Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Day Three: A Picture Of You & Your Friends


This is without a doubt my favorite picture of me and my friends. It's so awkward, it's awesome. This picture makes me laugh every time I see it. I love that everyone is doing their own thing and we all look terrible...and by terrible, I mean, terribly awesome. ;)

This is taken the day after my 23rd birthday at an overlook of Salt Lake Valley. My friends were celebrating my birthday and they certainly made it a very memorable one -- horseback riding, Indian food, cake in my face, carrying me half way up a damn mountain to this overlook because I was wearing 4 inch heels, etc.

I don't get to see them enough and it breaks my heart. My job makes it really hard to hang out with them. I'm hoping that will change this summer if my supervisor lets me switch to an earlier schedule. I sure hope so. I adore my friends.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Day Two: Songs I Listen To When I'm Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad


 
Get a playlist! Standalone player Get Ringtones

I started making a list of songs, but my list grew and grew and grew, so I figured I would just make a playlist instead. Sure, I don't think anyone in their right mind would actually listen to this whole thing, but it will give you a good idea of the stuff I listen to.

You may notice that I tend to listen to more "sad" songs, but I prefer them because I find they have more power and depth. It makes me feel better. Some of them are really random and many songs that I listen to aren't on this playlist because they were too rare to find on playlist.com. 

I'm curious, what songs do you guys listen to?

P.S. I just noticed that the song the plays on "Whatever Happens" by Michael Jackson is NOT the right song AT ALL. The real song is fabulous.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Day One: A Picture & 15 Facts About You

(I chose this picture simply to showcase my favorite octopus necklace)

Fact #1: 
I hate ALL pictures of myself. 
Seriously. Anytime someone pulls out a camera, my first thought is always, "Oh shit! Where can I hide so I'm not in it?" This is why anytime I manage to take pictures of myself, they are usually the mac photo booth ones that kind of alter what you look like. There are very few pictures of me in existence because I get rid of them all.

Fact #2: 
I can't hold still when listening to music. 
Music makes me want to physically move around. If I I have to sit somewhere while listening to music, I'll be tapping my feet, singing (or at least mouthing the words) and moving my body to the rhythm. If I have the freedom and privacy, I'll be dancing. If there are people around and I don't want them to see me dance, I'll pace around since my body has to move.

Fact #3: 
I have a rare birth defect called Congenital Synostosis of the left forearm 
(or more simply "Bone fusion of the left forearm") 
It prevents me from turning my left arm so that the palm of my hand faces upward. The bones in my left arm cross over each other and fused at the elbow. I have the most rare form of it because it usually forms in both arms. However, my right arm is totally normal. My birth defect prevents me from doing a few things, but mostly I have just found other ways to adapt. (For example: I play the guitar left handed instead of right handed) What's funny is my left arm is slightly shorter and skinnier than my right arm since the muscle forms differently due to the position of the bones in my arm. There is no surgery to fix it. I'm stuck with it.

Fact #4: 
I cannot stand monotony. 
I crave change. I especially need to look of things to change. I have dyed my hair just about every color you can think of and cut my hair in almost every style possible. I haven't tried varying hair styles for medium-long hair, which is what I'm going to do next. I rearrange and redecorate my room every couple years and switch the posters in my room to make it look different and more colorful. I have to try new things once in awhile or else I get so bored I feel like I will go crazy.

Fact #5: 
I love animals. 
I have an affinity for wolves. They have always been my favorite animal. I have an obsession with octopi/octopuses/octopodes (or whatever you prefer to call them). A few years ago, I watched a show on discovery channel about them and it made me realize how cool they are. Thus, the obsession began. I think they could potentially take over the human race because they are so damn intelligent. I love seahorses as well.

Fact #6: 
Yellowstone is my favorite place in the world. 
People have their religions, churches, temples, etc. I have Yellowstone. It's the only place I have ever felt close to what I would consider to be God. When in nature, it is the only place I feel connected to something sacred.

Fact #7: 
I'm afraid of drowning. 
I have had 4 near drowning experiences in which all of them I stopped fighting and accepted that I was going to die, but something would happen at the very last minute where I'd suddenly surface and be able to breathe again. Those experiences have prevented me from wanting to swim in the ocean and other large bodies of water.

