New Zealand, man. Fuckin New Zealand

I aint got much to say, except

The Darkest Timeline

I have spent the last few days agonizing over where I went wrong. At what point did I make the wrong decision, take the wrong turn in the road that has led me to this point? I cannot for the life of figure out where this went so wrong, where I made the wrong decision. I try so hard to do the right thing and be there when people need me, but it's just not enough this semester. And I just can't figure out why. Which really fucking sucks.

Don't ever say that things can't get worse because this is the semester that will show you just how wrong you are.

A guy I knew died last night. Fell out of a window. I don't know how high or when it happened or how it happened. Judging from the general rumors and speculation, it wasn't an accident. I'm not going to lie and say that I knew him really well. It was a sort of I could pick him out of a crowd and I knew his name, but we weren't even facebook friends. But he was such a nice guy. This awkward, gangly kid with an intense afro and the craziest sock collection. He was planning on going to The Hobbit next week. He had an internship with Dropbox this summer. I just don't understand. I don't understand why or how.

I don't understand how after doing my damnest all semester for everyone who asked, I wind up alone in my dorm room crying about a boy I barely knew.

I went out with my friends just to be with people, but Adam (who knew the guy better than I) wanted to see me. So after literally 3 minutes with my friends, I went back to him. We hung out for awhile. And then I get a message from my former roommate that her life is falling apart, so I run out to help her. To talk her about what is upsetting her.

During that timeframe, the friends with whom I was originally with were talking about going to a 24-hour diner. I note that I miss all the fun things. One of them responds, "well, we probably won't be moving for awhile." I tell them to keep me posted.

They don't.

I finish with my former roommate and call my friends. They went on without me. They completely forget me. Which fucking sucks. Because I have dropped so many things on a fucking dime for them and I am not even a first or second thought to them. This past week, I have stayed up ungodly late to finish work because someone showed up at my house in tears and needed to talk. Or I was out walking alone to get to a place because someone needed me there. And yet they cannot even remember to text me or bother to ask how things are going. And I cannot bring myself to talk to them because I know what they are going through and I do not want to add to anything.

But where does that leave me?

I want to fix this, but I can't.

I can't bring the dead back. I can't fix relationships. I can't undo what has been done. I cannot make this better. I can only hope to good enough to skate by.

There are 10 days left to this semester. I just have to survive.

I hate to dump all of this on you guys, especially without a song to lighten this up. But these are dark times. And I don't even have any matches.

EDIT: Rereading this the next day and I feel selfish all things considered. But I don't think that should negate some things.

You're in the Wrong Part of Town, Buddy

I can taste the sweet freedom of winter break.  I have completed the treacherous Nine Project Week.  I have lost several days of sleep, survived many hours of car-sick feelings, and thwarted some minor hallucinations.

I return to this mortal realm only to see all of you struggling, and I would like to give you words of comfort.  It is hard!  You will be tired!  But you CAN do it, because you are all fucking fantastic.
You all make me as happy as this cleavage bird:

Please let me know if you guys need any help!  I have a lot of free time until the end of the semester.  I can research for you.  I can distract.  I can recommend games or movies or TV shows.  I can chat.  Let me help all of you!

When I was working on my projects, I found that ingesting too much caffeine and listening to instrumentals really helped me focus and write.  Also, video game music.   Lone Star is a song from a quirky indie game I picked up in a Humble Bundle.  You can tell it was designed for a touch-screen tablet or phone, but is workable on a computer as well.  It's kind of like a puzzle/action/mystery game, where the main character is on a quest to conquer some unconquerable power at great cost.

It is full of interesting, original music and incredibly silly and witty one-liners.  Colorful, yet dark pixel scenery sets a good tone for the gameplay.  The world is a little small, but there is a lot of originality behind the way it is laid out and the events that occur in it.  It's even a thought-provoking game, in a "what the heck is going on and whyyyy" kind of way.  Most indie games these days are platformers, puzzle, or physics games, so this was a refreshing game to play, and something I'd recommend to others.

Ugh.  Rainbows.  Scythians loath rainbows.

On the Merits of Procrastination

Sometimes you just can't keep going.

Your brain is fried, your mind is tired, and no matter how long you stare at the blank Word document nothing comes to mind. You can't do it. You're tapped out.

You can do one of two things in a situation like this. The first is to sit there with grim determination, gritting your teeth and trying to force your brain to do what you need it to do. This method has iffy results in my experience; more often than not I wind up sitting there for hours until my inner thoughts become silent screams of frustration. I get tense, I get sick, I go a little nuts thinking about all the work I have to do and how my life's purpose has been reduced to sitting in front of a computer trying to write something that just doesn't want to be written.

I imagine none of this is particularly good for your health.


The second option is procrastination.

Play a game. I find puzzle games in particular to be the most useful. There's this one I play on addictinggames called 3-D puzzle something or other and it calms me down every time. Organizes my thoughts. It's pretty great.

Talk to someone. Vid chat, over aim, texting. I guess you can make a phone call if you absolutely have to. If you're lucky that person will be willing to spend four to five hours on complete nonsense with you, but it will be quality nonsense and you'll wake up in the morning and crank out another 3,000 words for that novel project you've been working on all semester (Thanks, Rachel!)

And when you need just a little break, write a blog post. Write a blog post on procrastination. Get all meta on that shit.


And then get back to work.

The end can't get here soon enough

This undoubtedly has been the worst semester of my college career thus far. I know that I mentioned this at Thanksgiving, but it's like I simply cannot catch a break this semester. It's like everything is collapsing and, as a somewhat mature person, everyone where looks to me to be the iron-willed safe haven in the vastly wild, and chaotic sea of life. But that begs the question, who is my unfailing savior of support in this? I believe that job falls to you guys for the most part.

Next week marks the last week of classes. And, as an English major, that means pretty much everything is gonna be due.

And yet, I cannot muster the motivation to do anything productive (academically speaking), or creatively speaking.

This semester is the semester of writers' block, which sucks. And it's something that I cannot get my mathematically or scientifically- inclined friends to understand. Writers' block isn't something that I can go to Office Hours for. I can't get someone to tutor me or teach me or anything. I just have to keep trying, beating my head against the solid wall of failure. And it's not even like what I am writing is bad; I literally cannot write.

I know you are saying, "Rachel, you are writing right now." That is not the same. This is me, talking to you. Not trying to create a coherent novel or give you nonfiction story with a point or moral. this is me bitching about things, as per usual.

I registered to be a bone marrow donor. I've been telling people that and pretty much everyone has been trying to talk me out of it.

"You know how much that hurts right?" 

"Oh man, you're not gonna be able to walk." 

"I know someone that donated their kidney to their sister. And they had to have 17 surgeries after the donation because of complications." 

Not exactly the vote of confidence I was hoping for in that regard.

