January Mix: Party for One

For the past 10 years, I've celebrated the new year in style. We watched fireworks from our perch up in the hills. We had grand bottle rocket battles leaving us with burned fingers and singed hair. We drank sparkling cider. We danced our hearts out. We cruised the valley hopping from party to party.

But that's not how I want it to be this year. 

This time, it will be just me and the stars.

If you're feeling the same way, than this is the mix for you...

Best wishes for 2013

1. Boats And Trains - Stornoway
2. I Belong In Your Arms - Chairlift
3. Antmusic - Adam & The Ants
4. One - Ratatat
5. Yet Again - Grizzly Bear
6. What Have I Done - Anna Ternheim
7. Fiya - Tune-Yards
8. Land Of The Bloody Unknown - The Middle East
9. July Flame - Laura Veirs
10. Sewee Sewee - Mountain Man
12. Dark Parts - Perfume Genius
13. Magic - Nick Drake
14. Reason To Believe (Tim Hardin cover) - Billy Bragg
15. Auld Lang Syne - Andrew Bird

NOTES:
1. "...stop me from drifting / it's too late to be traveling"
3. Such a crush on these fellows
7. "in bloom at the end of the world"
8. Thanks Jade!
12. "the love you feel is stronger"
13. ...
14. Tricked ya. If you click the link, it's actually Karen Dalton singing. Her version is the best, but I couldn't find it in time. You can buy me this song if you want.

A Poem for Thursday: "The Emperor" - Matthew Rohrer

She sends me a text

she's coming home

the train emerges

from underground

I light the fire under

the pot, I pour her

a glass of wine

I fold a napkin under

a little fork

the wind blows the rain

into the windows

the emperor himself

is not this happy

Christmas Mix #3: Mistletoe

This last mix for people in love :) So cozy.

Christmas Mix #2: Holy Night

Here's some Christmas music fit for your Sabbath. I'm singing "The Angel Gabriel" at Relief Society today. My room mates told me it sounded like I was from the shire while I practiced it. I love those medieval melodies at Christmas time.

Christmas Mix #1: Fruitcake

Hey guys! For the next few day, I have some mixes to get you into the holiday spirit. This first mix, "Fruitcake," has some of my favorite weird, witty, and winsome Christmas songs. Hope you like it!

A Poem for Thursday: "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I though how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
had rolled along th'unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed by head:
'There is no peace on earth,' I said
'For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.'

Then paled the bells more loud and deep:
'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.

Music for your Midweek: La iaia

I just discovered Catalan music...

...and it is rocking my world in a BIG way.

I can hardly handle it. SO GOOD. And I went into a frenzy last night adding any and every catalan song to a spotify playlist and I got so anxious I actually gave myself a headache. That's how I feel about music, guys. Too much. Too much feeling.

Catalan is a magic language. I can kind of understand it since I studied spanish, but it's odd. A mix between a language of the future and a language of the past. I can't tell where it fits. I'll understand a whole sentence, and then be completely stumped by the next verse. 

This song I'm going to share with you is a perfect example of that. Gobbldigook, and then a rousing chorus of "twist and shout". I hope you love it.

Also, when I get my head on straight, I'll make a proper Catalan playlist, and put the link on this post. If you add me as a friend on Spotify, you can find more international playlists. They are stored under the file "Not English" (creative, I know). There is some really great stuff in there if I may say so myself. 

After that LENGTHY introduction, here is La iaia! I know nothing about them, except that I love them:

Peace on earth, goodwill to men

Here's to hoping we can find the peace we need this Sunday:

Kid Krismas

Everyone has memories of the movies they'd watch or the music they'd listen to during Christmas time. I did some searching on YouTube for some shows that we used to watch when we were little. We would record them off of the TV onto VHS, and watch them over and over. Some of those shows maintained their charm while others... not so much. 

1. "Will Winton's Claymation Christmas Celebration"

We would watch this ALL the time. I don't have the same stamina now as I had then. Do you remember this part? 

2. "Garfield Christmas Special"
After the Claymation one, we watched the Garfield Christmas Special. For some reason, we used to think that 16:15-17:00 was reeeeeeeaaally funny. I have no idea why.

3. "Disney Christmas Sing-a-long: Twelve Days of Christmas"
Oh man. This video has some great songs on it. Here is part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.



