Lately

● Spring is in full force here in Texas. I can never decide if I like spring or not. On the one hand, there are wildflowers on the sides of the highway, warm breezes, and sundresses. On the other hand, there's a fine layer of yellow covering every outside surface and you haven't stopped sneezing for three weeks.

● I had my first battle with Austin allergies a couple of weeks ago, which morphed into what the doctor at the clinic called a "little bronchitis" that took forever to get rid of.

● The first weekend of April I flew to Lubbock for Denny's surprise 80th birthday party.

● While there, my uncle made me a special cup of tea that was probably mostly whiskey to help me get rid of aforementioned cough. I drank it out of Denny's quilting mug (see above).

● I turned 23 last Thursday and was pleased to find that blink-182 lied to me. People do like you when you're 23.

● I had to work all day on my birthday, but my family had flowers delivered to my work and a coworker gave me her personal copy of one of her favorite books, so it wasn't too bad.

● On Sunday, Melany, Britny, and I went to South Congress Cafe for a belated birthday lunch and really great mojitos. After that, Britny and I spent four hours talking at a coffee shop and getting absolutely no work done.

● Monday night I went to BookPeople to interview for a little part-time job, and was pleasantly surprised to find David Levithan, Ally Carter, and Justine Larbalestier upstairs.

● I got that little part-time job, so now every Thursday and Sunday night will be spent working author events. I am stupidly excited about this.

● Just in the next few weeks, I will meet the winner of the 1979 Nobel Prize in physics, the writer of DCOM Pixel Perfect, and Glenn Close's sister.

How's your life lately?

-Maggie

Lately

I've lived in Austin for over a month now. There are still empty boxes stacked on our balcony and Melany still hasn't unpacked her room, but our Christmas tree has been up since the third week of November. That's all that really matters anyway.

I started my new job as a teller at a credit union right after I got to Austin, and when I say "right after," I mean I moved on a Friday and started training Monday. So yeah, there wasn't a lot of time for settling in, but it's turned out all right so far. At times I get very frustrated with the learning curve, but this would be the case at any new job. Luckily, my coworkers have been nothing but helpful and patient. Also, we have trivia every Friday morning, and I totally kicked ass last time. (That's what they get for having Harry Potter trivia.)

Lately, I have become very aware of how I spend my time. This probably has something to do with having a full-time job for the first time, which means a set schedule and less free time. In the short time that Melany and I have lived together, we have already managed to fall into a weekday routine. After work, we make dinner, sit in our pink chairs, and watch a few episodes of whatever show we're watching (right now, it's Psych). Sometimes we play cards or work on our computers, but that's usually about it.

There's not anything particularly wrong with this. In fact, I really enjoy it and could happily continue with this routine. It's such a nice way to wind down after work. But the thing is I don't want to wait for Fridays. I don't want to be someone who is living for the weekend, you know? It's so easy to get stuck, and I don't want to get too comfortable. I don't want to become content.

So I'm doing my best to live deliberately and all that. There are so many things I want to do and so many things before me. I'm living in a wonderful city with my wonderful friends, and I hope I never get used to that.

-Maggie

Instagram Recap: Summertime

For me, the end of summer has always come with the end of August. This probably has something to do with being in school for the last seventeen years, but September 1st is Officially Fall in my books. (Even though it's not really Officially Fall until September 23rd, and even then doesn't feel like fall until the end of October, but whatever.)

So to send off the season, I decided to recap by sharing my favorite pictures from the last three months. It's been a pretty good one.

As fun as this way, I am always and forever ready for fall, and I have a feeling this one will be especially great. I hope you had a great summer as well!

-Maggie

This must be the place

Seen at Castle Hill, May 2014

This past weekend I went to Austin to look for apartments with Melany. It was stressful for a variety of expected and unexpected reasons, but we got everything figured out. We've applied for an apartment.

I'm so excited. I'm also terrified. I know it's going to be a tough adjustment, but if I waited until I was ready, until moving to a huge city wasn't scary, I would be waiting forever. Sometimes you've just got to do things. You've just gotta go.

I know there a lot of people who don't get it (namely extended family members and my mother's boss). Why do I have to move to Austin? Why would I leave my good job at United? There are a lot of reasons, but the main reason is Austin simply feels like home.

This has always been a little difficult to explain to people. I grew up in a town with less than two thousand people in it. How could a city of nearly 850,000 feel like home? Recently while skimming through a photo book in Waterloo, I came across a quote that articulates my feeling perfectly:

"When I was little I asked my dad why he went to Austin so much. I remember him telling me that his heart slows down a few beats here."

