I keep going back to it...

Remember a while back when I decided I wanted to be a Magician's assistant?

I'm back in full-swing I'm-running-away-and-joining-the-circus mode, thanks to Arcade Fire's Regine Chassagne's get-up at Coachella last week...

....and the movie Water For Elephants, which I saw yesterday.

I read the book last summer, and loved it, and I'm pleased to say, the movie didn't disappoint.

The wardrobe was to die for...

Paper-shmaper! I know where my priorities are!

So...I had originally set today aside to work on my Environmental Geology term paper (that is due on this coming Thursday). I'm not so sure that's how the day is going to play out.

Last night after class ended at 9:15, a bunch of us decided to go out and have a beer. I love going out with these guys. They're a really swell bunch. ♥  After midnight, we got really hungry and went out for subs and french fries... listened to Arcade Fire super-loud in my car, then headed home. This is becoming somewhat of a regular occurence....and I'm totally cool with that! There's this guy.... wink wink.... I think I've let on to that, haven't I? I really like hanging out with him.... we're so similar - both always down for anything. Spontaneity!! I don't want to jinx myself and say that I like where this is going, but.... I'm fairly certain that he greatly enjoys hanging out with me as well. :-D

I got home around 2:00 this morning - wayyyy past my bedtime! Haha. So I'm a little tired this morning. Not too bad, but tired enough to be tempted to find an excuse not to do schoolwork today. Plus its cloudy outside - I never do work when its cloudy! Furthermore, its Earth Day!!!!! There's a celebration on campus today that is calling my name..... much more so than a term paper about saltwater intrusion, hehehe.

So anyway. No pictures yet today... sorry! I'm just trying to gather myself and decide what today is going to be like.... hopefully I'll be back later with some interesting material. ;-)

Happy Earth Day!!

Sky high

Thanks for the comments wishing my cat well - he's on an antibiotic, and the vet said he should be fine in about a week. Phew! Huge sigh of relief.

Today was such a beautiful spring-y day... the sun was shining, and it was about 70 degrees for a little while there....I just had to go to the mall and find the perfect pair of sandals to wear to the Kills show on Sunday... hehe. I knew I wanted a pair of black gladiator-type sandals, with a wedge or a platform, and of course they had to be vegan....

Ta-da!!

The Olsenboye "Tilly" wedge

They are seriously comfortable! I was shocked when I tried them on and walked around the store a little.. super-easy to walk in! Plus, they are cuuuuuuute - another shopper stopped and said, "Girl, you need those shoes! They are cute!!" hahahaha. Made my day. I'm thinking they might be a secret weapon to help in my man-wooing efforts....hahahaha!

I definitely already have an outfit picked out.... Sunday might require at least one wardrobe change, though, since we're going to spend the day checking out the D.C...probably going to go to a few museums, et cetera... but yeah, I have my outfit for the show picked out already anyway. Its a dress I've shared on here before... definitely shows off the 'guns' - haha!

It is this dress, but in a different print -

its navy blue and has purple feathers on it.

Wish us luck!

I have to take my 14-year old cat, Trinket, to the vet this morning. Yesterday morning I noticed that his nose was super-runny and generally pretty disgusting, so I made an appointment pronto. It looks like a really bad cold, and I've got my fingers crossed that's all it is, but I'm still apprehensive...he's so old! If he has pneumonia or something I'm worried about what they're going to tell me.  :(

Trinket's all about squishing himself into small spaces. This pic is 4 years old, though - he took up residence in a basket on top of the dryer in the bathroom and hasn't left in a good 2 years, hahaha.

Besides the vet appointment, this week is looking pretty good. I found out last night that I don't have to write a term paper for Karst like I thought I did (and its a good thing since next week is the last week of classes before finals!)... so I only have 1 big term paper to write, and I've got Friday set aside for that.

Its rainy and ugly today, but I'm wearing flip-flops regardless.Tomorrow is supposed to be 80 degrees and mostly sunny! Definitely looking forward to that!!

Sorry for the generally un-interesting posts lately...I just need to get through these last 2 weeks of school and I'm freeee! Life has just been pretty hectic-in-a-good-way lately, so...bear with me!

Since I don't have anything super-fabulous to share today, I thought I'd respond to a few comments I've received recently. I've been meaning to do it, and just kept forgetting. Oops.

First, many of you complimented my new 'do and highlights - thanks!! I love having short hair, hehe. A lot of you commented on the new color....but I didn't change the color! The highlights I got are very subtle - you can actually hardly see them, they're so light. My hair color didn't change at all...I think it just looks different because there is actual sunlight in my recent pictures, hahaha. I've never dyed my hair, ever! I love my natural color and would be afraid I'd never get it right again hahaha.

