NYE in NYC

I know that Christmas is almost here, but that's not what I'm most excited about right now.

I don't want to make anyone jealous, but in exactly one week I will be in NYC. So if you know how to do your math, you'll realize that means I will be there fore new years and I will be partying as hard a Mormon can (e.g. soda, unhealthy food, dancing, laughter, etc.).

I've never been before so as you can imagine, my level of excitement is out the roof and with the anticipation mounting, I kind of feel like a combination between this:

and this:

With that said, I don't want to mess this trip up and miss out on something important. So to all of you that have been to NYC, what do I absolutely need to see/do/eat/buy/experience?

Ummm...true love?

This song is the best of both worlds, a beautiful voice/woman, and a timeless classic...I think I am in love.

Sunday Girl - Where Is My Mind? (Pixies Cover)

Me Gusta

I love movies.

Here are two in 2012 that give me the chills of excitement.

The Dark Knight Rising (Summer 2012)

The Hobbit (Christmas 2012)

Ring that Bell

As you all know, I am a real saint.

This was validated last week when I volunteered to ring the bell and coerce money out of people for the Salvation Army. I was stationed in front of Starbucks on a beautiful street with tons of foot traffic in Los Altos.

When I started at 3 it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, it was about 70 degrees and I was warm in a short sleeved shirt. I was worried that I would be bored, but I had a real entertaining time for the 4 hours I was there. This is mostly because I love to watch people and this was a particularly interesting type of people watching since everyone knew I was there and knew I was trying to make eye contact. In fact I caught myself laughing a few times as people did all they could to look natural as they took every means necessary to avoid me.

I was often surprised by the people who would actually smile back to me, acknowledge my presence, and donate money. But what I really enjoyed was watching how people acted when they got within about 50 feet. All of a sudden they would begin to lower their heads, search in their pockets, stare intently at their phone or anything they could get a hold of, and do anything to look like they didn't see me standing on the corner with a red apron on ringing a bell.

One of my favorite things to watch was people take really weird routes through the intersection to keep at least 10 feet away from me at all times. They would squeeze between parked cars, make a diagonal route across the intersection, or just walk in the gutter to avoid walking in front of me. I understand tho, my smiling face and bell ringing is pretty intimidating.

I also loved it when people walked by and gave me some excuse why they weren't donating "I've already donated a LOT to the cause. Believe me." Oh, I do buddy. Or they would say "I donated earlier today so..." to which I would respond by shaking my head with an "understanding" look on my face. I just think it's funny people feel the need to justify their actions to me.

In the end, I  had a great time watching people and doing my best to spread the spirit of giving. And I realized for about the millionth time that you can't just judge a book by its cover.


On a side note, I am now officially half way done with law school. Yay for me.

Never get old

Finals have been consuming my life this past week and as a result, I have been listening to a lot of music. And I noticed the other day that there are lots of songs that I like for a few weeks or months while there are other songs that I like for years and years. For some reason, there are a handful of songs that just never get old, no matter how many times I listen to them. It got me thinking why? What is the difference between the songs I love for a few months and the songs that I love for years? Is it the composition? The lyrics? The style? Is it me? I don't have any answers, but I sure think that it's an interesting phenomenon.

With that said, here is just a small portion of the songs that never get old for me.

Radiohead - Karma Police

The Pixies - Where is my Mind

U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday

The Cure - Friday I'm in Love

The Cranberries - Zombie

Moby - Porcelain

Beck - Loser

Coldplay - Clocks

Cake - The Distance

Weezer - Island in the Sun

MusIC MMXI

You wanna know what the year 2011 has sounded like inside my head?

Then listen to this: MMXI
50 songs that give a pretty good representation.

#ItMightBeLove

I love bike.

There. I said it. I love my bike. The last 2 weeks or so I've taken this beaut for a daily spin and I've fallen in love.

Not only do I love the bike itself (easily the best $150 I've spent in decades), and the act of biking, but I love what I see while I am riding my bike. I've noticed hole-in-the-wall restaurants, side streets with beautiful houses and landscaping, a lot of cool and weird cars, and the overall beauty of the area I live in.

It's been good for me to slow down a bit and enjoy those things that are around me each and every day.. Maybe it's just the fact that it's fall and everything outside is beautiful, or that we just finished Thanksgiving, but I have been feeling very grateful of late for the beautiful world we live in. All around us there are amazing things and people, and if we slow down for a few seconds we might actually see and experience some of them.

If there is one thing I have learned over my short and unproductive life, it is that when we are grateful for what we have we are content and we are happy. So I admonish all of you, slow down. See what the world around you has to offer. The people. The beauty. The unique. Experience more and enjoy your life more. Recognize the many blessing around you and you will be happier. It's a fact.

Also, my iphone has brought out the inner-photographer in me and here are just a few more of my favorite finds over the past few weeks.

M83 bliss

The M83 album, "Hurry Up We're Dreaming", is pure bliss and I absolutely love this song right now. The only word I can really find to describe it is cute. Or maybe adorable. Or maybe cudorable. Anyway, give it a listen. Rather, give the whole album a listen, it is that amazing.

M83 - "Raconte Moi une Histoire" I don't really understand why it's put to this video, so maybe just close your eyes if it is distracting you.



Happy Decembers!