Updating from a service plaza in upstate new york!!. Exciting, right?.

kara and i left this morning at 6am - trip has officially started!!. I wayyy wayyy WAYYY overpacked, as is the usual.

we rolled into albany just after 10am. We thought we could change american dollars into canadian dollars at the bank on western ave. That's what the lady told me when i called the bank on pearl street to ask if they could change over the money. Nope. But definitely the one on western.

so, we drove there. Nope - they ran out of canadian money last week.

this was like, our third failed attempt to change money over at a bank, so after that we decided to just wait until canada.

anyways, we're back on the road now. Making good time. Deciding whether or not to stop at niagara falls for a minute or two.

i'll send another update along later...maybe from the hotel. Hope everyone is having a great monday!.

Beginning of the week is a great time for an adventure...

'now my furr has turned to skin and i've been quickly ushered in to a world that i confess, i do not know.'

Lately, I've been changing the background to my laptop so it says motivational things. Like, positive things, so I'll be inspired and in a good mood.

I found this website last night and was on it for like, an hour reading all the cutesy images. It's like, delightful little sayings and whatnots set against darling little images. I like the one that says, "when I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. TRUE STORY." I can mostly relate to that one.

So, I spent a lot of time on that website. Sometimes it made me sad. Sometimes it made me nervous. Sometimes it made me happy. I don't know. I think yesterday was just a melancholy day, or something.

I ended up changing my background image to a saying that says, "when life seems overwhelming, keep calm and carry on." I liked this one, because it pretty much relates to my overwhelming feeling that I've had for a while. Also, it says, "carry on," which is the title of my fave Crash Kings song. Is it my fave? I don't know. I go back and forth. '14 Arms' might be my fave. Or, 'Nonbeliever.' Ok now we're talking about Crash Kings. That happened pretty quickly.

ANYWAYS. I would say, go check out that site. It might make you sad, but it also might make you feel better about yourself, and that's always a good thing.

I talked about that for a long time. I don't know... I guess I feel like I need positive reinforcement in my life right now. I mean, I know that I'm a super awesome total hottie and everything. But, sometimes I just need to remind myself. And it's two different things when someone tells you you are a super awesome total hottie, and when you actually believe it. So, I'm trying to remind myself as much as possible. That way I'll never forget.

And, there have been some crap things that have happened in the past few months. But, there have also been some awesome things. And sometimes, the crap thing and the awesome thing are the same. TRUE STORY.

One thing is for sure: there has been a SEVERE LACK of rockstars in my life recently. It's been almost THREE MONTHS since I've seen Crash Kings. And even longer since I've seen River City Extension, which makes me even more sad.

BUT, River City is playing a show at The Space the day after my birthday!! 26 February! And I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hope that I can go. It's my ONE birthday wish.

Anyways. Let's get to the awesome.

On MONDAY, as in, the day after tomorrow, Kara and I are driving to TORONTO. That's right - CANADA!!! And then we're flying out to Vancouver Island for two weeks to visit our wonderful father and the rest of our awesome Canadian family. It's been WAY TOO LONG since we've seen everyone out there. Like, I think it was between my 2nd and 3rd year in college the last time I saw them. Not my dad, he was here over the summer. But, it's still a long time. The longest I've ever gone without seeing my dad. So, that makes me sad.

But - EXCITED!!!!! Canadian Adventures are the best kind. I'm very excited. Also excited about driving to Toronto with Kara. Driving across New York state = AWESOME! Actually, no. Driving across New York state is kind of lame. But, I'm excited for the car trip.

So, that's the big news, I guess. Vacation.

(My birthday is in less than a month, fyi.)

Oscars are coming up. I'm pretty excited. I'm rooting for Christian Bale. ALL THE FREAKING WAY. I saw 'The Fighter' last weekend and loved it. Loved it way more than I expected to. It was one of the few movies that I was sad when it ended, because I just wanted to keep watching. But, Christian Bale was like, unbelievable. So, so freaking good. Right from the very first second he was on screen, and right up until the very last second of the movie - he was unstoppable.

And I mean, Christian Bale was in Little Women. PLUS, one of my all-time favorite movies, Velvet Goldmine. Lots of sexy hottness in that one. I read once that Christian Bale tries to do a different accent for each movie he's in. So, that's cool, also.

Oscars are 27 February this year. Set your calendars.

Actually, that doesn't make sense. Set your.... alarms? I don't know. MARK your calendars. That's what I was trying to get to.

Alright. Also saw The Social Network finally. Loved it. Facebook, man. Taking over the world.

I remember when I FIRST joined Facebook. Back in the Fall of 2004. Only for colleges. Not every college was registered with it yet. And then it was such a big deal when one of your friend's colleges joined Facebook, because then you could finally be their friend.

And I remember that me and David were trying to see which one of us could go the longest without joining. He won. He's on Facebook now too. Along with the rest of the world.

So, I loved the movie because it was a good movie. But, also because I remember when it was becoming popular and people started going crazy over it. So, that's cool.

Also - Jesse Eisenberg. Is he one of the people that I mentioned in my 'I would marry them in two seconds' series? Because, I would marry Jesse Eisenberg in two seconds.

