Vermont Symphony Orchestra at the Trapp Family Lodge

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the final summer performance of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. The concert was the summer kickoff of the Stowe Performing Arts Music in the Meadow summer concert series. Music in the Meadow showcases  acclaimed musical acts in a pastoral setting on the slopes of Stowe's green mountains.

Each year concert goers gather in the concert meadow with picnic baskets, low back chair, and blankets where they settle into their own sites, many of which have been continuously occupied by the same families for several years, and enjoy an evening of musical entertainment. Cars arrive several hours early as parking can sometimes limited and the spaces closer to the stage fill up fast. Blankets are spread out and picnic of lavish spreads including wine, finger sandwiches, cheese plates, and fresh fruits and vegetables are laid out atop portable picnic tables from Crate and Barrel. High school students meander through the throng of people selling raffle tickets and water bottles to the waiting patrons. By the time the sun sets and the concert begins the crowd is tightly packed and eager with anticipation for the evening's music.

                       

This year the VSO was conducted by a Briton Andrew Massey who has been with the orchestra since 2007. Massey MC'd the evening in between songs to keep the audience involved and to create a light whimsical atmosphere which reflected the musical selections. The program included a mixture of classical, popular, and Broadway musical numbers and as always the evening ended with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture seamlessly followed by a Sousa march. This was also the first year that I can remember where the fireworks representing the canons in the piece actually went off without a hitch. As the orchestra played it's final notes fireworks filled the sky from the valley below the stage. The display rivaled 4th of July presentation from the week before and left concert goers satisfied and eager for the coming musical attractions.

Salsa Shark Live at The Grape Room

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing jam band Salsa Shark perform to an intimate crowd at The Grape Room in Manayunk. The band played a late night set for the venue's STOP Bullying Me! fundraiser with rousing success. It was my last chance to see the funkadelic band play while I'm still in Philadelphia and I wouldn't have missed lead bassist/vocalist Mykk Hoffman's gently bobbing blond afro for the world.

The band has come light years from open mic nights at the now closed Village coffee house on 63rd in West Philadelphia. It's been a rough road for the young band. Going through drummers like I go through books, the band has finally settled on St. Joe's freshman, Tom Dominguez. With his dark scruffy beard and ferocious energy Tom kept the beats going even improvising after a string snafu forced guitarist, Curt Zimpher, from the stage. Playing in his own little corner of the stage, guitarist Bert Weaver kept background rhythms strong and even while grooving in his own personal zone. The interaction between Mykk and Curt shows the synergy and trust this close-knit group has developed over the years.

An evening of jam band music reminiscent of the Allman Brothers, Disco Biscuits, and The Grateful Dead all rolled into one with a little Jimkata on the side, Salsa Shark kept their audience captivated and begging for more. With most of their members still finishing up courses in college the band is creating a growing fan base in Philadelphia, but I hope to see them on tour up in Vermont sometime soon.

You can like Salsa Shark on Facebook and stay up to date on their latest on-goings and show dates.

Just listen.

It's been a great week for Hebrew Friend support and Hawktastic wins! Tonight we defeated Drexel and I will be honest that I had a hard time staying focused. It was a close game with Drexel tight on the Hawks' tail until the very end. My favorite little man Carl Jones had a late start, but it was C. J. who really owned the game with some amazing defense tonight. In celebration I've decided to dedicate this post to music. Win a game, get some music.

Adele - Rumour Has It

Adele, I love you and Lord knows Yonni loves you too. Obsessed with her sophomore album, 21, It's hard to believe that someone as young as she has experienced so many emotions and can sing so poignantly about them. Rumour Has It is the latest track that I have become obsessed with. 

Foster the People - Don't Stop

Everyone knows about Foster the People's Pumped Up Kicks and if you've seen the latest Nissan car commercials then you've heard Don't Stop as well. Everything about this song, the energy, the rhythm, and the lyrics are incredible. 

Fun - We Are Young

Fun's We Are Young featuring Janelle Monae has been blowing up the airwaves in Philadelphia and whenever it comes on the radio I roll down my windows and belt it out even at 8:30am, stares from strangers be damned! I can not wait to see this band live and I am eagerly awaiting their arrival in Philadelphia. 

Peter, Bjorn, and John - Second Chance

Everyone loves Peter, Bjorn, and John and everyone loves 2 Broke Girls. What do these two awesome thing shave in common? Second Chance. The band's song has become the theme song of CBS's new show and I think I heard it on the radio for a beer commercial. I love it, even more than I love Young Folks and I love that song a lot. 

Jimkata - When the Day Comes

If you haven't heard of Jimkata you haven't been listening close enough. It's okay though, I wasn't listening that well either until an acquaintance of mine introduced me to them a few months ago. I later found out that my friend Ryan went to high school with them and I have since been hooked. I listen to them in the car, on my ipod, and when I'm writing (they're playing right now). I get to see them in December at Kung Fu Necktie in Philadelphia and I've heard twitterings that they'll be in Vermont sometime in February (definitely worth the eight hour drive). I told Lance about them and now I need to give him some of their music to pass onto Charlie so that he'll book them at the Matterhorn in Stowe, VT. What's better than beer, sushi, and Jimkata?

