my best friend

I went to the lake this past weekend. It was a blast. My neighbors own this GORGEOUS house on the lake, and allowed us to stay there FO FREE, nbd.

Upon walking through the door, I was blown away. Mile high ceilings, classily matching furniture and decor, bedrooms the size of football fields, it was crazy. The doc was nonetheless impressive as well. It was as big as an Olympic swimming pool, not including the outdoor kitchen, hot tub, and house boat. We were living in luxury. For the weekend, at least.

Em and I shared one of the living room-sized bedrooms. The king-sized bed was fit for...well, a king. We could both be sprawled out and not come close to touching one another. As we settled down, said our good-nights, and began to drift off, I noticed something was wrong. Even though I was not three feet away from my baby sister, I felt alone and scared. I sat up in bed, and she asked me what was wrong. I could barely choke out the words:

"I don't have Bear."

We tried everything (or at least what we had available to us), but nothing seemed to feel right beside me like Bear did. I ended up holding a pillow, but it wasn't the same. I woke up numerous times in the night, miserable out of my mind. Sure, the bed was nice and the temperature was lovely, but I didn't have the perfect fit of Bear in my arms.

I have had Bear since seventh grade, when my friend got him for me for Christmas, and he has been there for me ever since. I can't seem to fall asleep as well when Bear is missing, so I take him wherever I go. Unless I forget him (which only happens when he falls off of my bed right before trips and I can't find him). Sure, make fun of me as much as you want. That won't stop me from falling asleep within three minutes of closing my eyes.

Here are some pictures of Bear from my past two years of college. I have made red arrows to help you find him more easily.

Here, Bear joins me and my room-
mate as we try to be gangster.
Spring '11

Here, Bear joins me and an anonymous
friend as we take part in facials.
Spring '11

Here, Bear joins me and my room-
mate as we say goodbye for the summer
Spring '11

Here, Bear witnesses the giving of
Chan's goodbye present. What
is it, you may ask? A bear!
Fall '10

Here, Bear joins me and Bailey as we
take a nap, exhausted from freshman
orientation!
Fall '09

Here, Bear relaxes on my bed in
anticipation for snuggle time later
that evening.
Fall '09

Here, Bear is being held by my friend,
Carolyn, at camp!
Summer '10

Here, Bear is waiting patiently
on my bed for bed time.
Spring '11

As you can see, Bear is an important part of my life. He is there when I need him the most. So Bear, this is for you: I will try with all of my might never to leave you home alone again.

I need you like a heart needs a beat, but it's nothing new.
I just hope it's not too late to apologize for
forgetting to bring you with me to my lake adventure.

just when I thought I could relax...

...Walmart goes and rearranges everything.

The other day, I went to Walmart. Hand trucks were being pushed around, fork lifts were cutting people off, it was a mess. At least three ladies shared my look of bewilderment as I searched, aisle by aisle, dodging fork lift after fork lift, for glue. What should have been a ten minute endeavor turned into an hour-long wild goose chase. Why the heck did Walmart feel the need to rearrange the ENTIRE store? One of my co-workers told me the manager told her that it was too plain the way it was. It's Walmart, for crying out loud, it doesn't need to be fancy. I think they just did it to keep people there longer, thus making more money. If customers have to search aimlessly for hours, they would be more likely to buy more things. It's smart, but at the same time freaking obnoxious to those of us who like to spend as little time shopping as possible.

Sure, change is good, but not when everything is perfectly fine just the way it is.

random thought of the day (6/22)

The dressing rooms at Sears smell like smarties. Just thought everyone should know.

katie dreams, episode 1

I have wild and crazy dreams sometimes, and last night was no exception.

I was at the beach with my friend, Rachel (yes, the one who had the graduation party), and we were body surfing. I felt something hard in the sand, so I dug it up. It was a something that was part horse shoe crab part dog. It was lost, so we found it's owner on Facebook. She was in her mid-40s and lived in Connecticut (even though her area code was 919, which is the area code for North Carolina...?). I called her up and let her know we found her horse-shoe-dog, and she told us just to hang out with him for the rest of the day and let him go at night. He would eventually find his way home. I was like, oh heck no we can't leave this little guy all alone at the beach! Rachel and I decided to keep him. We named him Roy.

so much for sleeping

As I was searching YouTube for old episodes of Pokemon, and failing, I rediscovered my favorite childhood tv show, Even Stevens. Instead of going to bed early, I watched four episodes. It was great. So great, actually. I laughed a lot out loud. I'll probably be asked by my mom tomorrow morning if I was on the phone because she heard me laughing. No, mommy, I was just watching Even Stevens. She'll totally understand. That show used to be a family favorite, until Disney stopped airing it.

