So Much To Do... No Time

Guess what?

I started med school.

After so many up's and down's, it's finally here. It was a really tough road, but I wouldn't have had it any other way because I now feel 101% confident that this is the right path for me and it's one that I am ready to take.

The transition has been so much easier than I was expecting. I am strangely comfortable dissecting a cadaver (those OCD tendencies are pretty handy!); I love having an apartment and a city that I can really call my own for the first time; I was able to fall right back into the pattern of going to class and studying; and I am with a bunch of people who geek out about the same weird things as me. 

Don't get me wrong, I really really miss coming home at the end of a long day and having dinner and talking with my mom and then getting to just relax and watch movies or read books for fun, but it's also pretty great to come home to my little hipster-y (unintentional...really) studio and cook dinner....and then memorize the branches of the axillary artery and the muscles that they supply blood to.

Home Sweet Home

But I'm trying to remember the importance of balance, so I plan on spending time with friends, going to a few concerts, keep up with a few TV shows, etc.

Oh, and this...

Don't worry...I'm only doing the half-marathon.

What better way to celebrate the end of my first term of med school than to run for 13.1 miles?!


In short, my balance of time just got way more interesting, but I plan on trying to pop in here every once in a while to therapeutically write about things and share things. Whether anyone actually continues to read or not doesn't matter, I have a tough road ahead and sometimes you need  a place to just write about silly things or serious things.

So, that's what I plan on doing.

No Fear.

Yesterday I learned about the horrific events at the Boston Marathon shortly after I left work. 

I took my still new walking route to the Market East Station, thinking about how chilly it was for mid-April. I waited on the platform for the 5:10 train and pulled out my phone for my post-work checking of text messages, emails, etc. 

The very first message I saw was a SMS alert from The Pottstown Mercury reporting explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. 

I gasped and immediately tried to look up further information (on the train I noticed that anyone who had their phone out was doing the same thing). I read the reports of casualties and grave injuries. I saw the pictures of first responders carrying the injured. I tried to understand the timetable of events as various new reports came in.

As I stood on the platform surrounded by fellow commuters going about their daily routine, I struggled to hold back tears. I thought about the victims and their families and what they must be going through. I  thought about what kind of person could possibly have committed such a crime against humanity. And I thought about my brother.

My twin brother is a semi-pro runner and track coach. While he does not run marathons, he has run several races in Boston, he worked for the organization that was in charge of the New York Marathon, and all of his friends are runners. And as hard as I try, I can't help thinking how he could just as easily have been there as any of the victims.

But today I realized that by letting myself think that way, I am doing exactly what that faceless monster who made those bombs wanted... I am giving in to fear. 

This past year in the US we have seen more cruelly ironic and horrific acts then ever before. We now live in a society where children are targeted in the place they go to learn and grow; where people who go to see a movie about a man wanting to protect the innocent, are faced with a real-life bad guy from hell; and where individuals and their families who put an emphasis on movement and activity in their lives, lose their limbs. 

In a society such as this, it is easy and instinctual to give in to fear; fear of living our lives as we would without school shootings and terrorist attacks. But by doing that, we only perpetuate the terror and panic that these sick bastards are trying to spread. 

Horrible things happen. More so than before it seems. But I refuse to let the fear of something horrific happening to a loved one or me affect how I live my life. So, tomorrow I will ride the train in to Philadelphia and go to work without fear that a gunman will appear or a bomb will go off, I will enjoy Spring, I will #runforBoston... and I will say a prayer for the victims and their families and tell my family I love them. 

I refuse to let evil people in this world determine how I live my life. 

So, please, if this event changes how you live or think about your life, let it be modeled after the runners who worked towards a positive goal in their lives, and their families who cheered them on. Let that be the kind of society we live in.

Back...With Lots of Music for Spring (Part 2)

I'm back. Again. As promised.

This time with some new music releases I'm really looking forward to over the next few months.

Cold War Kids - Dear Miss Lonelyhearts

Coming off their success of 3 previous albums, indie rock band, Cold War Kids, released their fourth studio album just yesterday. Cold War Kids definitely have their own unique sound, one that you tend to either love or hate. But if you have heard any of their past songs then you will certainly be a fan of this new album.

Phoenix - Bankrupt!

This French band had more wide-ranging success after their 2009 release, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (possibly as a result of this).  Ever since, fans have been clambering for more, and on April 22 that wish will come true. 

She & Him - Volume 3

I love M. Ward. I love love Zooey Deschanel. So, I love love love She & Him and was so excited when they announced that they will release their new album, Volume 3 (their third, after Volumes 1 & 2, not counting A Very She & Him Christmas of course) on May 7. Based on the new single that was recently released, we can expect just as much 1960's-sunny-California-ukele goodness as before.



City and Colour - The Hurry and The Harm

I do believe I could listen to Dallas Green's voice crooning songs under the name City and Colour every single day for the rest of my life. So it's probably a good thing that he is releasing his fourth studio album, The Hurry and The Harm, on June 4th. This small taste released yesterday makes me think we will get the same "sad music" style that he has come to be known for, but a little bit more rock'n roll perhaps.




The Postal Service - Give Up: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

This may not exactly count since this is just a re-release, but there will be two new songs as well as new versions of previous songs, and, I mean, this is The Postal Service. Re-releasing the one beloved album they have ever released. It's kind of a big deal. To some people anyway...including me; music nerd that I am. This drops in less than a week, on April 9th.



I have a feeling I am forgetting some others. Any ideas/suggestions?

Back...with Lots of Music for Spring (Part 1)

So. It's been awhile.

Do you ever feel like you have so much to say that you avoid having to actually write it all out? Well, that's how I have felt about blogging over the past few months. But I've decided that I don't have to blog about everything that I would like to...if I don't write it all down then that's okay. I need to just do what I can.

For those of you who may still even be remotely interested in what I have to say, I thought I would make up for my absence with a lot of new music.

Spring is a time of year when I love to try new things, and am usually itching to explore new music. Fortunately for me, this spring also seems to be a time for lots of great new releases from old favorites to add to some new favorites.

Here we go.

First some new discoveries that have really been putting me in the spring mood:

Lord Huron

An LA-based indie folk band (my favorite kind!) that makes me feel like running through the desert yelling and dancing. You'll understand once you listen. Hopefully.




Haim

I had heard mentions of Haim, made up of three LA sisters, this past winter and made a mental note to give them a thorough listen. But to my delight I got to see them perform live shortly after! You see, these three cool chicks have recently been touring with Mumford & Sons. And I had the SUPREME pleasure of going to the Mumford show at the Barclay's Center in February. I was blown away by how much these sisters could rock out, and for an opening act, they really knew how to work the crowd. I don't think you can get higher praise than Marcus Mumford saying you're the greatest band in the world. (On a side note, the other opening act was Ben Howard. Score. And the finale consisted of Haim, Ben Howard, and Mumford & Sons all performing The Weight. Life made.)



The Lighthouse and the Whaler

The Lighthouse and the Whaler is another indie-folk band, but an indie-folk-pop band (is anyone else starting to get confused by the ever increasing names of music genres?). Their most recent album, This is an Adventure, does indeed make you want to go on an adventure. A good up-ity, road-trip album.




Lemaitre

Speaking of up-ity, Norweigian duo, Lemaitre, is a little outside of my comfort zone being an indie-electronic band, but it's infectious. And the music video below makes me giggle.

Houses

Slowing it down a bit with the "dream-pop" band, Houses, their music is perfect for a rainy spring day. Beautiful, peaceful, and melancholy all at once.

Beach House

Staying in the realm of slower, dream-pop indie music, the name alone of this Baltimore-based duo makes you think of warmer weather and salty breezes.




Ski Lift

In contrast, the name "Ski Lift" may not put you in the mind of springtime, but their music would beg to differ (more indie-folk-dream-pop type stuff, go figure...getting sick of those words yet?), and I'm obsessed. Maybe it's because they have connections to this band. Fifty points to the person who can figure out the connection.

Youth Lagoon

When I first saw a picture of Youth Lagoon, a.k.a. Trevor Powers, and read his description of his process of writing music, I immediately thought of a modern-day Bob Dylan. But his music sounds like anything but Dylan. More dream-pop. More imageries of exploring woods on spring mornings.

Langhorne Slim & The Law

However, if you are on the lookout for some modern-day Bob Dylan-esque music, then check out this fellow-PA'er. Courtesy of the big brother.

Father John Misty

I'll admit, I only gave Father John Misty (also known as Joshua Tillman), a listen because the title of the song below caught my eye for certain reasons. But then I immediately liked it. Tillman was once a member of Fleet Foxes, which I think you can pick up on, but he definitely has his own style with lots more folk influences.



MS MR

This one is probably the least like the rest of the bands in this post (although another boy-girl duo as many of these are....hmmm) but their EP, Candy Bar Creep Show, has seemed to be popping a lot lately, and I don't just mean on my iPod. And then there is the music video for the first single off of their debut album (see below). I can't stop watching as much as I would like to sometimes. Watch and you'll see. As the name of the EP and the music video would suggest, their songs are dark but still captivating and grand. "Chillwave"was one description I read...is that another weird new genre name??

