Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot (read: Remembered)

Well good gravy.
It's been about ten years and a day since I posted here. Guess I should make my life count, or at least for the last day of 2012 by blogging today. So that probably includes like the 12+ events of 2012 or something like that. We'll see where that goes.

1) Baby niece Amelia born.  She's so suitably fat now and I'm such a proud aunt!

2) State 2012. I think I cried for the whole damn thing. Every moment and it was super. We get to do that again in 2 months? I'm so ready to cry for several hours.

3) Watching my friend Ch-low Rad-cliffee do what she does at AFA. That was neat.

4) Surviving NFA to the surprise and accolades that we didn't expect. I've never been so genuinely surprised and overflowing with pride for what we speechies do.

5) Baby nephew Pete born. Although he looked like a grumpy old man for a while, he's learning to smile and getting cuter all the time.

6) May 18, 2012. I have a voicemail of Vanessa giggling.

7) Duluth with Lady Chelle Chelle. It was more than a moment, but it was important. It includes the apple pie baking and the porch sitting.

8) Climbing trees. Want a new perspective? That helps.

9) Giving a bike to a new teammate. Warm Fuzzies all over.

10) Oreo died. I forever miss my giant feline who hated snow, loved any holiday with bags and wrapping paper, and took two arms to hold. Now my heart holds you.

11) NCA. Dinner theater. Nuff said.

12) CinCC. I successfully cried in every performance in front of large audiences because that's where you cry. Love me some Guh chuh-wire fam.

Bonus: Throwing Better Cheddars because they're worse, not better. The moments leading up to that one were good too.

Ok so I should tell someone and this is as good a place to tell people as any about my new goal to blog more consistently than this semester.  No point to having a blog that you don't use and there should be amusing things going on in my life that you may or may not appreciate.

To those of you going abroad this semester, blog because you want to read your experiences in full and not through collapsed memories that get compressed and diluted. Do it then so you can laugh about it later. Also, then I won't have to throw Better Cheddars (or rocks) at you.

So cheers to a happy survivable 2013.  Love you all.

There was that thing in Kansas

Oh, hello there blog I've had for over a year that I occasionally ignore in favor of attempting to learn something/get enough sleep to not look like a deranged hungry zombie. That being said it's approaching 1 am on our way back from the first tournament of the year in Hutchinson Kansas. Sorry if three days and about 24 hours of driving total doesn't seem like oodles of fun, you really haven't lived yet. I freaking love those 5am alarms that just get you moving before the rest of the world. The down side is that I have to go to class in the morning, and I'm still in tournament hair. Dear Shakespeare class, sorry about it. I'll be there but I don't plan on being pretty. Deal with it. But the music is bumping, Karin is sleep talking, ad everyone else is just regular sleeping. Pretty normal all things considered I think.

A Blog in Reflection

One year ago today, I left on the adventure of my life.

I packed all of my bags, said "Ciao!" to my friends and family, and high tailed it out of the country. That got me to thinking about all of the amazing places I've been in 365 days and holy crap, there are a lot of them.

You are more than welcome to peruse my adventures as they have happened to me here in this blog, but here's a little (geo)graphical explanation of my adventures: Map o da world. Or if you don't want to see the names of the places, here's just a picture.

But the link should show you all of the names of places too. Granted, I probably forgot some a long the way (like Assissi.... I loved Assissi. St. Francis is awesome)(And Duluth. I was for sure in Duluth this summer), got them out of order, or didn't list every time I was back in KC this year. But the main point is here are the 25 (more like 27 with the ones I forgot because I'm a dumb ass and Google Maps won't let me add more than A-Y) cities that I've considered part of my journey this year. 

I don't know if this year will hold as many cities, or as many "adventures" but I'm glad this one was so thrilling. 

Did Some One Order a Surprise?

I'm going to take the next ten minutes out of my busy busy busy work week day to tell you a little story. I hope it makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

So there's a girl on the forensics team from Mississippi this year. Her name is Elizabeth, and I think she's super swell. Anyway, she had received a graduation present of a bike that was her sort of mode of transportation since you're going super far away to college and you don't get to keep the car. Bikes are great, that's awesome.

Bad news: Some asshole on campus took her bike before she could get her lock from in her room.

Dear sir/madame who stole Elizabeth's bike: I'm a fierce mama bear and if I see you riding on that bike around campus, I will deck you and rub your face into the dirt/snow with my shoe until I think you have suffered enough for being the kind of terrible person you are. You suck. --Sincerely, Kelsey "yabettersleepwithbotheyesopen" Abele.

So this bike hasn't been recovered, and St. Peter is typically a very safe community. Things get returned, and there's not too many people on campus that you don't know, so things turn up.

None the less, being about a gajillion miles away, it's hard to lose something that was a parting gift and a sign of freedom from your community back home. So Kris tells us about this bike problem and a plan is formed. Prove Minnesotans aren't evil, chip in and buy Elizabeth a bike.

So all sneaky like, we find out things like, "What kind of bike did you have? A Schwinn was it? Oh, you like red? Hmmm I'll keep an eye out for it!" And we get her a bike.

Now for the fun part of the story. We decided to surprise her.

So this morning, after warm ups are over, everyone is sitting in their pride rooms working quietly(sort of this is speech), and Elizabeth pipes up, hey my brother might buy me a new bike. Kelsey's thought: oh no he won't. Commence plan.

Brittany, Karin and I go down to fetch the bike out of Brittany's car and wheel her in.

We then go into the team room where Elizabeth is still working. I walk in pushing the bike. Park it in the center of the room. Wait for Elizabeth to turn around. And say:

"The team cares."

That's it. She covers her mouth, says, "Are you kidding?" "Not at all."

She then immediately starts crying and comes to hug me. I'm practically crying at this point, and she's just saying thanks over and over and over again.

"Want to take her for a spin?"
"She's really mine?"
"Sure is."
"Do I get to name her?"
"Of course you do."
"What about, Awesome Team?"

If you're not crying at this point you have no soul.

She called her mom and told her, and for the rest of the day she kept talking about how amazing it was, and how perfect it was, and how she couldn't be happier.

Damn. Good. Day.

Moved In Close

HOORAY!!!! I have survived my last trip through Iowa for the time being and managed to move into my dorm without too much trouble!  So far it looks pretty neat.  You know, stuff on the walls, stuff in the drawers, stuff in the closet. Maybe I should get a large picture of Chuck Norris just to make this place feel a little more Italian...

Unsurprisingly, half of my closet is made up of suits.  So that's the best thing about the room. Oh, and the fact that it's a single. that's pretty swell.

Anywho, work week officially starts tomorrow and I can't wait to be reunited with my soul mates.

Boxes of Things

So basically every thing is packed. The little nitty gritty shitty stuff is left to pack, and I guess most of that is just handfuls of uh, dump that in that sort of not quite full bag over there. There is not so much method to the madness, but rather this method is a byproduct of the madness.  Don't judge me.

None the less, tomorrow I travel north to the great land called Gustavus where I will officially embark on my third year of college (this is the parenthetical where I say something like, "holy shit is that real? third year? Uh.... I'm almost certain they shouldn't have passed me in the first two. I'm likely still a freshman or at the ver least a sophomore.) That being said, I should probably not blink, otherwise I'll be graduating and won't have any idea what I'm supposed to do with my life. Classic.

In other news, I've finished my scrapbook! I think I will bring it with me to the hill where I will allow it to collect dust and I will occasionally force it upon my friends who are sick and tired of listening to me babble about Italy this, and Rome public transportation that. Oh well, it's pretty and I'm fat and sassy. (that one was for you Molly).

I Can't Stand 'em!

This will be short:

Singing in the Rain, is a fantastic film in any weather. It is also very much worth it on the big screen. To everyone who had the pleasure of seeing this movie, you should now join me in a sing along version that will be playing all day tomorrow as I pack my life for my move back to MN.

I Took Notes

I wish that I had some sort of exciting story or experience to share with you about my day so that we could all somehow live vicariously through one person's experience without leaving our laptops.

But, alas, I have had no true adventures this eve, and instead turn to a listing of the things I did learn today.

1) Some news place things that eating 2 egg yolks a week is as bad for you as smoking. This makes for a scrambling of jokes.
2) I'm confident my grandmother still remembers nearly everyone who has lived/worked/played in a 25 mile radius of "the old house."
3) Patience, by definition is building a house from scratch and not only doing it perfectly, but doing it by hand.