 And in regards to Sarah's post, which hit the nail on the head in regards to a lot of the FEELINGS that are happening. My facebook newsfeed is pretty much blowing up with everyone accepting job offers and such or talking about their successes in life. There's a girl that I am friends with that I have to block her posts because she makes me feel so bad about my life.

At this point, I am just going through the motions and praying for the end of the semester to come sooner rather than later. That way I can return home and hide amongst the bosom of irresponsibility for a bit. Though since the parents left, it's not much of a safe haven with a fully stocked fridge anymore. 

I should stop procrastinating. My mountains of work won't do themselves...unfortunately. Also InDesign, though I understand it a bit more (thanks Missy!), I still hate it. And wtf is Illustrator? I refuse to bother with that, though it would make my letterpress project go smoother, apparently.

18 Days until I return.

Be ready.

Also, here's a song!

Countdown

17: days until I come home
10: places I STILL haven't been and want to go
5: assignments for creative writing portfolio
2: essays to research and write
1: theatre journal to finish up

But we all know I Can't Math so it is possible these calculations are inaccurate and the countdown may be a failure - blinking lights, drumroll, anxiety, and Large Multimillion Dollar Light Up Countdown Board all a waste. I suppose we'll see.

I don't feel like I've done a whole lot here, but I've grown to love London anyway, and in quiet moments between paragraphs about the First World War and Trade Unions I stare out my flat window and find myself desperately wishing that I could stay. But then I think of pumpkin pie and my family and you lovely people and I can't wait to get on the plane. I miss you all more than I can say, darlings.

ALSO WHAT ARE MY EMOTIONS DOING. ESSAYS AND MINI-MENTAL BREAKDOWNS OVER THE FUUUUTURE AND UGH ESSAYS AND FUCKING ESSAYS AND FUCK EVERYTHING I am going ice skating. 

I almost posted this on the Other Blog, because OH MAN SARAH you are such an eloquent writer it is most definitely Not Fair. And how could I mar that gorgeous prose and those stories that give me hope and what can I say in response I've been trying to think of how to phrase the sensation in my ribs when I read it, but can't quite get it down and now here I am, puking up a hasty update but I figured I should let you all know I'm alive and can we all do a little honeymoon when we're all in the same state again, just for a night because hey! We're Just Married!

But, then, I've been listening to this song for days and days because why  not and no gif really encapsulated the weird headspace I'm CLEARLY occupying here (Overuse of Capitalization and Run On Sentences must lead to some horrible diagnosis oh god forgive me guys) SO YOU GET A SONG AND A HORRIBLE POST.  NOW I HAVE TO GO I AM HONESTLY GOING TO GO ICE SKATING ILU ALL.

I feel like we're all playing a game of hide and seek except we forgot to pick a seeker.

Hi! Remember me! Hi! I am such a terrible person! I always read and never post because, don'tchaknow, I'm so so so busy.

So here I am, a few hours before second thanksgiving when I will be able to spontaneously embrace all of you after....months? years? and despite that it always feels like I saw all of you yesterday. Who does that? Who has that?

So I have to be honest, I haven't kept up with the last...two months of post? So I went back and read them and was just crying, because it made me miss all of you. I just, I think, get so wrapped up in my life, and being the Editor-in-Chief of a newspaper and a responsible person who suddenly writes a senior thesis and reaaaaalllyyyy lonnnngggggg papersssss about poetry, and has every hour of her day scheduled down to the minute because otherwise I will drown instead of doing the slowly sinking thing I'm managing now that I just FORGET that there is something else out there.

Looming. 

What I meant by my title is this (answered in a circular way that will probably find its way back to some holistic theme):

My super smart brother, who spent literally his WHOLE life saying he was going to be a theoretical physicist, is now applying to get his masters in education and will probably teach high school physics in Boston. How perfect is that for him? it is!

His friend Andrew, who wanted to go to seminary and be a pastor until suddenly he didn't is getting married even though he cleans malls right now or something like that. Doesn't have a clue what's next.

My friend from school was dreading spending thanksgiving with her family because her cousin is in nursing school and she's only an English major and well, we all know who's going to have a nice job don't we heh? *insert snide comments, pointed questions and knowing looks*

My mom said to me yesterday, out of the blue, "You know, I was thinking the other day, when you girls move back in after school, that small bathroom will be yours and you can keep all your stuff in there. Isn't that perfect?" And I was literally stunned because me moving back in with my parents after school suddenly just became a thing that was happening. (and because that was a perfect idea even though there isn't much counter space in there...)

The best laid plans...My brother stopped coming back home after his freshman year. He just always seemed to have ideas. I feel like I have tons of ideas but no will to act on them. All this real world stuff just makes me so lethargic. Grad school is a huge no. I'm done with school for a while, and I'm broke to boot. Plus, I literally just skipped two days of school to come back early and was like, FORGET SCHOOL MAAAAN. so clearly further higher education is not for me right now. Do I get an apartment in Chicago and work in the book store (which is a very very very real thing). What if that becomes a thing? What if I really like it? What if I just pick up and move to Taiwan where I learn Chinese (mandarin) and teach English? That's also a really really real thing. But what if these really hard months between seeing you guys become really hard years? I'd be lying if I said I didn't still hold the bookstore we all need to open as the ultimate goal in my life, but I feel like that's a lot of pressure to put on people.

I guess the thing is, no one really knows what the next step is, because no one has planned it for us. That is so so terrifying isn't it? Its all on us, you, me now and I'm floundering. But I'm also pretty stoked for it, ya know? And, well, we have each other and I don't think I need much else right now. Except maybe someone to write these papers for me.

So, if that doesn't make up for months of not posting, I don't know what will (besides more consistent posting of course).

A quick catch up for my life atm: My favorite bar in town burned down and I am DEVASTATED. I'm writing/illustrating/designing a children's book for my book design class and it's going to be printed like a real book. In hard cover! I also have finally hit my academic stride and am earning all A's this semester...though I have some pretty big research papers coming up. I'm still figuring out what my next step is, and I'm so so scared. I have bubblegum pink pants that I'm wearing tonight and I love them, even though I never thought I would ever wear pink. Like, ever. I'm also working a lot at the bookstore this winter break, so please come visit me and prove to my co-workers that I have friends. You can all buy some wine and books while you're there.

I have also been listening to Blind Pilot a lot, even though it makes me sad sometimes. I like to think this is one of those songs they play in the last few minutes of a movie where the heroine has gone through some life changing moments, and even though the future is so uncertain, she's a better person for the experience and moving forward. You know, she just walked out of some building and is looking into the distance (the universal movie sign for thinking ahead to the future) with a small, hopeful, slightly embittered smile on her face--I am not projecting at all.

Music, Mostly

My life atm: projects, nano, and hopefully seeing most of your lovely faces in the very, very near future.


