i've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks

forth

So the end of this week is going to be great. I’m finally going to be able to cross a bunch of things off of “The List.”

Thursday, I and a big group of my friends (and some random people who are apparently tagging along?) will be going to Ikea and playing the game “Assassin.” I guess Assassin isn’t really the same as hide-and-seek, but it still counts in my book! I’ve only gone to Ikea once, but after I watched the scene in 500 Days of Summer where Tom and Summer frolic around and act all cutesy, I’ve definitely wanted to go there and have my own adventure. Nothing says romance like pretend-killing your friends with a nice game of Assassin!

Friday, I will be going to the Detroit Institute of Arts with my mother to check out the museum, because I’ve never been! Apparently they have a Rembrandt exhibition going on currently and they also have the Detroit photograph exhibition that I’ve heard so much about, so I’m pretty psyched to go. I’m disappointed that they don’t have any Salvador Dali or Andy Warhol, but they do have quite a few Picasso, Matisse, and Monet pieces to make up for that. I’m excited. I know so little about art, so this will definitely be a chance to expand my art knowledge and also spend some quality mother-daughter bonding time!

Saturday, my friend Jack and I are hosting a movie marathon with about 10 of our other friends. I’m particularly excited for this, because I get to hang out with all of them (who I rarely see!) and also make them watch great films they might otherwise refuse to watch. We’re having them vote for the movies, but so far it appears that the comedy movie that we choose will be a battle between The Breakfast Club and 10 Things I Hate About You, The Horror/Suspense/Mystery movie will be Silence of the Lambs, and the Action/Drama/Adventure movie will be The Departed. 

Sunday, I will be going to the Sundance Short Films Event at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor (if we can get tickets). I’m practically jumping up and down with excitement, because I’ve never been to a film festival before, much less a Sundance one! Granted, this isn’t as real as the one that takes place in Utah, but this will appease me for now. 

Now, I just have to get through this terrible week of finals.

When dealing with something as chaotic and random as my mind, forget diamonds; bulleted lists are a girl’s best friend.

• The SOPA blackout / threat of PIPA. The House of Representatives clearly don’t know who they’re dealing with. So many sites (including Wikipedia and Google) have been “blacked out” to raise awareness and show opposition against the SOPA/PIPA bills. Even I chose to black out other personal blog on tumblr in order to support the movement. Take that, HR. 
• books books books. I’ve decided today that I’m going to start collecting books. I normally check out books from the library, but I think I want to start buying them in preparation for when I have my own house which (hopefully) will contain my very own massive library. I was perusing through blogs like bookmania and prettybooks and I realized: I’ve been on this earth for sixteen years, been able to read for thirteen of those years, and yet I still haven’t made a dent in the list of books that I’ve been planning to read. It’s disappointing, really. There’s so many books that I’ve wanted to read for the longest time, but yet have never done so! Deciding to participate in the 50 book challenge is quite possibly one of the best decisions I’ve made. 
• Wes Anderson. One of my all-time favorite directors is coming out with a new movie, Moonrise Kingdom! I’m beyond excited. 
• My hair. I don’t even know where to begin to describe the disaster that is my hair. I cut my own bangs over winter break… bad idea. Now I have bangs that fall in front of my eyes every five seconds so that I end up walking around half of the time looking like this: 
   
  Not a particularly good look on anyone, not even this dog. 

1. West Coast - Coconut Records
2. North by North - Faded Paper Figures
3. Goodbye Girl - The Shins
4. Moth’s Wings - Passion Pit
5. Today - Smashing Pumpkins
6. The Man Who Sold the World - David Bowie (I still like Nirvana’s cover better…)
7. Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes
8. Think I’m in Love - Beck
9. Sleeping With Ghosts - Placebo
10. Waiting For My Chance to Come - Noah and the Whale
11.World At Large - Modest Mouse
12. Gray or Blue - Jaymay
13. Love and Some Verses - Iron & Wine
14. Towers - Bon Iver
15. The Intro - Xx
16. Armistice - Phoenix
17. We’re Going to Be Friends - The White Stripes 
18. Hey - Pixies
19. Cath - Death Cab for Cutie
20. Two Weeks (Radio Mix) - Grizzly Bears
21. Belated Promise Ring - Iron & Wine
22. Back Against the Wall - Cage the Elephant
23. Hip Hop Saved My Life - Lupe Fiasco
24. Love And Some Verses - Iron & Wine
25. Romeo and Juliet - The Killers 

Read More

So I’ve decided to do the 2012 Reading Challenge on goodreads.com. 

I set my goal for 50 books to read throughout this year, which is going to be quite a challenge because last year, I rarely read any books other than school books during the school year… but I’ve roughly calculated it out, and I think I can do this. I’m definitely going to have to read much more often, but that’s good. It’ll keep be away from other things that aren’t as good for my brain (like playing tetris all day on my computer or mindlessly browsing through stumbleupon) and on the plus side, I like reading. So I definitely think I can tackle this goal.

Here’s a list of books I’d be interested in reading, and here’s where I’ll keep track of what I’ve read.

This is exciting! This is going to be fun. 

things I should definitely check out:

• joan didion, author
• lana del rey, singer
• musicovery.com, music website
• the new yorker, literary magazine
• On the Road by Jack Kerouac, novel