I know that idolatry is a bad thing, but I have never wanted to be anyone (other than myself, of course) more than I want to be Victoria Legrand. Every time I listen to Beach House, I feel more inspired to continue making music. This happens with almost everyone I listen to granted, even ABBA, but there's just a special place in my heart specifically for the band Beach House.

Sigh. It makes me feel silly when I make blog posts like this.

little smokies.

some days, Iowa City smells like the little smokies that mom would always microwave when we ate mac & cheese.

ABBA.

I can't explain this feeling.

JOB.

why will no one give me one?

I feel as though I have recently been anxiously waiting for something epic to happen.

I keep getting quickly excited and quickly discouraged about things with school. When I think about school, I am happy that I like what I am studying, but there is this sense of uneasiness that overcomes it. Will I get A's? Where the heck am I going to grad school? blah blah blah.

I don't know. Generally, I think I'm happier than I was at Iowa State because I really do like school now (for the most part. I mean it's still school). But then I realize how lame it is that the things that I consider 'highs' or 'new things' that are happening all have to do with school:
-I might graduate on time actually (or the summer after if I study abroad)
-I might study abroad
-I might do Honors
-I might get A's
-German is cool
-Art history is cool
-my schedule next semester is awesome

Is there really nothing else happening?

break.

I feel like the last 2 days have been an extreme amount of the relaxation and creativity that I lack during the school year. when I'm busy working on papers and reading and studying, there is never enough time to sit and read or knit or write. well, the last 2 days have been quite sufficient in that area. it has been enjoyable but also kind of unnerving. as much as I love sitting around watching movies and knitting all day, I do feel kind of useless when I don't get off the couch for several hours at a time. I think it was much needed, and I haven't felt like doing much anyway, but tomorrow will be a good change. I'm going to work in Ames with my mom tomorrow. but while she is at work, I will be at the library or cafe diem working on my many papers for school. I think it will be nice as long as I get a lot done.

also, Marian has been a huge butt-tard and refuses to get along with Black Mamba. I think Black Mamba really wants to make peace and keeps trying to instigate a friendship, but Marian is not having it. well, we still have 5 days for them to become friends!

lames. ogden.

here I come! and Marian's coming too!

homemade stew.

I have been dying to make a stew this fall. I finally got a crockpot a couple of weeks ago and I bought all of the ingredients earlier this week for my own recipe that I made up. I don't know how good it's going to be, but I'm going to list the ingredients right now so I don't forget and then I can make adjustments as necessary.

2 cooked, chopped up chicken breasts
1 big can of chicken broth
~3/4 that can full of water
~3 tbsp flour
~half a bag of mixed beans
a box of long grain and wild rice (this one had some crazy New Orleans seasonings in it so we will see what that is like)
1 leek (just the white part)
2 sticks of celery
half of a green bell pepper
half of a red bell pepper
~handful of mushrooms
~half of a white onion
4 sticks of green onions
~6 baby potatoes
~a quarter of a box of barley
some minced onion, minced garlic, basil, italian seasoning, black pepper, salt

I am letting it sit on high for probably 4-5 hours and then I might turn it down to low until we eat it. I am a little bit concerned about the rice and beans sucking up all of the water, but then I guess I can just add more water or something. there is a lot of stuff in it... so I am anxious to see how it turns out. I can't imagine it will taste bad, it might just be really chunky with vegetables and chicken, which isn't really a bad thing.

blargh, what a crappy day for going outside, but a great day for making a stew!
if only I didn't have to head to the library to grab some books. I am not looking forward to this week.

-----------------------------------

I added a few more tbsp of flour after a few hours. also, it started boiling at some point and so I added more water and turned the heat down. I also added more salt and black pepper. the smell is totally consuming me and I can't wait to eat it. It is probably the chunkiest stew ever, but I think it will be good.

-----------------------------------

the stew was delicious, but very hearty and chunky. most of the rice and barley and beans absorbed the liquid. next time I will leave out one of those things probably or just put less of everything in it total. I forgot to put in carrots I realized, but I am kind of glad because I generally don't like carrots in stew in actuality.

so for next time, a little bit less of all of the solids, maybe less grainy liquid absorbing things... :)

Strandhaus

every time I want to listen to Beach House, I can never decide which album to listen to and so I listen to all of them.
and then it's nice not having to pick new music to listen to for the next 2 hours.

nostalgia.

güte gnädig zeigt, zeigt zeigen!

there is no better, more interesting, or more creative way of describing the past few weeks than by merely telling you of the shows I have recently been to.

october 12. iron & wine.


totally worth the money.

october 16. sufjan stevens.


TOTALLY worth the money. also, he is a babe. that is all.

october 31. the books.


totally worth the amount I paid for Sufjan, which was a lot. I honestly put it on par with the Sufjan show as far as entertainment. I had no idea what to expect, and I was blown away. AND, it was at grinnell, which is like an hour away, AND it was free, AND it was in a sweet chapel, AND their vinyl was only 10 bucks!!!! SOOO GOOOD.

check out this video, it's totally worth it.



I also got to see lots of nifty people from ames and elsewhere and that was pretty cool.


double also, Wolf Parade is later this month which will be splendid.

back to working on my annotated bibliography. I had coffee and am so jittery that I can't even text on my phone and I wanted to express my excitement that I have been withholding for the past couple of weeks.

french toast.

using 2 eggs for 3 pieces of french toast is infinitely better than using 1 egg for 3 pieces of french toast.

no focusing today I guess.

maybe God wants me to focus on his lovely creation as demonstrated by the fantastic weather today instead of my 2 tests and reading quiz that I probably should have spent more time preparing for this weekend.

meh. tests shmests.

2.5 months

so, I haven't written for about 2 and a half months. I've had stuff going on, some things more important than other things. but from previous experience, keeping up with a blog can be tough. and when you put it off for as long as I have, it becomes harder and harder to pick up and write because you're just thinking "oh man, I should write a blog entry, but it's been so long and I still need to write about blah blah blah." at least that's what happens to me. regardless, NO EXCUSES.