I like this song more and more each time I hear it:

On What You Really Want

 Man I am so glad for this semester to be over.  Or at least for November to be over.  I am not excited at all for my last semester at college because that means I have to face the real world?!  What???  My friend who graduated last year with only one major (Entrepreneurship) is currently making a living by being a custodial engineer and selling bodily fluids (plasma).  I am not excited for finding a job.

I mean what do I even want to do?

What do you even want to do?

In other news, one of my projects entails launching a professional KickStarter page.  That means making a demo video of the product we're raising money for.  And since I can't understand all of these Royalty Free/Creative Commons rules, I figured I'd write my own song.   We'll see how that one goes, but I am a little excited.  I just can't seem to get the right sounds on my came-with-the-computer music creating program though... prepare for disaster!

Also, it looks like Walk Off the Earth released the first single from their EP:

High Quality this shit!

Well, that went fast

So I registered for my final semester as an undergrad this morning!

It's so insane. I swear high school took way more time to finish. What is this madness.

Next semester should (hopefully!) be fun, though. More fun than this current semester at any rate. A lot of my classes I picked because they sounded interesting, not necessarily because I have to take them. I'm stuck the extra semester thanks to Spanish anyway, so might as well, right? Right!

So next semester's adventure includes:

• a foray into film and literature
• Studies of the novel (in its natural habitat, I assume)
• Theories of Gender in Lit Analysis (which has the very unfortunate shortened name of "Theories of Gender in Lit Anal")
• MY FINAL SEMESTER OF SPANISH OH MY GOODNESS
• And an 8 week course in which I learn how to make books. Not write them. MAKE THEM. 

All of which is very exciting! Yaay!

Have a song:

This cookie done got crumbled

C-c-c-crossposted from Tumblr. Because I need all the eyes on this shit.

SO, as it turns out, I am not making as much money as I need to be in order to… well. Sustain myself. I thought this job was going to be amazing like rainbows flying out of a unicorns ass, but as it turns out, unicorn poop is a lot like regular poop and is not all that it is cracked up to be. I WAS working around 50 hours a week before, and this was well and dandy. I was making good money even though I was not doing very much massage because of the sheer number of hours. NOW I am working around 20 hours a week and still not doing massage and I am making less than I was when I was at Warnimont's and as you can imagine THIS IS HELLA STRESSFUL. I've been dropped to working 3 days a week, from 8-7, but with a huge lunch break in between so while I'm tied up for the whole day, I'm not actually getting paid for all of it. FINANCIAL WOES, OH~

So, I am tearing my hair and wondering what the fuck to do because I have done oodles of online advertising and shit and have literally had 12 clients since July (one of them has been here multiple times but three of them were given free vouchers by my boss so I didn't get paid for them). RIGHT NOW I'm in the process of handing out fliers at the local business districts and hanging them up in like... the library and Starbucks, and leaving them around at the local deli and stuffing them in toilet paper dispensers so they drop out suddenly in public restrooms (okay, not that last one) but if it doesn't work and people still aren't coming... I will be looking for a new job. UNTIL THEN:

The point of the story is that I am a fully licensed, self-insured massage therapist with both a table and chair that is willing to travel. I know Swedish and deep tissue massage and can assist with conditions like PLANTAR FASCIITIS and CHRONIC MIGRAINES and CARPAL TUNNEL and OH MY GOD MY MIDTERMS ARE HELLA STRESSFUL.

If you guys are interested, or know anyone that might be, please let me know. I'm going to be running some mad sweet specials because at this point, getting underpayed for massage is better than my dog getting rabies and killing my family before getting put down by the National Guard because I couldn't afford to take her to the vet. >:C If I can think of a way to set up at a college campus and do chair massage for a dollar a minute without getting bodyslammed by campus security, I’d gladly do it.

I am generally free Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Hit me up.

And a Critter named Ralph

So the other day I was driving to school for Spanish and this happened:

And I was like, shit, I don't know what to do. I didn't want to just keep driving (thankfully I was still in my apartment complex, so I didn't stop traffic or anything terribly inconvenient) because what if he fell off! And got crushed under my wheels! He's too cute for such a cruel fate! And while I sat there trying to figure it out, he crawled under the hood.

So yeah. Ralph came to school with me. Haven't seen him since, but he was not dead when I left him, so that is hopeful!


November is going to be intense. I'm in the midst of midterms this week, and like, everything is due and my head hurts because the weather is being stupid. Also, Nanowrimo.


But today in particular was interesting. I was hanging out in my first class, and when I went to go check my student email I discovered that some asshole had flooded the VERY BUILDING I WAS IN Saturday night, and that the other end of the building was still actually flooded. Apparently some dipshit thought it would be hilarious to turn on the chemical shower on the third floor and leave it on, expending a total of 6,400 gallons of water that spread from the third floor all the way down the BASEMENT (where my second class is supposed to be held). The damage is rather extensive, but in addition to the money this asshat is responsible for the relocation of tons of classes (a lot of them science, and several of them rather large), the destruction of a lot of science faculty's property and RESEARCH, and money-costing delays on others' research. All in all it was a super shitty thing to do and not, in fact, hilarious at all.

So yeah. Two of my classes have to be relocated, and quite a few of my roommate's have to be changed as well (which really sucks for her since she has a heavy load filled with science, and the hall that flooded is the damn SCIENCE BUILDING). And I guess the AV room got damaged, too, so the computer tech people are furious, and thanks to the construction that has to happen, there have been some serious delays in the scheduling for next semester which in turn screws up people trying to register next week.

The only positive I saw in this situation is that I discovered the secret awesome classrooms in the basement of another building (where my class got relocated) and holy shit are those rooms snazzy as hell. I kind of hope this is a permanent move, not gonna lie. There are giant TVs on like, two or three of the walls, and I DON'T KNOW WHY BUT THEY MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A SPY SO WHATEVER MAN. Classy shit.

And that's all I got for ya. I apologize if this post isn't terribly eloquent, but my head is killing me and I just wrote ten pages for my class tomorrow so I no longer care.

Here, have a song:

And by song I mean exciting as hell trailer for BioShock Infinite. I'm pretty excited for February. I should have Borderlands 2 playthrough 2 done by then, along with Dishonored. Woo! Song in the trailer is "Beast" by Nico Vega. Enjoy!

On Fading Hearts

After a refreshing weekend visit from my dear Mouse (dat pumpkin), I have realized that wow I certainly have a lot of stuff to do in November.  So you know what I decided to do?

Post.

Because that is the proper action to take in such a situation.

Tomorrow I have this fantastic test on 150 pages of a textbook I have yet to read, along with 10 articles I have skimmed. 

In the coming two weekends, with the 'help' of a group, I must conduct primary (focus-group) and secondary (internet!) research on a project of my own devising and create a survey that will reach 80 potential consumers.

I've got some ridiculous phone case project, which started out okay, but now  my grade hangs on the ability for a somewhat incompetent adult to actually make a decision on his own and give me a prototype to create a KickStarter webpage for him.

