Here it goes-

Since I haven't updated in a million years...
So I made it to camp... a two day excursion totaling 15 hours instead of the seven estimated. We hit road construction, had to stay overnight in Bluefield, WVa at a skanky hotel with moldy cream cheese and smarmy construction dudes oggling at us, broke down on the side of the interstate on top of a 5% grade mountain where the semis that sped past almost inched the car forward, a trip in a tow truck to a garage that could fix Faith's car, a looong wait in a little town we still can't find on a map, a hail storm, traffic after a cement truck turned over, another hail storm- this one much worse, rush hour outside of Charlotte, and then finally a little girl flipping us off as her mother was exiting out of the "entrance only" way to the restaurant we were to meet the rest of the staff three hours before.

Being a counselor here in North Carolina has been an experience! First off this Christian summer camp is SUPPOSED to be ecumenical, meaning consisting of staff and campers from five Protestant denominations. But what this really means is 92% Baptist, 4% Methodist, 3% Presbyterian, and 1% Episcopal AND Lutheran. After two weeks of camp and over 500 campers plus 20 staff, I am the only representative of the Episcopal Church. It has been a real challenge. Some tears, some arguments, some time alone all by myself to deal with the overpowering force of raging evangelism, but I think people sort of get me now. I have learned alot so far.

As for being a counselor, it has been amazing! My mission site is a nursing home where I plan and do the activities for the residents whom I have grown to love. My first two weeks of campers have taken me aback by their outpouring of compassion for the elderly. The residents are a hoot... they believe I am between 12 and 14. I guess that's a compliment. They think it's adorable I have a boyfriend. "When are you getting married?" Whoa baby... such questions. I get hugs and kisses. I love it! Each Thursday though, in proper Passport tradition, my campers find me and throw the ceremonial water cooler contents on me. With the 90+ degree days, I can't complain much. This past Thursday, they went over the top, waiting until we got back to dump the cooler on me in the quad while all the rest of the campers circled around chanting! I love my campers!

The dance, rec parties, and variety shows have been so much fun. I get so competitive that I often times lose my voice after Monday night's rec party competition. The dance is always a blast. Gotta make sure there's no booty-dancing since this IS a Christian camp, but I get to dress up each Tuesday which is fun.

This past week's campers have been quite memorable. The boys taught me about the universal boy game "ball ball" or "the nuts game." By the end of the week, six of my campers had come down with the stomach virus that devastated the whole camp. AND then one of my campers received a concussion and a neck sprain while doing a flip in the Moonwalk that I was operating at our Wednesday festival. I haven't had first aid training in awhile, so I panicked although, thankfully, no one could tell.

I get to sing, dance, dress up in funny costumes, and just act crazy and I love it! I am part of the interpretative movement dance we do. You would laugh, you all would so laugh. The only part I am still uncomfortable with is the invitation. Thankfully, all of my campers have asked for prayers. I have no idea yet how I will deal with someone who has been "saved."

But I have to grab some lunch and enjoy my only full day off. Alan is coming to visit me in 13 days. He may be my only visitor if my parents can't make it. If near Charlotte, you have to see me!!! As for now, send me mail, a postcard, anything! Here's my summer address:
Katie Braun PASSPORT staff Wingate University PO Box 2676 Wingate, NC 28174

Current Mood: Restful
Current Music: Sound of my endless laundry in the dryer

So I know that some of you are still alive...
and I have tried to reach out and see how you guys were doing so far this summer. Guess everyone is too busy... glad I will be too busy to care soon enough.

Current Mood: frustrated

Wow, this summer has already been crazy!
Has it only been ten days since I moved out of the dorms? WOW! Memphis was awesome. Seeing my Minnesotan family made me smile, and gave me back my accent for a weekend! I got to hold my newest cousin. He is so adorable but has a head like those tumbling baby dolls. Christine's first communion was beautiful, and her celebratory dinner was so much fun. We went downtown to this restaurant based on Big Foot. They had these huge 4 lb. burgers; six of us couldn't finish one! While taking a walk with my grandpa, we ran into a 1932 Arren's Fox fire truck. Being a retired firefighter and now fire inspector even in his 60's, he stood there telling me great stories! Then, the lady who owned the house came out and talked to us telling us that the truck was from St. Paul! Small world; my grandpa could have ridden on that truck when he started at the fire house! Dance parties with my little cousins and singing crazy songs = priceless. Sadly, mom and I had to leave to make it back to Lex. for Alan's graduation. We made it in six hours! I do have a lead foot sometimes! Ninety on the parkway? That's nothing. The graduation was boring for the most part, but I got to hear Seamus Heaney and couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. No Jon, I didn't come all the way back just for the guest speaker; I was there to support both you and Alan. Unfortunately, Seamus Heaney has spent too much time in the States and has lost a good part of his Northern Irish accent.

So now I am home! Woo hoo! Not really. A lot of errands to run before I leave for North Carolina. I have to have my shots up-to-date, this and that tax form filled out and notarized,... AND my most amusing errand has been trying to find a one-piece bathing suit that doesn't look like it is made for women who have been over the hill for awhile. Being a Christian camp counselor, if I want to swim or do any events requiring a suit, I have to have a one-piece. Some of the others rules are hilarious but I guess appropriate. I am getting a little worried about the camp though. It will definitely be a different religious atmosphere than I am used to. My church doesn't do public "invitations" to become better Christians, and I am really worried that when my kids feel "invited", I will have no idea what to say.

