Kirsten's Blog

nuff said

2011-07-06T18:11:00.001-07:00

http://catsthatlooklikeronswanson.tumblr.com/

Meditation

2011-02-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

I took this really cool personality assessment in undergrad and I work with it a lot at my job. It's called StrengthsQuest or Strengths Finder and I was reading through some tips that correspond to my strengths. One of the suggestions they had for me was to spend time meditating. It struck a cord with me, mainly because lately I've felt so unfocused.

I need to seek out some meditiation tips and practices.

Dog Names

2011-01-07T09:43:00.000-08:00

Martin and I are getting a sweet little dog this weekend who is a lab/corgi mix and I cannot figure out a name AT ALL.

Here are a few that I like:
Calvin
Levi
Cicero
Teddy
Frank
Gus
Troy

This made me LOL

2011-01-06T09:29:00.001-08:00

http://jezebel.com/5726533/what-the-angle-of-your-ponytail-says-about-you

Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T10:34:00.000-08:00

Successfully completed my first Thanksgiving! We hosted my parents, Martin's parents, my grandmother, my sister, and two of my cousins. It went really well. Martin and I made the following:
-Cranberry Sauce
-Stuffing
-Sausage Balls
-Deviled Eggs
-Baked Mac and Cheese
-Coca Cola Salad
-Biscuits
-Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Citrus Glaze
-Sweet Potato Pie
and some other stuff.

My parents, martin's parents and my grandma brought the other stuff, but it was exceptionally delicious.

I'm so thankful for my family (martin and henley the cat), my extended family, my friends, good food, my cute house, and a few days off. I've slept so much over the last two days it's stupid. Seriously, I've slept more than I've been awake in the last two days.

Hope everyone else had a wonderful thanksgiving :)

Neglect

2010-10-03T22:47:00.000-07:00

I feel bad about not blogging, but I feel like nothing has changed.

It's sunday. My fingers and hands are really dry after cleaning the kitchen and bathroom sink. I did a lot of laundry this weekend, and I'm going to a higher education professional conference in the morning. I got my hair cut. It's a little 80s but I like it.

I feel like I have no time. But all in all, not much has changed. Life is pretty much the same :)

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! Vacation!

I was so excited to have three days of pure nothingness. I really, really needed a break. I have an event with work coming up in two weeks and it is seriously stressing me out.

I've finally had all of my classes, so it's nice to know what's going on for the semester. I have a lot on my plate and I hope that I can handle all of it.

The weekend was really fun. Saturday, Martin and I watched Kindergarten Cop and went to our friends' wedding in Richardson, Sunday was a super lazy day around the house and we went to Mockingbird Station to eat dinner and watch Mad Men at the Angelika, and Monday we went to the Zoo with our niece and did a lot of laundry.

It's Wedding Time in West Texas

2010-08-22T22:11:00.000-07:00

Martin and I went to Borger, Texas for an especially adorable outdoor wedding. I know what you're thinking, most of my friends who probably don't even read this blog, August, Wedding, Outside, in Texas? Crazy, right? But, my friends, this is West Texas in the panhandle where 95 feels like 85 because there is no humidity and the wind is always blowing. It was perfect.

As some of you may know, Martin is in pharmacy school at Texas Tech. Texas Tech starts all pharmacy students in Amarillo, Texas, so many of Martin's friends are from West Texas. (As most of you may have noticed, I'm really terrible at at appropriate use of punctuation and capitalization, but I like to think of West Texas as something more than just a geographical location, but rather a lifestyle. So capitalized it is.) This couple happened to be from two very small towns in West Texas - Fritch and Synder. I remember Martin telling me that they would often have the "my small town is smaller than your small town" - how cute.

This couple is totally adorable. They are both very caring and considerate, both smart (pharmacists) and generally people who most other people want to be around. They had a long engagement, just like me and Martin, and I think that usually means that your wedding is a ton of fun because you are surrounded by people who love you so much and who have been waiting for that day almost as long as you have. (Not to discredit shorter engagements).

The ceremony and reception were at the Newton's home in Borger. It was a beautiful plantation style home that was perfect for a wedding. Now, I'm not the most outdoorsy, country person, but it wasn't like you stuck Rachel Zoe in the Amazon. I had a great time, despite my bug bites. I think if I were to do an outdoor wedding in the country, this is not far off from how I would do it. Beautiful.

I also had a great time hanging out with Martin's pharmacy school friends. It's so neat to see him interact with these friends, because I don't know them as well as his high school friends, naturally. Here are a few pictures from the night:

Oil Well Painting in the AmericInn Room where we stayed. Clearly in West Texas now, y'all.

The venue - perfect right!?

Ring Bearer

A monarch on the centerpiece

The preacher

The bride and her father

Love that husband of mine

Cake time!

Martin's arm candy

Garter toss

First Dance

Groom got "iced" a new frat-boy drinking came that infiltrated the wedding.

Lookin a little rough at the end of the night

The lovely couple

happily ever after :)

School starts again this week! Had a great time tonight with my lovely NewNT friends :)

Friday the 13th

2010-08-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I was doing my normal routine of listening to the Stuff You Should Know podcast and getting ready. I have all of their podcasts downloaded onto my phone and I listen to them on loop from oldest to newest. One of their older podcasts, from Thursday, February 12th 2009, came on and it was about Friday the 13th. Josh or Chuck opens with something like "if you are listening to this in real time, tomorrow is Friday the 13th"

I didn't really think much of it, but then it dawned on me that I was listen to an 18th month old podcast, but the following day was also going to be Friday the 13th - how crazy.