Then I've got another three exams, two quizzes, and two fifteen-page group essays due, which are ten times worse than any normal essay because I have to work with people who literally write like they are in the fourth grade like honestly Missy my friend you would shed so many tears over this writing I mean this ridiculous run on sentence displays more elegance and grammatical propriety than some of the things these terrible excuses for scholars vomit from their fingers.

But the best news is that I only have one final.  And then I have fifteen more credits. 

...and then what?



Is that even good news?  Then I graduate?  And get a job?  And go somewhere?  Alone?  With someone who won't be any of you guys?

I feel like everyone has their shit together and I am sitting here not reading a textbook, listening to this ridiculous song on loop and regretting life decisions.  Sometimes I think the only thing I ever did right in life was meeting people like all of you (and also Brendan I guess).

What are your plans for the future?



This song is super catchy, except for the way it just cuts off at the end.  Either it's designed for mad-sweet looping, or it just becomes part of another song which is super sweet.

Man I just wish I knew what this dude was saying.

Sorry that I am not sorry at all

So I feel bad posting a million times in a row, but this is some big news. Well, sorta. It's news that has an impact on all of your lives. But yes, so without further ado.

Ahem...

I WILL BE HOME FOR THANKSGIVING THIS YEAR!

So yeah, I'm pretty stoked. 

I hope you are too.

That is all.

 And I know that you all know this song, but it's been stuck in my head. So I think you should join me in this.

 

Not a lot has changed....

Right so I don't have anything to say, but I felt that you guys need to see this video  if you haven't already.

Q is for Queen Anne, the Notorious Anklegator of the Wilds

Did I ever tell you guys how much I hate people?  Not any of you, no, of course not.  You are all fine examples of human beings, and a general exception to this rule.

But aside from you all, I really don't like people.  So you know what that means?  That means that I MUST have at least five group projects this semester, with five different groups.  That's twenty people I'm working with that I don't know and probably don't like.

So far it's all been okay.  Half of the teams are usually pretty nice, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't rather just be writing all of these group term papers myself.

Positives: there is this foreign exchange boy from Belgium in one of my groups.  His name is Jelle and he is sweet.  And a girl from South Korea, named JiHyun.  She is quiet.  They are my favorite group members, probably.

Negatives:  There is one overbearing girl in a serious group project we are conducting.  She does not know how to compromise and is full of generally terrible ideas.  She also doesn't understand punctuality or responsibility.  No, you can't call in sick when your group is giving a formal presentation in an hour.  We discussed this last night.  You said you were taking the last two slides.

Anyway, it's getting chilly out!  Time for sweaters and tea and hot foods.  Crock pot season.  I'm looking forward to being generally cozy around my house.  Also, snow.  Also, winter break!  I won't be home until New Year's though, so I hope you all keep that night clear for some more basement shenanigans!

And for those of you wondering what an anklegator is, they look like this lovely lady below:



In any case, I've been doing a bit of game-playing recently.  I acquired Bastion last semester, and didn't sit down to play it until last month.  It was a fantastic game.  Bright and colorful art, good game play, nice plot with all sorts of hidden information, and a few moral considerations here and there.  Also an awesome narrator.  I highly recommend it.




Before I even played the game, though, I listened to the soundtrack.  All summer long.  It's what got me through work and sad times.



And just for the heck of it, here's the whole soundtrack:

"That would be such a dick move. It'd be like a 10.0 on the Dick-ter scale!"

I feel like every time I post on here, it's never anything good. But, I suppose that is the tone of the semester, especially considering that it is about midterm time here.  And with all of my work and the fact that everyone here is going completely insane. I don't want to get into details here, but the gist of it is that I spent a vast majority of the past two weeks about 2 or 3 steps away from a complete mental breakdown.

So junior year is a blast.

BUT I AM ALIVE! I SHALL PREVAIL!

I am never sure what to put here. So here is a song by some hipsters that graduated from here not too long ago. They are super chill.

I love and miss all of you. I cannot wait until we are together again for Hobbits and Gatsby.

Guh, What Have I Done?

Seriously. What the hell was I thinking, scheduling my classes this way. Wednesdays are AWFUL.

Posting as per Morgan's request. I've not been up to much except school stuff and video games. A quick list:

• Wednesdays are awful. I cannot stress this enough.
• Borderlands 2 is giving me so many feels. I am nearly at the end, and oh my god. I think...I think it may have done the impossible for real. I think it just took BioShock's place as my most favorite game ever. I know I said I thought it might a week ago to some of you, but after that mission last night....Holy shit. I have never had a game fuck with my feels like that before. 
• My OCD is experiencing an upsurge in inconvenience. Hopefully it'll knock it off soon. 
• Writing another novel (maybe I'll finish it? hahaha what am I saying) for my lit class.
• Speaking of writing, got a few things in the works with Mouse. We'll see where it goes!
• I can't wait for winter break (Morgan returns! Everyone returns! HOBBITS!)

And that's...pretty much it. Would appreciate some Autumn-appropriate musics, por favor, and some reading recommendations. Is anyone else on Goodreads? Get on Goodreads. Friend me. Send me recommendations. DO IT. 

The Violet Hour by the Civil Wars~

What Year Is It? An Update

So I'll have been in London for two weeks tomorrow and my brain doesn't know what year it is. Two weeks alternately feels like two years and two days. And morning doesn't yet feel like morning, though night is definitely night because, shit, it's dark. On top of that, even though it's October, classes just started Monday and all the trees are still green. WHAT YEAR IS IT.

But at least I'm beginning to settle in at long last. The first week I was a walking ball of anxiety and tears and now London and I are getting on pretty well. Who knows where we'll end up. London has got excellent biscuits though (oh my GOD I'm bringing as many Hobnob packs back with me as can fit in my suitcase - and then I will make you eat some), so it's made the adjustment easier hahaha. Enough about me and my strange process of settling in.

HOW ARE YOU LOVELY PEOPLE DOING? Even though I'm really loving this city and my classes are great and my flatmates are good people, I miss you all terribly. Since everyone can speak English and England looks very similar to the bit of US we're from at certain moments, so sometimes in the early morning it's easy to forget where I am. It takes me a minute to remember I can't just drive two hours to see Amy or four hours to see Sarah and Megan, or take a jaunty walk down the street to visit Trisha, etc.

So, when you get a chance, let me know what you're all up to! Even the everyday stuff! Especially the everyday stuff! Or just music! While the UK has got wonderful, chocolate covered cookies at every turn, they don't have Pandora. I'm trying to make friends with Spotify. We'll see how it goes. I did find this, though.

An update, now with 67% of your daily requirement of statham

SUP CHICAS. Here's the run-down on the life of ye olde mouse.

