"I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees. I never married, but Ohio don't remember me." ~the national

I realize I haven't posted in awhile. I can't remember the last time I got home before 7:30pm.Work is crazy. I'm teaching after-school test prep, and after that I've had stuff to do in my classroom. It's ridiculous. I cannot keep this up much longer. Working every weekday from 7:30am-6:30pm and working on Saturdays for 8 hours is not healthy. I have no free time. And I still have stuff to do when I get home from school. Oh yeah, and I'm in grad school. Next week is spring break and I need a break. Two more days of school. I hope I make it. I'm going to visit my grandparents in South Carolina next week and I cannot wait. I love them. They are two of my favorite people in the world. And Columbia, SC is one of my favorite places in the world. I was born there. I feel connected to it. So I'm excited to go back and visit.

Hm...what else? Honestly, school has taken over my life. I have managed to squeeze in a couple movies lately. I saw The Runaways and Greenberg. I enjoyed both of them. But I'm too tired and busy to write reviews of them.

The National released their first single, "Bloodbuzz Ohio," today. You can download it on the new album's website here (I'm not sure if it's only today that you can download it, so act fast). It's not a new song to me (I saw them perform it at Jimmy Fallon and am still waiting for them to share the video of that, and I knew all the words at that time because I have live bootlegs), but the studio version is beautiful. Oh, this reminds of one way I've wasted my nonexistent free time this week. I typed up what I think are the lyrics to all the songs from High Violet (The National's new album). The album won't be released until May 11th, but they played all the songs off of it at Bell House. So I listened to all the songs many, many times and transcribed lyrics (which is not easy, because Matt is a mumbler). I really need to learn how to use my time more wisely. But this was what I really wanted to do, so I suppose it wasn't such a waste. I would go completely crazy without some 'me' time.

2010 seems like it will be a fabulous year for new music. I thought 2009 was a bit of a dud year, but 2010 will more than make up for it. She & Him released Volume II yesterday. Zooey Deschanel's voice is so calming. It's a perfect listen for me right now. Frightened Rabbit already released The Winter of Mixed Drinks, which I love. The Hold Steady is releasing Heaven is Whenever on May 4th (I love them). The Arcade Fire and Interpol both have new albums out this year. Of course there's High Violet from The National. All these bands are among my favorite bands in the world. It's going to be an overload of musical fabulosity and brilliance. Bring it on. I need something to help me cope.