Can be so intimidating..

So much happened today and yet I have a little bit of writer's block. I've been staring at this blank box for quite some time now. I'd love to go on and on about how nice it was to just spend time with my friends, how it is totally scary and delightful to see one of my oldest friends in a wedding dress (has to have the veil or the effect isn't complete) or how it's weird to walk down the street on a beautiful spring day and see snow on the ground only to find out Aniston and Vaughn are back in town re-filming scenes and we stumbled upon the shoot. I am in a good mood from the day. But I don't feel like rehashing anymore than that.

I do feel like saying that this really.....

I don't know what to say. I could get into a whole discussion about how being religious has absolutely nothing to do with your level of morality. I could say that it's really wonderful to know that I am threatening this country with my cultural elitism and rampant materialism. Since those are clearly only things that people who "have no God" are inflicting on the country. Oh, and don't forget my criminal behavior. I wonder, truly wonder, how many people who commit heinous crimes believe in God. Because I tend to think that number would be high. And I can't decide what the friend who posted this article really feels about it. And that maybe makes me feel worst of all...because while I have never, ever been afraid to vocalize my atheism, I also have always assumed that my friends were OK with it.

Wasn't gonna do it...

My face is an embarrassment to all 24 year olds around the world. I look like a 13 year old who never learned how to properly clean/care for her face (the fact that I actually look really young just makes it 9,548 times worse). The only difference is that my most recent pimple is a mutant. I have never had an angrier, larger pimple. And I had a doozy a month or two ago.

I am not the kind of girl that normally cares about appearances...but it's like a beacon. I do not want to go out into the world with this pimple. And I have so much to do for the rest of the week: work, classes, friends in town, etc.

Plus, I got home from work today and there was a new pimple growing on my nose. What the fuck??

Damn you pores, damn you.

Observations on first days...

So, yesterday was my first day of school and I'll start there. My classes aren't going to be nearly as good as I thought. Plus, the one prof. that I thought might be cute is, but he wears a wedding ring. Now I just have to harbor a secret hope that he wears it to ward off all the frisky underclasswomen (and men). Yeah. Right.

My late class is going to be excrutiatingly long for a few reasons:

1. The professor is not a native english speaker and speaks very slowly (although easy to understand, he is picking out his words very carefully).
2. The room slowly climbed to about 97 degrees.
3. He wouldn't promise us a break every class meeting(3 hrs 15 minutes of class straight through...)
4. The kid that sat next to me not only had the nastiest ear wax mold (it was so crusty and old it looked faintly moldy) but he ate stinky cool ranch doritos when the room was at about 92 degrees...and it was like slogging through damp, hot, dorito breath for the rest of the class. Awful. I have a plan to avoid sitting next to him again.

In other firsts, today was my first day at the new job. And I got a delightful surprise (no sarcasm here) when I was told that my title is "student intern" and "data specialist." So now I have an internship on my resume! And I'm getting paid! I'm working 23 hours/week and they didn't really care that I already can't work on Thursday. Everyone seems nice and really laid back. My supervisor is fairly kick ass, I really think I'm going to like these people. Plus, to my utter delight, the database administrator is a woman! This is pretty neat considering that including me, 4 of the 40 people in my database class are women. I'll blog another time about what my actual duties include...I still am not 100% sure I know...

And I'll leave you with this juicy mental picture: you know how on TV they sometimes show people opening bags of chips and all the chips flying into the air and all over the place? And you think, that doesn't really happen...sure they spill on the floor sometimes, but they don't fly all over the place. Well...today at work, goldfish flew. Behind the computer, on the floor, all over the desk. Fairly embarrassing, but I am isolated in my little cubicle...so no one saw. Although they had to hear it: it sounded like little goldfish were raining down on my desk. It was also a neat little way to learn that I don't have a garbage can in my cube.

Bye-bye....

Good-bye spring break freedom. I'm feeling really cranky today. I have classes I think I'm going to like and a new job, and lots of fun things planned for the next few months....but I'm still cranky pants.

I spent my day today stuck to the couch watching a bajillion episodes of Freaks and Geeks. I do not regret this colossal waste of a day. I only regret that I do not have enough time to finish the whole series. I'm going to have to sprinkle out the rest of the episodes over the next week or two.

Really makes me want to re-watch My So-Called Life as well. Will have to do that sometime soon...

Trip to the vet...

Going to the vet is worse for me than going to the gynecologist. Every girl out there knows how dreaded that appointment is. And for me, even more so, because I have to sit and wonder/chant "is the pap normal? please be normal, please be normal".

But the vet...it's like knowingly going to meet the devil. Freaking vet. And I have to go back in at least 6 months because of distemper shots. I don't really want the cats to die because I dread getting them in their carriers and then watching them (or really just Boku) go through her own brand of torture. Strangers! Touching her!

In other news: there is such a thing as cat asthma. And the vet thinks Boku has a mild version. I have a cat with asthma.

I'm going to go shower and try to forget that the vet exists.

A letter...

Dear OC -

You are stupid. And yet I keep tuning in. But only because I want to get on Adam Brody.

Katie

And...after that last bit I sort of want to get on that "bad boy" who is now Marissa's toy. I always had a weakness for men with short hair...

Spring break boredom...

I can't believe it's almost over. I can't believe I have to take the cats to the vet tomorrow (eeeekkk!). Hopefully there will be no "chase the cats around with a broom" stories...but just in case, you might want to check here tomorrow for cats vs. Katie hilarity.

In order to keep this blog current, and to wile away my time while I'm waiting for the carpet cleaners to pick up my rugs (covered in cat hair and just...dirtiness)...I'll pick one of the 2,321 meme's my sister has been posting lately (out of her boredom):

What time did you get up this morning? 8:30 ish....a bit earlier. It's just when I woke up..

Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds.

What was the last film you saw at the cinema? It's been SO long...I think Harry Potter?

What is your favorite TV show? Hmmm, I'm going to jump the gun and say Everwood. When it was new, and on months ago it would have been. And new episodes start Monday.

What did you have for breakfast? S'mores Granola Bar.

What is your middle name? Marie

What is your favorite cuisine? I can always eat Italian. Or Mexican. Or Indian.

What food do you dislike? Generally, anything that is good for me. Which is a problem.

What is your favorite potato chip? I'm more of a sweets person. I don't really eat chips...except tortilla chips.

What is your favorite CD at the moment? Yikes, I don't listen to CD's much. I had some fun with the Killers and Justin Timberlake on the way to/from Woodfield yesterday.

What kind of car do you drive? 2004 Infiniti G35

Favorite sandwich? BLT hands down. I eat maybe one other sandwich. I don't like sandwiches.

What characteristics do you despise? Dishonesty.

What are your favorite clothes? Mmmm, pajama pants?

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Right now I feel like I'd like a relaxing holiday, so I'll go with Hawaii again. But anywhere you want to send me, I'll take it.

What color is your bathroom? White and black.

Favorite brand of clothing? I don't care much for clothes.

Where would you want to retire to? Arizona.

Favorite time of day? Hmm, I like the afternoon....but I also like when a morning is productive.

Where were you born? IL

Favorite sport to watch? I don't watch any on TV...but in person, hockey.

Coke or Pepsi? I don't like carbonation and I don't drink caffeine. I basically drink water every day, every meal.

Are you a morning person or night owl? I like the morning....but I like to sleep too.

Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? I'm happier and more relaxed now that I have a job...but the job was introduced in the last post.

What did you want to be when you were little? Probably a vet? I don't know if I had aspirations....I remember playing grocery store and wanting to be the person that got to ring things up with the cool laser thingy...

What is a favorite childhood memory? Embarrassing Bernard. Long story.

