Handy woman coming at you

Today was my last day as an intern :(. I have really loved my job this summer and plan on volunteering there during the semester. Today was a pretty epic day. I duck taped a bed frame, found some plywood in the basement, and fixed a Barbie elevator. If you have any things needing a little fixing, I am all over that.

As I was taking the metro home today, I realized it might be the last time I see the metro bunny. There is this bunny who hangs out at the civic center station and hops over the tracks and chews on grass. We have bonded over the last couple of weeks. I stare at it and it stares straight ahead probably unaware of my existence. But, it is really cute and I will miss it. I finally stopped by Park Avenue Coffee after work. It's a friendly place that stocks Eleven Magazine. Check mark in my book.

The new fall 2010 metro passes are the fabulous complementary Wash U colors. Sheesh it hurts to look at. This could be usual if you ever are in a mugging scenario. Just pull out that eyesore and the perpetrator will be blinded by the knowledge that card represents. (This assumes that you would carry it around at all times, but who wouldn't?)

remember August is for Adventure

Woof!

From my absence you might assume that July was not noteworthy. Hold on to your hats because it totally was! I was out there living it up instead of documenting the awesome. July weekends have been crazy, busy and AWESOME. July 4th was a long day of Felix and fun, Chicago was amazing, the bike trip/camping was epic and so much fun, and then float trip!!!! Too much, too much. Highlights include:

-Gruff the Irish Wolfhound that I met at frisbee (lanky, adorable, 140 lbs., friendly)
-man at Panera with pigtail buns
-dance party at Pitchfork music festival during LCD Soundsystem
-Yoni of Why? wearing umbro shorts and putting one awesome show
-one duck. jumped in. in a lake. plop.
-HuHot Mongolian grill buffet
-being so tired I could not use words but resorted to hand motions
-awesome kids at work
-wedding and Felix's visit
-float trip mishaps in the current and turtle tree
-essays galore


So hello August! This is going to be a great month of awesome before school starts.

OK?

This week has had some noteworthy moments
1. At frisbee this week, a dog wearing a plaid shirt was in the parking lot. All of a sudden, she decided to run about 200 meters across the field to all of us. It made a beeline for me and was so excited to visit. Then she chased the frisbee around as people threw it in between introducing herself to everyone. It was so awesome. The owner eventually had to come because she was not listening to him at all.
2. While driving around and missing some of my turns, I passed a fountain in front of a bank. Ok, not a strange occurance. But the water was a weird color. I honestly could not tell if it was orange or brown. Either way I don't think it was inviting.
3. While I was taking a ridiculous route to the grocery store, I looked over at the back of the car next to me. It had those painted on stick people doing sports that are supposed to be the driver's kids. Anyway, this one lady apparently has a child named Law. Yes, you read that right. His entire life, he will be able to say "I am law" whenever anyone questions his opinion.
4. Earlier this week, I was walking into the library and one of those tall trees decided it was upset and trew a branch down to the ground. The branch was about two feet long and had a lot of leaves. I don't know what it was upset about, but I would recommend giving it a reassuring pat if you happen to walk past it soon.
5. For some reason I thought Shakspeare in the Park was Hamlet in Space. I was really excited. I even wrote a poem as a way to invite people to come with me. It was definitely about Denmark and uncle-fathers but no mention of space was named. No new planets to explore or Hamlets floating around in spacesuits. Where did I get this idea? It was still a good play but I am need of some serious space right now.

Eh What?

It is a pretty pleasant day in the wonderful state of Missouri and the afternoon finds me in a Panera. It began with the standard scenery of bagels, coffee, studious patrons, and business meetings. Then something extraordinary happened. Someone with knack for the absurd breezed in and decided to grace us all with his presence. Bottom to top description? Ok so we start with flip flops (normal right? it is summer) then white pants that are barely staying on this very thin man, TRAMP STAMP (I can't even remember what it said because I was so mesmerized by its mere existence), fanny pack, 3/4 length blue shirt, mustache, white sunglasses, curly hair, headband. And in his hands: coin purse. Did you just do a double take? You probably should have. That's right, I did say that he had a fanny pack AND a coin purse. What a sighting!