P.S. you can download two of their albums at www.jimkata.com

Dear Chase,

Dear Chase, 


I feel like I can call you Chase because you and me are so much alike. I would love to meet you someday. It would be great to have a catch. I know I can’t throw as fast as you, but I think you would be impressed by my speed. I love you hair. You run fast. Did you have a good relationship with your father? Me neither. These are all things we can talk about. And more. I know you have not been getting my letters because I know you would write back if you did. And I hope you write back this time and we get to be good friends. I’m sure our relationship would be a real home run.

Mac

I have been seeing posters all over campus with the Chase Utley letter on them advertising the Always Sunny marathon in the Perch and every time I see them I become ridiculously happy because the Chase Utley letter episode happens to be one of my all time favorite Always Sunny episodes and the scene where Dee reads the letter out loud is the funniest moment in the history of the show. Since I have been so extremely tired today I found the sign extra funny and have been laughing hysterically every time I read it. People are beginning to think I'm losing my mind (maybe I am). 

It's been a particularly exhausting weekend for me for some reason. Maybe the thousand hours of hockey and work and nearly no sleep is what's doing me in, oh let's face it I'm a fucking machine and a lack of sleep will not defeat me (even if I end up looking like a ghost). However if one more person comes up to me and tells me how tired I looking I will fucking lose it and punch them in the face. 

Tiredness aside, it's been a monumental weekend for SJU women's hockey. We had our first game as a part of the DVCHC league up in Hackensack against Columbia. We lost spectacularly, 2-10. Both goals were scored by defenders and both were really beautiful. I also sustained my first injury of the season: a bruise the shape of the velcro part of my elbow pad. Some girl rammed me hard enough that I now have a bruise from where a piece of my protective gear was pushed deep enough into my skin that it left a mark. It's not terrible and certainly not the worst I've had, but it's nice to start the season off with something small yet respectable. Some of my teammates need to start learning to take hit otherwise they are going to be in a world of hurt as the season progresses. I've certainly decided to use this to my advantage and work out my anger and frustration on the ice, mostly in my skating, but eventually it's going to be a challenge. W. mentioned that sometimes hockey can be the source of his frustration and I'm deeply afraid that that is what is happening to me. 

It's just frustrating that so many people say that they are committed to the team, but don't both coming to practice or to games. The club is still in its infancy and while we have been able to recruit a few girls each year we still lose people and if we can't be bothered to show up to practice, especially the people that need it the most, then we aren't going to win anything and it will become harder and harder to get girls interested in playing on the team. Clearly women's hockey is not as popular in Philadelphia as it is in other parts of the country and right now this is my only chance to play. I love skating and being on the ice and I am not ready to give it up just yet. I just find it extremely frustrating that I've been willing to sacrifice a lot of things, including my best friend's birthday, for this team and yet very few seem to be willing to do the same. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but I came to play to win and everyone else should be doing the same. 

Moving on, I've decided that maybe I should be carrying around a Moleskin-type notebook. Something small and thin that I can slip into my pocket or bag and whip out whenever I need to jot something down. This weekend I spent a lot of time typing notes into my phone for later writing ideas. I see and hear stuff that makes for amazing material and it's getting harder and harder to remember most of it in my old age. If I had a notebook I wouldn't have to remember it. 

In fact I had to write down everything I wanted to wrote about in this post because it had been so long since I was able to write. There's too much to cover, so I'm going to spread stuff out over the week, but I am going to end this with some music. W. has played Jimkata for me a couple of times now and the more I hear them the more I really love the stuff I hear. They're an electro-rock band out of upstate New York and their sound is mind blowing, a simple concept with amplified technique and power. It's easy to get lost in Jimkata's rhythms and let them take you someplace else. I've been listening to Devils in the Details on repeat since Saturday. You can download their album here >> I did it, you should too. 

Jimkata's Devils in the Details

I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping.

I was going to start off with something else, but then my building caught fire and I figured I should lead off with that in case my mom talks to my dad or something. I'm fine, my building's fine, and there is fire extinguishing chemicals all over my hallway. The fire alarm going off is not an uncommon occurrence as my building is rather old so I rarely pay head to when it goes off. Tonight when more than the usually obligatory number of fire trucks showed up I figured that I should at least go out into the hallway and see if anything was out there. There was. My hallway was filled with a yellow-gray hazy smoke that was absolutely putrid in my mouth and nose. I grabbed my keys and made for the exit before deciding that this could actually turn into something and so I went back in and grabbed my glasses, computer, and fuzzy and made for the fresh air. The stair well was dripping on several of the floors below me, maybe my floor wasn't on fire just yet. I sat in my car eating Honey Nut Cheerios and texted various people to keep busy while I waited an appropriate amount of time to go back inside. Thank God I didn't bring in the box of dry goods yet otherwise I'd probably still be out there searching or food in the woods. Climbing nine floors in a raining staircase in leather shoes is a little daunting, and there was quite a bit of dirty rain coming down on me, but my apartment was safe and almost scent free by the time I got back to it. The fire department is still out there as of right now, but I don't think there's any serious damage to the majority of the building. Plus statistically I've already lived through my large fire, car accident, and weather disaster so who I am to play with statistics?



