It takes a village pt II.

What inspires me today...

Online Community.

I started my second summer school class this past week: an online Art History course.  Already I have learned a few things that I think would benefit all three of my faithful readers:

1. People generally sound smarter when they have the time to articulate their thoughts in writing. (For the exception see #2)
2. People should be very careful when wielding the power that is emoticons.  They can help the reader detect sarcasm in an otherwise harsh sounding comment, ease the pain of the suffering, and make any intelligent or slightly uninformed comment sound downright idiotic.
3. If you are are not catching on as fast as some of the other students in your Spanish 101 class (coughguy who sits in front and already knows how to ask every question he has in Spanishcough) take an online class in something you know a decent amount about.  It will do wonders for your esteem. 
4. Tests are 90% stress-free when taken in bed.

(Note: when discussing Italian 14th century architecture on a message board, saying:
"Thanks! Your post was nice :) That's very true I hadn't really thought about that the two morners in the foreground DON"T have halos and instead they have hoods on... kinda weird... Well, I guess they all have hoods, but it just looks kind of weird like they would turn around really fast and be something scary! Hahaha!Yeah, i dont know y they are there...  -Tiffany :)"
should not count for discussion credit in an academic upper division art history course.)


Ah, the simple joys of Community College.  Now if only I could remember all the months in Spanish...

It takes a village.

What inspires me today...

Community College.

Yes, summer is here. But while everyone else is sleeping in, frolicking in the waves, peeing in pools, I am waking up at 6:30 four days a week to attend my community college elementary Spanish class.  As I bike across town and up that hill, every morning without fail I think to myself, "Curse you, Liberal Arts' GE requirements."

Some of the (almost) comically stereotypical students in Spanish 101 at Community College:

• The burnout girl in the back corner
• The 38 year old woman with bleached hair who dresses younger than me and talks like she's imitating a character off of Dawson's Creek. (you're not fooling anyone, girl.)
• The handful of high school juniors looking to get ahead (One of whom mistook me for someone in their same position.  When asked where I attended high school, I had some clarifying to do.  Not only am I in college, but I am a senior in college.)
• The hick from Arkansas who moved to California to surf
• Larry, the Cholo who doesn't speak Spanish
• The kid who looks like a young(er) Justin Beiber. (If our class was a fourth installment in the High School Musical franchise, he would probably be the hearth-throb.  But since it most definitely is not, he's just annoying and small.)

Since I have taken 2 years of Spanish already, and am not a complete idiot, I can notice things like the eye-roll our teacher gives after the annoying talkative high school girl says "Yo donde California" after he just explained the hard-to-grasp concept of "Soy de..."  He then has to separate her from her friend during his explanation of verb charades, because she was causing a disturbance.  Poor Marcelo.

Did I mention this class was 3 hour long?  I have enough material for a novel.  But I've already spent too of my thought space on Spanish class this week, so I will spare you, for now.

If that's movin' up, then I'm...

What inspires me today...

Moving (again)

How I know that I am not a hipster: I absolutely and unashamedly love the music of Billy Joel.

As my time comes to an end at the ever entertaining and mysterious condo, I will pack my things into a small four-door, try and avoid buying anything that the lady who rented us the room is selling (she, also, is moving), and try to get my security deposit back in full despite a semi-broken sliding closet door.

As this time comes to an end, I have some lessons that I've learned, which are all fully insightful and useful, no matter your living situation.  With that, I give you....

Wisdom from the Condo: 

Reflections From Living With Strangers

• It's great living with a 19 year-old drug dealer, he never left his room and just "jams" all day to Sublime and Marley (when not watching TV or zoning out in complete silence). 
• If the person you're living with says you can eat "whatever you want," that is a loaded statement.  Take full advantage of condiments and cooking implements, but steer clear of leftovers.  That feels creepy. 
• You may call the lady that rented you the room "mom," her son "brother/boyfriend," but don't call her boyfriend "dad."  This is mostly a spiteful gesture that shows him you still have some control. 
• If there is a hot tub, use it.
• If the 19 year-old drug dealer son sits at home literally all day doing nothing, but somehow can't find the time to wash a dish, this can play to your advantage.  If you do the dishes, mom feels bad you had to do them, if you leave them she feels bad because her son is a complete derelict.  Win-win for pull with the security deposit.
• If your closet door breaks, hopefully the dish situation pans out in your favor.
• If people ahead of time talk about a "condo crew" that lives in the same complex and all supposedly hang out by the pool, don't believe them.  They may exist, but you haven't seen any evidence of them thus far. 

