It's Kayak Playlist III ya'll!

   Another list of music catered to specifically the enjoyment of kayaking.  Songs to get you through the first haul in the middle of a current, or to get you through that final stretch where you can't help but think to yourself, "Why do I do this?" but then stop because you remember the beauty that surrounds you, and, naturally, songs to enhance that beauty that surrounds you, songs that while you listen, you don't do anything but sit and listen.  But of course feel free to jam while you're "doing your work", vacuuming, driving, or perfecting your upcoming lip sync number in the mirror.  As always, they are in no particular order.  Enjoy!

Hey Jude - The Beatles
Matilda - alt-J
Fourth of July - Fall Out Boy
We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus
Kansas City - The New Basement Tapes*
50 Ways To Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
We Might Be Dead Tomorrow - SOKO
Alibi - Thirty Seconds to Mars
Believe - Mumford & Sons*
Holocene - Bon Iver*
Fitzpleasure - alt-J
One - Three Dog Night
Euphoria - Motopony*
Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show
Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
Life Is A Highway - Rascal Flatts
Free Booze - Semi Precious Weapons
Festival - Sigur Rós
Out Of The Woods - Taylor Swift
Red Lights - Tiësto
Something Good - alt-J*
Hey, Soul Sister - Train
Mess Is Mine - Vance Joy
All Alright - Zac Brown Band
I Wanna Get Better - Bleachers
Old Time Rock And Roll - Bob Seger

* Highly recommended

Old Timers and First Timers

   Last week was spring break for me and I tell you what, it was the best time I've had in a long time.  It was my grandfather's 90th birthday and we had a reunion birthday bash.  Family from all over the country came down to visit and the majority of them stayed at my house.  It was far beyond a good time.  The weather that first weekend was glorious but I didn't get a chance to kayak since I was whooping it up with my cousins.  During the week I thought for sure I would go, I had nothing but time.  But alas, it rained..the..entire...time.  And then I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Saturday came around with the sun beaming down, not a cloud in sight.  60º.  Beyond perfect for getting back on the yak.  So I run to my Uncle Mike from Washington who wasn't leaving town until Monday and I tell him that we simply have to go kayaking in the morning.  He is reluctant at first, saying he's not sure if he can sit comfortably in the kayak, "I don't bend that way."  I laugh and take him outside for a test run.  I lend him my sit-on kayak, saying he will be much more comfortable in this one because he will be able to rest his legs however he chooses.  He agrees and says, "Yeah, okay, I guess I can do that.  Let's do it.  What time are we leaving?"

   The sun is beginning to peak in through the trees as Mom and I strap the kayaks to the car.  It's been a while so my arms are a little tight as I heave the kayaks over my head and onto the car.  Uncle Mike strolls out of the house carrying a cup of coffee and a spare Seattle Seahawks tshirt, "Hey.  I'm ready."  We drive down to the bayou and are surprised by how much mud is on the ground and on the launch.  I guess that is to be expected when it rains for an entire week.
   When Uncle Mike sits on the kayak and I push him out into the water, I am convinced he is going to flip.  The back of the kayak is completely level with the water while the front of it is raised above the water.  He is wobbling like a top that is about to fall and I watch with my breath frozen still and hands covering my mouth.  But... he gets it.  No one flipped.  He got the hang of it and begins practicing turning and stopping as I push my self out into the water.  I catch up to him and tell him to head left.  I watch him paddle, right, left left, right, left, right right right, left left, right, and can't help but smile.
   We reach the golf course and I notice a string of bubbles appearing on the water, no more than three feet away from me, heading in the opposite direction of us.  I suggest to Uncle Mike that maybe it's an alligator.  He frowns, "Yeah.  I'm going back that way."  I laugh and follow him out.  On the way back, a dog who is very happy to see us jumps off of his yard and into a boat that is tied up.  He stands on the edge, silently, and smiles as I paddle up next to him to give him a rub on the head.  As I float on, I watch as he struggles to find the best way to get out of the boat.  A pinecone captures my attention in the corner of my eye, and when I turn my head back to watch the dog, he was lying happily on the grass again.  "Wizard dog," I say to myself.  
   We reach a point where we could either go back to the house or head towards the Bay.  When I ask Uncle Mike what he wants to do he says, "Hey, this is all you.  We can keep going."  So I head towards the Bay but we turn down Alligator Alley to go around the island and land back at the house instead of going to the Bay and just turning around and coming back.
   I row row row through the swamp because believe it or not, I actually didn't want to run into a gator that morning.  When I get to the other end, I paddle over to the other side of the floating dock and admire how calm the water is and how green the grass is while I wait for Mike to make it through.
   This was the first time I had ever kayaked in the month of March, and it might be my favorite.  The sun is out but it has no desire to bake you and any leaf you see is brand new and filled with life.  The whole bayou had a new refreshing ora to it that I had never seen before. This place had always been beautiful, this was just a different type of beauty.
   I hear Uncle Mike run into something and I quickly turn my head to make sure he alright.  Sure enough, he had crashed right into the floating dock.  He laughs and says, "Hey, it's alright."  I laugh with him and tell him the house is right around the corner.