Besides that, I have watched several of my brother's soccer games. He impresses me soo much, even though I still cringe everytime I see someone break away with the ball, heading right to him without any of his defenders. Then there was the Mother's Day youth service! You all would have gotten a kick out of watching me bump rumps, tweek cheeks, and dance in the pews! My kids are amazing! Alan came into Ashland too... took him to Hillbilly Hotdogs, the original one out in the middle of the West Virginian wilderness. He got a good laugh. Explored the rose garden at Ritter Park and did some hiking. Grabbed some delicious root beer at the drive-in and then later had dinner with the family at the new Mexican restaurant in town. It was good! I am so glad my insane family hasn't scared him away yet!

I get to rest tomorrow... YAY! But the real reason why I wanted to write this entry was not to give you guys an update to let you know that I am still alive but to apologize for the relationships that I now see I may have neglected over the past semester. This past semester has been the most tiring one yet for me, but that is no excuse. I fear that several relationships may have changed during the course of the semester, but I hope that the coming year (especially by living with a couple of these individuals whose friendship I have never stopped treasuring) will allow me to restore them. Sorry guys! And I love you all! -K

Current Mood: lazy
Current Music: The Butterfly Song

So Emily says she's found a study that says intercourse is stress-relieving...
And the most stress-relieving sexual act at that! Hmm... that really causes me to ponder. Why is intercourse as opposed to other pleasure forms the greatest stress reliever? Maybe because both people are active. Maybe because it is more physical. Maybe because it creates a stronger connection. Thoughts???

I just finished my last honors paper ever... all 31 pages of it!!! So I have decided to update this thing even though my fingers do hurt by now. I have now accomplished everything on my previous list except 7)PSY 216 final, 9) Pack and move out, and 10) summer begins!!! Well, there is the laundry and seeing people to say goodbye. Not really goodbyes, but so-longs-for-now.

This past week or so has been a whirlwind! Architectural designing and presentation, submitting to Kaleidoscope, presenting my research three times (the final time at the undergrad research symposium- thanks Emily, Andrew, Dan, and Ben for coming out to support me!), planetarium trip, Tarts and Vicars party (some awesome pics came from that; what a great theme!), new PSP brothers, becoming Vice President, eating pesto penne at Bella Notte, the list goes on and on and on and on.

My writing mentor (Mr. Holt, my 12th AP English teacher) came to read some of his latest poetry at the recitation in honor of the latest published volume of Limestone. I love Mr. Holt. He is so great; the verb and adjective choices he makes are orgasmic, in a literary sense.

This weekend was fun, when I wasn't writing my honors final. Celebrated Dan's 20th birthday!!! Keeneland, food, and fun. Saturday, had dinner with Misty. I am going to miss this girl. I hope the chemo works. It was really hard saying goodbye knowing that it may be our last. But if she does make it through this summer, we will almost be neighbors, and I can visit her or vice versa often! Sunday, Sarah drove in from Louisville to have lunch: Artichoke sandwiches and gossip and fun talks!!! Then off to the soggy and cold Lexington Legends game. We lost, but I enjoyed myself. ;)

But I am really rambling... so I will start reading my psych stats book... boo!!!
That's it for now, K.

Current Mood: relieved
Current Music: Copeland- Sarah gave me a copy of their CD; cool beans!

Sure feels good to get some sleep
Today I actually got to sleep in past nine o'clock- 9:40 actually! I have been running experiments and having class or professor meetings in the morning everyday this week, so it has been oh so nice to sleep in, take a loooooooong hot shower, and eat for breakfast the rice krispies treats which Alan and I made (well, he actually made them; I just added the marshmallows ever so often). But I made dinner last night... well, he sort of helped with that too. But I don't have much time to update about my goings-on the past couple of weeks and my Easter weekend (which was awesome!), so I will do that later and leave you guys with this...

Things that I have to do before I get to enjoy the summer:
1) Finish my last paper for my research seminar class
2) Start and finish my architectural design for Honors
3) Present my current research at the Showcase for Undergraduate Scholars (YOU ALL SHOULD COME; I am presenting at 7 pm on this coming Tuesday in Room 307 of the student center... please please please)
4) Run 12 1/2 hours of experiments
5) Think of a way to celebrate Dan's 20 birthday- ideas?
6) Finish my Honors final paper
7) Take my PSY 216 final
8) Perform a puppet show on Thursday of finals week
9) Pack up and move out of the dorms forever
10) GO TO MEMPHIS... and the summer begins!!! :)

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, lastly- Congrats to Alan for acceptance into UK's doctoral math program and to Jen for get into the awesome communication disorders program at Ohio State!!! Anna, I hope you got the job you applied for not because I want you to move to Louisville but because I want the theater in Woodford County to offer you a full-time job where you can still be able to see me. -K

Current Mood: rejuvenated
Current Music: Rascal Flatts- never thought I could like country

