The Great American Condom Campaign

The Great American Condom Campaign sent me a present!  I'm officially a Safe Site for this semester, and I've got the goods to prove it.  

The purpose of the GACC is to spread knowledge of safe sex practices to college campuses and to help make condoms more available to students.  As I've made more friends through school from different backgrounds I've come to realize just how unstable our country's sex education system really is.  There's a lot of misinformation out there, and thanks to the GACC I've got a stellar opportunity to help work on this issue!

This week I'll be working on whipping up some fact sheets to hand out with the condoms.  I'm so excited about this!

Happy Thoughts for Thursday

Absentee ballots!  If there's anyone here who lives in the lovely state of Illinois and is planning on being out of town in 42 days, absentee ballot applications are officially up!

Cold weather.  It's time to break out the boots, scarves, and sweaters.  I'm in heaven!

Nice teachers.  So maybe I'm failing one of my Spanish classes.  It's only temporary, because the teacher is fantastic and will let us redo assignments and quizes as many times as it takes to get them right.

Deadlines.  I've been running around like crazy for the past few weeks trying to assemble all the pieces I need for scholarship applications.  The deadlines are this weekend, which means that I have one less thing to worry about after they're done!  Of course, then the deadlines for schoolwork will start rolling up.

Concert season.  It's getting to the time of the year for band concerts!  While I miss being up on the stage, it's just as fun to sit in the audience and listen to what all my friends have been working on.  Also, there's something about walking home from concerts and being slightly too cold that really resonates with me.  So far this year I've been to two concerts, and am going to a play tomorrow, and another football game next Saturday, which means more music!

Practice time.  Possibly as a result of all the concerts I've been attending lately, I've been really motivated to practice.  I'm pretty sure that I've practiced more this week than I have in the last month.  This week I've been leaving the dorm early to practice before class, which works out really well since the music building is on the way to my other classes; however, I end up sitting in class afterwards wishing I was still practicing.  There are worse things in the world to daydream about though.

Marching band videos.  I don't know why I just found this; this is from the last game of the season last year.  

Knitspiration: Teal

source

source

source

source

source

Elvis Perkins in Dearland

I don't know why I never listened to folk music before this summer.  I also don't know why I know all the words to this song, when according to my itunes account I listened to it for the first time yesterday.  Was it in a commercial or something?  Maybe it was on someone else's playlist this summer.  Anywoo, I'm really impressed with the Elvis Perkins in Dearland and his band.  The music is good, the lyrics are good, and look!  A trombone!  Winners.

Lazy Sunday

Today has been really lovely.  The weather is perfect; it's a little chilly, but the sun makes up for it.  I'm cuddled up in my bed catching up on homework after yesterday's football game.  I got sunburned from sitting in the stands all day, but the game was fun and we won, so I don't mind too much.  People were saying that it was the best game the team's had in three years.  I don't know too much about football, but it was pretty exciting.  

As of right now, this week looks like it'll be a lot less stressful than the past two have been, especially if I can get things done today.  Here's to productivity!

Now that it's finally getting cold out I can wear this dress.  It's slightly too short for bare legs, but is perfect with leggings.  It's also a little too tight for moving around a lot in, but it works perfectly for lazing around in and doing homework. 

Happy Thoughts for Thursday

Doing the macarena.  The long version!  Last weekend I attended a food-oriented "around the world" party.  In what was supposed to be South America the macarena was being looped.  After half an hour of talking over it we decided to do the darn dance and turn the music off.  Did you know that that song is incredibly long, and that it just keeps. going. on?  Still, dancing to it is always fun.

Playing secret agent.  Stalking is hard work.  So is college.  Sometimes taking the time to play stupid games is important to sanity.

Rollercoasters.  Speaking of college being difficult, the band somehow finagled a trip to Cedar Point last weekend.  So we got to spend a day riding rollercoasters, eating overpriced food, and generally having a good time.  Let me tell you, I love rollercoasters, and I had a blast with my sectionmates.

The thoughtful comments on yesterday's post.  I appreciate the time that you all took to write those out! There are some novels down there.

Crossing things off to do lists.  Of course, there's always more on the to do list.  It feels good to check things off, even if those things are small and insignificant in relation to what needs doing.

Interesting conversations.  What could be better than a discussion where you don't know what you're talking about half the time?

Football anticipation.  I definitely do not feel prepared for this Saturday's game.  Yet, I'm starting to get very excited about it!  I may not know what's going on down on the field, but I love being up with the band.

A question

I have a question.  I want to clarify before I begin that this isn’t stemming from some sort of personal vendetta against love or men; I just want to understand where my ideals are coming from.  According to Every Chick Flick Ever, the path to happiness involves a guy.  Sometimes the story ends in a wedding, sometimes a kiss.  Either way, you know that that girl and that guy are going to be together for quite a while.  They’re made for each other after all, right?

