Today Was Interesting...

Had a bit of a strange day and thought I might as well post about it. Maybe its because I'm trying to re-find some of the legitimacy this blog was intended to have, or maybe because I'm bored as hell, but whatever the case here goes...

1. I've forgotten how small this town is. When I tell people where I'm from I always say Madison because they've maybe heard of it and it sounds more city ish. To be real I was born in a town called Cross Plains, at the time it had mayyybe 1000 residents, though thats probably a stretch. Its bigger now, but still maintains a total small town vibe. The town I live in now, Middleton, is maybe 20,000. Bigger, but still nothing compared to Chicago. Yeah my graduating class had like 500 kids in it, but we were from all over the area. Point is, this town is tiiiny. No joke, every single day since I've been home I've run into at least one person I know. Not like, walk past them on campus, but like, I just saw my 4th grade bffs Dad at a garage sale and he still remembers me. Awkward shit like that. Or running into a sort of friend from high school in the underwear department in Target this afternoon. That was cute.

2. This town is not only tiiiny, its rural as hell. I sort of forgot that I live two minutes from corn fields and that my allergies go bonkers this time of year. Don't have to deal with hayfever in Chicago, WHERE THERE IS NO HAY. At the same time I sort of like it... Its AMAZING for running and riding my bike, but its really missing that sparkle that Chicago has. Also, I'm pretty sure I smell a skunk out my open window right now and I'm not really ok with that. Typical.

3. I sort of resent the fact that you need a car to do anything here. I don't have one yet, which is part of it, but its still super annoying. Why can't I walk a couple blocks and end up at Starbucks, or better, Jimmy's? Why don't all of my friends live within a 20 minute walk or 5 minute shuttle ride from me? This whole car thing really cramps my style. Then you have to start dealing with parking spots (or garages if you are downtown, ugh), and gas money. Its no fun. And of course without a car yet I'm also stranded at my parents house unless the stars align and I'm able to steal my mom's mini van for a few hours. Let me tell you, rolling up to shit in a mini van is hot. If things work out I will hopefully have a new car by tomorrow, but my luck the car I want probably got sold yesterday and I have to start from square one. FML if that happens (which it will).

4. I went to my friend's little sister's high school graduation party today. This may sound weird, but its totally legit. I've known Monica since she was like three or four, and had a terrible bowl cut. I sort of felt I had to go. Of course it didn't disappoint at all. First person I saw... my friend Tanya, who I'd totally blown off plans with later in the afternoon because I wanted to spend a lot of time at the grad party (Read, this town is TOOO small). I had a great conversation with Monica (and my bff Catherine's) mom... she was a bit tipsy to be fair, but I love her. She's probably the closest thing to a "second mom" for me... known her since second grade and she's definitely watched over me a bit. I told her I'd friend her on Facebook, classic. Then the probably most awkward part of the day happened... the Roland's showed up (that's not awkward, they are good friends of mine) and I had a stunning conversation with their mother (that's the awkward bit). I've met her once, when I was 19 I think, and that evening in itself was incredibly awkward. I did not want to relive it (which we did) and I did not really want to discuss any other awkward things that have happened between me and that family (there are quite a few lol). As soon as she left I got myself another drink... just sayin. Then it was good from there for the most part. Hung out with a bunch of high school friends and the like, had a great catch up. And of course I got a great elitist jab in... One of the math teachers from my high school was there and my friends mom mentioned that a bunch of us had gone to Middleton and he asked if he'd had any of us as students or if we were "too advanced," to which I promptly and shamelessly pipped up, "I was too advanced!" We then proceeded to have a conversation about where we went to school and what we studied and I was able to redeem my elitism by talking about the UofC... lol whoops. I've got to learn to keep this sort of stuff in around these people. Or not.

5. My crazy grandma and her bf came tonight. I hated every minute of it, like I usually do, and drank two glasses of champagne and ate no dessert with the hope that the champagne would kick in faster. The highlight of the conversation was when I mentioned that I'd worked with a school in Lincoln Park on their Model UN stuff and my grandma's bf responded with "You know, there is a totem pole somewhere in Lincoln Park." That's right. Model UN --> Totem poles. Winners.

So yeah, you can see why some of this maybe needed to be documented? Or not... Who knows with me. All I'm sayin is that I'm pretty ready to buy a flipping car (tomorrow fingers crossed) and got rolling on the new fancy job. I swear if those people aren't semi normal I may runaway and never come back.

So OBSESSED.

I'm too obsessed with this song for my own good. Here is the Live Lounge version, which is, of course, AMAZING. Can Tinie Tempah's album just come out already?!?!?!?!?!?!