All I've wanted for Christmas the past a lot of years is for a box set of all of the complete seasons, but no. You can't find them ANYWHERE (Ok I found it on this one site, but it was super sketch and mom didn't trust them. I was still willing to risk it since it was only $15...). Tonight (it should have been WAY sooner), I finally realized that YouTube was the answer to my prayers. Thank you, YouTube, for providing me with an outlet to reach my favorite childhood television program at my convenience.

So much for sleeping anymore...

opposable thumbs rock...when they work

I entered the waiting room for what seemed like the hundredth time. Today, there was one other person waiting. I checked in and sat down. Lucky magazine was to my left, so I read it to get my mind off what was to come, even though lucky was the opposite of what I felt. A couple entered the waiting room. No one offered any hint of a smile. The room, although brightly colored, was as gloomy as a rainy winter evening. The man that had gotten there before me was called back. We all gave him a sympathetic nod as he passed through the door of misery.

Hours passed (or five minutes). The tension was growing with each second. The door opened. My name was called. I slowly put my magazine down, accepted the sympathy nod from the couple that had entered after I had, and walked through the door. The world seemed to be passing by in slow motion as I walked down the hallway to a place I had become all too familiar with over the years. I had previously vowed never to return, but here I was.

Nurse was nice, but I knew better than to trust her gentle smile and small talk. She shoved a metal thermometer down my ear. I heard a beep, and she smiled at me and said, "Good." Then, she suffocated my arm with the blood pressure pump thing. The room started moving around, but I choked back the tears and avoided passing out. I knew I had to be brave, especially since my mother wasn't there to protect me. Nurse took a sharpie and drew on my thumb and foot, which tickled so much. I almost kicked her, but I thought I might get in trouble. Even if it was involuntary. She left the room, only to return a few short moments later with a very nice camera. She took pictures of her sharpie drawings on my body. Then my face. I didn't know whether to smile or not. I was not happy, but I decided to smile anyways. I probably looked like an evil genius plotting something devious. Oh well. She left again.

Less than two moments later, Nurse re-entered and asked me if it would be ok, instead of freezing my warts off with liquid nitrogen, if they could numb the areas and "scrape" the warts away. She assured me that it wasn't as bad as it sounded. I was hesitant, but finally complied. She covered my stomach with this sheet - it was a mixture of cotton and plastic, so blood wouldn't get on my clothes. As if I wasn't nervous enough already. The stuffiness of the sheet made me start sweating.

Doctor entered the room holding a needle and a bottle of anesthesia. A single tear rolled down my cheek. The first thing he asked me when he came into the room: "Where's your mom?"

....

In his defense, my mom is usually with me when I have these kinds appointments because I'm a huge baby and I don't want to be by myself. She was out of town picking up my sister, so obviously she could not come with me.
I was still creeped out.

Doctor was so mean. Whenever I asked questions, he replied with, "Nurse, tell Katie to stop talking to me. Nurse, Katie is talking to me. Nurse, Katie is bothering me." He was being an obnoxious 4-year-old. Forrealz, Doctor, I have made it very clear to you that I am terrified out of my mind, at least don't be difficult.

Nurse had to hold down my foot so Doctor could numb it. When I flinched (cause who wouldn't flinch when they're getting a shot in the foot?), Doctor was like, "Now don't you do that," in a stern voice like he was talking to a dog. How rude. When I asked if I was bleeding, he told me, "Well if you were, what would you do about it?" I wanted to punch him, but decided against it since he was using a sharp tool to shovel out chunks of my skin. Doctor with a sharp tool is very scary.

