(50) Sundays of Music: #2

#2: Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head

This is the post I feel everyone (or maybe just a couple people) were waiting for. I mean, when you name your blog after a CD, you know that it has to be somewhere at the top.

As someone who considers Coldplay either my #1 or #2 favorite band, depending on when you ask, I feel A Rush of Blood to the Head is Coldplay's defining album. It shows off what Coldplay can do best - emotional ballads with piano backgrounds - but also shows that they can carry a CD from start to finish and even rock out a bit.

The beginning intro track "Politik" crashes you into the experience that you are about to partake in before the symphony of sound that Coldplay has been known for comes in with "In My Place."

From there, the album navigates through meaningful vocals and moving instrumentals. Some of my favorite songs from all music come from this cd: "Green Eyes," "The Scientist" and "Clocks."

However, I think what puts albums on this countdown is the personal experience I have with them. And personal stories is something I have plenty of with A Rush of Blood to the Head.

*"Amsterdam" - This song may be one of the most meaningful I have ever heard, and is one of those rare songs that is truly an experience when you hear it out, containing some of the most heartfelt lyrics I've ever heard come from Chris Martin "You can say what you mean / But it won’t change a thing / I’m sick of the secrets / Stood on the edge, tied to a noose / You came along and you cut me loose." I've heard rumors that Coldplay's next album will tell a story and if this song is any indication of what Coldplay can do with that method, music fans are in for a treat.

*"Green Eyes" - For a band that is considered "deep" (or whiny, depending on who you ask), this is one track where they are positive with a good vibe. Also, it was one of my favorite songs to sing along to when Martin performed it acoustic at the concert I attended.

*"Clocks" - If I ever get around to learning the piano, this is the track I will jam out to.

*"In My Place" & "Warning Sign" - Here is where I am going to be completely honest with anyone who reads these things. These are the only two songs in my musical history to make me shed tears by listening to them. Of course, I had to listen to them at the right time for it to hit me in the right way, but when they did they took a hold of me. Both times were from different break ups with the same girl, but both are still tracks that I hold close to my heart even today.

So for those who wanted this album to be #1, sorry for the disappointment. But hopefully you will still come back the day after Christmas to see who claimed the top spot. Until then, check out some of the songs I mentioned.

(50) Sundays of Music: #18

#18: Coldplay - Parachutes

First off, thank you Sara for noticing there wasn't a post up today. Knowing that people have started to look forward to this, now that we are in the top 20, feels nice.

Second off, I know this may be a shocker, having this cd at #18. But hey, that's just how it worked out. Though some of you *may* get mad when you see the ones that were placed above it...

I'm going to do something a little different for this post, but I want to first give general comments. As I've stated before, I was actually late on the Coldplay train. So I didn't actually give this a listen until after X&Y came out, but it was still a great release, that contains my favorite song of all time. I was at an after-work hangout the other day and one of my co-workers asked about my tattoo which got us talking about Coldplay and she said "that whole Parachutes album is great" and I couldn't agree more.

And now, I'm going to take a page out of Allison's guest post and do this selection track-by-track.

*Don't Panic: I love the short intro track and when my brother finally got into Coldplay, I remember him texting me saying he liked the cd with "Beautiful World" on it. At least he was close.

*Shiver: I actually posted these lyrics on facebook once and Sara caught em and thought they sounded dirty. Good times. But the one word that comes to me when I listen to this track is devotion. We've all been there and I sure as hell have. Plus, this song was on a guitar hero release, so that's cool.

*Spies: This is one of those tracks that sounds really good late at night when it's raining outside. I know, because I've put on this cd on when falling asleep and it rains a lot in the south. I love the guitar work and Martin's vocal work as always.

*Sparks: I have to admit, when I hear this song I think of one thing and one thing only: Wedding Crashers.

*Yellow: What can I say about this song that hasn't already been said? It is absolutely, and forever will be, my favorite song. I wish I could explain it, but instead, I am going to let a friend of mine that recently joined the blogging world do it for me (please click the link and read, it's a very good post).

