Kates, and all the randomness that entails.

I hate your facebook photos.

2011-02-28T21:43:00.001-08:00

Yes, I am talking about the way too close photos of you and your boyfriend sucking face.

Yes, I'm talking about you, girl who thinks she models because her friend has an SLR camera. Just because your best guy friend (who is love with you but you will never sleep with) took pictures of you against a backdrop of graffiti does not make you a model; it makes you cliche.

Yes, I'm talking about those Vegas photos where you and your girls can be sluts because you're "owning your sexuality." The ones that inspire comments from creepers whose profile pictures 1) are taken with a camera phone and 2) are all shirtless (and seriously lacking in abs).

Yes, I'm also talking about you, shirtless creepers.

Yes, I'm talking about the photobooth photo of you laying in bed, looking sad, and messing up your hair while wearing glasses.

Yes, I'm talking about you, new parents who make pictures of your baby your profile picture. Unless you're a really shitty parent, I doubt that your 2 year old has his/her own facebook.

Yes, I'm talking about you, "car import model." Stop posting pictures of yourself in a bikini and fuzzy go-go boots. It's gross, and I think your bellybutton piercing is infected.

Yes, I'm talking about the screen shot of your Farmville account that you made your profile picture (I shit you not - I actually saw this once).

And lastly, yes, I'm talking about the photo that you took in your bathroom mirror. Captioning it "omg, TOTAL myspace photo lol!" does not make it ironic. Grow the fuck up.

I am old.

2010-12-10T14:03:00.000-08:00

Hello kids,

I wanted to write in a tiny update about my life, and direct you to the wonderful blog that is the product of my undergrad roommates' and my attempts at sass. It is called "Calories Don't Count If...," and we are writing a book so we'll be famous one day. Go check it out!

http://caloriesdontcountif.blogspot.com

In other news, I am just now finishing up my first semester at UCLA law school, and I am loving this new city. LA is a ton of fun, though I do miss actually having free time like I did in Berkeley. Hopefully I'll update this from time to time, but for more consistent updates, look for posts by Kates on CDCI.

Love to all of you peeps!

McLawyer

Twas the Semester before Graduation

2010-03-08T23:20:00.000-08:00

Twas the semester before graduation, and all through the school
Not a senior was studying, not even a fool
The caps and the gowns were all purchased with ease
With hopes that students would finish their studies

We seniors were settled all snug in our bars
Where $4.00 pitchers would soon be ours
We changed all our grading options to Pass or No Pass
Because the lazy senior knows how to save their own ass

When out in the street arose such a clatter
I stumbled off my stool to see what was the matter
To the window I sauntered and almost fell over
I cursed to myself and wished I was sober

The moon on the cement of Telegraph gave luster
To the many young women all grouped in a cluster
I turned to the bar and yelled out the fact
"It's the freshmen girls, and they're looking for a frat"

They were clad in their tank tops, their mini skirts and heels
They had gone through the day each skipping their meals
To look the skinniest, the sluttiest and the best
To win the frat d-bag, and beat out the rest

I giggled from the window and went back to my table
The girls asked what was there, and the best I was able
I gave them an answer that I knew they'd desire
"I looked at a picture of us four years prior"

They ran to the window and created a stir
To take a look at the girls we once were
It's funny how four years can teach you so much
And now we graduate, to do great things and such

Goodbye U.C. Berkeley, my undergrad, my heart
Goodbye all the lessons, it's time to depart
Goodbye freshman me, you young naive kid
I hope that you've learned from all the stupid shit you did

OH MY GOD IT'S KATES WTH

2010-03-08T00:52:00.001-08:00

Hello kiddies! Can you say "revival"?

...Or how about "neglect"?

Either way, today marks the end of my almost one year long hiatus from my blog. I decided to swoop in a new entry before it officially became a year, because then I'd feel bad (great logic for a future lawyer, I know). Anyways, here's the sitch and the quickest way I can update you on my life. It's going to be fast and then I'm moving on to more important matters KAYHEREWEGO:

Interned in DC. Had best summer of life. Worked at Department of Justice. Forsure want to be a lawyer. Took LSATs and wrote applications. Still hearing back from law schools. Want to go to Georgetown. Dear god let me hear back from schools soon please.

OKAY so moving on to topics of real importance - I wanted to start off the rebirth of my blog with an entry about something that I have come to love over the past few months: salsa dancing. Any salsa fans out there? It's seriously the best.

Let me amend that. It's the best if 1) you are a natural at it and can manage to complete the moves without looking like an awkward/spastic bird-like animal, or 2) you don't give a shat if you look like an awkward/spastic bird-like animal. Luckily for myself, and I think this fact is pretty clear from how horrible this blog is, I don't really care how idiotic I look most of the time. As long as people laugh (and trust me, they do) and I'm not crying (this is about a 50-50), I can usually have a good time.

But really, salsa dance is awesome because it pushes you out of your comfort zone. In fact, sometimes it pushes you TOO far out of your comfort zone depending on the trashiness level of the salsa club you choose to attend. Luckily, even if that is the case, you always end up with a smile on your face for most of the night. I highly recommend it to anyone who is down to try new things and wants to get out for a fun night. Also, if you're a Berkeley student, I suggest you check out of the Social Ballroom Club's classes. They're Tuesday nights for dancers of all levels, no partner required, and they are a totally non-threatening way to learn new/fun stuff.

Lastly, I want to say sorry that this post was a little disjointed. I'll have some more cohesive updates in the next few weeks. Missed you guys, hope you're still around, and I'll catch you in a few.

Still yours,
Kates

I hate twitter.

2009-04-30T11:06:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I don’t know if many of you have heard about the social phenomena that is twitter, but if you haven’t where have you been for the last two years? Twitter is a social networking tool in which users post what they’re doing in sentence long posts and can follow other users’ posts (i.e. “Katie is brushing her teeth right now LOL”)... It’s basically a facebook status, but that’s the whole dealio. Now, I will NEVER get a twitter. In fact, I’ve hated twitter for months now, but I’ve never really told anyone why. You guys wanna know..? The real reason?

Because twitter will make me realize that I have no friends.

The whole concept of twitter revolves around this “follow me” button that is on your twitter account. People can subscribe to your posts and then they’ll see all of the useless crap that you do during the day on your twitter.. “Tweets,” I think they’re called? Anyways, if people “follow you” then they can see your “tweets” and you’re whole life feels like it has meaning, because people want to read your tweets. Life is awesome and you are popular.

Ceeeeept I’m pretty sure that if I got a twitter I would have like one follower, and it would probably be my father. I would be forced to cry myself to sleep every night (as I post a tweet that says “Katie is crying herself to sleep tonight”) and I will slowly come to the realization that no one loves me or cares about my tweets. Tweets are the inner speech of the soul, and no one will even follow my twitter. My life would be a SHAM. A meaningless concoction of going to class and watching How I Met Your Mother. So, I think I’ll stick to blogging where I can convince myself that people read it they just don’t feel like commenting.

Screw you AND your mind games, twitter.

I think I probably do my best blogging at 2:00 a.m. (That's a lie)

2009-04-20T01:49:00.000-07:00

You know what? I love summer. I love the fact that soon I won't have to be working on school work anymore. I'll finally be able to relax and lay out by the pool and sleep late and get paid for whatever work that I do. It's going to be awesome.

OH WAIT JUST KIDDING I'LL BE IN WASHINGTON DC WITH NO ACCESS TO A POOL IN MUGGY WEATHER WORKING MY BUTT OFF FOR FREE BECAUSE THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM IS RIDIC. COOL.

Okay actually I'm super pumped to go out to DC this summer, but let me explain what spurred this little hatred of summer monologue:

It is officially 2:00 in the morning, and I am still awake even though I have class tomorrow. Why would this be the case, you ask? Well, this is the case because it is so friggin' hot in my house that my upstairs room has decided to turn itself into a toaster oven (it's not a regular oven because my room is too small). The window is open but it's making no difference to the sweat-soaked sheets on my bed.