I have a job. It rocks. I love it. It is kind of stressful but damn do I love it. Volunteered my time (or my time was volunteered is more accurate because when your boss says 'hey there's a race coming up, you should tend the booth and bring the massage table, "no thx" is not an appropriate answer) at a 5k run for the local theatre. That was cool. I felt that I really made a difference, even if it was only for twenty or so folks.

Things are still going well with Mike, too. He has rekindled my desire to create! I have been writing little snippets of stories every day, even when I'm tired or listless. I've come to realize that I won't have time to do the things I want, so I have to make time which is less about time travel and alchemy, and more about gritty determination to get something done. Like a classic American cowboy or Jason Statham in CRANK 2. Because life will try to poison you, cut out your heart and replace it with an artificial one, and you will total some cars, and people that you thought were your friends might betray you, and people that are your friends will stick by you in bloody shootouts, BUT BY GOD, when your precious time is limited, all it takes is a mess of determination to get what needs to be done, done.

And if life lights you on fire? PUNCH IT TO DEATH.

Tl;dr I am happy with my job, I am writing and drawing again, and I am setting aside to SEE YOU FOLKS AGAIN. So beware, the mouse runneth over.

Welp it's 2a.m. and I've stayed up writing this so I guess I'll post it even though it's ridiculously overdramatic why do you guys put up with me the music's in the links

I have not been doing too much. July was a weird blur with some lovely colorful bits of wonder mixed in. Like a Passion Pit song. I avoided some responsibilities. I made a habit of sleeping too late. I worried over the question of what I’m going to do with my life (no really oh my God what am I going to do with my life). But I also wandered about a twinkling fair ground and ate delicious food with some of you lovely people. I traipsed about the city with some more of you – someone tell the story of the parking victory! Maybe I will next! – and we danced together in the street with strangers. Here, have some Foxy.  

And suddenly it is August? And suddenly it is 67 years since Nagasaki was nuked? So I am Even More of An Adult now?

Or something? Birthdays, man. I never know what to do with them when they are mine. But I came home, poked at another email, checked the blog and realized that I haven’t written in a while and I don’t know what else to write about so here, hear about my day?

It was a quiet birthday, but a good one. I got some Official Stuff done (writing thank you letters for scholarships, emailing about visas, stuff like that), plus a bit of cleaning, and ironing which I actually find quite calming. Ironing, I mean. Cleaning only sometimes. And I listened to a couple chapters of The House of Mirth which is so fucking Edwardian and shit. Like damn it's so Edwardian you feel like you're drowning in Gibson Girls and dapper gentlemen. 

Thursday birthdays are weird, especially when there are Things That Must Get Done to do, but even though it was a normal-ish day, it felt special anyhow. Like, in addition to the usual electronic b-day wishes (I love you all by the way), I got a card from my next-door neighbor who is an old, tiny, Austrian lady. It contained exactly 21 dollars and was signed “love Ann and Oliver.” Oliver is her surprisingly talkative, very friendly orange tabby cat. She was not a cat-person a year ago when she got him and now he co-signs her b-day wishes and is her constant companion. We go over to visit her and she brings us up to date about his kitty life, as if he is her third, furry child. Ugh. How is life that gorgeous?

And the sky was so lovely today. Like the ocean had dissolved into a mass that hugged this little bit of world for the day; it was faintly rainy and gently cloudy, cool and clean but not exactly crisp. It smelled beautiful and felt like a waking dream.

It was one of those strange days where life seems balanced and you smile because you’re happy for reasons that exist, but whose exact specificities elude you. Where you feel effortlessly at home in your own skin without realizing it until you suddenly don’t feel that way anymore. Where there are things you should be freaking the fuck out about, but instead life seems do-able.

So I made dinner and polluted half of the block with garlic fumes – and all for nothing because the green beans burnt but oh well the crab cakes were delicious – and then my mom got home from work and we ate the edible food before I was whisked away.

I poured funfetti mix into tiny ice cream cone, slapped some more paint on my little wooden box, and molested Amy’s couch. So there were crafts! And baked goods! There were twins! And adorable movies! Which was excellent! And a tequila shot! Which was not quite as excellent actually my throat hates me now BUT WHATEVER MAN IT WAS FUN. I GOT TO PUT THE SALT IN… what was it again, nature’s snuff box? Hehehehe!

And then, sometime around the Taking Leave of the Werner Residence and the Drive Home the weather and the date on the calendar and the conversation about Second Thanksgiving and New Years and my own overdramatic nature – everything sorta hit me.

I got to wear a sweater today, guys. Sure, yeah, it was paired with jean shorts BUT THAT IS NOT THE POINT IT WAS STILL A SWEATER. And I layered that sweater. And my little sister got her class schedule and is starting sophomore year next week. And I keep day-dreaming about hot chocolate. And my tumblr dashboard keeps giving me pictures tagged #autumn, featuring fiery, sunlit trees in all their September glory. And slow songs with acoustic guitars keep caressing my earlobes.

And I keep pressing the replay button.

The way I feel is like when you bite into a blackberry; it’s fucking delicious, but hell if there isn’t a bittersweet aftertaste. So you reach into the plastic carton for another one, but the minute you’ve devoured the thing the deep purple shade of want and regret has stained your tongue.

The way I feel is a half-embarrassed echo of June, a half-whispered wish for December, even though I can’t wait for September to come and close. The way I feel is that day-dream with the hot chocolate, except expanded. Like, not only have we all got a cup, but the picture’s hazy edges are widened to encompass an old Victorian fitted with a wraparound porch. There’s a swing and a white wicker rocking chair. There’s a bowl of plums in the kitchen. I don’t know who owns the old Victorian.  

I know there’s a word for it – or maybe a made-up word for it – the way I feel, but leaving it unnamed does the feeling more justice than if I cracked open a dictionary with the intent of pinning down every syllable. And I feel like I should be able to deal with all of this shit that my weird, overdramatic nature is harping on about, but despite the date on the calendar and the inner calm I felt all day, I do not feel like Even More of An Adult now.

But I guess that is normal or something? Or I will adjust?

In the meantime, please, somebody take me dancing.

ALSO! Rachel, your adventures sound magnificent and I look forward to the stories you will tell me. Because you will tell me. What day are you coming back and when are you leaving again because Things Need to Happen while you are here.

AND! Those who are going back to school etc should post dates of when they are leaving AND returning for fall breaks, weekends, Turkey Feastings, ETC.

I am leaving September 19th and will tearfully Skype you all at Second Thanksgiving. So the etc. up there includes addresses because I want to send you people letters. So enable me? Maybe? 

This has been a ridiculously long-winded, all-over-the-place post. I have to get up tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.

Annnnnd Scotland

Since no one else is posting, I figure I'll post.

I'm in Scotland. Tonight is my last night here. And it's been pretty jammed packed with action and adventure.

Thursday morning, we got up early, piled on a bus and drove. We stopped at Hadrian's Wall, which was really rad. I pretended to be a Roman Centurion, on patrol, climbing on the wall, being all cool and stuff. Trying and failing to pet sheep. There were a lot of sheep. But it was so pretty.