I want to write about the last 2 and a half months in detail and give pictures and all that fun stuff too.

july 11. triathlon.
I finished a triathlon. it was actually quite fun. I don't know that I will do one again though, because training for running sucks by yourself during the summer. also, training for the swimming portion is impossible, because the most difficult part was breathing in really cold water. I am really glad that I discovered my love for swimming though, and I totally demolished on the biking portion because of how much I rode my bike this spring/summer (which has slowed down since moving to a horrible hilly part of iowa city).

july 16-18. pitchfork music festival.


my brothers and I have gone for the past 3 yearsish. this year, kate and thurston (wife and son of trent) came, and amber(girlfriend/recent fiance of trevor) came as well. ports also joined us in chicago after work on Friday, though he and donny only came to the festival on saturday. isaac, sara, and andrew were also there all weekend, among some other assorted ames folks.

it was generally a really great time from what I remember. we missed tallest man, which was sad. however, seeing washed out gave me a complete new love for them (and by them I mean one guy, Ernest Green, who is also a babe), beach house proved to be wonderful once again, lcd soundsystem were way better than I thought they would be, wolf parade was great as expected, panda bear was interesting (but great), best coast was great, netherfriends was great, modest mouse was okay, robyn was rad, real estate was new to me and pretty cool though I haven't checked them out since, and sleigh bells, who I for some reason hadn't listened to before, were super rad and fun. I would say bandwise, that was pitchfork for me in a nutshell.

the pad thai was as good as I remember it being. I was very pleased to have kate and thurston hanging around at the back of the B stage for saturday and sunday so I would have somewhere to camp out and chill/take naps when I didn't feel like standing up and being in the sun.
I say with confidence, however, that hanging out with this adorable little dude was probably the biggest highlight of the weekend. he's the coolest nephew ever and also takes really cute pictures. I think trey can agree with this as seen in his blog.

july 19. candy claws.
the monday after pitchfork, trey and I opened for candy claws at the mews. it was a pretty fun time though it didn't end up being the best show that trey and I have played together. I think that we have just been making music that is going in different directions, and that is perfectly fine, because both things are pretty neato.

candy claws was pretty delightful though the sound and volumes weren't fantastic. they were really nice people, and I felt bad that their van had recently exploded and burned up a good portion, if not all of their instruments. I have been a big fan of this band for the past year or so and their new album (hidden lands) has is just as pleasant and heavenly to my ears as the last was.

july 20-23. st. louis.
the day immediately following the candy claws show, porter and I packed up and headed to st. louis for a little vacation and fun times.

we went to the st. louis zoo, which is FREE and totally awesome. I saw a red panda, as seen here, and they quickly became one of my new favorite animals, as well as the snow leopard, which I did not get a picture of because it was being a big old cat and sleeping in some difficult to see place. I was hoping to see a rhino, ant eater, and grey wolf, but they were all hiding. the bears were all really neat though, and the lemurs started screaming and going nuts at one point.

we also went to six flags, which was a lot of fun, but miserably hot. we waited in line at a couple of rides, getting very close to the actual riding, only for the ride to get shut down because of weather. we hardly got to enjoy hurricane harbor because of the signs of rain, so that was sucky, but it was still a pretty good time.
roller coasters are neat, but I got pretty nauseous from riding them all day. we managed to demolish this container of watermelon after quickly retreating to the car from the torturously hot weather. we also went to a couple of free museums, and of course rode to the top of the arch. THE GATEWAY TO THE WEST. it took a while, but it was totally worth it. overall, the trip was a success and good time and we managed to not spend too much money.

oh yeah, and we also went a few miles out of our way to stop by the american gothic house. the lady there was really friendly and took our picture for us. they provided clothes to slip on over our clothing, attached by velcro in the back. pretty classy I would say.



july 24. birthday.
I'd guess the next important thing that happenened to me was probably my birthday. I turned 20, which isn't really that big of a deal in hindsight. there wasn't a huge party by any means, though sara and andrew made me some pretty rad cards and I got some pretty rad presents from my family and friends (including a really awesome record player that has been super handy that was passed down from denise, an animal collective dvd that I still have yet to watch from jp, and getting my car detailed from my parentals).

july 29-august 1. move-out, move-in.
I packed up all of my stuff at my place on 6th street in ames, eagerly awaiting the day I could just move to iowa city already. after a slow process of packing things up at certain times and cleaning and staying at my parents at other times, I moved a bunch of boxes and junk from my mom's van on that friday by myself in the rain. it was generally fine except that marian was being a huge butt-tard and was so nervous from riding in the car that she pooped. in the car. and I almost barfed. I also managed to lock my keys in the van while I went to wal-mart to try and buy a bookshelf and assemble it before I headed back to ames to finish cleaning and ogden for my birthday party/trey's going away party. it was generally a pretty stressful day. I came back the next day with the rest of my stuff to see that marian had barfed on the carpet already. luckily, she has only barfed once or twice since then.

so, I used to watch the-n when it existed on the noggin channel at my parents. in between episodes of degrassi, they would show these sweet videos and clips of people's lockers at their high school and occasionally their bedrooms and stuff. it would never show their faces, but they just had like the coolest stuff and I always wanted to have the-n do a little video short about my room or locker or something. since they stopped doing that, and I also now realize that it is ridiculous and creepy, I am just going to post some pictures up here of how my little room/area have turned out. it's only because I actually know you all.

this is the wardrobe that porter and I built. it works perfectly and I couldn't possibly be happier.


I'm generally really pleased with how my room has turned out. even though it is probably half the size, if not smaller, than my room at my last place, it is a lot homier and comfortable to be in. I love it. although sometimes I can hear someone sneeze right behind me in the apartment next door which creeps me out. also, plants are awesome. double also, the thrift and consignment stores in iowa city have proved to be just wonderful.

this is my little study area that is now separate from my room and more a part of the living room that is also downstairs. it's been really wonderful having my desk separate from my room, let me tell ya.

I want to put something huge on this wall, like a giant piece of fabric or a tapestry of some sort. I just need to cover up this white brick, and it's hard to hang things on brick so I can't just cover it with pictures and things. if anybody has any suggestions that wouldn't totally clash with the couch and rest of the room, that would be sweet!

august 6-8. portland.
after immediately settling into my new pad in iowa city, I managed to snag a plane ride to portland to visit trey with my parents while they went out there for a wedding. he had just moved in and we just hung out and stuff. unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures with treynor. especially unfortunate because it's the last time I will have gotten to hang out with my best pal before christmas.

we played cribbage, drank coffee, rode bikes, watched angry beavers, ate out with our parents, went to an awkward party, and did other pretty average things that siblings do. but that's pretty much what we do best. it was great. also, portland is an amazing place with awesome weather. I think everyone should live there at one point in their life. I hope to one day live along the west coast somewhere, preferably in oregon or washington state.

the next week or so.
I don't remember what happened after I got back from portland, but I'm pretty sure I just passed the time getting settled in and buying things and hanging out before school started. I also tried to find a job and failed. after almost getting my dream college job twice, I am still currently jobless.


