arachnophobia

there was this one time that i melted from the heat.

oh wait, that was today.

yesterday i woke up with a spider bite on my cheek. which means there was a spider crawling on my face that night. in my bed. with me.

then last night i was sitting at my computer and put my foot down in the corner underneath my desk. i landed right in a spider trap with 8 dead spiders.

the chaos that ensued went something like this:

me screaming looking up at the ceiling so as to avoid witnessing what i had actually done "KERRI! GETITOFF! GETITOFF! GETITOFF!"

"I AM NOT TOUCHING THAT THING!"

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GETITOFF! GET A PAPER TOWEL"

i felt like i was going to throw up for the next half hour.

on friday i got some new freckles at the lake. that night i watched fireworks on the roof of the rec center.

saturday i went for a nice long bike ride all inclusive with a nice little steep uphill right at the end. i rewarded myself with neilsen's frozen custard that night. except actually kerri paid.

and today i watched sound of music.

a good weekend on all accounts.

what did you do?

peace+love

i HATE the heat....and other thoughts on life

summer is not my favorite season in utah. unless i'm sitting next to a body of water. when i grow up i'm moving northwest. oregon, washington, northern cali, or alaska. mark my words.

cycling on the legacy parkway trail just isn't the same as my routes in southern utah. but, there is one section of the trail called birnham wood. all they need to do is name a section dunsinane and we'll have a full-fledged shakespearean tragedy on our hands.

life has been going 100 mph and i don't think it will slow down until i'm retired, living in my winnebago travelling the u.s. with my handsome, charming hubby.

i made up new kesha lyrics to fit that one song..."wake up in the morning feelin' like p-diddy. i don't know how to sing but i make lots of money. i'm really really smart but i write stupid lyrics, they play me constantly on the radio so everyone can hear it....pedicure on my toes toes blah blah blah blah blah blah"

on the other hand, my life will be complete in just 15 days. (click me! click me!)

it's good to be home with my family. except i think kerri is getting sick of sharing a bed with me. (yes, i have my own bed. no, i don't sleep in it) and they left me this weekend. with absolutely no food in the house.

i went to bear lake and discovered my new favorite dessert (second only to mint choc. chip ice cream)--chocolate covered raspberries. HELLLLOOOO heaven in mouth.

i decided i want to go on a mission for the lds church. my papers are almost in but not quite cause guess what? the last thing i need is my wisdom teeth x-rays. i went in thrusday morning to get them and the dentist said her machine wasn't working. which means now i have to wait till monday. which makes me want to cry. or scream, seeing as i don't cry. either way i just want to goooooooooooo.

peace+love

:) :( ;) :p :D 8) :o :s :'(

WARNING: some may be deeply offended by this post. but just remember you choose to take offense.

with that said, in my opinion, text messaging is the lowest form of communication (besides yelling)...yes, i'm a hypocrite because yes, i do text. what i do not do, though, is use emoticons. i HATE emoticons. i don't want to hear your reasoning on why they can be useful. if you're worried about someone interpreting the wrong "emotion" you probably should not be texting them. emotion is much more easily interpreted through voice, or better yet, in person.

here is the dilema. sometimes, i use acronyms. i think they're better than emoticons. my sister would disagree. so i'm leaving it to you. i don't want your explanation. just a one word answer (i have an inkling i'm going to lose on this one):

emoticons or acronyms?

on a positive note, i love justin vernon and i want to play that piano part...if only he had graduated from my high school....

peace+love

the post where i make an analogy to twilight (ew, i just threw up in my mouth)

this is getting ridiculous. i really really want it to be summer. i'm so restless. but not only that, in case you've never seen me in real life, fyi, i'm white. like really white. when i'm out in the sun for 3 hours a day i get pretty tan. but it's february. in my aerobics class, amidst all the sorority girls, i am the whitest one...always. because i don't want to promote skin cancer. and i hate that i am about to make this horrible analogy to books i can't stand and movies i laugh at, but with my really dark almost black hair i look like a cullen trying to fit into normal society. or snow white.

i have terrible timing. there is this boy who i have been trying desperately to avoid for a good 2 months now. for the most part i have been successful. which is impressive considering the fact he lives in the same apartment complex as me. but every once in a while he thwarts my sinister plans and shows up next to me on my way to school. these are always moments full of awkwardness and forced conversation.

