I'm back!

That's right, I'm back.  After a rather long blogging hiatus.  I am sure everyone is just elated.

These past two weeks have been a safe mix of fun, relaxing, tumultuous, and some other adjective I can't think of right now.

As mentioned in a previous post, I flew down and visited my parents in Florida for 5 days.  It was a very nice, short and sweet getaway.  My mother and dad were staying in townhouse (with their dogs) and my sister and I stayed in the townhouse next door.  Falling asleep and waking up the ocean right outside the bedroom window was absolutely fantastic.  And makes me wonder why I am still living in the Midwest?  Anyway, it was nice to hang with the family each day and take the puppies for walks multiples times a day in the Florida sunshine.  My aunt and uncle were staying in a condo about a mile down from our townhouses, so we would walk the beach to go visit them as well.  It was all very nice.  ...Until the trip back home.  My sister and I endured so many delays with our flights and ended up traveling home for nearly 16 hours.  Gross.  I hate being delayed in airports.  Especially with my crabby sister who hates flying and hates being delayed more than anyone I have ever met.  While I am trying to make the long day tolerable and fun, she is complaining to pretty much anyone who will listen.  Oh well.  That is Kim, and how she has always been I guess.  I should be more used to it.

Once we finally made it back to my parents' house, I spent time with some good friends and visited R.M.'s family for a couple of days which was fantastic.  There is never a dull moment at R.M.'s parents' house.  With four boys, I guess there really shouldn't be.  Very fun.

Now, though, I am back in La Crosse which feels incredible.  I've missed my flat and not constantly being surrounded by people.  (Is that wrong to say?)  It is just nice to be home I guess.

Well that's all I got for this afternoon.  I am feel thoroughly exhausted for some reason.  I closed the bar last night with my friend/co-worker, TJ, which was very enjoyable but draining.  Willie Nelson played at the venue directly across the street from the hotel so we were insanely busy.  It felt good to get back into the swing of things, but now I am tired and have so much to do.  Missing a week of classes = endless amounts of make-up papers to complete.  Papers which I have not started (I refused to do anything academically-related in Florida, and I can never get anything done at my parents' house).  So, today, at some point, I must be incredibly productive and whip out a few papers I have been putting off for two weeks.  Should be a great day.

I will have to post a few photos from my getaway.  There are a couple good ones on my mother's camera if I remember correctly.  Stay tuned.

Track du Moment: "On The Weekend" by Neil Young

Pining for Yasmine

I have been pining over these Aquatalia by Marvin K. "Yasmine" shoes for nearly a week now.

Aren't they lovely?  Even more lovely when worn with tights and shorts.  Yes, I've tried them on from my favorite shoe store here in La Crosse (www.shopkickshoes.com).  But, they are $325.  A little much for my poor college student-like budget. 
*Sigh*  :)

Track du Moment: "Oh What A World" by Rufus Wainwright

Untitled

Life has a silly way of working itself out, don't you think?

(I hope so anyway).

(R.M., me & friends at a Bon Iver show last year)

Track du Moment: "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen

Dead Man's Bones

This is pretty neat.  I like Ryan Gosling.  After "Lars and The Real Girl" and "Half Nelson" (and now he can sing?!) what is there not to love?

Enjoy.

Track du Moment: See above

Totally Awesome

"Chicks think that cool when you caught clap before."

HA HA.

Track du Moment:  "Thieves" by She & Him

a Thursday Tradition

It is Thursday!  Classes are finished, naps have been had, coffee has been drunk, and now I am very much ready for this evening.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Thursday nights are reserved for cheap beer, my weirdo friends, and karaoke at The Cav.

LOVELY.

And what's more is that R.M.'s entire family (minus one brother) is coming up for the evening.


LOVELY.


Also, I finally booked my plane ticket to visit my parents in Florida the week prior to my spring break!  Florida sunshine, my mother and dad, my wonderful sister, and our dogs all packed into an ocean front condo for a week or so.

LOVELY!

Now, feast your eyes:

Well, this is a photo of my friends and me in the 

Dominican two years ago, but you know.
It's still an ocean.  It's still sunshine.

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One of the said dogs (Milo) and me.
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The other said dog (Madeline).
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They will take Florida by storm.

Cheers to all!

Track du Moment: "Evergreen" by Ryan Adams

The pleasure, the privilege is mine

Take me out tonight
where there's music and there's people
who are young and alive
driving in your car
I never never want to go home
because I haven't got one anymore

Take me out tonight
because I want to see people
and I want to see life
driving in your car
oh please don't drop me home
because it's not my home, it's their home
and I'm welcome no more

And if a double-decker bus
crashes in to us
to die by your side
is such a heavenly way to die
and if a ten ton truck
kills the both of us
to die by your side
well the pleasure, the privilege is mine

Take me out tonight
take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
and in the darkened underpass
I thought Oh God, my chance has come at last
but then a strange fear gripped me
and I just couldn't ask

Take me out tonight
oh take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
driving in your car
I never never want to go home
because I haven't got one
no, I haven't got one

And if a double-decker bus
crashes in to us
to die by your side
is such a heavenly way to die
and if a ten ton truck
kills the both of us
to die by your side
well the pleasure, the privilege is mine

There is a light that never goes out
There is a light that never goes out
There is a light that never goes out
There is a light that never goes out

 _______

I have been obsessed with The Smiths lately.