august 17. tennis.
what an adorable band that I got the opportunity to open for at the vaudeville mews. I hadn't heard of tennis before ladd asked me to play this show, but I listened to their myspace and it was pretty rad. before I played the show, I had read about them some on pitchfork and whatnot. they were really awesome and really encouraging and nice. it was also one of the better shows I've played, and a lot of people that I didn't expect to show up did, so that was neat. I have tennis's cassette tape and I listen to it often. it's really joyful and catchy and it has that surfy guitar that I have come to love so much.

august 18-21. chicago.
denise needed to go to chicago to deal with stuff to get her visa so she could do her aupair stuff in germany, which is where she is currently. turns out after driving to the suburb of chicago that her aunt lives in, riding the train (which was pretty neat) into the city, and waiting 2 hours at the german consolate, there was nothing that she could actually do to get her visa for germany while still in the united states. regardless, we saw adorable foreign people speaking in different languages while waiting around, and I got to actually spend some time in the city of chicago outside of going to union park for pitchfork. we also went shopping at the 3-story forever 21 which was not at all worth it, and ate at this louisiana restaurant that had a giant wall full of hot sauce and it was difficult to find anything on the menu that wasn't spicy. denise's friend from camp and 2 of his friends joined us for dinner and we all went and walked through central park a bit.

aaaand we went to the bean. I don't even care, I just wanted to see it regardless of how cliche' that makes me. also, I feel like this is a band photo or something.

we did some more shopping in this other suburb of chicago and watched tons of crappy chick flicks. it was a really great way to end our time with each other before denise would depart for germany for 3 months. christmas is going to be a pretty big reunion party for all of us, and I look forward to it very much.
denise and I decided that since we were both going to be learning german this semester, that both porter and trey should learn german so that we could just speak german all of the time instead of english.

since then.
school has started and been going for a month now. I was pretty jazzed for all of my classes. I had to last minute drop my contemporary cinema class and take stars, galaxies, and the universe. I was a little bummed, but nonetheless excited to take an astronomy class with which the course book is called JOURNEY TO THE COSMIC FRONTIER. neato, right? wrong. this class is more difficult than I hoped and was kind of torturous for the first week or so of trying to figure it all out. it has since gotten better, and I think I will do decently. I have my first art history test on monday which I am pretty stoked about. I am happy that I love art history enough that I even enjoy studying for the tests. I have generally enjoyed this class and we haven't had any assignments or anything yet so I guess I am doing as well as I can be. my writing about the visual arts class has been my least favorite of all my classes maybe. my teacher is tough, but I recently found out that I can rewrite any of my papers within 2 weeks of getting my grade back on them. so that is pretty neat. I also know that this class will be pretty useful to me in my art history student career. my drawing class has progressively gotten better. I didn't really like my teacher to begin with, but he has started talking a little less and given us more time to actually draw during class. having to spend as much money on materials as I did really blew, but I guess that's the pain of being an art student. oh, also, I decided I will probably double major in art history and fine arts because getting a fine arts degree on top of art history is pretty much just a few extra studio classes, which I was wanting to do anyway. and last but not least, my german class has proven to be pretty awesome. I love german. the language is kind of silly and ridiculous but I really, really love it. I can't wait to take at least another 3 semesters of it and hopefully be fluent in it and stuff. my teacher is this big bald 26-year old german guy named Jens Althoff (that's pronounced YENS). he is really into hip-hop and football (not american football). he is intimidating and rolls his eyes all of the time but he has grown on me and we all enjoy him quite a bit. he is funny and generally entertaining and keeps things lively. a lot of the learning is just done through the participation in class so it hasn't even been that hard of a class really. hopefully I can manage to continue my 3.67 or better gpa throughout this semester. since I have this newfound love for school now that I'm not studying music, I am actually trying to take advantage of all the ways that the school and teachers want to help us to learn things better.

I'm not exactly sure how many years of schooling I am going to have left, but if I take summer classes, it's looking good that I might be done in less than 3 years. but who knows really, I haven't looked that close into it because I hate doing stuff like that.

veritas and salt company have been going super well. we have already almost out grown the blue moose for salt company and have had a successful 10 people increase at least at every service. we have only had 2 veritas meetings at hotelvetro (not including the one that I have to wake up for in less than 5 hours to help hand out programs at), which is where we are having it for the next year. I'm not great at determining how many people we have, but it seems like we have had a pretty decent turn out. I had to watch the little 2-3 year olds for the first service. I am hoping that I haven't signed up to try and do more with this church than I can actually handle. salt leadership, children's ministry, welcome team, (hopefully) music team... I'm sure it will be fine. it's not like I have to take time to practice the saxophone anymore... uuummmmm.... or maybe I should. I don't wanna talk about it.

I might start playing some shows in iowa city eventually, but I want to take a little break for now. oh yeah, I also played at this nebraska pop festival last weekend which I thought was going to be a huge drag, but it ended up being pretty fun. porter and I just packed up and drove down to omaha and drove back to IC after I played. It was a long night and we got back at about 5am, but it was probably the best show I have ever played. the sound guy was awesome. the couple of guys that played before me were really great, and the guy that booked this festival is probably the nicest most awkward person ever. I really enjoyed it.

let's see, what else is new and random...
I am going to try and sell clothes on ebay for the first time. I bought a pair of jeans off of ebay for the first time. I made granola for the first time. I have finally tried hookah. I'm trying to eat much healthier foods. I made curtains for porter with lisagrace's sewing machine. I want to start sewing things more often. I have acquired a bunch of awesome old records. I made my first collage. our 2 new friends micah and luke are really rad. mini-blizzards are awesome. windows make nice wall decorations.

as for sentimental stuff...
God has been very good throughout this whole process and has given me a lot of joy.
porter and I finally get to live in the same town again and it has been really fun and great.
I have started missing my parents and family and a few lonely souls back in ames quite a bit (that means you if you are reading this). it hadn't hit me until this past week how much I missed people, but I do. I guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was, but that's probably okay. we are allowed to miss people from time to time. maybe everyone should make a greater effort to visit iowa city. yeaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

gracious. it is too late. I should go to bed. marian is mad at me for keeping this light on while I have been making this blog entry for the last 3 hours. I was going to have to do it sometime, marian!


hopefully this is the last blog entry I will ever write that will be this long. I am impressed if you stuck it out this long. sorry if it is making you uncomfortable that I am addressing you in my blog. I will try not to do that anymore either.
loves.

pants dance.

I was in search of linen pants this weekend. I almost bought a pair, but then decided against it and made a pact to myself to wear my more-comfortable-than-jeans pants from the Gap(2 years ago) all week. sometimes I try and do things like this-- challenging myself to wear some articles of clothing or accessories that I never wear. I tried "necklace week" out a couple of weeks ago, and I managed to keep it up for a couple of days and then realized that I don't really like wearing jewelry casually (or at all), except for the occasional pair of big stud earrings.

but it's pants week everybody, and it's going to be a comfortable week indeed. I challenge anybody to whip out their chinos or wide-leg trousers for comfort. no jeans this week!

holycraplessthan2weeksuntilthetriathlon

so I was recently faced with the realization that my triathlon is in less than 2 weeks. I had been running once or twice a week and swimming less than once a week, although I do bike every day to work and back. even still, these are not adequate amounts of working out to get me in shape for one of the worst (though one of the most satisfying!) mornings of my life. my entire purpose for doing a triathlon was to force myself into good habits of getting in shape because I had something to work for. and yet, that didn't even motivate me enough to really get the move on. but realizing that in less than 2 weeks, I will have to run 5k, swim a quarter mile, and bike 13 miles within one morning has recently proved to be effective.

I have discovered that by only being able to go to Beyer Hall to swim when the pool is briefly open (12-2pm when I am at work, and 7-9pm when I am having a social life) is not effective, and therefore signed up for a membership to Ames Racquet and Fitness Center in Somerset for the month. not too pricey, mostly because I'm a student, but HOLY CANOLI is that place nice. the locker rooms are carpeted and I feel like I'm in some sort of yacht club because of the fancy, wealthy people of Somerset Village that keep this place going. anyway, I only really got the membership so that I can use the pool from nearly anytime between 5am-10pm, which is awesome.

starting today, I got up at 6am to run 3.1 miles down Main Street, around Bandshell Park, over to 13th street, and back up Northwestern. I was hoping it would still be a little bit dark out, but the sun starting to come up is something I can't complain about because it was absolutely beautiful. also, it was only about 60 degrees, in contrast to the 90 degree weather I was running in in the afternoon. as long as I eat something before I run, I am able to get through the 3.1 miles and though I come close to vomiting, I can hold it down. I then hopped into Andre the Malibu and drove over to Somerset to do some swimming. the 4-lane pool was nearly empty, minus the 1 ridiculously fast and in-shape 20-or-30-something dude in the lane next to me, and the 2 old guys chatting it up in the corner. I swim in a sort of pattern, because although I can't swim 8 laps straight through freestyle, I can manage to sort of tread water along so that I'm still moving forward the whole time. so I swim freestyle 1 lap, grab a floaty device and tread 1 lap, and continue doing this pattern for 6 more laps. those 8 laps is the equivalent to a quarter of a mile. so I took a break, and then did it all again, while old ladies started filing in 20 minutes early for their water aerobics class at 8am.

swimming after a vigorous run is really one of the most pleasant and satisfactory things one could do. especially if you get to swim towards the sunrise shining through the big windows on my way back for each lap, which I did. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous initially about the swimming portion of the triathlon, but in all reality, I don't need to swim the freestyle stroke the entire time, as long as I am moving forward. I can keep moving in water, it's just the breathing/stamina part about swimming that I struggle with. but if I don't have to keep my head in the water the whole time, I can just paddle along and be just fine!

although it has taken me all this time to finally start pushing myself to get in shape for this triathlon, now that I have finally gotten into a pattern of things, I think it's one that I can somewhat keep throughout my life. now, I probably won't run and swim every morning after this triathlon is done, but I would definitely like to continue swimming a couple times a week, and heck, maybe even run once or twice a week. it has also opened another area in my life that I can seek help from God in. let's face it, I'm a lazy and unmotivated person, but I have been asking for strength and motivation in prayer, and God has provided. that's all there is to it.

yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah for gettin' in shape!

new stuff doodadoo.

I sold my old keyboard yesterday for $600. even though I posted it on craigslist for $800, I can't complain. because as my brother reassured me, it was a pain in the rear and I didn't want it and it was big and now I have 600 dollars. however, I had to give the guy my keyboard stand, which blows. but he was super sketchy and I wanted him out of my house, and I also wasn't going to settle for $500.

ALSO, my keyboard that I won on ebay finally came in the mail today (and was delivered to me by this kid who I dated in 5th/6th grade's dad)! I am super pumped to start using it and not have to complain that it is huge and smells like cat pee. sorry to anyone that has come to my past few shows that I didn't have a keyboard at because I was lazy, I promise I will be better from now on.

in other news, I have officially signed up and paid $27 to want to die while running/biking/swimming in a triathlon on July 11th. there's no backing out now. too bad my mind and body don't understand that yet because it's very difficult to force myself to train for it.

I have also realized that the Strokes are pretty good and I never really gave them a chance. this month has been a month of trying new things and giving things second chances. like the National. or Radiohead. or chinese food other than sesame/sweet&sour chicken.

I finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia yesterday. C.S. Lewis is just amazing. I already ranted about this in my journal last night and could probably write a book about how awesome those books are/C.S. Lewis is. Now I'm going to start in on The Bell Jar, which is our first book for our book club (the Longbottom Society). I am hoping that I will be able to balance the book club book with the new graphic novels that I got from the library and watching movies that I got from the library and some other random book out of my collection that I have had for several years but haven't read yet. I really do want to read more.

I just watched Pulp Fiction for the first time. not sure what the point was, but I generally enjoyed it quite a bit.

sometimes I feel like vomiting when I walk outside into the humidity. I just want to be able to wear jeans and a flannel shirt all the time. where can I do that? I want to be there.

weather tease.

I don't mind when it rains.
I don't mind when it doesn't rain.
I do mind when the weather is a big old tease. I never know when I should or should not bike to work.

lacking something.

sometimes I am desperate to get onto my computer, and then I realize that there really isn't anything new there for me that wasn't there a couple hours before. and then I go to almost every one of my bookmarked tabs at the top and check something on them (craigslist, ebay, bank of the west, myspace, etc.).
and then I still find time to complain to myself that I don't have enough hours in the day to do things that are more productive (reading, writing, etc.). sigh. humans are so ridiculous. we have so many aspirations and yet we so often completely lack the motivation and ambition to fulfill them. I have thought about this so many times, making me just as guilty of it, if not more.

on another note, my little cousins found photobooth just as entertaining as I thought they would.






Colorado has generally been really awesome. my whole body is kind of sore for some reason and I have a giant scrape on my knee from falling down on a dock yesterday. but we have spent some serious time biking around which has been wonderful and the weather has been equally wonderful.
Treynor and I have been taking some pictures on disposable cameras. but I have also taken some on my digital so that I can upload them onto here when we get back.

more to come on Colorado when I return to Iowa!!!

