the beatles

I absolutely love the Beatles. It makes me sad that I wasn't alive when they came to America and took over the nation. The great thing with music, however, is that it stands the test of time. This is true with the 4 boys from Liverpool.

Who honestly doesn't like the Beatles? Hopefully no one I know. Because I would have to have a long discussion on why you suck at life. Just kidding. But not really.

I took a History of Rock and Roll class junior year at Purdue, and it was hands-down the most amazing class I have ever taken (yes, even better then Wine Appreciation). My teacher looked EXACTLY like Albert Einstein. This man had more energy then anyone I know, and he let you know it. He was the kind of teacher that you wait your whole life to have, especially when you are used to the most boring econ or finance teachers Krannert has to offer (I'm pointing at YOU Bob Holland).

Anyways, I immediately fell in love with this course. I NEVER missed the class, which was a miracle in some peoples' eyes since it was my only class on Friday. I did however go a little bit buzzed/drunk (you be the judge: I had given up drinking for Lent and my birthday happened to be only 4 days after Easter. Tolerance=crap) to class one time on my 21st birthday, but we were watching Spinal Tap, so it was all good. Even though I was the loudest one laughing, and still laughing 5 minutes after the scene. I always sat in the 2nd row because I didn't want to miss a single minute of the class.

Then the amazing day came: The Beatles. Not only did we talk about them the ENTIRE 50 minutes, but a SECOND lecture for the next day as well. It was awesome. Watching them perform for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show made me want to be there so bad. I still get goosebumps.

I guess I just love the fact that a band that has been around for over 45 years still impacts people of all ages. And the fact that I sing AMAZINGLY to all of their songs doesn't hurt either.

friends

I got to talking with one of my longest and best friends, Abby, the other day. Her and I got to talking about why we lose friends over the years, and it comes down to one little thing: effort. None of my close friends went to Purdue, so I knew that if we wanted to remain friends that it would have to be a 2 way effort. This was also true with many of my other friends who went to various colleges. For the most part, we came out on top, but there were some casualties of not staying in touch, and finding out that we don't have a lot in common anymore. Such is life.

I've said this a million times I think, but it is not difficult to remain close with someone, even if distance is an issue. I can go months and months without actually physically seeing someone and still feel like I haven't missed out on anything in their life. It's called a phone call. These things aren't hard or time consuming, so it always perplexed me when someone would say they are "too busy" to call. Really? 5 minutes is all you need, and if that means keeping someone special in your life, then you bet your ass I'll give them a 5 minute phone call.

As we get older and move away, this will become even harder. I know this. But I believe that I have firmly established who I want in my life and vice versa. That means having to "cut" some people out that really didn't want to be there in the first place, as evidenced by the past 4 years. I'm not mad about it anymore, because I know that you have to just roll with the punches. And trust me, you CAN'T be friends with everyone. Good lord, I know that's true.

backyard

I love my backyard.  It's big, green, and full of trees.  When people ask me where I live, I always tell them, "Well there are cornfields in my backyard.  That gives you an idea." I love it.  I would find it difficult to grow up in a neighborhood that didn't have trees (basically any new neighborhood development today).  Today was beautiful, and nothing makes me happier than sitting on the deck, reading a book.  Most the time I find myself looking up at the sky.

Don't go under the willow trees, though.  There are ticks in it.  At least that is what our parents used to threaten us with.  Who knows if there are ticks there.

life

So graduation was just this morning. And it was great.

Now what?

harry's

Harry's is my favorite place at school.  I love the atmosphere and the fact that you can actually sit down and have a drink, which is rare at college bars.  I didn't start loving the joint until I moved in to my new apartment this year, which just so happens to be a block from this fine establishment.  

Just on Wednesday, for example, a couple of my friends and myself went to get our eyebrows done (threaded...so painful, but soooo worth it) and came back to my place for a glass of wine.  Bonnie was hungry, so we headed down to Harry's to get a pitcher and some food.  I don't know what it IS about Harry's, but you lose all track of time.  Seriously.  We went around 5 and next thing we know it's 9:30.  Passing the time drinking pitchers, playing awesome music on the juke box (some Styx...you know it!), and having ridiculous conversations.  Like how the homeless guy was freaking us out in the bar. Yikes. Liz called him Meth Face (which is totally inappropriate yet freaking hilarious at the same time).

A few months back my friend Sarah came up for the weekend, and we went to Harry's as well after school on Friday.  We ended up staying there for over 6 hours.  It was ridiculous!! But I swear, there is some type of magical power that Harry has over us, because it goes by so fast.  As does college, sadly.

I'm truly going to miss Harry's.  It represents Purdue, and I love the fact that it is super old and worn down.  I have had some amazing memories at that place, and I'm going to make some more with the couple weeks I have left here.

memories

So my neighbor Maggie is having her first communion this weekend, and it got me thinking about my first communion. Which was ummm 15 years ago?!?!?

I HAVE to put this picture up.  This just sums up the "style" (as my mom would say) at the time.  I rocked the ankle socks like it was my job, and Whitney on the left was getting married apparently. Love you Whit!

I also remember having a cake that looking back now was super weird.  It had a huge plastic cross on it with a plastic rosary.  Is it just me or is that weird? I did get an amazing gold cross necklace from my grandparents.

concerts

I got to talking to one of my friends yesterday about concerts, and I realized that I haven't been to one in over TWO YEARS.  How lame is that?  I remember the summer of 2006, I went to 7 concerts.  And easily spent about 400 dollars.  The best one?  Hands down 311.  But I'll get to that later.  The weirdest?  That would definitely be Def Leppard/Journey.  Seeing people your parent's age wasted in the lawn is a memory that I would like to forget. 

About 97% of my friends don't like 311, no matter how hard I try to get them to like or even LISTEN to them.  Luckily, my friend Sean and I went to see them on the lawn at White River State Park in Indy (which is an AWESOME venue to see a low-key concert).  We saw them 2 summers in a row, and I had such a great time.  Great set list, beautiful sunset, and good company.  Even though I got jacked in the face when we moved closer to the stage. MY BAD.  However, there is one song that almost everyone likes by 311 that I have to convince them to listen to.  "Champagne" is a great song to relax to, and reminds you of summer.  Listen to it.

It makes me really sad that I haven't been to more concerts the past couple of years.  This summer was impossible with my internship, and the summer before I was looking to save money I guess.  Nothing will ever compare to going to Tom Petty when I was 19 and getting out of control in the lawn with Slim.  And took like 78 pictures in 3 hours.  Call Guinness on that one.  It has to be a record.  Or slow dancing to a Dave song with a beautiful summer sunset over the pavilion.  I have many summer memories spent at Deer Creek (screw you, Verizon) that I will always cherish, and the best thing is that I can reminisce by just turning on my iPod.

nerdiness

I fully admit that I am a nerd.  I love sudoku, I love reading, I love calculus.  I just realized my "nerdiness" as I call it just now when I watched the newest Harry Potter trailer. Umm hell yes.  Only a special few of my friends have read Harry Potter, so sharing this great news means little to the majority of my friends, but it looks bitchin.  Nerdiness is something that everyone has, no matter how cool you think you are.  I think everyone should embrace their nerdiness, and learn to be happy nerds together.

Oh and one of my dreams is to be on Jeopardy.  And don't act like you wouldn't want to be on that show either.

t-shirts

I have a lot of t-shirts.  I mean, A LOT.  If I had to put a number on it, I would say easily 75.  My dresser at my apartment has 5 drawers.  THREE of them are fully devoted to my abundant t-shirt collection.  There is also a stack on the floor next to my dresser for the ones that don't fit.  My oldest t-shirt would have to be my Little Millers travel team "jersey".  Funny that it still fits.  I think everyone's parents used to order large shirts for us, even when we were 8 (so that it would get longer usage...DUH).  It's fun to put on a shirt because of the memory it produces.  I'm wearing one of my Paddy Mac's Cornhole Classic shirts from our court's annual Cornhole Tournament.  Which I totally kicked ass this year.  I guess it's more that just the shirt itself.  It is the collection of awesome times in my life that I have to wear.

music

Who doesn't love music? I listen to it when I drive, clean, shower, get ready, and study. I love all types of music from classical to rap to motown. Nothing is better than finding a new song or artist that many people don't know about.  I just watched Slumdog Millionaire the other night, and this idea rang true to me when M.I.A's song "Paper Planes" played throughout a scene.  I remember listening to M.I.A 4 years go and thinking that her music was just bitchin.  It is so great to hear her songs on the radio as well as films knowing that she has been around for quite some time under the radar.  I hate it when people listen to a song and say, "Ugh I heard this song 2 months ago before it came out."  It's like, congratulations for finding good music.  I guess I am just happy that an artist that I have followed for some time now is having some success.