Hear You Me, My Friends

Today I woke up at 9:30 and really didn't want to go to my 10 o'clock class. I went though, and found out it was cancelled, along with the lab this afternoon. So I got out of bed for nothing. I really just wanted to sleep all day. I am way ahead in all my classes because I studied a lot when everyone was gone for Easter Break last week, and this weekend at home. I have felt kind of melancholy off and on the past couple of days. I know eventually I will feel better, I just wish everything could be easy all the time.
Anyways, I finally saw Atonement last week and totally loved it. I am now reading the book and it's pretty good. This week has been pretty boring so far. Monday I had my one class, and just studied the rest of the afternoon before going to work. After work I ran over to Jordan and Allison's to watch the new episode of The Hills. They really cleaned out their room, especially because of the mold infestation that happened in their refrigerator. Tuesday was a pretty busy day because I have a full load of classes, and I was working on two big articles. But I ended getting everything done in the end. Hopefully this weekend will turn out OK. Probably just hang out with friends on Thursday and Friday night, and then Kelley is coming to visit on Saturday, which will be good.

Spring Break Adventures.

Kip and I went to Austin last week during spring break, and we had a pretty kick-ass time. We left Dallas on Thursday afternoon, and got to Austin just in time to see Spoon that evening. It was at Auditorium Shores, and there were tons of people there. It was a good show, and they were one of the bands that I most wanted to see at SXSW. We get in the car to drive back to Kip's uncle's house, but we kept getting turned around downtown. Then we noticed a funny smell, and realized the car was overheating. It finally started smoking really badly, and we pulled into an apartment complex. We were there for an hour and a half waiting for the car to cool down. We encountered many drunk people, including a girl who was screaming that she hated Americans. Which was funny because she was American....we also saw many bikes, mopeds, and dogs. Interesting place, Austin. We finally got some fluid in the car, and got it to Kip's uncle's house. The next day we woke up and headed to Book People. They had so many cool things, but I was on a budget, so I could only get a few things. I got a really cool bag that looks like a cassette tape. I also got a book that is one of those "create your own adventure books." It is a create your own Jane Austen novel, and it is really awesome. Then we went to Cheapo Records, and then had Kirby Lane Cafe for lunch. Later that day we went to a nice mall, and I now really want an Ipod Touch for my birthday. I also got some Dippin' Dots, and they were pretty freaking amazing. That night we went to the Film Festival part of SXSW, and saw a movie called Assassination of a High School President. It was at the Paramount Theater downtown, and it was really cool. At the end of the movie they had the director, writers, and the main character come out for a Q and A, so that was really neat. Then we waited for the bus right outside the capital building, which is a really pretty sight at night. Later that night we went out for dinner with Kip's uncle at a really good pizza place. The next morning we had breakfast at Lonestar Kolache, which was really good. Then we did some more shopping, which included a really big Goodwill and Half Price Books. Then we had lunch at Chipotle, later to our dismay we found a Freebirds, which is amazingly more good. (I know that last sentence contained many grammar errors at the end.) The we went to this record store called End of An Ear, and when we pulled up there was this crazy band performing in the parking lot. The frontman decided to climb on the roof and then jump off. Onto a little stool. Only In Austin. At midnight we went to the Alamo Drafthouse to see Rocky Horror! It was my first time to see it. It was pretty awesome. The next morning we had to drive back early because I had to go back to school later that afternoon.

Tattoos, Sweet Tea, and Cops.

So I haven't updated this thing in like two weeks. Alot of stuff has happened in that time, so it's going to take like forever for me to write everything out. I will start with Tuesday night. It was an amazing night. I got out of class and just went back to my room thinking it was going to be a normal night. Then Jordan texted me and told me to go to the tattoo place with her, Allison, and Jeryca to watch Alex get her tattoo. So the four of us piled into Jordan's three seater truck. We always drive illegally around here, which is not smart at all. So we get to the place, and this is like 10 o'clock on a Tuesday night but there were already two people in front of Alex waiting to get tattoos. So we're walking up to the door and we see Alex run out screaming "hey it's my posse!" haha and she is totally drunk. We walk inside and we see Erin and Katie and James are all there too to watch her get the tattoo. So we hang out in there for like an hour, only to find out some girl had an appointment, so they take her before Alex. So it was going to be another hour, so we all decided to drive down to Caine's to get some foodies. So the four of us get into the truck again, and we're driving down North Street and we stop at a red light and see a cop sitting in the parking lot directly behind us. Crap. So we start freaking out and then somebody said for one of us to duck down, but then that would cause movement, so we all just froze. And then Jordan told me to lay down and look like I'm giving her a blow jay, so I go, "Ok just let me put my hair up!," which would make me look like a boy, which i thought would distract the cops, which would make no difference at all since there were four people still in the truck. but we all start cracking up because it was the stupidest thing that i could have said. haha. but we got to Caine's safely. Then we went over to Jenna's to have some fun. And I didn't have one sip of alcohol, but I'm pretty sure I was the one who seemed the most drunk. It was pretty funny. I did drink a whole thing of sweet tea right before, so I'm assuming that's why I was so hyper.

Criticism

I really don't understand why people are criticized for everything they do. I was waiting outside for my Political Science class to start this morning, where I heard two students talking about what was on the front page of the Pine Log today. One of them was Adam Key, and the other was a member of Young Democrats. The front page article was written by our editor, and it was about students who give their pets to local animal shelters at the end of the semester because they have no other place to put them after they are done with school for the semester. There were pictures of cute little puppies in the shelter on the front page, and another little article below it about volunteer opportunities at shelters to go along with it.
Anyways, these two guys were complaining because the front page story was about puppies. Well you know what, guys? It's her paper and she can put whatever the hell she wants in there. She spent time going out and talking to numerous people in the city to get information for the articles, and it's obviously something she is passionate about.
It seems like people who criticize the Pine Log, or the media around here in general, expect there to be some big ordeal every issue. It's a college paper, not the NY Times. I've looked at other papers published by the College Publisher Network online, the likes of which include Brown University, Occidental, and even Harvard Law, and the writing is generally the same in each paper. It doesn't matter what school you are at; the thing that matters is the effort put into the publication, and the work done by the staff. I get really annoyed by people I know at other schools, namely UT, that think that just because they go to a huge university their work and papers are better. I'm sorry, but I really think UT's image is puffed up. Sure, it is a good school, and I'm sure the professors are great and offer many good opportunities. But I've been put down by friends that I have there because they think that SFA isn't a good school. Well, I think I've proved everyone wrong, because it really doesn't matter what school you are at. The programs are generally the same everywhere, and everyone learns the same information. It doesn't matter what school you are at, it matters what effort you put into your time in college.
Going back to my earlier point, everyone is criticized for whatever they do. The minute you start doing something, you will be criticized for it. However, at least the people being criticized are actually doing something, as opposed to those who are just being overly annoying and protesting everything.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good protest, but only when those protesting are actually trying to accomplish something, and go about it in a productive way.
Anyways, I just think that people need to be more aware of their actions and criticisms.