I think everyone just comes to Colorado to be beautiful.

English 335 babes.

I am currently enrolled in English 335: Studies in Film. we are studying Howard Hawks's movies. I pretty much love this class.

it's only twice a week for about a month this summer, and there is hardly any real work to be done for it. we have a few articles to read for each class period, most of which are pretty cool(plus I have hours of doing nothing at the copy center to do read them). each day, we watch some really awesome old film. so far, we have watched Only Angels Have Wings, Bringing Up Baby, and Rio Bravo.
all of these I found very enjoyable, especially Rio Bravo.
today, we are watching the original Scarface, which I am also looking forward to. to top it all off, our professor Leland Poague is the most adorable and wonderful teacher ever. he's right up there with Dr. Prater on my favorite enthusiastic professors list. he's extremely difficult to follow at times because he gets so excited about film that he's totally scatter-brained, but it's just great. he also satisfies my love for adorable old people.
we only have to write a total of like 4 2-page papers that are graded easily and we only have one exam, which I think he will probably over-prepare us for.
not to mention, the class counts as an upper level class, which is a neccessary part of graduating. whether it will transfer over to University of Iowa as an upper level class, I'm not too concerned because I would not regret taking the class anyway.
hopefully I have convinced any readers out there to take this class or the equivalent at any college you may be at.

watching Rio Bravo was awesome because I have never honestly watched any old westerns, and it was a really great one to start on. NOT TO MENTION, DEAN MARTIN (who also goes by the name 'Dude' in this movie, which is sweet in itself) IS A TOTAL BABE AND I NEVER KNEW IT BEFORE. he plays kind of the town drunk at the beginning and then has a wonderful renewal and comeback and proves himself in this awesome bar scene.

now, I'm really not one to swoon over celebrities, because I think it's ridiculous and they are people just like you and me, but I can't really stop myself from being totally into Dean Martin in this movie when he shoots a gun the way he does, or laughs the way he does, or sings a song in his beautiful voice the way he does. if I was my grandmother's age, I am partially convinced that we would have gotten married because after seeing him in this movie, I wouldn't have settled for any less of a babe. I know this is all very ridiculous and whatnot, but I figure if I'm going to have a celebrity crush, it's better that he's not alive anymore. that way, I won't be tempted to act like a giddy teenage girl at the thought of actually meeting him and him falling madly in love with me, like many do nowadays with Rob Pattinson (whom I will admit is a total babe).

anyway, sorry for all this, it won't happen again, but I just had to say something about my huge attraction to a guy who would've now been my grandfather's age. uhh...

walkin' around in our summertime clothes.

to be completely honest, I don't like summer weather. I really don't. and it doesn't hit me until days like yesterday and today. I know I shouldn't complain, but I just can't stand the hotness/humidity. it's awful. however, it's times like this that I really, REALLY appreciate living in a basement. it's wonderful down here in the summer. I found myself just sweating and wanting to die while simply sitting at the boys house watching Lost tonight. I can't do it, I can't do it.
Colorado is supposed to have super wonderful weather this week though, which is nice because my parents just told me today that they are going there this weekend and I'm most likely going to tag along. I was getting pretty bummed at the idea of not being able to go to Colorado at all this summer, but this will be nice. I might bring my bike. and I am definitely bringing a butt-ton of books to read and it will be wonderful. I've expressed before my love for escaping Ames, especially to Colorado. I want to live there one day, I really do.

I've just been really happy lately.

there are some truly great things about summer that I can't deny:
-riding my bike everywhere
-eating ice-cream every day
-having literally no worries about school (even though I am taking one class)
-being able to count on hanging out with people every night of the week because no one really has to worry about school
-the general "I-don't-care-about-anything-in-the-world-and-that's-totally-fine" vibe
-bonfires
-grilling out

also, I have found that the band Beulah is a good band for summer. I really don't care about listening to them at any point besides during the summer.

double also, The Love of Everything is playing at the Mews tomorrow for 5 bucks! I am really excited. I haven't seen him since I was introduced to his music at an Appleseed Cast show at the M-shop 4 or 5 years ago. I have a feeling it will be a lot different, but hopefully not different enough that I don't love it like I did.

omg complete series of planet earth.
thanks mom and dad!

daily observations.

I miss my bicycle, but my cat is so adorable that it's okay.


other observations:

awkward situations are impossible to avoid, even if you life your life trying to do so.
-garage sales are awkward.
-craigslist is awkward.
-apparently trying to order something from a restaurant by yourself is awkward.
-trying to figure out where you are going in a foreign city is awkward.
but you're usually not the only person feeling awkward in whatever given situation. also, you may never see the other person again, so who cares.

jazz music is perfect for rainy weather.

taking advantage of free things is always a good idea.
-free places to stay
-free food
-free visits to the museum
-free anything

being nice is usually the best way to go.

if you are unsure of going somewhere new/different when given the option, you should probably just do so.

banksy

seeing this tonight, pretty excited.

spring cleaning and other things.

I love cleaning things.
I just spent the last half hour or so cleaning out my itunes library and it feels good.
once I get home to Ames, I will probably go through my closet and get rid of more clothes even though I feel like I do that every other week. I think it's OCD, but I find myself thinking about the size of my wardrobe and the clothes that I have and the fact that I keep buying new ones, and I get really anxious. it's like I'm always wanting to sort through my clothes and get rid of more. I've gotten into the practice of this: when I buy new clothes, I get rid of 1 or more other articles of clothing from the same genre. I can't figure out if I'm making bad habits, making good habits, or just adjusting to the bad habits that I already have.
I will probably clean out my room when I get home from the cities as well. and whenever I have time, I will probably clean out my room at my parents house, especially of clothes and useless junk that I have always kept around for no real reason.

another nice thing about cleaning out my itunes library is that it's making me realize I have a lot of new music by bands that I actually like that I should check out. listening to new Broken Social Scene right now. it's okay.

on another note, I am sitting at one of the many Dun Bros coffee places in Minneapolis and they spent like an hour roasting their own beans and it smelled just delicious.
now that I am caught up on all of my television shows, I won't have any real reason to sit in bed for 3 hours after waking up, so I will probably be coming to this Dun Bros again for the next couple of days while Porter is at work. it's a nice place, and it will allow me to get out of my element a bit, if only to just read some Chronicles of Narnia or 1 Kings.
also, I spent an hour at Urban Outfitters today shopping and buying shoes that I probably didn't need, so I don't really have any reason to go shopping for the rest of the week. unless I decide to try and tackle the Mall of America by myself one day... eek. I do want to go to J.Crew though... blargh! what's wrong with me?!

anyway, I feel like I've been out of my mind and not myself lately and I'm glad that I am not in Ames this week and spending some serious time alone while Porter is at work during the day. it's going to be alright, I do believe.

triathlon?

