indie music

This is taken from the infamous turtlepower blog and perfectly sums up last saturday night for me..

"last night i went to a really small show with the editor of the jen zach digest and some of her friends and it wasn’t bad. this band called pancakes for penguins played and they seemed like they were straight out of little miss sunshine. they brought a big blow up penguin on the stage but they didn’t just bring it out, it was a epic revelation complete with an intense banging of their drums. remember when Russel Crowe comes out of the cage in gladiator and everyones chanting spaniard? it was way more epic than that."

Similar to as drucker said, the band reminded me of something you'd hear playing in the background of an indie film. The opening song to 'Juno" or "Little Miss Sunshine". We all laughed about how ridiculous the beginning was, yet, I can't remember the name of anyone else that was playing that night. So props to them for originality.



Thanksgiving was good. I woke up early and burned some calories at lake mira mar prior to devouring a weeks worth of food. Then I had signed up to volunteer with Horizon and help make Thanksgiving more memorable for those in need. They offered a meal, haircuts, showers, backpacks full of every day necessities, manicures, feet washing, help with resumes.... (list goes on). But when I got there they already had enough people. Which is awesome though, better to have too much than not enough.

I decided to get some christmas shopping done yesterday on Black Friday and take advantage of some of the sales. I stood in line at one store for at least 45 minutes. The guy infront of me was a nice older man who was saving a spot for his wife as she shopped around. We talked and that helped pass time by while my friend was still searching around the store for what she wanted to get. I'm sure many of you heard about this but incase not..

"At a Wal-Mart store in Valley Stream, Long Island, an employee died after being trampled by 'out-of-control' shoppers who broke down the doors at a 5am sale." (full article)

So ridiculous. Crazy wal-mart shoppers...

I wanna know if you can see the stars tonight

Ive been getting way too excited about christmas! It isnt even thanksgiving yet and I'm already listening to the xmas jams :/ I know pathetic huh?? Im trying to keep it to a minimal until at least after thursday.

Last weekend I went to this Christmas event that balboa was having. During it they had fake snow falling from the sky and it made me realize how much I miss having a white Christmas. Its hard to make it feel like winter time when its still 80 degrees outside. Last year during this time Wendy and I had a friend who had a cabin up in big bear that we would stay at. Just being up there with the cold, crisp air would put me in the best mood. As much as I love San Diego, I'm a cold weather type of person. Any excuse to wear boots, scarves and hats is good in my book.

catching snowflakes


snowing in san deigo

awkward point at tree

hot chocolate & hanging out with a mean one

i was on the news, autograph anyone?

School is almost over!! This semester has been so insane. Over 20 credits is definitely a handful but somehow its all working out perfect. The only class giving me a litter trouble is accounting and it has a lot to do with my teacher. The more the semester progresses though the more I like him. I feel hes very challenging but thats what makes passing his tests so rewarding. I actually feel like im LEARNING something from his class. You definitely have to work hard in his class to pass. I gave my final speech last week so that class is over. Now its just a matter of showing up for the next few weeks and watching other people awkwardly talk infront of the class for 10 minutes.

Over the week I spent some time on 16th street with the homeless as usual. We do the same route each time so we know majority of the people that post up there. Alpha project has been setting up this tent for the homeless to stay at. They do it every year and it gives a handful (a few hundred) of people shelter and a bed to sleep in during the winter. For the past few weeks we've been talking to people who have been looking forward to hopefully get into this tent. On thursday they had the sign up and all the people that we were talking to that were hoping to get in did. They open the tent on Monday and I couldnt be more happy for them!! Definitely plan on visiting our buddies while theyre in there. Its amazing the type of connection you can build with someone by simply offering a little of your time.

