Drove out to California, straight through the desert of Arizona, sweet Texas I'll kiss ya, hope to be back but now I gotta leave you.

I would rather drive across the country and sleep in my car every night than do anything I'm doing or learning in school right now. And my classes aren't even that bad. That's just how much I crave adventure and motion. I cannot stay in one place. I just can't do it. I hate it. I really do. Why can't somebody just take me on tour?

Cause you deserve the very best

I have a lot of friends. But they all live far away. Trying not to be negative here.... but out of all of my friends who I want to see, the closest geographically is 30 miles away. The farthest is 640 miles. Another one is 409 miles. And then there's a few that are 70, 80, 90 miles away and one is 186 miles away. Honestly, it's going to be hard to force myself to stay here this coming weekend even though I won't be here Thursday night into Friday and will be out Saturday for the night. Friends, please stop being so far away. Life with limited friends in your general vicinity is hard :(

I keep having dreams of things I need to do

You know when you see one of your favorite bands live and you scream sing your heart out, find yourself just staring up the stage in amazement and happiness, and everything is perfect no matter what is going on in your life? Tonight was one of those. Thank you, Frank Turner. Thank you for an amazing night, and for amazing music and inspiration and for listening to my mix CD I made for you on repeat (even if it was only because you had no other CDs) and for just being you. I am so glad that you have become one of my favorite musical artists and that you and your music are apart of my life<3

Everything will be alright

How is it possible that things can go from being so shitty to absolutely wonderful in the matter of an hour? Before I left for class I was feeling pretty down about not having a lot of friends at school. By the end of class I had an email saying that I can move into an on campus apartment on Wednesday, a voicemail for an interview at a coffee shop I put an application in weeks ago for that I'd love to work at, and Frank Turner is now in Connecticut! This week is busy, busy for me indeed.

I got friends in high and low places

I had such a wonderful weekend. Friday night I drove up to Greenfield, Massachusetts and went to the famous contra dance there. It was definitely one of the better dances I've been to. During the break I called my friend and found out she would be coming to the dance in New Haven the next day along with her sister, so during the dance in Greenfield as great as it was, I was also excited about the next night. That night I went back to my friend's house... well more like cabin shack in the middle of nowhere Vermont and we watched The Shining until 3am, went to bed, woke up and got a delicious lunch at a diner nearby. I think that was actually the first time I'd been to Vermont, and it was only about 20 minutes in from the Massachusetts border but it was still the middle of nowhere. But beautiful, and I'm excited to go back and see it in October once the leaves have really started changing. Around 1:30, I hit the road and in two and a half hours I made it to Brewster, picked up my friend, went to pick up her sister at the subway in the Bronx and booked it to New Haven. There was an accident somewhere near New Milford on 95 (when is there not?) and I made it a point to go on local roads to get around it. Not sure if it actually made it quicker, but we made it to the dance with just enough time to get a little bit of the beginners class in for my friends. At first I had trouble getting them to find a partner, but I think by the middle they seemed to feel a little bit more comfortable and definitely looked like they were having fun. I know I sure was, and seeing my friends enjoying something that I love made me smile even more. And after going to six dances within the past year (it's hard for me to believe that it's really only that few...I feel like I must be missing some, but maybe not), I finally feel like I can consider myself experienced at my seventh contra dance. I can most definitely say that I am addicted to it and love it, even though I've never danced in the same city twice (but that will change within the next few weeks!).

Speaking of the next few weeks, I have dances in all different cities planned for the next five weekends. This Friday is a dance on a boat in Brooklyn, Saturday is the Chinatown dance (which I have a free pass for from my first dance ever last year). The following week no contra dances, but I think I am going to a swing dance Thursday in New Paltz. The next week, my bestest friend ever who got me to love this wonderful thing is coming down to visit and we're going to Greenfield on Friday and Stamford on Saturday. Following that is Fall Ball in New Hampshire which is 12 hours of dancing on Saturday. Then finally I will be visiting my friend in Rhode Island and bringing her along to a dance near her. By the end of October I will have danced in 7 cities, 5 states, and 2 countries (and that's not including English & Swing dances!). I am really glad that I am doing this because I've met some great friends and gone on some amazing adventures from doing it. Not having friends at school gets extremely frustrating and lonely during the week, but I am so excited and happy that I have such great friends everywhere else and I get to visit them on the weekends. Oh and not to mention that Tuesday I'm seeing Frank Turner again with two friends!! I just want to skip the next few weeks and go straight to the weekends!

Do you want to get away, get in the car we can leave today

Just give me unlimited fuel for both me and my car for the rest of my life and I'll be happy.
I can't take being alone in this town. I don't really have the money for it, but I'm going to Massachusetts/Vermont to go contra dancing tonight and visit my friend. I'll go crazy if I just sit here all night. More later.

There is no god

Brothers and sisters, have you heard the news?
The storm has lifted and there’s nothing to lose,
So swap your confirmation for your dancing shoes,
Because there never was no God.
Step out of the darkness and onto the streets,
Forget about the fast, let’s have a carnival feast,
Raise up your lowered head to hear the liberation beat,
Because there never was no God.

There is no God,
So clap your hands together,
There is no God,
No heaven and no hell.
There is no God,
We’re all in this together,
There is no God,
So ring that victory bell.

No cowering in the dark before these overbearing priests,
Not waiting until we die until we restitute the meek,
No blaming all our failings on imaginary beasts,
Because there never was no God.
No fighting over land your distant fathers told you of,
Not spilling blood for those who have never spread a drop of blood,
No finger pointing justified by fairies up above,
Because there never was no God.

There is no God,
So clap your hands together,
There is no God,
No heaven and no hell.
There is no God,
We’re all in this together,
There is no God,
So ring that victory bell.

And I know you’re scared of dying man and I am too,
But just pretending it’s not happening isn’t gonna see us through,
So just accept that there’s an end game and we haven’t got much time,
And then in the here and now we can try and do things right.
Forget about the crazy things that people have believed,
And think of wondrous things that normal people have achieved,
‘Cos I’ve known beauty in the stillness of cathedrals in the day,
I sang Glory Hallelujah! Won’t you wash my sins away?
But now I’m singing my refrain and this is what I say,
I say there never was no God.

I love this song. Frank Turner, you complete me. I am getting really frustrated on this topic. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and this is mine:

I don't understand how you can say that a figure in history controls your life and actions. I mean, if "god" was a real thing or person, why on earth is it depicted in so many different ways? A person or figure is one definite body or structure. Nothing is everywhere except oxygen. And even if you believe all the stories, how can you say that this god thing is what gives you the power to do great things? Everything we do has to do with our own willpower and talent that WE are born with or acquire. It is your passion and drive. Not your belief and dedication to this figure. It just makes me extremely uncomfortable and annoyed when people tell me to "pray for them". Especially when it's for something having to do with their work or art. No, I'm not going to fucking pray for you to do well with your art. That's up to you to create beautiful work, make contacts to come to see your art, and simply have the passion for what you do. Yes, other people may influence your work, but when it comes down to it, those things are dependent on YOU, not anybody or anything else. I don't have an issue with people believing what they want, but I really don't think I could ever be close friends with somebody who is extremely religious. I don't think I could handle hearing so much about how jesus and god has saved them and affected them. Believe what you want, but I think it's all a load of crap and I don't think I'd get along well with people with such strong beliefs the opposite of me. Actually, I can't even think about this anymore, it frustrates me so much.