Welcome to the world, Vera =)

This is Vera. Ain't she purdy? =)

VW gives you flowers when you get a brand new Beetle. =)

That's all I have to report today. 'Til tomorrow!

R.I.P. Sadie

Sadie Saab, March 2009 - March 2010

Sadie was a 2000 Saab 95 with a leather interior and a sunroof. She became my second car when my first car, the unnamed 2002 Saturn L200, was savagely murdered in an accident that took place about a year ago (it wasn't my fault and I wasn't hurt). Sadie was a very good car, but she went senile in old age and began to cost more in repairs than she was worth. Today, after she started spewing plumes of bluish-white smoke out of her exhaust, my dad refused to put any more money towards her repairs. Rest in peace, Sadie. You will be missed.

In other news, I'm getting a new car. A brand. New. Car. It will look something like this:

I'll post pictures of mine once I bring her home tomorrow. I think I'll name her Vera.... =)

Adventures in Downtown Dallas

In which we miss the best Stars game of the season, find a seriously legit coffee house with excellent music, and meet an archetypal, all-knowing guide on the train back.

The evening had a promising start. We went to the Great Outdoors for dinner, which was really good. I'd never been there before and was very happy to discover yet another sandwich place for me to frequent (I really like sandwiches...). After that, though, our plan started to fall apart. We were supposed to get on the 6:05 DART train to Victory Park (pictured above), which is where the game was taking place. Naturally, we missed the train and had to wait for the next one to show up, which wasn't until 6:35. Then, for whatever reason, the train kept stopping in the middle of the track for minutes at a time. This must have happened five or six times on the way down. Well, needless to say, we didn't get there until after the game had started and had to wait in a fairly long line for tickets. Once we got to the ticket counter, we were informed that the only tickets left were individual seats located in all different sections. So, yeah. We didn't go to the game.

Well, we were already in downtown, so we might as well find something to do. We were pretty close to the West End, so we decided to walk around there and see what we could find. Surprisingly, not much was open. Two of our group were under 21, so that meant no going to a bar to watch the game from there. Eventually we remembered this coffee shop we passed on the train into town, so we turned around and made our way back toward the tracks.

The name of the coffee shop was the Back Beat Cafe and Listening Room, and it's definitely the best coffee house I've ever been to. It has 50's throwback decor, six or seven different kinds of coffee, smoothies, desserts, even a little mini bar with some beer and wine.

Connected to the cafe by a smallish hallway was the listening room. Check out that chandelier! The atmosphere was very chill, and we were content to just sit there and enjoy the live music.

The group that was playing when we got there wasn't actually that great. I can't remember what they called themselves, but they're from San Francisco. The piano was good, but that's about it.

We considered leaving after the first group was finished, but when we heard the second group starting to play, we decided to stay and check them out. That turned out to be a very good decision. The group was called The Noise FM. I'm not sure where they're from, but I really enjoyed their show. They only played for about an hour, maybe a little less, so when they were finished we walked back to the train station.

We were surprised to notice that one of the women who was on our train to Victory Park was also on our train back. We started talking to her and when she helped us decide what to do with the rest of our evening (it was NCIS vs. Firefly), we decided that she was the archetypal guide sent to help us along our path.... or something.

Anywho, that's the end of the story. My life seems to get more exciting on Spring Break. I should take breaks more often..... =)

'Til tomorrow!

Schtuff, Plano edition

On the left is a super-mini snow globe supposedly filled with gold flakes. I got it from the Alaska State Museum when I went with Mimi (my grandma, for anyone who doesn't know) when I was 12. At the time, I really though it was worth something. Now I realize that it's probably just aluminum foil that's been painted gold.... Oh well!

On the right is a ceramic something-or-other that I made with my mom several years ago. Hobby Lobby (or was it Michael's...?) used to have this station where you could paint all sorts of ceramic things and they would glaze and bake them for you. Very cool. Does anyone know of any places that still do this?