So I was ecstatic and sad both in one minute... my dad called to tell me my favorite person of all time is coming to speak at the school he teaches this Friday. E.O. WILSON IS COMING TO SPEAK AT MARSHALL!!! This is the guy who a group of high school chums and I were going to skip two days of school for to see him speak at the University of Michigan; we didn't go because he cancelled his lecture a day or two before. AND NOW, he's going to be only twenty minutes from home! The problem? I am not home. I am here with no car, and Giddy Up's this weekend. The moment of ecstasy was nice... I hope E.O. doesn't die before I can catch him lecture sometime in my life. -K

Current Mood: mixed
Current Music: Josh Groban; Mr. Andrew likes him too- big :)

A long awaited update... it's been over a month! Whoa!
So in the past six weeks a lot has happened.
The good: I am dating a brother in my honors fraternity; it has been five weeks! Great to be in a real relationship and to be truly loved and to truly love. Fun, creative dates! I have found someone to explore with me, especially cemeteries!
-Regional convention was a blast; rode go-karts (almost got pushed off the course!), danced at a country western bar (always ask someone to dance, you never know what might happen!), many fun times, and a side trip to the fake Parthenon!
-Amazing service projects that people actually want to do! Way to go PSP!
-Vagina Monologues (Allissa was amazing!) and hanging out with Sarah in Louisville the first weekend in March; went to the zoo and saw lemurs! Kissed a komodo dragon (a fake one of course, a real one would eat me!).
-Dana's confirmation and Allissa's baptism; yay! I love when people become part of the church and recommitt themselves to their faith! I am so moved by their outlooks and courage as they continue upon their spiritual journeys; sometimes the journey doesn't seem so fun at all!
-Went home for the first weekend of spring break. I love my family! I love my friends back home! I miss My Dad's Pizzeria and Tim Horton's!
-Mom met Alan while bringing me back to Lexington so I could take the flight out with the rest of the group to New Mexico. They hit it off! Talking about firefighting (his dad's a firefighter, my grandfather is now retired but works as the fire marshal for North St. Paul) and food!
-NEW MEXICO!!! Oh my goodness guys, I love that place. I want to go back! Being immersed in the Pueblo culture was eye-opening; I have learned so much and have eaten every kind of New Mexican or Pueblo dish imaginable (and all homecooked- YUM!!!) Ask me more about my trip; I will tire you out I am sure; I got my pics developed, so you can see them too!

The bad: I try not to dwell on such things, but for every good thing, there seems to be a bad thing to complement it. A good friend of mine has been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in addition to her preexisting kidney failure (if you pray, please pray for her), Mike got in a motorcycle accident and broke his arm, my best friend from home's parents are having serious difficulties, my mom got in a car accident and didn't tell me until five days afterward, my grandfather suffered a stroke, AND Pr. Barry and I are fighting! I have amazing people who support me, and I will always take the bad with the good to be able to experience the good. My life has many blessings, and some of the bad things have become blessings in disguise.

I love you all! I'll promise to write in this sucker more often! Have a lot of poetry and journal entries to add, if I ever find time! My time has definitely become very scarce lately, and if you are feeling that I am neglecting you, tell me and I will give you a ginormous hug to convince you that I am not. -K

Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Grooving to John Legend

Sexist jokes, anyone?
If you know of any funny sexist (towards women) jokes, please forward them to me or leave them attached to this entry. Wish me luck at my Gaines interview tomorrow afternoon, K.

LIFE HAS BEEN AMAZING TO ME!!!
Other than the fact that I am freaking freezing in my dorm room right now (why should Patterson be warmer than 64 degrees when it is 9 degrees outside?), I am high on life. This past week has been pretty rough... I finally came to the realization that a good church friend of mine IS dying. My usual way of dealing with such serious stuff is to keep so ridiculously busy that I can't think about it, but that's not really working too well. And because it's not been working too well, I have been a real bitch to a couple people in my life, and I apologize. Although I still believe that I had the right to be upset about a certain person witholding a certain secret, I let it bother me too much. Honestly, I don't really care about the secret, nor do I think it will change or influence my opinions of the individual involved. I am just pissed that I can't be told something like that while I openly (which good friends will attest to the fact that this adverb doesn't normally describe me) divulge very personal things. I don't know what all's going on in my mind right now, but I can say that I am so fucking glad for this weekend:

Friday: Baked and decorated a birthday cake for PSP, ran to the Gallery Hop (awesome art- the "Eye of the Storm" images, the Galerie Soleil, the depression collage and the picture of Adam and Eve that looked like a female's genitals at first at the cathedral) and had great snacks (homemade fortune cookies with messed-up fortunes in them; "You are not so skinny that you will fall through your asshole") and company, 90th b-day for PSP and 8th anniversary for us- we had a birthday party!, ate so much cake... won best decorated cake... watched the craziest episode of "Trading Spouses" ever... watched the Olympics with a great discussion on the stupidity of ice dancing and laughed as one of our snowboarders choked after showing off with a hot dog move right in front of the finish line... on until...

Saturday: Ran downtown to the kids' museum; made playdough as the drop-in (I had flour, salt, oil, etc. ALL over me), had a little girl follow me around because I was "so fun to be around," played through our new exhibit- this mock crime scene investigation; ran to officers' meeting... glad to know people feel similarly to how I feel about Pr. Barry, but I don't need more drama in my life; went to the play "Intimate Apparel": oh my goodness, what an awesome night!!!; good play, wonderful writing although a couple accents were a miss... great company ;)... Common Grounds to warm up later and to make fun of the horrible singer playing... but I said great night, right?... wonderful conversation... just great. So tomorrow shall come when I actually arise from my soon slumber and all of the things I put off this weekend will come and bite me in the bottom again. Goodnight, K.