4. "Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger Christmas: Alpha's Magical Christmas"
So bad it's...no. It's just really, really bad. Please, just watch the first 5 minutes, and you will know what I mean.


5. "Mickey's Christmas Carol"
Disney has since blocked the video. Try to find it if you can! So charming.

A Poem for Thursday: "You Begin" - Margaret Atwood

You begin this way:
this is your hand,
this is your eye
that is a fish, blue flat
on the paper, almost
the shape of an eye.
this is your mouth, this is an O
or a moon, whichever
you like. This is yellow.

Outside the window
is the rain, green
because it is summer, and beyond that
the trees and then the world,
which is round and has only the colors of these nine crayons.

This is the world, which is fuller
and more difficult to learn than I have said.
You are right to smudge it that way
with the red and then
the orange: the world burns.

Once you have learned these words
you will learn that there are more
words than you can ever learn.
The word hand floats above your hand
like a small cloud over a lake.

The word hand anchors
your hand to this table,
your hand is a warm stone
I hold between two words.

This is your hand, these are my hands, this is the world,
which is round but not flat and has more colors
than we can see.
It begins, it has an end,
this is what you will
come back to, this is your hand.

Music for your Midweek: Punch Brothers pt. 2

I saw Punch Brothers Friday night, and I'm still floating on a blissful musical high. I want to watch them play all day long, all the time! Honestly, they were incredible. Each of them are so talented.

Golly.

So here is a song for you. It's even a Christmas one!



and a couple others, just for kicks.

Just can't leave this place

I was set to end my term of service on January 25th, and dreading it. There were so many things to do: clean up my resume, apply for jobs, sell my contract...I was not excited. Plus, we were just starting to make some really positive changes at the South Franklin Community Center, and I felt like I was leaving at the worst time. When I started filling out my end-of-service paperwork, I saw that there was an option to extend service for less than a year. Perfect! My supervisor was excited to keep me for a bit longer, and it all turned out perfectly!

I get to stay here til May 3rd!

yeah boi.

They just can't get rid of me. 

We were in the news last week. Take a look!

Something for Sunday

A thousand half-loves

must be forsaken to take

one whole heart home.
- Rumi

December Mix: "It's Christmas"

Since I don't have my own computer anymore, I had to improvise this months mix a bit. Hope you don't mind!

Everyone has those special songs that they wait all year to listen to at Christmas time. There are the Bing Crosby classics and the flashy Mariah Carey ballads; but my Christmas just wouldn't be complete without this:

It's Christmas

This album has been a staple in my family since the year of it's release in 1989. My first Christmas memories are of listening to this cd and dancing around the kitchen with my mom and dad. Just look at that track list; it's stellar.

1. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Yoko/The Plastic Ono Band

2. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid

3. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - Roy Wood

4. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade 

5. Step Into Christmas - Elton John 

6. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin' Stevens

7. Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney 

8. I Believe in Father Christmas - Greg Lake  

9. December Will Be Magic Again - Kate Bush

10. Mistletoe & Wine - Cliff Richard

11. Walking in the Air - Aled Jones

12. A Spaceman Came Travelling - Chris DeBurgh

13. Stop the Cavalry - Jona Lewie

14. Little Saint Nick - The Beach Boys

15. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee

16. Lonely This Christmas - Mud 

17. The Christmas Song - Nat "King" Cole

18. White Christmas - Bing Crosby

Now you know. When I think "Christmas," I think "synthesizer".

NOTES:

For a REALLY odd christmas, I recommend tracks 9 and 12.

My brother Jeremy's favorite Christmas song is track 13.

And I'm quite partial to track 3.

A Poem for Thursday: "To be of use" - Marge Piercy

The people I love the best
Jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half-submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumble to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.

Music for your Midweek: Regina Spektor

I've never been a huge Regina Spektor fan (I know, I know!) but my mom found this cd at D.I. and she's starting to grow on me. (But really, don't you think that album cover is awful? I didn't listen to that cd for MONTHS just cause I hated the cover art. Finicky to a fault.)

Anyway. I've been listening to this song on repeat:

Book of Mormon in 30 days... I did it!

