While taking a gander at my twitter feed I ended up making some ridiculous connections for myself. I am almost 100% positive no one else would make the same connections, but I am also almost 100% positive that you make similarly ridiculous connections on the regular.
It all started when I saw and clicked on the following link:
Top 10 Humans To Imagine Making Really Loud Whale Noises tcat.tc/VH9aBs #archives
— Thought Catalog (@ThoughtCatalog) March 7, 2013
I don’t know how you can live with out knowing who the top 10 humans to imagine making whale noises are. Number 8 on the list is Andrew Bujalski. I had no idea who he was, so it was difficult to imagine him making whale noises.
However, as I read the description of Mr. Bujalski, I discovered he starred in the movie “Hannah Takes the Stairs”, which immediately caught my attention. “Hannah takes the stairs and I usually take the elevator” are lyrics from my #2 most played song in my iTunes library, “Hannah” by Freelance Whales.
I then wondered if and how the two were related.
My next move was IMBD for details on the movie. I was intrigued by the plot summary and thought maybe I should look into watching this movie. IMDB did not produce the results I was looking for in relation to the Freelance Whales song.
I did a quick Google search for “freelance whales hannah based on movie hannah takes the stairs”. What can I say, I am a whiz with the Google. It led me to the Wikipedia page for the movie. Sure enough, under the “In pop culture” section : The movie is referenced in the song “Hannah” by Freelance Whales
You would think I found my answer and this would be the end of my Hannah Takes the Stairs journey, but nope, there’s more.
The movie poster on the Wikipedia page was different than on IMBD which triggered my memory and I realized I had already seen this movie. Well, I attempted to watch it. During maymester in between my senior year and my super senior year of college, my friend and I tried to watch it, but we couldn’t get into it. I am not cool enough for mumblecore indie flicks. After about 20 minutes of Hannah Takes the Stairs, we both decided to turn it off and watch The House Bunny instead.
These are the little gems my brain discovers while casually catching up on social media. I also feel like it is an accurate portrayal of the movies I usually watch.
Craving Contingency is kind of all over the place with upbeat jams, mellow tunes, and light hearted pop songs, but it totally makes sense to me when listening to them all together. It’s kind of a continuation of my Certain Flux mix from the fall. Craving Contingency is the anticipation leading up to the moment that sparks a big change. I have no idea when that moment is going to happen. I just know I’m going to embrace it when it gets here.
Favorites…
Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen | This song is my 2013 anthem. If my life was this episode of GIRLS I would be dancing to this song. The scene would also most likely happen in my car because that is where I rock out to it the hardest.
Daughter - Youth | I love the way this song builds, I love the percussion, I love the lyrics of the entire song.
The Lighthouse and the Whaler - Pioneers | This song is so fun and peppy! Kind of obsessed with them at the moment.
So, I know Spring doesn’t technically start until March 20th, but for my own organizational purposes it is easier for me to go by full months and not the official seasonal calendar. Also, who doesn’t want to pretend it’s spring sooner than it really is? Winter can GTFO of my life any day now and I would be totally a-ok with that!
I feel pretty solid with how my Winter Moxie went. If you missed it you can check out my recap here. Winter was definitely a lot of changes and getting used to the new schedule with my job and living back at home. I am prepared and ready to take on the spring now!
In no particular order:
Work out 3x a week
Blog 3x a week
Get my living space current - things that reflect who I am right now, including my closet
Redesign my portfolio site & order business cards
Send more real mail
More skype dates with far away friends
Weekly reflecting & planning
For winter, my one little word I chose to focus on was selfish. I still dig this perspective and will continue to have it in the back of my mind with decision making at this point in my life. It has definitely helped to combat my people pleasing nature a bit! So now moving forward with my word for spring: Balance is another area that I believe it’s easy to struggle with if you aren’t actively trying to maintain it. The balance between going out and staying in, healthy foods vs treats, and getting enough sleep will make a big difference with balance being the focus. A more specific area I want to find balance between is doing things on online vs doing things offline. It is too easy to get wrapped up in technology and I want to make sure that computer screens and my iphone aren’t dominating such a big percentage of my life. I have already set up my moxie goals to focus on balance. I’m excited to see how balance is going to affect my thought process and decision making for the spring!
Warmer weather, I am patiently anticipating your arrival.
