“These empty metaphors, they’re all in vain, like ‘can’t you see the grass is greener where it rains?’” ~bell x1

I’m obsessed with that song; it’s absolutely brilliant. The lyrics are amazing. It’s so clever, and I love the allusions. I notice something new every time I listen to it. It’s Bell X1’s best song by far, but it shows that they have potential. They could be big if they keep writing songs like that. Fun fact that you probably didn’t know: they’re Damien Rice’s former band.

I love my brother. It’s funny; we only started getting along after I left for college. I guess it’s easier to get frustrated with someone when they’re around you all the time, and now that we’re apart we don’t have as much to argue about. I think I was pretty mean to him when we were growing up. I remember this one time when I threw a ping-pong paddle at his head. He ducked and the paddle made a huge dent in the wall. I threw it pretty hard; it’s a good thing he ducked.

Last night Nicole and I saw a movie called “The Honeymooners.” We went to the theater thinking they would be showing the old Goldie Hawn/Steve Martin movie with that title. It was actually this indie Irish film. I liked it, though. This theater is cool; it’s in an old church, and they have huge, comfy pillows that you can sit on as well as these giant couches. And there’s never anybody there, which is nice. They show independent films and foreign films and old movies.

"We couldn’t all be cowboys, So some of us are clowns. Some of us are dancers on the midway, We roam from town to town. I hope that everybody can find a little flame. Me, I say my prayers, then I just light myself on fire, And I walk out on the wire once again..." ~counting crows

I'm sick. It's awful. My head feels like it's going to explode, my nose won't stop running, and my throat feels like it's closed up. I just want to lay in bed all day. Fortunately I don't have all that much to do, so laying in bed all day is actually a feasible option. I have three more days of classes, and we're basically just reviewing for final exams in all of my classes. I have an essay due on Friday, but that's the only work I have due before the semester ends. I know I've mentioned this essay before, but I'll mention it again because I think it's so cool.

I have to write 1500 words on the movie "This is Spinal Tap." It's worth 50% of my grade. How awesome is that?! I've watched the movie over and over because I'm supposed to focus on details, and it just gets funnier and funnier every time. The Music Industry is the best class ever.

Bono didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm disappointed. He was one of the top contenders for it. Maybe next year. In six weeks I'll be seeing U2 at MSG again, and I can't wait. My U2 girls are seeing them this week, and I'm so jealous. I wish I were there with them. It's really hard to be over here while they're seeing U2 together. I'm glad I'm here and I love it here, but right now I'm sad that my study-abroading is preventing me from being with them.

I think I'll go crawl into bed now.

“Fading everything to black and blue, you look a lot like you’d shatter in the blink of an eye, but you keep sailing right on through.” ~counting crows

I’m such a moody person. This morning I was the happiest person in the world and this afternoon I burst into tears and couldn’t stop crying. It was over the littlest thing, too. Why does that happen? I’m going to try to capture my happiness from this morning to make myself stop crying. So here’s what I was thinking as I walked home today:
I love it here.
I love living in a city. I love the fact that I’m not in a bubble. Campus is part of the city, it’s not isolated. I can walk anywhere I need to go. And it’s a nice city, too. There aren’t any really tall buildings, and the buildings are all different colors (my window overlooks this one building that’s painted purple, lime green, and bright blue).
I love living in a beautiful house with my friends.
I love my room. It’s painted light blue (even the ceiling), has a pale blue carpet, and blue comforters (yes, more than one: I’ve mentioned it’s cold here). This is all perfect for me because I love blue. My room is not traditionally shaped, which I love. The ceiling is slanted and there’s a skylight over my bed, which is a big, comfy double bed. In front of my desk there’s a huge window that overlooks the city. I can also glimpse the ocean from my window. I’ve gradually added decorations to my walls and now it looks perfect. I’ve got pictures, cards people have sent me, and pages from magazines hanging up. This room is my haven. I love being able to escape here when I don’t feel like talking to anyone.
I love not being overwhelmed with work. It makes me feel like I actually have a life because I have time to do other things and I’m not always worried about school. The fact that my grades don’t transfer back also makes me less stressed (even though I’m doing really well in all my classes anyway).
I love the chocolate here.
I love how everything’s really cheap.
I love that I can listen to Counting Crows and feel at home, even though I’m halfway across the world.
I feel better now.

“Be nice to your parents, be nice to yourselves, and never, ever cut your own bangs.” ~lauren graham

I think I cut my own bangs once. Or maybe I’m remembering when my brother cut his. Either way, I remember it being a disaster.
I need to start making some money. There are so many Broadway shows that I want to see when I get home, and I definitely can’t afford them all. I already have tickets to “See What I Wanna See” (although that’s actually off-bway) and “The Woman in White” (luckily the tickets for that show were a gift and I didn’t have to pay for them). I also want to see “Sweeney Todd” and “The Color Purple” in the fall. They better have some kind of rush/SRO policy. I think I’ll have to wait to see “The Pajama Game” until spring break next year. “The Odd Couple” isn’t looking possible. But that’s okay with me, because I saw Nathan and Matthew together in “The Producers” twice, and I’m thinking “The Odd Couple” is going to be pretty similar except without music (not the story, but the characters and the humor). I know most of you don’t care about this, though, so I’ll move on.

I’ve been in a serious procrastination slump lately. It’s awful. I can’t make myself work. And I only have five days left of classes, so it’s not like I have a lot of time to mess around. After classes end I have two weeks before my first final exam, so that would be the time to get lazy, not now.

It’s supposed to snow tomorrow. What’s up with that?! Winter is finished here; it’s officially been spring for more than a month. I was really hoping to get some warm weather before I come home to a U.S. winter, but that’s not looking so good. I hate the fact that I’m missing summer altogether.

“Go ahead and laugh all you want, I got my philosophy. And I trust it like the ground, That's why my philosophy Keeps me walking when I'm falling down.” ~ben folds

I have six days left of classes. How amazing is that? I have one more essay to write and one more test to take, and then all I have left is final exams. Which are all worth 50% of my grade. Which is somewhat scary. The essay I have to write is for my Music Industry class, and I have to analyze the movie “This is Spinal Tap.” I have to watch it multiple times in order to pick up on the little details, but I don’t think it’s possible to get sick of that movie because it’s so hilarious. It makes me laugh like crazy every time I watch it. I love it.

It’s amazing how quickly your mood can change. Or maybe I’m just a moody person. I was so happy, and then I watched my dvd of the Rent performance on the Today Show. I knew it would make me cry but I watched it anyway, and of course it did make me cry. I don’t know how I’ll get through the movie when it comes out. I’ll be sobbing through the whole thing. Anyway, back to the moods thing. It’s funny how the smallest thing can completely change your mindset. If I’m sad, there are a few songs that I usually listen to that will pick me right up. It’s amazing how music can do that.

The people next door are having a party and it is insanely loud. Like “I-can-hear-the-lyrics-to-the-music-they’re-playing” loud. I don’t know how I’ll ever get to sleep. I was invited but I’m too tired to go. I wonder when it’ll end. It’s already midnight and we have to set our clocks forward tonight, meaning it’s even later and I’ll lose an hour of sleep. Yuck.

I've discovered that no one plans ahead here. I just bought a ticket to the closing night of Chess (the musical) at a local theatre (the performance is in 2 weeks), and my seat is front row center. How amazing is that? I'm excited, I looooove this show; the music is brilliant. It'll be interesting with Kiwi accents.