On a less exciting, but more interesting note I had three people in class today tell me to see the new George Harrison documentary. Believe me people I would like to, but I don't have HBO so I must find another way. I live for Harrison, he was hands down the best Beatle ever. Everyone likes to go on and on about John or Paul, but John really wasn't that awesome and Paul already has enough fans. In fact I can't stand John Lennon in the least and tend to ignore the people who can't stop talking about him. As a whole, John contributed greatly to the music of The Beatles, but that's the end of it. I'm going to get a lot of hate mail from the Lennon Lovers for saying that. Anyways since I wasn't one of the ones watching the documentary over and over during fall break I watched Concert for George on PBS. Concert for George was a concert put on by several musicians including Paul, Ringo, Eric Clapton and George's son Dhani as a memorial of the late musician a year after his death. It was held back in 2002 and I remember watching it for the first time with my dad while I was still in middle school. Since then I have seen in numerous times and have learned quite a bit about Mr. Harrison. My favorite part is still the group performance of While My Guitar Gentle Weeps. That song is one of my all time favorites and Clapton on lead guitar is phenomenal.

I used to have the biggest crush on Dhani.

Today we also took pictures for our upcoming hockey game. We needed to load our roster for the DVCHC so we did picture day in Jay's office. I put a piece of take on my glasses as a Slap Shot homage and of course Jay picked the worst one in the bunch of me. But it doesn't really matter because now it's official. We have a team and our first game is Saturday against Columbia. 

She might be a really nice HO!

New favorite thing of the moment: Of Monsters and Men's Little Talks. Of Monsters and Men is a band fresh out of Iceland with an all-around folk/indie inspired sound. However the music is more than just a few acoustic guitars, OMaM mixes in accordions, bass, piano, and drums to create a large than life yet simple and pleasant sound. Throw in a pair of rough and harmonic vocals and it's become something akin to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes or Beirut. Still in their infant beginnings, Of Monsters and Men already has a strong cult-like following in Philadelphia and I am closely and patiently awaiting their arrival on American soil (unless I can somehow make it to Iceland in the very near future).

A live recording of Little Talks. I think my grandmother had a couch like that.

Even more exciting than some cool music is the release of Jeffrey Eugenides new book, The Marriage Plot. I've been a huge fan of Eugenides work since I read The Virgin Suicides one afternoon while busing around France. The was something so invoking and relatable to me about oppressive mothers and five sisters who strangely committed suicide within the course of a year. While I don't have five sisters and my days of an oppressive mother are long gone I still find something curious and intriguing about the style and the unsatisfying ending. Eugenides sophomore novel Middlesex was also a story that I strongly enjoyed. It took me a little more than a month to read the book during my hour break at Borders a few times a week, but in the end I did and even though I am bothered by Oprah's need to put her sticker on books I can appreciate why she did it with this one. A journey through time, the story tells the experiences of a young girl from a Greek family growing up in Michigan. Unknown to her, she carries a mutated gene from generations of inbreeding that makes her a biological hermaphrodite and in the end forces her to decide upon which sex she truly identifies with. It is a beautiful story about the challenges of growing up in an immigrant family and assimilating with American culture during some of the most trying times in American history.

The Marriage Plot looks to be as exciting and engaging as The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex and I am hoping to get my hands on a copy of it sometime this weekend while I'm in Vermont. I also need to get my own copy of Middlesex and replace the one I had of The Virgin Suicides. So much to do this weekend. 

"Don't say it, I know you're thinking." "No you don't, I was thinking about pantaloons."

The other day I dug out all of  my Guster music that I had and laid around listening to it and remembering all of those wonderful times in high school that I had with my friends. A long time ago I used to associate music with the events in my life, but I've had to stop because there were too many negative things attached with some of my favorite bands and I love music more than the negative things. Now I have gotten over the bad memories and have started listening to older music again, while remembering the good associations I have with it. Guster always brings me back to hockey and suicide sprints on the ice. When I was a sophomore Guster played a show at Higher Ground and a bunch of girls on the team decided to go. The concert was amazing. I remember my boyfriend at the time and I decided to wipe off the black X's that you get for being underage and then getting caught by the venue staff and being forced to go back and get new ones or get kicked out. I remember being in the front row and fall in love for the first time with a musician, Adam Gardner you'll always be my first. I remember when the band started playing Amsterdam that I almost peed my pants and I remember that all of the hockey girls that went to the concert had to spend half of the practice doing suicide sprints while everyone else took shots on goal.

