two thousand eight

I'm not really sure about the best way to blog about a year. I will break it up into categories. 

MUSIC

I enjoyed music in 2008. I got to see a few bands twice (Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, Yeasayer, MGMT), got to go to a few music festivals (Coachella, Rock Werchter, Outside Lands, Austin City Limits), and got to see some epic old bands (The Cure, Neil Young). The best show that I saw was Bon Iver at Che Cafe.

TRIPS

I really enjoyed going places in 2008. Thanks to Liz for Seattle and thanks to Mary for Austin! In order:

- Seattle 

- New York 

- Sequoia National Park 

- Europe

- Austin and Grand Canyon (road trip)

- New York. again. 

 

BOOKS 

I enjoyed reading in 2008. the author that I enjoyed more than any other was John Steinbeck. I read: East of Eden, Cannery Row, Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and the Red Pony. They were all great. I will read: In Dubious Battle, The Pearl, Tortilla Flat, and Sweet Thursday. I just finished reading: This Side of Paradise by Fitzgerald and it was amazing. Another book that was good to me was: Franny and Zoey. 

SCHOOL 

School was ridiculous this past year. I took some of the most difficult classes and on multiple occasions felt like switching my major would be the only option. Somehow I was able to get through though. And now I am 3 classes away from a degree. yes!

HOUSING

I lived in Solana Beach and La Jolla in 2008. In Solana Beach I saw this from the kitchen table window:

And in La Jolla I live two seconds away from anything important. I have lived with these people: Adam, Alex, Chris, Danny, Eric, Kyle, Tina, and Zack.   

FUTURE  

I changed my mind on this more than anything in 2008. But after visiting places like New York and Seattle I decided that I want my next move to be to a legit city. I hope this works out but I suppose the economy could lead to me having to be in the bay area where I have job connections. Time will tell and I am sure you will be updated if you continue to read this blog. 

I also turned 21 in 2008 which was nice. 

All in all I have enjoyed 2008 and am looking forward to 2009. 

happy new years to everyone!

lala

This is my first time blogging from someone else's computer. I noticed this site being used more and more lately for embedding songs and decided to check it out. turns out its pretty cool. If you were to make a comparison I guess you could say its a combination of imeem and the iTunes music store plus more. Basically they have a huge library of songs and you can listen to any of these songs once. after that you pay 10 cents for unlimited plays online. This isn't anything too crazy though. 

This is the crazy thing. If you sign up (for free) you can put your entire music collection online and listen from any computer anywhere. Songs of yours that they have in their online library they automatically put into your collection on the site. songs that they don't have unfortunately need to be uploaded which takes some time. Basically I just had to let my computer upload overnight for a week or so. Here's a screenshot of my profile:

Looks pretty much the same as iTunes. Not sure how apple feels about this. And I was almost wondering how legit this site was when I first checked it out in terms of uploading to it and everything. but it is legit.

And then I was thinking yesterday. With this site all you need is the internet to listen to music. an iPod with storage for music on your phone is no longer necessary. a LaLa application on any 3G equals an iPhone practically. And iPhones already have applications like Pandora which do the same thing. I know the iPhone has bunch of other features but the iPod and 3G is the reason why people buy it. 

Lala claims that the way people listen to music is about to change and I'm thinking that I agree. I'm interested to see how this turns out or if it turns out to be anything. and you should sign up. that was the other thing I meant to say. You can add friends on the site and listen to their collection/playlists. Anyways, feel free to weigh in on this if you wish.

I think I'll blog about 2008 next.  

The Best Songs of 2008!

Here are my 30 favorite tracks of the year! They aren't ranked or anything. 

Deerhunter - "Nothing Ever Happened"

Nothing Ever Happened - Deerhu...

The Dodos - "Fools"

Fools - The Dodos

Blitzen Trapper - "Furr"

Furr - Blitzen Trapper

Fleet Foxes - "Blue Ridge Mountains"

Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet F...

Does It Offend You, Yeah? - "Dawn of the Dead"

Dawn Of The Dead - Does It Off...

M83 - "Kim and Jessie"

Kim & Jessie - M83

Cut Copy - "Strangers in the Wind"

Strangers In The Wind - Cut Co...

Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks (live)"

Two Weeks (Live on Late Show With David Letterman) - Grizzly Bear

Mount Eerie - "Voice in Headphones"

Voice In Headphones - Mount Ee...

Little Boots - "Stuck on Repeat"

Stuck on Repeat - Little Boots

Air France - "June Evenings" 

June Evenings - Air France

Tallest Man on Earth - "I Won't Be Found"

I wont be found - The Tallest Man On Earth

School of Seven Bells - "My Cabal"

My Cabal - School Of Seven Bel...

