I Want to Be Lorelai. For Serious.

The last like 9 posts on my blog have been serious.  Because, you know, I only post twice a year so it tends to be kind of introspective.

But today is a day of change!  Or, I'm a day early to something called the camping summit and I have no work to do.  Seriously, I don't know how it happened but I have nothing.  No emails.  No calls to make.  I could work on some projects but that's just a hassle on my travel laptop.

So, I post instead.

And while I've caught my blog up a little on what is going on in my life (i.e. nothing new), I have not caught it up on what's going on in my pop culture life.

I still watch the bachelor.  I've been reading a ton of books. Celebrity gossip is coming fast and furious.  All Shonda shows are my jam.

But, most importantly, I have become ardently re-obsessed with the Netflix release of Gilmore Girls.

Seriously, binge watching can't even describe it.  I've been watching.  And watching.  And watching.

It's bad.  I'm unproductive.  I was sick the other day so I took off work and watched an entire season.

But it's good.  Because it's Gilmore Girls.

OK, here's the truth.  I watched this show when it was on and I loved it.  Then my roommate in college had it on DVD and so we would watch episodes again.  And I loved it again.

However, I have gone back to watch several shows like this (Dawson's Creek, Party of Five, 90210), and they just don't hold up later.  I watched a season of Dawson's on netflix and then I got bored.  And I was crazy about that show.

But Gilmore Girls?  Ruining my life.  

And worse than anything, I'm in the middle of season 5 which means all the last episodes I watched were Lorelai and Luke in their prime actually dating and having a functional relationship episodes.  It's sad how happy it makes me.

And Rory's at Yale!  And Christopher hasn't ruined everything yet! And they opened the Dragonfly!

I spent some serious time the other day thinking about how I kind of am like Lorelai.  Small town, I want to own an inn some day, there is no local diner but I know my Safeway Starbucks baristas (no romantic interest, but I did get invited to one of their baby showers).

Also, I may or may not have dreamed about Gilmore Girls the other night.

So, yeah.  I'm feeling a little crazy.  But I just went to youtube to see if there was a good video to put in this post to show you why it's so awesome and I found people way crazier than me who have made tribute videos to Luke and Lorelai.  I feel much better about myself. So, see!  Blogging is therapeutic.

Song of the Day: Reflecting Light by Sam Phillips (bonus GG fan points if you know what this song is from!)

I Lied. It was an Accident, Though.

OK, so a few days ago, I listed all the things my blog wouldn't be about. One of them was sports.

That was a little bit of a lie because I am bound to write about sports now and again. Because, you know, I love my Cardinals and my Tigers.

But my blog won't be about sports.

It'll still be about me. You can count on that as a constant.

But sometimes I spend my days watching football and I need to tell you about it. Like Saturday, when I watched football in my basement for 14 hours.

It was awesome. Some would even say it was the perfect day. (Some= Abigail.)

Here's how the day went:

8:00 Wake up, brush teeth, turn on College Game Day, finish making pumpkin cinnamon rolls I started the night before.

9:00 Cinnamon rolls baked and iced, channel changed to start of Mizzou game

9:15 Susie and Debbie wake up, grab cinnamon rolls and coffee, join me in our loft.

9:45 Abigail and Jill pull up outside. Abigail jumps out of the car and starts running into the house before Jill puts the car in park. Abigail might be as stoked as me.

10:30 Halftime. We move to the basement. Much better for football watching.

12:00 Mizzou game is over, we flip between UCLA/Houston and USC/Minnesota . Abigail is content. (She's a Pac-12 girl.)

1:00 Afternoon snacks come out. Guacamole and spinach dip. Perfect.

2:45 Debbie leaves for work. We all pity her.

3:45 Jill leaves to do homework. We all pity her more.

4:00 Important afternoon games are over. We nap with BYU/Ole Miss on in the background.

4:52 Susie and I wake up and watch last 3 plays of game.

4:56 Abigail wakes up. The first words out of her mouth are: "This is the best day ever."