Listen to Guster also made me remember the year I knew all of the words to all of the Coldplay songs that were out at the time. My friend Johnny Mac was obsessed with the band and spent every waking moment listening to them and when we would hang out at his house all we would do is listen to them. One time Johnny, Austin and I made a video of us playing cowboys and Indians (we were probably sixteen at the time) and we used Coldplay in the background. It was two minutes of us shooting Nerf guns at each other and then bouncing off the bed and out of the shot. It was supposed to be us falling off of a cliff, but each one of us looked like we were dancing at the end you could hear the oofs as we all landed on top of each other. I remember Lizzy and I would sing along to Yellow and Clocks and Green Eyes while we pined for our crushes and Katie had to choose between Johnny and Austin. Coldplay reminds me of old friendships and driving fast on dirt roads in purple jeeps.

Once I got through my Coldplay collection I found old Death Cab songs and Rooney. I miss Rooney, I wish they would put out some more music. Back when myspace was a thing I would put little Death Cab quotes all over my page and when everyone thought that Soul Meets Body was such an amazing and prolific song I was bopping around to The Sound of Settling. One day when I was at a friend's house her brother, who was home from prep school, asked if any of us had ever heard of the band Rooney. Being an avid follower of Robert Schwartzman and most of the other Coppolas I was the only one who had hear of Rooney and we started singing I'm Shakin'. It was really cool to know about something that other people hadn't even heard of because back then (and still today) I was always the last to know about anything.

I've been watching old episodes of The O.C. lately and almost all of the bands that I listened to in high school are featured in the series in some way or another. Hearing such amazing music has been making me nostalgic just the tiniest bit for when I younger and things seemed a lot simpler. Sure I still have some of the same issues and insecurities that I had back then, but I've learned a lot about not sweating the small stuff and that there are more important things in life than not getting invited to so and so's party. Of course I'm still in the infancy stages of my life and I have a long ways to go, but I have cultivated a strong group of friends and acquaintances who keep me on track and help me when I fall off of my high heels. 

Things should pick up when my arranged marriage comes through.

I've been meaning to write (complain) about this for a while, but it's only now that I've remembered to do it. Have you heard the remix for Adele's Rolling in the Deep? It is terrible. Like really really terrible. It's pretty much a slightly discofied version of the original song. If the producers were really thinking they would have brought Nicki Minaj in. Then it would have been a remix. I told one of my friends that the remix blew, but he adores ADORES Adele, no he's not gay, so it was like talking to the wind.

Sucks right?

Okay, bad song aside, its been a decent, but not too exciting weekend. It's been mostly a work weekend. I can back from vacation in Vermont and found out that my restaurant work schedule was completely messed up. I ended up not being able to work a bunch of the shifts that I was scheduled for because I was already at my other job. So I spent this weekend wheeling and dealing to get the shifts I want and ended up making a decent amount of money considering that the summer has been so slow. I gave up fighting about next weekend though and now I'm not working Friday night. Good thing or bad thing?

This weekend I also learned how to play beer roulette, well roulette in general. I didn't know there was such a thing as beer roulette and neither did anyone at work. One girl did get excited when I explained it to her, exclaiming, "Oh I love drinking games!" I got about two words into explaining the game when she said that so still no one at work knows how to play the game. I will say that it is quite fun, especially because I tend to get reckless when I gamble. I was not playing with money, if I had been I would now be behind in a year's worth of rent from losing so much. Fortunately the currency was beer and since I had no intention of sleeping in their oversized apartment I faked taking sips and then peaced out as soon as it got a little too crazy. 

I got out of work earlier than I usually do on Sundays. I opened today so I could get out early and I must say that I don't mind it at all. Losing a few hours in the morning more than makes up for the ones I gain at night. Though now that Neil is gone I have no one to hang out with on Sunday nights :( Instead I used the time to do Yoga Flex from P90X. This workout is a little longer than the others so it helps to have a large chunk of free time so that I'm not rushed and have to cut anything short. I love the yoga on this program because it's fast paced but it's also broken up into two parts: flow and balance. I have decent skill in the flow part because the movements are similar to what I used to do in dance and in skating, but I really excel in the balance poses. Jumping around on thin blades has finally paid off for me. 

Same concept. 

Now that I have all of this free time I almost don't know what to do with myself. I still have another week before school starts, but until then I'm left with my own devices. I told one of my friends that I was around tonight, but I'm not going to push it. If he wants to hang out with me then he'll call, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Neil's leaving has definitely left a hole in Sundays and everyone else is away on vacation or still a work. Poo. 

All images from google.

It seems like all Jersey people do is hump and punch each other.

So I know last post that I would have this great story about me and Cynthia! driving to Newark to pick up our Hebrew Friend from the airport, alas!, this did not happen. Hebrew Friend has decided to stay in Israel another week and spend more time with his family. Funny, because he wasn't all too excited to go in the first place, but once he got there he's been very happy. Just goes to show what getting out of the city does for you. Anyways now I'm going to pick him up next weekend and Cynthia! will be at the beach so I'm traveling alone through the dark and dangerous streets of Newark until I pick up the Hebrew Hammer. I took the day off from work so I should just capture him and bring him down to Cynthia! or drop him at the Philadelphia exit and head to the beach myself. Just kidding Yon I'll take you home, but I really may just go to the beach afterwards. And to risk sounding too much like a teenage girl, Yonni I miss you and I'm excited to see you whenever you decide to come back from the Holy Land. Marg I miss you too. Your tiny apartment and I miss you in the city. Please come back from Maryland soon!

