Catching Up, But Not Really

Brand New's show in SL,UT was cancelled due to illness.

I happened to be in WalMart with a favorite boy of mine, Blake Allen, when I got a disturbing call from Chris that BN's show in Salt Lake and Denver were cancelled. The bag of candy I was so excited to buy was immediately laid aside at the checkout line and I began to hang my head like a 13 yr. old depressed teenager (which, technically, I was still a teenager at 19 and quite depressed, though a little more mature in the head-hanging than the average 13 yr. old). I pretty much sulked all the way home and all that night and all the next morning. It was the single event in my October life that I was looking forward to most. It's okay though, because they're rescheduling... I just have to bide my time.

We had a day at Disneyland lined up, but unfortunately the plans took a turn for the worst, but in the end it worked out well! I spent my birthday having a great time with awesome people - literally, the whole 24 hours of that day - doing some fun and unexpected things. MWUAH to everyone who made it what it was!

Daisy

Man.

I've been meaning to save a post for my review of Daisy, Brand New's latest and greatest. I've spent hours reading reviews by fans, critics, haters, radio hosts... I've seen it. I've been preparing and brooding over what I'd say, but after all that thought and deep introspection, here it is: I like it. No, in fact, I love it. From the weirdly haunting gospel hymn recordings to Jesse Lacey's screaming vocals, it's a brisk walk down that dark alley we loitered in with The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me. This celebration of the edgier, darker side of life makes me thirst for more and keeps this album on repeat. Kudos to Brand New for always putting out and props to Vinnie for the significant contribution in these lyrics. I admire the hard-headed determination Brand New has in pursuing their unique sound and the wise choice to ignore the hopes and dreams of fans, musicians, and fads alike.

Well, I'll stop. I could probably go on forever about them and I don't doubt that the majority of my posts are about these kids. Tomorrow is my birthday. I plan on enjoying myself.

I don't like the thought that someone thinks he/she knows me. I like to think that I'm such an individual that since you are not me, you will never know me. Any thoughts?


It's been a while, but here's my song of the day:

Hanasakajijii (Four: A Great Wind, More Ash) by Anathallo

[Sadly, for first listening I could only find a live version in recording so it's not best of quality]

"Yesterday, the land went dry.
I sprinkled ash of my neighbor's urn
Over the yard.

Sprinkled in the hope
That should I cut out
A pie wedge,
I would find gold.
Buried in the ground
Between the grass and growth.

Instead, the earth skin cracking
And a great wind, more ash,
Slivers of the ground burning in the eyes
Of ones, who, standing there...

Long ago, when it all began
The dog would dig the ground
And whisper, "Master, come to the garden.
By your hand to the spade, cut away behind your house.

Cut away for coins. Cut away to the buried..."

Get excited.

I feel as if a blog post is in order due to some of the best news of the year and that is (drum roll)... The announcement of Brand New's 2009 tour dates! I've no idea if you knew this (honestly, though, can you call yourself my friend had you not?), but I'm pretty much a through-and-through Brand New fanatic. The tour dates and locations can be found here on Brand New's myspace page. Try not to drool on the keyboard because, frankly, the rumors are true; Brand New is the shit.

As a member of BN's street team, I am most assuredly and electronically under oath and therefore bound to spread the joys and wondrous news of this band. Their new album [named, then un-named, then re-named] 'Daisy' hits the US Sept. 22nd (so far away!) and the UK Sept. 21st (those bastards...). Please enjoy the album art, because I send out my props to the designer. It's simple and fantastic. BN's single 'At The Bottom' will debut on their myspace page Monday, the 10th of August and will be available on iTunes the 11th.

