So the past few weeks have been eventful, to say the least. I have grown up both physically and figuratively, especially during the past few weeks (if that even makes sense). [I actually wrote this last week, but I haven't been able to post in till now, so keep that in mind...]
The first thing I wanted to mention, however, is going to see possibly one of my favorite artists ever, Andrew Bird, LIVE IN CONCERT, WAT. Not many people know who A-bird is, but I have been in love with him since my Sophomore year of High School when my best friend, Sarah, introduced him to me. He's basically amazing, playing the violin and guitar, singing and whistling (I am told he is considered a "virtuoso whistler"), and his music is amazing. If you have never heard of him, stop reading this and QUICK, go listen to the following songs: Imitosis, Fiery Crash, Simple X, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, Armchairs. He'll change your life...ok so maybe not really, but he is still amazing and I love his music, omg. If you don't like him, I don't know what is wrong with your ears, but I guess everyone is entitled their own opinion. Here's a picture of him, balling out at the concert...
The first thing I wanted to mention, however, is going to see possibly one of my favorite artists ever, Andrew Bird, LIVE IN CONCERT, WAT. Not many people know who A-bird is, but I have been in love with him since my Sophomore year of High School when my best friend, Sarah, introduced him to me. He's basically amazing, playing the violin and guitar, singing and whistling (I am told he is considered a "virtuoso whistler"), and his music is amazing. If you have never heard of him, stop reading this and QUICK, go listen to the following songs: Imitosis, Fiery Crash, Simple X, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, Armchairs. He'll change your life...ok so maybe not really, but he is still amazing and I love his music, omg. If you don't like him, I don't know what is wrong with your ears, but I guess everyone is entitled their own opinion. Here's a picture of him, balling out at the concert...
He's basically my musical soulmate, and I was so excited to see him live (also props to the sick bass player, I kept a fair amount of attention on him too, considering I play the bass and all...). The only complaint I had afterwards was that HE DIDN'T PLAY ARMCHAIRS. Therefore, I decided I have to see him again, because I MUST HEAR IT LIVE, I MUST. While I was disappointed initially, my biff, Anna, informed me that we had not read the "fine print" of the concert. Basically, the concert was a tour of "Andrew Bird and the Hands of Glory", which is an album. They told us on the ticket that it was a concert promoting an album. Therefore, everything instantly made more sense and I understood why they had only played new stuff with a minimal amount of old stuff. I couldn't be mad anymore, but I wish I had known before hand, so I wouldn't have gotten my hopes up about Armchairs. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic concert, and I still love A-bird, if not now more than ever because I have tangible proof that he is amazing, even in real life.
The following Saturday after the concert, I had an amazing "going-away" party, if you will. It was so wonderful to jam with all my friends and really get a proper send off from most of them :) Especially because my childhood "sister," was able to make it down from LINCOLN, NEBRASKA WHERE HER PARENTS CRUELLY MOVED THREE YEARS AGO! I was so happy, you have no idea. I missed her a ton, and it was great to see her. It was supposed to be a mini-reunion of my crew from back in middle school (TLC Reppin!!), but one from our "crew" was, sadly, unable to make it :( Still, it was wonderful and I was so happy to see everyone and just have a good time.
So, this next part I am not sure if I should share here. I've been conflicted because it is a very personal matter, but I know that is kind of part of what a blog is supposed to be. Honestly, I'm just writing this now, and I'm not even sure if I will share it when I post the blog...But anyways. I know a lot of my family will be reading this, so hopefully they don't think this is silly or inappropriate for me to share, but I really feel like at this point I need to write this. On Monday, June 16th my Grandmother passed away. I'll post her obituary below for anyone interested, but I really wanted to share some of my feelings about her. Grandma, actually I always called her Grammy, had been sick with PSP for about 2.5 years. PSP is a disease that basically mimics Parkinsons and is characterized by a slow, bodily shutdown. Although it's not really a terminal disease, it's still extremely debilitating. The last weekend of her life, I know how much pain she was in. Her condition had progressed to a point where it had even become difficult for her to breathe. Grammy was a fighter, though, because she held on to see her first Great Granddaughter make it to town, my cousin, baby August. I don't want to go into too much more detail about the end of her life because that is not what I want to remember her by. She was buried in a beautiful blue dress,and I just know that she's not suffering anymore. Also, a ton of family drove in/flew in to see her, so it was nice to be surrounded by family.