Things I like

2010-08-04T21:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a few things that I like in my life....

misspellings

study buddies

tail eaters

pharmacists

fringe

The Lost Symbol

2010-08-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

More like The Huge Letdown

So I really liked this book at the beginning and through the middle and even up until the end. I finished the book last night anticipating that I would love the ending and that this would be my favorite Dan Brown-Robert Langdon book, but it just fell flat. It was also extremely cheesy. I just didn't really like it at all.

I respect Dan Brown for all of the research he did for this book, but it should have and could have been so much better. I really liked the villain, but the ending was just bleh. I guess I would recommend it for people who are interested in a quick read, but be ready for a lack-luster ending.

Houston - the brew trip

2010-08-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

Went to Houston this weekend for my friend Joel's 24th birthday. Drove down with Martin and Matt for a fun-filled weekend in a city that I often criticize for being too humid and for having over-populated roads (actually, Dallas is just as bad in both regards).

Friday night, we went to see Predators. Yea, I know, why on earth would I want to see Predators? Well, it was for Joel, and that's really the only reason. I have not seen any predator related movies except for the very end of the first one when it was on TV and Martin insisted that I watch it. The whole mud Arnold part. There were several times where I thought about walking out of the theater, especially when the gang of crazies realized they weren't in any ol jungle hiding from weird alien like killing things, they were on another planet. It was cheese-fest 3000 for certain. But it was all for Joel, so I can't complain too much.

Saturday, we had lunch at this really cool pub (Red Lions Pub) and it had great traditional pub food and excellent indian food as well. I would definitely recommend the fish and chips or the chicken tikka marsala . so delicious. After lunch, we went to the St. Arnold's Brewery. This is such a cool place to and hang out on Saturdays in Houston. They have it set up that the second floor is a big open room with picnic tables, and people just bring in food and coolers and have a great time. I think its open from 11-3 or so, and it's only $7 for four glass of beer and a 30 minute tour. Definitely worth your $7, and they have free root beer. Oh and you get a free glass!

After beer, we went to the Houston Astros game against the Brewers (see, such a brew-tastic weekend). The Astros won, which was exciting, but what was even more exciting was that their stadium is indoors! This is amazing. It was so hot on Saturday, but thank goodness for that stadium. We also had great seats. Just a very enjoyable baseball experience. And there were free bobble heads, but I didn't get one because I'm trying to get things that will just collect dust in my house.

After the game, we tried to find a place to get food. A mexican restaurant that was supposed to be pretty good had a 40 minute wait, and our back up bbq place was closed, so we just ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings and watched the end of the Rangers game.

Sunday morning, we had breakfast at House of Pies. This place was my favorite. Great diner food, great music, great atmosphere. The waitresses wore the typical diner outfits, and there were even two cops eating breakfast at a table next to us. It was perfect.

And it only took us four hours to get home. :)

Here's some pics!

Summer School Free Summer

2010-07-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

Until August 26th, I'm free from school, so I am doing a lot of traveling on the weekends. I'm going to Houston this weekend, Norman in August, and the highly sophisticated Borger, TX also in August for a wedding. I'm pretty excited, and I'm looking forward to a more entertaining pace.

FML again

2010-07-28T10:29:00.001-07:00

Summer school is over, so no longer the damper on my life, but I came back to work today and I realized how unhappy I am here. What to do when you're stuck in a job you don't like?

FML

2010-07-26T13:22:00.001-07:00

I hate summer school.

two movies, one day = kirsten's brain dead

2010-07-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

bleeehhhhhhhh

i definitely can't handle two intense movies in one day. especially since one was in another language.

but everyone go see 'inception'

Guilty Pleasures

2010-07-21T11:48:00.000-07:00

One of my dear friends has started a wonderful blog about something everyone shares...guilty pleasures. I have quite a few, and I thought I would share just a couple.

First, I love all of the Real Housewives of (insert city here) on Bravo. I love Orange County, I love New York, I love Atlanta, and of course, I live for New Jersey. I know, I know. I'm ashamed. I even record these shows - which, unfortunately, brings it to a whole new level of sad and pathetic. But I love it. I love the drama, I love the characters, I love the ridiculous spending, and I love the fabulousness. It's my inner gay man coming out in full force (he also loves cher, lady gaga, and of course kathy griffin) I really love any show on bravo, including the good ones, Top Chef and Kathy, but also Rachel Zoe project, Flipping Out, and some others that didn't make it, like the Paula Abdul show. I'm so excited for RHODC! I just love it.

Second, I like pop music. Now, for the most part, I listen to NPR religiously. But sometimes I need a break, and I typically fill it with Katy Perry, Ke$ha, and whatever nonsense pop music is on the radio. I'm not proud of this, and I try not to love it so much. It's just so catchy and infectious.

I am also becoming obsessed with blogs like crapatmyparentshouse.com, dealbreaker, and toobigforstroller.

