Colombiaaahhh! (Parte Uno)

Hello Everyone,

So this whole New Years resolution thing is very difficult to keep.  We were attempting to post before our trip out of the country but yeah we ran out of time.  Packing always takes longer than one can imagine.  So we shall hold off on Meg's titillating problem until we find ourselves to be boring again...

Alright so finally MegTom did something exciting and left the country!  Fo real, fo real.  Okay so why Colombia?  Well, for one on a post-graduate budget the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Colombian peso is ideal...and number two it was an excuse to not only get away but visit our very dear friend T$ (Time Dollah), the student formerly known as Sarah.  Our friend is currently on a well-deserved scholarship teaching English at a prestigious university in Manizales, Colombia for one year.  As a result we were very very very berry cherry larry uber lucky to have a floor to crash on for ten days.

After a delicious dinner at Tom's house in Long Island, we headed to JFK for our departing 2AM flight.  Yep that's right 2AM, at least the fare was cheap.  The best surprise was that the plane was only about 1/6 full.  You know what that means?  Three seats for Meg, and three seats for Tom.  Nothing like flying the friendly skies while sleeping in the fetal position while on a five-hour flight across from your best buddy.  Now that's friendship right there!

Once in Bogota at a chipper time of 7:30 AM, MegTom made their way through customs and then had to recheck in for a domestic flight to a city called Pereira, where they would meet Sarah and then take the bus to Manizales.  All was going well until MegTom was directed to the wrong gate for the connecting flight.  Now let's back up here, Meg can speak mediocre Spanish and communicate enough to get her way around South America (kind of), but she has yet to master listening to the beautiful cadence of fluent speakers...so it may have been a gate change or directed to the wrong site, but nonetheless nothing beats saying goodbye to your connecting flight as it rolls away from the gate and the apathetic Aires employee tells you it's now your problem.  While that may be true, how are two gringos supposed to get to Manizales and find a way to communicate with T$ so she isn't stuck at the other airport? 

Well the good news was that there were several other angry passengers who also missed the flight and after some bargaining and translation, we were able to fly directly into Manizales.  Thank goodness T$ is one of the most patient beings we know and also checked her e-mail just in time to learn of our flight changes.

So in case you didn't know, Colombia is a extremely diverse country, not only geographically but also demographically and politically.  Perhaps we are biased when we make this statement but Manizales albeit smaller was one of the most scenic places we visited.  Not only is the average temperature an ideal 75 degrees Fahrenheit but the views are beautiful (it is nestled right in the mountains) as well as the kindness and consideration of its people.  It was great to meet several of Sarah's friends, taste local fare, and get adopted by a Colombian mother.  While staying with Sarah in Manizales we were able to make several day trips and excursions, some of which we will detail in this post and others we will wait to write about in the next one.

Ah, so one slight glitch with our change in flights was that although we did not make our flight to Pereira, our luggage did.  So, for a day and a half MegTom had to wander temperate Colombia in sweatpants, sneakers, and yeah that's about it.  Luckily the airline was awesome enough to drop our bag off but rest assured a shower, change of clothes, and teethbrushing never felt so good.  Colombians are very clean and well dressed people so you can only imagine what two whiteys in need of showering and donning sweats looked like wandering the streets. 

So we shall leave it at that for now.  This gives us further motivation to post more frequently to detail our trip and recall our visit.  Pictures to come very soon as well.

Until then, we are grateful for a heated apartment as the blizzard of 2011 ascends upon Allentown.

Cheers y'all.

Manizales (or at least part of it).

Manizales, Pop. ~455,000 nestled right in the mountains.

The weary travelers (complete in sweats) and T$ enjoying the first full day in the city by visiting T$'s friends for lunch.  The rooftop view was a very nice bonus!

Well, You See Wha Ha Happened Was...

Greetings Followers,

Happy New Year!  Wishing all the best in 2011.  So we are starting the new year off right by trying to post right away to make up for our delinquency for the past ohhhhhh month and a half.  See the problem is that the period from Thanksgiving until right about Christmas we were well, absolutely boring.  Yes, that's right all we did was eat a lot, do a lot of coach potatoeing, and yes, worked on those damn applications.  But do not fret, we are off to a fresh start here but don't get your hopes up too high because we just signed up for NetFlix.  Example A: we may have watched three episodes of Glee before carefully crafting this post.  The good news is, Meghan has been application free for about a month now and Thomas, poor dear Thomas, is just one submit button away from freedom.

