Kaitlin Bartlett | the only site affiliated with Kaitlin

Coolest night EVER.

2009-10-25T03:17:19Z

Last night was one of the coolest nights of my life. My friend Kate and i wound up pressed against the stage that Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne stood on!

Rewind.

We'd bought tickets through Brad Paisley's fan club and supposedly we wound up within the first twenty rows on the floor. But they didn't give us seat numbers when we bought them; all they said was to pick them up at will call the day of the show. This made me nervous. I was afraid something had gone wrong in my order. So i stressed for about a month.

The moment of truth came yesterday. We went to the will call place around six pm, and the woman handed us an envelope of tickets. i was putting my ID back in my wallet, and i asked Kate where our seats were. When she said we had fourth row, i flipped out. Then i had to check and make sure it was right. It was. From this point on, we basically screamed every time we looked at each other.

Once we got inside, we bought some merchandise (aka. a reeeeally goregous Dierks Bentley shirt) and then went to find our seats. When the usher led us to the sets of chairs right next to the catwalk, we FREAKED. i was on the end, and i could touch the catwalk! Then we proceeded to call/text everyone we could think of to tell them where we were.

At 7:30, a woman from the local radio station introduced Jimmy Wayne. It turned out it was his birthday! He came out, and he had SO MUCH energy. He was jumping around and running all over the stage! Not many people were standing except me and Kate, so we walked over to the catwalk, and after a minute, Jimmy came over and TOUCHED OUR HANDS and SANG TO US. yeah, it's true. It was cute, during a long intro to one of his songs, he had a bunch of signs that he held up to the camera. the first one said "Scream if" and the rest said things like "If you love country music" "if you love beer" "if you love Dierks Bentley" "if you love Brad Paisley" and the last one said "It's my birthday, spank me!" LOLLLLLL. Then this lady who sat in front of us must have gotten a kick out of our screaming, and she took a picture of us by the catwalk and she got Jimmy in the background!

Since it was Jimmy's birthday, everyone sang Happy Birthday, and they brought this huge box out on stage and some guy (one of Jimmy's friends, i think) burst out of it in a dress and a pink feather boa. Which was interesting :]

Then they started setting up for Dierks Bentley's set. During this time, Kate and i began making friends with the camera guy. I noticed he was looking at is, so we waved and he waved back. This is important for later ;]

then it was time for Dierks! He came out singing Sideways, and Kate and i bolted to our spot by the catwalk. Dierks had some screens on his stage, which looked really cool. He sang Every Mile A Memory (one of my favorites), and then How Am I Doing? which he prefaced by thanking the girls in his past for making good song subjects. While he was center stage, he LOOKED AT and POINTED AT me and Kate and SMILED. Because we were some of the only people standing in the front so we were easy to see!!! And when he walked by us on the catwalk, HE TOUCHED MY HAND! my left one (jimmy touched my right; i kept track because i'm a loser like that. I almost passed out. DIERKS BENTLEY. TOUCHED MY HAND. Dream come true. He sang Lot of Leaving Left To Do, and Come a Little Closer (he introduced it by saying "If you want to ask her to dance...this'd be the song to do it." ;] it was cute. Then he sang Settle For A Slowdown, which is my FAVORITE song of his. He sat on a stool and played such a sweet song called My Last Name. A lot of people were still standing, and he was like, "You can sit down; get your use out of those seats. I'll get you back up!" but Kate and I stayed by the catwalk anyway.

Then he sang Feel That Fire, after which he flopped down at the end of one of the other catwalks and informed us: "I'm tired, can we put on a movie? You guys like Will Ferrell? or The Hangover? Sounds good!" And they played the beginning of his video for What Was I Thinking? with him and the girl sitting in the truck. Dierks goes, "I don't recognize that guy...but that girl looks familiar. Oh, yeah, her name's Becky. She's from south Alabama...WAIT, THIS IS A HORROR MOVIE!" then he gets up and charges back up the catwalk and sings What Was I Thinking, which is my other favorite Dierks song (i want it as my ringtone). Then we all thought he was done, but he put on a baseball cap and sang Free and Easy as his encore. He did practically a mini-concert, it was at least forty five minutes long.

While we were waiting for Brad, a security guy came up to us and asked if we'd like to help him fill up the stage area. We were like, um SURE. and we followed him RIGHT UP TO THE FRONT OF THE STAGE...IN FRONT OF THE FIRST ROW. We were TOUCHING THE STAGE. And that's when we made friends. Kate made friends with a guy putting duct tape on the stage and he gave her a guitar pick. And the camera guy said to us, "I'm going to be doing crowd shots; do you think you can give me energy?" and we were like "I think we can work something out!" and he joked and said "People tell me that a lot..." "No, i think we've got it covered!" so that was cool.

Then the lights went out, and Brad just WALKS OUT to the edge of the catwalk and sings Start a Band acoustic alone. Then the curtain covering the stage drops, and we see his HUGE SET with tons of screens, and he sings American Saturday Night. When he walked by us, he TOUCHED OUR HANDS TOO (my right, like Jimmy) and said, "Hey guys!" OMGGGGG. Brad Paisley SPOKE TO US. He also informed us that we had to beat Michigan (our football team was playing them the day after) for him. :] He sang a TON of his songs, like Mud on the Tires, Water, Waiting on a Woman, She's Everything. Then he sang I'm Still A Guy, and he introduced the bridge ("These days there's dudes getting facials..." part) by saying, "There are no sissies in State College!" While he sang Celebrity, he had a Guitar Hero style screen, and Taylor Swift was on it, playing the guitar. We were all like OMG TAYLOR!!!!!! he sang I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishing Song), which is always hilarious. He sang Letter to Me, during which he showed his senior pictures. it was so funny, he was like "Let's review: 15 hay bails, two bolo ties...luckily you can't see the parachute pants cut off at the botton of the picture!" It was so cute, he was like "I was 17, never been kissed, scared out of my mind. People would tell me, 'Son, these are the best years of your life,' and i thought, 'Just shoot me now.' I am living proof high school is not necessarily the best years of your life. College, on the ohter hand..." Then he did an acoustic version of When I Get Where I'm Going, and on the screen showed pictures of people who've died (Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Steve Irwin, Patrick Swayze) and it was so sad. but touching.

He sang Then and The World (on the screen, they showed a Brad Paisley bobblehead in front of famous monuments around the world, including the PSU Nittany Lion!!!!) He played Catch All the Fish, and after that, he did an instrumental portion, during which he played this animation that he'd made himself. It had him as a superhero saving all these other coutry stars. Carrie Underwood was tied to the railroad tracks, Kenny was in danger, monsters were chasing Reba, Sugarland was stuck in a room with a bomb...HILARIOUS. Then he sang Online, then did his encore of Welcome to the Future. THEN he started singing Alcohol, and DIERKS AND JIMMY CAME BACK OUT! The encore was nuts; the guys were running all over the stage, touching people's hands (DIERKS TOUCHED ME AGAIN!!!!!!!!) and Jimmy tried to crowd surf. No joke. He motioned for all of us in the front to come over to one area, and he was like "You've gotta hold me up!" and then he fell back onto a bunch of people. There wasn't really anywhere for him to go, though, so they pushed him back onto the stage. He's crazy haha! Brad's guitarist was standing above us, and he asked if we were having fun. We were like, "YES! THIS IS SO COOL!" and he's like, "I know, me too!" Then at the end of the song, they all disappeared backstage, and the ligts came back on...and the magic was over. BUT then one of the tech guys came out with a bunch of guitar picks for me and Kate, and kate gave a bunch to other people too!