Track/Video du Moment:  See above

Last Night

Last night, while watching a film with R.M.:



"I am so happy you don't wear sweatpants."  -me (of course)

"And I am so happy your love for me is conditional."  -R.M.




He he hehe.

:)

Track du Moment: "I Wouldn't Need You" by Norah Jones

Apple of My Eye

This makes me smile, laugh and feel free.

Would you always, maybe sometimes, make it easy

These past few weeks have been a beautiful whirlwind. 
Filled with work, class, family, friends, and smile-inducing love which fills my everyday. 

I have hardly a complaint.

__________

School is going well.  Tedious, but less time-consuming this semester as I have been skipping several classes each week (and don't have classes on Fridays).  My weeks practically fly by!  This, I know, is partially (mostly) due to the fact that my partner in crime is once again present in my life and makes each day/night a fun little adventure.  Few people can make Mondays tolerable and, dare I say, incredibly enjoyable.  But, you know, I found one of those people.  So all days are fairly spontaneous and very fun.

___________

I will be volunteering at an Eco-Park this semester.  I am very much looking forward to this.  I will be committing a few hours every week to this NPO as part of a semester long project for my Environmental Studies capstone course.  But, truthfully, it has been something I have wanted to do for nearly two years now but just failed to follow through with.  I will be helping out in the offices of the Eco-Park building (excited to learn the ins-and-outs of a successful NPO), as well as leading group tours through the forest and marsh land surrounding the park.  However, the main part of my "job" will be taking children on mini-adventures through the forest/marsh and teaching them about conversation, preservation, and local wildlife.  I am pretty excited for this to get started.  Stayed tuned for Eco-Park updates.

___________
Thursday:

This weekend has been such a success thus far.  As I mentioned previously, I have zero classes on Friday so I consider my weekends to start on Thursday (love this).  Thursday night was spent karaoke-ing at one of our favorite bars, The Cavalier.  This is a Thursday night tradition of sorts which I look forward to all week!  Thursday nights spent with (good and) bad karaoke, lovely friends, pitchers of Spotted Cow, my flask of cheap whiskey, dorky dancing (okay, I really am the only one of the group who deserves that adjective), and American Spirits is nothing short of an ideal evening for me.  I am so lucky to be surrounded by such a hilariously beautiful group of people each week.

___________
Friday:

Yesterday was spent with R.M.'s family (also in Central WI).  Which was fabulous, of course.  Each member of his family is absolutely hysterical and such a pleasure to spend time with --- a bunch of crazy free-spirits that I will truly never be able to get enough of.  I am giggling just thinking about him and his ridiculous brothers.

___________
Saturday:

Now, tonight, I am at my parents' place.  Just went to a movie and picked up dinner with my mother and sister.  And for now I am relaxing while my sister and mother click away at their laptops (and I click away at their desktop computer) and my dad intently watches the Olympics (he just cannot get enough --- I think he is secretly jealous of the competing cross-country skiiers as he has always loved skiing, and had high hopes for my younger sister and me to become great skiiers after buying us our first pair of CC skiis when I was barely 5 years-old and Kim was only 3, ha). 

___________
An embarrassing entertaining bit of my past:

Many of my dad's athletic dreams for me were lost and forgotten about when I was still very young.  First, after I ran to the wrong bases at a softball game (I'm serious) and quit immediately after the game.
Second, after my ponytail got caught in the goalie net at a soccer game --- so badly, in fact, the refs were forced to stop the game and both coaches (as well as a couple of sweet/sympathetic mothers) rushed to the net to help set me free (I believe I also quit after this game).
Third, when I cried at every single basketball practice and game due to the fact that my coaches were "mean" and "yelled all of the time" (turns out each of these post-coaches' daughters are now two of my very best friends).
Once again, after I didn't make the volleyball team (quite possibly the only sport I had the possibility of excelling at).
And finally (yes, finally), after I made the silly (and downright dangerous) mistake of attempting gymnastics.  Yes, gymnastics.  Running, leotards, and coordination required.  What the hell was I thinking?  It was all very embarrassing.

Oh well.  At least I'm alright at pilates and yoga.

