The walls of my room are bare, with almost every space of white showing. Some of my movies are packed up in boxes, and I'm taking my piece-of-shit-microwave home tomorrow. Seriously, the damn thing didn't even last the entire year. And it's not like we ever had a ton of food in here to warm up...we didn't ask too much from it. Oh well.

There's only one issue left of this year's newspaper. Shew.

Saw Vandaveer in concert today. CD Central had a pretty sweet in-store show early this afternoon. It was nice to walk over there and just take in everything. Every now and then, it's good to do things alone. I recall one Carrie Bradshaw saying she would go out once a month and see a movie by herself. Her date was the city; NYC makes for quite the soul mate.

Well, Lexington and I went on a date this afternoon. It's cool to people watch, and man there are some very interesting cats who come into CD Central.

Also, I was a huge dumbass and left my camera in my dorm. What's lame is that I saw the perfect picture, knew how I would compose it and light it. But there I was, naked without my camera. What kind of photojournalist am I? Answer: A shitty one.

So shitty, in fact, I'm beginning to wonder what the H-L was thinking when they hired me for freelance. That's right kids, I'm doing real photography now. I'll be hitting up the 133rd Kentucky Derby next Saturday, taking pictures of horses and other Derby-ish things. I have a press pass and everything. Needless to say, I'm anxious like whoa. It'll be cool though, I know I can get the shots. I think. I hope.

Radio training is going well. I'm almost done. I think if I sit in on one more show, I'll be ready for my one-hour test show. Last night, someone who works at the station told me that there needed to be a stronger female influence at the station. I was told that it'd be sweet if I named my show something along the lines of "The Vagina Radio Show". I'm seriously considering it.

Well kids, it's incredibly late and I have a pretty hefty amount of material I need to study. Oh, Finals Week! How I loathe you.

Total number of tracks: 3344

Sort by song title:
+ First Song: “'Cause You Can” by Birdmonster
+ Last Song: “Zurich is Stained” by Pavement
+ Shortest Song: “One Last ‘Whoo-hoo!’ For The Pullman” by Sufjan Stevens (0:06)
+ Longest Song: “Tereza and Thomas” by Bright Eyes (25:46)

Sort by album:
+ First Song: “Hat and Rabbit” by Page France(off “...and the Family Telephone”)
+ Last Song: “Two Weeks In Hawaii” by Hellogoodbye (off “Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!”)

Top 10 Most Played Songs:
1 + “Hotel Song” by Regina Spektor
2 + “Fraud in the 80's” by Mates of State
3 + “Unfold” by Jason Mraz
4 + “Ceremony” by New Order
5 + “For Real” by Okkervil River
6 + “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” by Stars
7 + “Wrapped Up In Books” by Belle & Sebastian
8 + “For the Actor” by Mates of State
9 + “Coming Home” by the 88
10 + “Goods” by Mates of State

First five songs that comes up on Shuffle:
1 + “Chicago” by Sufjan Stevens
2 + “Leaf House” by Animal Collective
3 + “Broadway” by Goo Goo Dolls
4 + “Watermark” by The Weakerthans
5 + “The Long Fall” by Cabin

"sex," how many songs come up + 14
"love," how many songs come up + 177
"death," how many songs come up + 42
"hate," how many songs come up + 24
"wish," how many songs come up + 6

Wow. I had to edit this, because it was complete bull. I seriously need to take my writing up a level.

Has anyone seen the Insight Cable commercials? They're a total rip-off of The Office. Those clever guys in advertisements are probably leaning back in their recliners, chuckling at their genius. I applaud them, since they actually catch my attention.

I hope my roommate is alive. I haven't seen her all day, and it's 2 in the morning.

Geez louisee. I really think no one reads this blog, and to be perfectly honest, I'm okay with that. For some reason, the idea of putting myself out there completely freaks me out.

The other morning when I was doing my training for WRFL, Matt put me on air. Ahahaha, did I clam up. I don't even know why I was so anxious. I mean, I'm the one who volunteered to do this. I've been dreaming of becoming a college dj ever since I became "indie". How lame is that? The night before, one of my best pals said he was going listen to the show. I was happy to find out, however, that he overslept and managed to miss my awkward two minutes on air.

"Phewww! Good thing you didn't hear me; I managed to screw it up!"

"I wish I heard you!"

"No way! You would've made fun of me."

"Of course!"

I have such wonderful friends.

Speaking of wonderful friends, the end of the school year is right around the corner. I'm a little freaked out, to be honest. But then again, the summer is looking pretty nice right about now. Just three finals, and I'm out of Lexington for a good week and-a-half. Hah. Joke's on me.

Have you ever really wanted to talk to someone, but didn't know how to start the conversation? It's not even like you want to have a heavy convo, but you just want to chat. I need to have some more confidence. Maybe if I went out on the street and broke into song, singing about my confidence in sunshine and rain, that would give me a boost in what I'm so obviously lacking.

If you got that musical reference, you're a winner.

But back to the conversation thing...maybe my problem (besides a lack in confidence) is I don't do a whole lot of talking. I really just enjoy listening to people. Maybe that's why I get such a kick out of Overheard In New York. I love what other people have to say. It can be completely ridiculous or extremely deep; I just love hearing folks talk.

