life is good friday: number 3

so. how was your week, mine went by way super fast. and i like it that way. let's just dive in the list shall we?

life is good because really spur of the moment, i decided to go to see parachute at the roxy. i went alone after failing at convincing sean to go, but i honestly don't mind going alone. will was sick, but parachute still put on a kick ass show.

life is good because i found this band safetysuit at the parachute show. i didn't realize that parachute was co-headlining with safetysuit, but it really didn't matter. safetysuit was incredible, their lead singer, doug, is awesome. safetysuit is definitely one of those bands to see live when their in town. their song annie has been on repeat since the show

life is good because i got my package in the mail from anya marina. she included all sorts of cool stuff.

life is good because i sort of met will anderson, the lead singer of parachute. he was sick and resting his voice so he wouldn't lose it, he really couldn't talk. we did share a frame for two seconds, and he signed my stub. still cool.

i just love these lyrics:

safetysuit "annie"

There was a girl named Annie, she had a very pretty face
And not the way you think so let me see if I can try to explain it
She had a smile that could light up the room and if she moved it'd be moving in you
But she wasn't like a magazine, she was just plain Jane and her name was Annie

She never looked in the mirror, she never liked what she would see
And even if I tried to tell her, she never listened to a word I'd say
She always wanted what she never had, but never had what she needed so badly
Someone telling her she was fine and that's not right and it's why I'm saying

Annie don't be shy here, Annie don't just lie there, looks don't make the world go round but it comes around
Annie don't be shy here, Annie please don't cry here, I always have to stop myself
Cause you're beautiful

I didn't know if I could tell her, I didn't know if I could make her see
She didn't need to find her beauty, she didn't need to find a way to show me
They took her moments of feeling alive and made them moments of dying inside
She needed someone to scream her name, to take her pain and it's why I'm screaming

Annie don't be shy here, Annie don't just lie there, looks don't make the world go round but it comes around
Annie don't be shy here, Annie please don't cry here, I always have to stop myself
Cause you're beautiful

And Annie you are the one sight my eyes never tire of, it's like I cannot get enough of you
Annie you are the one song left in my symphony, like you were made for me

Annie don't be shy here, Annie don't just lie there, looks don't make the world go round but it comes around
Annie don't be shy here, Annie please don't cry here, I always have to stop myself
Cause you're beautiful

blog on the show tomorrow! (i hope)

life is good friday: number two

i know this is only life is good friday number 2, but i'm really liking this. it has really opened my eyes to finding the little parts in life that makes life good. i had a really bad day at work on sunday, and had to turn around monday morning and do it all over again, but monday i found my happiness in little things that made the day go smoother. i wrote a note and left it my pocket to remind me why life is good. i still have it, and i'll include it in my list for this week.

life is good because i have a giant cup of coffee to help wake me up. to me, coffee is more a comfort, not so much as a wake up drink.

life is good because eric hutchinson makes music and i discovered it.  this is one of the monday morning ones that i wrote and left in my pocket. it seemed especially good to me that monday because his whitney houston covers and his dionne warwick cover sounded extra appealing in my ear that morning. there's always an eric hutchinson song for any part of life, and it's ALWAYS appropriate to sing along at the top of your lungs.

life is good because i won a signed copy of anya marina's slow and steady seduction: phase 2 through a twitter contest she was having. that was pretty cool, especially because i hardly ever win anything.

life is good because i found an old jason mraz t-shirt i forgot i had.  i was going through my music today orders to see when was the last time i ordered merch (april of 07), and saw that i ordered this shirt, but had no idea which one it was. thanks to jenna's help, i remembered which one it was. now all that was left to do was find it. which i did. outside. in an old laundry basket of stuff that used to be in my mom's closet, which she put outside months ago. thankfully, the shirt just needed to be washed.

life is good because i bought a ticket to see jason mraz in long beach on february 27. i know i'm broke, but i honestly think that seeing mraz solo acoustic is worth it. even if it's the week after i see bob. i will figure out how to pay for it later

life is really good because i just found eric hutchinson's subtitles music video on youtube. it was gone for a few years, but someone uploaded it. totally brings back memories. seriously, i found it while in the middle of writing this blog. enjoy:

that's my life is good for this week. why was your life good this week?

