Wandering Aimlessly

Why is my advisor worthless? She's screwed me over so many times. Thank god I've taken it upon myself to not believe her and continue doing what I think is right, as well as checking things myself on the web. If I didn't, I bet I'd be spending the next three years here instead of just one more semester. Ugh. I told her I wanted my concentration to be public relations and advertising (the two because there aren't enough PR classes to fill a concentration). I have been taking PR and adv classes now and have taken enough hours. But somehow she didn't listen to me and put my concentration as biology. That's nice and all, being that I used to be a bio major and she was trying to make those hours count towards something, but there weren't enough hours to fill the concentration. Meaning I would have to take another biology course. I don't want to take another biology course! Since I'm double majoring, my concentration in psych is in speech communication (my first major), so I could also, if PR and advertising didn't work out hour-wise, have my concentration be psych. I was in the LAS office the other day and they informed me I was still down as having the bio, and to email my advisor to get her to change it. So I did. Know what she emailed me back? "I will forward to the LAS office." That's it. No greeting, no signature, just that. One line of worthlessness. I talked to the LAS office. They told me to talk to her.

Today has been full of frustration. I needed a money order to send my housing deposit to Disney, which is just a pain. Last time they let us pay in cash when we got there; this time, that's what reserves our spot. The Student Credit Union does free money orders, but they don't do them at unless you have an account. Isn't being a student at this school enough? I mean, I have an account with the school. So I had to go to Western Union and pay my service fee. Then, on the way back, I was walking on the sidewalk. Next to the bike path. The sidewalk is directly next to the bike path. Two bikes are coming towards me. On the sidewalk. I had to physically step out of their way onto the grass to not get Schwinned. For heavens sake, people, the bike path is right there!

Oh well. My Disney forms are printed, filled out, signed, stamped and mailed. Whew. We're cutting this so close here. Stupid records people who send my packet to the wrong address.

But I got my car back yesterday, which is a happy, happy thing, and I can just think pleasant thoughts about being in sunny Florida just three short weeks from now! Woohoo!! And look, the sun just came out. Lol. How fitting. <.g>

Posted by kate at 03:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight was Champions on Ice. Woohoo!! It was so fun. Even though I was stuck up in C... I knew I would be, since I was on the floor for the MTV Campus Invasion Tour. They do a rotation. Anyway.

Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen (I have NO idea if those names are spelled right) were not there. People were PISSED. Especially about Sarah, because they really, really promoted her in the ads. Ah well. Timothy Goebbels (again on the spelling) WAS there, and he's my favorite. Michelle Kwan, Elvis Stoiko (I need to look up these people to spell their names right) and a bunch of people I won't ATTEMPT to spell were also there.

They amaze me. I have to say. They do all these flips and turns and throws and yeesh! I have a hard enough time going forwards on skates. The music they did their routines to was a lot of fun as well. There was the obligatory pink-sequinned "Pop" (and no, it wasn't JC this time), so that was fun. The guy started out on his head (on his head on the ice, yeah) and did a flip. I forget his name. Later he came out and did Cartman's "Sailing" from South Park, then ripped that costume off and was dressed like an old lady for "Dude Looks Like a Lady." That was SO fun. <.giggle>

There was this one pair's routine, but it was two men. A bigger, muscle-ier guy and a smaller guy, and they were absolutely hysterical. They were in ballet outfits and tutus and BOY were they strong. They had to be gymnasts... the big guy was holding the little guy up in all sorts of weird ways. At one point the little guy balanced in a one-handed handstand on the bigger guy's head. Yow! They were walking all over each other with their skates, tumbling, flipping, flying... sure was a show.

And then my Timothy. He makes me smile. I kept telling everyone who complained about Sarah Hughes that Timothy was here, and that was even better, and my supervisor came up to me and said "I don't want to burst any bubbles, but I don't think he goes for women." Nope, me neither, but dude, he's so gosh darned adorable. He's so my favorite. <.g>

What else? I had really nice people in my section. The majority were over 60, so they were all super-sweet (aside from people complaining about the lack of Sarah... what was I gonna do about that? =/) At the end, they did a whole Tribute to America thing, which was kind of funny because almost half the skaters weren't from the US. Lol. Oh well. It was nice and moving and there were fireworks and flags.

It was our last "real" event before graduation (Creed was cancelled for Wednesday... one of them was in a car accident! He's okay though), so the Big Boss announced all the seniors who were graduating. Oops. Afterwards, Aarti and I had to go tell them that we are not actually graduating and will both be around for one more semester, if that's okay. They were very excited to have us stay. <.g> It's nice to know that you're appreciated and liked and you do a good job, and people want you to come back.

So that was that. And I am waiting (im)patiently for reports of the Florida concerts... *ahem* =) I hear there were tears shed, which is so sweet and makes me love them all the more. I'd be a big ball o' sap, too. Heehee.

Posted by kate at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

LOL!! Shelley just sent me this video of Justin when he was teeny-tiny. And actually cute. <.g> "I want YOU." He puts me in hysterics, that boy.

Posted by kate at 07:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

According to Human for Sale, I am worth exactly $2,029,742.00. It's a highly scientific measure.

I'm not much motivated to do anything today. Yesterday I got up at 11, made and ate breakfast and chatted at the table until 2, played Sims until 4, showered and went grocery shopping until 7, ate dinner and watched Jack and Curly Sue, and bummed around online. Today looks like it's on about the same track. I got up at 11, ate some of last night's leftover Chinese, and have done nothing else. Except finding out my worth as a human being. <.g> That makes me feel a little better about myself. Ha ha. I'm not sure what the range is (but I am sure I'm not at the top of it, based on the lack of "above averages" I put down), but heck, $2 million looks like a lot to me!

Maybe I'll do some reading for advertising. The book is so boring, though. <.sigh> But like the saying goes, procrastination is like masturbation; you only end up screwing yourself.

Posted by kate at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had made a post with pictures a few days ago, and none of the pictures were showing up. I promised I'd fix 'em, and I finally did. <.g>

Posted by kate at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

who's your ideal NSYNC sex partner? find out here
unnecessary quiz by mmmmmriley

Lol. Except for the "scrawny" answer, I really couldn't tell who they were aiming at with the options. This quiz just made me snort and giggle because it's so ridiculous. Lol. But, hey, I got JC and I didn't cheat. So all's well that ends well. <.g>

And boy, did I ever have to mess with the html to get THAT to show up correctly! Yeesh!

Posted by kate at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am so not tired. So weird. About 7:00 I was ready to fall into bed, and now I'm here, eight hours later, wide awake. There's nothing on TV. Maybe I can read a book! What a concept! Ooo, now I'm excited. <.g>

For some reason, this end-of-the-semester is very un-stressful at the moment. It's refreshing. I have that huge paper for my language skills class, but for that, I need to have the tape of my mom's class, which I won't be getting until Wednesday or Thursday. So the panic will set in about then. I suppose I could start reading my advertising book in preparation for my next-Tuesday final exam, but gosh, that's still so far away! My social psych exam on Friday is going to be a breeze, I believe. Stats next Wednesday will be tough, but all I need to do is make my "cheat sheet" (we're allowed two this time... score!), and that will be how I study. And cognitive next Thursday is just a fourth test, not a cumulative exam, so that's not very stressful. And research lab is over for the semester, meaning I actually get to eat lunch next week. Woohoo!

I actually got a lot done today. I declared my double major and I found out what to do to change my concentration from biology to something useful. I learned that I need to fill out a Major Plan of Study for psych, which I've actually gone over with my advisor, but not officially turned in. I also learned that there's a slight possibility I can get credit for my HR internship at OSC this summer, if I can find an independent study class to back it up. So I will inquire about that at the same time I get everything else taken care of -- on Monday. I didn't get my Disney papers signed because the guy who needs to sign them (whose name is conveniently Guy) was out of the office all day. So Monday for that, as well. AND I found the Chevy dealer down here and made an appointment to get my engine looked at for Monday, since the engine light has been on since last weekend.

So basically I accomplished a ton while at the same time putting it all off until Monday. Funny how that worked out. Lol.

Now I'm going to read a book. Or at least start one. Wheeee!!!

Posted by kate at 03:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Edit: Fixed!! You should be able to see 'em now.

I'm in a very picture-y mood. I was going through pictures today, and I found one of my favorites.

Oh, the one that gave me HUGE Chris issues <.g>.

Justin's gone*.

Smiley C.

JC at the piano.

And ride 'em cowboys*!

I found a bunch more I thought were just adorable, but I have to upload them first. Another day.

*From the Atlanta concert last August. Taken with my camera by Carolyn, because I was too damn far to tell who was who, let alone get pictures where you could tell.

Posted by kate at 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

1. What are your hobbies?
Writing and drawing are the two I make a point to make time for. I wish I could read for fun all the time, but class reading fills that time. =( Can't wait for summer for that. <.g> Singing used to be a huge hobby, but time for that seems to have disappeared also. Someday...