But enough about our exciting lives, how about you?  Hmm, that's good...  Oh I had no idea she was pregnant.  Aaaaaannnnnddddd back to us.

Okay actually we did have a little bit of a social life right before the holidays.  Meghan, unable to withstand another antisocial weekend ran screaming out of the apartment and sprinted all the way to Philly.  She forgot her keys so Tom caught up with her on 476 South so he had no choice but to join her.  Translation we finally escaped to the city to join many of our 'Berg alumni (whoaaaaaa that is so strange to type) for a weekend rendezvous.  Activities included throwing a leftovers-from-the-MegTom-fridge party in our friend's apartment, wine tasting, traveling to Manayunk, sipping Martini's and hitting on the wait staff (long story, inquire for details), pajama partying, and snobbishly sipping quality caffeinated beverages while gossiping in cafes.  It was so amazing and so wonderful to see our friends: Liz, Ben, Kendra, Steph, Brad, Tim, skype-beta version Kyle, and Arie.  We are also thankful to have made a new friend as well.  Shout out to Liz and Allie for your hospitality.

Long story short: it was great to be social and with people we love.  Not in that way,  perverts.  We intend on making many more frequent visits, so Alana, Kaitlin, Kim, and whoever else we know who is remotely near the greater Philly area we better see you next time or we are gonna find you!

Photos of the (partial) crew shown below:

Getting ready to head out for the evening.

This is such a Muhlenberg website photo...

At Continental Martini Bar making trouble.

Proving that you are never too old for a PJ party :-).

After our stint in Philly, MegTom hurried back to A-Town only to pack up and leave for the holidays.  Although we had intended to have a huge fantastical Wheatunion (Wheat Family Reunion) in New York City, it of course was snowed out.  Boooo.  This only means an epic blog post in the future when we are able to reconvene.


Okay, so yes kind of exciting that MegTom is slowly coming back into the social world, we apologize for being so lame.  But not to fear, many exciting, exhilarating posts are to come.  Because we are going to see our really awesome friend Sarah in.........

COLOMBIA!!!!  Woot woot! 

Buuuuuttttt until we leave the states, we'll leave you with this MegTom exchange from the other day.  It was funny to us, we hope you get a decent chuckle (or chortle, whichever you prefer...we just like that word) out of it too.

While discussing dinner plans:
Meg (at desk sitting in chair doing something vitally important): I have an Herb and Cheese mix that we can use.

Tom (lying on Meg's bed): What-is the cheese going to take me into an alley and beat me up?

Meg: Ummmmm... (slowly cranes neck towards Tom).

Tom: Oh you said HERB and cheese, not URBAN cheese.

THE END (Of Act I Scene I, 2011)

Until our next post we shall keep you waiting by previewing our next topic...tune in next time when we discuss Meghan's new-found expertise!  It'll be titillating!

Fallin'

Okay so we need EVERYONE's help with this one.  Yes, that includes you sitting at your computer minding your own business because this is  VERY important.  The following clip corresponds to our post title but we need help dicephering the chorus.  Here's what we have narrowed it down to: ballin', fallin', stallin', callin', maulin'.  You can be the judge though!  Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL548cHH3OY

With that pressing issue laid out let's get down to business.  Believe it or not, this is our first post where we will finally align our blog with the current events of our lives starting with Halloween!  Okay maybe not so current but we are getting there.

Being on a post-graduate budget, Bertolson decided to go the home grown route when making costumes.  Meghan achieved a lifelong dream of being a bunch of grapes (an idea inspired from the tender age of 8 when she saw someone pull this off on her street) and paying tribute to one of her favorite beverages: wine (and of course grapes and raisins too....please think of the wonderful health benefits!)  It was a relatively cheap costume to compose (only $32 if you include the wine) but a tad bulky at packed parties.  Nonetheless created  a nice buffer between herself and the drunk people.  Thomas won the prize of frugality though at $20 using a "dual" costume.  From one angle. he was Antoine Dodson (please see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y54yESyq6Io for reference) and from the other was the face of blaxsploitation.  See photos for details below.  Overall a pleasant Halloween shared with good friends and afforded the perfect people watching opportunity at overcrowded social events.

The making of fruit...

Waiting for the festivities to start.

The finished product!

Doesn't this say it all?

If this isn't enough evidence that Thomas should get a PhD in sociology, then you need to provide a better example!

On the way to the social event...Don't be tardy for the party (Woah uh oh whoa-oh)!

Our friend as a moose!  She's from Maine, get it?

Moose + Karissa explains it all.  Bringing back the classic Nickelodeon!

Meeting our friends down the block before heading out for the evening.

Alright so now for our most recent update.  Are you ready for this?  You sure?  Okay, here is goes:

...

So there you go!  Well okay maybe it's slightly more exciting.  As of late, Bertolson has experienced a life of semi-separation. *GASP* yes we know very upsetting.  Thomas, when not getting buffed up at the gym or working long evenings at the symphony, spends the majority of his time hanging out with his computer while Meghan when not caught in EMS training or driving between PA and CT  remains married to her laptop as well.  Whoa that was an illuminating summation of our lives.  However the end is in sight!  No, we are not getting desperate and tempting to jump off the 15th street bridge.  Instead applications should be done by the end of the month and we can start getting into some trouble.

Up next for our post, hopefully an exciting adventure or two and the announcement of upcoming travel plans.

Until then, cheers!

Bertolson

Road Trippin'

A somewhat relevant video to this post...plus Meg loves her some RHCP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11GYvfYjyV0&ob=av2e

Hello Friends,

By now you have probably noticed a pattern, Wilsorelli (our name for this post) has this fantastic habit of lying when our next post will appear.  This is just to keep you guessing and yearning for that MegTom moment.  Or it may just be a consequence of our inability to get anything done on time.  Perhaps once these STUPID LAME AWFUL ANNOYING DEMONTOR-SOUL-SUCKING TEDIOUS INHUMANE YET TO BE COMPLETED APPS are finished we will be on time.  Yeah...right?

As we mentioned in our prior post, Wilsorelli actually left the apartment.  Yes, believe it or not we packed our bags and headed Californi-way (South Park, anyone?) and landed in Ann Arbor Michigan.  Okay well, actually we have been DYING to see our wonderful and dear friend, Elia "Corn" Wheat (names have been altered to protect the innocent from Internet stalkers).  Elia is a super-genius and is doin' her grad school thang at University of Michigan and it just happened that her fall break coincided with homecoming weekend at Michigan.  This meant oodles of fun.  We only wish the rest of the Wheats were there!

Okay, so we need to take a minute and reward to make y'all appreciate how we got there.  So a very dear friend was heading out to the area and offered us a ride.  Being the poor graduates we are Wilsorelli happily accepted this request.  After a 8.5 hour drive, Wilsorelli came a-knockin' at Elia's door at exactly 3:18 in the AM.  To make things better, we decided to surprise her by not letting her know that Thomas was coming.  And what a shock it was when Elia found Thomas lying in fetal position in the trunk in the wee hours of the morning when Meghan asked her to take out the rest of the luggage.  Yes indeed, you too can have your very own portable, trunk-sized, traveling Thomas for a mere price of a grand piano plus shipping and handling.

After a quick toast to friendship and reunions, Wilsorelli and Elia collapsed only to have a fun-filled rest of the weekend.  Highlights included being in a true college town during Homecoming, witnessing the beauty of Meijer supermarkets and their superfantastic beer selection, drinking $4 dolla Long Island Iced Teas outside in 50 degrees Fahrenheit weather, Tom and Elia browsing the entire Ikea catalog for an hour and a half while discussing the merits of chairs on walls, Meg and Elia watching U-Michigan lose their homecoming game to Iowa (tough loss) while sampling a Leinie's variety pack, the three of us falling asleep on the futon while attempting to watch the best of Jimmy Fallon SNL, and....the best....are you ready for this one????  Are you sure????  Okay well, here it goes:

Eating Lucky Charms on the futon for two hours while watching RUGRAAAAATTTTSSS including Reptar on Ice (Reptar, Reptar, gotta find that Reptar) and our personal favorite, the one where Chuckie swallows the watermelon seed.  Please feel free to comment on this point.

