This blog is... discontinued

I've had a fabulous time keeping up this blog, but to put it quite simply, I have fallen in love with MySpace, cheated on this blog by creating one there, and am therefore divorcing this blog. Sigh. But, I might add to this later. So I'm not deleting it or anything.

Bottom Line: If you want to know about me, go to Myspace.

Procrastination and a Guilty Rant

Right now I should be writing my Oprah essay. I was supposed to do it last Friday. I didn't. I'm supposed to write it tonight. I haven't (yet). For some reason, all I feel like doing is stuff I'm not obligated to do, like updating this thing. Maybe it's because I know that my essay will be critiqued on creativity and eloquence of style and all that jazz, and here I can write whatever I want however I want, and no one will judge me, unless the liberals attack again. Be forewarned, I now have e-dogs ready to attack! Ok, extreme nerd moment over!

The good news? Earlier tonight I stayed after school and finished all three pages of my layout, so I don't have to go in and work on sunday like everyone else. So in a way, I'm not a complete procrastinator. But I still wish I could get this stupid essay written.

And oh yes, the rant. My rant for today is about technology. I'm gonna go all old lady here, if you don't mind. People today with their new-fangled computers and yes, blogs too, are completely ignoring and taking for granted what has recorded our history for hundreds of years: handwritten letters and journals. Just think, when was the last time you received a hand-written letter in the mail? I'm just gonna guess it was a long time ago, and the person who sent it was your grandmother, because that's how it was for me. One of my favorite things to do when I go to antique shops is to find the little file cabinet of letters they keep and sift through them, reading personal accounts of different periods of history. Those things are so valuable. And I can't help but wonder, what will the next few generations have from us? Emails? E-cards wishing E-friends an E-happy birthday? Everything is so impersonal and distant now. It just makes me sad to think that when my great grandaughter wants to learn about my life and my period of time, those are the things she'll be welcomed with.

For a long time, before I even owned a computer or knew what a blog was, I kept handwritten diaries. I can, at any moment, look through one of those little filled-up books and relive my memories of being little in Ellensburg, being heartbroken about having to move away from my best friend in third grade, and the total surprise of actually enjoying kayak camp in 6th grade. Yes, I could have typed those things out, saved them in a file, and still be able to read them today. But seeing my little-kid handwriting and smiling over the little doodles I drew to illustrate some of my diary entries is worth so much to me.
And I feel guilty, because once I did get a computer and learned about the world of blogging, all that was over. Blogging is faster than writing by hand, allows you to share your work with friends and receive feedback, and can be sufficiently hidden from a younger sibling when necessary. But still. I've now been blogging for months, and I have many memories stored up on here, but will they still be worth something for future generations? I'm planning to print out every entry I've written so far and put them in an album of some sort, so that should there be some ungodly computer crash heard 'round the world, I will still have something to present to future generations. Will it have the same impact for my great grandaughter as my relatives' handwritten letters and journals have for me? I don't know. I hope so. At the very least, I think she'll laugh and say "Yes, Great-Grandma Kayley was a crazy one. No wonder she ended up in an asylum." You never know, I guess!

The Amazing Past and Future Machine!

Past:

1) The Golden Globes. They were hot. Johnny Depp was there, nominated as Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy for his performance in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Sadly he didn't win, but as I am an avid Johnny Depp fan, I am well aware of how he dreads such events and always prays he won't win so he doesn't have to go up and make a speech. So yay for him, I guess.
Best Dresses: All the women of Desperate Housewives and hands down best overall to Keira Knightley. She gets to be in movies with Johnny Depp and wear gorgeous dresses. Life isn't fair.
Worst Dresses: Pamela Anderson, first of all. What the hell was that shawl thing she was wearing around her chest? Hell, she paid enough, she might as well flaunt them. It's like covering diamond rings with ugly gloves. Also, Drew Barrymore, who decided not to wear a bra beneath her disgusting green Target dress. Actually what's sad is she probably paid thousands of dollars for the thing.

2) An Apple Leaf Episode: Sigh. A certain person told me a certain story was done. I believed him. So two weeks later, being the good little features editor that I am, I went in after school to begin working on my layout. I opened First Edit (the folder we keep stuff in) and looked. As promised, the story was there. I clicked, eagerly (well, not eagerly. But certainly happily. I don't turn evil until someone gives me reason) anticipating having at least one story to read, since the others for my section were not yet done. I read the first sentence. As expected, it was about the story's topic, Music in the Classroom. I read the second sentence. Confused, I read it again. ASB policies? What did that have to do with music? Then it dawned on me. I had been tricked, no, deceived by a certain opinion editor, who deliberately copied and pasted ASB policies crap to make it look like he'd written his story. Little did he know who he was messing with. The easygoing girl that smiles and always does her work and sympathizes when stories are hard and accepts late stories with understanding is a total bitch on the inside. Yes, yes I am. But I keep the bitchiness in check, until someone makes me angry. Then all hell breaks loose, which it did. And, um... that certain opinion editor will not be returning for a second semester. Tee-hee!


