codes and keys

First, you guys should by now have realized how big of a crush I have on Death Cab for Cutie's music. It's like there's regular music which I have ordinate amounts of respect for and interest in...and then there's Death Cab which I can't compare to other music on the same plane because that would feel like blasphemy. I'm not sure why this is, but Ben Gibbards' voice just doesn't fit in with everything else when I hit shuffle. SO I obviously have very high expectations for new Death Cab music. I also rate their songs on my iTunes thusly: 5 stars for my favorites as in I am constantly playing these songs in my head, 4 stars for really really awesome songs that I listen to regularly, 3 stars for songs that I can sing along to, unrated if I don't have strong feelings on them.

I will say that this is a band for people who like sitting and listening to music through their own headphones. It's always weird for me to hear their songs at the Daily Grind because I think of them as such a personal musical experience. It's all very introspective and thought-provoking and I am such a fan of all of their work. I was really pleased on my first listen through their latest album though it is so short. It will definitely be listened to a lot - I listened through four times in the first 48 hours of owning it. (Side note...music is way better when you listen to it a full album at a time.)

Also, Death Cab has a couple of distinctive sounds. Sometimes they're poppy, sometimes they sound more electronic or distorted, and sometimes they are slow or repetitive or just have long stretches without vocals. I love it because I can put all of their music on shuffle and get all kinds of songs without any super jarring shifts. This is the best way for me to start studying for finals...once I've gone through all of their songs I know I need to get serious about my work.

Why am I SO into them? This is a good question deserving more than a portion of a post for its answer, but I will be as brief as possible. Basically I think they can cover any emotion. The lyrics kind of grow up with you and you can get more out of them as you experience more things in life, but the songs are still enjoyable even when you don't have a huge emotional connection to them. But the more I listen to them, especially when I'm going through emotions (which is, to be clear, a very rare occurrence...you'll recall I'm about half-Vulcan), the more the songs will play in my head and the lyrics will come up when they fit my situation much later on. And I swear, I took like a year break from listening to them (not intentionally, I just didn't listen to a lot of my own music during senior year), and they would still be coming up in my head, even the obscure ones that I couldn't actually remember listening to. Every time I listen to any of their songs it's like revisiting a memory. They just paint these distinctive pictures in my head because the lyrics are so oddly specific in places, the metaphors are crazy, and I can picture a sunrise in most of them.

I don't know, I know there are other really good artists out there and I don't mean to sound like I don't appreciate any other groups or individuals, but I haven't found any other music that makes me feel the same way. Some of it has to do with my exposure to it at such a formative age (probably 14?) in terms of making my own decisions and deciding what my tastes were and then it being there for me throughout the changes in my life. Although these new songs obviously haven't been there...except for this week...there's something great about this band that makes me feel like I'm home even when hearing these songs for the first time.

1. Home is a Fire (4 stars)

Sounds like Different Names For the Same Thing (one of my favorites)

On the first listen I was not a fan. I watched the video and thought it was kind of artsy, but it sounds a lot better without it in my opinion. It's one that grows on you (I think this is the case for all of their songs). The vocals are distorted and shift between this and a more clear bridge, which is kind of cool and experimentalist of them (as that's what they say they're doing with this, their seventh album...).

2. Codes and Keys (4 stars)

Sounds like an upbeater Title and Registration mixed with Brothers on a Hotel Bed

Kind of epic and soaring, fits in well with Translatlanticism or Plans. Though I like its sound, its lyrics are nowhere near as good as the older albums. It's too generic...and it's kind of positive, which is not a bad thing but it's a little out of character lolol. Very echoey. It starts strong and continues to build in intensity, and the end is definitely worth it musically but like I said the lyrics are just kind of...what are you doing.

3. Some Boys

Sounds like You Can Do Better Than Me and I Was a Kaleidoscope

Very energetic, has an electric undercurrent. Interesting lyrics - definitely something that makes me think in a Death Cab-y way. It could super grow on me or it could just be decent. It's kind of infectious but forgettable at the same time and I think it's really a very subjective song (not that all songs are objective...that would be weird). The sound effect that is not drums is really weird and it reminds me of someone breathing creepily. But otherwise it's got a nice keyboardy part and Ben's voice sounds like one of the very early albums.