I guess that's enough random bloggary for tonight. Amos Lee tomorrow. I guess I can make an actual, musical entry tomorrow after the show. And the Office. Oh man. Tomorrow is going to be gooood.

the smell of spilt alcohol and cigar smoked lingered, and i was okay

It's weekends like the past one that are going to leave me missing college once the summer rolls around. Sure I'm ready for this semester to be over. In fact, I can't wait. My classes have been boring, and once I take that math test I can say GOOD DAY TO YOU, FORMAL MATHEMATICS CLASSES! The thought of it brings me pure joy.

This weekend was solid, as a friend of mine would say. I started it off early with Thursday. Spending it with some great friends, some good music and overall good times. At one point there was 14 people in my room, including some random basketball players. I continued on to Friday, wherein I took part in some training to become a dj at the local college radio station, chilled with some cool kids, and danced with friends. At one point in the night, there was five of us yelling the lyrics to Cold War Kids' "Hospital Beds". It was almost creepy, how we all knew the lyrics so well.

And Saturday? Saturday was spontaneous. I spontaneously decided to go to a recital, to wear a dress and spontaneously attend Thunder over Louisville. I spent Thunder with one of my best friends, and couldn't have planned for a better evening. The weather was perfect, the people were perfect. I was completely and utterly happy.

And now it's Sunday. The day I dread. But Sunday wasn't bad; in fact, the 22nd of April was gorgeous. Warm weather was bestowed to us, and many students took this most opportune sunshine to sit outside and not only get some necessary homework accomplished, but to also soak in some fabulous UV rays.

I was also able to finish a mix cd that I've been working on for the past week. I don't know when the recipient will receive his cd, but I'm guessing it'll be whenever I go out and buy some blank cds. It's incredible/pathetic how quickly I go through those.

Also, I'm really digging the new Shins album. It definitely lives up to their past work, and all the while takes their sound to a new level. If you haven't grabbed it yet, you should go out and get Wincing the Night Away. For old Shins fans, songs like "Australia" will have you smiling and boppin' your head. For those of us interested in a different Shins, "Sea Legs" won't let you down.

The Shins-Turn On Me
The Shins-A Comet Appears

summer arrives with a length of lights

Yesterday I attended the memorial service for a professor here. He was a printmaking professor, and during the service, some of his past students and faculty friends were working on finishing his final print that he wasn't able to get around to.

"He tried to work on it, but his hands were too weak."

One of his students had told him that if he ever happened to die young, that he would want his professor to finish what he started. The same went for the professor.

A graduate student took the drawing that the professor had done, and carved the woodcut. They finished it at the service, and showed it to the crowd. It was beautiful. I snapped pictures of the entire process.

The entire event was so sad. But the remembrance of this guy, the anecdotes people shared, the tears and laughter...I was a complete stranger in this convocation of remembrance, and somehow even I was affected. I guess that's a sign of someone who was really, truly special. I was impacted by him after his death. He had to have been an incredible person.

In other news, I'm on my way to becoming a DJ for the local college radio station. Could I become more of a cliche college student?

I work for the newspaper. I'm going to work at the radio station. I listen to indie music, skip classes, and nap.

It's beautiful outside.

do i walk or do i wait?

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Some are blaringly obvious, like that kid in grade school who was incredible at math but couldn't speak to a girl to save his life. There are others that aren't as obvious, like the girl who gets along with everyone but can never actually get close to a single person.

Deary me...however, as much as I would like to bitch and moan, I really have no reason to. Today has pointed that out to me more than ever.

This whole day has been extremely odd and disjointed. From my mother calling me first thing this morning with an impending sense of doom, to running into a friend in the middle of a crosswalk and not being able to have an actual conversation.

Let's lighten things first with this incident:

Of all the awkward places to run into someone, the most awkward has to be the crosswalk. You can't just stop and talk in the middle of it, and you're both heading in the opposite direction, so you'd obviously be going out of your way if you turned around to chat. That, and you'd have to wait for the next cycle of traffic to come through before you can cross again. You know you want to talk to said individual, but everything is against you. The timing of it is off, the short and strained wave and terse words make you turn your head when you've finally made it to the other side, and you wonder, "Should I have waited?" There was the possiblity for a compelling afternoon chat, and you might have ruined it.

We'll have to start running into each other in places besides the middle of a busy street.

On the other spectrum of my day...my mother called this morning, panicked and worried. I didn't really listen to her, seeing as how it was 7:30 a.m.. little did I know that it was only moments after the first shooting at Virginia Tech University.

32 are reported dead, including the gunman. Many are wounded, and life on that campus probably won't return back to normal for a very long time. And will things ever be normal for anyone after this tragedy? The most fatal shooting in American history occurred today in a place where students woke up, grabbed their cereal, and headed out the door for what they believed to be another monotonous day of classes. To wake up in the morning, never to return? It's crazy. And it's almost not even tangible, how one person can cause so much pain in the span of a few hours.

