Happy 14th Birthday tooo…

my little brotherrrr!

The bane of my existence, the pain in my ass, the most irritating kid that has ever walked the planet. I’m having a bit of trouble saying something nice at the moment since he forgot both his laptop and iPod chargers at home and was bugging me to use mine, but I’ll try to come up with something.

Today is his fourteenth birthday. 

I went off to go shopping with him and the fam and held off on finishing this, trying to find some nice things to say, but at the moment, I’m out, since he’s being the typical fourteen-year-old and mood swings abound.

So, I will just say- Happy Birthday Will =)

I Suck

at writing.

Although, in my defense, I haven’t had much of interest to write about.

This past week has been filled with babysitting, seeing my friends, and more babysitting. Summer is over so soon, and yet it seems like it just begun. I have eighteen days until I move into the dorms. Twenty-two days until classes start.

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?!

My family and I are off to Maine later today. Actually, to Boston, but then on to Maine. We just saw some of our cousins over the family reunion, except for one family, and my favorite cousin’s brother… although I don’t know if he’ll be there this time either. It should be a good time, and I should have some pretty pictures to share.

(Side note, I just got the weirdest email… completely blank, no sender, no to: information, nothing. What the heck?!)

I am off to finish packing, which I just started about an hour ago. Oops.

The Longest Two Days EVER.

Orientation SUCKS.

We had to check-in at one in the afternoon yesterday and stay until eight at night. First of all… WHAT?! Eight o’clock at night. Are you KIDDING me?! But wait, there’s more. We had to come back today from eight a.m. to as late as six p.m.!!!!! Thank you god I got through advising and enrollment quickly, so I got out around three… that only happened by a stroke of luck.

I had to go to one building for advising. I then had to go to another to the first floor to get my learning community group stuff figured out and enrolled in those three classes. I then had to go enroll in three other classes alone in the computer lab. Then I was to run up to the third floor to talk to the Honors woman about getting into Honors English (which, thankfully, I did, and I am quite excited about it!) Then I had to go actually enroll in Honors English, sending me back down to the computer lab, which now had about a hundred students out the door waiting to get on a computer. My stroke of luck was that the building we were in was an engineering building and my dad happens to have an office there and was with me today for orientation, so I went up there to use his computer and get the hell out of dodge.

Enrollment is SO STRESSFUL. Orientation’s mostly blah blah, listen to people talk to you like you can’t figure anything out on your own (although one girl did ask, “If I bring my own printer, do I have to pay to print stuff out?”) Enrollment is the hard part though, because at KU classes fill up FAST. So you are literally racing the person on the computer next to you to get that seat in that class because there’s only maybe two left (no joke.) It is a race to who can click, read, and figure out scheduling fastest.

I am now done, though, and an official student at KU!

My classes are Math (3rd level freshmen class), History, Honors English (3rd level freshmen class), a Sociology class, Communication Disorders, and a seminar class. A total of eighteen credit hours.

If you didn’t know already, my goal is to double-major in Psychology and Elementary Education. This, I believe, is do-able, but will require some serious effort. I’m going for the Bachelor of General Studies degree in Psychology and the Bachelor of Science in Education for Elementary Education. The BGS allows room for a minor or a second major, but the BSE is tougher and has a LOT more major-only courses. The general education courses basically all transfer, which is super nice, so the Math, English, and History I’m taking this semester count towards both degrees. Next semester and the summer of ’09 I can quite easily get all my requirements for admission into the school of Education done (which usually you do by the end of sophomore year) so then sophomore year I can work on the rest of the requirements for the admission to the Psych program.

At least, that’s my plan. I don’t really have a main adviser yet, so once I’m actually in school I’ll have to go to the advising center and get one to make sure this would work.

Mary or Katherine?

I have decided to cease going by Katie for numerous reasons. First, it’s more of a childlike nickname, and I do not want to be forty years old and going by Katie. Second, it’s a nickname of my MIDDLE name, which causes SO much confusion to people that don’t know me.

I’m leaning more towards Mary right now, because my life would be so much simpler if I just actually went by my first name. I wouldn’t have to correct people, I wouldn’t have to sign things differently. Also, some of my friends pointed out that not only does Katherine seem like I’m trying too hard, but I’d wind up just being called Kate or Katie anyway. Of course, my current friends would still call me Katie, but I want to switch now so that new friends I make in college will call me by the name I choose.

