A Curious Fox

Bye, Guys.

2011-05-14T08:10:00.000-04:00

While I do enjoy blogging, I've decided to set this aside for a while. I want to be able to do fun stuff without feeling guilty because I didn't take pictures and I'm not going to blog about it. I may be back every so often, we'll see.

TTFN,
Lauren

Thanks, Internet! Now I'm never going to sleep again.

2011-05-01T20:58:00.000-04:00

Thanks to this tumblr.

Oh, hi there.

2011-04-22T17:48:00.000-04:00

In the great gap of time since we've last chatted, I got an iPod touch. Won it, actually! And I never win anything!

I've been playing with the camera. Meet, overly stylized portraits of myself and my loved ones. Clockwise from top left: the boyfriend, the me, the mother, and the sister.

Just a short post for now.

2011-04-21T22:49:00.000-04:00

I've been letting this thing go. I wish I could say I've been busy living my life excitedly, but honestly I've just gotten caught up in school. Every time I think about posting here, I think, "Ach, it's been so long! I have to write something epic so my followers won't be disappointed."

Well, that epic isn't coming. Sorrys.

I've got three weeks left in the semester, and work is definitely piling up! This weekend I've got to read Their Eyes Were Watching God and about a third of The Monk by Matthew Lewis. And study for my Astronomy test next week.

But for now, I'm at home chilling. I watched Tangled earlier with my mom and sister. I almost cried but pulled myself together. Either tomorrow or Saturday I'm heading over to my boyfriend's house to dye Easter eggs with his mom and grandmother and sister. I'm excited about that! I love dyeing Easter eggs! Does anyone else draw faces on them in white crayon, or is it just me?

Anyway, I'm signing off now. Gotta read a buttload of Zora Neale Hurston and then go to sleep.

XO, Lauren

PS. It's good to be back.

2011-02-15T22:09:00.000-05:00

This is card number two of my Cheer Up Deck. Not that I'm not a generally cheerful person, but everyone feels blue sometimes. The other card says "camping is IN TENTS" and then has a drawing of a tent. XD

SO BUSY. Sorry about the lack of blogging.

2011-02-13T18:41:00.000-05:00

Ack, so much has been going on lately! And since it's been so long since I last posted, I feel like I have to really impress you guys with some awesome blogging, and nothing has been coming to mind.

So here's what I've been up to:

The weekend before last was The Vagina Monologues. The show was amazing! So fulfilling and awesome! I made cocktail meatballs for the after party, and it was the maiden voyage of my new slow cooker! It was wonderful! Dragging that huge thing down to the theater was horrible, though...

Tomorrow's Valentine's Day! Hooray! Since I have class at 7, there's not really time for us to go out to dinner. So I'm making a chicken taco soup. I'll let you know how it goes.

That's all for now, folks! I've got to read Frederick Douglass's autobiography for class tomorrow.

Chunesy Chuesday: Vagina Edition

2011-02-01T15:07:00.001-05:00

Have some vag-friendly songs!

Thus Begins The Week of the Vagina!

2011-02-01T11:05:00.000-05:00

Woo! Hoo! The show is this weekend! The Vagina Monologues is going to rock everyone's socks off!

For those familiar with the show, my monologues is called Because He Liked to Look at It, or as we affectionately call it, Bob.

Best part about it? I get to yell Pussys Unite! and fist pump. What more could I possibly want from life? Nothing. There is nothing more I want from life. Also I get to moan onstage. I have the almost moan, which is sad and pitiful.

But you said the show was on the weekend, Lauren. Why is it The Week of the Vagina?

Becaaaaaause, I have practice all week starting today, duh!

This is the flyer I made for the show: (except oops, there's no performance on the 3rd...)

In other news: it's been hella snowy here. Today, the school opened at 10 and my only class is at 9:40, so no class for me today! Awesome!

Also, I have my first school internship this semester. It's at a middle school in the area and I am SO FREAKIN EXCITED!!!! I was supposed to start today, but public schools are closed, so I'll start Thursday. The class I'm working with is starting Romeo and Juliet next week! How fun!

I feel like my life is one giant exclamation point!

Is everyone else as excited to be alive as I am?

Pea Ess. There are still two spots in my features week. Go here and comment if you're interested.

Features Week!

2011-01-28T12:22:00.000-05:00

Hey guys!

One of my resolutions this year was to be a better blogger. I want to take more pictures, post more, and do more interesting stuff on my blog. I'm planning a giveaway later on in the spring, and I have some more tricks up my sleeve.

I've decided to have a guest post/feature week thingy! I'll write up an interview of sorts and for a whole week in February, I'll have a post a day featuring some awesome blogs.

Which blogs? That's totally up to you! The first five commenters will be featured, no ifs, ands or buts! (heh heh, I said butts.)

I'm really hoping this works out and I think it'll be a fun experience for everyone involved. Comment away!

Oscar Noms and other Ramblings

2011-01-25T11:23:00.000-05:00

Of the ten movies nominated for best picture, I've seen:
Black Swan, Inception, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit.

I haven't seen:
The Fighter, The Kids are All Right, The King's Speech, 127 Hours, Winter's Bone.

Matt saw The Fighter and The Kids are All Right and said they were excellent. I sooooooo completely want to see The King's Speech! It looks incredible!

Luckily, a theater near us has "Oscar Days" where you pay like $30 and there's a marathon of the nominated movies. I think Matt and I are going to do it. Except, since there's ten movies this year, there are two oscar days with five movies on each day, and $60 is kind of expensive. Even if we do get to see ten movies.

In other news, I'm halfway through my second day of classes. I already have a ton of work!

I'm off to eat lunch and read some literary criticism about theories of the novel. boooooring.

Oh, and something else interesting: One of the guys in Matt's apartment moved out last semester, so they have someone new this year and he's this guy from Brussels named Loic. He's really nice! I'm excited to get to know him!

Okay. Last thing. Last night I watched this documentary called Jesus Camp that was amazing. It's about this summer camp for evangelical Christians, and it was so fascinating, and somewhat appalling how these kids are brainwashed into "soldiers in God's army." They literally speak in tongues. I didn't know people actually did that.

All right, enough rambling. I'm going to go make a sandwich and eat some coffee yogurt. And then I have more class.

ttfn

Sailing Alone Around the Room

2011-01-23T16:37:00.000-05:00

That's the title of a book of poems by one of my favorite poets, Billy Collens. You should check it out.

I just got back to my room at school, and instead of unpacking I'm browsing the internets. I snapped a couple pictures of my room as it is right now to share with you. Once I get everything all put away you can see my room as it should be!

My desk!

The view from the doorway.

Pretty much my half of the room. Towards the bottom of the picture you can see my MANY unpacked bags!

The artses on my wallses. I painted the splatter paintings myself, the Hello Kitty poster came with some valentines, and the collage-ish thing to the right is all taken out of an art magazine I found.

This is Wolfie. He's my bestest friend. :)

I like movies that are a bit out there.

2011-01-21T17:25:00.000-05:00

I love watching movies. This is no secret. Some of my favorite movies, though, I make my friends watch with me and they're all like Lauren. What is wrong with you?

Machete
I freaking love this movie! Danny Trejo is a BAMF who goes around chopping peoples heads off with, you guessed it, a machete. In fact, his nickname is Machete!

Best line of the movie:
(They're all so incredibly quotable, it's hard to pick just one!)
Machete Don't Text

The Chumscrubber
I watched this one at a friend's house. She had checked it out from the library, and by the time the movie was over, everyone was sick of it but me.

By far the best part of this movie is the adults. There's the main plot with some teenagers, but what really kills me is the supreme neurosis of their parents. Ralph Fiennes thinks he's a dolphin, for example.
Best In Show
I watched this movie yesterday while I was eating lunch. It's an incredibly hilarious mockumentary about a dog show. The dog owners are all insane. Absolutely insane.

Wristcutters: A Love Story
A friend of mine recommened this movie to me by saying, "It's one of those crappy movies you like." And it's true. It's set in the afterlife at a way station for those who have committed suicide. Bonus: The music is all by Gogol Bordello!

Eagle vs Shark
This is like the New Zealand version of Napoleon Dynamite, except it's actually good. These two people are cripplingly nerdy. Jarrod (the dude) hosts a party where everyone is supposed to come dressed as their favorite animal. When Lily comes as a shark, he tells her "I almost came as a shark actually. But then I realized eagles are slightly better." The whole movie is full of little tiny things that made me giggle. Plus, I'm a huge fan of Flight of the Conchords!

American Splendor
This movie was sooooo good! It's about this guy, Harvey Pekar, who wrote a series of comic books called American Splendor. What's really great about this movie is that it plays with form a lot. The credits look like a comic book, kind of, with characters breaking out of the panels to talk to you. And Harvey Pekar is actually in the movie. He's kind of a narrator, but he interacts with you sometimes. It's just so cool!

So there you are: some of my favorite movies. They're all terrific for different reasons, and I highly recommend you watch every single one of them.

Love,
Lauren

I've got the winter blues.

2011-01-20T18:42:00.000-05:00

I feel unmotivated, uninspired, uninterested. All I do is sit around on the internet, or sit around watching movies, or sit around reading. I haven't even been reading much.

I have to have surgery. I found this out recently. I'm having an excisional biopsy: I have a "benign breast mass" that needs to be removed. Dunno what it is, just that it's not cancer. Which is great! But I've been kind of up and down with moods lately. Plus my boyfriend is at the beach for the weekend, so I'm feeling especially crappy.

I've just been trying to keep busy. Yesterday I baked cookies, and today I watched Best in Show (hilarious movie!) and the Best of Jimmy Fallon on SNL. And I read the BUST magazine I got in the mail the other day.

So I guess, please be patient with me if my blogging is lackluster.

Super-Awesome Deal! $20 Amazon Gift Card for $10

2011-01-19T21:39:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you've heard of this website, livingsocial, but they have great deals every day on stuff! Usually it's something like a restaurant or something where I don't think the deal is really worth going there, but today you can buy a $20 Amazon Gift Card for only $10. How cool is that?

Just sharing. Here's the link to buy it. (Plus, it's my referral link, and if three people buy one using my link, I get another gift card, free!)

I mean, who doesn't shop at amazon?

my day thus far in a series of haiku

2011-01-19T16:53:00.000-05:00

crap, my clock is slow
thought i still had time to snooze
oops, gotta get up

service engine soon
guess i should get that checked out
light's been on for months

i like my spaghetti-
o's like i like my women
boiling lava hot

i like this movie:
eight and a half. italian.
but i can't focus

time for a snack?
chips and salsa, my favorite
yum yum yum yum yum

Is it Tuesday already? Chunesy Chunes.

2011-01-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

Good luck getting this song out of your head. I recently saw a play where the characters all sang this song, and it's been stuck in my head for the past week.

The Vagina Monologues

2011-01-18T10:05:00.000-05:00

I finally realized the kind of book I'm in the mood for right now. I want something comfortable, familiar and beloved. With school starting back up in a week, I don't want to be reading something that's as literature-y as the books I have to read for my lit classes.

So last night as I was going to bed I settled in to read some monologues. It's perfect because I know some of them by heart, but others I've never seen before. That's because I've so far only come in contact with the Monologues as a theatrical entity. Turns out, not all of what's in the book is in the play.

The Vagina Monologues are near and dear to my heart. This is my second year being involved in the production at my school. Last year I produced the show, and this year I'm acting in it. And next year I have the honor of directing it along with one of my best friends.

The Vagina Monologues is not a man-hating show. A lot of people believe this. And it's true that Eve Ensler kind of (or at least seems to) hates men. I don't know, in her writing it just seems like she belittles men. She's totally against the "patriarchal culture," but to me it kind of seems like she takes it too far. But maybe that's just me.

Anyway, where I'm going with all this is that being in The Vagina Monologues is one of the best things I've ever done for myself. It makes me feel powerful. I've become very close to a lot of wonderful women who are also in the show. At the risk of sounding too out there, I feel at one with all women all over the world. And I get to moan on stage. Come on, who doesn't want that? (Okay, I realize a lot of people don't want that...)

So please, if you ever get a chance, go see the show. Or even better, be in it. It's really easy, all you have to do is read from a script and you don't even have to memorize your lines! There are sad monologues and happy monologues and everything in between.

I leave you with two fun pictures. The first is me with my former roommate and great friend, Cathy. True story: she was eight months pregnant at last year's show. She actually missed the last performance because of a labor scare! And the second is the super-awesome vagina cake we ate at the cast party!

I can't decide what book to read.

2011-01-17T13:02:00.000-05:00

I finished Anna Karenina a couple days ago, and it was really, really good! Then I started this book by Italo Calvino called Numbers in the Dark, and I'm not exactly loving it. I just can't seem to stay interested and I feel like I'm making myself read it.

So, back to the shelves it goes!

My options for books are:

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Black Boy by Richard Wright
Native Son by Richard Wright
Mad, Bad and Sad by Lisa Appignanesi (It's about how women's creativity often leads to mental illness... I think.)

Or I could be responsible and start reading Moll Flanders. It's the first of the nine novels I have to read for British Novel next semester.

What do you guys think?

A Project 365 Blog: My Mom's

2011-01-16T17:52:00.000-05:00

She told me not to blog about it yet because "It's not a finished project! I need a banner!" but I don't care. She can go ahead and be mad at me.

If you're looking for a new blog to follow, check out A Strong Cup of Tea, my mom's project 365 blog. She's new to this whole blogging thing, so cut her some slack. I had to force her to make one in the first place! :)

And if you're not already persuaded to go check it out, there are embarrassing pictures of me!

Pea Ess. I made a tumblr today. (Actually, I made two, but one of them is for a top-secret project!) If you have a tumblr, leave a comment so I can follow you!

Pea Ess Ess. I find this whole "reblogging" thing weird. I'm still getting used to it.

Today was a sad, sad day.

2011-01-15T22:53:00.000-05:00

The Ravens lost. :'(

Not only did they lose, but they lost to the Steelers (devil team), and they crapped themselves in the second half.

Now understand me: I am not a football fan. But when you're watching the big rivalry game, and a playoff game no less, it's impossible not to get into it. I spent the day with my boyfriend's family, watching the game and then eating KFC and wallowing in despair.

For any Ravens fans who need cheering up, here are some pictures of my cat. If you're a Steeler's fan, you can leave. Go be awful somewhere else.

Sprawled on the arm of the chair like that is his favorite place to lay. I will never understand.

Spring Cleaning: Shop My Closet!

2011-01-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

In an effort to thin out my bulging closet/dresser, I've pulled out a couple pieces and listed them on this website Kendi posted yesterday called Smashion.com. Some graphic tees, plain tees, tank tops and sweaters. Have a look!

Click here to go to my shop!

Personal Pan Pizzas!

2011-01-12T22:44:00.000-05:00

This has been a tradition since my sister and I were wee little ones. We each get a cake pan and get to make our own pizzas, from smooshing out the dough for the crust to choosing the toppings and how much cheese you want.

Seriously, it's a million times more exciting than just eating normal pizza, or even eating a couple slices of a normal-sized homemade pizza. You get a whole pizza all to yourself! Thick crust, thin crust, however you want it!

Tonight I did green peppers, pepperoni and ham. I love all of these toppings individually, but I'm not sure how big a fan of them I was all together.

And my sister's onion/olive/mushroom/pepper monstrosity:

She skimped on the cheese, in my opinion, but then she's lactose intolerant, so you can't really blame her.

This is how she opted to eat her pizza:

So there you have it! For dinner today I ate a whole pizza! (But it was only a foot across...)

PS. My sister is one of those people pretentious enough to wear fake eyeglasses. Feel free to mock her.

Chunesy Chuesdays

2011-01-11T19:39:00.000-05:00

Confession time:

I'm a sucker for covers. Also bluegrass.

Sex and Candy–Keller and the Keels

I also recommend their cover of Rehab. I wanted to post that one, but I couldn't find it on youtube.

Red Statement Necklace!

2011-01-10T12:37:00.000-05:00

I followed this tutorial to make a necklace out of an old t-shirt. It turned out a bit longer than I would ideally like it, but if you double it over it makes a nice scarf/neckwarmer type thing!

Do the truffle shuffle!

2011-01-09T12:54:00.000-05:00

I experiment with rearranging my blog every so often, but I never seem to end up with anything I like. I didn't do much, just put a lot of the stuff in my sidebar into various pages, but I think it looks a lot cleaner, and I'm a fan so far.

It's definitely still a work in progress!

What I've Been Up To

2011-01-09T11:11:00.002-05:00

Somewhat of a photodump (only 3 pictures) of what I've been doing the past couple days.

I made a plush for my shop, which you can see in the early stages below. It's nothing special, but at least it's something! I have been Miss Crafty Lazypants lately. It's not listed yet, but I'll probably get around to it in the next couple days.

My grandmother got me this storage bin, so of course my sister and I had a photoshoot with it. I mean, what else were we supposed to do? It was perfectly people-sized!

And I got my first Netflix DVD earlier this week. As you can see, it was Once, which I loved. Today I got my second DVD in the mail (Deliverance) and I'm pumped to watch it later tonight.

Stay tuned for an update on my Red Statement Necklace! Hint: It does not resemble any of the ones I posted.

Sweet, Sweet Temptation

2011-01-08T17:21:00.000-05:00

I got this book for Christmas:

It's the graphic novel version (sort of: some stuff is different) of the first book in my favorite series, Outlander. If you haven't read Outlander, you absolutely must. Right now. Time travel + Romance + Scotland = ABSOLUTE WIN. You shouldn't need any more convincing. Everyone I've ever known who's read Outlander (with the exception of my boyfriend, but he doesn't count. he's a dude.) is absolutely in LOVE with it. I cannot use caps lock enough to describe my enthusiasm for these books.

So, as you may have surmised, I am WAY SUPER EXCITED about this graphic novel. The trouble is, it's way short and I want to savor it. So I'm forcing myself to read a single chapter every couple days. It's absolutely excruciating, but such bliss. The art is beautiful! It's such a torment to force myself to put the book back on the shelf after only a few short pages, but I must be strong!

Inspiration: Red Statement Necklaces

2011-01-07T14:35:00.000-05:00

I need to acquire some type of red accessory to wear with my Vagina Monologues outfit (black sweaterdress and heels). I'm thinking what would really be lovely is an outrageous statement necklace. Browsing around etsy, I've seen tons I love. What I'd really like to do is make one myself, but I'm nervous about it looking dumb/weird.

My inspirations:
(Click the picture to go to the listing)

I'm in love with the first one, but it's well over $100 and there's no way I could make anything that even somewhat resembles it. I think I might be able to whip up something like the third and fourth ones, though. Or even the fifth one... not sure. What do you guys think?