Bon Iver - "Blindsided"

Blindsided - Bon Iver

Women - "Black Rice"

Black Rice - Women

Beach House - "You Came To Me"

You Came to Me - Beach House

 

The Helio Sequence - "Can't Say No"

Can't Say No - The Helio Seque...

Portishead - "The Rip"

The Rip - Portishead

Foals - "Red Sock Pugie"

Red Socks Pugie - Foals

High Places - "From Stardust to Sentinence"

From Stardust to Sentience - High Places

Crystal Castles - "Crimewave"

Crimewave (Crystal Castles Vs....

Fleet Foxes - "White Winter Hymnal"

White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Fo...

My Morning Jacket - "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream, Part II"

Touch Me I'm Going To Scream P...

Atlas Sound - "Recent Bedroom"

Recent Bedroom - Atlas Sound

The Dutchess and the Duke - "Reservoir Park"

Reservoir Park - The Dutchess ...

Okkervil River - "Lost Coastlines"

Lost Coastlines - Okkervil Riv...

MGMT - "Electric Feel"

Electric Feel - MGMT

Deerhunter - "Agoraphobia"

Agoraphobia - Deerhunter

Grouper - "Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping"

Heavy Water / Id Rather Be Sleeping - Grouper

Bon Iver - "Re:stacks"

Re: Stacks - Bon Iver

Top 10 Albums of 2008

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes 

I couldn't believe my ears when I first heard "Blue Ridge Mountains." And I met them randomly at JFK. this is the best new band.

Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours 

Very complete album. At one time or another probably 10 of these songs were my favorite song. Finally I think I have decided on "Strangers in the wind." 

M83 - Saturdays = Youth 

Seeing them at the Fillmore was life-changing. "Kim and Jessie" is perfect. 

The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead 

Just kinda stumbled across this one and couldn't stop listening to it. Solid album with great range. 

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago 

Self-released in 07 but I got into it this year and that's when it was released on label as well. I can remember clearly the first time I listened to it. And I couldn't listen to anything else for a while afterwards. Also, this was the best concert I went to this year. great winter listen.

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular 

Everyone loved this cd this year and I can't say that I wasn't among them. I also can't say that electric feel doesn't make me want to dance.

Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
"c o me for me. you come for me. c o m e for me. c o v e r me."

 

Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us 

Simply pleasant from start to finish.

Okkervil River - The Stand Ins 

Really enjoyed listening to this cd in the car.

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight 

Don't know what to say but I just listened to this one a lot and it is very enjoyable.

Amazing EPs:

Air France - No Way Down 

Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant 

Hard to leave off:

Department of Eagles - In Ear Park 

Beach House - Devotion 

Mount Eerie - Lost Wisdom

Tallest Man on Earth - Shallow Graves  

Ruby Suns - Sea Lion

UPDATE: survived/new york/homeward bound

SURVIVED

I managed to survive finals last week and despite not really feeling like I studied too hard, good grades are mine. This pleases me because ever since I set my sights on finishing a quarter early I have felt like I'm going to fail classes and screw it up. I have 3 classes and 11 more weeks of school in my life. shut up. 

After I finished my final final on friday night I went to the pub. 

I didn't want to have a celebration beer alone but I couldn't get ahold of my roommates.

I figured I would just go and hope to see someone I knew.

I walked in and saw one of my roommates and he said, "how did you know I was here?"

I got a ridiculously good ipa.

And something about all this was perfect. 

NEW YORK

This was really nice. And among the highlights were:

- FIRST SNOW!!!

- Rolf's French Bavarian Brasserie (I have yet to go to a restaurant more christmassy than this one)

- Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree/Sak's Snowflakes

- A warm day in Central Park

- consuming ungodly amounts of hot chocolate

- ice skating at Bryant Park (it was kind of slushy though because it was warm that day)

- hanging out with my sister and her roommates. 

- Seeing and meeting Fleet Foxes in JFK airport. i feel like a seventh grade girl but it was so awesome.

HOMEWARD BOUND

Looking forward to this as are you if you are going to be there. i'm either leaving tonight or tomorrow morning. 

I will probably post the top 10 albums of 2008 next. and I will probably post some pictures of the above events at some point.

Colbert vs. Kanye

this is pretty funny.

This is a really happy song.

i laughed

maybe it was more of a chuckle to myself. I've been getting pretty bogged down by school and grades and completing requirements. I don't like this part of school but I could go on for a while if I followed this tangent so I will save it for another blog. 

anyways, I have been getting back tests and assignments with not the best marks. but today I got back a homework assignment in my computer networks class and straight up 100/100. I just laughed to myself when I saw it. not sure why but it just felt really good.

and. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER!

do I know you from somewhere?

Alright so this has been frustrating me. actually I don't think frustrating is the right word. but I will try and explain. 

In recent years I've become obsessed with the idea of being a regular. alright, maybe not obsessed but I just try and make a habit of going to the same places as much as I can. I like the idea of going into a place and knowing the people there. it's refreshing and makes me feel like less of a stranger in my current setting. i don't know how to achieve regular status and whether or not I have achieved it. 

but I would say the spot that I frequent the most is perks, a nice coffee shop on campus. in fact, I am there now. it has an interesting dynamic, being on campus and all, because i see the same people all the time and they go to my school. and its always great when I see friends. what's bothering me is seeing the not friends. there's a group of people that I literally see every day here but never interact with. and I guess this is my problem. I'm just not good at or used to talking with strangers. 

to think that I could graduate and never know even the names of these people is so depressing. I wish that seeing the same person in the same setting at least 4-5 times a week could lead to some sort of connection.  don't we live to connect?

this is awesome

I found out a few weeks ago that Port O'Brien was playing a radio show at KSDT and I was pretty amped. Their set was short because they had to get to the casbah for a show that evening but they said that they could get some people in. So I got on the guest list! it was great.

really nice guys (and girl) though. and an epic show. check them out!

quirks

i think that I have a lot of quirks and I am going to start sharing with the blogging world when they pop into my head. i think quirks tell a lot about a person. hopefully they don't make you think i'm weird and stop reading my blog.

anyways, today's quirk is a behavior that i exhibit at coffee shops. i'm not an espresso connoisseur but i know a good espresso drink and appreciate. i mean when you're paying upwards of three dollars it should be of quality. 

2 things factor into a good espresso drink: the espresso machine and the barista. For places that I go more frequently I know the espresso machine and the baristas. and my decision to get an espresso drink or just a cheap cup of brewed coffee depends on who I see behind the espresso machine. this is the quirk. seems logical right? today, was an espresso drink day and it was great.  

these are silly.

at least for now

i keep getting into the "what are you doing after" conversation since i'm in my senior year of college. and it always goes the same way. since i'm not going to grad school I say probably getting a job and they say down here or back home. i posted before about my personality trait (problem) of wanting my life to be at least a little exciting/interesting. so this conversation (not the person who initiates it) kinda bothers me. 

in my situation grad school has two cons and one pro. 

cons: i'm kind of burnt out on school, money 

pro: going to a new place 

if my response changed to "grad school" this conversation would stop bothering me. but i'm not. i used to just answer "getting a job in europe or the east coast or something" but now i'm stuck. I'm familiar with/know people in San Diego and Santa Cruz and could probably have a cool living situation in either place. this logic makes the decision seem easy. but now is the time to go new places (in my situation especially) because I really don't have anything tying me to a certain place and i should be able to find a job most places. i have a fear of living somewhere for the rest of my life. this sounds kind of ridiculous. 

this isn't a solution or answer but I want a friend or friends to want to move somewhere new whether its for grad school, work or whatever. and then go with. at least for now.  

super nerdy blogging

we had this guy from Microsoft come into one of my computer science classes the other day to give this presentation on how the stuff we're learning applies so directly in the industry. and at one point of his presentation he asked if any of us were bloggers. in any other situation i would've raised my hand without thinking but this one was weird. and then igor raised his hand and no one else. i didn't raise my hand. i know this is lame and maybe i should be banned from blogging but i couldn't hang. 

then the guy went on to say that we should all start blogging about our experiences with different programming languages and other technical stuff like that. his reasoning being that people are actually getting jobs by doing this. 

i laughed in my head as I sat there thinking about writing blogs about cool computer science stuff. I decided that that would be super nerdy blogging and that I will spare my faithful readers. so you have no need to worry!

wow this is really good

my white macbook is emo

 

goats

fleet foxes was one of my favorite shows at acl. I still have not grown tired of their album and ep that were released this year. give them a listen if you haven't. here's a new, funny music video for the song "he doesn't know why."

(edit: concerts are better than music videos and this is a new song!)

the end of summer

i just ordered a regular brewed coffee and then was offered "any drink" because the brewed coffee machine was having some technical difficulties. in summary, I got a cappuccino for $1.40. this is almost as good as the time I got a free latte.

I have been a little more exciting than I had been for a while the past few weeks. let me explain.

new house!

I came down to san diego with no place to live but now I have one. chris found a 3 bedroom place that is closer to some parts of campus than some of the dorms are. the convenience factor is crazy compared to the long bus ride that I became accustomed to last year. 5 minute walk to campus. 5 minute walk to blacks. 5 minute bus ride to downtown la jolla. and really close to friends. 

austin road trip

I had been looking forward to this all summer. la to grand canyon to austin and austin city limits music festival. 

grand canyon national park

Carlsbad Caverns 

Austin City Limits 

austin is a really cool city and I'm sure I will go back someday. I am envious of its live music scene. thanks mary!

(p.s. for some reason blogger is giving me a hard time with this blog. thus, the paragraph hyperlinks. sorry.)