Dignity, Shmignity

Guess what I found out the other day...

Some people have friends, whom they really enjoy, that are not loud and crazy and completely ridiculous.

I know, right? Who knew?

On Thursday at work, my friend Shea asked me if I wanted to go to a wine tasting party with her on Friday. And it was definitely one of those asks that was a "please go with me to this thing because I already said I would go but I'm a little worried that it might be awkward."

I like meeting new people, so I agreed.

So we went. There were about 10 ladies there, all mid-20s to mid-30s. A couple brought their babies, everyone brought a potluck dish and some wine.

And it was very pleasant. And we chit-chatted and a couple people made some jokes. And they were all very sweet and engaged and great to be around. I had a good time.

But as we were walking out, I realized that I had just spent a rare (in my life) evening with people that did not include any of the following:

1) An extremely loud telling of a time that someone ridiculously embarrassed themself.

2) Slightly vulgar and definitely inappropriate jokes.

3) Laughing so hard that I cried/peed a little/snorted.

4) Someone telling a story of the one time when they jumped off a two-story building unscathed because someone dared them, climbed some unclimbable mountain, or biked across the country.

5) Brainstorming about starting a grassroots company that will take over the world or how to build houses in Nicaragua using native mud and string.

6) Someone talking in a fake accent, singing loudly, or befriending random passers-by.

7) Again, laughing so hard that I cried/peed a little/snorted.

Seriously, I don't know how I got so lucky, but I ended up with a whole lot of people in my life who live a whole lot of life. And bring me along on it.

We may be loud and crazy, but we're for sure not boring.

Song of the Day: Cooler than Me by Mike Posner (OK, we don't have good radio stations in Williams. So I listen to Top 40. And I'm 25. Don't judge me.)

Don't Suck

You know how sometimes you suck at life? And sometimes you're really careless with people that you care a lot about? Because you love them, but for some reason you think you can just be selfish and let them show you that they love you and not give that back.

Yeah, I've been that girl lately. (And by lately, I mean for like a year.)

And one of my dearest friends in the world finally said that to me. And it didn't feel good. But it felt good to have it said.

So, no excuses. I'm going to show the people that I love that I love them. A whole lot more. Because me thinking in my head how much I like them and value them but never calling them or sending them letters or anything does not equal being a good friend.

I literally just put a sticky note that says, "Don't Suck!" on my mirror. And I'm going to adhere to that new motto.

Here's to not sucking!

P.S. Thank you to everyone who loves me even though I do, in fact, suck.

Bold But True

I'm going to make a bold statement: The best Pandora station is Ryan Adams.

Yes. It is.

Don't bother arguing, I have done a lot of research.

I love my Michael Jackson station. Missy Higgins is great but somehow always turns into Mat Kearney. Amos Lee (whom I love) produces no less than 5 Coldplay songs every hour. No thanks.

The Ryan Adams station is the perfect mix. Good, quality music that always has a perfect blend of songs I know and love and some new ones that I haven't heard but immediately put into my iTunes wish list. Also, it throws in a lot of Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash just to keep things lively.

My only complaint is that it sometimes plays Walk the Line as its Johnny Cash selection twice in a row. Johnny has some great songs, Pandora. Branch out!

I know people are loyal to their Pandora stations, so feel free to attempt to prove me wrong. (On second thought, maybe I'm the only one who's loyal to my Pandora stations. Sometimes I feel a loyalty to internet radio programs. Is that weird?)

Bring it people. What's the best Pandora station?

Song of the Day: Hurt by Johnny Cash (Just another suggestion, Pandora. This is the first Johnny Cash song I ever loved. I saw the video on MTV when I was in 8th grade and loved it beyond what I could really understand at the time. Although, I'll admit I originally thought it was cool because I was really into Nine Inch Nails at the time. Hardcore!)

One of Those Days

You know when you wake up at noon because the sun is shining directly on your face and you have nowhere to be and nothing pressing to do?

And you slept until noon because you stayed out late last night drinking wine and eating good food and laughing a lot with all the women who ridiculously bless your day-to-day life?

And then you check facebook and several people have written on your wall and sent you messages, people who ridiculously bless your life even though they're not in your day-to-day?

And then you eat pancakes that your roommate made from scratch and make yourself an iced chai with vanilla almond milk and it's really, really good?

And you have new books to read and it's sunny and beautiful outside?

Yeah, those days are the best.

Song of the Day: Addicted to Love by Florence + the Machine

I Giggled

Youtube and the National Spelling Bee: two things that make me really happy.

Wait, What? It's Over?

Ok.

Summer's over.

Seriously. The last campers left Friday, A-Team/WC/SS left yesterday, and our first off season group rolled in last night.

I'm off today. On a Sunday.

I'm not going to lie, as the WC shuttle bus pulled out, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I'm exhausted. And I'm excited for life to return to normal. I'm excited to actually get to have time to see my friends and have the energy to want to hang out with them when I do have the time.

I'm excited to have weekends and take some vacation. I'm excited to actually get off work at 5:00ish.

But it's always bittersweet. I'm a little disoriented. You see, I'm made for summer. I love it. Even when I wanted to cry, even when I wasn't sure I could make it through it, I loved it. Because you look around at these kids and it's worth it. You love them and you don't know them. But how could you not? If someone else loves them so much, how could you not love them too?

There are a million things I wish I had done better, there are a million times I wish I had gone one extra step, I wouldn't paint this summer as a rousing success from the perspective of my personal goals. But it happened. And it was good. And the good that came out of it is beyond the measure of success or not. And I got to be a part of it.

So, one off season down, one summer down, almost a whole year, and I'm feeling content for maybe the first time since I've been here. I'm ready to tackle it all again, and do it better and go farther. The adventure continues.

How does life get so good? I hope you're feeling this way too.

Much love.

Song of the Day: I Never Told You by Colbie Caillat

And So It Ends... (The Bachelorette Finale)p

Dear Ali,

Welp. It's over. And you picked Roberto. I hope you can find a personality in there somewhere because otherwise you're life's going to be kind of boring. (By kind of boring, I mean you'll probably be wishing you had some paint you could watch dry just to get away from him.)

I understand why you picked him. He's pretty. And on the surface he seems perfect: sweet, loving, protective, gentle. But, I'm sorry, you are going to hate him. Because he's going to continue to pretend to be perfect and you're not. You're flawed. And he's going to inadvertently make you feel bad about being flawed. You won't like it.

I don't know why everyone doesn't ask for my opinion before entering into relationships. I clearly have it all figured out. You're welcome for the advice.

Enjoy being unemployed in San Diego,

Kate

Dear Roberto,

Look, I don't hate you. You seem fine. And you seem genuine. Like you genuinely don't have any personality. And that's fine. But it's not what I want to wake up to every morning, you know what I'm saying?

I think you're underestimating how dramatic Ali is. But good luck.

I give it 6 months.

I hope the insurance business is treating you well,

Kate

Dear Chris,

Um, please be the next Bachelor. I just read an interview where you said you weren't sure you wanted to be the Bachelor because you didn't like having your personal life exposed. This makes me want you to be the Bachelor even more. You would be the least crazy Bachelor ever. (But don't worry, I'm sure the producers would make up for it with the craziest ladies ever.)

Seriously, when you dropped the f-bomb in the finale, my heart was officially yours. I've never been to Cape Cod, but I think I would enjoy it. Let's find out, huh?

Talk to you soon,

Kate

Dear Frank,

Way to punk out and skip the After the Final Rose Special.

To busy working on your screenplay?

You're lame,

Kate

Dear Producers,

All I can say is: Thank you! What a great season.

Next time, try not to pick such an annoying Bachelorette. Also, pick more than 2 people that she might be compatible with. I know you want to pick the dramatic kids, but it's not very good if it's completely obvious who she's going to pick from the first couple of shows. (Seriously, episode 1 we knew who the top 3 would be.)

Still, excellent effort. You are in top form.

So stoked for the pad.

Respectfully,

Kate

I'm in Love, I'm in Love, and I Don't Care Who Knows It

In my last post, I professed my love for my friends Ben and Liz and their company Sseko. And that love is real. But I'm here today to talk about an even more serious love. A love that, I would say, defines me.

World, I'm here to say it out loud: I am in love with Ira Glass.

Oh, Ira. You are everything I want.

If you don't know who Ira is (shame on you), he is a radio commentator and host of This American Life on NPR. (Side note: if you are not subscribed to the This American Life podcast, you should be. It's the highlight of my week.)

Ira is everything I want. I mean, it's his job to seek out interesting people/stories and then highlight them. And I'm not talking about the snobby, "shame on you for not realizing this is important," interesting stories. I'm talking about people you would know, next door neighbors. He seeks them out and highlights them. He tells their stories with both the dignity and the humor they deserve. I want to do that for people.

Also, he's got unruly salt and pepper hair, a great smile, and big black-rimmed glasses. And he wears suits. And he's on the radio. On NPR. And he's quietly hilarious. And pretty...

Sigh.

What would it take, Ira? I need to know.

OK, I'm going to move onto my real life. But you can stay and enjoy that picture for a while. I won't judge you.

Song of the Day: When a Heart Breaks by Ben Rector