Some of life's small pleasures, as experienced by me today:

*Having time during my 4-hour Shakespeare class to study for the French test
*Going to the gym and hearing the whole Fountains of Wayne CD on the speaker-thingy
*Fresh rosemary bread at the dc--that's like, my favorite kind of bread ever!
*Finding out that the B- I got on the Linguistics test is actually only a B

Yay!

Look! Three Kims!!

I stole this from Corie.

This is the funniest picture I have seen in all of recent memory. Matt and Sam are so smooth. I can't stop laughing.

Cammy, if you're reading this before I called you, don't read any further!! I want to tell you on the phone first!

I had such a good weekend! I think what made it was Friday. Corie and Bria and I were planning to visit Andrea and Adam in San Francisco, but we had no idea how to get there, other than paying the 30+ bucks to take amtrak and bart, and that's not including eating in SF! So we were at a loss of what to do, when Liz (Rider) offers to drive us down there. So we were saved!
We drive down to the SF Holiday Inn at about 2, and we drive around the same block three times in a row (dang one-way streets!) trying to find reasonably-priced parking. We finally found some for $5! Woo hoo! And then we walked over to meet Andrea and Adam, and it was so nice to see them! Especially Andrea!:) Since I haven't seen her or really "hung out" with her since like, never.
We walked ALL OVER San Francisco, I got $15 spaghetti (which was actually really good), and a $7 warm cookie sundae at Ghirardelli (Yes, I ate the whole thing by myself), and then we walked to Pier 39 to get Jelly Bellys! And so that Bria could go to the bathroom. Oh, and I dragged everyone to the old games museum, and we took photobooth pictures. We squished four of us in the machine. That seems to be the maximum amount of normal-sized people that fit in there.


I think we all like the third-to-last picture the best. Andrea's eyes make me laugh.

And then we walked ALL the way back to the hotel at like, 7:30, and just talked for a while. And Adam had fun throwing paper airplanes out of the 26th-story window (which had an awesome view of the bay). All in all, I really want to do something like that again! I did NOT want to go back to Davis, that's all I can say!

Yesterday was fun. First of all, let me explain about our frisbee team. There's an A division and a B division. So we have two teams, one that's good (the A team) and one that's not so good (the B team). All of the people that aren't too serious about the game and just want to have fun are on the B team. Which includes me, and most of my friends. I also happen to be the assistant manager of the IM Ultimate Frisbee Team. How this happened, I'm not sure...apparently Dylan just assigned me to that position because you had to have the person's phone number, and mine was the only one he could remember. Ha ha. Very funny. No really, I don't mind that much. But yesterday we had our second "official" game, and I played for the first time, sort of against my will, since you have to have at least three girls and three guys, and there weren't enough girls. We played the veterinary graduate students! They were pretty hardcore too, considering they were just in the B division. They actually had strategies. What kind of nonsense is that? So, we lost 2-13. Hehe. But we seriously didn't think we'd get any goals scored against them! Plus, they were really nice. They kept on congratulating us for playing well. I mean sure, they were kicking our butt, but hey, what's wrong with being friendly? Anyway, after the game I went to late night with Liz and Karie and Alicia and Corie and Bria, and we got really hyper. So we came back and threw bouncy balls in the elevator until the RA's came and told us to stop. It was fun. I got hit in the mouth with a bouncy ball, and Scott got hit in the eye.

Once in a while, I love my French homework. We had an online excercise tonight where I had to match up each celebrity with their description (we're learning adjectives). The celebrities were Cindy Crawford, Serena Williams, Sarah Jessica Parker, Carrot Top, and Bart Simpson. So random! I couldn't help laughing.

Who's going to see the Shins???



KATE'S going to see the Shins!!! Twice!!! WOO YEAH!

Ok, you guys are probably sick of me talking about them. But you know what? This is MY blog!! That means I can do WHATEVER I want with it! MUA ha ha ha ha! Ok. I'm done with my power trip now. Go Shins!

Ok, so the new "artist" I've been listening to a lot recently is Elliott Smith. I don't know why I suddenly decide to buy a CD. It's weird, because his song Needle in the Hay is the main reason that I bought the Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack like, 2 years ago. And the other day Corie was talking about how Elliott Smith killed himself, so I was listening to that song again, and I thought, "Why didn't I ever look into this guy's music?"
So I looked into it, and I bought his self-titled CD, and it's pretty good. I recommend it. It's really simplistic, basically just vocals and guitar, and the lyrics are pretty simple too. But that's why it's good.

Ok, Kaylan started me on the Jones Soda thing. I submitted this one.

It's Myra and Kim in a face-off!
You know you like it...please vote!

Kaylan wants her picture on a Jones Soda label. If you love her like me, vote for it!

Mua ha ha! It's official: the male species is totally obsolete. Now women can easily take over the world!

Oh, and I got this from Billy and Corie:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

"The real task is to destroy the whole inhuman system"--Fathers and Sons, by Ivan Turgenev

This is interesting: Jack White produced a CD for the famous country singer Loretta Lynn. If you haven't heard of her, she's the singer that movie Coal Miner's Daughter was made about. The one with Sissy Spacek? No? Never heard of it? Me either. Hehe. I just know her because the White Stripes dedicated their third album to her. ANYWAY, the CD's called Van Lear Rose, it comes out April 27, and Jack White produced, arranged, and performed songs on it.

Consequently, because of the White Stripes influence, the music on the album is supposed to be a lot more country-rock sounding; apparently this is supposed to be a really ground-breaking album, and one of Loretta Lynn's best. I'm thinking about buying it, even though it's country music. I figure if Jack White was involved. . .it can't be that bad!

I just realized that maybe I am the only one who found all of the above information interesting.

Ok, I'm breaking the unspoken law on my blog of never posting a survey. But Corie wrote it, and it's not too long, so I decided it's ok, just this time.

Corie’s Survey
1. Favorite playwright: I have to agree with Billy on this one—Tennessee Williams
2. Favorite lyric (or the one that stands out at this moment): So let me walk these coals til you believe/I can cut the mustard well enough -the shins
3. Favorite recently learned interesting fact: The reason there’s all that sticky sap all over Davis is because of Asian Woolly Aphids. Dylan learned that at the entomology department at Picnic Day and decided to share with me.
4. If you had to get a tattoo what would it be and where would you get it put on your body: I would get a lion tattooed somewhere unnoticeable--maybe on my hip.
5. Human flaw you find most interesting: insanity? I’m not really sure about that one.
6. If you were to write a novel what would it be about: Hmm…probably some kind of clichéd love story with a Buddhism theme running through it.
7. What’s one thing that you want people to know about you that they might not: Well, I hope you already know that I love you guys. But other than that…maybe that I’m not nearly as serious and close-minded as I sometimes sound? Or do I even sound that way? Maybe it’s just me.
8. Favorite concept and why: This survey is way too deep for me. Concept? That sounds like something to do with math or science, in my book!
9. Of your friends who do you think will be the first to have kids and/or get married: Not Cammy! Ha ha. I don’t know why I think that. Or me either, for that matter! Definitely not the kids part, anyway. Have I said enough to avoid the question?
10. Epic poem or tragic play: Oh man, a good tragic play is awesome. For example, Hamlet is probably my favorite. Epic poems I tend to find really tedious
11. Favorite live show experience: THE WHITE STRIPES!! Oh man, I got tears in my eyes because it was so good!
12. Have you ever been on stage at a concert (This question brought to you by Brigitte): not yet.
13. The school year will be ending soon, what do you feel was your greatest accomplishment during that time (besides finishing the school year because you should have learned by now that that is circular thinking and doesn’t actually answer the question): I got a boyfriend! Ha ha ha ha haha. Never thought that would happen.
14. BONUS: What two songs contain the lyric “no one said it would easy, no one said it’d be this hard”: that’s too much like a pop quiz. No comment.

Wow. This super-famous Saudi Arabian woman newscaster was severely beaten by her husband, and she allowed pictures of her damaged face to be shown by the media. That's really groundbreaking. You know this type of thing happens every day in that country, but apparently, this is the first time ever that domestic abuse has been addressed by the media in Saudi Arabia.
Here's the article (with pictures) about it in BBC news. Inform yourself!

I got 27 emails on myucdavis.edu today. That's just waay too many.

So...news? There isn't really any.
I had an awesome Easter at my friend Jessica's house. She and Colleen are cousins (they're also the people I'll be living with next year), and Jessica lives in Sacramento, so I went to her house for Easter. We got to hunt for eggs with candy in them! And one of the eggs I found had $5 in it! Mua ha ha! We also got silly putty and bubbles, both of which I had WAY too much fun with. And Cammy called me on Easter too! She woke me up at 11:30 am! Ha ha. But that was my Easter. Other than that....
I already have an essay due on Monday on Shakespeare. I didn't realize how seldom I write essays in college until I took an English class this quarter! Ha ha. I only wrote one real essay all last quarter!
Along with all of this thrilling news, I got letters from two of my non-American friends in the past week. One was from Tilly (our exchange student from Norway who stayed with us, like, 4 years ago) and the other from Vera (the German girl who came to school with me for two weeks). They both sent me pictures, because they're awesome like that!

Here's the one of Vera, with her cute kitty:




And here's one of Tilly hiding behind a plant:


They're both holding something. I think that's kind of funny. I don't know if you guys care at all, but I just felt like posting their pictures. That's all the news for now! (Stay tuned for more news, at ten to the hour, every hour! just kidding.)

This is great.

Doctor Unheimlich has diagnosed me with Keht's Disorder
Cause:	natural sign of ageing
Symptoms:	frequent tallness, listlessness, occasional tongue retraction
Cure:	take three aspirin and come back in the morning
Enter your name, for your own diagnosis:

I never knew my tallness was a symptom!

Here's a photo of the Shins that I found on their website. It should give you some idea of what they're like.

Worship the sacred Ronald!

Happy Easter!

I BOUGHT SHINS TICKETS!!!

After I buy my flight ticket, I will be dirt-poor. But it's worth it!

Oh man, I am SO EXCITED!! I think I get to see the Shins after all, if everything works out!!!!!!! CROSS YOUR FINGERS!!

ps-I think I have somewhere to go for Easter, now, too! So things are looking very good for me!

I think it's funny that the Davis Republican "Club" is calling its rally tomorrow the "Pro-America" rally. Are Democrats anti-America? Or is it just because they're afraid that no one will come if it's called the "Pro-Bush" rally?

So exciting! Today, Bria and I signed up for a weekly jitterbug swing class! I hope there is actually a good amount of people in the class, and hopefully a few guys, too! And along with swing classes, I signed up for a weekly beginning guitar class! Yay! I hope that's good too, since it cost 60 freaking bucks. But my parents paid for it, so...what do I care? Ha ha--just kidding. Sort of. So those classes take care of Monday and Wednesday nights for the next two months.
And then Dylan basically made me sign up for the "fun" ultimate frisbee team (fun=team for people who suck at frisbee), so that's gonna be having "practices" like, once a week. So now I have to do that sometimes, I guess. Aren't I so involved?
Oh, and I'm taking this Shakespeare class where we read the play, and then at the end of the quarter, we put on the play for the whole school. We're reading The Taming of the Shrew (did I already blog this? I can't remember), and it's a pretty good play, and a lot of my friends are in the class. HOWEVER: Our teacher, Mr. Schroeder, reminds me way too much of Mr. Segal! He doesn't look anything like Mr. Segal, but man, that guy can be really mean sometimes, for no reason at all! Maybe it's just a common trait among stage director people. I just hope I don't get on his bad side.

