Birthdays are a BIG DEAL.

Whitney Caldwell, aka Mate:

Roommates in the Theta house through four consecutive semesters and three awesome rooms. Not living with her next year...unimaginable. Nope, I literally can't even think about it. 

Together, we have our own way of doing things. For instance, spending a restless Thursday night biking to two separate locations for the unbeatable combination of a cupcake and a beer on the patio.

And to have someone in your life that just gets you, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I could use 3,000 adjectives to match the 3,000 inside jokes, but I'll limit myself to five.

Freeing.

Purifying.

Courageous.

Encouraging.

So unbelievably cute in everything she does.

So, in summation:

Happy 22nd Birthday to my inspiring South African social worker!

Quote 2.

...not sufficiently conscience of being a "Future Wife and Mother" in perpetual capital letters. And girls who had never been kissed, with shocked expressions on their plain but not particularly wholesome faces...these girls had gone east or west or south, married and become "people," prophesying that she would come to a bad end - not knowing that no endings are bad, and that they, like her, were by no means the mistresses of their destinies.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and the Damned

Quote 1.

A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain while the clock ticked on the wash-stand and the moon soaked with wet light his tangled clothes upon the floor. Each night he added to the pattern of his fancies until drowsiness closed down upon some vivid scene with an oblivious embrace. For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy's wing.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Twang.

I love following Chris Thile's career, no matter the name the music's being played under. 

He's so talented it makes me ache.

Art, Life.

The moment I saw Van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles on a projector slide in an Art History class my freshmen year - it's been my favorite work of art. I just sort of fell in love with the tilt of the wall, the tint of the floor and the domestic scene paired with Van Gogh's signature, psychological brushstrokes.

This past summer I got to see it in person when an Impressionism exhibit came to the Fort Worth Museum of Art.

And I don't think you can top that, seeing a work of art you really just love for no academic reason up close and in person.

One time in London's Tate Modern, Meg and I sat in a dimly-lit room full of Rothko paintings and I swear feelings pulsed out of the canvases.

And this summer, Caravaggio's frescoes in Rome's Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi Church reawakened my dormant spirituality.

I've been brought up in a family that surrounded and encouraged me with art, making it alive - from my Grandmother's 100-pound coffee table book filled with gorgeous, gold Klimt to my mom's Frank Lloyd Wright architectural roadtrips and elementary school art lessons.

So I guess I've been raised to believe experiencing art is important and impactful.

And I just watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona (highly recommend it) and it's inspired my new life goal: see Gaudi's spectacularly surreal Sagrada Famalia Church in person. 

Keep dreaming.

Hey, Rich Girls.

My Uncle Richard loves to debate politics with me through email. 

And it's usually pretty enjoyable, because we both consider ourselves open-minded, though he leans to the right and I'm definitely on the left. 

But lately I've gotten unbearable emails concerning the economic stimulus package - see the cartoon above.

My response:

Riiiight. In times of economic crisis and severe job loss, it's best to deny food stamps and health care so people have no way of getting back on their feet.

So what's the Conservative solution?

I mean, besides government not getting involved in any way, shape or form. (Hello toxic assets).

And definitely no spending.

Well, unless it's a HORRIBLY ILL-CONCEIVED war. Right? Then you're willing to fork out billions and billions.

I'm just saying...a Conservative administration was in control for the past eight years.

Now it's our turn. Give it a chance.

Love,

Kate

P.S. The more economic classes I take, the more I understand where you're coming from.

And on the subject of economic crisis...

I can't stop listening to Rich Girls by The Virgins.

Another Life Goal: Volunteer at 826 Valencia.

826 Valenica is Dave Eggers encapsulated in a community organization that stresses creativity, reading and writing.

Someday I'll live close to one and finally be the spectacularly kindhearted volunteer I've always felt guilty about not being.

And that being President could be fun!? Genius.