Friday was dominated by my going to the Olympic Womens Soccer Quarterfinals. It was United States vs. New Zealand. So of course, we (me and my friends who went) got all decked out in our finest American swag and were the stereotypical tourists. It was really fun. The seats were amazing and THE US WOMEN WON! 2-0! IT WAS SO INTENSE!! THE KIWI'S (New Zealanders are called Kiwis) GOALIE GOT KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS!

And then Friday evening the program took us to the Edinburgh Castle and we watched the Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo, which was awesome and beyond describing.  There were so many bagpipes and so much dancing. It was fantastic. The even played music from Brave. It made me so happy.

Today was mostly wandering around Edinburgh, exploring the sights and such. We went to the Castle and actually went inside. (I'll upload photos eventually). And in the evening, two of my friends and I made the trek up Arthur's Seat, which is this intense mountain-esque land mass. It was an intense hike, but I am so out of shape it's not even funny. And it was super foggy, so we literally couldn't see anything. I was convinced we had died on the mountain and were wandering around in limbo. But we survived. I only fell down once, and managed not to break anything.  a feat, really.

Um, yes. That's what I have been up too.

WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN DOING?!? YOU SHOULD POST AND TELL ME THINGS?!?!

...please?

Most bad decisions start with Absinthe

I have a lot of stories I want to tell you guys, but some of them don't belong on the internet. So they will have to wait until I can see you in person.

In the meantime, here is a brief outline so I don't forget the important bits:

• "You're in Britain now, grow up" - quote from Cute Bartender to me
• Beetlejuice pants
• Stealing glasses
• Standing on the couches in the JCR and signing the National Anthem = not okay...apparently
• 221b Baker Street is not actually at 221b Baker Street
• Riding on trains backwards is the worst
• Lady Chapel
• Ely
• Eels
• National Portrait Gallery
• London, the day after the Olympics open
• Kings Cross Station, on time as always
• Don't buy cupcakes from cupcake stand on The Tube
• In England The Golden Compass is called Northern Lights
• "This is how I die" i.e. "The Most Dangerous Game"
• Seedy biker bar, in which I "fit in"
• Children are the worst. Period. 
• Everyone loves the devil duck and the photos that result 
• "Rachel...Henry VIII's second wife"
• Wax figures

I'm sure there are other things I want to tell you, but like I have this midterm paper for Shakespeare that's due on Wednesday and there are midweek shenanigans for which I must prepare. Also I'm leaving for Scotland on Thursday, so yes.

I hope all is well back in the States. I shall be returning in a little over a fortnight.

Here's a song

A Strange Morning

You know the sounds that houses make? Apartments make them, too. Things settle. Things creak. The air conditioner kicks on with an almost vehement force if you bother to pay it any attention. What's unique about apartments, though, is that you can sometimes hear what your neighbors are up to. You can sometimes catch the murmuring undertones of a television set. The muted slam of a closing door. The stampede of footsteps climbing up and down the stairs, the jingle of keys in the hallway outside your door. It's comforting, actually, those noises, those presences of other living, breathing people all around you. I suppose it's more comforting if you know your neighbors (I know not a one). But for those like me who never bother getting chummy with the people who live literally on the other side of your hallway or even walls, the comfort comes from the ability to blame certain things on the activities of those other people.

It is therefore intensely uncomfortable when you find that you cannot.


I woke up at one of my usual wake up times (I think it might have been arounddddd 7 am? That sounds about right. The sun was most definitely up). I don't know about the rest of you, but whenever I wake up I have to immediately use the bathroom. Every time. Like an imperfect clock. So I grabbed my phone, shoved my glasses onto my face and wandered into the bathroom.

I knew that my mother was already gone, it being Saturday and all, and she'd mentioned that she'd be heading to work even earlier than 5 am because we had somewhere to be in the early afternoon. So that left me, my step father--who was out cold, sleeping in their room--and the cat.

So I was very, very puzzled when, as I was in the bathroom half-asleep, I heard a distinctly familiar tune. At first this did not bother me. I barely recognized the tune at first, but the more I thought about it, the more familiar it became. I strained to listen--had it just been my imagination?--and it played again. I frowned. I blinked. I knew that song all right--Twisted Nerve. A song used in the Kill Bill series, and more recently known as Tate's theme from American Horror Story.

I thought, well, that's odd. But it didn't trouble me, not then. I was still half-asleep, you see, and I rather liked that song. It didn't even occur to me to find it strange that it did not, in fact, seem like it was coming from any of the neighboring apartment units, not even the people above us (who I tended to hear most often).

The TV, I had assumed. Mine or perhaps my mother's. Or a phone.

Then I wandered back into my bedroom, and what I saw woke me up far more assuredly than the first few bars of Twisted Nerve.

My blinds were open.

They weren't open entirely--maybe about five inches. But still. I had not done it. Had they been like that before I wandered into the bathroom? I honestly couldn't remember, but I feel like I would have noticed, seeing as they are right next to my head when I sleep.

Maybe my mother did it when she came into my room this morning (something she always did before she left to work, whether I remember it or not). I immediately dismissed this as possible. My mother hated it when I left my blinds open like that when I was still sleeping. She certainly wouldn't have done it when she left at 4 am, with the sun not even up.

Still, I called her. Asked if she'd been in my room (she had). She had no idea what I was talking about with the blinds--maybe it was Frankie? she'd asked. He did like playing with the strings. But Frankie had been in the sink when I'd gone to the bathroom, and he'd been in there with me the whole time--and her solution for the music--perhaps it had been John's phone?--did not make any sense. His phone is old. He does not know how to put ringtones on it. And if he did, I seriously doubt he would have used Twisted Nerve.

Maybe it was the people upstairs, she suggested. Maybe it was your TV.

The TV was the likelier cause, and when I turned to consider it, it was indeed still on. But the volume was on low. Even standing two feet away from it I had to strain to hear what it was saying/playing. There was no way I would have been able to hear it all the way in the bathroom so distinctly. My mother's TV? No dice. It wasn't on at all.

But like I said, I was half awake. Maybe the whistling tune wasn't Twisted Nerve at all, but had jostled something in my brain to make me think of the song, and my memories, in cohoots with my half-asleep brain, played it again for me. Maybe I just imagined it.

But that doesn't explain the blinds.

(I know, I know, I posted this song already. Here, have another:)

I'd also like to add that my strange morning probably was a result of my being not-quite-awake. It is entirely possible that I opened the shades my self, and just didn't remember. Either way, I just wanted to write out how it felt cuz why not.

An Invasion of Cats and Other Potentially Exciting Things

Firstly, Frankie:

Cat, what are you doing.