And here's the kicker: I dehydrate extremely easily. This is a little fact about myself that I choose to forget during the winter months since I don't really notice it (it's the hot that exacerbates it). Then summer rolls around and on the first hot day I take a big step out of a car and almost fall onto the pavement because my head starts spinning me right round (baby right round like a record baby right right round round). So, what this amounts to is me feeling faint, nauseous, and hot in my room unable to sleep at 2:00 a.m. on a Sunday night. Gotta love it.

On a brighter note, I did a little research and it turns out that they have a Chipotle fairly near where I will be living for the summer, so there's a little stroke of good luck there.

Alright, I'm going to go return to my slightly damp bed for another round of attempted sleep. Seriously though, is anyone else feeling me on this dehydration in the summer thing? Totally lame.

Your extremely hot blogger (you can take that however you like),

Kates

The Finished Product!

2009-03-21T15:34:00.001-07:00

Hope you all like it! :)

Quilt Otaku Photo Contest!

2009-03-20T22:57:00.001-07:00

So my good friend Marisa over at Quilt Otaku challenged all us crafty people (I love to think of myself as "crafty") to work on our photo skillz (with a "z"). She posted a guide to taking great photos of your crafts, and is holding a contest to see who has the best before and after pictures! Imma give it a whirl, and that is what the travesty above is. My "before" photo of my huge wonderful blue scarf that I knit a few months back. :)

Stay tuned! Tomorrow morning is the "after" photo, and no lies, it's pretty awesome. ;)

<3kates

A day in the life of Kates as told through Addison's heart.

2009-02-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

I love you Addison and Daxton. =)

Holy poop, I've been blogging for a year?

2008-12-30T00:27:00.000-08:00

So last year I posted a list of ten things that I wanted to accomplish in the new year (inspired by Marisa of quilt otaku who is amazing). I have, again, been inspired by her to report my current status on this list. I actually think I did pretty well! :)

1. I want to go zip lining, sky diving, ATVing, or bungee jumping at some point this year. I know it’s unrealistic to try to do all of them, so if I can do one of the four I will be totally content.
Status: Almost there. I am leaving for Hawaii on the first of January and I will be zip lining on the fourth. I think that counts, don't you?

2. To get my GPA high enough that I’ll be able to go to graduate school and not fail at life.
Status: Rockin' it. 3.9 last semester, suckers!

3. Start offering myself up for research to my polisci professors so I can get more interesting stuff to do (last semester’s research sucked).
Status: Failed. Haven't so much as thought about research this year.. Sigh, I really needa get on that.

4. Get an internship somewhere this summer and make a little moolah (Marissa, reading this? Hook me up? Yes?)
Status: Done. Worked this summer at Vivion Inc. Made money, got experience, the whole shabang.

5. Update myself technologically. I know that sounds weak but I’m using the old version of everything on my little Compaq and I need new software (I’m sick of Neil and Daniel making fun of me).
Status: I now use Firefox. Good enough.

6. Read for my personal enjoyment more. I’m sick of boring course required readings.
Status: Surprisingly, done! I started reading novels throughout the semester... It's been great! I just finished The Dark Jewels Trilogy for the second time, and it's still good. Haha :)

7. I want to travel somewhere fun this year. Whether it be visiting my cousin Brian in DC or going out to Hawaii at the beginning of summer I really want to get out of this state.
Status: Just about there. Leaving for Hawaii on the first!!

8. Spend more time with my mommy and daddy (I haven’t been coming home as much this year).
Status: Done. I've been coming home much more often this year (this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my boyfriend goes to Santa Clara University now).

9. Get myself a half decent movie editing program and learn to use it.
Status: Pathetic. Haven't even made a movie on my crappy editing program in the last year.

10. And, of course, continue my personal quest to figure out who I am as a person and what I’m looking for in life.
Status: Always ongoing. Speaks for itself.

So I only totally failed two of 'em, so that's like a B average! Go me!

Anyways, I wish you all a happy new year, and I encourage you to make a list for yourself as well. It's fun to look back in it a year later and figure out if you suck or not.

Always,
Kates

The Yummy Entry.

2008-10-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

Now that I am a third year at the fabulous University of California, Berkeley, I feel that it is my duty to give my opinion on the restaurants near campus. Now, this list will consist of the places that I go on a regular basis, and it will be a combination of totally affordable restaurants for students and places to go when you have a little extra cash. Without further ado, here is Kates' Top 15 Berkeley Restaurants.

15. Cafe Intermezzo: Intermezzo is located right on Telegraph Avenue in the heart of the "student section" of Berkeley. It's great because pretty much everyone knows about it, so you start going there early on in your freshman year. For a good organic salad and sandwich it can't really be beaten on price and quantity (try the veggie salad with poppyseed dressing!).

14. Thai Basil: Also located in the heart of the student section, Thai Basil is on Durant Avenue in the "Asian Ghetto". Thai Basil has some of the best Pad Kee Mao in Berkeley, and it's super cheep for the piles of food you're getting. I hate Pad Thai so I can't comment on that (it's a fascist food instilled by the authoritarian-esque government, by the way!), but everything I've had there is pretty delicious.

13. Zachary's: The best deep dish pizza in Berkeley by FAR. Down in the cute section (where the homeless people start to disappear and real houses start popping up.. you know, a real neighborhood) of College Ave, it's a good place to take your parents for a sit-down, greasy, large-portioned dinner. The Zachary's Special is bomb.

12. Nefeli Cafe: REALLY GOOD BABY SANDWICHES. You don't get a ton for your money at Nefeli, but you get delicious sandwiches with great ingredients (the goat cheese sandwich with the apples is my personal favorite). I've heard that they also have some bomb coffee drinks. It's up on Euclid in North Side, so if you're an electrical engineering major with no friends this is the place for you.

11. Gypsy's: Straight up, Gypsies (also located in the Asian Ghetto) gives you a huge pile of REALLY good pasta for like six bucks. It's sick. Get the Gypsy's Chicken. Just go now. Fo'realz.

10. Mario's: Mario's is down on Telegraph and doesn't make many Berkeley food lists because most opt for Gordo's (another taqueria) over on College. HOWEVER, it is my personal opinion that Mario's green sauce wet burrito totally owns any of the burritos at Gordo's, so you can all shut up. Cause guess what, it's my list! So HA.

9. Barney's: There are two Barney's in Berkeley (one on College and one on Cedar), and they are both OMNOM-ey. Besides the fact that Barney's has my favorite burger in Berkeley (the Baja Burger), they also have by far the BEST seasoned curly fries I have ever had. Like, in my life. I would go just to order six baskets of the curly fries for dinner. Or a snack.. Cos you know, that's how I roll.

8. Cheese Board: Cheese Board is a pizzeria on Shattuck that only serves one type of pizza a day, and you have to call in to see what type it is before you go. However, it is almost ALWAYS delicious. And the pizzas are very creative. It has held the title of best pizza in Berkeley for a long time, so it definitely makes the list.

7. House of Curries: Now, every freshman makes the exact same mistake then they come to Berkeley; they spend their entire first year eating Indian food at Naan-n-Curry. It's not a huge deal, because Naan-n-Curry isn't half bad. However, House of Curries (located on Durant across from the Asian Ghetto) is almost the exact same menu but with better quality ingredients and better naan. When a Berkeley student gets a craving for some Chicken Tikka Masala, nothing can satiate it but House of Curries. Oh, P.S., its heck of cheap.

