whats up

update:

critter is gone. im not sure how that happened.
Im taking mandarin. Theres only one other person under thirty besides myself, everyone else is old, retired, and white. but I convinced boyfriend to take it with me, so thats good.
I interviewed for a job at a construction company today. I would be analyzing concrete and rocks for quality control. It was 16 an hour and it didnt sound too bad until he mentioned it could be up to 15 hours a day and 60 hours of overtime a week. er...no thanks. but the plus side is that i totally rocked that highschool math test i had to take. (by highschool i mean math i did in fourth grade)
I have another interview for a teller at a bank tomorrow. only 10 an hour if that, but its inside and doesnt involve working with truck drivers and miners (no offense to miners, dad's from west virginia)
I am still hoping for that plant tech job with osu, pretty flexible and 10 an hour, but I havent heard anything yet so I may email again.
other than that, not much. we got season 3 of entourage today! if you havent seen it, watch it.

Theres something in the attic

I woke up in the middle of the night a couple nights ago to a faint scratchin above my head. As I woke further, the noise got louder, and progressed to thumping, and then a lot of scurrying. Now this was no quiet thing. It was quite loud enough to keep me up, and I'm convinced that it's got to be a rat. But for the sake of my sanity, we'll call it a squirrel. I'm not sure what its doing up there, it sounds like either it is trying to dig up some hidden treasures in the rafters, or he is merely keeping fit by doing laps around the attic. scurry scurry scurry across the ceiling. We tried knocking on the walls, then hitting, then literally banging on the walls to try and scare the critter out of our attic. But all that accomplished was a short pause between scratches, pauses that got significantly shorter as it realized nothing was coming for it. Finally the episode culminated with boyfriend standing on the bed and banging on the ceiling with the maglight. That seemed to work, and we fell asleep, only to be woken by the same sound (and probably the same critter) 2 hours later. We went straight to maglight, and it worked, but last night there were critter noises yet again. Boyfriend wants to kill whatever is, I'm hoping if we keep hitting the ceiling it will stop coming back, but I dont really want to wake up every night just to attend to a restless critter. I'm not ready to be a mother, and definetely not to some ocd'ed out squirrel.

my days

What do I do all day you may ask? Well....

I wake up around 1130. (though yesterday I woke up at 10!). Then I clean up and have a light breakfast while watching my friends DVD. Boyfriend comes home for lunch around 1 for about an hour. Then I do laundry or dishes or hem pants or watch friends and look for jobs or apartments. I may drive around to check out places for rent. I read newsweek or the nyt (which we get for free from the dispensor thats broken =) and sometimes meet boyfriend for tea at the beanery around 330. He gets off work at 5, and we make dinner and watch netflix movies or do the nyt crossword, play backgammon or watch arrested development. He sleeps around 11, and I read until maybe 1230. He gets up at 830, and we repeat!

PS-they offer tennis classes at the community college, 2 hours twice a week for 10 weeks. Im signing up! and im really looking forward to it getting warmer, so I can play tennis, golf, run, etc. And yes, that job hunting is commencing but I hate the concept of my future job depending so much on my word choice on a piece of paper. Did you know I can work at the post office for $20/hr? Cool!

Yesterday boyfriend replaced his sisters brake pads and routers. I helped a bit, and learned some cool stuff about cars. And i officially jacked a car and removed a tire!

grey and cloudy

I know i've speant most of my time in LA missing the rainy drizzly grey skies that cover most of mukilteo 7 months of the year. but now im here in oregon, similar weather, and i find that its making me more gloomy and frustrated than contented. Some of which I'm sure is a result of not having any clear goals for each day. I've speant year after year with the structure of school, and I know im going back, but i really want to learn to enjoy this free time. and I hope i can, soon.

