i bring to you, sigh, love.

if you have not seen the movie adaptation yet, and plan on seeing it, maybe do not watch these clips, because they (in my opinion) are the best parts of the movie.

otherwise, enjoy.

do you wanna tangle, or do you wanna go it alone?

thanksgiving weekend. four days. two paid vacation. two extra lazy normal days. hoorah!

for thanksgiving i first went to my mother's side of the family at my aunt's house. that side of the family is hilarious. we are all so very different, and all so alike. almost everyone has o.c.d. quirks, neuroses, and spectacular streaks of humor. i love visiting with them. we all end up laughing until our stomachs hurt. i am so lucky to have a family that gets along so well. from there my family went to my father's side at my uncle's house. since my grandparents died on that side, our get togethers are less and less, but i still love and miss that side of my family. there were so many new additions to the family this year, and i found myself at the kid's table far more than the grown-up's table. i am constantly working with little kids for my job, obviously, but i hardly ever get to hang out with little little kids, who still love to cuddle and be held. love it! ate some more. wanted to burst. all in all, great thanksgiving. my favorite holiday. it can never go too wrong.

the next day i made a conscious promise to myself to attempt and have an anti-grinch mentality about christmas this year. since my teenage years, i have really dreaded christmas. i love the ideas behind it, but the practice of christmas sends me into panic and anxiety. the mention of snow and sleigh bells floors me. everything bad seems to happen around christmas. but because my mother loves the holiday so much, and does her damnedest to make it memorable every year, i have decided to try and re-learn to like christmas. so as my first act of good will toward the season, i helped her put up the family tree. it was good. i dug it. i even declined a pizza/movie party invitation from justin to continue with the tree. he took a nap instead and we met up for an hour afterward to eat a bit and watch an old cary grant movie. hoorah!

later that night was the ed ackerson cd release party at the varsity theater. i have heard a lot about ed, as he is an accomplished musician, especially in minneapolis, and he runs flowers studio (where many of my friend's bands have recorded).

justin and kari's band, farewell continental, was playing the show. i can now officially say their names, since they were not wearing ski masks while playing this time, ha. i met up with my friend from college, matt, who i had not seen in a while. went inside. we said hello to kari. we checked out the cases of vinyl records for sale (making me wish with all of me that i still owned a record player). we ordered some drinks, where the bartender recognized my perfume and swooned over it, yay! and then we trailed up front where farewell was setting up. suddenly i noticed that many people from my twitter list were standing around me, people who i had not met in real life. strange! i did not approach them at the show, but rather waited till i was on twitter again to say that i had seen them. haha. i felt it a breach of internet etiquette to just cross the line between screen and stage. steve was there. some of the white light riot boys trailed in (because dan, their bassist, was playing in the mood swings after farewell's set). justin moved some tall potted plants onto the stage, placing them on either side of him. crazy man! and the show began. as like before, they only had four/five songs, and the set passed far too quickly. kari's vocals were turned up higher than the last time they played at triple rock, which was a good thing. justin was quirky nervous, which made for twitchy hand movements that i think enhanced the presentation. overall i was much more impressed than the last time i saw them play.

after that set i ordered some more drinks, and watched (half-heartedly) the rest of the show. justin came out and stood by me. kari came over and said goodbye (as matt insisted to be a gentleman and carry out her amp for her). kari gave us her extra drink tickets, oh no. i love that girl. she is fabulous (for many more reasons than just drink tickets). went back in. gabe and mike minehart joined the crowd at that point. had some awkward moments that i will not go into. and eventually i became extremely tired from the wine and the long day. i stepped back and sat down on the risers, while gabe let me cuddle/sleep on him. justin was waiting to see polara play, because it was a band he liked when he was 15. ed ackerson was all around great, i just wish i had been more awake to enjoy it. soon the show ended, and i helped jp get his stuff back to his place.

i hijacked these photos--they are not my own.

farewell continental.

polara.

saturday i was supposed to make it to the 7th street entry to see readygoes and white light riot. i really REALLY wanted to see both of them play, but was so tired and not feeling that well, and therefore i did not go. they are all my buddies. they will forgive me.

instead i went to see twilight again with my mother, who had not seen it yet. i totally enjoyed it more the second time around, because i had no expectations. i just sat back and took it in. i still hate that the writer put herself into a cameo in the movie--lame. i still think that the movie is a sometimes-too-dramatic angsty teenage love story. but it is what it is. sitting in movie theaters reminds me how much people annoy me, though. arg. for the love of god.

today (sunday) i may go get coffee with slayer and dagger, and later i may meet up with kari at the ugly mug for some vikings glory. but seeing as i am a total pile this weekend, i am not sure if i will do any of this.

red balloons and old cartoons.

this weekend i realized that i had come down with the flu a few days previous. who knew that the flu does not always include stomach hurt? i didn't!

so i went and hung out with jdawg and richelle on friday. borrowed a book. and lounged around the rest of the weekend and read/slept/hurt.

