almost jumping

Before I left for Chicago, in Lodi, WI with my little cousins, Sela and Kelby.


The door to my room.


In my room after dragging all my stuff in.


Me in my dorm room (when it was all messy, its a bit better now).


Me and my cousin Terra in the Burton-Judson dining hall.


I'm at College!


My aunt Lynn standing in front of a bunch of other parents and people.

So here I am in Chicago. And I've just realized, that I am very, very alone. I mean, I'm not upset or feeling lonely. I just know now that there is really no one here at all that knows me. No one to eat with, no one to walk with, no one to talk to. I kinda had some bizarre assumption that I'd get here and I have friends and support (that was stupid of me). Give it time Anna Rae, give it time. Everyone is nice and friendly, I just don't know them, and I'm not in the type of situation that makes it easy to get to know them.

My dorm is awesome. I'm on the third floor, and I have a nice window (with a view of nothing at all, just trees and an ugly building). I have more closet space and storage space than I do in my room in Seattle. There is bed to the left, a desk to the right against the wall, an armchair right next to that. And a dresser at the foot of the bed against the wall. Its old, painted white, with a linoleum floor that has tan and black specks. I'd have taken pictures, but I don't have a camera. I ordered a new camera online, and then they emailed me back saying the order had been cancelled, this pissed me off a lot. I'll fix the problem soon enough, then you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

Today I got to Chicago with my aunt and cousin at around 12ish, we moved all my crap into my room and then I ran around campus getting all sorts of amazing free things. A free bag, free food, free pencils, free frisbee, free water bottle, free everything! Freebie heaven! Then there was a long talk in this ornate old chapel on campus. we arrived too late and there was no more room in the chapel, we were hearded into another room where we watched every one give their speeches on a screen with a live feed directly from the chapel. After that I walked with all the other kids to a football field. We had to stand in the shape of an '10 and they took an aerial shot of us. It was overwhelming walking down through campus to that feild. People were hugging their parents and crying. The emotions were vibrating through the air. As the parents left and we continued our walk, upperclassman stood and watched us from the outside of the walkway. They held signs, yelling and cheering us on. I felt a bit awkward just standing amongst everyone on that field. Many people know at least one person, or have roommates. I wandered, talked to a couple people, moved on.

Afterwards we met up with the rest of the people in our house and ate dinner, which was good, I had a burrito, pasta, and ice cream. Not balanced, I know, but this was my first meal. I was excited.

CRAZIEST THINGS EVER! At the table as we ate I found out that my resident head has BEEN to VASHON. His brother-in-law lives there! and then, another girl at the table was saying that her mom is from France so she visits often. I asked her where she was from and she said... ANNECY. What??? How small is this crazy world we live in. I flipped out when she said that.

So here I am, pretty happy, and really, very excited.

I'm leaving Seattle in 20 minutes.

Yesterday I was freaking out, I had so much to do, I was so on edge and nervous and, yes, kinda sad. I don't know how I managed to finish packing. My friends and I went and saw "Little Miss Sunshine" and we laughed so hard that I was crying, with tears streaming down my cheeks. I'll miss my Seattle girls, I am much closer to my friends here now than I was before I left for France.

Off I go, to bigger and better adventures.

I'm leaving Seattle in 20 minutes.

Yesterday I was freaking out, I had so much to do, I was so on edge and nervous and, yes, kinda sad. I don't know how I managed to finish packing. My friends and I went and saw "Little Miss Sunshine" and we laughed so hard that I was crying, with tears streaming down my cheeks. I'll miss my Seattle girls, I am much closer to my friends here now than I was before I left for France.

Off I go, to bigger and better adventures.

This was one of the most pleasant moments at Bumbershoot, sitting on a balcony in the afternoon sun with some friends, listening to great music from Breakestra, and peering down at breakdancers dancing below. Sorry, no sound, I'm going to get a new camera sometime soon that will record sound too.

Amazing weekend.

The best part was last night at A Tribe Called Quest. Not only did they blow everyone away with their brilliance, but I actually could SEE them. One of my friends (he's around 6'5"/195cm) put me up on his sholders for a few songs. I saw above everyones heads, and I wasn't being crushed by the 20,000 people around me. It was a perfect moment.

This past weekend I saw Laura Viers, Rogue Wave, Of Montreal, Lady Sovereign, some short films, The New Pornographers, Spoon, Common Market, Blue Scholars, Kanye West, Rocky Votolato, Cancer Rising, Breakestra, Atmosphere, and A Tribe Called Quest.

My favorite band was probably Of Montreal, they are so hilarious and I've always loved their music. They came out dressed like women and the lead singer kept ripping off parts of his clothes. They also got more and more trashed as the show went on. But despite that their music was perfect. I also loved Spoon. Lady Sovereign is the craziest little girl I have ever seen in my life, and her concert was so much fun. She has inexhaustable energy. The Blue Scholars are my heros, and Rogue Wave... well, right now, I just love every group I saw with all my heart.

And the weather was perfect too. It was a great way to spend my second to last weekend with my friends.

Right now, I'm in the right place, at the right time. It'd be a tragedy to be anywhere else. Today: Rocky Votolato, Cancer Rising, Trapped in the Closet (!), A Tribe Called Quest, and Feist.


I've seen both Kanye West and Of Montreal do renditions of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley. Cmon guys, get your own song.