a night in

i spent the night in this evening for some much needed down time. i feel like i've been on the go since sometime mid-march, and while i've had my moments to sit back and relax, they never last too long. it seems that there is always something to do these days.

i've been in the new place for almost one month now. i'm settling in the best i can amidst a slew of maintenance nightmares, or i suppose just one that has become quite the chore. it's definitely had me bogged down the past couple weeks and my moving excitement levels took a massive hit because of this. there is still a couple piles of boxes left to unpack sitting in the corner of my dinning room and a tub of decorations with no-current decided home. once my bedroom closet and bathroom are all put back together in one piece i'm hoping that the unpacking bug will bite again, but for now it's slow goings.

i'm stressed thinking of how much busier i'll be in the month to come. it seems i have something going on every week. between dentist trips, car repairs, tests, and weekend classes, i have my work cut out for me.

so tonight i stayed in, and it was lovely. i did some yoga, had some lunar ale's, laid on the couch and read all night long. it was just what i needed to unwind and push out of my mind all the stressful things that have been crowding my thoughts lately. it feels good to be reading again, even if it is something slightly silly. i can't remember the last time i read a book. sometime in the fall maybe? this is part of what i want to do with my life. how do i always let you slip away so easily? tonight was good. i need more nights like this.

new

I'm sitting in my new apartment amidst piles of boxes and the scatterings of my life. Currently enjoying some Lil' Guy chips and a pretty fantastic genius playlist. i love Genius for constantly reminding me of bands that i love but so often, unfortunately, forget about.

For the first time in my life I am living, not only by myself, but without an animal companion. It is weird to say the very least, but not as difficult to adjust to as i had originally worried, though i may have to get a kitty cat. after 3 days of unpacking it finally looks like i've made a dent in the unpacking process, instead of just making a larger mess. i can't wait until all these boxes are cleared and gone so i can get to the fun part, decorating.

i've somehow ended up with a pretty open summer schedule with only one weekend class scheduled and one very dumb writing proficiency test to take. it is my absolute goal to take complete advantage of all my spare time and utilize it to the best of my ability. first, i need to make out my summer reading list and hop to ingesting all of the lovely words i hope to read. second, i need to spend all the rest of my time writing and writing and writing.

ah summer.

spring.

It's the 22nd of March, the third day of Spring, and I haven't updated this here journal since mid January because, well, life has been busy. I'm sitting at home here on this beautiful Monday night, procrastinating on homework instead of playing outdoors, quite unfortunately so. the first day of spring got off to a rough start here in the Midwest, 6 or 7 inches of snow unloaded upon the city. but while i walked home in the wee hours of Saturday morning with snow invading my flats, by Sunday evening the warm temperatures had returned, and by mid afternoon today the snow is but a distant memory. I think that Spring is finally here.

By weeks end I'll have turned a year older. Twenty-Seven this time. I suppose it's a scary thought, because I don't want to be older. But I don't feel it in the slightest, so I guess it doesn't bother me much.

I feel that the Spring is going to be good to me. I'm on the great search for my new home, the first one that will be truly my own. the prospect of having a place be all mine is truly uplifting, and i spend most of my time thinking of how i will decorate my currently imaginary new home. i love my current apartment, and i will be sad to see it go, but it's time for a change and I'm truly excited.

the end of school is finally in sight and i feel as if an enormous weight is about to be lifted off my shoulders, even if it isn't until December the thought is still liberating. i have no idea what to do when I'm finished, but I'll cross that bridge when i come to it. with grad school on the horizon I'm sure to be a professional student, so I'll have a while to figure things out.

right now I'm just ready for warm weather, short shorts, jellies, favorite long drives, and my upcoming 6 days of freedom.
twenty-seven, here i come.

stress

i'm having a stressful day. i'm frustrated with life. some days i curse myself for not having the courage to pursue my life when i was younger. it's difficult being 26, trying to go to school, work a full time adult job, and have a life. i work at a job that steals all of the hours of my life 5 days a week. while it affords me to have the money to live it doesn't afford me the time. attempting to squeeze your life into the hours of 6 to 10 is nearly impossible. sleep gets sacrificed, friends ignored, homework put aside. when am i suppose to have time for me? time to do the things i need to do? time to just sit and read a book? all the time everyone else seems to have. by the time i get home and eat dinner, it's nearly time for bed.