sunday i felt the need to get out downtown. i had not gone out or hung out with my blark buddies since halloween. yikes!!! so to kill a bunch of birds with one stone, i went to the ugly mug with dagger.

luckily several friends were out. mo was working. steven, gremlin, and tyler (who we rode lane-side the whole way down to minneapolis) were all visiting. mike minehart, photographer extraordinaire, also met up with us. we were planning on doing a photoshoot with his sister's new lense this weekend, but a photoshoot in a park with no snow would have been pretty ugly. so that is postponed. most importantly, kari was there as well! i have been meaning to meet up with her for the past several sundays, as her co-workers go to the mug to watch the game. we hugged and caught up and drank too much (thanks to mo's shot-making capabilities). so by three o'clock, this girl was not sober. oh my. eventually dagger, mike, and i wandered over to brit's pub where kari and crew were watching a soccer game. during that, mike experimented with his sister's camera on me and dagger.

we then went back the mug. i told everyone i loved them farrr too much. i made a lot of "i'm watching you!" hand movements. and left.

good sunday, although i did not plan on it. no, no. great sunday.

currents.

what i am watching:

High Fidelity

i just finished watching this movie last night, and i immediately went out and bought it. i get this movie--it is like my life told from the perspective of the man. it may have made my top five movies of all time.

here is my favorite scene below.



what i am reading:

i've got your voice on tape, i've got your words in me.

i ache. all over. arg. someone make me some soup and fax it on over!

so i went to see jenny owen youngs at the 400 bar with justin, richelle (jp's sister), heather dagger, and lydia slayer on monday. justin's bassist, matt, also showed up for the show. justin is really good friends with jenny, and heather has always put jenny's stuff on mixed cds that she has given me. so when justin informed me of the show, i HAD to go. i was not disappointed. jenny is one of the most talented people i have ever seen. i can also see why her and justin get along so well. she has an awkward/nervous energy about her, but she is very quick witted (with a typically new yorkish blunt humor). i was overwhelmed and intimidated when talking to her, feeling foolish and slow, and all of the other girls with me felt the same. she is so intense! very genuine and sweet-hearted but comes off somewhat abrasive. we stayed for a while, all hanging out in the back listening to the other singer playing that night, but eventually us girls left the boys and went home to sleep.

if you have never heard of jenny owen youngs, check out her cd "Batten the Hatches." delicious.

i saw the movie twilight with stacy, lindsay, and heather today at 10:00 AM. no teenage girls = thank god. no lines = thank god. edward cullen = thank god. the movie did not impress me. i did enjoy it. it was entertaining. but it was scatter-brained in my opinion. bella did not do as well as i thought she would. edward was more dreamy than i could have imagined. mmm.

work is wonderful. i am really coming into my own.

everything else is lovely. i float through my days and hold on to my nights...

i will post more soon. i have been massively distracted as of late. ;]

kicking and screaming and pretending we were wrong.

ahhh. work work work. how i love thee. parents have been coming to me expressing their excitement at my position. the kids seem thrilled. the staff is wonderful. the vibe of the school feels wonderful. i adore it all.

justin and i have been hanging a bit, watching some sweet movies and television shows. he just got back from new york for the mtvu woodie awards. his band won the "best video of the year" award. very cool. super proud. i was worried that he would dress like his hero, larry david, at the show. thankfully, he did not. no blue blazer and black shirt. whew. here is a press photo from the night.

(justin, the director, jesse)

and here is the video that merited the award. also very cool.

otherwise i have been relatively anti-social. winter makes me want to sleep a lot. going out, especially on weekdays, seems like a lot of work to me. i have been trying to be constructive with my time, and i have been attempting to save money and calories by not going out to drink on the weekends. i love my friends, and i love hanging out with them, but i just need to limit my insanity, i think.

cherise is coming back from rome soon. the triple threat is mega pumped for this. sometimes you do not realize the value of people until you do not have them around. she is an intelligent and normal human being. i like that in people. i need more of that in my life.

heather and i may go to lunch with tiffany this weekend. it has been a long time since we have all hung out. kari gray and i may hang sunday afternoon in the mug area. we keep missing each other, but i do think she is brilliant.

that is all for now.

i am still at ease. i like this feeling.

this time i mean it.

my new job makes me happy. it is a great feeling to wake up and look forward to going to work. i have always loved working at this company, as it is so rewarding, but i love having responsibility and feeling challenged.

today feels like a good day. i have no plans. i have no idea what the weekend holds, but i am at ease.

ah, life. this is what it means.

she wears her head inside out.

i have realized that i prefer a strange and unpredictable (and sometimes unconventional) life, full of adventure and passion although not always having stability versus a planned, same day every day life.

at points i may get frustrated, sometimes i may feel a bit lost, and i never quite feel like i have anything settled and solid.

but my life enchants me.

i never would have thought that this would be me, that this would be my reality. i am blessed. i am amazed. i am grateful. i am happy, even with the unknowns. not having anything set in stone makes my drive for something, for everything, that much stronger.

i live.