Other Potentially Exciting Thing:

Giulia and I have contemplated different versions of this for like a year and a half now (though originally we wanted to do something more in the vein of 4 Player Podcast), and have finally decided to band together and make a site (via wordpress and tumblr) dedicated to reviewing/discussing/highlighting books, video games, movies, TV shows/miniseries, and whatnot, through written posts, podcasts, and videos. If this sounds like a thing you might be interested in doing, let me know, and I will add you.

Wordpress: http://stirfrynoodles.wordpress.com/

Tumblr: http://stir-frynoodles.tumblr.com/

Nothing is on there yet, though. But soon. Soon.

GANGNAM STYLE

GUYS SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO THIS SONG I AM LEARNING THIS CRAZY HORSE DANCE. SHHHH. SHHHHH. If you can't stand it, you must skip to 1:55 because it kills me every time.

A Study in Sleeping on Buses

So I am totally still alive. It's an impressive feat, yeah? It really is.

Prior to yesterday, my life was rather insane. Let's start with last Thursday, in which we all got a bus and went to Stratford-Upon-Avon to go see a Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Tempest. I liked the show, my seat was kinda shitty because they are people drop down on wires and I could not see that at all because the upper balcony seats cut that off. I just saw Ariel's dangling feet. Other than that it was good. But man, there is not a lot to do in Stratford. Or at least not a lot of stuff that is cheap. I mean there is Shakespeare's birthplace which you can see for 14 pounds sterling or roughly $21. There is also his grave, which only cost a pound to see. But like it's a grave and I unlike another girl in my group did not find it necessary to go there and kiss the ground in front of the grave. (His grave is inside the church so she was kissing stone and not dirt and grass, but it was stone where asstons of people have walked). And there are also like the houses of Anne Hathaway and shit, but that's money. It was interesting in any case.

Friday, I walked with some other people to The Orchard at Grantchester, the place where Sylvia Plath and Virgina Woolf hung out and drank tea. I had a scone with clotted cream and jelly. And then that night I saw the weirdest fucking version of Macbeth ever performed. The only positive was that it was in an old Leper Chapel, but that was it.

Saturday, I got up at 4AM, got on a bus to London, then got on another bus that took the tour group to Leeds Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, and the Cliffs of Dover. I took a bunch of photos, which are on facebook for your creeping pleasure. I'm not entirely sure what to saw about those things. It was a lovely day and so clear out that when standing on the beach of Dover we could see France on the other side.

Sunday, I got up at 6AM to get on a bus to go to Bath and Stonehenge. In Bath, I saw the Roman Bathhouse where I was allowed to drink some of the "healing waters" from a fountain they had. It's something you have to do once, but will never do again. That water tasted like I got punched in the mouth. It had that metallic iron, blood taste.
I also saw where Jane Austen lived briefly, although she hated Bath with a passion. But it was cool.

And Stonehenge was cool, but really all you see is what you get.

And then on Monday, I went punting which is when you stand on the back of a flat bottomed boat and push the boat forward with a stick. I suck at it because I don't have upper body strength. Although I did enjoy making up facts and signing opera while going under bridges.

And Monday night, I saw THE DARK KNIGHT RISES!

AND GUYS! THERE WAS SO MUCH PITTSBURGH IN THAT MOVIE! I COULD TAKE YOU TO THOSE PLACES!! AND IN THE BACKGROUND OF THE LAST FIGHT SCENE I COULD SEE MY APARTMENT BUILDING!!! I FREAKED OUT!

But thankfully I was sitting next to strangers, due to assigned seating and me buying my ticket late, so I remained quiet. But while walking back with the others, we shouted about how awesome it was.

Okay, I should go.

But here, have a song

Where is everyone?

Why don't I ever hear from you?

I miss you.

On Doing Nothing

This summer has largely been uneventful and relatively unproductive. Turns out my brain works better when I have something to consistently do every day. Shame the job market sucks (though kudos to you clever folk who managed to beat the system and stay employed this summer!) but school will be resuming soon and hopefully then my mind won't seem so utterly stagnant.

Let's see...

Daytime television is the worst.

Thank god for DVR.

The horror movie franchise is more lacking than ever.

Despite the fact that superhero movies kind of suck (seriously, they're all set-up movies and you can TELL that they are!), I have been enjoying them of late. Saw the Hulk back when it came out because of Reasons (okay, because of Edward Norton) and thought that would be the end of my Marvel-inspired movie watching until Certain People insisted I see Thor, Captain America, and at least the first Iron Man. I have finally done this, and now I can FINALLY see the Avengers. So that's good. Also, Dark Knight Rises was a relatively satisfying end to the trilogy. Not as good as Dark Knight, of course, but still! I thought it was going to be uber shit-tastic, and was pleasantly surprised.

Also I kind of want to write about superheroes now. But where to start! And lord knows I don't need another project on my plate, but when have I ever been reasonable?

Alrighty, hopefully this is a sufficient enough post for Rachel to not feel awkward about posting her Very British Adventures, which is what we all really want to read about, right? :D


Musics:


This is not a new song for any of you (I hope!), but Jen showed me thissss weeks ago, I want to say, and I LOVE IT. Howl's Moving Castle and Florence+The Machine? Yes, please!!

Greetings from the Future

Hey guys!

I made it to Cambridge in one piece. It was not a fun journey, since my flight got delayed for 2 hours and I wound up missing my bus to Cambridge by 15 minutes. And then the cabbie who drove me to Cambridge got thwarted by one-way streets. So I had to lug my suitcases in the rain down the crowded streets....and I got lost. BUT I found my way. And it stopped raining.

So I made a brief little video of what the campus looks like and my room. You don't have to watch it, but I thought I'd share. Since I didn't make the jetlagged video because I fell asleep.

Also, the travel writing class I am taking has its own blog if you want to read that. Not all of the stuff on there will be mine, but it might be interesting to see or whatever. I'll cross post the shit I write, maybe? But the address for that is http://cambridgetravelwriting2012.wordpress.com/


And for those of you who requested it, my physical address is :

Name
UNH Summer Program
Gonville and Caius College
Cambridge CB2 1TA
England


And I'm posting this song because it seems rather fitting...

What am I doing with my life?

I'm not sure how to begin this post as my mind just wants to like vomit all of my thoughts into the virtual (...digital?) page and be done with it, but I feel this sudden fit of terror, uncertainty, and self-condemnation should be prefaced a bit.

It dawned on me today that I leave the country in two weeks.  I am LEAVING the country in two weeks. I'm flying alone across the Atlantic to a place I have never been, to be with people I don't know,  and spending thousands of dollars to study materials that will not make me any more employable. It's a daunting thought, when it is cut that way.

Don't get me wrong, I am excited to go and all of that jazz. I really am. But it's late and I spent my evening watching YouTube videos of people who seem to be way more in control of their lives and being successful as well. Or at least being successful in ways that I want to be successful. I want to be better, but I lack the motivation. And YouTube is not helping.

Tonight is the night of grandiose ideas that will undoubtedly falter in the morning light. But that's not what I need to hear right now. Or what any of us need to hear.