An Awesome Package in the Mail Today!

2011-01-06T17:24:00.000-05:00

I got my handwarmers I got from Sonya of Fishnets and Hip Checks! They're supah-warm and supah-sweet!

In other news, today while I was eating lunch I watched Cry-Baby and it was splendorous. With a panini and a campy movie, how could a girl ask for more?

Watch This Movie: The Secret of Kells

2011-01-05T11:05:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine got me 2 free months of Netflix for Christmas and I am loving it! Seriously, I've watched three movies in two days. My first DVD (Once) should be coming in the mail today and I am sooooo pumped!

Last night I watched this adorable animated movie that came out in 2009 called The Secret of Kells. It's really short, only about an hour and fifteen minutes long, and I was delighted by every part of it!

It tells the story of a young boy living in the abbey at Kells while the Book of Kells is being completed. Although forbidden to travel outside the walls of the abbey, he ventures out into the forest (inhabited by terrifying wolves) and meets Aisling, a forest spirit. The two become friends and face evil spirits and scary vikings.

By far the best part about this movie is its stunning animation. It stays true to the spirit of Celtic art: everything is incredibly detailed and beautiful. If you ever get a chance, watch this movie!

(All movie stills from Google Images)

Chunesy Chuesdays

2011-01-04T11:06:00.001-05:00

Whip My Hair, as covered by Neil Young (Jimmy Fallon) and Bruce Springsteen. Absolute gold.

New Years Eve Shenanigans

2011-01-03T21:04:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! I hope your holiday was swell, I know mine sure was! I went down to my grandparents' house to spend some time with family. Matt came too, and it was the first time he met most of my family! Exciting!

On New Years Eve we went to this new restaurant in town called Abuelo's for Mexican. It was quite yummy. I got enchiladas (as usual), my sister got fajitas (as usual), but my dad went for something daring and got the grande. To say it's big would be an understatement:

And after:

Quite the feat, I'm sure you will agree. The food was quite delicious! If there's an Abuelo's near you, I highly recommend it!

After we ate, something magical happened. Allow me to paint a word picture.

We're all stuffed. After we're done eating we decide to walk around the mall for a bit. It's an outdoor mall. After we walk a long a little bit we hear some music. Oh cool! Live music! It's a Rush song. As we're jamming out to Tom Sawyer, another Rush song comes on. Is this a Rush cover band?! Does such a thing exist? We reach where the music is being played. Get this: the band is made of children. They are, no joke, all between the ages of 14 and 16. And they can shred. It turned out that it wasn't a Rush cover band, just a classic rock cover band. But still, it was a pretty cool night. We hung out for about an hour watching the band, Carbon Jam, then saw some fireworks and went home.

Not what anyone expected to do on New Year's Eve, but it was a night heavily infused with awesomeness.

2010-12-22T22:10:00.000-05:00

Instead of blogging or being otherwise productive, here's what I've been doing all day today. And yesterday.

Playing this game. I just finished it. Some of the puzzles were really hard, so I cheated a little bit and asked the internet, but all in all it was really fun! And absolutely beautiful! The visuals are stunning.

How did I get this game, you ask? Well, let me tell you. I downloaded this wonderful thing called the Humble Indie Bundle. It's a bundle of five awesome games. And the best part? You pay what you want! And you decide how much of your money goes to the developers of the games, charity, etc.

And you know what's even better? The bundle I just bought is the second bundle ever released, and today I got an email saying I could have all the games in the first bundle for FREE! I am happy as a clam, even if it does mean my productivity will plummet. Of the eleven games I recently downloaded, I've only delved into three, and they have all been gloriously awesome! And different. This one, Machinarium, is a puzzle-solving adventure-type game. Another one I've played, Osmos, is kind of hard to categorize (especially as I am a novice at video games, to put it mildly). You're a blob and you have to float around and absorb other blobs.

And the last game I've played is called Revenge of the Titans. It's a tower defense game. It's really fun, except that it costs money to upgrade turrets and stuff, and I never seem to have enough money to upgrade anything. Sad face. It's really addicting, though. They all are.

That's all I've played so far. I'm trying to limit myself so I'll have something new to play a while from now. One of the games, Braid, I can't get to work on my computer, but thankfully Matt is technologically inclined, so hopefully he can fix it. I googled it and apparently the game is buggy on Macs. Eh.

In other news, I bought, for two dollars at a thrift store today:

That's right. A Sigmund Freud action figure. Be jealous.

All pictures in this post are from google images. Mostly because I didn't feel like getting my camera out and photographing my own Freud doll. It looks exactly the same, except there's a big $2 sticker on it.

I'm a Guest at Life in Technicolor

2010-12-21T13:28:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! Just letting you know I have a guest post over at Becca's blog while she's taking care of her beautiful new baby!

It's called:

The top seven holiday traditions I wish I participated in.

Christmas Baking

2010-12-20T10:00:00.001-05:00

Oatmeal raisin cookies (with coconut!) from this cookbook. They are the "Famous Terre Etoile Oatmeal Cookies." They are delicious!

Confession time: Before yesterday, I had never used an electric mixer. I was kind of scared of them. I still prefer mixing everything by hand (call me old-fashioned) but the mixer did make it go a lot faster.

30 for 30: Days 25-30

2010-12-19T10:49:00.000-05:00

I've been done with this for like a week. Apologies for just now getting around to posting them.

It's so nice to be able to pick from a whole closet full of clothes again! It was a bit overwhelming to begin with, though!

Winter Break

2010-12-17T15:41:00.002-05:00

Whelp, I'm home. I am sitting on my bed after unceremoniously dumping everything I brought home with me somewhere on my bedroom floor, feeling depressed about the sheer amount of stuff I own.

So I decided:

The theme of my winter break is Simplify and Focus. Clean, clean, clean and get rid of stuff that doesn't belong in my life. Organize, consolidate. Take what I feel others could use and attempt to sell it on ebay. I am feeling quite short of cash this holiday season. I listed my textbooks on half.com, though, so hopefully they'll sell soonish and I'll get some cashflow.

Goals:

This week is Christmas week. I've got to get knitting and sewing if my planned gifts are going to get done by Christmas. Thankfully, I only have a couple more presents I have to buy. Everything else is either already here or will be handmade.
Movies: My winter break is roughly 5 weeks long. 5 weeks until I go back to school for the spring semester. I'm shooting for watching 10 movies from the imdb top 250 list. I think I can handle two movies a week. The catch: 4 of them have to be made pre-1950. I tend to skirt around older movies when I'm picking ones to watch, so if I'm going to get everything watched I need to make myself see earlier movies. I don't want to be left with fifty movies from the 40's and earlier as the last movies I have to watch.
Reading: Anna Karenina. That's the only book I'm making it a goal to read. I figure it's so long I'm not going to have time to read it once the semester comes around. Hopefully I'll get through some more books than just the one, though.
Clean and organize. See above paragraph/mission statement.
Make 20 items for my etsy shop. 4 a week, can I do it? We'll see...
Finally, start and attempt to maintain some sort of exercise routine. Even if it's only using the elliptical two days a week. I need to make it a habit to stay in shape. I will: elliptical, run (maybe? it's really cold!), yoga. meditate.

Okay, I have six distinct things to focus my life on. In a week from now it'll only be five things.

Here's to a relaxing, yet organized, winter break.

Hey guys! I made a new button!

2010-12-14T21:16:00.000-05:00

Chunesy Chuesdays

2010-12-14T16:01:00.001-05:00

Taylor Swift (as T-Swizzle! Best rap name ever!) with T-Pain

End-of-the-Semester Stress

2010-12-13T11:54:00.002-05:00

It is almost gone. Today and yesterday I've been feeling very relaxed, which is quite a change from the past couple weeks.

Stuff I've been stressing out that's over now:

Classes/projects/papers: All I have left is three finals and then I'm done for the semester! This is SUCH a relief to be finally done.
Christmas presents: Yesterday I finally decided on a Christmas present for my dear boyfriend. Finding the perfect gift for him has been a serious source of stress lately. BUT it's over now. All I have left to buy are very minor gifts!

Actually, that's about all that's been stressing me out. But it was a lot of stress and I am sooooo glad it's over now.

Something else that's inspired me lately is this post over at Rabbit, Write. Really, everything she writes is like an epiphany for me, but I really enjoyed this one. It's about enjoying your body in a non-sexual way. I'm all about loving your body, but I will admit that's usually done in a sexual context. It was really interesting to think about my body as this awesome machine that is so efficient at getting things done.

Last night, I stared at my face in the mirror for like five minutes wondering what I'm going to look like when I'm old and wrinkly. Not in a worried about getting old way, but in an "I'm still going to be beautiful when I'm an old fart" way.

So the moral of the story is: everything that's awful now will eventually go away. And your body is awesome.

Whooh.

2010-12-09T23:48:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is my last day of classes! Then I'll be back to my blog, I swear. I've been swamped with papers, projects and presentations, but it's finally coming to an end.

Let's play a game: match the topic of my final project to the class it goes with!

Standardized Testing

Euphemism

Science Fiction

The Vagina Monologues

American Literature III

Grammar

Professional Communication

Teaching and Learning in a Diverse Society

Actually, that's not that hard. Meh. I'll be back tomorrow. Thanks for staying with me while I've been busy! :D

30 for 30: Days 19-24

2010-12-05T00:50:00.000-05:00

I've been lazy/sick and wearing a lot of sweatpants (alot of sweatpants) lately, so these past six days have taken longer to six days. Only six more, though, and I'm done! Hooray!

Books I Done Been Readin

2010-12-01T00:13:00.000-05:00

You gots to git yerselfs to the li-bay-ree fer these book learnins.

Seriously, though. I read a whole lot over my Thanksgiving break. And since Jillie asked me what I thought of I am Legend, I figured I'd tell EVERYONE what I thought of it! And the other books I read in the past week!

One. I am Legend by Richard Matheson
     I absolutely devoured this book. Seriously. I read it inside of 24 hours, while still having classes to go to and work to do. It's a post-apocalyptic vampire story, but it's not like any other vampire story I've read. It's more like a zombie-type story, where the hero is the last one who hasn't been infected by the plague. I haven't seen the movie, but from what I hear, the ending is changed in a way I would find quite unsatisfactory, having read the book.

Two. Blindness by Jose Saramago
     Yep. Another book in which the future is shitty. Actually, it's set in the present, but it's still got a post-apocalyptic feel to it. It kind of chronicles the apocalypse as it happens. Anyway, in the book, everyone in the world is blind except one person. Needless to say, chaos ensues. This book is not one to read if you don't like conflict. It's got everything: rape, murder, starvation, looting. It's an unsettlingly close look at the darker sides of human nature. But fear not, there is a happy ending!

Three. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
     I can't believe it took me this long to get around to reading this book. It's absolutely wonderful! There's nothing I can say about this book that will encompass all of its meaning and beauty. Just read it.

And that's it. Right now, I'm reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. Unfortunately, though, I have a whole lot of work to do wrapping up the semester, so I don't have much time to read. As soon as winter break comes, though, there are two things I plan on doing for a month and a half: reading and sewing. All else is secondary.

Unrelated photo. I amuse myself.

Chunesy Chuesdays

2010-11-30T10:57:00.000-05:00

These songs have been so incredibly stuck in my head lately!

30 for 30: Days 13-18

2010-11-29T17:21:00.000-05:00

So, these should've been posted on Thanksgiving, but I accidentally left my computer charger at school over break. Oh noes! So here you go: I've officially passed the halfway point. Good thing, too, because I'm tired of putting this much thought into my outfits. I don't feel like looking fancy if all I'm going to be doing is sitting around doing research or writing papers.

Chunesy Chuesdays

2010-11-23T20:41:00.000-05:00

A super-adorable video I found on youtube to go with a super-adorable song! Alphabutt by Kimya Dawson!

Warning: Crappy webcam photo of Enthusiastic (read: Crazed) Lauren Ahead. Proceed with caution.

2010-11-22T15:14:00.000-05:00

Okay. Now here's my More Subdued Face. Notice: It's impossible. I had to hide my excitement.

Oh, hells yes. TWO NEW LIBRARY BOOKS. That's what I'm talkin'bout. Thanksgiving break starts tomorrow, and I am going to have so much reading time! Yes indeed.

Which one to read first? What do you think, dear readers?

Wizard People, Dear Reader

2010-11-21T14:34:00.000-05:00

Today, being Sunday, is full of homework for me. However, if you have any free time (unlike me) you should watch this movie. It's "an unauthorized re-envisioning of Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone." It's the first Harry Potter movie with a different audio track. It's hi-larious. And the best part? The entire thing is on YouTube, in parts! Yay!

I can't seem to embed it, so here's the link. It may not be suitable for children, due to alcoholism and foul-mouthery.

30 for 30: Days 7-12

2010-11-20T14:45:00.000-05:00

Let's just say that some of these outfits are *ahem* uninspired. The weather was awful and I didn't feel like putting any effort into what I was wearing. Also, after wearing the red striped shirt and the white polka-dotted shirt once each, I've decided that I hate them and I'm never wearing them again.

This last one is my favorite.
Ugh, I hate flutter sleeves.

Why today is awesome! (And it's only 10 AM!)

2010-11-18T10:30:00.000-05:00

1. I slept through my 8:00 class. I planned to do this. I got a glorious nine-and-a-half hours of sleep.
2. I'm actually going to do my Grammar homework today, for once. That's how motivated I am!
3. I babysat last night, so today I get to cash a shiny new check for $45!
4. I MADE AN ETSY SALE!!!!! Yayayayayay! This is my third sale ever, and this time my wonderful customer bought not one, but TWO of my stuffs!
5. I don't have a million things to do tonight, so I get to hang out with Matt a whole lot!
6. Yesterday I got a bunch of Christmas presents I ordered for my parents and sister! They rock!
7. I just listened to an awesome cover of Elton John's Your Song. Boo-yah.

How goes your day?

2010-11-15T21:42:00.000-05:00

Picture, if you will, this moment:

Earlier today, you got an exciting package in the mail. Sweet! It's the clothes you bought used a couple weeks ago. You paid $10 for a cute shirt and an adorable dress! They're finally here!

Now it's nighttime. Before you put your pajamas on, you try on your new clothes. The shirt fits perfectly. It's adorable. You pull the dress on and it fits nice and snug. Then you start to zip up. Once the zipper passes your hips, it stops. *Yank yank... It won't budge. The stupid dress doesn't fit your ribcage!

You collapse onto your bed, weeping.

---

I may start a Big Cartel store like Biscuit did. I have so many clothes I never wear. Most of them aren't worth anything, but this dress is super cute! I want someone to look adorable in it!

I am mired in scholastic research!

2010-11-15T15:17:00.000-05:00

How thrilling do these articles sound?

Contamination and Camouflage in Euphemism
Another Effing Euphemism
Looking Out for Number One: Euphemism and Face
American Euphemisms for Dying, Death and Burial

Woo, writing a paper for my Grammar class on Euphemism!

And when I feel like taking a break from euphemisms, I get to read about the history of science fiction! Huzzah! Oh, the glamorous life of a college student!

And here's the saddest part: I actually do find all of this very interesting. It's why I'm an English major, I suppose. I'll just be glad to have all this research over and done with. And at the same time, I'm kind of excited to be spending the next hour and a half reading about how euphemisms work.

What about you, dear readers? What kinds of nerdy stuff do you find really interesting?

Ho-Lee Crow! A Massive Giveaway!

2010-11-14T10:22:00.000-05:00

Chronicle Books, one of the coolest indie booksellers out there, is having what is quite possibly the greatest giveaway on the face of the planet. All you have to do is blog about how you'd spend your $500 store credit, and you're entered to win it! AND a lucky commenter on the winning post will also win $500 in store credit. How awesome is that?! Very awesome. Very awesome indeed.

Total: $502

Here's where to enter!

30 for 30: Days 1-6

2010-11-14T00:58:00.000-05:00

I've been all about boots lately. And skirts. I guess I'm trying to make skirt outfits while I still can, before it gets too incredibly freezing.

Notes:

The first picture is taken in front of my roommate's side of the room. I'm not that messy, I swear!
The second picture is my half of the room. It's still pretty messy.
I got my blue boots from Goodwill. Heck, yes!
That's right, the dress in the last picture does have pockets! Be jealous.

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle

2010-11-10T19:06:00.000-05:00

Read this book.

That is all.

Okay, not really. I don't have a whole lot to say about this book, other than that it's wonderful and fun and you should read it. Forewarning: it's Japanese and Postmodern, which makes it weird. (psychic prostitute, anyone?) I absolutely adore Postmodern lit, so I found it charming, but I could see how it's not for everyone. At any rate, it's a remarkably quick read for how long it is (600 pages and I finished it in a week, on top of schoolwork.) and it's a delight to the imagination! I highly recommend it.

Other exciting news: I just registered for classes for next semester! I have my first in-school teaching experience (!!!!!!) as well as British Novel, African American Lit and Astronomy. Woo!

Chunesy Chuesdays

2010-11-09T14:34:00.003-05:00

My boyfriend's roommates sing this song all the time. Here's the original and a cover. They're both pretty awesome.

Soup and Zombies!

2010-11-08T21:53:00.001-05:00

First off, before I get to any soups or zombies, I want to say this: My first 30 for 30 outfit went swimmingly! I'm already brainstorming for tomorrow!

More importantly, though, is this: I got a shirt in the mail today and I'm switching it out with the black shirt I had picked. So there.

And now: the soup!

Looks mighty tasty, don't it? I'll have you know that it did not start out this yumtastic. This tomato corn chowder recipe from Allrecipes.com looked easy and delicious! So, I decided to make it. It looked promising: potatoes, tomatoes, corn, onions and bacon. Do not be fooled by this innocuous list of ingredients! As is, this recipe is vile. Luckily, one of my roommates was going to the grocery store while I was cooking, so she picked up a can of cream of chicken soup for me. I threw that in there, along with some butter, et voila! It looked somewhat like gruel, but tasted mighty fine.

I asked Matt what he thought of it, and this is what he said:

It's a noncommital shrug. I swear he isn't under the influence of anything sinister. Just soup.

And now! The part you've all been waiting for! Da-da-da-da-da (drumroll sound effect) ZOMBIES!

Earlier tonight I watched the first two episodes of the new AMC series, The Walking Dead. It is wonderful! Unfortunately, I don't get AMC here at school, so it's difficult for me to watch it.

Lucky for y'all, the first episode is on Hulu! Go forth and watch it, dear readers!

30 for 30 Clothes

2010-11-07T17:50:00.000-05:00

I try to dress cute. Really, I do. What usually happens, though, is that I'm too tired/lazy to put any effort into it, so I just slap on some jeans and a t-shirt.

