Transitioning from Wordpress to Blogger back to Wordpress is like using translation sites

I'm on Wordpress now.
I will not be posting here anymore.

Getting there was like trying to translate English to another language, and then back to english:

When I switched to Blogger from Wordpress, the transition was not smooth. The captions on all the pictures were fucked up, among other things, but that was the most annoying thing to fix.

I just began the process of switching back to Wordpress, and I'm finding all the youtube links have disappeared, and images have shrunk.

I fixed most of it, but gave up on the rest and added links back to the original posts over here on Blogger.

The translations above entertained me so much, that I thought I'd try it using a ridiculous amount of language translations. Check it:

Anyway, check out my nifty new Wordpress blog (with an awesome new banner)

click it

This guy wants to rub some more back sweat on you

If you got back sweat rubbed on you at Home Slice a month ago, this guy wants to see you again.

Music Monday round 2

What a treat! I'm doing 2 Music Mondays on one Monday! (so long as I finish this one before midnight, otherwise it's irrelevant)

Tonight @ Mohawk - Viva Voce, Gang Gang Dance, and... others.

I decided to go to Mohawk after class today to see Viva Voce because they're wonderful.
Get a load of this:

Are they not wonderful? I think they're wonderful. Like I said earlier today, you can tell a great band from a good band (or a shitty one, for that matter) from how they sound live. Viva Voce sounds even better live, so I dub them great.

Before these lovelies came on, I heard a band that I wouldn't normally consider listening to. I had never heard of them before. Have you heard of Gang Gang Dance? They're an interesting mix between ethnic sounds of India and China with alternative and electronica. IT'S AMAZING. The bass made my whole body vibrate (that's what she said). There is a problem though, if you look them up on youtube, all their songs suck! Live, the vocals are glorious and haunting, but the recorded tracks just seem spastic and incomplete.

This is the best track I could find:

Music Monday Spotlight True Blood

I downloaded a few True Blood Soundtracks.

Don't write me off yet, though! If you don't happen to like, or have never seen, the series, I bet you'd like some of the music featured on the show. Whoever they have as their Music supervisor (or whatever you call the person that picks music) is a friggen genius. Take, for example, the theme song:

Jace Everett "Bad Things"

Not only is the song amazing, but the visuals are stunning. I don't know what the south is actually like, seeing as I've never been anywhere but Austin, but this video depicts exactly how I visualize it.

Allow me to supply you with some more examples of True Blood's amazing song selection:

Gil Scott-Heron "Me and the Devil"

I've never heard of this person, but Gil Scott-Heron is definitely going on my download list. The backtrack is amazing, and his voice is haunting. Not to mention this video mesmerizing.

Cary Ann Hearst "Hells Bells"

When I heard this song for the first time, I almost thought it was Ashlee Simpson singing it, and boy am I glad it's not! Now I can consider this song a pleasure, without the guilt. Cary Ann Hearst is weirdly beautiful. Another down on my download list.

BlakRoc "What You Do To Me"

THE BLACK KEYS HAVE A HIP-HOP PROJECT! Sorry, I had to put that in caps because I was unaware of this! I know, someone as obsessed with the Black Keys as I am should know these things, but I had no idea! This song is making me blush.

Massive Attack "Paradise Circus"

I love Massive Attack and I cannot believe I haven't written about their song Teardrop before (the theme song to House). The singer's voice is haunting and sultry. She sounds like the little sister to Audrey Hepburn, and the lesbian lover of Grace Potter. None of that is true, obviously. I want to jump ber bones, though I've never seen a picture of her.

Dr. John "I Don't Wanna Know"

Of course the first hit I get for this song is a True Blood mash. The live version is even better than the album track, and I love that. You know a true artist when they're better live, and Dr. John is indeed a true artist.

Little Big Town "Bones"

The beginning of this video is entertaining because you can hardly hear the girl, so it kinda looks like she's singing with a man's voice. Now, I didn't used to be into Country. I always thought every country song sounded exactly the same, and I still do, but I like that sound now. This one gives me goosebumps.

Neko Case & Nick Cave "She's Not There" (Zombies Cover)

I am ashamed to admit that I recognize this song from Glee. I am not ashamed to say that Neko Case & Nick Cave do a MUCH better job with it. I like it even more than the original Zombies version even. It fits perfectly with the True Blood series.

CC Adcock & The Lafayette Marquis "Bleed 2 Feed"

 

Here's another going on my download list. It's like a cross between a California Surf song, Louisiana back-yard porch hoe-down, and Austin Texas Rock 'n Roll. I dig it.

Is it just me, or do all of these songs make a curiously erotic playlist? Oh my, I have found myself blushing again.

Vice... on Acid

I have never done acid, but imagine it to be a throwback to the 60s, where everything around you is tie-dye-esque and monsters crawl out of peoples' noses, and other such things. I also thought that acid was illegal everywhere and trips weren't broadcasted to the world over the internet. Then again, Hunter S. Thompson existed.

Vice Magazine, founded in Canada and based in NYC, is among my favorite (online) magazines because the articles are witty and entertaining. I just discovered today (via Tumblr) that Vice Magazine UK has a series of articles depicting various activities done on acid. Uhm, excuse me - what? What makes it even better is that the author is named Jamie Lee Curtis Taete, so at first glance I imagined Jamie Lee Curtis doing acid in the UK at Fashion week, which could have been more entertaining than the actual article.

She's got arms growing out of her legs.

The first in the series was a trip to a theme park... on acid. The read is mildly entertaining, but nothing spectacular. The guy that actually does the acid definitely looks like a guy that would be on acid. I was unaware that theme parks were open while it's raining. You learn something every day.

Dude on acid - looks like he's on acid.

At one point they go into one of those aquarium tunnels where you're surrounded by fish swimming over your head and such. That's probably the most entertaining part. The dude on acid tries to explain "how many levels of 2D were making up the 3D image," but they don't go into that much, which is disappointing.

Holy shit moment?

The second in the series is a bit more entertaining: spending a the night in an abandoned military base... on acid. Terrifying, no? No. Hilarious, actually. The second guy they get to do the acid trip (see what I did there? play on words, because it's a trip and he's gonna trip) also appears to be a guy that would do acid. In fact, he looks a lot like a guy I knew in San Francisco that I assume has done acid.

I look like a guy named Zach

Look at that. I want to do that. I want to sit on an abandoned tank. Let's go spend a night in a military base! No. It's terrifying... if you're not on acid. This BAMF walked around holding a leggo torch (that's what the Brits call flashlights) and explored attics, poked a dead sheep, walked around a giant "people eating oven", and was never phased by creepy sounds coming from the ceiling or strange people driving around them in circles playing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" while shinning torches in their faces.

Yeah, lemme explore this hole in the ceiling alone. I don't give a fuck!

The third in the series features the first guy that did acid, and could have been my favorite of the series, if it didn't suck so hard. This guy decided to interview KEVIN SMITH on acid. I mean, it's Kevin Smith. He's on my list of heros (which could be a blog entry in the future) for such films as Jay & Silent Bob, Clerks, Dogma, and everything else he's touched (aside from Jersey Girl). So how could this not be great? Well, the greatest part is when Kevin strokes the interviewer, and the fact that he's talking non-stop while the interviewer is staring at his shiny face.

[This is where I would normally embed the video, but I can't seem to do it on Blogger (time to switch back to Wordpress) so yall are gonna have to go watch it on Vice's website]

"Kevin Smith took away my high."

In the third article, we get to see a girl do acid at London fashion week. This was the first one I read, seeing as the Tumblr linked me to it. This one was awesome. She meets some celebrities that couldn't give a FUCK about her, and she gets bad vibes from them. Then, she sees Kelis's ass and gets the good vibes going again. Really, I couldn't put it into better words, so go read it.