//I didn't take this, but I liked the picture//

So this week after we were done (around 11pm) I realized I couldnt find my car keys (dropped them somewhere along the walk). Its pretty sketchy walking around there that late at night but we went back to do a quick check. Everyone was sleeping but we saw this guy Alabama move a little so we asked him if he'd seen my keys. Alabama has been in and out of jail and is well known on the streets, everyone knows not to mess with him. We had spent awhile talking to him and his girlfriend earlier that night and he was telling us some of his stories from jail, soo interesting. When we asked about the keys, he got out of his bed, put his shoes on and without even any hesitation began waking everyone up in order to help find my keys. "Sister here cant find her keys, have you seen them?? If you hear anything about it let them know Bama is looking for them." He was saying how everyone on that street has eachothers back, and how he considers us to be part of that family. And how much he appreciates everything that we do. I cant even put into words how amazing it was. Just seeing how much he was there to help us out when we needed it. My friend was telling me how I need to be careful walking around and talking to the homeless. And that is true, because there are some people who have let drugs consume their life. But that night just proved how much those people have our backs. They know we're out their to help and I know that if any of them saw someone bothering us they would be there in a second to take care of it. Bamas friend was saying "after everything you guys do for us, if some one saw your keys fall I cant believe they wouldn't stop you and give them to you!! If someone with no money saw a thousand dollars drop from your pocket they better stop you and say excuse me miss, you dropped this.." It just made me realize that, yes, we go out there to give food/water but its so much more than that. We spend a good 45min/hour or more talking to some people and building a connection. You're out their to show them that someone cares about them, show them love, because no one else is.

Anyway, gonna end this entry with that...
XO: JENNiFER

All that is gold does not glitter

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

J.R.R. Tolkien

RIP Heath

my minds in overdrive

Thanks to mister Joshua Drucker I finally got to try a cupcake from Sprinkles. Ahhhh sooo good!! If you're ever in the LA area you need to stop by there and get a red velvet cupcake. Even if you aren't a cupcake fan (if thats even possible?) this will surely please your taste buds. Not gonna lie though, Heavenly cupcake falls pretty close behind.

I have 2 huge tests tomorrow that I cant seem to focus on. I have so much running through my mind right now. Its always that last month of the semester that gets me. Im sure im not the only one considering I no longer need to get to campus 30 minutes early just to find a parking spot. I hate it cause I start looking back to what I was learning at the beginning of the semester compared to now and think 'why was I even stressing then???". Luckily my schedule next semester will be a lot easier. Just need to power through this and get it done with.

I went last night to feed the homeless. A backpack filled with water bottles and snacks was all it took to make 16th street shine. On my way home the song "Emerson Drive-Moments" came on and I cant think of a more suitable song. I feel that all too often people will try to ignore what is going on outside of their bubble. I use to be that type of person who would turn my cheek when I'd see a homeless person asking me for change. If I turned my cheek then it wasn't going on. But whether we choose to acknowledge it or not there are problems out there. Mother Teresa was said to have gone that extra mile while the rest of the world was taking an inch. I'm sure if we all just took a foot towards these problems we could create a much deeper impact that this world so desperately needs.

Needless to say, I met a lot of interesting people last night. My favorite was this women name Linda. She was cooking the grosssessst looking food on a portable gas stove and generously offered me some but fortunatly for me I had just ate. Everything she said she would relate to a motto. Funny lady, kept me laughing. Majority of the people we talked to were saying how badly they want a better life. Some are working towards that, while others seem to have lost hope. Being out there and knowing I made atleast one person smile is a gift in itself.

"There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread, but there are many more dying for a little love." -Mother Teresa

the way I loved you

He is sensible and so incredible
And all my single friends are jealous
He says everything I need to hear and it's like
I couldn't ask for anything better
He opens up my door and I get into his car
And he says you look beautiful tonight
And I feel perfectly fine..
But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain
And it's 2am and I'm cursing your name
You're so in love that you act insane
And that's the way I loved you
Breakin' down and coming undone
It's a roller coaster kinda rush
And I never knew I could feel that much
And that's the way I loved you...
////TAYLOR SWIFT

the beauty of fall

Its hard to not be in a good mood this month. As the weather begins to get colder the warmth of peoples hearts shine. Everyone just seems so much more willing to give and let the caring part of themselves take over. I love it! This will be my last year in San Diego before I move away so I've just really been trying to take it all in and not let my days slip past me. There are so many people who dream of living in San Diego and I feel that majority of the time I don't value what a beautiful city I live in. These past few weeks I've been having the best time doing the most random things that San Diego has to offer. For instance, Saturday I was in the downtown area and "stumbled" across this front yard...