I just finished reading my last chapter in the Book of Mormon! This is the fastest I ever read it! Now I admit, I had to listen to a lot of it on my iPod at double speed in order to get through in time. But I am in charge of my goals, so I get to decide what "counts" and I'm fine with it. haha. Going through the Book of Mormon quickly helped me understand it's teachings in a different way. Here are some things I noticed:

1. Heavenly Father is sooooo patient with us. You read of people making the same mistakes over and over, falling into the same destructive cycles. But the Lord's hand is STILL outstretched to bring us back. It is such a mercy.
2. The worst sinners are usually member of the church. It's always been like that, and always will be. And that's ok, as long as I'm trying to do what's right. One of the biggest challenges to my testimony as I was growing up and serving my mission came from seeing church members act contrary to what we believe. When I was in high school, I blamed the church for those inconsistencies. When I was on my mission, I realized that it was individuals using their agency, and I would feel very bitter and angry abou their choices. Now, I'm trying to step back, and keep myself from getting angry and too wrapped up in other peoples mistakes. Getting angry doesn't help anything get better, and it doesn't help me keep the spirit. We have thousands of instances of church members gone wrong in the Book of Mormon. I mean, some of the first stories we hear are about Nephi's struggles with Laman and Lemuel. It's oddly comforting that saints in all times have gone through the same trials and faced the same discouragement that I have.
3. We must to love one another. We need to need each other. We have to have other peoples welfare at the forefront of our minds. Pride starts with the virtue of self-improvement that sneakily evolves into self-obsession. I hope that I don't get so caught up in my efforts to become "better"  that I forget others who may be in need, whether that is spiritual or temporal.
4. The gospel is simple. We love God. We show that love by serving his children and keeping his commandments. Anything else is just fluff.
5. God loves us. So much.

I've loved having this goal for the month. It's helped me maintain the spirit and have an eternal perspective. I think I'm going to pick one goal at the beginning of every month. For December, I've chosen to study the scriptures for a 30 minute minimum every day. Wish me luck!

To sign out, I want to leave you with this scripture: 

I know that this is true. Much love to you all!

Poem for Thursday: "The End" - Elizabeth Alexander

The last thing of you is a doll, velveteen and spangle
silk douponi trousers, Ali Baba slippers that curl up at the toes,
tinsel moustache, a doll we had made in your image
for our wedding with one of me which you have.
They sat atop our coconut cake. We cut it
into snowy squares and fed each other, while God watched.

All other things are gone now: the letters boxed,
pajama-sized shirts bagged for Goodwill, odd utensils
famed to graduating students starting first apartments
(citrus zester, apple corer, rusting mandoline),
childhood pictures returned to your mother,
trinkets sorted real from fake and molten
to a single bar of gold, untruths parsed,
most things unsnarled, the rest let go

save the doll, which I find in a closet,
examine closely, then set into a hospitable tree
which I drive past daily for weeks and see it still there,
in the rain, in the wind, fading in the sun,
no one will take it, it will not blow away,

in the rain, in the wind,

it holds tight to its branch,

then one day, it is gone.

Music for your Midweek: Aaliyah

This was probably the best part of 6th grade.

Guys, let's bring this look back. Honestly, Aaliyah was FIERCE. 

R.I.P.

I'm just obsessed with my job, I guess.

Here's a new post I did for the South Franklin Community Center!

I think my job is the bees knees. 

You should be especially jealous, cause I got to hang out with this guy:

I know all the best people.

Poem for Thursday: "As Much As You Can" - Constantine F. Cavafy

Poems are back! I know you missed them. I've been devouring this book of poems, and highly recommend it. So the poems for the next few months will be from there. Here's the first !

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And if you can't shape your life the way you want,
at least try as much as you can
not to degrade it
by too much contact with the world
by too much activity and talk.

Try not to degrade it by dragging it along,
taking it around and expecting it so often
to the daily silliness
of social events and parties,
until it comes to seem a boring hanger-on.

I don't need some inanimate disk telling me the alpha and omega of my earth bounty

Happy Thanksgiving!

Music for your Midweek: Tim Eriksen

November Mix: What I Have Is Right Here

Guess what.

My faithful MacBook Air has passed on.