Opinions??

Dorm Room

Yes, I got one! I’m actually kinda excited about it now, instead of all ugggghhhh they’re smallllll like I was earlier. The dorm I’m in is, admittedly, the worst one for girls, and it’s all girls, which sucks balls (hahaha,) but it’s not that big and a lot of the girls got stuck there too.. so there will be many of us that hate the residence but have a good time! There is a Facebook group for it as well, and it sounds like some cool people will be there.

Off Topic Friends Love

Monica: “Married a lesbian, left a man at the altar, married a gay ice dancer, threw a girl’s wooden leg in a fire, LIVE IN A BOX!”

Rachel: “I made a traditional English trifle! First, there’s a layer of ladyfingers. Then, a layer of jam. Then, custard, WHICH, I made from scratch. Then cranberries, more ladyfingers, then beef sauteed with peas and onions, more custard, then bananas, and then I just put some whipped cream on top!”

Joey *wearing all of Chandler’s clothes*: “Hey, I’m Chandler! Could I BE wearing any more clothes?!”

Monica *talking about Joey*: “It’s completely freaking him out. He’s talking about moving to Vermont.”
Ross: “Why?”
Monica: “He says he wants to leave the country.”

Ross *about Rachel*: “You’re, you’re… over me? When were you… you… UNDER me?”

 Phoebe: “You spell it P as in Phoebe, H as in Hebe, O as in Obe, B as in Bebe, and E as in… ‘ELLO, MATE!”

Monica: “Dad, back in college when you caught Ross smoking pot in his room, he blamed it on Chandler, but it was really him!”
Monica: “And, and, you know the mailman you got fired because he stole your Playboys? THAT WAS ROSS TOO!”
Ross: “Yeah, well, Hurricane Gloria didn’t break the porch swing… MONICA DID!”

Mike: “No, no Mike, just Crap Bag. First name Crap, last name Bag.”
Phoebe: “Uhhuh, that’s great. If you love it, then I love it.”
Mike: “I do love it, and I love your name. I love Princess Consuela.”
Phoebe: “And I love Crap.”

Joey: “Let’s play BAMBOOZLE!!”

Joey: “I could have stopped her too… I mean, who loses twenty-seven coin tosses in a row, heads she wins, tails I lose.”

Rachel: “Hi, oh great, hey I need you to perform another wedding for me, for my friends.”
Minister: “Well I don’t know… are they Greek Orthodox?”
Rachel: “Uh, yeah. They’re my friends Monica…. Stefanopolis and Chandler… Assodopholis.”

Rachel: “And just so you know… it’s NOT that common, it DOESN’T happen to every guy, and it IS a big deal!!!!”
Chandler: “I KNEW IT!!!!!”

Phoebe: “Oh Pheebs.”
Rachel: “Honey, that’s your nickname.”
Phoebe: “Oh really? I thought that was just what we called each other!”

Ross: “What are you doing?”
Chandler: “Making chocolate milk. Want some?”
Ross: “No thanks, I’m twenty-nine.”

Ross: “WE WERE ON A BREAKKKK!!!!”

Dublin

Although we only arrived about six hours ago after having been here for a week last year, I finally realized why I love Dublin so much.

In general, I am not fond of big cities. Kansas City is fine, just because I know it like the back of my hand, and I don’t really consider it a “city”: meaning, it doesn’t have things like a subway, easy walking to main areas, lots of people, etc.

But anywhere else, I dislike. I lived in the suburbs of Washington DC for two years, and I hated going into the district. It is filled with politicians, rude people, and everyone is in a rush. I wasn’t fond of San Francisco. New York, I’ve never been to, but just the thought of it makes me shudder. (Sorry Yoon!) I never really got to see downtown Chicago either, but supposedly it is a lot like San Fran… so I’m not too keen on seeing it, either. Paris was alright, but so hustle-bustle, like DC.

Dublin, though, is a whole nother story. Grafton Street is smack in the middle of the shopping/dining district, and thousands of people walk through there every day. Trinity College is right off Grafton and Nassau. Being in Ireland, the whole area is gorgeous. Sure, there may not be many days of pure sunlight, but even with the overcast skies, it is beautiful.