Future:

1) Tolo. I've never been, and I can't wait. The Hollywood theme is so awesome, but I still need to get a dress...

2) The Oprah Essay Contest. A few days ago, Ms. Northcutt told us that the new Oprah's Book Club book is "Night" by Elie Weisel, which I read in Soph. English last year. Oprah has announced an essay contest with the topic, "How is 'Night' relevant today?" 1,000 words or less, judged on originality and eloquence of style. Fifty winners will be chosen, and they will be flown with one guest to Chicago to appear on Oprah and meet Elie Weisel... and Oprah!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh. My. God. I am so entering. The unfortunate thing is that it has to be postmarked by Feb. 6 and received by Feb. 9, meaning I have to write it immediately. But that's ok because I am SO ready. I'm going to start researching over the next few days and write it next Friday, since we have it off from school and finals will be over. I just hope I haven't jinxed myself by announcing in here that I'm entering... hmmm. Oh well. The important thing is that I try, because lots of kids will think about it and then never actually go through with it. More will enter and either break one of the many specific rules of entry, or their essay will just flat out suck. But fifty is a big number, and I think I actually have a shot. A big shot. And so do other people apparently, because my mom has already considered what we would wear on the show (she'd be my 'guest' as my guardian), and a girl at school asked me if I was entering too, and I said yes. She looked crestfallen and muttered a swear word.

3) San Francisco. Apple Leaf trip to the national student journalism convention at the end of April. I'm so totally there. I'm gonna go on a huge shopping spree, and hunt for celebrities and visit the chocolate factory and that cool prison. It's gonna be so fantastic. And... I guess I'll write things, and... learn stuff. I guess.

4) Florida. End of June vacation. This time it's with my family, to visit my family. But it'll still be cool. We're gonna go to Georgia and go to this awesome waterpark. And then we're going on a swamp tour! We'll be on one of those rickety old boats and we'll see alligators and water moccasins and everything! On some of them, they even make you sign a waiver because they've had instances of alligators getting super pissed off and tipping boats over. There have been deaths. But hey, death by an alligator. Better than getting run over by a schoolbus or something lame like that.

So now you've had a trip on the amazing past and future machine! Discuss!

Christmas basket delivery and an ipod

Freshman year, I helped deliver presents to our Christmas Basket family, and it was heartwarming/eyeopening, etc. So I decided to do it again this year. And let me just say, it was a very weird experience.

They lived across from the AM/PM near the George Sellar Bridge down this little alley-like road. It looked... icky, to say the least. I mean, I'm sorry, but I'm just one of those people who would prefer to believe that places like that don't exist in Wenatchee. I guess you could say I choose to ignore the problem, but as I'm unable to rescue everyone from poverty anyway, I just don't think it matters that much whether I think about it or not. Anyway, we got out and started bringing presents into their tiny little house, which reminded me of Charlie Bucket's house in the Willy Wonka movie, only not as cozy as it was portrayed in the Johnny Depp movie (sigh, Johnny Depp.) The roof was patched randomly and there was a huge trash bag full of beer cans outside. I just thought, "Hmmm, so they need help buying food and clothes for their children, but apparently they have their alcoholic needs all covered. Wonderful."

We got inside, and I was immediately shocked by two things: One, the smell. It was really bad. Like I could hardly breathe. Later, we tried to figure out exactly what it smelled like, and we came up with cigarettes (yet another costly habit that's apparently keeping them from providing for their children, but I digress,) old BBQ and old maple syrup. The second thing? The fact that not just one, but two families were living in that extremely small house. We were told by the mom that she had six children, and the dad wasn't in the picture. But we got there, and there was a total of 10 small children (most under the age of eight) and five adults in that house! Can you believe that??? I mean, how do they do it? I would go crazy! As it was, with the smell and everything, it was hard to be in their house for the five minutes I was there, but to actually live there... I guess they do need that beer.

So then I was on my way out of their house to get more presents, and I accidentally brushed their kitchen table with my hand, covering it with this white, gooey stuff. It was so disgusting, and I had to fight to keep from screaming "OMG, EWWWW!" So I put this huge fake grin on my face and walked out the door to the car, where I wiped the stuff off into the snow as much as I could. If you didn't know this already, I'm a total germophobe. As in, I refuse to touch bathroom doors with my bare hands (you wouldn't either, if you knew the statistics,) and I usually carry hand sanitizer with me. Figures that I forgot to put it in my purse on the one day I would really need it. I can only hope the stuff was mayo, but you never know. (shudders)

So then the grandma wanted to hug us. We couldn't reject the hug. But no sooner had she done that then I realized that my faux fur hood on my coat now smelled exactly like their house. Because of the hug. That sounds extremely bratty and rude, I know, but it was gross.