I'm pretty sure I got this from the Dallas Museum of Art. I used to go all the time with Mimi when I was a kid, and I probably got this thinking that I was acquiring some super valuable relic from ancient Egypt. This is obviously not the case, but I still like it. =)

Behind the cat and to the left is a tiger from Lord knows where. These and the items in the first picture are on my dresser along with a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff, and they've all been in the same place since we moved to this house in 2003. I have no idea where most of it came from.

Anyway, behind the cat and to the right is a picture of my great-grandparents, Nana and Grindad. Grindad passed away when I was 5 or 6 and Nana passed away about six months later. I don't remember much about them since I was so young when they passed away, but the memories I do have consist mostly of photographs and feelings and smells. For instance, I remember their house having a very distinct smell to it. I don't remember it being a bad smell, but it was very unique to Nana and Grindad. I also remember Grindad letting us (my brother and I) crawl up on his lap while he told us stories. Grindad had very big ears, and he was always good-natured about letting us play with them. There are a lot of memories starting to come to mind as I'm writing about them, but I think I will save them for another post.

This gem is sitting on my desk, and as you can see, it is a Pink Power Ranger figurine circa 1995. (I actually have no idea when I got this...) My brother and I were obsessed with Power Rangers when we were kids. During the summer, we would go out in our front yard and pretend to be Power Rangers. I was always the Pink Power Ranger, and I usually made Doug be Rita. There were sprinklers involved in this game, but I don't remember what their purpose was other than providing relief from the 100 degree weather. I also went as the Pink Ranger for Halloween one year. The costume came with these gloves that, when you closed your fist, made a punching noise. Needless to say, I wore them for several weeks after Halloween was over.

In other news, I'm going to a Stars game tonight with the same crew I was hanging out with yesterday. Pictures and videos will be taken, and you'll get to hear all about it tomorrow. Aren't you EXCITED? Good. 'Cause you should be. =) 'Til tomorrow!

Exciting moments in Lacy's life, part two!

Ok, so I realize that it's TECHNICALLY Tuesday, but it still feels like Monday to me. So, yeah. still on with the challenge. :]

I got to meet up with some of my high school/church buddies today which was an awesome, wonderful thing. We went to TC's Shaved Ice and got some... you guessed it.... shaved ice! I got the cherry flavor. It was initially really delicious, but after a while I just couldn't take the sweetness anymore.

Evan discovered that he could make an Italian flag from his, Amy's, and Alisha's flavors. Tada!

After we got our shaved ice we had a little chill sesh in Evan's car because the wind was making it too cold to sit outside and enjoy the sun. Evan put on this mix CD he had in his car and one of the bands on it was called Dragonforce. Apparently they're a metal band with hits such as "Invocation of Apocolyptic Evil," "Strike of the Ninja," and, wait for it.... "Where Dragons Rule." That's right, folks. A metal band singing about dragons. How 'bout them apples?

Anywho, after we all finished (or mostly finished, in my case) our treats, our tongues were dyed some rather interesting colors. Mine was the most... well... you can probably see for yourselves. 'Twas very, very red.

Fast forward a few hours and we were over at Alisha's house playing Beatles Rockband, Mario Kart Wii, and making cranberry orange muffins from scratch. I forgot to take pictures of that, though. :[ Oh wellz.

Ok, well I realize this has probably been the most exciting and wonderful thing you've read all day today, but I am incredibly tired and just wanna get this over with, so..... goodnight! =)

Challenge!!!

Pete is helping me write today's blog.

Ok, y'all. Since it is evident that I don't update my blog nearly enough, I am challenging myself to write every day until the end of the semester.

Every. Single. Day.

The semester officially ends on April 28, and my last exam is May 7. Hopefully y'all will be hearing a lot from me between now and then. Does anyone want to volunteer to keep me accountable? Anyone? No? *crickets*

...Right. Let's get this thing started, shall we?

