San Francisco Was a Blast

Okay, here's the thing: I want to move to San Francisco.

Over Spring Break, Hannah Hall and I took a trip to the beautiful San Francisco with my family to visit my aunt Bonnie and my uncle Bruce. Since we left on Saturday, April 2nd, and we were driving, we got to San Fran on Sunday afternoon.

This picture of Hannah was taken on the beach from the first night.

On Sunday night, my family, Hannah, and I took a small hike on a trail that led to a beach. Throughout the hike, Hannah and I took many photos on my trusty camera that I took with me everyday throughout the trip.

It was a very calming walk after being in a car for two days straight. We explored the beach and found some ruins of a building with graffiti on it. We climbed all over them and watched as the sun set behind the water. As the sky turned dark we walked back to my aunt and uncles house before we were off to dinner for the night.

Speaking of food, the amount of asian cuisine that we ate throughout the week was more than I had expected. I ate so much fried rice, it probably got into my bloodstream. But that's beside the point.

Throughout the weeklong trip, we visited some of the attractions around the city and walked around to stores that were close by.

One of the places we went was the California Academy of Sciences. In the Academy, we went to the aquarium, where we saw many different types of fish and plants. It was very calming because of the colors that were experienced while we were down there. We also went to the planetarium part of the Academy. In the planetarium, we saw a show that was led by the staff called Incoming! It was about the asteroids and meteors that have effected the makeup of our earth. It was super interesting and was cool because of the setup of the observatory. We were able to sit back and watch the large screen as the British man spoke over the intercom.

On the hottest day we were there, we visited the beach. It was a different beach from the first night. This beach was accessed by a very long and winding road. The water was very cold as well. I felt like I got a brain freeze every time I dunked my head underwater. The saddest part of that whole day was that I didn't even get a tan. It was a disheartening realization.

And of course, we went across the Golden Gate a couple times while we were there. It was a short drive across the bridge, but it was worth it.

Overall, I loved being in San Francisco. I know how expensive it is to live there, but honestly, I'd give anything to live in such a cute town like that. I plan on visiting again soon, even if it means my limbs might get frozen off in the water.

Anyway, carry on.
xx Em

New Years Resolutions Are a Joke But Who Cares

Okay, here's the thing: I have mixed opinions on New Years.

For one, I believe that New Years is great because of the theoretical idea of a "fresh start." It gives everyone a false sense of hope that, on this certain date, they will be able to begin anew.

Then, on the flip side, I know that New Years Day is just another day that we will continue to cross throughout our lives. People use it as an excuse to brush off that they still haven't met their resolutions that they created a year ago, only to make the same resolutions "for real" this time around.

I understand this is a creative idea, but in reality, nearly everyone doesn't accomplish the resolutions they set at the beginning of the year, yet everyone makes them anyway.

The resolutions that I've come up with in my head have had many different sources of inspiration. I've seen a couple of my friends set them as their resolutions, as well as accomplish them effectively. I also know that I've set some of these resolutions in the past and not completed them.

It seems cliché, but I think that I am really going to achieve them in this new year.

A couple of my main resolutions that I've set this year are to procrastinate less, spend less time on social media, and take more time to relax. So far, on the third day of the new year, I've nearly given up on these already. I've been more stressed because of the start of school after the break, as well as the homework that I've set back up until today. I've also procrastinated doing any of that homework by distracting myself on social media.

I guess those were a little more difficult than other resolutions, but I'm only three days in to 2016, so I still have a while to get myself back on track.

This is a polaroid showing my friends and I on New Years Eve.

My other basic resolutions include getting out of my comfort zone more often, writing and reading more for enjoyment, getting more sleep, reducing my stress level, and being happier overall. I think that those are reasonable enough to achieve by 2017.

I guess another resolution of mine is to say yes and explore more. A lot of the time, you can find me cornering myself in my room scrolling through tumblr in the dark, but in 2016, I want to get out and adventure.