I don't really remember any more of the traumatic experience; I do, however, think I am suffering from a mild case of PTSD. Or not. It's more like a surgery hangover. And it is awful. I have never appreciated feet or opposable thumbs more in my life than I do now.

katie's ultimate coffeeish recipes

I am not a morning person. This presents a problem as I enter the big girl world and have an 8-5 (ok, it's only three days a week and Tuesdays I work until 12:30...but still). The past few days at work have been wonderful, yet challenging, since 8:00 a.m. is quite early to be interacting with people. That's why this morning, I decided to fix myself coffeeish (I find coffee absolutely disgusting without proper additions. By the time I have finished adding all of my ingredients, it's no longer fair to call it coffee).

Katie's College Blend
If I am in dire need of coffee while I am at school, aka finals week, this is what I rely on.
1/4 cup of French Roast (any kind will do, I just think French roast smells the best)
1/4 cup of hot chocolate (if the hot chocolate machine is out of order, use chocolate milk)
5-6 sugar packets (sugar goes first since it's MUCH easier to dissolve in a hot beverage than a cold one)
1/4 cup of French Vanilla creamer
1/4 cup of chocolate ice cream (if the ice cream machine is out of order, which it frequently is, you're just out of luck on the extra froth. Compensate with chocolate milk)
Fill another cup about half way with ice. Pour in coffeeish mix. Stir. Enjoy!

Katie's Home Blend
Since we don't have the same ingredients at home as I do at school, this is what I make.
1 small cup (we have a Keurig - it's amazing!) of whatever type of coffee that seems most appealing to me that day (usually French vanilla)
1 1/2 heaping spoonfuls of sugar
A pour (until the drink turns into a creamy tan color, or, if you really don't like coffee, until the cup is almost full) of International Delight's French Vanilla creamer (NOT hazelnut. That makes my tummy hurt. Half and Half works well as a substitute. Or milk.)
1-2 scoops of chocolate ice cream (if you only have vanilla, also add a packet of hot chocolate mix. No hot chocolate mix? Chocolate syrup. Basically any type of chocolate works.)
Fill another cup about half way with ice. Pour in coffeeish mix. Stir. Enjoy!

These recipes probably provide an even more effective way of waking up - the absurd amount of added sugar gives you enough of a rush to last until late in the afternoon, and by then, you're already awake enough to finish your day. If not, make more!

the pressure's on...you feel it

There are plenty of things that get me nervous. Most of which are quite trivial. This particular nerve-wracking activity, though, is one of the more serious endeavors. What is it, you may ask?

Driving a car that contains a male-of-driving-aged passenger.

You may be thinking, "Wow, Katie, what is wrong with you?"

Women are already stigmatized as insufficient drivers. Even though I am a woman, I agree (if you think I am being insensitive toward my gender, just look up "female NASCAR drivers" on Wikipedia. Now look up "male NASCAR drivers" on Wikipedia...yeah). I'll admit, males>females in regards to driving. This is probably the stem of my neurological fear of operating a vehicle with a man in the car.

My thoughts when I'm driving in the presence of a man:

Eyes on the road...eyes on the road...but wait! I don't want to seem like I'm trying too hard...but I also don't want to wreck...but I have to look cool...but I also don't want to die...


Ok, a squirrel just ran in front of you, DO NOT FREAK OUT. Stay collected. It's not a big deal if you run it over, just STAY CALM. What did I tell you!? KATIE GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER AND STAY CALM!!!!!!! Wow. You are such an embarrassment.


I just know he's thinking about how much better of a driver he is than I am. Why can't he just give me a chance? It's not fair.


I hope I don't wreck. That would just prove to him never to trust me ever again behind the wheel.


Don't go too slow, he'll think you're a weenie. But also don't speed because then you'll get a ticket, giving him license to make fun of you the rest of your life. Or at least make you remember this moment.


Crap. I have no idea where I'm going. Why do I have to be so directionally challenged? He'll never let me drive again. But, that might not be all so bad...

Sure, I'm trying to protect my own dignity, but at the same time I must fight to thwart stigmatization of womankind. It's a duty that all of us women possess, but only few are able to uphold this arduous responsibility.

Yes, I may overreact sometimes, but let's face it. I'm a woman. It's what I do. Overreact, and have driving skills that are inferior to those of men.

katie visits the world. destination: germany

Background:
 Over winter break this year, I visited my friend, David, in Berlin, Germany. He lives there with his family. Me, Devon, Mitchell, and Kennis went to go see him. (I feel like a first grader typing those last few sentences, but whatever, it gets the point across.)

