You'll never guess what..

...I'm ill again -.-

Hello All,

So its that time again when Sim is ill and she sits around feeling all pathetic and has nothing to do but rant and attack her laptop for not loading fast enough.

Right so, since the last time I was ill (that's how I'm counting the days now :P) I've had a pretty hectic time. So let me fill you in on a few of the things that happened.

Numero Uno:
My sister got engaged! YAY! So my sister is engaged to this wonderful guy named James. He's an awesome big brother and I am so proud of them. In our culture, the engagement (otherwise known as the Chunni and Shugan) is a big deal. It's a giant event in which the groom's family visit the bride's family and bring her gifts and do a little ceremony to signify that basically she's off the market and vice versa XD It was a long weekend of getting things done, but it went off without a hitch and everyone had a good time.

Numero Dos:
On the Monday after my sisters engagement I travelled 265 miles from my town to a city up north known as Durham. Durham is this wonderful city drenched in history, culture and beauty. I went there as part of a one night stay at the university of Durham as they have offered me a place next year. I absolutely loved it and it was a brilliant two days where I got to meet new people and basically took two days off school!

Numero Tres:
I saw the Hunger Games. My gosh. Well I'd love to hear what you guys thought about it. I finally got around to reading it last month off the back of Chuck's recommendation last year 8-) And whilst I loved the book and thoroughly enjoyed the movie, I felt like I needed to experience them as different pieces to truly enjoy them without tainting my opinion of either.
I find this a lot when I read books that have been turned into movies. The thing I love about books is that they can be so ambiguous; manipulated by the author but ultimately moulded by the reader. It comes down to this; every person who has read a book will have a different (even if it is only slightly) reading, and so movies, in my opinion, only really reflect the interpretation of the director and other key members involved in the design and filming of a book-adaptation.

Numero Quatro:
Now on to something a little more controversial/deep. I recently watched a BBC 3 documentary called 'I never said Yes'. This documentary about rape focused on the effects of rape and how the narrator felt the justice system was failing victims as over more than half of reported cases never made it to trail and how many women were not even reporting rape due to the stigma attached to it.
However this programme angered me for that very reason. Women. It discussed everything to do with women being raped by men. Men can be raped too. Women can be raped by women too.; yet none of this was even mentioned. This really bugged me. The show did nothing of trying to decrease the stats or even to help the victims (much, though she did help a little). Why is it that people now think that just by talking about a subject it will go away? I understand that highlighting the subject is important, getting it into the public's eye will help bring about change. But the way in which the show attempted to do so was not far enough. I believe that if you want to make a change, you need to go all the way, don't test the waters first, because if you do, you'll always find a way of backing out. I don't know if that makes much sense, but this has been bugging me since I watched it the other day and when trying to vent about it to my friend, I became muddled in thought and went off on a tangent.

On a lighter note, it's time for me to have medicine and sleep :D

Hope everyone is having a good week (and feeling healthy),

and hope to hear from you all soon,
Dftba,

Sim

My 5 favorite albums of ALL TIME.

Honorable mentions:

Disintegration by The Cure

Not Animal by Margot & The Nuclear So & Sos

Give Up by The Postal Service

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart by The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Rubber Soul by The Beatles

Disclaimer - I'm not saying that any of these albums are better than any other albums, they just mean a lot to me.

#5 Up In Our Bedroom After The War by Stars

When I was fourteen I got really, really upset (I don't even remember what about) one night and I walked to a parking lot a few minuters away from my house and spent the entire night listening to this album on repeat.

It's not a hard album to seriously fall in love with. Listening to this album just fills me up with awkward nostalgia for my first two years of high school. If I had to pick an album to go along to a movie about my life between the ages of 14 and 16 it would be this one and the movie would be amazing.

Favorite tracks: Bitches In Tokyo, Life 2: The Unhappy Ending, The Ghost of Genova Heights, My Favorite Book, Midnight Coward (stop me before I list every single song on this album)

#4 The First Days of Spring by Noah and The Whale

Literally the perfect break up record. That is all I have to say.

Favorite tracks (in order): Slow Glass, Our Window, Blue Skies

#3 In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel

After reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson (one of my least favorite books of all time) I was legitimately annoyed. The tiny little hipster named Lars that lives in my ears wanted to walk all the way to David Levithan (or John Green)'s living arangement and claw his eyes out. Why? You might ask. The answer is simple. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. Some of the sweetest tunes I had ever heard in my entire life were going to be absolutely DESTROYED by youtube comments like "OMGLMFAOAHHH! LIKE THIS IF WG,WG BROUGHT YOU HERE" and that seriously annoyed me... Then I realized that how other people percieve and react to an album has absolutely nothing to do with me. That realization made me love this album even more, which is the only think that pushed it in front of #4. Otherwise there would have been a tie.