Fact #8: 
I am afraid of clowns, mannequins, and dolls. 
They make me nervous.

Fact #9: 
I always remember the way things or people smell. 
I will crave that smell when I miss something or someone.
I really love the smell of books.

Fact #10:
When I get really nervous, I drink a lot of water to the point that I end up feeling sick.

Fact #11:
I get hypnopompic hallucinations with sleep paralysis.
Hypnopompic hallucinations happen upon waking from sleep and it only lasts for a few seconds. To put it simply, you get trapped between dream and reality so your eyes will be open, but your brain is still in dream mode so it's common that characters from my dream will appear in my room. Sometimes the hallucinations are scary (dead people in my bed, faces in my walls and ceiling, spiders or insects crawling all over me, etc), sometimes they are as silly as seeing neon lights flashing on my ceiling. The sleep paralysis kicks in when i see all of this stuff happening in my room and it terrifies me but no matter how hard I try to move, run away or scream for help, I can't...because technically I'm still asleep.  

Fact #12:
I have a freakishly fast metabolism. 
I usually have to eat at least 4 meals a day or I'll lose weight.

Fact #13:
According to the chinese zodiac, I am a rabbit.
I don't believe in horoscopes at all, but the positive and negative characteristics of the rabbit fit me PERFECTLY.
It is kind of scary how accurate it is in describing my personality.

Fact #14:
I love office supply stores and book stores.
I find them very relaxing. Office supply stores make me want my own office when I own a home. Book stores make me want to buy a white chocolate mocha and curl up on a couch with a good book. If I feel really stressed, I go to these places to relax.

Fact #15:
I have to constantly keep my creativity alive. 
If I don't do something creative regularly, I will become very withdrawn and depressed. 
Art is such a huge part of my life. I really think I would die without it.

Uninspired...


Oh, writer's block.

Usually I've got a million ideas to write about, but lately I'm just not feeling any of them or nothing is sparking my interest to even begin writing. Even my personal journal has been collecting dust. I've got nothing new to say except the usual boring nonsense my mind comes up with. I know I've been saying I'll write about more movies, but anytime I start, I end up erasing what I wrote because I hated it. I just feel very uninspired right now.

I need to start making time for creative things. I really need to draw, paint, work on calligraphy, ANYTHING to get the creative juices flowing. My creativity seems to have died lately. Exhaustion doesn't really help things either. Anytime I start losing my creativity means I'm losing my mind. Oh, wait...too late. That happened years ago.

A lot of people have been doing the 30 day blog challenge lately and while I avoided doing it, I think conforming is the only way I'm going to continue writing here for awhile until my creativity comes back. Perhaps it will help me think of other things to write about or post here.

As Tobias Funke said on Arrested Development, "Let the GREAT EXPERIMENT BEGIIIIIN!"

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Devastation in Japan


I wrote about Japan on my other blog. I'm going to copy and paste it here and add on:
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My heart goes out to the people of Japan who have had their world turn completely upside down due to the 8.9 earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. I woke up this morning and was almost late for school because I was glued to the TV. My heart was literally breaking seeing how much damage there is. Check out this article for some amazing, but heartbreaking photos: 


I'm glad there have been so many people who are reaching out to the Japanese people and I hope more people will be willing to give aid to the victims of this tragedy.

Let us do everything we can to reach out to Japan. Even if an ocean divides us geographically, we are still brothers and sisters by humanity. Let us donate what we can to let them know that we care.
----------
Today, I came across this video of the tsunami. It is very disturbing, but I think it is something people should see:
Friends, please keep following what is going on in Japan. I know there is a tendency to feel helpless when witnessing events such as these, but we can't become complacent and ignore their suffering. I ask that you do what you can to help, even if it's donating a few dollars. Any help is help.


Please spread the word.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Life After Midterm Hell...


I only have a math midterm left which I'm not worried about and my midterms are officially over. I cannot even begin to explain how happy this makes me. 