Trying to bring it home at UK felt selfish. Attempting to make pictures of students suffering felt wrong. This isn't our tragedy, this isn't ours to make news of. A massacre on a school campus isn't ours to make a story out of. It didn't feel right.

I hope all is well with everyone who is at Virgina Tech. I was relieved to hear that my close friend is safe and sound, and I can't even begin to grasp what the students at VT are going through.

It's been a crazy day.

snow in april, what more could you ask for?

So everyone has ventured home for Easter, and I? I was stuck in Lexington covering the press conference of our new head coach, Billy Gillispie. Welcome, Billy G. The Kentucky Kernel is putting out a special edition tomorrow, so if you're going to be in the Lextown area, pick up a copy.

With this newfound free time, I've decided to listen to some recommendations from friends. A good pal of mine told me about this guy, Mika. I listened to what he had to offer on is Myspace and initally was turned off. I didn't like, didn't like his style. It felt like it'd be done before, and I was just listening to another Brit-pop sensation.

But later that night I happened to see the music video for "Grace Kelley" and my thoughts on this guy changed.




Now, I'm going to admit. It's campy and pop-ish, but sometimes we all need a little bit of that. At times, Mika manages to sound like Freddy Mercury, which honestly gives me the chills. So, while it might not be my all-time favorite to come out in 2007, it'd definitely a toe-tapper. Or something one would listen to in the car with the windows down and volume turned way up.

That is, if it were warm outside.

it's like felicity, but without the tape recorder

When I was working at the paper today, I commented on the fact that it's already April. Job interviews for next semester start tomorrow, and I'm the first person signed up. Do I even know what I'm getting myself into? Do I want to know what I'm getting myself into? I bet if I knew what kind of semester the fall of 2007 is going to be like, I'd probably jump out of my window. That'd be pretty lame, though. Girl jumps out of fourth story dorm window. Pathetic.

So freshman year has flown by, and the weeks left in the semester are few. As I was walking from the newspaper one night with a good friend of mine, she said that she felt as thought that BIG THING that's supposed to happen freshman year hadn't happened yet.

"You know," she said to me, "it feels incomplete. It's as though there should be something that should have happened. I feel like I haven't accomplished anything."

And maybe this feeling rings true for many freshman. We've been loafing around, barely getting by. It's too obvious in the fact that we're the poorest academic class that UK has seen in years. Good job, guys. I sallute you on your slacking. And I'm not going to lie, I've done my fair share of not caring both semesters. I routinely skip my 9:30 math class, and have no qualms about missing my 5:30 geology class to go shoot something for the Kernel.

So what is it? What's missing? What's that huge thing that we're all looking forward to? But here's the true question: Has it already happened and we were all too busy that we missed it.

Looking back, I realize that a lot has happened. I've met an absurd amount of new people, discovered what I'm most likely going to do with my life, shot amazing pictures, lined up an internship for this summer, signed on an apartment for this fall, seen some amazing bands in concert, and fallen in and out of love. I've made new relationships, broken old relationships, and slowly mended hurt relationships.

I've been hurt and hurt others. I watched a hell of a lot of television and discovered others who understand that John Krasinski is the most amazing thing since sliced bread. I travelled to Chicago without my family and rode a Greyhound (A GREYHOUND!) back to Louisville.

I taught someone how to take pictures. I have my own income and don't ask my parents for money--unless I desperately have to.

I have a crush. I discovered my love for coffee. I read a book that changed my life. I've met people who've changed my life.

I've been published in a newspaper. I wrote articles for a newspaper. I decided that I want to go to grad school and have been told that UC Berkeley isn't out of reach.

I've danced in the rain and cried with friends. I've stayed out until 4 a.m. and regretted the decisions I made the night before.

I've woken up next to someone I truly cared about. I know what it's like to be in a relationship, and I know what it looks like when you've been hurt.

But mostly? I lived. I lived without limits, and let myself do things I never thought I would do.

So maybe I didn't drive to Canada or whatever. But I think my freshman year was pretty productive.

let's try this again

So I had this incredible post written out yesterday, and somewhere between uploading music and pressing the "publish post" button, it dissapeared. Needless to say, I felt rather downtrodden, which is why I haven't attempted to re-write it until today. So here's to second chances and second time arounds.

I wanted to give everyone a heads up on some shows that will be coming up in the Lexington area. At least, some shows that I'm aware of. First off is Noisycrane.


Noisycrane consists of UK sophomore Cody Swanson and UK junior Sean Rose. Between the two of them, they create a sound that's very distinct yet reminiscent of bands like Neutral Milk Hotel and most recently, Beirut. Swanson goes from guitar to accordion and trumpet while Sean plays drums or bass. It's a pretty neat experience to watch as these two figure out somethings and create some very interesting and good music. They're playing two shows this week. Tonight at 6pm at 457 Bourbon Ave in Lexington, and then another this Wednesday, the 4th at 9pm at the Dame. Both shows cost only a few bucks, so come out and support some local music.

Noisycrane-Hold Out On Love

What else? Headlights is going to be hitting up the Mecca on April 9th. I don't have a lot of information on the show, but when I find out more I'll post it here. Otherwise I'm sure you can find it on their myspace.