I had a really strong relationship with my grammy, especially before she got sick. When my parents got divorced, circa 1993, I was but a wee tot, and would go spend every other weekend with my dad, as per the custody arrangement. Therefore, I would always see my grandma during those times. In a way, she raised part of me because of how often I saw her. She worked as an RN for much of her life and I can sort of see this in my desire to be a Physician, a dream I have always had. I have so many memories, it is ridiculous, most of them good, some of them bad, but with any relationship, that is always inevitable. Grammy and I would fight, but I know it was just because she cared a lot about me and the person I was becoming. I've always been hard headed, but I always loved, and still, love my Grammy.
Here is her obituary: http://hosting-24669.tributes.com/obituary/show/jean-adrienne-mccown-mcgurk-101448017
I also am choosing to show some pictures, as well, of her and myself, back in a yonder-year.
The following Saturday after the concert, I had an amazing "going-away" party, if you will. It was so wonderful to jam with all my friends and really get a proper send off from most of them :) Especially because my childhood "sister," was able to make it down from LINCOLN, NEBRASKA WHERE HER PARENTS CRUELLY MOVED THREE YEARS AGO! I was so happy, you have no idea. I missed her a ton, and it was great to see her. It was supposed to be a mini-reunion of my crew from back in middle school (TLC Reppin!!), but one from our "crew" was, sadly, unable to make it :( Still, it was wonderful and I was so happy to see everyone and just have a good time.
So, this next part I am not sure if I should share here. I've been conflicted because it is a very personal matter, but I know that is kind of part of what a blog is supposed to be. Honestly, I'm just writing this now, and I'm not even sure if I will share it when I post the blog...But anyways. I know a lot of my family will be reading this, so hopefully they don't think this is silly or inappropriate for me to share, but I really feel like at this point I need to write this. On Monday, June 16th my Grandmother passed away. I'll post her obituary below for anyone interested, but I really wanted to share some of my feelings about her. Grandma, actually I always called her Grammy, had been sick with PSP for about 2.5 years. PSP is a disease that basically mimics Parkinsons and is characterized by a slow, bodily shutdown. Although it's not really a terminal disease, it's still extremely debilitating. The last weekend of her life, I know how much pain she was in. Her condition had progressed to a point where it had even become difficult for her to breathe. Grammy was a fighter, though, because she held on to see her first Great Granddaughter make it to town, my cousin, baby August. I don't want to go into too much more detail about the end of her life because that is not what I want to remember her by. She was buried in a beautiful blue dress,and I just know that she's not suffering anymore. Also, a ton of family drove in/flew in to see her, so it was nice to be surrounded by family.
I had a really strong relationship with my grammy, especially before she got sick. When my parents got divorced, circa 1993, I was but a wee tot, and would go spend every other weekend with my dad, as per the custody arrangement. Therefore, I would always see my grandma during those times. In a way, she raised part of me because of how often I saw her. She worked as an RN for much of her life and I can sort of see this in my desire to be a Physician, a dream I have always had. I have so many memories, it is ridiculous, most of them good, some of them bad, but with any relationship, that is always inevitable. Grammy and I would fight, but I know it was just because she cared a lot about me and the person I was becoming. I've always been hard headed, but I always loved, and still, love my Grammy.
Here is her obituary: http://hosting-24669.tributes.com/obituary/show/jean-adrienne-mccown-mcgurk-101448017
I also am choosing to show some pictures, as well, of her and myself, back in a yonder-year.
Well, now that I have gotten this blog off to a somber middle, I want to end it with some lighter notes. I mentioned earlier that I had grown figuratively (through my Grandma), but I also physically aged, as I turned 22 this past Sunday. It was mostly an uneventful day that I spent driving back from Spartanburg; although my dad and step-mom got me some pretty sick headphones and my mom and step-dad cooked me a baller steak dinner. Then the day after, with friends, I got treated to Nonnah's and a movie, so that was cool too :) Also, the day before my actual birthday I got additional celebration time with nearly my entire extended family, on my dad's side; which was cool because I hadn't seen any of them since before I can remember. I also felt as though my 22nd birthday was far less meaningful than my 21st (hmm...wonder why...), and I have a feeling that they all are pretty meaningless until either 25 or 30, the two ages I consider (or at least think...) will be the next milestones! So until then, I can feel some pretty uneventful birthday's happening (shoutout to all the people who wrote on my facebook wall this year, it's really awesome to hear from some people I have literally not talked to in forever!).
