A few random, short things:
- I am deeply saddened by Sydney Pollack's passing. I really, truly adored that man; he was exceptional.
- It's possible that I love Phil Collins more than is entirely normal.
- Work sucks the energy out of me, but it's so much fun and the people are really great (especially now that I'm socializing more).
- My paycheck on Thursday is going to ROCK. Hard core.
- California overturning the ban on gay marriage rocks even more hard core. Small steps.
- I still love Alanis Morissette. So very much.
- My BFF is engaged to be married. So very weird.
- Policies and Republicanism aside, I think John McCain is a really good guy (and he has some AMAZING people on his staff who are steering him in all the right directions).



Alright...I can't think of anything else and I'm sleepy, so I'm going to watch a little TV before hitting the hay. I have to wake up at 5:10 tomorrow morning, so I can get to work by 7:15am. I work until 8pm...that's a 12-hour shift. Ouch.

Just a short post to say that Guster is fantastic.

I highly recommend acquiring the album "Keep It Together" by whatever means necessary. ("Lost and Gone Forever" as well...you really should get them both.)

------

Also, paper is going very slowly. I can't seem to get my introduction to work, and it's messing up the whole flow. I should just leave it and try to make the body work and fix it later. Ugh.

I have my new cell phone!!


Alright, let me back up.

When last we met, I was contemplating getting a new phone and had a few I was kicking around. Last week, I went to the AT&T Store with my mom (because she's the account holder) and I looked around and fell in love with the pink Sony Ericsson W580i slider (as pictured in my icon). It was beautiful and amazing and I loved it.

Alas, they were out of stock. Boo.

And now that I had my heart set on that one, I couldn't go back to my other options.

So I had my mom add me as an "authorized user" on the account so I could attempt to find said phone in Orlando. This morning, I prepared myself with a list of the closest 7 AT&T stores and set out on my quest.

It wasn't much of a quest...the first store I visited had one in stock. It was a quick, painless transition, thank you AT&T.

So I am the proud new owner of the best cell phone in the history of cell phones. Granted, I haven't really used it practically yet. I sent my sister a text message, just to test it out.

But it's so slick and pretty. And I'm currently listening to the radio on it. That's right...it has an FM tuner. And even cooler? It has that Track ID program that will identify music playing either on it's tuner, or anywhere in speaker range. So if an awesome song is playing somewhere and I don't know what it is, my cell phone can tell me.

Hot.

It's also a "Walkman" so if I get a memory stick for it, I can load music and play it using the headphones (included), or connect it to my car. (I could load music now, but not as much.)

Double hot.

I've also already connected it via Bluetooth to my laptop to load some pictures I had from my old phone (there were some I really liked using as backgrounds). And of course, it has a 2MP camera built in.


Oh, and I assume it can also make telephone calls.


So yes. I've only had it for 2 and a half hours but I'm LOVING it.

And after the $50 rebate, it will have only cost me $56.


By the way, I really love AT&T. I have never had any problems, they have always been very accommodating and helpful, and even the semi-difficult things have been relatively easy and pain-free. I highly recommend them to anyone.


-------

In other news, Spring Break went far too quickly. I slacked off for the most part, though I did watch a few movies (not nearly as many as I had hoped). I got a lot of sleep, though, and did not a stitch of work.

Friday, I got back to Orlando, but left almost immediately (after a quick shower) and went down to Miami Beach to meet up with Jenny Melton. We did some shopping, a lot of eating and drinking, and hung out for the night and following morning. It was fun, but alas, I had to leave yesterday because I needed today to study for an exam I have tomorrow morning (needless to say, I haven't started studying yet).

Good times. It's so hard to motivate yourself to study when the class is so wretched.

Dear god, why is John Legend so beautiful?

Mmm.

The more I listen to Playbill Radio (www.playbillradio.com), the more I realize that I'm a HUGE musical theater dork.

Oy.