4. Doors Unlocked and Open (4 stars)

Sounds like Meet Me on the Equinox (but better) and We Laugh Indoors

Good long musical intro, which granted sounds a bit elementary, great pulsing chorus, but the part between these two is very much like We Laugh Indoors though not quite as good. The lyrics are kind of cute. When we get to the actual heart of the song, it is wonderful...it's just catchy and makes me want to jam in a Death Cab way (which is to say with my headphones in and no one judging me).

5. You Are a Tourist (3 stars)

Sounds like Your New Twin Sized Bed or (vaguely) A Move Script Ending or (maybe) Marching Bands of Manhattan

A little bit too repetitive (which is usually one of the things I like about Death Cab). It's pretty standard Death Cab so obviously it's not a bad song. I think I just haven't listened to it enough to appreciate it...? Maybe it will go up in rating later.

6. Unobstructed Views (4 stars)

Sounds like I Will Possess Your Heart

Awesome slowly-building-in-intensity intro...though not anything really new, I still like it a lot. By my third listen I already knew which parts I was anticipating, and then it was very gratifying to hear them. It's just like musical funfetti cake. So delicious. However, it probably won't go up in rating as I listen to it because it doesn't quite have the depth or uniqueness of a 5 star song.

7. Monday Morning

Sounds like a happier Death of an Interior Decorator or Expo '86

Very poppy, very Transatlanticism-y. The chorus is kind of funny, but I like that it has a distinct voice (though not necessarily a unique style compared to older songs). I like the authenticity it offers (I mean this is a plus for any of their songs...).

8. Portable television (3 stars)

Sounds like The Sound of Settling or No Sunlight except way amped up

Great melody, starts off fast and keeps its momentum throughout. Overall I really like it, though it takes a pretty stark departure from more traditionally Death Cab sounds in that it is a very happy song though I still get the feeling that no one is happy.

9. Underneath the Sycamore (3 stars)

Sounds like Marching Bands of Manhattan (my favorite)

Though this is a good song, in comparison to Marching Bands it is not that great. It has a nice familiar sound, but it sounds a bit like two different songs glued together...sometimes this works really well, but I'm not a huge fan of it here.

10. St Peter's Cathedral

Sounds like Grapevine Fires or the end of What Sarah Said

Starts off with minimal music and grows into an epic song - but not in like a legit epic way, like epic in the actual meaning of the word. It ends on a weird ethereal note and doesn't go as far as it could have. It's also about how there's nothing more to a church than its architecture? It's not painful to listen to by any means but it's definitely not a favorite.

11. Stay Young, Go Dancing (5 stars)

Sounds like no other Death Cab song everrrrr

This does not sound like Death Cab at all, but I love it! It's a little bit like Owl City, a little bit reminiscent of Lord of the Rings for some strange reason to me. It's very cute, authentic, folksy almost. I love it! Also, it's about Zooey Deschanel (Ben Gibbards' wife). Perfection.

(It took me five days since I started this post to finish it...I love this album and didn't want to do it injustice by merely stating that and nothing more. But seriously. Go listen to some Death Cab.)

visiting high school

I have several longer posts which I'm working on, but I realized that I was giving up frequent updates in order to have well-researched posts. So with that in mind I will try to alternate so that I don't just give up altogether on blogging, which would be a shame now that I've started this trend for everyone in intervarsity (ok, I'm not the original iv blogger, but I definitely think I made it mainstream).

Anyway, here's a bunch of my thoughts from today. I visited my high school again - I think this is like the fourth-ish time since graduation. I really have a bad memory of this but I know that I visited last semester or during winter break or something, and a couple of times freshman year. Most people I know wouldn't dream of stepping foot back in school after graduation so this may seem weird...I have a couple of reasons for going back.