In other news, I am still not TESOL certified, DAMN MY PROCRASTINATING HABITS, but I am confident I will be (rather, I have to be...) before I leave next Friday. HOLY CRAP NEXT FRIDAY, JUST HAD A MINI PANIC ATTACK WHILE WRITING THIS, NBD. But seriously, I'm freaking out. There are SO MANY FREAKING THINGS LEFT TO DO. I'm going to Charleston Wednesday, Greenville next Thursday, have to fill out AMCAS again, apparently because it is something to do with holding my spot during the deferral (WHY, OH WHY DO I HAVE TO ENDURE THAT TORTURE AGAIN??), buy gifts (which I finally figured out, roughly, from stealing/coming up with my own ideas...basically, postcards, shot glasses, beef jerky, SUPPLEMENTS, and USC paraphernalia, and maybe chocolate), BUY ALL THE OTHER THINGS (like travel essentials, definitely need some compression socks, they aren't attractive, but ain't nobody got time for deep vein thrombosis), clean up the MONSTROSITY that is the upstairs of my house (from me tearing around finding things I want to take), and finish packing. I feel like there is a ton more, but I'm just forgetting what it all is, because I'M FREAKING OUT. haha, ok I'm being pretty dramatic. Considering my track record, I'm doing pretty well, and I know (from years of practice) how to kick it into high gear during the crunch time (it's basically how I made it through college).
Also, since I'm already rambling, I figured I'd share this YouTube video of my friend, Ryan Knott, playing Bangarang on the cello. Yes, you read that correctly, he's amazing, so you should check it out down below...
Like, seriously, check it out.
Interesting side note, since I can't go even 10 minutes without thinking about my dogs, they got neutered last Monday, which sucks for them, haha. Maybe I should be more sympathetic, but man, they were acting like drama queens all the time. That was a problem for both my ears and my sanity. It was definitely time.
Until next time,
Ciao
PS SHOUTOUT TO ANNA SHE'S AWESOME (I got Anna to edit, and apparently she wrote this without my knowledge :P)
In other news, I am still not TESOL certified, DAMN MY PROCRASTINATING HABITS, but I am confident I will be (rather, I have to be...) before I leave next Friday. HOLY CRAP NEXT FRIDAY, JUST HAD A MINI PANIC ATTACK WHILE WRITING THIS, NBD. But seriously, I'm freaking out. There are SO MANY FREAKING THINGS LEFT TO DO. I'm going to Charleston Wednesday, Greenville next Thursday, have to fill out AMCAS again, apparently because it is something to do with holding my spot during the deferral (WHY, OH WHY DO I HAVE TO ENDURE THAT TORTURE AGAIN??), buy gifts (which I finally figured out, roughly, from stealing/coming up with my own ideas...basically, postcards, shot glasses, beef jerky, SUPPLEMENTS, and USC paraphernalia, and maybe chocolate), BUY ALL THE OTHER THINGS (like travel essentials, definitely need some compression socks, they aren't attractive, but ain't nobody got time for deep vein thrombosis), clean up the MONSTROSITY that is the upstairs of my house (from me tearing around finding things I want to take), and finish packing. I feel like there is a ton more, but I'm just forgetting what it all is, because I'M FREAKING OUT. haha, ok I'm being pretty dramatic. Considering my track record, I'm doing pretty well, and I know (from years of practice) how to kick it into high gear during the crunch time (it's basically how I made it through college).
Also, since I'm already rambling, I figured I'd share this YouTube video of my friend, Ryan Knott, playing Bangarang on the cello. Yes, you read that correctly, he's amazing, so you should check it out down below...
Like, seriously, check it out.
Interesting side note, since I can't go even 10 minutes without thinking about my dogs, they got neutered last Monday, which sucks for them, haha. Maybe I should be more sympathetic, but man, they were acting like drama queens all the time. That was a problem for both my ears and my sanity. It was definitely time.
Until next time,
Ciao
PS SHOUTOUT TO ANNA SHE'S AWESOME (I got Anna to edit, and apparently she wrote this without my knowledge :P)