i fought the war, but the war won

my poor little blog is experiencing post-switch neglect- most definitely that time of the semester... to start off with some good school-related news: i have dates set for my master's thesis proposal and the initiation of my comps. given my penchant for putting things off until the last possible second, this is a step in the right direction. here's to a lot of pressure-fueled work in the next few weeks. sleep resumes in june.
coachella was as close to perfect as i can imagine- so worth the exhaustion. magically, i avoided sunburn and hangovers. non-musical highlights: our "22 in FL" neighbors and their failed attempt at a vodka watermelon, frozen slushy lemonades, religious solicitation in the campground, drinking tecate in the parking lot oasis, chatting with the euros in the cabana, VIP wristbands, earth juice, the fannypack-speedo brigade (best place for people watching ever!), pretty lights (particularly the cubatron, the tesla coils, and the spotlight/cage), dancing dancing and more dancing...
because of overlapping set times, we ended up listening to bits and pieces of shows- maximizing our overall coverage of the festival, but leaving me with a bunch of bands i want to see again. mostly for my own benefit (my memory is sure to fail me later on), a comprehensive list:
Fri: Battles, Les Savy Fav, Black Kids, Architecture in Helsinki, Vampire Weekend, The National, The Raconteurs, The Swell Season, Aesop Rock, Datarock, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
Sat:VHS or Beta, Man Man, Minus the Bear, MGMT, Cold War Kids, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, St. Vincent, Hot Chip, Death Cab for Cutie, Islands, Kraftwerk, M.I.A., Animal Collective, Portishead, Prince (with Morris Day, Jerome Benton, and Sheila E)
Sun: the Cool Kids, I'm From Barcelona, Holy Fuck, Shout Out Louds, Stars, Does It Offend You, yeah?, Gogol Bordello, Metric, Love and Rockets, Modeselektor, Sia, Roger Waters, Justice


eye candy
more pics up at picasa...

a comedy of errors

looking back at my attempts to find amusement in the past (less-than-lovely) 12 months- some days, it's been harder than others. this week has been over the top, ridiculously bad- so bad that i can't help but be amused. to give you a brief taste of the sordid details, in no particular order: i locked myself out of my apartment, had to pee in a cup (with the current state of medical advancement, why is this still a routine procedure?), had a nice long walk to my car in the cold rain, and i'm being audited by the NM taxation and revenue board (for wages earned before i lived here)...
you know it's bad when my mom is asking me if i've broken a mirror lately ("no, but the cats did... does that bad luck transfer to me?")

in happier news:
coachella is looking more like a reality, just in time for me to start dreaming of a chicago trip to see thom and the boys.
mango curry shrimp is delish. as are the gigantic ginger cookies from flying star.
on my third week sans soda, and the craving is completely gone.
tonight, i have new tapes 'n tapes to keep me company on my run.

As Harold took a bite of Bavarian sugar cookie, he finally felt as if everything was going to be ok. Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true. And, so it was, a wristwatch saved Harold Crick.
-Stranger than Fiction

inaugural

not quite happy with the new space, but it will get there i suppose. it's amazing how i've come to rely on my blog-babble. the therapy is in the erasing- i type and re-type and mostly delete the important stuff, but it gives me some time to process. i've also noticed that i store up random bits i want to save, and it's been bothersome not having a place to keep them. particularly lyrics...

I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different "kind"
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines
-bon iver