So, when I read on Kendi Everyday that she was doing another 30 for 30 challenge, I decided to give it a shot. What do I have to lose, really?

Nothing, that's what.

Basically you take 30 items of clothing, including shoes, and wear only that for the next thirty days. Coats don't count (thank the lord!) and neither do accessories. I'm also not counting camis/stuff I wear purely for layering purposes. Because I'm lazy.

Five pairs of shoes, two of which are boots.

Four pairs of pants

Two skirts

Two cardigans

Three sweaters

Three dresses

Two button down, 3/4-length sleeve shirts

Two long-sleeve shirts

Four t-shirts

And three more shirts that don't really fit into a category.

What's sad/disturbing/awesome is that all 25 non-shoe items fit into one dresser drawer. I'm going to be dressing entirely out of one drawer until December 8.

Since this isn't exactly a "fashion blog," I think I'm going to post the outfits in six sets of five. That way it's not too much of an overload. I just hope I have the willpower to stick with it!

Wish me luck, dear readers! The rest of the remixers can be found here.

A Peek at What I'm Knitting!

2010-11-05T20:24:00.000-04:00

HOLLA-ween!

2010-11-03T16:53:00.000-04:00

This Halloween I dressed up as Hipster Hitler! This was my costume on Friday. On Saturday I dressed up as a cowgirl, but I can't seem to find any pictures of me in that costume. (At the risk of offending everyone on the planet, Hipster Hitler is a (kind of) hilarious webcomic.)

My one friend went as a regular hipster!

Our dear puppy friend Sketcher dressed up as a scallywag pirate! He even has a tattoo sleeve! It looks like a sock, but really it's tattoos. I swear.

Thomas from Smoke Signals (which I haven't seen) is threatening poor Sketcher! Oh no!

Two of my friends were Hyde and Donna from That 70s Show. They're engaged, so it's infinitely more adorable.

I love Halloween! I don't generally enjoy scary movies, but on Friday we watched Scream and I liked it. I didn't find it too scary... And then we watched one of the best Halloween movies ever: Beetlejuice!

Chunesy Chuesdays (Wednesday Edition!)

2010-11-03T09:31:00.000-04:00

Lady Gaga cover songs, anyone?

Or some sweet mashup action?

Cheers, folks! Happy Wednesday!

Super Exciting Fun Time News!

2010-10-31T21:52:00.000-04:00

Guess what, guys! I have a super-awesome special announcement for you guys! Starting tomorrow, everything in my shop is 25% off! And the sale is lasting two whole weeks!

I'm so happy about this, I can almost forget about the horrendous project I'm working on. A) It's a group project, so a lot of my grade depends on the competence of other people. And B) It's a 30 to 40 minute presentation on standardized testing. My third of the project is about standardized testing and disabilities. It may sound interesting, but it's not. And C) It's due Tuesday and I'm a lazy bum so I just started researching.

But! It's ok, because I'm going to stop working on it for tonight anyway. I'm about two thirds of the way through it, and what's due on Tuesday is just a draft. So, win!

PS. When I google image searched "standardized test" I found a surprising number of political cartoons. This picture just made me giggle. It's from this webcomic called Same Shirt, Different Day, which I have just decided is super rad! And incredibly adorable!

Chunesy Chuesdays

2010-10-26T15:56:00.000-04:00

I'm toying with the idea of starting a few features; let me know what you think.

Chunes? What are chunes, you may ask.

Terrific question!

Chunes (n) are tunes that are so feelgood as to become chunes. My boyfriend and his friends use this word almost religiously to describe one hit wonders-type, so bad they're good songs. He has a playlist on his iPod called Now that's what I call Chunes. I'm going to appropriate his word to anything I feel like listening to at the moment.

This first tune, however, is chunes at its finest. Lean on Me by Club Nouveau.

Number two: Addicted to Love, covered by Florence and the Machine

So you guys should check out this music.

2010-10-25T18:32:00.000-04:00

These guys (or at least the one of them that I know) go to my school. Figured I'd post it here and do my part in supporting new musicians.

They're actually pretty good. Some of it is a bit metal-ish and jagged for me, but I quite like it as a whole. Their EP is available for free download on their website. Or for streaming on their myspace.

What I've Been Up To

2010-10-22T09:52:00.000-04:00

Sorry, guys, about the lack of blogging. I have a couple minutes before I have to go to class, so here's a quick list of what I've been doing the past week or so.

I'm in the middle of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It's very, erm, Catholic. And very Irish. Not that that's a bad thing! It's just that sometimes I feel like I'm missing out on meaning because I don't know much about Ireland or Catholicism. Luckily, my boyfriend is both, so he can clear me up on some matters.

Last night I went and saw The Social Network. Very good. Really interesting. I recommend.

I'm also in the middle of watching Lawrence of Arabia. I'm only half an hour into it, but it's much better than I expected. A lot of the movies I have left on my to-read this semester list are older, and I put off watching them because I think they're not going to be that good, but I forget that they're in the top 50 movies ever for a reason!

I'm also knitting. I can't divulge too many details because I don't want a certain person who reads my blog to know about it, but I will say it's green and cabled.

That's all for now, folks! I'll try to be good and post more!

2010-10-15T22:29:00.000-04:00

Here's my deal: I want to do everything. Everything just sounds so fun, so why would I say no? I do a lot of stuff. Too much stuff. I really like it while I'm doing it. But I gripe and moan about having to do this and that and not having time to do what I really want.

So I'm trying to do less. Today I quit my on-campus job as a tour guide because I decided the amount of work I do for them wasn't work the $20 (on average) monthly paycheck. For instance, today I had to rearrange my plans to do a 4:00 tour for the board of trustees. Only to wait around in the library for fifteen minutes before being told that the tour got moved to an earlier time so I wasn't needed. For another instance, every Tuesday I walk across campus, get told I'm not needed, then walk back across campus to my apartment. It's a really productive way for me to spend my time. And I had to do 12 hours of "volunteer work" for them before I could even start getting paid. To do the exact same stuff I had been doing for free.

But I digress. I don't want this post to be an angry rant about my school's admissions office.

I don't know, I just feel somewhat out of sorts, and I don't know what to do to fix it. Sometimes I'm so tired of all the stuff I do that I want to sleep for a week, and sometimes I want to do everything. I guess that's just life.

Guest What! 100th Post!

2010-10-12T21:59:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! This is my hundredth blog post. Cool, huh?

Rather than summarize my last week, I'll just tell you the exciting thing I just came from!

Vagina Monologues auditions!

I think I did really well. This is the only year I'll be in the show, since I produced it last year and I'm going to be a director next year.

For those of you familiar with the show, I'm shooting for the "Because He Liked To Look At It" monologue. It's one of my favorites. It's just so fun!

Images via WeHeartIt

grumpelstiltskin

2010-10-05T21:35:00.000-04:00

I'm sick, so that means I can be grumpy.

I've blown my nose about a million times today and I can't stop sneezing and my head feels full of fluff.

One of the girls I live with talks to her boyfriend every night on speakerphone so I have to listen to both sides of their whiny conversations-slash-arguments. Really it's like one and a half sides because he sounds like the adults in Peanuts.

And this morning I woke up at 6 am, and my alarm was set for 8:30. I swear, my body's all like, "Oh, you need to rest? How about not being able to sleep at all? How d'you like them apples?"

I do not like them, Sam I Am. I'm going to sleep for ten flipping hours tonight. Just try and stop me.

Really, though, I'm fine. I hate being negative because I don't want everyone to be all like, "oh, honey, are you ok?" It's just nice to vent. I really enjoy complaining. What trips me up is when I'm just bitching for the sake of bitching and someone actually gives me concrete solutions to solve my problems. Really, I'm very chill with the way my life is right now. I don't actually want this girl to stop yammering on to her boyfriend night after night. Or if I do, I don't want to do anything about it. I don't want her to stop because of me.

So, yeah. Long, rambley post that likely doesn't make any sense.

I am too cool for school.

I don't know what I'm saying. This needs to end.

Baby You Can Drive My Car

2010-10-02T14:28:00.000-04:00

Ahhhhhhhh so exciting! I passed my driving test today! So now I have a shiny new license!

This is a wonderful weekend! Yesterday I watched Machete with some peeps (which I ABSOLUTELY recommend!), today is driving day, and tomorrow is Matt's and my year and a half anniversary!

We're not doing anything special, just going out to eat. It's still going to be super fun, though.

I am in an ecstatic mood and nothing can bring me down! I want to give the whole world a hug! I want to end every sentence with an exclamation point!

What are you happy about this weekend? Share the love!

For those of you bibliophiles

2010-09-29T22:47:00.000-04:00

Here's a new blog I follow. The author, Leah, went to my college and graduated a couple of years ago. Now she's an English teacher, and she's made it her goal to knock through 52 must-read books–one a week for the next year.

From her blog:

I'm looking for 52 books that I feel I MUST read. I'm going through lists of classics, I'm going through suggestions from friends and family, I'm going on Amazon for the top reads. Contemporary, Children's or Classic, I'm picking 52 to read over the course of one year (that's one book a week; bear with me, I work full time and take graduate classes!).

Although I've been following her blog for the past couple weeks, I decided to share it with you guys now because she's starting her project Friday! Her first book is One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry. I personally know nothing about this book other than what I just googled, but I look forward to hearing Leah's thoughts on it.

fall inspiration

2010-09-29T11:09:00.001-04:00

fall inspiration by portmanteaux on Polyvore.com

Recent Food-Makings

2010-09-27T22:00:00.000-04:00

Guys! Guys guys guys! I just made dinner! It doesn't look that great, but it was delicious!