i never feel as if i can relax. there is always something else i need to be doing, someone else to see, someone to call. i'm envious of people who go to school full time, work part time, and actually have time to do their homework and see their friends and live their life. i want to have to opportunity to finish school so i can continue on with my life. which is yet another ailing problem on my mind.

i have four hours of time every night to fit my life into and the looming near future to be pondering what to do with.

stress.

two suns

i went home last night with relaxation as my only goal. i spent the evening primping and pampering and curled up in my bed with a cup of coffee. so, i'd have to say "goal achieved". unfortunately though my dear ladies have all been sick recently and I now think i'm coming down with something too. i decided to not care what anyone thinks and brought my aroma therapy bed buddy to work today. it smells something like lavender and burnt rice, but it makes my lower back feel a little less uncomfortable, so i'd say it's worth it. i'll spend the rest of the day sipping hot tea and keeping up on cold medication. my family is coming to visit me this weekend, which is amazing since it's never happened before. so hopefully I can hold off this sickness, at least through the weekend.

i bought a new camera last weekend and i'm getting anxious to put it to some use. i'm a longtime, satisfied fujifilm customer and my first time canon purchase is making me a bit nervous, but i'm sure i'll love it. it'll just take some getting use to. hopefully the frigid temperatures will subside so i can finally put it to use.
some

i purchased some new tunes last night that i'm pretty excited to listen to today. somewhere along the line i fell behind in regards to keeping up with new music and most of all with keeping up with the artists i already love. due to general business and time and distance constraints i've found it hard to make it to a music store and i've found it hard to become use to digital music purchases. no longer do i have to pick and choose from what the record store can offer me, i now have it all at my finger tips. i could have it all! alas, i don't think that my pocket book would be too happy with me though. so, i have a lot of catching up to do. last night i became the proud owner of the following:
~bat for lashes-two suns
~devendra banhart-rejoicing in the hands
and
~orenda fink-ask the night
so far i've only managed to listen to bat for lashes, which was probably the purchase i was most excited about. fur and gold is one of my all time favorite albums, this purchase has been a long time coming. i love it so far, but i already knew i would. here's a video for your viewing pleasure:

Bat For Lashes, "Glass" (Live @ Bowery Ballroom, 4.30.09) from self-titled on Vimeo.

holidays complete. new year begun.

I've successfully completed and survived the holidays and a new year has begun. we've been receiving more than our fair share of snow here lately and there is still more on the way. I found myself snowed in at my mothers over the Christmas holiday. I spent my time in captivity sitting in my pajamas, sipping coffee, eating cookies, and enjoying free cable. It felt cozy to be relaxing in my old living room and made it more apparent to me that my new home still doesn't feel like home. i miss that feeling of comfort, I've found it hard to really ever be at peace without it.

it's a new year and looking back I'm proud of all the leaps and bounds i made in 2009. Though I'm still not the person i ultimately wish to become, there is a lot of work to be done and i am well on my way. I quit making resolutions sometime ago, but if I were to make one this year it would be to continue with all the work from the last years. It's gotten me this far.

drink and be merry

coming back to work after having four and a half days off is very difficult, especially when you are feeling a bit under the weather. i suffered through two cups of terrible tasting work coffee and then moved on to spending time with my new favorite tazo tea Organic Apple Red. also, i have substituted werther's originals for cough drops because of their obvious advantages in tastiness. yumm.



i spent the weekend making baked christmas goods, watching christmas films, and looking at christmas lights. it was a good use of 4 days off and definitely made me miss life before forty hour work weeks and eight am mornings. maybe there will be freedom again one day. irregardless, i am excited to give everyone their presents. i think i did really good this year. i've been in the holiday spirit more this season than i have in years and that has definitely helped to calm the nerves.

i'm excited to go home tonight, drink a glass or two of wine, listen to some Frank, and wrap some christmas presents. it sounds incredibly relaxing and now that the shopping is officially over that is all i want to do; drink and be merry. the year is almost over and it's time to look ahead at all i want to do next year and all the changes i want to make. time to formulate a plan. when 2010 hits, i'll be ready.

<3