goodbye winter

Goodbye winter. I know you don't want to go because the ground is still wet from your snowy tears. I'm sorry, but it just isn't working out. The sun is calling me, and I'm going to Texas. When I get back, you better be gone for good.

It's still freezing here in Nashville. It keeps snowing, even though it's not sticking anymore. Needless to say, I'm going to back to Texas for spring break! In just two days until I'll be making my way to Austin.

Last weekend I got to go to Lindsay's home in Ohio. The ground was covered with snow when we got there and stayed for the weekend. I loved getting to go see where she grew up and spending time in her home with her parents and pets (ellie, cricket, and fat mike - the biggest cat I've ever laid eyes on).

On Friday night we went to see the CCM's (Cincinnati Conservatory of Music) musical, Anything Goes. It was a pleasant surprise when I found out a friend from home, Christine (who is a freshman at CCM), was in the show! CCM did a great job and it was great to see Christine perform with other equally talented actors. We talked briefly after the show.

I'm officially two weeks into my facebook/twitter fast, and I'm loving it! It actually has been that difficult. I spend my time doing other things that are actually more enjoyable than surfing people's profiles (although that can be a lot of fun sometimes).

The past couple of weeks have been productive but not that exciting... hence the lack of words on this thing here called a "blog." I'm reaching for words here - and for that, I'm sorry. When I think of something that might be mildly interesting to expound upon I'll be sure to share.

Peace, Love, and Texas,

annexious

how I spent my saturday night

introducing Zane the sock-hipster:

with his favorite people:

xx

texanne

looking forward

So in my last post I said I was a little stressed out (a lot stressed out) about future stuff... now I'm back in chill mode. Why? Because I have so much to look forward to. First off, let me just say it is beautiful in Nashville right now. It was 50 degrees. Much needed break from the cold... people were playing frisbee on the quad earlier. We walked around Radnor Lake. So refreshing.

Anyway, what I was really stressed out about when I wrote my last post were my summer plans. I had a lot of options, but only some were solidified, and there were pros and cons to everything... I finally decided (yesterday) that I'm going to work at Kanakuk this summer. I'm really pumped now. I'm going to be doing videography for six weeks at one of the kamps. I'm going to be around a bunch of other college students and around a bunch of kids with tons of energy (which will keep me energized). I'm looking forward to the experience and being back on familiar turf... I was a kamper there for five years myself. I also look forward to writing letters and being pen pals with lots of people.

What's really exciting is that two weeks from this moment I will be arriving in Austin, Texas for spring break. A bunch of us are going to the deb ball that Jane is in and then we are gonna hang at her ranch for a couple days. Even the Ohioans are coming! And my roommate, Molly, who lives in Fredericksburg. And I get to spend the second half of the week at home. It truly is the best of both worlds.

Just a few weeks after Spring Break I will probably poop my pants. Why? Because Molly, Jane, and I (and anyone else who wants to come) are going to see Sufjan. SUFJAN. SUFJAN STEVENS. He isn't playing his own set, but he is playing with a band called Clogs. So what. I will be seeing Mr. Sufjan Stevens in the flesh. If I could scream in a blog post, I would. This is probably what it would look like:

as;djfha;sldfja;sldgjasghaskghs;kaldgkjasl;kgjals;kgjasl;kgjaskgj;lkjiwjk
vmknvmcbnvc,mbnv,mbncvmbsifqoijfslfkjba;lidgjel;wdapsojaklfkpoafj

xx

pannecake

P.S. I officially gave up facebook/twitter for lent. So far, so good. Life feels much more free. And Molly Rodg and Thomas are on facebook leaves of absence too! Woo!

rambling

I've been pretty stressed out recently just thinking about the future and things I need to get figured out regarding the future so I can live in the present. But tonight, after getting a bit overwhelmed, I just started thinking about the past and everything I miss while I'm here in college - not that I don't love Belmont (in fact, I love Belmont, and you can probably tell that from all my other posts).

I miss:

1. the warm texas heat. nashville, the first couple of snows were cool (it was only last week that I was saying I wouldn't mind another blanketing of snow), but now I'm getting a little bit miserable in the cold.

2. brent, austin, mom & dad. I talk to my parents a lot, which is good, but I only talk to my brothers occasionally. they're all in dallas. I'm here in nashville.

3. my grandparents. my grandma writes me letters all the time (I got two last week alone!) and I talk to them on the phone often, but it makes me just want to see them. I'm named after my grandma, and I'd love to be anything like her. she is probably the most warm-hearted, loving, optimistic and unselfish person I know.

4. europe. I got to travel there with 30 some-odd friends this past summer. I miss the places. I miss the people. we had a reunion over christmas break, which makes me miss them even more. I miss the gryffindors the most. just kidding. but seriously, we sorted all the to 30+ people into harry potter houses. we were that cool... okay, yeah, it was my idea.

5. video tech family. I worked rock showcase at belmont this last weekend and got to do camera-op, which was incredible, but it made me miss all the people I spent the last four years of high school with in classroom G209 edit rooms A-F. I miss mr. preston: the best teacher in the world. I miss working the film festival in dallas and talking to all the filmmakers who were working hard to get their films out there. I miss being able to go to all those screenings alone without feeling self conscious at all and talking to the strangers next to me in the theater.

6. good records & the polyphonic spree. owned/operated by the same people. i miss volunteering for the holiday extravaganza shows and dressing up as an elf. singing/shouting out of joy into the microphone. high-fiving the flautist.

7. trips to jenna's farm in mineola, texas. playing the alphabet game. four-wheelers. attempts at making scary movies. karaoke. line dancing. cornhole. roman candle wizard duels.

8. dora the explorer (my old car). I miss using a wrench to turn on the lights. I miss holding the stereo with my right arm so the CD wouldn't skip and driving with my left hand. I miss picking up karen for school while blasting polyphonic or eisley (depending on what phase I was going through). I miss driving to my horrible parking spot on the ramp going to no where junior year//backing into my horrible spot around the corner senior year (hoping every time I wouldn't get hit).

The list goes on and on... don't know why I felt the need to blog this. I guess one of my new years resolutions was to blog once a week, and while I haven't been blogging that regularly, this blog has been a good outlet for whenever I do need to get something out of my system... or feel like I have something to share that someone else might enjoy reading about. I don't know.

Blogs really are self-indulgent. Look at me! Read what I have to say about stuff! Blah blah blah blah. Same with twitter. Same with facebook. Except I feel like blogs require some more thinking. They are longer than the 140 character updates you post for @everyone to read (and hope that one of your "followers" will find entertaining or insightful). Unlike facebook, there isn't any kind of etiquette that you need to know... you can write whatever you like.

We are technology addicts. We are "social networking" addicts. I'm on facebook, twitter, linkedin, last.fm... list goes on and on. But none of those really require me to think. They are time wasters. They're fun, but I know that I don't get anything out of them.

I'm sorry this blog is really turning into a rant. It's more me being upset with me and how I'm spending my time. Unlike all those other sites, blogging does feel worth my time because writing is fun. I haven't really had to write much for school yet. That's why I started this little doodad: to have a reason to write and to have a place to organize my thoughts into sentences. This post isn't really organized at all and is a horrible example of that. In fact the majority of this post is grammatically incorrect.

Maybe it will be really hilarious to read this blog twenty years from now. But right now, I'd love to have something else to read. So, I'd encourage anyone still reading this post (doubtful) to start a blog and then promptly tell me where to find it. I want to read it. I probably love reading the blogs of people I know (and don't know) more than I love writing this crap. Which is what it is. Especially tonight. Crap.

apologies,

unorg'anne'ized

p.s. maybe a facebook/twitter break is in order for lent. anyone want to commit to it with me?

snow

I am from Texas. North Texas. We freak out when it snows, let alone when snow sticks. This year, it snowed on Christmas Eve in Dallas and stuck (less than .5") the next morning, so we had a White Christmas. My favorite mug and Elvis enjoyed it:


Last weekend, though, it SNOWED in Nashville. I mean, because I'm a Texan, I felt like I was in a blizzard. We're talking 4-5" of snow. Snow that you can pack into a little ball and throw at someone. Snow that you can turn into an actual life-size snowman.

I'm dreaming of a white campus...

This was just the beginning (around noon last Friday). It kept snowing through the night. People sledded down the huge street next to the parking garage, going off ramps and injuring their tailbones for years to come (unbeknown to them, as they weren't really feeling anything at the time...).

On Saturday, I went to downtown Franklin, a little cute city right outside of Nashville, with Lindsay, Thomas, and Nichole. Although most the stores were closed due to the icy roads us southerners don't know how to handle, it was great to see the town covered in snow.

It's funny that we were in New York a few weeks ago and the weather was relatively warm when we expected it to miserable. Now that we're back here in Nashville the biggest snow storm in years hits (and it's supposed to snow again this weekend)!

"[Nashville] looks lovely in the winter time -
all the sidewalks are white as snow..."
-Much Farther to Go, Rosie Thomas
(original lyrics say New York instead of Nashville)

cherish the snow!

xx

snowmanne

cherish

This past week has been quite the whirlwind.

Over the three day weekend, I went on a short girls trip to New York City with Molly Rodg, Selbs, Linds, Janearoonie, and Midi. It was great – we saw the sites, we navigated the metro, we walked the streets (until our feet fell off), we ate good food, and we enjoyed each other’s company. That was really what the trip was about – enjoying each other’s company. Some of the best moments were had when we were just taking it easy in the apartment.

