See ya WordPress.

After reading some of my friend’s blogs I decided I like Blogger better. It seems more customizable. And I kind of want a fresh start. So I’m basically abandoning this blog, sorry. ):

Click here for my new one.

Grohl. Enough said.

I had a video on my phone. I tried to do a mobile post and it wouldn’t let me, and now I can’t do a video post with said file. SO, here is the post I tried to put up Saturday afternoon after my concert, without the 2:22 worth of “Everlong”.

“This video might have crappy quality but does it matter? It’s the freaking Foo Fighters!!! I won’t bore you with minute details leading up to the concert. Just know this: I saw Rise Against and I saw Foo Fighters, who played a six song encore. Dave Grohl and I were in the same room. Enough said.”

Obvs there was a lot more that went on. I got a tasty dinner from a friend (oh and the company was pretty awesome too.) and the social aspect of the concert was really great for me, but not really for the internet. I mean, some things I don’t want or need to write.

The moral of this story, the only thing you need to know, is that show certified my love for my life and crossed the number two artist of my Concert Bucket List.

Overdone in a not so overdone kind of way.

Here’s the thing about Bucket Lists: everyone always comes up with these huge, adventurous things (like climbing to the acme of Everest or visiting every continent etc etc) and no one ever does them. There are countless bloggers publishing their unending bucket lists that have more tasks than anyone on this Earth could ever actually achieve. Everyone wants to jump out of a plane, everyone wants to go on a Safari, and everyone wants to see the seven wonders. So do I. The thing is though, I know that I probably will never reach the top of the tallest mountain in the world, or that really the chances of me experiencing ALL seven wonders is highly unlikely. Those things are really hopes, dreams, or aspirations. They are not bucket lists. At least not realistic ones.

I have spent a month or so developing a realistic bucket list. Some of these goals are hefty and high reaching, but every single one I feel like is attainable for me at some point in my life. Yes, I want to climb Kilimanjaro and yes I am going to try to achieve that, but for now I have created a bucket list of reasonable and important things I want to experience that are not so outlandish that I can only dream, but actually do.

• Obtain a college degree from Pitt and a law degree from American.
• Qualify for the U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials.
• Feed the homeless, in any country.
• Fall in love (ah, the cliches).
• Hike the Triple Crown (a big one yes, but one I truly want to do) with my Nikon.
• Write a memoir, hopefully publish it.

Before I “kick the bucket” I want those to happen. I don’t feel that they’re unreasonable. I don’t fell like they’re unattainable. And I especially don’t feel like (with the exception of The Triple Crown) they are reserved for a small proportion of special people. They are just some small things that I really want to do. They may not all be impressive feats but they hold value to me and give me something to strive for. Isn’t that what bucket lists really are supposed to do? 

Coffee and yoga pants make the world go round.

I love drinking coffee because it’s warm and makes your tummy feel warm, the taste is delicious, and even though you have to pee a lot throughout the day it keeps you energized. I adore my yoga pants because they are literally the most ridiculously comfortable garment I have ever worn. Everrr.

College is really fantastic. I know I’m only a month in, I haven’t dealt with midterms or finals, or really any stress yet, but I still think it’s great here. From swim team scavenger hunts (where I licked a window, touched some random, buff guy’s peck, and massaged a stranger, among other things) to sitting in Arabic class getting a headache from all the necessary brain power, I am truly happy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

PS: Five days until Foo Fighters. Apparently I get a personal chef beforehand!

HIGH OCTANE!

Pitt football won! Whoo!

I would just like to say a few words about my experience:

1. The spirit of the fans was awesome.
2. “Sweet Caroline” was SO fun.
3. Heinz field is pretty incredible.
4. WE WON!
5. Pittsburgh is really hot in September.

 

Last week…I almost died (LLotD).

Have you ever been in a situation where you know that no matter what choice you make, the outcome is probably not going to be ideal?

See since I’m on the swim team at Pitt I had to go to the fan fest at 6:30 Thursday and help pass out fliers with the dates of our meets. This meant taking a bus. So my roommate and I showed up to catch the bus 10 minutes early and waited for 20 minutes, but the bus never came. The first life lesson I learned? Pittsburgh buses aren’t that reliable. We debated, and eventually Shannon agreed to call a cab, which I figured would mean another 15 minute wait and an unfortunate six dollar fee (this last assessment was based off the three or four cab rides my mom and I had taken here at PittStart which the cabbies ran the meter by distance). Sadly, the cab took about 35 minutes and started the meter before we even got in.