All right, for those whose first time it is on my blog, I have a disclaimer: I'm not a huge freak. Seriously. If you read further, you'll notice that I DO actually blog about things other than BN - my hate of Utah, for example. I just happen to be quite dedicated to my favorite band and a little too excited that their Salt Lake City (SLUT as i like to refer to it as) happens to be on October 9th - which is the day before my birthday! Weeeee *^.^* And although tickets officially go on sale on Monday the 10th, tickets can be found online at http://www.ducatking.com/. I love ducatking. Want to know why? 1. They sell all of BN's shows 2. The tickets are really cool! My last BN tickets were black and hot pink striped, and 3. I don't get screwed over every freaking time I show interest/attempt to buy anything(hey, TicketMaster, is that you? I'm still bitter, if you can't tell). But really. My gal BFF Carless has her tickets in sorts and will be travelling from Rexburg, Idaho to be with me on this occasion! Now I just need Barret to buy his and we're good... Let me know if you want to come/want to compare your love of BN to mine!

So on to something completely unrelated to Brand New...

I found out Darren from work loves sushi. Guess what, everyone? I, too, love sushi! It's good. We love tempura. This was probably the only interesting conversation I had today. I thoroughly enjoy talking food because hey, I'm Poly and I love food a little bit more than the white people. So I'm not going to bore you more with food, but I can entertain you with [DUN DUN DUN] http://www.emailsfromcrazypeople.com/! It is exactly like what the URL states - this is a site dedicated to emails/sometimes texts/notes/letters from crazy people all over the world! I spend many an hour at work flipping through these wonderful sites and it gets me through the day. Here are some links to my three favorite emails/letters in my whole, brown life.

Devil Worship and Christmas Lights
The Pets Clause
and my all-time favorite:
The Spider Story

These are the things I like to do in my spare time and I feel that I am that much the better person for doing so. Life is good. As Mr. Schott, my high school Latin teacher, would hate to say HABES BONAM UNAM!

It's everything.
The vibe.
The people.
This school.
Its culture.
The reach, the influence.
It's stagnant and festering and I can't stand the thought of being near it. I don't understand the kind of person that thrives in this and I don't mean to offend in any way. I gave it that chance and now I'm moving on.

A Matter of Life and Death

Hi-ho, friends!

Let's start with the good stuff ---> I'm loving summer. I love, love, love this carefree, nonchalant time in life in which people are more open, risky, and in my opinion, alive. There's a lot to be adored and enjoyed this time of year and spending unadulterated bonding time with my good friends is worthy of any endeavor. You know, I'm anxious to know what the future holds and to see the rippling effects of my choices throughtout life, but I can't live any less here in the present. I like it.

I've decided to not attend BYU this winter semester. In fact, I have a feeling that this will be the last time I reside in this great state of Utah. I'm not bitter, really. My reasons for leaving are not reasons of hate, oppression, or disbelief, but merely because I don't think I can ever be happy here. Utah isn't for me and in no way is BYU an environment that I want, or can, thrive in spiritually or artistically. I'm breaking out of this cookie cutter town and running to a place I've been happy in the past and can pursue my own dreams. I have my sights set on University of Canterbury in New Zealand, but I'm keeping my options open. I plan on working hardcore on my portfolio this fall semester here at BYU that I may have the best chances of getting into the BFA program...


Lately I find myself wistfully thinking of cool things to do, new things to try and yet I am faced with my ultimate nemesis in life: $

Down with money!!1 It's too ironic that I don't care for money and yet it's quite necessay for the life I currently lead. I want to road trip but I don't have money. I don't mind working for it, but sometimes I don't want to go in to work... Too many an occasion has this held me back. Why is school so expensive? I love that I pay for the things I need and do, but it gets annoying. Boo. Hence my ridiculous obsession with Burning Man. Seriously? I'm going. It's hard to explain what this thing is, but let me just direct you to their site --> http://www.burningman.com/

So on that happy and exciting note, I leave you, my readers, with a special treat of a song I am obsessed with:

Dear Readers (the few of you, I know),

I am so bored at work. Now that RUSH is over and the phones aren't ringing off the hooks with retards and slackers alike, I have not much to do! There is only so much internet surfing one can enjoyably do for so long and 8 hours is kind of outside that enjoyable time frame? But anyway. I have had a lot of time to do some online shopping, catching up on bills, a little pre-planning, and best of all! ---> I updated my Southwest account and I'm 3 credits away from a free roundtrip flight! This means I can buy tickets to go places? And then get a free flight after that! Also, applying for that Southwest credit card earns me 8 additional credits! I'm excited.