I think I might...

I was listening to St. Vincent on a genius playlist and decided she could be the girl version of the Decemberists (disregarding the girl that actually sings with them 90% of the time).
they should go on tour together, that would be neat.

things that are neat.

scented trash bags

that nestle chocolate milk powder stuff
whoever thought of that was really intelligent. in my experience, a half gallon of regular milk rarely gets used because I don't like drinking milk. buying a carton of chocolate milk doesn't usually work very well either, because even though I love chocolate milk, I always forget I have it. non-perishable chocolate milk powder works well. also, kids love it! ;) I always know that I have regular milk, and now I know that I will always have the possibility of chocolate milk.

bicycle lanes
people get mad if you ride your bike on the road. people get mad if you ride on the sidewalk. someone recently wrote something in the just sayin' section of the daily along the lines of "it's called a sidewalk, not a sidebike." not to mention the fact that riding your bike on the sidewalk is I think frowned upon by the police. I feel like I heard once that it is actually illegal or something. that's probably something I should know. well anyway, I just recently decided to actually use the road for biking. I have a new road bike so I figured it would be fine, I would be able to move fast enough. and five minutes didn't even pass before some dude in his stupid car yelled "SIDEWALK!" out his window when I rode by. sigh. no one's ever happy. I just feel like bikes are a very practical mode of transportation and should be accommodated for. there are some bike lanes on various streets around Ames, but if they were put onto the main streets, like Lincoln Way for instance, maybe everyone could be a little bit happier.

college.

school has always been one of my least favorite things on this glorious earth, and I don't know what it took... but I am just starting to embrace and love it now. I don't know why, but it has taken me a semester and a half to realize how much being a student is really awesome. as difficult as it can be sometimes, I think at heart, I really love staying up late writing papers and studying for (some of) my classes. this is all very weird, because sleep has always been one of my most favorite things on this glorious earth.

I'm taking advantage of the library and being on campus to work on things rather than risking falling asleep at my own residence. for instance, being at the MU after midnight- drinking free coffee, putting off finishing this paper because I'm already wired, reading the new neat zine and the few parts of the Iowa State daily that I enjoy, listening to Kanye, looking for organs on craigslist, deciding that I am definitely not getting a ticket for 80/35, writing this blog entry...

also, I thought it worth noting that being in paper-writing mode has recently caused me to constantly re-read anything I write, including blog entries, and figure out the best organizational pattern for all of my thoughts and ideas.

double also, just remembered the horrible feeling I get in my stomach when I hear tables and chairs being moved around while the custodian is sweeping in the MU food court.

high five.

I almost forgot about the wonderful sensation of rolling your windows down and putting your hand outside your car. I was driving tonight and remembered that it's a real thing. immediately after putting my hand out the window, the next 2 people that drove past me had their hands in the exact same position. it was like a connection. we all knew, "yeah, this is wonderful."

I then proceeded to think about high fiving people that passed that also had their hands out the window. I wondered how close you would need to be and how far you would have to reach your hand out the window for this to be possible. it has potential to be totally awesome. but then the farther I stuck my arm out the window, the more paranoid I got that my arm would get chopped off by a passing car.

kanye

I've been on a Kanye kick lately, and just hip-hop in general. It brings me back to about a year ago when I was completely obsessed with Kanye, which is really weird and not of my character at all.

kind of a douche, but I love him.

I think there's this like hidden part of me that is totally street (is that even a real thing?) and I'm just starting to figure it out. I guess my odd desire to name all of my vehicles after hip-hop artists (Petey Pablo-the regal, Andre[3000]-the malibu, and now Lupe[Fiasco]-the schwinn) would've been a dead giveaway, but maybe I'm just totally kidding myself and I'm not that way at all.

I wish I was a fox.

new Maid Marian song up!
Treynor and I recorded last night and I think we are both happy with the outcome.

Gift for a Funeral

hopefully those cassette tapes will be coming in a couple of weeks!
thanks Treynor for recording and editing and being neat and things.

also, just spent the past several hours proofing 2 papers, and am finally done with them. I just did extra credit for music 120 too, so that's neat. all I have to do now is make a brass composition and write a 7 page music theory paper! oh and piano, music history, and art history tests. but I'm feeling good.

like a bird from prison bars has flown.

tonight was possibly my last band concert I will be in for quite some time, if not ever. I feel satisfied, but also very sad about this. when I think about the lack of time I have spent practicing my saxophone or just playing it in general in the past month or so, it makes me sort of sad. granted, my time has generally been spent doing things that, to me, are more important... like hanging out with fraaands during lunch and things. but, it's just still weird to think that I won't be playing my saxophone near as much. I know that I could just easily change that and pick it up at any time, but the sad part is that I don't know that I will regain the motivation (if I ever once had it) to just pick up my saxophone and play it.
I'm sure that time will tell what happens with me and the saxophone. it would be kind of sweet if I could like teach saxophone lessons to little children or something. whatevs I guess.

I am scared that I am going to wake up tomorrow with an arm that needs to be amputated from all of the cat scratches that I have received tonight. apparently kitty claws can be pretty gross and all of the scratches (one really bad one from Marian and a few little guys from Raleigh) can get infected pretty easily. I'm nervous because they hurt, but it would be kinda wicked to wake up to a swollen, greenish-blue arm of some sort.

I am almost done with my art history paper, which I am feeling pretty satisfied with. I feel that all of the information is solid, I just need to figure out the right order/format for putting it all into context. that last page for it that I need to write will be nothing! I even have until Thursday to do it. while I did sort of procrastinate on that one because I missed the rough draft turn in date which would've probably been useful, I am still doing pretty good.
I need to make a brass composition, which shouldn't take more than an hour at some point.
I need to go to/write essays for 7(ish) more recitals by the end of the semester, one of which I can use for my music history assignment which I should have done by Monday... but it also has to be more legit than my usual recital attendance papers which I am pretty relaxed and goofy about because my saxophone professor is pretty awesome.
I need to start/finish a 7-10 page music theory paper over a Debussy piece. don't know how I'm going to pull that one off, but it's not due til finals week.
learn a bunch of stuff for piano class.
study for a couple of tests eventually.
oh and write a song by Monday/record it sometime this week...