Today's post isn't going to be about anything in particular, and I imagine that most of my posts for the next month and a half will be the same way. My idea for this challenge came from my cousin, Tricia (see my previous post and the comment she left). I guess my reason for doing this is not only to update my blog more than once every other month, but also to get back into the habit of just getting things out of my head via writing. I do that to some extent on Twitter, but 140 characters isn't always enough. I also just want to practice writing more. Maybe if I write more frequently on anything and everything I can think of, I'll be able to write stories again. Or anything, for that matter.

On a completely unrelated note, Spring Break has finally started, and guess what I get to do with it??

That's right! I get to read ALL of these books and work on my term paper! Woohoo!!!

It's my fault, really. I should have gotten more work done on this when I had the chance. But alas, my paper is due by the end of next week and the only thing I've managed to accomplish thus far has been to check out these books. Oh well. Guess I'd better get started!

'Til tomorrow. =)

I want to be famous on the internet

Can someone please tell me how to make this happen? Thanks.

Also: I wish I had never lost my ability to just sit down and write anything. When did I lose that passion? Let me post this question in a more general way, and maybe then someone can provide me with an answer.

Why do our passions fade away?

I hesitate to say that I lost my passion for writing. Perhaps what I mean to say is that I've simply lost the ability to channel the thoughts in my head into writing on paper. Or on a computer. Whatever. I think it started to fade when I started college two years ago. I was so focused on trying to get all of my work accomplished and on getting my college career started off right that I no longer had time to write down whatever happened to pop into my head. Or perhaps I never allowed myself time to do so. In any event, the only writing I do anymore is for papers and the occasional post here.

I don't really know where I was going with that. I'm just rambling.

Speaking of papers, I have four due in the next week and a half. I guess I should go get started on those.

Toodle loo!

Facebook

Facebook keeps making these suggestions about people I should be friends with or groups I should join. Its latest thing is to suggest that you write on the wall of someone you haven't spoken to in a while. The person it suggested I "reconnect" with was my friend Jeffrey. He passed away in February.

:[[

I can't believe it's been 8 months already. I can't believe it happened in the first place.

I miss you, Jeffrey. I hope the music in heaven is as beautiful as yours. <3

Tweet tweet

I blog better in 140 characters or less.

www.twitter.com/cactuslacy

In other news, I had my first experience as a teacher today. Let's just say that it's a good thing I'm still in school. I've got a TON to learn.

Not much else to say. October has been a pretty depressing month so far. I really wish the sun would come back. I also wish Texas trees would look more like this:

...and less like this:

Glee and Flash Forward are calling my name. 'Til next time.

Still not dead...

...just a negligent blogger.

Nothing really exciting is going on in my life right now. I'm super stressed with school but I think that's mostly my doing. Especially when you take into account the fact that I procrastinate on everything and rarely finish the reading assignments for my classes.

But whatever.

I'm at the library right now with Courtney. I already finished what I came here to work on (hence the blogging), and now I'm just waiting for her to finish so we can go home and go to sleep.

See? Boring life.

Well I hope this entry hasn't put anyone to sleep. This is pretty much my life right now. Boring and sleepless. I have some pretty bitchin roommates, though, so that makes things a little more exciting.

Right. It's two in the morning and I obviously have no idea what I'm saying, so I'm just gonna stop now.

Peace.

I'm not dead yet

Hello interwebz!

I don't really know why I'm addressing the entire internet. I really should just address Tricia since I'm pretty sure she's the only one who reads this.

Anyway, hello to Tricia and to anyone else who happened to stumble upon this. I would just like to inform you that contrary to what my posting habits may have led you to believe, I am not, in fact, dead. I'm quite alive, actually, just very, very inactive.

I don't have much to talk about in this post, but I'm planning on writing an entry soon on all of the books I've read so far this summer. That number is constantly climbing, however, so we'll see how well that endeavor goes.

In other news, I have been to four states in the past two weeks: Florida, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Michigan. The first was on a trip with the college choir from my church, the next two while I was visiting my college roommate, and the fourth.... well, that memory is still a little too fresh and equal parts painful and embarassing, so I'll leave that for another post. Probably one in which I recount my travels in more detail.

