A Super-long Post, but It's a Catch-up & 2009 Bests FINALLY

Oh heyyyyy Blogger. I remember you! Ok here's the deal: I've decided that my motivation for job searching is inversely proportional to my motivation for blogger. Yes. Remember when I wrote that little post about being so motivated & "Oooh I'm gonna update my blog"? Yeah well that was only HALF bs. No, I didn't update with all the items I listed, but I DID apply for like 2398562 jobs and redo my resume and cover letter like a bazillion more times than that. Well now that I've hit a wall there, I instantly have motivation to update this little site here. Ok in short form, the things I said I'd post on, here goes:

1. Crazy Changes in My Life & Getting Acquainted With LA(The short of it)

In October I moved from my lovely little home, everyone I know, my full time job & basically my entire life with Steve (the bf) from Kalamazoo, MI to Dallas, Tx. He's a traveling nurse & that's where he signed his contract, namely cuz my favorites, the Camillones (family friends) live there & I liked visiting there in the past. 3 month contract. I got a nice little part time job at Barnes & Noble which I ABSOLUTELY LOVED (who knew?) and met some wonderful people. All went well, but Dallas wasn't really for us.

SO Steve didn't resign his contract there, & we decided to try something new again, a perk of his job. We moved to the LA area in the very beginning of January (but not before a very hectic and fun-filled friend meet-up weekend for NYE in Vegas, but that's a whole other story).

Now: I'm just looking for a real job, full time, one that I can use my degree for around here. Trying my little heart out! I love the area. There is SO much going on here. Even though we know like 3 people around here, there is always so many things to do & I like that. I've been to art show openings, beaches, different cultural towns, celebrated Chinese New Year, been on some great hikes through the mountains etc, etc. I'm ready to stay here. Now that little issue of a job. I have college loans to pay off damnit!

2. My Wrap-Up of the Music I Loved in 2009. This is mainly just for me because I like to look back & remember good music. Plus, what I listen to generally coincides with the goings on in my life which is pretty fun.

Yeah, this would have been a whole lot better in maybe like December, when I had planned to write it, when all these bands were on my mind & committed to memory, and when this was actually relevant. Who's counting though? It's only February. These are the bands I listened to most (even if I did before this year), discovered (whether new or not)/LOVED in 2009 IN MY EYES ONLY. Here they are, my top bands of 2009, in no particular order:

Beginning of '09-ish
--Lily Allen (Always a fave, & with the new album much airplay & saw her live @ this time too. A fave all time artist.)
--Passion Pit (First heard in I think Feb, & am in a major love affair w/ still. Sleepyhead on Skins may have been what did it. SO wonderful.)
--Santigold (Discovered around now, She's badass. Also reminds me of DEMF and interesting nights to follow which could never be replaced.)
--The Pipttes (Pull Shapes = I love life.)
--Taylor Swift
--Mates of State (loved before, still loving, will love long after. A Fave Ever. PURE TALENT)
--Miley Cyrus (You heard me. The Climb, Party in the USA (I know you love it.) Hoedown Throwdown. Do not doubt this girl.)
--Yeah Yeah Yeahs
--Kid Cudi (Crookers Remix Day N Nite = a must)
--Yelle (My French love? Reminds me of Aurel.)
--The Ting Tings (Way fun, but not so much live though, sorry guys.)
--Kelly Clarkson (In the beginning of the year I was way into it. Elbow clap. Since then, welll... sometimes still way fun still right?)
--Mark Ronson (Fun until I get sick of it.)
--Katy Perry (Saw her live, loved her more, even though I thought I'd hate her live. She's a wonderful performer. Show me your vocal skills though lady.)
--Vampire Weekend (Actually got sick of them after this period & then came to love them again w/ their new album in the 2010.)
--Black Kids (NO, I will not teach ur boyfriend how to dance with you! They're fun. Not a fully lasting thing for me though.)
--Natalie Portman's Shaved Head (Opened for Lily Allen, were mighty good people, began my love affair then. Fun to hear still every now & again even moreso than some of the big names mentioned above them. They're way nice people too. I like that.)
--Frankie Valli (Every time I hear his voice, I will instantly be transported to my living room @ Mansard House with some of the best people I know.)