Organize old photos, nostalgic childhood/high school stuff: I accomplished a lot of this. I scanned all my old photos, but there is still some more stuff to sort through. Please enjoy this vintage Jess Lonett gem I discovered in the process:
Digital overhaul (back up photos, unsubscribe from irrelevant emails, etc): I did some of this. I really need to tackle organizing my email, but it’s terrifying. However, I did get my 100% out of control desktop clutter fixed. See before and after:
Drink more water, at least 2 Nalgene bottles a day, and no soda until my water minimum has been met: UGH! I did so good with this one in December. Then I started working at a restaurant and it threw off my water drinking and enabled drinking soda more. I am still in the process of making this better, but this goal definitely has made me more aware of what I’m drinking which is improvement.
Run or walk a mile a day or even this from Thanksgiving until New Years. (at least every other day will be a win, but everyday would be the best!) {Inspiration here} : I ran 11 miles between Thanksgiving and New Years. This is definitely not a daily mile or even every other day, but it is more miles than I have ever ran in that short of a time, so I give myself a C+ for effort.
No fast food: I’ve done really well on this one! I’ve only had a Big Mac once and I was kind of hungover, so desperate times call for desperate measures. I also had tots at Sonic a few times. This has definitely made me evaluate what I’m eating more and it is definitely an improvement over how frequently I would get fast food in Harrisonburg.
Cancel Netflix & no TV shows or movies before 8pm: I canceled my Netflix and I’ve only watched TV before 8pm 2 or 3 times. I feel really good about these restrictions. You can read about cancelling my Netflix account here.
Own an infinity scarf. If anyone would like to make me one I wouldn’t say no and I would probably love you forever, or at least until the weather warms up: I got an infinity scarf for Christmas and wear it on the reg. I LOVE IT!
I feel good about what I accomplished in the past 3 months and look forward to continue with the habits I started to form. I’m also excited for what the next three months has to offer!
Today has been a pretty solid valentine’s day so far. I went to breakfast at Pamela’s with the mom and little bro, gave myself a red and pink glitter and heart filled mani, and impulse purchased tickets to see fun. + tegan and sara this summer! I was catching up on some blogs when I got to Leigh-Ann’s Valentine’s Day post and I totally had to join in on the pink ink love filled note!
In addition to writing all these things I love I’ve been listening to a spunky mix about love!
I know there are some Valentine’s Day haters out there, so you, as well as those who dig hearts and glitter, should check out this organization that is using today to fight violence against women.
This is totally a just for fun, full of guilty pleasures, excuse to have a good time mix. Do you feel like you’re 22? Do you want to live while you’re young? Do you sleep in your clothes like you don’t care? Then you will love this mix. It is great for blasting in the privacy of your own car or listening to while you’re getting ready in the morning or to go out at night.
Favorites…
Taylor Swift - 22 | I love all of her album, Red, and this song is no exception.
Walk the Moon - Shiver Shiver | I’m obsessed with anything Walk the Moon, but this may be my favorite of them all.
Flo Rida - Who Dat Girl | Confession: the only reason I like this song is because I am picturing Drunk Ron Swanson the entire time.
Grouplove - Tongue Tied (Gigamesh Remix) & Local Natives - Who Knows, Who Cares (Old Arc Remix)| I don’t usually seek out remixes of songs I dig, however, I have played these songs so much and still wanted them on my mix that I found some new versions to love. *
You can also listen on spotify here!
*One of the remix versions is missing from both grooveshark & spotify*
I was trying to figure out a way to focus on using my time better. I considered some other options, like a pyramid, where I had to always have the bottom completely done before I move on to the next level. I know that for me that is an unrealistic motivator and I needed something with a little more flexibility. So here is my Delightful Flowchart of Productivity and Funzies. Now the real test is to see if my new snazzy flowchart helps me actually use my time better.
After relocating back to the Pittsburgh area I’ve been debating over whether or not I wanted to try to join the Steel City Derby Demons. A pretty typical internal conversation with myself:
Do I want to dedicate the time it takes to do derby?
But, think of how much more in shape you were while you were practicing regularly!
Do I want to drive 30 minutes to the rink?
But, think of how much more badass your skillz can get!
What if I can’t keep up with a team of this size or skill level?
But, think about how cute your tush looks in glitter gold booty shorts!
So I finally decided to at least check out Steel City and see what it was like. No pressure. No commitment. Just being back on skates and making left turns.
All day yesterday I was so anxious about going to their practice. I was more nervous than my fresh meat try outs with Rocktown, which just happened to be exactly 2 years ago this week, weird. I was more nervous than bout days! I had seen Steel City skate in a couple bouts and was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to keep up at their practices. Especially after being off skates and my non-existant work outs during the last 4 months. I felt like a middle schooler going to a brand new high school where I knew no one and there were going to be big scary kids there. Who was I going to eat lunch with?! Or in derby’s case, I guess, who was going to be in my pack?!