Last monday I was watching super nanny on abc....something i should probably not like or enjoy but find much guilty pleasure in. And last semester I discovered to my embarressment that I enjoyed flipping through my roommates people and usweekly...when i should be reading newsweek and nyt.

baby

there are some days i really want one of these...can you blame me? boyfriend's brother has a baby thats 2 months old, and last time we visited i got to hold him and feed him and he fell asleep in my arms. sigh. =)

being lazy

So its now well into february and i can say that i have not really accomplished a whole lot in the tangible sense of the word. I pretend i'm working when I clean or look for an apartment to move to, and occasionally scroll through job postings, but the truth of the matter is I am absolutely loving this do nothing time and it has been so much fun and relaxing. Though the part of me that feels the need to always be doing something feels really guilty about it, but for the most part i've managed to push those feelings away. Oregon has been great, with the small town feel and walking to get coffee or thai food, and living with the boyfriend has been so great as well, better than i expected. i do miss LA, and all the places to eat and go and shop there, but oregon does offer some of these things, theyre just an hour away. This weekend we made a trip to portland, and had lunch and bought spices at Penzeys and uwajimaya and had so much fun browsing through food and shopping. We love the cooking, and the shopping is almost as fun.

but i think this week ill apply for that lab tech position, ugh. im going to miss my free afternoons watching tv and reading and sleeping in till noon. literally.

life

yay! in a very good and happy place right now. I got into medschool (rochester in new york) and im moving in with my boyfriend this week! life, right now, seems to be going perfectly. i am so excited for it all. i want to go to europe before med school. so i gotta save up some money and hehe touring europe baby! i cant wait. im bubbly.

i wonder what kind of job im going to get in ol' corballis.

<3

life...

Sigh.

That pretty much sums it up.

finale, boarding, and clues

I sold my desk today. to two ladies from craigslist. without it my room seems messier. ironic, but now my stuff is all over the place. and thus begins the dismantling of my former life, first comes wreckage, then emptiness.

i went snowboarding friday. it was a lot of fun. but caitlyn pulled her neck and i only got 4 runs in down the mountain. the last one went well, i finally remembered how to do everything and made it down the mountain making wide carves that took up the entire run. but mountains in LA really arent that great. cant wait to get back to the NW where the better snow is. someday id love to go to whistler. spend a couple days boarding.

i guess im going to mention somethings i want for christmas

tennis related stuff. never got to pick out that racket i wanted. oh well
things that are soft and fuzzy or silky that i can wear or sleep in or on or next to.
harry potter books. i own none
pretty jewlery. think elegant. silver. and classic
a pea coat. red. or white.
a trip.
subscription to sci. amer. or a cooking one.
anything cool, or funny, or something i can play with
guitar hero. duh
something made. with love and thought.
puzzles, monkeys, dvds of movies i love and havent bought
stuff for things i like to do.
not arrested development season one
slippers! both kinds.
gift certificate for a massage or spa treatment.
ticket to disneyland
a watch
nice sunglasses
black dress shoes
another purse
cashmere
an n64. + zelda, supermario 64, and banjo kazooie
wii!! with the new zelda!
oh and board games. plus someone to play with

oh dear

I cannot for the life of me get up early in the morning if i have no reason to. It's finals week and every single day I have gotten up at 1130. Not for lack of trying. But Buck calling, my alarm going off, my roommate getting up and leaving and coming back didnt get me out of bed. Today was better, I got up at 11. but I fell asleep half an hour earlier last night. Seems like I need 10.5 hours of sleep. That seems strange doesnt it?

Much studying to do, Stats test tomorrow, and an essay to submit for Rochester today. I hate writing essays.

And it's our six month anniversary today. Thinking of you, even though you're a thousand miles away.

yay christmas

My favorite time of year. Though I have to admit that winter in LA just doesnt invoke a christmassy feeling, what with the sixty degree weather. Heres a little bit of info about my holiday traditions =)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? definetely hot chocolate, though its getting to be a bit too sweet. maybe some steamed milk with syrup?

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? The big santa gift was always assembled and just put under the tree so you could see it right away when you came into the room

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?Colored on tree and colored on house. I hope dad buys a tree and puts up the house lights this year...