In this heat infested city I have come to the conclusion that I am more suited for a life at the beach. I'm just not sure when or where yet. With less than a year left here I have begun to face the grim reality of having to pack up everything in my apartment and move somewhere. I'm just struggling with the "where" bit. Right now my sister has a sweet gig at a beach resort in Florida and as I am no stranger to the service industry I am seriously beginning to consider something like that for a season or two.  

Thursday was my last class! The exam was annoying and long, but now it's over and as long as I passed the course I really don't care anymore. The school is getting rid of the course in the spring and it's just a requirement for graduation that I won't need for anything else in life. Seriously it really is one of those classes that no one needs unless you're a history major. But hey! It's over and done with and I can focus on my nonfiction class and my world lit class that starts next week. Very excited for these two classes.

I am having the best weekend ever so far. I was supposed to go to Manayunk for a friend's birthday, but I ended up having to close at work and by the time I got out of there and would have gone home to shower and change everyone would have been much more drunk that they already were and I didn't want to have to spend the next two hours playing catch up. Instead I went out with some of my friends from work. We went to this play that has a late night happy hour and the best curly fries ever. We all got properly soused and then spent the last hour or two sobering up and eating curly fries and chatting. I smoked a cigarette and fully remembered why I stopped smoking. Worst tasting mouth ever. I also did tequila shots with Lauren and one of Neil's friends. I haven't had tequila since the worst Tequila Sunrise ever incident that involved a clothing free bartender and orange juice. It's now why I don't drink orange juice with alcohol. Anyways...Neil's friend was very nice and extremely cute so now I need to meet up with him again. Poor Neil, I'm systematically going through his friends this summer. But he's good with it so so am I.

I'm ending this with the video "Hello" by Martin Solveig. I love the video because it reminds me of Luke Wilson's character, Richie, from The Royal Tenenbaums. Richie is the epitome of the late '70s tennis player who has a John McEnroe-esque meltdown and leaves professional tennis to move back home. It is an excellent Wes Anderson film.

She looks like someone who gives ear drops to old cats.

This morning I went and had brunch at Yonni's house with Cynthia and as a nice surprise Kyle came over and joined us. For a really long while Kyle was just Yonni's super best man friend that we would hear about at Borders and then a couple of weeks ago Cynthia and I got to hang out with him and ever since we love Kyle. It's not quite Yonni-status love, but it's getting there, though his negativity towards (500) Days of Summer and comic book movies lost him half a point. Apparently Yonni has never cooked French toast before, because he called me yesterday to ask what kind of bread to use and he even looked up a recipe online. I told him to make sure that the bread slices were thick enough that they wouldn't get too soggy and fall apart in the batter and he definitely took my words to heart because when I showed up the French toast was almost three inches thick. Kyle kept referring to it as Texas sized, they were that big. I brought over some maple syrup that I brought back from Vermont and that opened up a whole discussion on sugaring. My friends found the whole process fascinating and the fact that it takes 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup. I need to take them up to Vermont in March when the sap runs and take them to Trapp Family Lodge sugaring house. I really prefer the Coty's house in Nebraska Valley, but at Trapp's you get to ski or snow shoe in, have sugar on snow while you watch the process and then after there are dill pickles and cider donuts. It's a really fun time that is a better experience than what it sounds like on the page.

It's been a slow day at work and sitting in my office chair makes me want to take a nap especially now that it is dark and raining out. I'm hoping that the rain slows before I leave here because I don't want to have to trudge through the rain and then sit in class all night all damp and uncomfortable. I really want to go for a run between work and class, but I've go to finish the readings and our first trial paper. My professor said that she isn't counting this first paper as a grade, but since I have no idea who to do the format that she wants I need to do and then have her pick it apart for me so that I know what she's is looking for for next week. This class is terrible. Usually my summer classes are fun and don't take the teacher a full three hours to teach a lesson. This professor is boring and loves to take up all of the time that she can even if she's not talking about anything class related. It's only six weeks, but  now I can't go to the Matt and Kim concert and I've had to sell my ticket on stubhub. Really really not happy about that.

I'm thinking I might go running after class. It will most likely be an inside run, but that means I can work on my pace today. I also want to get to bed early tonight or at least be inside earlyish tonight so that I remember to wake up in time for breakfast at work tomorrow. That's the only plus about the office on Friday's - graduate food. I'm also going out after work. I don't care if I'm super hungover Saturday morning, I just have to sit in a chair and I get to wear jeans. I asked Merrie what she's up to, but for someone who has been waiting three years to finally go out, she most often sits at home so it will probably be Anna who comes with me and it will most likely be late which means little sleep for Sidney so by the time Saturday night roles around there is a good chance that I will be passed out on Yonni's porch and Kyle will draw marker pictures on my face. Yonni intervene to God that I make money this weekend and make sure you eat that fruit. It will boost your immune system so that you don't have to take the cough medicine that your mummy probably hid from you. Also Cynthia, let's go dancing next week.