They started taking down the stage right away, and that's when Kate and i realized that we couldn't hear, speak or walk. Considering we'd been jumping up and down, screaming right next to a speaker that was booming music so loud, you could feel the vibrations on your legs even when you were six inches away. So we walked up the steps and wanted to find something to drink. and we knew Jimmy said something about signing autographs later, but we weren't sure if we'd missed him or not.

We didn't miss him.

We found the line and got in it, chatting with the people in front of us and behind us. The woman in front of us informed us that she was leaving her husband for Jimmy :] I wanted to buy a picture but was three dollars short. So Kate gave me two dollars and attemped to make another dollar out of change. The lady who's leaving her husband for Jimmy saw us and said, "Here, just give me the change, and i'll give you a dollar. Because no one should be denied Jimmy Wayne!!!!!" So I bought the picture after about ten minutes of trying to get the picture/cd seller's attention, and the line moved slow-ish, and we weren't sure why. Until we got up close and realized Jimmy was chatting with everyone while he signed their stuff. Because he's just awesome and incredible!

So when it was my turn, i handed the camera to the guy taking pictures (which was so nice of him to take pics of everyone), and i literally RAN up to Jimmy and squealed (because i squeal when i get excited) "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" and like i put out my arms and gave him this big hug, informing him "I'm SUCH a hugger!" I heard Kate behind me going "Awwwhhh Kaitlin!!!" And then...he LIFTED ME OFF MY FEET and gave me the biggest squeeze ever!!!! i almost DIED! He is, i believe, the BEST hugger i have ever come into contact with. then we started talking about hugging (because who doesn't love talking about hugs?) while he was signing my picture, and I was like, "People don't hug here...i don't know, maybe i'm just not good enough friends with them to hug them." And he was like "Well, i think you should just start hugging people...i mean, you're beautiful; i don't know why anyone wouldn't want to hug you!"

OH.
MY.
GOD.

JIMMY WAYNE CALLED ME BEAUTIFUL AND GAVE ME THE BEST HUG EVER.
My life is perfect.
So...yeah...that was my night. :] <3
Thank you to Brad, Dierks, and the amazing Jimmy for an amazing night!!!!!!!

Jimmy Wayne about to touch us!

Dierks Bentley aka GOD.

Brad Paisley. RIGHT ABOVE US.

Me and Jimmy after our epic hug!!!

you know what really stinks?

2009-10-17T19:42:20Z

Well, do you? Know what really stinks, i mean. I guess there are a lot of things that really stink. Old gym sneakers, having to walk to class in the snow in October (on my top ten list of things i don't like to do) and eating vegetables all stink. But i believe i have found the number one thing that really stinks. It stinks when your computer gets a virus on it, the Penn State computer police shut off your internet access and insist you hand over your computer so they can erase everything on it.

That stinks.

Of course, i'm blatantly refusing to let them anywhere near my computer. I already virus-checked it, and i'm pretty sure i got the virus off. But i'm still going to take out my harddrive, connect it to my Bentley computer and virus check it again. Meanwhile, i convinced ResCom (our computer Nazis whose help desk is NEVER open) to turn my internet back on so i could use my Bentley computer. Which they are in the process of doing now. Only they're closed today. And i'm developing a burning dislike for them and their stupidity. Example A: it took them five minutes to figure out how to change my password, even though i was right there telling them how to do it. They just kept saying, "No, that's not going to work." And i repeated my directions a few minutes later. "No, i don't think it works like that." Finally, they listened to me and it worked. "Oh, you were right, sorry."

I want to take their jobs. They don't deserve to work on other people's computers; they're too dumb. It makes me mad, because i know i can fix my computer myself, but i HAVE to go through them to get my internet turned back on.

So that's my number one frustration right now. I'm in a computer lab typing this after walking through the SNOW THAT'S ON THE GROUND to get here. That's right, it's october, and we have snow. It's just not right.

I guess i'm just chilling out for the rest of the day. Not much to do. I made it into the group that gives campus tours, and our first orientation meeting is tomorrow. Just found out it got moved inside because of the snow, thank GOODNESS. I might just go back to my room and read a book or something; i'm mentally exhausted from dealing with ResCom. And i'm still not done with them!

-kaitlin

my dorm is prejudiced against tall people.

2009-09-03T16:07:26Z

I think my dorm hates tall people. Not the people in my dorm, but the building itself. The bathroom stalls come up to about my chin, so i can completely see over the top of the door. The shower heads are so low that i can barely wash the top of my head. And i barely fit into my bed without curling my toes over the edge. But that always happens when i'm in a twin bed.

But this is clearly ridiculous. Tall people must UNITE and protest this injustice. We have rights, too! Just because we block your view at concerts does not mean we don't deserve equal treatment.

Speaking of tall people and concerts, Taylor Swift is my twin. Seriously. I went to her show at the Bryce Jordan center last Saturday, and it was NUTS. After she sang Tim McGraw and went through the audience hugging people, the crowd screamed for FIVE MINUTES. No joke. We made her cry. Happy cry, of course. It was amazing.

College is college. Lots of work, bizarre weather (it's FREEZING here), and football starts this weekend! So excited, we're all dressing up! I adore my theatre class; my prof is awesome. He says things like, "If you need to barf...you have a backpack" and "I used to work at a gas station...no one wore sequins to work" (in reference to the bizarre world of musicals). He's amaizng. Love it.

I can't think of anything interesting to say, so i think i'm going to go play my guitar.
love you!
kaitlin <3

long time, no update.

2009-08-22T03:36:15Z

Well, it's been a looong time since i posted last. I finished my first semester at Penn State (As in both classes, which i was reeeally proud of) and have been home for the past week, spending time with the family. Tomorrow i head back to school, where i'll attempt to take six classes at once (one of which is an online course) without killing myself or going insane. The professors are beginning to put up their syllabus info online, and i've been checking them out, and they're making me a little nervous. I wound up dropping my Lit class today because of the amount of reading and group work that i didn't want to put up with. I exchanged it for a trig class, which i'm happy about because i like math. The only downside is that now i have four classes monday, wednesday and friday, and the last one ends at 2:15, whereas my old schedule ended at noon. it'll make it a little harder when i want to go home for a weekend, but we dealt w/it over the summer, so it should be okay. I'd rather have a less desirable schedule arrangement than be taking a class i hate.

This week has been so fun! Hung out with Kristen and Michelle, went to New Jersey for baby Nora's first birthday party, ate a TON at Shady Maple, multiple shopping trips, saw Post-Grad (ALEXIS!), got my hair trimmed and went into work for the day. OH and mommy and i watched an old Garth Brooks concert from 1997 and i spent the entire time whining about how badly i want him to come out of retirement so that i can be his opening act/merchandise seller/guitar tech/coffe and donut fetcher. That man is a music GOD. i swear.

