Off to LA for the summer?

Looks like it.

I hate money.

And the fact that everythings costs it and I don't have it.

This is a short list of some of the concerts my bank account is forcing me to forgo this quarter:

• The Ting-Tings
• Andrew Bird
• Lilly Allen
• Franz Ferdinand
• Iron & Wine

Luckily between WGN, A&O and Mayfest I'm able to still see a little...

Spring break WOO!

My 21st birthday present from my parents was a trip to LA to visit Donna, which was great. It was nice to go somewhere WARM and not have to stay in some dingy hotel... and also to be there with someone who knows their way around!

It was a very laid-back week... beaching at Santa Monica and Venice, a movie (Sunshine Cleaning is WAY sadder than it looks), TONS of delicious food (including Moroccan! I'd been craving pastilla), Promenade shopping, whale watching, UCLA, an interview, birthday celebrations and some bright pink sunburn.

I didn't take many photos, but these will have to do:

Whale watching with Donna in Newport Beach! We almost bought frozen bananas on the pier just because we thought George Michael might be selling them.

Sea lions! So cute. I want one.

Beginning of the 21st birthday... homemade tinto de verano and cupcakes from Sprinkles in Beverly Hills!

Me and Janna back at school... Janna's birthday is the day after mine! Please ignore the fact that I strangely appear to be a MUCH larger person than she is. I have no idea how that happened.

African Brain Fever

So that 'fever and congestion' I referred to in my last post ended up being a completely debilitating flu from hell.

Conveniently contracted during my 2 weeks of finals, I ended up with a fever of over 100d for about 6 days straight... it ended up landing me in the hospital on that Tuesday night.

Now, don't worry your pretty little self. We only went to the hospital because my fever had spiked again and I had a final the next day that I couldn't study for because I couldn't stay awake and you need a doctor's not to get out of tests and university health services was closed.

Anyway, the slow-roasting of my brain had apparently started to really make me loopy. According to Janna, this is a short list of things I did/said while being 'treated' (aka doctors watched me drink large amounts of water and apple juice):

• Turned to Janna and asked 'Have I always called you Janannabell?'
• Thanked the road signs for pointing us to the hospital
  
• Exclaimed to 'not be ready for the chemo'
• Was completely unable to remember my SS number, phone number and mom's contact information, which provoked the doctor to feel my brain stem for meningitis
• Was an ass to the nurse who pointed me towards the bathroom... she told me it was 'that brown door over there,' to which I responded, 'Oh you mean the one that says RESTROOM?'
• Doctor: 'So are there any other diseases in your family?' Me: 'Nope... but maybe a little bit of CRAZY."
• Pointed out that 'The Dow' was 'probs not good' (my heart rate monitor line was plateauing)
• Insisted that so many people were coming into our little ER stall because 'Janna is a cute girl and I'm only wearing a gown.'

Thanks to these lapses in judgement and/or verbal filtering, Janna, Madeline and I dubbed my mystery flu 'African Brain Fever.'

Of course it turned out to be nothing than a long flu probably brought on by extreme exhaustion... brought on in turn by my overwhelmingly busy quarter. I felt kind of stupid in the hospital (surprisingly not because of all the strange things I was saying), but more so because it was clear I was only there for the doctor's note out of my final.

It worked though. Cervantes still looks on as I wait to take my Spanish final sometime in the next couple weeks.

Running in interlocking circles

Due to the fever/congestion currently waging war on my brain, I'm feeling pretty uncreative.

I did drag myself out of bed last night to go downtown to see Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago's spring concert.

I ran into Courtney, this girl I used to dance with way back in the day. She's basically hired by GJDC now, straight out of high school. That's really cool, but just worked to remind me of what I might have been able to be.

Ho hum.

I am thrilled, however, that all of my circles seem to be overlapping. From WGN to GDJC to Carol Fox & Associates to Dance Magazine, I think I may have found my perfect little niche.

It's also pretty fun to run into these old dancers when I'm considered 'press,' haha.

Here's a clip of my favorite piece of the night, and also an example of my worlds colliding.

Current state of mind. And also this one. God his music is beautiful.

Enticing stuff, I know

I promise that I'm really going to try to keep this up again. I'd really like to try to bring back the readership that I had while I was abroad. Probably not entirely possible since my life here is significantly less interesting, but who knows? Is it too much to ask to get those 500-700 readers/month to come read again? Probably. Maybe those randos in Italy and England and Australia will start reading again though.

At the very least my blogging again will satisfy my Grandma. (Hi Grandma Barb! Thanks for the Valentine.)

Here are some upcoming life events that should entice you to keep coming back:

- a new, less tacky layout to hopefully come soon, once I get around to writing it
- Karen blogs tired thoughts during finals week/the final days of reading Don Quixote
- Karen fights through the vicious battle that is the summer internship process
- Spring break in Los Angeles with Donna
- Daily commute L musings
- 21st birthday!
- clips from the newsroom floor
- and so much more.

So keep reading. Thanksh.