After reading the biography about Cleopatra and actually learning a little context around her life, I was excited to take a mini-roadtrip to Milwaukee to check out the Milwaukee Public Museum’s exhibit about her. It was an interesting exhibit that displayed a lot of artifacts that have been dug out from the sea by divers who are working to uncover the truth behind the myth that is “the last queen of Egypt.”

I think a lot of people associate her with Ancient Egypt, but in reality, she ruled up to the year 30 BC, in the days of Ceasar and Marc Antony, when Egypt already had “ancient history.” I also didn’t realize the context of her life until I read the book – I always imagined her ruling waaay back in the day, with the pharaohs.

Other facts I learned about Cleopatra:

• She wasn’t Egyptian – she was actually Greek. But she did learn to speak Egyptian so that the people would support her (in addition to several other languages)
• She “conquered” both Ceasar and Marc Antony, having kids by both legendary rulers
• She was so unbelievably rich. I literally can’t believe it when I read descriptions of her possessions and riches. EVERYTHING was made of gold or precious jewels.
• Alexandria sounds amazing. I wish I could see how it really looked back then – all the riches, white streets & buildings, expansive port and world-renowned library. Unfortunately, all that was destroyed by a combination of natural disasters, including a tidal wave that submerged most of that coastal area.
• Cleopatra & Marc Antony’s bodies have never been found. We still don’t know where they were buried, but archaeologists are currently excavating a nearby town in Egypt that might finally solve this mystery!

If you have a few hours to kill on the weekend, I would recommend making the 90-minute drive up to Milwaukee to check out the exhibit. Plus, during January, they have a discount on tickets – $20.12 covers the entrance to see Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt plus parking!

“Passion sends us signs that guide us through our lives, and it’s up to us to interpret those signs.” –Eleven Minutes

So I got this beautiful 2012 planner by Paulo Coelho, featuring quotes from his books and artwork from Catalina Estrada. Sidenote: I am LOVING Catalina’s designs! Anyways, each month has a theme, and January’s is Drive.

I really want to embrace these themes as 2012 goes by. So in January, I’m going to focus on moving forward and just doing things. I’ve had a minor obsession with Ancient Egypt for years, so when I saw a course about it in my inbox, I decided to just go for it and sign up. Other things on my to-do list for January: keep blogging more regularly, visit Milwaukee for the Cleopatra exhibit, kick ass at work (even more than usual, of course), host a 2012 dinner party for my girls, and just do as many things as possible.

I love the quote above, which is featured on one of the pages, because I always try to be driven by my passions. Oftentimes, I’ve seen an opportunity pop up that is in line with one of my passions, whether it’s a class or lecture or event or person to connect with. At the moment I often don’t know what it will do for me or how it will fit into things, but usually when I take advantage of these opportunities, they always end up building into something meaningful over time. Sometimes it takes weeks, or months, or even years, but it’s amazing when everything just comes together.

What passions are you pursuing? Have you ever seen the signs sent by your passions and pursued them to great outcomes?

#1 – The Weeknd
Possibly my favorite new artist. I stumbled across “What You Need” through Miss Dimplez and fell in love with the song. Then I checked out his first mixtape, House of Balloons, and just couldn’t get enough of that haunting style and cool vibe. Extra bonus – the Drake connection! House of Balloons is still my favorite mixtape from The Weeknd, but I’m excited to see what he comes out with 2012. Please come and do a show in Chicago!

#2 – Frank Ocean
I love hearing new R&B artists and he had a lot of songs I liked this year. My favorite song is “Back” except that there are no non-bootleg videos out of that one, so here’s another song I enjoyed from him.

#3 –  Bei Major
His single, “Trouble,” has been getting a lot of play and I recently learned that he actually has a pretty long history of songwriting and producing. I hope to hear more from him in 2012.

#4 – St. Bagu
Some of the former members of Berto Ramon (who I loved) have regrouped to form St. Bagu. I just LOVE this song, Time Freeze Moment. And I love seeing hip hop bands with lots of live instruments.