One more thing before I resume wandering about the internet instead of enjoying the beautiful (and extraordinarily hot) weather: I've recently become a fan of the Vlogbrothers. They are brothers (surprise) who have decided to cease all textual communication and communicate only by a daily vlog which they post to a YouTube channel they share. They're both uber nerdy and hilariously awesome. I highly recommend that you check them out.

Til next time!

P.S. I'm sorry the format fails.... I've tried numerous times to fix it but the paragraphs are determined to stay single-spaced. Boo :[

Summer lovin'

Or lovin summer, however you want to put it. I spent virtually the entire day outside today reading, swimming, and just generally enjoying the sunshine. The picture is the view of my backyard from where I sat while I read. God bless summer and sunny, cloudless days :)

Mobile blogging... Woo!

I just downloaded this app on my iPhone that will let me post pictures here and add titles and descriptions and all that jazz. Woohoo! The goofy-lookin kid in the picture is my brother. He's graduating in June and he was modeling his cap and gown for us the other night. I'm not sure what that expression is on his face, though...

I haven't been up to a whole lot since I've been home. I went to Chicago last week with my dad and had a great time. That is, until I got home and realized that I'd left virtually all of my stuff at the hotel. Don't ask how it happened, because I really have no idea. You can imagine how ridiculous I felt calling up the hotel and reporting all of my missing things. All is well, though, because they're shipping it back to me free of charge. Anyway, we got back from Chicago on Saturday, and I've been doing nothing but watching movies since. God, I love summer :)

Til next time!

My dad and I have been talking recently about how nice it would be to have iPhones, so yesterday we went to the apple store and now I have one!! (he'll get his in a couple of weeks... Long story.) so right now I'm experimenting with my first mobile blog post, even though my computer is about 5 feet from where I am right now and I could just as easily do it from there. Doing it from a phone is much more fun though. :)

My summer break started on Wednesday afternoon and I have been so relaxed and happy since then. I think most of my recent posts have been kind of depressing, or at least not very happy, but all of that has changed now that I'm home. It's really amazing how much control the environment you're in has over your mood.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm going to Chicago with my dad next week, so I'll probably be doing some more mobile
Blogging then. :) ta!

Summer

It's almost here! This is my last night at TCU for three months. I have one more exam tomorrow and then I'm OUTTA HERE!!! I really feel like the summer is going to cure everything that has gone wrong this semester. I'm going to miss my friends like crazy (especially Courtney!), but I really just need to get away from this place for a while. I've been doing some thinking since the post before last, and I really think that my living situation has been the primary reason why I've been so unhappy this semester. Everything's going to be just fine. All I have to do now is worry about making an 81 on my music history exam so I can have all A's this semester. Which means I need to go study....

Til next time:

"Faith is believing that one of two things will happen," she said. "That there will be something solid for you to stand on, or that you will be taught to fly." -- Unknown

Why do projects...

...when I can procrastinate instead?

I took a quiz on Facebook the other day expecting some silly or bogus answer (the question was "What is your life color?"), and got a rather surprising result. It is extraoridnarily accurate and has somehow managed to put into words what I previously could not. I know it sounds silly to put so much stock into an online quiz, especially one designed on Facebook, but just read the response and maybe it will make more sense.

"Fantasy, enchantment, dreams, myths, spiritual beings, angels, fairies are all concepts which fill the Lavenders' mind. Lavenders tend to live in a fantasy world. They prefer to spend their time out of their bodies, where life is pretty and enchanting. It is challenging for these airy beings to live in three-dimensional reality. Lavenders prefer imaginary pictures of the world, seeing butterflies, flowers and wood nymphs rather than dirt, concrete and large cities. Physical reality seems cold and harsh to them. These sensitive creatures are fragile and frail, and their physical appearance is often weak and pale. Lavenders' skin is often alabaster white because they don't like being outdoors, unless it is to be gently surrounded by beautiful flowers and gardens. These child-like personalities are sensitive and simple. Lavenders would rather spend time watching clouds float by or daydreaming. They prefer to escape this reality with all of its demands and responsibilities. The Lavender's behavior tends to frustrate others who may expect them to be dependable and responsible. Lavenders have no understanding of what it means to hold a responsible job or to earn money. They are more familiar with other dimensions and imagined realities. Lavenders even have a difficult time relating to or connecting with the concepts of time, space and physical matter. They tend to experience events in their imaginations, but they are not usually grounded enough in physical reality to actually accomplish anything tangible."