What are the different jobs you have had in your life? book shelver, flower stem painter/silk flower slave, retail associate, receptionist/odd job girl, technical assistant, underwriting assistant and now...data specialist

Nicknames? I don't think I have many...Laurie (long story), Katrink, Kate

Any piercings? Ears

Eye color? Brown

Ever been to Africa? No.

Ever been toilet papering? I vaguely remember a long time ago thinking we were going to...I think I chickened out and stayed behind.

Been in a car accident? Yes. Both as a child and as an adult.

Favorite day of the week? Possibly...Thursday. I don't know, I made that up.

Favorite restaurant? There are many answers to this question, we should make it a list...favorite italian, american, indian etc. But that requires effort.

Favorite flower? I heart Irises.

Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Ummm, a store that has everything you could want...so a BIG Field's that also has a large home section.

Bedtime? Ever changing...I think I got in bed around 10:30ish...and read for awhile.

Last person(s) you went to dinner with? Had lunch with the mooj.

What are you listening to right now? Malcolm in the Middle.

Today I learned...

• That my teeth are prone to cavities because they are very groovy. They are all mini Grand Canyons. Apparently this is not normal, most people have fairly rounded and smooth molars. But how would I know that? I've always had these teeth. But...yay, I did not have any cavities today!
• I have a lot of old silver fillings (which in this day and age are obsolete) that will eventually need to be replaced. I have had dozens of cavities in my life, and getting them replaced is a major undertaking. We're waiting and watching now.
  
• As I was walking to the dentist, I saw two polling places within a block of my apartment. Hopefully, when I register to vote, the county is smart enough to put me in one of those voting places. Do not get into a tizzy because I am not registered here in Chicago. In 2004 I moved to Chicago the day after election day. So, I voted in the suburbs....and did not change my address in time for the primaries.
  
• I got a job!! I don't know if I told everybody I was looking or that I interviewed. I kept forgetting. But, I am now officially employed (let me look this up and get it right) as a Data Specialist in DePaul's Enrollment Management office. How exciting! I have no idea what they are going to pay me or what my hours are, but I feel some sense of relief and now I will have official computer experience. Plus, I know it's a M-F 9-5, so I still have my weekends. Now I have to find my SSN card (I know I had to get a new one for my last job...so what did I do with it....., Mom, any ideas?)...
  

Operation Deadbolt Update...

So the minute the repair person gets here, the freaking deadbolt starts working. I put in my key to demonstrate (I checked earlier this morning too in case it magically starting working and it wouldn't budge) and try to turn it once or twice and click, it starts working - this is my luck. So of course, repairman doesn't believe me, thinks I'm a stupid girl who doesn't know how to make the key work. I got a lecture on how not to panic when the key won't turn and how I should make sure it's the right key (um, duh?). I tried that deadbolt on multiple occasions. When I was calm. With the correct key. And it was flat stuck. He "sprayed" inside and claims now it's really "gliding" but I know this is going to happen again. And I'm going to hope it happens at 2pm on a day when the landlord's office is open. That way I can walk over there and explain.

Because if it happens again at night where I have to break in to my apartment, I might not be able without the help of a play program and a pharm student's skinny, yet strong arm.

I meme, you meme, we all meme for lack of anything better to do....

I think today is going to be wasted. I'm waiting (hopefully not in vain) for the handyman to come fix my lock. I want to be here so I can talk to him about the fact that this keeps happening and ask if my locks themselves need to be changed. I also would love to go to the grocery store and mail off a color book. But the locking of my front door seems a bit more important.

So...here's the meme:

Simple directions: use the shuffle function on your music player and see what you come up with in answer to the following questions.

How does the world see you?
Only in Dreams -- Weezer (apparently i'm irresistible)

Will I have a happy life?
Someday You Will Be Loved - Death Cab for Cutie

What do my friends really think of me?
Cilamarous Indie Rock and Roll - The Killers

Do people secretly lust after me?
Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake

How can I make myself happy?
You Got Me All Wrong - dios Malos. (I truly don't like this song and have no idea what it's about...)

