i’ve just finished my first week of my last semester and i’ve gotta say, it’s been pretty great. all of my classes are interesting but i know it is going to be a lot of work and a lot of research and just a lot of headaches.

but it’s going to be totally worth it.

and i have a lot of wonderful plans on my day off from work today. i’m going to run some errands and to get some lunch. then i’m headed to the movies to see that new movie with harry potter in it…i mean daniel radcliffe. it’s supposed to be pretty terrifying…so that’s cool…because i totally love being scared for a solid hour and a half…totally…

anyway.

i figured i’d start doing music playlists again because, frankly, i like shoving my music down your throats.

oh i’m just kidding.

actually, sitting down and thinking of what music goes on the list is a lot of fun. so yeah.

enjoy.

1. the most beautiful bitter fruit – la dispute 
2. boy with a coin – iron & wine
3. tilde – touche amore
4. electric feel – mgmt
5. passenger seat – death cab for cutie

that’s it.

those are my choices for this week. suggestions are always welcome.

i hope all of you have an excellent friday.

-the lumberjack

so a lot of stuff has been going on in my life. i ended something last semester that a lot of people gave me shit for. but you know what? it was my decision to make. i’m sorry for those that it hurt in the process. i lost a lot of friends but i guess that is just something that happens when you share friends.

however, i’ve gotten really close with my roommates and friends that i lost touch with. i also got a lot closer with my parents [surprisingly] and it is great knowing that they support me in everything i do no matter what their feelings are regarding my decision. my relationship with my parents is really important to me and i wouldn’t change it for the world.

i also met someone…so yeah.

moving forward.

this is my last semester at virginia wesleyan which means i’m about to enter the real world with all of it’s mystery and wonder and terror.

this semester i’m the editor of the opinion section of my college paper, which is really exciting. i’ve wanted an editing position since i started college and it took me three years to finally get one. it’s really nice finally having an editor in chief that can keep a promise.

i’m taking a lot of upper level classes:

• a public relations class that requires a final project of 20 pages of research and strategies for how wesleyan can attract better students that i have to present to all of the deans of the college, the president of the college, and the admissions department.
• my senior seminar in political science which deals with social movements, which should be interesting.
• a film appreciation class with one of my favorite professors.
• a theories and methods of mass communications class which will probably be the death of me. i’ll manage though.

there is a local newspaper that i am considering sending my resume to so i have high hopes that it might work out with them. if not, i’ll probably just continue working for that video game retailer [that i am now the assistant manager of!] and do that until i can find a big boy job.

i’m also moving in with some friends after i graduate, so i’m really stoked for that.

that’s about it…

life is really great. i’m not sad anymore. at all. like…i am happy pretty much all the time. it is really nice not feeling broken anymore. everyone has their bad days, and now i’m just like everyone else. i have my bad days, but i have way more good days than bad days and it is fantastic.

i’ve been writing my novel again and i’ve gotten a lot more of it done in the past few months. i really hope to have it finished by the end of the year. my original goal was by graduation but that isn’t going to happen unless i can start busting out a chapter a week [which i guess could be doable].

anyway.

i’m back. i’m alive. i’m happy. i’m feeling productive and i’m gonna stick to this.

-the lumberjack

so last night, i wrote that blog about the future [i do those a lot] and i was pretty pleased with it. it wasn’t the normal complain-fest that normally consumes my public writings. i thought it was well done and for once i was proud of a blog i wrote. after i wrote it, i went out around campus with some friends and just made new friends and did what i always do the first few weeks of the semester.

overall, the night was wonderful and i had a lot of fun. yesterday was just a good day altogether [other than my xbox breaking but that was easily fixed].

i took this picture a few years ago. the oceanfront is sort of magical at night.

but then i got back to my room.

usually when i’m in my room alone, horrible things happen to my brain but not last night.

so here is what happened.

i was sitting in my bed watching tv and eating some late night taco bell [ a number 6 - steak baha chalupas and a soft taco] when i got a facebook message. usually i get really nervous when i get facebook messages [no idea why] so i opened it not knowing what to expect. it was from a guy that shopped at my gamestop with his friends. we’d talked a lot about world of warcraft back when i played it and him and his friends are the three nicest dudes ever and i wish nothing but the best for all three of them.

but anyway.

he sent me a message and basically the gist of it was that my writing helped him. it was comforting for him to know that he wasn’t alone in all the stuff he was dealing with and it was nice to know there was someone out there who was kind of going through the same stuff as he was.

going to be completely honest…

his message made me cry. let me clarify: i was almost to the point of weeping.  i do this writing for me to help myself cope with myself, but knowing that my awkward ramblings about life helped somebody out seriously makes all the stuff i go through entirely worth it. like, i’m entirely aware that i don’t have a hard life and that i’m an incredibly privileged individual, but we all still have our own problems.

i guess what i’m saying is this: we all touch people’s lives whether we realize it or they tell us or not. there is always someone watching you, paying attention to you, maybe even learning from you. that message made me feel like this blog is worth me keeping up with.

so thank you for reading. knowing that people read this, even if it is just a handful of friends and random people i trick with my “tags”, makes it worth it.

sleep well, folks.

-the lumberjack.

thanks to everyone who serves in the armed forces for doing what you do. and my big lumberjack heart goes out to all the families of those that lost their lives a decade ago. thank you for staying strong and continuing on in their memory.

a real quick playlist.

so i have to head in to work and figured i had a few minutes to post a quick playlist for everyone. it is sort of all over the place but i hope you enjoy it.

1. “transatlanticism” by death cab for cutie
2. “elder goose” by dance gavin dance
3. “aisle” by the bunny the bear
4. “its’for the best” by straylight run
5. “upward over the mountain” by iron & wine

that’s all.

it was just something quick while i figured out what to wear to work. [dark jeans, black v-neck, purple plaid flannel shirt]

enjoy your day, folks.

-the lumberjack