1. I love my teachers. They are seriously so awesome. Even though when I visit I only get like five minutes to talk about my major and how much I love Williamsburg and how everything is the same in Chantilly, it is worth it. They taught me so much aside from the subject material that they were paid to teach me. There are five that I like to keep up with, and I got to see all of them today! And I feel like it's a continued 'thank you' to them that I continue wanting them to know about my life, because they did have such an impact on me.
2. I have expectations to fill. Somewhere around my junior year I started becoming well known for making baked goods. Not like they would do a yearbook story on me or anything big like that, but to the people who knew me, holidays (including summer break) meant two things: lots of homework to be assigned over break, and lots of baked goods from Marisa. Of course I still make stuff with my friends, but my teachers have these gaping holes in their lives and of course I have to provide sustenance to them.
3. I don't have much time. Once college is over there is very little chance I will go back to high school...that would be kind of weird. I'm actually not so sure I'll be going back anytime soon. My sister's graduating in a couple of weeks and at that point my family will be (finally) done with CHS. Four of my favorite teachers are currently teaching my sister, so it kind of makes sense for me to visit now...but this window of opportunity will be closing soon.

So, yes, I had to go back. There are a few things you need to know about my high school (wow, this is not the easy post I thought it would be). First, there are like 2800 kids there (or there were when I was...I think it's supposed to be a little smaller now). That's about all you need to know. The implications of this include weird security measures like the trespassing rules, a lot of anonymity, and a lot of competition for everything. There's a main office which normal people don't use, but administration has stuff there and as a newspaper kid I was in there a lot to talk to the principal or the finance officer or to put stuff in teacher's mailboxes. Instead of this office, all of our scheduling, counselors, absences, etc. were dealt with in our subschools, which divvied us up by last name.

I decided to get a visitor pass this time, because I do know of some alum who have been escorted out of the building for trespassing. I guess administration saw them talking to teachers. I think that this is dumb, and I was kind of scared of going to the main office because the secretary doesn't like me (or anyone), but there was a new lady there and it was fine. Instead of giving me a sticker visitor pass to wear, she gave me a photocopied sticker, the top of which had been cut off. Cool. I felt so legit carrying it around, and I decided to actually carry it with me everywhere just because I thought it was ridiculous that we don't even have stickers and the passes are black and white, poorly copied versions of stickers on which we aren't even required to write our name or the date. Whatever.

I went through the English hallway because I like the smell of it and because even though I was prominently holding my pass, I was (and am) still slightly terrified of security and they roam the main hall.

I first visited my econ teacher because now that I'm a declared econ major I felt like he would want to see me and eat more of my food. In his class we always had Food Fridays for which different people would sign up to bring delicious breakfast foods (I had it 1st period). Of course I would just bring desserts, but that was actually a common breakfast for me in high school (I told my doctor that when, if I ever, I ate breakfast it was like leftovers my mom had sitting out...she asked for an example of said leftovers and I said cookies. She was very concerned). So for one week for econ I made this new recipe that includes oats and chocolate and if you were at Jamie's birthday party this year you know what I'm talking about. It's very very sweet. When my teacher tried them he proclaimed that they were the best food that he had ever tasted and said they were heavenly. I didn't know the name of the recipe when he asked (I had to send it to him lolol)...later, he would request "bits of deliciousness" and I would make them a lot for him after that. So I wanted to make these last night, but then Chelsea wanted to watch the second half of Return of the Jedi, so instead I made cookies (my mom already had dough in the fridge...which reminds me, I have decided to continuously have cookie dough in our fridge next year. It is the best little snack ever and then you can make cookies on a whim!). But I kind of undercooked them because I hate burnt cookies and they were a little bit larger than the ones my mom usually bakes, so the cook time was off. I told him that they were kind of doughy (because of course I had one last night) and he told me that was excellent news, because he prefers cookie dough and only eats cookies because the socially acceptable way to consume cookie dough is to first bake it.

And then we talked about econ and my life plan.