when i am a choir director i will organize my students like it was in high school choir with SATB in sections next to each other...not in front of/behind each other. everyday in choir i get BLASTED out by the basses (well, just one) sitting behind me. i cannot hear myself. i cannot hear the alto next to me. and when we work on diction i want to whip out an umbrella so i don't get sprayed on by this person. plus, he's way immature and says stupid things. which i think is weird because he is married and has a kid. i refuse to put my future alto's through this same misery i am experiencing now.

last thing...i bought them as a treat replacement cause i think they're tasty, but be forewarned, fiber one bars totally work.

have you ever had to avoid someone or do you just face them and tell them how you really feel?

peace+love

teacher talk gangsta

remember when this lady made me cry? well, these exact words are what came out of her mouth at my lesson this week. "man, i'm starting to hear some glorious sounds coming out of you, girl."
i love my life.

my poor 30gb ipod will not hold all 9,000 songs in my library. it is very sad when every time i get new music i have to delete something to get it on my ipod.
time to upgrade...when i can afford it.

i've hated mcdonald's for a very long time. i can't say forever cause i'm pretty sure i loved it when i was little. but that was also back when i drank sprite. anyway, dr. pepper is a necessity for the drive to and from home and cedar. it was my first time buying a drink from mcdonald's in years and i asked for dr. pepper. when i got to the pay window he said, "mr. pibb". wtf. but i decided to be open minded--only to discover it is NOT the same.
dr. pepper is better.

pray for haiti

peace+love

as cogsworth says,

"if it's not baroque, don't fix it!"

i liked our old internet for which we had a router in our apartment. it was very speedy.

windsor apartments decided to switch to a wireless network. it is slow. extremely slow. and requires the refresh button every time you open a new page.

but at least i have an apartment and a computer and a family and food and i'm healthy.

pray for haiti.

peace+love

flipper

this {fictional} resume was created for a writing class i took my freshman year...

Kelli Jean Russell

1238 N 23409 W

La Jolla, CA 92037

(858)555-3995

OBJECTIVE

Obtain a position as Whale trainer/performer at San Diego’s Sea World.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science, University of Southern California, May 2008 (GPA 3.9)

Major: Marine Biology. Minor: Animal Psychology

EXPERIENCE

Internship, La Jolla Diving Protective Specialists, since June 2007. Certified Scuba Divers and Rescuers. Perform dives off coast of La Jolla Beach to examine sea life and what was causing rise in whale deaths. Assisted in developing/experimented with new protective methods. Also assisted in developing program of communication with whales that facilitate the same techniques used by Sea World trainers.

Whale/Dolphin Caretaker, La Jolla Aquarium, June 2006 – August 2007. Started out feeding and cleaning penguins. Moved to whales and dolphins then promoted to caretaker. Drew awareness to necessity to protect whales and dolphins from poaching.

Lifeguard, La Jolla Beach, April 2002 – June 2006. Had to be fit enough to swim a mile in 20 minutes. Saved a surfer from a shark attack. Became familiar with sea life of the area.

OTHER EXPERIENCE

Completed 12 Olympic Length Triathlons since 2005

Volunteer at La Jolla Veterinarian Hospital: September 1993-August 2007

Volunteer at La Jolla Aquarium: September 1994-June 2006

That was until I saw this movie:

ya, it made my older brother cry
peace+love

a poll

i'm joining the bandwagon (a little late) and blogging about twilight...

in a sword fight, who would win?

edward cullen
or
paulie bleeker

unlike edward, paulie bleeker totally pulls off the pale-face thing. plus he looks so good in short-shorts. edward doesn't even look good with his shirt off...but wait, this isn't about who is more attractive. this is about combat. and let's face it, with his impossible speed and unbeatable strength, paulie bleeker would mindlessly slay the ugly vampire.
peace+love

double-odd day

10/31-Halloween:
"is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it."
NOT my favorite holiday
nope...not even close

11/01-daylight savings:
the one night a year when we all get to sleep an extra hour.
closer to my favorite holiday

what would you do if you had one extra hour completely to yourself everyday?

