Greetings, Internet! I hope everyone is staying as safe and sane as can be! This week, I recorded things for three (three!) collaborations, performed live at my friend’s wedding (!!!), and watched hella Olympics coverage. Daily summaries below!

Day Four Hundred and Ninety-Eight (7/23/21)

• Woke up with a slight hangover after two hours of sleep. But my guitar instructor was coming over for a jam session, so I made myself some tea.
• Jam session! It was a lot of fun ^_^
• A member of #triotime came over for some more music-related things. She helped me film an acoustic mashup =D
• Total videos watched from other YouTubers: 0. I’m going to fall behind on the video count. It’ll be fine.
• Currently feeling: So much music today. But it was music with friends, which made it infinitely better.
• Currently looping: Evanescence’s Synthesis recording of “The End of the Dream.” I was drunkenly telling my friend yesterday that if I could ever get a written tattoo, it would be a line from this song: “I will find a way even without wings.”

Day Four Hundred and Ninety-Nine (7/24/21)

• The mashup I filmed is now going to be a live mashup at my friend’s wedding today.
• Holy cow, I’m performing!
• Oh my gosh, what if I mess up and waste the bride’s time?
• Tried Lyft Access! It’s pricey, but they picked me up on time and got me to my destination without a multi-borough tour. Lyft > Access-a-Ride
• Got to see so many college friends! Also might have cried during the wedding ceremony. I love love, guys.
• I performed! And it went well! Someone asked me if I was a professional!
• AND THEN WE DANCED.
• Total Times Outside: Ninety-Five!
• Total videos watched from other YouTubers: 0. I was at a wedding!
• Currently feeling: I am going to bed so late, but it was such a fun night. I’ve missed my friends so much. I used to spend time in the dining hall with my friend (the one who got married today) and we’d lament that we’d never find the right guy. I’m ecstatic that she found hers (and you know, maybe I’ll find mine someday).
• Currently looping: Taylor Swift’s “Everything Has Changed” (feat. Ed Sheeran).

Day Five Hundred (7/25/21)

• Five hundred days! Wow.
• I got out of bed about an hour later than I normally do. Whoops?
• Did the FES cycle. Watched Olympics highlights. I’ll start season four of “The Wire” later.
• FaceTimed one of the #triotime ladies.
• ALL OLYMPICS ALL THE TIME. And also the Mets ^_^
• Okay, I stayed up late to watch skateboarding.
• Okay, but this is the cutest Minions commercial ever.
• Total videos watched from other YouTubers: 9, although I have so many to catch up on (which is kind of funny considering I haven’t posted anything for two weeks).
• Currently feeling: There are so many music things I want to do this week, but also I need to work on my dissertation. And I want to watch all of the Olympics coverage. I cannot imagine a more appropriate time for a Time Turner. Seriously, one version of me sits on the couch watching the Olympics, another does dissertation research, and another figures out how to edit videos for Instagram. Three Vals. That may sound terrifying, but only because you know three Vals would take over the world (and be super well informed about Olympics coverage).
• Currently looping: Adam Levine’s “Lost Stars” from “Begin Again.” I love this song so much. It makes me cry, of course, but I love it anyway.

Day Five Hundred and One (7/26/21)

• Went outside for a chai latte and some bakery noms.
• Wrote my writing workshop draft.
• Am about four episodes into season four of “The Wire.” The big bad of season four (well, one of them) is…really boring. Like, you didn’t root for the drug dealers in seasons 1-3, but you found scenes with them interesting at least. This new guy? He’s most fun when he’s taking care of his pigeons. In every other scene, he’s like some sociopath who can’t take a joke and hates everybody. #ihavethoughtsthatnooneaskedfor
• Finished reading an article that seems like it could be super helpful for this dissertation chapter. It also led me to two more relevant articles, but these are in German, so that’s going to macht Spaß.
• Practiced a bit of a collab I’m supposed to record vocals for at some point this week.
• Total videos watched by other YouTubers: 6. I know, I need to catch up on more, but watching fewer videos gives me an extra hour to do dissertation stuff. And one of these things is overwhelmingly more important than the other.
• Total number of times outside: Ninety-Six!
• Currently feeling: On the one hand, I got so much done today. On the other hand, I am going to bed well after 1am. I’m going to call it a good day (even though I still wish I had that Time Turner).
• Currently looping: Tori Amos’ cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Day Five Hundred and Two (7/27/21)

