Some people pack weeks in advance. Some make checklists. Some pack and unpack, forgetting that they actually wanted to wear those jeans at the bottom of the bag, and some just say “screw it” and wear the same thing the entire trip. Me? Well, to me, it’s just throwing stuff in a bag. I went to a 9:30 movie with one of my best friends last night, and as we were strolling into “Margot at the Wedding,” I announced that I hadn’t even started to pack for my three-week trip. He looked at me lovingly and laughed, “Oh Allison, it sounds like how you do life.” Ha! That’s so true! He then suggested that I write my next blog entry on this. And so here I am– exposing to everyone how incredibly spontaneous and impulsive I am in my life. Now this habit can be looked at several different ways:

1. That I don’t sweat the small stuff. I know what’s important to me in my life, and I focus my time and energy on those things. So, in this case, I can recognize the importance in packing, so yes, of course I do it… But I find more value in the new Neil Baumbach film with a friend… So thorough packing takes a back seat, and I rush through the process of packing the next three weeks of my life three hours before departure time.
2. I’m lazy and I don’t want to think too far in the future because that would mean taking responsibility for more than i want– sad, but true, I am still very much a child.
3. I know that whatever I forget at home because of my lack of preparation will only add to my adventure on the other side– so really, it’s all a deliberate attempt at increasing my life experience.

I happen to believe my packing habits are a combo of all three. There are so many things to do and see– I don’t want to waste my time “preparing/packing” for an experience; I want to be living it. However, that being said, I’m disregarding the immensely valuable lesson that everything is an experience, and true freedom and joy come when you can feel fully engaged and excited by absolutely every and anything… Including counting out your underwear and matching up socks– Huh… So maybe it would be a good exercise for me to take my time more often and challenge me to find the fun in simply planning my outfits for the next three weeks and placing them in a bag like a lovely game of Tetris.

Ciao for now,
Allison

Okay, so I am sure you are all wondering what this quote on failure has to do with traveling in Mexico. Don’t worry, I will explain.

I failed today… miserably. No “ifs”, “ands” or “buts” about it. Failed. For the last six months, I have been training for a half-marathon that was to be run this morning. And so I did… out there in the rain, ready and willing to go. About 2 kilometers into the 21 kilometer run, my knee started acting up… but I pushed through. Then again, acting up, kept on pushing. Then around kilometer 6, I thought I should probably stop to stretch it out. Well, once I stopped, there was no starting again. My knee completely seized up and I couldn’t even walk. I cannot tell you the feeling of disappointment that washed over me. It was brutal. As I was hobbling back to the car, my lovely trainer was reminding me that it was not about the race, but the process of training that was what was important and impressive. I tried to buck up, but man was it ever hard when I couldn’t put weight on my left foot to save my life.

But then, I got home and I started looking online for other races, and I found this quote. I thought to myself, “You know what? He is so right! I can just fix whatever is wrong with my leg; do a little research about what is up with my leg and how I can prevent this from happening next time.” If I choose to look at the bright side of this whole ordeal, I really did learn quite a bit about where my body is right now, and the things I need to do in order to get into the most ideal shape so as not to hurt myself. So there is a silver lining!

I just wanted to share that with all you. I found it quite inspiring and so awesomely profound. I get so caught up in the result “the race” and I completely overlook the amount of triumph and learning that I gained during the process of training and even failing. It is such a gift and this whole experience just supports the phrase that I am trying to live my life by, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”

So true, so true.

Okay, so, enough of that failure talk, back to my trip to Mexico. The Aztec ruins were awesome! I woke up early in the morning after having an evening of incredibly strong cactus alcohol and traditional Aztec dancing, to go for a beautiful sunrise run around the temples.

There are two temples in this specific spot; the sun and the moon. They almost look like natural hills because of all the trees and nature growing over them, but once inside the park, you can see evidence of a truly amazing and sophisticated community of people. I was so amazed by the art and architectural design of the place. It was truly overwhelming. I will admit that the human sacrifice table was a bit creepy and the fact they the world is predicted to end in 2012 is also a bit unsettling, but other than that it was fantastic.

