I'm a Mammal

Vent. Today was slightly frustrating. Well, it built on the frustration that had already been founded. I've been trying to sign an apartment contract for awhile now, and the apartment's management has the worst office service. I try calling and no one answers. Yesterday I actually went to the office (drove in the snow, mind you) to sign my contract, and what do you know, they closed at two yesterday and today. Just yesterday and today. I went at four because they typically, and I use that word lightly, close at five.

So today I am bound and determined to go early in the morning so they don't close on me unexpectedly. I get there, fill out the paperwork (and the computer supposedly shuts off so the office worker has to wait awhile to boot it up), and after that I proceed to wait in line for a good 30 minutes because a father has decided to come into the office and complain about how the management handled a situation with his daughter. I guess his daughter has health issues/behavioral problems and they have to sign this behavioral contract for her to live anywhere. I basically learned all about the poor girl, and he wouldn't leave! By the way, I'm right in the thick of finals and papers and presentations, and I don't have an hour and a half to throw away to sign a contract! And the security deposit was exorbitant! Don't even get me started.

Well, throughout this whole ordeal, there was light. As I was reading the contract (and yes, I read the whole thing because this business law class I'm taking, and probably failing, right now is not going to waste), it said that no pets are allowed in the apartment. Ok, that's expected. And it goes on to list what animals are not allowed: reptiles, rodents, mammals, fis . . . mammals? Wait, mammals aren't allowed? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't humans mammals? I laughed a little to myself in the waiting room. I'm not allowed in my own apartment, but I signed the contract anyway! And then I learned that management can charge you for every little thing they please--moving is a $40 fee, carpet cleaning is $25 EVEN THOUGH they don't clean your carpet, having someone spend the night is $10, and the list goes on. It's so stupid, and I just got really frustrated today. But it's expected that they rip us off because boy do they despise us mammals.

And Then It's December

I know you've all been dying to know what I've been up to lately. I'm okay with that. If I were you, I would be dying to know, too.

It is now December and the snow has yet to stick. I think it has snowed only once this season, and again, I am perfectly okay with that. I've heard from a lot of people that they want the snow to just fall already. Don't they know that we're about to have four to five months of that? Patience, my dears. Some of us appreciate walking on dry ground!

It is true. I have my last day of classes tomorrow . . . ever! I actually hadn't thought of that until I just wrote it. I have one day of class left and then a week of finals. When did I grow up? I don't think I'm allowed to be a college grad. Anyway, the time has come and I am ready to be done, done, done. Finished.

I just want to pose a question and see what kinds of responses I get: Do you ever have trouble with your earrings? Perhaps that didn't make sense. Let me explain what happened. I was walking home from campus yesterday while the brisk wind was blowing through my hair. As I was trotting down the sidewalk, I passed a cute boy. "Could he really be looking at me? I mean, he's not simply looking; he's staring." We made eye contact as we brushed past each other, and I flashed my cheesiest grin; I got some cheese back. When I got home, I looked in the mirror and what do you know. I'm wearing my flashy diamond earrings, but really it was just one flashy earring. Earlier in the day I must have lost one of them because I had only one left in. How long had my earring been missing? This wasn't a situation where you could say, "I bet no one even noticed." These earrings are bling blinging. They really show some sparkle. And when the wind is blowing my hair and sweeps it away from my once-hidden ears, there's no masking it. The shining sun doesn't help diamonds from gleaming. Anyway, point is, I bet that boy was looking at my ears and wondering if I was making a new fashion statement. Bonk. I looked silly.

That story is not too bad, but then as I was laughing at my reflection in the mirror, I thought of another time when I had yet another earring blunder. One time I went to Stacy and Pierce's for dinner. Pierce's sister and her husband were also there, and we had a merry old time drinking blended smoothies and enjoying one another's company. No one mentioned anything out of the ordinary. Well, when I got home and took off my jewelry, I realized that the dangly earring Iwas wearing had another dangly earring attached to it. I had been wearing an earring that was about two inches long in one ear and another earring that was about five inches long in the other. I'm surprised I didn't notice the extra weight.

