I Can't Believe How Strange it is to Be Anything at All...

It's been longer than I had hoped since my last post, and for that I apologize. Sorry team!

I want to start out my post by introducing a new blog on the scene! A friend of mine just recently began his blogging career, and I'm quite excited about it.  Although his posts are much less frequent than mine, what he has to say is worthy of being read.  Austin Francalancia's new blog (Francalancia's Take) is a compilation of all things entertainment; although it currently only consists of two posts, I see the potential in his writings.  =)  If you're ever interested in reading reviews of movies, songs, or anything in the entertainment and media world, be sure to check him out to gain a fresh perspective (and also because he's a really nice guy and he sends me pictures of the beach/cool things in SoCal!).

Lately, and when I say lately, I really just mean over the past week, I've been turning to music more than I really had throughout the majority of my life.  This whole kick with the music began over a conversation I had with a friend about a song which I had written in a status on Facebook, and I think it's been almost healing (the song I'm talking about is "Bloodline" by Matt Morris - if you have yet to listen to it and/or Matt Morris on the whole, you must MUST look into it...).  I never realized how much the music one listens to can say about him or her.  I mean, obviously I'm pretty certain I know who I am, but when you're not close friends with someone (because maybe you only get to talk to him/her when you're at work or something), it's hard to really grasp or understand the deeper parts of him or her.  That being said, I discovered how music is a great way to get inside someone's psyche.

For example, I once dated a guy who only listened to a certain genre of music.  That's fine, except for the fact that it showed me one facet of his persona; I, on the other hand, grew up expressing myself through music and the art of dance, and one genre of music definitely would not have provided me with many options with my creative outlet.  Through dancing, I learned to appreciate and connect with all genres of music, depending on the story of the piece and its choreography.  I find it so impossibly difficult to stay connected to someone who almost refuses to expand his or her musical repertoire because I feel like that person is almost refusing to make an effort to find other ways to connect with me.  Which I'm sure I'm reading into more than I should, but it could be a subconscious defense mechanism to protect for the potential of a broken heart, right?

Anyway, while participating in this music conversation, this friend of mine commented that I was previously perceived as liking only "euro-techno club beats," to which I took great offense.  Not only have I always prided myself on the fact that I am so open to all genres of music, but I instantly became worried: "Is this how everyone sees me?"  I'm not saying it's negative to enjoy techno, as I choose to occasionally "beat up that beat" with the best of them, but how could people think that I'm so one-dimensional as to only appreciate club beats?

Here is a list of the songs and artists (listed alphabetically by song title because I'm anal about that) included in the mix I compiled the other day of some of my most favorite tunes, which I compassionately named "Simplicity." =)
.After Afterall - William Fitzsimmons
.Almost Honest - Josh Kelley
.Almost Lover - A Fine Frenzy
.Been a Long Day - Rosi Golan
.Belated Promise Ring - Iron & Wine
.Bloodline - Matt Morris
.The Blowers Daughter - Damien Rice
.Elizabeth - RuRu (there is an amazing story about this song - ask if you're curious!)
.Free Fallin' - John Mayer*
.Hallelujah - Brandi Carlile**
.House of Cards - RuRu
.In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
.Melody - Kate Earl
.Paperweight - Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk
.Passion Play - William Fitzsimmons
.Problem of Pain - William Fitzsimmons
.Set the Fire to the Third Bar - Snow Patrol & Martha Wainwright
.Somewhere Over The Rainbow - IZ
.The Story - Brandi Carlile
.That Year - Brandi Carlile
.This Year's Love - David Gray
.White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes

*I love John Mayer, and his cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" is really amazing and I love it so much.
**I have several versions of the ballad "Hallelujah," and I love all three, but for this mix, Brandi Carlile's cover meshed the best with the rest of the songs; I included hers because it kept with and helped to create the vibe for which I was going.

And here is my Pic of the Day for February 20th:

 

Story: Once again in Puerto Rico, I took these photos while walking down the beach.  It was my 22nd birthday, and I was feeling lost, sad, and in need of solace, which, I know, is not the way one should feel on her birthday.  But that's how I was feeling, and to find healing and that solace for which I was longing, I took a walk down the beach, camera in hand.  The first and second photos are just of shells on the beach with the waves lapping over them and receding back into the sea.  The last picture is different.  You may just see a jagged piece of glass on some sand; I see a jagged heart all alone.  My mom collects beach glass, and after living in Hawaii for 7ish years she has quite the collection.  She also collects stones and shells and sometimes beach glass that naturally look like hearts, so that compelled me to take this picture.  Looking back on it, I also feel like it completely captures the way I was feeling at the time.  Plus, I really like the detail of each grain of sand.