Treinta y uno

I love the Christmas season. I love lights, trees, and finding the perfect gift for people. I've decided to dedicate this blog to the reasons why I love Christmas. I am not going to slap a bunch of disclaimers on my preferences--I simply love to love Christmas.

Christmas lights.
Maybe it's my fixation with shiny things... maybe it's the beautiful way they glow in the evening light... but you'd be hard-pressed to find something I'd rather do than go see Christmas lights in December. I fully intend to be one of those households that out-shines everyone else in the neighborhood, not because I'm trying to be a jerk, but because I love Christmas lights that much. It's hard not to smile when you drive by a house that really put some effort into decorating.

Christmas at Starbucks.
December is the only time of year that I am consistently willing to spend money on fufu coffee. The Peppermint Mocha Latte is Christmas in a cup, and I cannot be sad when I am drinking this coffee. The day before one of my exams this month I decided to get a coffee before diving into an intense afternoon of studying. What actually happened was I took a sip of the coffee and proceeded to put on Christmas music and spend the entire afternoon decorating my apartment. Time well spent? I think so. (I also passed the exam with flying colors, so there's that.)

Christmas music.
From the classic Christmas carols to the new renditions of old favorites, I can't help but love Christmas music. It just makes my heart happy. My favorite is "Carol of the Bells". This is partially because it was a tradition to sing it at our Christmas concert every December in choir and partially because it has so much going on and there are so many versions of it. It's impossible to become bored with that song. (Note: I cannot stand the song "Feliz Navidad". I have no idea why, but it annoys the living daylights out of me... which seems silly because I love Spanish so much.)

Christmas trees.
I'm not sure if its the tree itself or the decorating that I love more, but the finished product is so beautiful I can't help but feel at home when a Christmas tree is in the room. Pulling out the boxes of ornaments and deciding which to put on a tree appeals to the organizational side of me, and the aesthetic appeal of the finished product never fails to light up a room. It's like a 3-D collage of memories. I recently changed my formerly-negative opinion about artificial trees and although I love the smell of evergreen, I like the idea of being able to design everything about a tree right down to where you want the branches. Also, artificial trees come with lights. Win.

Christmas desserts.
I don't think this needs much explaining. Baking becomes infinitely more fun around Christmas time, and baking for the sake of giving the baked goods to other people is my favorite. I can make delicious treats simply because I love to and then give them to other people who will love eating them. Everyone wins with Christmas cookies and fudge.

Christmas presents.
My philosophy on gift-giving has changed a lot over the years. I no longer create a list of people for whom I am obligated to find gifts. Instead, I remain open to the possibility of giving presents to everyone, provided that I have an idea that is clever, ironic, or specific to that individual. Essentially, my gift-giving must be intentional. One of the many positives to this philosophy is that girls will never receive a generic bath set from me (unless you tell me a fragrance you like or I think it's really what you want). One of the negatives to this philosophy is that my gift-giving is inconsistent; just because you receive a wildly appropriate present this year does not mean you get one next year. It isn't because I don't love you; it's because I love you enough not to get you something for your junk drawer. I also would like to make it abundantly clear that I don't want things for my junk drawer either, so my anti-obligatory stance on presents goes both ways. Just send me a greeting card. I love greeting cards.

Ultimately, I have decided that I am okay with the commercialization of Christmas. December 25th wasn't Jesus' birthday, so I don't always think of it that way. Thinking about Christ should happen throughout the year, so I am personally not offended that Christmas has been transformed with some odd traditions. I just see it as a season with more spirit than the rest of the year, and each year I hold onto that spirit as long as I can. I haven't bought into the materialistic idea that presents=how much you love people, but I do like to make people happy. Looking for ways to brighten people's days and serve them is a good thing. It's a Christ-like thing. And I find that there are lots of out-of-the-ordinary ways to do that around this time of year... so maybe that's where Jesus fits into the picture. Maybe it is possible for Him and the over-commercialized Christmas traditions to coexist. Maybe it's just about joy.