I also am thinking about how to decorate the new apartment. I am thinking of doing some thrift store searching. I also have a desire to paint, so I might be making some awesome art. Of course, awesome can be a relative term, but I am excited to begin. I still have to finish getting my room set up before I can begin this project, but soon I should be covered in paint and have the look of an artist as I stroll around town.

DILLO (Short for armadillo and long for dill as in pickle)

BOOYA. That is the one word I would use to describe my weekend vacation. Before I hit the highlights I have some shout outs.
1. I-55. this four lane interstate and I had an 18 hour love affair. (Of course spent a little more time on the North side than South)
2. N. Sheridan Road Detour. this is a complete lie. It will bring you back to where you started. So, if you want to be where you are again in the next 10 minutes but feel anxious just sitting there take this route
3. my new sleeping bag. it conveniently advertises itself with details about itself. that is standard, but it also wanted to help me know more with this Recommended Capacity: one person.

Ok so Friday I got up early and drove from Memphis to St. Louis and then milled around my new apartment for bit and then got back in the car to head to NORTHWESTERN. Soph and I got into town and I saw the bright lights of Chicago for the first time. Very cool to have the water so close. I saw some dudes playing basketball and then bikers who were flying next to some sea gulls. So then we got close to campus and came across the aforementioned N. Sheridan Road Detour. After several phone calls, a gas station stop for some direction advice, and the help of an iphone, we got there. But at the cost of our sanity. We were a little slap happy (to the point of tears) After a parking escapade, we began the awesome. I opened up my sleeping bag and followed the recommended capacity and had a fitful night of sleep because I was so excited. I awoke and soon realized that I forgot the pack clothes. What is that you say? That is the main thing that people pack when they go anywhere, LIKE THE BASICS OF PACKING!!! Well it looks like I need to enroll in Packing 101 again. There was a mini fashion show as some of my fellow sleepover buddies offered some of the dresses they brought. THANK GOODNESS THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. Dressed very un-Katherine like I had a little morning coffee and after lots of milling about we headed to the lake!!


Then some lady came out on stage and sang some words and played some instruments. Who was it? Oh, well nothing really epic except REGINA SPEKTOR!!!! I was so mesmerized. She sounds even better live than she does on any CD/myspace/record/cassette tape/mp3 player/seashell. She played so many of her songs that I love like Fidelity, Eet, Folding Chair, That Time, Blue Lips, Us. She is so adorable it hurts. At one point, she was singing, playing piano, and playing the drums. INCREDIBLE concert. It was in sun listening to a beautiful voice. Afterwards, we hit up Chipotle and had burritos! A little more milling and beach time. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that there is a beach because of the huge lake. I played in the sand and water (avoided most attempts at being pushed into the water). The beach also offered two more things 1. buried boy 2. swarm of flies that would pick a head and circle it exclusively 3. sand wrestling?

TALL KATHERINE!!!!

Then it was time for Nelly, who was not as stellar as Regina (but who could be?) Some girls took his songs a little too literally and I saw some football players dance in the most strange way. Then it was nap time and then finally, finally bed time. A great night of sleep. On our way out of town, we hit up this breakfast place called Le Peep and it was delicious. We had blueberry pancakes and a pepper/onion/cheese omelet. Yes and yes. Overall, a great great weekend.
red shirt, white shorts, headband = great outfit

Zootastic!