And I wish I would have gotten to see Les Miserables while I was in New York. But I really can't complain. I mean, I got to see 5 musicals. Mostly on the cheap:

Tues, Jan 1, 7pm: Spring Awakening - standing room, behind 20th row of orchestra seating - $26.50
Wed, Jan 2, 2pm: Avenue Q - bought ticket for rear mezzanine at $66.50, sat in front mezzanine, center (I was silly and bought a full-price ticket)
Fri, Jan 4, 2pm: Hairspray - front row (lottery), three seats off center - $25
Fri, Jan 4, 8pm: Mamma Mia! - standing room, behind 22nd row of orchestra seating - $21.50
Sat, Jan 5, 8pm: Wicked - front row (lottery), far left - $26.25

What makes it even better is that those seats (if you assume the standing room ones would be considered orchestra section) are worth $112+111.50+110+116.50+121.25 or $571.25 altogether. I paid $167.75. Boo-yah. (And if we take out Avenue Q, I paid $101.25 for tickets worth $459.75.)


But I LOVE that they play the music from Enchanted on Playbill Radio. Right now? Amy Adams singing the "Happy Working Song." Fantastic.

First off, Dr. Sweets on "Bones" (the psychologist working with Brennan and Booth) played Sam Weir on "Freaks and Geeks." This makes me like him even more and really hope he'll become a permanent character. He can help them with the psychoanalysis of their murderers, and what not. Though I am somewhat nervous that he'll turn out to be the Gormagon.


Second, August Rush was a disappointment in that there were many ways it could have been better. The casting of Robin Williams, for one. The shaky, yet cheesy beginning. The director (I think it could have found real life in the hands of a director with music video experience). The ending (are you kidding me with that one? Fuckers). But it was a fascinating story and I do love movies about music (whether it be Almost Famous, Empire Records, or Hairspray). Jonathan Rhys Meyers was absolutely the perfect choice for his role, and Keri Russell was spot on. Freddie Highmore could have used some better direction...

Overall, it was relatively enjoyable, and the vision I saw in my mind was ridiculously good.


That's all I've got for now.

I'm a little pissed.

I'm at my sister's house, which doesn't have high-speed internet, so I usually steal wireless from one of her neighbors.

I used that same wireless network last night, but this morning, when I went to get my Alanis/Matchbox tickets at 10am when they went on sale...I couldn't connect to that network. At one point, it prompted me for a password. My free internet could be gone forever!

Alas, I did find a network that I haven't seen here before, and it has a very weak signal, but it's what I am on now, and I was able (2 and a half hours late) to get tickets...not very good ones (nothing was available on the floor, or in the front of any sections). But two still cost me $150 with taxes and convenience charges, and I probably should have just gone down to the St. Pete Forum to get them this morning, but I didn't anticipate such a rush. I mean...I can appreciate that neither Alanis nor Matchbox has had a huge popularity in the last 6 years (though I clearly still love them).

Oh well. I have tickets, and that's the important thing.


In other news, I'm dog sitting today. So far, it's been pretty good. Lucky sleeps a lot, so it's usually pretty quiet. But he and the cats still have huge issues (as expected), and I'm mostly useless when it comes to all that. I don't really know how to deal with dogs...I've never had one and the longest I've ever spent alone with a dog is probably 3 hours. So today...Lucky and I have 8 quality hours.

Also, I love getting time alone with the digital cable. I'm currently watching a show called "Art and the City" on Ovation (a channel devoted to art and film...hi, where have you been all my life?). The show is really awesome, and especially the episode I'm currently watching, which takes place in Chicago. The next is "Paris," so I am quite at my leisure.

I can't wait to back to Chicago for Winter Break...too bad flights are getting more and more expensive by the day. I might have to take my first non-nonstop flight. That's right...I've NEVER had a layover. They scare me. I don't want to miss a flight and I hate the idea that if one flight is running late, I might miss my connection. But alas. If it saves me $200, who am I to argue?