Favorite tracks: King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1, Oh Comely, The Fool, Holland 1945, Communist Daughter

#2 Lifted or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground by Bright Eyes

"The picture's far too big to look at kid, your eyes won't open wide enough, and you're constantly surrounded by the swirling stream of what is and what was, well we all make our predictions but the truth still is enough. But if you want to see the future go stare into a cloud."

"And if I sold my soul for a bag of gold, to you, which one of us would be foolish one?"

"Well the future's got me worried such awful thoughts. My head's a carousel of pictures. The spinning never stops. I just want someone to walk in front, and I'll follow the leader"

No Lyrics have ever made me feel so PENSIVE as the words Conor Oberst sings in these 13 songs.

I fell in love with every single song on this album seperately. I never actually listened to the album in it's entirety until last year when I finally bought a physical copy of it... my relationship with Bright eyes has been so WEIRD. I discovered them literally right before I went to Europe for the first time. I heard a few FANTASTIC songs and bought their entire discography on itunes. I was putting the music on my ipod literally 5 minutes before I had to leave my house to drive to my Aunt's in Connecticut (I wasn't going with my parents that time), not realizing that I had deleted everything else on it.

The trip was honestly the worst trip of my entire life. I hated every second of it and all I had to distract me from how awful it was was Bright Eyes. Today listening to the album in it's entirety I can recall a memory from when I was there and listening to these songs. Memories like being on the Subway in Paris while listening to 'Nothing Gets Crossed Out' and having my aunt snatch the earbuds out of my ears because someone on the train obviously would have stolen my ipod. Or sitting by a window staring at the streets of Berlin while my Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins climbed up some random tower not noticing that I wasn't following them while listening to "Waste of Paint" on repeat. Or crying in the bathroom of the Louvre and thinking "I HATE YOU PEOPLE SO MUCH" while listening to "Let's Not Shit Ourselves" for the very first time in my entire life. Bright Eyes (and this album) got me through that trip, and they've been my favorite band ever since.

Favorite tracks: You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will., Let's Not Shit Ourselves (To Love and To Be Loved), Nothing Gets Crossed Out, Bowl of Oranges, Don't Know When But A Day Is Gonna Come, From A Balance Beam, Waste of Paint (I'm aware that this is more than half of the album but it's so GOOD)

#1 Kid A by Radiohead

Kid A is a listening experience. I almost didn't want to call it my favorite album because I heard it for the first time a few months ago. I mean I'm practically still in the honeymoon phase with it. But for me it's literally a little piece of heaven that fell from the sky and into my ears. The feeling I get when I listen to Kid A is like realizing that your favorite hobby is slowly killing you, knowing that, and continuing to do it anyway.

It's deep shit, but you won't find all of that meaning in the lyrics. This album almost transcends meaning. Everyone I know that has ever heard it and liked it took away something completely different, but when Thom Yorke closes it with cries of "I think you're crazy" you believe it. and it's hard not to cry at that point.

Favorite Tracks: National Anthem, How To Disappear Completely, Idioteque, Motion Picture Soundtrack, Everything In It's Right Place, Kid A, In Limbo (See the favorite tracks of #2)

DFTBA,

Chuck

Springtime

It's Thursday, March 22, the second official day of spring!

Spring is my favourite season! People and animals coming out of hibernation, trees and plants blooming. The sun getting brighter and staying out longer. It's a season of rebirth and rejuvenation.

This year we all thought we'd be getting an early spring this year. It's been a mild winter and the last few weeks in particular have been warming up lots. The snow had almost completely melted and I was getting ready to break out the summer shoes.

And then today this happened...

Oh, hello again winter.

DFTBA,

-Kim

P.S. HUNGER GAMES COMES OUT TOMORROW!!!!! =D

A Rant On Relationships Or At Least How us.reachout.com Views Them

I'm sure you've all seen those "We've Been There" commercials. Well I checked out the site out of curiousity and this was one of the things I read that I had a serious issue with...

http://us.reachout.com/blog/forever-alone-on-february-14

And this was my response:

I'm sorry Brandon but this is the biggest piece of horsecrap I've ever read in my entire life. It is very, very possible to be single and happy, however to act as if being in a relationship is somehow bad annoys me. I mean from the looks of it you have absolutely no idea what being in a relationship is like.

"You can concentrate on doing things you enjoy. You don’t have to worry about pleasing someone else, so you can focus on yourself. Maybe finish reading that book you’ve always wanted to read or start up a new activity."

Because it's totally impossible to finish reading a book or start a new hobby or (god-forbid) do something you enjoy when you're with someone.

"Your decisions only affect you and don’t involve a partner's wants, needs or contradictory opinion. If you want to go to a certain restaurant, go for it. You have no one holding you back, no one you have to consult with first."