I got chills when I read that because that's exactly it. My heart slows down a few beats when I'm in Austin. It just feels right to me. I can't believe I'm going to be there so soon.

-Maggie

Talk directions to me

Last week, a wonderful thing happened. Truly, one of the greatest things to happen probably ever. The best day of my life thus far.... WE GOT INTERNET. Also, either the crazy lady next door has stopped blasting gospel music at two in the morning or I've just gotten used to it. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Now that I have Internet, and it's Spring Break which means I actually have free time,* I can finally write about the weekend of Melany's birthday. Which was, you know, a month ago. Whatever.

On Thursday, we found out that Craig Ferguson was doing a show at the Paramount on Friday night. It didn't look like there were any seats left, so we took it as a sign that we weren't meant to spend eighty dollars we didn't have even if it was Craig Ferguson.

But on Friday morning when I woke up, the first thing Melany said to me was, "Good morning! I think I found seats for Craig Ferguson." So we took it as a sign that we were meant to spend eighty dollars we didn't have because it was Craig Ferguson. We honestly didn't have a choice. If Craig Ferguson is in town, you go see Craig Ferguson.

So on Valentine's Day, Britny, Melany, and I went to see Craig Ferguson. It was everything I dreamed it would be. Cross that off the bucket list. Afterwards, we refreshed our red lipstick and headed to Barbarella where we danced the night away to eighties music and I acted as bodyguard for the group. (I'm so not about strange guys dancing up behind girls. SO NOT ABOUT IT.) It was a really, really great night. It was the first Valentine's Day since I was little that I didn't think about it being Valentine's Day. Not that I'm ever particularly bitter about Valentine's, but it was still nice to not think about boys or relationship statuses. It was nice to drink rum and dance to Madonna, to be young and carefree.

Saturday was Melany's birthday, and we spent most of the day decorating her apartment for the little party we were going to have later that night. We got all dressed up for our reservation at South Congress Cafe, which we were so late for because it took Melany three years to curl her hair so they gave our table away and we had to awkwardly stand in the doorway for an hour. (But because I am a good friend and it was her birthday and she got sick at the restaurant, I didn't say anything about it. I'm such a nice person.) Although everything that night didn't go quite as planned with the reservation, Melany getting sick, and me accidentally making margaritas for twenty people, it still ended up okay. Melany felt better for a few hours, long enough for us to have some cupcakes and play Cards Against Humanity.

The next day I ventured to Ikea in Round Rock by myself to buy my bookshelf. It is my belief that Melany purposely contracted a virus just so she wouldn't have to go to Ikea with me, though I have no idea why she wouldn't want to go because Ikea is BEAUTIFUL. I'd never been before, and I was running around like a kid in a candy store, throwing all kinds of stuff into my basket. I was so tempted to buy things I don't even need right now (like a couch and area rug and dining room table) just because they were so reasonably priced. I'm going to have a field day once I move to Austin and Melany and I go shopping for our apartment.

When I drove back into Austin, I headed to South Congress so I could go to Parts + Labour and visit KaCee at work. When I passed the Snack Bar on the way back to Amy's, I noticed there was space at the bar. I decided the need for chicken avocado quinoa was too great and ducked inside.

I like spending time by myself. I do things that are generally considered group activities (like go to the movies) alone all the time. I've eaten alone many times before, but always at places like Chipotle while watching Frasier on my phone or something–never at a sit-down restaurant. I'd always wanted to, but the opportunity had never presented itself until then. I ordered a drink** and my quinoa, and just listened to the conversations around me. There was an nice English man to my left who watched my purse for me when I ran to the restroom, and a Russian guy and his bro friend to my right who talked about the Sochi Olympics. It was just nice. I highly recommend.

After I left the Snack Bar, I stopped by Amy's for some ice cream and to see KaCee. It felt so casual, just dropping by KaCee's work, chatting, making lunch plans for the next day. I felt so content that night, in my city, with my best friends. It's always so hard to leave.

Eight months.

-Maggie

* That's a lie. I have no free time. They call it a break, but really it's just a week to catch up on all the reading and essays you've gotten behind on.
** If you're ever at the Snack Bar, get the Pomgrenada. It was delish.

2013

2013 was a good year. I was optimistic as 2012 ended, and it paid off. I'm so much happier than I was last year. I'm looking forward to the future, but don't see it as an escape anymore, and that is something I'm very thankful for. At the end of last year, I was extremely unhappy with school and Lubbock. While I am still excited to graduate soon/never live in Lubbock again, I'm no longer embittered. Sure, college hasn't been a barrel of laughs and, yeah, Lubbock's not for me, but that's no reason to be a dick about it. C'mon, Past Maggie.

