Watch Your Back, Officer Hernandez

I got this ticket for not turning my wheels to the left while parking on a hill.

I hate living in a bankrupt state sometimes.

SXSW

For my last spring break ever (unless I become a teacher, I guess), I went to Austin, TX with my roommate for South by Southwest, which is essentially a week long music festival, among (many) other things. It was basically heaven (with a lot of walking).

Live music = awesome. Where we lived = not so awesome. Our Motel 6 (left) felt like walking back into the 80's, complete with a retro bedspread and SDTV (bolted down because they're in demand). We shared the Days Inn (right) with three other girls, by which I mean we shared recycled bathwater since our drain clogged. This picture was taken two hours after the last shower. Ick.

The one on the left was delicious (two meats - Ron Swanson would be proud), the one on the right (alligator on a stick) not so much.

I used the bus as a diversion to take a picture of THIS SHIRT THAT SOMEONE ACTUALLY THOUGHT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO PURCHASE AND THEN LATER WEAR IN 2012

I didn't get the memo that we were folding our arms.

We got free Irish Spring in return for this.

 Seeing the Shins with a lot of people.

Latitude 30. My favorite venue, even though I never stepped inside it. They had windowless windows so you could watch and listen from the street. Foxy Shazam was playing at the time I took this, who are borderline insane: the lead singer lit and smoked a full pack of cigarettes and said things like "If Foxy Shazam were an animal in the zoo, we would be one that bites your head off!"

It was a good week. My last hurrah before I go to die in Utah.

Portrait Perfect

I recently had my portrait drawn.

Nothing spectacular, right? It becomes more impressive though when I reveal it was actually done by a homeless guy! (or person experiencing homelessness - PEH - as the Census instructed us to say)

I've never had a PEH ask to draw me, but it made me think more PEHs should do unique stuff like this - granted, most would end up looking like unintentional Picasso paintings, but this guy - James Franklin if you can't read his signature at the bottom - bagged $5 from me just for the effort.

Plus, am I the only who sees similarities to Joseph Smith?

Sad Core

I've recently become captivated with this performance.  I was told by one of my professors to never refer to a song as 'haunting' because it's overused and usually undeserved.  But this is haunting - not only for its creepy undertone, but also the minimal instrumentation that accompanies her breathy vocals.  My favorite moment is the crescendo at 4:04 and how she leaves us with a whisper.

David Letterman seems to agree with me, but he could be doing that because he wants to sleep with her.

Twenty Eleven

My Favorite Albums
10) Meg & Dia - Cocoon
9) Cults - Cults
8) The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
7) Marianas Trench - Ever After
6) Augustana - Augustana
5) Saves The Day - Daybreak
4) AWOLNATION - Megalithic Symphony
3) Yellowcard - When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes
2) Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
1) Eisley - The Valley 

Eisley are like the Dixie Chicks if they were all sisters and a rock band instead of country trio.  Take a listen and you just might hear the voices of angels.

One more video of a band (not on my list) whose performance of this song I ❤.

My Favorite Movies

1) Win Win - Robbed of a screenplay nomination, this is the best movie of 2011 that nobody's heard of. And it's also just the best movie.

Swoon. 

2) Young Adult - Liked it so much I saw it twice in theaters. The funniest film of the year for me, with one of the most comic parts being how they tried to make Charlize Theron unattractive (and failed).

3) 50/50 - Amidst the typical Seth Rogen humor was a really touching film about the deeply personal and often solitary experience each person with cancer has to undergo.  

Double swoon.

4) Drive - Killer soundtrack. And lots of killing.

5) The Tree of Life - No, I'm not going to pretend I understood this movie (and anyone who claims they do is probably lying).  But this film embodies filmmaking - it really showed the beauty that can come from this medium.  Along with Drive, I felt like I was beholding art more than I was watching a film.

6) My Week With Marilyn - A charming story. It reminded me of those precious few awesome moments when the most popular girl in school paid attention to you. (My story: We were paired as seat partners and she showed me her new blue g-string.)

7) A Better Life - Such a simple story but executed so well.  Suspenseful and wonderful.

8) Crazy Stupid Love - I loved this movie like McAdams loves Gosling.

9) The Ides of March - Yes, I have three Ryan Gosling movies in my top 10.

10) Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Often the buildup in a mystery is better than the conclusion, but I found the answers in this to be just as satisfying as the journey was.  

My Favorite YouTube Video

RIP Michel.

My Favorite Books
  Non-fiction                                                  Fiction

***

2011 is probably my last year ever as a student (since at the moment I am not planning on going to grad school).  I'm off to face the real world.  Here's to hoping I don't fall flat on my face.

#humblebrag?

Text I recently received from my sister:

Hollys mom Julie dalton
just saw ur pic in the xmas
card and dead serious 
goes is that mcjagger or 
your brother.

Sometimes, the fact that we're the rising generation scares me.

New Year's Spectacular

I celebrated New Year's by going to a very rich person's house.  In this house, there is a full-size gym, which is where I was playing dodgeball with some kids.  I thought we were getting along quite well until one of them, a 6-year-old girl, asked, "Why are you playing with us? Why don't you get a girlfriend...or a life?"

2012 - off to a great start!

Why I Probably Had A Better Day At Work Than You

I saw this woman today.

J

Conversation at Work Today

Boss: Do you watch Saturday Night Live?

Me: Yes.

Boss: Do you know Stefon - the character played by Bill Hader?

Me: Yes.

Boss: You remind me of him.

This is Stefon.

I need a haircut.

Things I Wish I Wrote

The Shortest Horror Story Ever Written 

by Frederic Brown

The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.