I made pizza chicken (or that's what my family calls it at least), which is like spaghetti with chicken and pepperonis. Noms.

Yummers! And much less exciting, here's what I had for dinner yesterday. Taquitos and chips and salsa. It's not really interesting enough to warrant mention, although I did have a situation when I had to execute Operation Rescue Lost Chip!

PS. The book accompanying today's dinner is The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. Yesterday's was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K Dick.

AND! Since I went apple picking last weekend, I've had a ton of apples to use up. Saturday I made baked apples, but (because I'm an idiot) I only remembered to take a before picture. So here are some apples covered in brown sugar and cinnamon and stuff. I also made scones but (you guessed it!) forgot to take pictures.

And last but not least, some pictures of my kitchen. Because I felt like it. I'll see about taking more of the apartment in the next week or so, but I really need to clean first.

We're probably the only college students with a tea kettle. Yeah, we're just that cool.

Also on NPR: Sufjan Stevens

2010-09-27T16:29:00.002-04:00

Listen to his new album, The Age of Adz!

Jim Haynes: Coolest Dude Ever!

2010-09-27T16:10:00.000-04:00

I just read this article for one of my classes, and I found it so interesting I just had to share it with you guys!

This guy, Jim Haynes, lives in Paris and every Sunday hosts a dinner for the first fifty or so people that RSVP. Some of them friends, some complete strangers.

From the article:
"People from all corners of the world come to break bread together, to meet, to talk, connect and often become friends. All ages, nationalities, races, professions gather here, and since there is no organized seating, the opportunity for mingling couldn't be better. I love the randomness."

How cool is that?

OK, I have to interrupt the typing of this post to inform you that my roommate just hardcore burnt some popcorn and how our apartment smells turrrrrible! She was about to put it in the freezer, but I was like, "NOOOOOO!!!!" so she took it outside and ate the non-burnt parts.

Ok, back to Jim Haynes: How cool is that? If I ever found myself in Paris (wishful thinking, much?) I'd definitely go to one of his dinners.

Here's the article I read from NPR, and here's a link to where you can make a reservation for dinner.

PS. It's raining cats and dogs here in Maryland, and my poor roommate has to go to cross country practice in half an hour.

I'm a Quitter

2010-09-23T09:01:00.000-04:00

I've decided to discontinue writing these letters to people. A lot of the daily prompts just don't interest me at all. I'll probably continue writing them when they interest me, but don't expect daily letters from me.

If you'd like to read some letters, my good friend Alex of Real Life, Maybe just started the project. She's a much better writer than I am anyway. Plus, her first letter is addressed to me!

In unrelated news, I just made a formspring account. Ask me stuff, if you like.

More unrelated news: I slept through my 8 am class this morning. Woo!

Day 12: Someone who's caused you a lot of pain

2010-09-21T18:16:00.000-04:00

I'm not writing a letter to someone who's caused me a lot of pain and here's why:

Pain is NOT something I want to dwell on. I spend a lot of time worrying about useless stuff, and I don't want to worry about more stuff on here. Moreover, there is no one in my life right now that has caused me enough pain that I'm constantly thinking about it. No one that haunts my dreams so that writing a letter to them and posting it on the internet would alleviate my pain.

And if there were, I wouldn't be telling you guys about it.

I really enjoy sharing my life/thoughts with you guys, but I don't feel that this blog is an appropriate place to air my grievances to the world. I mean, if I shared some sob story with you I'm sure you'd be sympathetic while reading it, but then what? Am I going to change your life by griping about mine?

And that's not to say that writing a letter to someone who's wronged you isn't a great, cathartic way to ease your pain. I'm just saying that A) I don't have anyone to write that letter to and B) It's something I would keep to myself, not wave about for everyone to read.

Day 11: A Deceased Person

2010-09-20T20:26:00.001-04:00

Hey Yo! Baby! I got some yogurt over here!

I giggled so hard when I saw this in Weis today.

The Letter:

Dear Art,

Your death was the first one I ever experienced that took me by surprise. I mean, when my great-grandmother died, she was so old we knew it would come sometime or another. But no one expected you to die. Who dies in a freak canoeing accident, really? It remains a mystery.

Lauren

PS. I'm writing this post in the middle of baking some cookies! My friend is volunteering for RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) and they're having a bake sale on Thursday!

To Do Lists: I need your advice!

2010-09-19T22:14:00.000-04:00

I'm thinking about switching from Teux Deux to Toodledo for my online list-keeping needs.

I like Teux Deux, but I've been looking at Toodledo for a few minutes and it has all sorts of nifty features. You can tag your tasks, and sort them in all sorts of ways. And you can print out a foldable booklet with your top 100 or so tasks. How cool is that?

The thing is, I'm not sure I really need that much customization. It'd be easy to get bogged down with all those options. Teux Deux is nice, pretty, easy, and has never steered me wrong before.

What do you guys think? How do you keep your to-do lists organized? (Or do you keep them at all?)

Day 10: Someone You Don't Talk To As Much As You'd Like

2010-09-19T21:39:00.000-04:00

Guys, I am seriously so busy I'm skipping class tomorrow just so I have time to eat lunch. And since we take a short quiz every day on what we read, and since I need every point I can get, I just went to my professor's office at 9 at night, took the quiz that was taped to her door, and pushed it back under her door to be graded tomorrow.

Crazy Busy.

Anyway, the letter:

Adrianna,

Sup? I just saw you today and it was totally awesome. We're cousins, we're both juniors in college, why don't we talk more?

Lauren.

Day 9: Someone You Wish You Could Meet

2010-09-18T09:27:00.000-04:00

Whoops, so I forgot to write a letter yesterday too. I think I may skip day 8 altogether, though. The letter was supposed to be to my favorite internet friend. What? I don't have any friends that are strictly "internet." They're all friends in real life, too. Hrrum.

I'm writing today's letter to someone from the internet, so that can count for both days.

Dear Sonya (of Fishnets & Hip Checks),

Of all the blogs I follow, yours is definitely one of my favorites. I think you're really cool and we have a lot in common. English Majors unite!

Plus I think you're adorable.

If you're ever in Maryland (or DC) we should totes hang out.

Hugs and Kisses,
Lauren

Day 6: A Stranger, Plus! A Bonus Letter!

2010-09-16T20:27:00.000-04:00

Whoops, I definitely forgot to do this yesterday!

Dear Other Lauren in my Am Lit Class,

On principle, I hate other people named Lauren. People are always talking to you, but I think it's me so I look anyway. And then look back down to whatever I was doing because obviously you weren't talking to me, why would you be talking to me?

But I love you.

Two reasons. First, I'm top Lauren in that class, the class of three Laurens. Not to brag or anything but... My professor loves me. Everyone loves me. I'm on top of the world!

And second, you're a freshman! How cool is that? It's rad that you're a freshman in a upper-level English class.

Lauren Power! Laurens Unite!

Love,
Lauren

ALSO! Not part of the letter, BUT! I'm officially a tour guide here at school! I'm on the schedule for Tuesday mornings as an alternate, which means I may do a tour, but I may not. And I have a couple Saturdays that I'm definitely giving a tour.

And since I'm on a roll, I guess I'll also write the letter I was supposed to write for today. Day 7: Your Ex

Dear Matt,

Now let's not get confused - this letter isn't to the Matt I'm dating now. This letter is to the one I dated for a week in Europe. But you're not getting any more explanation than that. Imma start over.

Dear Matt,

How's it going? I feel like I'm trying really hard not to make this letter awkward. I don't have any awkward memories of you! They're all super fond. You were my first kiss (in the basement of an Austrian hostel), the first guy who told me he loved me (during a game of rummy), the guy I got in trouble with for canoodling too much while I was supposed to be learning about Europe and stuff.

I often wonder how your life is going. Whether I'd recognize you if I ran into you, whether you'd recognize me. How that conversation could possibly go.

That's all for now, I suppose. I'm going to go facebook stalk you now.

Lauren.

Day 5: Your Dreams

2010-09-14T23:03:00.000-04:00

Dear My Dreams,

You guys are tricky little buggers to catch hold of and remember. It's always the same routine - I wake up and all I can remember is a vague notion that I've recently been somewhere in my brain involving a wax museum and sunflowers. I try and set traps for you, to jolt myself out of slumber and force you to show your cowardly faces.

Who do you think you are, flitting about my nighttime brain and disappearing in the morning, leaving only a trace of yourselves behind? It's my brain you're inhabiting; I think I have a right to know what bizarre thought-experiments you're conducting in my head. I never consented to be used for these purposes.

Indignant as I am to be victim of your nighttime dances, I am sane enough to realize I'll never be able to catch you and give you the talking-to you deserve.

All I ask is this: treat me nice. I like waking up with the warm fuzzy feeling of a good dream, not the sick to my stomach but I don't know why feeling of an unsettling one.

Or: How do I cultivate you? I so desperately want to be privy to your doings; to wake up for once remembering last night's dream.

I'll be going to sleep shortly. If you love me, send me kittens and rainbows.

Lauren.

Day 4: Your Sibling

2010-09-13T20:35:00.000-04:00

Notes on today's letter:
1. For those of you who don't know (aka everyone in the entire world) my sister and I once made up a language in which every word was cheese. It relied heavily on intonation and wild gesturing.
2. Our mother once made a your mom joke in which she insulted herself. She says she did it on purpose but I'm not quite sure.
3. The OO! It's watching you! It's too hard to explain, so I'll leave it at that.

Dear Kristin,

I am not that short! Five feet, four and a half inches tall is a perfectly respectable height for a lady. It's not my fault you're a giant. You're like the BFG, except you're not friendly. You're the BAG: Big Angry Giant!

Cheese cheese cheese cheese, cheese cheese! Cheese cheese cheese cheese? Cheese! OO

Your mom's hairy and gross!

Love,
Lauren

Day 3: Your Parents

2010-09-12T22:44:00.000-04:00

Guess what, guys? I cooked a proper meal for dinner for the second time ever! It was, shall we say, a learning experience. I made some wild rice, pretty much impossible to mess up, carrots and chicken. The carrots were delicious, if I do say so myself. And my boyfriend, who generally doesn't like carrots, told me they were pretty good. But the chicken... Well, I guess it wasn't that bad. My piece was fine, but Matt's was a bit undercooked where it was thickest, and after that neither of us really felt like eating more of the chicken. Plus, I cooked it in golden mushroom soup, which I probably won't do again. The smell reminds me of something rather unpleasant. On the plus side, though, I have some yummy leftover rice and carrots to eat tomorrow!

On to today's letter. Two letters, actually.

Dear Mom,

I wish you were more okay with the medicine I take. It really does make a difference. I'd rather not just "suck it up" when there are easier ways for me to be happy.

Also, as I've been getting closer to being a true-life, for-realsies grownup, I'm discovering that we're really similar. This fact is a constant source of hilarity for me. Some things are not so great: teeth clenching headaches and heartburn spring to mind. But some things are just awesome. The first time the thought that we were really similar crossed my mind was a year or so ago when we were at Nana's house and you jumped on to the ottoman and said "Wheeeeeee!" And I was like, "Oh, awesome! That's going to be me in 25 years!" Not in a sarcastic way, in a truly excited way.

So yeah. My biggest life goal is to be as awesome of a mom as you are.

Love, Lauren

------

Dear Dad,

I wish we talked more. I don't feel as close to you as I do to Mom and it makes me sad. But I guess I'm just still waiting for my "I'm just like my parents" moment to come with you.

Thanks for teaching me to parallel park. You're much more patient with my driving than Mom is.

Love,
Lauren

Day 2: Your Crush

2010-09-11T22:43:00.000-04:00

Dearest,

We've been together now for almost a year and a half and yep, I'm still crushin' on you.

It's an odd thing, really, writing a letter to you that a whole bunch of other people will read. On the one hand, I don't know what to tell you that I haven't already. I'm so used to telling you everything that's going on in my life. Case in point: as I'm writing this letter I'm texting you about the concert you're at right now. Vampire Weekend.

And on the other hand, it feels like what I'm writing here isn't really to you. Sure, it's directed to you, but it isn't really for you, since you probably won't read it. Maybe you will. This letter is more a projection of myself, in the form of a letter to my beau, but it's really for my blog readers.

Sigh, this is going nowhere. I'm going to try this again.

Dearest,

We've been dating for almost a year and a half now, but even so, you are my crush. I think about you all the time. Right now I'm thinking about how I'm going to snuggle my nose into your neck when I see you tomorrow.

You make everything I love better. Sleeping? Best when my shape fits neatly into yours. Movies are so much better with you because when the screen goes black for a split second we make faces at each other, every single time.

I'm going to sleep shortly, so I'm going to sign off now.
Let's dream about each other, mmkay?
Hugs and Kisses,
Lauren

WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT

2010-09-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

New iPod touch! Version 4! With camera! Can't think in full sentences!

Stuck in a rut. In a rut.

2010-09-10T22:50:00.000-04:00

Blargh. I've been stuck in a blogging rut lately. Ever since school started back up, really.

So I've decided to try and impose some structure on myself. I don't remember where I first ran across it, but copied down this 30 Day Letter Project from somewhere on the internet. It's something I meant to do at some point. So, now that I can't seem to get motivated to write about anything else, I'll follow these prompts until the creativity flows.

So here goes. Day 1: Your Best Friend

Side note - Today is my mom's birthday!

Dear Alex,

You're my best friend. I know whenever people ask you who your best friend is, you always say you like all your friends equally, but I secretly hope you like me the best.

You're one of the few things I truly miss about high school. Yeah, it was fun and all, but college is better in every way except that you're not around. I want to have another moviefest. And I am supremely disappointed that Mr. Wilson never sent me a letter back. I put a lot of thought into that letter and now I'll never know if it even reached him.

Sigh. Crunchberries and craic. That time you told Tom Lamaster you didn't like him. Kind Hearts and Coronets! So many fond memories. My college friends are so boring compared to you and the rest of the gang.

So that's my way of saying let's not ever drift apart. I fully expect our children to be best friends.

Love,
Lauren

PS. Here's the whole list of days, in case anyone wants to play along.

Day 1 — Your Best Friend
Day 2 — Your Crush
Day 3 — Your parents
Day 4 — Your sibling (or closest relative)
Day 5 — Your dreams
Day 6 — A stranger
Day 7 — Your Ex-boyfriend/girlfriend/love/crush
Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend
Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
Day 11 — A Deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 12 — The person you hate most/caused you a lot of pain
Day 13 — Someone you wish could forgive you
Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
Day 15 — The person you miss the most
Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
Day 17 — Someone from your childhood
Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
Day 19 — Someone that pesters your mind—good or bad
Day 20 — The one that broke your heart the hardest
Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
Day 22 — Someone you want to give a second chance to
Day 23 — The last person you kissed
Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
Day 25 — The person you know that is going through the worst of times
Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
Day 27 — The friendliest person you knew for only one day
Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
Day 29 — The person that you want tell everything to, but too afraid to
Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror

LAWL

2010-09-07T18:10:00.000-04:00

I'm going to go make scrambled eggs for dinner. And toast. With jelly.

God, I wish I had some bacon.

Mawage is what bwings us togever today.

2010-09-06T21:53:00.001-04:00

ACK! Two of my friends, they've been dating for six years, got engaged on Saturday! And I was just on Facebook and saw that two other people I go to school with are engaged! And this guy who lives in my boyfriend's apartment is engaged!

What the heck, people! I am excited out of my mind about these engagements, but it's truly terrifying to me to imagine being married at this young age. I'm a junior in college, for goodness sakes!

But. My two friends that just got engaged? The cutest couple ever. He has this condition called retinitis pigmentosa, which basically means he's going blind, and to see her leading him around in the dark is really heartwarming. It always kind of chokes me up to think that eventually he won't be able to see her at all, but. He's very cool about it. Which, I guess, you have to be.

Le sigh. Love is a wonderful thing. I just got back from my boyfriend's house. His parents went out of town for the day, so we had to go walk and feed their dogs. And I had Qdoba for the first time ever. Delicioso!

And! Last exciting bit of news! In between writing this post, I scheduled my mock tour to become a tour guide at my school! Awesomesauce!

Graphic Novels I Read This Summer: And You Should Too!

2010-09-05T08:29:00.000-04:00

Note: The links to these books are from this nifty website I found called worldcat.org. Because why link to Amazon when you should really be patronizing your local libraries? Let me know what you think of the site, if you don't mind.

Ok, on to the post! I was at my library over the summer, and while I was browsing around for books and when I turned to my right at the end of an aisle I found the Graphic Novel section! Needless to say, I checked several out. Here's what I read!

1. Watchmen - This is definitely the most well-known of all the Graphic Novels I read over the summer. And for good reason! It was wonderful! I saw and enjoyed the movie when it came out, but I have to say that the book was better. It's a very interesting take on the comic book as a genre.

2. From Hell: Being a Melodrama in Sixteen Parts - This one and Watchmen are both by Alan Moore, and both are fantastic. It's a tale of (his interpretation of) the Jack the Ripper story. While much of it is fictionalized, the book has an extensive appendix detailing research into Jack the Ripper. From Hell and Watchmen are both very bleak stories, but are told much differently.

3. Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness - This one, like From Hell, is in black and white. This is a must-read if you're interested in Cash at all. The biographical bits about his life were really compelling, and even cooler than that, there are mini-stories that graphically render some of his songs.

4. Mother, Come Home - This one is way, way different from the other three. It's much more "artsy" and "indie" and SO INCREDIBLY SAD! It's a really short read, and the whole time I just wanted to give the entire book a hug! That being said, it's really good. It's the story of a mother's death through the eyes of her child.

So go forth and read, children! I highly recommend all four of these books.

Also - I noticed that when I was searching worldcat for the books, they didn't always show up as being in my local library. However, I did in fact check them all out from my library. So don't get discouraged if your library doesn't show up, I guess.

Fall Goals

2010-08-31T11:20:00.000-04:00

My summer goals were such a success (mostly) that I decided to make fall goals too! These are going to be somewhat school-related and in general not as involved as my summer goals, since I'll be busy with schoolwork and stuff. So... here goes!

1. Watch numbers 26-50 on imdb's top 250. Since I've already seen some of the movies, I only have 15 to see this semester. I'll probably put up a list in the sidebar or something.
2. Keep track of my meals properly. Since I'm living in an apartment with a kitchen I only have a meal plan with 90 meals, which works out to six per week. Clearly, I need to keep track of how many meals I've been using so as not to run out.
3. Achieve A's! I'm shooting for at least A minuses in all of my classes this semester. I think the only one that'll be a problem is American Literature III because although my professor is one of my favorites, she's the hardest grader.
4. Get my driver's license. This is a leftover goal from the summer. I rescheduled my test yesterday, but it's not until October 2.
5. Cook proper meals! So far I've made scrambled eggs and tuna salad. I have some recipes in a binder, though, and I'm definitely going to try and make them!