To all of you lip balm addicts like me, this site proves that frequent chapstick-users really do have a type of addiction! Crazy.
There's even a quiz you can take to see if you're addicted (although I personally don't need a quiz to tell me this fact).

So, I've had two French classes so far. And the language is hard! My teacher speaks almost completely in French, even though it's French 1, and I can never figure out what she's saying! I also can't pronounce any of the words. But I guess that's what happens when you've only been studying a language two days.

Also, I still desperately want to see the Shins. But the closest they are playing is Portland, Oregon, on May 22. Which is ONLY an 8-hour drive from Davis! So, who wants to drive me there?! Any takers? I'll PAY for your ticket!! Please?!?! Either that or I start walking right now....

To those of you who miss Calvin and Hobbes:
Don't worry! It's just temporary! Until November 2nd, however, I need to do my duty and make sure that Bush doesn't get re-elected.

Saw Alkaline Trio and NOFX last night! It was interesting. Ha ha. First of all, that's not really my type of music. But I liked the show. All of the acts were really good, once you got past the EXTREMELY amplified music. Plus, it was the "Rock Against Bush" tour, so they had a film in between the bands showing how Bush and all his people lied, and then they had the guy from the Dead Kennedys (Jello something?) come and talk about all the bad stuff Bush did. He talked for WAY too long, but it was still good that they were forcing all of the lil' punk kids to listen to what he was saying, because it's important. Alkaline Trio was awesome; I've never seen them perform live, heck--I barely know any of their songs. But they were pretty awesome. I liked the suits. And NOFX was good too. The lead guy threw out his back the day before the show, so they brought a couch out for him, and he just lay down on it with his feet propped up on pillows, and the mike angled down by his mouth. It was funny.
I also got knocked on the floor twice, by people being a little over-enthusiastic. Dylan and I actually got in the middle of a mosh pit accidentally--it just formed all around us on the first song. Scary! I have a big purple bruise on my knee from it now. Ha ha. Too many sweaty guys with no shirts on can be dangerous, not least of all because they freakin' smell! I guess that's what happens at punk concerts. So yeah. It was fun.

So, the fact that I didn't blog once this break should tell you something: it was nice!! I was never bored enough to sit down in front of the computer and type something out.
So, I never posted this, so probably a lot of you didn't know, but DYLAN came back with me for spring break. That's right. My boyfriend from North Carolina. Slept in my house, stayed with my family, for an entire week. Pretty crazy. I really didn't know how it would turn out, which is why I think I was afraid to tell anyone that he was coming down.
But it turned out to be a really, really nice break. My whole family warmed up to him really fast (even Kim! Whoa!), I got to show him my hometown and all of that fun stuff, and most amazing of all: we didn't get on each others nerves!! If anything, we are much closer now. So yeah. Very nice break indeed.
I just have to last through one more quarter...just one more quarter....

Now I have to finish reading the first act of The Taming of the Shrew. Byeee! (as Hannah says)

I just got back from my last final. Man, who knew linguisitics could be so hard? I definitely didn't get a 98 on the final. The test was FOUR questions, and it was worth FORTY PERCENT of our grade. Crazy. I know I missed points...it all depends on how hard they grade it. I think it's funny, too, because there's a guy in my linguistics class who I know from German, but we never talked in linguistics, until today, he asked me how I thought I did on the final! People are funny, sometimes.
Now I have to go pack...I'm coming home!

Yay! Cammy's back from her spring break! I didn't get to talk to her for over a week...I never knew how difficult that is!

Ok, what do you think of this:
The whole group of dorms in my area of the campus are called the Segundo dorms. And every dorm building in the Segundo area has its own group of smokers that gather outside the dorm at random times of the day to smoke. Except my dorm, the Integrated Studies, or "nerd" dorm. So some of my friends, namely Scott, Chris, and Daniel decide to buy a pack of cigarettes and stand outside and smoke them, just so that we don't look like the big nerds in the area! A lot of my other friends, like Kaylan and Liz and Alicia, are really upset with them for doing that. I, personally, think it's kind of funny...as long as no one starts doing it regularly!
Just felt the need to blog what we Davisites do in our free time. Basically, take up smoking for fun.

ps-ONLY ONE FINAL LEFT! But it's on Monday :(

Q: What kind of underwear does King Tut wear?

A: Fruit of the Tomb!

This joke has been brought to you courtesy of Laffy Taffy (R).

I got a 98 on my linguistics midterm! I got a C on my last one, and I was pretty sure that I got the same thing on this one, despite studying about 6 hours for it. I can't remember the last time I was so happy to get an A!! It gave me new energy to study for finals.

I decided to quote Cammy's roommate (and good friend) Sarah, regarding my views about the upcoming election. She makes me laugh:

"I really don't know what to think of the presidential candidates anymore. Bush is obviously bad, and the democrats should unite to get him and his neoconservative nannies out of the White House, but who are we replacing him with? John Kerry? First of all, John Kerry is a scary looking man. I do not trust his horsey facial characteristics at all. And whats more, he is still a pansy fence rider. Second, unless John Edwards signs up to be his running mate, I think we're in for another close election. Ah, John Edwards, with your beguiling smile and southern charm... you're too good looking to be in politics, you fox you. Finally, whats the deal with Kerry being so effing vague about gay marriage?"

I agree completely.

I reallyreallyreallyreally don't feel like studying for finals. Don't make me!! I don't want to do work!!

I love the notes that I get from my RA:


That's actually how my RA Peter talks. He's a DJ (if that explains anything). And he's Mormon, Hannah! He cracks me up.