I have been so exhausted from all the homework I've had to do. Some of it I had to really half ass because I had no time to spend on it with my work schedule. I got two hours of sleep two days in a row since I had to stay up and type papers or read various assignments. I'm tired. I was supposed to go to my Humanities class this morning, but from my lack of sleep, I slept through my cell phone alarm even though it was on vibrate and it shakes my entire bed. Oh well. There's nothing I can do about it now. My body is in the process of recovering. When I get really stressed, my body revolts. I have had the worst neck and back pains. I'm shocked I didn't get any migraines. Midterms usually do that to me. 


I've decided that with my next paycheck I'm going to reward myself with:

1.) A new cell phone (one that I haven't dropped 17 times in a day and also in a puddle of water...oops, sorry Blackberry!) and one that actually works consistently. Two of my friends have the HTC Evo 4g phone and I always steal their phones and play around with them. It's a fantastic phone! My friend has been telling me to get one so we can play games against each other and even Skype each other. I plan on getting one shortly.

2.) A massage. I deserve it. My body is in so much pain.

I just need to wait until the 15th because that is when I get paid next. :)


I might be changing my work schedule for the summer. I'm trying to decide between the morning shift and the later morning-early evening shift. I'm supposed to decide soon before they start hiring more people. I might pick the later morning-early evening shift. I can't work nights for the summer anymore, it makes me even more socially retarded than I already am. I need to have the ability to socialize with people outside of work and do fun things.


I also need to start meditating. No joke. I always say this, but I really need to start again. My mind is ridiculous and I need to learn to control it from flitting around like crazy. I might take some yoga classes too. 

I've decided to not go to India in October. I'm sad, but I think it will be better for me to save my money and go to school. Taking a semester off will make me fall behind and I would have to miss 10 days of school for the trip to India and there's no way I could recover grade-wise from missing that much school. I also think I should be saving up to move out. It is critical at this point in my life to work towards that. I think it would improve many things in my life to live on my own. I may not be able to afford Italy in 2012, but I'm going to try! I really want to go! School credit and a vacation? Sign me the hell up!


I need to get my hair done. I haven't dyed it in 3 or 4 months. Because it was dyed with demi-permanent color, it fades, but you can see my natural brown even more now and I'm not liking it. I also need to change the style. I might try bangs. I've been looking at pictures lately for ideas. Now, obviously I'm not Asian, but I LOVE this girl's hair. I think I can pull it off. What do you think (for those who know me personally)?


Well, that's been my life lately and what has been on my mind. I will begin writing about movies again shortly. I need to find my list of movies first. I will write about my phobias next. It will be a good time. :)

By the way, I've been getting a ton of hits on my blog lately, even from different countries from around the world, so thanks for visiting and stalking me. ;) Feel free to comment or if you have any ideas for future blogs or want me to talk about anything in particular let me know.

(Hopefully your suggestions won't be too personal though... you can go to my other, more pessimistic blog, PSYCHOBABBLE, for the more personal, dramatic, bullshit I think in my crazy, little head, but that's about as personal as I will get in this format.)

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Busy Days, Amazing Music



People are always asking me for bands they should check out. Hopefully this blog may be of some use.

I have been insanely busy the past few weeks trying to get everything done for midterms. I've been listening to a ton of music in the meantime during my studying and have forgotten how many amazing bands and artists are on my ipod. It has led me to be introduced to similar bands.

The other day I discovered Ou Est Le Swimming Pool via an interview by the lead singer of AFI who said they were great. I looked them up and I totally love their music! 'The Key' (the video above) and 'Dance The Way I Feel' are my two favorite songs. You guys should check them out if you're into electronic music, particularly Synthpop.


Some other bands / artists I've been listening to lately:
* AFI - I will always recommend AFI. For my favorites, refer to the blog I wrote months ago on AFI. "Too Late For Gods" is currently my favorite song of theirs. It's a rare b-side. Love it, especially the ohhh...ohhhs in the bridge. Beautiful song.
* Autolux - I only have one of their albums, but I like them a lot. Check out: "Turnstile Blues" and "Angry Candy"
* Blaqk Audio - Yeah, of course I'm going to recommend them. I love these boys with all my heart. I don't think you can go wrong with any of their songs, but my personal favorites are: "Cities of Night", "Wake Up, Open the Door & Escape to the Sea", "Ill Lit Ships" and "Mouth to Mouth"
* David Bowie - I heart him! "Ashes to Ashes", "I'm Afraid of Americans", "Ziggy Stardust", and "Let's Dance" are some great classics.
* De/Vision - I recommend this to you electronica fans. I'm particularly fond of "Subtronic", "Addict", and "In Dir"
* The Decemberists - If nothing else, listen to "Eli, The Barrow Boy". "The Engine Driver" and "We Both Go Down Together" are great songs as well.
* Depeche Mode - Pure genius. "John the Revelator" is still my favorite song of theirs.
* The Descendents - I had totally forgotten about these guys as I don't listen to as much punk anymore. "'Merican" is probably my favorite song. This song pretty much reveals every single flaw in America.
* Faithless - "Mass Destruction" is a fabulous song.
* Fiona Apple - I adore this girl so much...maybe because I sing alto as well so I can mimic her better than other singers, but also because her lyrics are pretty amazing. "Shadowboxer" "Limp" "To Your Love" "Paper Bag" "Love Ridden" "The Way Things Are" are all great songs.
* Fischerspooner - Another recommendation for you electronica fans. I really like "Cloud" and "Emerge".
* Interpol - "Pioneer To The Falls" is one of my favorites.
* Julien-K - I saw these guys open for Evanescence a few years back. I really liked them. "Maestro" is by far their best song. "Stranded" is another favorite of mine.
* Ladytron - "Beauty #2" "International Dateline" "Destroy Everything" are my favorites.
* Madonna - "La Isla Bonita" Say what you want about Madonna, this is a great song!
* Mary J Blige - I used to listen to Mary J in high school. "Round and Round" "Time" "I Love You" "I Used To Love Him" are all my top favorites.
* Morrissey / The Smiths - I have the biggest voice crush on Morrissey. I'm in love with his voice. "Life Is A Pigsty" is probably one of my favorite songs right now. "Dear God Please Help Me" "The Youngest Was The Most Loved" "Margaret on The Guillotine" are great songs as well. As far as The Smiths go... "Asleep" "Big Mouth Strikes Again", "Unhappy Birthday" and "Unloveable" are great.
* Mumford & Sons - I'm usually not into the folk rock thing, but these guys are quite good. I recommend "Little Lion Boy" and "The Cave"
* The National - I've only heard one of their songs "Conversation 16", it's pretty fantastic.
* Nine Inch Nails - Even if you hate Trent Reznor or hate what he "stands for", most people still find a soft spot for the album "Still"..."Something I Can Never Have" and "Gone, Still" are my favorite songs. On the album Year Zero, "Zero Sum", "The Good Soldier", "Capital G", and "Me, I'm Not" are my favorites.
* Nitzer Ebb - This may come as a shock to some people, but I do love them. "Join In The Chant" gets stuck in my head a lot and it makes me laugh so much that I have nicknamed my left and right biceps "muscle and hate" as a joke.
* Null Device - Accidentally came across this band. "Notes From the Fallen" is a great song.
* The Offspring - X96 was playing their stuff a few nights ago and it took me back to when I was 10 and LOVED these guys. "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" and "Keep Em Separated" are their best songs.
* Peter Murphy - I love this man's voice! "A Strange Kind of Love" is my all time favorite song of his.
* Portishead - She is simply fabulous! "Sour Times", "It Could Be Sweet" and "Numb" are all great.
* Royksopp - My friend from work introduced me to them. "Remind Me" is their most famous song. It's great.
* Sneaker Pimps - I loved them more when Kelli was the lead singer. "Tesko Suicide" "6 Underground" "Becoming X" "How Do" "Spin Spin Sugar" are probably the best songs.
* Switchblade Symphony - Reminds me a lot of Sneaker Pimps. "Dirty Dog" is one of my favorite songs to sing...in the shower. Why? Don't know. I just sing it at the time.
* Thirteen Senses - I've only heard one song "Into the Fire". Love it.
* Wolfsheim - Great german electronica band. "Find Your Gone" is my favorite songs of theirs.
* Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll" is such a great song.

Well, enjoy! :)