Such a pity.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the mix! Since I am computer-less, I'm not sure how I'll put together new mixes, so this may be the last one in a while :(

1. Diamond Day - Vashti Bunyan
2. In Our Talons - Bowerbirds
3. Shut Eye - Stealing Sheep
4. How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep - Bombay Bicycle Club
5. Storm - Django Django
6. Pull My Heart Away - Jack Penate
7. Mardy Bum (Live Beat 106 Session) - Alex Turner (of Arctic Monkeys)
8. I Think I Need A New Heart - The Magnetic Fields
9. Happy Up Here - Royksopp
10. Pa Pa Power - Dead Man's Bones
11. Its Real - Real Estate
12. Crutch & Cane - Peter Wolf Crier
13. Dance Me to the End of Love (Leonhard Cohen Cover) - Madeleine Peyroux
14. Islands (XX Cover) - Atlas Genius
15. Hood - Perfume Genius
16. All At Sea - Richard Waters

NOTES:
1. Tell me more about Vashti Bunyan. She is a mystery to me. Lately, I've been trying to avoid wikipedia, and find out information from friends and family. It's much more interesting and sparks some great conversation. Let's connect more, right?
5. Have you seen the preview for Django? It looks great but it also looks like it might make me throw up :(
7. Me and this song celebrated our 6-year anniversary this past summer :)
10. You need to watch this video. Oh man, I'm dying over here:


But just to make it clear, Jack White did it first.

11. PUPPPPPPPIIIIIIEEEESSSS

15. This artist reminds me of a  Peruvian boy I once met. We were waiting for the bus and started chatting. We hardly said anything, I just asked him how his day was, and  tears started falling from his eyes. He had a look of desperation, it was clear he was holding onto so much hurt...

This is great also:


You can use Spotify to listen to tracks here. Mind you, a couple are a little different:

Music for your Midweek: Richard Walters

I think I found this through Spotify radio. 

Richard Walters - "American Stitches"

I like using low view-count videos. They're my favey.

If you can't dance to this, you can't do nothing for me baby.

All y'all know I have much respect for guys who know how to move. 

So here is a gem of a video that I love:

"I did not live until today..."

I really just need to stop watching these trailers. 

waterworks

EV

-RY

-TIME.

Oh yeah. 

Remember who's singing at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert this year?

ALFIE BOE

Known for...

and guess who just got invited to to the show?

THIS GIRL!!!

Oh man. 

It's going to be a very emotional holiday season. 

Tissues please. 

Music for your Midweek: "Just What I Needed" covers

"I don't mind you comin' here 
And wastin' all my time 
'cause when you're standin' oh so near 
I kinda lose my mind... 

You always knew to wear it well and 

You look so fancy I can tell 
I don't mind you hangin' out 
And talkin' in your sleep" 

I think this is one of the best love/anti-love songs in the world:

One of my boyfriends (Casablancas) with the Strokes and Jarvis Cocker:

My Beloved Punch Brothers:

And Toshi Reagon with a heartbreak version:

Today's the day. You go girl.

Here's a song to get you into the voting spirit:

This song un-ironically brings tears to my eyes.

New Start: Read the Book of Mormon in 30 Days!

Hi kids!

Time for a check-up. It's been a month since LDS general conference; what's your spiritual temperature? I needed something to help get me motivated to set-apart time for more meaningful scripture study, so I found this 30-day reading plan! I started today (Fast Sunday) and if I follow this plan (and read a little extra the last day) I'll be done with the Book of Mormon next fast Sunday. Here's the chart you can print out to keep track of your reading. Please join me and let me know how it goes!

If you would like a little mood music while you read, you can check out my "Sabbath for a Hipster Christian" mix. It's pretty hip if I may say so myself. 

Ad don't let some of the artists fool you! All the songs are totes Sunday apropes :)

Music for your Midweek: Mew

Here's a band that's been breaking my heart lately: Mew

A little bit of Jonsi, a little bit of pinback, a little bit of the flaming lips.

Also, their lyrics are endearing and oddly prescient:

"If I don't make it back from the city
Then it is only because I am drawn away
For you see, evidently there's a dark storm coming
And the chain on my swing is squeaking like a mouse

So are you my lady, are you?
So are you my lady, are you?
The rain, the rain, the rain is falling down
The cars remain"

He's singing to Sandy.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween you weirdos.

All Hallow's Eve Mix 2012 and a "make-it-work" moment

Last night a few of these kids I know threw a masquerade. It was formal, and considering I have   almost never went to prom/any formal event whatsoever, I did not have a dress. Although D.I was pretty picked over, I managed to find something. Take a look:

This is me looking sulky pre-transformation. It's just a blah, beige house coat, hiding a great leopard print lining. So I just turned it inside out, cut off the tags, rolled up the sleeves, broached up the neckline, added a belt andVOILA! A dress!