Oh my goodness. Yesterday I watched possibly one of the saddest films I have ever seen: Dancer in the Dark. Actually, I only watched the second half of it--but that's more than an hour, and it's probably the most difficult part to watch. It's about this Czechoslovakian immigrant woman (Bjork) in the 1950's, who has a heredity disease that makes her blind, and she doesn't want her son to get it, so she's saving up all of her life savings to pay for his operation. She even kills a guy so that he won't take the money that she's been saving. And then she gets the death penalty because her lawyer sucks. And I won't give away the ending, but you can probably see how the movie's plot is a bit bleak. Oh, and there are random musical numbers thrown in, since she likes to imagine her life as a musical, since "nothing dreadful ever happens in musicals." It's so sad! Did I mention that yet? But I liked it. So if you want to be depressed, go for it.

Oh yeah! On a lighter note, I went to dinner at my Constitution Professor's house last night (well, the whole class did. Don't worry, it wasn't just me.). But it was SO nice! First of all, my professor is like, 70 years old, so he's this nice old man, and his house is all cozy with squishy furniture, and his wife was really sweet too. And everything they made for dinner was vegetarian! And I didn't even tell them I was vegetarian! They got eggplant and feta pizza (yum), and this really good salad with avacado, and chocolate chip cookies!! I had three servings of everything. So much tastier than the dc.

Ha ha ha ha ha
It's about pinatas.

When the weather gets sunny and in the high seventies, like it is today, it makes me really want to go some place like here:


Spring break, here I come! (After a few finals, of course.)

It's probably just me, but I think Jack White looks really hot in this picture. And I don't really consider Jack White an attractive person.

Very belated Oscars photos. I felt like putting them up, even though no one cares anymore.

First, my lovely Jude Law (who looks like he's getting a bit old):


And then, I must say that I thought Scarlett Johansson's overall outfit looked really nice, even though it wasn't the most original:

OH MY GOD! The bored people of Davis have discovered an awesome way to have fun! Ok, here's what you do:

1. Get as many people as you can
2. Get as many bouncy balls as you can
3. Find the elevator and get inside it
4. While the elevator is going up and down, throw the bouncy balls against the walls and the ceiling, and duck and cover, so that none of them take out an eye.

It's SO fun! Eight of us got in the elevator and entertained ourselves for like, 20 minutes throwing bouncy balls at each other!

Yes! My 20-minute speech and presentation on the death penalty is DONE! If you guys have any questions about why it should be ruled a violation of the Eighth Amendment, come to me--I'm your man. Or woman. But now all I have to do is write the 12-page paper on it! Luckily that's not due until next week.

The other landmark event that happened yesterday: I voted! Woo hoo! I'm a real adult now! I felt so stupid, because I had NO idea how to do it. I mean, I figured out how to punch the card alright, but I didn't know how to tear off the top of the ballot, or where to put it or anything. Ah well. There's a first time for everything. I voted for Kerry. Much to Dylan's chagrin, who voted for Kucinich. But at least he didn't give me too much crap for it.

Man, staying up late to work on a presentation sucks.

So, primary elections are this Monday (for those of us who live in California). I'm so confused! Who do I vote for?
I mean, Kucinich obviously has the best ideas, but he's not gonna win even if Hell freezes over. So I think Imight vote for Kerry. But then Dylan found this quote from him in the newspaper today, where Kerry basically said that the War on Terrorism isn't done yet, and if anything, Bush hasn't done enough about it. And that worries me.
So then the other choice is Edwards. But I really don't know very much about him either. I just know that he's probably not going to win. But does that mean that I shouldn't vote for him, just because he probably won't win?
Why are politics so freaking confusing?!

Is this not the cutest picture ever?!

Ok, if I'm ever pregnant for an awards show, please remind me not to dress like Marcia Gay Harden


But more like Debra Messing


And this is the dress I would wear if I went to one of these awards shows. I don't think it looks that great on her, but I like it. Cuz it's green.


ps-can you guys see these pics?

Today:
I got an apartment!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm so grown up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But not really. It's all basically my parents who are paying for everything.

In one of the apartment complexes, they had a reeeeaaally cute friendly grey-striped tabby cat. But his name was Daniel. Who names a cat Daniel?!

Oh yeah, did I mention that I slept overnight with like, 8 other people just so we could get the first choice of apartments? Yeah...they didn't have a waiting list, so it was first come, first served. Going on about 3 hours of sleep right now. We're such nerds. I ditched Linguistics. That was nice. AND we got our first choice of apartments. So everything's going pretty well, I think. I know you have all been desperately wondering how things are going with me.

TAKE MY QUIZ!Ha ha. Sometimes I copy Hannah. But seriously, take it! It's only 5 questions, and you're bound to get at least one right!

Look! It's Kaylan and me riding on the Yolobus! Ha ha. We look like poor college students. Hm, I wonder why....

Ok. So today I was so bored and tired in my constitution class that I had to resort to eating my notebook to keep myself awake (It's paper).
Then, I went with some people to see this documentary about the Venezuelan revolution, called The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. I was seriously expecting there to be five people there, and to be bored out of my mind. But no! There were more like 300 people there (it was held in the huge chem building), and the movie was really amazing.
Ok, so Venezuela has a long history of the country being run by a minority of rich white people who don't care about what all the common people think. Then this guy, Hugo Chavez, was democratically elected. So all the common people liked him, and the US didn't like him, because he didn't give all of his oil to the US so easily, like the previous leaders had done. So basically, he was overthrown for two days (April 11-13 2002) by the rich people. But then the poor people revolted, and the army revolted, and they returned him back to power. Which is a good thing, I guess.
But this whole documentary was shot by some Irish filmmakers who were in Venezuela just planning to shoot a documentary about Hugo Chavez, and the revolution just happened to occur while they were filming it. Pretty crazy, huh?

I typed in "Ah, Life is Good" on google, and this is the first image that it gave me:



Life is good! For us, anyway! We should all remember that!

This picture makes me laugh. And yes, I stole it off Andrea's site.

Oh, and guess what? I ordered that poster of Jack that I posted earlier in the week! Yep, spent all my birthday money in one fell swoop. But at least I got an awesome White Stripes poster!