So what I think I'm most excited for are all the road trips and skydiving adventuring...! So uh... I can't think of anything more to blog about. I talked to Mom today. I had some Oreos here at work. I got to sit up front at the reception way early today! It was really nice. So after work Chris and I are going to hit up an Opera party and then a possible carnival in the Albertson's parking lot and then we're going to watch Madea Goes To Jail and we're just going to party hardy in celebration! Not that we have much to celebrate, but you know. It's summer. It's celebration time! I feel like this blog is lame. But I'm really bored.

There's not much to say in this post since the following song pretty much sums up my night and sets the mood for the summer. I was waiting for this. I took Chris' car, grabbed Barret and took off up the canyon. Despite being a small, desolate little town, Heber is kinda cute. Thanks to Barret, the music and our slurpees, I couldn't have asked for more




SOCO AMARETTO LIME:
Passed out on the overpass
Sunday best and broken glass
Broken down from the bikes and bars
Suspended like spirits over speeding cars
You and me were kings over the parkway tonight
And tonight will go on forever while we
walk around this town like we own the streets
and stay awake through summer like we own the heat
Singing "everybody wake up (wake up) it's time to get down"
(everybody, everybody wake up its time to get down)
And when I pass the bottle back to Pete
on the overpass tonight, I bet we laugh

I'm gonna stay eighteen forever (cut me open)
So we can stay like this forever (sun poisoned)
And we'll never miss a party (this offer...)
cause we keep them going constantly (...stands forever)
And we'll never have to listen (new haircut)
to anyone about anything (new bracelet)
cause it's all been done and it's all been said (eyeliner)
we're the coolest kids and we take what we can get

The hell out of this town
Find some conversation
The low fuel lights been on for days
It doesn't mean anything
I've got another 500, 'nother 500 miles
before we shut this engine down,
we shut it down

I'm gonna stay eighteen forever (cut me open)
So we can stay like this forever (sun poisoned)
And we'll never miss a party (this offer...)
cause we keep them going constantly (...stands forever)
And we'll never have to listen (new haircut)
to anyone about anything (new bracelet)
cause it's all been done and it's all been said (eyeliner)
we're the coolest kids and we take what we can get (wait forever)

(you're just jealous cause I'm young and in love)
Eighteen forever (first kisses)
(your stomach's filled up but you're starved for conversation)
So we can stay like this forever (new stitches)
(you're spending all your nights growing old in your bed)
And we'll never miss a party (collar weekend)
(and your tearin up your photos cause you wanna forget... it's over)
cause we keep them going constantly (appearance ticket)
(you're just jealous cause I'm young and in love)
And we'll never have to listen (November to...)
(your stomach's filled up but you're starved for conversation)
to anyone about anything cause it's all been done (...remember)
(you're spending all your nights growing old in your bed)
and it's all been said (nightswimmers)
(and your tearin up your photos cause you wanna forget... it's over)
we're the coolest kids and we take what we can get

Just jealous cause we're young and in love
You're just jealous cause we're young and in love
You're just jealous cause we're young and in love
You're just jealous cause we're young and in love
You're just jealous cause we're young and in love
You're just jealous... [turntable scratch]

Spring Term

So for some reason I decided to attend school during the Spring term and I'm starting to doubt my previous decision. So I woke up late, missed Photography, and went to Astronomy. I can already tell I will love the class and everything about it, so that's a go. I then proceeded to the Maesar Building for my Honors 150 English class - yeah, no. I got there like 5 minutes early and of course the classroom is already teeming with people chattering about their grades, how they dealt with finals, study patterns, their love of the English language, who got a 4.0 and excuses for 3.8's. I want to die. I like school-talk as much as the next person and sure, I like to rant about homework and teachers just as much but come on! Are we serious? I have two favorite quotes that made me want to gag and I would love to share them here on my blog. Please prepare yourself.