5:00 Oregon/LSU starts. I try to explain why I don't like the Ducks even though I want to. I can't. We flip at commercials to BSU/UGA and I insist on catching a couple plays of Oklahoma.

5:30 The announcers are talking about Oklahoma, Texas, OK State, and Texas Tech going to the Pac-12. I get mad and yell some things I can't repeat here.

6:00 We order pizza and wings because, well, you know... Football Saturdays.

6:30 Jill comes back because, you know, pizza and wings.

8:00 Oregon loses. Susie is bummed but the rest of us don't care that much. We switch to the UofA/NAU game because it's funny.

10:00 Games are over, we switch to Sports Center to watch the coverage of all the games we just watched.

11:00 Everyone is asleep on couches besides me so we decide to call it a night. I start carrying all the trash and stuff upstairs to find that my roommate Katie did all the dishes we had left up there. I declare Katie a saint, wash my face, brush my teeth, and go straight to sleep.

There it is: 14 hours of football.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I shouldn't enjoy 14 hours of football that much.

But I do.

You see, I have this life here. And it's great. But it's not the life I grew up with.

It's different.

I'm not that different. But my life is.

So I watch 14 hours of football. Because of some kind of nostalgic weirdness, it makes me feel like me. It makes me think of my family, where they are and what they're doing. It makes me think of the streets I used to walk down and the shops I used to visit and the people that I used to see every day.

It makes me think of so much laughter. And so much fun. Of being really young and learning how to be on my own. Of home.

You see, I have this life. This life that I never even thought to dream of. That in some ways is so much more than what I could have dreamed up. And, in some ways, is so far from where I wanted to be.

I have this life that is always changing, always full of surprises.

But I'm still me. You can count on that as a constant.

And I still love 14 hours of college football and lazy Saturdays.

Song of the Day: We Don't Eat by James Vincent McMorrow (I seriously can't stop listening to this song. Look up the lyrics, they're amazing.)

Back to Brad (Bachelor, Season 15, Ep. 1)

Welp, it's back.

I know you've missed it.

I know you've been weeping into your cereal every morning because you couldn't watch it.

ABC is gracious enough to fulfill our need for constant Bachelor-ness by bringing us The Bachelor Season 15: Back to Brad. (They didn't give this season an awesomely cheesy subtitle, so I made one up. I need it.)

I have to say, I got a little spoiled by having all the interns over every week to watch the Bachelorette this summer and so it was a little anti-climactic to have to snark my way through it without yelling and constant rewinding to hear the funny parts. But my roomies Katie and Jen watched with me and were appropriately appalled and intrigued.

One of my favorite things about the Bachelor is that they completely stick to the exact same formula/sequence of editing every single season. This episode did not stray. The first thing we did was jump right into learning all about Brad.

In case you don't obsessively watch the Bachelor as I have for years, you may not know that Brad was actually already the Bachelor in Season 11. He picked Jenni and Deanna as the final two and then famously rejected both of them and ended up alone.

ABC has decided to go the "America hates Brad" route in marketing this and had him talking a lot about how much he's changed, how he's ready for committment, how his dad abandoned him which made him push people away, and how 3 years of "intensive therapy" have made him ready to be the Bachelor again. I can't say that I'm that shocked that being on the Bachelor would require the need for intensive therapy but hopefully your therapist had some stuff to say about willingly subjecting yourself to it again.

I have to say, I think ABC's overplaying the everyone hates Brad angle. I actually remember kind of respecting him for not just picking someone to pick someone, but I guess they were worried people wouldn't invest in his "quest for love" if they thought he wouldn't pick someone again. If someone out there needs to hear Brad's therapist say that he's ready for committment on camera, so be it.

After the Brad catch-up, we moved onto the contestant vignettes where they pick a few of the crazies and maybe one normal person to focus on and tell us a little about their lives. The crazies included someone whose job it is to manscape (complete with unnecessary shots of her actually waxing some poor guys) and a model who may or may not actually believe she's a vampire.

The normal girl that they picked requires a story that makes you cry and Emily from Charlotte delivered by telling us she found out she was pregnant 4 days after her fiance died in a plane crash. Now she's raising her 5-year-old daughter and working at a children's hospital. There is always at least one person that is absolutely too classy to be on this show. I don't want to speak too soon, but I think that's Emily this season.

And then, finally, we got to return to the mansion! Oh, how I've missed the mansion with its crazy lights, unnatural flowers, and complete debauchery. Chris and Brad reunite and sit down to talk about what happened on his last season and how he's changed (this is a running theme throughout the night).

Chris also asks if Brad would be ready to face Jenni and Deanna if he had the chance which really should have been enough forshadowing. Come on, Brad. You've been here before. But he says yes, he would love to apologize, and then was shocked to discover that Jenni and Deanna are there! To confront Brad! And flash their super huge engagement rings because they're happy! Without Brad! HAPPY!

It's awkward. And awesome. Jenni's sweet and Deanna's bitchy and clearly bitter.

With that out of the way, we get to move onto the limo entrances. Apparently, they have told the women that the Bachelor is someone who has been on the show before but didn't tell them who it is, so they're all screaming and shocked when they pull up to meet Brad. There little intros are as lame as ever and evenly divided into one of 2 strategies: 1) feigning no knowledge of who Brad is or 2) Bitterly telling him that America hates him and he has a lot to prove.

The cocktail party is another whole load of awkward as Brad spends the entire night telling women that he doesn't know that he is a changed man and asking them to let him prove himself. Really unnecessary, Brad. They don't really have a right to be personally affronted by something you did on a reality show 3 years ago.

It didn't get any less awkward when the manscaper decided to remove some hair from Brad's wrist. She did the waxing and Brad provided us with the quote of the night when he said in response, "That's bare. Like, shockingly bare." Then she referred to something as the "undercarriage" and I blacked out in psychological defense against such scarring knowledge.

Ashley, the Southern girl (and I do mean girl- Is she 15? Also, why did they not put ages up next to their names like normal? I need to know so that I can judge) won the first impression rose for telling Brad that he can turn to her if he needs a friend. See ladies, asking him if he's ready to commit the first time you meet doesn't win you his heart.

The rose ceremony is exactly what you would think it would be. He kept everyone who got screentime, including vampy girl and the manscaper, and sent home 10 girls who seemed kind of boring.

Some exit crying and 10 minutes of previews that kind of ruin the rest of the season rounded out the episode. I started clapping in joy while my roommate Katie gave an impassioned speech about the death of dignity in our society.

I love Monday nights.

And This is Why...

I love the Sing-Off.



And yes, that's a Boy to Man, one of the Pussycat Dolls, and Ben Folds as the judges. Hosted by Nick Lachey. American TV at its finest.

It's the End

Dear Jillian,

It's been a long, sometimes dramatic, sometimes snooze-worthy ride.  And now we're at the end.  You've chosen Ed.  I can't say I'm surprised.  It seemed pretty clear to me that this would be the outcome.

I have to say, I don't think it should've thrown you off that much to have Reid come back.  If you're really ready to marry Ed, you probably should have enough conviction about it that you wouldn't second guess it just because Reid finally managed to say he loved you.  On the other side of that, it is kind of dramatic and you only had like 5 minutes to process it all so that sucks.

Don't worry about Kiptyn.  He's already getting plenty of ladies back in SoCal.  And his snooty family is trashing you in French at the club.  

It's been fun.

-Kate

Dear Ed,

Are you really in love with Jillian?  The true test comes now.  

I have to be honest, I'm betting in real life you're going to go back to working like crazy and Jillian will be super bored.  I'm going to give you about 3 months after the special tomorrow.

Get rid of the shorts shorts.

-Kate

Dear Producers,

Less focus on the pretty, more focus on the interesting.  Seriously.

I can't say I respect you, but I appreciate what you do.  

Looking forward to next season!