I entered the cab in a hurry, it was 7:00 and we were already 30 minutes late. I looked up and saw that the meter was already at $3.80 which I found mildly annoying. It was just another $1.60 for each of us though, and I just had to accept the fact that was one less coffee I was going to be able to buy from Caribou Coffee. Since I own a Keurig, that really wasn’t even a concern in my mind. Had it been a five or six dollar charge I probably would have (in a more polite way) asked him why the hell he was charging so much already when he was 15 minutes later than they said he would be and made US walk up a giant hill that was about another five minutes out of our way and his.

Things weren’t that bad for a bit until I looked up and noticed that the rate was jumping by time and not by distance. Ahhh this is going to be kind of expensive was the thought bouncing around my head and my situation went from mildly annoying to just average annoying. We got off and headed towards downtown, and the guy got in the lane to avoid the bridge. I had gone out to dinner with this other kid from Alaska and his parents Monday night and we had taken the bridge that he was avoiding because “it was now closed” and so my first thought was that it was newly closed. The traffic was so lined up in our lane I didn’t think about it much until more cars started whizzing by in the other lane. Then the cabbie got the idea of the century (he either truly believed the bridge was closed or he wanted us to believe it, which is more likely) and started driving down the middle of the two lanes, over the dotted line. He tells us he doesn’t want to let anyone in, no one passes him! In his mind he was “Captain Badass” and people drove his way or not at all. People were honking and finding ways around him, and instead of giving the bird like they would in Anchorage, they rolled down their windows and got in a swearing match with him. The whole time Shannon and I are like “ohmyGodIneedapaperbagHELP” and trying so hard not to cry. And because we’re in this huge traffic jam and he’s taking the long way the meter has gone up to $11.50 and I am loosing more and more coffee and it’s about 7:12 and we’re almost 45 minutes late. I’m more than scared for my life as we drive down the middle of the road even as the streets become two-way, and instead of mildly annoyed or average annoyed, I’m flat pissed off. The meter just keeps jumping, and as soon as we get to the field Shannon and I offer to walk around (the fare is now at $15.55 and I’m thinking FML, FML, FML) he decides not to let us, and drives the long way around the field and drops us off at our entrance, raising our final bill to $16.55 and making our driver very happy. At the beginning of this adventure my thoughts were just about the expense. At this point only one word echoed in my head, and that was DICK. It was a reoccurring word, and alternated between a shout (DICK) and a short mutter (…dick…) and I learned that Yellow Cabs is probably the worst cab company ever. I’ll take the bus that doesn’t show up over that experience any day.

And we were able to snatch a ride back on a student shuttle. Thank goodness.

Overwheming

It can come from out of no where hit you when your safe and warm. Okay, nothing really did that for me exactly, but since my title was an Everclear song I figured I could just take this time to quote them.

Anyway, this week has been overwhelming. So many new faces, places, and events. SO many events. I think I will write a post Sunday night summarizing all the events if I have time. But this is a quick update to prove my existence to any readers. I’m at an assembly. Later gators!

I am about to turn off the computer for around 25 hours. SCARY.

I think the scariest part about moving is when you realize that this is it. You’re done here. For me I’ve pretty much figured that I was leaving for college, hence all the lists and boxes and conversations about school. I don’t think it really sunk in until I suddenly found all I had left to do was close up my computer and put it in its case. All my clothes, DVDs, personal items didn’t phase me because I’ve packed them on trips before. But what I haven’t done before is my computer, I always leave that home and just use my phone. As I looked at the case and then the machine itself I was struck with the hard fact that after tomorrow night I am not coming home until late April.

The different ways that different people come to grips with leaving behind a life they built is fascinating. Some people ignore it, simply keeping themselves so busy that they don’t even realize they left family and pets and a life behind. Some cry and get homesick and just hang on until they reach the moment they can return home. Some do a mix of both, just trying to stay excited even though they recognize that they will miss home. Others like me have no idea what to do or think, and that is the most frightening part about leaving my life in Alaska. I used to think 3,185 miles “ain’t no thang” but that is not true, it is a very big number. It is the scariest number out there.

I’m ready for this, but I’m also nervous. I know it’s normal, but I’m afraid. I’m afraid because I don’t know exactly what it is that I am afraid of. However, I know I will be okay, I just need to take this one day at a time. In approximately 30 minutes I will be closing my computer for around 25 hours before writing a quick bit about the airport. I guess I’ll talk to everyone then…

University of Pittsburgh Adventure: Prologue pt 3.

