another kick in the shins

just as i'm feeling bad about how much stuff i have, i get an email from my missionary friend in Guatamala:

"When starving cattle rush toward your pickup truck to eat whatever garbage they can find, when feathers from scavenger birds line the ground so thick that it looks like a layer of ash over an old fire, when flies fill the air, and when the smell of animal entrails, garbage, cattle, and whatever else is so strong and so bad that you are literally scared of where you're at, you don't expect to see people there. You don't expect to see men, women, even barefoot children there searching for food or whatever they can find. These are the poor people in Guatemala."

ah, family

one of the best sounds ever is a belly laugh from one of my nieces or nephews.

laundry

every time i hang at the laundromat, i dream that josh hartnett will come in to wash his clothes, too. (think 40 days, 40 nights)

also, i completely appreciate the fact that i can get four loads of laundry done in two hours.  dang, i have a lot of clothes.

study music

iTunes, "Alternative Genre" smart playlist.

it's easy listening and not distracting.

wagers

i don't generally bet a whole lot...i'm not that fun at casinos...but when my MN teams come to town, it seems i earn all sorts of things.

so far i've got an indian buffet coming my way from yasuda, serg has to wear a football shirt to the game tonight with a fun sign...and i'm sure the Wild will earn me a few more things tonight.  go MN!

(bethel lost pretty miserably last saturday...that's all i have to say about that)

patience is not my strength

from a daily techy news email i get:

"Now, it's a given that at some point Apple was going to address one of the biggest complaints about the iPhone -- that it uses AT&T's sluggish EDGE network, rather than a faster 3G connection. The sticking point, according to the company, was that the available 3G chips sucked too much power. Still, in September, Jobs himself made vague comments about a 3G iPhone "later next year." But by making such a firm and public declaration right in the heart of the holiday shopping season, Stephenson may have trod heavily on one of Jobs' most sensitive spots (see "You have to understand, Mr. Jobs is very sensitive about premature elaboration"). As Dwight Silverman puts it, "The first rule of new product development is: You don't talk about new product development, because it kills sales of existing products," citing the suicidal marketing move known as the Osborne Effect. Larry Dignan adds, "Perhaps the average iPhone craving bear won't wait for the 3G version, but some percentage of prospective buyers will. ... Jobs can't be too happy this morning, especially if the 3G iPhone continues to be the buzz and it won't be ready soon, as in for Macworld in January. If not, iPhone sales could be dragged down as customers wait for the second coming."

if you can wait, wait.  i love my iPhone...but the slow internet does get to me once in a while.  sorry, Mr Jobs.

 (i forgot to mention that roommate & i saw all four TMNT and Splinter this past week in the NYC Subway...request pics, if you'd like)

thanks and hunter

i have a lot to be thankful for.  on top of my life being pretty awesome, i had a great flight to NYC today...quite a few laughs...a great dinner...and more laughs.  i'm excited to see the sights and be on vacation.

rough news - torii hunter's going to the Angels.  i'd say it's quite likely i'll be in anaheim some time this summer to see a game.  i can't believe he's leaving the Twins...

change

i have some serious ADD when it comes to blogs and purses.  i need a new blog look every few months...and purses never last longer than a couple months.  i'm sure there are other areas in my life that are impacted by ADD, but these are most prevalent today.

can't wait to be in NYC, shopping for a Prado.  yup, a prado.  my dream purse.

(i hope this doesn't offend anyone who actually has ADD...i guess i actually might...i dunno...)

bon jovi says “broken,” i say “messy”

It's ok, to be a little broken
Everybody's broken, in this life
It's ok, to feel a little broken
Everybody's broken, your alright
It's just life

banana flavor

i just had a banana laffy taffy and confirmed that i hate banana flavor stuff.  i like bananas...hate banana flavored stuff.

and i really hate it when they add it to awesome strawberry flavor.

names

i feel guilty every time i pass someone in the hall at new job and they say, "hi kristie!"  i only know a few actual names of people...but i met 180 while they just met 1!  it's not fair!

perhaps i'll print out our employee pictures and start memorizing.