2. Do you collect anything? If so, what?
The question should be what don't I collect. I am a pack rat. I keep everything. Even stupid stuff, like wristbands from various events and such. I used to collect kitten stuff, when I was a kid. So I have this huge box of anything and everything dealing with cats. I have a bunch of XF stuff and a bunch of *NSYNC stuff, but I'm not sure I consciously collect that, I just acquire it. <.g> Oh, shot glasses. I forgot about shot glasses. I get them wherever I go on vacation.

3. Is there a hobby you're interested in, but just don't have the time/money to do?
Well, the choir thing. I wish I had time to join a choir again. I wish I could pick up my violin again. I'd like to learn the piano. I'd love to be able to go into my old art studio and paint again. I really enjoy being around kids, and I wish I had an opportunity to do that again, also (even though I'm not sure that's a hobby... lol). All these "agains." Yeesh!

4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a moneymaking opportunity?
Not that I can think of. When I was a kid, we used to set up stands outside to sell friendship bracelets we'd made and drawings we'd done... our neighbors used to buy them for like 50 cents. Does that count?

5. Besides web-related stuff (burbs, rings, etc.), what clubs do you belong to?
Right now, I'm in Volunteer Illini Friendship Project, which is a mentoring group. I'm officially a member of a bunch of different honors societies, which all have service components... and none of which I've ever been actively involved in. =/ I'm in GilliAngels and <.gulp> supposed to be a founding member of NWGA... oops. I believe someone is missing their month of May, however, so no one needs to be complaining about August not being done. <.g> And I guess my membership in stuff like Tri-M (Modern Music Masters, I think) and the International Thespian Society are lifetime, if those count as clubs.

Posted by kate at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Wow. Today's my lucky day. <.g> The Orlando Science Center called me back... for an interview, or so I thought. Nah, they decided to skip that step and just hire me. The Public Relations internship was filled, but they hired me for the HR department. I can handle that. Unpaid, no credit, but it's experience, darn it!

So I get to spend my one pre-Disney Orlando day meeting with them about the job, but that's okay. I only have to work one or two days a week, so I'm hoping I can work it out decently with Disney. I'm kind of nervous about that step. I can give up one of my days off, and maybe work a half-day one other day of the week. Hopefully. I wonder if I should call someone at Disney and speak to them. Maybe they can place me in a job that would be more conducive to that...? Hmmm.

Oh well, I have Disney which will pay me and provide a place to stay and free entrance to the parks and whatnot, and I have OSC which will provide me with much-needed experience as well as something to satisfy my parents, who do not want me wasting a summer in Fantasy Land.

What else to do today/tomorrow:

• Statistics Homework
  
• Get papers together for Disney
  
• Watch Madison Square Garden concert... again, but this time it's on TV, so.
  
• Watch Friends
  
• Watch ER (You can tell where my priorities fall <.g>)
  
• Go to career center, get Disney papers signed. Send Disney papers.
  
• Go to psych office, get signed up for research lab for next sem.
  
• Go to LAS office, get concentration straightened out.
  
• Go to Advertising and/or Communications office and talk way into class for next sem.

Posted by kate at 02:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yup. I'm going. I'm SO EXCITED!!! Yee-Haw! (Yes, I'm excited enough to "yee-haw." <.g>) I'll be a Quick Service Foods Hostess. Again. So much for having a different experience. Ah well. At least I know the job. I hope I can work at Animal Kingdom (again) or Disney (MGM?) Studios. I do NOT want to be at the Magic Kingdom. At all. Please, please, oh Disney scheduling people, don't put me at MK.

So if all works out, I'll be there from May 22 through August 2. Two and a half months, not bad. Not to mention that includes the weekend of July 28 (aka CFTC... IV?), which I'm hoping I can attend. Anyone know how much tickets are for that?

What I'm most extremely excited about right now, though, is my (extremely) tentative plans for getting down there. I'm planning on dragging Aarti with me, since a 19-hour drive alone doesn't sound at all like fun. We'd head out on Saturday or Sunday, drive to Atlanta where we would stay with Carolyn. On Sunday or Monday, we'd add her to make a two-car caravan and head to Orlando to stay with Mike or Joaquin (hopefully). We'd stay there one or two nights, and then with the other one or two nights (hopefully). During the day(s) we'd maybe go to the beach, maybe to Universal, maybe to Downtown Disney... the possibilities are endless. And then C and I will move in on Wednesday, send Aarti home, and let the summer begin!

Oh, and the Orlando Science Center called today while I was at class. I have to call back tomorrow. It would be so very much more than perfect if I could get that job, too, and make it all work out. Then I'd get relevant experience, live in Florida, work for The Mouse, and have an all-around awesome last summer. (How sad is it that this is my last summer break ever? <.sigh>)

Very much excited right now. As if you couldn't tell. Now, cross your fingers that this will all come together as planned! =)

Posted by kate at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

These quizzes just get goofier and goofier. Lol. But hey, I get a nice picture out of it, so I won't complain. *g*

Posted by kate at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you had to keep only one album of music, what would it be?
Oh gosh, this is so hard! Um... does my Pop Mix 2001 count? But missing out on the rest of my CDs would be sad. Very sad.
If you had to keep only one movie, what would it be?
Playing By Heart, I think.
If you had to keep only one TV show, what would it be?
"Friends." At least I could laugh.
If you had to keep only one music group/band/solo artist, which would it be?
*NSYNC
If you had to choose one actor who would it be?
Denzel Washington.
If you had to choose one actress who would it be?
Jodie Foster.
If you had to keep one book what would it be?
The Giver. Or To Kill a Mockingbird.
If you had to keep only one song which would it be?
Professionally recorded, *NSYNC's "Something Like You." Not professionally recorded, the version of (and I don't even really know the name of the song... I think it's an Irish folk song) "Until We Meet Again" or "May The Road Rise Up To Meet You"... (either way, those lines are in it. <.g>) that I sang in Palatine Children's Chorus in our last concert with our first director.
If you had to keep only one piece of clothing what would it be?
My new black zip-up sweatshirt with white and teal stripes down the arms. I love it!
If you had to choose only one meal what would it be?
Something involving chicken and potatoes.
If you had to choose only one drink what would it be?
Water.
If you had to keep only one animal which would it be?
My cat, Speckles.

Posted by kate at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm exactly halfway through lab. I'm doing three hours today, which is somewhat painful. Lol. It's hard to listen to these people talk for that much at a time. Especially since I don't agree with this woman's take on parenting. At all. These interviews are fun to listen to, because some people I think "That's exactly what I would do if I was a mom," others I think "Now THAT'S an idea! I like that! I'll have to remember to keep that in mind for when I have kids," and still others I'm like "Oh, gosh, if I ever have that attitude towards parenting, get me some help, please." Unfortunately, this interview is the third kind.

So these new jeans of mine. They're going to be something to get used to. Ha ha. They ride about two inches lower than I'm used to, and I keep trying to yank them up. But I think I kind of like them. I wish my other jeans hadn't had to suffer a tragedy for me to get these, but such is life. <.g>

Okay, I'm going to be done with this transcript today, I think. Grace told me to do one more (which is this one) and then be done with lab, but I still have four more lab days to fill. Am I supposed to just forget about those, and be done, or should I start on another transcript which probably won't be finished then until next semester? Hmmm. Questions I should find answers to before I start ditching my last week of lab.

It was so sunny this morning. Now it's cloudy. This is becoming a trend. Why is our weather so crazy? It was freezing cold about two weeks ago and on the verge of snowing (or did it snow? I can't remember). Then last week it was in the 80's. The last few days it's been back down in the 40's, with 30's at night. The poor birds. And flowers. I wish the weather would make up its mind!

Okay, back to work. Back to work.

Posted by kate at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You know how things seem like a good idea at the time, but once they're over, all you can do is look at yourself, smack your forehead a few times, and mumble "what was I thinking" again and again and again? That's me right now.

Aarti and I went out for Chinese, and then I went with her to her art class to see her projects. We were a bit late, so we cut across this huge field. When we got to the other side, there was a fence. Not a hugely tall fence, but about shoulder-height. It had us completely boxed in and would have taken another five minutes (what's five minutes??) to get around. So Kate had the brilliant idea to jump the fence. (this is where the "What was I thinking?" comes in.) I was so smooth. I hopped up there all graceful and whatnot, threw my legs over, and jumped down. Only my jeans (my favorite, only-pair-I-wear, long enough jeans) decided they rather liked it better at the top of the fence. Riiiiiiiiip. From about mid-thigh straight up to the pocket, and all the way around the side. Huge gaping hole. In my favorite jeans. That I only bought a month ago. That I wear, like, every day. That are perfectly, perfectly worn in.

Sad Kate. =(

So I had an emergency shopping trip. With my car that now has the engine light on, which kind of worries me. I found a pair that were tolerable, that were on sale, and that are long enough. But they're not my favorite jeans. We don't have an Express down here, so I can't replace them. =( Ah well. That'll teach me to be all athletic-like and thinking I can hop fences.

On a more productive note, I completely scrubbed the bathroom. Like top-to-bottom, scrub-brush and all. Sink, tub, counter, toilet, floor. Go me!! =) On a less productive note, I didn't do my homework. The impromptu shopping filled the time I'd had allotted for that. Lol. There's always tomorrow.