*Trouble: Sometimes, thought it's rare, the satellite station I listen to will play this track. One time it was playing as I pulled into the parking lot and I sat in my car and listened to it. This is another one of those "i've totally been there" songs and one version of the music video is so simple, yet really good. Also, during a brief period where I was actually trying, I could play the beginning of this song on the piano.

*Parachutes: Short interlude track, but the guitar work still sounds nice and adds to the overall atmosphere of the album.

*High Speed: I have to say, my least favorite track on the album. I mean, it still sounds good, but if I had to make an ultimate Coldplay mixtape, I would have no problem leaving this track off.

*We Never Change: How true is that statement? We don't. But his lyrics in this song just seem so... honest. You can really tell that Coldplay turned up their instrument work on the albums that followed this one, because tracks like this one are just really simple, yet really great.

*Everything's Not Lost: "When I counted up my demons / Saw there was one for every day / With the good ones on my shoulders / I drove the other ones away / So if you ever feel neglected / And if you think that all is lost / I'll be counting up my demons, yeah / Hoping everything's not lost"

*Life is for Living: The hidden track of the cd is the perfect closer. I love how it slowly picks up and goes into this great outro. Perfect ending to a perfect album.

This post was long enough and some are linked in the text, so no videos today :)

(50) Sundays of Music: #21

#21: Coldplay - X&Y

The other day I looked at my list for this countdown (yes, I made a list) and when I saw that this week's selection was Coldplay, I smiled. After the "putting myself out there" week of posts, it seems fitting to end it with a selection from Chris Martin and company.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the first band to make a second appearance on the countdown. Another sign of foreshadowing because in the top 20, two bands make two appearances and you see four more appearances from bands you've already seen. So there's that.

But I have to be honest, this is one of those cds that made the countdown not for the entire cd, but for the songs on the cd. What I mean by that is I didn't have a moment where I put this album in my stereo and felt it. Instead, I got into Coldplay at one big time and figured out where the songs went later.

This release does hold significance because it came out during the time I noticed Coldplay. I remember going to a Circuit City and seeing this being advertised and thinking "oh that's from that band." So now you know my secret... I didn't get in to Coldplay until after X&Y.

I remember Frisco was actually into them first. I was sitting in his room just before we were set to move up to Auburn to start college and he played a song that started off "When you try your best but you don't succeed/ when you get what you want but not what you need / When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep / stuck in reverse." I was blown away. I know it sounds corny because "Fix You" has gotten immensely popular since then, but it just hit me. Not to spoil anything, but I would go on about Coldplay's lyrics, but that's for another selection.

I hate to overdo it, but "Fix You" is obviously a stand out track. I remember one time on campus I was listening to it in my headphones and I was sitting down during the beginning and when the song picked up I started walking like I was in a music video. Lame, I know. But I enjoyed it.

My other favorite is "Talk." I remember going to California one summer, trying desperately to get my brother to give Coldplay a chance and they had the "Talk" music video on demand. It was kinda weird, but I love it. For how slow and sentimental the band can be, this was one where they showed how instrumentally talented they are. It also helps that the beginning lines "Oh brother I can't, I can't get through / I've been trying hard to reach you, cause I don't know what to do / Oh brother I can't believe it's true / I'm so scared about the future and I wanna talk to you" make me think of Shedrick.

After the Haiti earthquake, the guys got together and did an acoustic performance of "The Message" that I felt was excellent; "What If" was overplayed during an emotional time for one of my relationships; "Swallowed in the Sea" is a staple for my friends and I; and the hidden track "Til Kingdom Come" is... sweet.

So "X&Y" will always hold a special place in my heart. It introduced me to one of my favorite bands of all time.

30 Days of Me: Favorite Song

So I am stealing this idea from Cassie, one of the few In Real Life friends I have on blogger. I'm not so sure as to the rules. If it has to be 30 days in a row or not, but that's what I'm gonna do. Considering it's June 1, this will wrap up at the end of the month. I like it because a) it gives me ideas and keeps me out there and b) most are relatively short.

(sidenote: This does mean double posts on Sundays. Sorry for that)

Alas, here is the list:

30 Days of ME
Day 1: Your favorite song
Day 2: Your favorite movie
Day 3: Your favorite television program
Day 4: Your favorite book
Day 5: Your favorite quote
Day 6: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 7: A photo that makes you happy
Day 8: A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9: A photo you took
Day 10: A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11: A photo of you taken recently
Day 12: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13: A fictional book
Day 14: A non-fictional book
Day 15: A fanfic
Day 16: A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17: An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19: A talent of yours
Day 20: A hobby of yours
Day 21: A recipe
Day 22: A website
Day 23: A YouTube video
Day 24: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25: Your day, in great detail
Day 26: Your week, in great detail
Day 27: This month, in great detail
Day 28: This year, in great detail
Day 29: Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30: Whatever tickles your fancy

My favorite song:

So here we go with the first day and I swear it's just a coincidence that the first day is a music question. Usually, people will go with "I can't pick just one song" and I can totally understand why. Think about how many songs exist in the world. But, a few years ago I declared this song to be my favorite and that will probably not ever change.

That song? "Yellow" by Coldplay.

I could go on and on about why this song is my favorite, but I will just keep it simple: It's beautiful.

When I had the privilege of seeing Coldplay in concert, they said goodbye to the crowd and I was like "no way" because they hadn't played "Yellow" yet. Sure enough, they came back and played it, yellow lights and all.

I will say this though, I don't really have a good concept of what the song is actually about. But I like to see what other people like to think it is about. This is one track where I never want to actually know what went in to it. I like it being open to interpretation.

(50) Sundays of Music: #47

#47: Coldplay - Viva La Vida (or Death and All His Friends)

I remember driving around sometime in early 2007 listening to the radio and hearing the latest news that Coldplay had decided to take a hiatus. It was one of those "spend time with family" things so I couldn't be mad, but I was hurt. In the past couple years, I had heavily gotten into Coldplay. I would go into it, but let's just say this isn't the only time you will see this band on the countdown (trivia: only three other bands appear more than once).

So imagine my excitement in early 2008 when I am again driving and listening to the radio and they report that a new Coldplay album would be out that year. I think I got so pumped I called my friend at the time who I had converted into a Coldplay fan. After two singles ("Violet Hill" then the hugely popular title track), the album finally dropped in June of 2008 and I ultimately picked up three copies. I am a sucker for exclusives and I picked up the iTunes pre-order so I could get some acoustic tracks, I purchased the vinyl for obvious reasons and because I am a super-fan I bought the actual cd so I could get the artwork and everything that goes with it.

I would like to say it was perfect, but there is a reason Coldplay's first appearance on this countdown is so early. Actually two. One is that I felt this album was too short. Take away the intro and outro tracks and you basically have 8 songs. And this album lacked what made other cd's great -- those deep, make you think about life songs.

So why is it still on here? Because by itself, it was still amazing. The experimentation they did with instruments was incredible and one thing I love about cds is when artists fade or mix songs together and a few times certain songs will give way to a couple bonus minutes within the track.

It also helps that I saw them live in November of the year the cd came out and they played almost every track off of VLV, so whenever I listen to it I am reminded of that magical night. Enjoy some for yourself.





The following are from Viva La Vida, but they were edited for the bonus EP, Prospekt's March





And just a sample of the awesomeness that was our night with Coldplay:

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Tomorrow, if the opportunity comes through, I am going to do something I have been putting off for a long time.

I've racked my head with it for weeks now. Figuring out what I'm going to say, how I'm going to say it, if I should even say it. But it's been tugging at me too long and I feel I have to get it out and let whatever happens, happen.

This can go one of three ways:

1) I will be the happiest person in the world

2) I will have made the biggest mistake ever and regret this day forever

3) Nothing will happen. Nothing will change. And that will be fine.

Details later. But for now, let's hope for 1 or 3.