#5 – Yelawolf
One of the first times I really heard anything about Yelawolf was on Carson Daly’s show, on a rare evening when I actually stayed up that late. On a sidenote, I really like Carson’s show, he always features some interesting musicians. Anyways, as the year went on, the hype around Yelawolf just grew and grew. I even had a chance to see him in concert this fall, and the show was full of energy. But the moment that really captured my attention was seeing the video for Pop the Trunk. The vibe is so crazy and I feel like it really captures that crazy Alabama atmosphere (not that I really know what the actual atmosphere is).

#6 – Mateo
Hey, if Alicia Keys can get behind Mateo, so can I. He first caught my attention with Say Its So. And then he recently started this Stripped Series, where he covers songs, just him on the keys. I love it and I want more!

#7 – STS
I stumbled across his mixtape, The Illustrious, over the summer and his track with Yelawolf, “Hello Sunshine” really caught my ear. Since then, I keep coming across his name on various blogs so I’m curious to see what’s next. I like his style, though.

#8 – Lana del Rey
I recently saw her video for “Born to Die” which is all over Vevo, so I’m probably kind of late to this party, but I love it. The video is so visually interesting and her voice and this song really grab your attention. You should definitely check out her previous hit, Video Games, too. Although, how she got to this point is pretty interesting.

#9 – Astonish
I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see Astonish perform twice this year. I’d been hearing his name from Coleen, the brains behind Starsounds, and she knows her stuff. There are a bunch of tracks off his recent mixtape, The Astonishingly Odd Project, that I really like.

#10 – Grieves & Budo
I had a chance to meet these two this year and they are just the type of guys you want to hang out with. Super funny and smart. And I love their style – they collaborate really well and they have that instrumental, jazzy vibe to their tracks that I’m really feeling.

#11 – Top $ Raz
I just listened to his track, The Man, literally the other day so I don’t know too much about him yet. But the Motown vibe is really cool and the video is simple but good. I have to thank Jessica at I Heart Dilla for telling my about him.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,200 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

#1 – Marvin’s Room, Drake
Yes, I’m always obsessed with Drake, but when this song came out, I was hooked. It’s the Drake I personally love, and it was just what I needed to hold me over until Take Care came out. Plus the video is really good. I definitely remember jamming to this at 3 am in a cab.

#2 – You Be Killin’ Em, Fabolous
I just love this song – the beat, the lyrics, everything. It’s one of those songs that always gets me hyped up. I didn’t love his mixtape that much, but this track is a keeper.

#3 – What’s My Name, Rihanna
The beginning of 2011, I pretty much played this song on repeat everytime I was in the car so I could sing my little heart out.  Of course, the highlight for me is Drake’s verse at the beginning. It’s words like that that make me love him and make me wish he was on every song that comes out. Plus I love the beat of the song – it just makes you want to dance – and the song is so hot!

#4 – Promise, Romeo & Usher
I freaking love this – Usher doing bachata! I wish this song had been a bigger hit on the radio because it is just perfect – Usher & Romeo’s smooth voices, then the bachata beat kicks in. And Romeo is coming to Chicago for a concert in 2012…who wants to go??

#5 – Sure Thing, Miguel
This song is amazing. Now this is a song you dedicate to a lady. Another one that I pretty much played on repeat in the car. I’m glad Miguel had a great year!

#6 – Anything from Eminem’s Recovery album
The Recovery album is so good. I had it on repeat in my car until my brother stole it back. And yes, I know the album came out last year, but I remember it as part of the beginning of 2011. Plus, we got to see Eminem at Lollapalooza this year, and that was definitely a highlight of the year! Other favs from Recovery include No Love, Going Through Changes and 25 to Life.

#7 – My Last, Big Sean
I really like Big Sean’s album. And I actually got to meet him and interview him this year…twice! (I love my job.) This is the first song of his I heard this year, and I feel like it was definitely the song of the summer. It just opens up so epic.

#8 – Mr. Wrong, Mary J. Blige feat. Drake
Yea, the list is filled with Drake features and cameos. Get over it. Anyways, once again Drake kills it on his opening verse. I was so disappointed he wasn’t part of MJB’s performance of this song on the AMAs (or whatever awards show that was). And why isn’t he in the official video??? You’re killing me, MJB!

