time flies when...

October is going to be a ridiculously busy month for me!

As if the past week hasn't been busy...

The D.I.Y. Street Fair was amazing! Friday I stayed out way too late but enjoyed performances by my friends in Serenity Court as well as Patrick Davy. Saturday I spent the entire afternoon shopping. My absolute favorite artist was Sloe Gin Fizz: whimsical drawings by my new friend Nicole Ray. Every one of her works touched me, and I purchased a print of "Sub(tract) Housing" and talked to her about specially making me a three-foot tall print - both of which I intend to build frames for. I also bought a fridge magnet by one of my favorite artists: Kill Taupe, and a Decemberists poster by my friends Chris and Ed in Silent Giants.

Sunday I hung out with my friend Ben and we watched Mother Whale, Sisters Lucas, Champions of Breakfast, Friendly Foes, and when Liz got off work she joined us and we played a little bit of pool at the Loving Touch before turning in.

The work week after that was interesting. I stayed until midnight Monday night, and then Tuesday we had to work all through the night... I didn't leave until 7:30 in the morning. I went home, got a couple hours of sleep, and came back in at noon to wrap things up before our client's 4:00 meeting. That totally threw my schedule out of whack, and it took me 'til Friday to get back to routine. Friday night Ben and Liz came over and we watched Evil Dead II.

Saturday I drove out to my parent's to watch the Michigan game, and to help paint the hallway and living room. When they took a break for lunch I went to Wasem's to get cider and doughnuts, and after we finished painting we all went to dinner at Red Robin.

Sunday I decided to go to a yoga class at Namaste, and I felt really out of practice. Afterward I met up with Ben and we picked up a suit that he bought at Men's Warehouse, and met up with Liz and had dinner at Fuji. Liz had to go back to work for a meeting, so Ben and I went to Cass Cafe for the 23rd Cass Collective. There were some really interesting noise performances and the night was capped off by an awesome performance by Mother Whale.

This morning my alarm didn't go off, but even though I had gone to sleep after 2:00, I managed to wake up and get to work before 9:00. Tonight I'm going to hang out with Ben and Liz again before Ben drives back to East Lansing.

Looking ahead... this Friday I am taking the day off work to get my car door fixed (it doesn't open from the outside) and take my ritual Fall walk around town for the afternoon. I put extra effort into making an amazing mix for the month of October - it is one of my best accomplishments in setting a mood and blending genres. Friday night I'm going to go to my parents again for pizza night and to watch the Michigan vs. Michigan State game on Saturday. Saturday night my grandparent's are taking the family out to eat before they move to Florida for the winter.

October 17th I'm hosting an Eat So They Can fundraiser potluck at my house. I'm hoping for a big turnout... I've invited all of my friends, relatives, and coworkers. October 24th is the Harvest Beer Festival in Eastern Market, that I'll probably go to with Ben, Alex, and possibly Britney. I'm also throwing a Devil's Night party. I started a checklist of all the things I need to get... let's just say it's lengthy. I did make an awesome flyer:



It'll be Christmas before I know it!

There have been so many great albums released this year! Here's the rundown of my favorites so far (that I'm aware of):

Apostle of Hustle - Eats Darkness
Asobi Seksu - Hush
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us
Engineers - Three Fact Fader
Halloween, Alaska - Champagne Downtown
Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care
Röyksopp - Junior
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Wilco - Wilco (the Album)

that doesn't even include releases by A.C. Newman, Animal Collective, Andrew Bird, Doves, and Grizzly Bear which could always make a greater impression on me.

Last Wednesday I had dinner with Britney. She talked about hosting a pizza and movie night sometime in October, and I invited her to join Alex, Ben and I to the Harvest (Beer) Festival at Eastern Market. I also decided to have a Halloween party (on the 30th) so, if you're reading this and are looking for a place to party... you're invited.

Last weekend was excellent. Saturday my parents came over in the morning to help me rehang the blinds that had to be taken down when I had windows put in, and after they left I played soccer for a couple of hours with a group who gets together regularly through meetup.com. After that, I drove up to East Lansing to celebrate Ben's birthday. We spent hours just talking about this and that, and it was such a great feeling. That day felt like the perfect day.

This week started off surprisingly - with a 14 hour day. The next couple days passed quickly with just a little bit of work. For the past week or so I've been teaching myself Adobe After Effects, and today I made a short type animation that Chris might use in a promotional video he's working on.

This weekend is one I've been looking forward to for a long time... the Ferndale D.I.Y. Street Fair! (I've completely forgotten that the "Funky Ferndale Art Fair" is also this weekend). I am going to be spending practically all of Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday enjoying the festivities.

keep your eyes on right, keep your eyes on right ahead

So, Gina moved to Boston to go back to school. I understood from the moment - about a month ago - that she decided that was what she needed to do that it would mean the end of our relationship. She gave me so much inspiration and motivation over the past several months that we spent together, I don't know how I could ever thank her.

I am going to have a five-day weekend starting Thursday. Sometime in the morning I am going to have ten new windows installed throughout the main floor of my house, which hopefully won't take up too much of the day. After they are finished, I am thinking of going to see District 9. I have heard very little about the movie, other than it's really good (and that not knowing anything will only make it better.) Friday is Alex's birthday, and him and I are driving together to Ben's house. Sometime over the rest of the weekend my parents are going to come over and I'm going to cook them a Labor Day dinner.

I don't particularly mind the colder weather we've been having, I just hope that it doesn't get colder than usual in late Autumn. The way the weather is now would be perfect until Thanksgiving. I was reflecting recently on what my favorite season is: when it's winter I want it to be spring, and when it's spring I want it to be summer. I've come to appreciate the summer more, but with the fall approaching, my usual sense of excitement is returning. The fact remains that when it's autumn, I want it to be autumn. I would say that I wish it could be autumn all year round, but I am a firm believer in the notion that nothing good can last forever. If the best things in life were constant, we would take them for granted. I've consequently gotten better at living in the moment - not concerning myself with the past which is unchangeable, or the future which is unpredictable, but to just be conscious of the life I am actually living,