What should I do with my life?
I Can't See New York - Tori Amos (this song is about Sept. 11th. What can that mean?)

Will I ever have children?
Lebanese Blond - Thievery Corporation

What is some good advice for me?
Under My Umbrella - Incubus (this is a really angry song. The main chorus is something like: if this is right, i'd rather be wrong...if this is sight I'd rather be blind. Um...?)

How will I be remembered?
Silent All These Years - Tori Amos

What is my signature dancing song?
Clocks - Coldplay.

What do I think my current theme song is?
Maybe I'm Amazed - Jem (um, NO)

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
The Good Fight - Dashboard Confessional

What song will play at my funeral?
Stolen Away on 55th & 3rd - DMB

What type of men/women do you like?
This Woman's Work - Maxwell

What is my day going to be like?
Requiem for O.M.M. - Of Montreal (?)

That's a weird meme.

What it was like to be an adult on 3/18/06...

I had to break in to my own apartment.

I'll only mention this one part of a long, otherwise fun and delightful day (although I will do a quick aside about seeing Wicked for the third time, with the third Elphaba. I still stick by my original Elphie as the best I've seen: Stephanie Block. I think this third one was as good as her replacement number: 3rd best. Gasteyer only just won out...she was better comedic wise and hit some of the notes a bit stronger).

We got home from the musical and my key will not work in my dead bolt. It goes in, but won't turn. It isn't wiggling even a little. The bottom lock opened like a charm...so I knew it wasn't the key. The dead bolt has crapped out (at least it crapped out while it was locked...and please note that this is the SECOND time this has happened to me). After letting one of the friends have a go, just in case...realized our only hope was to go in the back. One known obstacle: the screen door is latched and we'd have to rip it. The back walkway is gated. I now know how creepy it is at night. There is one stairwell that you have to walk by that is just pitch, pitch black. So the three of us were a little creeped out.

We get to my door and unknown obstacle number one presents itself: random dead bird laying face up right in front of my door. So...we have to do some fancy foot work to avoid the freaky, dead, seemingly unharmed and fallen from the sky bird. Genius that I am, I realize we can use a program to flip up the latch through a crack without breaking the screen (take note criminals, this is how you can break into my apartment). Known obstacle one is fixed. I unlock the door successfully and try to open the door...When I remember that I have a steel "door jam" thingy wedged under the door knob to prevent a break in. Unknown (although if I had a memory of any sort it should have been a known) obstacle #2. I totally damned myself in this situation with that door jammer. Anyway, we eventually got the pole out of the way (although I will not tell you criminals how to achieve that part of the whole fiasco).

The whole thing was only slightly funny...but mostly scary. What would have happened if I wasn't with a soon-to-be pharmacist and soon-to-be doctor....where combined we were hopefully smart enough to get through the maze of obstacles (although if the door were made of tougher stuff and the knob wasn't so loosey goosey there would have been NO WAY we would have gotten in...Which means what? A lock smith at 11 o'clock on a Saturday night?). I called the landlord today and hope that my work request is at the top of the stack tomorrow. If it's not fixed tomorrow you can bet I'm going to be calling again. What am I supposed to do? I guess leave through the back? But I don't want to come in that way late at night (or even when it's dark at all).

But when I think about it...

I was talking to my friend, Alex, the other day over some delicious samosas when I realized something. It's been with me for a few weeks. Slowly percolating. And bam, in one instant I voiced something which truly scares and excites me. During these next two years, everything is going to change. Life as I know it is going to change. Starting 1/2006.

Never have I felt it so keenly. I told Alex that on Monday. And on Friday it exploded in my face. Without going into further detail, I'll just say that for the first time I really feel like an adult. Even though I'm watching Harry Potter. But like Hermoine just said, everything's going to change now isn't it? Yes, I think it is.