a random ramble...

so! the new semester starts tomorrow and i'm excited, but nervous at the same time. for me, a new semester always seems like a new school year. it's not so much what if the "other kids don't like me" i just register for classes, i couldn't care less if someone i knew was in it or not. i've always made friends in most of the classes i've taken. it's just something new--more of an excited nervousness. i've always felt at home on campus anyway, i'm just nervous about what the semester might hold.

this semester, though, i can't help but wonder if i'm spreading myself a little too thin. i'm taking 5 academic classes and a phys ed class for a total of 18 units all on top of work. i honestly, hope i'm able to finish all the courses. i'm going heavy this spring because i only took one class this fall, and don't want to take summer courses because i know i hope to be traveling. one of my main goals for this year is to finish most of my transfer requirements so i can transfer in the fall of 2011. i'm so sick of ridgecrest and albertson's i'm sooooo ready for something new. something exciting. i honestly hope i'm able to do well this semester. i don't see a reason why i shouldn't. it's really going to be a test of my endurance and to see if i can really keep my resolution to apply myself. i KNOW i'm smart enough, but sometimes i can't help but wonder if it's my fear of failure that stops me from achieving my goals. that's something that i definitely need to work on. it's my fear of failure that's stops me from taking risks. well, that's definitely something that i know i'm going to need to work on. i say nonchalantly. ha! really though. i DO need to work on it. even if i fail, i can rebound so i can say at least i tried right?

on the note of failure, i broke my "diet" yesterday. i had a few cookies at work yesterday to help cope with the horrible stuff that was course of my day. it was horrible, and i do feel like a failure. i need to keep that kind of food away from me. i have to admit to, that today i had popcorn at the movie that's a huge no-no. sure i didn't have added butter, but still lots of calories. and i had piece of my mom's pineapple upside down cake. and i didn't go for my walk/run today either. these last 2 days were full of failures and i feel guilty about it. if i'm admitting to it, that a step forward right? i need to not get stuck in this cycle. i also need to start going to bed at the same time every night to help my sleep cycle. the last week it has been really random.

and on that note, i'm going to bed. some horrible person let me register for an 8am class (whisper it was me whisper lol)

question of this blog: what do you feel are some of your biggest failures and how did you cope with them? leave them in the comments below. i promise to not judge. =)

i really like this quote and i don't know where i got the picture from or how old the quote is, but thought i'd share.

life is good friday #1

every friday i'm going to complete the sentence life is good because... it could be from something that just made me smile and made my day to something on a much larger scale. there will need to be at least 5 reason per week why life is good. ready? go!

life is good because i found an eric hutchinson quote written in the middle of a notebook last summer and completely forgot about until i got to that page this week. the quote: "new life decides to come through the front door and makes us wish we'd shown respect before" from his song back to where i was. finding the quote made me smile so hugely that it's hanging on the bulletin board in my bedroom.

life is good because even though i rarely have money to spend on "fun" things, i have a job to pay my bills with a little left over, although living paycheck to paycheck is a little hard, at least i'm able to pay bills instead of letting them pile up.

life is good because i bought a ticket to see bob schneider on feb 17, and it came in the mail this week =)

life is good because when it finally comes down to the it, i know who my true friends are, even if they are online friends, it was our destiny to meet sometime in our lives.

life is good because the world managed to come together and donate millions of dollars to the people in haiti to help them recover from their earthquake.

there's my five life is good because this week. i'd love to know why your life is good either leave a comment, or write a blog and leave the link in comments.

see you soon.

<3 justina

i got to thinking the other day about why we attach ourselves to other people or more so why i got obsessed with a particular musician. if you know me at all, you should know by now: eric hutchinson. i really have no idea why i got so obsessed. obsessed isn't the right word, but it's the one that fits. my history with hutch is kind of a short one. i discovered him on rkop back in late 2006, and have been a fan ever since. the question isn't why i became a fan. his music is super awesome. what's not to like? it's a question of why i attached myself like a barnacle on a ship to his career. i apologize for the really bad metaphor, but that pretty much what happened. i've watched his career blow up since the release of sounds like this. and all the press perez hilton has given him. hell, i still street team like he's an undiscovered gem waiting for his big break (again with the really bad metaphor! sorry!). there could be many reasons why. we could be kindred souls. if you believe in that stuff of course, which i do. you can't know the connections i've made with people i've never even met before without having some sort of past life experiences. it could be i abso-positively love his music. i could just be a really crazy person who gets obsessed over certain things, but then i have to ask myself, why eric? why not todd carey? i discovered his music around the same time, or why not a bunch of other musicians i discovered over this wonderful thing called the internet. my first musical obsession ever was 'n sync. so why am in not harboring an unhealthy obsession of justin timberlake or putting all of my hope into an 'n sync reunion? i guess when someone is super fantastical as eric is hard not get obsessed over him. maybe?