Welcome the final post of my Pitt Adventure Prologue. Part three consists of the last action that is Pre-College (packing). From this point on every college move I make is a new, relevant, and chapter worthy endeavor. (The first one? My flights down there. Oh yes, it’ll be fun.) My prologue finale is beginning now though, prepare yourself.

It is important to know that my family is one of minimalism. We all have minimalist qualities. It’s like if you’re born into the “Wray” family, then this is an instinct as natural as breathing. Knowing that it is hard to understand I can pack a weekend trip to a cabin into an Adidas bag like this:

When it comes to college things aren’t different, and my mom didn’t expect them to be. Shipping boxes cross country is expensive so mother dearest gave me a limit of three boxes (for everything I need in college minus a Keurig I’m getting there and (maybe) a TV.) I am going to take a minute and brag about the one natural talent that I have and that is my ability to be a great packer. I can pack a lot in small spaces, I am so organized with it that it is actually borderline ridiculous. I was able to fit all my shoes and clothes in one box, my coats and bags in another, and all my personal things (for my room, like decor, a lamp, a blanket, pictures, ect) in the third. Each box has a neatly written inventory taped into the inside describing every item I packed, and I still have a tiny bit of room left in each.

I’m not very good at a lot of things, I have very few talents. I’m not a natural athlete. I had to work harder than anyone else to reach a level where I could possibly walk on to a D1 team. I can’t sing and I was only good at the flute because I played for seven years. If I think I can squeeze out decent writing, but I’m certainly not the best. Math scares me. There are three things I do well: photography, crossword puzzles and packing. You can mock me if you wish, if I was an outside observer I probably would too, but this really is a knack or a talent. My skills though, sadly, come from the fact that my family is a mess. Linking back to the natural minimalism, I am compelled to bring forward the cold hard fact that I was brought into this world belonging to a highly disorganized family. We’re (fairly) functional, and we aren’t disorganized in the sense that we can’t find anything important, all our paperwork is filed well, and we get an A on that kind of thing. It’s when it comes to our day to day plans that we just never know. We are a very spur of the moment clan that might decide to just pack up and go to Valdez for 4th of July because we’re bored. That is probably why I’m so good at it.

I drew on the boxes because I was bored. Then I put a webcam photo I took of myself and the boxes on the Pitt 2015 Facebook group, and got some funny comments (mostly related to the number of boxes and not the artwork on them).

A little in self defense thing here. I drew my awesome Alaska, then I got tired and bored and the rest of my art suffered…ha.

Some responses:

The Alaskans talked about our schedules, which is further proof that The Wray Household doesn’t always have everything together.

But you know what? Don’t judge the fact that a calendar in our house will have more red x’s through stuff than a high school essay. Don’t scoff at us because we make plans and change them, or just don’t make plans at all. It’s okay that we RSVP “maybe attending” for every event on FB because we’re likely to change our minds. It’s our quirky way of life and it hasn’t been a major issue yet. For some families this would be misery and stabbing their ears with pencils may sound more appealing. But for us planning ahead just isn’t our thing, and that is okay because it works for us.

Prologue closed.

ARK shoots for boys too.

I hate to bring this up, because honestly she has been exhausted, but remember Rebecca Black? (Just in case you have been in the dark for so, so, SO long click here.)  ARK  Music Factory the one that made her famous, isn’t as exclusive as I thought. I was under the impression that this “label” took little girls and turned them into a superstar for a day. But the company, run by a look-a-like Usher and another guy who charge an obscene amount, (“Friday” was about $4,000 for Mrs. Black. Looks like she really got her money’s worth.) will actually write a shitty song for paying male tweens, dress them up, auto-tune their voices so much it actually sounds worse than before, and then make a cheesy music video too. Turns out that girls aren’t the only ones falling victim to anonymity on the internet and the bad 15 seconds one can get from ARK.

*Click to enlarge*

Kari and I were messing around on YouTube yesterday, procrastinating. She was putting off her summer AP US History homework even though it was due today, I was putting off packing even though I leave on Sunday. (I got it done, I’ll post about that tomorrow!) Originally I was on Facebook, and I saw someone post a parody of Jenna Rose’s “My Jeans” and I really wanted to watch the actual video for whatever reason. My sister, who was down with any form of not having to read Genius of the People, sat down next to me and we were like can this get any worse? So we watched several other videos and noticed a pattern: they were all girls.

Then out of the corner of my eye I saw “Devin Fox” and I thought, OHHHEMGEE there’s a boy signed to ARK! Revolution! Naturally I had to click on it and waste three and a half more minutes of my time. Then I got an idea.

