makeup, but there is pressure to wear it, so we do. Plus a little mascara can do wonders. :)

Okay so I just thought of Number 11 Which is....

#11 - Guys have a much easier time getting roles in shows. I love theater but girls are a dime a dozen! Guys can get in them much easier. So I guess we have to say its 11 reasons why I wish I was a guy.
So here's my list of 10 no 11 reasons why I would want to be a guy. Don't worry I'm not having a sex change anytime soon. It just would be cool for one day.