The world is a pretty big place, but I won't see it if I'm not saying yes to things. If I'm invited to go somewhere, even if it's just a friends house, I want to say yes as much as I can.

I hope that 2016 brings me happiness and adventure, and that I get to see and experience a bit more of the world. I hope that saying yes to more things will help me achieve this by the next time it is time to start over again.

Anyway, carry on.
xx Em

Music Is Key: Live Edition

Okay, here's the thing: I care just as deeply about live music as I do about regular music.

About three weeks ago, I went to Laguna Beach, California for Thanksgiving weekend, and, whilst in Laguna, I went to see a singer named BØRNS in concert.

At the time I was given the opportunity, I wasn't a huge fan of BØRNS, but once his album came out a few days later, I was hooked. It all seemed so unreal.

When we got to the venue it still hadn't completely set in.

Before we were let into the venue, the four of us who drove down together, Cash, Kalani, Annalise, and I, were standing in line for an hour and a half. Unfortunately, we were so excited about the concert that we didn't think about sitting down at all that whole time. 

Even once we were let into the venue, it hadn't truly hit me.

After another thirty minutes of standing around and humming to the music playing as hundreds of people filtered through the doors, the lights went low, and the opening band came out.

Even though I couldn't understand what they was singing about (due to the mumbling noises that seemed to come out of their mouths), I was very entertained. One guitarist did this weird thing with his hair where he would whip it up and down as he would play the guitar. We ended up calling him "The Guy on the Right" by the end of their set.

As you can see, The Guy on the Right is flipping his hair to the beat of the music.

After their quick, half hour set was finished, we were standing around for another thirty minutes before BØRNS and his band came out from back stage.

It went by so fast, I wasn't even sure it had actually happened, but I knew one thing for sure: that was incredible. Even though I probably touched and got closer to more bodies than I ever planned to throughout my lifetime, it was worth it.

The music was phenomenal and the vibes were very good. Everyone in the venue was singing at the top of their lungs along with BØRNS. Even when he came out for his encore and sang Bennie and the Jets by Elton John, which obviously isn't one of his songs, the entire crowd sang along as he serenaded a girl from the crowd. He was an outstanding live singer and performer, which is always a plus.

This picture, taken by Cash, shows how close we were to the stage by the end of the concert.

Even the moments that didn't have to do with the music were memorable. Like when a group of guys, who were most likely either drunk or high, began to crowd surf and one of them kicked Annalise in the head. Or when Cash tried to take a picture of a really hot guy, but the flash on her phone went off when she was about a foot away from his face. Also when a girl in line ahead of us called her friend and asked if she "had the glitter," which we all thought was some code word for drugs, but turned out to be literal glitter that they putt all over their face to sparkle in the light. 

It was a great night, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Anyway, carry on.
xx Em

Ants in My Drink (Flop Friday #3)

Okay, here’s the thing: ants do not add extra flavor.

This flop comes from a few weeks ago when I visited Washington DC for a wedding.

At the reception after the wedding there was an open bar for beverages. A group of us, consisting of Caroline, Carolina, and Leo. Yes, I do realize that Caroline and Carolina are very similar names, but they have pretty different personalities. I also realize that this is Leo, the same person who was mentioned in the last Flop Friday post. 

It was Carolina’s idea to order Shirley Temples. She was the one who sparked the idea for the rest of us. This obviously made Carolina get her drink first. She was kind enough to sit and wait for us as we ordered our drinks, so she was standing off to the side, peacefully sipping her drink. 

This looks similar to what my drink looked like -- minus the ants, of course.

Courtesy of Chowhound

All of the sudden we heard Carolina gasp.

“Guys…,” we heard as the man handed us each our drinks. We all asked what was happening, but all she did was pull out her phone and turn the flashlight on. 

Again we heard her murmur something and then she showed us what she was talking about. 