Not quite a formal, but I don't mind. It was only $6!

AND

Here's your Halloween mix for the freakin' weekend. Creep on creepin' on.

1. I Dream of Burning Buildings - Southern Tenant Folk Union
2. Please Don't Follow Me - James Murphy
3. Satin In A Coffin - Modest Mouse
4. Ashes - Dark Dark Dark
5. In The Room Where You Sleep - Dead Man's Bones 
6. Chicago At Night - Spoon
7. Paranoid Android - Sia
8. The Ghost Who Walks - Karen Elson
9. Evil - Interpol 
10. Toxic - Yael Naim
11. Bad Ritual - Timber Timbre
12. Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
13. Somewhere In Your Heart - Jessica Lea Mayfield

You can listen to this mix on Spotify as well:


NOTES:
1. these guys are so great, and so far away.
2. Just now realized this is the guy from LCD Soundsystem. Doy.
5. Yes, this is Ryan Gosling.

Haunted Hottie.

Still don't have your Halloween costume?

These girls have the best costume advice!

Gotta trust these girls, they love Grey Gardens. 

And I can totally vouch for costume technique. 

As a girl who has NEVER looked hot on Halloween, I really think it is the best way to go. 

For realsies.

Music for your Midweek: Chet Baker

I love Chet Baker. 

His voice is heaven, he plays one of my favorite instruments, and he has a troubled soul. 

We girls go CRAZY for that.

I could listen to him all night and day.

Rio Tinto, here we come!

Finally going to a game in almost a year! So overdue. Are any of you guys going? 

In other news, I went to a viewing party last week with the bruddahs, and we won some things! Here's a pic from my lame-o phone. Christian:

And I won a Nick Rimando bobble-head! And Jeremy won a beer glass. I stole it from him as we have no proper drinking receptacles in our home. Drinking from plastic tumblers grosses me out. blech.

Christian wouldn't let me steal the photo. He was surprisingly feisty about it.

Anyways, see you at the game!

waytogo attaboy waytogo

My brother is in a band.

He plays the drums.

And sings...? (We're still not sure)

And they just released their EP!

Give it a listen and download it for FREE here!

A Poem for Thursday: "The one thing you must do" - Rumi

The one thing you must do

There is one thing in this world you must never forget to do. If you forget everything else and not this, there's nothing to worry about, but if you remember everything else and forget this, then you will have done nothing in your life.

It's as if a king has sent you to some country to do a task, and you perform a hundred other services, but not the one he sent you to do. So human beings come to this world to to a particular work. That work is the purpose, and each is specific to the person. If you don't do it, it's as though a priceless indian sword were used to slice rotten meat. It's a golden bowl being used to cook turnips, when one filing from the bowel could buy a hundred suitable pots. It's like a knife of the finset tempering nailed into a wall to hang things on. 

You say, "But look, I'm using it. It's not lying idle." Do you hear how ridiculous that sound? For a penny and iron nail could be bought. You say, "But I spend by energies on lofty projects. I study philosophy and jurisprudence, logic, astronomy, and medicine." But consider why you do those things. They are all branches of yourself and your impressiveness.

Remember the deep root of your being, the presence of your lord. Give yourself to the one who already owns your breath and your moments. If you don't, you'll be like the man you takes a ceremonial dagger and hammers it into a post for a peg to hold his dipper gourd. You'll be wasting valuable keeness and forgetting your dignity and purpose. 

Music for your Midweek: CRO

When it comes to rap, I don't discriminate. Here's some German:

I'm embarrassed about how much I love this.

Doctor! We need a glitter ribbon, STAT!

I love the urgency of this Pinterest comment:

You hear me. I SAID I NEED A GLITTER RIBBON NOOOOOWWWWWW.

Priorities - Books

These books are weighing on me....

So many things to read, so little time!

Have any of you guys read these books? 

Any suggestions as to what to read first???

the balance

She

     She

          She 

               She

only ever ver ver ver ver 

want wants 

to 

count count 

her steps

-

Eighteen teen strides and she 

stops to abide by the 

law that she herself has set

-

Thateighteen steps is one complete set 

andbeforethe

next nine right and nine left

-

She looks up up at the bluuuuuuuue

and whispers to all of the above

-

DON'T LET ME DROWN

Don't be alone

no kicks no pangs no broken bones

-

Never let me sink

Always feel at home

no sticks no shanks and no stones

-

Never leave it too late

Always enjoy the taste of the 

great great great grey world of hearts

-

As all

dogs

everywhere bark

                         bark

                              bark

                                   bark

it's worth knowing...