Posted by kate at 09:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Great job, ladies!! I love the pictures (especially drunk Lance... Lol!) and the descriptions. Altogether enjoyable.

Posted by kate at 07:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's crazy how loooong weekends (as in, amount of "stuff" packed in, not necessarily in number of days) fly by so quickly. I can't believe it's already noon on Sunday. Last I checked, it was noon on Friday!

Friday night Meg and I went to Eastern to visit Tammy and Dorothy. It was an adventure, let me tell you. We started out at 7, met the most incompetent Subway employees ever, and got on the road. All to the wonderful musical backdrop of all the radio stations howling about tornado warnings (yeah, not watches... actual warnings. Oops). Looked nice enough out... until we got onto the expressway. It turned black in a matter of minutes and sideways lightening started darting across the sky. We turned around. We returned home and perched in front of the Weather Channel, hearing about flash flood warnings and tornado warnings until it all got downgraded to Severe Thunderstorms. We left again.

At Eastern, we went to this bar, Stix. It was fun. Tammy's boyfriend Darkeith works there. So we danced, had a few drinks... the usual. When we got back to Tammy's, Meg wanted to go home. This is 2:00 in the morning, mind you, and an hour's drive. Oh well. We did it, exhausted.

Yesterday we went to the Tuscola Outlet Mall, which is about halfway between U of I and Eastern. That was fun. Got a new shirt at Gap and a pair of shoes (actually, this is the third time I've owned this pair... I keep breaking the soles from wearing them too much). Then Emily and Tricia came to U of I with Meg and me.

Aarti and I had to work the MTV Campus Invasion Tour. Injected, Default, and Nickelback played. They're not really my cup of tea, but it was interesting. Injected is from Atlanta. They kept saying "Thank y'all." I thought of you, Carolyn. =) They were kinda cute. Default wasn't bad. They had cool backdrops that made them look like they were standing on docks by the ocean. And I knew that one song of theirs, which is escaping me now. Then Nickelback came on. Turns out I knew two of their songs!

Oh, did I mention I was on the floor? It was General Admission down there (as in, no seats, just wristbands). It was all good until the crowd surfing started (I almost got kicked in the head, thank you very much). And then the lead singer (whatever his name is) said "Are you guys hot?" to which I was like "no, no, no, no, NO!" as they brought out these huge fire extinguisher-looking things and proceeded to give us all showers. Ack! I didn't sign up for that, let me tell ya.

The one cute thing was that the lead singer brought out his video camera and said it was a tradition to film the crowd. He said he couldn't see the people up in back, so he jumped off the stage (into the middle of the people on the floor) and ran all the way up to the back, filming everyone, and then back down. I had the camera shoved in my face as he ran by me on his way back to the stage, so that was fun. I'll be on his home video. =)

The only other eventful thing was that we had this pair who were either drunk or stoned. Or both. They wouldn't get in their own seats and refused to show me their tickets. They just kept moving around whenever someone came with tickets for the seats they were in. My supervisor was unsuccessful at getting their tickets from them, either. The guy finally got kicked out after Default, but the woman stayed. She had on a short black strapless velvet dress with silver trim around the top, and a silver collar that connected from the back of the dress. She was in nylons and high heels. At a Nickelback concert! She kept unhooking her collar and flashing the band. Security was finding it hilarious. They'd radio each other when one saw her opening the collar, and they'd all tell me not to look. Lol. Mr. Hottie Security Guard hung out by me for a while, too. <.g> Security makes these things fun, I tell ya.

After the concert, we were supposed to go to High Dive, one of the clubs that's off-campus. But by the time I got home, it was midnight, and bars close at 1, so we went to Greg's fraternity's Swampwater Party. I remember why I stopped going to frat parties after my freshman year. Since the date was 4/20 (national smoke-out day), the band they got was smoking weed on stage (and singing a not-so-inventive song about it). The band was actually really good, once they started doing real songs. We drank Swampwater, which is Ecto Cooler (remember that stuff? Green Hi-C, I think) and sprite with something alcohol-y in it, and a piece of dry ice to make it smokey. All this fog was coming out if it. It was cool. Lol. I was a little unsure as to whether it was safe to drink, but no one looked dead yet, and I feel alright today. Ha ha.

So that was my weekend. And now I'm doing laundry, which just oozes excitement, don't you think?

Posted by kate at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

1. What's your favorite TV show and why?
Favorite ever, or current favorite? I really liked 90210 when they were still in high school. But then I was still in elementary/junior high, so that explains why that made it onto the list. <.g> SeaQuest's first and second seasons kicked serious butt. Excellent writing, interesting polt lines, awesome characters. Then it got dumb when they went into space. X-Files' first five or so seasons were seriously good. The writing definitely takes the cake. I enjoyed the inventiveness of the series as well. I'm also a Friends and ER fan, which (with the lack of good episodes of my favorite shows still being on the air) are my two "this season" favorites.

2. Who is your favorite television star?
I'm probably going to go with Gillian Anderson here. Even though I haven't watched her show all year. =/

3. What was your favorite TV show as a child?
I really didn't watch much television as a child, but I do have fond memories of shows. Mapletown is one no one has ever heard of, but I adored it. The Get-Along Gang rocked. Thundercats, She-Ra... I wanted to be She-Ra. I was for Halloween once. *giggle*

4. What show do you think should have been cancelled by now?
X-Files. Didn't they ever consider that it might be best to go out with a bang, rather than fizzle out like they're doing now? Sad. Truly sad.

5. What new show do you hope escapes the axe this season?
I really haven't watched too many new shows this season. Hmm. I think the only one might be the Osbournes, but I don't think it's in danger. <.g>

Posted by kate at 05:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Look what I found! screencaps from my favorite video!

And one for Carolyn.

And one more I adore.

Posted by kate at 08:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yes. <.sigh> I played Sims. I have yet to write my paper on gender differences in communication on friendship. I had Amie today, though, and she really, really wanted to play in the house she built Justin. I should have known there'd be trouble. <.g>

We invited JC over first. Big mistake. <.giggle> We were playing as Justin, so remember... no control over what JC does. Well, we greeted JC, and he kissed Justin. I got over-excited and clicked the picture before it actually happened. Woops. Amie was horrified. Then they went inside the house and JC gave Justin a gift. More horror from Amie. After the gift, JC hugged Justin. Amie about died. Her poor sim won't even MEET Justin. After all of that, they settled in for a meal, and then a little post-dinner dancing. (This one was my fault, but don't they look like they're having fun? <.g>) Amie, again, died. "Why are they gay?" "I've had no control over this, Amie. They did it themselves. Don't worry, Justin can still fall in love with you." She's still at the "I'm going to marry Justin Timberlake even though he's ten years older than me" stage. It's cute, really.

After the dancing, JC went home. Justin's Day 2 started off with a fire in the kitchen, and then some serious studying of cooking books. To get his fun back up, he took a dip in the pool, and then played guitar. Cute, ey? After guitar (and after dressing), he thought the piano might be nice.

I further scarred poor Amie by inviting Sim!Kate over. I only wanted them to become friends, and flirting speeds up the process! I swear! So then she got mad, because her sim still hadn't been over to meet Justin, and here I was, apparently trying to hook him up with both JC and Kate. But I was having Justin issues tonight. Serious ones. Justin and Kate danced the night away, and then thought it would be fun to play house. I couldn't help it. They were just too cute. Lol. After all of that, however, I thought I'd give Amie a break from her heart attack over everyone but her getting to play with Justin, and put him to bed. Until next week. <.g>

Posted by kate at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Okay, I didn't just copy Shelley's code. Lol. I got these two, too. By changing just one answer, even. (But it wasn't the first question for me <.g>)

What's Your JC Style?

I did enjoy the cardigan. Lol. Now that I've actually seen that Rosie (thanks, Alicia!). And more than the cartigan, I enjoyed the all-around dorkiness of that interview. Quite a lot, actually.

What's Your JC Style?

Lol, I'm with Shelley on this one. I know I'm the type he needs? *snort* We could go so many directions with that, I'm not gonna even try. *giggle* But House of Blues, yes! Play there! Come on, please?

Posted by kate at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fourteen days of class left. Then finals week. ACK!! I have WAY too much to do in fourteen days! I just sent my project proposal and consent form to my professor with revisions. They say it takes up to two weeks to get approval, then I need to get permission from the parents, then my mom needs to videotape the class, SEND me the videotape, I have to analyze it, and write a paper. I repeat: ACK!!! How EVER will I get it done? It's looking humanly impossible. WHY didn't my professor hand out the guidelines earlier than last Monday? Once more for good measure: ACK!!

Maybe I shall sit back and enjoy the weather. It's 85 degrees IN the house. At 10:00. Tomorrow, supposed to be 90. Now, I am loving the heat, but where was spring?

