please advise

Some things to smile about on a gloomy Monday morning involving searching for holiday plane tickets (incredibly depressing if you don't have endless funds) and picornaviruses (somewhat depressing except for the fact that polio has been nearly eradicated worldwide, which is, actually, a very bright spot in the history of public health). The sun hasn't shone in a couple days but it's weird, I love this weather.

miles davis and bitches brew

regina spektor, guns, germs, and steel

listening to:

reading:

the world i love, the tears i drop, all to be part of the wave can't stop, ever wonder if it's all for you

[image from here]

One thing is for sure- I need to download a new browser. Since I got my new computer in September or October, I've been using Safari, which comes with it. It seems to freeze at least a few times a day, but I can't tell if it's because it's worse than Firefox, which is what I was using, or if it's just that I've been using my computer a lot more often, as well as the internet, to look things up. In its most recent rebellion, when I re-started it, it seemed like every page that I visited last night and today came back up. It was entertaining and a little bit strange to see all the pages that I'd been looking at come up all at once. And have all the music that I've been listening to start playing at the same time:

1. Isn't She Lovely- Stevie Wonder
2. Can't Stop- Red Hot Chili Peppers
3. Homecoming- Kanye West
4. My workout exercises- I was reviewing some of the exercises from my workout last night to make sure I did everything with the correct form today (nerd alert).
5. Basketball videos, stats, and my Fantasy Basketball league. I was doing some research last night about whether I should take some players out today to improve my free throw percentage (even bigger nerd alert).
6. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies on Amazon ready to be ordered.
7. Blackboard (where all information for school is posted).
8. The site I use to stream basketball games.
9. Rhino Iguana (Buddy) and Logan Eating Breakfast. For some reason, Saad thought it would be a great video to send me at 2 AM. I'm confused why that thing is a pet. Should it not be running around in a jungle somewhere?
10. A hotel with a room that has everything knitted in it. Seriously. Also embarrassing.
11. New York Times blog post about economic and social effects of diabetics

I obviously spend my time on the internet in only the best, most productive of ways.

possibly the cutest thing ever

i feel this

two drifters off to see the world, there's such a lot of world to see

I've posted this before, but I'm posting it again because this song is, without a doubt, my happy song, always. It reminds me of a very happy time in my life and of Peru because my friend Jenny and I sang this song a few times and it kept running through my head as I took the train toward Machu Picchu. It's a great memory for 3:30 AM when I need to take a shower before bed and discover that my hair looks like this:

It's hard to remember sometimes (specifically after studying all day with more to come), but I know I'm where I want to be. I never considered going after dreams to be as glamorous as it is often portrayed- mostly sweat.

Dreammaker, you heartbreaker.

i'll try to make you not have to read that letter

i wish that without me you'd be spending the rest of your nights awake

all i know is that you're so nice
you're the nicest thing i've seen
i wish we could give it a go
see if we could be something

i wish i was your favorite girl
i wish you thought i was the reason you are in the world.
i wish my smile was your favorite kind of smile.
i wish the way that i dress was your favorite kind of style
i wish you couldn't figure me out
but you'd always want to know what i was about
i wish you'd hold my hand when i was upset
i wish you'd never forget
the look on my face when we first met
i wish you had a favorite beauty spot
that you loved secretly
because it was on a hidden bit that nobody else could see
basically i wish that you loved me.
i wish that you needed me.
i wish that when i said two sugars, actually i meant three
i wish that without me your heart would break
yeah i wish that without me you'd be spending the rest of your nights awake
i wish without me you couldn't eat
i wish i was the last thing on your mind before you went to sleep

look all i know is that you're the nicest thing i've ever seen
and i wish we could see if we could be something
yeah, i wish we could see if we could be something.

i'm fortunate to have you girl, i want you to know, i really adore you

got it bad.

you don't always have to hold your head higher than your heart.

