Being independent in Missouri for a weekend was a strange, but amazing experience. (For those who don’t know, I spent the weekend on the Mizzou campus visiting an old friend who used to go to my high school). This was the first weekend I’ve ever spent away from home without a parent or counselor involved. It was bittersweet, though; I got a taste of independence but now have to get through another year of high school under my parents’ roof. Surviving this senior year and taking in all that I can will make moving onto college an even more special thing, I guess.

I’ve developed a new obsession with really mellow music. I’m into the new Coldplay, Rilo Kiley, and Death Cab stuff, and a school friend just burned me a Jump Little Children CD. Jack’s Mannequin finally gets a break from spinning in my car CD player 24/7.

Speaking of Coldplay, I went to their St. Louis show with my friend who lives up there (see first paragraph of this entry). She got us really good seats, too, because she bought them the second they went on sale. This crazy drunk woman in front of us really stole the show, thanks in part to her booty dancing throughout the entire night. I was afraid she would hurt herself after downing four large cups of beer, but it appeared she stumbled out of the amphitheater alright after the show. If the tickets weren’t $50 each, I would definitely see Coldplay again in Atlanta on the 28th.

And because Anna tagged me, I’ll close this blog with a survey.
…continue reading this entry.

I’m proud to announce that I was accepted to the University of Missouri for the 2006-2007 school year! Right now, this is my top choice for a college. They have an excellent journalism program, and that’s what I plan on studying. But now I’m faced with another challenge: should I settle for this or continue applying to other places?

My friend is attending Missouri right now as a freshman. Next weekend, I’m going to Columbia to visit her and to try to figure out what college is really like. She also has tickets to the Coldplay concert in St. Louis, so we’ll be going to that together, too.

I feel horribly insensitive for saying this, but the media frenzy over Hurricane Katrina needs to stop right now. Yes, it was arguably one of the biggest natural disasters in the history of the United States, but I’d like to know what else is going on in the world. Did anyone happen to catch that the chief justice of the Supreme Court died recently? I was lucky I saw it during the brief time it was actually covered on the news. That kind of story would normally draw a large amount of media attention, but instead all I hear is how gross the water is in New Orleans. Or how the mayor wants everyone to evacuate. Yes, we know already. I’m not saying that the media should ignore this story completely, but give some of the other news a chance to be heard. I honestly feel so uninformed about what’s going on now in all other aspects of the world, but I could tell you a book’s worth of information about the Katrina aftermath.

Edit I’m editting this just for clarification purposes, after receiving several sour comments about this entry. Yes, I know my opinion is unpopular; however, many of you who commented completely misunderstood what I wrote. Either that, or you just chose to ignore it. Anyway, all I’m saying is that I believe the media isn’t doing a very good job of delivering the rest of the news. Yes, Katrina is a very big story right now, and rightfully so, but I’d like to hear about what else is going on in the world and in my country. I’m not saying Katrina isn’t important or that I don’t feel sorry for any of the victims. Please do not put words in my mouth and make me out to be this evil, heartless person. I’m not, I promise! /Edit

And on a related note, I’m hoping that Kanye West’s 15 minutes of fame will expire soon. I’m definitely not a Bush supporter, but what he said at the NBC telethon was completely out of line and stupid. People will do anything to attack Bush, even for stuff that’s not his fault. If only people would think a little longer before they speak. They’d have such strong arguments against Bush if they just collected their thoughts before throwing around unfounded accusations.

Edit Again, to clarify for people who haven’t heard about this… Kanye West said on live television that “Bush doesn’t care about black people.” /Edit

There’s been so much happening in my life lately, most of which I can’t even condense enough to blog about. I took a trip to New York over the weekend to attend what will probably be my last US It’s been somewhat of a tradition over the years, and I’m sad to see it end now that I’ll be going off to college next year.

If I have time this weekend and decide to go through with it, I’m going to start work on my new domain. I’ve had this one for over two years now, and I think it’s time for a change. I haven’t fully decided yet, though, so we’ll see.

I’m back from Washington, safe and sound. I wish I’d had more time to actually explore the city. Things are always so rushed on my little trips that I don’t have time to do much.

In retrospect, this has been the best summer of my life, and I’m sad to see it come to a close in a matter of 10 days. I learned a lot about myself and other people in the past two months. The roller coaster ride has only begun, though. Senior year begins soon, followed by the sharp transition into college. And I know it will be a rough one, going from a small private school in the South to a large college elsewhere. I can’t even imagine the experiences to come, but I’m excited nonetheless.

There has been so much tension lately between one of my friends and her ex-boyfriend, which is just another testament to how things have changed. My ever-shifting relationships with my friends never ceases to surprise me, either. It’s hard to predict where we’ll all be in a year, or two, or ten. At this point, looking a month into the future is unthinkable. Nothing stays the same: friends grow apart, love dies, etc.

Staying up late forces me to think like this. I apologize if I put you to sleep. I’m off to kill a giant bug that just scurried across my bedroom floor. Thanks for reading.

Thank you for all of the comments on the new layout. I didn’t think it would be this well received, so that was definitely a pleasant surprise.

I’m going to be in Washington, D.C., until Wednesday. Some family friends gave us tickets to a tennis tournament there, so we’re taking advantage of it and making a mini-vacation out of it. I’m a little upset about missing Warped Tour on the 3rd, but it’ll be nice to get away for a few days anyway.

On an unrelated note: I’m a big fan of Lisa Kudrow’s new TV series on HBO. I stumbled across The Comeback while flipping through my Comcast OnDemand stuff, and I ended up watching eight episodes in a row. Kudrow plays a B-list 80s sitcom star trying to make a comeback with a new sitcom; in addition, she has her own reality show to document her life and the progress of the comeback. What you see if basically the raw footage of the “reality show,” as Kudrow’s character desperately tries to keep everything in order. If this was a real reality show, all of this footage would have wound up on the cutting room floor. And that’s what makes The Comeback so hilarious; it’s the few minutes between the “action” that is the true entertainment. I definitely advise you to watch it if you have HBO. Sundays at 10:30 pm (eastern).