World Cup Pt. 2

1. So I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when Spain won yesterday and managed to come out of their group in first position. I mean I for real cried when they lost their first game. I thought it was all over for them... but now things are a bit better. They are definitely not playing at 100% (hopefully they will soon) but they are getting tighter which is good. They've got a HUGE game against Portugal in a few days.... see my last post where I put that two of my three teams were Spain and Portugal? UGH and now they have to play each other... its the worst. Of course I'm all about Spain, but it sucks to see one of my teams go by default :(

2. I WAS SO HEARTBROKEN WHEN USA LOST TODAY. I cried. To be fair they just didn't have it today, Ghana was way tighter, and the US was letting a lot of stupid balls get through the defense. Don't get me wrong, I really wanted them to win, but still... could have done much better.

3. And it goes on... England v. Germany and Mexico v. Argentina tomorrow, two HUGE games!!! Would like to see England and Mexico get through, but it'll probably be the other two...

POINT MADE.

I regularly claim that while I don't like Justin Bieber at all, I quite like his songs. I usually argue that if Chris Brown sang his songs they would be absolute genius. Well... here is a PERFECT example of what I mean... Its Beaver with Usher. Listen to the Beaver part and then compare it to the Usher part. Its a hit! Just Usher sounds way much better. For real... check it out:



Aren't I right?

Loick Essien - Love Drunk

Here is a new one by one of my favorite producers at the moment... Labrinth!! Its not the greatest copy because its an early-ish leak, but you can get the feel for it. I bet once the actual copy is out the bass on this is going to be sick. I'm not sure how I like Loick Essien... he's nothing new, but its a great track (the credit be giving to Labrinth for that). I'll wait to make a full assessment until the actual mp3 is available and I can hear it in full quality.

GIGGS - Look What The Cat Dragged In OFFICIAL VIDEO

Haha I'm on a roll, love this one too.

I've also realized that all of my new co-workers will probably judge me hardcore about the music I like... LOL, but this shit is a tuuune.

Skepta - Rescue Me (Coming Out 27th June)

Big tune, and I sort of love this video. Its a bit mental, but I think thats supposed to be the point? I wish we had more stuff like this stateside, its a great sound.

Best World Cup National Tuuune

I'm not English, I'm not an England fan (ugh Wayne Rooney is the worst)... but England wins my unofficial competition for best Unofficial World Cup Tune. This song is slightly hilarious and having Dizzee Rascal (ft. James Corden! OMG I love him) on the track is quite impressive. And of course I would love to get up in the stands and sing Shout like that, it just looks like so much fun!!! Nice tuune.

World Cup Pt. 1

So its that time again... The World Cup is on the TV and I have done pretty much NOTHING but watch it since I got to my parents house a week ago.

I get judged for only caring about soccer during the World Cup (WHICH ISN'T TRUE) and all that, but really its just great to finally have the chance to watch some live soccer in the United States. Last time I got to do this was during the Euro Cup in 2008.

I don't have die hard alleigences towards the United States, although I am cheering for them to do well. I just know that realistically they won't make it much further than the Quarterfinals, so I've aligned myself with a few other teams for maximum enjoyment.

Since World Cup 2006 I've been a bit of a Portugal fan, nothing to crazy. Part of it is superficial because of Ronaldo (only part though) and part of it is out of respect for the quality of their play. They've got a few things going for them as a team, and hopefully they can string some stuff together and go deep.

I would be a France fan, seeing as I lived there for six months and all that, but that team has dissolved into a massive embarrassment so I'm just going to avoid aligning myself there. I will wear my France t-shirt on game days though, just out of respect for the beautiful nation.

My biggest allegience is to Spain. I don't know how this originated because the first time I went to Spain was in the winter of 2008 and I'd already supported them through the 2006 World Cup and 2008 Euro Cup... Anyways, I'm a huge Spain supporter, and I really hope they can do well in this tournament (I legit cried wen they lost to Switzerland in their first game). The Villa/Torres combo up front is awesome, and they've got a sick goalie too.

Anyways, between now and July 5th (when the fancy job starts) I'm pretty much just going to lay around on the couch and watch soccer... and maybe a little TOUR DE FRANCE when its starts on July 3rd (to be explained in a later post).

xoxoox Nora

p.s. Go SPAIN! USA! PORTUGAL ish!

Some Quick Updates

1. I graduated from college. A top ten school no less. With honors. No big deal or anything.

2. I've moved back in with my parents. This isn't as sad as it sounds, I've actually got a job lined up and an apartment... problem is that the dates don't really line up with right now. Job starts on July 5th and the apartment is a mid-July deal, so until then its with the olds.