The streets are so alive. I’ve found the majority of people don’t rush in Ireland- as evidenced by my shopping excursions today all over Dublin, where the cashiers took their time ringing you up and folding your clothes. It is busy, since it is a city. But there aren’t many politicians. Few rude Americans. An amazing variety of people fill the streets. Musicians capture the attention of most, and crowds make circles around them. You hear all different languages being spoken just walking down one street- Italian, Spanish, Gaelic, English, French, you name it, you will most likely hear it. The wonderful thing is, people are nice.

Usually, I am not fond of public transportation. Today, though, I took the LUAS (Dublin light-rail… = New York subway/DC metro) out to far Dublin to a shopping centre. The LUAS is simply lovely. It is clean, well taken care of, with guards in each car occasionally checking tickets, as there are no metal bars to swing through to get on; you just hop on outside at a stop, as it almost never goes underground. Again, you see all different kinds of people, hear all different kinds of languages, and while it can get crowded, no one pushes or shoves you out of the way. Quite a far cry from the metro!

Anyway, I guess I am just quite surprised at myself that I really like this city and find myself at ease here. Sure, you have the occasional freaky homeless guy, and at night will run into weird drunks. That happens in my town of 80,000 people, though. That can be overlooked.

Distraction and Lies

Right now, I’m supposed to be on a plane to Dublin. Instead, I’m sitting at the Hilton in the Chicago O’Hare airport.

I should have realized the trip out was going to suck when I realized I forgot my North Face jacket halfway down our street, so we had to turn around.

*Before I go on, take note that our trip is on two separate itineraries- one from Kansas City to Chicago on United, then Chicago to Dublin on Aer Lingus. The reservations were completely separate.

We get to Kansas City on time, check in, no problem. I was in front of my dad in the security line, with a pilot in front of me. This dumbass leaves one of his mini-suitcases on the table like ten feet from the x-ray machine, and he goes through the metal detector all while TSA is screaming, “who’s bag is this?!” until he finally answers that the bag is his.

It didn’t register with me that this guy was a pilot. I really thought nothing of it, just some distracted guy that forgot he had another bag, whatever.

So Dad and I are waiting in the airport, la la la, when they announce the plane arriving from Chicago is delayed. Wonderful, but such is life, and we should still have time to make the Dublin flight.

After we get to the end of the runway, the pilot announces we have to turn back around and head to the gate to refuel. We have to reroute because of weather, and the fuel level is too low.

WHAT?!??! They shove us quickly onto the CRJ plane (so it isn’t like it’s a 747 taking up a lot of gas), get us out to the runway, and we have to go BACK to REFUEL?! We sat on the runway for maybe five minutes! Are you seriously telling us you have to make SUCH a reroute that it’ll take that much fuel? Wait, you DIDN’T REFUEL?!?!??!?!

Needless to say, my father was furious. He used to fly personal planes and is very well-read on FAA/TSA regulations. According to him, something about the timing is screwy. The airline has to tack on an additional fourty-five minutes to the flight to allow for refueling, etc. Well, the plane arrived in Kansas City around 3:20pm and we were out on the runway by 3:45pm. Dad now figures that the explanation the airline might give is, “oh, we had a full tank coming from Chicago, so we’re fine to get back.” But okay, that does NOT explain why people were still getting off the plane while we were getting on, and it certainly does not sit well with the customers that they would just go out again without refueling. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a plane that leaves without refueling, because I have had times where the pilots would have to take us to another airport for one reason or another… and not just because of weather.

Clearly, we missed our Dublin flight because we had to go back and sit for thirty-forty minutes waiting for fuel. We raced through O’Hare, switching from Terminal 1 Concourse C to Terminal 5 (not a small feat) and still missed the plane. Dad and I knew we would, but we still got to Aer Lingus and talked with the flight agents, who informed us that the next flight is tomorrow, and they could easily and happily rebook us. They told us to go back to the United desk and ask to speak with a supervisor to get them to pay for a hotel, since the refueling issue was a mechanical problem.

