For 2010, A Stream of Consciousness Letter by R and K

Dear Vinny,

Why do you always hurt me this way?

I mean, I know I stood you up that day.

But hey.

La Plaza Mall just isn't a date.

I don't care what you say.

Auntie Anne's pretzels aren't dinner.

Casa de Cambios isn't a hang-out spot.

You asked, "Why not?"

Aren't places of cultural monetary exchange a turn-on for you?

"No!" I said. "No."

That's because when I was little, my parents bought me for money they had exchanged at one.

You thought I was white. Well, I'm not.

I'm not.

Okay?

It's not like SHE gave you a good time at Whataburger, bellies full of A-1 Thick and Hearty's.

They are not good for your heart. Neither are you, Vinny.

"I'll take you places," you said.

I expected the moon. Not Donna's Corn Maze.

I spent hours in that maze, and later saw my slam poet ex-crush working at P.F. Chang's.

That did not make me feel good.

YOU don't make me feel good, Vinny.

You're like a sickness. A sinus problem that Zycam can't burn out.

A woman lost her olfactory sense with Zycam once.

I wish I lost my heart senses.

Shut up, Vinny!

I can hear you now.

Laughing. I always hated that laugh.

Sorry I stared at my vaccuum when you were telling me you loved me.

You vaccuumed my heart, and now only my RLS will take me places. Literally.

They can't rest.

That skirt you bought me was the wrong size.

And it didn't flatter my thighs.

Why do you tell me these lies?

I hope to never find you on my duplex doorstep, Vinny.

The Holidays are Coming!

I officially washed my hands of the Fall 2009 semester yesterday, at 8:11 p.m., when I exited my biology test, confident that I had earned my mediocrity in that class (a C+ is probably what I'm going to get out of it.

Now is the time to sleep, watch movies and television, read books, catch up with semester-forgotten friends, take walks in the cool evenings,decorate for the holidays, sing songs, take extra-long hot showers, drink eggnogg, eat Mother-baked treats (the secret ingredient is love), and just...remember why you enjoy life again.

It's also the time to go HOME. I haven't been home all semester,mostly because I'm pretty good at NOT being homesick, and something tells me a trip home would make me want to be 10-years-old and parent-dependent again.

I'm also not too fond of home. Deep South Texas, locally known as the Valley, is, simply put, not a very exciting place. It's suburbia, but without a city to ebb away suburbia blues. It wasn't until I left and my teen angst started to turn into jaded adulthood that I realized this is the place that knew me when I was young, that saw me grow up. It was home. Everything I hated about the Valley turned into nostalgic appreciation.

Unlike this song, my home still is with my Ma and Pa, and not in a significant other, but I'm still young, and this song fucking jams. Go home, hug families and friends, and enjoy the short window that comes once a year when people are usually in a happy and loving mood.



-Rachel

pump it up?

I have two tests to go, a dead week, and then finals, and then winter break will finally be here, and I'll probably have time for, if not more consistent posts, more varied ones. Not just all pump it up posts, though those can be good as well.

Like today's Weekend Jam--Gilberto Gil "Bat Macumba." Cut a rug to this thing! You can bet I'll be playing this on the radio tomorrow morning!



I'm not really sure who our audience is, or if people really even read this blog, but if you do, we'd love to get to know you! Feel free to post in the comments a little bit about yourself: favorite food, current obsession, song that consistently gets stuck in your head, favorite poetry, favorite places to take a walk...let's be friends! Post suggestions/complaints/etc, as well! We want some feedback!

PUMP IT UP...

...or just put up those headphones and listen to this quietly. Alabama Sacred Harp Singers, Y'ALL, from the Smithsonian Folkways comp. Nice number for a Sunday. It's the start of yet another painful week, but rest in the fact that my birthday is Thursday, Thanksgiving is next week, and then the hap-hap-happiest time of the year will be upon us. And also cold weather should FINALLY be moving in to Austin this next week.



Hope everyone had a good weekend.

-Rachel

p.s. Kelsey and I are planning a cross-country road trip for summer 2010. Any tips? Any must-see places? Any estimates on costs? We'd appreciate your help!