January 2, 2011  

Let's start this thing the night of January 1. I couldn't fall asleep for the life of me. I guess this is what jet lag will be like, maybe. Great. I haven't even left and I'm already feeling it. Well, I fell asleep only to be woken up from a nightmare about those stupid aliens from Independence Day, which I had watched with my family the night before. In the dream, those dumb things were hiding under my bed just waiting for the perfect moment to catch and eat me. When I woke up, I contemplated getting in bed with my parents, but two reasons stopped me. 1. I'm 20 years old and I should be able to realize that there are not, in fact, purple aliens under my bed. I am leaving for Germany in two days - I don't think David's parents would appreciate me climbing into bed with them. I just need to man up. 2. I was too lazy to get out of bed. So I fell back asleep.

7:15 came way too early, especially since I had wild and crazy dreams. Nothing too exciting happened on the car ride to the train station (Mitchell and I were riding the train to Devon’s house since our flight was out of DC and Devon lives there). Side note: we really need a new GPS since the death of Jane, our old, deceiving GPS. I was proud of my dad for pulling over and asking for directions. The train station was SO GHETTO. I was kind of scared for my life, especially when I saw the train. I was expecting some fancy bullet train, but no. It looked more like a rusty tube. I found Mitchell, and we entered the train of death.

I got a picture of the stinky lady!
Or at least her fro.

I’m on the train now. I keep getting alternating whiffs of body odor and cherry cough drops. I’m pretty sure it’s the large woman in front of me who can’t get comfortable so my tray-table thing keeps moving. A combination of that and the unsteadiness of the train is making me a bit nauseated. What I thought was a barf bag in front of me was actually a passenger safety instructions booklet. This could be a problem.   Ok, well I’m going back to Mitchell’s power woman playlist. I’m not really sure why Oops I Did it Again is on it. Mitchell says it screams more “I’m a slut” than “I’m a powerful woman.” I agree.

Devon picked us up from the train station with Justin (Justin didn’t go with us, he just lives in the area and wanted to hang out with us. I mean really, who blames him?). We played Just Dance 2, and Devon was pretty good. I should have practiced more...oh well. That night, we watched Miss Congeniality and Inception. I was really freaked out, so when it was over we watched an episode of Scrubs. It settled me a little, but I still had scary Inception dreams...or were they?

Ok, so all of the other entries are not this long. And I didn't write about the last two days, but it was mostly traveling so it doesn't really matter.

January 3, 2011

Target run - we wanted to get snacks for the plane ride. Unfortunately for me, I had eaten a rather large breakfast and was disgusted by the thought of food. I settled on rice cakes and gum. Shoot...I think I left that at Devon’s house (I’m on the plane now).

At the airport, Mitchell and I escaped the naked security pictures, but Devon wasn’t as fortunate. For the added cherry on top, he also got the pat down. Awesome. After we got through security, we called Kennis (she was flying out of Boston and would just meet us in Berlin). She was still packing. I hope she didn’t miss her flight. Right as I got off the phone, this crazy lady got us to take a survey.  She told Devon that he was a trouble maker. He told her that the club couldn’t handle us right now.

I'm not sure if this next entry was on January 3 or January 4. There was a time change somewhere in the mix. I think it was January 4th, oh well. Just be aware that at some point in the next section is the switch between January 3 and January 4.

On the plane...What’s up with the people sitting in front of me and not being able to sit still? The complementary eye patch and ear plugs were very nice. I probably got 2-3 hours of sleep, but with the time change you never know. When I woke up, I watched Toy Story 3. Everyone who ever told me about that movie said they cried. I did not cry. Maybe it was because I was angry that Devon kept poking me with his jacket sleeve while I was trying to sleep. He swears it wasn’t intentional, but I don’t believe him.

Paris finally came into view. It was quite foggy, so we decided that it was steam since Paris is the city of love. The airport was so sketchy. Devon spotted a vampire by his pasty-like skin. I was too tired to notice.

L-R: Kennis, Me, Mitchell,
Devon, David

David picked us up at the airport. I saw a lot of suitcases wrapped in Saran wrap...interesting (P.S. I found my gum). We rode the bus back to his apartment, ate lunch (rolls, cheese, jams, cookie butter) and then took a long nap until Kennis arrived. We explored some parks and the fairy tale fountain. Kennis was the first to fall. Whoever is next is a mystery to us, but everyone is slipping. We had spaghetti for dinner, which was good. Bedtime (or rather, anti-bedtime): 10 pm Berlin time, 4 pm US time.