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, does anyone even sell that stuff?

5. When do you put your decorations up? Now its when I get back for break, used to be a couple weeks before christmas

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? i like the cinnabon we get once a year for breakfast on christmas morning (thats breakfast, not dessert)

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: When my entire family used to get together to decorate the tree. For awhile it was just me and my mom, but now we got my brother back into it.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? My parents sat me down when I was six and told me Santa was more the spirit of Christmas than an actual person. I probably would have ardently defended santa for a couple more years.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yup, but only because when I was around 10 I begged my parents, and once you let a kid have its way, it becomes a tradition.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Lights and ornaments, most of which were made by me, my brother, or my mom's friend back in the seventies. We have some nice stuff too.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Mmm snow. Washington got like 5 inches over thanksgiving, and I got to see some of it! It rarely snows more than a centimeter, and even then school is closed.

12. Can you ice skate? Yup, one of my birthday parties was a surprise party at an icerink. My mom planned it and my dad took me on a "driving lesson" and had to stop inside the rink to use the bathroom. One of the few times I've been truly surprised. A grand total of 3 of my birthday parties since I've turned 13 have been surprise parties, and I've only had 5. I hate planning parties, what if no one comes or has a good time...

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Not really, but when I was four or five my dad got me Nintendo (original) for christmas from santa. That was really a present for him. I managed to find my presents by accident a lot, and didnt want to disapoint my parents so would pretend to be really surprised on christmas day. Oh and the most dissapointing gift santa ever brought was a roadside repair kit for my car. That was a few years ago, but I still bring it up =)

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Everyone happy. I love happiness, and it seems to surround Christmas day.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I guess we're not a big dessert family. I always loved the appetizers (poo poo's) we make on special dinners though.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? My brother and I getting up before my parents and playing boardgames until we could wake them up at 8, and running down the stairs and seeing all the presents under the tree (Santa and my parents both brought them during the night).

17. What tops your tree? Some moving candle holding St Nick figure. My mom loves it

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? I honestly love both. I love happiness, in myself and others.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Carol of the bells

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?? Good in small doses and to keep around in the car. I especially like the chocolate mint ones.

yawn

I do realize that it is 1145 and i am just now awake. And personally I find it more disturbing than you. Think of all the things I could of done (planned to do) before noon rolled around. One of which would have been make a trip to the grocery store and acutally buy some food. Currently I have very little food. And its quite depressing. But lets see. To continue the list
3-Med School Interviews. I was in Michigan last weekend and had my first ever medschool interview. I'm not entirely sure how well I did, there were some questions that I wasn't as clear or coherent as I'd like in my answer, and I wish I talked more for each questions, but I have a habit of stopping and waiting for another directional prompt before I continue talking. But I absolutely loved their school. Except for the fact that its in MICHIGAN they are a perfect fit for me. The curriculum is super flexible, they let you take the weekly quizes any time over the weekend, so you could take it on friday and have the entire weekend stress free. All lectures are videoed and put online to review or watch at your pleasure. Most lecture days only go till noon, unlike some medschools which have lecture 8-5. Its integrated and organ based, with anatomy spanning every sequence as opposed to one long stint. The hospital is amazing, they're a top 10 school, they are ranked 3rd in residency matching, and the town of ann arbor is perfect. small enough to walk around, big enough to have lots of places to eat and buy things. But it is far away and cold and in the middle of nowhere. My next interview is with UW this wednesday and i fly out tuesday at 6pm. I am less nervous for this one, mainly because i dont have to go through the stress of landing in a new city and arranging everything myself. Though it was amazingly fun, though stressful, doing that in Ann Arbor.

I think breakfast is in order

Kristy

Re starting

As I noticed how much fun I had from reading my brother and his wife's blog, I have decided to start up again. Now with a new goal, less self reflection, more keeping in touch with family and friends. With this in mind, hopefully I will realize that people read this and not write things offensive to anyone (an incident i would rather not repeat). However, with so much going on in my life, it's going to be hard to catch up. let's just start with a list of cool and exciting things going on.