Okay, I think that is plenty for today. Come back tomorrow and I'll do some new old favorites. I promise. And I'll try to keep the weird imagery stuff to a minimum.

In the meantime, feel free to let me know what great new Spring-like music you've been listening to lately.

The End of a World

December 21, 2012: the winter solstice; my dad’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad!); and...

 The End of the World.

This certainly is not the first time in recent memory that the end of the world has been predicted (see: The Rapture), but it’s probably the one that has been the most renowned.

In recent years, many people have looked towards this date as one on which the world will end, based on the  belief that it is the date that will mark the end of the Mayan calendar… the end of the “fourth world”.

Some folks have taken this quite literally in meaning that we will experience “Armageddon” on this day. Others have thought it meant that some cataclysmic event would occur. While others have merely turned it into a publicity stunt.

The Mayan calendar ending does not necessarily mean that the world will literally come to an end on December 21, 2012. Most scholars believe that the “end of a world” simply meant the end of a cycle.

Meaning there would be a time of transformation…and not necessarily a bad one.

Unfortunately, exactly one week prior to 12-21-12, for 26 families, their worlds did indeed come crashing down. For them, and for many other people touched by the Sandy Hook shooting, December 2012 will always be a time when life did not make sense and everything changed.

Photo courtesy of New Haven Register

For this reason, I think December 21, 2012 should mark the beginning of a new world; a new time.

I wish with all of my heart that a tragedy such as this did not have to take place in order to ignite a move towards a safer society, but fortunately, some moves towards change are already beginning. 

Did the world come to an end today? No. But many worlds were destroyed last week. I hope that through those ends, we can have a new beginning: a safer, more peaceful, world.

Last week, we all hugged our loved ones a little tighter to show them how much we loved and appreciated them. This week, over this holiday season, may we continue to show how grateful we are for our families and start off our "new world" with a pledge to do what we can to keep children and loved ones safe. Let's make this new world a more peaceful one. One in which tragedies such as this do not occur.

Reading Opens Up a World of Information, Imagination, and Education

For as long as I can remember, books and reading have been an integral part of my life.

From being read "Love You Forever" by my mom when I was a little, learning how to read Bearenstain Bear books on my own, discovering the magical world of Harry Potter, befriending Jane Austen and her ideas of romance, to studying research articles and textbooks on anatomy and physiology; I have been tearing through fiction books and soaking up every bit of knowledge from textbooks since I first learned how to read at the age of five.

Reading has helped to shape me into the person I am today. I learned important morals and lessons. I created memories with my parents and grandparents. I was able to open up my imagination to different worlds and perspectives, both imaginary and real.

It is the basis of my education and what will one day allow me to become a doctor. 

Unfortunately, there are people who were not granted the same opportunities at education that I was or are still becoming accustomed to the strange semantics of the English language (ex. Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo is a grammatically accurate sentence in the English language).

Fortunately, these people are able to turn to the YWCA Adult Literacy Program so that they too may create memories of reading to their children or grandchildren, or gain an education that will set them on a career path that they have always dreamed of. 

But the local YWCA Adult Literacy Program in Pottstown needs resources in order to continue to help people in the community. You can help by signing the pledge below. For every signature, an anonymous donor will give $1 to the literacy program to buy materials.

And just like that, with a simple signature, you can help introduce people in our community to a new world of information, imagination, and education.

Frankenstorm Playlist

I planned on putting together a Autumn/Halloween-ish playlist like I did last year, but then when I learned that my area was going to be hit hard by a hurricane, I thought about putting together another hurricane playlist like for Hurricane Irene...and then I thought: why not combine the two?

I therefore present to you my Frankenstorm Playlist; a collection of spooky-ish, storm-themed, "I need something to listen to that appropriately fits a hurricane in the middle of Fall", songs. At least, my interpretation of what kind of a playlist would be. 



Frankenstorm

1. Silversun Pickups – Mean Spirits
2. Mumford & Sons – Whispers In the Dark
3. Cassino – The Levee
4. Freelance Whales – The Nothing
5. Agnes Obel – Brother Sparrow
6. Band of Horses – Is There A Ghost
7. Jose Gonzalez – Storm
8. Feist – Caught A Long Wind
9. Ed Roland & The Sweet Tea Project – Shelter From The Storm
10. She & Him – I Put a Spell On You
11. Ella Fitzgerald – Stormy Weather
12. Maroon 5 – Come Away To The Water
13. Neil Young – Harvest Moon
14. Vitamin String Quartet – Sally's Song
15. Bon Iver – Holocene

I hope you enjoy it. If you're on the east coast these next few days, please stay safe and dry. If you're not on the east coast, have fun trick-or-treating in normal weather!