Well, I'm off to lunch. This is my third meal out of six this week. Rock on!

PS. I have a consulting appointment about my wisdom teeth with an oral surgeon. Wish me luck!

So hopefully now I'll be less busy and neglectful of blogging.

2010-08-30T19:30:00.000-04:00

Woohoo! First day of class!

Hopefully, now that I don't have to spend all my time running around keeping track of freshmen I'll have some time to post more. Although classes are just starting, so we'll see how that goes, I guess.

Updates on my life: I'm living in an on-campus apartment (which means I have a kitchen!) with a couple of my friends. It's definitely awesome for two reasons: the aforementioned kitchen and (drumroll please!) air conditioning! I can never go back to crappy dorm life where your only cooling method is your fan. And hopefully I'll never have to!

Anyway, here's something I meant to post a while ago. It's a video my sister made about all of her converse, and I think it's kind of cool in an art-y sort of way. What do you think?

Today, I...

2010-08-22T22:21:00.000-04:00

Had my second (out of four) day of peer mentor training.

My table won a trivia competition and as a prize we split a pack of silly bands. These are my first ever silly bands, and although I feel a bit ashamed to wear them, I figure as long as I didn't buy them it's ok! Right? Anyway, I got a dolphin and a flamingo/toucan. We couldn't decide which it was.

I really haven't been doing anything that interesting the past couple of days. I have been playing loads of icebreakers! Some of them are corny but some are really fun! My favorite so far has been called Ultimate Ninja. And yep, it's as awesome as it sounds!

Other cool things: My friend Nate moved in this morning, so now four of the six people in our apartment are here! And classes don't even start for another week!

Ok, that's only one other cool thing. But I'm tired! I'm trying really hard to post when I have some free time so I don't fall into a habit of not posting.

Well, TTFN, dearest readers. I think I'm going to start watching a movie and then go to sleep.

I'd love to hear it if any of you had movie suggestions! I'm always looking for a choice flick!

Summer Goals Revisited

2010-08-21T22:46:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! I'm all moved in back at school! Pictures to follow, I promise. I'm here early because I'm a peer mentor, which means I (among other things) help out with freshman orientation. So I moved in last night, and today was my first of four days of training. Oh Mah Goodness I'm already exhausted! 10+ hours of training a day = I don't feel like doing anything but laying around. So I apologize if my blog posts are somewhat few and far between.

But anyway. Back in June, when I first started this blog, I posted a list of summer goals, and seeing as how my summer is over, I thought I'd take a look back and see how I did.

1. Watch the first 25 movies on IMDB's top 250 - Success! I have now seen all of IMDB's top 25 movies! My favorites of the new movies I watched: The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Pulp Fiction and City of God. All of them were absolutely amazing, but those were my favorites.
2. Be able to cook 5 solid meals - Fail... Because I didn't really feel like learning to cook, I went through all of my mom's cookbooks and made copies of all my favorite recipes.
3. Have 25 listings in my etsy shop - So close! Right now I have 21, but since I've had two sales it's 23 total listings. And I have another little something I still need to photograph and list. So when all's said and done I'll have 24 listings. Close enough, right?
4. Read 20 books - Done and more! I'm not sure exactly how many books I ended up reading this summer, since I stopped counting after 20. I strongly recommend Push by Sapphire, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, and Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian.
5. Get my driver's license - So close! I took my test last Wednesday and failed, but I think I'll pass the next time I take it. The trouble is that I've been far too busy to reschedule it!

So, all in all I think I had a pretty successful summer. I certainly had a lot of fun!

But oh, it feels so good to be back on campus! I love it so much here!

Lauren vs Wanting to See Scott Pilgrim a Hundred More Times

2010-08-19T22:35:00.000-04:00

I just got home from seeing Scott Pilgrim vs The World. My reaction:

AWESOME. Absolutely the perfect way to end my summer (seeing as I move back in to school tomorrow).

And honestly, I'm too distracted by that weird spot on my tongue to think of anything more to say. I'm not fungal, I swear!

But anyway. The movie was awesomely refreshing and different and perfect and I want to see it again and again! Must persuade Matt to take me on a date to see it.

And I think every time I do a movie review-type-thing I'm going to post a photo of my reaction. It's just too much fun! (See my reaction to The Wicker Man)

Etsy Finds/Wants: Or, I'm bored and don't feel like packing.

2010-08-18T22:03:00.000-04:00

Let's Go Diving necklace from Penny Masquerade

Perfect Wallet from Happy Kathy

Little Red Cotton Tape from Lilla Lotta

Against the Light from On Your Head

OUCH pouch from Pilli Pilli

Map Wallet from My Paper Garden

Boombox Monster from Little Zoo of Misfits

Vintage Pink Kitten Heels from Pineapple Mint

Pine Cone Necklace from Vector Cloud

Tea Time Necklace from Random Prefect

There you go: ten awesome Etsy items. I had so much fun browsing around and finding these that I might attempt to make it a regular feature. It'll probably be more like a semi-regular-whenever-I-feel-like-it feature, to be perfectly honest. Or a I-have-to-write-a-paper-but-instead-I'm-going-to-spend-an-hour-on-Etsy feature, now that I'll be back at school soon.

Only time will tell.

All Aboard the Failboat!

2010-08-18T12:36:00.000-04:00

So, my first go at getting my driver's license was a fail. What's most frustrating is that I did the parallel parking and the backing into the parking space fine, but I just got too many points off for little stuff. Like, I was apparently "driving with my thumbs!" What does that even mean?

And I was stressed to begin with because she kept asking me where my heater was and I didn't get that you just had to turn up the temperature. I spent a good minute and a half looking for a heater button.

Le sigh. I will just have to reschedule and try again.

My day is getting better, though. After my test I went to the post office to mail some stuff (including my second-ever etsy order!) and it only cost me 13ish dollars to ship four packages, including one to England!

Aaaand... I'm going to go see Scott Pilgrim tomorrow with one of my friends! I'm so excited!

And then on Friday I move back into school! Classes don't start until a week from Monday, but I'm helping out with Freshman orientation, so I have to get there early for training and stuff. One of my friends I'm living with is an RA, so she's there already, and she says our apartment is really nice!

And now I've gone from upset and frustrated to feeling awesome and excited about the next couple days. Oh, internets, what would I do without you?

I just joined weheartit (don't judge me!)

2010-08-17T13:08:00.001-04:00

My new hobby: searching for interesting adjectives and seeing what comes up

Hollow

Murky

Crowded

Vast

Chunky

Crooked

Lovely

Ps. Dear readers, I have my driving test tomorrow! I just finished practicing parallel parking for (hopefully) the last time. Wish me luck!

New Jersey Fun Times!

2010-08-16T13:31:00.000-04:00

Highlights of my week at the Jersey Shore:

Eating White Castle for my first and SECOND times!
Getting Kohr's custard on the boardwalk! (My favorite flavor was the strawberry/banana twist)
When Matt's cousin played the beer pong game on the boardwalk and won a harmonica!
GIANT pizza from Maruca's!
Going crabbing for three freaking hours! It was fun, but lasted soooo long!

When we went crabbing, Matt's poor cousin Rachel had to ride in the back with the crab traps and the dead fishes.

Cramming 18 people into a house that's only supposed to fit 11, tops. For a couple nights there sere seven teenagers sleeping in our room!
Going kayaking on the bay!
Glimpsing Ronnie and Pauly D from the boardwalk while they were folding t-shirts in their store.
Fried Oreos! Yummmm.....
Seeing what's cooking at the beach. (This one's kind of an inside joke - the first night Matt's dad told us to "go see what's cooking" and then we said it about everything, several times a day.
Loads and loads of fun! Hooray!

AND THEY EXPLODED OFF THE STAGE

2010-08-15T15:23:00.000-04:00

As many of you are probably aware, I saw The Arcade Fire about a week ago.

It was freaking awesome!!!!

If I was a fan of the band before, I'm absolutely in love with them now!

I saw them with my boyfriend, his sister, and a friend of ours from school. The bank Matt's dad works for has a box at the stadium for every show, so we got tickets free that were pretty close to the stage! Yay for free stuff!

But yeah, it was one of those concerts that make you remember how much you absolutely love live music and make you want to go to concerts all the time. There was the most exuberant xylophoning I've ever seen! And at one point a guy was beating on a drum so hard that bits of it were flying everywhere! Everyone was absolutely rapt!

Only one funny thing happened, and that was when they were playing Half Light II (my favorite song from their new album) the drum machine messed up or something, so they quit halfway through and moved to the next song. It took us a while to figure out what was going on because at first it just seemed like the lead guitarist put down his guitar and started laughing. And when the song stopped we were like, "uhh, what's going on?" It was really ok, though, because the whole concert was ah-may-zing! (But OF COURSE it had to happen during one of my favorite songs! Harumph!)

And I am absolutely in love with their one girl drummer/accordioniste/singer/everything! And how cute! After doing some light wikipedia-ing of the band, I've found out that she's married to the lead singer.

Gosh, I'm so smitten.

Anyway, here are some more pictures. The first one is of Spoon, who opened, but they weren't that good.