1-I'm learning lots of cool technology tools. Taking a website design class really made me realize how much i love creating things. As if it wasnt already evident what with my obvious tendancies towards crafts. But this opens a whole new world of design, as I am learning html, photoshop, dreamweaver, and cs soon Also this friday is a tutorial on using maya, and i will learn how to make a 3d jackolantern. I'm super stoked and often waste my time fooling around with these programs. i wonder if i chose the wrong major? or perhaps more importantly, career choice. also, blogger lets you edit the html of your space, something i am very excited to do soon =) =)

2-Tennis!@! what can i say, i found a new love, and though it seems lat to get started with a new sport, I am so glad I found it when i did. Why didnt I realize the potential for fun when I took lessons in 8th grade? who knows. but i play 2-3 times a week now and am slowly getting better (last wednesday was a real turning point for me, I fixed my form and went from akwardly half spinning twisting my legs practically tripping/jumping in the air to something that resembles a swing, and on the plus side my balls all go very nicely over the net with a very satisfying thwack and they dont go too long either! i cant wait to buy a nice racket. I already bought balls (but didnt find the pink ones I saw online) and also on the list is shoes and a bag.

ok, those are only 2 out of a million things going on, but, i am late for biotech.

hopefully i will continue this little attempt at communication, since I am so bad at every other method (im sorry!)

kristy

i think i could be happy if i had a noah's sun dried tomato bagel with low fat cream cheese for breakfast every morning. oh man so delicious. i remember the days when i had a bagel with cream cheese and a banana every day for breakfast. dont think i can pull that one off anymore.

happy fifth of july. yesterday i witnessed the amazing fireworks of corvallis. went with some friends from my apt and some new people i had yet to meet down to the 'water front' (aka moderate sized river) to see the fireworks show (aka explosives set off one at a time in complete silence. read-no music). got bored with it after about 5 minutes, but it was better than sitting at home by far. and it was good company.

life and secondaries

im not even sure what to say, really. this summer has been completely unexpected in so many ways, and i just feel so lucky to have ended up here. but i dont really want to say a whole lot more, you'll just have to ask me someday in person. but i am very happy...

on the other hand, secondaries havent even started rolling in quite yet (i only have one that has been sent my way) but im already begining to feel overwhelmed. all these freakin essays and they always take me forever, and usually i get tired of it and just start producing less than quality work. but this is what i want to do, but do i really want to go through 18 secondaries? i think thats insane....i hope a lot of the essays can be reused. but that will be my late summer/all of fall.

im also kinda worried about my degree. i planned all along to do a minor, or a double, but my parents saw the graduating a semester early as a boon to their pockets. and i guess part of me feels more ok with it cuz i can make money, but i wonder if it will be detrimental to the application process.

tomorrow is the coast and outlet shopping. <3

heartbeats

One night to be confused, one night to speed up truth. We had a promise made, four hands and then away. Both under influence we had divine scent to know what to say-mind is a razorblade. To call for hands of above to lean on wouldn't be good enough for me, no.
One night of magic rush. The start: a simple touch. One night to push and scream and then relief...
Ten days of perfect tunes. The colors red and blue. We had a promise made-we were in love. To call for hands of above to lean on wouldn't be good enough for me, no.
And you, you knew the hand of the devil and you kept us awake with wolves teeth sharing different heartbeats in one night...

-jose gonzalez

do you ever wonder why people post lyrics? i think it strikes a chord and it means so much to them, they just want to share it, thinking that maybe others will understand better what they are going through. or maybe its just a really good song =p

death cab!!