-Kate

Yep, Again

You know how sometimes you're talking to someone and they ask you what you've been up to and you have to respond with "nothing much" because what you wish you could say is raising money to build highways in Africa, learning to play the ukulele, and writing witty and thought-provoking letters to the editor on a variety of important topics but what you've really been doing is watching reality TV, reading a Harry Potter a day, and researching whether or not you could feasibly move to Scotland?

Yeah, I've had to do that a lot lately.  

I've officially been here 6 months.  I can no longer pretend like I'm just passing through between NYC and whatever cool other thing is going to come up.  I am no longer some kind of glamorous vagabond.  

So maybe I should start investing, huh?  Maybe I should start acting like I know this is where I'm supposed to be?  Or maybe I am supposed to be somewhere else?

Eeee!  How do I know?

I'll get my head (and life) together soon so you won't have to read about it anymore, I promise.  And, don't worry, if I make any big decisions, you'll be the first to know.

In the meantime, enjoy the dance from this season of SYTYCD.  This is a Tyce contemporary danced by Melissa and Ade.  The story is that of a woman battling breast cancer and her friend supporting her.  Powerful.

The Men Tell All = Hypefest for the Finale

Dear Jillian,

You're the happiest you've ever been in your entire life?  We'll see.

Also, what's with Reid coming back?  I am just going to assume that it's tricky advertising by ABC once again and that he'll be there for .25 seconds and nothing's going to amount of it.  I've been fooled one too many times.

Good luck picking Ed.

See you after the final rose,

Kate

Dear Jake,

Will you be the next bachelor?  I don't know.  But I do know that I think you are about a thousand times more awesome after dropping an f-bomb at the men tell all.  However, talking about how you've been too perfect for women your whole life, not so awesome.

It has become clear to me that you are that dude who desperately wants a girlfriend that you can lavish affection on and do anything for, further proving that you are the nicest guy alive.  This seems wonderful in theory, but it is actually overbearing and a huge turn-off in real life.  Sorry.

Still, you are exactly the kind of soulless pretty-boy that the producers love.  

See you next season,

Kate

Dear Dave,

Your crazy eyes scare me.  And you are inappropriate and a creeper.  But I feel a little bad for you getting owned on national TV for doing stuff that you've been getting away with at bars/slow-pitch softball tourneys your whole life.  You probably wish someone had told you sooner.

Clean it up, seriously.

I hope we never meet,

Kate

Dear Michael,

It was really good to see you again.

Affectionately,

Kate

Dear Chris Harrison,

You are my new hero.  I've always had a great liking for you, as I can tell that you think everyone on the show is crazy.  But last night you were lifted to an entirely new level.  I assume you had just finally had enough of the insane douche-baggery that is these men.  (And you were probably also a little ashamed for your entire gender.)

I loved how you tore apart "Man Code" and altogether owned the Bachelors.  You seemed genuinely pissed at Dave for manhandling Jillian and did not hold back in calling him out on it.  Your genuineness (and sarcasm) endears you to me, and the rest of America.  Good work.  

Respectfully,

Kate

Sigh

I don't think I even need to say anything about the latest ep of So You Think You Can Dance.  Hands down the best dance of the year so far was Travis Wall's (we missed you!) contemporary danced by Jason and Jeanine.  Beautiful.

Kupono and Randi are in trouble, but I'm hoping Jeanette goes home for the ladies.  

Here it is: (the dance itself starts at 2:35)

Kiptyn? Really?

Dear Jillian,

Wow.

I don't really know what to say to you about this week.  Honestly, it was kind of boring.  Here's my advice:  settle down a little.  

It was a little extreme how hard you were pushing Reid to tell you he loved you.  I think it would be better to respect him for not being willing to express feelings he's not sure he has.  I mean, you've known each other for like 3 weeks.  And you've been in extreme circumstances.  That is not love.  That is excitement and adventure.  Maybe with marriage, a life-long commitment, you should go at your own pace, not at ABC's pace.

Kiptyn continues to bore me.  He doesn't really seem to have a personality.  And I don't really see it, physically.  But whatever floats your boat.

And then there's Ed!  Between his Euro short-shorts and his Miami Vice powder blue suit, I was a little iffy on Ed! this week.  But his parents totally redeemed him.  What fantastic Midwestern parents.  I don't know how someone that hot came out of 2 such awkward people but I love them.  

Also, I really need you to call me and tell me what happened in the bedroom.  ABC's previews and your interviews seem to imply different things.  Was it a fall asleep in the middle of something incident or was it something else?  I think America deserves to know.

It seems pretty clear to me that you're going to pick Ed! but I've been wrong before.  Can't wait to see the Men Tell All special next week and hear what you have to say about Wes now.

Hope it works out,

Kate

Dear Reid,

I'm sorry, buddy.  But at least you got to keep your dignity.  All in all, good work.

Respectfully,

Kate

Dear Ed!,

Seriously, rethink the shorts.  I never want to see upper man thigh.  But if you could just gaze deep into my eyes and then smile, that would be nice.

Talk to you soon,

Kate

Dear Bachelors,

Don't be shy at the tell-all next week.  I want to hear everything.  And Dave, if you want to punch some people, that would be fine.

See you next week,

Kate

Finally, Jillian!

Dear Jillian,

Obviously, the first thing I am going to say is thank god you finally sent Wes home.  I'm definitely a little judgey that it took you this long, but at least it finally happened.  Word of advice: don't pretend like you're really smart for figuring out he's lying at this point.  You're not.  But I'm ready to move on and pretend like all of this never happened.

On another note, good work sleeping with Ed!  You don't have to pretend like you two just cuddled all night, we all know better.  And nobody judges you; he's dreamy.  Although my friend Ben astutely noted his lack of eye contact when talking to you and I have to agree that it's a problem.  He may not be very sincere, but he's pretty.  And that's all that matters when you only have about a week to fall in "love."

Kiptyn needs to go next.  I know you're attracted to him but he was extremely unforgettable this week.  Reid is a little as well, but he's at least sweetly nervous.  Oh, yeah, and stop pretending you can't imagine why Reid wouldn't like it that you're getting the chance at a fantasy suite with all the other guys also.  It's because he's worried that exactly what did happen would happen, which is you rejected him but let Ed! stay in the suite.  Sucks for Reid.

Really looking forward to next week.  Hawaii, more smuttiness, this is exactly what I expect from you.

See you later,

Kate

Dear Ed!,

Step up the sincerity and stop sleeping with other women.  Thanks.

Also, if you need a reminder of what my phone number is, just send me a message.  I've really been waiting a while.

Love,

Kate

Dear Reid,

I like you more each week.  I appreciate that you don't say "I love you" just to win and that you clearly don't belong on TV.  I expect you to make it to the finals, but you'll probably get rejected at the end.  Prepare yourself.

Good Luck,

Kate

Dear Wes,

Two words:  suck it.

Hate you even more,

Kate

Yeah, More SYTYCD

Is it a sign that I watch too much TV when half of the posts on my homepage are about shows that I love?  You be the judge.  

(In all honesty, these are the only 2 shows right now that I watch regularly.  They just happen to be extremely blog-worthy.)

It was Top 14 last night and the dances picked up significantly.  There wasn't a single dance that I didn't like which hasn't been the case the last couple of weeks.  I loved another Nappy Tab hip-hop dance by Phillip and Jeanine and also the creepy alien dance by Jason (too cute for words) and Caitlin.

But the winner of my favorite dance last night has to be Kayla and Kupono's "jazz" (or should we just say "Sonya") routine.  Even though they're not my favorite couple and I don't always get Sonya, this one was awesome.

Enjoy.

And since I didn't post a dance last week and I haven't yet represented Randi and Evan or Mia Michaels, all of whom I love, I'm going to post their contemporary from last week as my belated favorite.  And also, you should watch Jason and Caitlyn's incredible, Sparta-themed paso doble.  I loved it.