Current Mood: will I be able to go to bed?

In a great effort to continue to be productive this week...
I decided to wake up earlier than necessary to finish up some Virginia Woolf for honors. Since I am writing here, you can tell that's not being done. BUT I have gotten so much else accomplished this week: gave a good presentation to the research group, finished all of my journal entries for my journal class, wrote up my entry for my research seminar, started and finished my Dada montage for honors, made out an intensive study guide for one of my tutees, worked, baked cookies and decorated them with Em to give to the boys for V-day, planned service opportunities for the frat, in the process of arranging flight plans for our New Mexico trip (which has been harder than anticipated), AND I have already read 80 pages of "Orlando." I can take a break for a second.

This weekend was awesome. Friday: found an awesome apt., watched the opening of the Winter Olympics (with all of the dancing cows and men with lederhosen and their little flagpoles that had their countries' flags rise up on them), visited Mr. Andrew at DanceBlue, saw my first anime (wow, that was so deep and kept me captivated- the idea of self... hmm), had an impromptu snowball fight (boys get vicious when you hit them in the face), chilled/stayed over at Ingels until... Saturday: was a LexArts ambassador with Anna (sounds like a cool title, a title of someone that actually did alot for the event... haha), dropped off surveys at our spot, had a nice lunch (thanks for the french toast, Anna!), went to DanceBlue, went back to pick up our surveys and made V-day cookies (one of which went to Mr. Andrew for his wonderful effort), then off to spend some quality time with the family, had a great dinner and later dessert, went shopping (Joseph Beth is my favorite place in the world!), showed them where I was thinking about living next year. I love my family, but I can only take family drama in small amounts. My dad didn't come because my mom didn't tell me that all last week he had a nasty fever and had fallen out of bed and bruised up his whole side. And then I find out that my brother almost got into another fight at school, this time because one of our neighbor's kids was making fun of my limp, walking down the hall pretending to be "his crippled sister." WOW! Sunday: got up for church with the St. A's gang, so much fun attending other churches in the area, had an "interesting" conversation with one of my church pals who had really liked my ex (long story...), frat's pinning ceremony and Applebee's after (so much fun... I love our new initiates!!!).

Before I run, I wanted to thank two special people for their Valentine's gifts, that made my day complete. My family sent me cherry tea bread, truffles, and all kinds of other fattening things. I got two red carnations from the ID scanner man at Blazer. Just a good day guys, THANKS!!! -K

Current Mood: calm in the midst of the storm

So my dad now has a facebook account...
It is really weird to know my dad has a facebook profile. He's a business management and marketing prof at Marshall University, and his students talked him into it. So he calls me up to talk about financial stuff and then he says "I hope you don't mind that I showed your facebook profile to my students." WTF??? Words can't express what I felt right then. First off, I have my account set so that you have to be a friend to see my full profile. So I quiz him on what's on it... and he goes on and on talking about seeing the pics of my prom date that now goes to MIT, my friends who go to Vandy and Cornell, Peter and other high school chums he recognized, about what I said were my favorite movies, quotes, etc., about looking through my photo album (especially the pic with the paddle). WOW!!! Then I freaked out why he would show my profile to his class; he claims he just showed my profile page to make a point to his business students that anything you put on such sites is then public knowledge, knowledge employers can find. I then search for him but can't find him because he has his account to be the most secure so that students with vengeances can't cause him any ruin. It would be too weird to have my dad as a facebook friend anyway!!! Just for your knowledge: I took off my livejournal address from my profile page, so don't forget it. I couldn't have my dad reading my lj, if he hasn't already.

Interesting conversation:
Good friend says to me- Don't go back until you know that if he kisses you, you won't want to kiss him back or that if he kisses someone else, you won't be crushed.
Me- Wow, that's some great advice... where did you get it from?
Good friend- You!!!
Me- OH!!!

Things I am to be ever so thankful for:
Getting the summer job; being able to be an accessible minister to youth
Making it through the first cut-off for the Gaines fellowship
Scoring the only perfect grade on the PSY 216 test
Being allowed to design the experiment even after my flop Friday
An actual service committee (more than Jen and I trying to save the world, twas a great effort though)
A great rush so far
Erin's safe journey back from Israel
My great aunt's safe trip back from Egypt; her recovering health after a bout of pneumonia
Getting to see my family this weekend
THE OPERA even with the raining babies and English supertitles for an opera sung in English
Tickets to the last 3 home basketball games; getting Jon to come with us to the lottery
The awesome friendships with Dan, Ben, Andrew, and Emily
Great frat brothers (really, I don't want you guys- well, some of you guys- to graduate)
My friends from home who go out of their ways to see me because they love me so
Feeling ready to go back to church
Personal growth