________________

_________________________

Track/Video du Moment: "Two Weeks" by Grizzly Bear

2/2

Image via Google Images

_________

When the night comes

And you lay your weary head to rest

No more trials, no more tests

When the night comes

When the night comes

You don't have to be afraid

Of any choice you made

When the night comes

Don't be afraid

You're only dreaming

When the night comes

The headlines read

Whatever's in your dreams

When the night comes

When the night comes

And you lay by the one you love

The one who knows you and the things you do

When the night comes

Don't be afraid

You're only dreaming

When the night comes

 

____________

 

 

Song du Moment: "When The Night Comes" by Dan Auerbach

This Country Will Know Us By Name

In this moment, I am happy.

Thank you (you know who you are).



R.M.
Love!

Heaven Can Wait

Track/Video/Album du Moment: See above

Easy/Lucky/Free

What an Internet haitus I have been on!  Truthfully, I enjoyed every second of it.  Now, though, it is time for a bit of a recap on my illustrious life.

School is going on.  Blah.  Nothing to say about this really.  I am taking my Communication Studies (Advocacy & Cultural Criticism) capstone course which is wildly intense, but I knew this course was waiting for me my last semester.  I am also in two political science courses (News Media & Politics and Intro to Public Administration).  I enjoy them both fine, but the latter seems incredibly elementary.  Maybe that is why I have been to 2 out of the 6 classes so far this semester.  Oh well.  My professor for the News Media course is great though.  Wild, funny, honest and swears a lot.  I like that.  My favorite class by far, though, is my Environmental Studies capstone course.   I'm one of only seven students in this course and the discussions are incredible.  So many intelligent minds to bounce ideas off of.  I have met some of the most interesting people (students and professors alike) in my Environmental Studies courses.  I feel so lucky to be a (tiny) part of this program.

_______________

Also!  I have had an epiphany of sorts.  I will not be going to law school in the fall.  Phew.  It felt great to even just type those words.  What a goddamn relief.  There has been something weighing on me --- weighing on my mind and body, harrassing me with anxiety and constant worry.  Finally, one day, I figured out the culprit: the LSAT, the thought of entering law school two months after completing my undergrad, the thought of being tied down to another school for three years. 

Finally, one afternoon while listening to The Smiths, reading Ishmael and smoking an American Spirit everything became crystal clear: I don't want to go to law school in the fall.  I don't want to take the LSAT on February 6th.  I just don't want to!  There has been a deep, partially hidden hesitation of sorts I have been feeling since September-ish when I decided that law school was the way to go.  I thought it was nerves, my insecurities with taking standardized tests, the daunting task of applying to professional school while still completing my undergrad.  I blamed my surroundings, my state of mind, my personal circumstances.  I blamed pretty much everything to be totally honest.  Other than, of course, the fact that I just really don't want to go.

After months and months of denial, I acted on these hesitations and decided to skip my LSAT last Saturday and not apply to law school in the fall.  It was a truly incredible feeling.  I cannot put it into words.  I literally could not stop smiling for two days straight.  It felt like a 9384938 pound weight had been lifted from my shoulders.  My mind feels clearer and my future never more bright.

I just kept telling myself that I am twenty-two years old.  I am so young!  It's unbelievable!  And as great as it is for some people to go onto professional/grad school right after completing their undergrad is --- I am just not one of those people.  I need to figure things out before I'm thrown into another life of academics.  I'm not 100% certain as to what I'll do, but I have a feeling whatever it is will be filled with all things magical --- love, laughter and beautiful people.  I have so much confidence in that.  It feels absolutely true and honest.  I feel so content with my decision.  I have never felt more free.  Just happy.

_________________

I hope everyone feels as happy, young and free as I do right now. 
However, I don't hope everyone has two papers to write tonight like I do.  I must be off.

Cheers!

Track du Moment: "Chasing Pirates" by Norah Jones

a Broken voice

Things have changed.  Pretty drastically.

And I'm happy.

(I shall delve into this more later, when I feel up to it.)

_______________________

For now, though, I am afraid I have fallen quite ill.  My voice has been mysteriously disappearing during these past few days.  My throat hasn't hurt, and I have felt all-around just fine.  I have just sounded ridiculous.  Unfortunately, all things came to a head for me last night as I now have a terrible cough, hardly any voice at all, and a touch of food poisoning.  Perfect!  I love spending my weekends in my bed.

Oh well.  Could be far worse.

I finally built up enough energy to make it to the Walgreens around 5:00PM today.  And I think the drugs (and low-cal Gatorade) are really helping.  Thank goodness... because I have a movie date tomorrow night!  *Smile*  I am finally going to see Up In The Air at a discount theatre downtown.  Very excited.  Must feel better.  Nobody likes the annoying cougher in a movie theatre.

_______________________

As for tonight, though, I plan on reading (and possibly finishing) Ishmael and watching The Hurt Locker (very excited to finally see this film as well), and, of course, resting my weary body.

Happy Saturday!  Somebody please have a dirty vodka martini for me.  Or at least a tall can of PBR and an American Spirit.

Track du Moment:  "Strawberry Wine" by Ryan Adams