I've bolded the parts I found to be particuarly accurate. I think most of it speaks for itself. I have more to say about it, but I'm not really sure how to articulate it, so I'll just leave you with this instead:

Numb

I think college has smothered all feelings out of me. Or at least my ability to feel anything. I haven't been happy in a long time. I don't like my major anymore. I'm even finding it hard to be passionate about music, which is the only thing I have ever really cared about. The only other thing I could really put on that list was writing, and I haven't done any of that since the beginning of freshman year.

Where has my passion gone? Why don't I care about anything anymore? I'm burned out, and have been for a while, but can that really be the reason for this numbness?

I want the old me back. I want me pre-college. Happy and carefree and eternally optimistic.

Where did that girl go?

On a different note, I took this picture from a plane a few years ago. It makes me think that maybe things will get better someday.

The lonely are such delicate things

I haven't really been feeling like myself lately. The past few weeks have been weird. I'm never motivated to do anything, and I always want to be somewhere other than where I am. I'm restless and tired at the same time. I've been burned out since the beginning of the semester. I'm tired of being ignored by my roommate.

I just want to go home.

In other news, my Saturn ended up being totalled (I cried a little bit, I'll admit) and I got a new car last Monday. Here are some of the dealership pictures of it. It's a 2000 Saab 9-5. It has leather seats and a sunroof and her name is Sadie. :]

"The lonely are such delicate things,
The wind from a wasp could blow them
Into the sea, with rocks on their feet,
Lost to the light and the loving we need."

A Comet Appears -- The Shins

Death of a passenger-side door

Last week was probably one of the busiest and most stressful weeks I've had in a while. Needless to say, I was really looking forward to this weekend. I had it all planned out. Saturday: sleep til noon, run errands, do everything that's due Monday. Sunday: sleep til noon, go visit Tricia and Jake while they're in town. It was supposed to be a great weekend. But Murphy, whoever he was, was right: if something can go wrong, it will.

I decided to grab some lunch before I went to Walmart, so I grabbed my favorite sandwich from Quizno's to-go: the Italian. I turned out of the parking lot into the right lane and was on my merry way when a woman coming out of the next entrance down failed to see me as she came out into the street. Needless to say, she barrelled right into me:

Well, I didn't get any of my work done yesterday, and since I am now car-less, I wasn't able to go see Tricia today. Now it's 11:30 p.m., I still have a mountain of work to do, and so far this week isn't looking to be any better than the last.

Is it Spring Break, yet?!

ATX and saying goodbye to a friend

I took a trip to Austin this weekend to visit one friend and say goodbye to another.

On Saturday afternoon we had a very windy picnic on Mount Bonnell. We didn't stay for very long because the wind made the trip significantly less enjoyable than it would have been otherwise, but I did get a couple of good pictures in before we left.

(Houdini didn't go to Mount Bonnell with us, but he's still cute. :])

There was a memorial service Saturday evening for our friend Jeffrey, who passed away three weeks ago. It was a very sad sort of reunion. I saw alot of people I hadn't seen in a long time, including Christine (below), who I hadn't seen since graduation.

The service that Jeffrey's friends at UT put on for him was really good and was a great way to say goodbye, but it was so sad. I don't think the reality of his death will ever be 100% for me. How can Jeffrey, who was so alive for every moment of his life, be gone just like that? Life is precious and altogether too short, but most of all it's not fair. Why else would anyone so good be allowed to die so young?