So this makes me wonder: how often do I look absolutely ridiculous and nobody even mentions it? I wish someone would tell me when my face is asymmetrical! This seems to be a common occurrence with me. I guess I'm willing to let others have a good laugh once in awhile at my expense! That's what I'm here for.

My Review of the Movie

Well, I put off reading this book for over a year and a half now. I clearly remember last summer (2007) when my roommates were reading the book and gawking at Edward and saying that our friend Jason is just like him (I was curious to find out why, but I don't really see it). Of course I'm talking about Twilight.

Since the movie just came out, I figured that the girls in my family would want to see it in the theater over Thanksgiving break; therefore, I caved and read the book. The 20-hour drive home would be the perfect opportunity to knock it out, and everything went according to plan. I finished the book last night, and lo and behold, my mom and I went to the movie today.

I knew there would some funny Twilight fans, so I googled "Twilight fans + funny reviews." Well, I didn't waste any time choosing a site, and although I could have spent hours looking at what people have said about both the movie and the book and their respective obsessions, I'm not obsessed and therefore settled for the first site I found. I learned that some girls live the "Twilife" now and are "Twihard." Interpret that as you will. They even dyed their hair dark brown because Edward prefers it--good thing that's my natural hair color (phew).

Anyway, as I mentioned before, I finished the book last night and thus had every detail from the pages etched in my mind. While watching the movie, I thought about how I could have written a better screenplay because they left out some important things/added some strange things/didn't make the movie flow as well as it could have. After thinking this, I thought about how hard it really would be to make a 500-page book into a 2-hour movie. Still, though. The acting was pretty horrible and the music was dreadful, but I was very excited when Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole" started playing during the baseball scene. It was a breath of fresh air because I, along with my sister Jo, absolutely love Muse. I have now included the song on my playlist just in case you're curious. (Okay, so I just learned on IMDB--shout out to Kari--that Robert Pattinson--Robert plays Edward in the movie--is a musician and some of his music was included in the movie. I'm guessing he wrote the piece that he played on the piano, and I actually thought that was pretty. If he was responsible for much more than that, though, then . . . . Do I sound like a critic yet? I'm really trying not to be critical!)

All in all, I liked the movie. I can honestly say that. Despite all the bad things about it, I liked it as a whole. Is that weird? I guess you could say that I wanted to re-live the book again (in a shorter amount of time, of course). I think Edward is insanely handsome--yes--but I'm by no means obsessed with the book or Edward. I mean, let's be honest about this reader-Edward relationship--I also fell in love with Mr. Knightley in Jane Austen's Emma and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. It's not just you, Edward. It happens with all of them, I'm afraid to say.

As a side note, Robert Pattinson also played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter. My mom pointed that out during the movie--nice work, Mom. I have to say that I like it better when his skin is very pale and he has that wave in his hair goin' on. He can work that hair-do as long as he wants, as far as I'm concerned. But he's got nothing on these two gentlemen.

James McAvoy now and Robert Redford back in the day. Will someone catch me? I'm about to swoon.

A Few Pics for Your Viewing Pleasure

I don't take pictures. I just don't do it. So here are a few pics I stole from my friends. Enjoy.

This was at my roommate's birthday dinner. (Refer to previous post!)

Here's the whole group of crazy girls (well, minus a few) at Carrabba's.

My roommate Brooke and me. Here I am showing off my new dress my mom sent me!

This is at Roommate's (Ashlee) birthday party in September. Em, Ash, and me. We were unstoppable Summer 2007.

Did you hear what she just told me?

Today is my roommate Brooke's birthday. Happy birthday, Brooke! We just went to a fabulous dinner at her sister Lauren's apartment. Great company, delicious food, awesome entertainment. Lauren made a red velvet cake totally from scratch--three layers--and it was divine.

Last night we went to Carrabba's for Brooke's pre-birthday dinner with the girls. There were about 16 girls sitting at the table, and you could kind of tell that one of the waitresses was getting a little agitated that girls kept showing up and we hadn't ordered yet and weren't paying the best attention because, well, we're girls. Finally at the end of the night, another one of the waitresses made a comment that was misinterpreted along the way . . .

