The long journey home...

KING STATION:

SEATTLE, MORNING, 3AM:

36 hour journeys home makes for mucho photo fodder. Also, I'll hug anyone who gets the pop-culture reference in this post. :D

Sleeeep.

So I pulled my first (and hopefully last) all-nighter of the semester. It wasn't that difficult. I went on a taco-bell run around 11:30, and then Hannah came over at around 1. We studied until around 5:20, took a power nap until 6, and then studied another hour. I took a shower and we headed to breakfast and got some brain-grub. I kicked that IPE final's ass.

The two questions I wrote mini-essays on were :

1. Discuss the following two strategies of economic development: import-substitution and export-oriented industrialization.

2.  What is a social business? Discuss the potential benefits and challenges facing “social businesses”, using the example of Grameen Danone. Do you think social business provides an efficient alternative to foreign aid? 

Yeaaaah. We killed it. And everything is multiplied when you are sleep-deprived. It is the strangest sensation. Like normally I would never notice that really annoying person who sniffs ever 5 seconds throughout the whole test, but today, I almost killed her.

Wanna know what is killing me? This fricken snow and this cold. I'm going to die die die die die when I get back to GF!!!!! But it is a darn tootin' good thing that these girls had me around to be the bad ass who cleans the snow off of cars with her bare hands (wearing flip-flops) and to release the windshield-wipers from their icy prison using only her keys. My friends are all wimps from California and Oregon. It is a wonder I didn't have to pump their gas too! (which I did do earlier  in the week.)

Deck the Hall Ball... life as I know it....of

I still can't get over how much this concert rocked my life. Here are a few pictures that my friend Madeline took. I couldn't take my big camera, because I didn't want it to get damaged in the process of moshing. I got a few good cell phone photos, so I have beautiful backgrounds on my cellie. Also, the last picture is of Ben Gibbard, lead singer/songwriter for Death Cab for Cutie. He is probably one of the most brilliant men on the planet if you ask me.

The whole thing has really made me reconsider everything. What do I really want to do with my life? What is my purpose? Where do I want to be in a year?

I'm obviously not going to be on stage somewhere, but music is such a huge part of my life, and something I have a really big interest and knowledge base in. Maybe I want to do something in the music business.

I don't know. Just thoughts. And I've been inspired to pick up my guitar again, which I haven't done for a while. Valerie and I made some sweet music last night while we were jamming. I need new strings for my fabulous guitar, however.

I'm also trying to write some papers and I've been obsessively listening to Death Cab and the Cold War Kids. It is a pretty good time. Less than one week. Less than one week. I'm excited to see my family. I'm dreading leaving the beautiful, rainy, pacific northwest and going back to dreary, cold, snowy, nightmare Great Falls. My home is here now, and it feel weird to be leaving. I'm not sure what I'll be doing for the summer. Like I said, I have a lot of thoughts in my head.

Well, to part, I'll leave the video for Cath... by Death Cab for Cutie.

Deck the Hall Ball

Most epic night of my life, it really got me thinking about life, and especially my own future:

1.) Aqueduct: Fun, funk, Seattle-based electro pop. I dig it, especially the song that talks about "don't ever ask me where I'm from."

2.) Shiny Toy Guns: Great electro with a great mosh pit. I adore the drummer, a great musician who obviously loves what he does and who looks like a more electro version of Jack White. (watch the drummer in the posted video.)

3.) Cold War Kids: Hadn't listened to them extensively, however, they are an amazing group who really know how to tell a story with their music. They have gained one new fan.

4.) Death Cab For Cutie: One of my top 5 favorite bands. It was a dream come true to see them in person. Lead singer, Ben Gibbard has lost at least 20 pounds and was approaching sickly-looking, but the set was amazing. I officially fell in love with Ben after reading an essay he wrote this summer that summed up my complete emotional range right now.

5.) The Killers: Hot damn can these Las Vegas natives put on a show. They were full of energy, frontman Brandon Flowers moved about 110 mph the whole set, and it was the sexiest performance I've ever seen! The whole thing was topped off when the drummer donned an I heart Seattle tee-shirt and absolutely hammed it up.

Shiny Toy Guns - House of Spooks

I have to get down to business tomorrow when it comes to homework. I have 2 papers to finish, a presentation to work out, and 2 finals to study for. If I can finish a paper, and start the 2nd tomorrow, finish the 2nd and work out the presentation on Friday, and study for IPE on Saturday, that leaves all of Sunday to devote to my French final which is not looking good as of right now.

I also checked out some Kerouac from the library. I'm reading a collection of his writings from his youth as well as On The Road. I was inspired to read it by Ben Gibbard, and I'm really enjoying it so far.

I hope you all have great weekends! <3

Crazy, crazy night.

Last night was absolutely insane! We were chilling in the lounge, doing a little homework, watching Barbara Walters’s most interesting people of 2008. (10. Will Smith; 9. Michael Phelps; 8. Miley Cyrus; 7. Tina Fey; 6. Rush Limbaugh; 5. Thomas Beatie; 4. Frank Legella; 3. Sarah Palin; 2. Tom Cruise; 1. Barack Obama.) My floormate's roomie D comes in crying because she was having intense stomach pain. She had called a nurse at the hospital who recommended she come in, and she was just crying because she didn't know how to get there, and she didn't want to bug us, and I felt so horrible for her. So T, R, and I pack her into T's car and take her down to Allenmore. She got all checked in and settled, and she told us we should go and she'd call when she needed a ride. So I left her my David Sedaris book to keep her entertained and we came back to UPS. We watched P.S. I Love You and cried. Talked about death and cried. Cried a bit more. Just had a big cry fest. Then T went to bed and R and I stayed up to wait for D's call. At some point we both fell asleep in our chairs. We spent the whole night that way. We texted D at one point around 4, and she said they were doing a C.T. scan and she would be there for a couple more hours. So R and I went back to sleep. 7 in the morning rolled around and we texted her again. D walks in from her room, she had taken a cab home around 6:30 and was feeling much better because they had given her pain pills for the inflamed lymph nodes in her stomach!!!! I didn't even know that could happen!

I even got up for class and STAYED AWAKE through both classes. I would deem today a good day just based on that.

Tonight is mistletoast, so I'm going to go ice skating and have mucho funzo. I'm off. Love you all <3

mind-set...

I've figured out why I'm not as intense as the others on the crew team:

I have the mindset of a canoer. I want to go out on the water and paddle around, see the scenery, stay in shape, maybe catch a fish or two. I have no interest in bulking up on muscle or being religious about the sport. I'm really only in it for the water. I have a hard time being competitive in a sport that is only sort of a team sport, and definately not a contact sport.

They have the mindset of rowers. They want to win. They want to get in shape to win. They want to practice to win. They want to be the biggest, buffest, baddest team on this side of the rockies. They are in it for the competition. They are incredibly, almost disturbingly filled with competitive spirit.

I think I need to talk to my coach, because I'd feel bad if I bring the team down, but I love being out on the water. :(

Greenhouse...?

When I stepped outside this morning, it smelled like Bundi Gardens. It made me miss GF a little. And as I walked to geomythology past the forest in the middle of campus, the sun was shining through the mist in the trees, and I think I'll miss here even more when I'm there.