Fake Frosty?

It was a lovely 75 degrees today. The birds were out. People were basking in the sun at the intramural fields. I went barefoot. It was an all around glorious day.

Except that it's December.

During my daily regiment of wasting time on the internet... I found this. Kids, it's time to embrace the fact that this drought is starting to have some serious effects...

Behold! The End is Near!

2007 is almost over and that means that my 365 project is almost over as well. I've had a few people ask me how I feel about this impending deadline, and honestly, I am relieved.

It's been a long process. Taking a picture every day of the year for a whole year isn't daunting in itself... it's taking GOOD pictures every day that people will want to see that makes it daunting.

So am I going to do 365: 2008 Edition? Not on your life. But be ready for some new projects to come about next year... I can't peak in 2007.

Flights.

Dear Mr. Leather-Jacket Man,
Please keep your hairy knuckles and halitosis to yourself. You may have my bag of Non-Peanut-Containing-Variety-Snack-Mix if you do.
Love,
the Rest of the Plane.

Fall Flag Football Fun

Love Letter to the best Georgia Season

Dear Fall,
I love you. Truly, I do. I know it's hard to believe, because I am sure you hear this often, but I think I love you the most. You taunt me with your colors on my way to class-- you say: "Stay out and play! Look how crunchy my leaves are!" You know I want to. You know how hard it is for me to turn away from you-- there's nothing quite like you, Fall.
I love the way you make an apple cider from Jittery Joe's taste and I love it when my scarves and mittens find their way out of my closet when you come around.
Fall... thanks for being perfect.

Love, Me

An English Lesson on Nicknames

A friend coined the nickname "Morgangster" for me back in high school. A genius blend of both my name and the word "Gangster" no other name could capture me quite as well. When Julia, a classmate from Creative Writing class, commented on my facebook status (which read: "Morgan is Morgangster than you") with the following statement, I felt ever more proud of the nickname: "wow, your amazing portmanteau status is unbelievably perfect. morgangster. i am so jealous of your name now. all i can think of for me is "juliaison" but thats so not cool..."

And in the midst of relishing in the wonderment of this comment... I realized-- portman who? Portman whu? Whu?

So, thank you, wikipedia, for explaining this to me, straightening this whole thing out and being there for me when I need you most.

Also, Julia-- you are a genius.

The Great Sufjan Song Christmas Exchange

The great and talented Lindsay Lamphere sent me this website today and I think it might have made this The Best Thursday Ever! I, for one, am jumping on board The Great Sufjan Song Xmas Xchange!

Souljah Boy, Tell 'em!

From a comment on Get The Picture and a story about the Dawgs!:

My mother calls me long distance from Athens, while watching the game:

“And who is this soldier boy?,” she says.

“Well, mom. He’s a graduate assistant who roams the sidelines to fire up the team,” I reply.

“Well, O.K. then. I think he’s wonderful.” Mom says.

Indeed.

blackout=success!

After a week of speculation over whether the Dawgs would be donning black jerseys or not... I was a little sad to see the team warming up in traditional Georgia Red. Not that I don't love the red, but man, I was pumped and convinced I was going to see some black jerseys.

So when the team ran out onto the field after their team prayer and pep talk in the locker room-- sporting snazzy black jerseys-- I was stoked. Beyond stoked. Super stoked.

"I'm just proud to be a Georgia Bulldog right now. To walk out there and see our student body jammed packed in their sections, all decked out in black, it inspired our team. When I called our team up after pregame warmup, I said, 'Just look into those stands. You ever seen anything like that before?'

"After we came back out in our black after the coin toss, it was as if we were in a movie or something. It was pretty surreal. It meant so much to the players to see the Bulldog Nation unite like that and make it happen." -- Coach Richt in an interview with the AJC after the 45-20 victory over Auburn last night!

what's that you say?

When Mark Richt says "jump!" you say "how high?" When Mark Richt says "diet coke!" you say "how cold!?" When Mark Richt says "WEAR BLACK!" you find your best ninja costume and help the team get "jacked up" for the game! AIIGHT! AIGHT! War Eagle nothing.

talk on indolence

The Avett Brothers are playing at Georgia Theater tonight and guess who's going to be there? Yes it is indeed I who will be in attendance-- as well as Sara and Aaron and a slew of other sweater-clad coeds who will be bobbing their heads to the fine banjo and guitar tunes of everyone's favorite brothers.

one more reason why my friends are better than yours:

Unless of course, Natalie Webb and Dennis Byrd (UGA Homecoming Queen and King, respectively) are your friends too.

hanging with kate

life is like hot chocolate: appropriately warm and completely satisfying in such a season.

words

I met a graffiti artist downtown today... Mr. Never is his name (gave me his business card!) He inspired me to take a closer look at the art that is all around... here are my photos of what i found. (rhyme! score!)