January 5, 2011

Berlin Wall - The first part I saw was not what I was expecting. It was just a tall concrete slab, not what you see in pictures. Aka the East Side Gallery. That was so cool! Artists from all over were invited to paint on the wall. Some of the paintings made me uncomfortable, but overall it was a good experience.

For lunch we had currywurst. I decided it would have been better without the curry. I also had fries, a Fanta, and saw lots of fat pigeons. After lunch, we crossed the street. Some guy revved his engine at Mitchell. As he drove away, we saw him laughing. It was kind of funny.

Jewish Museum - The lady at the front gave us the student discount even though we all forgot our student ids. That was nice of her. There was this tunnel that ended up on the inside of a Levi’s exhibit. Devon and I sat there for a while. This one guy took a picture of the exhibit, but I don’t think he realized that we were there. Oops. There was this computer where we could leave comments, so Devon left the comment “hide yo kids hide yo wife”.  I said that I wished they had more escalators. We didn’t know that they’d be displayed on the scrolling sign through the lobby area. I found a 10 cent Polish coin on the ground at security.

Brandenburg Gate (right) - The light up trees were so pretty (left)! We saw the baby dangle hotel (Michael Jackson stayed there, if that helps anyone figure where we got the name from). We rode on a double decker bus, which was cool. 

January 6, 2011

Old National Gallery - lots of awesome paintings. My favorite was probably the still life of the fruit and the glass where you could see the reflection of the artist. I felt like the security guards were stalking me. There was a painting there that reminded me of the little boy in Shrek 4 who always said “Do the roar!”

For lunch, we went to Dömer. We had gyros; I wasn’t very impressed. They made my breath stink, which was unfortunate since I was wearing a scarf over my face. I smelt every burp.

The Berlin Cathedral/Dome

We went to David’s friend, Franz's, house for dinner. We had a traditional German meal: sauerkraut and ground beef, which was so spicy. We had cheesecake for dessert, and later on, they brought out apple vanilla chocolate, which was so good! On our way back to David’s, this car drove through a puddle and splashed us. You’d think things like that would only happen in the movies. Nope.

January 7, 2011

Contemplating the meaning of this piece.
We decided it was a box of masculinity,
souring the light of opportunity for
women everywhere. Photo cred: Devon

We went to the bakery directly beneath David’s apartment to get bread for sandwiches (it was cheaper than going out for every meal, and SO GOOD). We went to this crazy modern art museum - Hamburger-Banhof. We saw light bulbs stuck into lemons, suits made from drier lint, guitar hero to scary music, and a woman screaming randomly in agony.

After that adventure, we went to Gemäede Gallery. There were so many paintings and lots of them looked the same. There were lots of naked baby Jesus pictures, and even a scandalous cupid painting. After that, we went to the Old National Gallery, where we saw sassy paintings and paintings that looked kind of like Mitchell.

That night, we had microwavable pizza. After dinner, we went out for drinks with David’s friends. I had something with rum in it. I decided it was disgusting, so I ordered something else with tequila, which I also thought was gross. I didn’t finish either. Better luck next time, I guess. 

January 8, 2011

Today we went to Dresden, Germany. It was about a 3ish hour train ride. Fun fact: train toilets dump out on the tracks. Yuck. Next time you’re walking around on rail road tracks...yeah. But anyways, Dresden is such a cool place! We wandered around the streets pretty much all day. Later in the day, Kennis and I went to a sculpture museum while the boys went to the armor and gun museum. Kennis and I, probably because we’re women/directionally challenged, couldn’t find the museum. Actually it had more to do with the fact that neither one of us spoke German so we couldn’t easily ask for directions. We walked into this building we thought was the sculpture museum, and were bombarded by hundreds of Asian men, women, and children. It ended up not being the sculpture museum. It was an oriental porcelain museum (lol). Eventually, we were big girls and found the right place. We were taking pictures and the security guard walked over to us and spoke to us in German. I guess he meant no taking pictures, but we did anyways.

Dinner was super good! I got Hühnergeschnitzel and Erdinger Hefeweizen dunkel. It was some kind of chicken and noodles and it was delicious. And then some kind of beer, which was pretty good, but there was a lot of it in one glass, haha.