Back On The Yak For Yak's Sake

   It's a Saturday.  Winter Break comes to a halt in about two weeks.  We haven't been on the yaks in a few months.  It's about 50 degrees outside.  I drive over to Sarah Anne's house to pick her up.  She has some Nike shorts on over a pair of black leggings, a long sleeve shirt under her hoodie, thick socks and some tennis shoes.  When she gets in the car I give her a Kermit the Frog hat to match my sock monkey hat.  I offer her my pair of gloves but she declines.
   When we arrive at the drop off, a terrible thing starts to happen.  Teeny tiny drops of water start to cover the windshield.  Neither one of us say anything, we just watch.
   After one or two moments, I say, "I wouldn't call that rain."
   "No?" Sarah Anne replies rather quickly.
   "No.  It's like a mist.  Hardly a mist, really."
   "Sure."
   "The mist in the produce section of the grocery store is stronger than this," I say.
   "Totally.  It's a tease of a mist."
   "Exactly, and it doesn't look like it's going to get any worse any time soon."
   "Yeah."
   "Yeah.  We'll be fine."
   "Okay," she says unconvinced.
   "We're not going back."
   "No?"
   "No!  We'll just go out right there! We don't have to go far, we'll just go, spin in some circles, get the blood flowing, and then we'll come right back."
   "Yeah, okay."
   "We're just going to go."
   "Getting on the yak for the sake of the yak."
   I smile, "Exactly."
   So that is exactly what we do.  We put our yaks in the water, put our life vests on our chests, put the paddles in our hands then in the water.  I give Sarah Anne a hurl out, and she wobbles out into the open water.  I follow behind her.  Clouds hang every where above and the mist keeps are faces cool while we spin around each other.
   "Did I ever take you to the place where I actually saw an alligator?" I smile.
   She hesitates, "..no."
   I laugh, "Well.  We're going."
   Instead of taking the way that leads out into the bay, we turn right to head towards the golf course.  We tuck our heads under our chins as we pass under the bridge as I tell her about the time Trea had to hoist me up from his kayak so I could fun and get some water from a nearby fountain (a post for another time). As the water gets narrower, Sarah Anne pulls out a bag of cereal from her pack.  I tease her and say that she may want to put that away as we approach gator country.  She laughs and smirks back at me but in the corner of my eye I see her tuck it away.  We take left turn after left turn as the water gets shallower and more murky.  Probably out of nerves,  Sarah Anne starts to tell me about a time when she was much younger, she visited an alligator farm and she got to hold an egg as it hatched! How cool is that? Life was brought into this world in the palm of her hand.
   Unfortunately, no gators were seen on this specific kayaking trip.  On the way back, we moseyed along, enjoying being back on the water.  Before we hit land, we decided to make a quick video of us really just being silly.