and that is the most i could ever ask for out of this life.

things that annoy me (continued II).

how is it that so many people in this world pronounce supposedly as supposably?

drives me up a wall.

i awoke and my back was broke from lying on the floor.

what a long, cold week. i hate snow. it reminds me that winter is coming. bah!

it has been a wonderous week, though, and i am so elated with the news that i now have a position at the company i work for at my own site! the site i am now working at, and in charge of, is two blocks from my home, and it was the school i went to for my primary years. insanity! i now have full benefits!!! ahhh the relief. so now if i get run over by a flock of seagulls, i will be covered. yes!!! i AM sad that i will be leaving the kids at my other two sites though, and i am sad to leave the staff that i have come to love. :[

we do what we must do!

in dance class this week we learned a modern combination. now i am sore in places i never thought i could be sore in. holy crap. do i have muscles there and there? who knew!?

yesterday i ended up hanging with justin to watch citizen kane. i have never seen the movie, but i know it is a classic, and it is a highly rated film. i was impressed. i dug it. good times. the end.

tonight i was supposed to go to a show, but i am so lazy with this weather! i am pumped to lay low this weekend. ahhh.

on a sidenote: my mother is now getting into the twilight series! oh the addiction!

yes we can!

congratulations obama.

i must say i was really moved by everything that happened tonight. the positive energy and excitement in the reaction of obama being elected was contagious. his speech was powerful. i definitely had tears forming in the eyes.

mccain's speech was very gracious, and i am proud of how he handled himself.

i am excited to see how everything will work out in the next few years. anything is possible. there just may be hope. only time will tell.

election day.

i am not terribly thrilled with the options for today's election. but, regardless, it is extremely important to vote. everyone go out there and do it! make a stand for something.

since i am not passionate about either candidate in the presidential and senatorial races, i do not feel comfortable exclaiming who i voted for.

let's just say; for president i voted for a man who will probably make this country happier, although his views are not all aligned with mine; and for senate i voted for the man who is more aligned with my views, since i believe that the state voice is more important than the federal, and therefore my personal opinion matters more.

compromise.

GO VOTE!

halloween 2008

halloween at the fineline in minneapolis was perfect. our friends readygoes and the spirit of '76 played, and there was a costume contest that we did not stick around for. all of our friends arrived in costume, so it was the best place for us to be. not much at all to tell. pictures tell it best. enjoy.

we'll be some pirates, you'll be a princess. we will sail the seven seas.heather was our princess ransom for the night.the spirit of '76 as the village people.readygoes as nerds.steven, murphy, and derek as jag girls. for reals.
sometimes i try to kill mo. i tried to kill most people that night. vampire (jestin)!!!
shackle and i have a moment.
ARRRRRRR! some prehistoric broads (molly and sharon) and scary ian in the background. pippi longstocking (gloria). pirate vs. cereal killer (laura).

candid. not sober.

we found our captain (bailey)!

poor heather. this happened all night long. she probably has bruises.

let's get out of here, eh?!

japan.

so on friday morning i decided i was going to go visit my good friend justin in japan for a few days. thank god for frequent flyer miles, eh?! i called work from the airport, told them the situation, and luckily they understood the opportunity that was this adventure. my whole life i have dreamt of escaping somewhere, anywhere, at the spur of the moment. it happened.

i jumped on a plane to portland, waited a few hours, jumped on a plane to japan. watched a horrible version of great expectations. tried to sleep, with no avail. arrived in tokyo around 5ish (i think). justin picked me up. we boarded a bus to some hotel that yoko had gotten for us, since there were no more trains leaving for osaka that night, and we would have been stuck homeless otherwise. dumped our stuff. went to real sushi with yoko. sushi in japan is a dramatic art form. it is like samurai cooking. for reals. so delicious. while there i realized how clean japan is (it seems like someone comes and sweeps the streets every five minutes). the crosswalks are just like in the movies. hundreds of people at once crossing in every direction. unreal. everyone there, no matter what age, is extremely thin, and everyone looks like rockstars. the japanese put american style to absolute shame! eventually we headed back to hotel rooms. lovely twin beds with nasa pillows. hoorah!

morning went to osaka. three hour bullet train trip. saw the country side. played "i spot a graveyard" (all of them looked like chess boards). arrived in osaka, which looks like a cross between la, new york, and hawaii. beautiful.

the next few days we walked around the shopping areas. watched eagle eye in a theater. attempted to order food from pictures in restaurants. went to the mall. ate a lot of mcdonalds (which is SO much better and well put together). and felt totally isolated and out of place. hardly anyone speaks english there. i felt so silent the entire time. justin knew a decent amount of the language, which helped, but i felt like the typical stupid american.

i was there two full days, two half days, and it was worth every minute. what a strange, different world. i will probably never get to go there again, and i am very glad i took the chance. it still has not registered. here are some pictures, although i have the memories plastered across my brain.

osaka shopping area.
typical neon everywhere.

late night mcdonalds!

view from hotel. ugly except the farris wheel.

osaka.