Random lyric of the day:

So you don't know where you're going
But you want to talk
And you feel like you're going where you've been before
You'll tell anyone who will listen but you feel ignored
Nothing's really making any sense at all

David Letterman Post

Top Ten Things Going on Right Now:

(in no order)

1. Watched Adventureland last night. I expected to laugh a lot. It didn't happen. Major disappointment.

2. Remember Jet's song "Are You Gonna be My Girl?" Well, since then they have had a few songs hit the radio, but I feel their latest, "She's A Genius" is going to be their second biggest hit.

3. Why am I actually interested in seeing The Final Destination? Well, the 3D version...

4. I am now in a bowling league. Any suggestions for a team name?

5. Hitting up Crestview this weekend. Should be good times, like always.

6. Blogspot was kinda down the past day or two. Is it bad that I felt like something was missing from my life?

7. Speaking of missing from my life, The Daily Show and Colbert Report are on re-runs this week and I don't know what to do with myself. BUT Fantasy Factory and Nitro Circus have come back. And this makes me happy.

8. I ordered a wrestling pay per view on Sunday. For the first time in years, I felt like I got my money's worth. Pretty happy with the result.

9. September is coming soon. This means a couple things:

• Football season starts. Pro and college. So, get ready for some sports related posts.
• Ton of new music coming out: Muse, Saosin, The Used, Paramore, AFI. Expect reviews.

10. Lastly, my bfff is doing a giveaway on her blog. You are going to kick yourself if you miss out...

Random lyric of the day:


Because I came here with a load
And it feels so much lighter
Since I met you
And honey you should know
That I could never go on without you

(ok, maybe it wasn't so random)

These words pour out when I open my mouth

I feel like all my posts in recent weeks have either been Wordless Wednesdays or links to songs and all that stuff and I KNOW you guys are going "But Mr O, what's been going on with your life?" Even though I just made that up (I don't know what you guys think) here is an actual "post" that the description of my blog talks about.

The other day, I had all these events and thoughts that I was going to put into this but I have forgotten them. So this post is going to be freestyled. Not even I know how it's going to end.

I think I just made a mistake. I made a Coldplay B-side playlist to listen to right now and one of the tracks is piano heavy. So I guess I will start with the deep stuff first. Right now, there are two things dominating my mind. One is a family issue that may or may not happen so therefore won't get talked about right now and the other is next month. It's so crazy to me to think that August will be one year since my girlfriend of three years officially, after three or four semi-breakups, ended our relationship. We were actually still complicated for a while and I guess we didn't officially stop whatever the hell it is we were doing until late January early February. But still, a year since the final break up and my craziness that came afterward. I hate that I was “that guy.” Calling her every day and pleading for a chance to make things right. I hate it not only because of how stalkerish it felt but now I just feel embarrassed for myself. I tried to do everything and for what? It got me nowhere and in man terms just made me look (and feel) like a little bitch. Everytime that I pleaded for her to come and she did everything on her own time. Even now. Since last August, after a weak week attempt at trying school, she has been home ever since, missing what could have been her last year in undergraduate school. Next month, she comes back. Did I mention we started dating a few days before high school graduation and were steady the first three years of college? So I feel like this past year that she left me. Not only on a relationship level, but just being there – in my life. And now she is coming back. I don't know how to react because I have recently finally started to have a life without her. A life where I don't see a sappy movie and think of her. I just know my own emotions and I don't know how they are going to handle her living in the same town again. A few months ago she got into a new relationship so that may explain why there has been no contact. As far as I know, they are still together. For my sanity's sake, I hope they stay together so no temptations will creep in. I've warned all my friends that I may need them in the next month or two now more than ever.

Speaking of friends, I am getting to the point where I am starting to consider some of my blogger followers and people I follow “friends” as well. We may never actually see each other, but I have connected with some of you more than some people that call themselves my friend. With that said, I'm warning all you guys as well – I may need to come to you guys in the next month or two, haha. Even if it's just you clicking on a blog title.

