American History X

You have to ask the right questions.
Has anything you've done made your life better?

things i love past midnight [2]

these summer nights, being as i'm still on my collegelyfe sleep schedule, i tend to stay up far past the bedtimes of the rest of the household. hence the second installment in my series of posts entitled "things i love past midnight"... :

1. phoenix

no, not the city (although i do love the city--having spent 3 years of my childhood there), but the band silly! i've had their "wolfgang amadeus phoenix" album on repeat for the past 2 1/2 hours.

yuuuummmmyy

2. tuneglue.com

please click the link. it's this sick website that makes maps of music. type in a band you love and it will give you the band's musical "relatives"....great for discovering new musiqa :)

♫♪♬♩♫♪♬♩♫♪♬♩♫♪♬♩♫♪♬♩♫♪♬♩♫♪♬♩♫♪♬♩♫♪♬♩♫♪♬♩

3. peacocks

they just look cool as fuck.

and so blue! i don't know why but i'm always mesmerized when things are truly, naturally blue...how does nature DO that??

4. j.d. salinger's "the catcher in the rye"

i know, i've committed some sort of crime against literature by being an english major who has yet to read about holden. but fact: i have never read the catcher in the rye. until this morning! yes, people, i have finally begun this famed and esteemed novel. and i'm lovvviinnngg itt

5. water

don't get me started...but i am obsessed with water. on my mental list of my top favorite things ever, i'd have to say water tops it.

6. stumbleupon

i am a stumbling fiend. what else am i supposed to do with my time all summer?

may laundry:

as a continuation of the prior laundry list of life...

11. learn to drive stick shift

a) it's a convenient skill to have

b) i could probably buy cheaper cars if i knew how to drive stick

c) i have this idealism regarding people who can drive stick...i don't know...it glorifies them in my mind and i wouldn't mind glorifying myself in that sense

12. publish a novel

currently i'm working with 1. Eliot 2. Marlyn & 3. Addie

can't decide (and couldn't tell you) who will prevail...

13. have a harry potter movie marathon day

this obviously requires that all the films be available on dvd...but whence they are...i want to sit down and watch all 8 in one sitting

14. volunteer in africa

volunteerism in africa is arguably responsible for my existence.

my parents met on a summer mission trip to kenya in college and well...now i'm here. as i mentioned in a previous post...my friend emclev is headed to tanzania for 2 years to volunteer in an orphanage. despite my overwhelming fear of disease (and we all know africa is full of 'em) as well as a specific potentially irrational fear of the ebola virus, i really want to one day ship myself off to africa and do some volunteer work for the betterment of the lives of others

15. eat at in-n-out burger

i finally mastered the legendary trip to whitecastle in october, now i move on to my next goal: the esteemed and seemingly mythical (for us east coast kids) in-n-out burger

you're all i need / don't make me face my generation alone

if you know me at all, you know my favorite band is the format.

imagine my ultimate devastation when they broke up (gah! heartbreak!)

but alas, a project in the works since 2008, and having released their first album this past august, has arisen-- FUN.!

that's right people, nate ruess, lead singer of the format, is back with his new band fun.

i. am. ecstatic.

alright, admittedly i was skeptical at first. having been obsessed with the format since my freshman year in high school, it was hard to imagine anything could match it's greatness, especially in a the format knockoff in which nate seems to mimic mika for many of the albums upbeat songs.

but then i downloaded the album ( aim & ignite) and listened to it on repeat for 2 days.

i. love. it.

the lyrics are equally fantastic, applicable to my life, and just generally amazing and awe-inspiring, in a way that only nate ruess can fashion. further, the emotional progression and religious undertones throughout the course of the album make for a fantastic musical experience...that i highly encourage anyone, the format fans or not alike to investigate.

and as blasphemous as it sounds, admittedly, i think fun.'s new album is, well, simply more fun.

trust

trust (n.) [as defined by urban dictionary]:

a) hard won, easily lost, and never fully regained

I used to trust my wife, we had been married for 20 years, then one day I came home and she was fucking the mailman, since I can't trust her anymore she has to wear a tracking device at all time

b) Putting your confidence in someone forming a bond with him or her and knowing that you can rely on them for anything.

We were so close I felt I could put my trust in you.

c) means that you are weak and can't just think what you want. no one in this world is trustworthy. Trusting someone is pretty much telling them that they can do whatever they want and you will not question them.

GUY: "Babe, you don't trust me?"
GIRL: "Yes I do. I trust you with all of my heart."

Now he can cheat on her and keep saying "you trust me, i wouldn't do that to you."

number 3 is my personal favorite in light of recent events, eh?

trust.

it's a tricky concept and i didn't really fully get it until recently. my mom stopped trusting me two years ago and it has really sucked since then. our relationship is always strained and no matter what i do she questions every one of my actions. and i honestly don't ever think she'll trust me again which is one of the most depressing things i could imagine.

well. the sad thing is now i kind of understand how she feels. happy mother's day, mom.

mrs. bland

dear blogosphere,

a) apologies for using such a blogger term (blogosphere...i sound way too absorbed in this lifestyle)

b) i have a confession. i live a very boring life. specifically when at home. i eat, sleep, shower, work, workout, sleep, sit on facebook. unfortunately, that does not leave me with really anything to blog about. so, apologies for the lack of blogposts recently and in the future, and apologies for the boringness of such blogposts now, and in the future

c) L had a substitute teacher the other day named mrs. bland. i said to her, when L was complaining about how awful mrs. bland was, "her name was mrs. bland?"

L nodded assuredly and replied "yeah, her maiden name was ms. BORING"

...i seriously have the most awesome 12 year old sister ever...

i'm sticking with you

go tigers!