So close to the end...

Not much has been going on lately, mainly because it's getting closer to final exam time and my work load has just gotten insane. Some of the frustration since my last post has worn off, thankfully, but I'm still just quite stressed. With all the school work, weird dreams and awful sleep, and the fact that I've been killing all the technology around me, it's just been a bit much all at once. Luckily, little fun things have been sort of breaking up the stress for me.

Earlier this week, I met up with my friend Staci and we played a little pool. I haven't done so for several years, and even though I am less than excellent at this, I really enjoyed it. We had a fun time.

Yesterday (Friday), I helped out another friend, Trisha, with a project she has to do for her photography courses at school. She shot some photos of me goofing off and some other normal ones. They were all on film, so if I'm not sure if I'll get to see copies of them or not. I just hope they turn out well for her. We spent a lot of time catching up, as we haven't really seen each other in about 2 years.

Yesterday was also a good mail day for me. I received two postcards I was really fond of. The first was a Futurama card that someone received and was kind enough to pass on to me. I do love Futurama.

The other was a handmade card that just made my day. It was really interesting, in a good way, and also had some beautiful vintage stamps on the back (commemorating the moon landing).

I know...I'm a nerd, but simple things make me happy.
Today, Staci came over and helped me dye my hair darker again. It turned out really well, thankfully, so I think I'll keep her. We spent a couple of hours just talking and laughing about random things afterwards, which was a nice way to end a day of studying.
Unfortunately, the only break I have between the end of classes and my exams is Reading Day....I get one day off. That's never happened before. I've also never had an 8 a.m. exam before or one on a Saturday - this year I have an exam at 8 a.m. on Saturday. So, I will not be getting out of town until after my exams are finished. Hopefully then I'll have some more interesting news.

FRUSTRATED!

nataliedee.com

Waste of Time?

Wednesday evening after class, I spent 90 minutes traveling 16 miles to get out of Charleston and to head toward Charlotte. I was excited all the way there because I was going to see Nicole Atkins for the third time, this time with her new band.Even though I was an hour behind schedule, I made it early enough to see Stephen Warwick/Secondhand Stories take the stage. I really enjoyed them, just as last time. Their trumpeter is back and Stephen cut off all his hair. He started the night off right, breaking a string on the first song. It was replaced and he broke another one before the set was over.

Next up were HYMNS. They hail from Brooklyn, NY and have a spazzy lead guitarist. Actually, I'm not going to lie, when I first saw them, I though the bad hair and shoes convention had come to town. Unfortunately, I do not have a good picture to share. Luckily, the internet is always there to help.

Appearance aside, I actually enjoyed their set very much. Am I going to rush out and buy the albums? No. But it was worth seeing. Their lead and rhythm guitarists also managed to each break a string.

Foley Stewart played two songs before Nicole went on. He has a beautiful voice, but I'm not sure if his music is really my thing. He also comes from New York.

Nicole and her band took the stage and here's where I start sounding like a snobby bitch. Maybe it's because I was accustomed to the old Nicole, but I really wasn't impressed. The new band have an air about them - I can't even exactly say what that means, but it just was a weird feeling from the start. They played a lot from the upcoming new album and it's a completely different sound - not in a bad way! It's just different. I can appreciate an artist's desire to take things in a new direction. A "but..." should follow that but I really don't have one.

The thing that sort of struck me most was the way Nicole has seemingly changed. She dressed the same, had the same gorgeous hair and amazing voice. But she, like the new band, had an attitude about her. There were many comments made throughout the set in a very sarcastically rude manner followed by "just kidding". It honestly made me think of that girl in high school that thinks being a bitch makes her cute and sexy. And it doesn't. Don't get me wrong, I still love her music, I still think she's a great person, great with her fans. But I just don't understand the on-stage presence change. It was just weird to watch.

I left immediately after the show - didn't stick around for chatting or anything. I was glad I went, but at the same time, I wasn't overly impressed. Broken string count for the night was 4, and that was pretty much the most amusing thing to me. I don't have any photos that came out from the show, simply because there was no lighting from the front of the stage and I'm not the asshole person who uses flash when I'm right in front of someone's face. I have one video of Hymns and one of Nicole. Hymns video is not uploaded yet. But here is Nicole doing "The Way It Is" - my favorite song by her.

I got home at about 3:30am, changed clothes, and went to bed. I love these little trips, but they really wear on me - I could just be getting old. The next morning I woke up with the worst migraine I have ever had in my entire life. Every little movement I made set my head throbbing, and the light coming in through the crack between the curtain and the wall was just killing me. So I spent most of the day sitting in a darkened living room with one of those eye masks on. The medicine I was given months ago wouldn't touch it, so I'm asking that if anybody knows of any non-medical ways to help destroy a migraine, please please please share. I don't plan on it happening anytime in the near future, but I'd like to be ready when it does.