I was sitting next to the aforementioned Miss Lauren when she and the waitress had this little discussion:

Waitress: "Sorry about the other waitress. She's been kind of cranky."
Lauren: "Really?? I didn't even notice." And she had this really shocked look on her face that I didn't quite understand.
Waitress: "You didn't? Oh, well that's good."
Lauren: "Yeah, I had no idea." By now the shock on her face had completely peaked.

I was so confused because the whole night I had sensed that this particular waitress had her panties in a wad. I couldn't understand how Lauren had missed that and why finding this out would be so shocking.

A few minutes later, after Lauren had pondered what she had just learned, she leaned over to me and whispered, "Did you hear what that waitress told me?" I responded, "Yeah, I did." I'm thinking, "So what? The other waitress is cranky. It usually happens when we're dining with a loud group." Lauren, eyes wide and disbelieving, replied, "She told me that the other waitress has been drinking." Things suddenly fell into place. I now understood why Lauren had been so shocked a few minutes before. Naturally I started laughing and cackling at decibels that should not be allowed in public places. "Lauren, she said that the other waitress is being cranky, not that she's been drinking!"

If Lauren hadn't decided to share the news with me, she would have thought to this day (a day later) that the waitress at Carrabba's in Provo, Utah, had been drinking on the job--highly unacceptable on two levels. I'm really glad this happened. It makes me wonder, though, how many times we all misinterpret what other people say. It's kind of like how Stacy always makes up lyrics to songs unintentionally; but that's another story . . .

Long Time, No See

Well, I made it to number 29 on Jordan's Blog List and Stacy's 35th spot; I guess it's time for a little Katy suga.

Let's just cross out the last thing I posted and revisit the post before that about graduating in December! Can I get some applause here? I have decided not to study in Spain next semester and am now officially graduating in a month. Scary! School is all I have ever known. Question--so am I supposed to look for a "Mommy, wow! I'm-a-big-girl-now job" or work on campus for a semester, travel around Europe next summer, and then look for the "Mommy, wow!" job? Thoughts? Comments?

I'll leave it at that and let you think that one through. I've been sitting here for about 10 minutes trying to come up with a hilarious story to share. I promise my life is full of adventure. Stay tuned . . .

Taking a Holiday in Spain

Leave my wings behind me.
Flush my worries down the drain.
And fly away to somewhere new.

I applied and got accepted to the Madrid Study Abroad program. It goes from January to April 2009. I'm slightly excited about being finished with school and taking my holiday in Spain.

Still Alive

School started and took off like that pitbull that chased me down the street when I was 5.

I'm a research assistant/teaching assistant for a marketing strategy professor. You are now looking at the blog of the new gospel doctrine teacher. And I applied for December graduation today.

Oh my gosh! I sent that to whom?

April 28, 2007

That is the date Jordan wrote her famous (or infamous?) post about the day my life started to fray at the seams. I'm just kidding--I love making things sound so much more dramatic than they really are. Long story short--Jordan and I had been emailing each other back and forth all day about this boy that I liked (who is now married, so it's way in the past!). Well, I had forwarded my wonderful sister a message that this boy had sent to me (because it was just so dang cute and so like him to send a sweet note like that), and she responded with something like, "Oh, he totally likes you! He wants to date you! Yadda yadda." Somehow she accidentally sent it to the boy instead of to me, and when she found out what she had done, she called me and whispered (because she was at work and I was on the other end whispering because I was at the library), "Katy, this is an emergency! I sent the email to the boy you like instead of you! I'm so sorry . . . (long, awkward pause as my eyes open really widely. They got even wider as she tells me all the things she had written in the email. 'Cute! He obviously likes you - at least as a REALLY good "friend". I bet he'd love to date you! I can't wait to hear how this turns out!!Jordan')." Well, you'd think that I would learn a lesson from this experience: always double-check who you're sending your emails to.