Life Lessons from Youtube

3 Things You Can Learn from this Youtube Video:

1. Mint Royale is the coolest thing since sliced bread.
2. There needs to be more breakdancing musicals.
3. Don't litter. Dancing trash is scary.

The Gospel According to Fashion

I'm not one to be a fan of fashion and trends -- partly because I am never aware of what's going on until things are on their way out -- but whatever style movement is going on right now, I am all for.

Our parents would be proud. Especially in Athens, it seems like everyone is rocking a blend of the 60s, 70s, and 80s--- bringing back vintage and hitting up thrift stores like there is no tomorrow. So what does this mean to me?

I like the idea of things becoming new again. Recycling. Reusing. Things taking new form. Reassembling things that are broken or forgotten. It's a stretch, but every time I see a swanky hipster in their vintage duds, it reminds me of Jesus. He took us- old, dusty, forgotten, broken, ugly- and made us new. Put us back together. Made us whole.

So when I see an old Holga photograph, I smile. (photo from zinkwazi.com)

Let's All Just Be Hippies

The New York Sun recently reported on a study that shows that students know less after graduating from four years of college. Now when you feel like a class is slowly sucking away your life... you may not be too far off.

inspired.

The best inspiration about orientation I have ever heard:

"Some people like cheese pizza. Almost everybody likes chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Me, well I like chocolate-raspberry ice cream. To me, it is awesome. Where am I going with this? Well... you can be one of two things. You can be just good for everyone... or you can be awesome for someone. Your job is to be the best YOU that you can be."
-Jason, OL '02

HoCo gone loco

Hot Corner is one of the staples of Athens. During the school year, the beloved coffee shop houses collegiate fratstars, hip townies and everyone in between... 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On any given night... HoCo is bustling with activity: live shows, open mic nights, poetry readings... the atmosphere and ambiance is almost as thick as the smokers breath in the breezeway between The Quiet Room and the main lounge. Heck, HoCo recycles, rocks the mismatched couches and local art... AND sells coffee from the Daily Co-op all while playing appropriately indie tunes. It's an eclectic, hipster, new-age, free thinking, artsy-persons dream.

But one thing disturbs me, and I'm not sure why.

The bathroom, decked out with a fine vintage vanity, low lighting and fiercely pink walls... houses a motion-detecting paper towel dispenser. It seems so terribly odd.

i want a love like fireworks

Not only was this Fourth of July spectacular because we got to spend it with Dennis and his family... but it was also Hadas' first Independence Day as an official American and the third time this week we've had tailgate/cookout food for dinner.

the excitingness of pure being

Never read Gertrude Stein? You should. Basically... it's a poetry acid trip. Don't believe me? Read her poem "ROOMS" and you will have your mind blown. It's the equivalent of abstract painting- which a lot of people don't "get" but there is so much more than just "getting" it. Her word paintings explore "the excitingness of pure being"... which I can't explain but there you have it.

A good writer is constantly trying new things... so in attempts to be a good writer I put my hand to work on mimicking good ole Gertie. Here Goes. Think about it.

A PENCIL.

What were thoughts for forever on a timeless ticking surface. A branch of gold holds words inside. What was before was spread out after what was left to come or go. Permanence is petty since the whims of one pink might act accordingly. All can see the secrets all can know the knows. Had that gray been black it would be forever knowing.

when in doubt, read a map

An excerpt from my 365 album:

#176 (6/25/07) Bailey and I had Test Results duty. While it sounds important and awesome... it's really just important and boring. but nevertheless... we made it interesting. ever noticed that creepy building behind clark howell hall? well now you will. we tried to figure out what the building was for and upon further investigation all we found was this sign: creepy photograph that reads "guarantee of satisfaction." hmmm. later, a map dispelled our assumptions about it being a drug hub/secret lair. it's the geology lab building. who knew? but that still doesn't explain the cryptic sign...

O.W.O.W: Orientation Words of Wisdom

"I am not afraid. I was born to do this."-Joan of Arc

When I took on this job of Orientation Leader... I really thought I would be the one doing most of the teaching: spreading the gospel of UGA, relieving fears and calming anxious minds... but like so many other things in life- I was wrong.

For being a bunch of 18 year olds, they know a lot. Humility, graciousness and fellowship... I don't even know if they know what an effect they've had on me.

The class of 2011 is going to be the best yet, and I am so thankful to have a part in it!!!

It Has Begun

I don't know what day it is, and I certainly haven't slept in what feels like a few days... but Orientation (aka the Ultimate Sleep Deprivation Game) has begun and I couldn't be happier.