Goodnight, you guys. -K

Current Mood: content
Current Music: "I'll Cover You" RENT soundtrack

So I think I kicked the PSY 216 test in the butt!!! Just wish my research meeting went as well; the ideas I spent hours working out were shot down- you know, like see a nice fat duck flying in the air and aim your little rifle at it and shoot it right out of the sky, completely dead upon impact with the ground. I wish that I was told to formulate an experiment that was just like previous ones except a little tweakage. How boring!!! Then ran off to get Magic Flute tickets; Erin, Emily, and I are going to have to bring binoculars :( !!! BUT BUT BUT I got the summer job through Passport. I was sad at first because I wasn't placed on the kids! team that travels to eight different states: I'll be in NC all nine weeks. Then I saw that they gave me the Bible Study leader job which equals no bitch work and more money and more time to "talk" with the kids about stuff. A highlight to my day!!! Off to dinner then frat retreat. I had money and now it's leaving my pockets as if the pied piper is calling it out. -K

A Katie Update
Yesterday, I received a care package from home containing chocolate muffins, cookies, baby three musketeers, my fav candy (SnoCaps), etc. Enclosed was a card my mom penned hoping that this chocolate improved my mood. My mom is so sweet (what a pun!). After my brief stint in the romantic department, I am a little shocked by how much I actually feel the breakup. The usual thoughts of course have arisen in my head, but the thought that won't leave is that I required too much effort. I am not a demanding girlfriend, but I guess I make guys' think and feel which requires mental effort (?!?)- which can be more demanding than a phone call, etc. What I miss most though is the physical contact (not what you all are thinking) but the holding hands, awesome hugs, etc. My family is very touchy; we give out lots of hugs, kisses on the cheek, pats on the back, and warm handshakes. I really miss that being here at school; have you ever backtracked all that you have done in a day and realized that you have not been in physical contact with a single soul- excluding the person you accidentally ran into outside the classroom building?

Besides that, this last week or so has been pretty good. The frat- fun as always... have already had six really interested people come to rush sessions- yay!!!... took up higher leadership positions than last semester. Research- have been reading and reading and reading... I am brainstorming/putting together the premise for one of our main experiments for the semester... a little pressure but so awesome besides... my research seminar prof is way hard on my entries and comments in class, but he only does it to make me better at standing up for my research claims. Puppet troupe- had a performance this past week in Winchester... kids loved it... sort of nervous for the first group since this was the first time I had performed this script... always fun. Friends from home- last weekend, went to Katie's ultimate frisbee tournament... it was soooo cold... they lost to UK's team by a point... that was weird sitting on their sidelines with Katie with my UK sweatshirt on. This weekend, went to Louisville for Monica's bd. Ate awesome Indian food... had some great conversations (people who I can converse with about art history and science... damn I have lost alot of my high school knowledge)... sidetrip to Walmart for gifts (mine was good- Superman cape and then Sarah's bouncy light up ball was a hit too)... back to their apt. for cake and dancing since we couldn't get into the club (had to have a 21 year-old sponsor for EACH person under 21; some how we missed the each part)... got a noise violation :( ... friends were shocked at how "wild" I had gone in college(???)... next morning, went to brunch with a friend of Sarah's (oh my goodness, some people are so sheltered)... fun times and then shopping to help her friend find party appropriate clothes (I guess my idea of party/club attire just shocked the shit out of her... "can't I just wear a nice sweater?"). Kids' museum- magnets and music... Chinese New Year celebration- yay!!! year of the dog... some father hitting on me as his wife took his two kids to the restroom- ick!!! My job- tutoring art history... alot harder than it sounds. UK chums- taking Em's porn virginity (had to find a good one with a plot)... Ben's "How to become a Christian" book at lunch... trip to Red Lobster. BUT my time allotted for this update has ended, so I must get back to work. -K

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: "Number One" -John Legend

So I'm telling myself that this muffin I snuck out of Blazer will go stale if I don't eat it tonight
Yummy... chocolate chip. You are going to get an update, so skip this entry if you already know the gist of my oh so complicated but awesome life. This past weekend was awesome... well, fun, I'll say that. Spent almost all of Friday and much of Saturday evening with the boys. Saturday morn went and did my volunteering at the kids' museum (yay- fossils and musical instruments!!!). Went out to dinner with some frat bros and then took a side trip to Liquor Barn before heading to Anne's bd bash. Nice; had a BRIEF conversation with a guy who spent a year in Minnesota. Ran off to hockey; we didn't win but it was sooo close in overtime. I will admit it; the funniest part though was that some guy threw up in the middle of the main walkway and watching drunk and/or unobservant people slide or fall right into it was humorous. Later, I did something really stupid: five shots of Jim in twelve minutes!!! I don't remember whose great idea it was (Dan's I think) to take a shot whenever we heard the word "the." That was the worst off I have ever been and having to call up the leader of my puppet troupe to tell her I wasn't coming to practice because "I woke up sick" was so much fun. It was one humorous night though. Sunday blew through and then came MLK Jr. day. Worked the early shift for the kids' museum; made a chain of hands where kids traced and cut out their hands and then wrote what they dreamed or wished to give to the world. Some were so cute (word piece), some were so amazing (I want to work hard to make sure that everyone feels safe), some floored me (that God was here), and some were just funny (I wish that there was a giant slide). Took in the Lexington kids' drum choir and dancers performance before leaving; kids are so talented. It was awesome to see such dedication and at the end, to see white and black kids dancing it out (although of course it was evident who had the rhythm and who didn't). RANDOM THOUGHT: I want to go dancing somewhere. Times like that I just think to myself that I should teach or run a non-profit, really do what I feel drawn to do... felt bad about leaving the kids' museum when I did because it was CRAZY!!! Free admission brings out everyone and their mother. Was so happy to see Sarah, Ashley, and Megan there volunteering too. Love you guys.