Today was a long-ass day. I left the house at 8, and didn't stroll back in until almost 7. Didn't even get a lunch. Advertising was interesting. One of our TA's lectured... I went to high school with the girl (she's a year older) and she doesn't even acknowledge that she recognizes me. I was on speech team with her. I worked on the plays with her. I was in orchestra with her. AND choir with her. In fact, I was in choir with her for six years! I mean, I knew her. Not just "Oh, she looks familiar," but actually knew her. Not as in we were best buds, but long-time acquaintances, at least. Lol. It amuses me, quite frankly.

Then I had social psych, and our TA gave me the video on attraction that I missed when I skipped class in the name of *NSYNC. <.g> And then statistics, where I endured even more pain. Actually, what we're doing now actually makes a little bit of sense. Who woulda thunk it?? Wow. Then lab, where I listened painfully for three hours to this woman ramble on and on and on and on about her twins. I mean, I usually really enjoy transcribing these interviews, but this woman talks. To put it in perspective, another girl was transcribing and had gotten through 30 minutes of tape. She had 27 pages of transcript. I had gotten through an hour and 15 minutes and I had 11 pages. If that gives you any idea of how loooooong her answers are -- there's little to no turn-taking. Short questions, LONG answers that take up like a page and a half each.

After lab, my seminar class went to Early Learning to observe. It was so interesting! There were 35 preschoolers there (age 18 months through five and a half years), and they collectively spoke 18 languages!! Isn't that amazing? There was this one little boy with the blackest, tightest curls ever. Oh, was he adorable. Looked about four. I think he was from Israel. After observing, our class went back to my professor's for a pizza party and to discuss our observations. She's so cute. She's this little woman who's been teaching here for probably 40 or so years. SO sweet. So that was fun.

And that was my day. No time for Sims, sadly. And no time to watch Don't Say a Word, which my mom and I rented this weekend and fell asleep before watching. It's due tomorrow before noon. Ah well. Some other time.

Posted by kate at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, so I really meant to NOT play Sims today because I have so much to do, but I broke down and played. Let me know if y'all get sick of these updates. *g* But today's Sim adventure was amusing.

Sim!JC ditched work today. Woops. He was high on everything (fun, hunger, social, bladder, etc) so I thought it might be a good day for him to keep up with some friendships. He only got around to inviting Sim!Justin and Sim!Carolyn over. Justin brought a present. How cute!! Their relationship is at 100, far higher than any other (because JC has been neglecting most of his friends with the long work hours.... he's even fallen out of love with Aarti).

He greeted Justin and they hugged. All on their own. And then Carolyn showed up. She walked in past Justin and ran smack into him, and he was rubbing his nose. It was cute. Then Justin told JC a joke. Carolyn got angry, angry, angry at the display of affection between Justin and JC. Red minus signs were flying all over her head. She stomped out to where JC and Justin were and smacked Justin. I tried to take a picture, but I missed it. Missed Justin crying, too. Sadness. Then he was all upset and he left, and JC was unable to make him stay. Then Carolyn acted like nothing had happened and joked with JC. Then she fell in love with him. Lol. Little red heart popped up above her head. But JC just sees her as a friend. Lol. Their relationship (to him) is only at 60. It's funny.

Then JC was just trying to go to the bathroom and Carolyn wouldn't leave him alone. She gave him three back rubs. In the bathroom.

Then he went to bed. That was all the excitement. Conflict is such fun, though! One of these days he WILL have a party, and we'll see what happens when all his friends interact. <.eg>

Posted by kate at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My life is so random. I fell asleep in Cognitive today. I did one of those jerk-yourself-awake things that made my notebook fall off my lap. Embarrassing. Ha ha ha. But it was so hot in there, and my professor just hypnotizes everyone with his voice.

Aarti and I did face masks today. So we were green for a while. We're such girls.

What else did I do? Oh, I spent like six hours staring at my statistics book hoping that the information would seep into my brain somehow and clarify itself. It's all Greek. Literally. I can't keep sigmas and omegas and thetas straight. I constantly have to look up their equations. I hate it that this class is so difficult for me. My poor professor. He's 83 years old and a genius. He has three PhD's: English literature, physics, and statstical psychology, with a masters in French so that he could read French poetry in its original text. He's Australian and has taught at universities in Australia, England, Canada, and here. He's working on getting a coefficient named after him for probabilistic statistics, because they one they use now isn't as good as the one he developed. And he was just given an award for excellence in teaching. However, out of a class of fifty-two, three students were there on Thursday. We had five today. Big crowd. I feel so bad for him. He's hysterical, and he was saying "it's ironic that I'm getting this award and my class doesn't show up!" But in reality, his portion of the class is on the theory and background of statistics, and lab session with Bob is on application and computation. Exams are on application and computation. So the lecture, to some, is unnecessary. Poor Prof. Rod. =(

What else? Oh, JC's mom posted on *N the Mix today. Just a reply to a post, but it's so cute that she reads it! I knew she did, of course, but this is the first time in a long time, and it was a fun little reminder. Heehee.

Ooo! The Osbournes is on! I LOVE this show! I've only seen three or four episodes, but man does it crack me up. Thanks, C, for making me watch those couple weeks ago. <.g>

Posted by kate at 09:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What should I be doing? Oh, I could be writing the proposal to submit to the Human Subjects Committee for my project that I have to email my professor tonight. I could also be starting the paper that is due on Wednsday/Thursday/Friday (officially Wednesday, unofficially before the weekend). I could be doing the statistics homework that's due on Wednesday. What have I been doing? Yeah, playing Sims.

I haven't really accomplished anything. I got Sim!JC his two Body Points so he can be a Big and Buff Roadie (and someday be promoted to Rock Star... Yeah!) and I got him on his way to acquiring three new friends. He had to keep up his friendship with Sim!Meghan (she's high maintenance) and he is well on his way to becoming friends with Sim!Carolyn. After that, he needs two more friends. It's so hard, though, when he comes back from a 10-hour work day at 8 pm to make friends, because at that point, the poor boy's exhausted! He keeps dreaming of the Bed of Love, though, so maybe one night he can have a little fun. <.eg>

Anyway, I took a picture of him. Ain't he cute? This was his first day of work as a roadie. Doesn't he just look adorable in that suit? <.g> The picture quality doesn't do him justice. Lol.

Posted by kate at 06:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Poor Amie (she's the 11-year-old I meet with weekly). She built a house for Justin, and it's taken us two weeks to build. Between the first and second week, Aarti's friend Isi was over, and Isi's sim fell in love with Sim!Justin and proposed, so he moved in with her. We created a NEW Sim!Justin (so yes, there are identical Justins running around my neighborhood, just one is Justin Heinert now and the other is Justin Timberlake). Well, he has now fallen in love with Sim!JC. Amie hasn't even gotten to play her game! Sim!JC is not going to ask Sim!Justin to move in with him, though. Amie WILL be able to play with the character she created if it kills me. <.g> She's gonna be in for a treat when she finds out, though. Lol.

Okay, folks, here are some snapshots of my dear Sim!JC and Sim!Justin.

Sim!JC and Sim!Justin dancing to the jukebox in Sim!JC's Room of Fun (it's a separate building, back by the pool, with a hot tub, jukebox, wet bar, weight machine... and Bed of Love. Lol)

Hmm, I thought I took two, but I can't find another one. Ah well. I'm sure that's not the last amusing moment I'll encounter in this game. <.g>

Posted by kate at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Okay, Sim!JC that is. The boy falls in love with everyone, and the people he doesn't fall in love with fall in love with him. Sim!Kate was first, then Sim!Aarti (which provides some rather amusing fights <.g>). Yesterday, JC invited Justin (who was a family friend, nothing more) over for dinner. All I did was greet the boy and their relationship points jumped like 15. The next time I clicked on Justin, there was the option to flirt. Well, Sim!JC never even got around to flirting before they both had little red hearts floating above their heads. I didn't do it! They did it on their own!! Aarti, Shelley and I were shocked. Lol.

I think he's only allowed to have three Heart's Desires, but he's got the option to ask Sim!Joaquin to move in with him, and Sim!Meghan is hopelessly in love with Sim!JC, even though she's just a family friend to him. <.g>

Sim!JC also got a promotion! Yay! He went from street performer to wedding singer to high school band director (I might have missed one) and now he's a roadie. He needs three more friends and one more body skills point to get another promotion, though, but he's at work for ten hours of the day, so acquiring new friends may be tricky. I'll have to work on that. Maybe he can have a partay.

I'll get some more pictures up here later today, when I'm not running out the door for class. Bye!

Posted by kate at 08:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I was playing Sims instead of doing my homework... what's new? So I was playing in Sim!Kate's house, and Sim!JC came over. (I was trying to get him to vibrate in the Bed of Love, but he's too much of a gentleman to do that while Sim!David, who is married to Sim!Kate, was home.) Anyway, Sim!Kate went to bed (alone) and Sim!JC was swimming in the pool (in his nifty pink speedo, to boot) and he got a little bit tired and wandered out onto the front lawn and fell asleep. Just fell down and fell asleep. And his hand (yes, that one) kept moving. It was REALLY WRONG, I tell you. The picture doesn't capture the wrongness of the angle I was viewing him at. ::shudders::

Posted by kate at 09:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For the record, I'm sick of people incorrectly attaching *NSYNC to files on Kazaa. I'm glad I have evolved enough in my *NSYNC-recognition abilities to be able to tell most of the time when it is or isn't them. It seems like any time there is a group of males who harmonize, people decide it's *NSYNC.

So Mom's Weekend was fun! We saw Crazy For You, which is a musical I hadn't heard of, but recognized a couple of pieces from. I guess it's Gershwin, which would make sense because I recognized songs from Mr. Holland's Opus, in which he does a Gershwin Revue. Anyway, the choreographer was amazing. I wish I remembered her name because I'd give her free publicity. She's a junior here. I get so very impressed by people who have the ability to see how everything will look up there on stage. I mean, there were thirty people in that show, doing kick lines with fancy footwork and dancing on metal lids and jumping this way and that... it was excellent. The show was very cute in general. Funny lines, a cute storyline, just altogether an enjoyable production.

I'm a very musical theater-y person, though. The girl behind me was talking to her parents about how she liked this kind of musical theater, but how she'd just seen Rent (probably when it came this fall... I missed it. Sadness) and she'd hated it. She went on and on about how bad the storyline was, how depressing it was, how this and how that... I wanted to turn around and tell her that it's one of my favorite shows ever (second only to Les Miserables). Ah well. <.g>

I had a reason I started to blog... I got sidetracked with all that Crazy For You talk. Lol. Now I forget what it was that I wanted to say in the first place. Hmmmm.

Oo my Real Jukebox is on a good rotation! I have 176 audio files on here. Now given, 37 of them are *NSYNC or *NSYNC-related, so the chances of getting an *NSYNC song are much higher than getting a song by any other artist, but I've just gotten Up Against the Wall from Atlantis, the Jackson Five medley, IWYB Blues, and Something Like You in a row. Lol. Now we have Celine, That's The Way It Is, which I also enjoy.

Okay, still can't remember the reason I wanted to blog. I thought that maybe if I stalled a little and talked about songs a bit I'd remember, but no. Ah well.

Posted by kate at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's Mom's Weekend this weekend, so my mom's on her way down. I've got some time to kill before she gets here, so I thought I'd just ramble a bit, if you all don't mind. <.g>

Last night Brad (Sarah's fiance) had a party. Those boys are so cute! The had all this food and stuff. It was funny. I had a really good time, though. I was a little weary because usually it's ALL Danville (where they're from) people, but I had fun. Somehow I got into an argument with this guy over music. Ack. I think it was the Rick's Hard Lemonade I had been drinking, or something. I don't have a clue how it started, but he was arguing with me that musicians who play instruments while they sing have infinitely more credibility/talent/worth than those who don't. I held my own quite well, I think. I was all diplomatic and I really hate it when people compare musicians (or anything artistic) for the sole purpose of saying how bad one of them is, so I didn't insult any band, no matter my opinion of them. =) I actually had a lot of people on my side by the end, but he wasn't backing down. Finally I was like "It's been nice arguing with ya" and I started talking with this other guy about how bad X-Files has gotten. Lol. Afterwards, Aarti told me that no one ever wins against him, but I actually think my point was getting through to him finally, he just wasn't going to admit it.

So my mom will be here... very shortly. There's a craft fair at the Union today that we'll probably hit, then most likely lunch, then "Crazy For You," the spring musical. Then dinner (maybe at Dom's!), and a movie? That would be fun. My mom's staying here in my apartment, which is going to be interesting. Lol. I think I'll steal the couch cushions and sleep on the floor. Darnit, I forgot to vacuum. Woops. Oh well. We'll survive.

Yesterday Aarti and I got makeovers at the mall. Lol. It was fun!! But coming from someone who barely wears any make-up... I felt like I was ready for a formal or something. Ha ha. While we were getting the powder done and stuff, Aarti was like "I'm ready for my music video now." I told the woman she needed to come home with me and do my make-up every morning.

Okay, well, enough rambling. Sorry to have inflicted that on ya. <.g>

Posted by kate at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

(even though it's Saturday)

1. What is your favorite restaurant and why?
Wow. I didn't think this would be such a tough question! I have different favorite restaurants for different kinds of food, ya know? Heng Wing is this awesome Chinese place by my house at home, and I try to get it whenever I'm home for more than a weekend (and sometimes when it is just a weekend). Dom's down at school is this tiny family-run Italian restaurant which is just excellent. And then for atmosphere, Ed Debevick's in Chicago is just so much fun. It's this 50's diner where all the waiters have to be registered actors and they dance and sing on the bar and stuff. Quite amusing.

2. What fast food restaurant are you partial to?
I'm a Wendy's girl myself. I SO wish they hadn't gotten rid of their pitas! I lived on those in FL.

3. What are your standards and rules for tipping?
If they're excellent, they get over 20%. If they're better than average, between 15% and 20%, usually depending on ending up with an even dollar amount based on the bill. Heehee. If they're average, 15%, worse than average, less. The only time I didn't leave a tip at all was at a Friday's in Washington DC. We waited 47 minutes (yes, we timed it) for dessert (no meal, just dessert) and all the ice cream was melted.

4. Do you usually order an appetizer and/or dessert?
Almost never. An appetizer if we're out celebrating something or having a special dinner, sometimes a dessert under the same circumstances, but usually I'm way too full after dinner for dessert.

5. What do you usually order to drink at a restaurant?
If I'm feeling poor, water. Heehee. Otherwise, Diet Coke. There is nothing else.

Posted by kate at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This I promise you,
it ain't no lie,
it's tearin' up my heart,
since you said "bye, bye, bye."
It's gonna be me who makes your loneliness stop,
if you won't be my girlfriend my heart will surely... pop!
I'd like to spend a little more time with you.
Doin' our thing, and sailing like we used to do.
No strings attached,
[baby] I want you back,
but the truth remains... [ready?]
you're the one I want,
you're the one I need,
tell me what to do because I'm begging on my knees!

Oh, I'm in heaven. The angels are singing. My heart is melting.

*dies*

I have had this song on repeat all night. I love it. LOVE it. I think I have a new favorite song. Or at least another favorite song. <.g>

edit: 4/12/02 1:37 pm I *think* I got the words right this time. Listening to it over and over at midnight last night wasn't helping. Lol. But now, with a fresh mind and a little help, I think I've got it. At least that portion. <.g>

Posted by kate at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Should I do it? Should I do it? I'm torn. There's a girl selling a bootlegged copy of the Chicago concert. The Friday concert, which was better than the Thursday concert by leaps and bounds. I miss it so much! It was like, all this anticipation and working up to it, then boom, boom, in two nights it was over. I wish I was going to another one. <.sigh> I'm sooo tempted to buy it, but on the other hand, how good of quality could it be? And then there's some guy selling a different concert (one from California maybe?), and I'm tempted just because it would be fun to see one I haven't yet seen. But where do I think I have the money for all of this?

Especially if I want this. Decisions, decisions!

Posted by kate at 06:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

David Lindquist, Indianapolis Star: I wanted to ask J.C. Chasez about "Digital Get Down." Were you speaking from personal experience of cybersex on that track?

JC: No, I just wanted to, I guess, you know... a little bit.

Posted by kate at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

... Oh! And something I forgot. Dust."

"Dust?"

"Dust. Just a little bit of Pixie Dust..."

I did it. I interviewed with Disney. Again. Lol. My parents are so going to have my head. "You need to get out of Fantasy Land and back in the real world." Yadda yadda yadda. The guy I interviewed with (Paul from Northern England... he was cool) really liked me. He kept telling me that I would be perfect to come back and that as long as there are positions available, I'm in. So. Crossing fingers that at this late date, there are still summer positions available.

In addition to that, I emailed this woman about the Orlando Science Center. They have a public relations internship that sounds awesome. 15 hours a week, for credit. I can handle that. I'm calling her tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I could work it out so that I could do both OSC and WDW. If I can do some finagling, I could *possibly* (although I'm not counting on it) get U of I to give me the 8 hours I'd need for a double degree, and see if I could get them to waive the requirement that the last 30 hours of the degree are earned on this campus. Possibly. Probably won't happen, but it can never hurt to try, right? ;)

Posted by kate at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lance was bartending.

JC gave an impromptu dance lesson.

LANCE WAS BARTENDING. JC WAS GIVING AN IMPROMPTU DANCE LESSON. Where was I? Hanging out in the Lower VIP room alternately eyeing the top of the winding staircase and the mass of girls crowded around the bottom of it, flipping their hair and batting their lashes and basically unsuccessfully trying to flirt their way up.

My life is FULL of if only's. If only we'd stayed just 30 minutes later in October, we'd have been partying WITH Lance. If only Aarti had paid the meter the first time on Friday, she'd have been hit on by the bodyguards and we'd have gone up. If only we hadn't looked at the "closed" sign by the back entrance to the VIP room when we first arrived (before we knew anyone was there) and said "Oh, it's closed? Okay." without trying to go up. If only we'd been more persistent, we probably could have gotten up there ONE way or another.