And thus completes my learning for the day.

Whirr of VHS Film in Reverse

Fun game: Drive to Bonner Springs and to eat Chinese food and listen to pretty music.

Does it sound like a Monday night flash back from high school? It should, minus the whole Bonner Springs thing, I didn't have to drive there for music or Chinese food.

But the hours spent in the car were well worth it. A mini reunion with people that after years of not talking or hearing from pop out of the wood work and make your day that much brighter. Spring, welcome back. Missed you!

But that was not  the only  surprise of the day! I had the pleasure of not only reunionizing with Allegrians, but with some Barstownians too!  Looooooonng time no talk and suddenly-KA-POW!!!!  Bamalamadingdong there they are catching you up on the oh, say, 6 years you missed in the middle. Woof. So that's my day. A series of flash backs and rewinds just to keep me on my toes.

And I couldn't have imagined a better one.

Even the Owner Has to Sleep Sometime

REUNION! And by that I mean it's been a few months since I've seen dear Phil, but we managed to hold up the tradition of talking for hours. And that means that although we ordered food in plenty, we still managed to talk long enough that even the owners of the Chinese/Sushi place we went to had to close and kick us out... and then we talked in the parking lot for another 30 minutes... It's like neither one of us get's to talk... ever... But it's all good.

And with that, I think I'm going to sleep. Sleep is nice.

ABduction-Taylor Lautner's New Work Out Video

Things I absorbed from watching the movie Abduction: (Here's a link so you can see that I'm sort of close on some of this: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1600195/)(Annnnnnddd because I found the comments were suuuper good/accurate: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/abduction_2011/)

1) There was a bad guy, some spies, the CIA, and a bomb in the oven.
2) Some actors I typically enjoy (Sigourney Weaver) made some bad decisions making this movie.
3) Plot Holes: could have been a very dangerous drinking game.
4) Taylor Lautner is probably a Hufflepuff.
5) My favorite part was where it tried to be an action/spy movie.
6) My second favorite part was where that first plan failed.
7) Points 5 & 6 mean I loved 99% of the movie.
8) Will be a feature film for an upcoming Team movie night.
9) Best scene award goes to waking up in the woods and Taylor crying one single tear. It's just a bad dream Taylor.
10) Just because Rotten Tomatoes says 4%, doesn't mean everyone hates it.....

So next time you're near the half-off dollar DVD bin, check it out. It'll cost you less than a pack of gum and it could be really swell.

Bag-Ception

So here's the skinny. I like crafts. I craft all the time. I'm not so secretly crafty. And thus is my life while I am home. I have been attempting to work on my scrapbook from Rome (you know, the reason why I started the blog thing in the first place) and it's been an adventure. But there's a point when I can't do no mo pictures. So I decided to pick up something a little more mindless, albeit conscious.  Let me explain.

Michelle (you know that girl) said that she was going to knit some plastic bags together to make a super bag. And I'm thinking, "Huh? I couldn't have heard that right." But then she just looked at me like, "Did I stutter? I'm knitting plastic bags to make a super bag."

Wait for it... Wait for it. Yup. Mind blown.

The goal is to take all of the grocery bags that you annoyingly stuff into corners and then plan to reuse, but usually forget because no one looks in corners for bags every time you decide to go to the store. So you just end up having these mounds of should be reused, sculpted, or donated bags that look lonely and unloved and dingy in the corners.

The process works like this. You cut these unloved crinkle-wads into long strips of super thin plastic and then ball them up as you would yarn. Then once you amass enough of a ball (and/or clean out those corners) (That's where I put that!) (Yum, Halloween candy), you knit. That simple. You know, except for that part where you spend awkward mindless hours cutting apart bags to the strange looks of your friends (or those friends you would have if you didn't spend your Friday nights cutting apart plastic bags).

But here's what I've learned: This could be really cool. So far (and I only have a portion of the base of the bag) it looks sort of legit, and could end up the envy of every Environment conscious pseudo hippie I pass on the street (see, I told you that would make sense later).  I'll be sure to post pictures here when I do finish it, but I'm pleasantly pleased with the reactions I've heard so far (I knit a lot in public.... Hence my single, only child status).

Resounding Message: Go green! Knit more!

Blog-off #has it been this long?: 12 in 2012

It's a blog off!!!!!!!! You should read that in the tone of "ready to ruuummmmmmmble!!!" you should probably reread that in the correct form. Michelle and I are finally back on track with our blog offs. Be prepared.

This week on blog off: 12 things in 2012.

These can be everything and anything. On your mark, get set, GO.

12) 21 hour bus ride to Texas in January as a first tournament back.

11) Bringing State back to the hill. In more ways than one.

10) Learning uncomfortable things about people you've known for an eternity.

9) Learning to love them anyway.

8) Big trophies, big dreams. AFA/NFA

7) Driving alone through Iowa, not enough dance music.

6) Wrangling sheets onto a semi-lofted bed=life lesson. Some things are better tackled in pairs.

5) Managing the fact that not everyone operates on the same time scale. And only occasionally is that ok.

4) Sometimes after signing an email, introducing yourself, and wearing a name tag that has your first and last name, people will still not understand that the "k" in your email kabele stands for your first name.

3) The drive back from the airport gets longer the stranger the strangers are. (see #4)

2) America celebrated in cheese and apples is best done on a porch.

1) Official title: cat whisperer.

0) Mayans said so.

So that's that. I'm a fan of these list things.

I'm Not Trying to Stall!

Things you should know about me driving a manual:

1) it's scary and I'm no good at it.
2) it's going to take a lot more than the one mini lesson I had today.
3) it's not for lack of trying.

So for those of you feeling brave enough to take me up on that adventure, let me know. I'm just a slow learner. Or I guess the better point to make would be that I'm a slow kinesthetic learner. My auditory and visual retention is fine, but muscle control and muscle memory are repetitive practice makes close enough kind of situation. Ye be warned.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Is it too late to declare that the Olympics have encouraged me to once again obsessively listen to the Beatles? Probably, but I feel no shame. Other things I'm not ashamed of: starting my scrapbook of Italy. Well, I should be more specific, I'm currently in process of picking out the pictures that will eventually make their way into my Italy scrapbook. Don't make fun of me, this is a long process. Here's to hoping I get it done before I go back to school.

Nothing else new to report here, I think that Grace K is a super star, and that's not opinion, that's fact.

Blues Clues Could Write the Soundtrack to My Life

Just after midnight here in the quiet town south of Kansas City, and there's nothing new to report. I had a lovely dinner with Jessica for the first time in all too long, but it caught me up on all of the news that escaped my grasp. Well done Jess you super stalker you. I am back home, so if you a) want to catch up sometime in the next week or so-text me. Or b) if you plan on writing me a letter sometime when it's supposed to get here before I leave again-text me an I'll give you my non-school other home address. And I will mention that there is a large box of unloved envelopes sitting next to me that are just begging to be sent across the country, so figure it out. With any luck, there will be enough of you that don't go to school with me to keep me writing letters all year. You know who you are- don't let me down. And yes, Michelle, cross country does not exclude you- I'll make it plural just because: cross countries. Better?

Ok, I think I'm going to call it a night.

DVR-Olympics on Real Time

So my parents are the kinds of people who don't watch the olympics live. Thus, while everyone else is watching the closing ceremonies, I'm watching the preliminary heats for men's 200 canoe.....  Not even a joke, I'm actually watching the men's 200 canoe. And I think I'm learning a lot. Maybe. I think this is not what I want to go to the olympics in though. I think I would rather use my canoe expertise for lounging around on a lake, not doing anything important or timed. Now if there was a laziest-person-in-a-canoe race, I could potentially be a contender. But alas, for all of the summer olympic sports, they have not come up with one that I could truly excel. Bummer.

Hey Look! Silos! How Exciting!

Home at last home at last I am home at last!! It wasn't actually that dramatic, but driving through Iowa makes you wish it were. Nothing interesting to report. No sudden rainstorms, no mysterious people following me, no car troubles or anything else really. But I did manage to pack all of my belongings in my trunk and some of the back seat. As in, the back seat was full, but with plenty of wiggle room. And the only thing in the passenger seat was my purse. So I win a lot-that's what you can collect from that.

Bamalama poetry

So the thing about speech kids is that they visit. And then they get things done. Boom-like dynamite.

And then they have to wake up in the morning, finish packing, and drive through Iowa. What winning?

