Bonding.

Katie: "Hey Jessica, what should I write about?"

Jessica Marshall: "How much you love me."

I do Marsha, I really do.

Marsha is what we call her to differentiate between the two Jessica's in my apartment.

Other nicknames include: "Marsh", "Marshmellow", "Marshed Potatoes," "Martian" and my personal favorite, "dummy."

(Marsha, as pictured here)

(The resemblance is really uncanny.)

In the spirit of retaliation Marsha once spent an entire weekend calling me "roommate" to see if I'd notice.

I didn't.

She is currently taking suggestions for better options of retribution nicknames.

Marsha and I are the losers of the apartment. The other two roommates, who will remain unnamed (love you Tracy and Jessica) both have boyfriends, meaning Marsh and I get to spend real quality time together alone in the apartment on a daily basis.

Tonight's Activity: Max Keeble's Big Move

In reality it is the only thing on TV right now that doesn't involve following Alaskan fisherman drama or polygamist sister wives, but I still remember it being better than this.

I guess sticking it to your snappy 4th period teacher and the school bully in one fell swoop* just doesn't tickle my fancy the way it used to.

I guess when you don't have a boyfriend you just deal with stuff like this.

Katie

*comes from the play Macbeth. My Shakespeare class is taking over my life.

Arguments.

I have spent the past two days obsessively following an online debate between over 50,000 people concerning a rather prominent issue in our country at the moment.

It took me hours and hours of reading comments and resisting harsh responses to realize how absurd the whole thing was. Even after hundreds of thousands of comments, we weren't getting anywhere, and we probably never will if we keep going about it that way.

It reminds me of how silly conversations on Youtube videos are.

Have you ever been watching the most ridiculous or random video and you scroll down to find that there is a 157-comment-argument ensuing over whether or not the weird singing girl in the video could make it big if she got rid of her pigtails and stopped wearing that cat sweater?

(visual aid: your aunt in a cat sweater.)
And the people are legitimately outraged about it.
I always wonder what kind of people have that kind of time, to sit around and rage over animal themed cardigans.

A funny example is a video my brother made with his friends their freshman year in the dorms.

It is an air band cover of "More Than A Feeling."

If you know anything about these boys, or just general social norms, this video was obviously meant to be a good joke.

However...

Not only does this goofy video currently have 13,546 views...

...but there are legitimate arguments ensuing in the commentary.

Here are a few of my favorites (edited for content. Yes, someone took an air band video seriously enough to include "content"):

"This sucked ********. Absolutely pathetic. Go learn how to play real instruments instead of making yourselves look like *************."

"seriously, am i the only one who thinks people look stupid doing this? how about learning to actually play?"

Then there is some constructive criticism:

"singer is pretty good, drums good too, but bass and guitar could relaly do a better job... feel the song guys"

And the good news is there is also these precious comments:

"This is Awesome!! Me and a few friends are trying to put an air band together to perform in our high school talent show. We would greatly appreciate it if you could give us any pointers on making it look more realistic. Thanks."

"Don't let the negative comments get you down. It's hard out there. As a fellow air-bander, I know. You guys look great."

The lesson I learned today: Arguing major issues on the internet can directly lead to arguing over air-band covers of Boston songs, which can directly lead to being the girl with the pigtails and the cat sweater.

I'm going to quit while I'm ahead.

Katie

Two major disappointments in my life:

#1.

This weeks episode was unnecessarily inappropriate. Which is so unfortunate because the characters are hilarious, the songs are incredible and I use the upbeat nature of the show to be my hour break from the week.

BUT, I'm a girl who likes to keep it clean, so, Glee's got to go.

I could really use an extra hour in my week anyways.

# 2. I actually forgot the other one. Must not have been that bad.

haha. I like my life.

Katie

Katie's Fun Facts for the Day:

1. I feel really uncomfortable around mascots of any kind. I don't like the idea that any old person could be running around high-fiving the fans or promoting tooth care like this guy in the picture. I just don't imagine too many nice and normal people willing to spend their afternoons in a sweaty suit dragging around little children and performing stunts on command. My default hypothesis is that Wanda Barzee is in the suit just waiting until nobody's watching so she can snatch me up and take me home to good old Brian David. My other guess is that there is a kidnapped teenage girl in there with her mouth duct taped shut doing all those weird flips and stuff as a secret signal to set her free. Which do I pick? Do I rip the head off and release the poor girl to her freedom, or do I wrestle the thing to the ground and call the police to let them know those two crazies have escaped?

I usually choose to avoid the whole situation entirely in order to bypass the moral dilemma.

(which is why I look so uncomfortable in this picture)

2. My brother plays keyboard for a cover band called "Straight Monday" (this as opposed to gay tuesday). This is him playing at their Katie Perry cover party. I just thought you should know that while I hate Katie Perry, I willingly went to this party in support of my brother. Let this be a lesson to you kids, that sacrifices must be made in the name of family. Yes, yes, even when it involves Katie Perry music. 3. I am currently conducting a week-long experiment during which I am listening only to instrumental and/or religious music, not watching TV or movies, and staying away from facebook. It's not like I think music, TV, movies or facebook are bad things, by any means. I just want to see if I notice a difference in my life by removing the ideas of the media, hollywood, musicians and my peers who I am less connected to and just focusing on what I see as important and wholesome in my life. I am going to attempt to switch my focus to the people around me and what they need. You are welcome to join me or even start your own week-long quest. If you do, I'd like to hear about it.

4. I am currently writing this post from my secret spot in the HBLL. This is my fourth year at this university and I have yet to be discovered. This is not a challenge to come find me. In fact, please don't, I need my quiet to study for the huge Shakespeare test I have to take by 10 p.m. tonight. However, being down here DOES remind me of a funny story:
It was my sophomore year in college and I had an hour break between classes so I decided to head to my secret spot to take a quick power-nap. I got to my spot, spread out with my head on my backpack and my jacket as a blanket, set my alarm on my phone and fell asleep (I can sleep anywhere, at any time.) I woke up a little groggy and started to pack up when I suddenly realized that there was a boy sleeping next to me! And I'm not talking about in the same general area. There literally was about three feet TOPS between us. This didn't seem as weird as it really should have to me until about ten minutes later when I was fully awake and it dawned on me that I had just spent the last hour sleeping next to some strange man in a secluded corner of the library. I shrugged it off mostly because there was nothing I could do about it then, but I avoided napping there for the next few weeks.


Weirder things have happened? Probably not.

Katie

Wanted:

I just hate it when I can go three days without charging my phone.

I swear I have enough friends to use up my battery.

Just none of them call me... Or text me... Or talk to me...

I don't have any friends.

As I was driving home tonight from working five hours in the rain with a terrible cold (unnecessary details I added so that you could feel super bad for me) I thought about why this is, and I think I figured it out.

I don't know any of the "cool kid" music these days.

And by "cool kid" music I mean rap/hip-hop.

And by rap/hip-hop I mean I hate it.

So, rather than try and force myself into submerging into an entire music genre that gives me the same feeling in my stomach as I get when I burp and hiccup at the same time (unexpectedly painful), I decided to try and convince everyone that I am right, in hopes of gaining some friends back along the way.

The start of this whole process went like this:

My roommate Jessica Esplin (there are two Jessicas so I had to clarify on the last name, don't stalk her) and her boyfriend Brady walk in.

(Visual Aid: Picture of them on their trip to Paris. I mean Vegas. Never fools anyone.)

Me: Hey Jessica. You know that song with the airplanes and the shooting stars?

Jessica: Yes, I love that song.

Me: Do you know what it's called?

Jessica: No....Do you Brady?

Brady: No.

Me: Can you name a line from it?

Jessica: No...can you Brady?

Brady: No.

Me: I hate this project. I'll never have friends.

So after a thorough search of the internet typing various things into the search box such as "songs to make me more gangster"(don't exist) and "songs sung by a really promiscuous black girl with the token sex-rap in the middle" I realized that I don't know the name to any other hip hop songs either and that ended that.

I guess I'll have to make friends the old-fashioned way: World of Warcraft.

(Jokes on you, I don't know how to play videogames)

What I really mean is, you guys are just going to have to accept me for who I am, even with my lack of knowledge concerning pop culture.

I expect at least nine texts and three party invites tonight.

Ready...go.

Katie

p.s.- If you were wondering, that song is called "Airplanes." Clever.

Ich bin Krank.

For all you non-deutsch speakers that title means "I am sick."

Which I am.

This usually happens at the beginning of every summer and the beginning of every fall, I get sick with the season changes, providing yet another example of how incredibly poor I am at handling change.

I have also spent the week missing Germany.

I think the main logic behind this is that living in another country automatically makes whatever problems are happening over here more a funny joke than anything.

I distinctly remember sitting on my bed in my apartment in downtown Berlin and getting on facebook to read messages of drama and problems from home and just...laughing.

That's way rude.

I should never admit that on my blog.

But, if anyone is offended by that I hope you will take a minute and think about how enticing it sounds to be buried in a large city in another country and just laughing at all of life's problems.

(This was my bed in Berlin. I promise it wasn't usually this messy, this is just from me packing up. If anyone from BYU computer rentals is reading this...no I did not take a school issued computer all the way to Europe with me. uh....)

I think the best day of all of them was the day Nick and I went to Wansee and spent the day on the beach. Almost all of our friends had left for the weekend and we didn't really tell anyone else our plans. Laying on one of the prettiest beaches I've ever been to, soaking in the warm sun and the quiet that comes from not being in a city, in a corner of the world where nobody knows where you are so nobody can come to bother you...

...Leaving the country is definitely not the solution, but boy did it feel like it.

Take me back.

Katie

Today I am a skeptic.

It was one of those days.
I am lucky enough that nearly all my days are happy and stimulating and progressive,
but today was full of digression and stagnancy.
I find myself forgetting that its okay to have days like this.
That sometimes its okay to bask in the fact that life is hard.

A boy from the neighborhood I grew up in got struck by lightning today standing right outside of my high school. I watched the news clips when I got home from work tonight and they kept showing pictures of the tree he was standing by.
I have stood by that tree.
I have spent a thousand afternoon minutes standing in its shade,
but the lighting didn't strike me.

I guess that is the way life works.
Sometimes the lightning strikes us, and sometimes it is the next guy.
Though, for all my metaphors, nothing will change the fact that the boy was burned and this is the thought that has risen above all my personal problems today.
We can't change the terribly difficult things that happen to us but we can be a friend to the ones who are going through it as well, and we can contribute to the good that is in the world.
Keep a boy named Alex Lambson in your prayers.
Then, find yourself a reason to smile.
Here's mine:


My family is my happy thought, my faith is my strength.
Life is good, even when it's bad.
Katie