Idaho

     So I'm currently listening to this album.  I've been in love with it for a while, but now as February roles in and my usual bout of the February Blues is gearing up in full swing, I find myself listening to this and craving summer.  This song (the whole album, really) makes me dream of lazy summer nights, that gorgeous time around eight or nine where the sun's starting to set and the trees and grass are silhouetted black against the sky.  Sitting around a campfire with friends, maybe at the beach.  The air is so fresh and the temperature is perfect and you just breathe in and everything is free and fine.  It makes me think of going for drives with friends and listening to the most mellow music and having the deepest conversations.  Everything is out in the open, everyone is home.
     Summer is so nice, especially the evenings.  It doesn't get dark ridiculously early; you can wander around wherever you please for however long.  The park, your neighborhood, anywhere.  One thing I miss is the feeling of the sun kissing your skin.  Whether it's in the middle of the day or near the end of it, there's no feeling like the summer sun.  Summer is easy.  You can relax, tilt your head back, stare at the sky, lounge in the sun, listen to music, read your favorite book; anything.
     So as I listen to Idaho by Gregory Alan Isakov, I miss summer.  It's just around the corner, but with school, cold weather and waking up in the dark, it convincingly looks miles away.  For now I guess all I get are images in my mind of summer sunsets and endless conversations.
     Anyone out there?  I'm doubtful.  But reader, if you are, what's your favorite part about summer?  Do you miss it, too?  Or do you hate it; more of a winter person?
     Here's to February Blues edition 2012; I miss my Vitamin D.

Dressing in the Dark

     My alarm went off promptly at 5:03am this morning, just like it does every weekday.  Don't ask me why 5:03, because I couldn't tell you - it's not like I actually get my ass out of bed at that time.  I used to, in Grade 11.  Then I discovered my hair looked pretty decent in its natural curly state; don't need to get up to straighten my hair every day now?  Better use that time to sleep!  It's probably a habitual thing.  Either that or it's some OCD part of me.  But that's okay. 
     Anyway, I'm opening my eyes to the dark of my bedroom.  The first thing I see is the red stare of the numbers on my digital alarm clock radio.  I reach over to hit the snooze button and all of a sudden that noise-of-every-electric-appliance-or-thing-in-your-household-shutting-down happened and the red numbers are gone.  Huh.  What the hell just happened there?  At first 5:03am half-asleep me thought I might have blown a fuse; there was still light coming from the night-light in the hallway (mainly there so if I or my brother need to stumble into the bathroom in the wee hours of the morning neither of us fall down the stairs).  So I reached over to turn the lamp behind my bed on because it's plugged into another outlet.  No dice.  Feeling a little annoyed, I got out of bed and walked across the room to flick the light switch.  Still no dice.  Well hell.  It took me forever to catch on - hey, it was 5am.  I opened my bedroom door and looked down the stairs and saw nothing; it could have been a black hole down there, seriously.  Normally there's a little night-light in the hallway down there, but the black abyss told me it was not on.  Oh.  So, the power's out.  Great.
     I didn't care that much.  I mean, it was still 5am, and I wasn't going to need to get up until around seven to pack my bag, put on some clothes and slap on some makeup.  I assumed it'd be back on in five minutes anyways.  I shut my bedroom door quietly and listened for the sounds of heavy wind.
      Except there was no sound of heavy wind.  There was maybe a slight breeze.  And some rain hitting the roof.  Still not bothered, I set the alarm on my iPhone for 6:30.  Open my eyes an hour later to see, well, not the red numbers of my alarm clock.  Um.  I shrugged, reset the alarm for 6:45 and closed my eyes for 15 more minutes of sleep.  Mum rapped on the door to tell me the power was out.  I mumbled back something sarcastic.
     Finally crawled out of bed at around seven.  Stumbling around in the dark I tried to find clothes that matched, by candle-light and the light of my laptop.  I don't care what anyone says, getting dressed in the dark is hard.  My bangs were an unruly mess (I usually straighten just them) but no power meant no straightener.  I was past the point of caring - I really just wished the rest of the city was lacking power so I wouldn't have to go to school.  But again, no dice.
     What later annoyed me was that the power was on until I woke up.  Literally seconds after I opened my eyes the power went off.  Had it been spring or summer it wouldn't have mattered nearly as much, if at all - it's light out so early.  But late January?  It's dark until like, 7 or 7:30. 
     Redeeming part of my morning?  We didn't leave for Halifax until after eight, which meant more naps for me.  I also got a drive from Mum to Starbucks and to the front door of my school.  So I didn't get drenched, that was cool.
     So after the stressful morning, I decided I'd have a relaxing night.  I indulged in a hot bath with a bath bomb from Lush.  Yum!
     Well, that was my day.  I'm happily sitting in bed all nice and toasty blogging about it now, perhaps going to make some tea. 

