Last Post of 2011!!

Hey guys. It's been a while, hasn't it? I guess my excuse for not writing is that I had finals week, and then I had the week-for-recovering-from-finals week, in which I got dreadfully sick. Twice. But I'm better now and things are well.

I'm at home now, which is a little weird. I haven't been here since August, and though I'm used to being back now, it was very strange at first. I walked into my room and for a minute it felt the way it did when we hadn't bought this house yet, when we were just looking: that it was a room, but not my room. Blank walls and other people's stuff all over. My dog remembered me, at least.

Christmas was good. As is our tradition, we went to visit my grandparents in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming. It was nice to see them again.

I miss Santa Barbara. I miss the warm. I miss my friends. You know, I don't think I really knew what it meant to feel homesick until I came back here. It's weird.

Also, this post is weird, isn't it? Kind of random. Sorry about that.

Ummmm. Well, anyway, to those of you who are still reading: I just want to let you know I still read all the posts even if I forget to write. This blog is one of the coolest things I've ever been a part of. Let's not forget about it.

Next week, and I'm making this official, let's write about New Year's resolutions, okay? That'll force me to think of one.

Alrighty! Keep in touch, my friends!

DFTBA,
Emily

Sorry this is a bit late...

Technically it's Friday. But it's 4am for me and I haven't gone to sleep yet so it still seems like it's Thursday night, does that count?

I was going to try and start getting better about being a bit more thoughtful while writing, but as I said it's 4am. So because it's something I can easily comment and write on here is how my week has been:

Good! Busy! As per usual :P

Christmas was really nice. Every year on Christmas morning we get up, open presents, and head over to my grandparents house for brunch. My cousins and aunt and uncle all go over as well and it's just really good to have all the family together. The afternoon usually varies, some years (like this year) we just go home for a few hours, other years all us cousins will go sledding together. Then it's back over to Grandma and Grandpa's for turkey dinner! I kind of feel like the two main parts of Christmas are Family and Food. So much food.

Did you all have a good Christmas? What did you do?

Other than Christmas it's been a pretty normal week. Work's calming down a little now that we're getting past Christmas and Boxing day. My sister had a "holiday get together" (or as I would call it a party) at our house tonight so that was fun. I've really enjoyed being able to spend time with my friends while we've had a break from school and everyone's home.

Also, Doctor Who Christmas Special. So good. I cried. Sometimes I forget just how much I love that show until I watch another episode and then the love just comes flooding back!

DFTBA,

-Kim

Well.. It's been a while.

First and foremost, an apology.
I'm so sorry that I haven't been keeping up with this blog. With the end of the school year and Christmas and other stuff.. I just couldn't find time. But I'm back now! And hopefully the others will come too.. Hopefully.

Secondly, Kim, Sim and Emily.
You three are amazing. When the rest of us weren't updating - you three were. Thank you! If it weren't for you three I may have forgotten about this blog.. But I haven't.

Thirdly, a promise.
I promise to post every Wednesday. As I should've been doing for the past few months.

And I guess that's all..

DFTBA? And I'll be back next Wednesday..
Caitlin x

(I'm bad at titles :S)

Well I'm finally finished this semester of school. One the one hand it's nice to have a break, no more exams to study for or assignments to worry about. Yet it's also completely terrifying.

I decided that there was nothing more for me to do at the university I'm at right now, I'm not working towards any specific degree and any credits I do earn aren't applicable for transfer to the kind of program I want to go into. So I won't be returning to school in a few weeks like most of my friends. Ideally I'll be going back to school in September but since I'm not yet accepted into another school there's a possibility that I'll be off for more than just one term.

For the first time in my life I really don't know what lies ahead of me. Until now there has always been a concrete plan, every step my life will take determined in some form at least for a few years at a time. Now I'm looking straight into the unknown. I do have short-term plans to carry me through a few months but after that I really don't know what will happen.

January I'm still here at home, working my same part-time job I've had for a while and working on getting the best portfolio together that I can. I'll try to spend some time getting some project type things out of the way; getting my drivers lisence for example, and first aid certification. I have a month to just try and get some things done that I feel I should do.

February follows and it's pretty much all traveling. First to London then to Vegas. Once I'm home the idea is to get a full time job somewhere, just work and try to save up money for school. If I get into the school I've applied to I'll just work straight through until september. If I don't I'm not sure yet what will happen. Maybe I take a year off, maybe I apply elsewhere. I have no idea where I'll be or what I'll be doing this time next year and that's kind of frightening.

I've been trying hard to just enjoy the now and take things one day at a time. Every so often though I realise just how fast time is hurtling past and have to brace myself for the onslaught of the unknown.

On a happier note, it's only a few days until Christmas!

Merry Christmas and DFTBA!

-Kim

Fancy a Cuppa?

...I'll just pop the kettle on then :)

Today was my last day of school and we now break up for the Christmas Holidays. I'm not too sure how I feel about it yet. Christmas is only a week away and I'm not really in the 'Christmassy' mood yet :/ Though the decorations are up and I've done the majority of my Christmas shop and my donations.

I've just sorted out all the work that has to be done before I return to school on the 3rd, and its ALOT. On top of revising for my January exams, I have to write an essay on gender roles in the three texts we've been reading. We get to choose the specifics of our titles and I've decided that mine is going to be ' An analysis of the portrayal of gender, sex and violence in the works of Angela Carter, Carol Ann Duffy and Charles Bukowski'. As the crazy person I am, I'm looking forward to writing it, but not looking forward to the 9 book pile of stories and poems and all the critics articles I have to read before I start writing it.

Other than that, I hope everyone is alright and that we can all hopefully get together next week on the blog before Christmas.

DFTBA

Sim

Just Popping in to Say Hi

Hi!

Sorry for the lack of post last week, and this week really. Gotta study for exams!

Hope you're all doing well!

DFTBA,

-Kim

Christmas Festival!

I cannot even describe to you all how epic my weekend is. We're in the middle of the college's Christmas concert festival, in which the orchestra and all of the choirs get together and put on a free concert of Christmas music. We're doing about half of Handel's Messiah, including the Hallelujah Chorus that everyone knows. It's epic. And I don't mean epic as in "dude, that's epic", but epic. 


These Christmas concerts are really popular. Last year, the tickets sold out in 2 days. This year, the tickets went on sale in early November and sold out in 40 minutes. We opened last night and the hall was packed. And it was probably the happiest audience I've ever played for.

I wish I could tell you guys all about it but you probably wouldn't be interested in the details anyway. Suffice it to say that I'm having an amazing time. It's exhausting to play the whole program every night but SO worth it.


I don't really have much else to talk about. Other than the fact that finals are coming up and I'm woefully underprepared in one of my classes and I should be studying for that right now....

In conclusion, listen to this:

Living in Colour

*

'I tried so hard and got so far

but in the end it doesn't even matter

I had to fall to lose it all

But in the end it doesn't even matter'
In the End - Linkin Park

*

Sometimes a downward spiral accelerates and becomes a slippery slope leading to a bottomless pit, a sort of oblivion. Feelings of sadness causing a disinterest in the majority of things you used to enjoy to do.

First things first, I'm not depressed. I'm not crazy. I'm not whining.

'People' don't seem to understand moods. Moods can change; up and down. The people who stay with you for both extremes and all in between are the people worth calling your friends.

*
'I fear oblivion'
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
*

I've heard that life is long. I've heard that life is short. It can't be both, but recently I understand both. Life is mysterious and hard and confusing. You can spend your whole life trying your hardest and finally think you understand what's going on and it comes crashing down around you. I've seen this happen to people older and younger than me. Around me, life doesn't seem to be lived any more. People just do what they do because that's what they feel they need to do to get to the end of the day. This saddens me.

*

'On the day they gave out super powers, I was in the garden smelling some flowers.
I guess I missed out, cos I was a little too late. Now I feel more or less like a zero,
cos everyone around me is a superhero.
But at least the flowers in yesterday's garden smell great'
Yesterday's garden - Ed Stockham

*

Passion is the key. Find something you love doing and do it again. Hone your skills, perfect them. Watch someone do it better. Get upset. Get annoyed. Try again. And again. And again. Do it because you love the feeling it gives you, the fire it ignites deep inside your heart. Do it because if there was nothing else you had to do, you would do it all the time. Life is whatever you make it, so make it happy. There will be times where you'll be heartbroken; by someone else, by yourself. But that heartbreak, it's what helps you to strive to do better. It makes you want it more and in the end, it makes you a better person.

*
'You could be happy, I hope you are'
You could be happy - Snow Patrol

*

I've felt like giving up everything I've tried to achieve this past year. When it gets thrown back in your face, you don't know what to do. You aimless go through the motions and tell everyone that its okay. You know you'll be fine in the long run, but it still hurts now. Your confidence is shaken and you start to question practically everything.
Life becomes meaningless; those big philosophical questions hover in your mind, like they often do in those little unknown indie movies. What is life? What is the purpose of my being? et cetera, et cetera.

*
You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present'
Looking for Alaska - John Green
*

I was walking home today from my sister's house. The chill of the air nipping at my fingers and darkness setting in. My mind wandering at a thousand miles per hour when a particular song came on my ipod.

'I feel better and better and worse and then better
than ever, than ever, than ever'
I Feel Better - Frightened Rabbit

Listening to that song made me realise that all these questions I was asking myself, all these doubts I had about my intelligence, my passion and my ability to succeed in life, were pointless. Life is difficult to describe and harder to find a meaning for. At the end of the day, if you are happy and you've tried your hardest, then you've succeeded. We often forget that as we get wrapped up in the details we find imposed on us. Where are you going? What you doing with your life? How will you provide for yourself? All relevant questions, but we're still just teenagers. Our biggest worry shouldn't be these.

We should be happy and that's all that should matter.

Living in Colour - Frightened Rabbit

Hi There :)

I'm trying to keep my life organized, I really am, but it's becoming increasingly difficult. I have a to-do list that's four pages long, finals are coming up, and I have a cold. There seriously is not enough time in a day!

There was just the most gorgeous bird in my tree! It flew off right away but I still got rather excited.

Anyways, I'm trying to think of something to talk about that's not just "my life is busy!" because my life is never not busy, it just goes through phases of being more or less busy.

OH! Exciting news though! I don't know if I mentioned this but I had applied to a theatre design program at a school in London and I have an interview February 9th! So I'm going to London for a week in February! So excited! And if anyone has suggestions on what to do/see let me know :)

I already have a long list of shows I want to see and I know I can't see them all, but I'm just such a theatre nerd! I think the best shows I've ever seen/worked on are Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Spring Awakening, and Billy Elliot. They're all beautiful shows, which fill you with joy at one turn and sorrow at another. Each time I see them something new comes to light.

Do all of you see theatre sometimes? And if so what are your favourite shows?

DFTBA,

-Kim