Now I'm off, finally moving into a house full of friends.  I may take a roll of toilet paper on my way out.

Step Up 3D

This post has nothing to do with Step Up 3D.

What inspires me today...

Haircuts.

I cut a friend's hair today, as I sometimes do.  I laughed while he prattled stories of doing really cool things, but not actually being the type of "cool" normally assumed of those who do those things (such as being in a punk band, or playing jazz music).

I was paid in secrets and a nickname for the haircut; my new accepted currency.

I won't tell you the secrets, but my new nickname is: Genevieve-a-la Katie

I think I will start going by that the day I decide to talk about how cool I am despite doing nothing actually cool.

Random photos from my old photobucket account: 

Stingrays

Jackson Browne vs. Dinosaur

Altars.

What inspires me today...

Progress.

Milestones become strikingly clear when you realize that cynicism and critical tearing-apart is no longer your default lens to view the world, but rather one among many.

It's bizarre hearing someone rattle off almost verbatim the nice-sounding rants my heart used to feel so strongly about, and realizing that I am no longer yearning to join in.  I hate to admit that I finally know why others can sit back, smile, and hold firm that still and knowing look I used to discount as ignorance.

Council Crest, Portland, OR (Jay Lichtman)

These little markers in the hillside force me to look back and realize how far I have come, and that though there is an overwhelming expanse ahead, I'm at least going the right way.

"Everything changed the day he figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in his life."

-Brian Andreas

Build an altar.  Remember progress.

siesta così bella

What inspires me today...

Multiculturality

We should all take siestas.

(Vincent Van Gogh "The Siesta" )

(Markus Åkesson"The Sleep")

(Henri Rousseau "The Sleeping Gypsy")

Why does nap time get admonished after the age of 7?  Lets take the immortal advice of the mid-90's great Aqua, and dance until siesta when the sun comes alive.

What's cookin' good lookin'?

What inspires me today...

Cooking.

If you know me, you may or may not be aware that I am possibly the worst cook.  While most people think that the food I create is too "basic" or "boring" or "not good," I thoroughly enjoy my simple tastes.  Cereal is a staple, soup is wonderful, and there are amazing things you can do with brown rice or a sandwich.

This is installment numero uno of   KATIE CAN COOK,   a beginner's guide to preparing food that most people won't enjoy unless you like cereal, soup, and weird vegetables.

My latest invention: Kale Salad

If you don't know much about Kale: 

• It is a wild cabbage
• Believed to have anti-cancerous properties
• Curly leaf is the best
• Vitamin's K and C
• Carotenoids
• Iron
• Calcium

Mmm, calciferous!

So, normally, I prepare kale in this manner:
1. cut up some garlic
2. cut up some onion
3. cook that in some olive oil in a big ol' frying pan
4. add de-stemmed small-ish piece of kale
5. cover for about 8 minutes with another big ol' frying pan
6. de-cover and drench with balsamic vinegar
7. flip around with some tongs for a few more minutes, until bright green and either crispy or soft (whatever I'm feeling that night)

Then, I put that over some brown rice, add a thickly sliced tomato, and BAM! Dinner.

But this time, I revolutionized my meal.

I prepared the rice and kale in the same manner as before, but this time, I changed some things around.
I put the bed of brown rice, the hot kale, the usual tomato, nothing too out of the ordinary here... BUT THEN, I cut up and heated some small slices of savory-flavored tofu.  I went on... I added half an avocado, and lettuce.  I then tossed that all together with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
Yeah.  I went there.

Take my word for it, it was delicious.

"Delicious and nutritious!"
-Katie, 6/1/10

But if you foolishly refuse to take my word for it, take my roommate Ashley's word for it:

"Yum!"
-Ashley, 6/1/10

Let Katie make a believer out of YOU!