Singing Karaoke In a Bar

This is definitely a cliche of me, but who hasn't wanted to dare themselves into singing karaoke in a bar. I never thought I'd be singing in a bar in Coconut Grove, Florida, but some things you just have to take as they come. I've always wanted to push myself to do this, primarily because it is SO far out of my comfort zone (if you have heard me try and sing you understand where I'm coming from). It actually turned out to be a ton of fun.

I was with my friends Olivia, Zeke, Jarrod, Dave, and John and we were celebrating Jarrod's 19th birthday at a bar in The Grove called Mr. Moe's. I love this bar because it has a cabin feel to it (wooden walls and floor, mechanical bull, huge bar) which, in my opinion, is the only kind of bar worth going to. While I didn't ride the mechanical bull, which is also on my list, I did let Olivia talk me into singing two karaoke songs.

We sang "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry (which really got one lady in the crowd going) and then "Don't You Worry Child" by Swedish House Mafia (our song). It was actually an insane amount of fun even though getting up there was nerve racking. Unfortunately I don't have a video or a picture of it so you guys will just have to take my word and this picture (which Liv and I took that night) as proof ;)

Making Kandi With Friends

Kandi, rave bracelets, bead bracelets, whatever you call these bracelets, they're a huge trend in the rave culture and I've been convincing myself to make these for so long.

For a long time I thought that kandi was just something everyone wore to festivals, raves, because it looked cool. While that's obviously a big part of it, last summer when I was at Camp Bisco, a music festival in upstate NY, I was admiring the kandi that one girl had up to her elbows and she taught me the proper way to "swap" kandi. The idea is that when you meet people while wearing kandi, you both swap a bracelet as a symbol of the rave/festival culture. The way she taught me is that two people face each other, raise their hands in the peace sign, connect their hands in a heart, and then clasp hands to swap the bracelets. These three gestures symbolize Peace, Love, and Unity. The yellow, green, and purple bracelet you see on my wrist is the one she gave me.

After that story I was dying to make some but I never got around to it until this January when my friends Abby and Olivia and I sat down in my dorm room and made kandi for ourselves and for each other. Our goal is to have them up to our elbows by Ultra. Since that's pretty close and we're pretty lazy I don't see that happening but there ya go! One less for me ;)

Snowboarding

February 2013

To be fair, this wasn't the first time I've attempted snowboarding. If any of you know me very well you know that me and winter sports are a recipe for disaster. I learn the "cheater" way to do it, I assume I know enough to be functional, and eventually I become too much of a hazard to continue. Whether it's peg-legged skating or pizza skiing down a black diamond, I'm usually the person that people either laugh or yell at. So when I first tried snowboarding, I was hoping I'd be able to do it right. 

Turns out I can't, but it's way more fun than skiing and ice skating. Olivia and I went snowboarding this President's Day weekend in the Adirondack's on Titus (the baby mountain) on the bunny slope (the baby slope) and needless to say, given my small experience with snowboarding and Olivia's lack, that it was a rough and profanity filled day on the slope. 

But despite our numerous bruises, unfortunate experience on the chairlift, and the 7 year old who tried to tell me I shouldn't be on the bunny slope since I'm an adult, it was awesome (Olivia disagrees but that's because her "instructor" was yours truly). I'm glad I tried it again.

The List & The Idea

Hey guys!

As I mentioned in my description, I created this blog in order to share my 140 before 2014 list, a list that is currently in the making (aka I'm still adding to it) and may very well end up being more than 140 things!

The idea is simple. Everyone tells themselves that they're going to learn to do this or they're going to read that or reach this goal or visit this place or the find the perfect [ ], etc. This year, as part of a resolution I made to myself, I created a list that I see on a regular basis in the hopes that it would encourage me to actually do all of these things that I want to do, and it's been working!

Some of these are simple, some of these are challenging, some might make you laugh and some might make you shake your head at me, but say what you will I'm finally doing all the things I told myself I would a long time ago.

Whether this inspires you to create something similar of your own or if you just want to keep up to date with me, I hope you enjoy the blog!

Carpe Diem

The List (so far)

1. Read Paradise Lost

2. Exercise 5x a week on average (goal)

3. Learn to play poker

4. Learn to drive stick shift

5. Volunteer at a festival

6. Make plans to study abroad

7. Find the perfect black leather jacket

8. Make a rave bra

9. Make a dream catcher

10. Memorize at least 10 songs in spanish

11. Read an 100+ page book in french

12. Learn to make 25 drinks 

13. Dye my hair purple/pink

14. Take 1000 great pictures

15. Try dance classes

16. Go to yoga on average 4x a week (goal)

17. Get another tattoo

18. Watch the sunrise on the beach

19. Learn to make sushi

20. Learn to play the guitar

21. Try painting

22. Do really cool face paint at a festival

23. Visit the Vatican when I go to Italy

24. Eat pasta in Italy

25. Visit Cinque Terre in Italy

26. Get fairy wings

27. Road trip to the aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia

28. Go to 4 Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives

29. Read the Lord of the Rings trilogy

30. Paint my room

31. Get some cool bandanas

32. Do spray paint

33. Do tye dye

34. Learn to hula hoop

35. Skinny dip in the ocean

36. Take belly dancing classes

37. Do hot yoga

38. Learn to ride a bike

39. Go to a strip club

40. Start a dream journal

41. Watch the sunset on Bear Mountain

42. Get a really nice piece of art

43. Kayak at night in the Adirondacks

44. Find a really cute music box

45. Eat salad once a day on average (goal)

46. Make/Find an Alice in Wonderland rave costume

47. Watch Skins season 6

48. Get an internship or job

49. Get to 20k songs

50. Read The Iliad

51. Stay on the Dean's List at UMiami

52. Finger paint

53. Draw with sidewalk chalk

54. Ride a mechanical bull

55. Sing karaoke in a bar

56. Learn to cook 10 dishes

57. Go to a Latin club

58. Create an elaborate sand castle

59. Make kandi with my friends

60. Get scuba certified

61. Watch Casablanca

62. Start a postcard journal

63. Learn the ez language

64. Learn how to cook shrimp 5 different ways

65. Learn 3 cool hair styles that I can do on myself

66. Finish 5 difficult puzzles

67. Run 2 miles without stopping

68. Get in the best shape of my life

69. Make 10 professional music business contacts in Miami

70. Throw a killer outdoor party

71. Create a fairy garden

72. Try snowboarding again

73. Create a Francine Walker cookbook for college next year

74. Swim in a Fountain in Spain

75. Learn how to pick a lock

76. Go on The Eye in London

77. Eat fish n chips in London

78. Visit Big Ben

79. Hike 4 mountains

80. Eat Paella in Spain

81. Make Liv and I's apartment incredible

82. Begin teaching myself production/DJing

83. Learn photoshop

84. Go to 5 Pointz in NYC

85. Make rainbow roses

86. Make a butterfly feeder

87. Make a cookbook for next year

88. Go back to the foam club in Ibiza

89. Tan topless in Ibiza

90. Give away a bunch of my stuffed animals

91. Give my sister the greatest 18th birthday giftbasket ever

92. Practice lucid dreaming

93. Watch the sunrise in the Adirondacks

94. Go white water rafting

95. Go snorkeling in Miami

96. Try to learn how to surf

97. Read Pride and Prejudice

98. Visit Canada

99. Get a bar-tending job in FL

100. Get an internship in London for next summer

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