[time]ing

i received a wonderful wall clock from family friends as a graduation gift. upon moving into my apartment, i placed a battery in the back and hung it on the wall. i was terribly pleased with where i located it, placed at the intersection of the only two circulation paths in my tiny apartment. this allowed it to be seen from any angle. after waking up in the morning and stepping out of my bedroom, i methodically look down the hallway to see the time. it has become my "main" clock.

not long after the time change, the battery died. i guess the adjustment was just too much for it's little hands to take. it stopped around 5:44 in the morning. it's been frozen at that time for several weeks now, as i have yet to pick up a double a battery for it. although i'm perfectly aware of this fact, i continually find myself checking the time, looking for it's guidance, maybe an answer to where i am in life, or at the very least, how much time i have to get there. habit's are funny that way.

i was planning on writing a long post trying to intertwine thoughts of change and habits, when it occurred to me, i have much larger timing issues in my life. this one, chronologically challenged clock was just the tip of my timing iceberg.

let me explain:

-my alarm clock is set 18 minutes fast, allowing me to hit the snooze button twice, and still wake up on time.

-shuffling between bedroom and bathroom every morning, i watch my "main" clock which is set 9 minutes fast. this is to encourage me to hurry up as i try to get out the door.

-the stove clock, right by the front door, is set 3 minutes fast, allowing me walking and or driving time to the office.

-the car clock is set 36 minutes fast. this breaks down the pattern of "getting ever closer to the exact time as i get closer to the office", however this clock is set for long distance driving, hoping it'll allow me to be 30 minutes early to any distant appointment.

however, what i've learned is, none of this grand and complex timing scheme gets me to work any earlier. i sometimes wonder what chaos may or may not ensue, if they were all to be magically synchronized. in fact, this little rambling observation does me absolutely no good, except for the fact when i ask myself every night, "where did the evening go?"

i now know there's about eighteen minutes lost somewhere between the kitchen and bedroom.


it's probably in the laundry room, next to my missing sock.....time's funny that way.

bloggin' bout my [generation]

one thing i don't want to do on this blog, is get political. mainly because i've learned certain subjects, when brought up, automatically create divisions between people, making any chance for a meaningful conversation hopeless. in my own life, i've learned these topics include, but are not limited to, politics, religion, kansas colleges and sports, and contemporary vs. traditional architecture. i feel however this election deserves some commentary.

i'd like to talk a little less about the candidates and a little more about the people voting for them. more specifically those people between the ages of 18 and 30. although it's not an exact date, most of these voters find themselves in "generation y" or the "millennial" generation. i feel that people my age have finally "woken" up and are ready for action. we care. we have ideas. we want to be heard! we want that defining moment that every generation has! our grandparents fought in a world war! our parents rebelled, listened to rock music and brought civil rights to the forefront. what have we done? nothing...yet.

but it's about to change. i feel this is the "millennials" election. it's the first time we have collectively had enough people to flex our political muscle. we have become a demographic. the tools and technology that are second nature to us, have helped us be more informed and more active in politics then past generations! we can debate and share ideas through a multitude of social networking sites, text messages and blogs. even facebook is telling us to vote and can be used to find polling locations! not only has this transfer of information been digital, but it fuels conversations in the real world. i've had more insightful, and spirited political discussions with my peers in the last few months, then guys six to eight years older then me. grown men who have straight out told me they just "don't care" about politics. this is not a democratic/republican issue, it's an attitude! whatever platform an individual in this generation decides to take, they educate themselves, and stand firm in their beliefs. i feel we have become more active than our "gen x" and "baby boomer" predecessors.

in a way this election feels to me like a generational "coming out" party, but it won't be what defines us. i believe that after the election, we face our first big test as a generation. a looming economical crisis. being incredibly stereotypical, our generation, since birth, has been told how wonderful it was. our parents and teachers took great strides to give us anything and everything we ever wanted as we made our way through school. everything was designed to be easier for us. however that all changes in the work place. all the praises, high accomplishments and participation trophies don't amount to much when you're the newest member of an office and someone needs to be cut.

our test has begun.

now as i get off my soapbox, i see that i have several different ideas interacting and intersecting with each other. one idea is the youth vote and how powerful in could be in this election. secondly, the ideas and beliefs that define the millennial generation. following are two sources that do a much better job explaining these two issues.

first, an article written about the youth vote in this election by jonathan darmn of newsweek, who happens to be my age. in the article he states this energy and excitement that has been produced, can't stop on november 4th, but needs to continue for the next four years.

secondly a video of william strauss explaining this new and emerging "millennial" generation. it's an overview of the ideals and beliefs of the millennial generation, and why they came to be. he also begins to discuss how this may change the political landscape in the future. very informative, but an hour long.

although i find myself pessimistic about the future, i'm also very optimistic about the potential our generation holds to solve the problems that will face us.

for now....just VOTE!

weekend[columbo]

so, the other week, i received a rather large package in the mail. it had no name attached to it, only an overland park address. no big deal, i knew a few people in the o.p. so i opened it. hidden amongst the brown paper and bubble wrap was a large brown envelope. opening this up, i found a beautiful "decemberits" poster. this sparked my curiosity. digging further into the box i found an equally beautiful card. opening it up, i found a "cut-out" style letter stating, "thought you might like this". no name.
i went from curious to freaked out really fast. not to worry though, i had some friends with the sense of humor to pull something like this with me. i spent the weekend looking and deciphering the facts.