this was what we made out to be a frog wearing a cowboy hat

look behind the frog with a cowboy hat and youll see a monkey (little arrow) on an elephants (bigger arrow) back

Apparently these people have a full time gardener who spends 4 hours a day working on their yard. Each bush is a different work of art. Its almost as if you are gazing up at clouds and letting your imagination take control. Except rather than clouds they are bushes. Their neighbor came outside and was talking to us for a little. He was an older man and was wearing the shortest shorts I've ever seen on a man and a button down shirt that was only buttoned once in the middle allowing his grey chest hair to scream out at you. The first thing he said when he approached us was "Its so nice to see a group a young people, let me ask you, what does B-F-F mean?? I was thinking boyfriend but I cant figure out the second F. Its all over the television and in the newspaper!" he pretty much made my day.

When I got home that day I cooked my mom dinner. It was her birthday on Friday and I was gonna cook for her then but my dad informed me last minute that we were going out to dinner. I made her eggplant parmesan. I've never had eggplant, let alone ever cooked with it. But surprisingly, it came out pretty good! I added ricotta cheese to make it more like a lasagna. My mom is one of those people that value every little thing about life. Shes been through so much this past year and she smiles through it all. So you can imagine how grateful she was to have someone cook her dinner. This is off topic, but isn't technology fabulous? Rather than having a cook book out I was looking on my computer. Imagine what the future holds for technology in the kitchen..

Last night Robbie Seay Band played at my church. Theres something about a raspy voice and acoustic that gets to me. They played a few months back and im glad they came back. Soo good. Robbies brother, Chris Seay, was the speaker for that service. He has a book out right now called, The Gospel According to the Sopranos. Interesting title, caught my attention. He was hilarious and connected with a lot of people there I'm sure. A really down to earth guy, putting what it is to be a Christian in terms that almost anyone can relate with. Towards the end of his speech he began talking about Luke 5. I've heard this plenty of times in the past but every time I hear it it hits me more and more. Particularly Luke 5:29-32. I feel this is a constant question, struggle, whatever you want to call it, that everyone will face while being a Christian and its important to remember this verse.

My goal for today was to finish most of my studying that I had and so far the most productive thing I've done is make a pb&j sandwich. Time to make use of my time before work.

XO: JENNiFER

as drucker & I say..

hearing a favorite band of yours on the radio is like losing your baby to the rest of the world... :( sigh..

a girl with kaleidoscope eyes

Last night I had Thai food for the first time. I had heard about this place in hillcrest called Amarin Thai that was supposed to be really good. The restaurant was really cute, but the food was alright.. we got the Pad Thai which was yummyyy.. then we got this thing called "mambo mambo chicken" cause these people next to us were raving about it. SO GROSS! Tasted like I was eating deodorant. How I know what deoderant would taste like I dont know. And for some reasons I couldn't understand that it was disgusting so i'd keep giving it another try. Thinking that maybe itd be better, but nope. It just got worse and worse. I'd try the place again, maybe, but not for awhile and no mambo mambo chicken. But our silverware came in sleeping bags so that made up for it..

sleeping bags..


lots and lots of water after mambo chicken

As we were leaving there was a homeless couple on the street so we gave them our leftovers and they couldn't have been more happy. They were travelers so they never really stay in the same spot for too long, usually hop trains to get from one destination to another. The guy was saying hes been homeless since he was 14. He said he ran away because he was tired of being hit. If you're ever eating downtown and have leftovers, give it to someone living on the streets.

