I failed you, Phil. ;___;

But how could I not knowing I'd be leaving this behind?

Except not really, I just lurk the blogs a lot now. But I haven't posted a blog in like... 9 months? And I missed my fifth Threadversary like a month ago. Womp womp.

Anyway, hey, what's up? How are you? I miss you guys dearly and wish all of you were going to Chicago this year. :(

In the time I've been absent from the blogs I've come a couple semesters closer to finishing my undergrad degree (finishing this December!), I got a job, boyfriend, and I started a band. Here are my bandmates:


Modifying Gameboys to make music is a somewhat useless talent, but it turns out it's extremely rewarding. And you can listen to this song I just finished with them, it's probably the best thing I've ever made!

That is pretty much a recap of the past half year for me. Tell me about your past half-years and cool stories, bro!

How do college-aged kids manage to be so irresponsible?
I'm currently trying to deal with a group project that's moving at snail's pace even though we present this coming Monday. That's not the issue, though. The issue is that only 4/5 of us have actually been doing any work. And the bigger issue is that we all have to sign a piece of paper describing what we personally contributed to the project.
I kind of took up the reigns in communication between all of us since after a certain point it became obvious that nobody else was going to do it. So far I haven't been about to establish communication with our fifth person.
I'm actually pretty sure I've never even SEEN him in class.

Now the big problem is that part of our project grade is determined by this sheet of paper that details what each of us contributed to the project. Each member has to sign it. I'm kind of afraid it's too late to go to the professor, but I really don't want my grade to suffer over a missing signature.

Group projects are CRUEL.

The relationship-y kind.
How do I fix it?
Can you all teleport to my house and give me a hug?

What concerts are you going to?
What bands are you gonna see?
I want to discuss live performances and junk 'cause I'm into that. Let's talk about how cool band X is in concert.

Concerts I have recently been to:
Pixies - 9/22
Pavement - 9/28
Guided by Voices - 9/30

Concerts I have planned:
The National/Owen Pallett - 10/08
Los Campesinos! - 10/23
Jonsi - 10/26
of Montreal - 11/03
Fun Fun Fun Fest - 11/05-06
The Octopus Project - 11/20

This fall is busy in terms of shows. Let's talk about muzaks!

Errythang.

Thanks to everyone for being so accommodating even after I haven't been around the blogs in such a long time. It was incredible seeing you all again and meeting a lot of you for the first time, and I hope with all my heart that we all make it back in a year's time.

Thanks to everyone with a smartphone for taking on the leadership roles.
Thanks to the lovely staff for putting up with us all weekend (plus some days) and organizing such a kickass meetup.
Thanks to Alvin for letting me stay by his side for the entire weekend, start to finish.
Thanks to my room for being the best room I could have asked for.
And thanks to YOU for going and allowing me to hang out with your pretty faces.

Seeing everyone once a year isn't really enough to satisfy me, but the few days we get to spend together mean more to me than you'll ever know. See you all next year!

But I thought I would post a blog to tell you all about a pretty cool concert I went to yesterday.

Jónsi, the lead singer of Sigur Rós recently embarked on a solo tour around the world and are playing shows in North America for the next month or so, however, there were no dates scheduled in Texas. I was pretty bummed when the tour dates came out and there was not a single one near me, and my boyfriend was devastated, having been a long time fan of Sigur Rós. The nearest date was in Lawrence, Kansas, but that's easily 11 hours away from Austin. So after debating for a while, we finally came to the conclusion that we would make the trip up because we imagined it would be worth it.
And it turns out it was so worth it, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

The show itself was fantastic. It even inched out Radiohead for my #1 concert experience of all time. I adore Jónsi's record and everything else he's released as a solo artist, but seeing them live is ENTIRELY different from listening to them recorded. It was the most passionate music-related thing I have ever witnessed, hands down. Each band member was elated to be there and to be playing with each other. That much was apparent by the way they interacted.

It was a total visual masterpiece as well. The setup was creative and had beautiful projections of animals and various nature-related things on a curtain covering the entire back of the theater. I've never been so stunned by a concert setup before. I was literally left with my mouth agape most of the time.

After the show, my boyfriend and I decided to stick around the venue to see if we could get a shot at talking to the band. After about 30 to 45 minutes, we started losing hope, when all of a sudden this British guy approaches us and asks us if we're waiting to meet Jónsi. We replied yes, and he then asked us if we'd like to join the band and some other people at Jónsi's birthday party. Dumbfounded, we manage to get out another yes and we follow him backstage where all the magic happens.

I won't bore you with the rest of the details, but they include some pretty kickass instances where we meet the band, and I get to talk technical with them about mallet keyboard technique, and we watch Jónsi get a lapdance by a gay stripper.
And OH.
MY.
GOD.
So unforgettable.


To recap a very long blog, I met Jónsi, a musician I hold in high regard, and I am still pretty stoked about it.

Hi guyz, I need some advice.

Yesterday was kind of a nuts day, where I had to set up a stage on campus where a one "Girl Talk" would be playing that evening. Me, being the ungraceful idiot I am, tripped over a cable that was on the edge of the stage (about 8-10 feet off the ground) while going to plug in a speaker, and I landed on the light truss system that was being readied to be hoisted to the top of the stage (they look like this in case you haven't seen one before).

I managed to get out of it with only some sick bruises and bumps, but today I've started having some horrible back pain that flares up every forty minutes or so and renders me immobile. I don't really know what to do about it, but it's unbearable, so I thought I might come to you guys for advice. Any tips on how to lessen back pain? Would dissolving epsom salt in a bath help this kind of thing?

( ._.)

Because I don't understand.
Anything.

Texas Education Board Approves Conservative Curriculum Changes By Far-Right

Sometimes I feel like we take too many steps backwards.
Sometimes I hate this state.
Most of the time I just can't wait until I can get the hell out of here.