Oh man. I had a good weekend. Because I got to ditch class on Friday and have a four-day weekend at home, in Monrovia! And get lots of birthday presents! So I flew home on Thursday night, and had birthday cake (mmm...chocolate cheesecake, I think it was) and opened presents. I get to rent a guitar from the Watermelon Music in Davis! Let's see if I can actually learn how to play it!
Then on Friday, I slept in...and got Indian food for my belated birthday dinner! Mmm. Very tasty.
Saturday: The family went to Venice Beach. It was so nice and sunny and warm/cool. I got a henna tattoo and a very random shirt. And got Indian food again, at one of the local stands. Then we went to a basketball game at Occidental College (my parents' alma mater).
Sunday: Homework time! Gave Kim a bath. So now she hates me. But she also loves me at the same time, because I'm the person who takes her for walks every day. Went to Brigitte's house to chill and play hide-and-go-seek in the dark.
Monday: Went out to breakfast in Sierra Madre, then saw Monsieur Ibrahim at the Laemmle. And the best part: Got a HUGE slice of chocolate cake at the coffee shop at Vromans. And then I flew home.

Exciting, huh? Oh, and I looked at Hannah's pictures of her with bangs. So cute, Hannah! They look good! :)

Now for school tomorrow. Or shall I say today. :(

So, Kaylan has to get up at 5:45 AM tomorrow, and she tells me, "I have to get up earlier than God."
My response: "Really! So God gets up at 7 AM Pacific Standard Time?"
Kaylan: "Yes! Maybe he sets his alarm early, but he hits the snooze button, I'm sure."
Ha ha ha ha. Sorry if that's not funny to you, but it was funny to me.

Everyone is going to laugh at me for blogging this. But Corie just reminded me that at the end of Fight Club, when all the buildings are falling down and Ed Norton has lost his mind, they play that Pixies song, Where is My Mind?
Is that the definition of awesome, or what?

I really want this tour poster! It's $25, though.

Yay for the White Stripes! The grammys were pretty boring, but at least the WS played, AND won best rock song of the year and best alternative album. That's pretty good, I guess.

Yes! I did it! Now Kim has a site on Dogster! People with dogs, add yours now!! This is so exciting!!

Yay! Me and my "homies" as Corie calls them went to go see a show at the Davis Coffee House yesterday. And it was really good! First we saw Mr. Metaphor. They weren't that great. Not bad, compared to a lot of the bands that play here, but not great either. And then we saw The Long Winters. They were good. You could actually understand their lyrics, and they were really funny in between songs. Oh, and the keyboardist was the same guy from the Harvey Dangers, who happens to be the band that played that song, that goes "I'm not sick, but I'm not well...." Remember? So yeah. That was cool.
And then, NADA SURF came on! And they were even better! They played a lot of songs. And they made me happy. I don't really know how to describe their music. I guess you could call it emo...but I hate that word. And come on--how can you not love a band that has a song with the chorus:

"Always love, hate will get you every time"

^That song's off the album that they're in the process of recording. I think I want to buy it when it comes out.

Ha ha ha ha. Don't ask.

You know what I realized today? I really, really, like the smell of paper. Like, you know when you open a new book? Or just the smell of tissues when you blow your nose? If they sold a room spray in Paper Scent, I would totally buy it. There's a random thought for ya.

Goodness. What is the world coming to? And how the heck did he convince his wife?!

Oh, and this is really sad, too. Not sad-sad, but "poor deluded famous people" sad.

One more thing. This game is awesome. Especially since Kaylan has pet fish. We couldn't stop cracking up.

READ THIS! Or at least some of it. Yeah, I know it's huge. It's from my Defenders of Wildlife Magazine, and it shows one of the many reasons we should not re-elect Bush.



What has Bush done for the environment? Nothing!!

Which Empire Records Character Are You? Find out @ She's Crafty

Yes! I was trying to get him!

Aaaargh! My linguistics midterm is tomorrow, and I don't understand it at ALL! Does anyone know how to do intermediate constituents?

Did you know that the active ingredient in Raid Ant Bait (R) is called Perfluorooctanesulfonamide?
(yes, we have ants again. And they are back with a vengeance)

So, Kaylan and I watched Pretty Woman tonight, since it was on the Davis Student Housing Channel, or whatever it's called. Hmm.... It actually wasn't THAT bad; kinda cute actually...but MAN is it dated! The music, the cars, the CLOTHES! It makes me sad that probably a lot of the movies that we watch today will probably be the same in like, 15 years.

And now, on a totally different note, I must post some information about Rasputin, since Leah just did a report on him, and told me about him. That guy was crazy!! Just read this bio that I got off encyclopedia.com:

Lived from 1872-1916. Russian “holy man,” a notorious figure at the court of Czar Nicholas II. He was a semiliterate peasant and debauchee who preached and practiced a doctrine of salvation that mixed religious fervor with sexual indulgence. Because of his personal magnetism and his ability to check the bleeding of the czarevich Alexis, who suffered from hemophilia, Rasputin gained a powerful hold over Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna and, through her, over the czar.
Rasputin's disgraceful behavior, the czarina's attempts to shield him, and a series of scandals involving his appointees helped to undermine the imperial government. It was suspected at the time that Rasputin and the czarina were working for a separate peace with Germany. In Dec., 1916, a group of right-wing patriots, including Prince Felix Yussupov and the czar's cousin, Grand Duke Dmitri, conspired to assassinate Rasputin. With an intricate plan, the three invited Rasputin over to the Yusupov Palace on December 30, 1916 to meet the Tsar's beautiful niece. Whi le waiting for her to appear, the men fed Rasputin poisoned wine and tea cakes. This did not affect him. Dismay came over Yusupov and he shot Rasputin. Miraculously, Rasputin staggered out into the courtyard where Purishkevich and Pavlovich were preparing to leave the palace. Purishkevich shot the staggering Rasputin again, but it was only later, when they bound his body and threw it into the Neva River that he died.