You should check out my friends blog about her guilty pleasures, http://guiltybliss.blogspot.com/

Small worlds

2010-07-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

I just clicked on a blog of note, and there was a picture of a guy who I went to high school with on the front cover. I was so shocked. Here's my inner monologue "I know that person, is he famous, how do I know him, oh my god, he went to my high school!"

So I immediately looked him up on facebook, and there he was. So weird. The world is so small - too small.

the millennium series

2010-07-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

so I've started reading The Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson. I just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I am debating whether or not I want to start the second book (The Girl who Played with Fire) today.

I kind of puttered along while reading this book until I got to the part where you just can't stop. I hit that part at around midnight last night and was up until 6:30 and had to finally put it down with about 30 pages remaining, mainly tying up loose ends and setting the stage for book two. I know that this series is extremely popular, so I think I'm going to start allowing my obsession run rampant. I have to thank several of my roommates (mainly Gigi and Martin) for being so inquisitive. I definitely think that it has rubbed off on me in a good way and I like researching and finding out information.

Also, it's really hot today. July in Texas, blech.

My Boys

2010-07-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

I took off yesterday and today to recover partially from my exam and to hang out to have the cable fixed. This gave me a lot of time with my kitty cat Henley and just time around the house to myself.

I'm fairly content with life right now, and I love Martin and our kitty cat Henley, and I wonder to myself why people are in such a hurry to have kids. Everything we do is so much more easy because we don't have kids. Tonight, we went on an impromptu trip to IKEA, which would have been impossible with children. I'm fine, for right now and at least the next 5 years, with my furry friend and my buddy/hubby and no little ones. And I'm pretty materialistic and I like to spend money on things for me and martin.

lazy tuesday

2010-07-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

I just really love looking through photos. :)

I had my test yesterday and woo it was a brain buster. I am a little annoyed for a number of reasons. First, it sucks having a test the day after July 4th, and it really sucks when a professor gives out a pretty big review and then deviates from that review. I know I have it pretty good with this grad program I'm in, because it's pretty dang easy, but c'mon! It's summer, it's the day after July 4th, I spent my whole weekend working on this huge review, and last minute you change it up. What a trixster.

In other news, I'm off today, so I'm being lazy and just doing what I want, which so far has been playing scrabble with a computer and watching bravo.

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

UGH. Who schedules a midterm on July 5th? My weekend officially is no fun because of two things, 1. Constant Rain and general gross weather and 2. This govt. finance midterm that is looming over my head. Now if it were an exam that I could easily blow off, I would be at Kaboom Town in Addison, but no, I'm here with my cat looking through my municipal bond and banking services books. How freaking lame.

Also, Martin went to go hang out with his friends, so I really am all alone with my cat and my books.

Boo.

Half a Year

2010-07-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! Martin and I have been married for a whole stinkin half of a year!

We finally got the professional pictures of our wedding a few weeks ago, and even though we've been living in our house for 5 months, it is still not finished. In fact, this is the first time ever that I have used my desk. (I didn't have a desk until June) I read somewhere in a wedding-postwedding website or magazine, that your house is a continual work-in-progress, and that has definitely eased my mind about how our place is still unorganized and we still have tons of little projects to do.

I do love our house, especially when it's pretty clean like it is right now.

Also, I'm procrastinating and listening to SYSK. Boo midterm on July 5th.

Monday Monday and Tuesday Tuesday

2010-06-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

Some of my good college friends started a private blog so that we can share what we have been up to lately with each other, so I've had to keep up with two separate blogs, which is apparently a little too much for me to do.

A storm came in yesterday evening, and it has turned DFW into a humid mess. Humidity is curly hair's kryptonite, so I'm looking a little crazy this morning. Tuesdays are already sluggish for me, as a result of my marathon mondays (work plus 4 hour class = sluggish tuesdays), but the rain is not helping.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1VRyQX/www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf
check this out - its so cool!

back in a texas state of mind

2010-06-07T14:01:00.000-07:00

So here I am, back in Dallas/Denton from DC and I wish I could go back but transplant martin, my cheap house, and my cat. I LOVED DC! It was so much fun and so amazing. I'm blogging on a private blog with some of my college roommates, and I did a much better job of describing my trip than I could do right now (at work...), so I will just to a quick copy/paste. I hope my loyal audience doesn't feel slighted :)

Here starts the copied info:
I am back from DC, I got in on Saturday AM and I have just been relaxing with Martin and trying to do all of the laundry that I had from DC (and the laundry he didn't do while I was gone). I went swimming today at Martin's mom's house with Kristen and Gabriella. Martin and Kyle played baseball. Martin was subbing for someone on Kyle's 30+ year old team even though he's 24 and the last time he played baseball was 1998. I tried to lay out because I have a crazy tan line on my leg from putting my feet in a fountain at the Smithsonian (basically its a line between tan and albino right around my knee).