6. T-rex Barbeque: T-rex was one of my first loves of my sophomore year in Berkeley. See, sophomore year is a magical time because people start bringing their cars to school. Your dining experience expands to a whole new world outside the mile radius around campus. T-rex is located Gilman Avenue and is one of my favorite places to go with a big group of friends. They also have the best Mac-n-Cheese I've ever tasted. It's worth it to go for that and an order of their steak fries with their personalized chipotle spicy ketchup. Seriously. Before I used to eat at T-rex I didn't like ketchup, and this stuff made me crave it. That's a true story. Mmmmmmm now I wanna go to T-rex foh dinnah.

5. Venezia: I had the pleasure of going to Venezia for dinner on my 19th birthday last year, and might I say I was very impressed. It's a little Italian restaurant down on University, and although it isn't the most affordable joint, it's an adorable atmosphere with amazing pasta. I recommend any of the stuffed pastas with goat cheese. Then again, I would eat my own hand if it had goat cheese on it so I don't know if you want to trust my opinion on that one...

4. La Note: Now, La Note would have been number 3 on my list if it weren't for the wait that you have to go through every morning you want to eat there. La Note is a French breakfast house down on Shattuck, however they do NOT take reservations and if you want to go on a weekend morning you are in for at least a 90 minute wait. Once you get in the food is absolutely amazing (there is a goat cheese/bread/egg dish that will blow your mind... sensing a theme?), however the wait pushed it down to number 4 because you're so ravenous by the time you get in there you hardly taste your food because you're wolfing it down so fast.

3. Sushi House: Okay, so this one is cheating just a little bit. Sushi House is actually located down by the bay in Alameda. However, I'm a student at Berkeley and it's a totally doable drive by car so I'm putting it on the list. Sushi House is by far the best sushi in "Berkeley". Although once again, not the most affordable sushi ever, you're getting what you pay for. Also, the restaurant is located next door to a Petco, so when you're waiting to be seated you can go over and try to convince your boyfriend to adopt a bunny for you to play with (no, of course I've never tried this.. and yeah he said no).

2. Rivoli: Rivoli is located down on Solano, and I also had the pleasure of eating dinner here for my 19th birthday. This is a definite "go with the parents or if you won the lottery" sort of place, because the plates are not cheap. However, I don't know if I have ever been more pleased with a meal put down in front of me. My mom and I both ordered the butternut squash lasagna, and it was melt-in-your-mouth fantastic. The atmosphere is adorable too, with a large window opening up into a well-kept garden in the back. I haven't gotten a chance to go back since then, but I'm trying to convince the non-bunny owner that we should go there for our one year anniversary (reading this, Dan?).

And here it comes.. My number 1 food choice in Berkeley.. Ooooh I'm so excited! Are you excited?? Here it issssss!

1. Gregoire: I'm sure those of you who know me probably guessed this before I typed it, but yes, Gregoire takes the cake for my favorite place in Berkeley to eat. The reason I put it at number one is because I think that the quality of the food compared with the price that you pay for it is the best bang-for-your-buck food in Berkeley. Located at Cedar and Shattuck, Gregoire doesn't exactly stand out. It's a very small French take-out restaurant with virtually no in-house seating. However, what it doesn't say with its appearance it makes up for with its food. The menu at Gregorie changes every month, but there are the standard sides (with changing dipping sauces almost every day). I would go back for the potato puffs alone (essentially balls of mashed potatoes dropped in a deep fryer), but they also have some of the best/most creative lamb dishes I have had outside of the Armenian culture. Many months back they had a lamb burger with roasted garlic cloves on it that made me almost fall out of my chair. And to top it all off, student's can afford to go there if they watch their budget (and waistline) carefully. Yes, Gregoire is a must-have in the Berkeley area.

Well, there you have it folks! Those are my top fifteen food choices in Berkeley. Now, I'm sure that there are a bunch of Berkeley students/residents screaming at their monitors about the restaurants that I forgot.. But here's the thing; I haven't eaten everywhere in Berkeley. Entonces, I cannot comment on the places I have never been (yes, kiddies, this is why Chez Panisse didn't make the list.. take me there and I'll write a whole blog about it!). I invite anyone living in the Berkeley area who thinks I forgot some very important restaurants to write up their own post.. And please, link it to me! I would be glad to read your posts and disagree with most of them. :)

I hope you all enjoyed my post, and most importantly, happy eating!

Kates

My mom is cooler than I am.

2008-10-09T16:06:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I always thought that I was more hip than my mom. As all teenagers do at some point, in my humble opinion. Fighting over fashion, rebelling, and all the good "high school-esque" stuff that goes down within the mother-daughter relationship is what gives off this perception to us naïve children. However, I have come to the slow realization that, sadly, this really isn't the case.

Now that I'm in college and I come home to visit my mom, I tend to not take her for granted. I never used to realize all the awesome stuff that she did for my brother and I back when I lived in the house. For instance, my mom throws down money whenever I want to go out to dinner (I never realized how awesome that was until I got to college and started paying for my own food). She hires cleaners to come and clean our house so it stays nice. She works hard to keep everything in working order in order to make our lives easier. Basically, my mother pwns when it comes to caring for Booby and me.

Also on these trips home, I've found myself constantly crawling into my mom's closet to pick at the new things she bought since the last time I came home. You know why? Because my mom is FASNIONABLE AS HELL. Everyone always comments on how cute my mom is when she comes to visit, and I love/hate it. Why do I have to have a mother who is cuter than I am? I'm pretty sure that isn't really how it's supposed to work.

And lets continue with my mom's awesomeness.. My mom could totally kick my ass. No joke. I am a black belt in Taekwondo, I did dance for like a bajillion years, and yet I know that if my mom and I threw down she would totally destroy me. She goes to the gym like, every single day. She is fit AND fashionable, which is not something I can say about myself. I am sorta coming to despise her a little bit...

My mom surrounds herself with the coolest people. Her social networking skills are off the charts. She has a great career. Whatever task she decides she wants to do she excels at. She is one of the most loving and caring people I know. And, overall, she is just awesome.

This brings me to the point of this post. My mom took off on October 5th to ride across the country on a Honda Rebel 250cc scooter in order to try and discover why the level of discourse in America is so low. She is armed with her laptop, camera, and voice recorder; and she hopes to come back with a story (as well as one of the greatest experiences of her life). She is on this trip completely alone, which is something that not many people could do. I wanted to write about my mom not only because she is amazing, but because she is keeping a blog all about her journey along the way (stuffed with awesome stories, interviews, and pictures). I encourage anyone who reads my blog to go over and take a look, it's pretty amazing.

http://hwireroad.org/

....And now that the house is empty I'm going to go steal my mother's wardrobe, mehehehehe :)

Heh heh, so about that last post...

2008-09-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

Well, it's only been a few months but a lot has happened. Oh, I should probably warn you that this entry is going to be about my life and not random things that annoy me, kay? Here we go..

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and I am going to try to attend law school after I graduate. I've done a lot of research and I think there are some schools that I can get into, and I think that it would really help me in the future. It still remains true; I don't really know what I want to do with my life. However, I know that law school will get me one step closer to wherever I eventually want to end up.

So now I'm already waist deep in LSAT books because the only prayer I have of getting into the school I want is if I score at least above a 170 (175, being realistic). And what is that school, you ask? Georgetown. They have a program where you can get a JD and a PhD in American Government in four years. Uhm... yes please?

Anyways, I realize that I haven't updated in a long time and I'm very sorry. I hope to return to some regular degree of snarky-ness soon, I just have been too busy trying to get a 4.0 this semester and dealing with the hubbie being an hour away (sadface).

Well Upper-East siders, looks like little K has taken a little too much on her hands... Will she rise to the occasion, or realize that she's just not ivy material?

You know you love me, XOXO
Gossip Kates

A life lession straight from Kates.

2008-07-19T23:04:00.001-07:00

So, I have learned something very valuable recently in my dealings in the office place and with family friends: If you don't know what you want to do with your life, then lie and make up some ridiculously hard/awesome goal to tell people. Seriously.

Why have I come to this realization? Well, for years now I have been a very indecisive person when it comes to my future. Besides being a ninja/dancer/iron chef judge, I haven't really discovered a career path that I think will suit me really well. I know that one day I want to have a family and I want to have my own career, but what I actually want to do with my education is still completely up in the air. Besides feeling useless, this creates quite the trouble when talking to others. For example, let me paint you a picture...

Your mom is throwing a nice dinner for a group of your family friends. You're sitting at the table when the conversation finally turns your way when one of your obscure family friends (who, in your humble opinion, could really benefit socially from a tic tac or two) asks you what you're majoring in. If you're me, you cringe because you know where the conversation is going, and then mumble "political science". The reaction is almost always the same.

"Oh! Political science huh? Well, what do you want to do with that?" This is then followed by an awkward silence and your mom glancing at you from across the table waiting to hear your response (cause we all know she's been wondering the same thing for quite some time now). Here is where your two options come in.

1. You can tell the truth and mumble "Oh, I'm not sure" and then look down at your plate as though you find your spinach salad ridiculously interesting while waiting for the conversation to turn towards something else.

2. Or you can make something that is both completely untrue and extremely impressive up. And there is no shortage of ridiculously prestigious jobs you can think of:

"Actually, I want to go to law school and major in constitutional law. Then, when I'm done with my time there my goal is to become a supreme court justice one day." *Cue the shy look down at your lap and a giggle* "Heh- yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous. But I've always felt that if it's something that your really believe in, isn't anything possible?"

Then you get the teary look from your mom and the impressed nod from your bad-breathed family friend, and you look damn cool. This little hint also comes in handy in the work place, mostly because you don't want to sound like a total idiot when your boss asks you what you want to do with your life. In the course of my indoctrination to corporate America this summer, I realized that one has to lie in order to sound impressive if they're indecisive. I think I told my bosses that my plan was to attend law school, but that I found so many aspects of the law interesting that I wasn't sure where I would end up.. "I mean, I can totally understand why people go into constitutional law.. But I could even see myself functioning as a patent lawyer." I mean, what can an adult possibly find wrong with that? Nothing.

That's the other part of this whole issue that shocks me.. People of my class, we are GRADUATING COLLEGE IN TWO YEARS. Like, we will be functioning in the freaking workplace in a mere four semesters. It's getting to the point where we have to figure out what we want to do for the rest of our lives. That is TERRIFYING.

Jesus I'm getting old.

A brief tutorial for all boyfriends.

2008-05-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

Now boys, I know you want to show your significant other that you love her. Jewelry is the way that many of you choose to do this, and that is great! Most girls love jewelry, and will appreciate the effort you put into choosing the perfect necklace/ring/whatever for them. They will also wear it all the time regardless of what it looks like. And.. here in lies the problem that will be addressed in this post.

Oh my guys, I KNOW that the urge to buy your girl that ruby studded gold heart necklace from Kay jewelers is strong. Or maybe that ring with the pink crystal heart on it? OH, or maybe even those earrings that dangle a full four inches down from the ear lobe and have multiple star decorations on them. But here’s the thing; your girl doesn’t want any of these. She does NOT want to wear them, but she WILL. She will because she loves you and feels like she has to. Do you want your lady to feel shackled by that birth stone necklace you picked out at Mervyn’s hanging around her neck? No, you don’t. So, gentlemen, you really only have two options recommended by this blogger (and my opinion matters most so here we go):

1. You take the time to learn what is fashionable and what your girl’s tastes are. Yeah, I know that sounds really appealing, but seriously YOU SHOULD DO THIS. If you’re in the long term with your girl, then there are going to be multiple large jewelry prices in the future and you need to learn to be able to handle them yourself (plus, girls love it when you can pick out meaningful/cute stuff by yourself).

2. Or the easier solution: get your friend who is a girl to secretly help you pick out a gift.

Speaking as a girl who hung out with all boys in high school and has helped no less than ten boys get their girl’s anniversary presents (literally), it’s a good idea. Yeah, I’m talking to all of you guys back in high school (and the four who have made me shop online for them in my college time); you all have horrible taste. I’m sorry, but you seriously do. The shit that you picked out before I helped you was TERRIFYING (yes, the reference to the ruby studded necklace is to you, you know who you are).

But this is OKAY guys! Not only is it okay, it’s completely expected. Most girls assume that boys have horrible taste; the trick is learning small things that can help you in this difficult endeavor. So please, if you don’t want to go with option two and want to take the honest route, talk to your lady. Ask her what she likes, or take her out looking at jewelry some time (of course it would ruin the surprise if she picked it out, but you can take her out beforehand and get a feel for her taste instead).

Whether it’s an anniversary, Christmas, a birthday, or Valentines Day (*shudders*, the corporate holiday), be sure to take time in your decision. I wish you all the best of luck!

Your (basically) Professional Jewelry Selector,
Kates

Boring update: summer = awesome?

2008-05-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

So, I haven’t updated in ages.. and I am deeply sorry. However, I have a totally legitimate reason; I was in the middle of effing FINALS. I mean, crap, I took a few weeks off for midterms so you can try to imagine me even THINKING about updating during finals. *Shivers*

Anyways, I thought it was only appropriate to have my first update be about the beginning of summer. I finished my finals on Tuesday of last week.. They SUCKED. I worked through some of the toughest weeks of my life (seriously, it was a bad semester) before Tuesday, and all I could think about was getting through that day and having summer start. I finally finished which felt AWESOME, and I went out with the boys and hung out in Berkeley for good times and shenanigans.

So, here comes the great irony. Currently, I’m sitting in San Carlos at my dad’s house watching “So You Think You Can Dance”, and I am bored. I sit around thinking about what I’m going to do tomorrow and Wednesday and stuff and I realize that I have absolutely NOTHING to do. What the HELL!? Depressing.

Buuuut with any luck (after my interview on Thursday) I will have a job and can start working next week. I mean, if I have to be bored I might as well be doing it in an office and being paid for it.

Anyone else having a similar problem with summer?

Meh.

I'm boring.

Screw the "L" pieces, I like the "T"s.

2008-04-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

Yeah, because I know that you all care my personal likes and dislikes, here is something I cannot stand: watching people play tetris who are really bad at it.

I don't really care if I come across as pretentious or cocky (hell, I'm those things a lot of the time anyways), but if you have any talent at all in this magical game, you have to know what I'm talking about. Watching someone slam an "L" piece down into a spot that creates three holes on two different levels is enough to make you scream. In lecture I have to watch people playing tetris on their laptops all the time, and let me tell you, it is PAINFUL (Allie, I'm only half referring to you). The best is when the person doesn't even try to score for tetrises (tetris..s? tetri?). For all of you tetris novices, a tetris is when you clear four lines at a time by slamming a line piece down (usally along the right or left side), and it is the only way to get a half-decent score. When people just play clearing one line at a time until the screen fills up.. *shudders* I just can't watch. ...Or I watch and get progressivley madder at the player.

Wow, I'm kind of a bitch.

Oh, the ways that I fail.

2008-04-21T14:21:00.001-07:00

Oh my readers, I just turned bright red from the looks of half of my 500 person history lecture. Why, you ask? Because I am physically incapable of checking to make sure my computer is muted before I sign on AIM.

Yeah, here's how it went down. I sign on, and the sounds of doors opening and offline IMs start flooding out of my laptop at full volume (I start to become a pleasant shade of salmon). It's not like this happened at the beginning of lecture, oh no, we were a good twenty minutes in as the professor was just starting to get into Ho Chi Minh's rule in Vietnam. Not only that, but this computer is SUPER LAGGY, so the sounds came out for about 15 seconds before my computer was able to handle the fact that I had logged in to AIM (the color on my face progresses to a darker shade of rose) . As I finally manage to mute the stupid thing, I am the center of attention (I am now a violent shade of crimson). By this time Allie is collapsing into not-so-silent fits of laughter next to me, I'm getting the stink eye from everyone on the sides and behind me, and I see people four rows in front of me turning around to see who the idiot is that left their sound on.

