Androgynous?

I had a friend tell me the other day that I have an androgynous face. She meant it in the best possible way; it was definitely supposed to be taken as a compliment. But, huh.

Judge for yourself. Do I have a unisex face?


Okay, I was kidding with that last picture. Here's a fairly serious one, although I feel completely odd taking pictures of myself with my MacBook. For the sake of the argument, I pulled my hair back. I guess I can kind of see it...


Don't think I have a complex now or anything. I don't care, really. I mean, Jonathan Rhys Meyers (who's on a new show on Showtime, by the way) has an androgynous face, and he is Be-a-u-ti-ful.

See? I'm totally procrastinating. I should be writing my papers.

Excessive Blog Posts...

and newly uploaded photos can only mean one thing:

It's paper-writing time, again!





In unrelated news, I have now officially lost 20 pounds.

The Next 8 Months of My Life are Planned Out

Now, don't get excited or nervous about the title of this post. There is no underlining, hidden meaning. I will not be locked up in a cabin in the woods somewhere for the next eight months, so don't get any ideas.

I just mean that I registered today for my Fall semester. Which means I am registered to go to school for the next eight months straight. Usually, I get excited about registering for the next semester. But I usually have a break -- Summer or Christmas -- in between. I haven't even started the Summer semester and I'm already locked in for Fall.

I mean, that's good. It's good that I'm going to school. It's good that after I finish the next two semesters that I've already registered for, I'll only have one more (relatively easy) semester to go before I graduate. But, man, knowing for sure what you HAVE to do for the next 8 months is a little stifling. A little suffocating. Hope I don't fly the coop.

FYI: My Fall semester is filled with all of the left-over core classes I have to take -- a science lab and a history class. Yuck. I think that's part of the problem. But when I get these out of the way, it'll be smoooooth sailin'.

(Also, I would just like to add that this picture was taken in a park in Dublin. Not by me. By a professional photographer.)

Worst Lyrics Ever Written

Thought this was a pretty great article/blog post.

The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever

My favorite? "Coast to Coast / L.A. to Chicago" from Sade's "Smooth Operator." That has ALWAYS bothered me. Glad it's getting the attention it deserves.

Trajectories, Parallels, and Intersections

It hit me today -- for no reason, whatsoever -- that the tiniest choice can alter your life. What you wear, what you say, what you don't say.

I was thinking about my life's trajectory so far. What I've done and what I haven't done at this point in my life -- not with a longing for the things that I haven't done, but with a gratefulness that I haven't gone down certain paths.

I thought about old middle school friends that live completely different lives than I do now. What makes us so different? At what point did we veer off from being somewhat similar to being so totally different? (Not that one way of life is better than the other -- just different.)

And I realized that I wouldn't have my life any other way than it is right now. Speeding ticket that I got today and all. It was an epiphanic moment that I thought I'd share.

And It's Only March

This year has already become a great music one. If only for me. Here's what I've been listening to since January-ish:

• The Shins, Wincing the Night Away: I figured that this album would be a little more perky than the last one (Chutes Too Narrow), because James Mercer got married in the interim. However, Wincing the Night Away is darker and more pessimistic, which is always fun to listen to.

• TV on the Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain: AMAZING album. It's the black coffee of music. Definitely opaque, sludge-y coffee. It was perfect for the cold months of the winter, but now that it's warming up, I want something a little more... Cherry Kool-Aid. Which brings me to...

• Patrick Watson, Close to Paradise: Okay, so he's not really Kool-Aid. More like slightly sweetened iced tea. Generally positive, a little Pink Floyd-ish at times (a la The Great Gig in the Sky), it's a great spring album, perfect for the transition months of March and April.

• Elvis Perkins, Ash Wednesday: 'Poignant' is a totally overused word but, dang, does it fit this album. He's like a melodic Bob Dylan. Young Bob Dylan. Good Bob Dylan. I'm trying not to abuse it by listening too much.

• Nina Simone, my own compilation: Classic. I just needed more good, old-fashioned, French, smoker, slightly off-key, awesome lyrics in my life. Thus, I have befriended Nina.

What about you? Share the wealth. What else should I be listening to? (Besides the new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album which is on the way.)

When I'm Having an Off Day...

I try to remember that James Iha checked me out once. Genevieve can vouch for it.

What about you? What do you tell yourself when you're feeling less than lovely to make yourself feel better?

Facebook = Time Suckage

That is all.

Spring Break! Woo-hoo!

I realized yesterday, as I read the entirety of Pride and Prejudice, that I'm probably not spending my Spring Break like most other undergrads are.

What's on the list for this week?

• Find potential summer jobs
• Read 4 novels
• Apply to NY Writer's Institute
• Apply for various scholarships (includes writing essays)
  
• Write the short story that's been in my head for months (or at least start it)
• Study for Spanish test
• Work on postmodern city presentation

Since I've gone back to school, I've become quite the nerd/overachiever, a role that I have never embraced. I mean, countless hours of my week last week were consumed with the AWP Conference (American Writers and Writing Programs). Most of the other people there were actual writers and grad students. But, man, I totally enjoyed it. Poor Sara. She had to listen to me explain all of the concepts that I had heard at the conference for three days straight.

But I am taking time to do some fun things this week. On Wednesday, I'm going to see Patrick Watson play at the Earl. (Any of you ATLiens want to come along?) On Friday, I have an appointment for a massage. And on Saturday, I might drive over to Athens to see the Castanets play. (Again, if anybody wants to come along...)

I feel like I need a classic Spring Break graphic: