Music Monday #10 [but really tuesday...]

So this is the second week in a row I forgot that Monday was designated for Music Mondays. I miss those, so I decided I'll just sorta write yesterday's Music Monday today, despite the fact that it is Tuesday. Don't judge.

This week I have a weird song, that I sorta found by accident.

back at school, back at school .

It rained this morning. How fitting, how appropriate, that those little droplets would fall from the sky on this grotesque Monday morning that we start classes back up on. It certainly feels weird to be back. Weird to see so many people all over the place again, weird to hear southern accents again, weird to see Sperries and visors again. It ain't my thing, but hey, I was the one who chose to go to school here so that's kinda on me. Regardless, rain and having to walk in it is no fun. Luckily, 'twas but a sprinkle this morning.

back at school .

Welcome back to Clemson, Greg. Welcome back to due dates, deadlines, tests to study for, and work to do. Welcome back to late nights with no sleep, and welcome back to hot humid and sticky weather (even though it's not here yet, I know it's coming). I've never felt so apathetic about school. Maybe it's because I went home for break that I don't want to do anything. But with only a month left, and some grades in certain classes that I definitely need to bring up, I don't think I have a choice but to try as hard as I can to stay focused and motivated.

leaving and fort mill .

It was cold today -- not terribly cold, but definitely chilly. And yet, the sun still shone brightly and lit up the vibrant blue sky. Newark airport was empty, relative to the times that I've come back to Clemson before. Perhaps it is because Clemson's spring break seemed to be a week later than everyone else's. And yet, there we were anyways at the airport.

last day at home .

Well friends, it's here. The last night spent at home in Jersey. Today started off real slow, but let's be real -- no one is ever going to complain about sleeping in. It's weird, knowing that break is already almost over. The first few days were slow, which was great! And yet here we are, with those last few days flying by already. It's weird how it always seems to be that way, how once you get past the halfway point everything suddenly jumps to hyperdrive and before you know it, the moment has passed. It's nice knowing that there's really only a month or so left of school once we get back to Clemson, but I have to say, I'm certainly not motivated to get through that right now. My mind has drifted elsewhere in the past few days, ready for a time when I need not worry about that next assignment I have to do for studio.

nyc revisited .

Was looking through my pictures from the other day, and thought it might be enjoyable to just post them up here for all to enjoy. Also, music is provided while viewing :) vv

lazy days .

Every once in awhile, people need a break. A break from the everyday hustle and bustle, and a break from everything that's outside. Today provided that opportunity in full force. I woke up to the sky raining, after having snowed for the morning. Josh found this absolutely unbelievable, given that it's March and almost April, when most weather in South Carolina is at the very least, in the 50's. It was neat to at least see a little dusting of snow on the ground -- definitely made me feel like I was at home.

NYC .

I think I will always have a special place in my heart for this city. It's something truly special, and going back today was absolutely great. The difference in lives as you roll through North Jersey and into Newark, and then eventually New York City itself is drastic. You see the urban habitat slowly build itself up and suddenly you are blinded by a series of tunnels as you make your way into the heart of the city, a fact unknown by the unsuspecting train passenger.

accents .

They're all over, and almost define the people that come from that area. One of the great things is that it's almost something that you always carry with you that you can't get rid of. After going places on vacation and even spending time in NYC where you get tons of international people and all of their accents are pretty noticeable.

a busy beginning .

Well, day 1 of spring break 2011 is complete. And boy, in the last 48 hours, and ton has happened. This time Friday, I was sitting doing German homework, trying to get it all done so I wouldn't have to do it over the break (fun fact, I got it all done). After leaving at 3am to get to the airport, well, it was a very long day.

time lapse .

So originally my flight to go home was set up for Saturday evening, in the off chance that I would end up with a ton of studio work to do that required modeling and me being there at school in order to do it. Instead, I basically just ended up getting screwed without a ride to the airport. It didn't occur to me that most people would be gone on Friday and not even be around Saturday. Obviously it makes sense now...

nightmares .