-

     Like all good fruit, the balance of life 
is in the ripe and ruin.

-

AAAAHHHHHHH!

I live in constant fear. If you've ever been in my room, you understand why.

A Poem for Thursday: "Fear" - Rumi

Fear

Everyone can see how they have polished the mirror 

of the self, which is done with the longings

we're given.

          Not everyone wants to be king!

There are different roles and many choices 

within each.

          Troubles come. One person packs up 

and leaves. Another stays and deepens in a love 

for being human. 

          In battle, one runs fearing

for his life. Another, just as scared, runs

and fights more fiercely.

FINALLY

Guess how many Real Salt Lake games I've been to this season:

ZERO

Tragedy.

But not to worry, this will soon be remedied! Living Social had a deal, so I grabbed a ticket for just $15! Click here if you want to get some tickets yourself.

Oh Tony. I've missed you.

Music for your Midweek: RJD2

This song has all my favorite things:

It references my favorite tv show

It features one of my favorite instruments

And it samples one of my favorite musicians.
P.S. I just bought that shirt he's wearing.

One for the record books!

Oh man.

I love General Conference.

October Mix: "If you wanna party down, you gotta RSVP"

Super punctual this month.

And just in time for General Conference too! Enjoy.

1. Riverside - Agnes Obel

2. Someone Out of Town - Yuna

3. Empty Streets - Suspicious for the Winter

4. Paddling Ghost - Dan Deacon

5. Little Secrets - Passion Pit

6. Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It - Stars

7. Regret - New Order

8. Go Right Ahead - Sondre Lerche

9. Breezeblocks - Alt-J

10. Do You Want It All? - Two Door Cinema Club

11. I Am the Antichrist to You - Kishi Bashi

12. Limit To Your Love - BADBADNOTGOOD

13. New Ceremony - Dry The River

14. Playground Love (Air Cover, Acoustic) - Phoenix

You can listen to some of the mix here:


NOTES:

1. Agnes Obel is the best at fall music

4. Dan Deacon is coming to Kilby soon so, we should go

5. Blast fromt the recent past

7. This song could have been released today, easy

14. I recently finished reading "Virgin Suicides" so that explains that. This song has an Elliott Smith feel and it hurts my heart.

A Poem for Thursday: "A night full of talking hurts" - Rumi

A night full of talking hurts,

my worst held-back secrets: everything

has to do with loving and not loving.

This night will pass.

Then we have work to do.

Please don't tell my relatives...

I just found out that I'm part of President Obama's secret army. I have several family members who would be none-to-pleased if they found that out, so let's keep it under-wraps, ok?

To be honest, I'm part of that tiny, tiny percentage who doesn't know who they'll be voting for. So that's why I'm really looking forward to the debates tonight. Feel free to tell me who to vote for in the comments, and I will consider your evidence. Also, we don't have a TV, so I'm looking for a place to watch. If you invite me over, I'll bring the Diet Coke, and we can play this game:

I predict a caffeine overdose.

Music for your Midweek: The Magnetic North

Thanks to Spotify, yet again. I found some good, fall driving music. 

Don't know much about these folks, but I like 'em.

The best part of having a grown-up job:

Confronting mansplaining on an almost daily basis.

It's real folks. In fact, one of my supervisors actually warned me about it and said they've had to face it a lot too. Some things you say will be ignored by certain people. It's not because the things you say are wrong or unimportant, but simply because you're a girl. 

It really makes me miss school. I had lame guys in my classes too but we were essentially on equal footing. They were easier to ignore since their opinion of me didn't really matter. I CANNOT WAIT to be back in school again.

BUT there are a lot of other things I like about working too! I'm trying to be more positive/grateful, so here are my top ten things I like about my job:

1. I know I'm doing something good everyday. I'm so lucky that I can go to work and know that in some little way, I'm making a positive    contribution to the world. We do good work.

2. Our office is stellar. We truly are a team. I like pretty much everyone. A lot of my coworkers started off as VISTAs as well, so they can provide helpful advice. 

