let's get it started in here!

~Black-Eyed Peas (i know, it makes me cringe too)

Well, here we are in 2008. i may have to do my typical "year in review" blog at a later date. But, for now, suffice to say 2008 has already been quite surprising to me!

With all the busyness the last four months, i had given up on the possibility of applying to a Masters in Teaching program in time to start this year. But, some family members helped light a fire under my ass and yesterday at work (yeah, I had to come in for a bit on New Year's Day...whoopie) i spent about four hours checking out the specifics of applying to Seattle University's MIT program and figuring out how i can accomplish references, transcripts, essays, applications and other paperwork in less than a month, and then as quickly as possible take all the teacher tests in March. Whoa.

So, it's all but official: i'm applying to SU and hope to be in Seattle by the beginning of the summer! i need to make stuff happen this year or i'll go crazy! The only sad part is thinking about leaving my awesome church and new friends, but i've realized that contentment isn't enough and it's time to do this teacher thing. i also started applying to be a horse camp counselor for the summer at the church camp i went to my whole childhood...why not, right?

There you have it. Change is on the horizon and while nothing is certain, i'm pretty excited! Except the whole being back in school thing. Hopefully that'll grow on me.

I leave you with a hysterical paragraph from SU's online info about their application process:
"Both the autobiograhpical statement and the writing sample are evalluated on the basis of conent and prooper use of grammatical conventions. Here is a handout outlining some common MIT student writing errors."

Please tell me that was a joke.

Oh that we could always see such spirit through the year

~Charlie Brown (“Christmastime is here”)...i’m listening to The New Frontiers, who do a great cover of it, too!

i’m not feeling it this year.

i can’t put my finger on it, but i have no “Christmas spirit” and it makes me sad. It also necessitates reflection.

It could be that October, November and December have been the three busiest consecutive months of my life and i haven’t had time to even stop and think about the holidays, or more importantly, the “reason for the season” as some like to title it. But, many people use that excuse, and that’s not ample enough for me. It also could be the fact that this is the first time in my life i will only be home for a week surrounding Christmas. The five years i was in college, i was lucky enough to be home for the vast majority of December, so this is a new experience for me. Sure, i threw a white-elephant Christmas party on Friday (it didn’t disappoint with a couple of inappropriate t-shirts, a metal bird sculpture and plastic beaded santa figurines), listen to Christmas music every chance i get (i’m loving Sufjan Stevens’ Christmas albums this year), have made two batches of traditional Klug cookies, and hell, we even have a tree and decorations at our house, thanks to my roommate. But yet it doesn’t feel right. i remember things felt a little off last year, too.

i certainly am disgusted by materialism, and this undoubtedly is a big reason for my lack of yuletide joy. i did my only “day” of shopping on Saturday and couldn’t handle it after about 1.5 hours. i’m pretty sure it’s a good thing to realize that presents don’t matter, just as getting your Christmas cards sent off punctually, having a spotless and perfectly decorated home, throwing the best party and making the tastiest cookies don’t.

Perhaps i’m being too hard on Christmas. After all, what did it ever do to me but land me some (usually) sweet stuff and make me fat every year? i know some Christians who just treat “americanized christmas” as a totally separate entity from the real meaning and enjoy both for different reasons. i think i like that. There’s nothing wrong with giving gifts, having a reason to celebrate and catch up with friends and baking really great food. But, i keep wondering how Christmas ever turned into what it is today. The season of the most important birthday has turned into a stressful, obligatory, finance-stretching, month long period of one-upmanship and materialism. But, then again, folks appear to be happier during the season. In general, they are nicer to one another, and gift-giving is often a fun and positive gesture. That giving and slightly-less-selfish attitude is the “spirit” i’d like to see all year.

It may be obvious that my realism and skepticism is what’s ruining the holiday spirit for me, but possibly, it’ll turn out to be a good thing over time IF i actually take time to ponder advent and what this month truly means to my life and how it can change me. i think i’ve been contemplating these issues more this year because of my yearning to spend time abroad, which will probably land me in another country for some Christmases. i found myself writing a friend who will be spending the holidays in China and telling him i was actually jealous that he wasn’t surrounded with the American insanity that is christmas, because maybe it would be more real.

hopefully when i arrive home in Bellevue on Friday, my mindset will change. Either way, celebrating Christ’s birth is something i want to focus on more. now, if only i didn’t have a party every night this week...

You run like a river runs to the sea

-U2 (“One Tree Hill”)

November 25, 2007. A day I'll never forget:

4:40 am – I awake (after getting about 2 hours of sleep) to find my alarm had not been set for 4:30am, but rather 6:30am
5:00 am – I finish my breakfast of toast and a banana
5:45am – Leah finally crawls out of bed
6:00am – I take my first ever shot of espresso...followed by 2 more
6:15am – The running clothes go on
6:20am – I start to get nervous
6:21am – I begin to pee out those two liters of water I have drunk in the last 1.5 hours
6:25 – and again
6:30 - and again


6:35 – and again
6:40 - and one last time
6:45 – the troops head off a little later than we had hoped for the Seattle Center


7:20 – Alan, Leah and I arrive at the starting line (I have to pee like a racehorse, but the lines are so incredibly long that I know I won’t make it, so I hold it)
7:25 – Leah realizes she has no safety pins for her race number
7:28 – a few last pictures
7:30 – the gun goes off
7:35 – We finally cross the START line (6,000 people take a long time to get through!)
8:30 – I nervously try a few Clif Bloc Shots and take my first feed successfully!
8:45 – I get a little sick of all the geriatric runners passing me like I’m standing still
9:00ish – oh the hills...(one glove lost in the process)...not too bad
9:10 – people on the streets start offering donuts and gummy bears to the runners...gross...one guy right next to me grabs a Krispy Kreme and shoves it in his face
9:30 – I know I’m close and I pick up the pace in a serious way
9:54ish – I cross the finish line in a sprint, feeling awesome (and lose my hat)!





So, there you have it, friends. I can finally call myself a runner! Even though my time of 2:19.16 certainly does not indicate I have found a sport I can excel at, I am very happy that Leah and I both made it, I felt amazing, made my time goal, and finished feeling like I could run further. Adrenaline and training at elevation are two amazing things.

For all the unbelievably stupid things I did leading up to the race (only ran less than 10 miles in the two weeks prior, gained a ton of weight “carbo loading” for about 3 weeks, etc), I did several things right: ate on the run (thanks to my wise bro and dad), wore the perfect clothes, paced myself at the beginning, handled the hills right, drank enough water and had a blast! The Clif Bloc Shots assuredly saved my life – I highly recommend them.

The weather was awesome, and I even got to see several SPU friends who were running or watching! A great day and a fitting end to a fun week at home over my favorite holiday. It’s amazing what a person can do when they have motivation and put their mind to it...a good life lesson.

Oh, and I ended up running the whole race with a full bladder.

there’s nothing to lose and there’s nothing to prove: i’ll be dancing with myself

~Billy Idol (“dancing with myself”) – Nouvelle Vague did a great remake of it too!


I have realized this year (probably because of the seven weddings I went to) that I absolutely love to dance. It’s freeing, stress-relieving, and overall just good for my soul.

Dancing is also very fun now that I have short hair....

Before the choppage (this is the third time i’ve been all drastic and donated):
Now I’m free as a barnswallow:
I love this haircut!! This is just the first of a bunch of changes in my life over the next few months...stay tuned.

But, I digress. Anyhow, I have concluded that I exist to get shy people on the dance floor and having fun at weddings...I even tried to get a little bump-shimmy going at Alan and Leah’s wedding, but for some reason everyone left when they heard the music starting up. Hmmm. My favorite thing is when the non-dancers of the world get up, forget their inhibitions and discover that dancing isn’t too scary after all! I offer my mother, cousin Debbie, and "Uncle Jake" dancing at my cousin Megan’s wedding not long ago (this was PRICELESS):

I went to a “young professionals” club with two friends not too long ago, and I was surprised that it wasn’t too shady (save for the couple dry humping in the corner and the really unfortunate guys who tried to dance with us and promptly got shut down by my coworkers). My two beautiful, little and exotic friends were getting hit on left and right, and the big ol’ third wheel (or fifth...both apply here) was just trying to love it, dance with myself and forget about the lack of attention from dudes. Maybe I give off the “don’t grind me” vibe...I’m pretty sure that’s a good thing, though.

Serious randomness. Just get your booty on the dance floor and make a fool of yourself. I promise you fun will be had!

“With the record selection
With the mirror reflection
I'm dancing with myself”

( )

~okay, that's actually a great album by Sigur Ros..(but it works because there are no words to describe this post)

I saw the most rediculous, saddening and infuriating thing today:

A brobdingnagian RV towing a Suburban.

I wanted to give them a citizen's citation for ruining my planet single-handedly.

Hibernation is a lonely word, so wake me up!

~Splendour Hyaline (“The Restless Slumber of Dry Kindling”)

I’m pretty sure no one reads my blog anymore, so regretting the fact that I haven’t been as witty, entertaining or humorous lately as I mean to be is probably a waste. However, my life is most enjoyable (to me) when I have funny, strange and awkward stories to tell, and it’s been a while since I’ve had a week that compared to last week. I’ve been hoping and praying for a more exciting life, and I think I got my wish in an interesting way this time.

Warmth made a very welcome cameo appearance in the form of three 70+ degree days and then came back for the weekend, which allowed me to have the most awesome run of my entire, short lived, running “career” (if you can call it that), get outside on my bike for the first time in 2 months and hike with my friend Abbey in lava fields! The run was semi-epic in that I started a tad late and finished in the pitch black...maybe that’s the motivation I need to run fast! But, it couldn’t compare to the weirdest bike ride I’ve had in recent memory...