Unlike my Rocktown Fresh Meat Try Outs, I was the only unfamiliar skater at this practice. I was super shaky as I signed the liability wavier and geared up. A few of the Steel City girls chatted with me and were super nice, obviously! Derby girls aren’t scary when you’re on their team.
The Romp N Roll rink was a little more slick than Funky’s, plus my nerves had me looking all Bambi on ice at first. I got warmed up and did laps with the team and felt a little more at ease. The rest of the practice went well and I was able to keep up for the most part with everything they did. I could definitely tell my endurance was suffering the most. However, I even survived scrimmaging!
I’m glad I settled on giving derby in Pittsburgh a try. I guess I’m on my way to being a part of Yinzer derby!
I’ve been slowly re-adjusting to living at home in good old Cranberry Township with the fam. I haven’t lived here since the summer of 2008, so its been a little over four years. There have been so many changes with shopping centers and restaurants popping up everywhere it’s hard to keep track of all the new things!
There are a lot of similarities between Cranberry and Harrisonburg. Mostly a bunch of shopping centers and restaurants. Target, Wal-Mart, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy Johns, Starbucks, Office Depot, Barnes and Noble, Panera, Applebee’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Michael’s, etc, etc, etc. You get the idea. Lots of big box retailers and chain restaurants. Making your suburbia eerily similar to my suburbia. Some of these things were in Cranberry first then Harrisonburg got one or vice versa.
This is where my brain is getting super confused. I have this mental map of shopping centers and restaurants that has morphed into one and it’s extremely difficult to differentiate between Cranberry and Harrisonburg in real life.
Earlier this week I was driving to Staples to get something printed. I pull into one of the many shopping centers in the ‘berry and realize this is not where Staples is located. I was in the shopping center that has an Office Depot. In Harrisonburg, Staples and Office Depot are right next to each other, however, in Cranberry Township they are not. I pull into a parking spot and bust out Edith, my iPhone, and search to see where Staples is.
Later that same day I ordered a handmade pan pizza, pepperoni and bacon, from Domino’s via their convenient app! (If you haven’t tried their handmade pan yet you are missing out.) I chose carry out since I was already running errands. I’m driving to the location of their store when I panic and start thinking that I’m actually headed to a Pizza Hut. I pull over to double check. I was right. I was headed towards Pizza Hut. I had zero clue where the Domino’s was. Edith again comes to the rescue. My favorite part is that Domino’s is in the same complex as my old dance studio which I attended from 4th grade until I graduated from high school.
My blurry memory of Cranberry is giving me this false confidence that I know where I’m going. I just need to remind myself that I probably have no idea where I’m going. At all. Ever.
I can check off one of my Seasonal Moxie goals as complete! There are a few reasons I wanted to cancel my Neflix account. The main reason I got Netlix was because I didn’t have cable for the past two years, but now that I’m living at home and my parents have cable it seems silly to continue to pay for this when I can walk downstairs and find something mindless to watch on TV if I have the urge. House Hunters? The Real Housewives of Wherever? That 70s show? At any point in time during a 24 hour span I am certain one of these options is available.
The more important reason is what I am going to refer to as “The Dawson’s Creek Effect”. I just finished watching all six seasons of Dawson’s Creek. Pegs wouldn’t let me watch it when it was originally on, so I had only ever seen random re-runs here and there. I knew the general story, but wanted to watch the entire thing. Plus, I had visited Wilmington, NC,where filming took place, this summer and thought it’d be neat-o to see where I had been while watching.
The thing with The Dawson’s Creek Effect is its potent combination of nostalgia and easy access that traps you before you’re even aware. The late ’90s early ’00s fashion, teen angst, and relatability of a twenty-something you didn’t have when when you were watching the first time is all right there. You can now identify with the college years your high school self couldn’t. All of these things rope you in and before you know it you’ve just spent your Saturday watching 6 episodes of Dawson’s Creek and haven’t had anything to eat or drink besides the coffee you made before you hit “watch next episode” the first time.
I knew if I didn’t cancel my subscription now The Dawson’s Creek Effect would get me again in the form of One Tree Hill or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For now if I am craving some of that nostalgic TV I will just re-watch The OC or Gilmore Girls I have on DVD. I mean changing the discs at least makes you question how long you’ve been watching compared to the next episode will start in 15 seconds feature Netflix uses to exploit your self control.