This is the creepiest part:


Yes, he is REALLY scary looking. I can't believe they named that CD store after him....

I find it kind of ironic that the first time I have an actual valentine, I'm not going to be around for Valentine's Day!

Yes, I guess I can post it now: Dylan and I are "going out."
This is Dylan from Davis, (not Porter Dylan). I put "going out" in quotes because frankly, I'm not quite used to the idea yet. But we'll see how things go.
I'm sorry for all of you who have no idea who this Dylan is. Maybe someday you'll get to meet him.

My birthday is in less than three weeks! And I'm gonna go home for it! Hooray!

Ok, does anyone else think that my linguistics book uses some...um...disturbing sentence examples?



Doing my homework can be such a downer!

Hmm...I think this is the longest period of time that I haven't updated for quite a while! And I didn't even try not to blog!
So, you may ask: What news is there?
Welp, there's some. I'm not sure that I want to post it all on the blog. But let's see...the ants left for the whole week until they came back again last night and attacked Kaylan's peanut butter. So she sprayed them with her Sweet Kiwi body mist, since we didn't have any Raid. Needless to say, they were still here this morning.
And then we went to go see Ted Leo and the Pharmacists last night. For free at the MU. And they were really good! I bought their shirt and their CD. 20 bucks. A little too much money to spend just spur-of-the-moment. But I couldn't help it! They were really good! Ted Leo, actually, was really good. His voice reminds me of Ben Folds. Which is definitely a good thing. And he joked with the audience in between songs.
So yeah. That's not all the news. But that's all that I'm going to post right now, since I'm going to eat dinner. Yes, at 5 pm, like an old lady.

Aaah! We have ants in the dorm! They go all the way around, and they're gradually working their way inwards, so that they can EAT US ALIVE! Or maybe not. But they are all over the walls. Dylan suggests that we get a pet anteater to help solve the problem. I thought that was an awesome idea, so I looked up anteaters on the internet. Unfortunately, they only live in tropical, humid climates. And apparently they eat about 30,000 ants a day. Hm...I don't think even we have QUITE that many ants.

Brigitte sent me these pictures in an email. They just made me stop for a second, and brought a couple tears to my eyes.

Okay, there's this site called my pet fat. It's kind of taken from the idea of the pet rocks, except it's a blob of simulated fat that you carry around with you to remind yourself not to eat fatty foods, like cheeseburgers or bacon, or something. You can buy it in several sizes, ranging from 1 oz. to 5 lbs. (pictured above, and setting you back $90). What WILL they think of next?

*ps-Hannah, I got this from ljc's site, too!

Ok, so now I'm in the badminton class at 10 am on Mondays and Wednesdays. And then on Monday night at 8:30, I took an "aerobic kickboxing" class at the rec hall with Alicia. And now I am SO sore! Actually, it's getting a little better, I think. It was worse yesterday. But it still rEaLly hurts when I have to sit down in any sort of chair. And tonight I decided I'd kill myself a little more by taking the abs class with some people. So now my butt will be sore, my thighs will be sore, my arms will be sore (from badminton), and my stomach will be sore! Yay for fitness! Ha ha.
I swear I'm not turning into one of those fitness freaks--I'm just really bored, and there's nothing else to do on weeknights!

YAy! Not only are the White Stripes nominated for four awards, but they're also gonna be playing at the Grammys! Who cares if the Grammys suck? I'm still watchin' 'em!

Oooh, the apple ipod mini. Only 3.6" tall. Can I have one? I don't usually need that much technology, but They're So Cute!!

Sometimes I feel like posting pictures of cute kittens.


And no, I don't know who that guy is that's holding the kitten. Sorry.

ps-it makes me sad when The Shins play in San Francisco, and then their tickets get sold out before I can even decide if I want to go or not. Who's heard of the Shins anyway?!

Oooh man. College is nice...but sometimes it's not. I don't really feel like explaining, but don't worry--I think everything will work out in the long run.

ANyway, yesterday was interesting. I went to Sacramento TWICE in ONE day! Ha ha. It's funny how things happen coincidentally like that. Liz, Kanani, Kaylan, and I took the Yolobus to Sacramento to see Young Black Stallion on the IMAX screen there. Liz rides horses, so she wanted to go see it. The trip was kind of funny, because the bus ride took an hour to get there, and an hour to get back, and the movie itself was only 55 minutes long. And the joys of public transit! On the way there, Liz was telling us about this guy who's gonna get released from prison, and how the equestrian team had to be careful about it because apparently he's been writing letters to one of the girls on the team, and then this old scary lady sitting next to me interrupts us and decides to tell us how we can avoid rapists, and how we can use our horse to protect us against rapists. I guess she meant well, but it was actually pretty creepy, because she looked like she just got out of prison herself!
So we saw the movie--extremely cheesy, hardly any plot (we were the oldest people there without our parents)--and we barely got out in time to catch the next bus back. So we RUN to the bus stop, and the busdriver lady tells us it's her break, so we have to wait twenty minutes while she goes to use the bathroom. And we can't get on the bus, even! Even though it's really cold. So we wait at the bus stop forever. And then she asks us where we're headed, and we tell her Davis. And she says, "Well, I'm going to Woodland--Woodland and then the airport," as if we're on the wrong bus. So we pull out the map of the route, and it says "Woodland, airport, Davis." So Liz asks if she's gonna go by Davis, since it's on the route, and she says "Yes," as if it's obvious. We decided that she probably hated us or something. She looked really scary too. So we sat at the very back of the bus.
And that's just the movie part of the day!
We got back at 6:30 (we left at freakin' 2), and then my friend Daniel told me about his friend's band which was playing that night at Capitol Garage, which is actually about a block away from the bus stop we got off at. So Scott, Ivan, Dylan, Liz, Karie, Corie, Bria, and I all pile into Scott's car and drive out there again for a show at 9 pm. The first band was called the Suicide Squirrels. It was a wannabe White Stripes, with just a guitarist and a drummer. Except they had no lyrics and it was basically just one guitar riff over and over for each song. And then the second band, the Clorox Girls (three guys), threw water and powdered sugar all over the audience. Yeeah....so we left after that, because both of the bands kind of sucked. And got home at around 11 or so, and played Catchphrase (woo hoo!) until 1.
So that was my Saturday. Sorry if you couldn't make it through the whole story. It was a little long-winded.