Oh, Jillian, It's Not Good

Dear Jillian,

I'm sorry I haven't written you in a while.  Clearly, you needed my advice.  

Don't worry, we can fix this.  What you need to do is ask the producers for a tape of the whole interaction between you, Wes and Jake.  You'll then see what all of us see without being blinded by Wes' smarminess.  Before you watch it, let me remind you that stuttering, clearing his throat, being unable to look you in the eye, and constantly stating he's a bad liar normally means that the person is, in fact, a very good liar, something that they are proving at that exact moment.

Women everywhere (especially the 4 in my living room) let out a collective boo when you decided to keep Wes this week.  You have lost a little bit of all our respect.

It's not all bad though.  You gained a little of that respect back by keeping Ed!  (Ed!'s name will from this point on have an exclamation point behind it on this blog because that's how his name should be said.)  He is clearly wonderful and only made more wonderful by the fact that he had the integrity to honor his commitment to his work, but then discovered that he can't live without you.  And he's dreamy.  So he's got that going for him too.

Kiptyn's family was snooty patooty.  For real with the French?  Just because he makes you look at him with lust-filled eyes every time he's around doesn't mean you should keep giving him roses.  Here's a secret: he'll probably still be willing to hook up even if you don't pick him.

Last but not least, don't ever hurt Michael again.  It's OK that you sent him home this once, but America will not stand seeing him upset ever again.

Can't wait for next week when it starts to get really smutty!

Keep it classy,

Kate

Dear Wes,

I loathe you.

Abhorringly,

Kate

Dear Jake,

Please take solace in the fact that America loves you.  You are fantastic and Jillian is crazy to not trust someone who looks so dashing in a pilot uniform.

We'll see you next season on The Bachelor: Love Has Wings.

Looking forward to it,

Kate

Dear Ried,

You're too sweet to be on The Bachelorette.  I think you're great but as you can see by her continual acceptance of Wes, Jillian likes dirtbags.  You're probably not going to make it past this next rose ceremony,

Don't worry though.  You get a trip to Spain and my roommate Ashley is waiting in the wings for you.  Things are looking up!

See you later,

Kate

Dear Ed!,

Seriously, I'm waiting for your call.

Love,

Kate

I Don't Think, I Know

Last night was the 2nd episode of So You Think You Can Dance.  They definitely saved all the really good dances for week 1 because this week was a little underwhelming compared to the first.  But Shane Sparks is back so that makes me happy.

There were still some really great dances.  I loved Randi and Evan's jive and the contemporary by the Stacey Tookey that Jonathan and Karla danced.  And even though they sucked last night, I still love Phillip and Jeanine.

It was a tough choice, but Kate's Favorite Week 2 Dance Award goes to...

Kayla and Max and their Brian Freedman pop routine.

My Life is Complete Again

Why you may ask?  

The answer is simple:  So You Think You Can Dance is back!

It is hands down my favorite show on TV.  I tivo it every week and watch the dances over and over.  This was Week 1 and all the dances were so good, I'm never going to be able to pick who to root for.

But I have decide that the Week 1 Kate's Favorite Dance Award is going to....

Drum roll, please...

Phillip and Jeanine!  

There were some strong competition but I had to give it to them.

Here is a video of their incredible hip-hop routine in case you missed it.  Enjoy.

Judgement is So Easy (Bachelorette, Ep. 2)

Dear Jillian,

First of all, I would like to say that I approve whole-heartedly of you giving a rose to a man simply because he put on a speedo and jumped into the ocean.  I like what that says about your priorities.

Also, I approve of the fact that you then turned around and sent the dude home who stripped naked and jumped in the pool after calling everyone out to watch.  There's a fine line between funny and desperate, and you have drawn it well.

As someone sitting in my living room and judging you and this entire process, I can tell you that Wes is a scuzz bucket and the break dance instructor is awesome.  The Globetrotters, however, make me sad.  

I'll just reiterate one thing for you this week:  your grandma and America are watching.  Stop making out with boys you barely know.

Can't wait to see the helicopter ride with Ed next week!  

-Kate

Dear Juan,

Can't say I'm shocked that the other guys voted you off.  You seem a little dishonest to me.  I'm not going to say over and over that you're breaking "Man Code" or suggest we tie you up and take turns beating you like Dave did, but I will say that you're kind of a tool.

BTW, it does not make you sound cool when you tell someone that their eyes are "absolutely luminous" in front of a camera.  That is a line.  Nothing but.

Best of luck!

-Kate

Dear Dave,

Back off with the Man Code stuff.  Nobody knows what you're talking about.

Also, it's hard to get testosterone out of dress clothes, so please stop spewing it around the mansion.

Still, I wouldn't mind seeing you fight Juan.  If you do, I would suggest a throat punch.  It has proven effective for me.

Looking forward to it!

-Kate

Dear Wes, 

Your plan's going to back fire.  Nobody will buy your record once they find out you're a sleaze ball.  Country music fans like their stars wholesome.  

I already hate you!

-Kate

Dear Ed,

Call me.

-Kate

The Bachelorette

Dear Jillian,

I think you're insane, but I am stoked that you got your own season of the Bachelorette.  You were my favorite of the final few last season and it is going to be fun watching you wade through this sea of testosterone and attempt to find "true love." (I'll be referring to it as "TV love" but if you want to stick with "true love" that's fine.)

Here's my advice: settle down.  Back off a little.  Don't let the creepiness of the mansion rub off on you.  This show is too extreme.

I just watched the intro of all the men that you're going to see if you love.  That's a lot of overly confident men you have there.  I would bet there are a great many douche bags in this group.  Good luck wading through them.  

Most important thing first:  If you don't end up wanting Jake the pilot or Ed from Chicago, can I have him? 

If you're anything like me you'll get rid of all the men that have anything like "executive," "finance" or "entrepreneur" under their names.  They all seem a little creepy and soulless.  But breakdance instructor, pilot, and photographer?  Yes, please.

Oh, and if you could tell the dude from Kansas to just go ahead and pack his bags now, that wold be great.  But graphic designer in the Member's Only jacket?  He.  Is.  Awesome.

I have to give you some props for your poise.  If I had 25 guys all trying to impress me, I would turn super awkward.  You're holding your own nicely.

One last piece of advice:  Don't be too slutty.  Your grandma's watching.

Enjoy the ride, Jillian.  I'll be watching.  (And judging.)

-Kate

Dear Bachelors,

Next time, don't wear lime green shirts or shiny jackets.  Also, don't be a fitness model or awkwardly man hug the other dudes when you have to leave.  Your chances with women will improve exponentially.

Better luck next time.

-Kate

It's Never Too Late to Post

I can't tell you how often throughout the day I think, that would make such an awesome post and then when I actually sit down at the computer I can't remember any of those things so instead I write about absolutely nothing of consequence.

Because this is really frustrating, I got in the habit of going to blogger and creating a new post every time that I come up with an idea. I'll start a post, jot down a couple of notes and then save it as a draft so that I can go back and finish it later.

In looking back through them today, I found one from a few weeks ago that said simply:

Best day ever!
exchanged book for 3
got Tivo back
turned in application

I am here to apologize to you all, internet, for not finishing this post. Because I know how much you all love me and how much you would care that I actually did have the best day ever just about 3 weeks ago.

It started when I decided I should turn in an application at Barnes and Noble because maybe they give discounts to their employees. I remembered as I was leaving that I had a book to return to them. My brother had given me Maya Angelou's newest book for Christmas, but I already had it so I had been meaning to return it ever since. However, I'm horrible at remembering to return things and they normally just sit there losing value until I finally return them months later.

So I grabbed the book and headed to my neighborhood B&N hoping I'd at least get to pick up one book out of the deal. It was a hardback, so that was promising. I got to the checkout and the man explained that I would have to take the exchange in store credit, which I expected (and was excited about). He handed me my gift card and informed that there was $27 on it.