Has anyone ever seen the giant kaleidoscope by seaport village??? ahhh I cant believe I've never seen this before!! Its the best..turn the big knobs and create your own masterpiece..

inside


Then they have all these earths set up around balboa soo...

too corny but I had to put it up..

pushing it over

nose picking

NOOGIE! such a jerk..

about to hit a homerun

imitation

the giant tree in balboa..

And that sums up my thursday night
XO: JENNiFER

the day I lost my voice

You see love is a drink
That goes straight to my head
And time is a lover
And I'm caught in her stead
And the sentiment there follows me
Straight to my bed through the night
I've got my life in a suitcase
And ready to run run run away
I've got no time
'cause I'm always trying to run run run away
'cause everyday it feels like it's only a game
I've got my life in a suitcase, a suitcase, a suitcase..
///COPELAND

pretty sweet dance moves

Id like to thank this person for making my morning..



some parts id like to highlight:
hands down, the first 30 seconds are epic
0:46 0:52 1:23!! 2:21 2:30 2:37

I'm gonna have to borrow some of these dance moves

Malawi

Last night my church had a Children of the Nations event. They brought a few of the children from Malawi to share how child sponsorship has impacted their lives. It truly is amazing to hear them speak and see how God has brought such joy to their lives. One boy talked about how his parents died when he was 8 years old and he was forced to take care of himself and his 2 younger siblings. Can you even imagine?? I babysit 8 year olds and try to imagine them having to take care of themselves as well as 2 younger siblings after just having lost their parents and cant. I work with middle school kids and am not even sure if some of them are capable of doing that. One girl talked about how happy she is to be able to share a bed with her sister. She had been so use to sleeping on the floor that having a bed was such a blessing. We tend to forget all of the blessings that we have in our lives. Instead, we get frustrated when a classroom or work areas AC breaks down, when our computer crashes or if someone ate the last of your lucky charms. Even with all the 'bad luck' that this world has thrown at them, they still smile. They were singing a few songs and you can just see the passion and joy pouring out of them. You don't see much of that passion here. After hearing these children speak, It really makes you reconsider what is truly important in life. I feel that people try to block what is going on outside of "their bubble" in the rest of the world because it isn't effecting their life. My goal is to take a short internship this summer to Malawi.



XO: JENNiFER

amazing grace

They sang this tonight at church. Every time I hear this song I get the chills, so beautiful & powerful..

love is never having to say youre sorry

You know that point in your life where everything starts making sense? All those tiny pieces that were scattered randomly begin to come together to form one big, beautiful portrait? You begin to realize why you had to go through certain things in your life because they were all part of the bigger picture. I cant honestly say that my 'big picture' is put together right now, but each day it gets a little more clear in my eyes. Rather than thinking of all the things I should have done, wish I could be doing and hating the things I have to do I'm embracing it all. No need to worry about the future when the present is so wonderful as is. I'm sure none of this makes sense because I cant exactly put it into words but I've hit a point in my life where I'm happy with the path that I am on that is taking me to my future. Life is a beautiful thing, cherish every moment of it :)

It's so crazy to think that in just a few days we will be electing someone new to run our country. As much as I do hate politics, I feel that if you are capable of reading a newspaper or turning on CNN then you should have some knowledge as to what is going on in the world. I can honestly say that I don't like either candidate. I really have tried and just find small things that I despise about each candidate. I feel that John McCain does not have enough charisma and that Barak Obama doesn't have the experience. I feel John McCain will just force us deeper into the war and that Barack Obama will try solving each problem and not accomplish enough. I imagine Obama like spreading peanut butter on a piece of bread. The more you spread it, the thinner the peanut butter will get and soon the impact of the peanut butter isn't enough to make a significant difference. I hope I'm wrong, and soon enough we will see what the future holds for America...!

Time to work on some homework
XO: JENNiFER

bringing it back a few years with this song..