January 31

SO COLD TODAY!!!! Indiana is so weird. It has been beautiful and warm and then I woke up today to cold and snow. I had to go into the office a little early for a meeting, but then I got a little bored. All of my grading was done, so I started playing with my calendar. I have a daily desk calendar that has famous "mustaches" that give clues and you're supposed to guess who it is. Yesterday's was William Shakespeare. I think it looks pretty good.

Also went to VGR to check out the vinyl they got in. I got Of Monsters and Men and then two used vinyl, a Debussy and the Jackson 5. Catlos came with and now I've converted him to the dark side. Muahaha.

January 24

Today was the last day of demonstration speeches and I must say, I have some pretty talented students! They all have really interesting hobbies and did such a good job speaking. I'm so proud and impressed!

Today the birthday fun continued because my friends are awesome! First, I came home to a package from Eliza with my birthday present in it. Her and Ian picked out three records for me since I got a record player to help me build my collection! I've been listening to the Beatles all evening and am now listening to the Caribou album. I love them. It was such a thoughtful gift! I'm so thankful for friends and friendships like the one I have with Eliza, because I honestly think it's rare to find someone who just gets you on so many levels.

ALSO! Caleb had made homemade lasagna over Christmas break and I had commented on his photo of it, so he made it for me for my birthday! SO SUPER NICE OF HIM because I know that lasagna is a pain in the ass to make and takes a long time. It was also delicious! And now I have a ton of leftovers. Between the lasagna and birthday cake, my carb and sugar intake is going to spike. I know. I'm spoiled...but I'm so grateful for everyone and everything.

January 16

Today was a good day! Started the day with a run, which always makes me feel better and like I've accomplished something. Had my first thesis meeting of the semester. I know it's going to be a lot of work to meet all of my deadlines and get everything in on time, but I'm excited about it. My writing has improved so much and I'm ready to dive back into the whole writing process. We'll see if I still have these feelings two weeks in...

Went shopping with Katie after getting some work done in the office. When I got home my package from Amazon was here. I ordered a few records, Bob Marley and The Avett Brothers. I'm seriously in love with my record player. There's just something about listening to music in a more raw state as well as having the patience to listen to an album from start to finish, not skipping through tracks. It kind of surprises me how much I like it because I'm not a very patient person. But there's something about it that I find comforting.

There was an AWESOME sunset today as well. I literally lit up the whole sky, painting it orange. It was beautiful. I also got my home try on glasses from Warby Parker. I have it narrowed down to two different frames, I just have to make a decision, which I'm kind of the worst at. I love this company though. Their service is fantastic and it's such a great company. They function like TOMS where for every pair of glasses you buy, they provide eye care for someone in need. Plus, their frames are super cute. What is there to hate?

January 5

Driving, driving, driving. Made the trek back to Muncie today. 9 loooong hours and I am back in Indiana. Funny thing is that as soon as we got off at the Muncie exit it started to snow. What a sign. Ha. Then when I got home I realized that I had turned off the power strip that my refrigerator was plugged into. So...my fridge had been off for three weeks. Gross. At least now my fridge is nice and clean, and thankfully it was practically empty anyway. I also set up my record player!

I've decided that I was born in the wrong decade because this is hands down one of the best ways to listen to music. It just sounds so raw and real. I'm in love. I only have three records right now: Michael Jackson's "Thriller," Explosions in the Sky's "The Earth is Not a Dead Cold Place," and Old Crow Medicine Show's 45 of "Wagon Wheel." Thankfully, I live a block away from the local record store and plan to check it out ASAP. Vinyl all the way!