This is a picture of some of the OLs and Miss Diane from Family and Consumer Sciences. Not only does this woman own every single piece of Georgia memorabilia, but she also is one of the most friendly people in the whole world. If you're undecided, check out FACS. These people are crazy nice.

Revelation: I love freshman. In a really non-creepy way, I swear.

The Finer Things

Athens is a quiet town in the summer. I went over to the "casa del sol" right before moving in for orientation, and I think Katie summed it up when she said: "Being here on the front porch drinking tea and reading books... I feel like this is what we were meant to do!"Amen.

I never thought the sentence "I love your yellow dish set!" would ever come out of my mouth, but it did, and it felt good. Plus the tea bags had quotes on them...

Sic 'Em

One of my favorite hobbies is perusing the internet for little gems of life. Normally I stick to Wikipedia and gain mad knowledge, but today my wandering led me to a blog called Fashionist where I found this little guy:

I wish to have one of my very own.

the future looks bright

i received the most interesting email today.

it was from myself.

On December 11, 2003, I sent myself an email. In high school I heard about this website called Future Me and I set to work to write myself an email that would be delivered at a later date. I don't know why I chose May 22, 2007, but I'm glad that I did. I was 17.

Here's my email. Despite the grammatical and spelling errors, I found it amusing.

Dear FutureMe,

you bum. shouldn't you be off traveling the world and not checking your email? you really shouldnt spend this must time online. i hope you are better about it now. here are some other thigns i hope for you, myself. wierd.

i hope you are in college. at a cool college with cool people in a cool place. please don't go to university of florida. if you are a gator, i will come to the future and slap you. if you aren't in college, i hope you are famous. like writing movies or something. and for being so young, it's so good of you to be so famous!

i hope you have a boyfriend. seriously, it is time. and please don't let it be chris. again, i will slap you if it is. but if you are in college or famous, i highly doubt he is a candidate. if you don't have a boyfirend, GET OUT THERE. i am serious. that is plain rediculous.

i hope you've stopped biting your nails. it is a disgustin habit and you've (we've) been working on that one for a while so i hope it hasn't been all for nothing.

i hope you haven't lost your child humor.

i hope you've finished that book you started. or at least i hope you are still working on it. i know it needed a lot of work and i hope that since you are smarter now that you have figured it out. or maybe you've written many books. or maybe none. don't let me down.

i hope you learned to juggle and that you can touch your toes without bending your knees. i've got a good stretch going now so i hope you haven't lost it.

i hope you've learned more about jesus. i hope you understand it. and live it.

as for right now, i am thinking about cutting my hair. i also want to play tennis and paint my room. i'm not taking the sat's again and i hope that doesn't hurt me in the future. i'm reading the book Epiphany and it's good. i hope i read a lot of good books between now and when i read this again.

I hope that i've loved. i hope that i've lived. i hope that i have great friends and a dream and place to call home. i hope mom and dad are proud of me and brett too. i hope i am not estranged and that i come home from time to time and we go out on the boat and talk about nothing. i hope i've met matt damon. mostly, i hope i am happy. that's all. oh yea, write another one of these things when you get this one. let's keep this going, shall we?

finally.

run!

I find things like this, and I love the world a little bit more.

Overheard

In the dressing room at Macy's.

Girl 1: I do! I do! I always say that! I-
Girl 2: No, you don't.
G1: -I always say that, it's a thing I say, like, it's me, it's mine, I say it.
G2: Doesn't Ghandi say it? I mean, like, isn't that his thing? Like a famous Ghandi thing?
G1: There is no way Ghandi says that. That's something I say. I am not Ghandi.
G2: I can't even begin to understand you. But that top is really cute!

I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't hear the beginning of this conversation...

made ya blink

Every math and science teacher in the entire world has heard this question an innumerable amount of times, and I'm sure we've all asked it ourselves:

"When are we EVER going to use this?"

Physicist Dr. Piers Barnes validates the hard work of teachers with his calculations that find the number of photos one has to take to get a blink-free shot.

Practical math, anyone?

Revelations from the ride home

1. The boy band 98 degrees has a CD called Revelation. When my iPod died on the 8-hour-drive home, I realized that I know every single word to this album... including the "ooh yeahs" and the "uh-huhs" and the sneakily placed "baby's." This might be the leading factor in my inability to remember things for school.

2. There is an obscene amount of people that have stuffed animals in back windows of their cars. This is not okay.

just a typical night in athens

Yesterday we went to the human rights festival and pumped our fists and yelled "end the war!" with all the hippies of Athens.