I was watching a video about Travis Pastrana a week or so ago. Travis Pastrana is one incredible guy -- he's absolutely fearless, and I've never seen anyone go so hard and so big and work so much in one sport -- or in his case, like three. He is one of the most determined people I've ever seen in my life, and it would be an absolute honor to meet him at one point. I wish I had that kind of motivation in anything, let alone something I really enjoy. He puts his all into it. But, that's really not what this is all about. I mentioned that the guy is fearless -- yet it was presented in the movie that he has night terrors -- some of the scariest frightening things you could ever imagine. It's absolutely unreal. And so I got to thinking about this separation between dreams and reality.

facebook-less .

Social media. It's addicting, no lie. It lets you keep in touch, but there are also games, pictures, videos, "likes," fan pages, and all that other jazz. It's almost as if you can get to know someone simply because you've added them on facebook. It gives you reason to talk to them in person and become their actual friend. I remember back when I had a facebook and it was always, meet someone, go home and add them on facebook.

childhood memory .

While I was on the way home from Charleston, I began to write a letter to my parents. If you know me, you know I'm not really a big fan of them. Basically, it's a sort of forgiveness letter of sorts. It's something that I'm going to work on over years, something that will be the last thing I give them before I move out completely on my own. I'm not really sure what inspired such a writing, but I really just have a desire to do it. Basically though, I ended up thinking long and hard about all the things that went on during my childhood and every little instance that I remember from when I was really young, and slowly moved chronologically forward as such throughout the early period of my life.

just some thoughts .

As soon as the thought of girls having cooties vanished, I remember the first girl that I liked. I remember the first girl I even thought was cute. Since then, I’ve always sort of had a thought in the back of my mind that I wanted someone by my side, someone I could call my girlfriend, and someone who would eventually blossom into the girl I loved unconditionally and that loved me unconditionally back. I always have had a sort of life to-do list. And I fully intend to complete that list at some point if I can.

Music Monday #9

This week I have a new personal favorite that I just recently discovered -- The Frames. Headed up by Glen Hansard (a favorite artist of mine, and the main character in the movie "Once") The Frames is one of the bands that Glen has participated in, in addition to Swell Season and others. The Frames is made up of a bunch of Irish guys, and I remember hearing about them a long time ago, but I guess at some point along the line I forgot who they were. So, now it's been reborn.

sunday .

We went today to a church called Seacoast. Actually, I wouldn’t really call it a church. It’s more of a youth center of sorts, that at the same time houses people of all ages and backgrounds. I’ve realized over the past few years that I’m very stubborn about what I do when it comes to religion, and I’m extremely particular about what I do on Sunday mornings. Maybe it’s just that I don’t like change… but I think to some degree it is also that I just have a strong sense of exactly what I want in a service, or in the Catholic case, a mass.

the charleston experience .

So we began the day during the middle, at least not as early as we would have liked I'm sure. It was nice to be able to just lazily wake up and enjoy the morning a bit (and by enjoy I mean basically sleep through it for the most part). By the time we got out the door, it was probably after noon, and honestly I have no problem with that in the least. It was nice to not have to immediately worry about homework on a Saturday.

Weekend road trip .

It's Friday, and today was interesting -- It's strange when Dave isn't going to be there for studio because it seems like I don't even have a class. Which of course, is fine with me. But my mind was really on other things. There was a trip to Charleston planned for this weekend. Taylor graciously invited the apartmates home to Charleston (but not really Charleston) for the weekend. She likes to say she lives in Charleston, but it's really Mount Pleasant, which is right near Charleston :).

iPod at night .

A long long time ago I decided one night that I was going to listen to my CD player while I went to bed. It was great. I don't know why, but it was just calming to listen to some tunes when I fall asleep. Maybe it's just about unwinding after a long day.

ash wednesday .

Today is Ash Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras, or fat Tuesday, and for those of you who are not Catholic, this is what begins the season of Lent. Despite the fact that Lent is only officially a part of Catholicism (to my knowledge anyways) it is widely celebrated as people across the country give up things, fasting and making sacrifices.

things i read on the walls .