What I want to know is, what is the point of relationships?

Is there a reason that people want boyfriends and girlfriends?  

There’s one school of thought that goes along the lines of thinking that a boyfriend is the stage before husband, that the point of dating is to practice for marriage.  Well, I don’t really want to think about getting married right now, so that theory’s out.  (My thoughts on marriage are another matter to contend with).  

Another theory that I like better is that a boyfriend is someone that you want to spend time with, that you enjoy being around, and trust.  So other than physicality, what then differentiates a boyfriend from a very good friend?  

Is it love?  Because a majority of my friends want boys that they like to be their boyfriends, not boys that they love.  Love takes time to develop.  But what if you only ever like said boy?  What if love just never happens?  Then was all that time spent together wasted?  I suppose the answer to that depends on what you see the purpose of the relationship to be, which takes us back to the original question.  

Is the whole point of being in a relationship with someone only for social purposes?  Calling someone your boyfriend puts them in a box where they’re untouchable by other people, which implies that you don’t trust them enough on their own, that you need to be able to claim them to feel secure in the relationship. 

Taking another detour, what is a relationship other than a series of interactions?  Technically I have a relationship with every person that I come in contact with.  Some relationships are just more valuable to me than others.  So is the purpose of romantic relationships to give order to the other relationships in life?  To create a hierarchy of importance?  Maybe I don’t want to have to proclaim to the world who I enjoy spending time with.  Maybe I just want to be with the people that I like, and let things happen as they will.

I really wish I could end this with a definite answer, but I don’t have one.  I’ve been thinking about this for months, and the answers aren’t coming any clearer.  I suppose I should confess that this is motivated by more than just curiosity.  There exists a boy whose company I have been enjoying a lot of late.  My friends are pressuring me to confront him about the state of our relationship.  But how can I ask him for an answer when I don’t understand what the question is?

Does anyone have any thoughts to contribute?  

Other places

I have a post up over at Laughing With Broken Eyes as part of Amber's You Are Perfection feature.  The feature is running for the rest of the week and promises to be pretty interesting!

Living Things

For my 13th birthday I was given a cd for a band that I had just discovered through the wonders of MTV.  It was Meteora, Linkin Park's second cd.  Soon after that I bought Hybrid Theory, their first cd. Those two cd's got me through middle school.  Life was a little rough then.  I would put my cd's on in my room and get lost in the music.

As the band's style has evolved and my tastes have changed I've found myself not spending very much time listening to them anymore.  When I heard that they had a new cd out, I couldn't even bring myself to put down some money for it.  Now, what kind of a fan does that make me?  

I finally bought the cd earlier this weekend, and I'm glad that I did.  While still retaining a lot of the newer electronic feel they've managed to come back to sounding more like they did when I first started listening.  I'm happy with this cd; I'm starting to remember just why I always loved this band so much.  If you've got a spare minute, give it a listen, especially if you miss Meteora-era Linkin Park.  They're back!  

Happy Thoughts for Thursday

Giggly Roommate.  Roommate giggled for two hours straight when she got back from her 21st birthday outing with some of her older friends.  It was adorable and infectious.

Siiiisters.  Pronounced "seesters".  This past week has been full of fraternity events and sisterly bonding.  My sisters are a great group of girls, and I love that I get to spend so much time with them!  

Roller coasters!  The marching band was supposed to play for an away game this weekend, but the athletic director forgot to call the other team and make arrangements, so now there's no away game this year.  Instead, we're driving 4 hours up to Cedar Point to ride roller coasters all day!  I'm a little leery of the 8 hours of bus time that the trip is taking away from my homework time, but I also think that it's going to be a ton of fun.  

Condoms!  I applied to be a Safe Site through the Great American Condom Campaign earlier this year, and I just found out that I won a spot!  Some time in October I'm going to get my package of condoms to start passing out to people.  Whooo safe sex!

Possiilities.  Jobs, careers, grad school, study abroad, more jobs; there is just so much to think about, and to dream of.  Sure, being unemployed is nerve wracking, but it's really opened my eyes to many more possibilities.  

Still wandering

The job search continues.  I had a job interview yesterday, and applied for two more jobs.  Hopefully I'll get a bite soon.   While I was in the middle of the interview I had a bit of a revelation.  If I am able to get a job that will let me stay on over the summer, and if I could get enough hours I could feasibly stay on campus this summer.  I'm not sure if I want to do that because I enjoy being home.  However, I may have to take summer school, depending on how next semester goes, so thinking about this now would maybe not be a terrible thing.  

When I decided to wear this dress I forgot how darn uncomfortable it is.  This was the first dress that I ever made using my own pattern.  At that point I hadn't learned about boning, so I had to make dress skin tight in order to make it stay up.  I think I have enough scrap fabric left from this project to redo the bodice.  I think I'll do that the next time I'm home.  It's a good thing that I have a while to think about it, though!  I'm not sure that I want to keep it the same.  

If you had a chance to redo a sewing project that you didn't have a problem with stylistically, would you?

Outfit Details

Dress: self made

Shirt: Delias

Shoes: thrifted

Necklace: thrifted

Display

Over the summer I interned for a politically interesting organization.  In the course of the summer we attended many events full of like-minded individuals.  At one of these events I bought a bunch of political buttons.  I was really excited to display my buttons, but was worried about having them on my backpack where I can't see them.

A local bookstore that I went to with some friends had been giving out canvas bags printed with their information with purchases.  I liked the bookstore, but I have a problem with being a walking advertisement.

To remedy the two situations I sewed a Lucky Jackson-style patch to cover the advertisement.  It's a political statement of it's own, and now my pins have a pretty home!  Now all I need is a patch and a few pins from this awesome shop for the other side, and I'll be content.

Oh, and here's something cool- the patch is a pocket!  So if I decide that I want to go back to that store after all, I can still read the information.

fun.

Today's my roommate's birthday!  This has been her top played song all year.  I enjoy it, although not as much as she does.  Happy Birthday Favorite Roommate!

The band did a cover of Call Me Maybe, and I kind of like it more than the original.  Even if you're sick to death of the song (and who isn't?) give it a try!

Knitspiration: Purple

source

source

source

source

source

Hazy

I have to be honest, this has been a really rough week.  I haven't gotten home until after 10 for the last two nights, and yesterday I pulled a muscle in my shoulder.  It's feeling a lot better now, but yesterday was pretty miserable.  

In addition, I was given my two week's notice on Tuesday.  

I'm lucky in that I still live on campus and don't have any bills that I need the money for immediately.  But I'd really rather not use loan money to pay for soap and food.  I don't want to complain about it here, I've been doing that enough to everyone in real life.  It just adds to the stress level.  

On the bright side, it's Friday!

Outfit Details

Dress: self made

Jacket: thrifted

Shoes: Payless

Happy Thoughts for Thursday

Magazines.  There are magazine recycling bins all over campus.  Normally I ignore them because they're filled with old newspapers and literary magazines and nothing else.  On my way in to work earlier this week I spotted a knitting magazine right in front and stopped to grap it.  There was another one behind it.  And another.  It didn't take long to realize that the whole rack was filled with them.  Interweave, Knit.1, Vogue Knitting, Knitter's Magazine, from current issues to issues from the 90's.  Talk about hitting the jackpot.  I grabbed as many as I could fit in my bag, and I'm planning on returning to that rack to see if there're any more left tomorrow.  We're talking a fortune in knitting magazines here.

Successful marching.  The football game last week went really well!  At least, we passed muster.  I had a blast playing, and I hope that the new show we're working on will go as well.  Plus, we won the game!

Nachos.  There's a Mexican restaurant on campus with the world's best nachos.  I've never been able to find nachos anywhere else that are quite as good.  The chips are covered with shredded chicken, peppers, and drowned in queso, and they are delicious.  I'd been craving them all summer long, and I finally got some last night.  Heaven!

People who let you pick the movie.  And watch movies with you on school nights just because you're upset.

Happy friends.  Sometimes things go really well in my friend's lives.  I love seeing them happy.

Callouses.  The hand that I carry my trombone case in is covered in them.  I FEEL LIKE A REAL MAN.

This knitting blog is pretty fantastic.  I've been dying to knit lately.  I just need to get my hands on some yarn!

Last night conversations with my roommate.  There's no better way to end a day than to laugh hysterically from the comfort of my bed.

Genius

Whoever is behind Nerds for Obama is a genius.  If you're a nerd and you support Obama take a look at the awesome things in their shop, or maybe get involved!  If I knew anything about graphic design I would be all over this one.  They also have a bunch of free graphics to spread the word.

Note: this is not a sponsored post.  I am just a very big proponent of Obama and of all things dorky.

When I'm with you

A few weeks ago I had a chance to go see Best Coast in concert, and because of my work schedule wasn't able to make it.  What a pity!  I bet I missed a really good show.  Even though we didn't get to go to the show I'm glad my friend put this band on my radar.  It's definitely worth a listen!

Tumblr Loves: August

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

This is a monthly roundup of my favorite images found via tumblr.  I do not own any of these, and all are linked back to where I found them.  You can find more Tumblr Love posts here.