Good Mail Day

Friday was the best mail day I've had in awhile. Of course, days I get anything other than bills are all actually good mail days, but this one was special. I received three postcards that I reeeeally like - they're all handmade and just interesting. One is a PostSecret style one. Soooo look:

Secret.

Another fun card from Carroll.

True story.

I really need to receive the last one once every couple of weeks. It needs to find a permanent place in my home where I can see it on a regular basis, I just haven't come across the perfect spot yet.

Things have been dull here. Classes are boring. I'm trying to find the perfect paint colors for some "accent walls". I haven't been anywhere outside of Charleston recently or been to any interesting events. 2010 feels very strange to me now and I feel like I need to get settled in and find my footing before I start doing really big things.

The weather's getting really nice here, so I'm thinking the end of this week will bring a trip to the beach!

Doing This Year Right

So I was reading somebody's blog on tumblr this morning and I've decided that I'm not going to neglect this anymore. Whether it's just a picture or a quote or just what I've done throughout my day, I'm going to try to post way more often. I would say daily, but I'm a slacker, so we'll see how it goes.

2010 has been feeling really good for me so far. I think a lot of stuff is going to change and I think it's going to be a really great year. I have this feeling like something big is going to happen, I just don't know what it is yet.

Yesterday I met with a friend for lunch and we decided we need to be more goal oriented. So we created a system of setting goals for the week, month, and long-term and actually achieving them. It'll be interesting and I'm sure we'll both make a lot of mistakes, but at least we're sort of in this together so that we can each tell each other to step it up and get to work.

My first "big" goal of this year is to make my shitty apartment into a home. It appears that I'm stuck here for at least another year, so I might as well enjoy it. I will be selling a lot of my stuff to minimize clutter, reorganizing pretty much everything, and possibly doing some painting. Pictures may come later.

Now, off to the first day of class. Hell yeah, "decision sciences"!

So long, 2009!

Hello from lovely, snowy New York. I am not going anywhere near Times Square, but I am in close proximity to the city.

I've been thinking a little bit about what I could say about 2009. I don't want to do a "looking back" meme. I had no really huge events to recap on in 2009 other than my accident and finger surgery. I haven't traveled anywhere and I haven't seen anything spectacular. I can't even give you my top ten albums of 2009 because I think I've only listened to maybe three albums that were released this year.

I guess this all means that 2009 was mostly mediocre. And it was. It wasn't the worst year I've had, but it wasn't the best to date either. I'm happy to see it go, and I'm really hoping 2010 is going to be an amazing year - at least, I'm going to try really hard to make it one.

Anyway, so as not to disappoint and merely trash talk 2009, here are the ten albums that I clung to the most in 2009. Enjoy this, please.

1. XTC - Apple Venus Volume 1

I heard this exactly one year ago today. I was lucky enough to be wearing headphones during my first listen so I could enjoy the full experience. It still feels like the first time every time.

2. Fleet Foxes (self-titled)

I never thought I'd love this album as much as I do. I get chills every time I hear it. I like to sing along with it. My family will endure listening to it. There's just nothing wrong with this. And seeing the band live was a treat - they perform well.

3. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast

I'm always a little bit wary of new albums from bands/musicians that I already love. Because eventually it ends in disappointment. This album was a bit different to my ears from previous offerings from Mr. Bird, but it was really well done. Took a few days to grow on me, but I listen to it frequently now.

4. Tears For Fears - The Hurting

This came heavily recommended and I liked it upon first listen. That never happens.

5. XTC - English Settlement

If I could just put every XTC album I've heard on this list, it would probably be more accurate. But that's not fair. I like to listen to this one while I'm cleaning.

6. Eric's Duran Duran mix

It's really fantastic. It was only posted in October and I've already listened to it over 100 times, I'm sure of it. Download it. Also, Eric did an XTC mix that was excellent. And some others too. I'm constantly impressed.

7. St. Vincent - Actor

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about St. Vincent when I found out she was opening for Andrew Bird in Charleston. I bought the album, forgot to listen to it, and saw her with no previous knowledge of her work. I will say that she was amazing on stage - I prefer her live performances to the album. But the album grew on me quickly, and I really would love to hear more from her in the future.

8. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

This has always been my favorite album from The Shins and that still hasn't changed. Their music makes me happy - I like to dance around to it while I'm working in the kitchen.

9. Nick Drake - Pink Moon and Five Leaves Left

I can't choose one. And I usually listen to them back to back anyway. Great albums. I heard them both for the first time on the long drive to Minnesota with my mom a few years back.

10. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part

Oddly enough, this is a Christmas album of sorts for me. As soon as it starts getting cold outside, I dig it out and revisit it. It also is the album I listen to while I'm trying to sleep at night.

I've been staring at this thing for a couple of days, knowing that I've neglected it and should write something, but not able to think of anything. It's not that nothing has happened since I last wrote - quite a bit has - but nothing really worth talking about so much.

Staci and I *did* go to Presents for Punks at Mellow Mushroom this year. It was a charity art show type thing. Locals artists donated some of their work and most of it sold for under $50 - some pieces were just straight sales, others were sold in silent auctions. It was a nice event and we each left with one piece. We had them picked out within ten minutes of entering the room, so I'd say we did good. The event is only in its second year, but I'd really like to see it go on for many years to come.

Currently, I'm home in Pennsylvania again, and ready to get out of here. Ready to get out of anywhere I call home, really. I'm in a bit of a rut and am having a hard time getting out. It feels like time for me to move again.

Anyway, hopefully in the next day or so I'll have something to say about 2009 since it's drawing to a close. I'm a little happy about its passing. In 2010, maybe I'll be better at this. But don't count on it... :)

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.