The new story isn't as bad, but it sure was funny. So the secretary at the office where I worked this summer called me and asked me for my email address so that they could send me a certificate that says I completed an internship at their company. I opened the email and chuckled to myself because the certificate was nothing like I expected. It was this cute certificate that had a frame drawn around it and four pictures (like of people shaking hands, one of the world, one of a heart) and the company logo was stuck in the middle. At the bottom it said my name and "Internship 2008." Basically, I thought the certificate would be a little more descriptive and professional. Naturally, I wanted to forward it to my dad so that he could see what I got in return for my 8 weeks of service at this company! I wrote (slightly sarcastically but very sincere at the same time), "I love it. No need to frame it--it's already been done!" and then clicked Send all too quickly. After the email had been shipped off, my email said "Sent to: ____" < the VP of the company I worked for. I accidentally pressed REPLY instead of FORWARD. I sent the email to the wrong person! The vice president had sent me the certificate and I wrote back to her. After I did it, I stared at the screen for a little bit as my eyes got really big and I frantically looked over the email to see exactly what I had written. "I love it. No need to frame it--it's already been done!" I almost wrote, "Love you, Katy" at the bottom, but I didn't this time. Imagine what the VP of the company would have thought! "I had no idea we were that close."

I think I've learned my lesson (again). Hopefully. At least I can laugh at myself about it. The boy I liked is married (and thank goodness it was never awkward between us after the "incident" and I no longer work at that company. Things could be a lot worse!) Let this be a lesson to you all.

So this is the Caribbean

Here are some pictures from my 3-month stay in Puerto Rico. Unlike my sister Stacy, I do not take a lot of pictures, so these will have to do. Even when I do take pictures, I don't get them developed. It's so expensive to get pictures developed! So I end up just storing them on my camera until I finally do something with them (thank goodness for the blog). Because I keep all my old photos on my camera, I have about 899 pictures hanging around on my memory card. (Some pictures are even from about 3 years ago, but I would never ever admit that.) Disfruta! (Enjoy!)

This is when the electricity in the neighborhood went out. I think it was out for about an hour. It happens.

The Convention Center that was way over budget.
A picture I snapped of our backyard.
The object that no one really understands. A sewer pipe/drain? The pelicans hang out on top of it.
The palm trees in my backyard.
My dad blowing out the awesome candles I put on stilts in the awesome German Chocolate cake I made for his birthday. You want that recipe--trust me.

Uncle Eric posing . . . with the pigeons? in Old San Juan.
My aunts, uncles, and me in Old San Juan! The fountain has no water in it! Yay San Juan.
Just a pretty plant on the highway exit.
A mural of the Taíno Indians. It's painted on an underpass. These Indians were already here when Columbus came to Puerto Rico in 1493.
Capitol Building. Don't quote me on that.

Building where the movie The Assassin was filmed. Have I seen that movie? No.
El Morro Fort from the 16th Century.
I can't remember.
I just snap the pictures--I don't really listen. Ok, I do, but I have a bad memory.
Our tour guide playing the cuatro (guitar/banjo-like instrument popular in PR).

Taken while riding on the Duck Tours. Here we are a duck in the water.
El Morro
A view from the rear of the Governor's Mansion.

This is where the cruise liners dock and all the tourists unload to walk the streets of Old San Juan.
The Duck Tours--here we are a duck on land.


The Hamburger. Clever! I learned that "hamburger" in Spanish is "hamburguesa."

Grandma and the boys.
Grandma getting pushed up the hill at El Morro.
El Morro

I blend in well with the cannon balls.

Here I am attempting a tricky stunt. I wanted to do the splits between the two walls. My mom encouraged me to do it (at my expense!), and I failed miserably. I am not the flexible gal I used to be.
Oww. Yelping in pain by this point. Mom: "The camera says memory full." Katy: "You've gotta be kidding me! Delete something!" Mom: "How do I do that?" Katy: "Forget i . . . I think I just pulled something."

Mom: "Did you have hair in your face because it sure was in mine." Click on that puppy to get a closer look.



Siblings at Lago de Dos Bocas. (Two Mouths Lake)

Grandma and her children.

We have our very own Jurassic Park here in Puerto Rico.
You have to take a ferry to get to the restaurant.

Arecibo. This is the largest "radio receiver" something rather, aka satellite. In the movie Contact. "I'm ok to go. I'm ok to go. I'm ok to go."

The sweet shoes you have to wear to walk on the satellite dish.

Taken from my living-room window. It's a cruise liner at night.
Lots and lots of kites! The kiteboarders owned the water that day.

I took this picture solely for the moon.