#9 – Work Out, J. Cole
J. Cole is another rapper that came out big this year that I really like. There are a bunch of tracks I really love off Cole World: The Sideline Story, including Lost Ones and In the Morning. Plus, after seeing him talk about his songs on Muve Sessions (client) I feel like he just comes across as a smart, fun kid. And of course, you can’t go wrong when you sample a Paula Abdul classic.

#10 – When Your Mind’s Made Up, Once Soundtrack
This is a really random entry on the list, but I just watched Once this year, and it really got to me. It’s kind of a weird movie and you can’t quite tell if it’s supposed to be documentary or fiction because it feels so real.  And the music is amazing – this song is my favorite song from the movie, plus it’s featured in a great scene. But the more well-known track from the soundtrack, Falling Slowly, is awesome, too.

#11 – Make My, The Roots
Man, what a way to end the year. The Roots Undun album is so good! Tells a great story and I love how it’s pretty much a symphony. This track is what got me hooked on the album, although Tip The Scale is a close second.

It was pretty hard to find the right 11 songs in the end to really reflect back on 2011, but I’m pretty happy with this list. The one that I would have liked to squeeze in here that I’ll add as a bonus final thought is The Motto, which I just wrote about the other day anyway. I have a feeling this will be one of those hype jams tonight!

Enjoy!

1. After living the gypsy life in Europe for three whole months, I was back home with my mom. Luckily, this year I wasted no time in getting my own place again!

Moving Day

2. Go Bulls! It was a good year for the Bulls, and me and my bro had to hit up a playoff game. And since it was an 11 am game, we kept the party going from about 9:30 am until 4 am!

3. My babcia (grandma) came to visit us in Chicago this spring. It was nearly impossible to get her to commit to it, but come Easter, she was here. I love how she’s holding my brother’s hand in this photo.

4. I ended up attending a lot of random Polish events this year. From art exhibits to movie premieres to piano concerts, I was representing my Polish pride!

5. I actually got my ass off the couch a couple times this year to go biking along the lake. My favorite spot to stop and sit is by Diversey Harbor – you have a great view of the skyline, plus you get to watch all the boats going in and out of the harbor. And yes, yet another year went by without me accomplishing my goal of biking to work.

6. For the first time, I went to Lollapalooza this year! It was amazing, and I partied like a rock star.

7. I got to travel for work this year, and it took me to lots of places for the first time, including Philly and New York City! I also got to make stops in Los Angeles and Denver.

8. One of my closest friends asked me to be her daughter’s godmother this year! I am such an adult. I know I’m wearing sunglasses at a dedication ceremony, but I swear I took them off right after this photo was taken.

9. Halloween. I don’t really like Halloween that much since it pretty much almost always ends up sucking. But I couldn’t resist putting up this photo of my brother dressed as a penguin buying something at Jewel.

10. I had an amazing time in Peru this fall! It was my first time in South America and I loved it. Our grueling five-day hike was, well, grueling, but also an awesome experience. I actually want to go hiking again. Plus, Machu Picchu was truly memorable!

11. It’s been a great year at work, and I just celebrated my one-year anniversary there last month. I get to do all the things I love – social media, music, Hispanic market outreach – and while I might spend plenty of time in the office, at least I have this amazing view!

There’s an interesting exhibit coming to the Chicago Cultural Center this January, titled Morbid Curiosity. It apparently features works from collector Richard Harris, which explore death across artistic, cultural and spiritual practices. That means skulls, bones, paintings, specimens and other contemporary art works. It will also include various artifacts from countries around the world, especially Tibet, Mexico, Africa and New Guinea.

I am not familiar with Richard Harris, so a quick Google search uncovered this article, which tells the story of how he got into collecting these types of items.

Photo credit: Jyoti Srivastava

Should be an interesting time…

• When: Jan. 28 2012 – Jul. 8 2012
• Where: Chicago Cultural Center
• Cost: free

The Center will also host an opening reception for the exhibit on Friday, Jan. 27 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.