I did learn "I'll Fly Away" on the uke today and I'm going to toss my own sweet version of it on the end of whatever song I write for this cassette deal. I don't know what I'm going to write yet, but I'm thinking about naming it "Gift for a Funeral". I was google searching 'gift for a funeral' and thought about how it was a cool name for a song, and might go really well with the "I'll Fly Away" theme.
I was searching this because Scott and I were brainstorming ideas for gifts to give to the Robilliards at the visitation of their newborn daughter. Maybe I can write the song about her...
we're driving 4(ish) hours to Northwest Iowa for the visitation of Aubrey Robilliard who had only a few days of life. it's probably one of the most tragic stories I've ever heard and makes my heart drop every time I think about it. we have been wanting to make a visit to Rock Valley to visit the Robilliards (my high school band director, his wife, and other daughter, Halle) ever since they changed schools and moved forever away, and I feel pretty crappy about the fact that it has taken this long and these specific circumstances to bring us up to visit them. even though I'm not looking forward to spending 8 hours in a car tomorrow, I am happy that we're going.

on a lighter note, Iowa City was a good time this weekend. I enjoyed getting to know some other people going, and God is definitely opening my heart up to new people and new things, which is always neat. Iowa City is just really rad and I'm excited to be there. also, getting a job shouldn't be a problem. ALSO, we signed our lease today! yay yay yay!!! so happy that is taken care of. also, found out my orientation is at the beginning of June, which is nice, so I can sign up for classes and junk and hopefully get the schedule I sort of have planned out!

falling asleeeeeeeep.... peace.

just spent the past hour or something changing the layout of my blog and listening to the entire Dark Was the Night compilation instead of writing an art history paper about chinese cricket fighting. sigh.

also, it's andrew's birthday now! happy birthday andrew!

naturally lighted rooms.

...
recently decided they're one of my favorite things in this world. especially bathrooms.
I haven't found all of the naturally lighted bathrooms on campus yet, but I am a big fan of sweeney and curtiss for that very reason.
that's really all I have to say on the matter.

got a new suitcase and purse today from salvo, pretty excited about that.

Marian is being completely ridiculous and paranoid as usual. makes me happy.

I am really in love with the song "mimizan" by Beirut from the Dark Was the Night compilation, which is just a really great compilation. it's like really great songs from all of these bands that I kind of, if not really like.

also, I kept hearing that one Yeasayer song, "ambling alp" at various places and finally downloaded it and listen to it like 5+ times a day now. it's just... so catchy.
but then it always goes into Yellowcard after it's done and sometimes I don't get to my itunes quick enough to change it. barf.

whatever the eff we want.

veishea = success, I would say.

I had a lot of fun and generally participated in veishea activities/really just actually went to the bands more than last year. everyone sounded pretty good and though it was cold, it was fun.
however, my sleeping habits = definitely deprived.

Saturday night, there was a show of some Iowan bands at the progressive. Trey played (Tall Too, now) and it was really nice and everyone hoola-hooped with this stash of hoola-hoops that were at the progressive. decided that I am going to start hoola-hooping because it is a good ab workout. woot! These Stains is Us played, and they had a very obnoxious crowd though it was generally still pretty fun. and Utopia Park played last. they are always a blast to watch, and though there weren't a hefty amount of people there, it was a total ball. I love Phil and Dom and I really look forward to seeing them more often/doing music stuff with them more often when I am in Iowa City. we hoola-hooped to their epic dance music and looked like fools dancin' the night away. I don't know at what point it was exactly, but I sort of zoned out and realized that everyone was just doing whatever the eff they wanted, and it was really awesome. we were dancing however we wanted, running around, jumping, sitting, whatever! we were just this small room of people in the middle of one giant party.

we rode bikes around after the show which I was pretty stoked about because of my new bike. I felt much more safe riding on a bike with the company of Trey than I did when I was walking around by myself on Friday night. I could ride right by intoxicated people and say whatever goofy thing I wanted in response to the ridiculous comments that never failed to come out of their mouths.

Porter and I didn't get a chance to hang out with some other people as much as we would have liked. and frankly, I felt like I didn't see as much of Porter and Marian as I would've liked to this weekend either.


BUT! Marian is here to stay for at least a couple weeks, until Porter comes back. I just didn't want to make her leave when she is so much more happy here. it's too stressful for her to have to ride in a car 3 hours here, only to stay for a couple of days, and then ride in a car 3 hours back. she is paranoid all weekend, thinking that any given moment we might pick her up and throw her in Porter's jimmy. also, I have missed her and am pretty excited for her to be here to cuddle with me at night.

also, hanging out with the family in O-town was pretty rad today. we smoked delicious cigars with pops and drank coffee and generally just enjoyed being outside.

double also, utilities are only like $15 this month, which is crazy! I don't know how that happened, but I am pretty pumped about it. at least enough to post it on my blog.

I need to make a new song/record it very soon.
and write 2 papers, probably this week.
I HAVE to make this week productive, which is going to be ridiculous considering I have my last 3 band concerts (maybe ever?!) all this week AND the IC retreat on Friday night/Saturday morning. looking forward to checking out the new apartment on Saturday too though! woooooooooot.

veishea

it's been said before and I'm just going to say it again:

veishea is a poor excuse for people to get intoxicated every night of the week instead of only half of the nights of the week. some people like it for this very reason, others (myself included) think it is absolutely ridiculous.


veishea is however, a great excuse for skipping class to enjoy the nice weather on central campus.

free food, free entertainment, a parade, and cheap shows are also good things about veishea.

pitchforkomgomgomg

FRIDAY
Modest Mouse
Broken Social Scene
Robyn
Liars
El-P
The Tallest Man on Earth
Sharon Van Etten

SATURDAY
LCD Soundsystem
Panda Bear
Wolf Parade
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Raekwon
Titus Andronicus
Why?
Delorean
Real Estate
Bear in Heaven
Free Energy
The Smith Westerns
Dâm-Funk
Kurt Vile
Freddie Gibbs
jj
Netherfriends

SUNDAY
Pavement
Big Boi
Major Lazer
St. Vincent
Lightning Bolt
Beach House
Girls
Sleigh Bells
Neon Indian
Cass McCombs
Here We Go Magic
Surfer Blood
Local Natives
Washed Out
Best Coast
CAVE
Allá

omgomgomg. so excited.

okay, back to Debussy.

stormy weather

recent realizations:

I should take advantage of cheap haircuts at the salon school. I forgot how wonderful it feels to actually get my hair cut.

I don't like rainy weather very much because wet feet are awful.