You don't have to ask your boyfriend/girlfriend about every single thing you do, if you do have to do that you're in what is called an "Unhealthy Relationship". If you're dating someone and they're holding you back then it's probably time to end it.

"You can save a lot of money. Let’s face it, relationships cost a lot of money. The dates, the presents, the clothes to look good, the gas money; it all adds up. When you’re, single you get to keep it all for yourself."

1) Dates don't have to break the bank, ever. The best date I've ever been on was when me and my then boyfriend went downtown and I brought him to all of my favorite places and then he brought me to all of his favorite places and the food's outrageously cheap in that area. Bam, perfect date, practically free.

2) I (and most people I know) would prefer if someone spent a couple hours making a mix CD (a FREE mix CD) than anything you could ever buy from any mall

3) You should want to look good anyway... not for anyone in particular just for you

4) Gas money shouldn't really be an issue unless your boyfriend/girlfriend lives 40 minutes away.

That said, here are some logical reasons why being single can be a good thing.

a) You can flirt with anyone you want.

b) You don't have to fill your parents in on every single aspect of your significant other's life (if your parents are as obnoxiously curious as mine)

c) You can play the field and figure out what you really want in a boyfriend/girlfriend

d) You can have absolutely no reason at all.

It seems absolutely redundant to attempt to make someone feel better about being single by telling them that being in a relationship sucks... Better possible advice? If you think you're sad because you're single you'll most likely be sad when you're not. Happy people have happy relationships, better yourself before considering one.

DFTBA,

Chuck

Postscript: I meant to post this last night, like I had it all typed and ready to go... I guess I just never pressed "Publish Post"

The Spring Break Diaries

Okay, so yeah, I pretty much can't ever write on the correct day anymore. Please forgive me.

Anyway, this past week was spring break for me. Because Colorado was a little too far away, I stayed at my friend Kellie's house about 30 minutes from campus. It was restful.

Classes start again tomorrow at 8am, and since it's already way past midnight, I'm going to share one of my journal entries from spring break instead of actually writing a post. I've never journaled on the computer before, but Kellie got me started over break and it's been really good for me. Basically, I get to pretend that I'm some sort of cross between James Joyce, Donald Miller, and C.S. Lewis. It's fun.

Anyway, here's one of the entries. I hope you enjoy. I kind of ran out of steam near the end, which is why the ending is so abrupt, but it's the most presentable excerpt I can share as of yet. Anyyyyway... here goes.
---

March 12, 2012

So I've been reading. Today, Kellie and I went for a drive (her dad apparently trusts me enough to let me behind the wheel of his Nissan 350Z) and we went to Barnes & Noble and a used book store downtown. I bought a book of blank staff paper at B&N and a paperback entitled Games of Thrones at the used book store.

I was planning to do some composing in the music book but I got distracted by the fantasy novel. I've only read the prologue and the first chapter, but I can tell already that's it's going to be a good book. The writing style is refreshing: precise, elegant, and not at all flowery. It's almost too sparse for my taste but it's probably about time I read something that's not overly dramatic.

I think Kellie is working on her novel. She's sitting on the other end of the couch, her graceful fingers poised over the keys of her laptop. They move in bursts, sometimes tapping out letters and sometimes reaching up to comb through her long, soft hair.

I wonder what she would think if she knew I was writing about her. She'd tell me I'm awesome, probably. She does that a lot. I think she called me a “tank” one time. Apparently, it's a compliment. I've never known her to insult anyone so it must be so.

The apartment is dark, and although the dishwasher is humming and gurgling away in the kitchen, it seems quiet without Koufax running around trying to eat everything he can reach.

(Kellie just yawned and said, “Yawns are even contagious from the fictional world into the real world. Dmitri just yawned and so did I!” I love Kellie.)

Anyway, I'm sitting here in the dark and I remembered an experience I want to write about– it's not much of a story, but it is a thing that happened. Here goes.

The other day, Trinity asked me to deliver an envelope to Montecito Covenant Church. It was late evening, my favorite time of day, and I was feeling wide-eyed and quiet, the way I sometimes do. How do I explain the quiet days? Does everyone have them? I don't know.

It was a quiet day inside me, nonetheless.

I held the envelope tight between my fingers and walked out into the evening air, grateful for the task. The day before, I had cried in a professor's office, hoping he could tell me what to do with my life. He couldn't– at least, not in the way I was hoping, but he did make the idea of a day's work seem somehow noble. This job was my duty as a Christian, and I would carry it out with joy and contentment and peace.

The light was gold. That's one of the things I love about evening –and always have– the light. There are times when it is just the right color– do you know what I mean? The color of a different time, an earlier time. Childhood, perhaps, or earlier. The days of late summer come to mind; a plastic yellow measuring cup, tipping brown water into the gutter, translucent with sunlight; tiny blue shards of glass, strewn across the driveway like forgotten jewels; the strikingly bitter white taste of dandelion milk beneath fingernails.