I am currently redder than an Asian chick after a Newcastle.

I Am Enchanted.

2008-04-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Last night I decided to snuggle up with that boy I hang out with sometimes and watch Enchanted (accompanied by some delicious "Berkeley Nude Sushi," which is bomb). Here is my review:

After the first fifteen minutes I was sitting there thinking to myself "oh my god I can't believe I'm making my boyfriend watch this movie." I couldn't see what the fuss was about. The animated parts were cheesy and the first song was kind of weak, and although it was funny to see that huge hoop dress running through NYC, I wasn't feeling it.

However, once Giselle made it back to Robert's (yuuuum Patrick Dempsey) house it takes a large turn for the better. Giselle's interactions with Robert and his daughter are too cute, and it makes you fall for her "deer in the headlights" look. Actually, I think I was just digging Patrick Dempsey's "oh my god I am so freaking sexy" look. Yuuuuummm Patrick, I'll save you from a dragon any day.

Anyways, it was a cute movie. Watch it alone or with the kids, lots of fun.

Next on my "I am pretentious and think people care about my opinions" movie review; I re-watched I Am Legend with my dad. It was.. entertaining? I guess? This was one of those movies that you are TOTALLY into for the entire thing and then it ends and you're just confused. Not confused because you don't understand the ending, but confused as to who the hell thought that was the way it should end. Seriously. The only reason I re-watched this movie (I originally saw it in the theaters) was because I wanted to see the alternate ending, which was just as bad and made even LESS sense than the theatrical ending. PLUS the dog dies, which just isn't cool. Sigh.

HOWEVER, Will Smith is the hottest man alive. Like, for reals. There is a scene where he is doing pull-ups shirtless in his house and.. yeah.. mmmmmm.

Basically, Patrick Dempsey and Will Smith are delicious.

I think I'm just going to start a gorgeous man review instead of a movie review.

DOWN: 54. a coldsore is a form of this; also known as I DONT WANT TO LEAVE MY HOUSE.

2008-04-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hand me a sudoku, folks, because that's the extent of my brain power. I'm serious, I try to do the crossword in the Daily Cal every day and the best I did once was to fill way under half of it. On average I get like, three words (and they're always the easy ones).

DOWN
23. Get a blank on!; hurry up

I like the ones with blanks. Even tanorexic blondes can get those clues.. But like, "1990 Rose Bowl winner"? Seriously?? How the hell am I supposed to know a Grammy winning artist from 1973? The kids who write the crossword in the Daily Cal must be the most pretentious jerks ever.

And don't go on google and look up the answers to those clues to post in my comments, you assholes.

Anyways, another thing that "grinds my gears" (ZOMGWTFLOL FAMILY GUY REFERENCE) is that dermatologists do not care about personal comfort. Seriously. Let's take my dermatologist, for example. I had a skin deformity (he thinks it might have been a cist) on the corner of my lip, so what does he do? He isn't totally sure what it is, so he just decides to freeze it off with liquid nitrogen. So not only did that hurt like hell, not ONLY does it still hurt like hell, but more importantly.. it looks like I have herpes. Not cool, dermatologist, not cool.

Anyone reading this who has seen me in the last week, I SWEAR TO GOD I DON'T HAVE HERPES. You don't have to freak out about me drinking out of your water glass, I promise. Ugh.

Screw you, Dr. Hoffman.

Why Ender’s Game is the greatest book ever.

2008-03-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

First of all, if you don’t agree with me you should probably just stop reading. Seriously. And I don’t mean stop reading this entry, I mean stop reading my blog. Forever. Forealz, if you don’t think that Ender’s Game is up there in a category consisting of Jack Bauer, God, and Tucker Max, then I just don’t want your type reading my blog. Thanks.

Moving on, if you haven’t read Ender’s Game you can be forgiven, if you immediately go out and buy this book. And no, do NOT borrow it. Do NOT buy a used copy. Pony up the freaking seven dollars and buy your own copy. Trust me; you will be thanking me later. On to the story.

Ender Wiggin starts the book as a six year old. Not only this, but six-year-old Ender Wiggin could kick your ass. No joke. You may be thinking ‘hey, you don’t know who I am; I could take a six year old.’ But no, I cannot possibly list the ways in which you are wrong. I don’t need to know who you are, Ender could destroy you. You don’t even know how many faces Ender has kicked in. And not only is this kid hardcore as hell, he is smarter than you too. When he is six years old he is smarter than you. So even if you think your size will help you in taking this kid down, he will use his superior mental powers to out maneuver you. Do NOT try to argue this point, because you will fail.

Then he grows up, and this is where it gets good. Not only does he get smarter, not only does he get more hardcore, but he gets snarky and witty. SNARKY, SMART, AND HARDCORE. Seriously? For serious. Then, and if you haven’t read the book yet close your eyes, he goes and saves the world. WITHOUT KNOWING THAT HE WAS DOING IT. Have you ever saved the entire world from an alien invasion by playing what you thought was a video game? No. I don’t think you have.

So, let’s review.
Ender is more hardcore than you.
Ender is much more intelligent than you.
Ender is wittier than you.
Ender saved the world from the buggers.

So, from clear evidence we know the following:

Hardcore > Weak
Intelligent > Average
Witty > Not witty
Saves the world > Watches American Idol

Using sums, clearly:

(Hardcore + Intelligent + Witty + Saved the world) > (Weak + Average + Not witty + Watches American Idol)

We have already discussed:

Ender = (Hardcore + Intelligent + Witty + Saved the world)
You = (Weak + Average + Not witty + Probably watching American Idol right now)

And with simple substitution we come to:

Ender > You

Sorry, you can’t argue with science.

Give me monies!

2008-03-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

Okay, don't give ME monies, but give money to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. That's right, Kates is participating in a fundraiser.

So here's the rundown. The fundraiser is a twelve-hour dance marathon in which my team and I (yes, I actually have enough friends to make a TEAM) will be dancing our little hearts out. Here is where you come in; we are trying to raise money to spread awareness of AIDS and the HIV virus. What got me interested in this fundraiser, you ask? Well, there is actually a legitimate reason.

My team and I will be dancing in honor of Gary Kendell. I mentioned him in my post before last as one of the most influential dancers I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Gary passed because he was infected with the HIV virus, so my goal (and my team's goal) is to raise as much money as we possibly can in his memory.

Any amount is greatly appreciated, whether it be five dollars or a hundred. If you are interested in donating to the foundation (and to the horrible attempt that will be the dancing of "Seth Efrica"), donations can be made directly through our website here:

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=268174&lis=1&kntae268174=D26FD693A0F84502A0B2EA34812B597B&supId=207310069

Thanks so much for even taking the time to read this post. I know I said I wouldn't be posting for two weeks.. So, I guess I lied. Give the liar money? Thanks.

Dance, Gary Kendell, and stuff that actually has to do with my life.

2008-02-26T00:52:00.000-08:00

As the title implies, this post actually has to do with my life and how I'm feeling right now. If you have no interest in this you should go read something pointless like allie's blog, but if for some obscure reason you're at all interested, please feel free to continue.

This last Saturday I attended a dance show in honor of Gary Kendell, one of the most amazing dancers that I ever had the privilege of knowing. He was one of the people that really moved through all the stages of hip hop, and influenced so many people along the way that he became some what of a legend. The sheer amount of people that came out to support and honor him was both staggering and touching. Gary was a movement.

After the dance show I found myself sad at both Gary's passing, and the passing of my dance career. I always get sad when I watch dance shows because I realize that I'm not really a dancer anymore, but this one really hit me hard. Watching many people that I knew trying to honor Gee when I wasn't up there trying to do the same was really hard on me. I couldn't stop thinking about how much I used to love dance, and how I let.. well.. I guess "dance politics" and a busy schedule stop me from doing what I love.

So after my little trip home I headed back to Berkeley. I tried to get my mind off of dance but everywhere I have gone I've been thinking about it. When I walk to class I'm listening to hip hop on my ipod and thinking up choreography in my head. When I'm on my computer I'm looking up youtube videos of dancers. I even sent a message to a dance hero of mine that I've only met a few times telling him how much of an inspiration he has always been to me, and how his dancing influences all those around him, and how much he and Gee have meant to me ever since I was a kid (he was at the tribute show). The awesome part was that he actually sent me a message back, remembered who I was, and told me to "continue to dance and learn and share with others so that you too will also spread the love that Gary has given." This was too much for me.

So, here is my plan. I'm going to take the hip hop classes offered at the RSF (though this won't get me even CLOSE to in shape to be good again) and then when I go home for summer I will go back to Community Street Jam (my old team) and start training with them. After I get back into shape I'm going to come back to Berkeley and try out for both TrueElement and The Movement, and pray that I get into one of them. It works out perfectly because I'll have a ton of free time since all my housemates are leaving to study abroad and Daniel and Neil graduate at the end of this year.

Anyways, sorry if this was boring for you. I just can't stop thinking about it so I felt the need to write about it (even as I was writing I had "Letter to My Unborn Child" playing in my head).

http://youtube.com/watch?v=asKq-Sb66Yw

Rest in peace, Gee.

Spanish music > American music

2008-02-21T10:43:00.000-08:00

The main reason that Spanish music rocks is because when translated it makes no sense to us, but is sooooo pretty. One of my favorite songs right now is by Julieta Venegas, it's called "Limon y sal", and I highly recommend it. Even if you don't speak any Spanish, these songs are so much more bouncy and happy than our music! Anyways, the chorus starts with the line "Yo te quiero, con limon y sal." Translated this means "I love you with lemon and salt." See? Makes no sense, but IT'S SO FREAKING CATCHY.

Another reason Spanish music is awesome is because those who don't speak fluent Spanish (like myself, I just get the general idea) don't really realize what they are singing until we look up the translations. For instance, lets examine Juanes (one of the biggest Latin stars in the US, and also one of the hottest men alive). Juanes sings a song called "La camisa negra", or "The black shirt", which turned out to be one of his biggest hits in the US. Tons of people were singing this song and a lot of kids really liked it because they thought it was about a man keeping this woman's black shirt after he slept with her, or something to that effect (at least that was the common assumption at my high school). He mentions leaving "tus maletas en la puerta", meaning "your [her] bags at the door." Makes Juanes sound like a bamf, right? However, and I literally JUST discovered this, this is not at all what the song is about. The song is about heartbreak and how this women made Juanes' life miserable.

Lo que ayer me supo a gloria (What was yesterday was glory)
hoy me sabe a pura (Today it knows pure)
miércoles por la tarde y tú que no llegas (Shit for in the evening you do not arrive)
ni siquiera muestras señas (Not even small signs)
Y yo con la camisa negra (And I’m with the black shirt)
y tus maletas en la puerta (And your suitcases in the door)
Mal parece que solo me quedé (And even worse, it seems that I am left alone)
y fue pura todita tu mentira (And your lie was so pure)

See what I'm talking about? The translations make NO SENSE to native English speakers. I love it. However, you get the general idea. This post is mostly directed at Keshvar because HOLY CRAP KESH THE SONG ISN'T ABOUT JUANES SLEEPING WITH SOME CHICK. I couldn't believe it when I looked up the translations.

Anyways this is a really random post. I just had a little Spanish music kick when Juanes came up on my ipod and I decided to wrtie a post about it. Though, I gotta say that if you never have listened to any Spanish music I really recommend that you at least try some. The "Mi Sangre" album by Juanes is absolutely fantastic.

Adios niños,
Katés

Oooh Valentine's Day.

2008-02-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

So, it's everyone's favorite day! The famous Hallmark holiday we all refer fondly to as Valentine's Day. Or, as the bitters call it, "Singles awareness day". I'm not going to lie, I've been there. Not having a hubbie on Valentine's Day can be such a downer. I mean, as much as you wanna yell about how you don't need a boy and you call your friends your "Valentines", truth is you'd rather be out on a date than hanging with your friends eating ice cream straight out of the tub and watching "The Notebook" for the billionth time (no, of course I've never done this before).

You watch couples walking around holding hands, boys rushing around with bouquets of flowers to give to their girls, girls smiling giddily with their huge bouquets of flowers, bunches of couples all dressed up and going out for romantic dinners, and the "free hugs" guy on Sproul (God bless him). It's enough to make a singleton sick.

However, V-Day can suck for those who are in relationships, too. One word: pressure. It's a big deal when you wanna impress your loved one on Valentine's day and you can't think of anything to get them! Not only that, but because this stupid holiday has been built up so much you feel like whatever you do won't be enough, and that your boyfriend or girlfriend is going to out-do you. Which, really, is a scary feeling. Or, even worse, you put in a TON of effort (I'm talking getting him that really expensive watch he wants, decking out your apartment with candles and rose petals, spending hours on your hand-made card, etc.) and they pick you up a box of Hershey's kisses from longs on their way home from classes. Yeah, that makes me sound shallow, but whatever. You all know you hate that shit.

Anyways, just wanted to give a little rant about how stupid Valentine's Day is. Hope you all have a good one whether you'll be hugging your signifigant other or hugging a gallon tub of cookies-n-cream.

Reasons why Allie Layton fails at life.

2008-02-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

If the title wasn't an explanation enough, this post is going to be full of the reasons that my dear friend Allie Layton sucks the big one. This has nothing to do with the fact that she's sitting next to me watching me type this right now. Yes, Allie, I see you. Hello.

Let's get the good stuff out of the way first: 1) Allie Layton is quite entertaining. Hilarious, actually. 2) Allie Layton is probably smarter than I am. Maybe. 3) Allie Layton is hot as heck. Like, seriously. 4) ...Ok there is no number four. I can't think of any more. Three is good, right?

Now lets refute all those good things: 1) Allie Layton is entertaining because she is ABSOLUTELY INSANE AND LOUD, not actually witty. Who else do i know like this? Definitely not anyone that should be blogging and putting her opinion on others. 2) Allie Layton isn't really smarter than I am, that was a joke. Duh. 3) Allie Layton's hottness is a distraction when im trying to make fun of her. We all know that isn't any good. 4) It speaks for itself that I couldn't think of any more.

You mah girl, Allie Bacon.

Lots of love and fluffy things,
xoxoxo,
Kates

I can't move my legs.

2008-02-06T14:43:00.000-08:00

So I have been attending this class at the RSF (our Berkeley gym) called "core blast". If the name wasn't enough to indicate that you never want to do it, let me reiterate and say that YOU NEVER WANT TO DO IT. Or, ok maybe you do. If you like pain. And crying. I mean, some people like it! Lots of people go, I just think most don't want to. Well, surprisingly, I have been going. So I guess that means I want to go. Wait, let me fix that statement; "want to" is a relative term. I WANT to have tight abs and thighs, I just don't want to have to do anything. Except eat. Why can't life be that simple? Maybe I could like, eat super dense cake to get muscles? And the cake would fill in my muscles and make them all hard? Yes? ...Why doesn't my body work like this? Screw you, biology.

Anyways, back to this class. This class, to put it lightly, is hell. I swear to god the first time I took it about ten minutes in the teacher was like "ok guys, the warm up is over!"... cut to me slumped over my exercise ball drenched in sweat and tears. We worked with the exercise balls, mats, the half ball things that you bounce on, the strappy strech things (if you can't tell, I'm really technical about my exercise equipment), dumbbells, curl bars, and of course, a sense of self-worthlessness.

