Ashli: All.Over.The.Place.

My thoughts are all over the place this rainy Monday morning, so here goes:

Did you know that my sister does not lead a normal life? At. All. She was cast as a "good-looking hipster" last week for Gossip Girl. To hear about her not-so-normal life, you should read her most recent blog post. Feel free to live vicariously through her.

Next random thought:

If I was a stand-up comedian, one of my sketches would definitely be on landlords. Have you ever met a totally normal landlord? I have had my fair share of interaction with landlords, and let me tell you -- whether in the US or the UK, they are all a little bit out there (nice -- but out there [except for the one that owns Lynchburg Realty, LLC -- I have good reason and evidence to tell you not to rent from him ....]) . My most recent landlord, a retired orthopedic surgeon, thinks he can fix something other than knees --- like a water heater. As of this morning, let me tell you, orthohopedic surgeons should stick with bones and ligaments and not pilot lights.

On to other random things in my head ........

What's up with all these literary and film characters that are the newbies on the block but possess superior knowledge to all those surrounding them that have way more experience than they do??? That's not the real world. Whether it's the little architect student in Inception or the maid in A Girl with the Pearl Earring, life does not work that way. If Oscar Wilde was correct when he said that "life imitates art more than art imitates life," then some people need a reality check. The deal is, is that you're going to have to work hard and learn a lot of things through experience before you are better at and have more experience than those surrounding you.

In case you haven't guessed it, we saw Inception this weekend. If you like creating alternate universes in your head and feel comfortable existing there, or perhaps reading a few books that exist there, then you'll likely really enjoy the film. It's creative. It's well done. It's definitely one to see in a big movie theater.

Other fun things from the weekend: I split a lobster with a friend. YUM! Gordon Ramsey highly acclaims the Scottish lobster, and he even ordered Scottish lobster for his Parisian restaurants. That's big stuff. I also tried a vegan cherry pie this weekend, and it was amazingly good. Who knew a pie without butter or eggs could be so good???

And finally - my friends and I had tea at Anteaques on Clerk Street yesterday afternoon. This tea shop serves an incredible selection of 63 teas alongside exquisite antiques ranging from sets of china, to Edwardian desks, silver butter knives, and more. While perusing the gorgeous antiques, you can treat yourself to a generous pot of tea and a yummy scone served with jam and clotted cream. How much better can life get???