Musings

Currently listening to: Fast, Fast - Let's Buy Happiness

     So today, I stayed home sick.  I shouldn't have, because today was the only day of journalism classes I get this week, but I was so not feeling getting out of bed.  I could hear the wind blowing outside, I knew it was supposed to rain, my head was pounding (no, I did not party last night) and my throat was on fire.  My bed held me in its warm embrace - ever notice how your bed is at its comfiest when it's time to get out of it?  I stood up and had that gross dizzy feeling that comes with a head cold; nope, today was not happening.  The prospect of dragging myself out of bed and venturing over to Halifax to actually do work and listen to lectures I wouldn't get anything out of because I'd be too busy noticing the incessant throbbing in my head just didn't seem so appealing.  So I told mum I wouldn't be joining her on our daily morning journey across the harbour and crawled back into bed... and slept.
      I guess we all need a 'me' day every once in a while, and today was one of those days.  Eventually I woke up and made a cup of coffee.  Forgot to mention in my intro: I am hopelessly addicted to coffee.  Perhaps not actually addicted, but I drink it faithfully at least once a day (um, usually twice or more but..).  Brought the laptop downstairs and worked on my journalism assignment due today.  I thought it turned out pretty well; we had to interview someone about a loved one who had passed away.

     I like sitting at my kitchen table when I'm home alone - we have a really great view of a lake because the house is on the side of a hill.  It's peaceful.  Today was a dreary, cloudy, foggy, bleak day.  Shocking weather for the East Coast, right?  You get used to it, after a while.  Granted, you'll never stop complaining about it, but it does grow on you.  Besides, it makes you all the more grateful for the sunny days!

Typical view from the kitchen window - only now the trees are bare and it looks (and is) colder

Introduction

Well hey there.  I decided I'd start a blog.  I'm not one hundred percent sure which direction it'll be headed in, but hey, all the more fun it'll be.

Let's start with the basics.  I'm going to try to remain anonymous.*  What you can know is that I'm an eighteen-year-old girl living in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.  It's a pretty average city that has been the brunt of a lot of jokes, lately.  This charming little town has churned out some great musicians, Joel Plaskett and Matt Mays to name a few.  (Haven't heard of them? Listen to two of my favourite songs here [Joel] and here [Matt]).  I may be biased; these guys have super nostalgic value for me, reminding me especially of high school.  They sound like the East Coast (is that weird? Probably), in a way.  They sound like home.

I'm currently attending classes at the University of King's College, located across the harbour in the lovely city of Halifax.  Let's get this one thing straight: I LOVE my university.  I couldn't have asked for a better first year, and it isn't even over yet.  I'm studying journalism over the course of my four years there, but currently I'm in the Foundation Year Programme, which dominates a lot of my time. 

I'm also really into music.  I love finding new bands and musicians to listen to as often as possible - if you know of any, I'm always open for suggestions.  I intend on making music a key part of this blog.
I guess that covers all the bases.  If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments.  I'll be setting up a specific email for this blog soon!

*I was going to try that, but it'll come out sooner or later