Also, I got a lot of comments asking where I got the LOVE shirt I'm wearing in this picture:

I ordered it from Delias a couple of months ago, but its still available (and in other designs, too) -its one of my most favorite shirts ever!! Now that I think about it, I should probably order it in nautical stripes myself... I wear the heck out of it, and you know how I love me some nautical stripes! haha!

Ok, I think that's all for now. I have to get the cat loaded in the carrier and head to the vet.

Wish us luck today!

Most.Epic.Ever.

Did you guys watch Arcade Fire at Coachella streaming live Saturday night???

Holy cow. Most epic thing I've ever seen. I stayed up til 5 a.m. to watch that, and I'm soo glad I did! Seeing the Arcade Fire is now at the top of my concert bucket list...and hopefully soon! Jake and I were trying to rationalize driving 10 hours to Chicago this Friday but between the ticket price and the gas money, it just wouldn't be practical. sighhh.

I'm very glad to announce that I have successfully transitioned back into a normal sleep schedule. Its good to know that I can stay up til 5 a.m. two days in a row and get back on track a day later. Don't know how often I should do that, but... when there's good music, good food, and good company...you gotta do what you gotta do!! hahaha.

Speaking of good company... I've been spending a lot of time recently in (what I consider to be) very good company.... I've got my fingers crossed that this will go somewhere....its hard to say right now, but I definitely know he likes spending time with me, and we have lots of plans to hang out in the future... so this is a good start. ;-)

Wiz Wit!

Woo! The past 24 hours may just have been the best.day.ever.

In a moment of spontaneity and impulsiveness, Thursday night it was decided that Jake, Trent and I would drive to Philadelphia Friday night to see Joan As Police Woman.

The venue, Tin Angel, was tiny - there were literally about 25 people there, and we were the youngest by about 25 years. Crazy!! I just don't understand how JAPW isn't freaking famous, playing sold-out shows!! Anyway. Jen Hess opened for Joan...she was doing a cover of Neil Young's "Down by the River". Jake absolutely loves Neil Young...so of course he was singing along (and the guy can SING)... and Jen Hess stopped playing and asked Jake to come up on stage with her. He did, and they sang together. It was awesome. Of course by the time I figured out the buttons on my camera, it was over. Le sigh.

Joan was, hands-down, the BEST live show I have ever seen. Jake said so too, and Jake has probably seen about 18,974,982 shows. For serious.

May I recommend clicking on each of the pictures to enlarge them... I am particularly pleased with how awesome they came out, and you just can't tell unless you look at 'em bigger!!

The show ended pretty early...around 9:30! So we walked around the city, got some dinner, played some pool at an Irish pub, and took some goofy pictures.... good times all around!!

Normal faces: 

Serious faces: 

Smiley! 

Goofy!

We nerded out in front of the topography mural in the subway... 

The boys really enjoyed their authentic Philly cheesesteaks! Hahaha.

Philadelphia is a good 3-hour drive from home.... we arrived back home around 5:00 this morning. I drove. Man, were we beat! I dropped Trent off at his place, then Jake and I went back to his apartment. I was not going to drive the extra 40 minutes back to my house. We woke up off-and-on throughout the day, but didn't officially get out of bed (or couch, in my case) until 3:00 this afternoon - at which time it was decided that we were in desperate need of pancakes and hashbrowns. So we drove, in torrential downpours, 30 minutes down the highway to the nearest IHOP and ate enormous amounts of breakfast-for-dinner....then perused the cds at Borders...then went home. I got back to my house at 8:00 tonight... and I'm already counting down the hours until next Sunday, when Jake and I are going to see The Kills in D.C. siiighhh

I thought I'd be tired tonight and be able to fall asleep, but that is not the case... good thing Coachella is streaming live right now! Definitely going to be up all night!!

What NOT to Wear

This past weekend was, like, the best EVER.

Friday night I went out with a bunch of school buddies. Good times were had all around!

The only damper on our evening was a very...how shall I say this...scantily clad mademoiselle at the first bar we went to. You can't really tell in the photo (her inclusion in the photo was a total accident anyway), but here's the rundown of her "outfit" (if you can call it that):

- corset top

- "skirt" that literally did not cover all of the things it needed

to cover (read: we saw things that we DID NOT want to see)

- Fishnet thigh-highs

- stiletto heels

- baseball cap

- too much makeup

For anyone who was wondering how short I am.... Mark, to my right, is sitting down...and I am standing in all my glory! And look at Hannah, bending down to my level...and she's still taller than me! Hahaha! I never think about how small I am... until I see pictures like this!

Not to be totally mean, but the, uh, hills and crevasses on her thighs kind of hinted that maybe she should have worn a slightly longer skirt.... just sayin'. It was funny to hear the guys' commentaries on her get-up... the general concensus was that a "sexy" look definitely could have been achieved with MUCH more clothing!

Anyway. I was like, "Good thing I didn't wear the same outfit! I was going to, but mine was dirty." Hehehe.