I wonder what name I gave this feeling before I knew what nostalgia meant. When the light poured down as if from a window to another place, what did I call that place? Not the past– back then, there was no past. Then again, perhaps I have always looked backwards for answers.

Anyway, the light. It was full of memory.

If life is something we spend then green is the color of wealth. There are better ways to say that, but I can't think of any. Green is a rich color. Not rich like gold; rich like soil. Rich like life.

Green arched over me. At night, that path is so dark you feel like there's something weighing on your eyes, but in daylight it's a living, whispering green tunnel. It's almost like a jungle.

As I walked and thought about the jungle-y-ness of my surroundings, I looked down. I was struck by what I found there: a thousand imaginary kingdoms, a thousand countries, jungles, forests, gardens full of exotic fruit and flowers, tiny paths trodden by tiny heroes, villains, and mischievous elves.

Had they always been there? I realized they had. But it's been years since I've seen them. Maybe I grew too tall. 

I'm tired of writing. The light is gone. Maybe one day I'll be able to light it like a candle flame, keep it lit behind my eyes, blow it into life whenever I want it. But not today.

Goodnight. 

---

DFTBA,

Emily

Life is Weird

Sometimes unexpected things happen. Sometimes unexpected things are good, like winning the lottery. Sometimes they're bad, like a car crash. Sometimes they are just bizarre.

In movies you see the stereotypical teenage parties. Music blasting, people packed everywhere, kegs and drinking abound, people smoking, etc. Theoretically these kinds of parties do actually happen. I however, never go to them. My friends aren't the kinds of people who go to parties like that, we're more of a play charades and watch movies kind of party people. The closest any of us come to those kinds of parties is Cast Party, but even then it's mostly just a lot of drinking, not so much the smoking or drugs or whatever else. Also there's always the group of us that leaves before it gets wild.

We head over to someones house, pull out a bunch of food, put our jammies on and watch Disney movies before crashing. The next day we're tired but not hung over. Actors don't seem to realize that getting really drunk at cast party is a bad idea, especially when there's strike the next day, and that means the set has to come down, which means a lot of banging and loud noises. Being hung over is especially bad when the set is metal scaffolding. The techies and a few actors seem to realize this but the rest are just in agony the next day. But I digress.

The point is I thought I had made it through most of my teenage years without the crazy parties. But no. A friend of mine just invited me to his birthday party out at his cabin. "160 acres of forest with a creek going through it, far enough away from civilization to do as we please" Now I trust my friend, and looking at the guest list with about half the people invited it could be a really fun weekend. The other half however are the ones that are going to be drunken idiots, and smoking, and doing who even knows what drugs, they are some of the most irresponsible people I know and there is no way this is going to end well.

And I don't know if I should go or not, on the one hand I think it's a catastrophe waiting to happen, and it's not my kind of scene. On the other I do really like some of the people going and we'd probably stick together in slightly less insanity. And it might be interesting just to go and see how it is, there's always the possibility that I'm being way too uptight and it could be fun. I guess I'll just see who ends up going, and also what happens with my work schedule.

So that's today's random event. In other news I applied for a summer internship with an art society so I'm really hoping that'll work out! Today I also went to the chiropractor, and went shopping for a new table cloth with my mom.

DFTBA,

-Kim

P.S. Chuck's post reminded me that we also have Twitters and stuff so...
Twitter: @RunningInRhodes
Tumblr: http://somersaulted.tumblr.com/

The Day Late Blogger

I apologize for my inability to post on my own day. I honestly have no idea what to blog about at the moment so I guess I'll just tell you about the fantastic day I'm having.

The day started out alright my best friends Steph and Corri (The brunette and the ginger to my left pictured below) both simultaneously texted me goodmorning. I laid in bed and continued reading Anna Karenina which I had started yesterday while I was outrageously bored. Eventually I got up and listened to music and read some more and enjoyed the weather (it's 67 and cloudy).

My mom promised that we could pay the deposit for Purchase College making everything "official" today, which I must admit was pretty exciting to do. So I did that and then I talked to people from the purchase 2016 facebook page. They were all pretty awesome. Then I was lurking around on Facebook and found out that a band called Dr. Dog (that I have been obsessed with for a VERY long time) is playing at a venue in town called Northern Lights. I pretty much started flipping out and calling all of my friends who, of course, knew about it...

So next tuesday I am going to go see a fantastic band, I am now (don't judge me) outrageously baked, and I'm listening to a playlist I made to go along to a short story my ex-boyfriend wrote.

I leave you with songs.

DFTBA,

Chuck

Postscript: I gots a TWITTER! @ChuckGluesPaper