I have attached a few pics of the trip and some fun stuff from the day! Enjoy and let me know your own thoughts and experiences around failure. I’m sorry to keep bringing it up, but it was really a cool experience today.

Ciao, my fellow thinkers!
Allison

Click here to view all 22 new Photos!

And so after a month of traveling throughout the beautiful country of MEXICO, I am back in my home country… in my most favorite city in the world, MANHATTAN!! As much as I love blowing off and being in a place that is so ultimately different that the only thing I can find familiar is a Coca-Cola, there is nothing that feels as good as coming home. I have been in the city for 2 days now and there is something so wonderful about the energy of this place. It really feels all-consuming. There are so many cultural outlets and it feels like around every corner you find a beautiful piece of self-expression. When I’m here, it truly feels like I am home!

But, enough about the Big Apple for now! I must update you on my adventures in MEXICO!!!!

What an absolutely rich and exciting country. There is this pride and culture that oozes out of the people of this place! I had great plans of blogging and capturing every day while I was on the trip, but I honestly had very little access to my computer. I have decided to give you all a recap over the next couple of blog entries. And, once I go through my favorite pics, I will throw those up as well. That way you all can have a visual frame of reference for my stories.

Ok, so I’ll start with our first leg of the trip, MEXICO CITY. What an unbelievable place! There’s something like 25 million people, all cohabiting in one space. It’s so incredibly exciting and overwhelming all at once. When we arrived, we were greeted by our good friend, Yuri and her aunt and uncle. After speaking to them for less than 2 minutes we were officially adopted and from then on they were our Mexican Tio and Tia (uncle and aunt). We jumped into their van and went on a little architectural tour of Mexico City.

It is such a visually stimulating place. The buildings are everything from Aztec and Mayan to French and Spanish, and because Mexico City was built on a lagoon, the city is sinking. So, you will be driving along, look to your right, and see what looks like a 15th century cathedral being swallowed, slowly by the ground. It was such a trip! The next day, after we settled into our beautiful downtown apartment, we decided to go to the city center square, the Zocalo! There is a gorgeous cathedral on one side of the square and the President’s Palace on another. There are other big gorgeous buildings on the other two sides as well. It was Sunday when we went; the whole square was filled with people protesting different things, Aztec shamans cleansing people with sage and incense, different natives doing ritual dances for the Virgin Mary, and families watching and enjoying each other and the happenings. It was a total sensory overload! I was in cultural heaven!

After spending the day wandering around the city and enjoying the sights and smells, we went with Tia and Tio and the rest of the family to a fabulous Japanese restaurant. Now, I am not usually an advocate of trying food that is not native to the place I am visiting, but I am so glad I bent my rules to accommodate this place. The soy sauce had chili in it! It had Mexican sushi!!!! So good! I love how every culture has its own take on all the different world cultures… it is so fascinating. I know for myself that I often forget that “my way” is not the true “authentic” way all the time…everyone has their own slants and opinions. It’s what makes the world go round! And so, with our bellies filled with sushi, our noses filled with incense and sage, and our minds spinning with traditional folk dancing and shaman tributes, we went back to the apartment to rest up for our big adventure the following day. Yuri and Tia had planned a nice little road trip to the second largest Aztec ruins in all of Mexico, Teotihuacán!

Stay tuned for adventures and opinions of the amazing Aztecs! Hopefully I will have my photos sorted out for you all by the next entry! I am still sorting out how to handle my mac! Ok all! So nice to be back and thanks for all the continued support!

Ciao
Allison

London has been brilliant! I can feel myself picking up a British accent in just the 4 days I have been here. I am such a sponge it is silly…

I started my trip on the most incredible first class flight on Virgin Air. It was so amazing! I felt as though I had stepped into an Austin Powers private jet with a full bar, seats that reclined all the way back with a feather comforter, and gorgeous stewards all dressed in bright red and purple! It was fab!