So yeah, I didn't get home until around 2:00 a.m. on Saturday.... then I headed to Annapolis that afternoon to visit my bestie and go to the DC United vs. LA Galaxy game in DC. Super fun! Everybody boo'ed David Beckham (dreamy), which I thought was very unsportsmanlike....though I'm pretty sure he didn't touch the ball once. Hmm.

Those are my favorite glasses! Haha!

I spent Saturday night in Annapolis, and was planning on leaving fairly early on Sunday so I could do my take-home Karst Hydrogeology exam on Sunday (due Monday at 6:30 p.m.).... except Lani and I just had to go to the mall..... and I didn't leave for home until 8:30 p.m.! We were having too much fun catching up (haven't seen each other in 2 years!)...drinking lots of coffee, eating vegan cupcakes, going to all of our old haunts.... I got home close to 11:00 p.m., and got up at 6:00 on Monday and churned that exam right out! Took me 5 hours..... you'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now. (But, on the bright side... it took others in my class 10 hours start-to-finish). Urgh.

This week is pretty awesome so far... funky schedules mean I don't have to babysit much this week, some profs are at a conference in Seattle so a few classes are cancelled. I think we have a plan to go out Thursday night, since we don't have class.... and I've got plans with a certain guy on Easter! (Our plans have absolutely nothing to do with Easter...we're going to a Kills show in DC....it just happens to be on Easter haha). So....that's good. ♥

Hooray for awesome weeks, filled with good beer, good food, and good company!

Prepare yourself for some ridiculousness.....

Listening to: St. Vincent

Storyboarding

This is what I've been doing this morning....

...sketching and storyboarding my ideas for my final GIS project, which will be about Svalbard.

I had too much fun with the "to-scale" drawing of Predator X hehehe :-D

I'm so glad today is Thursday - its my Friday!

- Class 2:00-3:15

- Babysitting 3:15 ~ 4:00

- Gym 4:30 ~ 5:30

- Dinner...Subway??

- Class 6:30 - 9:15

then I'm freeeeeee!

Its going to be a great weekend - tomorrow is an official "Grad student imbibing workshop" (read: everyone goes to the bar for drinks, bought by the profs!), and Saturday I'm going to the DC United vs. LA Galaxy game with my bestie!! David Beckham...mmmm-hmmmm! :-D

I pretty much adore everything in the Billabong line right now, which has a cool tribal/Southwest vibe to it...

Images from billabonggirls-usa.com

I'm still recovering from this past weekend, and feel so lethargic! It doesn't help that the weather has been super-icky, either... today would have been a perfect day to stay in bed, but of course, I had to go to class. Bleh. At least I didn't have to babysit today! In my extra little bit of free time, I stopped at the mall on my way home and dropped some cash at PacSun, dreaming of sunny weather!!

Billabong Muelle tank

Black Poppy "Lexi" romper

Stencil Sparrow necklace

I can't wait for the weather to turn a little nicer so I can wear tank tops sandals!!! Its supposed to be in the 60s for the next week, but rainy pretty much every day.   :-(

Is there a certain 'look' you're digging right now??

Working hard, or hardly working??

I'm back from my weekend of field work!

It was amazing. We got a lot done. This trip was all about setting up - now that that's done, we can concentrate on collecting data....and beachcombing. ;-)

*WARNING - if you have a super-sensitive stomach, or if you might be offended by pictures of dead things on the beach, stop reading now. If you're fascinated with what Nature leaves lying around, scroll right on down. :-)

Jackie with her clipboard, Matt needed a rest.

We saw some interesting organisms.... beach mushrooms??

And that dolphin was really kind of cool...not as gross as you might expect!

I've got my fingers crossed that as these next few months go by, it'll still be on the beach and we can monitor how quickly it decays - it might be an interesting study to see what organisms show up around it! And... after its all said and done, it might be kind of cool to have a complete dolphin skeleton at the MSC.... 

Clockwise: Channeled whelk, beach mushrooms (?), Dolphin, Bay anchovy

Saturday afternoon, we were working on the northernmost tip of the island, a good 2-mile hike from where we had parked the car, when the skies suddenly opened up and it started hailing on us. There was absolutely no shelter for miles... ocean to our left (tide coming in ), and brush/scrub to our left with signs posting "Danger, do not enter: high explosives".... apparently NASA has some un-detonated explosives buried at that end of the island. So..... we hiked the 2 miles back to the car, and when we got there, the sky was blue and the people working at that end were like, "Why are you guys so wet??" Ugh.

See how we're leaning way back? That's how hard the wind was blowing at our backs.

Right after those pictures were taken, my baseball cap flew off my head at about 100 mph and went straight into the ocean....I was soooo upset - it was brand new! After we hiked back to the car, and the weather cleared up, we decided to drive on the beach back out to the north end....and on our way, I saw my hat washed up on shore!! It was pretty far north of where I had lost it....I was so excited to get it back! Now its officially "broken in". :-D