Another look at The Pearl (from space)

Because - hey - if I can't be there, I might as well spend all my time LOOKING at it, right? ;)

Landsat TM imagery (Jan 1986). I'm going to be staring at this area for a long time coming,.....

Some nights we do this.......

There's a little coffee house at the edge of campus that my friends and I love called Common Grounds. They make delicious coffee and they've got this little backyard that is a fun venue for hosting events..... Oftentimes it's music-related. Occasionally it's someone pretty big (we discovered the Civil Wars here). Last night? Mutemath with Civil Twilight and the Quiet Entertainer. 

Lauren, ever the music lover, was soooo excited to go and "dragged" me (not really) along with her. It was an absolutely fabulous concert! The Quiet Entertainer started things off, then the Civil Twilight followed suit with a great set (love new music discoveries!). After an intermission, Mutemath made an explosive entrance, drumming while walking through the audience from the back. They played song after song for two hours, never letting up. What a concert! There were people beside us who had no idea about "concert etiquette" (Laur and I have decided that a book needs to be written on the subject), and there were others nearby who were smoking up all through the concert (ugh), and we left with ears ringing (they were still stopped up this morning). But it was SO. WORTH. IT. :)

My sole regret? Not bringing my camera!! Here are some phone pictures though:

 The Quiet Entertainer, starting things off right.

 Civil Twilight! Really liked their music.... and they have the coolest merch. :)

 The awesome headliners!

 Boom! Lights.

 Playing synth effects standing on a table in the middle of the crowd? That happened.

Crowd surfing on a flashing air mattress? THAT happened.

Ugh. Not bringing my camera was such a bad decision on my part. What a great concert experience, though!! I may not listen to Mutemath's music regularly, but they are a great live band that I would not think twice about seeing in concert. Repeatedly. 

If Mutemath comes through your town, GO. Have fun. Don't forget your camera. And ear plugs. :)

Hello! It's been awhile!

Soooo yep. It has been months since the last time I inhabited this corner of the blogosphere. An entire eventful summer passed by, and a brand-new school semester has started to find me in the geology doctorate program at Baylor. The weather has finally decided to get with the program and cool down (Autumn! Bliss!!). Something weird happened and Blogger ate all my photos..... one big reason why I haven't bothered to blog lately. But by far the main reason Shards has gotten dusty is just that I haven't been around.

Where have I been?

Uganda, Africa! (Hence the shiny-new blog banner, complete with giraffes)

To be totally frank, I never had aspirations to go to Africa.... but God definitely has different ideas. The opportunity presented itself, and what else could I do besides grab it with both hands?? So we went. I got to set feet on a new continent, see a new land, meet a new people. And as is usual when I go to a new land, my heart got stretched in directions I never knew it could go. The Pearl of Africa and her warm, generous people have worked their way into my heart. Now I'm state-side again, but every time I hear mention of Uganda, my ears perk up. I smile so big when I hear Ugandan voices speak and when I hear their music. My heart breaks when I hear about the war the people have survived, and everything they still fight through now. Ugandans are so strong.... Knowing that they lived through what they have, and are still able to smile and hope and live, absolutely amazes me. I made so many new friends, and have come to love this land in a very short time.

Dear Pearl of Africa, it was a pleasure! Thank you for a sweet time.