My friend, Sarah, joined me on the trip, and we had such a wonderful time playing with all the things on the plane. After we had been in the air for a few hours Sarah suggested that we grab some champagne at the bar. When we walked up, we met the most wonderful man named Mickey, from East London. We started chatting and it turns out that he does the lighting design for a bunch of rock shows all over the world. He asked us if we like Pink Floyd, and Sarah and I both looked at him and said “YES!”….and so it was done! We officially had plans with Mickey for dinner and a rock show… all this before we even started over the Atlantic. I spent the rest of the flight sleeping and gearing up for the fabulous weekend ahead!

When we landed, we were met by the fabulous Ben Brown. Ben was our driver for the day and was so so lovely. The only problem was that he wasn’t from London, so we had to rely on a GPS system to get us where we needed to go. This posed a bit of a problem and we ended up driving around London for about 3 hours before we finally found where we were headed. No worries, though! We were still just thrilled to be on the ground in the UK. So, we threw on some make up, deodorant, and new jeans and headed out to a fantastic dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Zuma’s, followed by the most amazing show at Earl’s Court, complete with VIP seats and tickets to the VIP lounge! We stayed until I thought I would fall over and then jumped in the car and headed up to Coventry where the convention was to begin at 8:30 the next morning.

I rushed to bed as soon as I could and woke up about 3 hours later feeling a bit refreshed and ready for the day. We were staying in an old Abbey called Coombes Abbey. It was this stunning old medieval Abbey that was surrounded by the most beautiful gardens and ponds. When I jumped on the bus, I joined Jenson Ackles, Brooke Nevin, Alan Ritchson, Alona Tal, and a few other fabulous actors for a weekend of fun with the fans. The actual convention was fantastic!! I sang twice and felt so incredibly loved by all the wonderful fans that were there! It is always so nice to be able to meet and see the people who are responsible for making the show a success. After two days of shaking hands and signing autographs, I was quite exhausted and ready for round two of the fantastic first class trip home.

Tuesday May 15th:
I met up with my friend Sarah in a gorgeous area of London called Hampstead Heath, and we had about 12 hours with some friends before our flight took off on Monday. On the way home, I watched 3 movies, all fantastic, and tried my best to sleep. My internal clock is so off, I don’t know which way is up… and now, I am in LA!

I’m spending time with the family and getting some things sorted out before the next leg of my adventure! I hope you all are doing beautifully and I hope you enjoyed watching Noir as much as we enjoyed shooting it! Have fun with the season finale! It’s a wet one!

Talk to you in a few days!

Ciao,
Allison

Extra
We’ve asked a Rachel and Beckie to submit their photos of the convention, so you can view those in the gallery here. If you’d like to submit your photos of the convention to the gallery, email them to admin@allisonmack.com, and we’ll put them up!

Rachel also has a video of me singing, and has given permission to post it here. Click the video below to hear a bit of “Angel from Montgomery”, a capella.

So this is my last blog before I start my travels. Come this Thursday, I will be out of here for 43 days straight. This is always my very most favorite time in life; throwing a few things in a pack and heading out into the world. I always feel like I am at my best when I am traveling. For some reason, that weird ambitious feeling that sticks in my gut and never allows me to feel successful no matter how far I get is completely gone. I can see now that that feeling is caused by me, and me alone, but for some reason it seems easier to access when I am out of the country.

My goal in my recent work on myself is to truly feel that way all the time, regardless of my place and external state. I know it’s possible because its not like anything from the outside is reaching in and making me do something. I am the only one who can do that. I am just really starting to recognize that truth.

There is something so fantastic about seeing brand new places and meeting brand new people. It’s so true what Mark Twain said about the need for a broader world view. It’s so easy for me to get caught on my hamster wheel, forgetting the bigger picture and the whole rest of the world. I always feel like I have been completely rehydrated from the well of life when I step off the plane from my weeks of travels and rejoin the day to day steps of my life.

I will check in as often as I find a Internet cafe, and I’ll send pictures as I take them.

My first stop is London, to shake hands with some of my beautiful British fans! Yay!

Ciao for now and bon voyage!

Allison