im back.

i haven't been blogging for awhile so now im back.

i found out recently that i will not be returning to radford university.
financial issues. so basically, i have to go through the same process as i did senior year of high schoool.

and though i bitch and moan about it, i feel it might be better for me and my family.

im sure i will have more to write later today. im just tired.

investing in safety

last night, april 2, a radford resident's life was cut tragically short when he became the victim of a confrontational shooting. because this act was not a "random act of violence," radford university, despite having been on a campus-wide lockdown until 3 am and causing stress in students eliminating any chance of sleep, decided to continue with their normal scheduling of classes.

so i carry on like any other friday morning, except, i awoke to three text messages from random people saying to boycott classes. that's right. boycott the school for a completely unrelated shooting. yes it is tragic, and yes it is scary, but its not going to stop me from going to class. i can understand this if one was related or the friend of the person who was shot, but when it doesn't even remotely involve someone you know, i don't think its a reason to miss class (especially on a test day,...like today).

one of my friends didn't show to the exam because he would "rather invest in his own safety than risk leaving my house." (note: the perpetrator has not been caught, but was not seen anywhere after the incident; it was not considered a random act of violence, which means his intent was for that one person) it has no direct effect on me, but i felt the need to try and convince them to take the test. he didn't.

my teacher won't let him make it up.
he will probably have to take the class again.

my prayers go out to the family and friends of the victim.
no parent should have to bury their child.

last minute decision.

yesterday, i made quite a last minute decision to go and play music at sharkey's, a local restaurant and bar that hosts an open mic night every tuesday.

i had just finished an exam in my nutrition class and decided to get dinner with friends. when we walked into the bonnie, there was loud music playing. it seemed quasi-gavin degraw. i love gavin degraw. we sat and listened. turns out it was nathan angelo, a great singer who is quite a big deal (this means that i have apparently been living in a cave). how had i not heard his music before?! his falsetto range was absolutely amazing. after his set, he was signing autographs and such.

i decided to ask him a question, rather than ask for his signature.
i asked how he got his start.
as an aspiring musician, he took great interest in what i did.

he said that he started in a small town, much like radford, playing open mic nights in local coffee shops and bars.

okay.
so then i left, grabbed my guitar, and headed to sharkey's. i knew they were still taking sign-ups. i waltzed in, put my name on the list, and waited. unfortunately, i still looked gross from work in shop before that. great.

it didn't matter to the people though. even though i looked a bit "crunchy" and seemed a bit nervous, they liked my music. although they were mostly intoxicated, i felt that their response was genuine. a girl told me that i sounded like haley williams from paramore. i love paramore. i was beaming the rest of the night.

maybe next week i will not be as nervous, and maybe put some make up on.

Today is the day.

i am sitting in cinema. andy is to my left, playing pokemon platinum (nerrrrd), and, to my right, kara is just sitting.

i just realized how i want to change. it all stops today.

You are SO right.

i was sorry to contradict everyone's feelings on the situation. who knew what my opinion meant nothing.

okay, soooo...

my body hurts. that game yesterday was so worth it though.

simple.

today has been okay.
i didn't have my first class.
cinema was great, especially since i hadn't had to wake up earlier for my first class.
and psych was full of rambling.
i got lunch.
i watched donnie darko with sean and kim.
i played apples to apples with kim, cathleen, and erin.
i played candyland with kim and erin.

now i am trying to see what to do tonight.
things seem really simple today.
its nice. i like it.