When I look out my window I see my friend's apartment building.

Soooo....I wasn't going to write and then I was going to write and then I wasn't and then the Captain said to Alfonso, "Alfonso tell me a story so Alfonso began: "It was a dark and stormy night and the Captain said to Alfonso, 'Alfonso tell me a story,' so Alfonso began," you get the point. So I decided just to write. I also have a boatload of energy because I'm eating way too late (I usually like to have my last big meal before 8pm but I got distracted) and I also took some old Robitussin that I found on top of my fridge and I'm not sure it its the AWAKE kind or the kind that makes you drowsy so I'm now trying to wear myself down and channel some of the energy.

Today started out bad and got exponentially worse in a very short time and other than a nice phone chat with Yonni (he passed his Praxis! Virtual high five bro!) and some potentially good news from my school boss, it wasn't until 5pm that things started to turn around. But hey we all have those days, hopefully yours don't include getting a boot on your car or locking your keys and your school books inside the car and then having to haul yourself across town to find keys to get yourself into your apartment and then into your locked car. Mine did! But thanks to Kat, Anna, and John who let me vent extensively to them, and to my advisor who gave me the number to AAA and didn't mind that I spent the entire class talking about registration instead of reading, and to Chris who was totally adorable to me for some reason. Boy you are going to be such a hottie in two years, it's a shame you're only nineteen now. And really once I got back into my apartment and chatted with my dad I really calmed down and didn't care about the day. In fact after I got de-booted, I went to Old Navy and picked up another work shirt (thank you small fat kids) and took a really long walk around Lower Merion. Thank god I walked because with this cold I came home with a giant trail of snot running down my face because I didn't have any tissues and I didn't want to wipe my nose on the sleeve of my good fleece. Gross, but I really like my clothes. My mom really pulled me through the day very unexpectedly when she sent me a text telling me to read the biography for Cathy Lamb on Amazon. Her books look lame and kind of like the stuff Samantha is into, but her bio is great. I swear I'm the East Coast version of this woman  minus twenty years. I've also become the Iron Chef of leftovers. Tonight it was just chicken, spinach, a leftover tomato, and leftover pasta. Totally tasty, but as I now look at the cooked spinach I am reminded of a friend who won't eat spinach because of a bad experience he had with it and the thought is making me vomit a little inside my mouth. Yuck.

OOOOoooo! New song of the day! I know I'm bad, but I swear I better about other things like boys and shoes, but maybe not majors since I did change that. But anyways here it is: The Naked and Famous - Young Blood.

I like Ike: The Canadian Orphan.

What a day or at least what a day to be on it! Or well actually what a day to check what time I have to register: 8am tomorrow morning. Thank God I looked because I was thinking that I was supposed to register sometime next week. I think this is going to be the second time that I will have been able register on time and I actually got an amazing registration time. Only priority is ahead of me so all of my classes are still open. In fact the biggest decision I've had to make is whether or not to take four or five English classes next semester. If I take four I can go after a Religious Studies minor, but if I take five, well then I'm taking five English courses. So I don't really know, but I have to reserve my place in at least four classes tomorrow morning.

Is that what five courses looks like?

I put my mirror on today. Yay! No more extensive head turning for Sidney. For those of you who don't know (my parents) I broke the driver's side mirror off of the side of my car a few weeks ago and have finally been able to put a new one back on. I'm a poor college student who can't afford to send her car to get fixed in a garage so I ordered a cheap mirror off of eBay and put it on myself. Unfortunately what was supposed to have been a ten minute job turned into an hour and a half ordeal that required my Uncle Pete to help me drill out a couple of rusted and stripped screws and take a hack saw to the old mirror. Is was quite the task, but I now know how to take inside panel off of my door, do some basic rewiring and how to replace a side view mirror. Screw college, I should just become an over priced mechanic.

On the ride home from Norristown while I was enjoying my new mirror I heard the new song from A Silent Film Driven By Their Beating Hearts. I am in love with this song. It's even better than their last single You Will Leave a Mark and it's on the radio a lot so I will soon be sick of it, but I am enjoying every minute of it until I am. MGMT is also making a radio comeback. Yay! I've been hearing Kids and Time to Pretend a lot lately and it's giving me freshman year throwbacks when Dan, Matt and I would watch youtube videos and pick the best music video. I always picked Kids and they always let me win! Though I think it that that had more to do with Dan wanting to get in my pants and Matt no wanting Dan to win. Either way. And if you haven't heard Arcade Fire's We Used to Wait you HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT. It is the greatest song of the season, I mean it.

Kind of an Eeyore day.