Oh my god!!!!


[!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]


[!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]


Alanis Morissette. Touring with Matchbox Twenty.

January 26th in Tampa.


Dear god...this is better than when she toured with Barenaked Ladies (which was an awesome show..btw).


Tickets go on sale tomorrow. I must go. MUST.

Yesterday, I had Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta" stuck in my head, and today I found it on YouTube.

Best. Song. Ever.


Seriously.

I'm taking a small break.

Paper is...acceptable. Not great, but going.

I'm about 3/4 of the way through, so I just need to pound out one more single-spaced page on Mary Cassatt, then write a conclusion and I'll be done.

I'm a little nervous for it, but I think it's pretty solid and it is for "extra credit" anyhow.



Also, I can't seem to get John Mayer's "3x5" out of my head. And while I love the song (I extolled it's virtues a day or two ago), it's really distracting.

As is my roommate Jane, but she's trying so hard to be quiet so I can work...it's pretty cute. She's showering now and will be going to the grocery store soon, so I should have a good hour or so of peace and quiet.

Time for more work!

I've been listening to "My Top Rated" playlist on iTunes on shuffle for the past few days while working on my paper (or during downtime between...I often get too distracted by music).

Some of these songs I haven't heard in quite a long time, and it makes me really happy.

I forgot how much I love the following albums:
Guster - Keep It Together
Anna Nalick - Wreck of the Day
Jason Mraz - Mr. A-Z
Sarah McLachlan - Mirrorball
Alanis - all of them. They rock, she rocks, I love her and she needs to come out with something new NOW!

Also, I've been listening to Corinne Bailey Rae in the car (which is really an excellent album), and I haven't done that since last winter-ish, so it puts me in a winter mood (my mind is big on song association). Not a regular winter mood, though...a Florida winter. When I can roll down the windows and get Starbucks hot coffee. But I can't wear scarves, because it's just too hot and your neck ends up sweating and you start to suffocate.


I think at some point, I'll make a list of my all-time, top 25(-ish), favorite/best songs. There are 67 songs that have 5-star ratings, though only about 1250 of my songs are loaded on this computer. I decided to only transfer the best-of-the-best, and the most recent albums...stuff I'd listen to on a regular basis. Not too many older albums made it on here, unless it's an artist I still listen to frequently (like Alanis or Barenaked Ladies).

----

In other awesome news, Colleen brought home food from Don Pablo's (where she works) for me and Jane. It was so good.

And I was going to get back to work, because I had taken a pretty long break, but Anthony from next door is over, so I might be social for a little bit longer before I plunge into another couple hours of work before bed.

I've had the itch to travel recently. This isn't anything new. I get it every once in a while. Sometimes it's strong, sometimes it's not.

The time it was the strongest, I bought a 33-day roundtrip plane ticket to Paris.

I don't think I'll be doing that again.


And then earlier, I found a really sweet Trip Planner for "student" (read: under age 26) travelers (for Zoe)...it's frickin' sweet. I was playing around with it earlier, and you can hop around the globe for pennies. Seriously...I made an itinerary hopping to 11 countries on 4 continents for about 2 months, and it was quoted as costing $2000 (I'm pretty sure that's just the flight, but still...).

Unfortunately, that added drastically to the urge. (I want to go to Auckland so badly now. I don't even know what's in Auckland.)


And just now? My travel song came on.

John Mayer's "3x5." It's the epitome of road trip/tooling around Europe solo song. Perfection incarnate. I listened to it often when I was by myself in France and Spain.

My passport is in order. Anyone want to buy me a vacation?

----

The upside is that planning Winter Break is helping to alleviate the itch. Dates are too tentative to expand upon now, but it seems that Chicago and New York will be two separate trips, and not the city-hopping I was hoping for (which would have saved me about $200, too). Alas, I cannot hop to NYC if Candace is still going to be in Chicago.

I just watched Knocked Up for a third (and a half) time. It was just as awesome as ever.