Argh.

The thing is, I don't want to meet them. Not really. What would I say? "Oh, hey, you don't know me, but my computer is full of pictures of you and links to pages full of information about you." I know too much about them to meet them. But what I wouldn't have given to have been in that room, sitting back and watching that dance lesson (because actually dancing in front of JC would be... bad, to say the least), buying a drink from Lance (and then giving it to Tammy because I was driving). But to know that I was there. If only.

Posted by kate at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I feel really crappy today. =( Strangely, I'm in an excellent mood, I just feel sick. I woke up a bunch of times last night, and when I finally got up this morning, my head was pounding. Still is. My throat is killing me, I think I might be losing my voice (but it sounds better than it did yesterday or Saturday, only my throat didn't hurt then, so who knows), my nose is runny and stuffy, and my eyes are itchy. Just... blah.

And it was pouring. Like, rivers of water running everywhere. So that really didn't help, walking around in wet jeans and squishy shoes from 8:00 this morning until 4:30 when I finally got home and got the wet stuff off. And I kept renewing the rain soaked-ness every hour or so, because none of my classes are in the same building. Lol. Hopefully today doesn't make me sicker, because this is a really difficult time of year to be sick -- end-of-the-semester crunch time.

But my cognitive exam is over (even though I ended up rushing through it because I couldn't take the swimming of the words on the paper or the pounding in my head), so that's a relief. I got one set of pictures from the concert back (okay, third set... got two back from Thursday already), but this set was all blurry. =( =( I think we might have gotten 2 or 3 clear pictures. Sadness! I only hope the last set comes out clear. <.sigh> Just my luck. Excellent seats and crappy pictures. Ha ha. That would happen.

On a HAPPY note, I'm rewatching the Puppies tape Alicia sent me, and I just LOVE it! As soon as Aarti gets home I'm making her watch the decoupage bit. Lol. That whole Rosie was hysterical. Ooo! They're on Rosie on Thursday! Don't let me forget. Don't let me forget. Don't let me forget.

Posted by kate at 07:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My. Feet. Hurt. Word of advice: don't do three concerts in one weekend. I ushered Nelly tonight. Let me tell you. NOT a fun experience. First of all, everyone had attitudes. I told these two girls they couldn't stand in my portal like four times. So then they moved to the wheelchair row (which was empty, but they were NOT in wheelchairs, nor were they with someone in a wheelchair, so they shouldn't have been there). They refused to listen to me when I told them to leave from there, so I gave up for a while. Then Security told them to move. Where did they move to? My PORTAL. I told them three more times they couldn't stand there, and they gave me this look like I was dirt and why should they listen to me, and finally security told them to move AGAIN, and they finally went and stood in the wheelchair row in front of someone else's portal. Grrrr. At least they weren't my problem anymore.

Then the floor was general admission. Like, people purchased floor tickets, but they got wrist bands and there were no seats on the floor. It was one big pit. A lot of people were unhappy with that and wanted to be relocated. A bunch more people were begging me to let them down onto the floor. If I could have matched all the people who were unhappy with their tickets up, a HECK of a lot of people would have been thanking me. Too bad it didn't work out that way. I was trying to relocate floor people as often as I could, because heck, I wouldn't have wanted to be down there. No way, no how. I was SO glad I was in A and not ushering the floor tonight. 1,500 screaming high schoolers shoving each other towards the stage = NOT my idea of a good time. Lol.

Then there were a bunch of people smoking. I kept having to tell people that they had to go outside. Then I smelled something that was not cigarette smoke. I looked at the security guy, he gave me this big, dramatic nod and went to get the guy. When he came back, he gave me this big thumb's up. There was another guy who was dancing on the stairs, and I kept telling him he had to get out of the aisle, and he wouldn't listen. Then another security guard came and shined his flashlight in the guy's eyes and got him to move. He had to do the flashlight bit about five times, though. Ugh.

But what made the entire thing worthwhile was the fact that my portal was the happening place to be. Lol. I had, at one point, six security guards, and no less than four of them were young and buff and good-looking. Mr. Hott Security Guard even hung out for a good portion of the night. There was this skinny, drunk blond girl who was hitting on him and his friend, and as soon as she left, he turned to me and did the greatest impression of her. I was laughing so hard. Good to know that good-looking guys don't automatically fall for blond bimbos. So the security guards and medical staff that were hanging out with me made the night fun. They all were doing various impressions of our drunk blond throughout the night, every time she came through. And then they started mock-moshing when everyone started jumping to one of the songs. Funny stuff.

Let me just say, I haven't appreciated people who sing at their concerts nearly enough. I just kind of took it for granted that, if you have a song, you sing it. Nope, Nelly and the St. Lunatics felt it necessary to scream their songs, as if the microphone wasn't enough. Yes, the microphone which was hooked up to the sound system which was so loud my clothes were vibrating on my body. Literally. It was funny because the songs (as heard on the radio) were playing as their backup track, singing and everything. I admit, Nelly doesn't really sing to begin with, but he does have a touch of a melody in his raps, no? There was nothin'. The screaming over the songs... like, I couldn't even tell it was Number One until they started screamin "Champaign...is...number one!"

One little surprise that I was just about delighted at was the inclusion of Girlfriend. Okay, so it was only the first part that Nelly actually does, but a few words of *NSYNC singing made it in there. Lol. He was looking for girls to show him around Champaign (which I wasn't understanding, because he pulled them out of the floor area where they had prime, front-row seats, got them on stage for all of five minutes, then sent them back out into the crowd, effectively losing them any sort of good positioning on the floor. Ah well). But that was cool. I heard those first few chords and turned to the girl I was ushering with (who also is an *NSYNC fan, although didn't make it to the concert) and we both grinned.

So, all in all, it wasn't awful. I put up with a lot of crap, but I also got to not only see a concert for free (even though I never would have purchased tickets for it anyway), but I got paid to be there. I was amused by my portal pals, and I got to hear a clip of Girlfriend. I also got some good observations done for my class, which I am about to type up now. Go me. The one thing I did not do today was study for my cognitive exam tomorrow, but I have a three-hour break during which to cram. Eeep!

Posted by kate at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Why do people smoke? My hair still smells like smoke from Friday night, and I've washed it twice since then. Gross.

Posted by kate at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One thing I hate is feeling like I have to walk on egg shells around my friends. It all started sometime in late January, and it's killing me. My good friend Melissa got mad at me for something I didn't have under my control at all, which made me back off a bit. Okay, that "something" was the *NSYNC concert. Out of stubbornness, she decided that, rather than admit she did want to go after all, she was going to pretend she didn't give a hoot about it. Knowing that the issue has been irritating her since January, I haven't talked about the concert to her. But that meant I couldn't be excited with her before the concert OR afterwards. She's one of my best friends, so it's really hard not to share things that make me happy with her! Ugh.

So partially because of that, I haven't been hanging around with her as much as I had previously. The more she'd push the be included, the more I was almost afraid to be around her for fear I was going to say something to make her angry again. She called about a month ago and told me that she's been feeling left out, so I've been making this huge effort to include her and invite her along and call her. So much so that it's been becoming something I feel I have to do, rather than something I want to do. And that's not how a friendship should be.

Well, after the concert on Friday, Aarti, Tammy and I went out. Melissa, in all her stubbornness, did not go to the concert, and I honestly didn't even think of inviting her to come out after the concert with us, being that she didn't go to the concert with us. It was just like concert, out. I mean, Allstate is a half hour from my house, the city is fifteen minutes further. Well, when I called her to let her know when we were heading back down to school and I mentioned having gone out, apparently she hung up the phone and burst into tears.

The thought hadn't even crossed my mind that she might want to go out after a concert she wanted to go to but refused to admit she wanted to go to, because obviously we'd all be talking about the concert! The whole night seemed like one big plan to me, which she had made clear she wanted no part of. So the car ride back down to school was a bundle of joy, let me tell you. We got into the whole "I feel like you've brushed me aside" "I feel like you've been mad at me for three months" conversation. I hate this whole situation. I hate that she's so extremely sensitive about the issue. She wants to be included in everything, and really, I can't do that. Sometimes plans aren't mine to invite her to. Sometimes things just happen without planning. Sometimes I just don't want to deal with the drama. I have been making a tremendous effort to think of her, and I hate that it is an effort! Argh. I feel like I can't win. I feel like nothing is good enough. And I really, really hate it that I can't just be her friend without having all of these other things hanging in the air around me. Friendship shouldn't be this much work and heartache. <.sigh>

Posted by kate at 02:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The sun is coming up. Yes. This is insane. I'm exhausted and yet not tired. If that makes sense.

Tonight was Night Two. In my opinion, tonight was FAR better than last night. First, we got smart and went in the doors by the Kiss thingy, which was a mass of people and not a long-ass line, so we got in in about 5 minutes rather than 35. We saw NSB2, which was so cool! They're such cute little men. Also stayed in the arena for Tony tonight. He sounded good, even though I didn't know the songs he played. I got my picture taken with him, which I felt dumb doing, but whatever.