My mom sent me a box this week with my aquarelles in them. I'm looking forward to a few weeks of artsy stuff ahead!

iTunes can suck it.

I've installed the newest version of iTunes and have been waiting approximately 20 minutes now for it to update my library. This is what I'm seeing.

Unbelievable. Twenty minutes and that's all??? What the hell, iTunes?

God willing, I'm off to Charlotte tomorrow night (departing immediately after German poetry class!) to see Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea. If I make it there, pictures and video will be posted later this week.

Savannah Record and 'Zine Fair 2009

Yesterday, Staci and I drove down to Savannah to take in SCAD's record and 'zine fair in hopes that we would each find a few little things that we could bring home with us. Thank you, SCAD, you bastards, for nearly bankrupting us both. :)

It was actually a fairly tiny little fair. It took place in a ballroom in one of their buildings on campus. But I'm glad that it wasn't any bigger, because until we got through everything, we both had nearly empty wallets. I came home with a total of 28 records, which is way more than I intended upon. But I'm glad we went and I'm glad I got the things I did!

In addition to buying some fun records, we had good thai food, tried on some cute clothes, and visited the best art supply store EVER. Seriously, it was huge and had everything I could ever want. It also just so happened that we were in town on the day that Savannah was having its Wag-O-Ween event. So there were tons of cute puppies everywhere all decked out in Halloween costumes.

I gained some new respect for Savannah on this trip. I still don't think I could ever be content living there, but it is a pretty cool city and I'd like to visit again soon. It's much less boring than Charleston, and has a lot of interesting things to see.

On our way back to Charleston, the sun was just setting, but it was still fairly bright out. So we made a little stop at the Old Sheldon Church Ruins. I was there with my family several months ago - you can see that entry here.

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos from yesterday. Was just more focused on enjoying it. Now it's back to the same old boring stuff for the week!

The Rev is always there for me.

When I'm at home with my parents, I watch way too much television, mostly because I'm bored and because I can, whereas at my home in Charleston I don't really get to see a lot of this stuff. One show I've gotten into the habit of watching is Run's House on MTV. I love this show, and I can't even really tell you why. Maybe it's because of the lack of really intense drama. Maybe it's because of his happy-go-lucky attitude. Whatever it is, it's working, and due to my love for this show, I somehow signed up to receive Rev Run's Daily Words of Wisdom over a year ago. I don't even know.

So I get these e-mails daily. Sometimes they're about stuff I'm not so into like God or business. But for the past few months, there have been some really good little blurbs that have really been coinciding with various problems I've been having. Don't get me wrong - I know that these little two-sentence motivational speeches are not going to solve all my problems. That's my responsibility. But it's good to kind of get a little push to stick with it or whatever sometimes.

All of that being said, lately I've been having a lot of doubts about my choices for my future. I've been having a lot of doubts about college and about myself. And I'm really not at all sure what to do about the situation. But, in the mornings, I open my e-mail and there are the Words of Wisdom. Here is today's:

Good morning. Never give into a melancholy vibe; resist it steadily, for that habit will hang around and it's HARD to get rid of!

God is Love Rev Run

It's a legit point. So anyway, I've really been looking forward to these for the past few days. If you're interested, you can read more over at Global Grind.

Oh look! It's my favorite time of year!

October through January is a generally enjoyable time for me. I like the holidays and I like the cold weather. I love snow, even though we don't get any in Charleston. I love being able to wear sweaters, coats, scarves, and even the occasional hat. And surprisingly October, November, and December are typically my busiest months of the year.

Anyway, last year's fall/winter was not super fun. So I am happy to report that I am feeling much more positive about this year. I am getting really into the whole Halloween thing. I've been baking lots of stuff. I've been contemplating some mild decorating. And I have decided to hopefully do something on Halloween. While I am not yet sold on the idea of having a costume, I am otherwise very excited about celebrating! If all local Halloween plans fail, The Old Ceremony are playing at Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta. And there I will be.

As for Thanksgiving - it will kind of be skipped over because I will still be here in Charleston. I might cook fancy dinner and I may have some people over maybe. But I'm not really worried about that right now. I'm not going to be terribly upset if I don't have a big Thanksgiving celebration.

And then comes Christmas! Every morning I've been waking up and taking the dog outside in 45 degree weather saying, "It feels like Christmas." Because it does. And this morning when I went out, the sky was completely clear of clouds and there were just stars everywhere. It was really amazing...reminded me of winter nights back home with snow everywhere and a bright moon and bright stars. So I'm counting down until Christmas gets here. I have about half of the gifts taken care of. Two of the remaining ones are going to take me some serious time and work. But I'm ready!