Off The Yak: In College

   First things first (I'm the realest), I apologize to anyone who comes to my blog and expects to find every post be about kayaking.  I realize that nowadays each entry gets a little further away from that and becomes more centered about my schooling.  But my readers need to realize that I am not back on the yak as much as I would like to be.  Last year it was my reality because it was what I had time for.  Now, school is my reality.  I've traded my paddle for a paper.  It's harsh and I wish it weren't true, but unfortunately we can't always get what we want.  But I will make this promise to you: For every lousy post about college, I will post two about a previous kayaking excursion.  How is that? I hope that is sufficient enough.  Don't fret and don't leave me.  More is to come.  Announcements to be made.  Each day that goes by is one day closer to warmer weather.  The kayaks will come out of storage soon enough.  I promise.

   Now, to business.  I realize that I have only been in college for two months, but I pay attention and stay aware so I have already concocted a list of tips that up and coming collegians should have under their hat:

• Cover the walls
• Go to Target, buy a fair share of Command hooks (buy the ones that can hold a hefty amount of weight, 3lbs) Bring pictures, paintings, posters, anything.  Buy a cheap chalkboard decal, stick some on the wall or on the door to draw pictures or leave notes for your roommate.  Hang a bulletin board, dry erase board, a calendar.  Every space you cover makes your room more and more homey.  If you have your own bathroom, bring pieces to hang up in there.  Have some things by the door and by the vanity.  Any wall space is an opportunity.
• Take out the trash
• Do not wait until you are playing a game of Jenga with the trash.  The trashcan will win, and you will have a monstrosity of a mess to clean up.  Once a week.  It's easy.  You leave for class 7 minutes earlier and bring the bag with you.  
• Stay on top of everything
• Homework is a given.  You get an assignment on Monday.  "But it's not due until Wednesday."  No.  Do it Monday night.  Do not wait until 10 o'clock on Tuesday night to do it.  Something could go wrong, the printer could decide to throw a fit, you may not understand something, you may have something else you really want to get to.  
• Plan ahead, at least a little
• Dish out time accordingly.  The other night I had a club meeting to go to.  I looked on their Facebook page to find that they would be watching a movie.  How fun!! I love movies!  Unfortunately I had a huge history exam the following morning.  I couldn't justify going to see a film when I had studying to do.  If the meeting had been a discussion or planning an event, I would have gone.  But it was actually the perfect meeting to skip.  You can't be too prepared for anything, especially a test.  And there is no worse feeling than that sinking feeling of I shouldn't have done.. I should have studied.
• Read
• Instead of watching TV in between classes, read a book.  You feel much more productive and satisfied afterwards, plus it gives much more knowledge than any TV program.  Reading is a skill, you get better with practice.  Each time you read you get a little faster and you retain a little more, which is a wonderful tool to have in college.
• Go to the cafeteria for food
• It's free, it's hot, it's not all bad, and someone else makes it.  While having a few snacks in the room is nice, don't waste all your money on instant food when you have a plethora of food you are already paying for waiting for you in the Union. 
• Don't just stock up on cookies.  Visit the salad bar, get some chick peas, load up your plate with strawberries.
• Attend class
• I know it's tempting.  Believe me.  You're all snuggled up and cozy in your warm bed, the last thing you want to do is walk across campus in 20 degree weather to your 9 am class.  But go anyway.  Most classes have an attendance policy and you are only given so many days to miss before your grade is lowered.  Don't say, "Screw this, I got 4 more days I can miss.  I'm sleeping in."  No.  Go to class.  Save those days for when you are sick or it's the last couple weeks of school and you were up all night tweaking a paper.  
• Also, teachers love to give random attendance quizzes.  One day in my psychology class, about 18 out of 200 people showed up.  My professor smiled at us and said, "This looks like a great day to take role."  
• You don't need Starbucks everyday
• It's right there, you pass it everyday, and the line is so short right now!  I get it.  But your wallet does not.  And after three or four weeks when all you have is spare change, was it all really worth it?  Last night I asked my roommate if she wanted to go to Chick-fil-A with me, she sighed and said she couldn't because she had already spent all 275 dollars worth of her Bonus Bucks (if you have a meal plan, it normally includes something like this to spend at restaurants on campus).  I was shocked, "HOW?"  She laughed and said that after her English class she always goes to Starbucks and gets a venti ice tea. sigh
• Don't be afraid to switch roommates
• She's a slob, she's rude, and she snores.  No hard feelings.  Go to your RA and tell her.  This is about you.  Your dorm room should be a sanctuary of sorts, it should be comforting.  If your roommate is scary or you dread seeing her in the room when you get back, that's not good.  Be with someone who is comforting, or at least doesn't sleep in your bed when you're gone.
• Start a long lasting relationship with water
• Buy a case for your room each month.  Carry one in your backpack at all times.  Trade in your Sprite for it at lunch.  Always have one with you in class.  
• Go to the gym
• People, it's free.  You're paying to be there, the gym is at your disposal.  And it's so nice!  Just go for a little bit.  Take a Zumba class! Or yoga! Or CrossFit!  It's FREE!  When you're an adult, you'll be wishing you had a free gym right down the street from you.
• Don't buy a printer
• It only costs 5 cents a page to print.  Let's say you buy a printer that costs 35 dollars.  Just for the printer to pay for itself, you would need to print over 700 sheets.  That's just to cover the cost of the printer.  What about paper? And INK?  Ink is the most ridiculously overpriced item on the market.  I don't know what you're printing, but I can take a guess and say that it's not more than 700 pages.  I know having a printer in your room is convenient, but it is so not worth it.  

