Past, present and future

I went to the Disney concert today, entitled Tale as Old as Time. Boy, was it a concert that made me think about the passing of time. I somehow spent the whole day before it accomplishing nothing much at all, simply absorbed in media. And then, I spent a lot of time driving around to accommodate  other's schedules and requests. We had coffee (tried the new latte macchiato with hazelnut syrup) before getting ice cream (Hawaiian mud pie grabber) and curly fries.

The concert itself surprised me with visuals to accompany the audio, as well as a whole group of singers for the program. (I should've expected this based on all the previous Pops concerts I've gone to, really.) I found the singers decent, but one of the male singer's "gruff" character voice got tiring by the end, and one of the female's got quite nasally. In general, I found the drums and singers too loud; They covered the orchestra. By the end I just wanted to hear more strings, so I was thankful for the Tchaikovsky and Sleeping Beauty feature (though it seemed too chaotic). Favorites; Tangled and Beauty and the Beast.

As we watched, I realized that most images being shown were things that I didn't remember, making me question if I'd seen the actual movie. My childhood was filled with playing Disney songs -- I was my own soundtrack - so my knowledge of them could have easily come from just the book and not the movie. Things that were familiar to others, from Hercules to Tangled's songs, were far from familiar to me. It did make me realize that my memory has little hold.

Driving everyone home made me kind of feel empty, in addition to not really eating full meals today -- I had a lot of potato skins instead. I didn't have enough water and, in the end, I was the one left to make the final call about eating... Even if it was the decision to NOT stay out and eat. I got to chat a bit with Tiffany after the concert, but it just reminded me of how much time has passed since graduation and made me ponder what I should be doing to establish a future for myself. In the present, may people talk about getting a "real" job, which I can kind of now imagine as actually involved in the functioning of our society.

I got some great new tapes today, but everything feels only moderately exciting in the end.

Wardrobe growth

I suppose the capsule wardrobe article influenced me more than I'd expected it would, because after a morning of driving up winding hilly streets, delivering presents with my sister, we ended up shopping the clothes sales.

I pretty much ended up with complete outfits today:

• TOPS: sparkly black cami (flexible), relaxed white v-neck (casual), floral black & blue split-back tank (formal)
• BOTTOMS: sleep shorts (casual), laser-cut black skirt (formal), dark blue jeans (casual and much needed!)
• FOOTWEAR: brown & black strappy sandals (flexible), white & grey patterned slip-ons (casual)

With all the sales, I managed to increase the flexibility and cohesiveness of my wardrobe without making too large a dent in my funds. It's just as well since I saw the cost my tuition would be if I took all the classes I want to this semester.

Furthermore, I just learned what "chambray" means from yesterday's reading, and today I ended up seeing that style of shirt in nearly every store we visited. Let me be honest: I kind of like that style a lot. But, since everyone's selling it and everyone's already wearing it, I'm over this fad before it's even really set in!

Anyway, I'm excited to flesh out my look and reorganize my closet. With mild cleaning, teamwork, and chill adventure as a sister pair, I thing I'm getting ready to turn over a new leaf. I'm excited for spring clothes to reveal themselves!

Hello, 2016

Here's what day 3 of this new year has been like:

READING

Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
A book picked purely because at one point in my life I'd been addicted to Season 1 of Veronica Mars in a way I hadn't felt about a TV series before. Currently about halfway through and the mystery and thrill levels are up.

Un-Fancy: How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe and other posts
I'm not the most fashionable of girls and my wardrobe is a complete mess. I saw this linked on another person's Facebook wall and couldn't resist giving it a read to satisfy the Teen Vogue reader in me. Let's face it - some day I actually want to look more put together than I actually am.

Pitchfork: Albums of the Year 2015 Honorable Mentions mostly for future reference
I'm constantly trying to find new music. Semi-consciously, I tend to stray away from the mainstream and go for the indie or the underdog. Sometimes, that ends up with weird music and me listening to things for the wrong reason. This is a list from which I hope to find something new to love.

LISTENING

Galaxy Swim Team releases, in particular:
- into stardust by astroskeleton, which I listened to in full and found no harm in downloading
- lumine by bansheebeat, which I listened to in part, mostly only "lumine" and "polestar"
- [GST-01], because I wanted to get an idea of the label (I am mid-listen and liked "take me with you" by SYNCHRONICITY)
- a sentimental cry by clover & sealife, something I only got halfway through yesterday because I enjoyed the production but needed to get over the not-quite-as-satisfactory singing

Car Seat Headrest
"Something Soon" and "The Ending of Dramamine" in the first 11 minutes of this KEXP live session because someone on Tumblr posted some really well-shot photos of the frontman and, let's be honest, I have a weakness when it comes to those glasses and that kind of hair. Terrible, I know. Anyway, from what I've heard I am not quite into this kind of music. But I will probably give it another chance in another mood.

FEELING

I Skyped with Katherine earlier this evening and what lingered with me is the consideration of feeling lonely, after all these holidays are over and the rush of family time has passed. It's one thing to stay connected with all the people you know and love and a different thing to spend time in their physical presence. Even though absence is the lack of presence, "nothing", it can still be felt.

And it's that feeling which has settled into me as I've read the slightly chilling Veronica Mars mystery, as I've listened to the spacey sounds of astroskeleton, and the seemingly angsty and distanced vocals of Car Seat Headrest. Honestly, I've tried to move away from lingering in this weird place of loneliness and hyperawareness of the realities of life. I try as best as I can to listen to pop music, to chiptune that moves me emotionally to positive feelings. I avoid thinking about space because it reminds me of nothingness, death, and our fleeting existence. I drown myself in media so I don't drown myself in thoughts.

I know that it is up to me to make 2016 as good, emotionally, as I want it to be. I also know that fears are normal things to have and that they shouldn't constantly be ignored. There will be good in every day, as long as I choose to see it. Skyping with Katherine is a strong example, and will continue to be one in the months to come.

Some other great things from today: sharing Buca's with loved ones (even though amazingly, someone named Roman had reserved for exactly the same time as we had), hearing the youngest sister go through piano books to learn a little bit, and hearing from G about potential planner-things. It's all been encouraging me to do more, such as returning to this blog.

We'll see, 2016. Whatever you hold, I'm sure I'll find something I love, soon.

Me: Do you ever listen to music you dont particularly like cuz you think the artist is cute?? I was trying to find new vaporwave but 2016 music hasn't been satisfying enough...

G: That is literally Kpop

G: So much of the music is just trash

G: But I'm too deep it starts sounding good..... 

XO
R