The latest in the series is Druids... On Acid. This time Jamie Lee Curtis takes a break from journaling, and lets Tom Watson take over. Really though, why wouldn't you do Druids on acid? Why would you do Druids without acid? I don't really know what a druid is, but they appear to be some religious congregation in white robes chanting about spiritual things. So really.

"That was such a nice trick." "I have no idea what that meant."

"Hippies make so much sense when you're high" could be my favorite line in all the articles. I mean, it's obvious, but grand.

"That was the pointiest thing I've ever felt."

Watson ends the article saying "It turns out spending time with friendly people wearing nice white robes in a nice park on a sunny day on acid is actually quite a pleasant experience." That's about the sum of it. Nothing spectacular.

In all, the series is mildly entertaining and worth a read, but nothing mind altering or even spectacular. The initial shock factor that these articles exist is more shocking than the actual articles.

I meant this to be an honest comparison of ATX & SF, but I ended up homesick.

I am about to explore Austin and San Francisco through my twitter feed, because obviously my twitter is the BEST source for this comparison.

When I first got here in Austin, I was so excited about living in a place that could quite possibly be weirder than SF. I found several similarities between the two. In fact, I’ve found constant truths between the two:

Yeah, they’re constantly everywhere. Everywhere.

---

I’m fairly certain that the Pacific in NorCal is the same temperature as Barton Springs.

---

People say amazing things everywhere.

---

There is an abundance of food carts in both ATX and SF.

---

This happened in SF, and is a regular occurrence in ATX.

---

People everywhere have melding body-parts and make terrible fashion decisions.

More after the jump

Everyone already knew, I knew, except I didn't know

I've come to a decision that will most likely not shock anyone that has ever met me:

I've decided on my minor, which I plan to begin ASAP:

Portuguese.
There. I said it. It's done.

Know what this means?

VIVA BRASIL!
(I'll be doing my study abroad in Brazil in 2 years)

Emo(cionado)

I'm getting extremely lonely, depressed, and homesick. Excuse me while I ignore my dear blog for a while.

Movie Monday (on a Wednesday)(Deux)

This theme of losing internet at home every other week is not really to my liking. I've been snatching internet from Rio's down the street, where I'm becoming something of a piece of furniture there: constantly doing homework on my laptop. I'm currently at Austin Java, between classes.

This week's Music Monday has been amended to a Movie Monday (including some music), because I have dedicated it to Disney Channel. You remember, those movies you love to hate and hate to love (but you know you love them). If you're my age, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If younger, you probably missed it all-together. If older, this would be the equivalent to that of Miley Cyrus and Justin Beiber to my generation: annoying as all hell.

Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century

"Supernova Girl (Zoom Zoom Zoom)" Protozoa

I'm now realizing how awful these lyrics are. The movie was pretty stellar though! I haven't seen it in years, so forgive me if I'm fuzzy on the details: Zenon is kicked off the space station (space stay, I think they called it) because she was getting in the way of some master plot to take it down (is that right?). She goes to stay with her aunt on Earth, where she's unaware of the customs and fashions of earthlings (I think they had a name for people that live on earth, other than earthlings). From Earth, she has to save the Space Stay from destruction. Her only hope is her favorite Pop star, who is leaving for a concert on the Space Stay (a concert in which Zenon won an on-stage dance with the pop singer in some contest). Raven Symone is in it!

Motocrossed

"Top of the World" The Juliana Theory

Well first of all, this movie follows a girl named Andrea,  so how could I not like it? Obviously it's going to be the best Disney Channel movie ever. I even allowed people to start calling me Andy after this. The dude Andrea's got the hots for is pretty damn hot. Andreas have good tastes. I still don't get how she got away with pretending to be her brother. I mean, nobody caught on. How does that work? Oh, Disney.

