1. Read the newspaper.
     I don’t watch the news or television hardly ever.  I don’t really enjoy that high-pitched squeal the TV releases when it’s on.  Not to mention commercials are annoying.  I do, however, love reading.  Lately, I’ve been keeping up on the stock market and the war in Georgia.  I’d like to stay up-to-date on current issues and Butler keeps the New York Times and two version of the Indy Star in the Starbucks Cafe.   

2. Stay Organized.
     Yes, I know this seems quite simple and like a bit of a useless goal to voice.  Well, I’m that person.  That girl whose things are ALL over the room when you step into it.  I’m also that girl who is also stressing about papers the night before they’re due because I FORGOT to do them.  I’m that person who can’t go through her day without a planner to tell her where to go next because I have so much on my mind.  So this goal is vague, but true.

3. Don’t hand out money like it’s candy.
     I’m too nice.  I like being nice.  But this year I’m going to have to be a little less nice.  Especially with money.  At this point I’m almost positive I’m still owed over $100 from last school year from 3 different people.  But because I’m just that nice, I don’t mind.  This year, it’s not gonna happen.

4.  Take care of myself.
      There were many points in the school year where I was too busy either taking care of either people (which I thoroughly enjoyed, don’t get me wrong), doing school work, working, or partying, that I stopped taking care of myself.  At one point in the school year I was the thinnest I’d ever been.  And it wasn’t a healthy thin.  I enjoyed myself being that thin but I was physically in pain everyday.  I couldn’t even walk up the stairs of Lilly Hall without having to catch my breath after one floor.  Never again.  Also, I tended to just go to bed without brushing my teeth or washing my face and being all kinds of nasty.  I think cleanliness should come before rest any day now.  My goal is to keep myself in mind.  

 5.  Practice before play.
      I’m a performance major.  I need to practice before I hang out with my friends.  I have set system in my head of how I plan to do things.  Right now, I’m just waiting on a job and possible too many credit hours.  

Ok. This is just the first of my voiced goals.  I actually need to go practice for my audition which is in 2 weeks.  I’ll voice the rest later.  In the mean time, here’s a picture of Michael Phelps for your enjoyment.  

Moving forward, the Olympics began today!!  8/8/08 is finally here!  I always learn new things watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, both summer and winter.  What do I learn?  The names of countries I’ve never heard of.  Ya know, I know there are pieces of land that need names all over the world, but some of the names catch me off guard I suppose.  Anyways, China’s entrance was, of course, the most moving and incredible of all the countries because they had Yao Ming carrying the flag and some really adorable earthquake survivor holding his hand.  Love it. Oh!  I was just watching and they had David Cook’s American Idol song to sum up the opening ceremonies.  Beautiful.  Just beautiful.  Promotion of an American pop star and American pride all in one lovely commercial.  

In other news, today was the last day of band camp with Gibson Southern.  Yippee!   Yes, this is big news because now I only have 5 more practices with my tiny little percussionlings.  And then I get to move back to my other home, BUTLER!

Anyways, as I was thinking about all of the things that hinder me in my thoughts throughout the day, I came across the issue of the McCain/Obama campaigns.  Has John McCain gone completely stupid?  He used Britney Spears and Paris Hilton in his ad against Obama as if to compare him to them.  Where does that say “I’m a professional” in it?  I know politicians are a bit off to begin with, but really Mr. McCain?  Obama has been nothing but positive and forward in his campaigns and speeches.  I don’t see why we need to apply negative images to his name.  He is a man of change while apparently McCain is a man of bashing.  I really feel that the commercials released by the McCain campaign will ruin his chances of becoming the next president of the United States.  How can someone speak for the society of the US if he cannot even be mature enough to accept another man’s apparent success?  

In other news, I am officially addicted to my new Macbook and iPod touch.  You should really invest in these two items as they are totally rad.

