Finally, after weeks and weeks of early morning practices at the U of I Armory, it's outdoor track season!

Outdoor season is the biggest reason I love track.

The track team I am on, the girls sprinting team, is most likely the "teamliest" one I'm on of the three sports I play each year.

This Friday I'll get to see and swim in the ocean for the first time in my life!

Other firsts of mine that I will experience this spring break will include my first time on an airplane, my first time leaving the country, and my first vacation ever.

And yes, I've had to wait 16 years for this.

Last Saturday I took my first step for preparing for college: the SAT.

And frankly, my SAT experience was underwhelming.

First off, I have a few complaints. Not only does it begin at 8 a.m., the closest place that was available when I registered was in Mattoon. Mattoon is an hour away from my house, meaning I had to get up well before the sun.

I went home sick on Monday during lunch. A good idea for two reasons: 1) I felt like crap. 2) I had time to watch “Once,” a wonderfully touching film.

Browsing artwork is very enjoyable. Especially when it's from unknown artists. But finding places to do this is kind of hard. Recently though, I was introduced to deviantART.

My freshman year, I had to drink this nasty microwaved concoction of soy sauce, apple juice, pepper, Al Johnson's snot, and god knows what else in order to be "initiated" onto UHGB varsity. I definitely threw up in my mouth a little.

For the past hour and a half I've been overwhelmed by college. Why, you might ask? I'm just halfway through my junior year. I shouldn't be wanting to think about college right now. But one site makes the journey a little less stressful.

As I was searching through some of the numerous music albums my family recently inherited, I came across a beautifully outstanding voice. A diverse concoction of jazz, blues, and folk ... just what I needed to complete a relaxing three-day weekend.

Eva Cassidy has some set of vocal chords.

So, along the lines of talking about art, I just wanted to share with you an artist whose art I think is extraordinarily out of the box.

Gargoyle photo by Rachel Skoza (click to enlarge)