However, one the most striking things we did while in NYC was visit the World Trade Center Museum. Quotes from survivors describing the pain from 9/11 lined the panels. Short videos explained the importance of the twin towers to NYC and how they functioned as a community in and of themselves. Missing person posters lined one entire wall, and I began to individually look at all of their faces. One particular individual jumped out at me. She was smiling and laughing at the camera, as happy go lucky as she could be. For all I know, the picture could have been taken just a week before the attack.

The next day, shopping around Soho, the two Mollys and I walked into a cute hat shop. We began talking to the owner of the store, who proceeded to tell us her story. Linda, an English woman who had also lived in Venezuela, Holland, and New Jersey, had spent many years working Wall Street. One day, unhappy and dissatisfied, she quit and started bartending to support herself while she worked on her business plan for The Hat Shop. Now she was living her dream. She told us to pursue our dreams – if you want to be a street sweeper, be the best street sweeper you can be. People will notice and respect you for what you do. Figure out what you’re passionate about and pursue it. You can take tests that will tell you where your skills lie and what you’re good at, but they won’t tell you what you’re passionate about.

We returned home Monday afternoon from our journey, that night, I found out my roommate and beloved friend Molly would be withdrawing from Belmont and moving out shortly. While I completely support her in her endeavors, and understand her reasons for moving forward, life at Belmont will not be the same this semester. I will miss her a lot.

On Tuesday, school started back up again. It was difficult to try and get back into the groove while telling people Molly was leaving. When I came back to the room, I found out an acquaintance from high school had passed away in a car accident the night before. While I wasn’t the best of friends with Raegan, I did know her, and she was a great girl.

That afternoon I called my mom just to talk and tell her what was going on. I started crying, and it felt good to just get it out. I can’t remember the last time I cried—it might’ve been years ago.

What I’ve taken from this past week is this: cherish every moment. People come and go. Life is quite the rollercoaster. I have hope that God knows what He’s doing, although a lot of the time I really don’t understand. Last semester was interesting, and I thought a lot about life, friends, and God. It’s weird. Right now I find myself at a standstill where I want to grow in my faith, but am reluctant to jump in with two feet, not knowing where to start. I find myself wondering what I should do with my life on earth – wondering what I am passionate about and how whatever that passion may be could serve a greater purpose. It’s a lot to think about.

New Yorkers, although I now have a greater grasp on what happened that day, I will probably never be able to completely comprehend the pain. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Linda, thank you for the inspiration and living the dream.

Molly, this is just the beginning. Thank you for being the best bunkmate I could’ve imagined and making last semester what it was. Thank you for introducing me to everyone I now love to spend time with at Belmont. I owe you a lot. See you soon.

Raegan, I vividly remember our chemistry class. I loved joking around with you, Alejandra, and Andrea. While the class may have been boring, our table certainly made it hilarious. You were a light, and will be missed here on earth.

love to all,

anne

one person, one hour

People always ask the question "if you could sit down and have dinner with six people, who would you choose?" Well, I think that's a loaded question. It gives you too many choices, and just because you are going to have dinner with those people doesn't mean you'll have great conversation. Since one of my favorite things is visiting local coffee shops (I sorely missed the all of the options available to me in Nashville while I was home over break), here's my revised version of the question:

If you could sit down, share a cup of coffee with, and talk to one living person in the world for an hour, who would you choose?

Me? I would choose the one and only Sufjan Stevens (pronunciation: soof-yawn stevens). To me, he is one of the most intriguing men in the world today. Also, in my opinion, he is the greatest songwriter of our age. He transcends "genre." He can write a folky heart-wrenching singer-songwriter style song, like "Casimir Pulaski Day", or he can write a symphonic-extravaganza like "Chicago". If you listen carefully, you can hear his faith jump out in his music, but it doesn't shout out at you like CCM artists of our day. Last fall, he went on a short tour in the US (unfortunately, he didn't stop in Nashville, and I couldn't make the drive somewhere else). Pretty much every date sold out within the first couple of minutes they went on sale, and that was with a 2-ticket limit per person. He also played relatively small venues, which showcases the fact that he values the artist-audience relationship. Not to mention that there is no typical Sufjan "fan." I've met so many different types of people that value his music. He also keeps good company himself - one of my other favorite artists, St. Vincent, played guitar on tour for him. He collaborated with yet another great individual by the name of Rosie Thomas on the album These Friends of Mine.

I have 186 Sufjan songs in my library. Usually it's quality, not quantity - but with Sufjan, you get both. I never grow tired of listening to him. And I would never grow tired of listening to him speak if I had the chance to sit down and talk to him. He's not a sore sight to look at, either.


Who would you choose?

xx
sufjanne