3. The World Cup is on and I sort of love it, minus the bit about Spain losing today... UGH.

4. I get to go car shopping soon. SO EXCITED.

5. In the meantime I'm working my high school job for two weeks and wishing to kill myself... but I need the money so I'll suck it up and do it.

McFly: 5 colours - Rock in Rio Madrid 2010: 6 de Junio

OMG LOVE.

So I don't normally go for the pop rock thing... but you can't help but LOVE/ADORE McFly. To be fair they trend pretty close to boyband, but still... love themmm. This video is from a recent performance they did in Madrid and this song is their showstopper (literally they end their shows with it). They've got new stuff coming out this summer/fall and I am so STOKED!!!

3OH!3 - MY FIRST KISS feat. Ke$ha (Official Music Video)

Will I be embarrassed to blare this out of my car stereo when it is on the radio this summer? Ummmm... probably not ;-)

3oh!3 might be terrrrrible, but I still sort of love them haha.

Playlist #4 : Packing Jams / Summer Jams?

I'm packing up my apartment over the next week or so and moving off to Madison for the big job... OMG. Here are ten jams that will be blaring out of the speakers as I pack and could very well continue to be blaring out my speakers in my hot new car I'm getting after graduation ;-)

1. The Club is Alive -- JLS
SUMMER JAM RIGHT HERRRE. I just posted the video for it which I love love love and I CAN NOT wait to play it in my car. SO so so good.

2. On My Own -- Blame ft. Ruff Sqwad
This is basically a Tinchy Stryder track... and its damn good. I haven't heard a song with this sort of beat (its sort of frantic) before and its great. Check it.

3. Frisky -- Tinie Tempah ft. Labrinth
Labrinth is one of my top favorite producers (along with J.R. Rotem) and of course you've seen my obsession with Tinie Tempah. I flippin love this song.

4. Not Lost -- B.o.B ft. T.I.
This is a newer J.R. Rotem track and its really good. I like how versatile B.o.B is and this is actually a really good example of it. It's also a really happy song that makes you sort of feel good about yourself. I guess what I'm saying is that it has a good message.

5. Kickstarts -- Example
Example's new single, great beat. I really like how he is evolving into a sort of electro-pop rapper... it's cool.

6. Not Myself Tonight -- Christina Aguilera
The girl is back and this song is HOT. Like that one 30s/40s themed album she did was cute, but it was terrrible. I loved Stripped, so I'm glad she is going back to her dirtier roots. This is going to be a bit tune this summer... and hopefully it'll shut Lady Gaga up a bit, Xtina is wayy more talented ;-)

7. Take You There -- Sean Kingston
This is a bit old school but I'm sort of loving it at the moment... may have to do with my J.R. Rotem obsession right now. It's very summery and a great tune!

8. Saturday -- Basshunter
This is just a great dance tune, that is all.

9. Dirtee Disco -- Dizzee Rascal
Best take on Disco music everrr. Dizzee Rascal can get a bit mental and incomprehensible but this song does a good job of keeping the mood and still making sense. It'll be a great one for jamming to in the car as well.

10. Commander -- Kelly Rowland
Great tuuune. It's new and it's super hot. People forget about Kelly Rowland because of Beyonce but they shouldn't, this is a great tune and Kelly has a sick voice!

So yeah, here's to the beginning of summer and moving on to the next big thing!!!

xoxox Nora

DONE DONE DONE!

Just thought I'd let ya'll know that I have successfully completed my Undergraduate college experience as of this time yesterday. That means no more school, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks! WOOP WOOP!

So graduation isn't until June 12th, which sort of blows, but I guess is fine because we've got Senior Week lined up for all of next week. That basically means a ton of receptions, some BBQs, pub crawls, a trip to Six Flags, and a White Sox game!! Should be a great week to just relax and revel in what we've all just completed...

...AKA four years of hard-ass education at a Top 10 University... and in my case two majors and a minor plus six months abroad.

So here is to being done with undergrad and to SENIOR WEEK!!

xoxo Nora

JLS - The Club Is Alive [Official Video]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMFG!

LOVE LOVE LOVE.

For serious, I love these boys probably more than I should, but it really can't be helped. I posted the clip of this song when it was released a couple weeks ago, saying I had mixed feelings about it... not anymore. I've pretty much fallen in love with it and I think the mood they try to capture in the music video helps the song A LOT! It's definitely a banger and I CAN NOT wait to have it blaring out my car as I drive around this summer... people are going to be jealousss!!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!