tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34034952008-09-04T12:25:27.091-05:00Kate's InkIs this thing on?Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comBlogger798125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-90309550608977551832008-09-04T12:05:00.003-05:002008-09-04T12:25:27.144-05:00"The leaves are falling back east -- that's where I'm gonna stay"Ben Folds Five is reuniting for one concert Sept. 18, 200 miles from here in Chapel Hill. They're going to play the entire The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner front to back.
Tickets go on sale Monday and I'm so tempted to go, despite living on only one income right now. Reinhold has a special place in my heart for personal reasons. Having BFF together for the first time in a decade toKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-48647294644347988412008-09-02T11:11:00.002-05:002008-09-02T11:59:21.047-05:00Self-imposed progress reportA few days ago, I posted about wanting to be more in control of the decisions I make. I also said I wanted to have more fun while I'm not working. It's really easy to just hang around the apartment all day and not do anything.
I quit the Abilify (or, as Paul and I call it, Debilify) and felt way more motivated to get out and do things. So that in itself is a big step.
In addition, I've tried toKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-76351845217522673792008-09-02T06:01:00.003-05:002008-09-02T06:29:11.056-05:00My first hurricaneI haven't lived in Charleston for even a month, and already we're facing our first hurricane. It was just a matter of time, I guess. I keep soothing myself with the fact Paul's labmate from Memphis is teaching in the Rochester area, where it snows 94 inches a year. (What's a couple of hurricanes compared to that?)
Paul and I are going to Saturn this morning to buy an extended warranty on my car.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-68726029386516488512008-08-29T20:04:00.003-05:002008-08-29T20:36:06.837-05:00"More Hetfield than Hetfield"Anyone else heard the first couple of singles from Metallica's new album, Death Magnetic (out Sept. 12)? Of the two, I favor "The Day That Never Comes" and Paul favors "My Apocalypse," but I wouldn't give either more than a 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Right now would be a good time to say that I stay about a decade behind music trends, which means I'll probably get around to buying that damn Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-87110493731173983752008-08-28T19:43:00.003-05:002008-08-28T20:04:34.521-05:0080 minutesI have a fun game I play with my iPod playlists: I make them CD length – 80 minutes or less. Some of them are named for friends and have songs that remind me of them (cat's out of the bag – I bet a few of them don't know I do that).
The rest of them are my own, mostly a "what I'm listening to right now" thing. I put together two or three a year. Here's my latest, Kate's Stuff Five.
"Midnight Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-43501789930693191372008-08-28T08:48:00.003-05:002008-08-28T09:23:56.798-05:00Executive decisionsYou know that song "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter? The chorus, in part, goes: "You had a bad day, you're taking one down, you sing a sad song just to turn it around." Well, it doesn't work. I was feeling depressed when I woke up this morning, so I turned on a playlist of some saddish music ... and I cried.
So check that off the list of home remedies for depression.
My issue is something Matt said Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-44473375627501710772008-08-27T20:12:00.004-05:002008-08-27T20:15:38.466-05:00This post will make your IQ drop at least 3 pointsSome people in this country make me feel very, very smart. (image from failblog)
Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-77123175028290253202008-08-26T19:19:00.003-05:002008-08-26T19:38:30.012-05:00Fastest six days everI gave Matt an iPod; he gave me a whole bunch of jewelry. Click the picture to make it bigger. Some nice stuff in there.
Paul and I dropped Matt off at the airport an hour and a half ago. I cried on the way back to my car. Paul says Matt's the closest thing I have to a brother, and he's right ... except most people get to see their siblings more than a couple times a year. (Both guys denied Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-22568321361182758652008-08-25T21:30:00.004-05:002008-08-25T21:32:55.187-05:00MmmmMatt cooked dinner tonight: turkey burgers, grilled corn and grilled asparagus. He's pretty damn good in the kitchen ... and on the grill.
He leaves tomorrow night, so I've got to make tomorrow the Best Day Ever. Ever!Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-87563639340919711622008-08-24T23:46:00.002-05:002008-08-24T23:57:16.575-05:00Weekend in reviewWeekend was more exciting than normal, having Matt around. Saturday, we drove to Wadmalaw Island for a winery tour and tasting. Today we headed to the peninsula to visit Market Street. Felt a little like tourists, and I guess we still are, in a way.
Tonight, we stumbled into a deep conversation about acceptance, rejection, being a good person, feeling insecure, and so on and so forth. I did a Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-26925291071943255292008-08-23T23:27:00.003-05:002008-08-24T00:26:16.346-05:00I know who I was, now where am I going?For those of you who don’t know I’m adopted: Surprise. I am.
I had started a long, flowery post about my thoughts on how it’s shaped some aspects of my life, but I deleted all that crap. I’ll cut straight to the chase: I got a hit on an adoption records site where people post search requests. I hadn’t actively searched in a couple of years, and managed to stumble on this as a lark.
I found a Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-32906049659907485292008-08-23T19:32:00.001-05:002008-08-23T19:34:00.125-05:00Blond
Wasn't he nice???Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-41362142271703346792008-08-21T20:00:00.002-05:002008-08-21T20:16:13.358-05:00Never mind shaving your head ... try shaving your hatOoh, look at me! I'm in a uniform! I have a beret! :-)
Funny thing: Paul has to shave his berets. I'm not quite sure why, but he had to take a disposable razor and ... literally shave the beret he's wearing tomorrow. I don't know if this is some military custom or what, but shaven berets it is.
Matt flew in this morning and will be here through Tuesday. We didn't do much today -- drove around Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-20315022872502755512008-08-18T21:00:00.002-05:002008-08-18T21:03:20.821-05:00He's a doctor, but not the kind that helps people
Thought I'd share a pic of Pablo at graduation yesterday holding his newly minted doctorate. So, so proud. :-)
... And for some reason, I'm really craving SNAX.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-41305618776534965762008-08-16T15:57:00.003-05:002008-08-16T16:01:48.832-05:00Chocolate chipperA couple of days ago, I asked who could name the TV show that features the same shower curtain I have in my bathroom.
The answer is The Big Bang Theory on CBS. The shower curtain is from ThinkGeek.
Well, unlike previous empty promises to buy people cookies (or, as I recall, a pack of gum, which was slated to go to Smacky) for being Smarty McSmartpants, I actually bought Johanna a cookie.
And Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-88238536211454108842008-08-15T22:16:00.003-05:002008-08-19T14:48:09.724-05:00The red-eyeTwittered (tweeted?) earlier about the red-eye flight into Memphis and my bloodshot eyes. It was a little more serious than that.
I've actually had slightly bloodshot eyes for the past couple of weeks -- nothing horrible, just enough to be unsightly. (Unsightly -- get it?) Didn't itch, didn't hurt ... so I chalked it up to all the dust we'd stirred up while packing combined with a stress and a Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-30531447339132810972008-08-13T13:38:00.002-05:002008-08-13T13:47:32.248-05:00OK, TV fans ...
A cookie for the first person other than Paul to tell me what TV show features the shower curtain in my guest bathroom. (And, just so you know, I had it before the show aired. It was a Christmas gift from a secret Santa.)Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-33306563215080882202008-08-12T14:17:00.003-05:002008-08-12T14:22:54.152-05:00Do I have to get a tat?I've been stressing about a faculty dinner next week at the college's beach house -- with Paul being new faculty, I want to make a good impression. The original word was that it was "casual," but we were told "street casual" and "military casual" are entirely different beasts, so I've been looking for a summery dress that's still rather proper.
The official invitation has come in now, and it Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-47370762062172901862008-08-11T22:46:00.005-05:002008-08-12T07:05:47.060-05:00Now where did I pack the box-cutter?
I wouldn't say we're "settled in," but we started with 135 items and boxes (oh, so so so many boxes), and I think we're more than halfway through the unpacking process. (The pictures -- my living room and kitchen, respectively -- were taken right after the movers left. We've made quite a bit of progress since then.)
I thought I was discriminate during packing -- and I was. But I'm more Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-68463268176114235612008-08-09T06:21:00.003-05:002008-08-09T07:02:13.604-05:00Travel rehashWell, I'm here. Home.
Actually, I'm here, home and awake -- air mattresses, as I have quickly come to find out, are only a couple of degrees better than sleeping on the ground. I've made mine as posh as possible (new, pink jersey sheets; new, pink fleece throw; my two pillows and body pillow from home ...), but it's just not comparable to a mattress.
Ah, I hear a dog at the dog park across the Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-35161687976077824292008-08-06T23:14:00.002-05:002008-08-06T23:22:09.020-05:00Grand planThe movers come between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. and have said packing likely will take six hours. After that, Paul's and my plans diverge.
I'm going to leave mid- to late afternoon and try to drive a little past Atlanta and get a room for the night. Then I'm going to get up Friday morning, drive the rest of the way to Mt. Pleasant, sign papers, do inspection and whatnot. Paul is leaving Friday Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-39946427349734049282008-08-02T15:51:00.005-05:002008-08-02T16:16:43.244-05:00How can you call it a going-away party when you're stuck in those finger thingies?Two going-away get-togethers yesterday. Had a lot of fun. Paul snagged some Chinese finger-thingies with the tickets he won at the arcade. The boy has a doctorate and still thought it was a good idea to stuff his fingers in woven bamboo. (Actually, he has a lot of "good ideas," many worse than this.)
I have new pictures up from yesterday in my friends gallery. I also have 25 new pieces up in my Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-63627544812772335522008-08-01T17:57:00.000-05:002008-08-01T17:57:00.317-05:00Haves and have-notsIn the vein of Grrface’s and Smacky’s blog posts, here are a few of the little things I’m glad I do and don’t have.
Five non-crucial things I’m glad I have:
That pic of me and the boys at Musicfest
Lots of black t-shirts
Contact lens
Paul’s unwitting witticisms (Paulisms)
A good spam filterFive non-crucial things I’m glad I don’t have:
Allergies to common things (peanuts, red food dye, latex, Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-52055082793454853682008-07-31T06:27:00.004-05:002008-07-31T07:11:47.831-05:00Wake-ing upYou said, "Wouldn't it be a shame if I knew how great I was five minutes before I died. I'd be filled with such regret before I took my last breath."
And I said, "You're willing to tell me this now and you're not going to die any time soon."
-- Alanis MorissetteWoke up really suddenly this morning from a dream in which I was invisible and sitting among my friends at my own wake (thus the art Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403495.post-85038627887961155542008-07-29T17:11:00.001-05:002008-07-29T17:11:01.009-05:00'One, two, three, four monsters walking 'cross the floor'Lance, the guy I share an office with, was playing this the other day. Perhaps the only song that's catchier than Feist's original.
Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925039345199600923noreply@blogger.com