.

still don't know what love means

a man needs something he can hold on to, a nine-pound hammer or a woman like you. either of them things will do.

Perfect for a Sunday morning. It looks very sunny out and I'm excited to go see a movie with one of my best friends. Early Sunday morning movie? Yes, please.

scarf for jeff

It's really cold here. Still. I'm actually pretty okay with the alternating cold and hot weather, but it seemed appropriate to put up another project I worked on this winter. I haven't knit anything in probably the past month (and ripped out what I had been working on before that) due to traveling quite a bit and never being quite prepared enough to bring any knitting. But I'm determined not to pretty much completely stop knitting, as I did last summer.

Speaking of last summer...

Last summer, Jeff and I were heading to Whole Foods for lunch when we commented on how incredibly hot it was getting. Weather-wise, I am not entirely opposed to moving to Alaska in order to avoid the scorching, humid heat. I was just telling Jeff how I feel nervous just thinking about hot weather. As he was laughing about yet another irrational fear of mine, he asked if I could knit him a scarf for his birthday. He wanted it black.

Jeff's birthday was a few weeks away in early June, so that wasn't going to work out. In fact, I didn't even get started on this scarf until mid-October. And I also couldn't use black. This color, to me, screams Jeff. I tell him this all the time, but he has the most gorgeous green eyes. Green invariably reminds me of him.

I really loved working on this for a dear friend. The stitch pattern is pretty fun and easy to remember after awhile. Mostly, I loved that he loved it.

Project Details:
Pattern: Beagle Scarf by Nora Gaughan
Needles: Size 8
Yarn: KnitPicks Andean Treasure (100% Baby Alpaca)- 3.5-4 skeins

Oh, and here's Jeff (with me and Nitin).
And I can't help but mention this:

you get sloppy drunk, i stay whiskey neat

I worked all winter, I will not fail summer.

dream maker, you heartbreaker.

so gorgeous

Moon river, wider than a mile
I’m crossing you in style some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you’re goin’, I’m goin’ your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
There’s such a lot of world to see
We’re after the same rainbow’s end, waitin’ ’round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me

can't help it if i want to kiss you in the rain

I sang this song to a friend yesterday... it was absolutely, every ounce as embarrassing as you might imagine it'd be. I don't think I really blush, and I'm positive that I was blushing.

You know how you should do one thing a day that scares you? Or maybe that's just me. This was totally my thing for yesterday. I'd rather jump out of a plane. (I say that now)

you're lovely; and so what, you're still lovely

think of all the things that hold you back and realize that you don't need them

think about all the mistakes you've made in your life and make sure you never repeat them

I had a dream about this song.

now my work is done, i feel i'm owed some joy

bright smile, dark eyes
bright smile, dark eyes
everywhere i went, i was always looking for you.
bright smile, dark eyes.

i'm looking for some peace, it's so hard to find.
calamity janes and the steamboat casanovas.
-------------------------
I'm so glad to be home. I like traveling, but the 312 is where my heart is right now. So we can agree- Chicago in the summer and fall, Miami in the winter and spring? With all the necessary greenhouses, tulips, chocolate labradors, pools/sweating, and parks in between.
--------------------------
just pin your heartbeat against my heartbeat
and you'll see how well we rhyme.

-lyrics by josh ritter, bright smile

i feel this sometimes.

butterfly's day out

So gorgeous. Yoyo Ma and Joshua Bell

we are the lucky ones

My birthday was yesterday. It always makes me feel like this, because although I don't always get to do everything I want and have to do a lot of things I don't want, I try to and usually succeed in living every day like it's my birthday:

And that's because of the people. The people who have been there for me these past few months. We don't treat each other perfectly. But we do the best we can and I think birthdays are reminders to make every day feel like your friends' birthdays. That may be the easiest way I can sum up how to treat each other.

And while sharing music, these are two of my all-time favorite songs. Seriously. I never thought I'd be able to pick anything less than 82 songs, but here are two: