success!!!!

i had a fulfilling, successful day! you may have gotten that impression from the previous blog post. i will elaborate:


:: i woke up this morning and thought, "UGH I AM ALREADY BORED." and i did not want to get out of bed, because although bored, i was comfy and warm. but eventually i got up.

still bored. and i kept thinking, "i wish i was night so then i could go back to sleep, wake up, and then go home." i thought that for a while. and then remembered that on thursday in a blog entry i had said i would read a book today.

JULIE: Hm, okay. I'll do that.

so, i made coffee. had a bowl of chocolate cheerios and vanilla soy milk and picked up my book, 'Things the Grandchildren Should Know' by Mark Oliver Everett, otherwise known as "E" from the band, Eels.

i had been talking about this book with my friend Andrew, because E is his hero and the person to which he holds the utmost respect. Andrew loves Eels.

and then! for my birthday, i got the book in the mail from Andrew. i was very excited about this.

and so today - i read it.

i started off by listening to some Eels to get in the mood. a little 'packing blankets.' a little, 'hey man (now you're really living.)' a little, 'love of the loveless.' i was excited to read.

so i started the book. immediately liked it a lot.

IF YOU REMEMBER FROM LAST SUMMER, (29 august to be exact) i posted a list that i had written of all the books i wanted to read. and this book was on there. i found out about this book through Darren from Phantom Planet.

i made the mistake of writing that list down on a piece of cardboard that i had lying around. Ruby Tuesday quickly turned it into a chewing toy and it's all chewed up on the floor of my recycling closet.

anyways - i finished the whole book!! started around.....2pm, maybe. finished around....7:30pm. maybe. it's a quick read! very sad, and very funny. but, not like most things where it's so depressing that it's funny. not like that. like, there were very funny parts, and very sad parts, but neither of those emotions were caused by the other one.

very sad. i kind of couldn't believe it. but, overall a very hopeful book. if you know all about his life, it really changes the meaning of the song lyrics. and he writes the song lyrics into the book during each crucial moment so you know which songs correspond to which times in his life. really well done.

and just overall awesome too, to see how he became an indie rock star. and the book ends with him performing at Royal Albert Hall and he kind of reflects on everything you've just read, and everything he's been through in his life, and it's very moving. and very satisfying. for both you and for him. i was so happy for him, it was crazy.

he talks about Elliott Smith too, and how they were friends and how upset he was when he died. he also talks about performing at KROQ and KCRW radio, which i thought was cool because i know those stations from Crash Kings performances.

anyways - great book. thanks andrew :)


i also put my real license plates on my car. it was a task i didn't want to do. mainly because it involved kneeling in the dirt holding a tool. a wrench, i believe is what they call it.

but, i did it. i changed the license plates. OH, but i forgot to change the sticker on the license plates. they did have the 2011 pink sticker on it. but, i have to switch it back to 2010. the 2011 was from my old car. i don't understand it. but, i actually really like the car, so i'll do what they tell me to do.



TODAY I ALSO:

- took a shower which made me feel very good
- read this article on the use of the colors teal and orange when making movies. apparently, it's a bad thing. I KNOW, it sounds totally awesome. but, it's actually lame. and it made me a little sad.
- ate a sandwich which was delish
- painted my fingernails hot pink and my toenails yellow
- packed my bag to go to maine!

- i also downloaded songs from this scottish band called, We Were Promised Jetpacks. i had heard of this band via a tweet from Crash Kings saying, "check out this band we heard at SXSW!" and i did, and i liked them. but forgot about them until this morning and then couldn't remember what they were called.

so i googled, "scottish indie band" and found this wikipedia article about all the scottish rock bands. love it! who knew that Franz Ferdinand was scottish?!!? i didn't! but, i found the band and discovered that their drummer's name is Darren Lackie. this made me immediately fall in love with the band, and also with Darren Lackie. what a great name, right?!?!? so great. if you don't think it's a great name - say it out loud in your best scottish accent. YEAH! so great!

anyways, their songs are pretty good. i like them. and although i'm not quite ready to put them in my awesome ipod playlist, i will continue to listen.


* SOMETHING I AM EXCITED ABOUT *

i am very excited about the movies i am getting from netflix on saturday. that's technically today for those of us reading on the east coast.