After tomorrow, at precisely 9:34 (okay, speculation) it will be summer vacation. This will be the first summer since I was 9 that I am doing something different i.e. not going to camp. Weird. I keep re-reading that sentence and it doesn't seem real to me.

Instead, this summer will be spent in Athens. I love this town. I love the people. I love the places. I love the discoveries and the adventures and the food and entertainment... if you've never been here, you should come. If you have been here, you should come again. Sometimes I have to remind myself that life exists outside of this place because it's so easy to get wrapped up into it.
This post is more of a segue into the summer of UGA Orientation, 2007. I'm pumped.

Meet the UGA Orientation Team

social commentary

you sold me when you made a gang sign.

not so secret garden

My creative writing teacher mentioned this place in passing. When people mention places in passing they don't usually give fantastic directions so it was an adventure to try and find this place based on the vague murmur of the name "Boulevard Avenue" (ironic) and "warehouses."
Sarah and Katie Clay were up for the adventure, even though I'm sure they doubted me half the time. Wandering out into the unknown searching for a "fake tree, with fake birds, in a case" amongst some warehouses didn't really seem too promising.
We might not have found a fake tree in a case, but we did find a real tree in a building. And fake birds. Which, is a whole lot better I think.

Not your ordinary Ice Cream

I went to a poetry reading downtown tonight. Scott Cairns, the poet of the hour, read some of his subtle yet fiercely humorous words at Hot Corner. The one poem that sticks out in my mind is one entitled Necropolitan. Hmmm. Not your ordinary ice cream indeed...

No, no no no no

The earliest I can recall feeling remorse was at 10 years old. Maybe it's because I am getting older, and my memory is getting weaker... or maybe that is the actual age I first felt that dreary pit in the bottom of my tummy that wasn't a result of too many cookies. I know I was 10 because in 5th grade, I really loved yo-yo's. And after a while, I couldn't even yo-yo because I felt so bad. I put the yo-yo in a sock in my drawer and left if there until junior year of high school.

Back then, I used to imagine the world with a dark cloud over it, where everyone shuffled their feet and didn't look at eachother and no one would play games, or laugh. I remember watching Sesame Street as a kid, and there was an episode where they sang a song called "No." The premise was what the world would be like if you couldn't do anything... "No Walking... No Talking... No no no no no no no, No." It was a catchy song but terrifying. It literally gave me nightmares and sometimes when I think about it even now... I get chills. The idea of not being able to truly Live...


What if the world was really like that?

Praise Jesus for coming and rescuing us from these feelings. For lifting the cloud and raising our eyes to Him. Praise him for allowing us to Live.

resolution

I've always been anti-New Years Resolutions. But this year is different. The idea for 365 is turning out to be much better than ever thought! If you have the ambition and a camera... I suggest you do it as well. Start tomorrow... take a picture every day and watch your year unfold!

Dear Winter,

Where've you been? We missed you this year at the Christmas Party. It's not like you to be a no-show at the Holidays. I can't remember a time when we celebrated without you. Are things okay?
Remember how we always used to watch "A White Christmas" together, and drink hot tea, and wear scarves? Without you, I don't feel much like doing these things any more. It just doesn't feel right.
I thought I might see you around today, seeing as January is one of your favorite months to be outside. And today especially looked like your kind of day. I thought I almost got a glimpse of you, but it was just the rain- I couldn't see you.
Where ever you are, you should know that even though you missed the Holidays, it's not too late to show up. I don't hold grudges. I just miss you.
Please, Winter, come visit this year. It won't be the same without you.
Love, Morgan

Acceptance

I’ve never been one to save anything. Those kids who save their Halloween candy so that it lasts until Christmas… I wasn’t one of them. I never could save so much as a candy cane until the end of the Christmas Eve service. I’m the kind of person who bites ice cream and looks at the dessert menu first. I’ve accepted this.
When it comes to tea, I need a big mug. Not a deceivingly tall mug that actually holds the same amount as the one that your fifth grade teacher kept on her desk for pencils. A real mug. Some might call this a soup bowl. The size of the mug is imperative because of the hastiness in which I like to drink it. I’ve accepted this as well.

Nerdy Christmas Gifties

Nerdy Christmas Gifties
Originally uploaded by morgankc.

I find that when I write my list for Christmas, it is usually just books and other book-like items. Here are some of my favorite things from this year's tree...
12 journals. (one for each month!)
A book on troublesome words (because the dictionary is sooo last year.)
No One Cares What You Had For Lunch (a book by the witty and fabulous Margaret Mason.)
A bathrobe (for staying in all day while writing in my journal and reading my book. yay)
Not pictured, but still a favorite, are The Office DVDs...

"Happy Birthday Jesus, sorry your party's so lame."