I know a lot of people who didn't like it because they said it was boring (meaning, it wasn't non-stop, laugh-out-loud hilarity and actually had a plot and semi-realistic storyline), but I think it's fabulous.

Some of the special features are pretty awesome too. There are two deleted scenes I thought particularly hilarious. The first is Eva Mendes commenting on Allison being so huge and pregnant that she was "like a house," and informed her that there were prenatal yoga classes to help that. It was sweet. The second features Jonah Hill going off on Brokeback Mountain and saying that if it were really a pro-gay film, there would have been at least one scene of Jake Gyllenhaal blowing Heath Ledger. I have to say...I agree whole heartedly.


I must purchase it. But I think I'm going to wait until it gets ridiculously cheap. Because you know there's going to be one week when that and 40-Year-Old Virgin are both like $9, and I will jump at the chance and buy them both. Until then, I will relive the hilarity by reading the quotes on IMDb.


I also saw Stardust again today, for a second time. It was still as good as I remembered, and I will most definitely own it on DVD. Charlie Cox is just so adorable and sweet (and ridiculously good looking after gay-pirate Robert De Niro fixes his hair and wardrobe). The plot is cool too.

Finally, I got the new Matchbox Twenty album. At first I was a little pissed that there are only 7 new songs, and the rest are "remastered" version (which sound the same to me) of their hits that I have already from the previous three albums. But the new songs are pretty sweet, so I don't really mind spending $10 on 7 songs.

It's really unfortunate when a soundtrack is better than the movie it accompanies.

One example? Alfie (the new one).

The soundtrack is freakin' sweet. One of my favorites ever.

Mick Jagger, some Joss Stone, and just a sprinkling of Sheryl Crow. It's so good. I listen to it all the time.


The movie, on the other hand, was crap. The original wasn't good either, though, so what's to expect?

Look! Spock!


Pretty damn good, eh?

I'm excited.


Still no Kirk. According to J.J. Abrams he's "taking names" for Kirk.


Also, two movies I saw previews for yesterday and about which I am SUPER excited: August Rush (I LOVE Freddie Highmore) and Dan in Real Life.


Things to do this week:
- Rewatch first two Bourne movies
- See Bourne Ultimatum
- Finish reading "Pride & Prejudice"
- Watch Netflix'ed Sweeney Todd in Concert (it has NPH, plus I can familiarize myself with the music before Tim Burton's version comes out in January)
- Watch TiVo'ed "The Riches" from May
- Go see at least one other movie in the theater (topping the list are Live Free or Die Hard, License to Wed, You Kill Me, Pirates: At World's End again...all for $2.50, or Hairspray again for $6)


It's a difficult life I lead, folks.

This might be my new favorite thing EVER.

Amazing.

I'm so awesome.

Like...ridiculously awesome.

On Kelly's new CD, her last song has a 1 minute silent gap before a "secret song."

I was a genius and figured out how to add the file to my iTunes twice, change the name on the second, have the first stop after 4:15 and have the second start at 5:18, and rate them individually.


It was pretty sweet. And not as hard as I was expecting. Now? No more dead gap! and the songs are not necessary stuck together (they can be shuffled as single songs). Woo-hoo!

Because I'm uber lame...I was "researching" (I use quotes because I was just tooling around Wikipedia) and came across an entry on Kelly Clarkson's new album, "My December."

Now, I know I previously stated that I purchased it at midnight on release day from iTunes, but I don't know if I mentioned how much I'm loving it (actually....it's possible that I did). Either way, the album kicks some ass. I don't know yet if I'll like it more than "Breakaway" which is most definitely in any Top 10 list I'd make (and possibly number one for being stuck on an island...because we all have obsessions with making "if I were stuck on an island" lists...).

The reason for this entry, however, was a quote from Simon Cowell on the Wikipedia page: "She has one of the best pop voices in the world right now. What she sold in the U.K., Europe, Asia had nothing to do with American Idol. It had everything to do with the fact that she made a great record and she's got an incredible voice. She's not a girl who got lucky in a talent competition; we got lucky to find her."


