Tick of Time - The Kooks

College Touring: Skidmore College

The campus was ugly.
The atmosphere was dead. 
I don't even know what to say.
I mean some of the departments seemed wonderful.
But from the outside, the place was just not charismatic at all. 

First Day College Touring: Vassar College

I love the city of Poughkeepsie in Upstate New York. I have some great memories of it...halloween pumpkins at every corner, every block. They would light up the streets, and the headlights of the cars ongoing the road would shimmer the pumpkins and they would smile at us, glistening with whiteness. Poughkeepsie was a town of play. You could hop up on your bike and ride the curves and hills of the small yet vast city. 

I came back for the first time in about 6 years and I realized the vulnerability of memory. I guess that I am very timid when it comes to accepting any memories of my past as bad ones. And well, I must've reconstructed my memory of Poughkeepsie because when I got back, I can honestly say that I was really disappointed. Either that or it has changed a lot. It is still beautiful, green, and quiet...like the small suburban city that I remembered it to be. Vassar College was amazing; it's great rep speaks for itself. It was full, however, as if nobody wanted to leave the secluded campus. But Poughkeepsie... it was too quiet; you could say it was almost dead. And the people just didn't seem happy. No wonder the Vassar Brewers wouldn't really leave. 

Either everything in Poughkeepsie has changed or my memory has. 

My nostalgia induces my love for it and that will always remain; but man, the soil is worn out. 

Casey At the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;
The score stood four to two with but one inning left to play;
And then, when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go, in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which "springs eternal in the human breast;"
They thought, If only Casey could but get a whack at that,
We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat.

But Flynn procede Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a no-good and the latter was a fake;
So, upon that stricken multitude grim meloncholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball,
And when the dust had lifted and men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second, and Flynn a-huggin' third.

Then from five thousand throats and more threr rose a lusty yell,
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell,
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face,
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the croud could doubt `twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tounges applauded as he wiped them on his shirt.
Then, while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there,
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped --
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm waves on a stern and distant shore.
"Kill him; kill the umpire!" shouted someone from the stand;--
And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two."

"Fraud," cried the maddened thousands, and the echo answered "Fraud,"
But one scornful look from Casey, and the multitude was awed.
The saw his face grow stern and cold; they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip; his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh! somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville -- mighty Casey has Struck Out.

Why
don't
people
understand?
Understand,
people:
don't...
why?

Humanity, I love you -E.E. Cummings

Humanity I love you
Because you would rather black the boots of
success than enquire whose soul dangles from his
watch-chain which would be embarrassing for both

parties and because you
unflinchingly applaud all
songs containing the words country home and
mother when sung at the old howard

Humanity i love you because
when you're hard up you pawn your
intelligence to buy a drink and when
you're flush pride keeps

you from the pawn shop and
because you are continually committing
nuisances but more
especially in your own house

Humanity i love you because you
are perpetually putting the secret of
life in your pants and forgetting
it's there and sitting down

on it
and because you are
forever making poems in the lap
of death Humanity

i hate you

In touch

So I was listening to Set the Fire to the Third Bar by Snow Patrol, and something incredible happened to me when I was listening to it. I think it's the first time I've actually listened to a song so intently to the point where I felt elevated or heightened by it. One day, I want to establish a career so close to music that I'll be able to look back on this day and be like, "Well yeah, that's the day I felt so incredibly in touch with something." 

Spring

I love Spring and Fall, they're my absolute favorite seasons. 

And Spring is finally hear. The turn of the leaves is making me so content and alegre. 

GOAL

Okay so I wrote my first song on the piano. And after like two months of playing it, I realized that I'm getting a bit tired of it. So the new goal is to create 10 songs by 2013.

SEN13RS

One more month. It's just hit me!

We're going to be seniors in about just one month.

Some Great Bands-Listen

• City and Colour (mainly Dallas Green but that's okay)
• Iron and Wine (Just started listening!)
• Angels & Airwaves
• Death Cab for Cutie (One of my faves)
• Wakey!Wakey!
• Low vs. Diamond
• Mumford and Sons (pretty common but started listening to them more this week, some of their less popular songs and I really liked them)