Well, i have to wake up at six tomorrow morning to leave for school, so i should keep this short. Here's my new address; send me letters/postcards/massive amounts of cash.

Kaitlin Bartlett
508 Porter Hall
University Park, PA 16802

Love you!
Kaitlin xo

PSU: week one.

2009-07-06T15:31:26Z

Wow, it's been so long since i've updated, but it's been CRAZY! First of all, two weeks after graduating high school, i'm officially a college student! it's nuts, but i feel like i've been here a year and not a week! Like i feel like i'll be a sophomore in the fall!

So i moved in last Sunday (June 28th) and it went really well. I love my dorm (i'm in the Honors College building; that's where they stuck everyone doing the LEAP program i'm doing this summer); it's really big (for a college dorm), the bathrooms are decent (again, for college dorms), and my roommate is so sweet and low-maintenance. I've met a bunch of people, one girl i've started going to the gym with, others i met during a community service project i did (working outside at a recycling yard...in the rain...in shorts...and flip flops. But the other girls i hung out with were wearing shorts, too, so we bonded). I've started chatting with some of the people from my classes about the homework and stuff, and i'm getting to learn all their names, too. A big group of girls from my building went to see the 4th of July fireworks, and then last night we went to the basement lounge and had a movie night! We watched Mamma Mia and ate pizza! So fun, i think we're going to make it a regular thing!

As far as classes go, i'm on day 3. They're good, a little intimidating (each class comes with a syllabus to tell us what we're doing this semester, and my speech one is pretty detailed, which i sort of like, so i can work ahead if i want to). For my speech class, we're going to have to do six speeches, three are big ones and they're linked together (1: present a social problem, 2: make a policy to change it, 3: motivate others to help change it). The others are small (your biggest pet peeve, one relating a youtube video to the course). And there's an impromptu one (the only thing about this course that's freaking me out) where the instructor will randomly pick a few people a day to do a spontaneous speech about a topic she picks. And since i'm not great speaking without prep, it's making me nervous. I did my first speech on my pet peeve (when my books are loaned out and returned to me in worse condition...yeah i'm bizarre like that). Otherwise, that class is fine.
English is pretty cool; i love writing, and we're doing 5-6 papers. I'm so glad i took AP English this past year; i feel so prepared for these essays, thanks to Mr. Wall! Both my instructors are really young (early twenties, grad students maybe?) so that's less intimidating. I answer lots of questions in class, because i'm sick of just sitting around being shy. No one from college knows how i acted in high school, which i think is sort of awesome! Anyway, i'm really chatty in English, and it makes it so much more fun!

As far as other stuff i've done, the night i got here, there was a big social (complete with Creamery ice cream, which apparently can't be sold anywhere off campus because the fat content doesn't pass inspection...limiting myself on ice cream now) in the Hub (the center for non-alcoholic nightlife at PSU). They had a guy making INSANE balloon animals (he made me Elmo!), a comedian who specialized in college campus performances (and was HILARIOUS; we sat in the front row and he picked on my Elmo), circus performers who juggled all sorts of things, and an ice cream social. Graham Spanier, the president of PSU, came for a while and scooped ice cream! He's so cool! Apparently if you write him an email, he'll respond within three days. I'll have to try that. Then last monday evening, i went to a movie with Bridget, my amazing RA, and some of the other RAs. It was really cool, and Bridget told me about what it takes to be an RA, so that's something to consider for next year. Guarenteed housing! :)

As for today, i have my English class at 12:45. I think i'll just eat some snacks here instead of going to lunch (since i ate at 9 and it's only 11:30 now); i don't go to lunch too often. After class i'll probably hit the gym for about 45 minutes, then do some homework and go to dinner. At 8:30, Bridget's holding a cookie baking party in the kitchenette on our floor, so that'll be fun.

Guess that's all my news. Arts Fest is coming this week, which is apparently a big deal. No one seems to know exactly what goes on, except there's a TON of people. So it should be interesting. My mommy's coming up on Satuday for her birthday, so i'm staying in the hotel with her and we're going to Johnny Depp's new movie! YAY!!!

If anyone wants to send me letters or anything, here's my new address. i love getting mail!!
Kaitlin Bartlett
116 Atherton Hall
University Park, PA 16802

Love you guys!
-Kaitlin

Commencement [kuh-mens-muhnt] (n.) - A beginning; a start.

2009-06-13T05:02:34Z

I graduated tonight. And now i can't sleep.

Honestly, liquid adreneline must be coursing through my veins, because my brain is on fire. It's 12:11, and i'm uploading my graduation pictures to facebook and tweeting about the evening. Oh, and i'm watching Whale Wars, because there's nothing else on at 12:11 in the morning. The sad part is: I've seen this episode before.

But, anyway, back to what i was saying. I can't sleep. Which is apparently okay now, since i graduated high school and don't have to work tomorrow...i can stay up as late as i want. I'm in my pajamas with my teeth brushed and retainers in (don't laugh, i still wear them every night) but i can't sleep. I guess because i have so much to do. Not really, but i feel obligated to upload pictures and tell everybody who couldn't make it to graduation all about it!!! Because it was perfect.

All day, i'd been flipping out because they predicted thunderstorms. And, if that happened, the ceremony would have been in the auditorium, and each student gets only three guests. The rest would have to watch it on a screen in the gym, which is LAME. So all my family who came went out to Shady Maple (which is the most fabulous all you can eat schmorgasbord ever), and i was freaking the whole time about rain, even though it was sunny. Around three, my mom told me that the OJR website said commencement would be held outside. YAY!

So i got ready, and we took a billion pictures (see my facebook, haha) and my parents and grandma drove me to graduation (so they could save seats for the rest of the crew coming). I had to go to an assigned room to check in and line up. But we were there an hour and a half early (per instruction), so we all just hung out in the hallway and visited each other's classrooms. A bunch of the honored teachers (each graduate gets to invite their most influential teacher to the ceremony) came to visit, so i got to talk to a bunch of my old teachers, which was nice. My favorite spanish teacher ever (who was out on maternity leave for half of this year) came back, and all of us AP Spanish kids told her how much we missed her. and we got pictures with her and stuff.

Then one of the teachers had us line up, but it would up being too early, so we ruined the line by going and talking to other people. I stood in line right near the valedictorians and saludatorians (some of my really close friends) so me and Kristen (my AMAZING AMAZING best friend since FIFTH GRADE) hung around with them, contemplating the increasingly darkening clouds in the sky. Finally, it was time to go, and we all cheered, and it did like a wave of sound as it carried down the line in the hallway. The girls were in all the classrooms in a hallway upstairs, and the boys were in the hall directly below us, so we could alternate (a pair of girls, a pair of guys, and so on) so the two colors of our gowns (girls white, guys red) would alternate and look cool.

We all walked down to the field, and i got really excited. I kept looking at back at Kristen, who was only a few pairs away from me. Then they introduced the class of 2009, and we all walked across the stadium to our chairs. Once the ceremony started, it was so nice. All the speeches were interesting and funny and so true. A lot of the people talked about how talented our class is, which is flattering. I consider myself blessed to be a member of it.