Where's the Fire Extinguisher!?!

There are pros and cons to stealing from the GAC herb garden.
Pros: there are super fresh, picked-this-5-minutes-ago basil and sage to be had in plenty ad it's delicious.
Cons: sometimes you feel adventurous and pick some peppers that look harmless and cute.

Ye be warned. They are no such thing. They are vicious aliens come to earth to destroy taste buds and kidnap children. I'm speaking from experience here. This is serious business.

I made the hottest pasta sauce I think imaginable. This included one of those superspicybutinnocentlooking peppers and only used one. KAPOW!!!! Gee whiz. I was not expecting that kind of explosion-and not in a pleasant way.. I had to basically fan my mouth and mop my runny nose to get through the bulk of my meal. Danger danger Will Robinson.

So, learn from me: don't eat alien peoples even though they look nice.

Run Forest!

So despite a raging response from various people, I ran again today. At this point I wonder if it would be worth it for me to continue this trend after I'm home. Granted it'll be two weeks, but maybe worth it? Who knows. I'm not the most motivated person when home. And I've got scrapbooking to do. So world get ready for a movie/dvr/television marathon, Kelsey has to try to record memories.

On Your Mark- My Words

This is not a post you were expecting from me. In fact, I delayed telling you this, thinking that yesterday could have very well been a fluke and that I wouldn't have to admit that kind of thing to my peers. But it's true. I've, unbeknownst to me, been tricked into running. Yes yes, I know. I'm the least enthusiastic runner in all the land. I mean marathons? First guy died. Why do that again? And I'm the kind of person who sets realistic goals: me not dying during a marathon is not realistic. Back to the point. I know that people are motivate by the olympics, and I'll grant you there are motivational stories, but I'd prefer to sit and be amazed, not try and replicate such a feat on my own time. But here's the deal, I'm a motivational Titan. And when others seem to think that I can convince them to run, I guess then I'm running.

Cadi is attempting a couch to 5k and I've not been necessarily the healthiest- I should move more than I do, but this beginning thing of walk then jog for 60 seconds, walk some more isn't quite so bad. I mean, I survived conditioning, so that makes me a champion if something right?

But I'm going to be sore tomorrow. Woof. What did I think I was getting into? Speed walking is much more my style. Lots of hips.

Calling All Passengers to Gate: GET YO ASS UP!

Remember that time that I set my alarm for 6:15 so that I could take some people to the airport at 7 and then didn't wake up until they called me at 7:05?

Oh I do.

That was today.

And say again, what time were you dressed and out the door in your car after being woken up at 7:05?

Uh, that would be 7:08.

And all I have left to say is BOOM. That and bring on the speech season. If I can be clothed and presentable in 3 minutes, that means I can prep a speech in 1, and be tournament ready in 15 right? Well, here's to hoping that's how that pans out.

Follow up question: Did they make their flight in time?

Yes, and I had my Starbucks, and was back at work in St. Peter before they even got to board. So there.

Goodbye Airport Route

In six hours, my final true camp affiliated duties will commence, and two hours after that, they will end. What a story it has been. But you know what? Next time I go to the airport, I want to pick up someone that I want to see specifically. Or if I'm the one being picked up, I'd love to see someone important in my life, and not just someone with a vague description looking confused on the sidewalk. Although, with the people I know, there's a good chance that they'll look like that. Woof.

Limerick for a Saturday

There once was a girl from Nantucket
She carried her life in a bucket
The bucket started to leak
Which made her look weak
So she yelled at the people to "suck it."

I hope you enjoyed that little impromptu limerick. I think it's the basis for a really good prose. Called "Leaked."

It's Raining _____! Water....

Thunder storm!

So once upon a time, I decided that after having dinner at Kris's house, that I really should go feed the cats. So I walk back to my apartment, and decide that driving wouldn't be that bad of an idea- even though it's nice out and I should have some more exercise, but it's late, I'll drive.

Thank the lord.

Seriously, I'm petting the cats, and suddenly BOOM!
Thunderstrum. And it's pouring like no tomorrow. First thought: Woah. Gnarly. Second thought: Good thing I brought my car. Third thought: Then again, at this point I'd be soaked to the bone getting to my car. #lifeprobs

But I dodged the true rain bullet and managed to get back without too much wringing of clothes. Doesn't mean it couldn't have happened.

Taxi!

I'd like to call this round two of airport shuttleship. And it went surprisingly smoothly. Other than the point where I had to circle around and around terminal 2 in order to not be arrested in a school vehicle. Oh well, such is life, and I didn't have to run over anyone in the process (though the opportunity always presents itself at places like airports). And more unfortunately, I have to be up in 6 hours to do one last round of registration. Why anyone in the world thought 7:30 am registration was smart is beyond me. Boo that. So good night world!

Also, Michelle, can we be blog buddies again? Thursday's are lonely.

Singing lessons

Well, it wasn't the worst hour and a half car ride of my life. It would take me a while to think of the actual worse car ride, and instead would likely resort to the worst hour and a half I spent in a car- regardless of the time of the car ride from beginning to end. But it was strange.

To catch the rest of you up, I often pick people up from the airport on a semi regular basis. Not a big deal- until they are super quirky. Lisa, reminds me of Miranda Sings. Once I'm not blogging from my phone, I'll post some links to beautiful videos. And to be clear, it's not that she doesn't know her stuff- she does. But man do they look alike, and I like to think they are the same person. Woof.

The original: Voice Lessons

One of the more recent amazing videos: Starships

And to round it all out: Teaching Pentatonix to sing...

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. What a classy lady.

Modernist

Things likely to be heard after camp:

Douchebaggery is an unforgivable sin.
I need to go grocery shopping.
Why is everything I own covered in cat hair?
Do I have to pick these people up from the airport? I no longer care if they walk.
Internalize that!
Got to get that POI done.
And you will faintly hear the scratching of letter writing.

And the winner for most random and unplanned nonsensical post goes to.....

Yeah, I'll just take my award and leave through the back door.

The Last of Speech Camp

Ah, the last night I have of speech camp. We still have tomorrow, but this is their last night on the Gustie campus, and I'm sure they are exhausted enough for their parents to take them back- let's face it, even my parents would take me back at this point. After camp all I do is sleep- or maybe all I want to do.

Be that as it may, speech camp is always worth it. For the laughs, the cries, the accomplishments, and the stories. SSI: like a champion.

http://vimeo.com/46599422

Check out the sweet Vid!  Carl and the Freshman worked hard (even with all the chaos and bumps in the road) and I think the product turned out pretty well.

That Story About Answering Phones

Thus begins the first day of the extension. With some grace, we managed to start a bit later, although I'm still attempting to convince Kris that my natural sleep schedule does not include the words "Meet in the Courtyard by 7:30." What a shame too. I could use the shut eye.

I will say that I am getting back on track with letter writing. Since this past week was one fraught with campers and no sleep, I felt I could not devote the necessary time to letters, so this week I'm responding to all of the things!

Oh, here's that story about the phone call.  My mother so kindly reminded me.

Remember Slam Camp? Well, since I picked everyone up from the airport, I had all of their phone numbers saved in my phone, including Kika's.

Fast forward. Last week (yes, the one before Speech Camp), I got a call from what I thought was Kika. My phone said Kika, and smart phones are really smart. So I answered in a Kika appropriate:

"HEY GURL HEY! Whachu do?"
"Hi, is Kelsey there?"
"Gurl! This is!"
"May I speak to Kelsey?"
"Yeah, spit it poet."
[Silence]

At this point I'm a little confused, because the Kika I know would have not only appreciated this greeting, but would have responded in kind. Too confused to continue, I began again:

"Are you still there?"
"May I speak to Kelsey?"
"Yes, this is she."
"Kelsey, this is Teri from GTS (Gustavus Technology Services)"
[Gulp]

Uh.......  WHAT??!?!! You mean to say that I just greeted GTS in a very non-GTS approved fashion? Woof. My Life. I would like to point out that I confirmed with Justin that my phone did, in fact, say Kika as the caller ID, and that I'm not just delusional.

After I finished my job related call with the now confirmed non-Kika caller, I set down my phone and looked panicked.  When Justin asked what happened, I responded with, "That was not who I assumed it to be..."

Since then I've done some digging and it turns out that the GTS number was saved under Kika's contact info. Strange, I'll admit, considering that I have texted her in the past... So let your lesson be learned, answer your phone only when you're sure. Or just don't answer your phone. Whatever works for you.