Floating around in her drink were multiple mini ants. We were all shocked and checked our own drinks, and, sure enough, we all had them in our drinks as well. 

Carolina wanted to try again, so she handed back the drink. Unfortunately, her second Shirley Temple also had ants in it.

We felt bad enough for the guy who gave us our drinks already and didn't want to embarrass him once again, so we just left the guy with his other drinks and walked away. 

The second we left the room, I stealthily placed my drink on top of a table and walked away as we went back to the area we were sitting. Carolina was too shocked by the fact that she probably just ingested a few ants into her system because of her drink, so she was just holding the drink in her hand, not quite knowing what to do with it.

On the other hand, Leo and Caroline actually wanted this Shirley Temple pretty badly. Once we got back to our seating area, Leo attempted to drink the beverage very carefully, trying to avoid the ants. Caroline was immediately off to work with her miniature straw, picking out every single ant from her drink. 

This was an incredible sight to watch from my perspective. I had Leo to my left, looking into his Shirley Temple as if it was telling him the answer to the universe. To my right was Caroline, who had the most disgusted look on her face as she picked out the ants from her drink. Carolina was in front of me, with a blank expression on her face as she tried to process everything that had just happened. 

Eventually, Caroline got all of the ants out of her drink and finished off the beverage. Leo spent a half an hour with the process he was trying before he eventually gave up. Carolina had discarded of her drink long before Leo had, but we could all tell she was still shaken up about the ant fiasco.

Later on throughout the night, we went back to check what might have caused the ants to be in the drink. One of the first things we check gave us our answer. It was the sweet, red flavoring, called grenadine, that they put in Shirley Temple drinks. The juice in the bottle had an abundance of small ants floating around in the liquid, clearly confirming that the insects in our drink were due to that beverage.

After the mystery of the ant-filled drinks was solved, we carried on with our night, and celebrated the marriage of the happy couple's wedding we were attending.

I'm not sure what happened to Carolina or Caroline after they drank even just a little bit of their drinks, but, according to Leo, he had thrown up during the middle of the night after he had the drink. Whether or not the same thing happened to the other two girls, or if the reason Leo got sick even had to do with the ants in the drink, is unknown.

The next time I see someone make me a Shirley Temple, I am going to make sure that the grenadine they add to my drink doesn't have a family of ants floating inside of it. I don't want to relive that experience again.

Anyway, carry on.

xx Em

Music Is Key

Okay, here’s the thing: I care deeply about music. 

Some people may agree with me here, and some people may not. It kind of just depends what kind of person you are. 

I trust that my love for music started at a very young age. This is because my father used to sing me to sleep. From when I was a newborn all the way up until I told him to stop. This was around kindergarten or first grade I believe. This may or may not have broken his heart. 

Either way, it made me appreciate really good music. Not the pop stuff that gets overplayed after four days, but the good stuff. At least in my opinion. 

Did my dad play this “good” music to me when I was little? Honestly, I don’t know. If you really want to get a taste of what he liked to sing to me, just listen to this. According to him, it was the first song he learned how to play on the guitar, and the first song he ever sang to me as a baby.

First of all, I believe there is a perfect playlist of songs to go to a certain mood. I also believe that music can cause memories to resurface. Whether these memories are happy or sad, a certain song can cause you to remember the feelings that you had in the past. 

For example, whenever I hear the song “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire, I have a memory from when I was around five years old, and my dad took me to see the movie Night at the Museum. That song played at the end of the movie, and, on our way home, it started playing on the radio. It was a weird coincidence, but my dad and I totally jammed out to it all the way through the song.

I also believe that music can make you cry. 

Not only have I witnessed this on live television shows, such as American Idol, but it has also happened to me. Quite recently actually. 

My favorite band released their album, and I was very “emo" about it. I listened to the whole album in one sitting, and my friends and I freaked out about it for an hour after it was released. We didn't care if we didn’t get sleep that night, we just needed this new music.