All in all, a very gross (but still semi-heartwarming) experience. Afterwards, we had two hours to kill before we had to go back to school, so we went to McDonalds and Shopko and stuff. It was fun. But I felt SO bad for those people. They would probably kill to live in my house, which in my opinion would still be too small for 15 people. And the day before that, I had ordered my new video ipod. I couldn't help thinking, none of their kids will ever have an ipod. Not even a shuffle.

It just put it all in perspective for me, I guess. So when my video ipod arrived yesterday, I was especially thankful. And hey, at least I'm not one of those kids that's all like "Daddy, I want a video ipod now!" I mean, I bought that thing myself. That's a little over two paychecks for me, and I'm proud that I actually worked to get it, because I appreciate it that much more now.

The Five Things That I'm Thinking About That Either Happened To Me or Someone Else!

Alright, so I haven't posted in a month. That doesn't mean I don't have things to say, just that I'm short on time/energy. So to catch you up on events/random thoughts of the last month, I give you (dum dum dum!) The Five Things That I'm Thinking About That Either Happened To Me Or Someone Else! Yes, a very long headline. But it also has a verb (or two) which makes it semi-correct. So there!

#1: India. No, I have not responded (yet.) And yes, I do feel guilty. Is it a scam? Probably. But the guilt-induced visions I have of a poor family just struggling to get by and praying for a response to their letter say otherwise. Sigh.

#2: Test Irony. Last week I had a chemistry test which was extremely hard by all accounts, and, as science is definitely not my forte, I expected a C at best. So imagine my shock when I saw that not only did I get a B+, but most of the questions I had desperately guessed at were right! Wow. Happy times. But then a few days later we had a test in Trig, and since I'm good at math, I figured I'd ace it easily. It didn't seem hard at the time. I got a C. Go figure.

#3: Issue 5 of the Apple Leaf. It was fabulous, no? I like writing columns, cuz knowing people will be reading YOUR words and seeing YOUR picture is a bit thrilling. Not to mention the extremely time-consuming but so-totally-worth-it shopping chart, compiled entirely by yours truly. Aimone loves charts and so do I (as long as they're about shopping. Landmarks suck!)

#4: Festivus For the Rest of Us: Otherwise known as this year's Apple Leaf holiday party last night at Feldman's. SO much fun! Lisa brought an actual Festivus pole with cement and everything, and we did "Airing of the Grievences" which was basically writing down sarcastic comments about each other anonymously and then reading them out loud. It was totally hilarious, and I'm sure we'll be doing it again next year. Then we did a white elephant gift exchange and I got a bottle of sparkling cider and some candy. Is it bad that I drank the whole bottle in one night???? Good thing it wasn't wine (though I'm sure that only would've added to the hilariousness of the evening.) lol anyway, it was a good time had by all, except for the arrogant jerk(s) that didn't come for various reasons, and they know who they are! Best of all, Aimone will now be responding to "Uncle Logey" for the rest of the year, whether he likes it or not. :)

#5: The Apprentice Finale: Last night, after a two hour (one hour too long, imo) live season finale, it was announced that Randall is the new Apprentice. Not too shocking--I'd called it from halfway through the season. However, scandal rocked the last minute of the special when The Donald gave Randall the option of whether or not Rebecca would be hired as well. The audience held its collective breath as Randall replied, "Mr. Trump, this is the Apprentice, not the Apprenti. If you're going to choose someone tonight, it should only be one person." And Trump just went, "Alright, fine with me." Some of the more passionate audience members booed his decision, while Rebecca just muttered, "that's a mistake." Then they played the "Money, money" song and the show was over! It was so... unexpected! All within the course of a minute. But I have to say that I personally applaud Randall's decision. Had I been given a choice like that in front of a live audience, I probably would have been intimidated into giving Rebecca the other job. However, if Rebecca was also hired, it would not only take away from Randall's glory as The Apprentice but also cheapen the show itself. It took guts for Randall to do that, so yay for him. Plus, Rebecca was pissing me off with her ridiculous hopping on those crutches. I know she broke her ankle, but come on. You don't need to hop around like an idiot.