i'd make playlists....lots and lots of playlists
peace+love

nslpd blue

whatever vendetta that has been placed on me by the NSLPD, despite the many house visits while i lived at home, apparently they did not fulfill whatever goal it is they have...

driving home from a visit to the edward's residence i arrived at a four-way stop. it was late at night and there were no other cars coming, so i stopped for maybe less than a second and proceeded through the stop sign. those cursed flashing lights came on behind me and i pulled over. i didn't have my license with me seeing as i was only going up the street.
i explained why i was there (so mr. edward's could look at my injured foot)...
i explained i was a college student visiting home...
jayne (my passenger) explained i had a perfectly clean record....
still, he felt compelled to give me a ticket

i hope he's happy for giving a safe driving, poor, college, gimp a ninety dollar ticket
peace+love

free falling

i bought these beauties on saturday...i was thrilled to try them out, so i insisted we go out to the wash today and climb...

i ignored the feeling in my gut--no lie, it said to my brain, "if you go climbing today, you'll go to school on crutches tomorrow"...new shoes, near-perfect weather- there was no way i was letting my unused shoes sit in the box one more day...

on my second attempt at my second problem i had made it as far as the third or fourth move...my right foot was in a great hole, and my left was pressured against the wall with my trusty "stealth" rubber. i was searching for a solid hold for my hands so i could shimmy to the right then complete the climb. i thought i had a good hold, but when i went to move my feet, i fell...i didn't think the fall would be that far. in reality it was only about 4 or 5 feet...but, the crash pad was a few inches away from the rock. the front of my left foot landed on the pad while the back half rolled onto the ground... [these are definitely not my legs, but the ankle bruising/swelling part is pretty darn similar]

one ruthless dirt road, the longest 25 minute drive of my life, and 3 x-rays later, alas, i will be going to school tomorrow on crutches

i've learned my lesson
is there a time you didn't listen to your gut and paid a price?
or did listen and avoided disaster?

an attempt at improvement

there are some things in life that are really easy...like brushing your teeth, tying your shoes, making your bed, or daydreaming.

there are some things in life that are really hard...like math, understanding shakespeare, getting out of bed early in the morning, or paying attention.

some of the hard things we bring upon ourselves.

like diets

diets are hard

they're especially made difficult when you have roommates that like to bake, are good at it, and like to share their creations

peace+love

unrequited love

my mother gave me this counsel today:
"be patient with those who are not as astute about worldly knowledge as you"
(please note this is NOT referring to my visiting teaching companion, but is, in fact, referring to someone completely unrelated)
my question for her (and any other readers) is:
when it comes to building a relationship is it actually patience i am lacking?
because the fact is,
what the heck are we supposed to talk about when we're stuck indoors for more than an hour and alas the topic of hunting has put me to sleep?
peace+love

be careful what you wish for

lately, i've been putting forth a conscious effort to be less judgmental--
i received my visiting teaching assignment--here's what i've learned:
my companion is a girl from the "ghetto" in maryland...she hates utah mormons...she spent the first 18 years of her life being black, and acting white doesn't come naturally to her--that's why she hates living in utah...she hates utah mormons...she's got street cred because she was engaged to a black guy, then a hispanic guy...she hates utah mormons because we're sheltered and judgmental...her high school is one of the top 100 performing arts schools in the nation (she's a bio major)...there were 39 maryland high schools in the top 500, and only 12 utah schools...it's so much better there...and at the same time, in her high school 1 of 6 students is not expected to graduate...she hates utah mormons...she knows how to make very tasty mixed drinks ...she's been in utah for four years- oh, and did she tell you she hates utah mormons?

some things just don't add up, and
if there are two things i cannot stand, they are:
1. people talking themselves up to sound "bad"
2. people telling me i'm sheltered and judgmental because i'm a utah mormon

ya, the spirit was really strong during our lesson
peace+love

one ugly stain on pop culture

no, i'm not talking about the 90's
i might die...
...if i have to listen to taylor swift's "love story" one more time...
peace+love

so long, farewell

as i say farewell to my beloved sanctuary [again] i have realized three very important points:

• i really really love my bedroom: my bed, the view from my window, my (not so) window bench, my decorated walls, and all the junk that fills the would-be empty spaces
• i really really really hate packing
• i really really really really hate the fact that packing means, eventually, unpacking
  

peace+love