Then officer's meeting for church... and the rest of the day went downhill from there. BUT Emily cheered me up (well, it didn't really) by going to see Brokeback Mountain, which was great. Not a good movie when you are sad though, keep that in mind. Tuesday was great though!!! Absolutely great!!! Lunch with Misty and Ben. And then... I had an hour to kill and of course no motivation to do schoolwork so I headed out walking... didn't know where I was going. Ended up at the library and then went up to the 5th floor and found my dad's dissertation. Not quite sure why I did it, but I opened it up to look through and the pages fell right to the acknowledgments page... I just froze. There my dad had written a thank you to my mom, my brother, and I; my dad isn't sentimental at all and I honestly think he wrote it because he knew we would never see it. BUT big smile nonetheless. Then off I went to my research seminar; yay, only having 5 people in my class!!! We are doing so much cool stuff; my final project is to write up an abstract that is good enough to be published in Kaleidoscope and then present my research in front of lots of people (I really don't like public speaking!!!). I did it my senior year for the sermon at church and at graduation, but I knew those people!!! Wednesday was busyness; too much busyness. Did frat stuff and afterward my poor little got a flat tire. Now today....... I am so sleepy!!! Anymore rush publicity... ahhhh!!! But all's for a good cause. Going to head to bed; sleep sounds wonderful right now. -K

Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: QUEEN!!!

It takes a lot of effort to feel motivated
There are so many things I should be doing, and after planning my schedule the way I have, I should have plenty of time to do them. Knowing that this semester could potentially be challenging in ways other than academically and because I really wanted time to focus on my writing (giving my journal for class the attention it should be getting), I am taking only 14 credit hours, but I haven't really felt in the mood to write lately. I write shit when I make myself write.

Going to tutor for CATS this semester to make extra cash: money- YAY!!! Back at the kids' museum doing science drop-ins- double YAY!!! Don't even get me started on the literacy program; I have thrown in the towel on that one. In the research lab again, hopefully I'll be running more experiments than data crunching, but I guess I need that experience too. Trying to figure out what I want to do after college; Teach for America is really looking tempting, but soo many people say that's a really bad idea. Most of the graduate schools I will probably apply to don't defer admissions. I have a lot of time to work it out, thank goodness.

I am getting sick of being called the "golden child", the "perfect example", etc. Especially with some of you guys' most humbling remarks, I know that I am not so. I do give my best, and when I don't (like writing all of my journal entries for class the night before), I feel like I have slighted myself and others. I think of others first; that's how I am programmed, no apologies. Talked to my brother yesterday, and he was soo upset with me for being "so great". One of his teachers asked why he couldn't be more like me. OUCH!!! Some teachers are dumbasses!!! And then the new art teacher (who I told my parents that Andrew shouldn't take because he's a horrible teacher and a real dick) baited my brother into an argument and with my brother's temper, Andrew ended up in in-school suspension for insubordination. So as he was blaming my "perfection" for my parents' harsh punishment for his behavior, I floored him when I told him I had gotten in-school suspension before. Yes, it was in elementary school, but I was a little spitfire then. In second grade, I had this evil teacher who hated my guts because I was the only second grader in her 2nd/3rd mixed class. I asked too many questions and could be obnoxious, but when she placed my desk in the far corner of the room, I rebelled. I physically moved my desk back to where it was before and then stood on top of it and did a little dance. Thankfully, I grew out of that stage after the move to Ashland, but still a hint of my imperfection. We all have them; some more than others. No golden child here, just little old me. -K

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: My John Legend CD has a scratch in it- :(

I just can't get to bed
Too much shit on my mind tonight. Laid in bed for an hour or so to find myself just as awake as before. And now I sit outside of my room fiddling around on my laptop hoping to miraculously feel sleepy while listening to my next door neighbor cry and argue to an ex-boyfriend on the phone. It was so tempting driving back from south campus to just keep driving, but I doubt Emily would appreciate that much. Plus I have a meeting I can't miss tomorrow and commitments with the kids' museum this weekend. A hug would be so nice right now. And I think my neighbor could really use one too. -K

Current Mood: frustrated
Current Music: Loud sobs and shouting from the room next door

Sumo wrestlers, nipple rings, and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to YOU!!!
My good friend Erin is now in Israel hoping to find the perfect Jewish man. Katie is leaving to go back to Berea for J-term tomorrow (and I think I am supposed to be planning something like a little sendoff for tonight... oops). My Vikings are out of the playoffs (and Mike Tice is fired... YAY!!!). My Gophers lost in their bowl game (you choking dogs... UM- 31, UVa- 34!!!). The Olympics are coming in February; getting ready for some real hockey!!! Oh, while I am thinking about hockey, if ANYONE finds Mighty Ducks 2 on DVD, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pick it up for me and I will oh so graciously repay you forever. I can eat solid food now (well, I have since Saturday night but yay for me besides!!!). Getting my wisdom teeth extracted wasn't that bad but all you people who said it was nothing are big, fat liars!!! The oral surgeon told my mom- since I was so conked out I don't remember getting in the car and getting home- that my bottom two were the hardest he had ever had to pull out. He had to keep me under sedation for twenty something extra minutes and had to inject tons more of the local anesthetic throughout. So when I finally woke up, my face was HUGE!!! Parts of my face were still numb when I went to sleep that night, and trust me, I was beginning to think that he had nicked my facial nerve and I would have been pissed. The facial nerve supplies sensation to all parts of your lower face and- damn it- if I couldn't enjoying kissing ever again I would kill him. But then the anesthetic wore off and even with my high pain threshold, I gave in and took all of the pain meds. Still trying to figure out how Lortabs reduce the effects of birth control; anyone know??? Feeling fine now; still a little sore.

So about those sumo wrestlers and the nipple rings... both came from ponderings on New Year's Eve- which was great!!! Had a good time with the family but had to take two naps since the pills really made me sleepy. Woke up from one of them to see sumo wrestling on ESPN. As I watched these behemoths pull up on each other's belts, I wondered how they could do that without injuring their "packages". Well, I did some researching later through my old anatomy notebook to find that professional sumo wrestlers actually massage their testicles into their inguinal canals deliberately so they do not become injured during wrestling. Interesting, right??? So then the nipple ring question came while I was at Anna's New Year's shindig. I have always wondered if getting such areas pierced reduces or increases sensitivity; many people have told me both but I want a definitive answer. So I came to the conclusion that if the piercing person misses the nerve endings in those places, it will increase the sensitivity, but if the dumb butts hit them then you lose any sensation and then you will be oh so sad. But I have more important things to be doing- HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you, and I'll see you guys soon!!! -K

Current Mood: relaxed
Current Music: Sounds of the UL vs. V-Tech game- come on, Hokies!!!

I am going to keep this one short, promise
Besides, I have to run and get Hanukkah goodies for dreidel night at Erin and Katie's. Hope everyone's Christmases were nice; thanks to all who sent cards, gave gifts, or left Christmas messages (even the little comments on facebook make me smile). A quick summary of my Christmas: Christmas Eve had our children's service with our pageant in place of the sermon. My dad came!!! I can count on my fingers how many times in my life he has gone to church. I helped my mom direct the thing, and kids really make me laugh. Cutting the toga for our Roman guard, containing the angels, helping Gabriel with her lines, Joseph showing up five minutes before showtime, a shepherd grabbing my behind (on purpose!!!), singing with the little kids, Miles as the inn keeper... so amazing!!! Christmas was nice... no snow though. Went to church just mom and I. Opened gifts... my mom is so awesome. She got me an art history memory game and art forgery book. Andrew got me the John Legend CD. The beat of each song makes me dance, but some of the lyrics are soo bad!!! This one song about him justifying his cheating goes... "You can't say that I don't love you just because I cheat on you... My heart don't have nothing to do with my penis/ I try to contain myself by jacking off/ but he says who are you playing/ but I know he loves you/ cuz he told me you were his favorite." Christmas dinner was good minus the minor spat with dad. Walked around the park to see the quaint Christmas light collection.

Now yesterday, I went out with Katie and Erin... please someone remind that I shouldn't go shopping ever with these girls. Erin and I feed off each other. She made this smart comment in Victoria's Secret about finding my bras in the itty-bitty-titty bin; I sent back a zinger later. But she got me back even worse... we were in the dressing rooms of some store because according to Erin, I have given up looking sexy. So I tried on this shirt (which was cute and I would wear it if it had fit) and I made some smart comment, and she made this large pretend fart sound and everyone in the dressing rooms just started laughing. And then she does the "good grief, Katie, what have you eaten to make that smell?" We are such great friends... really we are. Listening to them talk about how they despise Christmas cracks me up. "Why must everything be closed??? And we were so bored, Katie, because we wouldn't dare take our Gentile friend away from her family..." BUT I promised a short update... I'll leave you with this thingy I think Jessa tagged me to do:

-Ground rules: The first player of this "game" starts with the topic "My Five Weird Habits" and the people who get tagged need to then write a LJ entry about their five quirky little habits as well as state the rules of this game clearly. In the end, you need to list the next five people who you want to tag, and then go on to leave a tag comment on their LJ.-

1. I eat all of the cereal part of Lucky Charms and then eat the marshmallows as a treat to savor. I do the same thing with buttered popcorn or M and M's with my favorite color blue left to the end.
2. Any animal or any organism, really, I try to see if I can identify it and tell if it's a he or she.
3. I always have to be doing something while watching tv or a movie... one time, I was playing with scissors while watching cartoons and cut the little v-part of my lip off.
4. I wander about... not kidding. Many times, I have left the dorm room with no intention on really going to a certain place just walk until I need a break. I have made it to the cemetery, to far down Broadway.
5. I like to start art projects without any sketches and then look to see how close they resembled the image of perfection in my mind.

Tagged if you want to be: Dan, Emily, Andrew, Anna, and Carrie.

Current Mood: hungry
Current Music: Seasons of Love- Rent soundtrack

No mas futbol, por favor!!!
Well, my brother ran across one of his Christmas gifts early- the Fox Soccer channel. I love to watch soccer but good grief not every hour of the day. Last night, he was watching a game between two of the suckiest teams in the South American league; there were probably 500 people max in the stands, and yet he sat there insisting on my silence while he watched the match.