It took all I had not to shout WAHOO! out loud. I was so excited. I had to look insane as he handed me the card because I'm pretty sure my face was lit up like he had just handed me a job at a small community-based non-profit as a Volunteer Coordinator or Community Outreach Specialist. (My wildest dreams.)

First thing I did was buy a celebratory iced Americano (10% off with my membership!). Then I went to work.

An hour and a half later, I walked out with 3 new books! Two new paperbacks (one of which was 40% off because it was in the "check out these new authors section" and I have a membership) and a B&N classic.

I was on a high.

This was followed by going home and getting my Tivo hooked up. It had been close to 2 years since I had used my Tivo, so I had a lot of fun watching the hilarious stuff still saved on there such as my Blazer on the news, Santa dressed as Waldo pumping gas, this hilarious prank, the Hamm twins, and fetus in fetu. Also, there were two episodes of the Lacey/Neil/Danny season of SYTYCD on there. Hours of entertainment.

Oh, and before anything else that day, I turned in my application at the only actually promising lead I have on a real-person job. So it was exciting then. But now it's 3 weeks later and nothing's really happened on it, so we'll see.

There it is people. The best day ever. Sorry you had to wait so long to hear about it.

Two Things Today

1) Mary Catherine Gallagher's blonde cousin is on Wheel of Fortune right now.  She is an opera singer from Tampa and graced us with a rather stirring original opera composition about the Wheel during her intro segment.  She also won both of the first two toss-ups and did quite a bit of dancing around in celebration, almost falling over in the meantime.  She is now battling out the personality-void church choir director in the ankle-length button up denim skirt on country music week a couple years ago as my favorite Wheel contestant ever.  (Remember denim skirt woman, Paige?  She was the best!)

2) I have a cough.  It's really annoying.  I don't actually feel sick at all, I just have a deep in the chest, hacking cough that limited me to 2 hours of sleep last night.  I would go to the doctor, but I don't have health insurance.  So I guess I'll just tough it out.  (In all honesty, that's what I would've done anyway.  I don't ever go to the doctor.)  Here's hoping it's not TB!

I'll be back in Mid-MO all next week.  Hit me up if you're around.

I Just Cried Watching the Real World

And it wasn't because I was contemplating what the state of the world will be when our generation is in charge.

It was actually because of a guy on the show named Ryan.

In case you don't watch the Real World (I respect you), Ryan is a 23ish Southern Army guy who has served in Iraq.  That's his hook on the show and when he talks about it they put up the little think MTV plug and play commercials about Rock the Vote.

Normally the Real World is something I have on in the background and perk up whenever there's fights, but tonight had me hooked.  Tonight's episode was all about Ryan and his time in the military.  They showed him going to a bunch of different veteran's stuff and talking a lot about what it was like to serve in the war, etc.  

And then they showed him get the call that he was going back to Iraq.

And I lost it.

I feel like war is so unreal.  It's something that is literally impossible to fathom if you haven't lived it.  I can listen to people talk about it, I can read about it, I can watch movies.  But I don't comprehend the horror of it.

My senior project in college was a community education seminar focusing on helping families with deployed loved one.  Even with all the research and talking to families and veterans and everyone I could, I still can't fathom it.

The part that got me was when Ryan started telling his roommate about it right after he got the call.  He was immediately resigned, immediately said I'll go.  But then he started talking about how mad his girlfriend was going to be, and then he started crying when he said he just didn't want to put his parents through it again.

On an educational level, I know what deployment does to families.  I can tell you all the strategies to get through it, to try to stay close, to deal with it.  But I can't understand what it feels like to have your child, your spouse, you parent in constant danger.  I can't understand that fear.  And I can't understand how these kids, younger than me, fight our wars.  

So my heart is heavy because we live in a world that breeds war and hate.  

And yet somehow I'm optimistic because I see people heal and love and live and strive for more.  

And I have to believe that the people in charge are seeking the good of mankind.  What else can we do?

Sorry that was a downer.  I'll try to be witty tomorrow.