Middle of '09-ish
--The Veronicas (Ok here's my thing with them, listened to & enjoyed them before this. Heard & saw a video performance of "Take Me on the Floor" = Instantly transformed to MAJOR fan. Went to see their live show w/ some of my bff's & became even larger fan. I could go on, but I'll leave you with this: they are some of the best vocalists/songwriters around. Live shows = Unbelieveable along with their fab & super hot band.)
--Chaingang (Heard of them from a Twitter comment, checked them out, AMAZEBALLS BAND. Met 2 of them & were so gracious & cool. Must meet the other two. Their music is unique, inspiring, & energetc. I love them forever. Currently one of my fave bands. I await their album ever so patiently.)
--Carney (Ok their live show tears everyone else apart. They have the most raw talent in 1 band I've seen. Saw them a couple times & must see again. SEE THESE GUYS. LISTEN TO THEM. I vote their video for "Love Me Chase Me" as Video of the Year in my own awards. However, I also must say it's one of my faves ever. These are good people who are extremely talented. Listen to them, again. Pure, raw rock. Jazzy, blusey-ish. Talent. The bf loves them too.)
--The Art (Saw them open for a fave band & they blew me away. So much charisma. So fun, unique, hot. Contagious.)
--Paramore (I felt like one of the last fans to get their newest album, but when I did, repeat forever.)
--MUSE (Ok, Muse. One of my favorite bands in the past. One of my favorite bands now. One of my favorite bands in the future. This band is amazing & their latest album does not let down. I feel like one of the lucky ones to be able to have seen them live, even though it was 2007. ACL 2007, I will never forget cuz of these boys.)
--The Dead Weather (Hi, this is my summer rock out in the car music. Love them.)
--The Sleeping (Mike of the aforementioned Chaingang turned me on to them. They made me happy more times than I can count.)
--Adele

The End-ish 2009
--Demi Lovato (Totally didn't expect to LOVE her. She has one of my fave voices ever. At the moment, if I hear the beginning to any of her songs I think of my time in Dallas because she was pretty much on repeat the whole time I was there. Love this girl's album & hope to see her live someday.)
--Jay-Z (Blueprint 3 ROCKED my world. My #1 album to work out too. I really can't seem to get sick of it even though I should which says a lot.)
--Lady Gaga (Listened to her a ton before this point, but here is when I think I realized or came to terms with the fact that she is a genius.)
--Drake (OMG It's Jimmy Brooks! (I'm a dork, clearly.)I'm so proud of his sheer awesomeness.)
--The Big Pink (Ok from 1 performance on "It's On Alexa" with Alexa Chung, I was hooked on these guys. I feel like their music best describes my taste today. I even get to see them on March 9, just after my bday this year.)
--The Used (ALWAYS a staple in my car, on my Itunes, in my life no matter when I put them on. This is possibly my fave band ever.)
--Black Eyed Peas (Some great catchy songs. I want to see them live. Geniuses as well.)
--The Temper Trap (So lovely to listen to. I loved them a little before this time, but they helped me get through the traffic jam of my life @ the Hoover dam on NYE.)
--Anberlin (Stopped loving them & then Reloved them this year.)
--Arctic Monkeys (Honestly, I didn't think I'd like them much. Checked them out. Hello, I love them! They're great.)
--Owl City (That Fireflies guy, he will ALWAYS remind me of Texas & will always make me happy because of it. Thank you B&N.)
--I got really into listening to the Twilight audiobooks @ this point. There was a lot of driving?

P.S. I need a job so I can buy the new The Used album & also maybe some life staples or some stability.

The Most Important Part!
My Artists of the year:
The Veronicas
Muse
Chaingang
Demi Lovato
The Used
Carney