Lifesize

Lindsay Lohan & Tyra Banks!

A barbie (obviously Tyra) comes to life when a girl (Lohan) wishes(?) for it to happen. I think that's how it went down. Look how cute and innocent Lindsay was! I always forget she was one of those Disney girls.

Smart House

"Slam Dunk (Da Funk)" Five

How old are these kids? 13? And they're having a house party? With a guest list? My parents didn't let me go anywhere when I was 13 without speaking with a parent. I suppose the Smart House lady could have talked with all the parents... She was a devious scoundrel, after all. In case you're completely in the dark about this glorious film, it's about a house that is inherently smart. She can make the walls change, make nutritious breakfasts, catch the morning paper and bring it in, etc. Eventually, I think the house took the family hostage and I don't remember exactly why. If you watch Pretty Little Liars (among many of my guilty pleasures), that kid is Ian. I swear he was in almost every disney channel movie ever made.

Johnny Tsunami

go big or go home.

There was a solid period of time when I thought this was how all Hawaiians talked. I was also under the impression that skiiers were uncool, and I decided then and there that I wanted to learn to snowboard. Yes, folks, I hopped on a board because of Johnny Tsunami. I wanted to be an urchin (that is what the snowboarders were named, right?). P.S. Is that not the chick from Zenon???

Honorable Mentions

Rip Girls

The opposite of Johnny Tsunami

Stepsister from Planet Weird

Phantom of the Megaplex

Tonight @ 8/7c, on Disney Channel!

The Luck of the Irish

Kid from Smart House (and Pretty Little Liars)

Double Teamed

that name sounds wrong.

Cadet Kelly

Get a Clue

Lindsay Lohan is a detective!

Cheetah Girls

Didn't they turn into a real group after this? Isn't that the chick from 3LW?

Brink

I love the chick in this.

Sade & John Legend

From Austin Bloggy Limits:

Well Austin, you should expect a spike in birth rates around June/July 2012 because tonight, the legendary,Sade will be performing at the Frank Erwin Center with John Legend playing the opening slot and somebody's gonna get pregnant. If you sit through a full Sade set and you don't want to have sex, you should probably talk to your doctor.

I could not have said it better myself.

Seriously, folks, donate me some tickets.

Texas Fires

The Atlantic, The Statesmen, KXAN, and Boing Boing have put up galleries of photos from the fires across Texas. These fires (especially the one that swallowed Bastrop yesterday) are visible from space.

09/05/11 Bastrop, TX (Reuters/Mike Stone) via The Atlantic

UPDATE
Look at this video from Bastrop State Park, showing how quickly the fire is spreading


More images after the jump.

CA Prop 8 Supreme Court Hearing (9/6)

The CA State Supreme Court Oral Argument on Prop 8 (same-sex marriage) will be televised and streamed live online tomorrow (Sept. 6th) at 10am PT.

Music Monday: Austin Pride Festival!

It's Austin Pride Festival this Saturday (9/10)!

I'll be volunteering at the parade (9:30am-noon) and at the festival (2-4pm), so yall should holler! I'll find out Wednesday at the volunteer meeting what my assignments will be.

I have no idea who any of the performers are at the festival, but AGLPF just posted a festival mixtape, so check it:


I'm stoked for this weekend. The festival is $12 in advance, or $15 at the door. I think there's a service fee on the advance tickets, so you might as well pay at the door. I get in freeeeee.

Bees

Today the bees were going nuts for my dress. I had one on me while I was eating my lunch, and I got up and started shaking my dress to get it off, but it was too persistent, so I started running around the courtyard and spinning in circles to try and outrun it. It finally flew away. Of course, nobody knew there was a bee on me, they all probably thought I was crazy. A little baby walked over to me and started bouncing, as babies do when they dance. I thought it may have just been trying to get to my lunch (a scrumptious chicken wrap), but then I ran into this about an hour later:

Bees on Guarana: we're all fucked.

Allow me to tell you a story. I've told this story about a gazillion times, so those of you that know me have probably heard it before. But as Celine says in Before Sunrise, "I think I can really fall in love when I know everything about someone; the way he's going to part his hair, which shirt he's going to wear that day, knowing the exact story he'd tell  in a given situation. I'm sure that's when I know I'm really in love." I know yall love me.

When I was about 2 years old (not entirely sure what age, somewhere around 2), I was playing in the yard. I found a stick, and then I found a hole in the ground. Being the genius that I was (and am), I started poking around the hole to make it bigger. All of the sudden, a fleet of bees rushed out of the hole, and into my onesie (something like this). I believe I was allergic to bees (I haven't been stung since, so I'm not sure) so I started swelling up to about the size of Big Red Bird. Mama was gardening in the back yard, so she didn't get to me with the swiftness of a Cheetah on crack, but our dog at the time - a Golden Retriever named Samantha - arrived promptly upon my first voice-crack of a cry. She ripped off my onesie and pulled all the bees off my skin. I've been told several versions of this story, and everything thus far has been consistent (except my Mama says it was wasps, not bees. Details.), but I'm fuzzy on what happened next. My sister says Mama picked her up from school, and took her with us to the hospital. Mama says I wasn't hurt badly enough to go to the hospital; she gave me enough Benadryl to knock me out, and I was just fine. Either way, Samantha and I were my sister's Show-and-Tell the next day, and I ended up with an epic story.

Needless to say, I have a fear of bees. I mean, I don't freak the fuck out when there's a bee near me. I can calmly brush one off as to avoid getting bitten or stung, but my heart races and my mouth goes dry. I've made peace with the bees. They're necessary in this world: pollination, honey, awesome costume option... I just don't want them around me.

As of about a year ago, Mama is a bee keeper. I think she's got 9 hives now. Those bee hives are a few blocks from home, though, so I can rest easy while visiting. She's so good to me. I'm proud of her. She's saving the (non-africanized) bee population in Marin County, and helping scientists do good research on bee health across the country. PLUS I get free honey. Fun fact: local honey is really good for those with allergies, because it's got all the local pollens in it and allows your body to build up protection from those pollens before they can affect you. Unfortunately, honey from her bees are no longer local for me, seeing as they're 1500 miles away from Austin. C'est la vie.

Music Monday (Top 15)

A reoccurring theme has risen: Favorites. I'll be the first to admit that I normally use this word lightly, when talking about my favorite movies, music, books, etc. (Except food. Everyone knows Rice is my absolute and only favorite). I have several definitions of the word, in regards to different situations: mood, location, company, etc.

HOWEVER, there are a few songs that have withstood the test of time and have remained on my internal list of favorite things for a long enough amount of time that I can officially deem them favorites. Essentially, this is my list of songs that I (so far) have not grown tired of, and do not anticipate to anytime in the foreseeable future. So, without further adieu, these are the 15 songs I'd choose if I could only listen to 15 songs for the rest of my life:

"Moondance"

from the album Moondance

"All the nights magic seems to whisper and hush"

This is a constant in my life. Whatever mood I'm in, I can turn this song on and instantly feel at least 10x better. It's not about the lyrics so much as the instrumental elements complimenting Morrison's captivating voice. He could be singing in gibberish, or just humming, and I would still consider this to be my favorite song of all time. If it weren't called Moondance, I'd say it makes me want to dance on the moon, but now it just sounds corny and predictable. The music captures the essence of what it feels like to dance under the light of the moon. It makes me feel beautiful.

"(Sittin on) The Dock of the Bay"

I feel like I'm home when I hear this song. I know I just left San Francisco, and I'm supposed to be working on making Austin my home, but I know my place is in San Francisco, just not right now. I have to explore before I can go back home. When I hear this song, I'm taken back to the San Francisco Ferry Building, where I used to sit on the dock and watch the ships go in and out of the bay. I'd stare at the Bay Bridge and wonder where everyone was going, and about everyones life stories. I think about these things a lot, you know; what others have gone through to become who they are. I'll see someone drive by and I'll wonder about them. If there's anything sacred in this life, it's a story.