Here are some late hiking photos:


Jumbo rocks scenery


Me and Leah in a really cool crevasse

So remember how I donated blood way at the beginning of the year? No? Well, I did. And I didn't know what type of blood I had, until they sent me this little card yesterday that said I was A+. That sucks! I really wanted to be type O. Because with type O you feel special, since everyone can accept your blood, and the blood people are always asking you for donations. But with type A...no one cares! Naw, I guess type A isn't that bad...but I just was hoping for more! *blurry camera shot with tears in eyes*
OK, I can't believe I just wrote a paragraph complaining about my blood type.

Take the What Should Your New Year's Resolution Be? Quiz



Riiight....

I'm back. I love having high-speed internet again. Going home reminds me to count my blessings. Hehe. It's so nice to see everyone again! I had my first day of classes today, and it was ok. My linguistics professor reminds of Chris Kattan--he looks kind of like him. Except he has huge Harry Potter glasses and a strong Spanish accent. He also talks about linguistics as if it's science, which isn't that great. For example, he said: "Think of the subject as the nucleus of the sentence." Scary!! Is that supposed to make it clearer for me?!
My beginning painting class is tomorrow. Hope it's fun!
And I hope all of you people who read this are enjoying your new semesters/quarters!

Yes, I'm in love with Orlando Bloom too. How could I not be?

I saw Lord of the Rings today! That movie is freakin' long. Almost 3 1/2 hours! That's, like, how long it takes to drive back from camping at Joshua Tree! Speaking of which--DON'T GO CAMPING IN THE WINTER. Or at least, not unless you have a super-heavy-duty tent, and super-warm sleeping bags, and you know how to build a decent fire to keep you warm! Those are all things that we lacked on the trip. So, because it was so dark, and we didn't have a good fire to sit by, Cammy, Leah, Christina, Me, and the Porters all forced ourselves to go to sleep at 8 PM. Which doesn't really work, especially if you're used to going to bed around midnight or 1. However, looking back on the trip, it was actually pretty fun. It was just getting through the night that was the difficult part. THE SUN FELT LIKE IT WOULD NEVER COME UP! Ha ha.
Ok, I feel like I got a lot of CDs for Xmas, so now I will list them, since I feel like listing them. I hope you feel like reading the list.

REM: Reconstruction of the Fables
REM: Reckoning
Cold Mountain Soundtrack
The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow
Some random sampler
Bad Religion: Stranger than Fiction
Brendan Benson: Lapalco
The White Stripes single: Hardest Button to Button

Ok, maybe it wasn't that many CD's. But it felt like a lot. I'm planning to go buy more tomorrow--probably Queens of the Stone Age and Beck. We'll see.
I really recommend the Shins, if you're looking for a poppy indie band. They're quite good. Good lyrics AND music.

Random post: Adrien Grenier, the actor who hasn't really done anything since Drive Me Crazy with that Sabrina the Teenage Witch girl, is really hot. There was a cashier that looked kind of like him at Marshall's today. It reminded me of this fact.

Jude Law turns 31 today! Happy birthday, my love!

I miss you Kaylan! If you're reading this.


Today I am happy. Among the many things to make me happy today, I got to go Xmas shopping with Cammy. Yay for Cammy being back! I mean, I love college friends--but sometimes (read: virtually always) it's nice to have a friend that has known you since you were in 1st grade and knows you inside-and-out.

"My love for you is like diahrrea (sp?). I just can't hold it in." --Hannah at the Xmas party confessing her love for me. Ok, maybe not exactly that, but one of the more memorable quotes from the party. Yay Hannah! It was so nice to see you!
And of course it was great to see Tony and Alex. And Corie. But I see Corie at school. So she doesn't count. He he. I think that's it for the people that read my blog.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. So you know what that means for the day AFTER tomorrow! Stuff! For me! Just what I always wanted!

Some random thoughts:
Had the Xmas party last night. It was nice! Everyone I hoped to see showed up, and even though I didn't really get to have an "in-depth" conversation with each person, it was still really nice to have everyone come by. Our haphazard caroling was fun. Poor Cammy--left early because she was still adjusting to the west-coast time change. But at least she came for some (most?) of it!

I saw Pieces of April today at the Academy. Yep, I know, if it's playing at that theater, that means it's old news. But I still hadn't seen it yet (Thanks, Davis). That movie is great. I mean it. It is definitely one of the best movies I have seen in a while. Better than Girl with a Pearl Earring, Last Samurai, at least a little better than Station Agent. So yes. If you see a movie this week, see Pieces of April before it leaves theaters completely. It's hilarious and poignant and all that blah blah blah.

One last thing: I'm reading Cold Mountain, because I figured I should actually read the book before I see the movie, especially since I'm pretty much the last person on the planet who hasn't read it yet. So I'm almost done with it...and I don't know if I still want to see the movie! Ha ha. Of course I'll still see the movie. It's got Jude Law and Jack White in it, who am I kidding? But the book is so...depressing! And violent! I mean, I know it's very poetically-written, but...in basically every other chapter someone gets killed! I'm so sick of it! Maybe I'm missing something. I think I am. Because the novel is basically a "modern-day classic" or something like that. Oh well. Maybe it'll all come together at the end.