I just can't get over how much more into it all everyone (the boys, the audience, everyone) was tonight. Chris seemed much more like himself. He rambled quite a bit about how this crowd was louder than last night's. JC's mom was there, so JC was absolutely adorable. His "story" tonight was much funnier than last night's because Joey wouldn't leave him alone. They were all ragging on him about the boring story he told last night, and Joey rubbed his towel all over JC's head, pushed his head, and then when he was supposed to finish the song, someone said they'd have to "punish" JC and Joey took that to mean spank, so he gave him a few whacks on the behind. JC was cracking up. I LOVE it when he *really* smiles, and we got a lot of that tonight.

Backing things up just a little, Aarti got this kick-ass ticket directly next to that outside-the-pit runway thingy, second row. So I am a horrible, horrible person. I would be pissed at me if I wasn't me, but I ditched Tammy, Dorothy, and my poor little sister, left them back in section 8, and squeezed into Aarti's seat with her. And I really do mean that I'd be mad at me. It wasn't nice. =( BUT the view was AWESOME, I think I got some wonderful pictures (hopefully) and I didn't want to see the show from the *exact* same place twice.

There was this one time when the catwalk was down, and Justin was singing directly in front of us and Chris was off to the left (not singing at the moment). EVERYONE was screaming at Justin, and I looked over at Chris, smiled, and gave a little wave. He smiled back and winked. Can't know for sure if it was at me, particularly, but I swear, EVERYONE was focused on Justin.

Oh, backing up even more, when we went IN to the arena, Tammy, Dorothy, Jess and I headed down to our seats and Aarti was just going to cross the floor to her seat, but they wouldn't let her. (Aarti, mind if I tell this story? Heehee too late) They made her walk around. So what happens? She runs smack-dab into Tony Lucca. Like, both of them were completely surprised. And who is behind Tony but five little puppies following in a line. So of course, while I'm at Aarti's seat hearing this story, apparently Johnny was hanging out by the Friends and Family fence. And of course, none of my group knew who he was!! Things like this are lost on the wrong people.

Fast forward until after the show. (Chronological order is NOT my strong point at this hour.) We never did find that usher to see where their after party was, and honestly, we NEVER would have gone. Never. There is ONE club in Chicago I have ever been to, and it's nice. We like it. We were going to go there last night, but were too exhausted. Aarti emails with one of the bouncers sometimes, so we got on the list (which didn't end up working anyway, after midnight, but whatever). Anyway, so we went. At first, I didn't want to. I had ditched my sister at the concert and then sent her home with Dorothy because Jess is not 21. Then fearing the wrath of my mother (which I am still afraid of... eeek. I was the WORST sister EVER tonight. <.sigh>), I almost turned around. But we really were in the mood to go dancing. So we went.

We were hanging out a while when we heard that there was a private party upstairs. There's ALWAYS a private party upstairs. A lot of the people there were a bit older than the usual crowd, though. So we asked one of the waitresses who was upstairs. WHAT WOULD BE OUR LUCK??? (Since we NEVER have luck, obviously the story doesn't end here, but...) *NSYNC. Yeah, folks, we stumbled upon *NSYNC's after party COMPLETELY by mistake. Who would have thought? Seriously! I'm still kind of stunned that it happened. I knew the club was nice, and it's the kind of place I could picture them in, but I never would have guessed in a million years that out of ALL the clubs in Chicago, the ONE I go to would be the one. Crazy! There are a couple levels of VIP rooms there. We (or Aarti, and we followed) flirted our way into the lower VIP room, but were unsuccessful at getting into the upper. Grrrr. They never came down, either. Security was TIGHT, man. Oh well. We were in the same building, again. Lol. Only three there. ALL of Joey's friends were there (we recognized them from last night), so we assume Joey was there. A girl we were walking out with when they closed down the place was squeeling about having danced with JC. So HE was there. And Aarti thinks the third was Lance. That's what some security guards told her. The real kicker is that we needed to feed the meter twice. I went out the first time, she went out the second. For some reason, all the Italian security guards just fell in LOVE with her. They offered to take her up to the VIP room (but this was as the club was closing... we had already been ushered out along with everyone else... somehow Aarti got back inside). Then they tried to talk her into going with them and Joey's friends, but we were outside, freezing, without coats OR car keys, so she had to kindly decline. (Thanks, Aarti!!)

So, that was that. Carolyn, I did find out where their after party was. Mission partly accomplished. I did not meet anyone, nor did I offer sympathy for Chris in the loss of Busta. =( Let's all take a moment of silence for Busta. Sad!! Oh, and C, did you get my message? I couldn't hear a darn thing, so I just held the phone up and hoped that it was working. Lol. And after a while, it hung up on its own. So I don't know if you got anything, how long it was, if you could make it out, or anything, but I tried!! =)

Oh, yes. Another long post. I need sleep. Look at that, it's after 5 and it's almost completely light out. Lol. I bet my parents will be up soon. Maybe I'll be more coherent in the morning and I will remember some more cute moments for you all.

Posted by kate at 05:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Warning: Long.

I successfully survived Night One. Did I ever mention that Aarti and I are CRAZY? Ack! Aside from the snowballs that were falling from the sky (I swear, they were WAY too big to be considered flakes), we had a lot of fun. Met some cool people in line, one INSANE 8th grader who claimed she was willing to lose her toes AND ears to frostbite for NSYNC. Right. Lol. We heard in the car ride up that if you're wearing Kiss 103.5 on you somewhere, they may upgrade you to pit (before this goes any farther, we didn't get it...). So we walked around with Kiss 103.5 signs on. Lol. EVERYBODY in the entire PLACE read them. And we followed the Kiss Crew around, asking if they'd given out their tickets yet. They hadn't, they hadn't, they hadn't... then they had. Darn it. To their credit, they gave them to two girls (like, 12-year-olds) who were up in the upper deck, but STILL. We were campaigning! Ah well.

The Not So Boyband performed, but since they didn't open the DOORS until 7:15, we did not make it inside to see them. We stood about 15 inches from Tony Lucca forever, debating as to whether to get his attention, but we didn't. What else? Got some hopefully decent pictures. We were RIGHT underneath the catwalk. So when they stood in the middle of their back-of-the-arena stage, we couldn't see them. And JC hung out on the other side of it most of the time, but I hopefully got some nice pictures of Joey, Chris and Lance.

We were sitting in the first row of our section, right up against the Friends and Family cage-thingy. We made friends with an usher and a security guard, and it turns out the entire fenced-in area was filled with Joey's friends. He was hamming it up for them, singing directly at them for the whole time he was on the catwalk/end stage, so that was cool. I hopefully got some good pictures out of that. Then the KICKER. Ahhh!! One of Joey's friends had a pit ticket. Just one. So he came up to me and Aarti about halfway through and said "One of you come with me. I'll be back for the other one." He was drunk as a skunk. So he took Aarti and tried to get her in the pit. If he'd sent her in and then gone in after her to retrieve the ticket, we'd BOTH have been in the pit. As it was, he tried to go WITH her and the velociraptor at the gate knew he was up to something and wouldn't let EITHER of them in. Darnit!!

Then he proceeded to take my camera, feeling bad that he hadn't gotten us in, to take some up-close pictures. The only problem was that he did it at the end of Gone, when Justin and the guitarist were dueling, and he used the rest of my film (like 3 pictures, but still) on JUSTIN. Grrrrr!!!! If he'd waited TWO minutes, they'd ALL have been out there for Girlfriend. I would have loved up-close pictures of ANYONE but Justin. I don't know why he bugs me, but he does. Oh well. The guy tried to be nice. Lol.

Then the usher we made friends with asked what we were doing after, and we asked him where would be a good place to go out, and he said "Oh there's a party at... no, that's tomorrow night." Then he got this panicked look on his face and said really quickly "but it doesn't have anything to do with them" and motioned to the stage. Riiiiight. He almost let it slip where their afterparty is tonight. Ahh! Not that we'd have gone to crash it... I'm sure it's really expensive, but still. Would have been fun to know.

Okay, this is REALLY long. And I didn't even put in the cute little moments! I'll give ya a couple. Chris and JC were up in our corner of the end stage (for once!) and JC leaned in to tell Chris something (and I was TRYING to get a picture... don't know if I did), and Chris just gave him this look like "Whatever, man" and JC was CRACKING UP at whatever he'd told Chris. Lol. It was cute. And then (I can't even remember what song it was during) they were all kinda standing there, calm-like, and all of a sudden Joey started doing that jerky dance he does at the end of Girlfriend, with his hands up by his shoulders... and they all kind of looked at him and he just started laughing.

One last thing. We were trying to get from the city to Allstate to get Aarti a ticket for tonight (we didn't do that), and we got REALLY lost and asked for directions. Well, Allstate used to be Rosemont Horizon, and then there's Rosemont Theatre down the road. Well, the girl gave us directions to Rosemont Theatre. We thought we might have found NSYNC there. If there hadn't been a lady in the parking lot, we would have gone in and asked directions to Allstate. Lol. But there were five tour buses, labeled 1-5, and a handful of cars, and when we were leaving, this car decorated with shoe polish and pictures and full of girls was pulling in. So perhaps they were practicing there, or something? Who knows.