Pushing Them Out of the Nest

Woah, slow down crazy, slow down.

Tournament day. Boom. Now that it's over (and we're talking not the tournament that I'm competing at, but the little baby heart and souls that I've coached and worked with all week are throwing their newly found skills around in a room at the mercy of an unfamiliar audience and a scary person with the almighty pen. Terrified yet? It's like being crushed, without being told that you're being crushed.) Good news: My little GOAT pride didn't flinch. They did what they came to do, they laughed in the face of danger, and they want to come back next year. To this? I say I raise you a moderately less successful competitive day for this reaction. They laughed, they cried, and I think they learned something. (And the incredible people they met and the friends they made don't hurt either). So here we go, G! O! A! T! GOAT! Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

As for my now somewhat mushy mental state: I think I've been staring at a computer screen with my mouth gaping open and my eyes crossed for 10 minutes before I realized I should type, or blog, or maybe just go to bed.

Remind me that I should tell you all about that time that I went to a judging certification for MN... Still pondering that one a little bit.

Proud Parents

Remember that time I watched 15 fantastic HIs tonight and was so proud of my little baby GOAT!

I do. It was great.

Get Free Poet (Just Kidding, Stay There)

Oh yes, it's a Gustie Poem.
Even though it's Thursday. I give my heart to you anon.
I wish with all my being to wake up
A new born
Speech critiquing super coach
And to let the people see how good they can be.
Sweat out the negatives at the Dive,
And choose instead, sweet dreams
On which ride the gusts of opportunity.
G.O.A.T.

Uh... you get the point... Sort of.

Better Believe I Dig Poetry!

Another.... And another...
Haikus never get old.

Blog views are down, mom
But practice takes lots of work
One on Ones begin.

Monday? Never Would Have Guessed That

Another poem for another day:

Short blog posts reflect
Pieces to be cut or found
Streets ahead, Pride 1.

Haiku for 148

Yet another SSI induced poem:

Last performances--
Bitter sweet. Library sesh:
Finding lit is hard.

Put Your Hands in the Air!

SPEECH CAMP!!!!!!!!!
Therefore I will be writing poetry- get with it.

There once was a pride at speech camp
Their name was renowned (like Lamp)
They brought all their stuff,
And moved to the bluff
And no, we don't need an amp.

THEMED THURSDAY: Are You Looking At Me?

THEMED THURSDAY (friday) GET PUMPED YA'LL!!!!

So SSI starts TOMORROW and in honor of such a memorable time, the theme for this week is "Fictionalized version of the meeting between Kelsey and Michelle. Must include the line, 'she's cross-eyed in both eyes.'"

Ready? Here we go.

I was sitting calmly in my room. Finally arrived at this infamous speech camp, and intensely curious if there were people that were both sane AND speech nerds. I knew the pickings were going to be slim, but provided that I put on my charming smile and winning personality and hope for the best. So sitting in this quad in Uhler hall, I waited. Suddenly, she burst through the door and into my life. Forever.

Now there are good and bad things to this bursting thing.  First of all, bursting is bad for blood pressure. It’s a pressure problem, and there’s just no fixing much of anything once it’s done been burst. The good thing is that you get there quickly and efficiently with maximum rubble. And this, my friends, is Michelle.

I think I should explain something key to the choice of burst. It’s not her fault. She’s cross-eye in both eyes. Both, it is not a repercussion of her actions that she’s cross-eyed in both eyes. But that she can’t help but move in a rambunctious manner through doors and walls because she is in fact, cross-eyed in both eyes. Does that make sense? I think it does? Ish. Anyway, she comes bursting into the room and I knew, in that very same moment that my life was about to significantly improve. There was only one problem. There can only be one mega diva here. This quad is just not big enough for the both of us.

Thus the most epic battle you’ll ever hear about occurred. I can say this confidently because you don’t “hear” about the Iliad or the Odyssey, you read it, because it’s assigned reading. So boom. And the battle of Isengard? Hogwarts? Yup, you read that too. And I’m going to give you the police report bullet points (kapow, did you catch that one? I didn’t know you could catch a speeding bullet.)

-Extensive burning in the surrounding areas due to fire throwing contest/fight

-Other trampled areas likely due to the extensive crowd heard by locals

-Quotations from spectators include, “Intense. I’ve never seen a pop off like that before.” “Looked dangerous, but it’s good to know where you stand with that.” “Wouldn’t want to get in the middle of that.” “Would have loved to get in the middle of that.” As you can see, there are mixed reports.

-Case left unresolved.

And because there’s no reason to get innocent bystanders, like Katlyn, involved in this act of aggression, I think it’s important to leave the details out. Because I’ve told you too much already. And the police report is still out there and I’m trying to be nice, and that’s a struggle for me so take advantage of it. The important point is that there was fire. And flame throwing. And I won.

But how hard is it to be a two-time cross-eyed chick with a bursting problem?

Themed Thursday...,,.

Themed Thursday? What's that? Hey Michelle, we should figure that out. So... Yeah.. We'll figure that out tomorrow.

"I Was Making a Lasagne! (For One)"

Singing duets with Justin Feit must be one of the best ways to pass a work day. Seriously. I think we could go on tour, but it would make Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus break up for jealousy. We sat in the team room for about an hour stuffing name tags for SSI singing our creative loosely covered renditions of Flight of the Concords.  Good use of time? Absolutely. My only regret is that Cadi and Kris missed our version of "The Most Beautiful Girl" by about 35 seconds. So that's a bummer. But we enjoyed it, and art is really for the artist most of the time.

"I'm not crying... it's just the rain on my face"

It rained!  And other than standing around watching it pour for 45 minutes, we just admired the after affects of a good rain storm on both the heat and my hair. As the rain fell, my hair grew... just like the grass except exponential curls. Woe.  But that's ok, because it's closer to 70 than 100.  Winners. Except for the person sitting behind me in a theater... Then that sucks.

Remind me, I have an amusing story about answering phones and what you should learn about that.

When You Buy Lemons....

Validation at last!  Just kidding. I've been in a bake-y mood for about a week and finally caved (with the help of Mariecus telling me what to bake, sort of). I made lemon bars!  Delicious? Yes. Duh. But according to our other roommate, Lauren, they are the best thing I've made to date! How do you like that? After zesting a lemon and hand squeezing the necessary juice, I suppose the effort makes a bit of a difference. Or it's just that in this god-forsaken heat wave lemon was the only way to go. I mean, I love chocolate as much as the next person and their chocolate loving friend combined, but lemon bars just sound so cool and refreshing. It has nothing to do with the cup of sugar, or the effort, or the air conditioning. So lemon bars it was (not to say I didn't stock up on chocolate... just in case this baking crave continues).

Between the lemon bars and the super duper pasta I made (with lime juice, rosemary, and spinach) (hey dad, it only needed pine nuts, seriously!), I've been a busy chef.

And other than that, Kris, Justin, and I have been prepping for SSI on SATURDAY. Holy cheezewhiz. This is going to be a whirl. I think I'm either going to blink and it'll be over, or it'll feel like I'm watching the entire week pass from under water. The really slow motion scene in movies where everything is nostalgic and the sun is shining from up above, but nothing feels quite right? I'll let you know if that actually happens, but it's going to be amazing regardless. Holla!

So in anticipation for such a week, I'm going to attempt to get more sleep than usual. Wish me luck.

Am I a Poet?

rainbow
lemon
floss

These are the three words given to me by my lovely roommate, Mariecus in order to make this blog, apparently, fantastical. What should I do with them? That's an excellent question.

The good news is that we could do a little grammar lesson. Talk about the purpose of nouns and verbs, direct objects, and transitive verbs. But I'm afraid that with any amount of that, I would end up losing a lot of readership and the few friends I have collected over the last 20 years of my life. So I won't go there. (Though if you would like me to give you a itty-bitty English lesson, I'm all kinds of chalkboard.)

But instead, I will take a different tangent and talk a bit about poetry and the reflexivity of words-especially in music. So put an ear to this tune and see what you think of this. For reference sake, this is Kurt Elling (shameless plug: he's a Gustie with a Grammy-what up world?) and this song never fails to make me smile.

And I feel that Mariecus's list of words inspires the same kind of poetic interlude. 

Lemon rainbow floss,

Floss the lemon rainbow. 