two of my life mottos

1 - hang with the happy people, piss on the rest

2 - it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission

random entry

- the start of class is a bummer...but it means my favorite tv shows will come back on soon
- looks like we're going to have a kickball team this fall...that's exciting
- i can get anti-infection medicine over the phone from my health care provider
- working from home rules...i've gotten more done today than if i were at the office
- i get to buy a new notebook for class tonite...which means another fun Target run
- i have a lot to do before the craigslist party on sunday and am not sure when it's going to get done
- haven't gone grocery shopping since we moved in to the new place
- wing eatin' smack-talk picked up again yesterday...i feel i've set myself up for victory
- golf is going to happen this coming weekend...and the ocean
- i'm also having a garage sale saturday morning...drop stuff off or come buy something
- the sky is really blue today

insecurities

lately i'm struggling with insecurity and how it hinders us all...it's ridiculous!  it stops us from taking a risk...stops us from trying something new...stops us from doing what we're capable of.

if only we knew who we actually were and what we could do...if we could sometimes see how others see us...i really think we'd all do so much more.  or not do things we shouldn't be doing. 

of course this mainly applies to me...but it's clear as day in a few people around me, too.  ugh.

microfinance.2

(cut & pasted) 

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Grameen Foundation impacts 18 million men, women, and children.  Profits from the businesses they start with microfinance loans form the foundation for their journey out of poverty.

Vote for Microcredit to Businesses in Developing Countries by July 15 at midnight and help us make it to the next round.  Card members can vote in each of the three rounds to narrow down the top ideas.  We’ll keep you informed on how to keep Grameen Foundation in the running.

Thank you for your support.

auto-mac

i love mexico city...it's so full of life, culture, history...it's awesome.  i've been a bit too exhausted to truly enjoy it, but i've done my best for the past 24 hours.

carlos (friend of adub's) picked me up at the airport to discover that my luggage hadn't arrived with me, so we went on our merry way to begin my mexico city adventure.  since 4:30 yesterday afternoon, we:
- ate at La Mansion, an awesome Argentinian place
- walked the markets in Coyoacan
- drove through the city center to view the super old buildings, square, etc
- stopped at the Remedy Cantina to wash our cares away with tequila...
- had real huevos rancheros for breakfast
- stopped by some art building that i really should know the name of
- drove to the pyramids to walk around, climb up and inspect
- walked around the city center to view the cathedral, the ruins, the government building...and then shopped just a little at the markets
- ate dinner at a yummy italian place at the supermall
- got to my hotel, where my luggage was waiting
- and soon, i hope to crash

my favorite thing so far has been that the McDonald's drive through is called the "auto-mac"

spelling my name

i would think that having IM or email would make it that much easier to spell my name...really...it's fully spelled out in both formats.

yet, i've become "kristin" to some..."kristy" to others...

golf skilz

dad's always said "drive for show, putt for dough."

i chose not to pay attention to this...until now.   i went to an easy par3 course and awesomely tee'd off 8 out of 9 holes.   and then i struggled...putting, pitching, chipping...it's all hard.  my potential score went from par to 10 on one hole.  ridiculous.  so now i get to work on the little stuff in golf.

last time dad was in town, i said, "if putting were more fun, i'd be better at it."

modified golf

i have to suggest that we cut the long game of golf down to 14 holes.  i'm now good enough to enjoy the first 12 holes, can push it to 14...but after that, i lose focus. 

man, it was a beautiful day for a long game of golf, though.  now i just need to improve a lot...

handwriting analysis

so i took an online handwriting analysis test yesterday and it's pretty interesting...these can't be taken all that seriously, but...it's fun.  my favorite paragraph:


Kristie is moderately outgoing. Her emotions are stirred by sympathy and heart rendering stories. In fact, she can be kind, friendly, affectionate and considerate of others. She has the ability to put herself into the other person's shoes. Kristie will be somewhat moody, with highs and lows. Sometimes she will be happy, the next day she might be sad. She has the unique ability to get along equally well with what psychology calls introverts and extroverts. This is because she is in between. Psychology calls Kristie an ambivert. She understands the needs of both types. Although they get along, she will not tolerate anyone that is too "far out." She doesn't sway too far one way or the other. When convincing her to buy a product or an idea, a heart rendering story could mean a great deal to her. She puts herself in the same situation as the person in the story, yet she will not buy anything that seems overly impractical or illogical. Kristie is an expressive person. She outwardly shows her emotions. She may even show traces of tears when hearing a sad story. Kristie is a "middle-of-the-roader," politically as well as logically. She weighs both sides of an issue, sits on the fence, and then will decide when she finally has to. She basically doesn't relate to any far out ideas and usually won't go to the extreme on any issue.