Inner...Inner City...Inner City Pressure

After a hiatus, I am back to the blog (at the frequent request of Melinda Loving).

I finally moved in to the new apartment on Monday (August 16th) and am looking forward to a great year. I am just a huge "fan" of the way academic advisors are such a great resource when it comes to my life and studies (I hope the sarcasm is evident). I am having to go through numerous hurdles in order to secure my dual degree in both Music Performance and Political Science. Luckily, I have it under control and this semester is finally all figured out (did I really just end my sentence with a preposition?). Classes so far are great, I can't wait for the semester, but this will prove to be more challenging than I thought. Music History II is completely manageable, as nothing could be worse than the 1st of the 3-part history sequence. Judicial Politics makes me feel like a giddy child, but the class is going to be extremely difficult (according to the quirky professor who says exams will take about 2-3 hours). Conducting will be great; the teacher(s) is hilarious. Apparently, since I am majoring in piano, I will have to play the songs students will conduct throughout the semester. Exceptional People and Mans Food are not going to be at the least bit difficult, but I am glad they are intriguing and specific enough to keep me interested. Of course, piano studio and chamber will be great. I am extremely satisfied with my choices at UF; music never gets dull to me.

Just a brief update of pre-return to college. The week before moving in, I went to Ft. Lauderdale with Mindy, Randall, and Kristen and stayed in a condo for 4 nights. The entire trip was great; too many laughs to count. Randall, Mindy, and I played this game where we would each sustain a note and make random dissonant chords. This would typically last...all day long (which Kristen was not too fond of during her headache spurts). Our 2nd day there, we decided to go to a Safari place in the middle of nowhere where you drive around the preserve in your car and take pictures of the animals as they come up to your doors. The next night, we decided to drive to South Beach to go to a Jazz club/restaurant on Lincoln Road and had a great night. Our 2nd-to-last day there, we drove jet skis for about an hour and had a blast. Kristen and I paired up, with me driving first and throwing her off the back (at her request). When it came time for her to drive, she decided to take a super sharp turn, hurling us both in the air, off the jet ski and floating like bobbers in the open sea. After swimming (like a champ I might add) through the ripping current back to the jet ski, I managed to get her back on. She was shaken after that moment, so she left the driving up to me. After getting back, we went to our condo where the "largest tiki bar in Ft. Lauderdale" resides. After some refreshments, we went to dinner on Las Olas and admired the people on the streets. One of the greatest things to happen to me during this trip was discovering Flight of the Conchords for the first time. Needless to say, I immediately ordered all the seasons online and have already almost finished Season One (it came in the mail yesterday...). Overall, a very successful trip with some great friends.

Last thing, the Switchfoot concert was amazing, I could not have asked for anything better.

For now, this is all I can think of writing, hopefully the pictures here will speak for themselves.

"Time is making fools of us again."

These past few days have been great. I am grateful to have the friends I do.

On Friday, I FINALLY got a group together to go to Islands of Adventure with me for the sole purpose of seeing The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. After waking up at 5AM, picking up Kristen and meeting Mindy and Randall at her house, we were off to Orlando. We got an amazing parking spot (I've never gotten that close) and waited in line to pick up our tickets. Of course we got stuck in the line with the slowest ticket dealer (what do you call these people?) in the history of IOA. After waiting about 45 minutes, we were finally inside. Naturally, we basically ran to see the Harry Potter world and upon entering I felt like I was 12 years old again. Hogsmeade was exactly how I imagined it. Our plan of action was to wait in line for Ollivander's first because that line was supposedly the longest in the park. Tried Butterbeer (frozen is better) and was amazed with how good it was. After waiting about 2 or so hours, we were finally inside. I do not want to give too much away for those who haven't been, but I can say I got goosebumps during the display. Walked away with a SICK wand (Neville's to be exact) and we were off to the Forbidden Journey in Hogwarts castle. The castle itself was amazing and after waiting quite a while we finally got on the ride. This ride was one of the best rides I have ever been on and I felt like a small child constantly smiling in bewilderment the entire time. Beats Spiderman out of the water (plus, it is a bit scary as well). After that, we went on Dueling Dragons (renamed Dragon Challenge) where little was changed except the entrance to the ride. Zonkos and Honeydukes had to be the least impressive parts of the park, but still were a great experience (although immensely overpriced).

Of course we managed to ride everything we wanted to at least once and headed back to Jacksonville, first stopping at Chilis (which never gets old). Ended up getting home around 2:15AM extremely exhausted, but had an amazing day.

The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing, caught up on some good tv shows and spent the day with my parents.

I finished Drops Like Stars by Rob Bell last night, but was actually a little disappointed with the book to be honest. Has anyone read this? I would love to discuss his writing style/message.

Still working on the Colbert book (which is hilarious I might add). I think it's important to treat everything in it as a joke and/or sarcasm. I already have tabs on some of the hilarious quotes. I'm thinking about making a quote wall or something like it for my new apartment. Maybe print a whole bunch out (funny and inspirational) and covering a bulletin board with them so if someone comes to my room and likes one, they can just take it and keep it.

Looks like I am going to yet another concert when I get back to school and I am extremely excited. I'm going to see Wakey Wakey and Matt Hires at Common Grounds in Gainesville with Christina, Meagan, and Kelsey. Anyone else is welcome to come, the tickets are super cheap! (I think $8)

I think I will start my Supreme Courtship book after I finish with Colbert. The book looks like something exactly up my alley. Basically a satire about the Supreme Court with fictional justices including a reality tv judge to name just one.

Here are some photos from Islands of Adventure.