October 3rd, 2008 @ 7:29 pm
Soooooo I’ve decided to cross-post my WordPress blog to LiveJournal. Mostly to make it easier for my LJ friends to read and comment on my entries. This entry is mostly just a quick test to ensure that my cross-posting plugin is doing its job.
I’m experimenting with having the comments cross-posted as well, but that looks like it’s going to be a bit harder to arrange…
Current Mood:
Satisfied
September 21st, 2008 @ 3:41 am
Lots going on, so a quick update.
Corner and I went out for sushi on his birthday and to PF Chang’s for our 2 year anniversary. I suppose I could pause for a moment and reflect on how amazing he is and the fact that we’ve been dating 2 years and it feels like 2 minutes. I’m not sick of him yet (that’s a good thing), and he is now officially the boy I have dated the longest. He also gives excellent massages and takes my dog out in the wee hours of the morning. What more could a girl ask for?
Corner was offered a NEW new job. This one is for the U.S. government (USDA!) and is based out of Watsonville. He left ACRT earlier this week and we are now in limbo. Tonight is our last night at Bolt’s in Fairfield. Tomorrow Corner’s parents are driving up with the RV and we are going to stay in Gilroy for awhile. Hopefully Corner and I can find an affordable apartment relatively quickly. Easier said than done, I know.
Nigel got a new haircut. It’s a “Westie” cut and took some getting used to because it’s a lot shorter than I’m used to…but I’ve decided he is definitely still cute.
Just for Geoff: a photo of Nigel's new haircut!
I bought a Bluetooth headset on eBay for $28.50. It’s a Motorola H680 in Frost. Haven’t had much chance to try it out yet, but I figured I should get with the times since hands-free is the law here in California.
Corner and I will be returning to Michigan for Jim & Ambry’s wedding in October and Boom & Steve’s wedding in November. I should feel guilty spending money on those flights, but I think we might regret not going if we didn’t….not to mention I am a little homesick. I think the homesickness has more to do with the constant block party on Bolt’s lawn than anything else.
I beat Tomb Raider Anniversary (the Wii edition) without using any cheat codes. That is the first time I have completed any game in the Tomb Raider series without cheating. For the record, I don’t consider reading online walkthroughs “cheating”. I really want to buy Spore. And some new games for my PS3 (have decided that camera angles and the controls on most Wii action games pretty much suck).
Corner and I watched the MSU vs. Notre Dame football game on TV today (the first game aired out here in Cali!) and it felt SO weird not being there. How quickly our time in the band passes. I didn’t think I would miss it NEARLY this much. Although, I have rather enjoyed not having to take out all of my ear piercings every single weekend…
Speaking of ear piercings, I should be receiving some new plugs rather soon (I had them sent to Mom’s address, so she will soon be forwarding them onto me). Hot pink foils, bronze Kaos earskins, teal Kaos eyelets, and lime Kaos eyelets. Exciting. My collection of glass plugs grew quite rapidly this summer, and of course Kaos are a staple of any decent plug collection. Maybe I will post some pictures of my collection soon.
It feels like I am on permanent summer vacation since it hasn’t really gotten below the mid 80s here (and I have not seen rain once since we left Michigan!).
Posted by Kristen / 2 CommentsSeptember 11th, 2008 @ 2:09 pm
Nigel, Corner, and I have arrived in California safe & sound.
We are currently staying with Bolt, another former SMB tuba, in Fairfield. Bolt’s place is on the edge of the good & bad parts of town. Let’s just say I don’t take the dog out alone at night.
On Sunday we drove into the city (San Francisco, that is) and acted like tourists. We went to the beach, checked out the Painted Ladies, drove down Lombard Street, and ate at Taylor’s Automatic Refresher. I had an AMAZING mint chip shake. Yummm!
Corner started work on Monday and I have been applying to jobs and checking out apartments/houses online during the day while I am the only one home (well, besides Nigel). I have also been putting a significant dent in Tomb Raider Anniversary (the Wii edition).
So far we have looked at 3 apartments and 2 rooms (additional housemates + additional dogs included). Not sure if we have found a real winner yet. It’s hard to pick out a place to live not knowing when/where I will be working. Hopefully after we choose a place I can at least pick up a part-time job until the real deal comes along.
Also, parking here is a bitch. And Corner and I currently have 3 cars between the 2 of us. Yeah, finding a place to park ONE car let alone THREE is not happening.
Current Mood:
Awake
August 27th, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
I apologize for keeping everyone in suspense regarding my plans at this important juncture of my life.
Corner flew in to Indianapolis on the evening of Tuesday, August 5. We had a late night snack at Triple XXX (probably my favorite place in West Lafayette!).
My last day of work was Wednesday, August 6. I was actually quite sad to leave Young Hall that day, and it was certainly strange not knowing when I would acquire another job.
