2 Days Away - Song of the Day

Good news and bad news. The good news is that I picked a song for today. The bad news (if you could even call it that) is that the artist isn't from Chicago.

Today's song comes from Sufjan Stevens, a Detroit native. It is "Chicago," one of my favorite songs by him. I think from the title you can see why I picked it.

I really like Sufjan Stevens, especially when I'm in the mood to listen to something new. His songs always have a really full, orchestral sound that is really refreshing to hear.

Anyway, today shall be more of the same. I think I might actually start packing for real and getting stuff together. I also have to get my surprise for Yuri ready so that it will be here when we come back home. Other than that, I'll be taking it easy.

3 Days Away - Song FAIL

It is with regret that I say I have no song picked for today. For a while I was really on the ball, even writing entries in advance and saving them as drafts until it was time to publish. But now, as with all of my endeavors in life, I have fallen behind.

I'm actually not as broken up about it as I just made it sound, because I leave in just *THREE* days!!! I'm too excited to be sad about anything.

Anyway, I'm going to go write down what I want to pack. Sorry for the dull entry today.

4 Days Away - Song of the Day and other Goings-On

Sorry for yesterday's missed post! I woke up late and then I was pretty busy, so I couldn't really find time to write!

Moving on. Today's song of the day is "1979" by The Smashing Pumpkins, who are from Chicago.

Smashing Pumpkins - "1979" on last.fm

I have a real love/hate relationship with The Smashing Pumpkins. I think they're amazing, but sometimes Billy Corgan's voice and I do not get along too well. Still, this song is a classic, and I always stop to listen to it whenever it's on.

I don't have much going on today, so I am going to write up a packing list and also buy some new sunglasses. I'll probably get to some other trip-related things I've mentioned in previous entries, but haven't had a chance to do yet, like hitting up my local library. Other than that, it's just gonna be more of the same: working out like crazy so I don't feel bad about eating so much greasy (but delicious) food on my trip!

Anyway, my apologies for the missed entry. I shall make up for it in the future! So long!

6 Days Away - Food TV and Library Trip

Hello everyone. There won't be a song of the day today because I didn't pick one. Oops.

Today is exciting because there's a new episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network tonight that is going to feature Mama E's Wings and Waffles, which is a restaurant that we're actually going to visit in Oklahoma City! Perfect timing, right? I can't wait to see it.

In other news, I just downloaded a bunch of movies for my plane ride. I'm considering heading to the library to pick up a few good reads in case I get sick of watching movies. It's just kind of a pain because I used to live really close to a library, and I don't anymore. I always seem to forget my due dates too. Anyway, I think that more people should go to the library instead of buying books. I mean, our tax dollars are paying for it and it's free, so you might as well. Plus, people don't read enough these days (or if they do, it's stuff like Twilight... ugh). But I digress.

At any rate, are there any good books or movies that you'd recommend? I'm pretty picky about books; I like to read good writing and a good story (I find that most books sacrifice one or the other), mostly fiction, but I find nonfiction interesting too. As far as movies, I am partial to comedies, but I'm open minded to all kinds except horror. I'm looking forward to checking out suggestions.

7 Days Away - Song of the Day

Well, it is officially ONE WEEK away!

And here is the song of the day. I'm kind of running out of artists, but nevertheless I bring you "What Light" by Wilco, which was one of my Kairos songs from Kairos 195! (I believe it was Mr. Evans's song)

Wilco - "What Light"

I don't have much to say, so I'll keep it short and end it here. Until next time...

8 Days Away - Song of the Day

The song of the day for today comes from a band whom I have had the pleasure of seeing live -- The Redwalls. They opened for Rooney at a show in November of '08 that I attended. I hadn't heard of them before, and didn't expect much since openers tend to be kinda ehhh. But, I was pleasantly surprised.

I couldn't find an already existing mp3 of any of their songs, so here's a link to their last.fm page for their song "Falling Down."

The Redwalls - "Falling Down"

I like The Redwalls because they aren't a huge departure from my favorite genres, yet they are still a little different. I'd say they sound a little bluesy, kinda Beatles-eque, but with a Bob Dylan-ish voice thrown in.

Today's prep: more of the same. I'll probably start packing a little bit because I JUST CAN'T WAIT! I probably won't go as far as putting clothes in my suitcase, but you never know.

Have a Happy Saturday!

9 Days Away - Song of the Day

Today's song of the day comes from one of my favorite bands who also happen to be from Chicago, The Hush Sound. The track is called "We Intertwined."

I like this song because it's jaunty and catchy without getting irritating. The Hush Sound is also one of the few bands out there to have two main singers, one male and one female. They do a great job balancing the two on their albums.

Today's trip preparation will be more of the same: working out like crazy so that I can gorge myself on all that Chicago, STL, et al. have to offer, without feeling guilty. It's a little too early to start packing, but I have to restrain myself from doing it. The excitement grows...

10 Days Away - Song of the Day

Given that this is a travel journal and I have not yet left for Chicago, I have to get a little creative to be sure that I update this every day and build some suspense!

I now present to you... THE SONG OF THE DAY! (thanks to Ben for the idea)

Every day until I leave, or at least almost every day, I will be highlighting a song by a musical group or artist hailing from Chicago. Let me tell you, Chi-town has cranked out quite a few noteworthy musicians. So, on to today's artist and song. (thanks to Elisa for helping me find a place where I can stream mp3's)

EARTH, WIND & FIRE - "Let's Groove"

I love this song for so many reasons. I remember the first time I heard this, I had trouble believing it was as old as it was. There's something about it that sounds really contemporary, but it still has that soul that is hard to find in music today. Plus, it has cowbell. It's hard to be mad about anything when listening to this because it's so fun to groove to. One of my all-time faves.

In other news, there really isn't any. Today is just another day in the countdown, and I will spend most of it working out, eating, or writing future material for this journal (I dislike the word "blog" so I avoid using it at all costs. In fact that's the first and last time I'll ever use it, since I only use it when talking about how much I dislike it). Exciting, I know.

Anyway, that's all for now. Take care.

11 Days Away - EL PLAN

Let the records indicate that Elisa Arnaud is a creep.

Since I don't have much to write about (yet), I'll share the basic plans for my trip as they stand right now. I should also mention that the whole point of this trip is to visit/hang out with my godsister, Yuri, so when I say "we," I mean Yuri and I. Anyway, here's the plan, subject to change:

On August 2nd I'll be flying into Chicago. Originally I was supposed to be getting there around dinnertime, but I'm actually getting there a few hours earlier than that, so I have no idea what we'll do with the extra time. We'll be in the city for about three days or so, visiting museums, sightseeing, shopping and of course EATING!

On the fourth day we will be starting our road trip. We're going to leave Chi-town and make our way to St. Louis. After STL, we are going to grace Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, and finally Tucson with our presence, arriving home around August 7th. We'll be hitting up some good restaurants on the way, so I'll be sure to write about that. Aside from that, I don't expect OK City and Albuquerque to be terribly exciting (no offense), but we want to avoid a Texas Chainsaw Massacre-like situation, so we'll be sticking to the biggest cities that are on the way.

Anyway, I hope to be posting a lot of pictures and possibly video during my travels. I've never done this before, but I'm pretty excited (if starting my travel journal 11 days early doesn't say that enough). I have high hopes for this journal. And the trip, of course.

I don't know if anyone really reads this, but in closing, I shall pose some questions...

- Is there anything fun that we should do in the cities we'll be visiting (Chicago, St. Louis, OK City, and Albuquerque for those of you who weren't paying attention)?

- Are there any specific subject areas that I should focus on (e.g., restaurants, shopping, entertainment) for your reading pleasure? Otherwise, I'll be writing about whatever I feel like.

11 Days Away

Stella here. I may be jumping the gun here a little bit, but I thought it would be a fun idea to set up a travel journal for my trip to Chicago and the road trip to follow. I'll be bringing my laptop, so I can write from the road and post pictures and such.

Anyway, I leave Tucson for Chicago in eleven days, so I've been making some preparations. So far it's consisted of making a mental list of things to pack and creating this journal. It doesn't sound like much, but I think it's important. Gotta build the suspense, you know?

I guess that's all I have to say for now...