This past weekend was awesome. Friday night, I had a lot of fun at Anna's, but I now know at what point I should stop drinking. My little's boyfriend brought his hookah (I think that's how that is spelled), and I tried it (flavored tobacco not what you were thinking). Michael disappeared and reappeared after not being able to find his car. I got to see Anna's new piece of art work. Everyone thought they could see sex hidden in the background, but I still doubt it. Saturday woke up for the basketball game; we won!!! One word for U of L- overrated!!! Pitino almost got ejected after getting a technical and faking a swing at the referee. There was a big group of drunk guys behind us, and one guy was rooting for Louisville and one of the others couldn't figure out which team was ours. Later, I got to see the Triangle house, which is oddly just across the street from Anna's. Then chilled with Anna until I left for home.

So now here at home, I've kept myself busy. I got home Saturday night and was too tired to go out with Katie and Erin, so I got caught up on the goings on in the family and in Ashland. The guy who owns the fitness center and local pool who also lives close to me was raided over the weekend by the ATF and the FBI for possession and selling every and any illegal substance. He, unfortunately, got word and skipped town before they could arrest him. There are several new restaurants that have opened up next to the new Walmart on the mountaintop. Still a lot of fanfare for my high school's football state championship. The insurance agency my mom works at is closing... this will be interesting. Sunday went to church; I miss my kids!!! When Miles walked in and saw me there, the smile on his face was priceless- "I thought you were never coming home." Helped my mom and the kids with their Advent skit. Hannah and Mariah are officially coming to UK next year- yay!!!- but Mitchell fell in love with Eckerd in Florida. Have to go where you want to go- if you can. Went to a movie with mom and the high school principal's wife Sunday night. I hate movies that are supposed to be funny and then you find out someone has cancer and dies. Monday ran around doing errands, got out of jury duty (almost had a bench warrant out for me), and then went out with Katie and Erin: RENT is fucking awesome... 525,600 minutes!!! Tuesday took my brother to school so I could sneak in the back to talk to some old teachers. Mr. Holt had some new poems for me to read; he has a couple in the new book by the UK press and one just accepted by UK's magazine Limestone. YAY!!! I love him. Talked with Mrs. Brown, my Spanish teacher, and saw her baby pics and such. Went to lunch with Mom, played Secret Santa for the Hillcrest Bruce mission, painted some of the kitchen, took Andrew to the dentist, and then helped my mom bake all kinds of goodies for Christmas gifts: snow flurries, chocolate brownie mint cookies,... I wish I could have stolen some.

But I have been told that my entries are too long; you read them though. Off I go to finish up some applications and then to go decorate (or green) the church for Christmas. Although I am sad that we aren't going home, my church here in Ashland looks so beautiful with the poinsettias, evergreen, and candles up against the rich dark wood and the red carpeting. Have a Merry Christmas everyone; Happy Hanukkah, Katie and Erin. When opening up gifts make sure you remember for whom this day is set aside for and enjoy, no matter how boring or excruciatingly painful it may be, being with family. -K

Current Mood: excited
Current Music: The sounds of the Lecce v. Lazio match- woo!!!

The most interesting conversations happen...
when I am at lunch or dinner or heck even three in the morning after hockey runs to Steak and Shake, when I am exhausted, or when I am incredibly tipsy. Today's conversation at dinner was no different; ask Emily for details.

So I hope finals aren't too bad for all of you guys. I have two of mine, well four if you count the illegal finals during Dead Week, out of the way. PSY 223 was no problem; now Italian... I think that final was the nearest thing to experiencing hell on earth as possibly could be. The test wasn't too hard but the room was 85 degrees and the proctor of the exam was the other Italian professor who has the worst fake "I'm American, but I study Italian" accent I have ever heard. So here I am sitting there in one of the big physics lecture rooms with her reciting the dictation for her sections, I notice that her jaw doesn't move when she talks making it even more excruciating to try and ignore.(Caspani had already given us ours on the last day of class so I had to just continue on with the test with her bantering in the background). When she had finally finished with the dictation after repeating it 8 times, each time slower than the previous, I was finished with the test. I think I did as well as I needed to... but on I go to study for another final tomorrow at 8 in the morning.

Before I go:
As I was slaving away to keep my real journal up-to-date for class, I was asked to write a poem about the cranial nerves for Jen. Please note that I can write better poetry than this; the poem's purpose was to make Jen smile before her evil neuroanatomy test:

Ode to the Cranial Nerves:
To smell- the olfactory
To swallow- the spinal accessory
To see, to see,
You need four to see this letter T:
The optic, oculomotor, trochlear, and abducens
allow you to see people's shins and grins.
To chew or to feel your face or mouth at all,
You need a working pair of the trigeminal.
To sense equilibrium or to hear,
Let's hope you have two good nerves of the vestibulocochlear.
To move your tongue about,
Your hypoglossal will get a workout.
To taste it takes a group of three;
this is not there only function though, hardly.
The facial nerves show your feelings for others to see
and help make saliva and make tears when food's spicy.
The glossopharyngeal not only tastes but also senses
when your carotid blood pressure intenses.
The vagus nerves slow your heart rate,
and the digestive organs they stimulate.
Wow, what an assortment these twelve pairs control!
But with this poem, it's easy to remember each one's role!

Current Mood: Can finals be over yet?
Current Music: John Mellencamp "Peaceful World" - grant me some peace, Lord

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