And then my second stop, every time I visit school, is to see the newspaper room. I say this because it isn't really the kids or the teacher or even the publication that I like to visit, though I like all of those components. I really just like to see how the room and the staff is changing. It is so weird, because the seniors who are about to graduate were new to newspaper when I was editor so I still remember them as little, shy, eager, awkward...now they are just awkward. But they gave me a cookie and I chatted with one of my favorites and then I talked to my advisor who is also awkward, but it was good to see him doing well. I didn't really want to bring in baked goods, because like I said the seniors were the last of the people I knew, so I don't know most of their staff, and that would be weird. But I definitely brought in cupcakes and things last year when I knew most of the staff and they all liked it when I visited.

Then I wandered around a bit with my pass - I had to go see my religion teacher (who is now married to the newspaper advisor), since she had seen me in the hall already and told me to talk to her later. I felt very old when I was walking between classes, like a senior but better - you know how senior year you walk around like you own the place, because you know everyone important and you don't need a hall pass and everything you're doing is important? It was like that but cooler. But again, I did feel old...all of the boys looked like they belonged in middle school and I was seriously stumped trying to think why I ever thought seniors looked big. But anyway my religion teacher was with students, so I went and visited my government teacher (who again told me I needed a phd in economics and that the art club abandoned his mural...while he oversaw four different activities in his classroom) and my favorite English teacher (who reminded me that I need to read more this summer). Again I could have baked things for them but at this point I think I can stop bribing them to like me, and also there's no guarantee that I would get a chance to talk to them at all (I had only emailed my econ teacher to make sure that I could catch him at a good time, but to do this I had to promise something delicious).

When I went back to newspaper I saw my sister, who is in broadcast journalism which uses the same main room (though newspaper has its own back room where most of the procrastination and bonding...erm, I mean work occurs). We talked about how hungry we were and how she didn't want to take her statistics test. Now, I skipped school on a couple of occasions but I think they were all pretty legitimate. After morning AP exams I would leave to go to lunch with my mom. Sometimes during newspaper I would leave to visit our printing company. Once I had my mom call in for me so I could sleep in...but this was only because my teacher told us that we should all do this because he didn't want to have to teach after the AP exam. And the other times I skipped I was sick. The only thing I did to get out of boring classes (like the ones after APs when we were given packets to work through as reviews for the final exam, except I would finish the packet in two days and then have like five with nothing to do) was tell my teachers I had newspaper stuff to work on, which I usually did, though sometimes I would use that time to watch music videos. My sister, on the other hand, gets to leave when she is bored (though not every time...she would never go to school in that case). She will just text my mom in the middle of the day and say that she's watching Finding Nemo again and my mom will pity her and call her in sick. But whatever, I'm not bitter about this (because I actually hate skipping class)...eventually we decided that she should skip the rest of the day, so she texted my mom to let the subschool know she would be leaving, and then I got to talk to my religion teacher for like two minutes while she talked to her stat teacher.

And then we went home and watched X-Men.

quick fixes

• The hand soap in my bathroom is getting too low for it to pump out anymore, but I have discovered through my ingenuity (just kidding, I have been doing this for years) that you can just unscrew the top and then scoop some soap up with the tube, pull it out, slide the soap off the tube and success, you can now kill 99.9% of the bacteria on your hands! I love feeling handy. (That was terrible; I apologize.)
• I sorted my coins yesterday because I found one of those rolls to put $10 worth of quarters in. Then I discovered that I had enough dimes and literally just enough nickels to make rolls of them! But I had no rolls. I was so sad. They all had to go back in the same container. BUT WAIT - I have all of these ziploc bags leftover from AP psych notecards, so I just put the pre-counted coins in separate bags and put these back in my change container. Success!
• One of the lightbulbs in my lamp has been burned out for like three years. This isn't actually a success story, but I have been using my lamp without complaint for all this time and it hasn't really bothered me much.
• Random sketchy people friend me on facebook and I just ignore them. Sure, they're still kinda sketch and they are constantly hovering over me in terms of making me wonder if I know them or if I like them enough to be my friend. But whatever, as long as the notifications stop.