Though, the pain in class isn't even the best part. Oh no, the best part is waking up the morning AFTER class. I literally almost cried when I sat up in bed because of how bad my abs hurt, and lets not even talk about when I had to get up and walk down the stairs in my house. Then, here's the good logic in my brain, I thought "Hey, you're already sore. You should just go to the next class even though your legs feel like they're going to fall off and then you'll probably feel better the next morning." My self-esteem? Loads better. My body? Hates life.

Check back with me in two weeks and see if I've kept up with this.

Cue apprehensiveness.

Super Tuesday

2008-02-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

Wow, it was a pretty intense Tuesday, no? For all of you who were “glued to CNN” just like I was, it was a tight game. Well, for the Democrats. I’m only going to say a few words about the Republicans, and it’s really only because of my own sick amusement. Here we go; the fact that Huckabee took five states is so so so funny. I love it. I honestly just feel bad for poor old Mitt, there’s no way he could have seen it coming. Huckabee’s famous quote of the night was “Over the past few days a lot of people have been trying to say that this is a two man race well, you know what, it is and we are in it." Oh Huckabee, with your Bible in one hand and your flat tax in the other, you continue to be a constant inspiration for this country. Cheers to moving to Spain if you get elected! Oh, and I should probably mention the frontrunner, huh? Well, the only good thing I can say about McCain is that, if he gets elected, at least I won’t have to worry about the draft he would instate because he’s so sexist he probably wouldn’t draft women. Woo!

And onto the Democrats! It’s going to become increasingly clear that I am an Obama supporter throughout this post, so sorry if you’re a Hillary advocate. Let me get this out of the way right now though, I do not dislike Hillary. I think anyone who supports Hillary or Obama and hates the other is absolutely irrational because, when it comes down to it, the two are remarkably similar. Of course there are some substantial differences between them (like the fact that Hillary looks like a rooster and Obama is super hot), but to say that you HATE one and LOVE the other is ludicrous, in my opinion. Now, on to the results! Obama came out of Super Tuesday with a total of 730 delegates; 624 pledged and 106 Super delegates (“Super delegates” makes me think of a superhero, hehe!). Hillary has taken the lead with 818 delegates (625 pledged and 193 Batmans), but it’s not over for my boy Barack. With many more states to go I still have faith. The loss in California was a bit disheartening, although it should have been expected. This was the first election that I got to vote in, so I was pretty excited when I headed out to the polls yesterday at 10:00 in the morning. I felt so.. civic duty-ish! And the support for Obama on the Berkeley campus was completely overwhelming. People were standing out at the corner of Bancroft and Telegraph from the time the polls opened all the way until the time the polls closed, cheering and screaming as cars honked on their way past. Way to go Berkeley Obama supporters, you rock! I really believe that Obama could win this. And I really must respond to some of the comments I’ve been hearing around campus that go a little something like “Obama doesn’t have the experience to take control of the White House. He doesn’t know what he’s getting himself in to." Hm. Ok. Let’s stop and think about this, shall we? Barack Obama is a frontrunner for the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party who attended Columbia University and Harvard Law School. Do you, 19-year-old college student wearing Sevens jeans and a Berkeley sweatshirt with Converse; truly believe that you are more qualified to know what he is getting himself into than he is? Seriously? Nice try, my pretentious kiddie. Please try to stick to rational arguments.

Anyways, I need to go because I have class in like two minutes. Sorry if I offended anyone, totally not my intention. PEACE!

School is weak.

2008-01-21T12:54:00.002-08:00

Wow, you know what really really sucks? A VACUUM. Haha, I'm funny. Ok no but seriously classes start tomorrow and that blows (like a gust of wind!). Granted we have like the longest break ever (wooo go Berkeley), but it doesn't make going back any easier. It's amazing how quickly a month goes by. So, without further ado, here is me trying to relive my awesome break in words to take my mind off the fact that I will be sitting in a lecture hall tomorrow (lets pray that hipster couples do not choose to make out in front of me again, I might flip a bitch):

-I spent Christmas with my family, which was awesome. Also my mom threw a BAMF-y party on Christmas Eve that was a ton of fun. I got to hang out with all of my cousins, all my aunts and uncles, and Neil and Senthil stopped by as well so it was a good time. Christmas day was just lots of family time, hanging with my Dad in the morning and then going over to my aunt's house for dinner and family present exchange. In which I got a huge beer bong and a twelve pack of long neck Coronas. It was awesome.
-I went to Neil's New Year's eve party, which was surprisingly a good time. He wanted me to go simply cause he thought it would be boring (it was a family thing) but we ended up having a lot of fun by corrupting high school kids and playing guitar hero. If Daniel had been there it would have been a perfect way to ring in the new year.
-My Mom and I went to New York for four days with the Baily sisters, which was the most fun I've had in a long time. The best was the one night that we went to this Brazilian BBQ place (if you have never had Brazilian BBQ then you are SO missing out, its like the greatest food ever). We met up with my cousin Scott who actually lives in New York, his girlfriend Susie, and my cousin Brian who bussed in from DC to have dinner with us. It was an entire night of just messing around with my cousins and eating amazing food. This night was pretty much the highlight of my entire break.
-The last thing that really sticks out in my mind is the day that Daniel and I spent in Monterey. We went down there for our first "official" date, and it couldn't have been a more perfect day. We had clam chowder in a bread bowl on the pier, walked around down town, spent a butt load of time at the Monterey bay aquarium, had dinner at Bubba Gump, and came home. It was amazing. =]

So yeah, I pretty much had an awesome break. And now I'm crying because I know that I have to go back to school tomorrow. I hate life.

Oh, and sorry updates have been so sporadic, I've been busy. Ok I think "lazy" is probably a more accurate term. Whatever, don't judge me.

Eep! Who fails at updating?

2008-01-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

See? This is what happens when you go away for a weekend. You sit there and think “Oh, I don’t have to update because I’m on vacation”. Then guess what? Days after you got back you still haven’t updated, you’re still bloated from vacation food, and you can’t think of anything to write about. Woo.

So. Uhm. I got a hair cut (like my professional writer transition there?). My hair was like, three or four inches past my shoulders and I had the chick cut it all off. Oh, and by “I had the chick” I mean the chick did whatever the hell she wanted as I watched in horror. I don’t understand why this is such a problem whenever people go to get their hair cut. Whenever someone comes back with a fresh do they always say that the hair stylist (or barber, if you’re old school) didn’t listen to what they said and just did whatever they wanted to. Although it’s totally stereotypical I swear to god this happened to me. Again. I asked her from cheek length bangs, she cut them just below my eye brow. I told her I didn’t want it shorter in the back, she layered it to such a degree that it makes Ally McBeal’s layers in the 90s look tame. Thankfully I don’t hate it; otherwise I might have busted out some Kung Fu skillz on her. Pshaw!

Ok so I promised Marisa of Quilt Otaku (greatest blog ever) that I would make a list of ten things that I want to accomplish in 2008 (even though it’s getting a little late for this seeing that it’s already the 12th). Oh well, here goes.

1. I want to go zip lining, sky diving, ATVing, or bungee jumping at some point this year. I know it’s unrealistic to try to do all of them, so if I can do one of the four I will be totally content.
2. To get my GPA high enough that I’ll be able to go to graduate school and not fail at life.
3. Start offering myself up for research to my polisci professors so I can get more interesting stuff to do (last semester’s research sucked).
4. Get an internship somewhere this summer and make a little moolah (Marissa, reading this? Hook me up? Yes?)
5. Update myself technologically. I know that sounds weak but I’m using the old version of everything on my little Compaq and I need new software (I’m sick of Neil and Daniel making fun of me).
6. Read for my personal enjoyment more. I’m sick of boring course required readings.
7. I want to travel somewhere fun this year. Whether it be visiting my cousin Brian in DC or going out to Hawaii at the beginning of summer I really want to get out of this state.
8. Spend more time with my mommy and daddy (I haven’t been coming home as much this year).
9. Get myself a half decent movie editing program and learn to use it.
10. And, of course, continue my personal quest to figure out who I am as a person and what I’m looking for in life.