Two weeks ago I travelled to the far away land of Columbus, OH where I recorded a couple of songs with my buddy, Derek, and his friend, Jacob.  The experience of recording in a real studio was truly amazing.  I’ve never recorded anything before and to be given the opportunity for such a thrilling gig was priceless to me. Details of the whole trip are as follows:

 5am Thursday morning. Wake up, shower, eat, pack everything into the back of my already full minivan, go to gas station for morning coffee, drive forever.  
11am. Meet Wil at Butler, drive for another eternity, except this time with live entertainment and a best friend to keep me awake.  3pm. Arrive at sketchy “Howard Johnson Inn” in a lovely side of Columbus, nap for an hour, drive to BFE where the studio is located.   
12am. FINALLY done writing marimba parts for two songs.  SLEEP.
9am. Wake up, shower, leave sketch hotel, gas up the Venture, donuts!, coffee, BFE studio, record.
2:30pm.  DONE RECORDING!, drive to Centerville, OH where Jimmy is located.
Next day and a half. Eat, sleep, and enjoy time with my two favorite men, Jimmy and Wil.  Play MarioKart till our eyes are sore and we need to say 17 Hail Mary’s. Attempt to beat HydroThunder in one day.  Watch really ridiculous YouTube videos. Go bowling dressed like we clothed ourselves in the dark at a clown house. Laugh till we cry.
Sunday.  Wake up. ENERGY DRINKS.  Attempt to drive through Indy after the Brickyard 400 lets out.  Get lost in Lebanon, IN.  Hug 3 of the most precious people in my life.  Say goodbye for another month. Drive until next Sunday.
                                                             It’s MONSTEROUSLY huge energy.
                                           My honey We laughed about everything. I love him.

That was my weekend.  It was spectacular.  There are so many more details I can’t explain in words.  However, it really made my summer seem much less miserable for a short time.  

In other news, I’ve officially seen Mamma Mia twice.  And I have every song on the soundtrack memorized.  I thought my musical obsession was bad when Hairspray was released.  Boy, was I wrong.  I’ve taken my obsession to a whole new level.  But who’s complaining?

If you answered yes to all of the above, then you know that Paula Deen and Barack Obama are taking over the country in a swift and mighty swoop.  Paula Deen, a southern woman of the culinary arts, hosts her own show on the Food Network.  Along with this successful gig, she also has a weekly magazine and several cookbooks under her name.  I’d say this 50s-ish lady is pretty much set for life.  But we must, of course, ask ourselves, why is this ordinary woman so successful?  She makes the same ol’ recipes as my grandma and twice as fattening!  What gives?  Well, she took grandma’s recipes and turned them into super flavorful cookbooks so everybody knows how to cook like everybody’s grandma.  Now, nobody in the US has a secret recipe for anything.  Paula Deen stole all of them.  But seriously, the woman is a huge success for a reason.  She took a chance on something she loves and she’s super lovable because she reminds her viewers of their very own grandmas.  Success is a home-cooked meal on television.

I should probably not touch the Barack Obama subject but I will lightly tap it.  Basically, the man is everywhere.  His campaign has taken him all over the country at all times of the day.  He was on Butler’s campus at 7:30 am, I believe, on a day in May.  The next day he was on the University of Evansville’s campus.  The man knows what he wants.  He wants the people.  Seemingly enough, the people want him too.  He’s something fresh, something new that the US has never seen before.  An African American leader who seems to connect with ALL colors.  He has specific goals and ambitions for the country.  However, I think the one thing that sets him aside from his leading competitor, Mr. McCain, is not the wishy-washy details of his plans for upcoming presidency and goals for the years to come.  No, none of the boring details that don’t attract those of us who are less than involved, politically, with this country.  I believe it’s his nature, as a human, as a man.  He has such a confidence in the country and a happiness about him that makes the people love him.  He connects well with the common man.  He’s not negative about anything that the country is going through currently.  He has that “there is a way” attitude that pulls the people.

Meryl Streep takes this role and runs with it. Ms. Streep, who generally portrays sophisticated, powerful women, plays the part of a frazzled single mother/business owner with ease. She looked like she was truly having a good time playing this part. Now, I’m no expert on the Hollywood actor or actress but I’ve heard that acting is quite a stressful task. Meryl Streep makes it look easy. And given her not as youthful age she would seemingly move with the slows of a post-menopausal woman on screen. Not the case for this star. She was dancing like the contestants of “So You Think You Can Dance?” and jumping on a bed like a 5-year-old. And all the while she’s smiling, laughing, and making 50 look like the best age to be today.

Word to the wise: GO SEE MAMMA MIA! And take beauty tips from Meryl Streep to maintain your youthful shine well past menopause.

Ok so this is a pretty terrible post.  You’re probably thinking, “she’s being motivated by a skinny bitch who takes her clothes off for selfish men in no other than a glamorous Hollywood movie?  Riiiight.”  Well, as stupid and idiotic as it sounds, it’s the truth.  I’m so tired of being just a little bit over weight and now I’m really trying to do something about it.  Knowing that I wake up not looking anything close to Natalie Portman or any other thin actress gets me in the mood to exercise and ignore the chocolate.

On to more upbeat news… today was the Cynthiana town-wide yardsale.  I made a whopping sixty bucks because off of some old jewelry and out-of-style denim shorts.  Here’s to old ladies that are unaware that their fashion sense is 3 years behind and 40 years too young for them.  Here’s to middle-aged women still trying to squeeze their motherly rumps into teeny bopper jeans.  Yes, yes, and we can’t forget the redneck men of around age 60 who think their newest girlfriends might like a pair of well-worn shorts from a yardsale.  Thank goodness from really unintelligent people.

I would also like to give a shout-out to the fanny packers of America.  You men and women are truly the highlight of my entertainment.

Here’s the thing though: My mom and my sister do not get along. Why? Because they are the same in almost every way. Two of the most hard-headed people I’ve ever met. Hot-tempered and keep their emotions to themselves WAY too much. They both cry at basically every movie and sappy news story. Being raised by Mother 8 years longer than Shelby, I’ve become immune to her strict and harsh ways of being a mommy. I don’t think Shelby has quite grasped the concept of zoning out the sounds you don’t want to hear. That’s how I got through most of my adolescent years. Mom talked, I daydreamed. Easy. She’ll get it eventually or she and mom will kill each other.
Moving away from the heavy subjects… I have a rant. I am sick of seeing girls with fake red hair. You know, the ones who died their hair in an attempt to make it a lovely shade of auburn. Well guess what. It’s neither lovely nor auburn. It looks like somebody colored your hair with a sharpie! Natural redheads are the only redheads. bitches.

I had my first lesson with a kid I’d never met before. I have been super stoked about this particular lesson because I have not previously worked with him. He’s a soon-to-be 7th grader so I wasn’t sure how his percussion skills were. I was sooooo nervous. It’s hard teaching a beginner who has never played drums before, but at least you know where to start. It’s just next to impossible to teach a kid who’s talents are unknown. I was talking at the speed of sound and babbling on like a loony tune. I’m sure to his mother, who was sitting in the room where I give the lessons, that I sounded like an idiot. But the lesson was successful nonetheless. We made it and I feel like I actually TAUGHT him something! Go me.
Lastly, I finally got the pictures from the disposable cameras back. Some of them date all the way back to my freshman year of high school. The most recent are from this past fall. I’ll post a little bit everything.

My high school marching band went to Chicago in ’05. It was so pretty the day we were out on the town.

We saw the filming of “The Break-Up”!!11!1 And we saw Vince Vaughn. It was amazing.

Katie met Bob.

She’s a hero of mine. She’s so intelligent, so wise. She taught me to have an open mind about absolutely everything. Because with a closed mind you’ll never learn anything.

David Snyder. The man. The goofball. My friend. <3

Wil, My hubby/best friend/cuddle buddy <3

Chicago Skyline October 2007

Ok. So I was mistaken in my last writing. Malachai and Gideon are apparently Hebrew names. My bad. She’s not Hebrew either. When was the last time you saw a white American named Malachai or Gideon? I certainly cannot remember.

In other news, I got a gig. In Columbus, OH. I’m so happy about this gig. I haven’t had a reason or motivation to play all summer. And now I can practice with a purpose! I’m not really sure what I’ll be playing just yet, but I’m stoked either way.