I know it doesn't make sense to put lights on the outside of my house, Jim Gaffigan, but sometimes it's okay to just want things to be pretty.

Treinta

Tip of the Day:

Do not begin putting change into a parking meter unless you are 100% sure you have enough money to buy the amount of time needed to last the duration of your classes.

So Merry Christmas to whoever reaped the 1 hour 20 minute benefit of my failed parking attempt.

I'd like to know who decided that ten minutes should cost me a quarter. What a jerk.

Veintinueve

A good friend of mine once compared women to spaghetti and men to waffles. Women, she said, are always thinking something. There is never a time when their minds are empty. Men, she continued, are capable of not thinking about anything, as exemplified by the squares in the waffle that don’t end up with syrup.

Several days ago, I was doing my dishes around 1 AM (you know, about the time your fine motor skills quit working) and I broke my coffee maker. There are only a few pieces that go into the filter-containing-apparatus, but I could not for the life of me figure out how to get it back together. I went to sleep somewhat frustrated and thought, “I’ll tackle this in the morning.”

Well, Morning Kris didn’t know how to fix it either. Thus began a week of far-too-costly-campus-brewed coffee.

Last night, I went to sleep again thinking about my coffee maker. (Is that sad?)

And—I kid you not—I dreamed how to fix it. Subconscious Kris managed to correctly assemble the pieces. I woke up and was like, “Oh, duh!” and promptly went into my kitchen, fixed it, and brewed coffee.

I am not joking when I say my mind does not rest.

Veintiocho

Had you asked me prior to today whether I thought restrictions on the sale of alcohol were a good idea, I would have probably said yes. However, having experienced the enforcement of a blue law at Safeway this morning, my answer has changed. Allow me to explain.

No one remembered the elements for communion this morning. We brought in the equipment, started getting things set up, and realized we had no bread or wine. Problematic, you might say. I don't know how to set up sound equipment very well anyways, so I volunteered to make a quick run to buy some pita bread and wine. (Keep in mind that the wine we use is alcohol free.)

I drove like a maniac to the store, ran in, spent a few minutes frantically looking for the wine, grabbed some pita bread, and made a quick break for the self-check-out. I scanned the bottle of wine (which, again, is ALCOHOL FREE), and the screen said "Item is not for sale". I didn't understand. The item had to be for sale--it was in the aisle and it had a bar code! Safeway associates had helped me locate said bottle! It was clearly for sale!

The cashier who was supervising the self check-out came over and informed me that they can't sell alcohol until 10 am. It was 9:15. "But it's alcohol free!" I protested. "And church starts at 10:30!" She grabbed the bottle of wine, turned on her heel, and walked away. I was stunned.

How is there not an exception to the blue laws for items that clearly say ALCOHOL REMOVED on the label? How did that get through the system??

I do find it ironic that the laws that were originally implemented for religious reasons were somewhat of a hindrance to church today.

Veintesiete

Some things never change.

It has just occurred to me that perhaps practices between generations are more consistent than we think.

Styles don't really change, they just sort of rotate. Who ever thought platforms would be in style more than once? Thank you, Spice Girls.

Music is always changing, but it seems like just as a new genre is created, another classic rock band gets their second wind.

You get the point.

Now, Homecoming weekend brings a lot of alumni to the U of A campus. Our school is quite old, thus so are some of our alumni. Two elderly ladies stopped by the dorm tonight to take a look at their former residence hall. Amidst the reminiscing, they told me about how they once went to Mexico and bought a bag that was just the right size and shape to hide a six pack of beer, and that's how they smuggled alcohol into the building.

Ahh, college life. It's funny to think that the things teens and twenty-somethings attempt to do today have already been successfully accomplished by their grandparents.

Veintiséis

Reasons why registering for classes is far too difficult:

1. Not enough sections.
One class everyone in the major has to take... one section. Ridiculous.

2. Not enough seats.
Only 35 seats in that one section? Come on.

3. Faculty members are being fired.
No wonder we can't find classes--there's no one to teach them.

4. The registration system crashes constantly.
They never seem to anticipate the volume of students who need to register at one time.
There are over 30,000 of us. Please be better prepared.

5. There is no alternate registration option.
And the online system always seems to fail in one way or another.

6. People register for classes they don't need.
You know, "just in case" they change their mind later.

7. Days/times for classes aren't finalized until the day before registration.
And they try to teach us to plan ahead.

8. THEY CHANGE PRIORITY REGISTRATION DATES AT THE LAST SECOND.

Reasons why registering for classes should not be this difficult:

*ahem*

1. Tuition costs an obscene amount of money each semester.
Where has it all gone?
Stop re-potting the flowers and re-hire some professors, please.

The end.

Veinticinco

I wrote this in my online journal when I was 15 (a sophomore in high school). I was somewhat contemplative and maybe even a little bit insightful.

"Life isn't measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away. The problem is, we expect huge, miraculous, sparkly, perfect things to take our breath away, and often times that just doesn't happen. The alternative is opening our eyes to the small, simple, wonderful things that happen every day. Allowing the little things to make us happy ultimately benefits us in the long run, because we learn to stop expecting so much and taking things in stride. Then, when the huge, miraculous, sparkly, perfect things do happen, they're that much more amazing. Seeing things in a positive light, and smiling at the small stuff, it's all a choice. Happiness is a choice. Even when things are tough, we can smile because inevitably something good will follow. We just gotta watch for it. There is beauty in everything around us, but sometimes we're so wrapped up in the yuckish, we don't notice it."

Aside from strange adjectives and the obvious cliche, I don't think I've dropped this attitude.

Regardless of whatever life throws at us, there is always something good.
I have to believe that.

Veinticuatro

The first two years I lived in Tucson, I alternated between being a pedestrian and a driver. Never was I a bicyclist. (Well, there was that one time I borrowed Roommate's bike to go look for a synagogue, but that's a whole different story.) As a pedestrian/driver, I found bicyclists to be rather annoying. Who did they think they were, not following the traffic laws every other vehicle has to follow? Talk about arrogant!

I definitely still think there are a lot of bicyclists who don't actually realize that what they are riding is considered a "vehicle" in our glorious state, so yes they should stop at stop signs and no they don't automatically have the right of way, but my current frustration is with pedestrians:

GET OUT OF THE BICYCLE LANE. Seriously: on campus especially, you have ten feet on either side of our six-foot, two-way path (which means, you math geniuses, that the pedestrians have 20 feet total to work with and I have three feet to myself), and you choose to walk right down the middle? Right on the double yellow lines? I know you think you aren't endangering anyone, but when you start to swerve because you're talking on your cell phone, I can't anticipate that. And if I follow suit and swerve as well, I am putting people's lives at risk who aren't even in the bike lane. And I am bigger and faster than you. And physics tells me this could lead to some problems.

In lieu of this problem, I have written a haiku:

Oh pedestrians
Please get out of the bike lane
Before I hit you

Veintitrés

A few weeks ago I got "flashed" by a speed camera for the first time. Prior to this event, I had successfully avoided all citations/tickets that usually plague young drivers, so I was in pretty good shape. I was a little nervous, so I spoke with a few friends who have gotten caught by speed cameras. As far as they knew, the ticket would be sent to the person whose name was on the vehicle's registration. At the time, I was driving a car that is registered to my dad. The picture would clearly not look like him, so we could just send in a copy of his driver's license and check the box that says, "This isn't me." (Not the most honest move, I admit.)

So that was the plan. No problem.

Wrong. Of course there was another complication, because if there wasn't, I wouldn't be blogging about it.

The car I was driving also has my mom's name on the registration. And we look so much alike, they aren't going to buy the "this isn't me" excuse if she sends them a copy of her driver's license. So there goes $200. Oops.

The moral of the story is to pay attention to speed limit changes when you get off the highway. Also, watch for signs that say, "Photo Enforcement Zone," because those are *apparently* all over the place. Pshh.

Veintidós

Tattoos have always interested me. I understand that it isn't everyone's "thing" and that a lot of people dislike them, which is fine, but I think they're fascinating. Hearing people's stories about their tattoos and seeing original artwork never ceases to capture my attention.

Today I got my second tattoo. My first was done two years ago and was relatively painless, except for the bottom edge which goes over my ankle bone. I didn't think too much about that pain when I decided to get the next one on the top of my foot. As the artist began outlining with the needle, I realized something. I believe my exact words were, "So apparently there are a lot of bones in the foot..."

Google has informed me that in fact, there are 26 bones in the human foot, which, let's face it, is pretty cool. (http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1998-08/897679960.An.r.html)

In any case, the tattoo turned out better than I expected. Also, because it hurt so much, I'm not too eager to get another one anytime soon. Everyone wins.

Veintiuno

When I was younger, my friends and I joked about tasers and stun guns and things like that. We didn't really know what they were, aside from the fact that they can do some damage. And although we joked, I never thought I would own anything like that, even if I did live by myself. But as it turns out, there are people who are concerned for my safety and want me to be able to defend myself.

And so today I was given a most interesting gift.

Veinte

Somewhere along the line I think we have to realize that we are emotional beings. This doesn't mean everyone is a drama queen, or that everyone has a temper, or that everyone is hyper-sensitive, it just means that we are capable of having emotions. Perhaps one of the greatest disservices we can do for ourselves is tell ourselves that we aren't emotional--because that makes any emotion seem trivial and out-of-place. I think sometimes we need to experience certain emotions so that we can respond to different situations in our lives.

For example, I know I'm someone who gets frustrated, but I also know I don't hold grudges and I can't stay angry for much more than a day. Sometimes I just need to be frustrated.

I know other people who are criers. They just need to cry occasionally, and after they cry they feel better and are more equipped to deal with the situation at hand.

I'm not sure that the logical approach to emotion is one that everyone should adopt, but it makes sense to me. And I know that I don't feel as bad being "emotional" if I can keep in mind that it will pass and I'll be okay "tomorrow".

Today was actually a really good, positive day. No frustration whatsoever. I was just thinking about this earlier. :)

Diecinueve

When asked which superpower I'd like to have, my default answer is flying. I am not abandoning my dreams of flight, but I think I've figured out the ultimate superpower.

Sleeping.

Not just normal sleeping, sleeping in an ideal situation.
Sleeping whenever you decide, that very instant.
Sleeping wherever you decide, that very spot.
Sleeping comfortably, with no aches and pains when you wake up.
Sleeping for however long you decide, and not a minute longer. There would be no need for alarm clocks--your body would just stop sleeping when you wanted to wake up!

Personally, I think I've struck gold. Now I just have to figure out how to make this a reality.

In the meantime, I'm gonna catch some z's... after I set my alarms.

Dieciocho

Although there is almost always a song stuck in my head, I am exceptionally bad at remembering lyrics. I have to go through and read them/sing along at least four or five times before I remember them, and I usually don't have that kind of time on my hands.

Fortunately, it's summer.

Since The Hush Sound is the band I've been listening to most recently, I decided to at least investigate the lyrics to one of their catchy songs (so I can sing along in the car).

As it turns out, it's kind of a sad song. These are the lyrics to the chorus:

As you cry, I wanna lie
Say I love you so, darlin' even though I don't
There's no easy way, to ease the pain
Roses and the tulips have
Withered away, they had their day
So it's time to say goodnight and goodbye

I found the upbeat and cutesy sound to be ironic matched with these lyrics. (Originally I thought it said, "I don't wanna lie, I love you so" which would make sense with the melody. Nope.)

