Friday, July 31, 2009

I may or may not be counting down the minutes


Chicago is two days away and I haven't been this excited for a very long time. The actual purpose of the trip is to go to Lollapalooza, but that almost seems to fade in comparison to the thought of just getting away. We decided to extend our trip an extra day (thanks to our amazing guests) and I am looking forward to a blissful four (4!) whole days away. Take me Chicago, I am yours.

Oh, and here's my Lolla schedule. We are only going for one day, but we are going to see some good acts. I'm so, so sad to be missing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Saturday, but who could have seen that coming? The past week has introduced me to some great new people, so I have a whole list of people to meet up with once we get there. There is talk of a meetup on the 95th floor of a building overlooking the park and my inbox might just have a list of green room entrances and venues to catch some not-so-advertised aftershows. And, even if the music is horrible, and even if we don't meet up with anyone, we are going to have an awesome time.

Prepping for the trip has been quite the task. I've had to sign up for various insurances, have my car repaired, planned out a house-sitter for my apartment and substitute teacher for my class, and have been working into the morning finishing up projects. By the time we leave I will have gone through two interviews, a couple of meetings, and a photo/video shoot. Despite all of this, the question running in the background the whole time remains: What am I going to wear?!

I'm hoping to update throughout the trip (via my new iPhone!). You should check out (the always fabulous) Joy's post on Lolla to make you either more excited or more envious. See you on the other side!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Let the show begin...

Another busy and fun weekend over here. All of the males in my family (3 generations) have birthdays only days apart, so we got together today to celebrate. This family time (extended family, for the record) further convinced me that I will elope should a marriage grace my future.

Now, I'm heading out to The Dead Weather show. I debated for about a month about whether or not I should go to this show. By the time I decided to just go solo, tickets were sold out. Thanks to the magic that is Twitter, I'm now going to with one fab friend. While the album does not blow me away, it's pretty good and I have a feeling that it's going to be a great live show. Good times are most certainly ahead. I'll try to get a few decent photos.

Lolla is right around the corner! I'm currently really enjoying the music of April Smith:

Monday, July 20, 2009

What was golden went gray

Let yourself get over the vocals (or better yet, let yourself like them in their own weird way) and enjoy. Judge me if you must, but this is one my favorite songs. I love it even more with the video:

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Jumping through a hundred hoops























Having slept right through my alarm I am now enjoying warm tea (Black Rose Congou) on yet another cloudy morning. Today will include at least one nap with my dog, a trip to see my friends and their new baby, and some family time.

This has been the week to survive. I finished up an exciting project for a great client, made progress on another job, and got the green light on a new project. I interviewed for a freelance/part time gig with a design firm right in the middle of the Short North. I also signed on to teach one yoga class a week with a local non-profit group. Because of all of this, I've decided to step away from the internship I've been a part of all summer. Things keep getting busier, which is good, but it means that other things have to go.

When I wasn't staying up until the quiet hours of the morning with the Mac, I was meeting up with friends. This included:

:: two going away parties. One involved a late night on a patio and the other had me sitting with fight club guys (not even kidding) in the middle of a busy breakfast place downtown. Utah and Liverpool, you will see me soon. Excited for my friends' new adventures, but oh-so-sad to see them go.

:: a day date with the charming Mr. Clark, in from Japan. We hit up every hot spot on High Street and ate at all of the best places. He brought me chopsticks (from that time that he taught in Japan)(song lyric shoutout) that are adorable. Did you know that they made little kid chopsticks? Because they do, and they're almost *too* cute. Good to see that boy again.

:: grabbing some of the best pizza in town with two of my favorite ladies. We had been craving pizza for weeks and I can proudly say that we put away a large.

:: catching up with someone great via a walk around my new 'hood. This friend works in a funeral home and brought me "housewarming gifts, kinda". They included a pen from her funeral home that looks like a shot. It freaks me out more than I can even say.

:: Harry Potter, which was pretty good. I loved the way it was shot, and seriously, Helena Bonham Carter is amazing. I really liked the use of smoke in this movie, and thought it was more polished/mature in general. And wish I could find a neighborhood like Diagon Alley.

:: my last Crew Game with my good friends. He's on the coaching staff and they were finally able to announce that they were leaving for Liverpool to join Everton. The team won, and there were more hugs last night than I've seen in a while. Bittersweet.

So, I'm exhausted and looking forward to relaxing with my family (and my dog!). It's possible that some very exciting things will happen this week. I will, of course, share when they do. Have a great week!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Music to fill the space between

In my blogging absence, please enjoy some free (and legal) music, dear friends. Here are the lists that Wes Anderson and Ellen Page would have you listen to. Regardless of my feelings about their actual lists ( I like Ellen's for the record, and I think that Wes' is appropriate), I'm always interested to see other people's playlists. Enjoy!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Madness at my door

Ah, my 90th post!

I've enjoyed a blissfully rainy, stormy Saturday over here. I watched almost an hour of tutorials on how to do vintage hairstyles (oh, to have longer hair right now), ran most of my errands, did a few hours of work, went to a local concert series, stopped by Junctionview Studios for their annual "Biggie Smalls" show/sale, and ended it all with a walk and a latte. Despite the rainy day, there was a really great sunset. Welcome to my "day off".

Interestingly, I did all of these things alone - and didn't mind. Working as a freelancer means that the lines between work and home are really, really blurry. It's been a trying and stressful week, and today allowed me to clear my head. I'm going to be making some big decisions this week (read: changes) and I want to be as ready as I can. There are a lot of people who are afraid of doing anything alone, but I highly recommend it. It helps find some quiet and clarity. Having great people to return to helps.

I'm going to end the day with Joshua Morrison (thanks to a new music buddy) and A Confederacy of Dunces (thanks to one awesome and long standing buddy, Ms. Yacapraro). Yeah, having great people around helps.

Friday, July 10, 2009

But really, that's how it happened

To sum up the last few days:

E.E.: "I think they might actually be really horrible people." (and she's right)

Me: "Sometimes, I look around and wonder what happened in my life to get me here. Like right now."
E.E.: "So this one time, I ended up in a tickle fetish club in New York City. That was one of those times."

J: "The Wizard of Oz fan club."
- Response after I sent my friend my client's logo, asked him if he knew any more websites that might help me figure out a style to go with it.)

D:
"Dude, you were bad *** in there. High five."
- My tattooed rockstar friend, to a stunned 8 year old girl. She was pretty awesome, for the record.

J: Have you ever listened to suburban white kids with Biblical names?
Me: Who would be in that category?
J: No, that is the band name.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

I'll never forget that you sneeze three times

I just spent the weekend catching up with a best friend, my family, an ex, and some amazing people that I am lucky to have in my life right now. I found myself running into the person I was years ago and realized that I actually missed certain parts of my life more than I thought. Throw a good 7+ hours on the road, some fatigue, and some music in there, and you have an introspective weekend. Here is the soundtrack.


Twill
Shampoo
While You Wait for the Others
Saturday's Gone
We're Both So Sorry
 
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