Shallow Pockets Brimming with Green Misunderstandings

Towards the end of my London Spring Break Mr. Ankers reserved tickets to a play I have literally been dying to see- WICKED!!!

In high school I was one of the theater geeks... and I'm damn proud of it.  Although I unfortunately can't carry a tune in a bucket I still love to belt out the words to any and every song I learn the lyrics to.  Showtunes are a personal favorite because I can act-sing with the best of them... just keep the octave range nice and minimal and give me a big character to impersonate.

My little theater crowd and I polluted our iPods with musical numbers and we had waves of obsession over one sound track or another.  Wicked held the title spot for the longest of any of them.

Ever since I vowed I would read the book and go see the play at the Fox as soon as it came to Atlanta... but, five years later, that plan has still yet to come to fruition.

UNTIL NOW!  Maybe it wasn't the Fox but that wasn't the important part of the plan.  I just wanted to see all of the songs fit together into one cohesive story and it blew. My. Mind!
It was kind of funny seeing it in England... half of the actors had British accents and half America/Canadian accents (Canadians sound like Americans... let's just be honest, but apparently they get really defensive if you say so).

Before the show!!

The stage (I'm still a little unsure what the dragon represented but there were some cool affects that spewed out of it).

We tried to replicate the poster :)

What a fantastic evening.
What a fantastic script.
What a fantastically thoughtful host.

Shallow Pockets Brimming with Happy Feet

Back in time... Back to Spring Break:
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The London Zoo has Penguins. I repeat- the London Zoo has PENGUINS!!
They have loads of other things too but PENGUINS!!! I’ve only seen them at Sea World and that was ages ago! Adorable. But I’ll get to that.

After Paris Stephen and I, his flatmate Matt, and Matt’s girlfriend, Sandy, took at trip to the London Zoo. Matt’s cousin works at the zoo so we got in for free (bonus!) and got a bit of a behind the scenes tour (double bonus!).





















It's hard to tell but this was the 'outback' exhibit. The emu was front and center most of the time but it took a while for us to spot the kangaroos!






There were SO MANY penguins!! I was fortunate enough to snag a spot next to the glass and they put on quite a show for me (well... mostly for my camera. They were little hams).








This was the coolest display. In the reptile/insect house they had an ant colony with ropes leading out of the display to different plants and you could watch the little workers bringing bits of food home.

Speaking of the insect house, Matt's sister's boyfriend, who also worked at the zoo, took us back and showed us what lies behind the 'staff only' entrances.

WE GOT TO HOLD A TARANTULA!!!

And we learned so much about the other bugs and fish and snakes. We even got to feed some Chicklids! The fish were the coolest part for me... my father used to be an avid aquarium... collector? Creator? We had them all over the house growing up and his pride and joy rested in a 75 gallon live reef tank in our living room. Chicklids were a fascination of his for a time.

Shallow Pockets Brimming with Quiet Cataclysm

What a week.

A transatlantic flight. A terrible loss. A veteran's funeral. A doctor's visit. And a surgery.

What. A. Week.

Grampa. Look how daper you were. I remember how you always looked like you'd just come in from a day of driving down the golf course and how you always smelt like the licorice candies you loved. I loved that you had a sweet tooth- there were always candy bowls at the ready and you let me sneak an extra when my mama wasn't watching. Everyone that ever met you melted at your sweet demeanor and perpetual smile. And your perfectly combed hair :)

Although the circumstances have been less than preferable... it's been lovely getting to spend some quality time with my family. The morning after we found out about my grampa's passing I took my mom and my brother for a dawn hike up Stone Mountain... I think the solitude and fresh air was a welcome comfort for my poor mama. There's something about being up above everything just as the day awakens... it's the purest therapy.

Plants amaze me. I know humans adapt to all sorts of environments but that idea is so epitomized by blossoms out of something as unsympathizing as granite. It's a beautifully tangible metaphor for our hike.

Grampa's service was held at the Veteran's Memorial in Canton, Ga. A man named Scott Hudgens donated 778 acres of land to the Memorial and it's simply gorgeous. Up in the Georgia mountains overlooking Lake Allatoona... I can't think of a lovelier place to lay my grampa to rest.

You are loved and so missed <3

Dec 17, 1918 - Mar 30, 2012

Shallow Pockets Brimming with Fallen Hearts

A slight break from my travel updates...

[One of the earliest photos I could find of my grandfather... true to his photography background, it seems he was always behind the camera]

May 30, 2012- My grandfather passed away. His name was Stanley Srock and he lived a very long life. Born a Croatian immigrant raised in northern Michigan his stories of walking to school “uphill both ways in seven feet of snow” were probably fairly accurate. My grampa was loved by any who met him and he had the sweetest disposition of any grampa I’ve ever met. Here is the obituary my mom (his daughter) wrote for him for the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

"Stanley W. Srock, 93, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 30th 2012. He was the youngest son of Joseph and Mary Srock and was born and raised in Gladstone, MI, with his nine brothers and sisters; Amelia, Joseph Jr., Josephine, Anthony, Mary, Ted, Tillie, Victor and Rose. He enlisted in the Army during WWII. At the end of the war, he mustered out through Jefferson barracks in St. Louis where he met his bride of 65 years, Betty Liable, at a USO dance. They settled in St. Louis where they raised their two children, Colette and Christopher. After a long career managing St. Louis Photo Supply Company, Stan and Betty retired to their new home in Hobe Sound, FL. Several years ago they relocated to Lawrenceville, GA to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Stan is survived by his wife, Betty; his daughter, Colette Drescher and her husband, Rick; their two children, Amanda and Ryan; his son, Chris Srock and his wife, Carolyn; their three children, Kevin, Tyler and Sam."

[The last picture I got with my grampa- Thanksgiving 2012]

I love you grampa. I’ll miss you- but I’m glad you finally got to move on. We all know you were ready <3