And let's try to lighten this up a little. I am really appreciating all the nice comments whenever I do a music post like Under My Covers. Especially the ones who say they are hearing it for the first time, it just makes me smile because that is my mission. But I feel music is like Christmas – it's great to give and receive. I will never walk around like I know all music because that's impossible. So as much as I love to put music out there, I love to receive it even more. In the past week I have listened to cd's that I got by winning jeanette's blog contest and have found a few new gems, youtubed this nice acoustic version of "Let Go" after a couple of comments from the Garden State version of Under My Covers and stayed on Melissa's post for an hour clicking play repeatedly listening to jazz. And that's another thing. I am mostly an alternative rock kind of guy, but I really do listen to everything. “Make Her Say” by Kid Cudi, Kanye West and Common is one of my favorite tracks right now. And just planned – in October I will be going to my second drum and bass show. That combined with the Incubus show in August and a *possible* Blink-182 show in September and these next few months are looking nice.

Speaking of shows, I finally got confirmation and on Tuesday I will be sweating my ass off in Atlanta while attending Warped Tour. Last year, there were two bands I HAD to see – Pierce the Veil and Gym Class Heroes. I saw GCH twice, a regular set and then an acoustic set in the afternoon, and PTV stole the show. This year, I don't have that one single band I want to see but I will definitely be looking out for a few. And since I will probably be stoked coming from the show, I will talk more about the bands in a later post.

Movie wise the past two few days have been interesting. On Friday, I was hanging out with J Beezy when a friend of hers asked her to go see The Ugly Truth. She pretty much told me I was coming along to make the thing better and Hedman ended up coming with us. What was really crazy was that the point of going was to go with the friend of hers, but we didn't even sit with them. Hedman and I were complaining at the beginning (let me stop right there – I don't want to make it seem like I hate romantic comedies. They are actually a guilty pleasure. But this movie just did not look good to me) and we laughed pretty hard at the idea of walking out in the first 30 seconds. But we stayed – and laughed. Jeannette doesn't feel the same way, haha, but it was much better than I expected. I am still waiting for Katherine Heigl to come out and bash the movie now.

But then last night we FINALLY saw Ice Age 3 in 3D and it was pretty much awesome. Those little squirrels – they get me everytime. And I think after this and Up, I am starting to dig these 3D movies. But the best 3D movie of all hasn't even come out yet. But it will be here March 5, 2010. I think I have watched the trailer like five times already. If you haven't yet, it's in my very important date to the upper left of this post.

If you have read this far, you are awesome. But the other small thing that has been stressing me out is taking over and I feel like this is coming to a close because of it. I have class in the morning and we only have a week left. It's a photojournalism class, so it's not that hard but all the assignments finally got dates and they are all due in the next week. In the past few days I have gotten most of them done, but I tried to do one today that didn't come out so well. I am hoping the teacher has got some advice for me or else i'm screwed. But off to sleep to be prepared for that.

Oh, and sorry that no house party happened this weekend. But hopefully your night is free tomorrow. I'm making waffles :)

Random lyric of the day:

Mmmm whatcha say,
Mmm that you only meant well?
well of course you did
Mmmm whatcha say,
Mmmm that it's all for the best?
of course it is
Mmmm whatcha say?
Mmmm that it's just what we need
you decided this
whatcha say?

Under My Covers, Vol. 4 (Garden State edition)

*So I usually try not to double post on a day, but hey -- first time for everything, right?

*Also, this post is going to be all over the place emotion wise.

So as much as I consider myself knowledgeable in music, I also consider myself somewhat of a movie buff. However, there are still some great movies out there that I haven't seen. Until tonight, one of those movies was Garden State.

I liked it. I think if I would have saw it at a time when everyone else saw it, I would have it up there in my top 10. But as of right now, I can't budge any movies out of there. To me, a really good movie is when I am still thinking about it afterward and this was one of those.