The next 2 days were spent packing, getting organized, and hanging out with Corner. On Friday, August 8 we went to Geoff’s and there was a bit of a Glassmen reunion. Hardik drove all the way from Philadelphia and picked up Chris Reid on his way. Nikki, Sprunger, and Tiago also graced us with their presence. We hung out at Geoff’s, talked a lot of drum corps, went out for some drinks, and ended the night at Triple XXX.
The DCI World Finals competition (Saturday, August 9) in Bloomington was amazing. Phantom Regiment was amazing. I probably should have marched my ageout year this summer because in retrospect, I would have had a great time (no matter which corps I had chosen). But you know what they say, hindsight is 20/20.
On that note, I feel like my marching career is incomplete, like I never had any closure. I didn’t treat the end of my Spartan Marching Band career as the end of my marching days…and it’s starting to look like I should have, because now it’s over. I never expected to be whining about this, but the past week or so I have missed doing what I know how to do. Last week I visited Heather and Talya in their new dorm room and I would have given just about anything to have just finished a day of preseason drills with them.
At least all of this means that Spartan football season is right around the corner. Can we PLEASE beat Michigan this year???
Speaking of Michigan, Mom took KC down to UofM today for a lesson with their trombone professor. For a split second I thought about driving down with them and hanging out with my UMich friends in Arbor for the day…then I realized that they are all at band rehearsal, too.
I AM STUCK BETWEEN COLLEGE AND REAL LIFE.
The last 2 weeks I have been hanging out at my mom’s condo, selling TONS of stuff on eBay and craigslist and packing in preparation for my move to the San Francisco Bay area! That’s right, folks…I am sticking to the original plan and moving to California. Corner is flying in on Sunday night, Monday will be spent making last minute preparations (Corner is going to put new front brakes on my car), and then we are off! Oh, and Nigel is coming, too. :)
…too bad we’ll be getting there a few days too late for the MSU vs. Cal game. Bad timing.
Current Mood:
Determined
August 12th, 2008 @ 9:59 pm
I’m into making lists lately, and since I have now spent an entire summer at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, I thought I would make a list of differences that I have noticed between Michigan State and Purdue.
MSU > Purdue
Purdue > MSU
Current Mood:
Thoughtful
August 4th, 2008 @ 3:22 pm
Current Mood:
Annoyed
July 29th, 2008 @ 5:52 pm
Now to take the GRE. I have a feeling it’s going to be absolutely brutal. I bought tons of study materials and have started working my way through the verbal workbook. I would like to think I have a pretty decent vocabulary, but I usually only get 6 or 7 out of 10 on the practice question sets.
Current Mood:
Nerdy
July 25th, 2008 @ 5:40 pm
Someone recently asked me to tell them a secret about myself and I thought I would share my responses:
My backup plan in life is to become a body piercer. Why, you might ask? My reasoning:
I have a secret desire to play Velma Kelly in a production of Chicago, even though I have no previous theater experience. Like my favorite musical character ever. She sings some great numbers, and in the movie I found Catherine Zeta-Jones’ character much more dynamic than Renee Zellweger’s.
I wish I was still in a rock band. I love performing and I feel like this is one of the only ways I am not “too old” to do it, as I am now past my drum corps and marching band careers. One of my favorite parts of being in Shelter[ed] was being able to dedicate songs. I also think song-writing is such a good and creative release. I’d love to be able to do it again. Maybe this time I would play something besides the drums since those turned out to be such a pain to lug around (although I can’t imagine playing anything else!).
Two days ago, I finally admitted to myself that I probably should have marched drum corps this summer. It’s my age-out summer, and my rationale for not marching was so I could “get a real job.” Well, it’s the end of July and I still don’t have a full-time job lined up, I never see my boyfriend or family, and I’ve barely saved any money. Doesn’t sound like anything is any different than if I had decided to march, except that I I don’t have a tan and I’ve been sleeping in a real bed all summer. I love Phantom Regiment and Glassmen’s shows this year and would have loved to be part of either one of them. *sigh*
Current Mood:
Optimistic
July 21st, 2008 @ 8:15 am
Soooooo I customized this player and everything and IT’S NOT WORKING. But while I iron out the technical details you can still give this a watch and let me know what you think. Subscribe, leave comments, leave video responses, etc.!
Current Mood:
Worried
Click here to post a video response.
Posted by Kristen / 7 CommentsJuly 19th, 2008 @ 12:38 pm
These plans have changed SO MANY TIMES.
What a grueling couple of days. Usually I thrive on stress, but this is getting ridiculous. On top of that, it’s been really hot all week and I haven’t heard back from either of my job interviews.
I essentially have only 2 more weekends in West Lafayette. Then it’s moving out + attending DCI Finals.
I’m considering starting a vlog but I have no idea what I would talk about. Am I interesting enough?
Current Mood:
Aggravated