Unfortunately, these sorts of quick fixes don't apply to relationships with people beyond the age of kindergarten. Delaying confrontations, finding patches or substitutes, or literally ignoring the problems are great ways to deal with little annoyances with appliances or amenities but they are terrible ideas when it comes to people. There is no easy button. So much of these behaviors are avoidance which is really silly because we all know that communication can solve so many things, from misunderstandings to feelings of ostracism. Like, we all know that it is better to sit down with our roommates and say "Abby, you need to take out the trash. Like really. It is starting to smell." But sometimes I will just let the pile continue to grow and my anger to slowly build because she should just know that it is her turn. This is because humans are really bad at conflict resolution (just watch Judge Judy - it's on every weekday on Fox).

I like so much to be right or esteemed that I won't give in without a fight. Sometimes I refuse to comply just so that someone will call me out. This is so dumb. But it is why every time I am asked to pass the salt shaker or some other minimal request, I say no (and then I hand it over and then I look at the person's face and when they are confused I find it so funny). Now I'm about to get all Oprah, please don't freak out. But seriously, if I could just learn to esteem other people and their desires I would be way better at life. This is such a basic principle that it shouldn't come as a shock anymore, but every time I read Philippians 2 I feel like I have yet to fully adopt it.

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (Phil. 2:1-3, NIV)

That is so convicting! I am full of selfish ambition! And I think that I can quickly fix just about anything...false. Only by following Christ's example of servitude and by relying on his strength can I let him fix the messy relationships I've gotten myself into. He's like an easy button, but it takes hanging up our pride and admitting that we need him before we will ever get anywhere.

two things

1. Death Cab for Cutie's latest album Codes and Keys came out today. Verdict? Excellent. Have only listened through once, will have more detailed thoughts later. I wanted to go to the store early and get it and listen to it all day so I would have thoughtful analysis of it by now, but I couldn't go to Target until the afternoon (also I woke up at like 12:30) and then my computer wouldn't recognize the disc and then it had to be imported, and then my friend had the audacity to interrupt this process to hang out with me like ALL NIGHT so I didn't get to start listening to it until about an hour ago (the whole cd is only 45 minutes, kind of disappointing - and yet they are an excellent way to spend 45 minutes so I am not complaining). It probably would have been easier if I had succumbed to iTunes and just upgraded to version 10 or whatever so I could buy it that way. But I really like looking at album artwork and it's much more satisfying to hold the cd case in your hand (and of course add it to my awesome collection of cds...which is mostly Point of Grace, Out of Eden, Michelle Branch and B*Witched lolol). Anyway, I listened to it as I cleaned more in my room. This is getting insane. I even sorted through my junk drawers (now I have a sentimental junk drawer and a potentially-useful-in-the-future junk drawer, instead of them being jumbled together).
2. I currently own/have in my sight 6 jump drives. Does this reflect a deep psychological problem of compulsive hoarding and the underlying societal norm of conspicuous consumption (thank you for your insight, Thorstein Veblen), or is this just a benefit of being a) my dad's daughter and b) a product of the era of high school journalism before shared servers? Also, I have heard jump drive, flash drive, memory stick, and possibly several other terms to describe the same piece of technology. Well, that's cool. But I feel like there are so many other places where our vocabularies could expand. (According to Wikipedia, which I have already established as my source of ultimate fact-checking, the official standardized name is USB flash drive.) I'm thinking mostly of those words in other languages that we don't have singular words for, like the itch above your lip right before you drink something. Oh well, you can't just have words for everything. Thankfully the word Bieberlicious has recently been added to my vocabulary, and it isn't going away any time soon.

some old poems

2005-8 throwback BUT FIRST I just want to say that I spent a good amount of my memorial day remembering things from my past, because I was cleaning out my notebooks from high school because I wanted more shelf space. I remembered some pretty great things and then all of a sudden I stumbled across stuff that I had completely forgotten, all of which is super lolzy (for example, I found a blog that I forgot I had started from 2005). I thought I'd share some of the things I'd found which will only be poems because otherwise this would be super unorganized. So some of these are lolzy and some are kind of good and some are really good (if I'm allowed to say that about my own writing).

"Self"

Is it possible to run away from oneself?
From one's conscience?
From one's guilt?
From one's fears?

I've never heard of it being done before,
yet it sounds like a most wonderful thing.
To be free of preconceptions,
stereotypes, and (here's the best part) pasts.

Some days I wonder why I'm stuck with myself.
Why does my mind reprimand me?
Why does my tongue seem to hate me?
Why do I, of all people, have to be the one stuck with me?

I attempted running away from myself
on the Tuesday before last
but it didn't work so well.
I ended up with a headache,
sore legs,
and a worser self to be stuck with.

Is it possible to run away from oneself?
Won't someone please let me know if it is?
But then, maybe it'd be worse to know that it was,
just not for me.

"When the World Ends"

Up is like down
when the world is flipped about,
Light is like dark
when the stars fade out.
Dry is like wet
when we've all drowned in tears,
Courage is like cowardice
when we've fallen to our fears.

In is like out
when there's no place to be,
Speaking is like silence
when no one listens to me.
Warm is like cold
when I have no more friends,
Love is like hate
when the world ends.

Untitled 3/28/07

Cough cough! You're dead.

Though I spread of my own accord,

rest assured that you killed yourself too.

Where would I be if not for messy hands

and dirty floors, public places and the great outdoors?

Oh! That you would be foolish forever,

ignorant; but I don't need to worry: humans

don't change, it's just us germs that do.

And only one of us will live forever.

Will it be you?

Not with me in your head.

Cough cough! You're dead.

"The Rule Poem"

Consuming, always burning

let embers embrace emotions

What do you see in your reflection?

Oh, but you only hear thunderous silence

To know the joy of sound

and not know so much sympathy

But what a bittersweet symphony

to not know silence, not appreciate light; you taste fear

Even rocks sing as they tumble, a rumbling song

still your envy is green as their moss

To be like anyone else

you raise daily prayers

Will you wait for death?

Put on your dancing shoes.

Tap!

You can feel it - no more yearning

"vicious you"

Poised brilliance

Anguished gleam

of something

flowing underneath

thumping cylinders

'round legs

Enticing zing

not quite

what dreamed

Jaded hope

'X' marks

in you

Vicious kite

Vicious, flowing, thumping

round marks of zing

anguished hope underneath

'X' something.

Enticing legs quite poised

dreamed kite in cylinders

What gleam?

Not brilliance.

Jaded you.

Anguished dreamed gleam; jaded

marks poised something;

vicious you.

Brilliance enticing hope

kite? not quite

thumping. what? zing.

Cylinders flowing in legs

of round

underneath 'X.'

"geese"

A bulging see-organ penetrates surroundings

Lack of opposable thumbs lets bill do work

Of cross-webbed saunter little brittany laughs

Color is nothing to sleek leathery touch

"seamstress meets wordsmith"

mend broken thoughts

stitch ripped fragments

hem in tangents

headline:

seamstress meets wordsmith in torrid affair

patch up consciousness holes, those nasty blanks

that smooth click of pen and paper, needle and thread

becoming something

complete

And then there is a SUPER LOLZY, like LOLZIEST OF LOLZ poem that is full of angst which I'm not posting because it is literally the worst thing I have ever written. I am hoping that I meant it ironically. One golden line: Sometimes I just need to let it all our [I think I meant out], to pour out my soul in writing. Oh dear. Don't worry, past!Marisa, it gets better.

(don't) show me your feet

NOTE: This post took me like two days to write because first of all it's kind of an embarrassing subject and second of all I had to hunt down these pictures and then format them a bit. But I felt like it would be worth it.

I have very conflicted feelings about feet so I thought I would try to explain them here where I have the space. First of all, I totally get when people are grossed out by them and don't want anything to do with them. I'm sometimes one of those people. I don't want anyone to touch my feet and I am constantly worried that if I go barefoot I will get athlete's foot, tetanus or a squishy worm all up on me which is NOT cool. I don't like other people's feet, either, and I really would prefer if everyone wore converses every day.