i know i'm a huge jason mraz fan too, but i never felt the same way about mraz the way i felt about hutch. to be honest, without the connections i've made through jason mraz, i wouldn't know the people i know, i wouldn't be so into eric hutchinson. i honestly don't know who i would be without the connections i've made through him and that's okay. i'm still somewhat obsessed with mraz, but i never felt the way i did about him the way i did about hutch and that's what's making me wonder about why.

please, leave any insight on why or how i got to be this way in the comments below. or just say hi. if you never heard of eric hutchinson check him out: http://erichutchinson.com

2009 playlist

every year i like to scour my itunes library and find songs that best represented my 2009. well, okay, i started with 2008 but i still had fun. so here's a list of songs that moved me, brings back memories, fell in love with, or artists you should probably keep watching in 2010.

1. til someone catches a feelin' - bob schneider
   i fell in love with bob this year (thanks danielle!) and this is definitely a favorite off his new record, lovely creatures. be sure to check it out.
2. sideways - dierks bentley
   my country side really came out when i first heard this song. it's a really upbeat song. listen and try not to dance.
3. all over now - eric hutchinson
   it's really hard for me to pick and eric hutchinson song that best represented my year. he was my first real concert, and sounds like this still gets tons of spins on my car cd player, but all over now is definitely a favorite. western charms is superb too.
4. you're an ocean - fastball
   this song is soo fun and catchy. i love it.
   
5. booty call - g.love and special sauce
   i saw g.love and special sauce open for jason mraz at the hollywood bowl and this song was so much fun!
6. swim - jack's mannequin
   i love this song. definitely one of those "inspirational jams." it's got great lyrics.
   
7. dear anna - jason mraz
   yeah, i know it's a carlos olmeda cover, but i heard mraz sing this at red rocks (my first mraz show) and my jaw hit the floor.
8. who says - john mayer
   who says i can't love this song? i don't know why but i do. it's simple, with simple lyrics. battle studies has turned into a lullaby for me. when i listen before bed or when i can't sleep it knocks me out and that's not a bad thing. unless, it makes me almost late for work.
9. wavin' flag - k'naan
   i saw him open for jason mraz at red rocks, and i absolutely loved this live.
10. kiss a girl - keith urban
    i fell in love with this song watching him perform it on the american idol finale (shup) and i fell in love with it. it's really good.
    
11. already gone - kelly clarkson
    i took a little leap and saw kelly clarkson this year. i mean eric was opening anyway. i would n't drive 4 hours for kelly. i like kelly, even though i only really knew the singles when i saw her...and this song is not that bad
12. live like we're dying - kris allen
    i like kris allen. he debut record is a little forgettable, but i love live like we're dying--it was written by the script whom i love, so that makes sense. it's a good song, with a good message.
13. hey la la - the makepeace brothers
    finally saw these guys playing the gratitude tent and jason mraz's gratitude cafe tour. they make amazing music. you should check them out.
14. closer to love - mat kearney
    i just love this song. i really got more into mat kearney this year
15. fireflies - owl city
    a song about insects. what's not to love?
16. the mess i made - parachute
    saw these guys open for eric and kelly and fell in love. check out this song, it's gorgeous.
17. 21 and invincible - something corporate
    i turned 21 this year and i just plain love this song
18. falling from grace - todd carey
    i love todd carey, i love his music, i love his smile.
    
    so notice that most of the artists are in alphabetical order. i've never been good at arranging things so they rise and fall in all the right place, but if you do make this playlist when you play it, make sure you have it on shuffle.
    
    what songs would you include on your 2009 playlist? leave a comment or link to your blog
    
    
    <3>