Second Semester Ramblings

Duck Lake.

Gobernador tacos at El Agave in Old Town

En route to Duck Pass. There's a trail here somewhere.

I talked to 2 Chainz and he said truuu

Ah, ILOVEMAKONEN. I respect that he knows how to make a fuckin' banger. This song isn't really a go hard/turnup party song, but that's not doesn't matter when this song is just so...vibey. This is like something that I'd do a weird interpretive dance to. There's a whole bunch of great, wacky stuff on here (the first and last time I will ever use the word "wacky" on here) but Ezra Koenig fuckin killsssss it. Like, I could scream/rap his whole verse and I would give exactly 0 fucks. Honestly, something about this song just speaks to me. It's just about doing you, not caring what other people think, and having a good time. A mindless song with some actual thought. I love it a lot, even if it is sponsored by...*shudders* Red Bull. (20 Before 15? What? What's that supposed to mean?) But hey, I'm enjoying the *** good vibes ***. ~~~~~~

This week is my spring break, so on Sunday and Monday I went to LA for a small weekend trip. It wasn't really for any particular reason, except for the fact that my mother and I both wanted something to do over the weekend. Now before I get too in depth with this post, I should say that I was never a big fan of Los Angeles. It may just be my bitter San Diego/anti-LA sentiment, but I always viewed LA like the shitty older brother who was got by on his looks and generally fucked up everyone's environment. After this weekend, I can say that my belief still stands. But a little less. I started off my Sunday with a nice 2.5 hour drive to Pasadena/San Marino to go to the Huntington Library. I'd never been before (and my mother hadn't been since the 80's) so I was a little...unenthusiastic. The atmosphere at the Huntington Library was very nice. I liked the vast open space that conveniently housed mansions, a Japanese garden, Chinese garden, rose garden, etc. It seemed like a nice place to have a picnic, if you're willing to shell out $25 for a lunch that you have to pack yourself. Japanese Garden A uh...dome? My mother and I stayed in an airbnb room in (on?) Mt. Washington. We drove my car, which I have endearingly named the Ratchmobile up this hill, and let's just say I thought I was going to be sliding down without any breaks. Shit, that hill was steep. I ate dinner in the 626 area on Valley at this restaurant called Beijing Restaurant. Straight and to the point with the title, I guess. Another bewildering fact about me is that I don't really know what to order at a Chinese restaurant. I don't eat Chinese food that often, and I don't really know what to look for. Add the complexities and intricacies of separate Chinese provinces to the mix, and yeah some potstickers would be fine. I must say that there was a bit of a language barrier ordering the food, but there's nothing a little pointing at the menu can't fix. Monday morning included breakfast at Lavendar & Honey, a cutesy little coffee shop in Pasadena. I must say, Pasadena was a lot more woodsy and inviting than I thought. Before I thought Pasadena was all Cal Tech nerds and Mexican style architecture. Believe me there's that too, but there's also this: Honeybee latte with L&H toast. If I recall correctly, the Honeybee latte is just a regular latte sweetened with honey. Meanwhile the toast had goat cheese with a honey drizzle, topped with some lavendar. I'm not a huge fan of goat cheese (or any cheese in spread form, really) but this toast was amazing. The rest of the day was spent in Koreatown, eating and then eating some more. My mom and I just went to this KBBQ place, then this dessert place right outside the KBBQ restaurant called Honeymee. I ordered the "Honeymee" which was vanilla soft serve with honeycomb in it. It was pretty good, except for the fact that I before I even took my first bite my hair got stuck in the honey. That was equal parts embarrassing and disgusting. Feel free to shame me. I know I am. After that my mother and I just dilly-dallied and walked a couple blocks doing nothing in particular (my specialty!). Afterwards we went to the Citadel outlets where we did some more wandering. We then ended every LA trip how we usually do: a stop in Little Saigon for some banh mi, che and nem nuong to take home. Seriously, we do this every time we come up to LA. And every time my car smells like banh mi. It's the worst, because I don't like the smell AND it just makes me hungrier. *whiny teenager voice* it's just...anoying. So LA, I guess you aren't too bad after all. Believe me, I still don't "get" you, but I guess I don't have to. Just don't think I'm leaving my tacos and beaches for yours. Until next time. Bri

Well I can't seem to wipe the smile off of my face today. I woke up at 4:30 AM to catch the Arsenal v. Liverpool game today, and it did not disappoint. I've been watching football/soccer for a little while now, and I've become absolutely hooked. Nevermind that I occasionally have to wake up at ungodly hours to watch some guys kick a ball around a field. It was just me in the comfort of my living room (well, my dog was snoring) watching goal after goal come in. Bellerin! Özil! Sanchez! And the man of the moment, Giroud. God, this morning was a good morning. I think the last time I woke up that early was to watch the last North London Derby and that...was a disappointment. Well, NOT TODAY. Also, waking up at 4:30 allowed me to see the lunar eclipse. I guess that was nice, too. I also went to La Jolla today to eat at Finch's Bistro. I must say, it was better than I expected. Although that may have been because my sandwich had prosciutto and I'm very, very partial to prosciutto. Afterwards, I went to a new coffee shop that opened, Le Petit Chateau. My latte (what I always order at coffee shops) was quite good and I even got to talk to the owner for a little while. I mean, it was just us in there anyways. The coffee and service was good, but the decor looked a little...off. Oh well, I can't really complain. Tomorrow I'm headed up to the LA/Pasadena area for a little weekend trip. My mother wants to go up in order to visit the Huntington Library (maybe she thinks we're more "cultured" than we actually are), but I'm mostly going for the food. More photos to come, hopefully more promptly this time. All the best, Bri

Eeep, I've been gone for a while. (I've just been lazy.) Anyways, I first listened to Courtney Barnett's debut Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit last week, and I instantly fell in love with the whole thing. I listened to Pedestrian at Best a little while ago on NPR's All Songs Considered podcast, and I was a little skeptical. I can only headsmash for so long, you know? PAB isn't exactly representative of the album, but neither is this week's song of the week, Depreston. As you may have figured out by now, I'm a sucker for a good, mopey sad song. Depreston is the one song on the album that reels all the rocking guitar licks in for a slower, gloomier vibe. The one thing I love about Courtney Barnett is that she makes the seemingly dull, subtle parts of everyday life seem so extraordinary. She peppers in seemingly unimportant personal thoughts into her songs, and I love it. She pays attention to the small details and it's especially evident in Depreston, where she sings about the handrail in the shower and the photo of a boy in Vietnam. Overall, Depreston is a song about ends and beginnings. It's gloomy and it's hopeful at the same time. If this is going to be the type of music that Courtney Barnett is going to be putting out, I'm going to be a fan for quite a while after.

Song of the Week: Come Back to Me - Urban Cone ft. Tove Lo Some good, dance-y tunes after 2 weeks of sad-sack music. Also, I thought Tove Lo was pronounced "two-vuh loo" for THE LONGEST time. Like, I was embarassingly humiliated by my friend after saying it out loud. I thought I was being all cool because I pronounced it the "Swedish" way, or whatever. Yeah, so I was wrong. I'll be honest though, in my head it's TWO-VUH LOO forever.

Okay, dear readers, I'm here, I'm here! Sorry I got caught up with a lot of homework this week that I was supposed to be doing oh...about a month ago. Because I am extremely lazy, I decided to postpone a month's work of homework until about a week ago. Then, I had to cram in all of that homework in two days before it was due (Test day!). All in all, it did not go well. I'm sorry Mrs. Newman, Physics is just not for me. I tell myself every year, This is going to be the year that I get my shit together! I'll do all my homework ahead of time, I'll have adequate study time, etc etc. Some things never change, I guess. Okay, so about today. I dragged my friend down to Downtown, San Diego to try out Ironsde Fish and Oyster. It's been on my Yelp Bookmarks for a while now, and I finally had the opportunity to go today! Let me tell you, it was so delicious. Like, eyes-rolling-to-the-back-of-your-head, crying-tears-of-happiness delicious. I have to say that I only heard of this place due to being an avid reader/checker of the San Diego Eater 38 List, a list of Eater's 38 Best Restaurants in San Diego right now. (Yeah, I'm a "food blog" reader). Anyways, their whole vibe/aesthetic that they have going on is so...unique? They have these mirrored tables that have something gold-leafy embedded in them. I tried to take a photo, but it just looked like a dirty, golden selfie. (hehe) There's a lot of gold-plated lighting that adds to a kind of 20's nautical vibe. (I shuddered as I typed out "20's Nautical". I'm sorry, Ironside as I'm not really helping you out too much). They have all of this antique luggage sitting in the wall. It really makes you feel that as soon as you step in to the restaurant, you're a 1920's socialite going on a vacation where the food and drinks are excellent, and you don't have to worry about seasickness! Seriously, I highly recommend it. A beautiful couple in the way of my shitty, amateur photography. I shared a "big" platter with the other person in my party. (It's kind of weird, the "big" platter is actually the smallest size. The sizes are big, bigger, and biggest. It's a little confusing, to be honest). It came with oysters, mussels and shrimps. There were two aioli and vinegar sauces accompanying the seafood, which were both fucking delicious. I prefered the vinegar sauce with the oysters and the aioli with the shrimps and mussels. I can't complain though, it was absolutely bomb either way. I have to say, the platter, which serves ~1-2 people wasn't too filling. However, the freshness justified the price ($46). Afterwards, I went to James Coffee Co., which is one of my favorite coffee roasters in all of San Diego. The coffee "company" is actually more of a stand in the middle of this large, industrial building. All of these boutiques (more on that later) surround this little stand, like it's the heart and lifeblood of this whole operation. (It is). So far I've gotten the iced jasmine tea, the iced chai latte, and the espresso with milk. I think the espresso with milk takes the cake for me. While the tea was great, there was just something special and exquisite about the coffee that made the drive downtown worth it. There are all these boutique stores that surround the coffee stand, like a barber shop, a store that sells leather/vintage goods and an eyeglass shop. I only went into the eyeglass shop, and at first glance I knew that a) I was in love and b) everything in the store was waaaaay too expensive for me. Like, I'd try on these really, really cute glasses, see the price tag ($349) and then take them off. Tortoise-shell eyeglasses are my ultimate weakness, but I'm not spending one month's paycheck on glasses. Warby Parker it is, then! Every time I go downtown, I feel like I fall in love with San Diego a little bit. It feels like a proper city, with (shitty) public transport, gentrified cutesy neighborhoods, and really great food. Exploring new food and new coffee shops is my favorite pastime, and I can't wait for next year, when I get to explore a new city in college. I know that I'll have less time and less money, but that doesn't take away the fun. All I want are coffee, good food and some damn free time. Bri

Song of the Week: Intruders by The Antlers I figured I’d slow it down this week, so I went with the track Intruders by The Antlers. The album it’s on, Familiars, was one of my favorite albums of 2014. Well, maybe I should clarify. I only recently started listening to this album (like, within the past 2 weeks). I didn’t even know that this album was released at all, which is a little shameful because I browsed quite a few “Best Albums of 2014” lists in December. Oh well, I still love it. I’m such a sucker for sad songs. Even though Peter Silberman has the quietest voice I’ve ever heard, I was immediately captivated by the lyrics and the sound of the song. I love the quiet singing, occasionally punctuated by a louder, higher note (“…and I burned an older version”) However, as much as I love moping about the past (and I do love it sometimes…I’m like a master-moper, if you will) I feel like this song is as optimistic as it is pessimistic. I think it deals with the sadness of the past as well as looking forward to the brightness of the future. It’s about not shitting on yourself too much, and anticipating what tomorrow will bring. Kind of ‘coming-of-age’-y, right? (jesus, that was a lot of dashes). Until next time, Bri

cutesy Bean Bar, continued. This is a wall to the left of the nook. It’s filled with all of this minimalist artwork…it makes it somewhat calming? I mean it adds to the “”“aesthetic”“”

went to this cutesy little coffee shop downtown today. how cute is this little nook??

I don't consider myself gifted in the uh, embroidery department, but I really tried here. Made for my friend's 18th birthday card!

Okay, let's kick this shit off. This is the first song of the week, and it's one of my favorites (obviously). This is a song that I first fell in love with the first time I heard it. I probably first heard of it while reading the Pitchfork review on Spotify. I actually discover most of the music I listen to by 1) Pitchfork, AV Club, Rolling Stone reviews 2) NPR All Songs Considered and 3) Hype Machine/Indie Shuffle. For me, this is the standout track on Wye Oak's album, Shriek. The whole album is pretty good, but I'm a huge fan of the synths (when they're there) and the dance-ability of the song. For me, this is a song that I'd play when I'm driving or cooking. You know, times where I can rock out and awkwardly dance in the safety of my car/home. If you couldn't tell by now, I'm very bad at naming the specifics of what I like in songs, movies or TV shows. It's hard to say, but I just like it, you know? I'm hoping that that's something I'll get better at as time progresses. I guess that's what this blog is all about, I guess. By the time the end of summer rolls around, I'll be spewing out all this music theory crap, right? SEE YA IN A FEW YEARS, PITCHFORK. Why are you still reading this, Brianna

Okay, guys, I'll just start off with this. I'm shit at introductions and my day was kind of awful. There, that's it. Just kidding. I guess if I were to really start this intro, I'd say that my name is Brianna and as of the end of January, I'm a second semester high school senior in San Diego, California. I think my main motive to starting this blog is that I have already pestered my friends and family enough by whining about having to wait too long for my college acceptances and rejections. I've applied to 15 schools, and I've heard from four of them so far. (All acceptances, but by no means my "dream schools"). Okay, a bit more about myself to make this all seem somewhat fluid. I love music and TV more than anything. I'm frustrated all the time that I simply just don't have the time to watch the shows I want to watch and listen to the albums that I want to listen to. I'm hoping that second semester will at least give me some time to do that. I've had a litle part time job for the last six months, and it's the first time ever that I've ever had a real disposable income. It's nice, but I'm trying to save some of that money. But still, it's unbelievably nice knowing that I can get myself little gifts, like coffee, food and music. And then more coffee. So more about this blog. I'll try to post as much as possible, but I'm not sure how it'll actually be. I want to do somewhat regular posts, and "song of the week" types of things. (I chose to do it on a weekly basis, because I don't trust myself to post once a day. You deserve better. Also, I'm terrible at choosing a favorite album. Jesus, an album of ~12 songs, and all of them have to be pretty good? Once again, you deserve better). There will just be personal ramblings and stuff of that nature. Y'know, typical second semester senior shit. That's it for now. I have some TV to catch up on. Many thanks for reading (if you are), Brianna