Today was kind of a lame day. Maybe it was the weather, coming from total sunshine to total grey can be hard on a person, but I just haven't been able to get excited to about anything or the urge to actually get anything done. In fact I'm only writing out of boredom and desperation. The morning started out okay, I got up at a decent hour and drove to school. I got lucky with parking on Old Lanc and went for a run around Lower Merion before class. I like running in that area; I can look at the old houses and it's very quiet at that time of day.

American Lit. was boring as usual. You could literally hear students drift off. The class wouldn't be so terrible except that the teacher speaks in the most monotonous voice and goes off on tangents that are not related to what is going on in the class. And then of course there's That Guy. That Guy likes to talk, a lot. And he has one of those pretentious voices that everyone hates to listen too. After class when I was walking back to my car alone, a car full of guy yelled "SLUT" at me while they drove past. That's where the day went downhill for me. There was no one around me so they were obviously talking about me, but I had no idea who they were or what they were even talking about. It's not like I was dressed provocatively: sweatshirt, running pants, and sneakers. I was sweaty and my glasses were sliding off my face. I was so taken back that my mouth hit the ground and I couldn't move for a minute while I tried to comprehend what happened. Who yells stuff like that at people? What are you, eleven? Anyways I wanted to tell a friend about it since he usually has smart opinions and is a guy, but I've been getting a weird feeling about him (probably just the day and I'm probably reading too much into his writing tone. I need to stop listening to the Ballerina when she talks about him) so I texted Marg instead who insisted they were just being plain RUDE. Still I'm feeling really mad about it and all I want to do is go to sleep and wake up  ready to go running for BOMF.

I also have a giant know feeling in my stomach area and it's making me feel worse about the day. I just feel so crummy and I want to cry, but everything seems too silly to cry about and I feel like I shouldn't waste tears on such silly things. It's just the day after all. Tomorrow will be something new and all the silly feelings I have about school and work and my friends will be gone. I'm just really smad about how the day is going.

There were two spots of silver in my dark cloud: Jon is excited about going to see Matt & Kim (now we just need to raise some funds to get tickets and get more people to go with us) and I got a second interview. 

Almost there.

I'm so close I can almost taste it. I have almost everything packed, I just have to go downstairs and fold my laundry and repack everything and then I will be set. Today was a monster of a day. I have been up since 4am on Wednesday and have been moving nonstop ever since. I briefly fell asleep this morning around 7am and woke up at 7am crying because I convinced myself that I had overslept my 10am midterm. It took me several minutes to realize that I still had two hours before I had to leave for school. I had to rush from my midterm to work because I thankfully switched shifts with The Ballerina. I had to get there early but I was able to leave at 8pm and have since then cleaned, folded, packed and showered and am almost ready for the rest of my family to get here. They're not expected until sometime around 2am or 3am so until they get here I'll just be up doing a little work and watching movies. Not the most exciting Thursday night I've ever had.

I'm thinking that I might not write so much while I'm in the Keys, but instead do a photo blog. Instead of lengthy posts I'll just show pictures of the day and have only a caption or two. I have family and friends that read this so posting daily photos will be much easier than having to call everyone all the time. Pictures are more fun to look at anyways than read some of the stuff than I write.

Book of the Day: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. A story about a hermaphrodite growing up in Detroit during the 1960s and the history of how their family carried the mutated gene through the generations.

Song of the Day: Pyro by Kings of Leon. Not their best technically but still sounds good and has been getting a lot of air play.

Shoe of the Day: Green corduroy slip on Keds. 

Wings and weather and Liam Neeson.

Murder, She Wrote on Netflix has become my latest obsession. I used to watch the show with my mom every Sunday when it was on the air and it has alway been a personal favorite of mine. I spent the day watching the second season on my computer instead of clearing the snow off of my car. There wasn't a whole lot of snow, but we still had a delay and I didn't have to go to class. I wanted to sleep in but I couldn't. I haven't been getting good sleep lately, I have a lot of school work to get done before next week's midterms. I hate that I couldn't catch up with sleep, it seems like such a waste of a good Tuesday, especially since Wednesdays are always the beginning of my marathon end of the weeks. Tomorrow I'm hoping I'll actually make it to service. With all of the snow and the key mishaps and my group not having had orientation, I haven't been able to get to any of my service runs down in the city. Hopefully third time's the charm! (Remember don't use exclamation points. They are only reserved for teenaged girl writing. Poor KM)

Tonight I went over to Norristown to meet up with Dre and then we ventured over to Blue Bell to have dinner with Dan. I try to get out there every couple of weeks to see them. I saw CharChar last week so it was time to see the other two. Dre kept making preggo food references at Dan, but it's cool, no preggo eggo yet. I will be excited when Dan does have a child, Little Ball of Laugh needs someone else to play with. I am tons of fun, but he needs someone who is more his height. We went to PJW's for wings and there were a billion teenagers there. It's like a larger version of wing night at the Sunset but without the high school field hockey team trying to eat 200 wings in one sitting so they can get free t-shirts to wear to practice the next day. 

I was watching Chelsea earlier and Emmy Rossum was on. Not a big Emmy fan, but she was plugging her new show on Showtime, Shameless. Showtime airs some of my favorite shows so I'm hoping that it won't disappoint. It also stars William H. Macy and Joan Cusack. Joan's the best ever since her ill fated head gear appearance in Sixteen Candles way back in the 80s. I can't wait to get to time to dig into Shameless. I also say Liam Neeson's Unknown trailer for the hundredth time and I think that that did the trick. I have to see this movie. I just need to find someone to see this movie with. My usual movie going friends don't go to see these types of movies. Quelle dommage!

I'm listening to Atomic Tom and The Toxic Airborne Event. They're the last artists played from a couple of days ago so I've just been listening to them over and over to save on having to make a new play list. I have to make a new one sooner or later, I just download a bunch of new music and I need to get it into my regular playing rotation. The sooner the better too, otherwise I'll forget about it. 

Freezing in the apartment. It's a constant battle with the window and the radiator. The window is usually cracked to keep the heat flowing around the room, but the radiator is inconsistent and it hisses at me when I get to close. So right now I have very cold hands that make it hard to type and is why there're so many errors in my typing tonight. 

Jumping around.

Grrr I have so much energy right now it's unbelievable. It's like when I listen to a hockey mix before a skating competition, that's how crazy my energy level is right now. And it really has me wanting to go skating right now. I called down to Penn yesterday so skating is definitely on for Tuesday morning. How many people in Philadelphia actually skate? Instead of skating right now I'm trying to channel my energy into writing something but I'm getting distracted by watching music videos on youtube and whenever I find one that I really like I start singing (poorly) and get up on my bed and dance around (really glad I didn't bring a guy home or that I have a roommate right now). It's good fun and I should do it more often. These are some of my favorites of the evening:

Moneygrabber by Fitz & The Tantrums. OMG I LOVE THIS SONG. And the video too. There is just something awesome about a skinny white guy singing soul rock in a blue and red themed silhouette video that makes me want to get up and jump on my bed. 

Shake Me Down by Cage the Elephant. Great song, creepy video. Though I will admit that I cry at the end. At first I reminds me of the pedophile shelter that Elizabeth Smart was kept in, but once you get through the video things start to make sense and after watching it two or three times, it's actually pretty cool.

A Silent Film's You Will Leave a Mark. Yonni Bananas was the first one to show me the video since I no longer have access to MTV at two in the morning. Love this song. 

Impossible by Anberlin. Lame video but really great song. 

Tighten Up by The Black Keys. It's funny that this group has been around for ten years and are only now hitting it big. What a fickle business the music industry is. The best part of this video is the little in the ray ban glasses singing with the deep adult voice. Awesome. It's also a throwback to Thursday mornings driving to Penn in 802. 

MY FAVORITE MUSICAL MEMORY IN A LONG TIME. Matt & Kim's Daylight. The Bacardi commercial is one of my favorites but seeing this band with Ginger Dan is one of my favorite memories in my entire life. Damn you cherry popsicle!

Carb Oh! Load.

Tomorrow is hockey down at Penn! Woot! Which means that in a few hours I will either be asleep and dead to the world or I will still up trying to keep myself from falling asleep, which usually never works and I end up over sleeping and missing what I didn't want to miss in the first place. It's a vicious cycle with me. We didn't have practice last week because of the weather, so it's ben a while since I've had to get up very early, which means that tomorrow night at work I will be asleep in the sink while My Hebrew Friend sells all the coffee to all the fine people of Wynnewood and the stupid ass teenagers who have nothing better to do with themselves on a Friday night. It's also going to be the first time that we have music in the locker room to wake everyone up and get them psyched to go out on the ice. Suiting up instantly made everyone a better skater so maybe a little music to pump them up will make them even better. Dear Lord I hope so! The (fun) part about this is that everyone is responsible for making a mix each week. I'm going to have to dig out some stuff but I may have to settle for Surfer Blood or Muse or maybe I'll get My Hebrew Friend to  help me out. He seems to be the expert in loud wake you up happy music that is popular with the masses.

Hebrew Friend, yes you, read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It will make you better read. Plus Hunter S. Thompson is really cool like that comment said. I haven't read Hell's Angels yet, but that's supposed to be good too.

I ate carbs for dinner tonight because I have practice in the morning and I'm going to need a little extra energy to get going and now I'm sleeping and want to crawl into bed, a little lame since it's only 9pm, but hey when you have do get up at 4:30am you do what you have to do. On the bright side some of the things in my bed smell a little bit like my perfume which is nice and pretty smelling. Love pretty girly smelling things. I also love Valentine's Day and have been looking for pretty cards for people. Target has already started looking pink and as stocked up on all things chocolatey so as soon as the 15th rolls around I will be in there stocking up on discounted chocolates. And by then I will have money again.

Sweet Disposition

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down

When We Swam by Thao with The Get Down Stay Down.

Local Natives

World News by Local Natives

This band is amazing and has a great indie folk vibe their songs. It is easily one of my favorites. You can check out my other favorite Local Natives song over on climbing trees.