When Ray LaMontagne comes in handy-

Today I'm taking a moment to examine my life-
I am in a substantial amount of debt at the moment which confines my life to wanting to buy useless things, but not being able to. This is no way to live, especially when Pete's Dragon in on sale at Hastings for $1.99. But alas, my spending habits have caught up to me and so this weekend I have been confined to my Aunt's beautiful home in lovely Pleasant View, working for the man and discovering how easy it is to spend countless, eventful but useless hours finding bad covers, Kittens Inspired by Kittens, how to ruin every good rap song by playing it on an acoustic guitar, creepy cartoons, and everything Karen O has to offer on youtube. After that quality time, I was released from my work hold and Whitey's Mom bought be a ticket to The Aggrolites. Bleh, I totally went out of obligation but found myself enjoying the fantastic music. Even though I was hit on by skinheads, dragged into a skankin' pit, felt like I was 14 again, and received a $35 parking ticket for parking in an empty parking lot with no signs- I loved the show and even managed to fire up the dance floor with my new moves taken from that youtube video where the people in prison do their best version of Michael Jackson's Thriller. Gosh, I'm glad they don't make us dance in our prisons. God Bless America.
While listening to Tim Armstrong as we made our way home from Salt Lake, I realized some vital things about myself and about life.
1- Money doesn't make you happy. Buying things provide you with temporary happiness, but paying money for experiences and opportunities are well worth it. i.e. Disneyland.

2- Even when you try and loose yourself, you can't. People are too invested in your life and your disinterest in your own actions affect them. Sometimes they feel the consequences more harshly, and that is not fair to them. And I have to be thankful for that. I am grateful that people care, even when I don't want them to. I will try to be more sensitive.

3- You never really know what is going on in someone's life, so treat people accordingly.

4- I have a lot of talents that I don't utilize, and am going to try out. Even if it means failing.

5- People are put in your life to help you, so let them.
A weekend of taking time to clear the nonsense in my life, loosing, gaining, experiencing, saving, and letting go was well worth earning money to support my spending habits.
Don't let me down.

Dear DW,

Bands that should have stopped making music after a certain point -
Weezer, Dispatch, Pinback, Taking Back Sunday, U2, Dolly Parton, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Elvis, No Doubt, Snoop Dogg, P. Diddy, Rooney, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Earth Crisis, Morrissey, Rat N Roll, Modest Mouse, Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthew's Band, ACDC, Guns & Roses, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Brittney Spears, The Velvet Underground, Death Cab, Cher.

Bands that should have/should make more music, left us hanging with a really old but great album, or just can't catch a break-
Eva Cassidy, Fleet Foxes, The Sounds, Feist, Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani, Girl Talk, Tegan & Sara, Joshua James, K-OS, Jim Croce, Postal Service.

Bands that have too big a library to even attempt to like any more than one song, or bands that average one really good song for every 56 crappy songs they write-

Morrissey (The Smiths), Coldplay, The White Stripes, Lil Wayne, U2, Portishead, Elliot Smith, Justin Timberlake, Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, T.I., Radiohead, Bjork, MGMT.

Bands that nobody understands-
Maroon 5, Scissor Sisters, Bjork, Muse, Sneaker Pimps, Damien Rice, Portishead, A Perfect Circle, Badly Drawn Boy, Broken Social Scene, Sigur Ros, I.C.P., Pink Floyd, Gwar, Tom Waits, Will Smith, My Bloody Valentine, Patti Smith.

Please feel free to add any bands that I have neglected to mention, I know there are many I haven't included.

Fruits. vs Fruits? vs Vegetables?

One thing that I have perceived over the past 20 years is that the older you get, the more you find out that more things are actually fruit than you thought.
For example, around the age of 2 years old the brain starts to categorize words into different groups as you learn them; fruit, vegetables, formula, and macaroni and cheese.
These are of course, subject to change based on your parents, teachers, how many languages you speak, haircut, surroundings, and if you grew up in the states. (No macaroni and cheese for Nekku. Sorry, you were only given things that won't give you autism, spine cancer, lime disease, and adult acne.)
Since the age of 2, you spend countless hours defending that a strawberry is a fruit. You KNOW it is, you're sure of it. This is where the fruit identity crisis begins.
It happens everyday, to all of us. What categorizes a fruit? A mention of a simple tomato or cucumber sends shivers down my spine. I can't order anything normal at restaurants without thinking some subway worker is going to question my choice of black olives over green. They could BOTH be fruit for all I know.
It has ruined much more than just my confidence. It has ruined an aspect of road trip fun that I happen to be very good at.
-Hey! Let's play 20 questions!
- Okay. You first.
- Okay. Animal, mineral, or vegetable?

- I don't want to play anymore...

You can imagine how much fun driving from Utah to Florida can be after a ruined game of 20 Questions.
It's so cool to be a fruit right now. It seems everything is jumping on the "fruit train", and that is a big problem when trying to decipher between ' is it a fad or is this fruit going to be a fruit next time I bring it up in my Poli sci class?' What fruits are in for fall? Can i still wear my mangoes and kiwis with those skinny jeans, or are Uggs out this year?!
I don't think the humiliation will ever end. As Americans, it is just something we're going to have to live with. I'm learning more and more everyday, but can't help but walk out of Jamba Juice empty handed every so panic attack.
Does is have seeds? Yes.
Is it a fruit? Yes.
Does it have a peel? Yes.
Is it a fruit? Yes.
Does it have seeds? Yes.
Is it a vegetable? Yes.
Does it have a peel? Yes.
Is it a vegetable? Yes?

R.I.P. food groups.