*DISCLAIMER* I don’t want anyone to think I’m trying to be nasty to this poor kid. He paid his money and got a tweeny pop song, which he didn’t write and probably didn’t even actually LIKE. He wanted some fun, a good time, and probably likes to sing. And it is pretty cool to have your own music vid that’s going to get thousands of hits, if not millions. But I believe that ARK deserves an honest critique on how they cookie cutter these kids. So when you get to #1 on the ridiculous list, keep in mind I’m not hating on either kid. My point is that ARK thought it was a good idea. And they were so, so, so wrong. It’s almost mean how wrong they were.

With all that in mind, I instruct you to do the following:

1. Go into your kitchen and find your popcorn.
2. Make a bag of popcorn.
3. Go back to your computer.
4. Sit down and click play on the video above.
5. Laugh.
6. Laugh harder.
7. Start crying.
8. Pee your pants.
9. Choke on some popcorn.
10. Actually finish the video.

For another list, here are the top 5 things that make this ridiculous.

1.  

Look familiar? The suddenly white hair and even paler skin, along with the clever opposite direction sweep of the hair isn’t fooling anyone ARK. You were going for a look, and you got it. So did we, but I hate to break it to you that making this kid a Justin Bieber is probably going to make him do even poorer. Justin has a lot of haters so any look alike is doomed for them. Justin’s fans also won’t take too well to copycats. They want the REEL DEEL.

2. A couple of the lyrics really stand out to me as a fail. For example:

“Won’t you be my barbie girl (Won’t you be my girl so I can take you all over all over the world)?”

Okay if ANYONE asked me to be a Barbie things would go down. What does that even mean? You want a fake blonde with unrealistic tits and an improbable build? Because honey, that chick is way off. (Not a bad thing, beeteedubs, I don’t like fake.) It could be the fact I am easily puzzled, but this confuses me, especially later in the song when he serenades “I can’t say a word to you until I go home and imagine you as my Barbie Girl”. Um. What. The. Hell? Girls, is this creepy to you too? That is like a radar lyric. Was he even ALIVE when “Barbie Girl” made its way to the charts? And another quick thing, how is he going to take this girl all over the world? He’s probably 12. Really now?

Another set of lyrics that really lose me are

“your lips, your lips, so soft so soft, it shines, it shines. like the stars from above; your eyes, your eyes so sparkling like diamonds”

The eyes part isn’t so bad, just cheesy. It’s the lips…it’s just, I don’t know. I can’t even call them stupid, try closer to an oddity.

3. Balloon Party! Basketball Flashback! Balloon Party! Broc’s Dub is really funny, and I feel like he highlighted this one pretty well. The fact they have a balloon party says a lot too, are they eight?

 

4.  First thing that happens as he walks through the door: girl smiles/lights up and walks away from the tool she’s talking to already. That’s cute. (:

BUT! She then begins talking to Devin. The tool is apparently also a creep, and creeps his little self over to take her back. Look at the way he be eyein’ her. Maybe I just caught him at a bad angle.

Tragedy strikes next as creeping tool succeeds in taking girl back. Because you know, it’s hard for a middle school girl to be independent and stand up and say, “uh, no, I like Devin better.” She has to just go with the flow because that’s what we girls do: helplessly follow boys around even if they make us unhappy.  They own us, of course. Then creeper, who clearly believes he’s won this round walks away and does a cocky over the shoulder look that says “talk to her and I’ll kick your ass.”

Our hero is depressed for about 8 seconds until he remembers the BASKETBALL FLASHBACK, so he gathers the courage to grab her hand.

Then he starts singing to her, not just about her, and the creep just stands there shaking his head like “how did this work?!” I have no idea either. Because again, I’m not sure I’m okay with being called a “barbie girl”.

Then the entire party suddenly jumps up and down because he wins and he starts singing to the camera (his back to his new girlfriend) and the chorus keeps playing. The party scene irks me more than the rest of it, I think. It’s really a major ridiculous factor.

5.  For some reason I was strangely disappointed with the fact that this kid had no rap in his song. In all the other ARK productions the producer has his little 15 second rap, because adding a random black rapper automatically makes your song cool. Way to be uncool, Devin Fox.

I’m starting to realize that this whole writer’s block streak has provoked me to sink to ARK journalism, but you know at least it’s something, right? I mean it could have been worse, I could have wrote a done before, lengthy piece on the actual Biebz. At least this is someone you probably (FAIL ARK! REFUND!) didn’t know about.