Now that I’ve actually updated I’m off to relax and then go to bed early (my niece and nephew are visiting from Michigan so everyone in my house is exhausted). Oh, and New York was a lot of fun! Though coming home was half the fun. Good night all!

I wanna wake up in a city that never sleeps.

2008-01-02T23:15:00.000-08:00

Oh yes, if you know your Sinatra then you know I'm off to New York! I'm catching a flight over there at 11:30 tomorrow, and then getting back late on the Sunday. So, unfortunately, I will not be updating. I know this will be totally devastating to my fan base (that's you, Marisa and Jamie), but it has to happen. Haha, I hope that everyone has a good couple days even though you wont be in New York. Unlike me. Because I'm awesome. Sad for you?

Have fun, kids.

Much Love,
Kates

Live Free or Die AWESOME.

2007-12-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

Spoiler alert, oh noes! Don’t read if you haven’t seen the new Die Hard. Or read it anyways if you don’t care. Your call.

To start, let me clarify one thing about me: I love guy action movies. I personally believe that The Rock and Face Off are two of the greatest movies ever made. You stick John Travolta and Nicholas Cage in a movie, make them both switch back and forth between playing evil psychopaths and loveable dads, then throw a bunch of awesome explosions in there and you know you’ve got yourself a movie truly worthy of the title “kick ass”. So, needless to say I was pretty pumped this weekend when my Dad picked up Live Free or Die Hard on blue-ray (because my Dad just has to have the newest technology, even though it will probably be obsolete in about two weeks).

Towards the beginning of the movie Bruce Willis puts a Creedence ClearWater song, “Fortunate Son”, on the radio; so the movie was a winner from the very beginning for me. However, there is one important skill that one must have to be able to truly enjoy any great action movie, and that’s the ability to suspend believability. If you’re watching and saying “this could never happen” over and over to yourself, there is no way you can actually enjoy these movies. You have to just sit there, let your eyes glaze over, and yell about how BAMF-y the stuff on screen is. If you were wondering, I happen to be very good at this (not thinking is a talent of mine). Live Free or Die Hard was definitely no exception in its requirement of this skill with its array of unbelievable events which included:

-Bruce Willis blowing up a helicopter with a car that he launched off of a bridge toll booth
-Bruce keeping a semi truck from tilting over from simply yanking on the wheel as hard as he could (pretty much the definition of manliness)
-A Harrier jet literally flying through freeway overpasses to try and blow up Bruce
-Bruce Willis then essentially SURFING the aforementioned Harrier jet through the freeway overpasses

These are just a few of the more extreme examples from the movie, but trust me there were many more. Other highlights include Bruce Willis’ daughter, Lucy, kicking the crap out of some bad guys. I mean, she seriously beat up like five henchmen when they had the upper hand on her every time, and I am always a fan of girls kicking ass in movies. Also, Justin Long (better known as the kid from the Mac ads) is so snarky and adorable that you just wanna hug him the whole time. I literally want to become a computer hacker so that I can make him fall in love with me. However, nothing will top the end where Bruce Willis straight up fires a gun through himself to kill the main bad guy standing behind him (who was actually pretty hot too).

Basically, this movie was awesome. Lots of crap blowing up, hard-core cops, cute/funny computer nerds, and hot bad guys. It’s a pretty solid formula for an entertaining movie. Two thumbs up from Kates which, if you were wondering, doesn’t carry much weight with the movie critiquing community (even though it really should).

Screw you, will power.

2007-12-29T10:02:00.000-08:00

It’s amazing that the holiday season has already passed, isn’t it? There is nothing better than home cooked meals, friends, and family to make a Christmas (or Hanukah, Kwanza, or whatever you Santa naysayers celebrate) truly great. There is one small, or large if you’re really unfortunate, problem: the Christmas poundage. We all put it on. Bears put on weight to be able to hibernate through the winter, and I put on weight to sit inside and read James Patterson novels and watch trashy television. For most people it’s all the sweets that make them want to recalibrate their scales, the culprits being home baked Christmas cookies, boxes of See’s and Godiva candies, loads of pumpkin pie, etc. For me it’s the sheer mass of the food, and the spinach dip (my mom makes it for her Christmas Eve party every year, its killer).

Although I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, I would like to show you all why my family, and anyone who comes to one of our Christmas parties, hates me. There is one single candy that I will go absolutely nuts for, and that’s See’s chocolate molasses chips. If you have never had a molasses chip, you should either immediately leave your house, get in your car and head to your local See’s candy store, or kill yourself. Those are your only realistic options. I mean, just look at this gorgeous thing.

A crispy molasses center surrounded by all that delicious milk chocolate. Honestly, just look at it. It’s a thing of sheer beauty. I’m certainly not the only one who notices this, seeing how they are usually of the first candies gone out of the chocolate box. Who would go for a crappy peanut bar with chocolate on it when they could have a molasses chip? Not anyone I would want to associate with.

Here is the reason that people hate me:

I will open up a brand new box of See’s candy, take out ONLY the molasses chips, and then put the lid back on and walk away. Then, either people are mad because the best candy is missing, the rest never get eaten, or I get yelled at because the rest of them DO get eaten only because I opened the stupid box (If you were wondering, I infact did get yelled at by my lovely mother when she got home from work and saw that this particular See’s box was open).

It’s a serious problem. I’m thinking about seeking help.

Anyways, happy holidays everyone. I hope you had a great one and really look forward to the new year. =]

What's the etiquette on a first entry?

2007-12-28T14:51:00.000-08:00

So.. I never know what exactly you're supposed to write in a first entry. Should you introduce yourself? Write about the random things you'll probably write about in the future? Compose a detailed work of fan fiction? No clue. So I guess I'm going to do a combination of all of them (or maybe just the two I mentioned foremost).

My name is Katie (or I go by Kates) and I am a student at U.C. Berkeley. I have absolutely no idea how I got into Berkeley, so now I'm struggling through classes to try and get a degree in political science. What will I do with a polisci degree, you ask? No freaking idea. Maybe become a lawyer? A politician? A receptionist? Not sure. We'll see where it takes me (though I’m pretty sure those are my only three options). Among other things I love to dance, be loud, and read books that don’t suck. I like to think of myself as outgoing, though I think most would label me as obnoxious. Really, the only quality I look for in a person is if they enjoy a good pint of Ben and Jerry's vanilla heath bar crunch ice cream. I think it's the greatest show of character.

One of the great parts of attending Berkeley, or any university for that matter, is the people that you meet. Now, Berkeley gets this crazy reputation for having a bunch of pot-smoking hippies and homeless people. Although I would love to say that we don’t deserve that reputation, we totally do. But, despite popular belief, those aren’t the only people you run into. It’s really easy to meet some great, interesting, intelligent, and non-smelly people on the Berkeley campus. Unfortunately, there are still those more- unpleasant people on campus that you have to deal with. For instance; the hipster couple that makes out in class all the time. If you’re in college you have to have experienced this once in one of your lectures. It’s those two kids, clad in their home made beanies, American Apparel tights and cut off sweatshirts, that sit down right in front of you and proceed to neck throughout the entire lecture. It’s not like anyone else is paying attention to lecture, but do these people not have dorms? Or apartments? Or street corners? If you’re going to make out during lecture, why even go? Why can’t you just sit on your laptop and facebook like all the rest of the normal kids? It’s enraging. So let me ask you a question, do you think Kates puts up with this? Well.. Yeah, I do. But I take pictures of them with my camera phone and then make fun of them on my blog later.

You thought I was kidding about the home made beanie, didn’t you?

Well, that’s a pretty good taste of the mediocrity that this page will be comprised of. Good to be on Blogspot, catch you all next time I get bored.

Kates