I am going to miss Iowa State's campus.

organ fever

I have continually been inspired by musical groups recently, especially Bachelorette (the New Zealander that opened for Beach House) and Beach House.

first, with Bachelorette, I decided that I would finally just pick up an electric guitar so that I could use for practical reasons as a solo artist.
then, with Beach House, I decided that I need just a straight up organ.
and so now I am stuck wanting to spend lots of money to get a guitar, amp, and new organ. wanting to sell my keyboard because it it so massive and inconvenient to carry around.
deciding also to keep my hair longish so that I can tousel it around as much as Victoria Legrand.
and I am also stuck wishing I had more time in the weeks to make some music so I can get started on my next (giant) musical project: a compilation of program music... that is... music that basically tells a story and serves a purpose other than music for music's sake.

so here I am, 1:37am Tuesday morning, on craigslist, trying to find the perfect organ.
I want a simple, very portable organ. I blame Beach House for being so awesome last night and inspiring me to simplify my giant keyboard into a very simple organ sound.

in other news, I have a test tomorrow, quiz on Wednesday, a composition assignment that was due last Friday, program notes due Friday, a recital attendance essay due Friday, a leadership application due Friday, a new song to record before sometime in April, 10 more recitals to attend/recital attendance essays to write before the end of the semester, 2 large research papers due by the end of the semester, a handfull of finals, several piano quizes, several pointless music theory assignments, and too many more 8 o'clocks that I will probably continually sleep through before this spring semester is finished.

blood, learning, meat, hookah, Branson, sleep, coffee.

as of yesterday, I have successfully donated blood 1.5 out of 3 times attempted. after waiting around for over an hour yesterday to donate blood, I eventually got the needle in and was doing well and then the blood flowing slowed down because of my bruising that was happening, so they took out the needle. I managed to donate half a pint of blood which will be useless and probably thrown away. all that for nothing! and I'm not really complaining, because I wasn't too upset about it, just upset that it wouldn't be used at all. I think I'm more just scared to death to every try and donate blood again, which makes me sad.

as of yesterday, I decided that I like learning and being a student. this is something I am realizing as I transition from being a music student to a real college student taking legitimate classes that I actually need to study for. I have really enjoyed my music history and art history classes and am wondering if it's just history I like or if I generally enjoy learning things. anyway, I'm excited to be a real student next year.

as of yesterday, I have made hamburger patties out of a tube of meat (gross).

as of yesterday, I have still not smoked hookah.

as of yesterday, I am packed and ready for Branson, which I will be leaving for in about 2 hours!

as of this morning, I have 5 hours of sleep and 4 cups of coffee in me and really frantic and twitchy. WEEHOO!

I wanna be the King of Spain!

I think I have been restless.
I am always wanting to escape Ames and go... anywhere!

going to Iowa City on Monday was really wonderful. not only was the weather just fantastic and we could drive around with the windows down, but there is just something thrilling and yet comfortable about being in a place foreign to me. I don't know my way around, but I feel like that's how things should be sometimes. there should always be space to explore. that's something I am particularly excited about with transferring to U of Iowa. there's this whole other place that I get to explore and figure out for myself, something I have yet to be able to do in Boone and Story county.

I think I generally just like getting away every weekend I can. even when Colorado plans fell through for spring break, I just couldn't bring myself to stay in Ames. so I came to Minneapolis! and I love coming to Minneapolis. During the week is always kind of neat because Porter is at work during the day and so I can explore by myself. I really love the feeling of being up here. I get to spend several days in a place out of my element. I don't know what it is... it's just good.
heck, even Des Moines is enough sometimes.

the next several weekends and beyond are going to be pretty great.
next weekend, Scott and I are heading to Branson, Missouri for Young Christian's Weekend.
the weekend after that, Denise, Trey, and I are heading back up to Minneapolis for High Places, Tobacco, the Hood Internet, and Beach House.
after school is done, Denise and I are going to go to Colorado too!
somewhere in between Easter weekend and the end of school I'm going to try and head to Wartburg and/or Luther to visit fwiends.
this summer, I hope to go to Colorado again with more people AND my family is hopefully/most likely taking a trip to Philadelphia!
I also look forward to the possibility of studying abroad when I change my major and transfer schools.
I feel good about all of these things.

also, completely off subject, new Tallest Man is really great.

clementine

I had a tangerine today.

I ate a clementine, and it tasted funny. Denise said it tasted like a tangerine.
and then I realized that it was maybe a tangerine instead.

kq

dunston checks in 2: dunston checks out. 3 hours of sleep. crappy mcdonalds coffee. stupid 700 mole men. stupid speed round. soul train dancing and blue and orange get-ups. saturday morning cartoons. han solo.

some are describing the last hour as the worst hour ever.


this is...
KALEIDOQUIZ!!!!!

also, Brian is playing a game called robot unicorn attack. it is epic.
double also, we should've been the kaleidokids!

friday

feels a lot like thursday to me.

simplifying

I got rid of my facebook today.

Treynor and I recorded a song yesterday.
it turned out really neat! check 'er out here.

Treynor made my piano sound really magical and did some back up vocals and stuff and it just is nicely recorded in comparison to all of the other stuff I have done.
it took a long time, but it was definitely rewarding.
I am thinking about making my myspace profile neat looking and stuff, but then again, I'm not sure that I care enough.
or maybe I think I'm just trying to simplify my life and I just like keeping things simple.

I am looking forward to the saxophone recital next wednesday being done with.

I am also looking forward to Treynor and I's show on thursday.
it's going to be rad because A Sunny Day in Glasgow is suuuuuuper excellent.

here they are looking super fly.

never die, for always be around and around and around.

I am compiling a list of songs that make/have made me emotional.

in no particular order...

"dogs" - page france
"hallelujah" - leonard cohen/jeff buckley
"some things last a long time" - daniel johnston
"re stacks" - bon iver
"skinny love" - bon iver
any other bon iver song.
"mlk" - u2
"I'll be seeing you" - billie holiday
"names" - cat power
"transatlanticism" - death cab for cutie
"I won't be found" - the tallest man on earth
"vienna" - billy joel
"asleep" - the smiths
"of angels and angles" - the decemberists
"little dreamer" - future islands
"on your porch" - the format
"open your eyes" - snow patrol
"jesus paid it all"
"tereza and tomas" - bright eyes
"the trapeze swinger" - iron & wine
"details in the fabric" - jazon mraz feat. james morrison
"the cure for pain" - jon foreman
"amazing love" - david crowder band
"I love how you love me" - jeff mangum
"I remember music" - rocky votolato
any sigur ros song.
"marry song" - band of horses


some people are just really good at making songs that make me want to cry sometimes.
I think it is these songs that have inspired me the most sometimes.

feel free to add to my list in that little area for commentsssss.