We need to hear that we are young, the world is at our fingertips. That we are infallible, invincible,  and just crazy enough to make it work, to make everything work. We can solve everything, we just need to focus. *

[It reminds me of a book I read when I was much younger and I do not remember the name. All I remember of the plot is that it's about a young white girl and young black boy who are friends around the 1950s I want to say, but I'm unsure of the timeframe. Anyway, the boy gets his throat cut by a homeless man in the woods and the girl nearly dies from the flu or whatever. BUT what I remember distinctly is that once she recovers her father returns from the war or wherever he was and he promises his daughter that nothing bad will ever happen again. And the narrator (who is the grown up daughter) says something like "We knew it was a lie, but we both needed that lie" ]

*We know it's a lie, but it's what we need to hear right now.

I don't know. YouTube complied with lack of sleep, relationship frustrations, and the impending stress of leaving the country, has gotten me all worked up.

I should be sleeping, or replying to emails, or making lists, but I'm not. I'm standing in the kitchen, eating cookie dough because I AM AN ADULT!

 Anyway, you guys should make me sexy, awesome playlists to listen to while I am traveling because we all know I am not going to even try to befriend the random person sitting next to me on my plane ride across the pond. Also I am in a huge musical rut, listening to the same songs by the same bands forever, which can be seen in my music choice for this post.

I really like this. It kinda bothered me that in movie there wasn't really a melody to the song. She was just kinda doing a spoken poetry sort of thing.

cabinet of curiosities

i got a new bookshelf.
by which i mean my mother bought a new cabinet at an estate sale, didn't want it, and offered it to me in exchange from my desk. i agreed to the swap because i think it's adorable, even if it's top drawer smells profusely of parchment. which is weird, but oh well.
the cabinet is meant for displaying commemorative dishes or porcelain plates from china (made circa 1763 or something, maybe before then, whenever it was that the chinese had the secret of how to make porcelain and no one else did).
but instead of dishes with niagara falls on them or prettily painted porcelain i am putting all of the books that currently reside on the surface of my desk in the cabinet. plus some weird nicknacks i've collected throughout the years, so there you go. 
the title has been explained.
in the process of moving books i have also gotten, like, three spider/mosquito/mystery bites. thankfully i'm too sleepy to have a panic attack. 
also it is far too late early in the morning for capitalization. fuck that shit.
 future me is probably experiencing regrets about the lack of proper capitalization. well, whatever future me.
you'll be fine.


so! here we go!

music!

 or 

portions from the soundtrack of me moving books and nicknacks and sneezing like the seventh dwarf

"always gold" by radical face
rating: omg feelings, what is this doing to my heart, this is gorgeous

"stubborn love" by the lumineers
rating: i love this band this is my favorite song holy kitten tits i love this song

also, it has been taken from youtube last i checked so follow the link below
http://supercon.tumblr.com/tagged/%5BThe-Lumineers%5D


"would you go with me" by josh turner
so, i often stuff notes, b-day cards, and other papers of importance in between books. i found a lot of stuff tonight and one thing was a typed letter addressed "To my good friend Rachelle, who has found the way," and was signed in windings, but, because of the writing in between, we'll just take a wild stab in the dark and - aha! i have accidentally stabbed a trisha.
how it ended up in my room i have no idea, though it had been next door neighbors to a map of the paris metro and two birthday cards from when i turned four. idek.
but anyway, the note was comprised of quotes and a line from this song was one of the quotes and the only reference i couldn't figure out. thank you google.

rating: fuck this song is cute, omg cute, now i will attempt to sing along - oh god how does your voice go that deep?

"oh dear!" by good for grapes
rating: instrumentssss - let's dance and spin around a camp fire

"forever" by walter meego
rating: yes, yes good

"runaway" by mr little jeans
rating: what kind of band name is that?, more awkward dancing than book moving happening

i also listened to ridiculous things which i won't post here because they are very silly. like, "call me maybe" was included, the opening song to the film boondock saints made an appearance, as did the incredibly sexy female cover of "whatever you like"... which, actually, if you're unfamiliar with the anya marina version you should probably go listen to it and possibly swoon a bit. or maybe it's just me lol.


so i started proofreading this. why do i allow myself access to the internet this late? i'm at the point where if i keep fixing shit i'll just delete everything so i'm gonna just post it.

apologies for excessive obnoxiousness. 

i love you all, darlings

Summer Songs

Guys.
Guys, I need more summer music.
What's going on in my life is inconsequential.

Just post some friggin' music.

Aziza showed me this the other day and I friggin' love it. Easily sitting at the top of my "Favorite Music Videos of the Summer" list. Think you can top it? :3

Pear-Shaped Wildebeest

The Boy is in town for the next two weeks or so. He got in late last night. So, we should meet up and do stuff because that would be rad.

In all honesty, not a lot is going on with me.

BUT BUT BUT, I found this new song that I really love. So I was like yusss I need to share it with my friends on the blog, but I have nothing to say. So yeah.

Also, the title of this post is the result of me poking The Boy and being like "Give me a phrase."

So yes. We should do stuff.

LIKE PRINTERS ROW LIT FEST ON SATURDAY!! OH YES!! LET'S GO!!

First Lazy Week

So the semester ended and I barely noticed. Seems like I notice less and less after each school year, to be honest. One day I'm hustling off to class, and then suddenly...I have nothing.

The first week is always super lazy for me. I sleep a lot more than I usually do, and I attempt to make schedules for productive days that never really happen. Hell, I still haven't unpacked most of my crap from the car(s) yet.

But next week I should be more active, so I hope we can get to some of the excellent things Rachel has listed in her post. I feel like we're running short on summers where everyone is going to be here, so let's try and take advantage, yes?


Also, this kid. Holy shit.

I was completely thrown.

And so it begins...

Guys, guys, guys, it's summertime (or close enough for some of us). I am so excited to do all of the things. Therefore, I have decided to compile a list of things we need to do and post it here. Add stuff that I forgot.

• Beach day 
• Chicago funtimes day
• Joanns for crafting awesomeness (I don't know any specifics)
• Garage Sale (because I have so much crap I need to get rid of, seriously it looks like I haven't moved out and I think my parents are starting to think about selling the house)
• Picnics
• Bonfires
• Movie nights
• Going to the Drive-In 
• Frankenstein on June 7th
• MIDNIGHT SHOWING OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER ON JUNE 22ND
• Bake all of the things (I need recipes, I have a kitchen again next year, but I need recipes other than pasta and sauce)

I'm certain that I am forgetting things, but I know you guys will let me know and then we can make a master list.

I just don't want to waste this summer, which will probably be our last one to be absolutely carefree (aside from jobs).

Just a side note: Does anyone have a bike tire pump? I would like to borrow it because my sister and I will be sharing the car this summer. So I'll be riding my bike a lot.