1. Jason Schwartzman
2. Leo DiCaprio
3. Jesse Eisenberg

I feel like number 3 changes the most frequent. 1 and 2 have stayed the same for many, many years now. But, number 3 is currently Jesse's space. Even though he's technically Kara's boyfriend.

Watched Zombieland the other night. Missed the part with the Crash Kings song. Still a great movie.

Ok. I have to go take on the day right now. Shower and clean the bathroom. I'll talk to you later!! Have a great weekend!





I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid
That I might drift away
I've been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where I've come from
That's the reason why I seem
So far away today

GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT

i am in a super great mood right now. like RIGHT NOW. and i wanted to share it with you.

after a brief LAME period in my life, things are slowly (quickly?) becoming pretty awesome once again.

i would just like to take this opportunity to publicly thank my girl Taylor Swift, for having a song for whatever mood i am in, and for making me feel not so lame.

i'll write more later. maybe even later today. but in the past week we've gotten like, 30 inches of snow, and i have some shoveling to do.

take care! be well! we'll talk soon :)


it happens every now and then
i hear the words i need to hear
coming from the tiny speakers
that i shove into my ears

Sweet Schwartzman!

Oh, Jason Schwartzman, you continually break my heart.

From all of us here at the blog, a BIG congratulations to Jason and his wife Brady on the arrival of their daughter, Marlowe Rivers Schwartzman on 4 December!!

(When I say, 'from all of us here at the blog,' I really just mean myself. I have this idea that I'm a much bigger personality than I actually am.)

So, yes, it's finally happened. The beautiful baby has been born. I'm very excited about this, actually. I'm excited that Jason had a daughter. My friend Robert Schwartzman now has a lovely niece. This is a happy day.

I like the name Marlowe. I approve of that. Aw, I can imagine there is nothing more cute on this earth than a Schwartzman baby.

Congratulations and love to their family ♡

Actually, the best part about 2010:

I can't believe I forgot to add this to my list.


★ I MADE SO MANY NEW FRIENDS!!!! So many great, awesome, amazing friends. All through listening to incredible music. I am so thankful for these new people in my life. All of them have been around on my favorite days of this past year. It's a great thing, making new friends.

And also, making old friends. As in, friends I never knew I had. Or, more clearly, becoming friends with people I've known most of my life, but never really talked to. It's happened three times quite recently, and I'm happy about all of it.

New friends, old friends, great friends ★

'Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end'

I'm a little late on my end of the year posting. You know, the one where I recap major events that have happened in my year, and then post some resolutions for my next year. So, I'm going to do that now. Right here. Get ready. Ready? Ok, let's go.


THIS PAST YEAR I HAVE:
- Been to 15 states! Including 4 new ones (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois)!!!
- Saw Crash Kings 17 times (one time in 2009 makes 18 total)
- Been to a total of 23 concerts: Crash Kings: 17, River City Extension: 4, Hanson + Rooney: 1, Weird bands in Portland, ME: 1
- Leased a new car. 2010 Toyota Prius affectionately named Morgan.
- Battled a bat in my apartment which led to the 'rabies scare of 2010.'
- Quit my job and moved back home
- Streaked my hair teal
- Had to say goodbye to my one and only ear piercing due to massive infection
- Discovered River City Extension. So freaking awesome.

- Had some really, really bad days.


Now, I'm not one for bad days. I can usually find something that will always make me happy, always bring my mood up. But this year was tough. There were so many days that I hated. I cried a lot this year, especially at the beginning. I can think of two days right off the bat that I cried for hours and hours straight. About two totally different issues. My job was rough. I had a lot of people scream at me.

I had a great October. Really awesome November. I don't forget about those months. Those months were really great. Kind of amazing, actually. And I had one moment that could totally make up for all the bad things in the year. I don't forget that moment. I loved that moment.

But, all in all, I would say it was a not-so-great year. I am happy it's over. I am excited for things to happen in 2011 that will be great.

Already in 2011 I have:

- Got my first traffic ticket. For not having my car registered. $103. Bummer, right? Ah well. I was driving around with an unregistered car for two months, it was bound to happen. However, I can't afford to register my car, and now I also can't afford to pay the ticket. So, we'll see.

- Second day into the new year and I wake up with a horrible headache that I have had for like, 5 hours now.


It's gonna be a good year.


RESOLUTIONS FOR 2011:

- wear more purple
- be better about talking on the phone
- be better about expressing my feelings
- write more

I think those are pretty good. Remember how my resolution for 2010 was to wear more red plaid?? Well, you will be happy to know that I ended the year with THREE red plaid shirts. I think that's a WIN.


Anyways. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and an exciting New Years. I've been feeling weirdly out-of-place pretty much everywhere I go, and I can't seem to shake that. It's kind of been bringing me down a little.

But! I'm doing okay. Excited about this year, I guess. I just started watching the entire series of Entourage over for the 4th time! My mom and Kara are watching it too.

Ok! I'll talk to you all later. Hope your new year is off to a great start. What are your resolutions?? What were the best parts of your 2010??




And so I dim the lights, and I crack a beer
and I think to myself about things
I'd said I'd do this year
Growing old never takes it's toll until you're losing
Track of all the things you won't have back again
And there's so many of them