1. there was on overland park address on the box, as well as proof that it had gone through the shawnee mission post office on october 14. they must live in the greater k.c. area, or have at least visited recently. this narrowed the field a bit.

2. they spelled my name correctly,the field narrowed even further.

3. the poster was mailed in a "bed, bath, and beyond" box, this meant the suspect must have had a bed, bath, or even some beyond, that they had shopped for at some point. this narrowed the field once again.

4. both poster and card had been made by hammerpress, meaning said person had visited the crossroads district of kansas city. this meant that 'said' person must have some appreciation for nice design.

5. they knew i liked "the decemberists". this fact actually didn't help, because i think just about everyone in the free world knows that.

6. the poster was from a gig in chicago. hmmmm, there must be a chicago connection. this broadened the field of suspects slightly.

7. the letters had been individually cut out and pasted on the card, this would have taken some time. this fact eliminated every male friend i had in kansas city.

after looking at all these clues and facts, i had a list of five people it could have been. there was also the possibility it was mailed by a fan of the you tube sensation, "exposed", but i considered that unlikely.

i sent out five incredibly vague e-mails to these individuals asking if they had mailed me a package. a couple of days ago, i found the answer here.

it turns out that it was indeed people on my list. it was my wonderful friends erica and jeff! most of the clues were correct. the overland park area, visiting hammerpress, and graphic skills, as is apparent in her amazing photography! they would also know how to spell my name correctly and are familiar with my musical taste.

the chicago connection turned out to be just a coincidence,

thank you both for the beautiful poster, and giving me a weekend with something to do!

[context]

we only had a few submissions this round, but we finished a full year of trying to put out a quarterly magazine! hope you all enjoy!

please click the photo to open the pdf

acl = austin city [love]

it's amazing how easy it is to conform to an easier way of life.....

last week i ventured down to austin to attend the "austin city limits music festival". my first three day music festival. for a few days i traded my desk chair for a lawn chair, door schedules for concert schedules, and my itunes for live tunes.

after spending thursday driving down, we enjoyed a little bit of the austin night life with our austin friends, watching the famous bats depart from under the bridge, and enjoying some amazing mexican food. that night we planned. our itinerary was light on the details and heavy on the music. the only "for sure" event would be crashing at the house of our friends, boyfriends, parents, who just happened to live close to the festival, and who also ended up being incredibly gracious hosts.

with so many bands and so different taste in music, it was almost impossible to stay as a group. we would meet up to hit the bands we all enjoyed, but then would spit off to take in a band that full filled our own personal liking. my own personal play list for the festival seemed to be a mix of indie folk, "beard rock", electropop, and 90's alternative

day 1:
what made milwaukee famous
vampire weekend
jamie lidell
m. ward
mates of state
hot chip
jenny lewis
thes swell season
the mars volta

day 2:
fleet foxes
jose gonzalez
back door slam
css
erykah badu
spiritualized
john fogerty
iron & wine
beck

day 3:
octopus project
flyleaf
stars
neko case
okkervil river
gnarls barkley
band of horses
foo fighters.

as with anything there were a few disappointments, but also a few surprises. some performances that stand out in my mind were jenny lewis, the swell season, mars volta, css, iron and wine, and the foo fighters. also running, into an old friend from college, out of 75,000 people and eight stages was a pleasant surprise.

there was however an event that trumped all other experiences at the concert. in my program i read neko case would be signing autographs at 6 p.m. on sunday! this time was constantly in the back of my mind. about 1 pm on suday i decided it would be wise to pick up a cd at the festival store, giving me something to have her sign. at the store i found her "autograph time" had been moved up to 2! wow! how easily i could have missed it. the time came, i took my turn in line, which gave me time to think about what i might say! something like,

"thank you for providing the soundtrack to my life!"

.... nope too weird. how about..

"your music makes me want to sell my car and ride a horse!"

...nope weird, and not true. or i could ask if she remembered the moment we shared back in april of 2007 when she played lawrence! written about here. nope, too weird, and a little "stalker-ish".

with all these thoughts in my head! i felt a little like ralphie in a "christmas story" on his way to see santa! before i knew it, i was at the front. my mind froze. somehow i managed to sit down, hand her the cd, and utter the words, " i love your music". she smiled and signed the cover. before i could even think, it was done. walking away i looked at what she had wrote, and smiled, i think she remembered lawrence. (see cover below). later that afternoon neko performed. it ended up being the only concert where i left the comfort of my folding chair and fought my way to the front of the stage to enjoy it.

the whole festival was amazing. the music was enjoyable, but the real real treat was being able to take some time off work to spend with friends!