The year started off great with a short trip to Austin and visit from Shelby (a.k.a. the Tina to my Amy). Then school started again, and while I had classes and professors that I enjoyed, it still wasn't the best semester. In February, Fall Out Boy made my life (and everyone else's), KaCee and I drove to Austin for Melany's twenty-first birthday, and I found this awesome spoken word poem (which is definitely worth noting in this recap). March brought Spring Break, and Melany, KaCee, Husmann, and I were reunited for the first time since September for the Mystical Road Trip of Magic and Wonder, Part II. A wonderful trip full of four-wheeler riding, gun shooting, and tequila drinking.

I turned twenty-one in April, which I celebrated with a weeklong trip to Austin. This included seeing Two Door Cinema Club in concert, which was fantastic. Fall Out Boy's Save Rock and Roll also came out in April, and it has my vote for Best Album of 2013. I also made friends in April. By that I mean I hung out with work friends outside of work, and they have definitely made Lubbock a much better place. So thanks to Kiera, Angie, Gabby, Austin, Brannon, and so on for being my bros.

In May, another less than stellar semester ended, but my professor did the coolest thing and I drank several margaritas. The next month, Britny and I got our Harry Potter tattoos. The next day we saw Fall Out Boy in concert and it was easily one of the greatest moments of my life. In July, I got to spend two whole weeks in my favorite place with my very favorite people.

August saw the start of the best semester I've had since I started college. I had wonderful classes and professors that reminded me why I loved school in the first place, and I can only hope my last semester is half as good as this one was. I drove to Austin to celebrate Britny's twenty-first birthday in September, and was reminded of all the silly things I'll miss once I move to Austin. October and November were primarily focused on school, but I did dress up as Kevin from Up for Halloween, and that was fun.

December, always one of my favorite months, did not disappoint. After finishing school, I drove to Austin for another visit which included a Frightened Rabbit show and kayaking. I went home for the week of Christmas and it was wonderful. Originally, my dad was supposed to work on Christmas Day, but his boss texted him late on Christmas Eve and said his shift was covered. Late Christmas night, KaCee, Melany, and I bundled up and went stargazing.

I'm ending this year in a much better mindset than I ended the last. I'm even more optimistic about 2014 than I was about 2013. My cousin Julia and I are moving into a house this weekend. I graduate in May. I'm (finally) moving to Austin in October.

2014 is going to be big, guys.

-Maggie

Rhinestone Studded Punks

I finished school over a week ago, but it took a couple days to set in that I'm finally finished with the semester. This probably has something to do with how busy I've been since I turned in my last paper. On Friday, I (finally) got the recall fixed on my car, went to lunch with Austin and Kiera, and then made the six-hour drive to Austin with Austin. (We carpooled since he was going to see his girlfriend that weekend. Also, let me mention here that we played the Alphabet Game and I won with Z for Zephyr, Texas. *self five*)

Upon arriving, Melany and I met Britny and KaCee at Magnolia for our traditional meal of omelettes, hamburgers, and mimosas. Afterwards, we went back to Melany's apartment, and Melany and Britny studied for awhile* while KaCee and I talked and drank rum. On Saturday, we slept in, ate Chipotle, watched this hilarious stand-up, and saw Frightened Rabbit.

Specifically, it was "A Solo Night with Frightened Rabbit," which meant only the lead singer was there with his acoustic guitar (so technically it should have been called "A Solo Night with Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit" to avoid confusion, but I digress). Graham Wilkinson opened for him and also had really great boots. Then Scott came out in all his bearded, Scottish glory and was like, "I thought I'd just sing all of Midnight Organ Fight and then take some requests," and everyone was like, "UM, SURE. SOUNDS GREAT, SCOTT." It was beautiful, to say the very least.

I could have listened to him sing for many more hours, but luckily he didn't because my car almost got towed. I say this nonchalantly, like it wasn't a terrifying experience, but it totally was. We paid for parking until eleven, and when we walked up at 11:24 my car was already rigged and being lifted. I, incredibly confused and beginning to panic, ran up to the guy and said, "Um, this is my car?" He never said a word, but immediately let my car down, took all the stuff off the wheels, and drove away to me (still confused) yelling, "Thank you?" after him.

The moral of the story here is this: If the only options for parking are until 11 PM for five dollars or until 6 AM for ten dollars, go ahead and pay the extra five even if you aren't planning on being downtown past midnight because you may not always have a nice, mute tow truck guy that gives you your car back.

On Sunday, we went to the Elf quote-along (which was a blast) and met KaCee and her boyfriend Kyle for a late dinner at 24Diner (which is a new favorite). On Monday, I finally got to go kayaking with KaCee. The day was relatively warm, we brought Gretel along, and ate sandwiches Melany made for us under the Pedestrian Bridge. I see many more kayaking adventures in our future. That evening, I went with KaCee to get her tattoo, which turned out so freaking awesome. I was incredibly tempted to get one of the three other tattoos I want, but resisted the urge. Mainly because I am incredibly broke at the moment.

And now, we are a mere THREE DAYS away from CHRISTMAS. I work tonight and am leaving to go home for the week tomorrow. Santa's coming. I'm stoked, guys.

-Maggie

* The fact that Melany was frantically trying to finish a paper for three of the four days I was in Austin is the real reason it took so long to realize I was already finished with school. I was stressed by association.

Ups & Downs

Downsides:
● Due to inclement weather, I cannot go to Austin this weekend.
● This means I will not be able to see Matt Nathanson with Melany tomorrow night, which is something I have literally been planning for years.
● I definitely cried in front of the FedEx guy earlier.

On the bright side:
● My mom is the sweetest little peach and let me FedEx the tickets overnight, so at least Melany will still get to make use of her Christmas present.
● The FedEx guy pretended he didn't notice I was crying. Thanks, FedEx guy.
● I have the whole weekend to do all of the homework that certainly would not have been finished had I gone to Austin.
● Despite the fact that the weather is what is keeping me from Austin, I'm still loving the cold. I got to wear my winter coat today. And boots. And a beanie.
● Now my going to Austin in December solely to attend an Elf quote-along is justified.

-Maggie

On Nostalgia

If you know me, you know that I am a desperately nostalgic person. Nostalgia is ultimately what drives me to document things as I do. All the pictures I take, the quotes I jot down, and the blogs I write are for Future Maggie because I know she will want to look back on them frequently. Knowing this, it should not surprise you that I often find myself missing things.

I went to Austin two weekends ago for Britny's birthday. When I arrived, we met at Magnolia's for a late dinner. The smell of pancakes and coffee hit me full in the face when we walked inside and I immediately said, "Oh my God, it smells like home" because every time I get into Austin, we meet at Magnolia's. This is a tradition I associate with "coming home," with retrouvailles. This is a tradition I will miss when I move to Austin.

Really, it's silly of me to be thinking of this already. I don't move to Austin for another year. Still a year's worth of visits to have, a year's worth of meeting at Magnolia's when I get into town. Besides, once I move there, I can have Magnolia's anytime I want, right?

I just miss silly, little things like that. The drives to Austin with KaCee, for example. We'd listen to "Rivers and Roads" at least twice, and conversation always turned to talk of how glad we are to be friends and how we couldn't wait to move to Austin. Now that she's moved there, my drives are solo again. For someone who revels in solitude, I miss her company quite a lot.

Then there are phone calls with Melany. She has a habit of calling me as she sits in traffic after work, and I have a habit of calling her when she is either asleep or doing homework. When we're not on the phone, I harass her via text message and various social networking sites. There are also times when we are exceptionally sad and watch movies together via Netflix and Skype. It will be especially ridiculous for me to miss these things as I will be living with Melany when I move to Austin and will be able to watch a movie with her while physically in the same place, but what can I say? There's a lot about me that doesn't make sense.

Why do I anticipate missing these things? I couldn't tell you. From what I gather, nostalgia is highly irrational. I've stopped trying to understand it, and have decided to embrace it instead.

-Maggie

High Fives and Hugs, or That Time I Got a Tattoo and Went to a Rock Concert

I'm such a rebel, guys.

Last Friday I drove to Albany to drop off Husmann (who, thanks to an ill-timed hailstorm, could not come with us to Austin and instead had to spend the weekend in search of a new car) and attend my little sister's dance recital (which we won't talk about because my hometown's dance company is not to be taken seriously).

Britny and I drove to Austin the next morning and talked about Harry Potter most of the way there, which was fitting since that evening we got our Harry Potter tattoos. I hadn't planned on getting any of my tattoos until I moved to Austin, but that changed a few of weeks ago during a rewatch of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

There is something about the first book and movie–okay, that's a lie. There is just something about Harry Potter in general that makes me emotional. (I guess these things happen when you've been invested in something for thirteen years.) So somewhere between the Mirror of Erised and detention in the Forbidden Forest, I decided I didn't want to wait another year for my Harry Potter tattoo. I texted Britny and all of two minutes later we'd made plans to get our tattoos the next time we went to Austin.

Being our first tattoos, we had no idea what to do, so we asked my friend Alissa for help. She referred us to Golden Age Tattoos, but they didn't have time to see us, so one of the artists was incredibly cool and called her old shop, Atomic Tattoo on Burnet. I am incredibly pleased with my lightning bolt and Britny with her stars. I would recommend both of these shops if you're in the area and in need of a tattoo!

On Sunday, we got to Stubb's at about three to wait in line for FALL OUT BOY. I had been checking the weather all week to see how miserable it would be waiting in line, but luckily the high was only 93º and it was cloudy for most of the time. Melany, naturally, had a pack of cards in her purse, so we played a few rounds of BS and Dirty Jack while we waited, and spent the rest of the time saying, "Guys, we're about to see Fall Out Boy. In concert. Like, in an hour. Fall Out Boy."

We were fairly close to the beginning of the line (I mean, compared to where the line ended, we were definitely in the front), so once we made it inside we made a beeline for the merch table and then to the concession stand where we bought BBQ sandwiches and a lot of water. Whitney and Hope, two of my friends from church camp, found me and insisted they both buy my a drink, so I walked away with two rum and Cokes in hand. True friends, I tell ya.

The opener was a band called New Politics and they were great. (It helped that their drummer was incredibly sexy and had a huge smile that was blinding even ten rows back.) At one point, the lead singer stood on the crowd (see above), which requires more trust than I'd ever give to a bunch of teenagers and twenty-somethings suffering from heat exhaustion, but I digress.

Then Fall Out Boy came out and it was PERFECTION. They played songs from all of their albums and mixed it all up and it was BEAUTIFUL. There were several times Melany had to catch my swooning self (see: when Patrick sings "baby" in "Death Valley"). It was everything little junior high Maggie had been hoping for and more. I'm still pretty emotional about it, in case you couldn't tell.

-Maggie

MRMWII

Currently, I am sitting in the library with Kiera. She's being a good kid, taking notes in preparation for her test tomorrow. I am doing everything I can to continue to put off writing this paper, which includes but is not limited to checking my MySpace for the first time in three years and watching all the videos I've made. Anyway, I realized that I never posted the video from our spring break trip, so here you are! I must warn you though–we're incredibly obnoxious.

Now I must actually work on my paper before Kiera notices I'm blogging and yells at me again. She's pretty mean, guys.

-Maggie

P.S. Make sure you click the little HD button.

Mystical Road Trip of Magic and Wonder: Part II

The summer after we graduated from high school, my three best friends and I took a trip to my aunt and uncle's home in East Texas (a.k.a. Tackett's Dream). That was our first trip going anywhere by ourselves, so naturally what was supposed to be a four hour drive somehow turned into a nine hour drive. We must have hit a wormhole somewhere. Anyway, eventually we got there and had the absolute best time riding four-wheelers, tubing, fishing, and being gross (and making a truly terrible video with Melany's cheap camera that can be viewed here).

As part of our No Shitty Birthdays vow, we wanted to take a Spring Break trip to celebrate Husmann's birthday (which is on Tuesday), so we called up Aunt Kim. Kim and Lee are two of the coolest people, and seemed genuinely happy to have us there even though we're extremely obnoxious when we're together (and it was worse this weekend because the four of us hadn't been together since September).

We had a fantastic time–riding the Mule, skeet shooting, chopping down trees, watching movies, and eating a lot of food. It was so nice to be together again and away from the stress of school and work. We're extremely thankful that they let us use their home as an escape, and can't wait to go back.

Video coming soon. (Also, the Seattle video is actually close to being finished, so look forward to that as well.)

-Maggie

P.S. If you're interested, all of our Instagram pictures are tagged #MRMWII.

Three

Spent the night with my little sister–eating Blizzards, driving around Albany, jamming to Macklemore, watching Pitch Perfect, and having good conversation. I like her alright.

Found two Seattle videos on my camera that I had never uploaded. One of them is of Nicola, Natalie, Shelby, and I working to retrieve Shelby's glasses from the abyss in the hotel room. I miss these people like crazy. Come on, July.

Leaving in the morning for a little trip with these lovely ladies. It'll be the first time the four of us have been together since September, and we have been counting down the days. Expect pictures and videos soon.

If you're on Spring Break right now: Have fun, and as my professors advised on the last day of class, "Don't die. Don't get an STD." If you're not on Spring Break: I'm sorry.

-Maggie