So This Is The New Year

And I don't feel any different...

Well, actually I do. I was just quoting Death Cab for Cutie. Anyways!

It's the third day of 2013 (though I will most likely be writing 2012 by accident for the next month) and I do feel a little different. Maybe it's because we all survived the December 21 apocalypse.

I stayed in for New Years, drank wine, and lit off sparklers from the back porch. Fireworks are illegal in North Carolina, but I'm so close to South Carolina I was able to see them in the distance from Lake Wylie. I felt so old because I was tired by nine and had to force myself to stay up to midnight.

Then it hit me, I'm going to be 24 this year.

...

It's just like...weird to me.

I'm currently trying to get my apartment organized. However, I did have a job interview yesterday and if I get it I'll be relocating anyway. It's still in Charlotte, but that's okay. I have a really good feeling about the job. I don't want to say too much yet, but I felt really welcome and comfortable in the office. The job itself seems really cool and interesting. The man I interviewed with was very kind and also had shared interests with me, such as playing guitar. It's always nice to talk about stuff that isn't the position at a job interview.

I haven't come up with resolutions yet. I know, I'm awful. And lazy. Well I do have one: Get healthier. I have a couple bad habits I need to break. I need to eat better and start working out. I think if I can come up with a plan, and stick to it, I'll be okay.

Does anyone else have resolutions they want to share?

I leave you with this photo of me from when I was seventeen and living in Illinois:

And this photo I took/manipulated in photoshop from that same day:

And this photo I didn't take and don't know the source:

So Will The World End Tomorrow?

It's raining pretty hard here in Charlotte. Fitting, ominous weather for the prospective end of the world.

Personally I don't think it's going to end. I mean we had Y2k, "the rapture', and lots of other doomsday threats. If it does end, well at least I was able to accomplish one thing.

Remember my post about Portfolio Show and being done with college? Well, a few days ago I actually graduated. Cap and gown, diploma, the whole shebang.



 

Please excuse my dirty mirror and hairspray.



Also excuse my messy apartment. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to play a banjo. But, I really enjoy that in order to get confirmation of my education, we are forced to wear robes and a silly hat.
These would be the wonderful graphic designers I spent four years with, minus a few who decided not to walk. The pretty lady standing behind me in the black dress is Erin. She's probably one of my closest girl friends. The kid in the front, with the glasses, got like every single honor and award possible. Graphic Design wizard, yo.



 

 



 

I got to wear a white thing cause I got a Bachelor's degree.



Mom and dad drove all the way up from Pickens to come see me :) Unfortunately my siblings couldn't make it, but they congratulated me.



 

My and my mommy :)



 

Sorry they're sideways. I didn't feel like going into Photoshop to flip them. But, behold my diploma! Yeah. I'm awesome. After we went to a restaurant called Halcyon. All the ingredients are local and organic. We got a bottle of white wine, a cheese platter, and then my dad had something crazy and I split a burger with my mom. It was delicious but I was scared the burger wasn't cooked because it was SO red in the middle. But I ate it because it was awesome and did not get sick. Justin had scallops.

I didn't get the job in Nashville :( but it's okay. We finally have internet here and I can continue looking while Justin works. We're thinking about looking for a house in the Fort Mill/Rock Hill area.

Unfortunately, he's sick right now and I'm trying to nurse him back to health with soup and tea. I can hear him coughing from out here :( Poor boy. Well, until I get photos of my newest vintage products, that's really it for now. Hopefully the world will still be intact.

 

Eli Parker

Everything from relaxing alone whilst engaging in a creative hobby to an evening with friends, I have your music fix right here. Yes, I am straying from clothing again! You will not regret it.

I met Eli Parker in a crazy little turn of events involving a jeep flying over a curb in front of a local bar/market here in Charlotte. The person I was meeting was standing there with Mr. Parker, and soon after they saw me in passenger seat, bouncing around as the jeep was maneuvered over the curb to find parking, I found myself in the backseat of his car, on my way with them to a house show. Later that night, I knew we would become friends when he was the only one who realized I was incredible pain after a random sty blossomed in my right eye. Not only is he talented, but also incredibly kind.

After engaging in the typical social drinking and mingling with each other, Eli Parker sat alone behind a microphone with his guitar and began playing.

Immediately I was reminded of Elliott Smith. With light vocals that seem to float around the air mixed with simple yet emotional acoustic melodies, there was a pensive and thought-provoking atmosphere and made me want to close my eyes and drift off into a different place where nothing matters but being able to listen. There is nothing better than expressing something so simply and yet still having a mysterious complexity. A lot of music these days miss that, focusing only on how much noise can equal a catchy song. I present to you here an artist that has it all figured out.

Parker’s album In Her Room is full of honest and clever lyrics and heartfelt sounds that circumference beauty and strength.  You can listen to it by clicking his album cover:



Currently he is working on another album that I absolutely cannot wait to hear.

I will leave you with this video, and don’t forget to visit his Facebook page.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hRSO9lMxWQ&w=560&h=315]

 

If you are in Charlotte, make sure to go see him play sometime!

I hope everyone has a safe and awesome Memorial Day weekend!