You know what would be awesome?

If I could make up my damn mind!

I don't know what to do with myself anymore! I want to be here and there, do this and that, to be and not to be. I want everything and can't have anything and it is FRUSTRATING!

Someone make a plan for me and don't let me have options. Those complicate my life.

My album list

I've come to realize that it has been an eternity since I've bought a new album or even come to find a new awesome band. That is not acceptable, and perhaps now that I am going to have more time for non-work things I can get back into surfing the waves for awesome new tuneige.

In commemoration of this, I am posting a list of the top five albums I must get, stat. They are not all recent releases; in fact the majority were released more than a year ago. But I need 'em!

1. Kid Cudi, Man on the Moon: The End of Day


"Pursuit of Happiness" has been my life's theme song for the past six months, or more. I already know the rest of the entire album and I'm convinced Kid and I would have the most awesome babies. Now if only I could meet him and have the album on my iPod so I can listen to it on demand rather than use my phone to find it on YouTube...


2. The Bravery, Self-titled album


This is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I actually lost the CD a few years back. I was completely unaware of it, however, until about nine months ago, when I wanted to listen to it. It's nowhere to be found in my CD collection and it makes me very bummed.


3. The Bravery, Stir The Blood


I am so in love with The Bravery and what they do. I heard them play tons of material from this album before it's release last fall. Loved the songs from the show and think it will be such a worthwhile investment, when it happens.


4. M.I.A., /\/\/\Y/\


I want to be her. She keeps growing with each album and I don't care how crazy she is, she is gorgeous and not afraid to be herself and independent. I really respect her as an artist and enjoy her music.


5. Weezer, Hurley


I've only listened to a few of the songs, but it's Weez's newest album and it's being released by Epitaph. Need I say more?

My eyes burn

After allowing them to sit in the optometrist's office for nearly a month, I finally picked up my contact lenses (with the new prescription!). Having worn them for the second day today, my eyes are having some trouble adjusting to the prescription. Also, my eyes have gone back to being mega-dry, itchy and watery by the end of the day. Too much screen time, my wellness-expert friends would say.

However, I did spend some time re-designing my WordPress website, so I feel like the screen time was worth it. Better than the time I had the SYTYCD marathon for about a week, trying to get caught up.

And also, it is balls hot in my room. Time to bring the fan out again.

Entrevista mañana -- dedos cruzados y suerte a mi!

Long time overdue

Wow, this entry is quite overdue.

This summer has been filled with many random trips and small adventures, which I've really enjoyed. I went rafting with Amber, and I was able to check out some new places here in Fort Collins. Plus, I've been spending lots of time in my backyard with my roomies, lighting up a fire pit we have and making the most ridiculous mad libs.

All in all, it's been a good summer. It's just a shame that schools are back in session and things are going to start getting hectic and stressful again.

I'd like to plan a vacation where I re-unite with friends from college, somewhere awesome with a beach. Like Miami, for instance. Or California.

Well, off to cover tonight's exciting school board meeting!

Do hired killers deserve the death penalty?

My parents and I had an interesting discussion this afternoon about whether or not the hired killers that have taken over the streets of Mexico and invoked fear into the hearts of its citizens deserve the death penalty.

News accounts estimate that more than 130 Mexicans have already died at the hands of bloodthirsty traffickers in June alone. A cousin of mine, who lives Reynosa, opposite the Texan town of McAllen, said she believes the numbers reported by the media are actually only counting about 70 percent of the actual murders that are occurring.

To say Mexico is undergoing a civil war of sorts is trite. It's obvious to anyone who keeps an ear out for news from Latin America that the situation for Mexicans is looking pretty grim. And while the Mexican federal government keeps saying it is putting forth an effort to combat the narcos, justice for the victims being tortured and slaughtered is slow-moving.

Which leads me to my question: Do men and women found guilty of being mercenaries for the narcos deserve the death penalty? And if so, should it be done publicly?

My mother and father argued that the people responsible for these massacres should be executed publicly, hung in the middle of the town squares to be made examples of and somehow discourage the other thousands of sicarios from also murdering innocent Mexicans in cold blood.

Personally, I don't think violence solves violence, nor do I think an issue like this can be so easily fixed. The multiple murders each day are not symptoms of something but rather the end result of a long line of problems that plague Mexico, including corruption and an over-dependence on the United States.

I should also note that in Mexico, the death penalty is illegal. People can be sentenced to life in prison for the gravest of crimes but cannot be executed.

If narcos really do threaten people to pay for "protective services" or be killed, what's to say that they aren't forcing people to work for them? And what's to say that public executions will really do anything to stop that? I'm not naive enough to think that putting the narcos in jail will solve issues either, but I'm not claiming to know the answer. I just know that an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind, and killing the killers lowers us to their level.

There is nothing weirder than researching old teachers

Instead of finishing up a story that I was technically supposed to have filed by today, I was distracted by the thought of searching my old schools online.

I found my fifth grade teacher, who looks much different now than he does in my mind, and have discovered that some of the most memorable teachers I've had are no longer working for the school district.

It really goes to show how much I've grown, even if it hasn't always felt that way.

Rock 'n' Roll hall of fame -- wtf?

I can't believe it took so long to induct Iggy Pop into the Rock 'n' Roll hall of fame. It seems pretty obvious (to me, at least) that Iggy has been one of the most influential artists from the 1970s punk scene.

There must have been some pretty big names to beat out the Stooges six previous times. I'm on a mission to find out who they are ...

Read this article and enjoy this really shitty video: