watching overcompensating

Whenever a show comes out about the college experience, I feel like I have to watch it to compare it to my own life. As someone who didn't have a traditional high school nor college experience, whenever these obscenely raunchy and wild shows throw me off. 

I am entering my fourth year of college, and while yes, I have had some crazy days (and nights), it never seems the same as how it actually goes during these trying times. 

Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the how, and I've almost watched the entire show in one day (currently on episode 6/8, and I don't know what I'm gonna do when it's over). I also didn't have the classic freshman in college experience. I went to community college for my first two years, and no one is getting wet and wild at community college. 

There's nothing wrong with this path either: some people are just going to college to get in and out, and that's fine. But I would never be able to imagine myself getting completely shitfaced off of two 40s and five pot brownies just to end up in an ambulance with cut up hands from shattered glass because I forgot I was playing Edward 40hands.

I'm not even twenty one years old, yet I'm still stuck wondering if I am missing out on something that seemingly everyone else went through. 

It doesn't bother me that I'm missing out, but I am genuinely curious what has changed in the past few years to make it seem like no one is partying as hard as they used to, maybe for better or for worse. 

This is also why I think there is such an appeal to early 2000s/2010s aesthetics that revolve around a messy but chic party girl. Indie sleaze, McBling and Tumblr aesthetics are making the rounds again, all which romanticize aspects of living life the messy way: day old eyeliner smudged under your eyes, wearing patterns layered over each other and constantly running late for every single errand in your life. 

Yeah, this doesn't fly in 2025. There's simply no time for something like this to flourish the way it is. That is, unless we fully enter an economic recession...then maybe we really can turn back to the ancient scriptures. 

It honestly scares me to think about the future of the job market and how we as a generation are going to make it in the real world. It only seems like things are getting worse for upcoming college graduates (yay!!)

All of this ranting just to get completely distracted from the original reason I wanted to write this: Overcompensating! This show is good, but not in the way I would expect. It's real, raw and it doesn't feel like the writer didn't go to college and is trying to imagine what it's about. 

I am looking forward to finishing the show, and maybe I'll even write an update about it when I'm finished. Until next time, cheers!

took a trip to san francisco

 As summer began and school finally came to a close, my roommate and our close friend decided to travel from college to San Francisco. Only about a few hours away from where we lived, we made the journey by car. 

There are times when San Francisco feels lie the best place on Earth: there's so much culture (very different from where I go to college), everyone dresses nice and chances are there is always something beautifully created around you whether its the art or architecture. 

One of our other good friends goes to school in the city, so we're able to stay with her--no expensive hotels for three broke college students! 

I've been there a few times, but this year I've been twice. This time I felt much more familiar with my surroundings, and actually started to feel like I belonged in the city--a wonderful feeling. Here is the list of things we HAVE to see when were in the city:

• 
  Palace of Fine Arts
• The Marina
• Golden Gate Park
• Haight and Ashbury 
• Amoeba Records
• Roommates Vintage
• Dumpling Baby Restaurant
• The Game Parlour
• Anywhere that has a photobooth
• Thrift stores here and there
• Good matcha/coffee --> usually in Japantown

Besides that, whatever catches our eye is where we'll go. The last time we visited, I ended up winning a pair of free concert tickets to see George Clanton, but was unable to make it to the scheduled time. It honestly felt like a call to the world that I was supposed to be there in that moment. 

San Francisco is also home to the wonderful Outside Lands festival, something that I would love to attend this year if it pans out. A lot of artists performing are musicians I like, which is kind of rare for me these days. 

At Amoeba Records, I purchased my favorite Aphex Twin album, "Selected Ambient Works 85-92." I also found a Sigur Ros CD for only a few dollars, so I snagged that. The last time I went I was also able to get another Aphex Twin CD, as well as one of my favorite albums of all time, Massive Attack's "Mezzanine", which features songs with Cocteau Twins' singer Elizabeth Fraser. Every time I step in that store I expect to find greatness, and I haven't been let down yet!

The two restaurants I listed, Dumpling Baby and The Game Parlour both offer gluten free fried chicken--both of my friends who visited with me are gluten intolerant, so this is always a must! The Game Parlour has fabulous mochiko chicken, which is what makes it crispy, while Dumpling Baby has a sweet-tasting honey-based sauce, which is unique to other common chicken sauces like orange or teriyaki. 

Anyway, I hope that I go back to the city as many times as I can before I inevitably don't live as close to it as I do right now. Knowing me, I probably will because once I get a taste of something like San Francisco, I just can't stay away. 

That about wraps it up for me, until next time, cheers!

new alex g album coming out

 It's a big day for annoying people (me), since Alex G announced his upcoming tenth album, "Headlights." He's also released a new single (listed below), titled "Afterlife", which takes on an upbeat almost joyous sound that is not typical when it comes to his previous music. 

This will be my first time being able to live react to an Alex G album, as I was not as much of an intense, obnoxious fan as I am today. A tracklist was also revealed, which is also different from usual song titles. Basically the only thing that's changed is that the song titles are longer, boohoo.

I really like the style of his music, and I'm not sure what it is that makes it so special to me. I feel like it sounds so personal, when in reality, it isn't. Alex has stated multiple times that almost all of his music is not autobiographical, except for a song titled "Hope" on his album "House of Sugar", which just makes it even more heartbreaking when you listen to it. 

There are always artists that people connect to very deeply, and I think he is one of them for me. I think there's only one song I don't like by him, which I don't even want to go into detail about. That's surprising for a music listener like me, who tends to be very critical of an artist's overall discography. 

When the album comes out on July 17th, I'll aim to review it here as fast as I can (hopefully). But by then I will have a job (MUST happen), be 21 years old and maybe picked up a new skill. All things I am to do within the next month and a half. 

But that's all I have today, until next time, cheers!