I GET TO SEE CAMMY TOMORROW!! YIPPEE!


*One piece of advice: DON'T see Adaptation. I rented it yesterday...not worth the 4 bucks. AND I HATE THIS SLOW CONNECTION!! WHY? Why does my family have to use dial-up AOL? I'm so spoiled from college!

Well, I'm home. And it feels pretty much like it did when I left. Which is good, I guess. My main regret is that I couldn't bring my laptop home (no space), because I didn't realize how much I love it compared to THIS FREAKING THING! Ha ha. I guess the internet would still be slow on my laptop, but at least the mouse would WORK, and the keyboard wouldn't be so old and clunky and nasty. But enough complaining. It's good to be home! I knew I missed Kim and Myra, but I don't think I knew how much until I walked in the door and saw them. I was so happy--Kimmy remembered me! She was soo excited to see me! She just followed me around for like an hour after I got home, sitting next to me whenever I sat down, and wanting me to pet her. And when I went upstairs, Myra slept on my bed just like old times, and she followed me around too. Awww! That's why people keep pets. That just made itself perfectly clear to me. Because they love you and remember you! I mean, sure family and friends sort of do that too, but...not quite in the same way!
Oh, and the other thing that makes me glad to be home--good independent movies! (Which my parents also happen to pay for). Yesterday, Dad, Leah and I saw Girl with a Pearl Earring. Really good. Every scene was so perfect and beautiful, and the story line was really subtle and interesting. I like that Scarlett Johannson girl. She picks good roles. And then today the whole family saw The Station Agent. Yes, I know it came out a long time ago, but it wasn't playing in Davis, and none of us had seen it yet, so we decided to go. It was really good too! That movie's harder to explain exactly why it was good, but it just was, ok? Just go see it sometime!
Hmm...any more news? Not really. Our VCR stopped working, so I convinced mom and dad to buy a VCR/DVD player--awesome! So now we can actually watch DVD's on our puny little TV. It's quite thrilling.
Ok, I'm getting fed up with this freaking keyboard. Hopefully I can see some actual people soon (hehe--other than my family, of course). Come to my party! It's at 7:30 this Saturday night!

Thanks, Hannah! I'm such a nerd to be playing MASH at 9 in the morning before my final.

You will live in House.
You will drive a fuschia prius.
You will marry Johnny Depp and have 3 kids.
You will be a professor in Mexico.

A professor in Mexico? I can see it all now...

play mash

Yay! We really are going to get a couch for our room! It's gonna be a loveseat, and Kaylan's dad is bringing it up tomorrow. Yippee! Ok, now back to studying for my last final.

Oh yeah--I better get at least a B on my consciousness final--I think I almost gave myself a migraine studying for it! I studied for about 4 hours straight, and I was really stressed out. Luckily, I noticed that I was getting a headache before it was too late, and I took some pills. I can tell when I have one because I lose feeling in my tongue. Pretty weird. That was a close one.

Ok, so now that I have a break between finals (woo hoo! again--the hardest ones are done! Now my last one's on Friday), I must tell you about all of the turmoil that has happened in my very dorm. It's pretty thrilling, ya'll...
So, our building has a name now--It's no longer Infill Building 3-it's Miller. So as you can probably guess, everyone's like, "It's Miller time!" and making lots of jokes about our name. People were drawing beer cans on the floor's white board, and stuff of that nature. Well, apparently some very important people came through to look at the new buildings, and they saw the references to beer. So our awesome RA, Peter, who's usually pretty relaxed, got in trouble for not erasing the stuff. So he asked people not to write beer-related stuff on the board, but then people did anyway, and the important people came and saw it again. So now we have to ASK Peter before we write anything on the board. And I just realized that that probably doesn't sound very horrible to anyone reading this. But it's pretty annoying. Because it's like we're little kids again or something. And I'm not even that mad about it. But a LOT of people are. It's funny. Some anonymous person typed out a whole page about how we have the right to say what we want, and then taped it on the white board. And someone else printed out a sheet that said "Censored" and taped it over a some art on the wall in the lounge. It's good times.
Oh, and they made Kaylan and me take down our Christmas lights that we had wrapped around the bench outside the room. I don't even know why. That's the worst part. It makes me sad. But now I have them around my window.
Ok, sorry if that story was pointless. But I figured you were probably all dying to hear the latest news about 2nd floor at UC Davis!
3 days till I go home!!

We have 22-hour quiet hours until Saturday, December 13th. Which is when I'll be gone home. That's right. We are only allowed to be "loud" from 5-7 pm every day. So right now, I'm BLASTING Sublime, because I CAN! The silence is going to drive me CRAZY!!

ps-German final at 8 am tomorrow! Woo hoo! Wish me luck!

My mom sent me pictures of us in Napa Valley during Thanksgiving break. Most of the pictures look really bad (no offense, Mom!), but here are some of the better ones.


Me, Mom, and Leah sitting in one of the winery gardens we visited


Leah, looking rather creepy, giving my dad a head massage in the dorm


This picture cracks me up. It was the last shot on the roll, and Leah was about to make a weird face, but I took it before she was ready, so she ended up looking a little messed up in the head.

Yes, well, I just realized that many of you may look at this site and think "What a strange family Kate has." And you will be right. But they're pretty awesome, too.

"i know that clumping cat litter is a perfect metaphor for something....

but what?"--zefrank

Sorry, another quote from zefrank. Couldn't resist.

Guess what!? The White Stripes were nominated for best album of the year at the Grammys! (thanks, Billy!) I'm so excited, I might actually watch! I've never watched the Grammys before, because I never actually cared. But the White Stripes are nominated for more than one award, Coldplay's nominated, Fountains of Wayne, Queens of the Stone Age...too bad the awards aren't til February 8! That's like, 4 days before my birthday! Who wants to watch them when they're THAT far away?!