And today was a day just like any other

Normally on my "weekends" (I'm off Sunday and Monday - it's weird but I've gotten used to it) I do my laundry on one of those days. It takes a couple hours of my day as I have to drive down to the laundry mat, so it's always something I have to plan around. This weekend, I didn't have to go in to work until the afternoon on Saturday, so I got my laundry out of the way then and I had Sunday and Monday to enjoy with no plans.

And I did.

Yesterday, I randomly drove up to Auburn and finally watched Faster with Frisco (sounds like a morning show). I liked it, but of course I'm biased. At least it wasn't disappointing.

Today was a mix of video games and movies. I finally watched Van Helsing, a movie that some how made it's way to the top of my Netflix queue and has been sitting on my entertainment center for almost a month, and made a trip to Books A Million. I went on picked up Decoded by Jay Z for my South Dakota trip and wanted to give Darkly Dreaming Dexter a shot after we finished Season 2 Saturday night.

I think this is one of those "random update" posts. So here is a continuation of what's been going on/what's coming up:

*My work is back and forth sometimes. Two weeks ago, I didn't have but a couple stories go in the paper. Last week, I was all over the place. Some crime stuff has gone down; there were a couple shootings I had to go out to, which was kind of depressing. But the next two days I covered three parades and went to the Christmas tree lighting (and got a small interview with the governor). So yea, I never know what to expect.

*I've been working on my 2010 music lists. And I think I'm putting too much thought into it haha. Also working on some 2010 movie stuff, but that's not as an important.

*I don't know how many people reading this follow college football, but the school I just graduated from in August (Auburn - woot!) is on their way to the national championship game, bringing an undefeated record with them. Of course they would do it the year after I leave.

*My birthday is coming up, the 15th to be exact. (this would make a good present) I don't even think I mentioned my birthday on my blog last year and it's kind of redundant because most of my blogger friends are facebook friends as well. But I actually have some vacation days to use up so I will be off for four days next week, so that's kind of awesome. I'm not hating on people that have to throw big parties, but it's just not me. Maybe if I was in the same city as people I would do something big, but honestly, at this point I just want to hang out with my friends. And so far that is happening. Frisco is going to hang out with me in Montgomery on Sunday and then I have a couple days after that to possibly hang out with Jme. Don't even care what we do, it's just nice to spend time with friends.

*Speaking of the people that matter to me, good things are happening for them. And it's making me really happy.

*Let's go out on some music news. With all the concerts I've been too, I actually still have a list of top bands that I haven't seen. #1 is the Red Hot Chili Peppers but #2 is Linkin Park. This weekend, I will buy tickets to see LP in Atlanta in January. Opening for them is Pendulum, a pairing I would have never thought I would see, but it's got me really excited. Who is Pendulum? Click this and find out.

Random lyric of the day (throwing back to the post title):

I am aware, I've been misled
I disconnect my heart, my head
Don't wanna recognize when things go bad
The things that you'll accept
Except that I am finding the words... to say

A Slice of My Life

So Spring Break came and went. What did I do?

*I had an interview in Valley, AL. It's a town about 30 miles away that our entire class is doing a presentation on.

*Worked, though not very much. I think I worked a total of 10 hours this week? But that's what happens when everybody in the town is college students and they all go away.

*Hung out with this guy

And a few of his friends. We were chillin on an island, though I'm not sure if we're ever getting off considering I only got to the end of season one. But I've heard that Lost gets better with each season so I am looking forward to it.

That's pretty much what I did. Today, I went back to school and everything hit me. I have some stuff coming up, mostly school stuff but there are some fun things sandwiched in there.

Here is my upcoming schedule:

Thursday, March 25 - Sociology Test, Nutrition Quiz
Sunday, March 28 - Wrestlemania
Tuesday, March 30 - Envy On The Coast new cd (legally) comes out
Tuesday, March 30 - Speech in the afternoon (question of values -- that we got assigned today)
Tuesday, March 30 - (a few hours after the speech) PENDULUM in Atlanta!
Thursday, April 1 - Nutrition Quiz
Friday, April 9 - Paper on Valley is due
Tuesday, April 13 - Self-Evaluation paper in Public Speaking

While all this is going on, I need to be doing interviews for that major paper due on the 9th, working on a photoessay for sociology and trying to secure an internship for the summer.

Now, this is going to sound like I'm complaining but honestly I'm not. Two reasons. 1) I know some students have it way worse than this. 2) As hectic as it is, it means I'm still a student. Sure, I have all these crazy tests and papers coming up, but I still have concerts and events.

I guess I've just been thinking about the future a lot. And as excited as I am, it's starting to scare me just a little bit. Only because just the other day a friend of mine was talking about what he was going to be doing in October. I realized that I have no idea where I will be. Guess it's all part of the adventure, right?

Random Lyric of the Day:

I'm the bloodstain
On your shirt sleeve
Coming down and more are coming to believe
Now we know it all for sure

Make the hair stand
Up on your arm
Teach you how to dance
Inside the funny farm
Not alone, I'll be there
Tell me when you want to go

Music Tuesday: Pendulum & Explosions In The Sky

This is day two of a week-long set of artists that produced some of my favorite albums -- they just didn't make it into my top 50 for various reasons.

This is also the second day that I have paired together two artists for the sake of fitting them into six days (tomorrow starts the solo efforts). And I guess these two could be described as "different" music.

Pendulum:

If not for my roommate being such a big fan of the techno/trance/house scene, I would never have realized that the techno/trance/house scene basically translates to mainstream pop in that genre. Drum and Bass is where it's at (DNB is really what he is into, it's just easier to say techno). And he is responsible for me getting into it on my own. Over the time I have spent with that style of music, I have grown to have a favorite group and that is Australia's own: Pendulum.

Pendulum started off as strictly DNB with the release of their first official album, "Hold Your Colour." But then, they started experimenting and trying new things and for their next album they combined elements of rock to produce "In Silico." Now, as the story with any band that tried to switch things up, many DNB fans snubbed Pendulum for "going mainstream" with their new rock sound (their songs have been featured in video games, commercials and wrestling promos).

I got into Pendulum after hearing them on Siruis radio on the Boombox channel (RIP) but then noticed they started getting airtime on my favorite channel, Alt Nation. It was then that I went back and listened to thier older stuff and liked it all. They are supposedly working on a new album set to release this year and I can only hope it combines elements of the first two.

Hold Your Colour:





Bonus: Here is a funny video we found that features a song from this cd



In Silico:





Bonus: The Verizon commercial where they went "mainstream"



Explosions In The Sky:

Explosions in the Sky is not techno/DNB or any of that. I really don't know what to classify it as except for "instrumental." No lyrics, no funky edits, just a band making music. I have used it to go to sleep, to study and to just relax. I had to mention them on here because I like all thier cds, but there is one that stands out the most for me, "How Strange, Innocence." Like Pendulum, they have also been featured in the mainstream, appearing on the soundtrack for the movie Friday Night Lights and in recent commercials for Under Armour.

How Strange, Innocence: