need i say more?

didn't think so.

the sticky wicked.

i just think it's about time i send a shout out to my theology class:

I HATE YOU SO MUCH.

i (along with everyone else in the class) never, ever understand what my professor is talking about.

whenever we ask him when we're actually going to start learning something, he responds with a thirty minute response about how his ten year application is due soon.

i was so bored the other day that this happened...

yes, i did in fact list out the numbers 1 to 1000 during class.

if i could draw i would do that but you can probably see the results of my efforts at THAT up at the top.

oh well. after dirty looks from professor lee from the entire period, it was so worth it to hit 1000.

luvlyfe.

but probably even worse is the freshman boy who likes to entertain all the young girls in the class by talking about all the vodka he drank last night.

i hate to break it to you, bro, but drinking your hard a with your roommate in your dorm room does not actually count as a phat rager.

but moving on, i finally got a new camera!

i haven't really gotten the chance to use it yet because of a couple complications, but i did capture a couple birthday festivities.

lovely sarah came to visit (and geoff's in this in spirit).

fruit tarts at dinner!

family dinner. wish i'd gotten one with the actualy fambam but this will have to do. :)

 birthday dinner with my men.

and my women.

and my ROOMEZ.

thanks to all the loves who made my september 22nd wonderful.

find anything fuschia?

[crime pays]

bear hands

[night vision binoculars]

passenger

[cmyk]

james blake

[harold t. wilkins or how to wait for a very long time]

fanfarlo

[cats and dogs]

the head and the heart

[the golden age (justice remix)]

the asteroids galaxy tour

[all the pretty girls]

fun.
 

[somewhere]

bill coleman

[pop culture]

madeon
 

[kick drum heart]

the avett brothers

[polish girl]

neon indian

[5 years time]

noah and the whale

[photo credz].

marky mark and the funky bunch.

i'm currently watching the movie fear...

a thriller.

with young mark wahlberg.

set in seattle.

and it's on instant netflix.

...this movie is made for me.

oh, and marky's character is going to uw.

just had to throw that out there.

and quotable moment:

(context - reese witherspoon runs away from a party being broken up by police with mark wahlberg, leaving her friend in the middle of it all...)

cece: i wouldn't leave you, marina.

marina: thanks, i wouldn't leave you either

...unless i saw that you were with mark wahlberg in which case i'd know you were okay.
 

too much fun.

toots (as in the term of endearment).

it's time for a new blog tradish:

themed collages.

in short, photo collages with a category.

why?

because it's fun.

why else do i blog about anything?

just to be clear, this theme was hot men. (dad, i'm sure you're loving this) i know i'm a child, but i'm okay with it. plus, the process of picking the pictures with marina was pretty enjoyable.

happy monday!

pensive tuesday.

"affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives."

-c.s. lewis

 i can't decide whether i agree with this or not.

or i did until about 2 days ago when i was walking back from the gym after watching fantastic mr. fox during my workout.

(yes, i went to the gym 3 days in a row; and yes, fantastic mr. fox was on while i was ellypticalling)

i'm heading back towards my dormitory and all the sudden a seagull lands in front of me.

now, i don't know if anyone else would've gotten the same moment of solid and durable happiness that i did, but realizing that i'm living close enough to the ocean that i can be walking back from the gym and run into a friendly seagull somehow proved mr. lewis wrong to me.

there's something about the sea that can't not bring a smile to my face. i don't even like swimming that much anymore, but you can't be on the beach and not feel just a little more glee swimming inside you.

but onto the opposing argument.

yesterday, i received many emails from the facer family updating me on jeff facer's uganda adventures. now, i can't give you direct quotes or anything, because there is a very official disclaimer at the end of the emails telling me i can't reveal the information to anyone else, but i can paraphrase how it made me feel.

jeffrey facer: i love you.

the amount of happiness that his words brought me literally made me cry.

it kind of trumped the friendly seagull.
which brings me to my next point.

it's all about perspective.

that's my cliché of the week.

maybe the "happiness" fantastic mr. fox brought me didn't count because it wasn't as strong as the kind affection brought.

what is real happiness?

do you need the complexity of relationships to provide you true joy in life?

or maybe what lewis didn't realize is that the happiness that this affection ends up taking away balances out with the huge amount it initially gives.

since love is the ultimate contradiction.

that must be why i find so much joy in the simple pleasures in life:

accidentally ending up at the santa monica pier, but responding with windows down and sheryl crow blasting.

being reminded of my love for the o.c. while buying my $5 rooney concert ticket.

living with people i love, with more people i love down the hall...all 10 minutes from the beach.
being told that i look like winona ryder in heathers. hello flattery.

making eye contact with cute boys at the book store.

finding a $4 sunshine colored bow hair comb at urban.

but most importantly, celebrating miss kate's twentieth birthday from a couple states away.

love you katiedid91.

and i'm sure joshy would love you too.

happy tuesday everyone, make it a pensive one.

xoxoxoxo.

p.s. shout out to caroline for actually keeping up with follow the sun. love you carrot. 

take pleasure in the details.

 

[fragile bird]

city and colour

[hands are clever]

alex clare

[teenage suicide (don't do it)]

big fun

[one big holiday]

my morning jacket

[daydreamin']

lupe fiasco

[can you tell]

ra ra riot

[the adventures of rain dance maggie]

red hot chili peppers

how very.

could someone please explain to me why i have such a fascination with europe?

i mean, of course, i'd be happy to travel anywhere...but there's something about europe.

i would love to go to the south of france (particularly saint-tropez) and just go shopping every day and eat crêpes with nutella. could i get any more typical?

someday i'll get there.

 

i've started journaling. life isn't nearly as dark as you seem to think it is if you just get it all out and smile a little. although, today i read an essay by amy cunninghan on how women use smiles as a front for their real feelings. as oscar wilde once said, "a woman's face is her work of fiction".

 

my new obsession with the movie heathers has made me that much more pessimistic. i have this idea of this person that i want to be and she is so much more optimistic than the real cece. my teen angst years are supposed to be over...oh well. maybe when i get to france.

but continuing on that note - who i want to be. all that be happy with who you are crap is just that - crap. we wouldn't be anywhere if we didn't want to be something else than we are! isn't that what we're heading towards? an extreme that we'll never reach? we're just modified versions of everything we've ever wanted - isn't that sad? ...the cynicism is creeping back in.

forgive me, i'll count my blessings later.
 

there are just times in life when you can't talk and get it out. it's like what's going on inside of you is too private even for the air to hear. why is that? where is that fear of openness coming from? i have a blog...somehow i'm contradicting.

 

on another note, some people just need to grow up.

where do they get off? i mean, really?

i'll spare you the details but i just thought i'd throw that out there.

not having a facebook is so nice. and i miss it much less than usual.

just a warning...more schizophrenic rants to come.

oh, and as for the new header: i thought follow the sun deserved a fresh start.

[photo credz].

"i've got no problem explaining what my lyrics are about"

oh, to be adele.

[i'd suggest starting with this].

although, i have to say, i like her first album even better.

i don't even know where to start with this one. besides my mother, of course, this woman is my idol. i really don't know how to approach my admiration without sounding cheesy, but she's just so powerful. today, i was thinking about how she remade love song by the cure. the lyrics "whatever words i say, i will always love you"...don't they just sound like they would typically come from a man? there's something about her music that just doesn't have boundaries. she says the things we're scared to say. now, don't get me wrong, i'm not going all 'power to the women' over here...i'm more just getting at 'power to the adeles of the world'. singing to every song on the two albums we've been graced with in my car has become a favorite past time. tickets to her august concert though? $200...someday i'll get there. i'm still waiting on blink, too. anyway, just had to have a dedication. adele, chili peppers, and a newly discovered alex clare have taken over the summer. ta ta for now (in a british accent).

hey-na-na-hey-na-na.

i've been really into list-making lately, so i thought i'd mix a list of things i love with a playlist.

here ve go.

1. stars - [your ex-lover is dead].

2. crushed ice.

3. jack johnson - [never know].

4. arnold palmers.

5. the smiths - [this charming man].

6. [red].

7. the jackson pit - [sleepyhead i want you back].

8. the cameos in date night - james franco and marky mark in one movie? jesssss.

9. red hot chili peppers - [by the way].

10. this.

8. summer activities involving siestas, craft fairs, water balloon fights & sidewalk chalk.

grumpycounty.

i came to a realization...

I HATE HOLIDAYS.

literally, i hate them:

birthdays, christmas (although i do love christmas season, the actual holiday is just never what it's cracked up to be), new years, valentine's day (but really, who likes valentine's day?),

which brings me to the 4th of july.

seeing america in a state of permanent drunkenness for the day is just not appealing to me, call me crazy.

and what makes people think it's okay to post pictures of them with alcohol on facebook?

YOU'RE A SOPHOMORE IN HIGH SCHOOL, CROP THAT VODKA OUT OF THE PICTURE.

don't get me wrong, it's not the underage drinking i'm annoyed with, it's the stupid display of it all over facebook.

being a drunken whore is actually not cool, and putting it on facebook just furthers the embarrassment you should've felt in the first place when you fell into that bush.

anyway, sorry for being a little pessimistic over here.

holidays just make me grumpy.

so you know what?

happy july 5th...cheers to no holidays today.

 

but anyway, [on a lighter note].

i might be grumpy, but i'm still following the sun.

and the other day i bought a charm necklace that says:

delight in the day.

many people were questioning me on exactly what that meant, and i made it very clear that i think it's a more innocent way of enjoying your day.

you know, the little things like...

picking the dandelion on the side of the road to make a wish.

eating min's kitchen or trader joe's crispy pasadena salad.

wearing a daisy in your hair.

petting a cat.

holding hands.

dancing to your favorite song.

etc. etc. etc.

so i'll end on that note:

don't forget to not only enjoy your day, but also

delight in it.

[photo credz].