I just thought it was nifty.

A bunch of random stuff...

- I'm really enjoying Kelly's new album, and I briefly took a listen to Snow Patrol and it's sounding super sweet too.

- I had fun meeting up with Jenny today. We bought fun drinks from a poolside bar, then shopped a bit at Florida Mall. I'm psyched for a cuticle manicure scrub I got at Bath and Body Works (my cuticles have been looking really bad lately). I also got a heel treatment, since my feet aren't looking too good either.

-The iPhone is HELLA COOL. Like...totally want one really badly! I wanted one before, but playing with one was SWEET. It's not perfect, but it's damn close, and it has everything. The one thing I was most impressed with? The massive amounts of easy-to-use internet features, like Google Maps, which is essentially a GPS within the phone. My brother in law just dropped $425 on a Garmin GPS...and while the iPhone's map feature doesn't quite live up to that...the Garmin doesn't play music, check email, send text messages, and, oh yeah...make phone calls. I'll wait at least a month before I buy one, though. I want to make sure there aren't any huge problems/issues/recalls.

- When I turned up the volume on my iMac using the remote control, my MacBook also got louder. I should have expected that, but I didn't and it made me giggle.

- Tomorrow I'm going to SeaWorld for my first time. Yay!

- I love being at my apartment because this room is mine. I've spent a lot of time on people's floors, couches, and guest bedrooms recently. And as it is, I live in my sister's spare room. So having a room that is MINE is huge. I love it!

- I bought a plane ticket and I'm going to Detroit July 27-29 to go camping.

- I need to find an awesome new purse. I'm officially on a hunt.

- I changed my facebook picture and spent a long time playing around with PhotoBooth. The end result were 7 fabulous pictures, one of which is my new profile pic. Yay!

- I need to start writing notes again. I keep forgetting the things I mean to do.


I think that's it. Happy Monday, folks. I hope yours rocked the way mine did!

A post about music!

Don't get too excited, my taste is very pop-oriented...and people who know music usually scoff at it. But I love it and I've made some purchases recently that I'm pretty excited about, so I will share.

Once soundtrack
- The movie was simple, but solidly good and the music is incredibly engaging.
- Favorite songs: Falling Slowly, When Your Mind's Made Up (both are used in the preview)

"Loose," Nelly Furtado
- I bought the album for the song "Say It Right," which I love possibly more than Rihanna's "Umbrella" (with which I am currently obsessed). I just really like listening to it.
- Favorite songs: Say It Right, All Good Things (Come to an End)

"Some Hearts," Carrie Underwood
- I've kinda been meaning to buy this for a while...I mean, the girl can sing and I do like country enough to like Carrie. It wasn't until I actually listened to the CD that I realized how many of the songs I'd heard before...she's released 6 or 7 singles from it.
- Favorite songs: Wasted, Before He Cheats

Those CDs I purchased about two weeks ago, when I was still in Illinois (overpriced from Best Buy...would have saved $10 if I would have bought them from iTunes). So I've listened to them each at least once through.

My new purchases from last night on iTunes were mostly impulse, or things I've been wanting for awhile. I haven't really listened through the albums (except the 30 second clips on iTunes), so figuring whether or not these were good purchases will come later.

"It Won't Be Soon Before Long," Maroon 5
- It took a while for me to warm up to the 80's techno feel of "Makes Me Wonder," but I listened to samples at Barnes & Noble and it seemed like a solid album. And I still listen to "Songs About Jane" (the first album) all the time.

"Eyes Open," Snow Patrol
- I just really, really love the song "Chasing Cars" (more than Nelly and Rihanna combined). It makes me ache and it's fabulous. Plus, I figured they would be rather Fray-ish, and I do adore the album "How to Save a Life" (the one with the songs they always play on "Grey's Anatomy").