3. Lunch. It's a thing of glory. A respite from the day.

4. I've met the best people in Provo. They are the residents we serve who do more for us then we could for them. They're the volunteers who dedicate hours every week, even though they have so many other responsibilities

5. Vacation, Sick Days, and Comp time. Feel like you just can't hack it? Take a day! This privilege cannot be abused, but I've loved not being forced to slog through a day while my mind is a million miles away and your nose is like the Niagara Falls of snot. Wasn't like that at school; you HAD to be in class.

6. The office is two blocks away. I'm a walking queen.

7. Meals on Wheels. OMYGOODNESS. I can't believe I've told you about this yet. Twice a month I deliver meals, and it is the best. thing. ever. The people we deliver to are characters and they are so sweet.

8. I get to work with the best kids in the world. Oh man, they're the best. 

9. We get to go to interesting conference on community service, non-profit work, etc. Oh! And Vital Smarts trainings. I love those.

10. One of the things I love most about my work, is that it will end.  On January 25th, I will be done as a VISTA. I choose to stay and do another year with the South Franklin Community Center. Or I could find a job in Salt Lake and work for a bit. Or move to an alpaca farm. Or go live in Spain. Or go back to South America. Or just wander around for a bit.
I'm actually tempted to do another VISTA year since it feels like I'm just getting the hang of it, but part of me feels like my time in Provo is over...

yeah, time to move on.

pick pick pick pick pick it apart

Here are updates:

• I'm thinking about this school a lot. It has a "Cathedral of Learning". So that has to be good, right?
• But I also think I need to wait an extra year before I start any sort of grad school program
• Have you actually read what it says on the bottle of Bronner's soap? 

• 
  
• 
  
• That stuff makes me feel like I'm saving the world! Also, I just used their Lavender body wash and I feel SPARKLING CLEAN.
• I moved my bed and rearranged my room and it feels SO. MUCH. BETTER. It's like a revelation really.
• Never been a Joss Whedon Fan-Girl, but I just listened to this song on an old TAL podcast, and I kind of fell in love with him. I think I'm going to watch the Dr. Horrible's thing when I'm done with this post.
• The past two weeks have been busy with hikes, Finer Things Club Meetings, a first-day-of-fall dinner, lots o' movies, celebrating Yom Kippur, being sick, and reckoning with the four months I have left as a VISTA.

In other news, I rediscovered some of my brother's videos! Check a couple of 'em out. They are SPECTACULAR. He's a diva and wouldn't let me upload the best ones, so you'll just have to check them out on his youtube page.

We are so normal.

A Poem For Thursday: "Doves" - Rumi

Doves

People want you to be happy.

Don't keep serving them your pain!

If you could untie your wings

and free your soul of jealousy,

you and everyone around you

would fly up like doves.

Music for your Midweek: Rasel

I was feeling super down yesterday. Then I returned to my perfectly curated Spanish playlists on Spotify. And I felt much better. Here is one of my pop faves:

September Mix: The Best of Every Situation

I make good on my promises. As you can probably tell with my track choices, I'm sort of all over the place. And that is alright, for now.

1. Fitzpleasure - Alt-J
2. Weekends - Tiger Waves
3. Get Free (feat. Amber of Dirty Projectors) - Major Lazer
4. Shine - Collective Soul
5. Sunshine Superman - Donovan
6. Oh! Boy - Buddy Holly
7. Big Jet Plane - Angus and Julia Stone
8. Up Around The Bend - Creedence Clearwater Revival
9. Silver Tongue - Zulu Winter
10. Sleeping Ute - Grizzly Bear
11. The Warpath - Conner Youngblood
12. Interesting Times - Chester French
13. Nevermind the Typos - Sondre Lerche
14. I Walked [ft. Simone White] (Sufjan Stevens cover) - Fol Chen
15. The Base - Paul Banks
16. Brother Sparrow - Agnes Obel
17. There Goes the Fear - Doves
18. I Shall Be Released - Bob Dylan

NOTES:
1. All you need is in this song.
3. This video. Also, there was a dance party at my house last weekend. And when a remix of this song came on, I realized that whenI have to choose between music and people, I choose music.
15. Going to see Interpol was one of the worst experiences. They were lovely on stage, but their fans were beasts. Like, literally. I was very nervous the whole time.
16. I am very ready for fall.
18. I couldn't find this one online. Soooorrrryyyyy