It was an awesome trip but Wilsorelli was very sad to say goodbye to our dear friend, no wait scratch that, she's knows too much about us, family member.  Until we create some mischief again, here are some pics of our journey.  Don't forget to SPOT THE FANNY PACK!  Yes, it IS back...

Stay tuned in the next week for our new and upcoming post... 

Love n' Stuff,

Wilsorelli

Surprising Elia at 3:18 AM.

An early morning toast.

Elia totally has her priorities in order :0D.

Fitting in with the college crowd with some lattes and literature.

The amazing brew selection at Meijer plus Wolverine beer!

Sampling some fine cuisine (gourmet burgers) in downtown Ann Arbor.

Windowshopping.

Posin' :0)

Kim, you never seem to leave us.

Meg runs with a stylish crowd in Ann Arbor.

Then we had waaaayyyy too much fun with the evergreen reindeer. 

Back off...

Peek-a-boo.

It was so hard to say goodbye.

We spotted this bumper sticker outside the bar, Good Time Charley's, while waiting for our Long Island Iced Teas...

Elia and Tom rummaging through the Ikea catalog...for 1.5 hours!!!  What a Saturday.

Getting our woMAN on while watching the University of Michigan football game.  Note fat pants, Leinie's, our matching Guts shirts, and of course the Muhlenberg blankets.

Outside of the Ann Abor brewery.

No caption will do this picture justice <3.

Elia saying goodbye to the fanny pack.

...And We're Living Here in Allentown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHnJp0oyOxs&ob=av3e
Never knew that there was a music video for this song but here you go!

Hello Readers,

So you probably thought Megomas (yes, that's our name for this post) fell off the Century Arch at 'Berg and was never to write again.  Well we are back so there!

Actually Megomas has been in some serious time out due to these stinking apps and what not.  BLEH!  Don't get us wrong, at first it was awesome being grounded in the apartment, waking up to watch Will&Grace or an hour of Frasier on Lifetime (8:30 AM is Will&Grace, 9:00 AM and 9:30 AM is Frasier), having enough time to buff up at the gym for two hours, having easy access to our Bravo Junkie source.  Yes, it seemed like bliss and it was.

Buuuutttttt after awhile, Megomas came down with a bad case of cabinfever and it's been bad.  High levels of unproductivity, vacant stares, unvoluntary drooling that results from staring at a screen for too long (Thomas watching HGTV), constant wearage of fat pants and sweats, impulsive junk food binges (Meghan may have eaten an entire popcorn bag in one sitting), instantaneous sweating after checking bank statements and seeing that the past 6 transactions have been application fees, cap nap abuse.

We could go on but we won't.  The rest is too gruesome to discuss on the World Wide Web.

Megomas has been trying to move on, to be strong, to get out!  Meghan stole a weekend away in Happy Valley and watching Penn State play their worst Homecoming Game since 1958 (they lost to Illinois, 33-13...you know it's bad that when the game ends the stadium is already half empty and the band left), Thomas has been stealing moments at the Allentown Symphony.  But despite our attempts, we can't run away...

So in our spirit of living here in Allentown, we will FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY post our apartment pics.  Yes, home sweet home.  Some of you may find them boring, but quite frankly, this is the world that we are living...

Next post sometime this week...Wilsorelli and the Great Escape!

Until then...try to lead more exciting lives than us!

~Megomas

At the Penn State Game :0)

Entry of Apartamento...

Brewster the Dolphin chilling out in the reading nook.

Living Room

Awesome TV, TV Table, Coffee Table, Rug, Couch, Pillows, Lamps, and Blankets that we got for FREEEEEEE.  Yay for donations and persistent dumpster diving.

Ze Patio and with epic Cabella's chair.

Kitchen...duh.

Classy dining area.

Calendar of Scheduling n' stuff.

Even classier hutch that we got for FREEEE.  Yay for Muhlenberg castaways.

Galley Bathroom.

The House of Bertorelli.

Classy Thomas Pictures.

Meg's Room.

Entertainment central.