Along that line, there has been a fairly interesting comment thread over on J's blog. It's starting (if it wasn't already) to get a little ugly. However, there is something that J's hubby said that truly saddens me. Something which I imagine he truly believes. It has nothing to do with politics (although the comments do). Here are two pieces of his epic comment: "A person really figures out who they are socially in their late teens and early twenties, after that they are going to be pretty set in their ways. For the most part what you are is what you are until you die." I am not anything like 16 year old Katie (socially, emotionally, physically, politically, sexually...you name it). I think my good friends can testify to that. And most, if not all of my friends are nothing like their 16 year old selves. I believe that in 8 more years, I will be nothing like 24 year old Katie. I will have the same friends, the same family...but I will have changed. Because life changes you. And if it doesn't, if you are truly static, that is sad. Without change, what is life? I like to think that all of my friends are dynamic. Changing with the world, not watching it all happen around us. Embrace change, embrace life.

Hope that wasn't too weird. Here's a thought that is not preachy or even really very serious at all: If people can't change then we would have no born-again Christians (or we would, but they would all be lying....which isn't very Christian, now is it?).

Quick procrastination post...

So you all know I have cats. One of them is a lamb, she's a lap cat and quite strange. The other is a hermit, she is afraid of people and is sometimes afraid I'll grab her/hit her (if you even question that I would, you clearly have no inkling of my huge, gooey soft spot for animals). I think part of the reason I started to waver on the baby thing...or why part of my no-baby fortitude slipped from the usual 100% is that I truly feel like I've had to work with this cat. Like I'm "raising" her. No, I am not a crazy cat lady who thinks my cats are my children. But...I might be a crazy cat lady because I am so attached to them.

Boku-hermit and I have recently had all manner of breakthroughs. First, she has started to walk under my legs when I have them propped up on the table. Big trust thing. Then she has started to let me walk over her - again, trust. But finally, I found the way to her little walled off cat heart through a cat brush. She loves it.

Sometimes I watch those animal cop shows on animal planet and leak a little (as in cry...but not full out cry, just leak). I don't know how or why you would every hurt an animal or leave them in terrible conditions. And Boku-hermit was obviously hurt. By humans. She's not afraid of other cats....she's afraid of people. She doesn't bite, she runs. So I can't imagine that she ever bit someone to instigate her being beaten. Who are these people?

Bad, bad bad...

That's how I feel, and have always felt about Desperate Housewives. I do not enjoy watching it and I think it is crap TV. Sometimes bad TV is good. Not so in this case.

I watch the show that comes before and the show that comes after...and I almost always end up watching Housewives and hating it. I need an 8pm show on Sunday. Any suggestions? And can I just say that on the show tonight those were possibly the worst TV bruises of all time. He was supposed to be bruised on his face and it sort of looked like someone rubbed ash all over him. Terrible. I could make a better fake bruise.

Update: P.S. - I always grapple with how to "stay alert" during a tornado watch when it goes until 4am. How does that work? Here is advice from one of my favorite websites: Conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form. Stay alert, and be prepared to seek shelter in the event that a warning is issued.

The best way to ruin a diet...

is to drop your Lean Cuisine pizza on the floor (after it's done cooking, right before you intend to eat it). After having a slight and very unattractive tantrum (this is not the first nor second time I have done this...those pizzas just slide off of a plate) I called up Lou's. It happens.

As for the diet: since I am such an unhealthy girl I have been doing fairly well with the low-cholesterol, low-fat diet. However, for the first time in my life, the pounds are not dropping off. In fact, I am struggling to lose anything at all. I had the best week ever this week (involving soy milk, lean cuisine and such) and I am the same. Makes you want to ruin the diet anyway. I almost bought donuts this morning. And then the pizza fell on the floor...

I am spending my Saturday night with the dunderhead project. Tomorrow I study for my Monday finals.