If walls had ears, would they listen? If they had mouths would they talk back? It's no secret that people write on things that they're not supposed to: bathroom stalls, trees, desks, tables. Sometimes it's carved in, sometimes it's just written. Sometimes it's wisdom, sometimes a Bible verse, sometimes just a funny picture. Call it what you will, and I suppose in reality it could be considered vandalism. But in all honesty, I love reading all the stuff that gets put up there. Sometimes, it's just really inspiring and interesting. So as I sit here in Cooper, and it's cleared out more or less since it's pretty late, so I am going to now go sit in a cubby and just write down quotes from the messages on the walls. Enjoy!

Music Monday #8

So anyone who's been around the apartment within the last week or so could tell you that I've renewed my obsession with Paramore. For a long time a year or so back it was all I would listen to, and the combination of musical styles they've become today is mind blowing. Hayley Williams is truly an inspiration to me, and assuming she writes the lyrics, speaks straight to the heart. I can identify with a great number of their songs, and the buildups and vocal strength that she has gives me chills when I listen.

Check it out:

sticky notes .

What a lovely invention. To my knowledge sticky notes were actually made by accident. Call them what you will; post its, stickies, sticky-notes, etc. They're awesome. So convenient, and great for leaving notes. Although the best thing to date regarding sticky notes is probably the digital ones that you can either add to your desktop as an app, or have in your dashboard as a widget (pc users may not understand the mac-speak, but that's okay, it's rather irrelevant).

i've been behind .

School is getting intense. There's always so much to do, and so little time to do it in. I'm currently doing worse in my classes than I've ever really done in my life -- which is not to say I'm doing terribly or anything, but I'm definitely not where I'd like to be. German is kicking my butt, and I just feel so overwhelmed with the work for studio. It's not that each class is completely ridiculous -- I suppose it's just more of the combination of all of the classes that pile work on top of each other. I don't think I'll ever live to see the day when teachers realize that 2-3 hours of work per class period is a ton.

waho .

Tonight was a bit on the stressful side, for a number of reasons. Unexpected things hit you and unexpected things happen. Things bother you, and whether that's a little or a lot, it's present.

But by the time things quieted down, Jordan, Josh and I had only one thing on our mind -- food. We decided it was time to make a waffle house run.

Day 100 .

It's the 100th day of blogging. I'm gonna be honest, I never thought that I'd be a guy to blog it up all the time. And yet, here I am, still going every day. Sure, I miss some days here and there -- but in the end, I always make sure to make it up in the end. I really think it's going to be incredible to look back one day and see all of the things I went through, experiences, events, trips, life changes. Even just my thoughts will be interesting to see on various issues.

photography .

I've always had a bit of an attachment to photography. I've never gotten a really nice camera or anything, and I've never really gone out just to take pictures. But I definitely like toting my camera around to important events and vacations or trips. Recently, since I've started picture of the day, it's neat to always have my camera on hand for those events that just need to be captured on film (or in my case, a memory card...).

my brother .

I'll be honest, we've lost touch a bit. Although at the same time, it's sort of a mutual understanding that we're cool. It's kind of weird the way guys are in that respect -- you can not see a buddy for months. But once you hang out, it's like you never left. Granted, I should be closer to my brother by default since I have lived with him so long. And yet, when I leave for school, we seem to drift somewhat.

Music Monday #7

Apocalyptica. I honestly don't remember how I stumbled upon them. Perhaps it was in looking for some classical music. Allow me to explain. At some point, I was really into the string instruments, and just wanted some classical inspirational music to listen to while I fell asleep (I have a habit of plugging in the headphones as a drift away to dreamland...). Well, either way, I stumbled upon Apocalyptica, and was very interested in what they were all about. It really took me by surprise, that cellos could be used in this way. And so here you have it: hard hitting riffs that lead to driving beats and all of the above that goes into a rock song. It's quite impressive.

spring break .

This year will mark the first time I might actually do something fun for a spring break -- in all the years that have gone by, I can't think of one where I've gone on vacation or done anything fun. Sometimes I'll work, other times I'll just lay around the house...