Spring has sprung, ladies and gentlemen.

I love the outdoors, and it fills me with no small amount of joy that I am no longer battling hypothermia when I step outside my dorm door. Moreover, as a runner, it’s nice to not break out the ninja-underarmor gear everytimeI want to do an outside long run.

Anyway, if you were wondering about my title, it does have a second meaning—a musical one. The Kinks are a British band, hailing around the 60s, and it has been scientifically proven (I think) that listening to them will cure any funk you happen to be in.

Seriously, try it. You cannot be upset when listening to “The Village Green Preservation Society”—it defies all laws of reason. I’m pretty sure frowning while hearing them could cause the world to implode. (Please don’t try it.)

I associate them automatically with spring. Spring was when I first found them—on vinyl, no less, for about two dollars at a music resale store—and promptly recorded it onto tape for car listening. Yes, I said tape. Fitzwilliam, while a dapper gentleman of a car, only holds a tape deck. Hence, I created my own little mix tapes for driving-to-school-listening and traveling-to-work-listening.

So, a lovely little connection exists in my mind between the Kinks and spring, which makes me very happy that I managed to transfer their music onto my ipod. I now run around—literally—listening to them all day.

Moreover, the energy in the air is infectious. People sat in my room until past three last night, speaking of nonsense, math, dating, the trouble with cross-country and eating disorders, the possibility of a camping trip…and v-neck shirts. I kid you not, my fine readers. That conversation did take place, and it did cause me to sleep through my first class the next day. 

We also watched Bravo's (love the SVC cable) “So You Want to Be a Supermodel?” to which I assume the answer is yes, as the contestants entered the show willingly. Or, so I hope. I’m fairly positive Bravo didn’t go around clubbing attractive men and women, knocking them unconscious and then forcing them to walk the runway. If they did, though, that might make for a better reality show.

The fault for this is mine—I have a “Project Runway” obsession, which happens to be on the Bravo network. While one day enjoying the sewing stylin’s of this seasons talented contestants—and talented they are, because I know I can’t make a dress in two weeks, let alone two hours—I may or may not have broken the remote to our television.

Now, we are stuck on channel 66, good old Bravo. As we use TV for background noise to drown out the pod-conversation-spill-over, Alexa and I have since been exposed to “Top Chef,” “So You Want to Be a Supermodel?”, and “The Real Housewives of New York City.” The latter is particularly fun, as very rich women complain they weren’t invited to so-and-so’s house party in the Hamptons. It’s like "My Super Sweet Sixteen,” only in adult and botoxed form.

Maybe this sounds sort of reversed elitist, but I am very, VERY glad I am not them. Although being able to own my own library AND eat in the same lifetime would be pretty darn fantastic.

Beyond that, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people outside. Alexa and I went for a 7-ish mile run today though the back country, and it was the definition of excellence. I highly recommend it!

But now, I leave you dear literate individuals. Because I am college and therefore an adult, I am meeting some compadres to go play Sharks and Minnows in the school pool. Should you like to join us, we will be there at 5. All are welcome!

Following that, I am heading over to the Human Rights Organization’s Free Rice Party, which is pretty much vocabulary skills leading to the ending of starvation in third world countries. If you want to have your OWN Free Rice Party, the link is below. I won’t tell you my own score, because you will be shamed. Or possibly me. http://www.freerice.com/

Side note: the photo comes from a night during finals, in which Emma and Nate raided some of the awesome things I have on my desk. They include but are not limited to the giant microbe forms of mono and staph, as well as a Jung finger puppet.