Okay, this was WAY long. I warned you. I'm so exhausted that it probably makes zero sense. I'll reread it tomorrow and go "what was I trying to say???" Oh well. Lol. Rambling is quite my style these days. Now, to shower and get ready to do this all over again....

Posted by kate at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The plan:
12:30 - hit the road.
3:30 - Arrive at home, get dressed, grab some food.
5:00 - Leave for Allstate Arena. Hopefully traffic isn't horrendous. I have no idea how long it will take us to get there. Eeep. If we get there too early, we'll hang out at the Target or something. I don't even know what time the doors open. 6?

I have my outfit, check. Shoes, check. Cognitive to study on Saturday, check. Tickets, check. (Check, check, check, check, check, check.... I have everybody's. Check.) Camera, check. Extra film, check. The word "check" is starting to look really weird to me. I think that's everything. I hope.

Here we goooooo!!!

Posted by kate at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

You’re Michelle Branch! You’re the ‘girl nextdoor’ type of gal. You’ve got a down-to-earth feel about you, and you’re not afraid to be original. You’re still trying to find yourplace in life, but that doesn’t mean you’re not enjoying the trip. Rich and famous? Sure! But you’re not gonna let that go to your head. ;D
What Kind of Pop Princess Are You? Quiz by Jonah

That's cool. I like Michelle Branch. And that description sounds enough like me. <.g> I wonder who else there was...

Okay, Mandy Moore maybe sounds a little bit more like me. Lol. I think I'm a mix of the two (is that cheating?)

Posted by kate at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm so confused. When I bought my tickets for Friday, the guy said the floor was all sold out, as were the sides of the arena (which obviously wasn't the case, but whatever), and the best he could do was the lower section behind the floor, which was a 100-level section. I have NO concept of the seating layout, but I was kind of excited because I figured at least I'd get to see the things at the back of the arena pretty closely. And I checked my tickets when I bought them, I swear!!

Then I went (over a month later, mind you) to buy tickets for Thursday night, and he had floor seats left. Section 8, which I can't find on any seating charts, but he pointed to the back section of the floor. Fine. He did say they were ON the floor.

Now, both sets of my tickets say Section 8, Row 1. Just that one night I'm around seat 11, the other, seat 20. How could that be? I was kind of looking forward to seeing the show from slightly different vantage points each night. In this case, "slightly" is the operative word... I'll be a few seats to the left or right. Lol. Maybe I need to check the tickets again. I just don't get it. Ha ha.

Posted by kate at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Why am I not asleep?

Tonight I ushered Sesame Street Live. SO cute!! "Let's Be Friends." And I did make friends! There were these two little girls who must have been, oh, two and four, maybe? The little one never spoke, just looked at me with huge brown eyes. The older one kept asking me questions and showing me her Elmo flashlight. Adorable. I love kids. I miss working at the daycare. I miss (I know, I know, enough already, right?) working at Disney and asking kids if they'd met anyone famous and seeing their faces just light up when they'd say "Yes! I met Mickey!" =)

There have been some developments in Sesame Street since my day. Zoe is an addition I rather enjoyed. She was cute. Elmo, I believe, is new, but of course I've known about him for a while. <.g> Then there was the Spanish-speaking one with wings, some purple one with blond hair, and this girl with glasses and a Catholic schoolgirl uniform and a backpack (anyone know who she was?). But Telly was there, and the Honkers and Oscar and Big Bird and Cookie Monster and SNUFFY! I LOVE Snuffy! And Bert and Ernie, whom I just adore. I miss Grover, though. =( And Little Bird. Remember Little Bird?

It's a good thing I wasn't working the floor, because I would have been so in awe of them. lol. I was up in C. Again. I realize now though that C is not a punishment, but rather a compliment. My supervisor told me tonight that they put ushers they think are particularly competent in C because they only have one usher per portal AND that one usher is covering all of C for that portal (C is by far the largest section.... 22 rows versus 14 and 11 for A and B), but half of B as well. I'd like to get the floor one of these days, though. It seems that only the full-time ushers ever get the floor, leaving the students (who, yes, are young and can trudge up 22 flights of stairs) to cover the harder sections. Let me have the floor for Nelly, please! They won't put girls on the floor. They always put men there during conerts in case there is trouble. Grrr. I can hold my own!

I really actually do need to go to bed. I'm starting to get excited for the concert... less than 48 hours away!

Posted by kate at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm an American-pop fangirl I listen to the top 40, I want to be just like Britney Spears and maybe even date a member of *NSYNC!

What kind of fangirl are you?

Okay, enough quizzes. Rina and Miggie have others that look like fun, but I gots work to do!

Posted by kate at 03:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Oh my. Look at that. It's pouring. What are the chances it will stop within 15 minutes, so I can go to my next class and remain dry?

Posted by kate at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have I ever mentioned that Illinois weather is wacky? When I left the house this morning, it was 60 and SUNNY. And I was happy. Reminded me of Florida. Okay, so nice weather *always* reminds me of Florida. But now its gloomy and grey and cloudy and I see some umbrellas, which I'm not excited about. Not only did I not bring my umbrella, but I also took apart my winter coat to just wear the lighter portion, thus leaving the hood attached to the windbreaker part and at home. Hmm.

But I signed up for classes, so yay!! It took but a minute. Gone are the days of spending hours in the computer lab trying to make things work because all the sections you had planned on are full. How I love having lots of hours and getting an early registration time. =) The only problem is that the advertising class I need says I don't meet the requirements. Hmm. Perhaps I need to be an advertising major to take it. I need to find out, because that class will complete my concentration. I bet I can wiggle my way into it. <.g> If I could get into a screenwriting class of 10 seniors and grad students (and then little old me) as a first-semester freshman, I can certainly get into a 300-level advertising class as a senior.

Okay, transcribing break over. Must get back to the interview.

Posted by kate at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight I spent way too much time making up my schedule for next semester. I need three classes to get my double major. Would you know that they ALL conflicted with each other? Ugh. So I'm ending up with classes that don't relate quite as well to my chosen career path as others, but that fit together decently. And I need to cram them all in, just in case this ends up being my last semester and I get an internship during the spring. Anyway, here's what I'm hopefully going to be ending up with (as to be decided definitely tomorrow at 11 when I register *crosses fingers*):

M/W:
Psychology of Small Groups, 9-10:30
Social Psychology Lab, 12-2
Jazz Dance, 5-6:30 (Does anyone know what, exactly, jazz dance is? Modern dance sounded too.... modern. Interpret the sky. Yeah. So jazz sounds like fun, and should give me some exercise, but what is it? Lol)

Tu/Th:
Psychology of Perception and Sensory Processes, 11-12:30
Organizational Communication, 12:30-2
Social and Cultural Context of Advertising, 2:30-4

F:
Social Psych Lab - Lecture, 9-11

So not altogether bad. Mondays and Wednesdays are really spread out. Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to feel loooong. Why is it that none of my classes are only an hour anymore? They're all at least an hour and a half. Hmm. I just HOPE I get into everything. I should. I mean, registration started today and goes through... I don't know. A couple of weeks, I'd think. I wanted to take piano, but it doesn't look like that will fit. I'll have to continue trying to teach myself. Lol. Or save that for spring, if I don't end up graduating in December.

But now I'm sleepy-sleepy, and I didn't get ANY of my statistics homework done. Woops. And tomorrow I'm ushering for Sesame Street Live, so.... I'll have to be very productive with what time I do have. *g*

Posted by kate at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOL. We get these official emails entitled MASSMAIL from the chancellor, etc with information to students. Today's MASSMAIL was as follows:

To all University students:

Sincerely,
Dr. Ivana Fukalot, MD
Asst. Director of McKinley Health Center
This mailing approved by:
The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

Somebody was very clever. Somebody is going to get in trouble if they get caught. But it gave me a good laugh!!! Can you imagine the tuition drop boxes being filled with unused condoms?? Ha ha ha!

Posted by kate at 05:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Oh, sad, sad day. I'm afraid a dear friend is nearing its end. This friend has kept me company (and awake!) through MANY a class, has amused me countless times, and has kept me from forgetting important things... *sniff* That's right, my *NSYNC watch seems to have died. You see, last night at 9:00, my alarm went off as usual to remind me to take my pill. The song was coming from my suitcase, because I hadn't been wearing the watch since I had gone to church (not really church-appropriate), and when I went to turn the alarm off, it had stopped on its own. No biggie.

Then this morning, I fished it out to put it on, and saw that the alarm was not set (didn't notice the time, but now that I think about it, it still said 9:00). So I tried to set it. The *NSYNC that comes swirling in kept interrupting my alarm-setting, which was strange. Then the song played once, I stopped it, and the clock turned to 12:00 and now the buttons don't work at all. =( I'm HOPING it's the battery, but the face still reads 12:00, so how could it be? Ahhhh!!! I've only had it since October. It's too young to die! *sob* =( I'm very sad. Very sad indeed.

Posted by kate at 07:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)