PUMP IT UP

I've had an incredibly busy past few weeks! And there's still so much to do...feature articles, bio tests, French essays...I wish there were more hours in the day!
Unfortunately, the unbearable size of my work load is making me skip work today...what a shame.
Anyway, I need something to pump myself up, so here are some jams for you to thrash around to!

The Descendents-"Suburban Home" YES.


Zero Boys-"Civilization's Dying"


Cap'n Jazz-"Olerud" and "Forget Who We Are"


The Misfits-"Bullet"

PUMP IT UP (also it's halloween)

Whaddup. It's the night before Halloween and I am beyond excited to get that party started. Kelsey and I will be going as '90s-era Southern California cholitas. I've got my baggy overalls and wife-beater, all I need now are giant hoop earings, fake tattoos, and super thick, a few-shades-too-dark lip-liner. And to also turn my (new!) bangs into a big curl. YES!


I usually start planning the next year's Halloween the day after the actual holiday. Ideas for next year:
Wayne
Garth
Daniel Plainview (and hire a child to be H.W.), complete with a milkshake
Mary-Kate and/or Ashley circa the You're Invited straight-to-video movies.
Corky St. James

Any preferences?

Also, this weekend's jam: The Pixies-Wave of Mutilation
Along with Pavement, the Pixies were one of the first bands that I REALLY loved, that encouraged me to be more open and exploratory with music. In 8th or 9th grade, my older brother handed me a copy of Doolittle, and it was the weirdest, most nebulous, smartest thing I had ever heard. It's a band that's well-established in the musical canon, but somehow is always on the fringes. A band popular at the height of college radio in the 80s, but too popular for college stations today (at least at KVRX). A band who more people than you'd think know about, but somehow, Frank Black's shrieks and Kim Deal's echoing and haunting croons sound all like your personal discovery, a gem of your very own.



P.S. So, you know how Pavement is reuniting in 2010? The first shows of which will be in Central Park in September? I have a ticket. Sometimes I forget about it. But then, at various moments during the day, a euphoric wave of friendliness will wash over me, my cold heart will warm and expand like a marshmallow in a microwave, and I'll have a feeling that this world belongs to me and life isn't full of settled disappointments and muted desperation, and I'll wonder why. But then I remember: Pavement. Me. Front row. And I die a little bit.

Dear Diary

Hey, sup? So it's been a while, and I wish I had a good reason for that. I don't. But! I expect that as blogging becomes more of a natural, rhythmic thing for me, I'll post more and more. Plus I need to severely alter my internet procrastination habits...I won't be doing homework anyway, so why not blog instead of inanely fbook surf? So I'm going to turn this post into a bit of a diary for a second, so my thoughts will be flowin'.

I'm feeling:
1) restless. Maybe because it's Wednesday, a middle-of-the-road sort of day, or maybe because that's just the way I feel. I'll share something: sometimes college drives me crazy. In fact, sometimes I wonder whether I'd even go to college if it weren't some sort of societal obligation. I feel fortunate to be in a position that many people aren't, with the academic world and its respective opportunities at my fingertips, but it also can feel like a walled-in world. What I really want to do right now is travel, do something unexpected (like become a pole dancer or up and move to Brazil), basically just exist outside the typical college student realm. I don't know where that feeling is coming from, but I plan on exploring and questioning until I find out.
2) Uncertain. This stems directly from my restlessness. What do I want to do with my life and on what time scale do I want to do it? Do I want to be a journalist? Or do I want to own a coffeehouse or club? Do I want to be a documentary filmmaker? Actually all of those things. Where do I want to live? How honest am I being with myself when I consider these things?

This all sounds like a stage I should be hitting right about now in my life. It's probably a good thing; the uncertainty and restlessness can shake things up a bit. Nonetheless, it's frustrating. I decided to go on a mini self-absorbed rant because I figured a) it'll give you an idea as to what my frame of mind is right now and b) maybe you're going/ have been through the same thing. If so, please give me some wisdom!

I planned on turning this into more than a diary post, but Spanish class calls. I have a topic that I want to post on reeeeeal soon, though involving my newly-discovered interest: kitsch!