"The Con"
from the album The Con

I don't know what they're talking about. I know that pain, though. The kind of pain where everything going on inside your head - your emotions - really only make sense to you. You try to get it out, but nobody gets it. It's one of the loneliest feelings I can think of.

"What I Got"

from the album Sublime

"Life is too short, so love the one you've got; cause you might get run over or you might get shot"

I have this distinct memory of hearing this song in my Jeep (back when it was my mom's) with my big sister. I was singing along to some other song - probably something gangsta, cause my sister told me to stop singing it - and she turned this one on, and taught me the lyrics. I was probably around 8 years old. It was the same day my sister put her foot out the window and a motorcyclist drove by and pinched her toe, scaring the shit out of her. If not for that golden memory right there, I love this song because it helps keep me grounded.

"Don't Stop Believing"

from the album Escape

This song follows me everywhere. It all started about three years ago when my friend started playing it over and over and over in my car. From then on, I'd go into a grocery store and hear it. I'd go into a clothing store and hear it. It started playing on tons of TV shows I was watching. I'd hear a kid sing it on the street. I started watching Glee, and it was the first song they sang. I started going to Giants games last year, and it became their theme song...

I decided it was all in my head. It was probably playing everywhere before I ever noticed it, since it is a damn popular song. Then I saw this in my Spanish class today:

"Joy to the World"

from the album Naturally

"If I were the King of the world, tell you what I'd do: I'd throw away all the cars and the bars and the war, and make sweet love to you"

I used to sing this in Tennis practice. It got to the point where I got tons of others to sing along with me because I sang it every day. It kept up morale. When I feel like singing, I sing this song. This, or either of the Oscar Mayer commercial songs ("My bologna has a first name" and "I wish I was an Oscar Mayer wiener").

"Loud Pipes"

from the album Classics

"Dada dada dadadada. Dadadada da dadada. Dadadada da dadadada"

This song gives me goosebumps and heart palpitations. Ratatat gave the second best show I've ever seen (nothing will beat RATM for me). This song is pretty self explanatory. It's awesome.

"That's All"

from the album Genesis

"Just as I thought it was goin alright, I found out I'm wrong when I thought I was right."

"I could say day, and you'd say night. Tell me it's black, when I know that it's white."
"I could leave, but I won't go, though my heart might tell me so. I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes."
"Turning me on, turning me off; making me feel like I want too much."
"Running around, staying out all night. Taking it all instead of taking one bite."

This is how all of my relationships, if any could legitimately use the word, end up. I get tired of people quickly, and they usually get tired of me even faster. We end up arguing about nothing, and obviously I'm always right (even though I know I'm wrong). I keep with it, optimistic that my head is just trying to push this person away and I'll get over it, but I end up completely numb. I don't like or dislike this person, now that they're a constant. So I abuse myself physically and emotionally, just trying to feel something again. This is why I don't do relationships.

"The Freshmen"

from the album I've Suffered a Head Injury

"When I was young I knew everything"

"I won't be held responsible, she fell in love in the first place"

"My best friend took a week vacation to forget her, his girl took a weeks worth of Valium and slept"

"For the life if me, I cannot remember what made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise. For the life of me, I cannot believe we'd ever die for these sins; we were merely freshmen"

"We've tried to wash our hands of all of this. We never talk of our lack in relationships"

"Road to Nowhere"

from the album Little Creatures

"Would you like to come along? You could help me sing this song"

Yes. Yes, I would like to come along. I grew up on this song. I grew up on the whole Little Creatures album. My mom had a very select few cassette tapes for the Jeep, and this was one of them. This, some Bob Marley, Joe Walsh, "Soul Sisters", Portishead, Aerosmith, and Shawn Colvin. That was it. All those, over and over and over and over again for years. I still listen to all of them. I still have no idea what the dude in Talking Heads is saying in half of his songs.