Floss the lemon, rainbow-

Rainbows floss lemons.

Floss rainbow lemons. 

Floss! Rainbow lemon. 

And that is my post dedicated to Mariecus's random days. 

The Aftermath of Hours Behind a Computer

Ah, the day of the registration. My least favorite day of the week. Mostly because it involves such things as waiting impatiently for people you've clearly judged by their grammar on their registration form sent in prior to your meeting in person. Then there is the matter of perkiness and general manufactured joviality. See where this is going?

Anyway, Show Choir registration ran smoothly enough. No flips, flops, or other mishaps of somewhat disastrous proportions. And, it gears us up for the even more daunting afternoon of chaos that happens next Saturday.

Which reminds me. Next Friday begins the best week in all the summer: Speech Camp. And that may mean that I will be vague, aloof, and otherwise hard to bring back to the real world. So if you're expecting posts, expect skimpy ones at best. But trust me. The 15-18 hour days are going to be joy enough for this blogger.

The Road to Roommate

You know that feeling when you finish a fantastic book?
That happened today.

I haven't finished a book that I was so sad to put down in ages. But this morning I got to that point where I would stop to digest a certain line, just to make the last 20 pages last longer. What a great thing. If you haven't read The Road by Cormac Macarthy, do it now. Seriously. Sometimes it's hard to read just because there are a bajillion adjectives and things to think about, but it's honestly one of the greatest books I've read. And I'm an English major, so I get to have a real opinion.

Boom.

OH. And the love of my life, and by that I mean Bethany came to visit today! But actually, she's on campus all week helping with Show Choir Camp, so that's a very winning situation for me. I'm thrilled.

And I'm going to bed.

THEMED THURSDAY: The Avenged

THEMED THURSDAY (for real this time).  Here goes nothing. We're talking Villains this week. Big bad villains who are out to get you and your children. And let me tell you how I met some super villains yesterday.

So it goes like this. I walk into a room, doing what I do. Being who I'm supposed to be, in charge, and this looming figure walks up to me. Now, keep in mind that I'm approximately short. For those of you inclined to exactness, 5 feet and 4.5 inches to my name. My stature by no means confines my personality, or my confidence, however when this crooked, tall, figure strode toward me, I couldn't help but cower just slightly behind my kevlar name tag. And I knew her name. Lady Fickle. And she spoke:

"Hello, Kelsey."
"Hello, Lady Fickle."
"There's just something that I need you to do. I was wondering if you could put together a little slide show movie for the evening."
"I could throw about 50 pictures on a power point for you guys. But it will cost you." (note: this is not considered caving to the enemy. It's called luring them into a trap.)
"Don't worry about a price. It's taken care of. That'd be great. If you could meet us early to test it out later that'd be great." (I knew she was right. It was taken care of, but how else to deter her? Nothing came to mind.)
"I'll be there."

Was it a challenge? Was it going to turn my afternoon in to a throw down of global proportions?

Yes. Yes it was.

But the real question remained. How was I going to make a functional working power point with sound and over 50 slides by this afternoon? I knew this deadline was no joke. I could literally be dead on the line, or flat lining with no one to revive my corpse. This is a tragic scenario indeed. So my teleportation capable shoes carried me back to my studio (1, what hero doesn't have cool gadgets? 2, studio? bat cave? cool place for me to do my nifty work and be undetected by my adoring fans-you get it.) And there I quickly uploaded 700 pictures and as they were converting to a secure drive, I deftly placed them in a newly designed power point presentation. All the while decoding the ideal song to play behind the pictures that would count down the minutes for my escape as well as hopefully distract our super villain.

One hour later, and an attempted foiled plot to slow down my super computer, I walk back into the designated place. If this was West Side Story, it would be under the freeway. If this was Zoolander, it would be the convenient runway in the well known abandoned place down the street. If this was a spaghetti stain, this would be on the go because that's where Tide to go is intended to be: EVERYWHERE.

So I walk to the center of the room. She stands there in front of me with her goons behind her. I've come alone (maybe that was an oversight in my plan?) but here I am anyway. She meets me. I reach out my hand with the flash drive. She knows that one false move will be the end.

"This isn't what I wanted."
"Maybe not. But that. Is what you get."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

And with that, I buzzed my way out of the now shattering floor and destruction that was radiating from the room I had just left. But I was free. No more worries, and now, she was someone else's villain to battle.

I had lived to right another villain another day.

A Pattern Has Formed for the Fridays

Ok. I know it's Thursday. And I know you like your Themes on Thursdays. After all, that makes sense, THemes, THursday-I get it. But here's the skinny. I had a hell of an afternoon, so much so that our dastardly plans for a mastermind of a Themed Thursday had been foiled. Thus, here I sit waiting impatiently for our impromptu Themed THfriday where the true meaning of a blog off will be shown to the WORLD!!!!!

I really tried to give you a lot of clues, but I'm sleepy, and this will keep you on the edge of your seats until the morn.

Dawn smells like......

Early mornings make me think of speech camp. I mean, I'm not an early bird by any stretch of the imagination, but something about walking around campus before 8 am signals speech camp.

Now the real question is, how in the world is my body going to justify getting up that early for over a week? Basically? I have no clue. Something about divine intervention and people yelling. That usually works. So here's to a few more weeks of non predawn alarm clocks.

You've Got Mail: The RomCom Minus the "Rom"

This shall be a blog post entirely dedicated to letter leader board updates! Are you ready?

Inbox this week:
Michelle (I know, seems like I'm always talking to her in some capacity. We Hufflepuffs do that)
Spaulding (2 in a week? Impressive)
Laura
Joe
Hannah
Kate Meade

Needless to say I need to get to writing!

So in total, that leaves:

Spaulding: 3
Michelle: 2
Hannah: 2
Joe: 2
Laura: 1
Ben: 1
Kate: 1

Special shout out to Kate Meade, she has kindly sent me an autographed copy of her book, and I'm stoked to read it. So, weekend task? I think so. I might have to finish my other book first, but I don't think she'll mind too much.

And over all, I feel like I've done pretty well in sending and receiving letters. Out of the 10 people I've sent letters to, I've received letters from 7 (granted, Kate sent the first letter so she was only counted in the received pile).

In addition to all of those things, I should mention that both my mother and my grandmother are good penpals. Grandma has been sending me all kinds of recipes that I have been trying and then posting suitably mouth watering pictures here-blame her not me.

So here's to using up all of my stationary so that I have to buy "interesting" ones from various St. Peter stores. Gonna have to work for it, I've got a lot of it here.

Go Play Outside

Hello there Blogosphere! Today's discussion: Playgrounds. Why? Because they're awesome and you know you want to go to one right this instant because being a 5 year old with no teeth never lasts long enough. I'm right, don't argue.

Mariecus and I took a little stroll through St. Peter on this fine evening and ended up (ok, intentionally walked to) a playground down the hill. There, in this oasis of memories (see what I did there, that was cool) we did all of the things we did during recess about 15 years ago. Mind blown yet? Well, almost all of the things, except for throwing playground pebbles at each other and attending shotgun recess weddings. That being said, we spun around on the carrousel, tried to touch the tops of the trees on the swings, collected static on the slides, played tic tac toe on the little rolley built in tic tac toe board, attempted the oddly wide set monkey bars, and even sat in the tire swing.

Ok, but here's the real deal. The Tire Swing (capitalized for emphasis and importance). This was my jam in elementary school (at least for a year.  I like to be a versatile playground participant). There I would be the master of the Tire Swing and the ride designer.  Everything from how high to push them, to how fast to spin them-custom order welcome.  But here in St. P, there's a problem. This Tire Swing is yellow.

Go ahead, when was the last time you saw a yellow Tire Swing? A hard, plastic, yellow Tire Swing.  It's kind of like sitting in one of those Fisher Price Flintstone cars when you're 15.  So instead of looking like this kid:

Cool, debonaire, getting all the dates.

You look like this kid:

Not quite comfortable but still trying to play it cool

and that turns into:

Just less appealing. 

And what I'm trying to say here is not that I'm got bigger from when I was 7, (which is only partially true. I'm still pretty short) but that there's something far more comfortable at any age about a real Tire Swing instead of the color coded alternative. Needless to say I was not twirling in memory cyclones of Tire Swing revelries.  I had to stick with the regular swings. 

Sunday Sundae Sunday!

Things that are good on Sunday (and also on sundaes):

1) Crepes with Nutella and bananas. It's an obvious delicious decision and I regret nothing.