On the train ride back, there was this lady who looked like the president of our college (a man). Devon and I tried to sneakily take her picture. We’re so creepy, I love it.

January 9, 2011

I had fox fur around my
face for a beard.

We went to church. It was in German, but they had translator headphones so it was ok. For lunch, we went to an Arabic place. I got a schawarma sandwich. It was kind of like chicken and it was pretty good. After lunch, we went to the arts and crafts street. Kennis got a painting. Then, we went to the flea market where Kennis and I haggled this fur hat from 30 euros to 15. It's probably because we're cute.

For dinner, we went to a pasta bar, which was sweet. I had pasta with mushrooms and cream sauce and sparkling white wine. I felt extremely classy. Mitchell and Devon went to a concert, so me, Kennis, David, and David's sister went back to the apartment. We played dress up in David’s mom’s furs, which was so good. PETA would hate us.

You can definitely tell the posts I wrote when I was exhausted...get over it.

January 10, 2011

Silly ducks that followed us around
when we got our sandwiches out

We rode the train to Postdam. I sat next to a really cute guy. I hope I wasn’t drooling while I was asleep beside of him. Oh well. We met up with Franz (he goes to school in Potsdam, so he showed us around). We wandered around the city for a bit, and ended up at this one guy’s summer palace. I want one. We fed the ducks, which was funny because they kept slipping on the ice.

We went to this cafe, and I ordered some Mexican thing, which was basically a chocolate latte. It was delicious. They had anime wall paper in the bathroom. We were told that the anime in the boy’s bathroom was scandalous. The toilets were extremely tall. Going to the bathroom in Postdam was definitely an interesting experience.

January 11, 2011

So scandy.

Children with mustaches..?
Photo cred: Devon

Mitchell wasn’t feeling well when he woke up, so he didn’t go with us in the morning. We went to the Gallery Lafaette, which is a huge department store. There was so much sass inside. Everything was so expensive. There were mustaches on the children mannequins, which I found to be a little strange. Then we went to Checkpoint Charlie, which was so fascinating. The museum there showed lots of ways the people got over the wall; some dug tunnels, some hid in cars, some rode in hot air balloons, etc. There were lots of students there, probably about 11th grade. Some were making out in the corner. There was an interesting “party police” van outside...hm.

Us in front of the Parliament building.
Note the lawn of ice!

Walking through the
Holocaust Memorial

We went to the Holocaust memorial (left), which was very sad. It was cloudy, so it looked super gloomy.

We met up with Mitchell and wanted to go to the Parliament building (right), but it was closed to visitors for security purposes (they should call the party police). The lawn in front of the building was a sheet of ice. We decided that if anyone wanted to rob Parliament, they’d have to bring ice skates to escape. 

This is the point in our trip where I stopped journaling, I'll try to remember all that happened, but no promises.

The last day, we went to the Pergamon Museum, which was pretty cool. Interesting story that happened while we were on our way...

So we wanted to throw chunks of ice at the ducks. Little did I know, the mitten that David let me borrow would soar into the river as I was tossing a frozen sheet at an unsuspecting victim... 

"I'm so sorry, David, I'll buy you a new pair!"

What was I thinking? I didn't have the money to do that! I'm a poor college kid. I'll just go down this flight of conveniently located stairs to try and get it. Maybe I'll get lucky and the mitten will float close enough to the dock so I can reach it. Let's just hope I don't get arrested for trespassing...

Almost...just a little farther... 

Success! Look how happy I was, the face of pure joy.
Glove montage photo cred: Devon

I'll just put some of my favorite pictures up and comment on them since I have a terrible memory. Enjoy!

Alexandar Platz...all hail. Or else.

You can't tell from the picture quality, but this painting is SO detailed, it's amazing.

Look how sassy Jesus is in this painting. I can just hear him saying, "Now look here..."

Kennis likes art. Ok maybe not this one...

They sure do paint a lot of fat guys. 

Charlie Sheen, anyone?

Mitchell's portrait that currently hangs above his fireplace. Ok not really, but I could see it.

Dresden!

Little known fact: In Germany, Snow White is the most successful and feared mob boss. 

This is so lolzy, we saw this bumper sticker on more than one occasion.

I love Berlin!