HOWEVER, I have two habits which seem to contradict these sentiments which is where some of the confusion arises. Firstly, I love flip-flops. Specifically, I love those really cheap flip-flops from Old Navy and I have approximately 12 pairs of them in different colors. This is mostly because I like convenience and I don't believe in spending money, and they last almost forever and you can get them for like 2 bucks. So sometimes people think that because I wear flip-flops almost exclusively for about a third of the year that this somehow indicates that I like looking at my feet. Not true.

Secondly, I like to take pictures of my feet. Now this has caused several people to say that I have a foot fetish and I am going to rectify that mistake right now. This has NOTHING to do with actually liking my feet or thinking that they look good (though I do think they look better than other people's feet but this isn't saying much because some feet are super disgusting). This goes back to the early days of the internet when it wasn't safe to take pictures of yourself, before myspacing became a thing, and yes I am pulling out my indie side on this. (But seriously I was here before people thought it was cool.) Anyway, I wore a lot of toe socks in middle school just because it was different so naturally if I had to take a picture of something and it wasn't going to be my face, it would have to be of my socks. Note that this is my SOCKS and not my FEET, though they were generally covering my feet. (Also, just so you know how cool I am, I wore toe socks with sandals on several occasions because I am just that cool.)

Now for a brief look into the lolziest of all of my blogs, the one I maintained throughout high school, and of course lots of Facebook reminiscing:

2006. This was probably the first picture which started the trend. I just thought it was funny, I was taking a picture of myself anyway and then I decided that my socks looked pretty baller so I took this picture. Who knew what would come next...

This is where my feet hid almost every day. I just thought that it was insightful. I always want to know where people make their witty comments from, and this is where mine originated back in the day. (Now of course I'm sitting in bed all day with my laptop.)

2007. One of my favorite pairs of toe socks. This is also one of my earliest Facebook profpics (the oldest according the fb, but I deleted some older ones). Lolol. Obsessed with internet security. There are some more in old facebook albums which aren't as cool as this one and honestly I don't know what I was thinking taking them. So weird of me.

Summer 2007 (from my first Facebook album). Hanging with the Griesemers...not enough feet to make a star because Chelsea wouldn't join us lolol.

(Several missing years - I think I may have normalized for a bit.)

On the left, Danyah-Marisa Spring 2010 Velociraptor Photoshoot. We are so beautiful. And our feet were so high from the ground once we got in that tree. This was just an instinctual shot. On the right, Jamie's 20th birthday dinner, Danyah and I wore converse, obviously a picture ensued.

End of freshman year...this was a good idea according to everyone there. (Note Megan Jamie Andrea and me lolz.)

Now for some more random pictures I have taken of my feet in the past yearish, just to show you how prevalent this trend is. There are several more pictures which you've probably already seen if you've ever looked at my photo albums on Facebook. But after all that's said and done, please, don't think that I love feet. And please don't show yours to me. Also, the title is in reference to Gaga because I am so so so cool.

froyo > frogurt

I have several things to say about frozen yogurt. First, it is delicious. Second, it is so expensive. Third, it fills such a niche in our society today in that it serves the same function as ice cream but is healthier, which is perfect for our body-conscious culture. It works so well as a social event because everyone loves it and most people don't feel bad consuming it. Fourth, please don't ever call it frogurt as that makes you sound like a tool; it is froyo or frozen yogurt thank you very much. Fifth, I am very curious as to why it is suddenly a thing. I remember growing up that there was always a TCBY across the street from one of our local movie theaters that I never once went to. That's not to say that I didn't have the desire to go, but we always just got ice cream or frozen custard and that was that. So why has froyo experienced such popularity in the past year, especially considering the recession?

(Pro tip: Google trends is a great way to procrastinate and learn about correlation at the same time; just don't confuse any of it for causation.)