DC was really amazing. I think the neatest thing about DC is realizing that all of the things you see in US history textbooks actually do exist in this magical city. I also really love calling DC "the district" because it sounds mysterious and like something locals might say. I tried as much as possible to do as the locals do, such as eat at local restaurants and look the least like a tourist. I would definitely recommend everyone visit DC, but be wary of visiting during Memorial Day. I would almost rename that time in DC "Attack of the Pre-teens." Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen so many 8th graders in my entire life. And boy, they were so annoying. I did derive a little pleasure from laughing as some of their awkward hair and bad fashion - matching neon-colored school tshirts, but I would not have missed them if they had stayed at their respective homes. The weather was a little stifling as well. It is so humid that by the time I would walk to the metro station, my straightened hair had curled up into 1950s-esque coif. Most days it looked okay, but some days it was a hot ass mess.

I stayed in a hostel during the trip for a couple of reasons. The most primary reason was that I went a few days early and didn't want to transfer my belongings to the GWU dorms that the rest of my classmates stayed in. Also, they stayed in empty dorm rooms that were an extra $20 per night than my hostel. I stayed in a 10 girl room, which actually wasn't that bad. It was really spacious, we had no snorers, and I met some pretty cool people (and some crazies, too). My friend Skylar and I were in the same room, and we met this cool girl from Australia who is working as a graphic designer in NYC and she was only 21. Kind of makes me jealous when younger people are already established, and I am still trying to figure out what I want to do. There was also this really cute, older Korean woman who stayed in our room. She spoke very little English and she would say some really hilarious stuff, but I don't think it would translate, kind of you had to be there experience. The hostel was also great because it was centrally located and served free breakfast.

The trip was really fun. It was for a class, but we only had about 3 days of class-related activities. My professor could be described as unorganized and generally confused about life, so I was frustrated with some aspects of the trip, but it's easy to get over frustrations when you are surrounded by such a cool city. When Skylar and I got to the district on Wednesday, we immediately went to the American History Smithsonian. The best part was the First Lady's exhibit. I felt a little conflicted for liking it so much, since the exhibit barely focused on the work of the First Lady's and more on their fashion sense, but I just can't help admiring inaugural dresses from throughout administrations. Michelle Obama has pretty big feet, btw.

I think it would take me another 2 hours to go through the details of my trip, so I'll give you a run down in list form (of course) and I'll try to upload some photos:

Wednesday:

Arrive, drop stuff off at Hostel

American History Museum

Tour of Georgetown (Saw the last house JFK lived in, the campus, the exorcist house and stairs)

Thursday:

Tour of NPR - extremely cool, definitely one of the best parts of the trip

Ford's Theater and House where Lincoln Died

Drinks with International friends we met at the hostel

Friday:

Mt. Vernon

Dinner in Dupont Circle at Raku where I was racially profiled. First, they gave me a fork instead of chopsticks and then my curry was so bland I could have used it as contact solution.

Saturday:

Eastern Market

Postal Museum

Dinner with the rest of our class near the monuments

Capitol Steps - a Saturday Night Live type show which wasn't very funny

Lincoln Memorial at Night

Sunday:

Tour of Memorials and Monuments

Natural History Smithsonian

Sleep - I was not feel well that day and ended up sleeping for about 15 hours.

Monday:

Arlington Cemetery - heard Biden's memorial day address, saw the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, JFK's grave and eternal flame, and the Robert E. Lee House which has the best view of DC.

Dinner at Captain White's Fish Market on the Wharf

Air and Space Smithsonian

Tuesday:

Class Meetings: Government Accountability Office (GAO), Department of Homeland Security - USVISIT, State Department - Educational and Cultural Office

Dinner at 701 followed by outdoor performance of the Navy Band

Wednesday:

Class Meetings: Food and Drug Administration - Office of Regulatory Affairs and the Pentagon for Department of Defense.

Drinks in Adams-Morgan and some jumbo slice, then dinner at Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street

Thursday:

Class Meetings: Fannie Mae (biggest waste of time and money) and TXRep Mike Burgess on the hill.

Tour of the Capitol and Supreme Court

Drinks and dinner on U Street. Went to this cool bar called the Saloon, which is also a 501 C 3 NonProfit

Friday:

Holocaust Museum

National Portrait Gallery

Dinner with Martin's Brother Justin, Ashley and Riley at this cool salad place called Chop't

Packing and I left at 6 AM on Saturday morning.

I'll upload pics in a separate blog post, but tomorrow I have to go back to work (not looking forward to that at all) and I am also starting my summer class - Financial Accountability in Government which has required texts with exciting titles such as "Everything A Public Manager Needs to know about Municipal Bonds" so it should be a really exciting class :/
End of copied post.

Now that it's summer, I'll try to be a better blogger. No promises people!

With love,

Kirsten

It has no end

2010-05-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

Another semester complete! This news, of course, means that it is SUMMERTIME!

Granted, I will still be taking classes and working, but there is something about summer that is just so magical! I love being in school for that reason, that the transition from may to june actually means something.

I can't help but think about last year, and where I was at in my life. It's amazing to me that so much can change in a year, but can also stay the same. I also cannot help but think about all of my friends who went through that huge change with me last year, and those who are going through it this year. I just remember having so many mixed emotions, and it definitely was bittersweet.

I am, however, very happy right now :) I'm just a little nervous that I have to experience it all over again in just one year.

Podcasting

2010-05-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

I've recently discovered podcasting, I know I'm lame, and I have all of my fav public radio podcasts downloaded. So cool.

I'm trying to figure out what to do for my birthday. I feel like I'm not very good about planning parties any more, so I'm planning a week of festivities.

Day two of procrastination

2010-05-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Made some progress on the paper, but mostly procrastinated.

I painted my nails one of those trendy nude colors, and I like them, but I still think they are a little old lady looking. I wish that I had better style. I think it would be nice to have a signature style, rather than just following trends. I think that's what I try to do when I buy clothes, but I'm not very good at it. I just wish I were one of those people who were always put together.

I have this great tv channel that plays Monk reruns. I love Monk because its a great show to study to because you don't really have to pay attention to it, but this channel plays the worst commercials. Oh well, I guess I could just watch less tv. I watched virtually no tv when I lived in the sorority house, but now I feel like that is all that I do. Probably not healthy.

Oh Dang.

2010-05-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

It's that time again - the end of the semester, where I do just about anything to procrastinate finishing my papers or studying for finals. I'm thankful though that I typically manage to do pretty well on midterms while I am still pumped about learning and school. Right about now, I wish I were on some island without a care in the world.

But alas I am at Panera Bread, listening to terrible smooth jazz, and trying to put words on paper (of course, by paper I mean, computer screen). Why Panera, do you play such terrible music? A question left to the philosophers I'm sure.

I realize the major gap in my latest blog post, but listen, I had a wedding which resulted in a marriage, which come to find out consumes a lot of your time. Wedding went well, marriage is dandy, but moving is a bitch, and renovating is even more of a bitch, like a super bitch mean girl. So now that moving is pretty much done, my life can return to normal, and thus I can blog about my thoughts again.

My current thoughts are future-focused. I can't wait until these next few days are done! I have so much to look forward to, and all that stands in my way is 15 pages about Highland Park, take home final about HR, statistics exam, and a budget exam. What stands on the other side of that metaphorical door is quite glorious. I can't wait for summer - it will be so spectacular! I just want to make plans and do so many fun things, so call me and let me pencil you in on the ol' calendar!

title credits go to skylar whose vernacular has infiltrated mine.

in timeout

2009-11-24T01:22:00.000-08:00

i'm a bad blogger...

Hugs

2009-10-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

The weirdest thing about my new school and my new school friends is the absence of hugs. I'm so used to my loving sorority sisters and my CAC family, both were very generous with the hugs. We just aren't there yet here at UNT, but we need to get that way. I need to fill my hug quotient each day and its not happening.

Numbers

2009-10-18T18:47:00.001-07:00

I'm freaking out. I wish that my mom wouldn't invite so many people to my wedding. Our venue seats 200 people for the ceremony, and we are inviting 300. Stupid Stupid Stupid.

Groomed.

2009-10-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

I love grooming. As my roommates can attest, I can spend hours in front of my make-up mirror, plucking my eye brows and inspecting every freckle on my face. I love my morning make-up routine, and I enjoy styling my hair, even shaving my legs. But nothing compares to a day at the hair salon.

Today, I had my hair cut, colored, and styled. I love it. I love fresh color and a fresh cut. I feel rejuvenated and well, fresh. I don't (think) I feel any guilt for this indulgence, because it's such a huge boost to my inner self. The next best thing to grooming, is getting compliments about said grooming. :)

I think I'm bad at blogging because my thoughts are so fleeting. I'm extremely disorganized for my readers - if there are any - and for that I apologize.

I really want to move. I feel like I can't settle here because I know that I'm about to leave.

Back to grooming (see what I mean - I'm scatterbrained to the extreme), I love painting my nails, and having my nails painted. I love to buy nail polish too, so I collect it and never use it. I've started to paint my nails once a week, and as anyone would do, I document my color in my planner. It's a good system, and I think I should keep it up.

Oh my gosh, pandora is amazing.

Bed time..

On edge

2009-10-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

Damn it. I'm so angry with the people who took my things. First, because they took my things. Second, because I can't sleep in my house by myself. And third, I did nothing productive last weekend and I blame them.

So they stole my things, my peace of mind, and my productivity. Grrr.

Went to the state fair today (very productive). It was a lot of fun. Always a good time. Getting my hair cut tomorrow. I can't wait :)

I have a lot to do this weekend and this week. When I start to think about it all, it overwhelms me. I need to sleep before I start getting a headache.

Love and Boomer Sooner (Texas game tomorrow)

Kiki

Sweet Dreams

2009-10-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

I'm having the weirdest dreams this week. The latent content of my subconscious is going crazy. And I apparently can't keep up with blogging everyday. Will do better. :)

Everyday?

2009-10-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

Is it possible for me to update my blog everyday? I have a darling friend who is doing just that, and although her life is much more exciting than mine, I'm interested in her silly little day to day things, so maybe someone will be interested in mine.

I'm still missing my things. I always feel guilty for having so many things, but I still want more things. I need to learn to let go of my possessions before they completely possess me.

I need a hair cut and color. I want something kind of drastic.

Question for the evening: Are Ticonderoga pencils really the world's best? We'll see.

Theft

2009-10-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

On Friday night, my school bag was stolen out of my car. In addition to the cost of a new window, I have to replace all of my belongings now, some of which are irreplaceable like notes, planner information, etc.

The most frustrating part is that my productivity has been halted because I'm missing so much of my school stuff. I am thankful, however, that my phone, keys and wallet were not stolen.

I also keep remembering more things that were in that bag. uggggggh.

I'm the most angry with myself. I had prewarning of this too, because a month ago a few things were taken out of my car when I had left it unlocked. I just was so tired that night and I guess too trusting of people.

It just makes me so angry, because what is so valuable to me isn't the stuff that criminals can make money off of. I hope karma gets them

ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-08-25T01:39:00.000-07:00

It has been quite some time since my last update.

I can't sleep, because tomorrow is my first day at my new job, and naturally I'm anxious, and I have consumed far too many coke zeroes to sleep.

I have so many new adventures and opportunities coming my way. I start working at UNT's leadership and volunteer office as a graduate assistant tomorrow. I'm slightly nervous because I don't really know what I'm doing, and I think that my position is underdeveloped. Unfortunately for me, this lack of substance to my position means more work for me.

Wedding plans are coming along. I still feel very overwhelmed most of the time, but according to my knot checklist, I'm doing okay. I need to be more on top of things, but I've been worthless for the last month.

I'm living at home with my parents, currently, and hating it. I had no idea it would be so bad, but it is. It is painful. It's like I slip into a blackhole, and I'm teleported into an alternate reality. I don't feel like an adult; I don't feel self-sufficient; I feel a little bit stuck. But on the brighter side of things, I am enjoying the DVR and copious amount of cable channels.

God bless Martin. He is a saint for putting up with me. I'm a huge pain in the ass, but thank god he has some patience.

My school starts in a week, so obviously, that is not at the forefront of my mind. I'm taking 12 hours, 2 core classes, one elective, and I'm prepping for my internship. I think everything will workout well this semester and I'm eager to start working on stuff, and getting involved. It's so nice to have a clean slate, and an opportunity to do great things.

I'm pumped for these next few months. I have a lot to look forward to - marrying my darling dear, moving away from my crazy parentals, learning about public administration, and settling into adulthood.

Time to clean or organize something else...

Big Families

2009-05-28T01:27:00.000-07:00

Stupid TLC. Who wants to read books when you could watch television about abnormally large families? Who wants to read with the internet for that matter?

Families first, internet later.

Even qualifying families like Jon and Kate and the Dugger's as "abnormally large" is probably incorrect. What makes these families abnormal? Is it the number of children, is it how those children came to be. Both families are larger than average which I'm guessing in America is around 2, maybe like 2.3 or something. So these families are large, but are they abnormal?

Not too long ago in America's history, families were larger, and parents had more children. But I think the interesting distinction between the two families is how the children came to be, and assessing whether or not that is abnormal. I hear all the time people ragging on the Dugger's for the nonconventional beliefs about birth control, hence their 18 children.

As I started watching their show more, I started to like them a lot more, however. With Jon and Kate, the opposite has started to happen. This is a little radical, and probably not very progressive, and I'm certainly not saying that my opinion is right or wrong, its just kind of what I'm thinking in the moment. But to me, the Duggar situation (having 18 children - the "old fashioned way") is more normal than Jon and Kate (fertilization treatments to have 8 children, 6 at one time).

Let me say first, before I get in trouble, that it is a miracle to deliver 6 healthy multiples, and I certainly undertand that. But maybe fertilization treatments are bypassing certain evolutionary or supernatural roadblocks to having children. I think the crux of my argument (and as dumbed-down and simple as I can say it) is that couples who cannot conceive children naturally may not have been destined to conceive children naturally. Certainly, I think all couples, gay or straight, should have children if they will raise them in a loving home. But it is not evolutionarily salient for some. I'm not going to say that infertile couples, or homosexual couples should not be allowed to have children through the advances of medicine in our day and age, because it is not my place to make such a judgment call (and it's not the government's either).

I believe in individual freedom, and multiple births as a result of fertilization treatments does not infringe on my individual freedom so I really don't have a problem with it. My main reason for bringing up this point is really to go back to the Dugger's. The more I watch them, the more I am charmed by Michelle and Jim Bob. I don't think nicer people exist; I really think that they are pretty great people and definitely better parents of 18 children that I could ever be. I grew more conflicted the more I watched them and the more I liked them, however, because my instant, gut reaction to them is frankly - it is not normal to have that many children. I began to qualify my statement by saying that Jon and Kate were normal - not true.

So I've come to this conclusion that I can't define normal, and no one really can. The definition of the family is inexistant - how can we define something like family in our day and age? Family can only be defined by it's environment, not by its characters. It is about love, development, and growth, not about number of children, number of parents, number of grandparents, etc.

I am thankful for this realization, and for the wonders of electronic media, as I type on my laptop, using the internet, writing about television programs about real families.

Words on Pages

2009-05-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

Every summer I try to read a bunch, but always fail...

So I'm really going to try to read!

Here's my list so far...
The Midnight Disease
City of Thieves
Murder on the Orient Express
1984
Poisonwood Bible
The Science of God
The Picture of Dorian Grey
In Cold Blood
Atonement
The Blind Watchman
Virgin Suicides
The Devil in the White City

I also have a reading list from one of my professors!

Lots and lots of reading is in my future!

familiar

2009-05-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

Change is obviously the scariest part about graduation, but I think too, as a part of that change, the loss of familiarity is the hardest part. Today, as I was walking around campus, while it was still quite majestic, nothing was novel. I knew where everything was, and I knew a little bit about everything I had seen. I even ran into at least 15 people I know in a 4 hour span. I love the community I've joined by attending the University of Oklahoma, and that I don't want to leave. I am so thankful, however, that it will always be a part of me, and that as I leave this community, I get to join another community, wherever that may be.

I don't want to lose the familiar, but I'm excited to create a new familiar too...

Twitter

2009-05-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

So I've been microblogging on my twitter, thus ignoring my real blog.

Graduating in 11 days, turning 22 in 13 days, moving out of my house for the last three years in 12 days, getting married in less than 250 days.

I think I'm slowly, meandering on some trail. I think I'm okay with that, and I'm going to keep moving forward, because things will never look up unless you start to move forward.

Life is good.

how to reconcile

2009-04-08T23:43:00.000-07:00

step one...

um, yea.

So that question has been on my mind in multiple capacities in my most recent history. How do I reconcile my own life and the huge change I am undertaking (graduating, moving on to the next thing, marriage, etc.) How do I reconcile America, and all of my thoughts about it? How do I reconcile my classes and coursework? I don't mean just getting stuff done - I mean how do I begin to think about things.

I feel out of my element, out of my context, out of my body. I...I....I... just don't know about anything anymore, but at the same time I have new-to-me ideas about everything.

I'm in such a pickle, but a stimulating one. I'm trying to put a evaluative designation on something that I can't even comprehend - so I have no idea if it's good or bad. I can't catalogue it. I can't even articulate it.

Bah. Too much time in my head.

Less Brain - More Gut, and my gut is telling me to sleep.

failblog

2009-03-21T22:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't actually been to that website, but I feel kind of like a failure right now.

It is the end of spring break, which for most people means the beginning to the end of the semester, because everything i just downhill from here. I don't have too much left, a handful of tests, a term paper, and some finals - and then its over.

My formal education is pretty much done, as far as right now.

I've done a whole lot of nothing with my future, aside from my upcoming nuptials. I have no real plans for more education, and no real plans for employment. I'm totally screwed at this point, and I'm having a really hard time getting motivated to look for options and opportunities.

I'm going to work on my resumes and all that jazz, and hopefully figure out what to do with my life. I'm not a screw up, just a college educated middle class white girl with little direction, and a lot of wandering to do.

Bleh.

Norman

2009-03-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

I miss you.

Yesterday was totally bipolar. I had a cavity filled, and I had a fender bender. But then, I got to hang out with some of my favorite peoples :)

I'm ready to go home though. I feel like a real person in Norman, and here I feel like a slug. I need my schedule back.

I wanna go home...

2009-03-16T00:37:00.000-07:00

I love being home.

I think I've lost a sense of myself sometimes. I've lost that ability to enjoy life for the little things. I think that my parents are experts at that. They love the little things about life, and still get excited about them. I love being home so I can be around that all the time. I like being home because it gives me perspective. I think I've lost a little bit of that as well. I admire my family so much for who they are, and what they do.

It's good to be home.

Miseducation of Kirsten Brinlee

2009-03-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

After May 16th, I will be unemployed by my employer of the last 18 years of my life - school.

It's frightening. I've always gone back to school come August, and there is not any certainty that I could be in school after August. I love school and I want to continue, but I just don't know if that's exactly what I want. I might want to go back next Spring after I'm a settled, married woman.

But I have a short term solution. I've always felt as though I'm not as well read as I should be, so I'm going to ask my professors to give me a reading list of their favorite authors/books. I hope this proves to be successful, and that I can indeed muster enough courage to actually ask.

So bookstore gift certificates would be a great graduation gift :)

HEAT

2009-02-25T23:12:00.000-08:00

There is something about being in a hot room that makes people on edge. This is not a good situation, and could potentially lead to the perfect storm.

I'm regretfully going to sleep, when I know I should keep working to get everything done. *sigh*

karma and luck

2009-02-23T21:08:00.000-08:00

I love studying, contemplating, and pondering the interactions in life. Today I was especially chewing on the idea of fate and free will. I think there is a destined plan, road map, etc for my life, but I also think that there are many paths I get to choose. I believe very much in generating my own luck, and my own good karma, and I've been reaping the benefits of those this week. Even though I think I am slightly skeptical of altruism in it's purest form, I try my best to do the right thing whenever and wherever I can.

One of the most demonstrative situations in my life is my relationship with Martin. I feel so overwhelmingly lucky to have such a wonderful fiance and future husband. He is so expressive of his love for me, and genuinely cares about the huge life change that we are undergoing together. We are really a team, in everything we do, from major life decisions to making dinner on a Sunday evening. I'm also lucky that he chooses to spoil me :) Even though I don't buy him presents all the time, I feel like I spoil him with my love as much as I can. My love cup overflows for him, and he's my lobster. It's for these reasons, that I am one of the luckiest girls ever.

attitude

2009-02-21T08:36:00.000-08:00

When life comes down to the wire, it is all about attitude. I tend to be a rather stupidly optimistic person, but I'm typically happy. I try really hard to be positive, and to make my own luck. I've experienced several scenarios in the last few weeks where this has proven true, so I will continue on my path of positivity and determination.

trust and light bulbs

2009-02-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

I think I can be too trusting sometimes. Often I will leave my things about in the open while I go do something else.

But what is really important about this blog entry, is that I am having all sorts of ah-ha moments, and light bulbs going off this year and I love it!

Why I study the humanities...

2009-01-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

and

postsecret.blogspot.com

I think it is so fascinating the commonalities between humans, and how we are all connected through our secrets and our fears, and also through music.

Just fills up my bucket!

curiouser and curiouser

2009-01-24T21:18:00.001-08:00

I can't quite articulate what kind of a mood I've been in this week. I think focused might be a good word, and possibly cold. I think I'm trying too hard to get to the next step, and not taking the time to smell the roses.

Also, it is extremely difficult to type with bandaids on your fingers. Ugh.

thank goodness for good friends and good beer

2009-01-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

So what is the blog symbol thing? Is it a B or is it a modern interpretation of a packman? Okay I suppose its a B but its weird looking.

This semester is going to kick my butt, but I think I'm ready for it. I just need to be on my a-game for sure, and try not to procrastinate as much.

My goal for tonight is to get organized and ready for Tuesday.

okay, triple post day

2009-01-14T09:45:00.000-08:00

Wedding Venue :) oldred.org

it's a double blog day

2009-01-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

Thank God for Dr. Fears. Even though I got a B in his class, I learned so much that my experience in his class is priceless. (And I get to have him for class next semester too)

Last weekend, I got my writing score for the GRE, and I totally kicked ass. I give Dr. Fears credit for my awesome score, because I was able to use knowledge I've learned from him on the writing portion. So thank you Dr. Fears for brainwashing me to think like you.

crime drama

2009-01-14T09:33:00.001-08:00

So over the break, I've been able to watch lots of television. I can't watch tv during the semester, mainly because I am busier than a worker bee, but also because I live in a house of 70 other people, who like to watch tv too. Also, tv watching is something I do with only my close friends, or by myself. It's not something I like to do with acquaintances or just friends, or in large groups of people, because its awkward. And I don't have cable in my room.

So anyway I've spent my break with CSI Miami, and Las Vegas (the occasional New York, that is if nothing else is on), NCIS (one of my favs), Law and Order Original and SVU (no CI here). It's just absolutely wonderful. I will throw in the occasional What Not to Wear or Jon and Kate Plus 8, which I love as well.

I wish I had time to watch all of this TV during the semester. I wish I had idle time like this, but I am thankful that I will be making money and learning and all of that fun stuff. I will miss my shows and my characters.

stretching to the limit

2009-01-13T19:14:00.000-08:00

can I actually wake up at 5:30 every morning, and go to bed every night at 10:30?

reflecting

2009-01-06T23:32:00.000-08:00

So as I am getting ready for bed, after too much tv and loafing, and I started thinking about my spring break plans. My family and I are going back to Maui, and I'm really looking forward to the trip. Hopefully Martin will be able to go with us, and it should just be a lot of fun. I was also thinking about how 5 years ago, we were also in Maui during spring break and that's when the war started.

That thought branched into a multitude of other thoughts. I was thinking about how long we waited in line to get on our plane home, and how I didn't think it would last as long as 5 whole years.

Then I started thinking about how telling war periods are. The explain and demonstrate so much of the moment, the people, the culture, the environment, of their time. I wonder what this war will say about us? Is this war even about us? How does it demonstrate ideas of freedom, justice, despotism, liberties, responsibilities etc?

I think history is really fascinating. I wonder if wars tell history, or is history can only be told through times of war and peace, as if they were years or something to that affect. I mean all of my history classes have been marked by at least one war, whether it was the American Civil War, the French Revolution, WW1, WW2, The Peloponnesian War, etc.

I must be reminded, also, as I study and think about war and history, that it results in a greater good, and a better understanding of human nature. I love what Dr. Fears says about history and that we study history to learn from our past to live appropriately in the present and plan for the future. I don't mean to say that having war is a good thing. I just mean that as humanity, we manage to pick up the pieces after a conflict and move on to be greater. War may not be the only impetus for improvement, but if wars continue to happen, then we must rebuild and carry on.

To conclude my ramblings, I love how my education connects itself. I also am inspired by humanity and its ability to be resilient.

money money money

2009-01-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

I spend too much frequently. I'm going to go buy another pair of shoes today I think, and I had a dream about shoe shopping.

I think shoes are my number one accessory love.

My newest obsession, and collection is perfume. I went from having one perfume, and body splash that came with my deodorant, to have 5 perfumes, and lots of body splash from Martin's Mom (Christmas).

Anyway, I need to stop acting like a child with my money, and start acting like an adult. So maybe I'll start being more diligent about putting money into my savings account each pay period, rather than just doing it whenever I remember.

new year

2009-01-02T16:42:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why, but I thought that 2009 would never come. Not in a dark, and depressing way, but it's strange to reflect on my life thus far. Hopefully this is roughly the first fourth of my life, and I think it's been pretty good. I really can't complain.

But as part of this new year, I think I'm going to start blogging. Perhaps blogging is slightly more rewarding than just typical social networking.

Anyway, I'm very content, and looking straight ahead to 2009 and all that it has to offer.