I actually have a full memory of when i actually got my diploma cover. I remember hearing my name, walking across the platform and shaking hands with the schoolboard president/Myra/Dr Marchini, and they all smiled and me, and i remember walking across the field and back to my seat. I didn't go on autopilot (which is what i normally do when i'm in front of a ton of people) which i was proud of myself for. After they got through everyone, we all flipped our tassels to the left at once, then all us choir kids sang the alma mater. Then we sort of awkwardly tossed our caps/waved our caps/decided not to because we had to turn them in to get our diplomas afterwards. i sort of waved mine around but it never actually left my hand. Then we filed out and went to the parking lot where there we hugs all around. It wasn't too sad, because i'm going to see most of them again at grad parties and when we all come back to visit for the choir concerts/musical. I also talked to Mr. Venza, the teacher i invited. He was my first teacher in the district, and i met Kristen in his class. Hence us becoming best friends!

We went home after talking to everybody i wanted to talk to, and we ate cupcakes from the bakery. They were YUMMY, and very Katie Holmes. Then everyone sort of went to bed, except for me. because i just graduated. and i'm excited about it.

So that's basically my June 12th, 2009 for you! Now i have to go out into the world and make something of my future. Wish me luck!

Love from a high school graduate,
Kaitlin

happy day!

2009-06-05T20:08:41Z

I'm DONE WITH FINALS!!!!

I only had two (AP English and physics), and luckily they both fell on the same day. English was easy. Two essays, we had to pick a book/play we read in class that year and explain why it has literary importance. And for the other one, we had to pick a character and explain how that character taught us how to live a meaningful life. I used Equus for both essays (it was my favorite thing we read this year), and yes, that's the play with naked Harry Potter *eyeroll*. It's such an interesting play, so bizarre, but absolutely intriguing. When we acted it out in class, i was Dora Strang (the mom) and i had this huge monalogue where i had to cry and scream and it was SO FUN!!!! Anyway, i think i did well on that final.

My physics final wasn't as great. It was only seven questions, but they were really long math problems (not multiple choice) where you show all your work. I did about half of them really well i think, but the others i sort of guessed on. I blatantly made one up. It was about circuits, and we'd done a lab like it a couple weeks back. We had to make a model of a house and do all the electrical wiring. I had no clue what to do; my lab partner did it all and i stripped wires with the box cutter. So i completely bombed that question. But otherwise i think i did okay.

So i was out of school by 10, and i told Stephanie (my awesome boss!!!) that i'd be into work by 11:30. So to kill time, my mom and i went to Exton mall! I went to Aerie and shopped there for the first time EVER. OMG it is HEAVEN. so many cozy clothes! there was no one else in the store except the two girls working, so they were really nice and we chatted a little. I wound up buying a pair of sweatpants, shorts, a night shirt and five pairs of the most adorable underwear i have ever seen for $25. And i signed up for their A-List thing, where you get free gifts every month! YAYYYY AERIEEE!!!

Now i'm at work. I had this yummy cajun chicken and cheese sandwich for lunch. It was AMAZING. I'm babysitting the front desk for another few minutes and just relaxing. I've been wading my way through all the work i have to do, and i'm slowly beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It'll keep me busy for another day or two! I'll be in all day on Monday, and then Tuesday 8-3:30 because the choir banquet for the seniors starts at 5. We get senior gifts and yummy food! So much fun!

Wow i rambled a lot! It's been a really good day; everyone says i look super cheerful! Because it's a GREAT DAY!!
-K

I finally changed my homepage.

2009-06-02T20:32:42Z

Every day when i open my internet browser, Facebook pops up. Then i check my notifications and resume the stalking of my friends that Facebook facilitates so well. Up until yesterday, that is. During my last official AP English class, Mr. Wall (while handing out an article) asked us, "How many of you have the New York Times as your homepage?"

Needless to say, nobody raised their hand. He then continued, "You should. Even if ninety percent of the time you don't look at it, maybe you'll learn something on the one day you do."

And, considering Mr. Wall is a combination of the Godfather, Batman and a wizard, i'm taking his advice. I'll let you know what i learn. ;]

Oh, Idol...sigh

2009-05-21T19:47:16Z

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-david/adam-lambert-loses-homoph_b_206154.html

If this is true, i'm moving to Canada. I want to believe that Kris won American Idol because of his talent. I started liking him about a month ago, even when everyone else hated him because he "took allison's place, then he took Danny's." I'm not a sore loser who whines and makes excuses for her favorite who didn't win. I'm not mad at Kris for winning. He's good. His arrangements rock. He did everything the way i would do it if i was on Idol.

But if people voted for him because Adam's gay (and Jewish), that's just awful. Really folks, just because he wears eyeliner and hangs out with theatre people and isn't a small town country Christian...

It's really upsetting, considering all my friends do musical theatre, and we seem to be one of the few accepting types of people, at least in Republican Pennsylvania. Just because you don't agree with someone's lifestyle doesn't mean you should be scared of them or hate them unconditionally.

I really hope this isn't why Adam lost, because then i'd be embarrassed for my fellow Idol voters.

P.S. Kara Dioguardi needs to be fired. How immature is she? She allowed herself to feel threatened by a ditzy contestant, fought with her, then lowered herself to her level! Very unprofessional. Apparently i'm the only one who thinks so. Not to mention the Idol single is the worst one so far, and i'm pretty sure that was the only reason FOX added her to the panel in the first place, to try and write a decent song. I like the fan submissions better.

i'm trying to keep my feet on the ground...

2009-05-19T20:04:40Z

School has been winding down for a few weeks now, but this week, i've realized just how little i'm doing in any of my classes. I'm still learning stuff in calc, but then i go to spanish where me and Jenny have been going to the library every day to work on a project. which is basically done. Then i go to study hall/gym, then choir and lunch. We've been watching The Godfather in AP English, so that's easy. Then i go to another study hall and physics, where we've basically been doing labs for a week. and that's my day!!! love being a senior!!! :]

The last day i will ever have to be at OJR at 7 and stay until 2 is JUNE 4th!!!!!!!!!!!! then it's finals/half days friday & monday, not tuesday because i'm exempt from the spanish final because i have an A average for the year. HOping my grades will settle out as A's for some of my other ones, but i have 90s for final grades in physics/english which is SO ANNOYING. Who decided 92 was the cutoff for A's? I hope they suffer great physical pain equal to mine. They should be subject to the physics final. That seems appropriate. I'd planned on not taking the calc final, but my grade dipped after i missed a week of school in april for disney/NYC/PSU. my overall grade is back to a 92, which gives me no cushion for error. i have to keep it like that until the 28th. No pressure, Kaitlin. *bites nails*

The choir concert is Thursday. My last one ever :[ It's kind of sad, but i'm ready to graduate now. I'll be up at PSU again next Friday for orientation.

American Idol's finale starts tonight! I'm really happy with Adam&Kris being there. Adam has been my favorite since his first audition; i want him to win so bad. His voice is so incredible...it's just not normal. no one should be that good all the time, i love it!!! And i've been liking Kris more and more ever since disco week when he rearranged "She Works Hard For The Money". I guess i liked it so much because it reminded me of something i would do if i was on Idol. And then "Heartbreaker" last week was insane. But Kara makes me want to take a fork to my face, she can say SUCH STUPID THINGS! She picked the song for Kris, gave him ZERO instructions (and Simon said judges are allowed to help) and then said, "Why didn't you do it acoustic?" Then he comes out and does his second song acoustic. Then after that, she goes "Why didn't you do the first one acoustic?" BECAUSE HE DID THE SECOND ONE ACOUSTIC. WOW. Idol does NOT need four judges, it's why they've been overrunning their time slot. All Kara does is reiterate everything the other judges say. They just wanted her to write the coronation song so they wouldn't have to take fan submissions. Can we vote her off next season instead of Simon? Please?

*end soap box*

Okay, i'm going to catch up on last night's Gossip Girl finale! I've heard amazing things about the last five minutes!!!!

love <3

my smart eighth grade self

2009-05-08T19:46:04Z

So in eighth grade, we all wrote letters to our future selves that we'd get back at the end of senior year. I got mine back today. And i'm totally not going to tell you all the lame stuff that was in it, except for the last line:

"Good luck at Penn State!"

Even then, i knew. And reading it kind of gave me goosebumps.

i find it hard to tell you, i find it hard to take...it's a very, very mad world

2009-04-08T12:53:15Z

This is my last entry before i go to Florida and am computer-less for a week. But i'll be updating from Twitter if you want to follow my Disney-induced freakouts. Or you can text me, whichever you please. :]
http://twitter.com/kaitlinbartlett

Anyway, i went to Wal-Mart after work yesterday to get a second memory card (see my refusal to delete pictures in previous post). I found the one i wanted right away, but the metal rod that it was hanging on had one of those plastic things over the ends so you can't get the cards off; a worker with a key needs to do it. Only i didn't know that, and i thought the plastic thing had a button or something. So i spent a good five minutes staring at, fighting, and shaking the rod with the 2G SD memory cards while the girl working in the photo section looks on in amusement. She doesn't offer any assistance until i ask, "Are these locked on?" (again, stupidity was running rampid at that point), and she just mumbles, "Yeah, i have to get them." Then she waits a good thirty seconds before walking ten steps to help me, all the while making fun of me in her mind, i'm sure.

But i now have a second memory card and the power to take a billion pictures in Florida, which i totally will. And a fun story to tell on here. So i guess it was worth it.

Tomorrow i'll be waking up at three. That's AM, folks. As in the time when there's nothing on TV and people start getting loopy at all night cast parties. But a car's coming to pick us up at 4:15, and apparently they're never late. Most likely, they'll be early. So that means by four, we have to be ready to go. I think going to bed early is pointless in this situation. I'm already going to be exhausted and grumpy; an extra hour of sleep really isn't going to do much here. Plus, that would involve me skipping Lost, in which case i'd have to wake up an hour earlier to watch it in the morning. So, really, there's no way to win.

Our flight leaves at seven, we'll hopefully be in Florida by ten. Which means we'll get the whole day in the park! And Friday we're hitting Sea World so i can accidentally fall into Shamu's tank and have a Free Willy moment. It's going to be awesome! ;]

Speaking of awesome, Adam totally is going to win American Idol. He sang "Mad World" last night, and oh my GOD it was just mesmerizing! The vocals were haunting and perfect, and SIMON GAVE HIM A STANDING OVATION! Does that happen? Ever?

I just Googled it. Adam got the first. I mean, unless you count when someone wins or gets kicked off and all the judges stand up. But i don't. So he's going to win. He's in such a different league than the rest of them; i LOVE it. And i totally picked him from his audition date as the winner. :]

That's all for now. Talk to you all after Disney!

why i buy books

2009-04-07T13:29:11Z

I was just thinking about how often i'm in a bookstore, and i realized that it's a tad bizarre. So, to justify it to myself, i'm making a logical list of why i buy as many books as i do.

1. Other people's lives are far more exciting than my own. I mean, yeah, i'm going to Disney, and i do musicals, but i've never dated a vampire or fought an evil wizard. So i like to read about people who have.

2. The covers are so pretty. It's like predators that look really pretty to get their prey to stick around, and then SNAP! the poor prey is dinner. Except books don't eat me...they eat my wallet.

3. Bookstores are the perfect place to hang out. The lighting is nice and bright, and they always smell so good. Plus, at some stores you can get coffee or cool bookmarks that you clip on the side of a page to mark the exact line where you left off (i own two).

4. I love carrying around books. There's something so cozy about having a huge book in the crook of your arm. Like you can almost snuggle with it.

5. No two are exactly alike. Okay, so this is arguable, but unless there's some world class plagiarism going on, there are going to be some differences.

6. I love quirky characters. My favorites are the ones who have crazy jobs (like working as a drive-thru specialist) or live in strange towns where they practically worship a type of food.

7. I want to be a writer. So i feel like reading is almost like studying. If all these people can get published, i should (no pun intended) take a leaf out of their book.

P.S. You know what i hate? People who joke, and you think they're joking, but you aren't positive, so you don't know whether to believe them or not. So when you're at work and you call someone to tell them their guest is here to meet them, and they say they don't know that person but you hear giggling in the background...yeah, at nine in the morning, it causes confusion (see previous entry).

insomnia

2009-04-07T13:10:48Z

Okay, so i don't really think i'm an insomniac, but it sounded like a cool title. I'm more of a night owl than a morning...bird...i guess that's the best analogy i can come up with. Give me a break, it's the MORNING! And i DO think i'm much much more productive at night. I always think of all sorts of stuff to do before i go to bed.

Like last night. From eight to eleven, i packed most of my clothes for Florida, read a few chapters in "Somebody, Maybe", got ready for bed, virus-checked my computer, ate two cookies and a candy cane (yes, leftover from Christmas), downloaded new songs, synced my iPod, copied old pictures from my camera onto my computer, deleted pictures off my camera, took a test movie with my camera, learned that Windows Movie Maker doesn't take .mov files, downloaded a program to convert the files to the acceptable format (i finally found one after six tries), put my hair in one of those fake bobs that all the celebrities are rocking now, and watched some of Taylor Swift's video blogs. All that before i went to bed. No wonder i'm so tired when i wake up in the morning!

So i tried to clean off my camera's memory card last night but realized that would involve deleting pictures from the Carrie Underwood 2nd row concert (of which i have about a hundred and fifty) and i refused. I can't part with them! WHAT IF my computer crashes, AND my back up network suddenly becomes overtaken with a virus AND all the CDs in the world become rendered unusable by an alien invasion? I would have no memories of the concert whatsoever! And i would just have to die (or surrender myself to the aliens). So i'm buying another memory card after work to bring to Florida in case i run out of room on the other one.

Dear Self:
-Get Carrie/Lady A concert pics printed (just the good ones; mom'd throw a fit if she picks up the prints and there are 150 of them)
-Buy another memory card (preferably 2G)
-Read books at a rate almost proportional to the rate at which they are purchased
-Finish packing for Florida (and make lists of the last-minute items, like makeup and shampoo)

More Books to Buy (this really must stop; it's getting a little ridiculous):
Evermore - Alyson Noël

Books

2009-04-06T13:23:02Z

Books I Need To Buy:
A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray
Rebel Angels - Libba Bray
The Sweet Far Thing - Libba Bray
The Luxe - Anna Godbersen
Rumors - Anna Godbersen
Envy - Anna Godbersen
Stealing Heaven - Elizabeth Scott
Bloom - Elizabeth Scott
Perfect You - Elizabeth Scott
Being Nikki - Meg Cabot (release date: May 5, 2009)
Along For The Ride - Sarah Dessen (release date: June 16, 2009)

Wow, it's a good thing i'm working this week...and that most of these are in paperback. I bought a newer release called "Something, Maybe" this past weekend. It's about a girl who works in a small town taking drive-thru orders, her "father" is one of those Hugh Hefner types and her mother used to be one of his girlfriends. I'm only about ten chapters in, but it's adorable so far!

So, if you've read any of these books and loved/hated them, let me know! Or if you have any other books you love and think i should read, tell me what they are and i'll totally try them! i have about seven books that i'm reading right now...love it!

because country music is the love of my life

2009-04-06T12:52:02Z

So the ACMs last night were perfect. Well, except for the whole Jamey Johnson winning Song of the Year thing. But other than that, things worked out perfectly.

When Julianne Hough won for Best New Artist, then hugged Chuck (they need to get married. Stat) and then ripped her dress, i almost died of cuteness! Precious!!!!! I loved Miranda's new single, Dead Flowers, and am searching like Magellan to find it. So if you run across it, let me know!

Which brings me to Taylor. Taylor, Taylor...only she would appear via magic trick. It was INSANELY AWESOME! And i've been waiting to see her play the piano forever, and her vocals sounded gorgeous during "You're Not Sorry", especially during the ending outro. And then she got a Crystal Milestone Award for being incredible and selling the most albums this year!!!! AND THEN she won Album of the Year for Fearless!!! She was so cute, her mouth just dropped and she hugged Kellie Pickler for like an hour! Then she said, "Pretty much anyone who knows me knows that if you talk to me for more than five minutes, i'm probably going to write a song about you!" :] adorable <3

Oh, yeah, then there's Carrie. Who not only wore the most INSANE and GORGEOUS dress i've ever seen...and not only won Female Vocalist...but is now ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!! My mouth just DROPPED when she won. Oh my god i'm SO happy for her. She deserves it so so so much! She's only the seventh woman to win the award, which says a ton about her talent and how people respond to her. She looked so stunned and happy and dfjlksajlkdsj;a omggggg she deserves it SO MUCH. So proud of her <33 \
*and i really want to know how she got on and off the stage in her burgundy dress. Like it's really bugging me. Was the big train a detachable piece, or did she need ten people to help her get off the stage? Oh, the mysteries of life!

Well, i'm at Bentley today, the first of three days i work before Mom and i hit Florida. My dad's not in today because he's sick, so if you're bored around noon, come on over and eat lunch with me! :]

The Answer To The World’s Problems: Blue Jeans

2009-04-04T21:18:38Z

Last night, I found myself in the clothing department of Wal-Mart. Though I hadn’t intended to purchase anything, I ran across a pair of blue jeans that screamed, “Try me on, Kaitlin! I know how much you love extra-baggy jeans!” So, in a spur-of-the-moment decision, I yanked them off the rack and headed for a dressing room.
Twenty minutes later, the jeans were in a plastic bag in the trunk of the car.
Blue jeans are my favorite article of clothing. I believe everyone should own a pair of perfect jeans. The word ‘perfect’ has different meanings to each person, prompting my motivation not to use a more specific term. For the man repairing cars in a garage, the perfect jeans may be beat up Levis, worn out with time and covered with grease from him wiping his hands on them. For the twenty-something girl with oversized sunglasses, designer brand denim with rhinestones on the pockets and skinny bottoms to tuck into her Ugg boots might be the choice.
My ideal pair of jeans? Light faded denim long enough for a five foot ten girl, fraying at the bottom from being dragged against the floor when I walk, with deep pockets to hold my cell phone. I love combining comfort and confidence, and I believe everyone’s jeans should do just that. A little black dress can look fun, but if one can’t wear it with self-assurance, it does a disservice, and the individual would have been better off with a pair of Lucky Brand low-rise and high-tops.
I have met some people who refuse to wear jeans, insisting they hate them. I refuse to believe in their distaste for jeans. Instead, I think they simply haven’t found the perfect pair yet, and they are little lost sheep in the land of denim. Once they realize their specific jean requirements and discover the right kind, they’ll never want to take them off.
Jeans are the universal article of clothing. Even in Saudi Arabia, women wear jeans underneath their abayas. Jeans are accepted pretty much everywhere—except at most proms, although I have entertained the idea of wearing them underneath my dress—so other people must echo my opinion on the matter. Take, for example, the Ann Brashares hit series, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Four girls use one pair of pants to stay connected while they spend their summers apart. Their main rule regarding the pants is: “Pants=love. Love your pals. Love yourself.” Jeans offer the opportunity for self-security, convenience and fun all in one. It should be a law: everyone needs the perfect pair of jeans. Maybe the world would be a little happier of a place, and perhaps the stuffy suit-and-tie types wouldn’t be quite so stuffy.

***
This is my most recent AP English essay. I just wrote it and think it came out well. The prompt was "I Believe..."
Yeah, it's one of those really broad ones that, if you take advantage of it correctly, can turn out awesome.

Catching up

2009-04-04T01:11:53Z

Well, it's all over. Musical, the Broadway revue, the third marking period. When i go back to school after break, i'll be a fourth quarter senior with 40 days left of school. :] & :[ Not sure how to feel about it.

Tom Sawyer was amazing. Incredible. The crowds were insanely good; they screamed so loud the whole time! Before the Saturday night show, we all just bawled. Hartman made a speech about how us seniors were the freshmen during his first year, so it's kind of a full circle. And that set me off. Then other people started making speeches about how close we've all become, and i was just gone. I lost it. And then so did everyone around me. I was seriously scared i was going to short-circut my mic, like legit scared. But it was fine. I finally stopped crying midway through the opening number (i didn't have to be on until after the second song, thank goodness), and then i was okay the rest of the night.

All the girls had to jump rope onstage, and all through dress rehearsals i messed it up, but i made it every time during each of the shows! YAY. JUMP ROPE SUCCESS!!!!! And i got my own bow this year, which made me feel really special. In other eventful-ness, after one of my scenes, i walked off stage and tripped over part of the big cave set that was sitting backstage, and i still have a huge bruise on my ankle two weeks later. But it's all good, another bullet taken for the music department. :]

The cast party was pretty amazing. It got kind of bizarre in the wee hours of the morning; before one of my friends went upstairs with me to help me find my shoes, he pulled a baseball bat out of the couch, which he had apparently hidden there earlier. It was SO FUNNY. and a little scary. And i brought four dozen donuts to the party. yum.

Then i got sick a few days later. Normally i crash after musical, but we still had revue, and i wound up with a sore throat. But i still went to a Cassandra Clare book signing/release party at the Exton Mall Borders. There was no way i was missing it; the Mortal Instruments books are INCREDIBLE!!!! It was the day City of Glass came out, so it was the official release party! She was such a sweetie; she read a few excerpts from the book and talked to everybody while she was signing. I'm almost done with the book now, and it's the best one of the series. I'm so sad it's the last one. :[

As for the Broadway revue, it was HOT. We did songs from a bunch of different Broadway shows, and basically practiced once a week during musical, and then for two intense weeks right after Tom Sawyer ended where we learned most of our stuff. I learned one of my songs, no lie, five days before the show. Our finale was You Can't Stop The Beat from Hairspray, and i got to be Penny!!!! which made my life complete. <3 We also did Cell Block Tango from Chicago (hands down the best number in the show), where six of us girls danced on chairs and talked about murdering men. It was hot.

And now my life is slowing down. Well, not exactly. Tomorrow i might go with my mom while she gets her hair cut and then hit Borders in Exton and do some shopping for summer clothes because WE'RE GOING TO FLORIDA!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to Disney World for the first time in my life this thursday. And Sea World! i'm going to accidentally fall into Shamu's tank, and he's going to rescue me and we'll have a Free Willy moment and then i'll be able to die happy. I'm so excited; i haven't been on a plane in so long. And i can't wait to be down where it's warm! We're getting back on Tuesday, then Wednesday the musical cast is taking a trip to NYC to see Mary Poppins! Thursday i'll be in school, but afterwards, mom and i are going up to Penn State for the college of communications open house day, which is actually on Friday, but since it starts early, we're getting a hotel room for the night.

Wow, April is going to fly.

Against my better judgment, i bought John Rich's solo CD at Walmart today. Can't stand the man, but he's a brilliant songwriter, so i consider this as more of a study than actually liking him as a person. He's good at what he does. And i got jeans for $5. Which was awesome.

Okay, this is really long, so i'm going to wrap it up now. Love you guys!
-kait <3

T minus one day until curtain.

2009-03-19T19:41:32Z

Tom Sawyer opens tomorrow night. Yesterday my director told me how proud he was of me and how much i've improved since Seussical. <3 Love him!

We ran the show with costumes for the first time, and it's so low-stress. which is amazing. No quick changes! Today is our last rehearsal before opening night, and everyone is SO EXCITED!!!! i can't wait to stick it to all the morons who think they hate this show without even giving it a chance. *straightens halo*

Well, i have to go and curl my hair and glue on my eyelashes. Come see the show!
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Owen J. Roberts High School
Friday @ 7pm, Saturday @ 2&7pm
$12 for adults, $6 for kids/seniors

-k

coming up on tech week.

2009-03-15T22:57:15Z

Tech week for Tom Sawyer starts tomorrow, and i'm bracing myself for an intense week. We just started running the entire show last week, and i wound up so exhausted that i went to bed at 5. PM.

Yesterday a bunch of the castmembers (including me) dressed up in our 1840's costumes and handed out flyers for the show at the mall. Man, did we get a lot of bizarre looks. but the feeling of stupidity wore off after the first three hours. We were there for eight hours. Then i came home and slept some more.

Today I hung out with Nicole and got spray-tanned for the show (we're supposed to have a "sunkissed glow") which i'd never done before. It was a little scary, but wound up being quite an experience! One worth mentioning in Nicole's yearbook for sure. ;] Now i'm going to watch the last episode of Heroes in season one so i can give them back to kyle when he comes on Friday. So many people are going to be at my house this weekend for the show, and so many more people are seeing it! hopefully i remember to say hi to them all. Hopefully i remember to breathe. it's going to be intense. Four hour rehearsal tomorrow, tuesday, then doubles the rest of the week and shows Friday/Saturday.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Owen J. Roberts High School
Friday @ 7pm, Saturday @ 2&7pm
$12 for adults, $6 for kids/seniors

COME!
<3 kaitlin

tanning lotion smells weird.

2009-02-26T23:51:16Z

Oh, the things i do for the musical.

Not only do i willingly sing songs about fishing and scream about hideous bonnets, i use really smelly tanning lotion to "acquire the same sunkissed look 19th century Missouri children have".

Okay, so it's not the worst smell; like, in minimal whiffs, i'd be fine. But, considering it's ALL OVER ME and i have NO WAY of escaping it, my nose is screaming. It definitely has given me a headache. This better work. I better look so sunkissed that everyone'll think i spent all winter in California. Or Missouri. But California would be more believable than me spending four months in Missouri.

But alas! Not everything is horrible and odd-smelling. I have a new book obsession! The Mortal Instruments series. City of Bones/City of Ashes are out now, and they are CRAZY AWESOME. The third one, City of Glass, is coming out March 24th, and the author, Cassandra Clare, is going to be at the Exton Mall Borders for the RELEASE PARTY!! i'm so going. and i'm SOOOO stoked. i'm already rereading both of them. and you should, too. Don't judge it by the synopsis; just READ IT. i promise you'll love Jace. :]

in other amazing news, my computer now works again!!! a bunch of viruses rendered it pretty much useless for a week, and i almost cried. but me and Daddy ran about five different virus checkers and finally got everything off! YAY. i went four days without facebook. NOT COOL.

I think i might be getting lightheaded from this lotion. I'm going to go now.
-K

so...um, college?

2009-01-31T22:41:56Z

Have you ever applied to college? If you have, i'm sorry, and if you haven't...maybe your life has been lacking some stress.

Because it's the WORST. Even after you get accepted to college, YOU'RE NOT DONE. Because you have to fill out blessed financial aid forms with various acronyms for names AND scholarship request forms AND write essays to go along with said scholarships, begging random organizations for money.

My mom's thinking about finding the list of people who gave me money at my mom's baby shower after i was born, calling them up and saying "You gave her money when she was a few weeks old...still care to donate?"

College is expensive. And big. And scary. Only made slightly less daunting by the fact that Taylor Swift is coming there in August. Which makes me freak out a little less. Because, if nothing else, i'll have the student tickets at her concert to look forward to. With Nicole, who will be camping out on the floor of my dorm until she has to be physically removed from the campus by the meanies at the Drexel admissions office.

Apparently, there'a new Taylor Swift karaoke cd out, but i'm not finding it awesome. I guess it's because i have the satisfaction that i can play all the songs on the guitar, thereby eliminating the need for a karaoke track. SELF-SUFFICIENCY STRIKES AGAIN!!! like that time my facorite necklace came apart and i fixed the chain on my own, and everyone at school was proud of me! :] that was a good day.

<3 Kaitlin

saying goodbye to Princess Mia. but a fabulous day, nonetheless!

2009-01-17T23:54:29Z

So i just finished the last Princess Diaries book, and man, am i bummed.

I read the first book when i was in eighth grade and now, ten books later, it's all done. Meg Cabot is one of my FAVORITE authors...she's just SO funny. i'd love to have lunch with her and just chat for hours.

Oh well. She said she's thinking about writing more Princess Diaries books eventually, since everyone is so upset about the series ending. which would be FABULOUS. considering i'm addicted.

But i bought a bunch of new books today (buy 2, get 1 free at Borders=better than happy hour at Sonic). Plus, i had a gift card, so i didn't end up actually spending anthing (and i still have $11.40 on it!). If you ever don't know what gift to get me, get me Borders cards. I love them more than coffee. And i love coffee, which i also got this morning. Well, afternoon, technically, since it was around noon when we got to WaWa. See, i went with my mom to her haircut and sat in the waiting room (reading Princess Diaries 10 like a madwoman) and in return, i got to go to Borders. Before we went to her haircut, we stopped at WaWa for gas and 16 oz of french vanilla cappuccino.

Then i spent about an hour in Borders. No lie. My mom went to another store, came back, went to lunch and had completely finished eating by the time i checked out. I am in love with Borders. Let me just make that clear right now. I freaked out today because, now that i'm eighteen, i can have my own Borders Rewards card. No, i don't want to buy a lottery ticket or register to vote as soon as i turn eighteen. I want a Borders Rewards card. One of my lifelong dreams is to work there and wear the snazzy lanyards with all the book release pins on it, like the ones they gave out the day Breaking Dawn came out that say "I Was Bitten By Breaking Dawn" (which i own. the book and the pin. So i'd already have a pin to put on the lanyard). But, it's like me trying to sing "Barracuda" (by Heart)...it's just not going to happen. At least not now, considering i have ZERO free time (thanks to Tom Sawyer/7Ups/school paper), no mode of transportation to get there and am leaving for State College in five months.

Oh, well. Maybe there'll be a Borders near Penn State and i can fulfill my lifelong dream. Because, now that i'm eighteen, they have no excuse not to hire me (because, apparently, you have to be a legal adult to stack books on shelves in alphabetical order by author name. Because we asked. Several years ago). Because, let's be honest here, i spend as much time in Borders as the actual employees. I notice when they rearrange the shelves!

Wow. That sounded pathetic. I'm really not that lame, i swear.

In other news, i'm having an awesome hair day. And i did NOTHING TO IT. Well, except for straighten my bangs, but that took two seconds. AND i taught myself how to make an omlet. I've tried a bunch of times in the past, but i always burnt it or gave up and turned it into scrambled egs. But i was persistant today, and IT WORKED. i emerged, victorious, with a gorgeous omlet on my plate. Maybe i'll open my own restaurant and only serve omlets. Athough, admittedly, it wouldn't be a hotspot for vegans. I'll stick with wanting to work for Borders.

So, good day for Kaitlin.
<3 kaitlin

my first week as a legal adult.

2009-01-13T21:09:33Z

Well, that was quite the birthday! I was sung to in choir and spanish, i got a painted guitar from Kristen and a love note from Nicole, and Kyle showed up after musical rehearsal!!!

Needless to say, i freaked out. Apparently, he and my mom had been plotting since December to get him up from Tennessee and surprise me! Yay! Anyway, it was cool. :] And my birthday was fun - got some lovely presents from some lovely people (thank you notes are going out soon, i promise!) and two cakes. One on my birthday, the other when Kyle and i met up with Caitlin at Olive Garden and they made the poor unfortunate waiters sing to me. I felt bad for them haha. It was an awesome cake, though. Then the three of us went to see Bride Wars (so cute!).

On Saturday, i went to musical revue rehearsal and learned choreo for You Can't Stop The Beat (i'm Penny, and Nicole is Tracy! I know, about time, right?). AMAZING DANCE. it's so cool, and we learned all seven minutes of it!!!! ahhhhhhhh!!!

i'm not feeling super witty or chatty at the moment. will write more later.
xo kait

2009. (the year of graduation, PSU, and recovering from New Years parties)

2009-01-02T14:37:49Z

I never thought this year would actually come. 2009. The year i graduate.

Crap.

I put off thinking about it for twelve years because, face it, it was NEVER going to get here. I saw no point in stressing; i'd be in high school forever.

But now that i've been accepted to college and the year on the calendar matches the year on the graduation teddy bears at Hallmark, i'm freaking out a little. I'm still going to ignore my looming future, of course, but the rest of this school year is going to fly.

My New Years was fun. I went to my friend Nicole's party with about eight other people, watched the ball drop on TV (and shrieked when i noticed Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers within three feet of each other. They made sure to put Taylor on one side of the platform and Scumbag Joe on the other. I felt so bad for her; it must have been insanely awkward) and went to Nicole's neighbor's to watch them shoot off (most likely illegal) fireworks. Then we came back and hung out in her basement. I passed out around five and slept off and on until seven, only waking up randomly to insert my two pennies into whatever conversation they were in the middle of. I remember them saying something about Narnia, and i sat up and said, "I watched the second one the other day, and the older brother got hot!" and then fell back asleep. I also babbled about the microphone guy helping us out during Grease who loved my Marty hair. When i woke up, i realized i'd slept with my knees to my chest, which HURT, so standing up was difficult.

I got home around 8:45, showered, ate some breakfast because i didn't feel like eating at Nicole's that morning, and then went to bed. I woke myself up at 2:30 so i'd be awake long enough to sleep through the night. Then my mom and i watched some of season 1 of LOST, because i have a desire to see how many episosdes i can finish before season 5 starts on the 21st. Then i watched the first half of the Rose Bowl, got so frustrated and watched more LOST. PSU came back a little in the end, so their defeat wasn't as bad.

I'm working today, my last day before going back to school on Monday (yuck). It seems like i've been out of school for so long, yet the bruise i gave myself the day before break by accidentally stepping on my own foot with my character shoe during the 7-Ups tour hasn't faded yet. Neither has the one on my knee...or the one on my hip. Being a 7-Up is dangerous.

Anyway, i'm sure returning school will be a shock to my system. I'm in the middle of a term paper (well, i haven't actually written anything but my 1 paragraph thesis statement) and can't remember what i'm doing in any of my other classes. Good thing i'm already into college. But i still want to keep my grades up (a couple are on the border of A and B right now) so i won't have to take the final. English is a lost cause; i've accepted the fact that i'll have to take that final. Stupid Mr. Wall giving me 89s!!!!! But my calc grade somehow slipped (probably from my tendancy to get 7 out of 10s on worksheets) and i really would love not to take the final, so i'm going to have to work carefully. But if i have to take the Spanish final, i will decapitate myself with dull hedgeclipers (a la Lorelai Gilmore's threat) because i always get Cs. I have a short term spanish brain. I learn something, take a test on it, and then forget it. Remembering a year's worth of stuff for the final is like death. And we're getting a long-term sub at the end of the month because our teacher is going on maternity leave. :[ And being a teacher's pet was how my friends and I got good grades. Oh, well.

My birthday is next Thursday, and i'm pretty sure i know what all of my presents are, although my mom insists there are a few i'm in the dark about. Probably socks ;]. I'm super excited about turning eighteen; no driving curfew! which means i'm legally allowed to drive myself to and from as many midnight movie showings as i want (NEW MOON. YES. Hopefully i'll be on break from college then, otherwise it totally won't matter).

Well, here's to 2009. Hopefully i'll make it through, since it has the potential to be the best year of my life.

<3 k
xo