"Unwell"

from the album More Than You Think You Are

I can relate to the whole lyric, so I shall paste it in a scrolley box

All day

staring at the ceiling making friends with shadows on my wall.

All night

Hearing voices telling me that I should get some sleep, because tomorrow might be good for something.

Hold on

I'm feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown, and I don't know why.

But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell

I know, right now you can't tell

But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see

A different side of me

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired

I know, right now you don't care

But soon enough you're gonna think of me

And how I used to be

Me

I'm talking to myself in public, dodging glances on the train.

I know

I know they've all been talking 'bout me, I can hear them whisper, and it makes me think there must be something wrong with me

Out of all the hours thinking somehow I've lost my mind.

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell

I know, right now you can't tell

But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see

A different side of me

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired

I know right now you don't care

But soon enough you're gonna think of me

And how I used to be

I been talking in my sleep

Pretty soon they'll come to get me

Yeah, they're taking me away

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell

I know, right now you can't tell

But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see

A different side of me

I'm not crazy I'm just a little impaired

I know, right now you don't care

But soon enough you're gonna think of me

And how I used to be

This song vocalizes my neuroses. Pretty much all their songs are relatable, especially those in Yourself or Someone Like You: Real World, Long Day, 3 AM, Push, Back to Good, Argue... I'm not ashamed to say I really enjoy Matchbox Twenty. I think Rob Thomas is a good singer, and [most of] their songs are golden.

"Under the Bridge"

from the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik

"Sometimes I feel like my only friend is the city I live in"

Ok, I realize this song is supposed to be about drugs or some shiiiiiiit like that, but for me it represents a connection to the environment you're in. Where ever I am, I find some sort of connection to keep me grounded there. In Auburn it was the train tracks. San Francisco had the hills over-looking the city through the fog. Austin, I have yet to find my connection. I think it might be the lake (river). I could sit for hours staring at the water. All of these elements are unique to the cities in which they lay. They may not be unique features in regards to the existence of hills, train tracks, and lakes in other areas, but train tracks don't have the same effect in Austin as they do in Auburn; there are no other hills with the same views as those in San Francisco; no other lake is like Lady Bird. I get a natural high from these features. I find bliss, contentment, and relaxation from them. I realize I'm a dirty hippy.

"Iris"

from the album City of Angels

"And all I can taste is this moment, and all I can breathe is your life. Sooner or later it's over, I just don't want to miss you tonight"

We've already talked about what happens in my relationships, but I find this song vocalizes how I feel. I find that when I'm in a relationship, I already have the mindset that it's over. It's a blessing and a curse. It allows me to enjoy it for what it is, and let myself flow freely; but also keeps me from allowing myself to make a real connection. I give my whole self to a person, without ever opening up. It leaves me feeling lonely, but stronger all in the same.

"The Girl"

from the album Bring Me Your Love

On a completely opposite note, this song makes me want to fall in love. Dallas makes it sound so simple, being in love. I love all of the songs on this album. Constant Knot almost replaced this song in my list, but I felt I needed something more optimistic. Wating... and Sleeping Sickness are both also beautiful songs. Go download the whole album. Do it now.

"Boston"

from the album Midwest Skies and Sleepless Mondays

"I think I'll start a new life; I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name. I'll get out of California, I'm tired of the weather."

Whenever I was feeling down, I'd listen to this song to remind myself how easy it is to just leave. Then, it was easiest to relate to this song because Boston is so easily changed for Austin (except for that line about the snow), but I find it still has the same stigma for me. I'm not planning on leaving, but it's comforting to know that I have the option. I need to be able to feel free.

And there you have it. My favorite songs.