Homage to Home

   Anyone who is planning to go to college at some point in there lives needs to know about basic introductions.  Any body you meet will ask for your name, your hometown, and your major.  It's all very standard stuff.  Try to generalize those first three things.  Same specifics for the next round, it lengthens the conversation, engages everyone a little bit more, and shows more personality.  For example, I say, "I'm Jillianne.  I'm from south Mississippi, the coast.  And I'm an Art Major."  Next round, they'll probably ask how far is your hometown, and ask for more info on your major.  But for me, since I hate the standard intro, I go for something a little more.. spunky? I ask, "So name, and so and so major.  What else is there to know?"  This always throws them for a loop.  For one, they didn't think anyone would care.  Two, it completely brakes the shell of the standard convo.  They'll typically say, "Uh, I don't know.  What about you?"  Hoping you'll fall into the same trap they just did.  Wrong.  "Well, I kayak.  I have a killer blog about it, you should check it out btw," Bam.  You now have plenty of material for a conversation that should last the entire route of wherever you are walking to.  You're welcome.
   To the point.  This is after four or five rounds of conversing with someone.  They know all about my major, my goals, my hopes and dreams, and they know I'm serious about kayaking.  So they ask more.  "Where do you kayak?" they ask.  This is a tricky one.  The simple answer is, "Mallini's Bayou."  But they are from someplace 35 minutes west of Dallas, they have no grasp on what part of "the south" I am from, and they certainly have no earthly idea what "Mallini's Bayou" means.  They want something awesome like "In the middle of the ocean" or "Down these white rapids that are behind my house" or even "When I said I kayak, I meant I did it once when I was on vacation with my family at a lake.  I'm sorry I lied, here's a dollar for your troubles.  Oh you won't take a dollar? How about store credit at Starbucks?"   So I have to generalize but make it sound just as epic as it really is.
   Here we go.
   "Well... I live two miles from the beach.  I haven't been out there yet.  The water is always pretty choppy when I get out there.  Not Atlantic Ocean choppy, but enough to flip a kayak with the same ease as flicking someone on the nose.  So there's this bayou right?  Not bayou as in the waters are covered in green stuff and looks like a golf course.  I mean, there are gators and there is a golf course next door, but not that kind of bayou.  It's about 20 minutes from my house.  It's so nice! We put the kayaks in a drop off in a stranger's yard and the water is always perfect.  It's a series of creeks and caverns with a canopy of trees covering the whole thing!  There are houses along every edge, and everyone usually waves.  Imagine you're going through a neighborhood but the streets have been replaced with streams and the cars have been replaced with boats.  If I'm lucky, I'm out there when the sun is going down.  The coast of Mississippi has the most beautiful sunsets and I will argue that until the day I die."
   Sometimes I do just say, "In the middle of the ocean."  It depends on how much sleep I got the night before and how comfortable my shoes are.