2) Blueberry muffins fresh out of the oven in heart shapes. It's better for the world.

3) Judging by the last two things, food is good on Sunday. Good to know.

4) Chocolate.

Hufflepuffs Unite!!

Exciting point of the day (besides riding in a golf cart around the arb): Michelle is officially a Hufflepuff! Why I'd this important? Basically my life is no long some random shot in the dark! There are others like me. I want to know! Can you show me? I want to know about these strangers like me.

Down in my heart, I knew that I would connect with those in my house, but I never knew it would be this magical! At last, I know I'm not a freak or a failure. So come at me bro, I'm bringing Hufflepuff to the zombie apocalypse- we're obviously all going to be there.

Themed Thursday: PICK ME!

THEMED THURSDAY! THEMED THURSDAY! THEMED THURSDAY!

But Kelsey, it's Friday. We've been waiting for 48 hours for this moment and you can't even title your blog post right?

To that I say, I'm sorry. I'm doing my best to keep up with your demands, but sometimes I'm human, and that means I don't eat people--

What?  What was that? A segue to today's theme!?!?!?!
Yes, yes it was. And that means we need to start picking sides for the Zombie Apocalypse. And this my friends, is more important than dodgeball. So stand up straight and pay attention. This information could save your life. Sort of.

Rules: Pick 3 other people (besides yourself) living, dead, or fictional for your Zombie Apocalypse team. These are the people that know the rules- double tap, cardio, and other basic survival skills, like open fire cooking (and I don't mean cooking in the front lines, I mean over an open flame). Are you ready to face December 21st? Go.

1) Dexter Morgan: Crime fighting, crime killing individual with extensive knowledge of knife wielding and blood analysis. Other skills: being incredibly attractive. He's an ideal candidate for all of these reasons in addition to his witty monologues and scheming mentality.

2) My Uncle Kent: Damn good cook, tells bigger than life stories, has experience fixing things and tough guy problem solving, as well as being a general "I'm not dead yet, so I must be fine" sort of person. Always has a good story and that's pretty ideal when you spend the rest of your time avoiding/hunting zombies. 

3) Cadi: According to her facebook profile pic, she has experience shooting a gun, typically funny, has some good stories, and general absurdity. That means being able to talk to someone for hours to delay pure and utter boredom. After all, this is what we do on a regular basis when driving to and from places that are super far away. So boom.

And I would like to make a clarification: This is all based on the idea that I am secretly an elf who can run really fast, see really far (without glasses or binoculars), and has exceptional bow and arrow skills. I say this for 2 reasons: 1) Those are useful things in a Zombie Apocalypse and I don't have any of those skills now.  2) I just really want to be an elf. 

Ok, that's it for me. I'll probably blog about the remainder of my week(end) with Michelle in Duluth tomorrow or Sunday when I'm sitting all alone in my apartment making cupcakes out of my tears. 

Themed- Thursday-Friday?

In anticipation for the epic adventure that shall take place tomorrow, themes Thursday has been postponed. Enjoy and tune in then!

'Murrica Pie

Let me regale you with the adventurous day of Duluthyness.

Michelle and I woke up at a respectable time (and I mean as in my parents, not my peers would be impressed) and headed out for a scenic river drive and a festive nature hike (pretty neat). So around Gooseberry park we walk. Taking in the sights, making fun of the awkward family photos being captured in front of root beer waterfalls and general frivolity. After that exhausting trek, we make our way to Betty's Pies where we had lunch and ate pie. A stunning blackberry peach crumble for me- but the pie theme had only just begun. This is real life, and we need more pie. So a plan was developed that we have a fancy house dinner where everyone contributes something. Much like family dinner, but I've only known some of these people for 24 hours-I'm not sure if they're ready to adopt me. And Michelle and I, being the industrious Americans we are, needed to make apple pies. And I do say pieS because we are so focused on individuality that we made mini pies. So eight apples and 3 home made pie crusts later, we have 12 stunning examples of freedom.

And if you're wondering how you roll pie crust without wax paper or a rolling pin? Let me show you young Skywalker. You improvise!

And they are delicious. We are proud bakers and proud wearers of patriotic attire-minus the eagles. If I can't carry around a real bird, I don't want it on my shirt.

And that wraps it all up. Happy 4th, whether you believe in the country or just believe in the people who inhabit said country-have a good one.

Reunited and It's All So Right

Your world has just collided with something so epic, it can hardly be comprehended by the interwebs. That's right. The infamous Michelle, of Just a Chef's Daughter and I are inhabiting the same house. (who? what? why? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE MY LIFE SUDDENLY MAKES SENSE!) Yes, I know. The world is a better place now that we have joined our magical decoder rings in a triumphant stance over the things that keep us apart. And the things you have to look forward too: Themed Thursday- actual face to face combat. This is the kind of battle they'll be talking about for centuries. Alamo-no-mo, this is what will be remembered.

But for now, I'll give you the nice little summary of my day.
I worked for the first half, getting things tied up and decent before we all left for our varying levels of adventure (me: exponential, Justin: optional, and Kris: Why is this adventure geared for a younger crowd?). Then I had lunch and packed over another episode of Mad Men, and then loaded up my vehicle (good girl Scarlet) and drove my merry way up to Duluth. Lovely? I think yes. Well, except for that part called the Twin Cities and traffic-that part was unlovely.

Upon arrival, Michelle gave me a quick tour and we immediately went out to pizza (artichoke hearts on a pizza? Good ideas) and galavanted around Downtown Duluth. Seeing things like the lift bridge and walking placidly along the shore of Lake Superior. (I'm told it's superior, but to what? I don't get it...) So despite the scorching heat and the dastardly humidity, we managed to make a good night of it-catching up on all of the stories and generally enjoying life.

Life now makes sense.

Real Words Don't Have the Proper Emphasis: WHWPOWEIHLKJFHD!!

This is going to be a post about how obsessed I am with Mad Men (Mariecus can attest to this-I've watched 9 episodes in 2 days), and HOW INCREDIBLY PUMPED I AM ABOUT VISITING MICHELLE TOMORROW.

Letter leader board update:
Michelle zooms a head with her second letter. That leaves the following:

Michelle: 2
Joe: 1
Ben: 1
Spaulding: 1
Hannah: 1

But this is anyone's game folks. So get to it! If I'm feeling nice, I'll write the freshman one later this week.

But more importantly: TOMORROW WHEN I GET TO SEE MICHELLE!  I need to pack before then, I did laundry for this occasion... That's a real friendship right there. Michelle informed me that even despite the floodings, Duluth is not a nudist colony... how peculiar. But if that's the trend, I guess that's it.

And that sums up my excitement-except not at all. This is beyond epic, and I'm psyched.

It's 4am and I'm Wide Awake Singing a Song

Good news: I survived.
Bad news: I'm exhausted.

So this morning at 3:55am my alarm goes off. It sounds a lot like a fire alarm, so it's pretty effective in making me jump out of bed. But just in case, I set an alarm for 4:00am, and 4:05am too. But I was up and at them at 3:55 and Justin and I made a quick coffee and donut run before making sure that the 4 last poets to the airport. And although they were sleepy, we made it out of there in plenty of time. The only tragic moment of the day was when my coffee cup failed me and proceeded to spill the black gold contents of the magic cup all over my lap-whilest driving. Basically the worst occurrence ever. Hot coffee everywhere and I'm wearing khaki shorts.  Boo that. But the worst of it is that I have lost precious amounts of coffee. Woe is me.

But we got there on time and said our tearful goodbyes. Then Justin and I boogied back home to get some sleep.  Well, actually, I was too awake to sleep right then, so I went for a little walk around the arb.  Wrote a little bit, napped a bit, and came back before it got too hot. And for a good chunk of the afternoon, I took a nap and have begun the 3rd season of Mad Men. So despite being far too early to wake up, I think today was pretty prime.

The Sun'll come out- long after I wake up!

Let's hear it for the end of slam camp!!! Ok, tomorrow is the end end as the last of the poets make their way home on planes. Oh, planes you say? Yes, the earliest of the planes means that I am bringing 4 disgruntled students and Justin to the airport tomorrow at 4:45 am. That means, I'm going to bed. Right now. Now. Ok now. Now. NOW.

You get the point.

Also: Michelle, I will call you tomorrow. When I have the cognitive ability to hold a conversation.

