Theatre Review: Next to Normal

On my last trip to New York a couple weeks ago, I decided to treat my mom to a night out on Broadway. I had heard that the director of Rent, one of my favourite musicals, had created a brand new musical: "Next to Normal", which has 11 Tony Award nominations including "Best Musical". I had also heard that it was very different than most musicals- mostly because it deals with a very difficult topic, the death of a child.

Now, you may ask: "How do you make a musical out of an event like the death of a child"? And my answer must be: Very carefully... and Next to Normal really does it perfectly.

Early in Act 1, I was getting a little worried. I really thought I might end up hating it and was worried my mother might dislike it as well. Its described as having a "vibrant score" and "provocative themes". This is true. The New York Times called it "A brave, breathtaking musical". This is also true. But the beginning of the show didn't grab me, although it did pique my curiosity. The plot also tended to move quite slowly. However, towards to the end of Act 1, I was in tears and truly committed to the plot and the characters. I found the songs fun but not that catchy (other than "I'm Alive" which I could sing all day long in my shower). The music is meant to be more "rock" than your typical musical-type songs where you would interlude with alternative clapping and snapping throughout, and it succeeds greatly.

Essentially, the show is about a bipolar mother trying to hold her family together while she falls apart amidst delusions of her long-deceased son. The audience never discovers how the death of the infant occurred, but you get the sense that the event is something that, although it occurred 17 years in the past, penetrates every element of the mother's life. The show explores some seriously controversial themes including electro-shock therapy, or EST, the treatment of psychological disorders, mental illness and a plethora of modern problems which every family faces (read: bong smoke). Although in retrospect it probably wasn't the best play to take my mother too, considering she wept through most of it!

I have to say, for me, the most impressive element was the acting- the actor who plays the deceased son is incredible, his name is Aaron Tveit and he is going to be an absolute super-star. He is seen by the audience through the delusions of his mother as the perfect 18 year old (who incidentally is very attractive and has the voice of an angel!)

The show has incredible energy and although it might not be your typical musical, this is one of the show's many redeeming qualities- that it is so unusual and controversial and intense. It's on at the Booth theatre on 44th Street in Times Square and has only been running for a very short time now. Go see it now- you can get tickets at http://www.nexttonormal.com/.

easyJet- Just Say No!

I am certainly not the only one who has had many a frustrating experience with easyJet, whether it be their totally absent customer service, their inexplicable fee system (i.e. "Carrying a pencil in your pocket? That will be 50 quid please!"), their blinding orange uniforms ("Mommy, my eyes!!!"), or the fact that the sound of the engine on all the planes makes you think you're a complete gonner.

Anytime I have heard anyone discuss easyJet, it is with a loud groan and a roll of the eyes, and usually along with the phrase : "They [insert explitive here] suck!"




Yes, indeed they do suck. But why do we still fly them? Perhaps it is because people feel as though there are no other cheap alternatives. But I ask you: Is easyJet really that inexpensive? Yes, you can occasionally pay 1p for a one way ticket, but with all the added fees and taxes (and factoring in risk to life), you'll end up paying over £50 one way to take a bag with you and sit next to a friend. Furthermore, there are loads of other excellent inexpensive flying options including the below:

British Airways

Ryan Air (okay its not that much better)

Clickair

Spanair

BMI and bmi baby

Pegasus (which just started direct flights from London to Bodrum this May, yay!)

Monarch

Wizzair (my personal favourite)

Thomson and

Sky Europe Airlines

Also, a great way to find cheap flights (although annoying easyJet flights also come up) is at Skyscanner.

I recently tested out the customer service department of easyJet. It was impossible to actually locate a contact email address or phone number for easyJet. They want you to submit your "question" (i.e. complaint) through the most tedious web-based system in the world. After almost slitting my wrists trying to locate the correct link, I submitted the following email:

Dear sirs,

I am writing to relay to you my huge disappointment with a recent experience with your airline.