We head back to Terminal 1 to talk with the United people. The first agent we run into was so kind and funny, she got the supervisor for us. The supervisor told us to talk to another agent to see what they listed as the reason the flight was delayed. That agent called the air traffic tower, who said the pilots had needed to reroute around weather. (Keep in mind weather in Kansas City and Chicago was beautiful, and the flight was as smooth as a baby’s butt.) Therefore, even though the refueling was their problem, they were not going to give us a hotel, but instead, sure we could have a $39 off one of their shitty hotels for all the time we spent explaining and waiting for help.

The pilot that left his suitcase in front of me in security in Kansas City comes into play like this: my dad was watching him the whole time, and when he got on the plane, he was obviously distracted, since he left his damn suitcase and blocked the whole security line. He got off the plane distracted. He needed to refuel because of “rerouting.” Umm, I know it’s not just us that feels this is fishy and irresponsible!

United used to be wonderful. Now, I don’t think I am ever going to feel comfortable flying with them again. My dad is contacting the FAA to report the pilot, and I think something needs to be done to hold United responsible for not only putting our safety at risk, but also for not owning up to it.

 

Here’s the timeline for our flights:

Kansas City to Chicago:
Flight 7059, United Express/Mesa Airlines.
Board: 2:57pm, Depart: 3:17pm, Arrive: 4:59pm

Chicago to Dublin:
EI 124, Aer Lingus.
Depart: 6:50pm

Actual time that flight 7059 took:
Board: about 3:20pm, Runway: 3:45pm, Depart for good: 4:30pm, Arrive: 5:40pm

Camp Rock

Wow I can’t believe I lack an entry about Camp Rock. It’s the new Disney movie, that sorta takes after High School Musical but in a less irritating way.

I have now seen this movie about ten times, as all the kids I watch love it. I also hear the soundtrack on a daily basis, because I bought it for Jake and Baylee. They insist on playing it EVERY time we get in the car, even if we are just going down the freaking street. Then after they get into the car arguing about who gets to sit in the front, they argue about who gets to pick the song, and then who gets to sing the song.

I must admit, though, I do enjoy the soundtrack. In general, I’m into rock/punk/indie bands that people used to never have heard of until they started putting them on MTV, but the Camp Rock soundtrack is pretty good. The girl, Demi Lovato, is supposedly Disney’s new up-and-coming star, to somewhat shove Miley Cyrus out of the way because of her “bad press.” Selena Gomez of Wizard’s of Waverly Place is also sharing the new spotlight with Demi, and weirdly enough, they have been best friends since before either got selected for Disney anything.

Like I was saying… Demi Lovato is the main character in Camp Rock, and she really is perfect for the role. She wants to attend this camp, Camp Rock, because she is a singer and it is the best camp for music in the US. Her family doesn’t have the money, so her mom, a cook, gets the job to be head cook at Camp Rock so Demi can go. Blah blah blah, she lies a bit, gets involved with bitchy girls, blah blah blah, Joe Jonas is the other main character (of the Jonas Brothers.) He hears Demi sing one day but doesn’t see her, so he uses the rest of the camp to try and find the girl who was singing… even though they see each other quite often. The end is so cute… although I find myself by that time thinking, “hurry up, get ON with it!”

All in all, it is a great movie, but I think I just really like it because of the music.

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull… or whatever

My kiddos and I (ahem, the kids I babysit and I) went to the movies today, as it was rainy and stormy… so the lake and pool were out of the picture.

We first decided to see Wall-E, but then chose Indiana Jones, because it was earlier and a seven-year-old, nine-year-old, and the seventeen-year-old that has to listen to them became impatient.

I’m fairly certain I saw one of the previous Indiana Jones movies, but I can’t really remember. So for me, this was basically the first I had seen. In general, it was pretty good. Coming the tenth movie in wasn’t hard, although I assume Marion had been in like the first film perhaps? Anyway, lots of action for the nine-year-old boy, and some slow parts so the seven-year-old girl could catch up and not have everything go over her head.

The ending sucked. A spaceship? What the hell? This movie seemed to be set forty-plus years ago, which wasn’t really the problem; I suppose the issue was that while they had mentioned Mars and aliens briefly, the ending didn’t make much sense. It was all Egyptian-God-like in the temple Indiana and Co. opened, but once they figured out, oh hey, this probably ain’t good, and ran the hell out, this spaceship rises from the ground and zooms off into space.

WHAT?!?!?

 

P.S. Sorry if I ruined the movie for you.