We Are Slamily

Today-we slammed.

And tomorrow-we slam.

And then I drive all the people to the airport and sleep in a different dorm.

And then I wake up long before God does and do that again.

This is my weekend, and haters gonna hate.

But seriously, this slam camp has been incredible to watch. It's remarkable how invested each poet is in not only their own work, but in the work of every single other person there. I honestly believe that the instructors are learning just as much as the kids are and I can't wait to see what in the world these people are coming up with. Here in a year, you'll be hearing about them-rocking worlds and spitting words in the air. Incredible to witness, and incredible to be involved. I'm honored and humbled by the amount of talent and passion that has collected here at GAC for a few short days. Keep it up "Slamily," you will do great things.

In other news, I would like to welcome Spaulding and Ben to the letter leader boards. No one has taken a clear lead yet, so get those pens to cranking.

Themed Thursday: The Pitch

THEMED THURSDAY!!!!

I hope you got yourself pumped up for this-because I did. So I've been talking a lot about writing with slam camp and all. But here, Michelle and I have concocted a different sort of writing for this blog-off spectacular. It all started from this obsession we have with Mad Men. That means advertising, and that means a pitch (no, not the baseball kind... or for you extra stringent feminists out there- softball). So that's what we're doing. We're pitching you a pencil. The regular kind. You know, the one you learned to write with and then had to have in your pencil box all through elementary school? The familiar, sunshiny yellow friend that got you through handwriting books and in class assignments.  Those were the good old days. So here goes, I'm pitching and you're catching. Play ball!


There are a variety of ways we can take this-art work wise in the very least, and this mantra has the capability of branching from print to film with out another thought. In it's simplest form, the slogan is the thing.  The sheer imagination inherent in the product itself. This is the tool for any child, any person to draw, create, write, imagine, and enjoy. There is nothing new or remarkable, but this is the product of the American dream.  Simple tools to achieve great things. And the Yellow #2 Pencil is the thing to do it with. And all #2 Pencils have 35 miles worth of creativity. "Where will that write you?"

So although I'm by no means the best on the art team, I'm doing my best in dealing with the budget cuts. So please excuse the artwork until I lure someone more artistic than I back into the studio. I'm working with the simple tools supplied to me.

And that, concludes today. Boom.

Haiku Death Match

In order to make
this an interesting blog
I will write: haikus.

Mariecus, Ava
And I judged a slam haiku--
As in, to the death.

A violent battle
Judged by scarves of silent wit
A-shusha-shush-shush

The Great Oz will speak
And pantomime applause for
Silence is the rule

Endings can be hard
But humor is an asset
Squirrels and Werewolves thrive.

Mini Housewife

The Internet is being poopy so I'm speed blogging on my phone. It goes something like this: I make a pretty good mini quiche. Jealous yet? Here's a picture of the only one I could save before it was devoured by a hungry female.

Yeah, that good. I'll make a few adjustments for the next time- like buy muffin cups. But that's it. Family dinner is always a blast. I just love the idea and this whole potluck thing so much. We're a cool group, and we have some good times. Haters gonna hate, but I was proud to bring a pan of hot mini quiches outside and down to the heart of St Peter. Too damn bad.

I'd Give This Post a 8.1

Please welcome your JUDGES!!!!

Dats right. Mariecus, Ava, and I went to our first poetry slam. As judges.

Slam camp is swinging and these kids are already up and batting.  Well, sort of. They did some "Cover Slam" for us tonight. So basically they read someone else's poem with only 10 minutes of prep. Good, sure! Especially for some of them who haven't performed much. There are some who don't have any fear of audiences, but others are a little more cautious and they are bound to be learning all kinds of things here.

Just imagine what kind of environment this is fostering. A place where high schoolers can express themselves in their own words, then in a controlled, supportive place find their voice and get the encouragement and feedback that they crave. This is genius! And I've already bragged about the people working with them.  Holy smashed avocados (Get it?). It's going to be beyond epic. And I totally dig it.

Bet You Want My Job [Sunday Edition]

Let's hear it for the slammers! Ayiyiyiyiyiyiyyiyiyi!!!! That's not what they actually do, but for serious-there be some serious talent on the GAC campus this week. Holla. And I'm really excited to tell you all about the rhyme-spinning wizards that are be-boping around St. P for the week. I mean, let's be real, Strings camp was fun, but this is going to be off the heezy. (Is that how that's spelled? Running with it.)

Let's give you a little run down of all of the professional talent on campus. Here you go:

Sierra DeMulder: Transplant to Minneapolis, and is working word magic like this:

Next up is Cuban Hernandez. Coming all the way up here from farther south than me, and that doesn't mean anything because I'm just farther south than Minnesota. So there. 

And lastly, Adam Henze. I know Adam from some speech things, he tends to lurk around here and there and once in a while we see each other creeping from opposite corners. It's a good time.

So now that I've given you about an hours worth of putzing around on youtube having your mind blown from the sheer power of words, I'm going to go to bed and get some shut eye before a new day of stellar-awesome-word-bashing-fun begins.

Preparation for an Adventure

So there's a whole apartment full of people here, and I'm catching up on letters, and I'm covered in cat hair. That's living the dream. Right there. I hope you caught that. Living the brilliant, beautiful, dreamymcdreamerson dream.

Come at me.

And the real trick tomorrow will be the beginning of an adventure. And by beginning, I mean that we'll also be ending part of this adventure. So Justin (teammate and coworker) are going to drive to the Twin Cities for 2 reasons: 1) to have a Barnes and Noble attempt. That includes meeting some freshmen and looking for lit. And 2) Pick up the hopefully less awkward kids for the Slam Poetry camp. That's probably going to be stellar. And with any luck we won't get lost, we'll make it there on time, and we'll have a blast. Doable? Yes. Probable? Maybe less so. Impossible: Certainly not.

Task on.

ALL the letters!!!!

Oh heavens be. After a 12 work day and coming back to the apartment full of friendly faces, I'm just about ready to hit the hay. So for this post, I would like to give a little update on the letter leader board.

As a side note, there have been some considerable delays in receiving letters on my end. My first week on campus, I received a package from home, and a letter from grandma, but I found out about a week and a half later that good old GAC decided to start forwarding my mail to Missouri instead of just letting me get my mail conveniently on campus. What a waste of stamps. Mom ended up collecting all of my received letters and sending them to me. So, here is the list of those currently leading:

Michelle
Hannah
Joe

All of whom are entered in the competition. And the other things I got in the mail today.

Mom
Grandma
Andrea
Ashley
Lily
Kate S

The letter competition is still open, but now you've got ground to make up. Get to it.

Themed Thursday 3: To Infinity and Beyond

THEMED THURSDAY!!!!!
Theme: Obscure Super power.

Details? What does this mean? Is this something that I already have and I'm just letting the greater population know how truly remarkable my talents are? Or is this something I'm looking to purchase on Ebay in the near future. Or a skill? Or a Chimp? (Scratch that last part)

I do know that cannot fall into the realm of traditional super powers. We're talking things like flying and leaping over tall buildings in a single bound, and wearing spandex-nothing common. And for those of you who think wearing spandex is not a super power of comic book lore (therefore common)--you haven't watched enough people in the mall. Get on that.

And here is my attempt at a stroke of genius. And I'm hoping it's one of those things where I just keep typing and the right ideas come to be as I go.

Usually my course of action for such occasions like this-where I'm desperately trying to brainstorm something in order to win a blog-off is a two step process. 1) Ask friends for input. 2) Just write shit down until something brilliant happens.

The results for step one are as follows:

Mariecus: Lying.... Just kidding!

Ava: Spaghetti noodle monster! You can shoot spaghetti out of your fingers and stuff!
Me: But why?
Ava: So you can always eat spaghetti-duh.
Mariecus: Yeah, and tie people up and shit.

Mariecus: Being annoying.

Thank you panel.

Here are the results of step two. Look mom, no hands!

The most useful power I could possibly possess would be the ability to some how manipulate time. "But that's cheating!" With a freeze ray, I could stop! (See what I did there?) That would give me ample time to get things done, I could sleep, read for fun during the school year, and even extend my 10 minute speeches just a little longer than usual.