HERE'S THE AMAZING SELECTION I AM GETTING:

- The O.C.: season 2, disc 3
- Where the Wild Things Are
- Twilight: New Moon

NEW MOON!!!!! IN MY MAILBOX!!!!!!! i'm super excited! PATTINSON! ROBERT PATTINSON!

i hope the second movie features my chandelier! remember how they put it in the first movie?? yeah, that was really exciting.

also - if you read through that old blog post, i talk about dying my hair darker so that the teal streak will look more rockstar. so, apparently i was planning on for serious doing the teal streak sometime almost exactly one year ago. that was 28 march. whoa! crazy, right?

because i just dyed my hair darker last week so that the teal streaks would look more 'rockstar.' and i'm getting Twilight in the mail! kind of like deja vu. weird.

maybe it's a sign that once i streak my hair teal Robert Pattinson will want to marry me. hmm... i would probably say yes. he seems like a greasy boy.

FOR SERIOUS, now every time i hear a JET song i have to smile a little thinking about their greasiness. i am totally more attracted to them now that i know they rarely shower. WHY?!?! i don't know. i can't even explain it a little bit.

hm, what else.

it's currently 12:51am. saturday morning.

i haven't been sleeping very well lately. the past few nights it's taken me SOOOO LONG to fall asleep. one night it got to be like, 5:30am before i finally fell asleep. last night it was like, 4:30, i think.

but then, i'll wake up a few hours later and still won't be tired. and again, it takes me forever to fall asleep.

i guess i took that nap on thursday night. from 8:30 to 10pm. because i could barely keep my eyes open all day!

i think Kara suggested recently, "you should just become a vampire." maybe. maybe after i streak my hair teal, i will attract a vampire and then i will become one. and we will live together happily during the night.

but last night while i was sleeping, i had another dream where i went to a Crash Kings concert. actually, it was the one in West Chester that me and Ryan are going to. and before we left Boston i tweeted to them saying, "we're driving to the show from Boston! don't start without us! love, julie and ryan."

and then we got to the show, and that scary band Owl was playing. only, i think they were playing cover songs.

NO! here's what it was: it was this weird stage that was super tiny and like, half outdoors, half indoors. and Crash Kings and Owl would alternate songs. like, Owl play one song, Crash Kings play one song, Owl, CK's, Owl, CK's. for the whole show.

AND TONY was wearing a blue and black plaid shirt. and as soon as he came out on stage i said,

JULIE: OMG I have the same shirt!!

because, i do. i have that blue and black plaid shirt. and that's the one he was wearing. which made me do some deep, deep thinking about Tony and why i am so jealous/obsessed with his clothing. WHY? i don't know.

but back to the dream: i had my camera and was filming the show the whole time. but, whenever i looked through the camera lens at the show, it looked like it was in one of those crazy fun house mirrors. where everything is crazy shaped and distorted. but, when i looked in real life, it was normal. that was spooky.

and then there was one part where Tony actually got up and played a guitar. and i remember thinking,

JULIE: No, that's not right. It looks so strange...

and yes, it did look strange.

and i remember feeling bad because every time Owl would come onstage, most of the people in the crowd would leave. and one time, one of the guys in Owl said,

OWL GUY: Should we wait a few minutes to see if more people show up?

but then Crash Kings would come back on and the place would be packed. into the street! yep. because it was half indoors, half outdoors.

it was a strange dream. i also think it didn't take place in West Chester, but in Japan. like, it was the club in West Chester, only in Japan. i'm glad they're not playing in Japan, because we definitely couldn't drive there from Boston in 7 hours.

anyways - that was my dream. another Crash Kings dream. to add to the list of many. keep 'em coming, subconscious. i don't mind one bit.


OK. 1:06am. i might try and sleep. i just yawned. that is a good indication. although, meaningless. perhaps i'll pack up my computer and other such things so i will have less to do in the morning.

the less i have to do in the morning, the better chance i have of leaving on time. which, ideally, is 10am.

i'm going to drive to maine, and then my mom and i are taking my grandmother out for lunch. i am excited about this.

alright, friends. i hope everyone has beautiful, exciting plans for this lovely weekend. i have heard there is supposed to be nice weather. personally, i thought today was too bright.

ok! i am off to try and sleep. have a great night. take care. drive safe. be well. love.



<3!