My partner and I booked a flight from Geneva to London Gatwick on 20 January 2009. My booking reference was EF1VWXH.

We arrived at Geneva airport 50 minutes prior to departure due to a blizzard experienced in the Saas Valley. When we arrived to the check-in desks at Geneva airport, the service agent was extraordinarily rude and refused to help us. We mentioned that we only had 10 minutes to check-in and may not have all the necessary information readily available so would she please help us. She refused unequivocally. We asked her name and she refused to give that to us. Our flight was up on the check-in board at that time. Having refused to help us at all, she then directed us to some check-in computers at the other end of the airport, but mis-directed us, whether intentionally or unintentionally. By the time we found the computers, the flight had just been removed from the check-in as it was exactly 40 minutes prior to departure. We then went back to the check-in desk and the same woman again refused to help us. She would not even inquire with the gate as to whether we may still check-in (we later found out this flight's departure was delayed). She told us that we must purchase new tickets and sent us to the sales desk. While the sales assistant was more polite, he said that his hands were tied and we had to purchase two new tickets for 80 Swiss Francs each (160 Swiss Francs total), on a flight at 3:20pm from Geneva to London Stansted (which flight then turned out to be massively delayed) on flight number 3374 on 20 January.

I would like a full refund of the 160 CH spent on the new flights. I am happy to send you my receipt for such payment which I have. I also believe that customer service agents should wear name badges and be required to at least give their first names so that customer service given below an unacceptable level is reported and dealt with.

We have not flown Easyjet since and refuse to do so unless this is dealt with.

Please have the courtesy to respond to this email and to let me know whether anything may be done to remedy this horrible experience with your airline.

With sincere regards,

Sarah Mathis

To which the following unsatisfactory response was received:

Dear Miss Mathis,

Thank you for contacting us.

I was really sorry to learn that you missed your flight and I can understand the inconvenience this must have caused you.

Our policy about checking in for your flight is included in our Carriers Regulations which we ask you to read before confirming your booking. We also ask you to confirm that you have read, understood and accepted our Carriers Regulations by ticking a box. Without doing this, you would not be able to complete your booking.

Unfortunately, I am unable to refund the cost of your seat. However, my best advice would be to contact your travel insurers about making a claim. The Customer Experience Team will be more than happy to help with any information required to assist with your claim.

I have included a link to this information below:

http://www.easyjet.com/EN/Book/regulations.html#checkin

Thank you for taking the time to contact us, if you need any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Yours sincerely

Joanna Karpinska
Customer Experience Champion

I think the most disturbing element of the easyJet email response, aside from the fact that this must clearly be their bog-standard email they send to anyone and everyone who dares to submit a "question" to them is that the lady who wrote the response has the gall to call herself a "Customer Experience Champion"! HA, what a joke!

Anyways, I beg of you- do not fly this airline as you will surely be disappointed. Let's make this evil empire go out of business as it deserves to...

Searching for the perfect digital SLR camera...

After searching for the "perfect" digital SLR camera, I am finally in possession of what I consider to be very close to perfect, the Canon EOS 450D (also known as the Rebel Xsi).

Its a beauty isn't it???

I read a million (well, not quite) reviews and was leaning towards a Nikon as I have previously used Nikon manual cameras and I still have the glass, filters, etc. The Nikon D200, D400 and D700 and D60 all impressed me quite a lot. But I was convinced by these two reviews of the Canon 450D:

DP Review of Canon 450 D

DC Resource of Canon 450D


Along with the camera body, I also received the 18-55mm lens, which I have been trying out, to my satisfaction, and the 55-250mm lens, which is still in the box! I figured that one lens is enough to start with!

The big selling points for me were the very large LCD screen, the image-stabilizer technology, the small size and light weight, the 12.2 mega pixels (just in case I like my photographs enough to enlarge them for display in my house), and of course the reputation for excellent image quality. The only thing that is completely unavoidable with digital SLR's is the complexity of the camera itself and the software that it comes with. I spent my first day with the camera sat on my living room floor for roughly 5 hours while I identified and inspected the pieces it came with and read the first 20 or so introductory pages of the manual. So far, I can take photographs with the automatic default settings on, yay! It makes me pine for my old manual Nikon (or even my ancient Olympus OM-10 which was so faithful to me). Film cameras seemed so much more straightforward...

To assist in my learning of digital photography, I have purchased this highly recommended manual, received in the post today!



At first glance, this book seems very straight-forward which is such a relief!


Watch this space for evidence of just how great this camera turns out to be! (or Watch this space to see my best efforts to figure out an incredibly complex but beautiful SLR camera!)

On the Top of the World, or Saas Fee, Swizerland

Driving through a blizzard is like stealing- you just shouldn't do it. However, all decision-making skills thrown aside, we hopped into our tiny little rental car with no 4-wheel drive function and made our way to the sleepy village of Saas Almagell, just a few miles from popular ski destination resort, Saas Fee.



We pulled into the Hotel Christiana, a very cute bed and breakfast owned by a very nice Swiss couple who have owned the hotel for about 20 years (or more). We settled into our cozy room and enjoyed an excellent Swiss meal for dinner, making sure we energised for the slopes!



Day 2- Skiing! We drove to Saas Fee and were determined to brave the mountain. The views were gorgeous!





... unfortunately a knee injury (not mine!) shortened our skiing session a bit but nevertheless we were able to fully enjoy the apres ski! The cheap wine comes highly recommended!!!

2009 New Years Resolutions

So, I know that its almost February but technically its still January so I thought I might still be allowed to set out my New Years resolutions to kick-start this whole process of being reflective. I've tried to be as reasonable as possible and set attainable goals and limited myself to 10, although I have decided to be more general in nature as I find that too specific goals will by the law of nature, never get met. If you're looking carefully you might see that some of my resolutions contradict each other (mainly 1 with everything else!) but that's sort of the way life is- we are all contradictory on some level- some of us more than others, but that's whats makes us so interesting. Here goes!

1. Save money!

2. (Re)learn Spanish

3. More Yoga!

4. Buy a nice digital SLR

5. More Travel!

6. Take a journalism/photojournalism course

7. Drink more water!

8. Be more positive!

9. Be proactive!

10. Make connections!


Wish me luck...

My story...

The day we were told we might lose our jobs at the cushy law firm in London, a sense of panic spread like an epidemic through the corporate department which I've worked at for only 3 months now having recently moved firms. As corporate lawyers used to billing thousands of hours a year, we all thought our jobs were safe. I mean, we charge clients extortionate amounts on an hourly basis to deliver the goods and the work load just seemed to continue to increase indefinitely. We all felt strangely important... and safe. And now, because of this new word we had never experienced before: "recession," we all felt scared...

The trouble for me was, I was so far "in it", I couldn't see outside of "it". I was too used to working crazy hours to think about what I might do if I wasn't doing what I was doing. I had actually forgotten what I enjoy: my hobbies, my loves and my passions. And I had forgotten what brought me to England from the U.S. just over two years ago- an intense desire to have new experiences, travel to exotic places, meet new and different people, take beautiful photographs, and breathe life in an unusual way. To see it from a Different Angle.

For years I have wanted to pursue my passions of photography and writing. And for years, those passions felt to the wayside while I was stuck in a square office with terrible fluorescent lighting squinting at a computer screen for at least 12 hours a day.

The whole process of realising that I might lose my job has forced me to think about what is really important to me and has allowed me to consider what I truly enjoy in life, which I am really excited about. I am energised about feeling inspired again. This page is an experiment and who knows what it may turn into, only time will tell. I hope to learn and to discuss a variety of topics and to share experiences from my life and travels as well as photographs. At the very least it will document my journey away from the law and through the lens and heart to a new view of the world.