Today is Tuesday. And around here that means the zoo is free after 2:00. So, around 4 something I strolled on in and made a beeline for the polar bears. I got a little side tracked by the new Teton Trek and the huge lodge. It was awesome. They built this whole bo.ardwalk around the grizzly bears and the wolves. I know the wolves would probably like to take a bite out of me, but they were so cute and dog-like. I kind of wanted to take one home. And the grizzly bears were taking a rest in this sand pit and kept rubbing their bellies and being cute. Finally, I got to the polar bears and watched them walk around a bit. They have HUGE paws that I still cannot wrap my head around. Yowza. On my way to the baby giraffe, I started watching a sliver back gorilla. He was really displeased by the crowd. My evidence? First he sat there with an air of scorn, just staring at the crowd and every now and then scratched himself. #2 He retreated to a cave and minutes later came back out and charged the glass and then pounded on it. he then went to a part of his enclosure where everyone could see him well, which brings us to the most important #3 He turned around and let everyone stare at his butt for like five minutes. He TOLD us.

Later Felix and I took a walk in the park and he found a fish head to smell. yummy! Then we watched a cat. He was so snuggly to me after I fed him. Now he is chewing on a rawhide and looking as handsome as ever. I was just watching a few minutes of a movie on TV and my mom came in with these words, "Ooooh Princess Diaries 2, that's a good one." So many things wrong with that statement. #1. completely wrong movie/actors #2. why would I be watching that movie?

Today the USPS finally came through and I got the TWO letters I was waiting for. Booya. RED LETTER DAY.

Hello Again

Oh hello. I haven't seen you in quite a while. You seem to be doing well. What have I been doing? Well, I have been spending quality time in Whispers, securing an internship and stipend, biking around the city, and over taking care of things. I did have one beautiful day biking to the arch. Some friends, some bikes, some picnic food = silly Katherine. I had a great time watching wedding parties, prom parties, and a certain plexiglass van with four young ladies dancing inside and a chicken leg eating-suited-business man telling the police that they are "so out of here."

Summer is upon us! For now that means Felix and pie. I came home a week ago to a delicious strawberry pie and a dog who seriously has been acting more and more like a cat. He has been my roommate a couple of nights even after I accidentally took him on a looooong run. I did not realize how hot the day was and we got pretty far away from home when I realized how much he was panting. We ended walking home most of the way, and I kept sending him into the creek to cool off. Other than causing him to overheat, Felix and I have been participating in some pretty decent photo shoots. (I caught him on the couch today).

Other than that, I am filling out medical school applications, which is a delightful experience I am thoroughly enjoying. I might even get to take statistics my senior year! Hurray! My mother even said that If I go to school in Memphis I could live at home!

Today I was in Panera. Normal right? Well, sort of. This Panera used to be an Atlanta Bread Company (endearingly called ABC). And this ABC was my first job back in the day. The space has been remodeled a little, but I still feel weird in there because I have an urge to pace around the aisles and take away trash from abandoned tables. That restaurant was where I met the chicken salad ladies who could never be pleased, that 30 year old man who interrogated me about my life, the nice elderly man who would always tell me I had a nice smile, and my never-boring coworkers. I went to work during the middle of reading the 7th Harry Potter book and had to avoid anyone who seemed to be talking about it. I reconnected with a bunch of people and got my job working at a pool concession stand through my boss. It makes me a little nostalgic because this was when I was fresh out of high school and still afraid of Wash U.

I have read a few books and made pleasantries with the dental office people. I went to the library last week and once again checked out too many books. But, this time it was night quite my fault. I was in this aisle and I see a book by some author Katherine Stone. (Hmm I think to myself, I don't usually see my name, especially spelled my way) Ok, so I move on. Well a couple feet over is another book titled Katherine's Marriage. Weird, here it is again. And of course that doesn't really apply to where I am in my life right now. So, I move over a couple of feet and bam! there is a book titled Katherine. That is it. The complete title. I open this one and do a dramatic reading of the last page (reading "I said" instead of "Katherine said") This was some historical fiction about some broad named Katherine. Apparently that was my aisle. I had to at least check out a few from that aisle or just pass the whole experience off as mere coincidence.