First off, I want to say that I am convinced that the girl I fall for and ultimately be with is someone who shares my taste in music and I find out and immediately become attracted. That is kinda what happened with the Norah chick. I was falling for her because of her playlist, hence the blog nickname. But the scene where Zach Braff meets Natalie Portman and she tells him to listen to the Shins, oh man, I probably would have asked her to marry me right there. I'm not a huge Shins fan or anything, but for a girl to do that is match made in Heaven material.

I related to some of the deep scenes in this movie. Like, the very beginning when it looked like the plane was crashing and he was just all calm. It reminded me of the scene in Fight Club when he prayed for a plane crash. Sometimes, I am just driving and my mind drifts to what would happen if I got in a wreck right at that moment. I know it sounds really weird, but these thoughts come to my head sometimes so it felt good to relate in a way. It's crazy because whether facing a wreck or a plane crashing (i have those images whenever I go to visit Cali) for some reason I am calm about it as well. I'm not ready to die or anything, far from it, but I guess it's just one of those "what are you gonna do about it" kinda things. Also, the scene where he is talking with his dad and he says something along the lines of "we don't have to be happy, we can just be ok being what we are" it made me think of me and my dad's relationship. We have never had that closeness that some father and sons have had, but in the past year or two we have gotten, not closer, but better. And I related somewhat because I think we are both reaching a point where we are ok with being ok.

My only gripe about the movie was at the very end. I liked the scene for what it was, but for the first time in any movie (or wonderfully fantastic tv show) I felt like Braff overacted. When he was talking to her on the steps and when he got her from the phone booth, it was hard to buy into it. But I still liked it. I just wish he would have toned it down a bit.

But of course, what did I like most about the movie? The soundtrack. I mean, the first song was a Coldplay track. For those of you who don't know, Taking Back Sunday and Coldplay alternate between my number 1 and number 2 favorite positions (A Rush of Blog to the Head is a reference to a Coldplay track). But then there was more great music throughout the movie, which prompts today's covers. That's right, two covers.

1) Such Great Heights -- This song was played in the second half of the movie and it was the Iron and Wine version. The original is by the Postal Service on a cd that brings back memories of freshman year of college for me. I love it because both versions are both so different, but sound so great.

Original version by The Postal Service

Cover version by Iron and Wine

2) We Will Become Silhouettes -- Ok, so this song wasn't in the movie. However, the above song was originally by The Postal Service and so is the one below and the cover is by the only band name dropped in the movie -- The Shins. Once again, both versions are different (though, not AS different -- one is just more acoustic). But both, once again, are great.

Original version by The Postal Service

Cover version by The Shins




So there's that.




Random lyric of the day:

We live in a beautiful world,
Yeah we do, yeah we do,
We live in a beautiful world,
Oh, we're sinking like stones,
All that we fought for,
All those places we've gone,
All of us are done for.

Celebrations and Contemplations

50th post today, YES!!!! It seems like it was just three or so months ago I started this little thing. Oh wait, it was. Man, I get addicted fast...

Anyways, this post, once again, is going to be all over the place. Look for storytelling, random bits, and responses. Ready? GO!

*I am currently listening to Bob Marley while writing this. I have to admit, I got into him WAY late. Although, I still wouldn't consider myself "into" him. but I like him now. During our road trip, he popped up a lot. Anyways, he puts me in a good mood. And that is always a good thing.

*Tonight was random, but fun. I had sort of plans to hang out with this girl tonight, but when the day started I thought "I really don't want to do this." So I made myself busy, figuring out that J Beezy is going to be gone next week so I told this girl that I would reschedule and hang out next week so I can visit with J Beezy for a bit. We ended up meeting up with a another friend (trivia wise -- the friend that this girl made out with) and went to a random lake. I didn't bring my swimwear (they weren't ready for that visual anyways) but Hedman (the dude) brought some guns so I shot some beer cans. Good old Alabama fun, huh? Afterward, we went back to J Beezy's and played some Mario Party on the Wii. I definitely think I am getting hooked on Mario Party, both the DS or Wii version.