"Wild Hope," Mandy Moore
- This one was an UBER impulse buy...I hadn't even been thinking about it for weeks (like my other purchases). But I do like Mandy Moore, and I do like pop music. "Extraordinary" isn't my favorite song, but it's catchy and I like it, and I listened to some of the other samples and it sounds good to me.

And now...the grand finale...

"My December," Kelly Clarkson
- Today (the 26th) is technically the CD release day, so I went onto iTunes last night and purchased the album at 12:23am. I adore Kelly. "Breakaway" (the first album) is still a top play on my iPod. And "Never Again" is a super sweet song. I've been waiting for this since last summer and it's finally here!!


The only downside to owning 7 new albums is finding time to give them all the attention they need to flourish and earn my love.

Alright...that's it for music-y stuff. I need to shower so I can take my brother-in-law to get his brakes fixed and then get my hair cut (so I can dye it again).

Again with the random and quick update:
- It's sad when a film makes $36.13 million on opening weekend and I think, "Really? That's all?" (the figure represents Ocean's 13's box office total)
- I liked Ocean's 13 a ridiculous amount (and I miss Eddie Izzard stand-up)
- While I feel that people are being overly generous to the greatness of Waitress and Knocked Up (neither was perfect), both were very good and should be the standard for all comedies (not just indies). All other films should be equal to or better than those
- I don't want to go back to Florida, but I don't think I can stay here much longer. I feel I'm overstaying my welcome and the novelty of having Gail around is wearing off. I must leave while I'm "ahead"
- Not only is Miss Potter playing in the area, but it's at the Buff Grove Theater, so it will be $1 tomorrow. I love Dollar Tuesdays
- I still haven't seen Once and I'm starting to think I should just go by myself
- I'm bruising a ridiculous amount and I'm not sure why
- The cicadas are starting to become more apparent...methinks the plague is coming to Deerfield (Highland Park was already getting plagued)
- I think I define "friend" as something different than most people
- CDs I'm considering buying (no laughing...I know my music tastes are poor): Nelly Furtado, Hilary Duff, Maroon 5, Snow Patrol, Carrie Underwood. (I will most definitely be getting Kelly's new album when it comes out in two weeks...no questions asked)


I'm tired. Sleep now.

A little while ago, I complained about having Elton John's "Island Girl" stuck in my head (because...really? "Island Girl?")

However, this morning I've discovered that I would probably prefer that to "Honky Cat," which was running through my brain non-stop while I was in the shower. (Not that I don't like "Honky Cat," it's just...well, a little creepy.)

But then it got more complicated, because for some reason the line I'm using as a subject (the "electric boots" one) popped into my head and Be-be-be-bennie and the Jetssssssss is taking it's due time eradicating itself from my internal monologue. Now that song is actually very good, but if I have "Be-be-be-bennie and the Jetssssssss" in my head during my final today, I'm going to scream.


That said, I'm not very confident about my exam. Oh, I suck at Renaissance Art SO much. Eep.

My room overlooks the pool in our complex, which means that I can generally hear people chatting loudly, or yelling and being dumb at 3am. It usually sucks.

Today, however, it's a good thing.

Whoever is down there is playing The Beatles, more loudly than is absolutely necessary, but I don't mind being serenaded. I think it might be Beatles 1 on shuffle, or a mix, but I'm leaning toward the former.


So I took the first of two final exams I have. It was alright. There were a couple things I totally blanked on (specifically the styles of Jasper Johns and Beuys) and my essay wasn't very good. However, I'm hoping that I can pull off an A, because it should tip my overall grade in that direction.


Now, I'm studying for Italian Renaissance (or rather, taking a break from studying). I can totally do Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo...it's the other 27 artists I'm not sure sure about.

Well, nows seems as good a time as any to extend my break and get dinner. Then I'll be up burning that midnight oil until I can differentiate Perugino from Antonello and distinguish between the three Bellinis.