This particular album got me feelin’ some type of way, and I was very overwhelmed, and the tears came. At first they were excited/happy tears, but as I truly listened to the lyrics they got extremely deep and I lost it.

Picture this: a teenage girl at 11:30 PM sitting in her room with out any of the lights on, curled up in a ball on her bed with headphones in, and tears streaming down her face as she shook with excitement and sadness.

That was me! I know a bit pathetic but you get my point.

Next, I believe that the way you interpret music all depends on time and place. 

For example, if you just got broken up with, and you're feeling pretty down about it, you could hear a song that you know pretty well already, but you might relate to the lyrics more and it could make you burst into tears. You might also hear a happy song, and it could change your mood around completely. Although, if you heard these songs in a different setting, you would have a different reaction to them. 

Lastly, I believe that music is an escape. 

Whether this means that you are the person making the music, or if you are just a listener, it can be a small getaway from reality. Once you plug those headphones in to your ears and the music begins to drown out all of your worries outside of the music, you can feel like you are traveling away from your troubles and into a state of relaxation. Almost like a drug without health risks.

At least thats what music does for me. If you don’t feel the same way that’s just fine, but I thought I would share either way.

Anyway, carry on.

xx Em

Courtesy of Near Pictures (also how I look while listening to my tunes)

How NOT to Snorkel (Flop Friday #2)

Okay, here's the thing: standing up is lethal.

I learned this fact over Spring Break 2015, when I rented a house in Mexico with two of my close family friends, Leo and Lucy.

About midway through our week's travels, all of our families decided to go snorkeling right off of the beach where the house we were staying at was located. I had gone with my dad a couple days before Lucy and Leo's families had arrived, so I knew what we needed to get for gear.

Lucy and I had gotten our gear picked out, but Leo was still having some troubles trying to get flippers that would fit his feet. We were standing next to the side door that lead to outside as Leo was trying on one of the last available flippers that might fit him.

As we were standing by Leo as he tried on the flippers, Lucy's mom, Christina, was coming in from the beach and opened the door that Leo was standing by.

All of the sudden, Leo started yelling, but we didn't know why until we realized that he had been holding on to the door frame, and when Christina opened the door, his thumb was smashed between the frame and the door.

Many slightly panic filled minutes later, Leo, Lucy, Christina, Kristin (Leo's mom), and I were all standing around the kitchen island. Leo had his thumb in a cup of ice water, and everyone else was talking to Kristen to fill her in a bout what had just occurred. Then, all of the sudden, Leo fell forward on to a bag of chips that were on the counter.

What you should know about Leo, is that he jokes around. All of the time. Lucy and I, who had been around this joking sense of humor for a couple of days started laughing at what Leo was assumably joking around about. But, when he knocked over the cup of ice water, when he fell, we started to worry.

"Leo, you spilled the water, stop!" I remember Lucy saying seconds before we realized what was happening.

He wouldn't have taken the joke to the point where it made a huge mess, so we know that something was seriously wrong. As we all realized that he had passed out, and were about to help him, his entire body gave out, and he fell to the floor, taking the bag of chips with him to the ground.

We were all shocked, but Kristen's reaction was the worst. She began screaming bloody murder for help, and immediately started crying. My mom ran in and lifted Leo's head to make sure he was okay. Kristen was still having a breakdown because her son had just collapsed when I heard a voice coming from the ground say, "Mom. I'm fine."

It really was a scare, but the rest of the week went by great. Although we had to spend the rest of the day making sure nothing serious had happened to Leo after the fall, we still had a good time.

This photo, taken by my dad, perfectly captures the events that occurred in the hours after Leo passed out.

The moral of this (literal) flop story is, if you have been injured, please sit down. If, for some reason, your injury leads you to faint, the only place you can go from standing up is down. And there's a very large chance that you won't land on a nice fluffy pillow. The only pillow Leo got was an unopened back of tortilla chips, but they didn't do much to help.

Anyway, carry on.
xx Em