*Let's get this little bit out of the way. Last night, we took a trip home and back to put some random stuff we have had in the house I live in to put it in my dad's storage shed. While there, I met up with some people that are still in that area that we haven't seen in a while such as an old roommate of mine who is now married with a kid. Since I haven't seen her in at least two years, that was good. Sat with another friend of mine where she worked at PoFolks (a southern restaurant). She was actually the friend that a few posts ago made me question whether I go to Crestview too much. She sort of said something again.

Me: "I don't know where I will be after college, but it won't be here, in this state."

Her (with an attitude): "Yea, it will probably be in Crestview."

Me: "Was there attitude in there?"

Her: "Yea, I'm just jealous cuz you always go there, but you never visit here."

Me: "Let me ask you a question, what does my house look like?"

It was nice to shut her down seeing as how I have been living at the same spot for two years, a spot she has yet to see, and she tried to make me feel bad for not seeing her enough. It was great. But that wasn't the best part of the night. This was:

*In order to go to the storage shed, I had to pass the gas station where my ex-girlfriend (who, I have officially changed in these blogs to be labeled as "you") works. I told my friend who was riding with me that if her car was there, I was going to kind of freak out, but if it wasn't I would be ok. Well, her car was there, and she was outside smoking. Then I saw her hug a dude. As a friend of mine said, it's like being hit with a sledgehammer. We got to the shed and I called J Beezy to ask if I should walk in there. She said yes, I agreed and so we did. I walked in first, went straight for the drinks, and she saw my friend first. When he mentioned that he was with me, he said her face went to shock (my "home" is two hours away, so for me to be there on a Wednesday is really random) then she saw me. We gave our awkward waves, but when I got up there, I got a hug, he got a hug, you said you were glad we came in, I paid for my stuff, and left. Nevermind that my hands were nervously shaking when reaching to my wallet or I stuttered when talking to you or that I about passed out when it was over. Best part though? You told me I should say hi to your friend (which we don't get along -- that is a whole nother post entirely). So I walked up to her, said what's up and hoped she was doing good. I can tell by the look on her face it totally messed her up, in that she wasn't expecting that at all. But as far as you go, hopefully, now that it's over, when you come back in August to go to school, it won't be so bad.

*What won't be so bad? This weekend. I know I go to Crestview to see my sister a lot, but this weekend is special. Her sister and her sister's husband and thier kids are coming. I love her kids. They are somewhere around 7,6 and 4. I need to double check that. But expect plenty of pictures after this weekend. And we are all meeting up for UFC 100 featuring Brock Lesnar (who I like and my sister hates). Our rule during the fights is that everybody picks who is going to win each fight and if you lose you have to take a shot. So this could be fun.

*Final thing to say: followers and comments. I am very appreciative to all the new followers I have gotten. I have tried to check out your blogs as well, but forgive me if I haven't made my way over there yet. Next week, I plan to check out not only them, but the other two guys that the girl recommended over on her blog. And I plan to go check out some old posts I haven't gotten to read, most notably some of Melissa's stories. But I try to leave little small comments (or in jeanette's or the girl's cases, mini stories). And due to request, I have tried to get into the habit of returning comments left on my page. I am still a rookie, but I am getting there. The only one I don't respond too is Wordless Wednesdays, as I try to play up the whole "wordless" thing. But if I have been slacking, I apologize but I will get on the ball. Starting soon. Trust me.

Random lyric of the day:

Look up, I look up at night,
Planets are moving at the speed of light.
Climb up, up in the trees,
every chance that you get,
is a chance you seize.
How long am I gonna stand,
with my head stuck under the sand?
I'll start before I can stop,
before I see things the right way up.

ouch

I have a headache in which the pain has been shooting to my eye. I'm not sure if that's good. Oh, and it's been there since about 5. Really put a damper on my studying.

I really want April to be over. Summer looks so much better.

Hopefully Coldplay as i'm going to sleep will make everything ok.

Random lyric of the day:

I was scared, I was scared
Tired and underprepared
But I wait for you