Aside from holiday things coming up, I've got some other stuff on my calendar in the next few months. This Saturday, October 24, I think Staci and I will be traveling to Savannah, GA for the Third Savannah Record and 'Zine Fair. It will be good times for all, I'm thinking. Even if it blows, we'll at least be in Savannah.

November 3 and 4, Nicole Atkins is playing at Snug Harbor up in Charlotte, NC. I love this venue, and I loved her show the last time I was there. So I will be going at least one of these nights, if not both. It's just a long drive there and back for a school night. But I have done dumber things.

Completely unrelated to upcoming events, I received a postcard today from a nice lady in Australia. It's a photo her husband took. And it is of the cutest baby kangaroo (which she lovingly called a "bunnyroo", because of the adorable ears) I have ever seen. Not that I have seen millions of baby kangas. But anyway, I love him, and this woman has informed me that they have a "mob" of them living near their home. I'm moving to Australia.

But not until after I get to go to California.

Really...anywhere but here would be good right about now.

I saw the Bird at the Farm!

Monday night, my friend Staci and I headed downtown to The Music Farm to see Andrew Bird. Despite some rough events of the night, it was an amazing show, and I'm very glad we had the chance to go.The opening act was St. Vincent. I have St. Vincent's album "Actor", but just haven't really gotten a chance to have a good, thorough listen to it yet. I was very impressed by the live performance, though, and will definitely be enjoying the album much in the future. The girl's real name is Annie Clark, and she is just fascinating to watch. First off, she is one of those tall, skinny bitches I wish I could've been born as. But the way she moves is just very mesmerizing - it's sort of mechanical like a wind-up doll...maybe a little spazzy...but so much fun to watch. And she is not afraid to really use and abuse her guitar. Very interesting. She also used to be a member of The Polyphonic Spree, who hold a special place in my heart. Click here to watch my video of her song "Now Now".

There was a little altercation in between St. Vincent and Andrew Bird between Staci & I and the group of drunk [approximately] 16-17 year olds behind us. I got more action in that one night from drunk teenagers rubbing all up on me than I have had in the past year altogether. Anyway, things progressed to ass grabbing and shouting and went a little too far. Staci punched a kid, and normally I'm not for violence but he was being a tool and deserved it. It's better that Staci hit him and teach him a lesson than for him to piss off some really big guy in the future and get his ass kicked. And I was proud of her for standing up for herself. Attagirl! :)

A-nyway. Andrew Bird came on stage and things got back to normal. Sometime in the past week, my brain flipped a switch and I decided he was actually quite the handsome man. It might be the way he dresses and the eyes, but I can't say for sure. All that aside, he was really fun to watch. The videos you see online give sort of an accurate impression, but obviously he has much more presence when you're there. He played an amazing set, and brought St. Vincent on for two songs in the encore. Set list was as follows:

Ravel

Fiery Crash

Masterswarm

Opposite Day

Fitz and the Dizzyspells

Oh No

Effigy

Anonanimal

Not A Robot, But A Ghost*

Headsoak

Plasticities*

Imitosis

Cataracts

Fake Palindromes

Encores: Why / Scythian Empires / Tables and Chairs

The two with asterisks may not be in complete proper order as they weren't included on the planned set list. But I think I'm right. Click on the 3 songs with links to see my videos of them. I'm not putting them up here because it takes forever to load with them. And anyway, if you go to the link you can watch them in super cool HD! All big and stuff!

So that was pretty much the night in a nutshell. I wish I had more to say about it, but it was really just a good night and I'm glad that I was able to go. For more photos, click. I like links because they let you do all the work. :)

IT'S ALIIIIVE!

I went to the hand doctor today and got my cast taken off and my stitches removed.  There were 5 in case you were wondering.  I'm happy to have two hands to use, but it's weird getting used to this now too.  And my left hand is very weak - I can't make a fist or really hold on to much more than a magazine.  I would provide an "after" picture, but a) I'm prepping my laptop to possibly go to the great Apple Store in the sky, and b) it's pretty gross with lots of dried blood and such.  Can't really even see the incision.  It is bigger than the original cut though.

So anyway...Yayyyy hand!  That is all.

Quality Time With Kitteroo

Since my family took my puppy home with them, I've been missing her lots and have been taking it out on the cat by giving him so much love.  We've been playing lots and snuggling and trying out new treats (treats for him, not me).  He hates this and protests with angry mews.  He only puts up with me because I'm good for a catnip mouse or two.

I, however, am very glad that he's here to keep me company and cause chaos while I'm trying to get ready for school in the a.m.