[during classic introductions to whole class - name, major, interesting fact]

"My name is Blahblahblah and I'm an English major. Technically? I took the AP test and got a 4 and don't have to take this class? But it's required for my major, sooo that's why I'm here. LOL!!11"

(Okay, so she didn't really say LOL!!11 but it was the ditzy, blonde equivalent of the LOL!!11. I hate her.)

And my more favorite:

" Um, I graduated high school when I was 13. So, yeah."

Don't you love it?! Nah, I really shouldn't be annoyed but I wasn't in the mood, which makes it all the worse for the situation. Upside? My teacher is a bloody Greek god. He told us his life story and it was surprisingly depressing - lost his first wife to cancer, raising his son alone, marrying again to a widow with 2 children and all the drama and jazz that comes with that. Either way, I'm dropping the class. I've decided to pay tuition per credit and focus on those classes. It should be good.

So back to the real reason I am blogging today - my dearest coworkers Hollie and Lacey have started biding their time here at work by blogging and I've decided to follow suit. Today there was an empty seat next to Hollie and she wanted me to sit next to her - cool, I like Hollie. Usually she bathes and is a tidy cubicle mate, but this time I was at a desk with a working headset! Do you know that these working headsets are hard to come by? I look cool with a headset. Plus, she was sitting right by the 2 supervisors who are always hassling me about missing work and what not. Can't risk that. *sigh* I have.... 1.25 hours til my lunch break and then another 4. Bringin' in the bacon, baby! Also, Hollie has brought to my attention that my blog needs pictures? I am getting on to that. Let's see.. Here's a random for your enjoyment. I swear future picture posts will be more relevant.

fmylife of the day:

Today, I finally got my cast taken off my leg after a long month of crutches. I was so excited, until four dead spiders fell out. FML

Splutter

No - end of semester resolution: Be more assertive and more vocal. I'm done with this passive complacent business I've let go too far for too long. It's time I do something for myself.

In honor of the new Where The Wild Things Are movie coming out, I dedicate this post's lyrics of the day to an amazing band called Arcade Fire.

Lyrics of the day:

Children wake up, hold your mistake up
Before they turn the summer into dust
If the children don't grow up
Our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms
turnin' every good thing to rust.

I guess we'll just have to adjust.

"Wake Up" Arcade Fire

You Wish You Knew

I got into this rut of... how do I put this... not giving a damn? Right now I really don't have the energy nor desire to indulge other people. I feel as though I spend a lot of my time accommodating everyone else that I neglect myself in the process. Once I hit that stage I'm like 'Done.' and all nice processes shut down and the attitude kicks in. But that's okay because I'm usually determined to enjoy myself and if you're included in the euphoria then all the merrier, yay for everyone! I hit one of these points in life during high school and I decided that it wasn't worth the emotional investment - I've become one of the most apathetic, care-free persons in the world and I'm completely at peace with that. Sometimes it gets a little out of hand and I have to make myself do stuff, but really it's touch and go from here on out.

It's a lifestyle I recommend to everyone who can handle such a daring adjustment.

By the way, I'm going sky diving in the summer with my roommate Sarah. Any takers?


Lyrics of the day:
This is the craze only we can bestow.
This is the price you pay for a loss of control.
This is the break in the bend.
This is the closest we've called.
This is the reason you're alone.
This is the rise and the fall.
-"Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't"
brandnew

PS
I feel like there's a fine line between apathy and procrastination and I krump on that line.

Crush

I hate realizing you're more stressed than you thought and it hits you all at once. Haha...