Late Night Musings

Blogs I can't stop perusing....

I am a daily drop-in on my dear friend Blythe's blog. Blythe is currently wrapping up her second Dressember,the promise of 31 days of dresses has enticed me into visiting on a regular basis. Ever since my days of working in the Dress Department at Nordstrom, I've been in love with dresses. Which is why Blythe's impressive dedication to an entire month of them is simply fascinating to me!

Dressember in action:






Hoping to jump on board come Dressember 2011, hold me to it Blythe!

Another Blog I love, Cupcakes and Cashmere : flawlessly combines the enticing genre's of Fashion and Food. Fashionista Emily blogs about everything from "how to's" ( on make-up, curls, & hair-styles) to photo-cataloging
all sorts of confections she whips up. The photos are beautiful, her style is impeccable. I can't help but drop in a couple times a week to see what visual delight she has posted. Serious blog-stalking material!

Also, always hoping to be as cool as the kids on LOOKBOOK or as chic as the subjects of The Sartorialist .

For now I'll just blog stalk and enjoy being inspired by my weekly visits to all the blogs above. Visit them, and fall in love for yourself...

Very Merry

Happy Jolly Christmas.


Holidays are strange, ever notice that emotions seem to be running high come December 1st? Something about Christmas. Emotions that come to mind or that I have observed in the last month: nostalgia, excitement, anticipation, stress,an acute sense of loss, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

Nostalgia, sometime between Black Friday and December 24th an onslaught of traditions are relived and remembered each year. Every Christmas season most people follow the same cookie-cutter routine that they followed the year before, and the year before that. Repetition can be good and bad, it does not necessarily produce the same outcome regardless of how closely you follow the "recipe". Perhaps the gifts you chose last year were more heartfelt, or maybe the dinner turned out better, or any other reason you can think of...regardless of doing the same activity each year the outcome can be very different. I am convinced this is fact, not insanity. Which is why I have come to the conclusion that the holiday season regardless of the variety of time tested traditions we revisit each year, can fill us with a sense of nostalgia and longing for a distant place in our memory where the outcome was a bit different. Perhaps, better suited to the fairytale memory you constructed that year.

Anticipation and excitement is to be expected. The Christmas songs that dominate radio stations during the entire month of December, the extended store hours for your shopping convenience, the assortment of holiday foods: all attribute to this build up that continues to escalate until Christmas day. A whole month dedicated to one day, how could there not be some sort of static excitement in the air?

It is the acute sense of loss that I discussed above that has really struck me this holiday season the most,not only in my own life, but in the lives of my friends and acquaintances. Being a teller gives me an opportunity to have semi-lengthy conversations with a wide variety of people: for better or worse. I hear about people's financial success and troubles, along with numerous other unrelated topics. It is AMAZING/SHOCKING what some people tell the person depositing their paycheck. This Christmas however, I have really gotten an idea of how much pain the Holidays can bring to so many people. With holiday nostalgia comes a longing for the times when loved ones who have passed away were there to celebrate with us. Not having all the people you love with you for the holidays can make a seemingly joyous occasion, painful for so many people. I have nearly been in tears at work quite a few times this month after hearing the pain that people are facing during the holidays, which has caused me to hug my family a little tighter and be exceedingly grateful to have the ones I love with me this Christmas.

Oddly enough, when Thanksgiving was here I was in quite a funk. For some reason I had the selfish misconception that I did not have a great deal to be thankful for. I look back now, and I am completely disappointed in myself for being so blind and taking for granted all the things I have been immensely blessed with.So I'll end this exceedingly long post with a list of things that I am grateful for, a little late...but as they say, better late than never:

A family who loves me without condition
Friends who do the same
A home
A job
A car
The ability to afford and go to school(and only having one year left!)
A savior who continues to bless me, in spite of my ingratitude
Good listeners
Life lessons
Times of refining, and the beautiful outcome they produce
Goals(achieving those goals!)
And so many other unspoken blessings in my life

Tune it next time for: NEW YEARS resolutions!
Thanks for reading if you did...

Merry Christmas Eve!

Sunny One So True

Work, why must we? Why does money make the world spin and beauty get you everywhere in life? Why doesn't money grow on trees, and what exactly are those "best things in life" that are free?

Why when I attend a school with a staggering enrollment of 37,000 students, have I only managed to make less than five legitimate friends in the last three years? While walking to class recently I noted a few problems with today's "campus culture". No one makes eye contact in passing, people stroll in zombie-like trances to class, with their ipods blaring, earphones in, and text-able phones in hand. In a sea of people, everyone seems so surprisingly disconnected. Not that I am NOT a card-carrying member of this guilty demographic, but still, sometimes I think I do it just because everyone else does. Sure I enjoy listening to cheerful tunes while walking briskly to my next class, but do I do it because it makes me seem like everyone else? While everyone scrambles to fit in, their methods only seem to widen the social gap. We are on facebook, dating websites, chat-rooms(this may be a terribly outdated term, of which I am aware), AIM (maybe only if you are 15), and video chat, hoping to meet someone. Yet, when surrounded by thousands of faces we cannot seem to find the time or gather the gumption to make a friend or even eye-contact. I find it so ironic that as I said, I attend a huge university and yet when I am surrounded by people, all I can seem to do is retreat into a world of my current musical inclination, accompanied by my invisible friends on the receiving end of my text messages.



Also, Murphy's Law.
What a law, what a law, what a mighty bad law.
Darn you Murphy and your constant willing of things to go wrong!

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

Tidbits from my exciting life as a college student.

My yoga teacher cannot remember that my name is Camyron, so he asked if he could call me "Camy". Usually, only my family or close friends call me this. It is weird hearing him call out in front of the class "Camy...you need to lean in to the pose more..."
His name is Patrick, fighting the urge to address him as Patty or Pat.

Also, my Political Philosophy Professor tells dirty jokes and attempts to relate them to philosophical concepts. He also ends every class by saying "Alright...party on".

I am pretty discouraged about my grand attempts to study abroad, the cheapest program available was a minimum of ten grand. TEN GRAND. More than I pay for school in a year. I am feeling a bit deflated when it comes to my grand adventure plans.

Told you it was exciting...

Twist and Shout

It has been quite a while since I have tried my hand at my dear sweet blog.
However, I find that regardless of the amount of time I spend without contributing anything of value to my blog...it seems to be like an old friend, with whom I can easily pick up where I left off. A noteworthy attribute indeed.
Alright, enough with the humanization of inanimate objects...

Anyway, it has been a good couple of months.
Finished school with decent grades, hoping for straight A's next semester. I left some room for growth this semester: I blame Geology. The death of me. I am now confident that I am not going to be a geologist (as if that was in question) and have come to see just how much one can learn from a professor who loves what they teach, passion is key(two unrelated concepts, but I learned them both this semester). I have sat in countless GE courses and wondered, why am I here? If you are teaching a class, why not make it interesting? Why not try and convince the students to enjoy the subjects as much as you do? Why not inject some of the enthusiasm that propelled you through your years as an undergrad and grad student, into the young minds that you are paid a moderate salary to teach? I do not understand the utter lack of interest, some of the professors seem to exude. However, it only makes those professors who put thought, excitement, and passion into their lectures stand out all the more. I had two of the most challenging and thought provoking professors this semester, who, oddly enough taught classes that were completely outside of my emphasis . However, I found them fascinating and engaging...to the point of seriously considering minoring in their respective concentrations.That is the kind of professor that I wish all would aspire to emulate. Hoping to cipher through the snoozers and find a few more gem professors this semester.

Which brings me to my next point...
I officially starting my emphasis classes this semester! It is about time... although I did get my GE out of the way... a lofty feat indeed. I am so looking forward to delving into my core classes. The passion which I originally felt for journalism has seemingly been clouded by the unconquerable number of GE courses I have suffered through. I feel like this semester will be the start of something great, looking forward to inspiration, and figuring out exactly what I would like to do with the education I am receiving.

Also wanting to study abroad, why not take advantage of the invigorating combination of my undergrad education and exploration? Especially when it is so incredibly accessible,or at least that is how the brochures describe it. We shall see about that.I feel a sense of urgency to make the most of my student loans and this short time when my only real obligation is school. Planning on visiting the international programs office when school starts up again.NEXT WEEK! Also planning on looking in to grad schools. I feel suddenly inspired. I have had this idea that somehow, I should be happy just to take what comes. Why? I am still trying to figure this out, but the more places I go and people I speak with...the more I realize that the world is so much bigger than my limited surroundings and far more accessible than I have imagined.

In the next couple of years I want to:

#1: Go to New York, Chicago, and travel along the East Coast(So much history to be seen!)

#2: Go to Europe!

(2010 Goals)

#3: Have the attitude that "Anything is possible".

*One of my best friends, has the most amazing family. Being around them, just inspires hope and excitement. I swear if any family lives by this motto, it is them. Striving to be more like them!

#4: Figure out what I love: and do it. I'm young, this will come.

#5: Love more, be alone less.

#6: Make at least one friend in each of my classes this semester. No more..."strangers in the night...exchanging glances."


Alright, I think that is it. *whew!
This blog is a marathon of random thoughts, kudos if you have read it all the way through!
(However, I will not blame anyone for skimming)



Also, in need of a new layout. However, I'm not diggin' this new "ready-made" template. I need tech support. STAT! Any suggestions?