• Did the FES cycle. Am five episodes away from finishing season four of “The Wire.”
• Went outside for a quick grocery run. I don’t go outside nearly enough (I’m averaging roughly once out of every five days).
• Practiced vocals for two collaborations.
• Stayed up past midnight to watch the US play Tunisia in men’s volleyball. The US won, so, yay!
• Total number of times outside: Ninety-Seven!
• Total videos watched from other YouTubers: 0.
• Currently feeling: Anyone who says that Simone Biles choked has most likely never competed in gymnastics before. Did you see that Amanar she attempted on vault? She seemed rattled when she hit the ground. If you don’t know where you are in the air, you don’t know where you’re going to land. Would you rather she compete anyway and break her neck? She made the best decision for her own safety, and gave her team the best opportunity to compete. So, um, leave her alone. #willingtobetthatherhaterscantevendoacartwheel
• Currently looping: Adam Levine’s “Lost Stars (Into the Night Remix).” I really do love this song.

Day Five Hundred and Three (7/28/21)

• Welcome to Music Wednesday!
• Music lesson in which I…basically complained for half an hour about how I had a ton to record today, and I didn’t care for how some things sounded. And how I need to work on my original stuff for next week.
• Recorded the mashup that I performed for my friend’s wedding. It’s not as good as the live performance, but it’ll do. I had a recording of this same mashup that my friend did, but I’ve yet to figure out how to set up the camera so that we can get the video to match the audio quality.
• Recorded the vocals for a collab. May have to rerecord.
• Recorded the vocals for another collab. Definitely need to rerecord.
• Total number of videos watched from other YouTubers: 3.
• Currently feeling: My music instructor asked what I would do if music was my job (I guess all the things I complained about were part of the job). I didn’t have an answer. I still don’t. This balancing act of physical therapy, music, and dissertation work is…well…a balancing act. Today was going to be all music, with tomorrow being mostly dissertation with a bit of music. Tomorrow might end up being more music. Dissertation day on Friday?
• Currently looping: Spiritbox’s acoustic version of “Constance.” May the tears of metalheads flow, for this song is as sad as it is beautiful.

Day Five Hundred and Four (7/29/21)

• Posted my mashup of Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” and Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years.” I hate to be that person, but you should’ve heard it live.
• Finished season four of “The Wire.” Dang.
• Wrote up an abstract for a medieval workshop. So I might be presenting dissertation work next semester? #thatsrightimstillagradstudent #onewhotakeshermusichobbyveryseriously
• Harsh vocals lesson! I’m on the right track.
• Rerecorded one of the vocal collabs. Have to put together the video and everything tomorrow.
• But I got another collab pretty much done. When it rains, it pours?
• SUNI!! I haven’t been this excited for an Asian-American Olympic gymnast since Amy Chow. Oh, and in case you were wondering, her floor routine music is Lindsey Stirling’s “Underground.” I forget which gymnastics competition she used it at first, but when I heard it many months ago, I was like, “I KNOW THIS SONG” and it’s a perfect song to move to. Also after each of her floor routines, I have to relisten to the song. It’s great.
• Total number of videos watched from other YouTubers: 19. I have another twelve or fourteen on my queue, but sleep is more important.
• Currently feeling: SUNI!!! And we’ve got the start of Track and Field. Oh, I can’t wait until there’s an Olympics hosted in a friendlier-to-my-sleep-schedule time zone.
• Currently looping: Lindsey Stirling’s “Guardian.”

Thanks so much for reading! Stay safe, get vaccinated, and watch the Olympics!