music note #3

two weeks since i started in earnest, and still working on those grants. i have three to do, two of which are thankfully similar in format. this weekend i finally had a significant breakthrough, probably owing to the pressure of NEEDING to really finish by this coming friday. i wonder if cognitive behavioural therapy could alter my procrastination patterns...

grant writing is always made much more enjoyable/worthwhile by the following:

- long walks in the early evening, during which one contemplates one's human experience in an attempt to understand why one is truly worthy of receiving money from the government to study something

- grande non-fat starbucks lattes

- black hardcover notebooks filled with science and education-related ideas, compiled since last time one endured a grant-writing process

- house cleaning that gets done during Stage I Procrastination

- tasty muffins that get baked during Stage IV Procrastination

- an appropriate soundtrack

which brings me to the true reason for this post, my top 7 songs of the weekend, from iTunes playlist "Immunohistochemistry II".

1. with arms outstretched - rilo kiley (yes, still obsessed...)
warning: this song will actually make you believe you are sitting around a campfire with rilo kiley
2. conceal me - xavier rudd (thank you snad's picks 2004 for this one)
3. pink bullets - the shins (quickly becoming a fan of these guys)
4. the unwelcome guest - billy bragg & wilco (mermaid avenue)
5. the wrong girl - belle & sebastian (finally available on iTunes...)
6. cannonball - damien rice (new discovery: david gray-ish)
7. breathe in - frou frou (another new discovery: sort of bjork-ish)

and can i also just draw attention to what will likely become my next music obsession (after i tire of rilo kiley, not soon): Isobel Campbell (of Belle & Sebastian) in The Gentle Waves. think nancy sinatra slightly toned-down, but still delightfully head-boppy. if you're unfamiliar, check out Sisterwoman off Swansong for You.

time to fall asleep with rilo kiley forever running through my head.

up for this week: final menu plan for my Deconstructed Thanksgiving Dinner party, final touches on first grant app, apply for visa to go to india, finish all immunohistochemistry for experiment, set new routine of going to bed every night before 1:00 am, set new routine of getting out of bed every morning before 7:30 am. i can already detect incompatibility between several of said objectives...