But instead, I will settle for my second most useful power, Speedy Reader.  This is a practical tool for many aspects of my life.
Application 1: Lit Finder 2000.  I love speech, I really truly honestly do. But if there's any part of it I would rather just skip, it would be finding lit. I would likely kill to be able to find the right piece the first time. And I would use my powers for good! Think of all the time I'd save in the summer finding lit for other people too! I'm so nice. Sort of. But instead of spending 8 hours reading, searing for one 10 minute cutting (for me? about 600 words), I could find 30 pieces in that time! How miraculous is that? Speed reading to find the good stuff faster. And that way if I could read the entire book in 30 seconds (max) instead of spending all day.

Like this:

EXCEPT FASTER.

This could be useful beyond the world of speech. I mean, I could get my reading for classes done faster too. And who couldn't use that extra time?

So there you have it. The Super Power I wish I had.

The Emperor Has New Clothes!

And that title has nothing to do with this blog post.

I, sadly, don't have anything exciting to report about my life. There have been no escaped convicts, or escaped animals roaming the St. Peter flooded streets. In fact, the streets haven't been flooded at all-unless you consider registration a sort of flood. Then yes, impassibly high waters.

Biggest news: Justin won't admit he's a Hufflepuff. Sad but true.
In other news: No one believes I'm a Hufflepuff. I assume this to mean that I'm wicked good at transfiguration. What up.
But I have my name sewn into all of my clothing. That's an important feature of who I am.

And that's the life and times of what ever you call this. Word.

No, That's Not the Lecture Hall. That's a Mechanical Closet.

Michelle has composed some fighting words including that of "Sass."

And let me say, I can win this and bake cookies at the same time. How do I know? Because I made home made Chocolate Chip Cookies in under 20 minutes today. From scratch. GET AT ME. Yes, that means that I came home, made some bad ass batter, threw those beauties in the oven, and pulled them out in under 20 minutes. Boom. And they were quite delicious (if I do say so myself).

Why the hurry for the cookies. Because I was hungry, don't ask stupid questions. Just kidding. We had our first family dinner tonight! What a delightful time. Over to Cadi's to play with the cats and have some grub and we each brought something. I brought cookies and we had a veggie platter (so healthy) and some chicken and potatoes. Noms ville. And then it was story after story and looking through Cadi's old yearbooks, and Ava rapping, and brainstorming. Just all beautiful things. Now if it wouldn't be so blasted humid everywhere, it would be magnificent. So let's hope that works.

In other news, life's good. I'm a busy little bee and volunteering strangely in unexpected ways to help with registration. And by that I mean that I help the lost looking individuals on campus find their way back to the herd. Or in some instances, show them class rooms in the building I'm in. Nice? You'd better believe it. Good Karma? I sure hope so. Likely to change soon? Sure thing.

Settlers of "Oh Wait, What's That?"

Settlers of Cattan.

It goes something like this: 

1) Take some cardboard, put it on the floor.

2) Take some wooden pieces painted in colors, and throw them on the cardboard.

3) Draw cards. (Don't ask me where we got any of these materials, we found them in a box)

4) Roll die.

5) Battle- this involves critical words involving the things on the cards and how best to use your wily vocabulary to finagle your needs from the minions around you.

6) Count things

7) Draw cards with other things on them.

8) Wait your turn

9) Glare at the person that seems to have what you want while you wait

10) Steal shit.

11) Repeat steps 2-10 until famine overtakes players.

I feel like you you get rewarded for other things? Like fashion? And best pie? But I didn't read the whole rule book (it has an index.... enough said) and quite frankly, the games I have the mental stamina for only have one of the required pieces listed above, not all of them. Games like

Go Fish-cards

Old maid-cards

Solitaire-cards

Jenga-wooden block things

Candyland-cardboard

A box-just cardboard there too

Kitchen drums-Ok settlers has none of these materials, but it's the kind of game I can handle. And by game, I mean my childhood. (I guess it does involve stealing shit...)

I didn't win. But I guess you knew that already by my in depth description of the game. 

You can do it! Sort of...

Fun facts of life. I absolutely detest motivational videos/speakers. "But why Kelsey? They help a lot of people get out of their metaphorical funk and into a better life style." Because I have this gut feeling that I can blatantly bullshit the same quality of stuff and people will get the same amount of motivation. Get rich quick scheme? You bet. The trouble would be that after about every hour of "talking" I'd feel either the need to mock people, vomit, or wash my mouth out with soap. Woof.

Moving on. After an extensive day of waiting for people to show up to registration, managed to come back to the apartment and watch an incredibly classy movie. Jennifer's Body must be somewhere up there in cult movie heaven. A true gem.

The bald man is making me get up early tomorrow, so I'd better get some shut eye.

And to all of you dads and daddy-os out there-have a happy one.

Hop to it

When was the last time you climbed a tree?

Go ahead. Ask me.

TODAY.

BOOM. How did that feel? Yeah, I climbed that tree today... It wasn't exactly on the agenda, but it happened. So it went something like this. Kelsey's going stir crazy with waiting for really late people and having half of the apartment gone for the weekend, and so after a few grocery shopping moments, she decides to go for a walk. (I like that I've switched into third person there... we're going to roll with it) It's a nice cool dusk, the kind where you could have had a sweatshirt, or just been a little chilly. For the first time all week it's been dry enough (both in air and dirt) to make a walk seem warranted. So I drop off my groceries, and lace up my nearly destroyed converse, and head out for an adventure in the arb.

And what an adventure it was.

So I'm walking along... doobedoobedoo, and I start thinking about how sweet it would be if I could see how quietly I could walk. There is no one out here, and I'm crunching along on the gravel path, and then I'm tiptoeing around on the grassy shoulder, being all stealthy like. But that wore off pretty quick and I deviated from my chosen path to go wander around the meditation area and sit on a rock. Ladeeda rock sitting, ok enough of that. Moving on.

I'm wandering around, getting a little peeved that there is now gravel dust in my socks, and suddenly, there is a clearing... and in this clearing, there are trees. And I'm thinking, oh yeah, gonna climb a tree. So instead of attempting to focus and actually complete my walk uninterrupted by foliage, I caved and leapt into those branches. About 15-20 feet up I just stopped and looked out in all directions. Then, these two girls who I had heard talking from deep in the forbidden forest, starting walking up the path. Two options: 1) Scare the shit out of them. 2) Pretend to be Katniss hiding in trees and creeping on people.

2. Done. I just crept along the branch and watched. Much like the Cheshire cat. Grinning and staring, nearly giggling and all but disappearing. But they passed under my tree without anything super hilarious happening. Sort of worth it though.

After about 15 minutes in the tree, I made my way back down to find my second surprise of the evening. That's right, there are two parts to this story. There was a bunny in the path! But not just any bunny, a bunny AND A BABY BUNNY! The kind of baby bunny that you could hold-in-the-palm-of-your-hand-and-be-eternally-happy-because-it's-just-so-cute-that-you-can't-do-anything-else-in-your-life-ever-but-adore-and-coo-at-the-precious-baby-bunny.

I'm so smitten. They scampered off into the grass (I'm a cat whisperer, not a bunny whisperer. They are technically incompatible talents) and I skipped my way back home.

The end.

A Garden of Joy

I would like to kindly point out that Themed Thursday is a brilliant success. Such good ideas, such good things written and read. I'm loving every second of it.

So now that Thursdays have so much hype, what in the good name of goulash am I suppose to do with my Friday to top it off?

Answer: Probably do something other than what I did.

After my battle royale with print services (I won, don't worry. I'm not sure I made a ton of friends in the process, but there's this thing called "getting your shit done" that I sort of prioritize), and putting up the much later printed signs, I came back to the apartment and rested. Then the sneaky Ava convinced me to go to El Agave-the delightful Mexican restaurant in town, and then to watch Zoolander whilest playing with the cats. So that portion of my day was remarkably successful. However, the beginning 3/4 of it was pretty worthless. It's hard to accomplish much with the electricity turned off on your "office" so that you can't even get in the building, and print services taking a spa day in the back room. Displeased. But it all turned out ok.

We have also begun here in the apartment, a "quote" wall (to use the vernacular) of the splendid things said in an around this location. So far we have 4 star stickynotes, and 2 flowers (back tracking, you know) but I envision this to be covered with memories and laughter.

Side note, a giant massive congratulations goes to all of those beautiful individuals at the HS National Forensics League Tournament. Your accomplishments are incredible and will be remembered by your peers, your coaches, and your alma mater. Continue to find passion to do what you love, in college and beyond.

And now, I think I'm going to reward myself with extra sleep. Look at that for a Friday night champion lap.