IM SEEING DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE IN AUGUST! i am officially stoked. If you feel like being in oregon on august 10th, you should come too. its at a winery :-)

thoughts on corvallis

so...corvallis. interesting town. but its been great, and i love experiencing new places. though im going to have to learn to avoid asian food here cuz its just not the same.
thoughts on oregon-
corvallis is in the top ten biggest cities of oregon, man, thats insane. their downtown is all of 4 square blocks, its on par with maybe edmond i think, size wise and style of the town. cute, but not deserving of the name downtown.
people are different here. and i thought washington was liberal and outdoorsy. not here, where organic is the norm, hippies never died, and people expect recycling. its sure been fun people watching though, even just on campus, its an ecclectic variety of styles that i dont normally see.
however, people are also pretty damn nice. maybe its oregon, or maybe its that im not 18 anymore, but coming here and not knowing anyone was a lot easier than going to LA alone.
i like that i can walk places here. no one walks in LA. and for good reason. maybe someday ill move to new york. but people are angry there.
man i miss the food. foodwise its going to be a long ten weeks.
ive decided that maybe someday ill love living in a cute town like this where i can walk to noahs bagels for sunday breakfast, but while im young and not tied down, i do better in a larger city. not necessarily in the ghetto though, i think im done with that

dangerous drug

today i woke up sick. or so i thought. i had all the symptoms of a cold, and i was miserable as i came down the stairs in my robe.klenex box in hand, i truly believed i was destined for a day on the couch. however, my dad later informed me that grass pollen was off the charts today, and i realized i only had allergies. as we were about to go out to lunch, i took a benedryl and we were off to malay satay hut in redmond. another one of my favorite restaurants. on the way, my throat began to kind of close up and my tongue started swelling a bit. this was the most intense allergic reaction i have had from grass, so i thought i better take another benedryl.
lunch was great, really delicious with 2 noodle dishes, chicken satay, and bread with curry. after we decided to go to a coffee shop for a latte. the cafe was perfect, exactly what you want out of a neighborhood coffee shop. friendly staff, great decor, and lattes in giant cups with hearts made out of the foam. only problem was, i was thoroughly sedated.
the drive to the shop found me nodding off, and when we got there i did my best to wake up, but im afraid the barista must have thought i was loopy as i ordered at a speed comparable to those with less mental capacity. as we waited for my drinks, i tried to make conversation with my dad. we talked about normal things, but i couldnt get any of my ideas to form correctly, my scentences came out slightly confused, and my speach was slurred and slow. in short, i felt like i was drunk and desperately trying to keep it together. it was exactly like the end of a night of drinking, all slow, tired, goofy, and confused. i actually felt embarressed because i was acting so drunk around my dad. guess im not yet comfortable partying with my parents.

is my head too small?

so, interesting news....

i knew all along that my parents were married one year more than my age. handy little tip, easy to figure out. but i always kinda assumed that meant they were married for a year and then got pregnant.

last night during dinner at thai ginger (oh so yummy restaurant in redmond, on par with saladang quality, but tiny tiny portions) we were talking about how my dads parents got married because of him. so thought a little bit about my bday and their anniversary and realized that my parents got pregnant the first year of marriage. now that sucks, dont you think? i would want a couple years baby free to enjoy married life. but then i actually stopped to count. june, july, august....february. thats only 8 months. and i was a few days late. 8 months. late. my mom was pregnant when they got married?!

my dad didnt quite understand this, as he had always assumed that i was conceived in europe during their honeymoon, as afterwards is when they found out. and when i went home to ask my mom, she had that sheepish smile as she tried to bluff her way out of it. turns out, she was pregnant a whole month before the wedding. and didnt know. she also didnt know during the honeymoon. in france. which means that my mother was drinking alcohol, beer, redwine, champagne, for the first 2 months of my gestation! when i figured this out, i frantically checked the mirror. why yes, my head did seem abnormally small, and didnt i always reverse numbers, and wasnt i oh so forgetful of names, faces, things people said 2 minutes ago? oh my god i had fetal achohol syndrome!

oh how wonderful to have another thing to give my mom a hard time about...