I felt alright on the bike, but not as good as I expected given that I’ve been riding trainer and running quite a bit, so I decided to do a relatively flat ride out in the boonies of eastern Bend (complete with tons of deer, rodents, tumbleweed, horses, and one seriously smelly landfill). As I was riding past some grazing deer that ran away from me, I randomly contemplated what my course of action would be if an animal unexpectedly chased me while I was on the bike. I wish I had had some wood to knock on, because not 5 miles later, out of the blue come running some angry shepherd dogs out of a driveway with their chops aiming for my tires...or perhaps a piece of leg. It was a complete miracle that I didn’t hit one of them and totally crash, but instead I maneuvered around them at about 20 mph and they proceeded to chase me, one on each side. At this point, you can rest assured I wasn’t just going 20... As I started to break away while yelling at the dogs (do cusswords translate in “dog”?), I had pictures in my head of going down, getting ripped to shreds by the pavement, and then mercilessly by these two dogs. Thank God for adrenaline and leg muscles.

But of course, that wasn’t all. I flatted for the first time out on a ride by myself ever (I’m a lucky girl; I’ve been riding for 3.5 years) about 5 miles after that. Luckily I’m now the proud owner of CO2 cartridges, so I was back on the bike in about 15 minutes (I was impressed by that, Alan won’t be). 24 miles later, I was home safe just in time for my cousin Jimmy (who is on a 50-day long road trip across the US) to come visit for the night, which was a blast.




I started both my volunteering positions last week also, which both went quite well. I never thought I would enjoy working with Jr Highers, but MAN those kids are funny and as awkward as I still am. I, of course, have an “in” with most of them since I’m so tall, and apparently they were intrigued by that...maybe it’s the misfit mentality. More on this later, I’m sure.

The week rounded out with an accidental date (I’m not kidding), a new interest in learning how to code (followed by my first coding lesson), a crappy run on Sunday (I got sick and was forced to sling a deuce in the bushes with about 3 miles to go...nice), and then a great hike up Lava Butte the same day with Abbey.


But even so, it was a really emotionally tough week at work and in life. I can’t fully explain it, and have been convicted lately that I need to work on being more positive because I have very little to complain about. My dad was informed he’d be laid off in March (along with his whole group as their project is being moved elsewhere) from a company he has faithfully served for 18 years, which is tough but also a very good thing for him, I pray, since he needs to do something he loves for the rest of his career. In addition, I am more and more convinced every day that I met the perfect guy for me a couple months ago, and would be very excited about this if he wasn’t living in another country and I wasn’t stuck in Oregon constantly thinking about him and wanting to get to know him better. It’s rough, but I’m realizing because of this weird situation that I’m picky in the right ways, never willing to settle for anything less than him, and am fully willing to wait for him to return if it's "meant to be" (how cliche, right?). How I figure out if it's meant to be is yet to be determined...but I really hope it is.

What a wacky week!

you're barely breathing tonight

~Barcelona (Lesser Things)

What a month it has been! In the last 3 weekends, I’ve had 5 family visitors (Uncle Bob and Susan, Mom and Dad, and Jennyfern!), ramped up my running schedule, seen WAY too much snow, went clubbing for the first time (that may warrant its own post at a later date), and have gotten inspired.

I’ve been having a hard time motivating myself in several areas these last months. I have the desire to start volunteering here in Bend, get more involved with my awesome church, spend more time with friends outside of work, start running at least 4 times a week, make some long overdue phone calls to friends all around the country, and most importantly, invest more in the relationship I have with God that I’ve been putting on the backburner way too much this year. But, I don’t have enough drive to get there.

That is, until these past couple weeks. I’ve seen what my life can really be here in Bend (even though change is on the horizon) by having fun with friends, being more active and choosing to spend more time with God.

Because I’ve had so much fun and done so many things these past weeks, I got really inspired last weekend in many ways. Volunteering – I have an application in to work for an organization called Healing Reins. Church – I am going to see if there is a place for me in the youth group leadership. Friendships – I am going to continue hosting events, even if it costs me the money I’m dearly trying to save for another round of grad school and hopefully some fun travel before that. Running – I’m trying for my first 4 a week runs this week, and started it off by running 12.5 miles on Sunday!

You read that correctly. Katie- I have always hated running-Klug ran just shy of a half marathon on Sunday. I can’t believe it either. Now, this would be more impressive if I did it without stopping, but I instead saved gas by running to a birthday party and then running home. I wasn’t too happy the last 3 miles (could be those tortilla chips), but I made it...now I realize I have a lot of training left to do before November 25th. Still, it’s cool to run further than I ever have each time I increase my distance.

I’ve always been a bit of an “enviro-freak” (although I have definite room for improvement), and running 12.5 miles to save gas was a decent effort, I thought, but the Bend Fall Festival this weekend really opened my eyes to the cool things one person CAN do to help the world. Check out these two awesome vendors:

http://www.chopstickart.com/
http://www.daisyrockhats.com/

Here’s to living a great, healthy, and meaningful life and never ceasing to work on myself!