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from we here at Kayley's Blog who are dreading going to work tomorrow on the biggest shopping day of the year, otherwise known as Black Friday for those of us who will be serving the masses. Help me out. Organize a coffee boycott or something.
Seriously. And after last saturday...
Wait! I never told you about last saturday! OMG. Ok, so I was working and we were super busy. All day I'd been spilling things on myself, such as steaming hot coffee. We'd had 200 orders (and btw, one order can mean like six drinks and lunches, not just one drink, contrary to popular belief), and there were only two of us working. Oh yes, it was a grand day. Anyway, it was getting towards the end of my shift and I was SO ready to go home and eat something, because we'd been so busy I hadn't had a chance to eat since breakfast, and it was around 4:00 in the afternoon. Low blood sugar + bitchy customer= abnormally rude Kayley!
This lady came in with her mother and she already looked semi-pissed off. She went up to the counter and I said the obligatory, "Hi, what can I get for you today?" with a smile. She's like "Yeah, ok, I need two cups of regular coffee." Just like that. No "hi" or even a smile. But I get that a lot, because lots of people are rude and they think since I'm a teenager they can do whatever they want to me and get away with it. Which is true, on most days. But not that day! That day I was a totally different person. Almost out of my mind.
Anyway, I looked over at our pot of Folger's we keep for the old guys and the cops that come in, because they like it. We had less than half a pot. Not enough for two large cups, so I thought I'd warn her beforehand so she'd at least be aware. So I told her we had enough for two small/medium cups, but we were almost out. She looked at her mother and they both started laughing in this really mean, condescending way. She turned back to me and kept laughing, just looking at me and laughing, like "you must be joking." For a really long time!
Confused, I just stared at her. Finally, she goes, "So let me get this straight. You don' t have coffee at Coffee Mecca?" She kept this rude smile on her face, like I was the most stupid person she'd ever encountered.
And finally, all the bad things that had happened that day and all the stress I'd felt caught up with me, and I snapped. Snapped like I'd never snapped before.
I gave her that Super Bitchy Teenage Glare, one that only a bratty teenage girl can give, and one I'd never before dared to give to a customer. And I said, in a slow and extremely rude tone, "Sorry, but this is a specialty coffee shop. Most of our customers get lattes, or at least americanos. We really don't get a lot of people that just want Folger's." And I said Folger's in this totally disgusted way, like I couldn't believe anyone would ever ask for it. Even though we serve Folger's all the time!
So she narrowed her eyes and mumbled that she'd just get an ice water. I was like, "That'll be 25 cents, please!" And as I turned around to get her water, she was like, "So once you run out of coffee around here, you just don't make any more for the rest of the day?" Like I was some stupid, lazy girl. And I just went, "No. I could've made more. But that would've taken time." I almost added, "and effort," but that would've gone too far. And she's like, "Well. We would have waited." And she took her ice water and left.
I mean OMG! If she would have waited, why'd she make a big deal out of the fact that we were almost out? I was just informing her so that she'd know, thinking I was doing her a favor. Anyone with half a brain would've just been like, "OK, well, we'll take whatever you've got," or, "We can wait, if you can make more." And I would've been happy to do so! I swear. I've never before had an adult be so blatently rude to me for no reason whatsoever. It just shocked me. But at least I gave it right back to her. It would've been worth getting fired over, if she had the guts to call my boss. And she didn't . Ha.
Anyway, that's just one example of a customer in this lovely holiday season, when everyone is supposedly full of cheer and good will and all that crap. And the thing is, I totally love Christmas! I love shopping and giving gifts and doing the Christmas Basket project at school and everything. I just hope work doesn't ruin it for me.
But hey, we're getting ahead of ourselves here, aren't we? It's not Christmas. And it's not Black Friday. Yet. It's Thanksgiving, and we should be remembering what we're thankful for. I'm thankful for: My family, my friends (That's you, my faithful readers! Give yourselves hugs!), food, clothes, and makeup. Yes. Bask in the glory of my thankfullness, and pray for me tomorrow. Cuz it's gonna be hell.

Grrrr

I'm kinda frustrated/pissed off at the moment. Don't really wanna say why, and I wouldn't know how if I did. Various people disappointing me in various ways. Not even their fault, they just... are. Too much homework. Layout this weekend. Two big tests coming up. Outlines due in history. Work too stressful. I hate eggnog. I hate making eggnog lattes. I hate people who order eggnog lattes and then don't tip. I hate feeling like I'm getting sick and knowing I'm too busy to do anything about it. I hate that it's almost Thanksgiving and practically Christmas and I'm not happy. It's like I have so much going on, I'll get something completed and then it's automatically "ok what's next?" and I have no time to enjoy the fact that I accomplished something. I still haven't done anything about the India lady that wrote to me, and I keep feeling like they're waiting for me and losing hope or something and I'm letting them down. And I keep saying that once I finish this or that I'll be happy, but it never happens.

When did I turn into one of those depressed pissed off adults I used to pity? I wish I'd win the lottery. My family's always said that on the extreme off-chance we ever won, we'd go to a tropical island and just hide out for a year, because once you win the lottery everyone hits you up for money until they forget about you. I'd like that. The island, I mean. I don' t even care about money at the moment, I just want to not have to do or think about anything for a little while. A day, even. I just really need a break.

Alrighty, well, depressing post officially over! I'll try and keep that to a minimum.