Well, it seems like it has something to do with the recession, actually. Though I haven't found any causation or even correlational data to support it, there is something to be said for the claim that people eat more desserts during recessions (or during hard times in general). And that linked story makes a great point that the self-serve aspect of many of these stores makes it easy for people who want to save money feel like they are doing so by only serving themselves a small amount of the delicious concoction to purchase.

Ok, enough analysis. Now let's talk about me again. So I first had frozen yogurt almost a year ago when my new friends Willski and Tayror discovered a Berrybody in Williamsburg. But wait, you are thinking, that didn't open until the fall?! You are correct in your confusion - but this is because there are two of these stores in Williamsburg. The colonial location opened in the fall and has been the bane of my wallet ever since. But the first one is located on John Tyler Highway, about 4 miles from campus. Anyway...I tried it and I was in love.

My second froyo experience, after multiple visits to Berrybody, was with Sweet Frog. Now, I had been hearing ALL ABOUT this place from my suitemates who probably went a combined 20 times since the time that it opened in New Town this spring (sadly replacing Maggie Moo's). So I had some very high expectations. It was self-serve and had multiple flavors so I was very excited. And I have to say that I was disappointed. I went with my roommate during finals and it was...decent. But it was more like frozen custard and less like the delicious tart treat that I had come to expect. The flavors made it seem more like ice cream and it was just too sweet. Though it was nice to be able to try different toppings, these too diluted the powerful though simple impact of tart froyo with strawberries.

Finally, in nova I have now tried Pinkberry, Josie's and Yolly Molly. All of these were positive experiences in general. But now I am going to rank my favorite froyo locations so that you all don't have to try every single one of them like me (there are still several that I have to try, but now at least I know what I like).

1. Yolly Molly (Fairfax Town Center). Now maybe it's just because I had it this afternoon, but this is what I would like every froyo experience to be like. It is self-serve and you pay by the ounce. There are good fruity and chocolatey toppings. There is a great tart flavor but there are also some unusual flavors if you want to mix it up (like peanut butter and a fantastic pomegranate). And there was absolutely no line! They also serve coffee and smoothies and seem like a very nice little cafe for such a cursed location (I have seen like seven different ice cream shops there).
2. Berrybody (Prince George Street). I would say the best quality in terms of taste and texture (taste was about the same as YM), but you are limited in your choices. You get one of three sizes and flavors and then you get three toppings. This is actually probably a good thing, because too many flavors/toppings doesn't give you a unified theme or experience and it's kind of all over the place. It would be like mixing bacon and cake batter and s'mores and apples and french fries. Obviously these are all fantastic tastes, but together it is a little sketch. So anyway, overall an A-. Also there is not a lot of seating options, but that's really nbd. Also, overpriced especially since you can't do it by weight.
3. Pinkberry (Fairfax Corner, though there are more nationwide). Solid performance, though not as yummy as Berrybody. There are several flavors, but you can't control how much of each you get. You can get as many toppings as you like, but again I see this as kind of a negative thing. But they are very good toppings! On the very negative side, this is quite the hotspot, there is always a line and there are never available seats. Quite good for business, quite bad for patrons. Solid B though - you can't go too wrong with froyo.
4. Sweet Frog (New Town, also now Greenbriar). Maybe it's just because I wanted to try too many flavors, but I wasn't that impressed with the taste of any of them. Nicely done by weight, definitely cheaper than Yolly Molly (I don't know much about the prices of any of these but I think it's a fairly significant difference). Definitely good, but a little too sweet and not enough tart for me, hence the ranking.
5. Josie's (University Mall). Don't let the ranking really deter you - really, all of these are delicious! But compared to the others this was basically the same and kind of out of the way. I would say it was essentially the same experience as Sweet Frog, though I like the cup/bowls better here (plastic). Lots of flavors, self-serve, several healthier options. Good good good. Just not outstanding. Mid-range price, too. Though the chairs are little orange blobs that are a bit strange.

So that's my take. Obviously I value the delicious tart flavor and I haven't really paid much attention to the prices because I know that it's never really worth it to pay $4-8 for a single serving of dessert, but whatever, it's summer, it's hot, it's a treat. I should maybe just try to not get any tonight.