In any case, it's a great song. You should listen to it.
Here's a link to a low quality YouTube video of them at one of their shows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdc4G072vNM

Diecesiete

For two years, my Toshiba laptop (affectionately referred to as "Mindy") has served me faithfully. She has her off days, but overall she's pretty reliable. She is named because it feels a little less crazy to yell at "Mindy" than ambiguous "computer".

Recently, I began noticing the crazy amounts of dust that were underneath the keys on the keyboard. Figuring there had to be some sort of device with which I could clean the keyboard, I called my dad to find out where I could find one of the keyboard cleaning contraptions. (I'll try to steer clear of the alliteration this time...) So Dad tells me I can simply pop off the keys and clean underneath of them. I'm hesitant, but he says they'll pop back on, no problem. He warns me that I should only remove and clean underneath one key at a time.

Yeah, right.

Thinking I'll just be really careful to keep the keys in order, I began taking off five to six of them at a time. I figured Dad was just concerned I'd forget where they keys were supposed to be. It never occurred to me that he might have had other reasons for telling me to only take off one key at a time. Reasons such as, they don't all attach the same way, and some of them won't go back on easily... or at all.

The arrow keys, as it turns out, are not attached the same as the other keys.

Oops.

Sorry, Mindy.

Dieciséis

Two blogs in one week? What?! Madness!!!

For those of you who never read my Facebook note about toothpaste (yes, I write about fantastic and interesting things), I use Listerine brand. They make a gel toothpaste that is incredibly strong and leaves my breath feeling minty fresh for hours. I don't really like other brands because my breath doesn't feel clean when I'm done brushing. Granted, it has always been a bit more expensive to stick with the Listerine brand, but I can scrimp and save in other areas of my budget--I refuse to compromise my oral hygiene. I can shop for clothes in thrift shops, buy generic brand food, and only buy used dvds... but I am not willing to negotiate on my toothpaste preference. I spent too many years in braces, expanders, rubber bands, headgear (yes, headgear; no, there are no photos), and a retainer to allow my teeth look anything short of spectacular.

But there is a problem. I think they may have discontinued Listerine brand toothpaste. It is no longer available in grocery stores or Walgreens. (And let's face it, if Walgreens doesn't have it, what hope is there?!)

It doesn't exist for cheaper than $4 online. I am extremely disheartened by this discovery.

Quince

In 7th grade, I took a "computer" class. I felt pretty slick, because we spent most of the class learning how to type correctly. I quickly figured out that I could whiz through each of the terrific timed typing tests (I like alliteration; I'm going to try to add some more) if I only learned to reach the big, blunt, beautiful backspace button. (Ok, that was a stretch--the backspace button isn't that attractive.) I was kicking butt in my typing class... or so I thought. Soon, the sad, startling secret behind my success showed itself; I was losing points each time I hit the backspace button.

What is that supposed to teach children? Are we supposed to sit back and say that solving our somewhat serious life situations is stupid and superfluous? "I realized you've discontinued the dilemma, but it's indubitably inconsequential, because your monumental mistake must make a mark on your life. For-ev-er." (Sandlot style.)

It's no wonder so many kids have self-esteem issues.

On a somewhat related sidenote, if I'm going to sacrifice capitalization or punctuation in a text or message, it'll always be capitalization. It is much easier for me to understand that "kris" was supposed to be "Kris" than it is for me to guess that "your" means "you're". (I also rarely capitalize my name. I think it looks better in all lower-case letters.)

Catorce

The joy known as asthma is currently dominating my life. As always, frustration leads to some analysis.

Alex made an excellent point in an email he wrote to me this week. He wrote this:

I hope you're feeling better, or if you're not, that you start to immediately! I don't know why people say "soon".
"I hope you start feeling better soon"... It's like they want you to suffer just a little more first.
Masochists.

Also, I don't understand why people are asking if I'm sick when I clearly sound like a man. I almost want to respond with, "No, I just thought I'd try something new." Here's your sign.

Trece

Sometimes if a minor incident occurs at the beginning of my day, I'm a little wary at what the rest of the day might bring. These incidents can be anything from spilling coffee all over myself, falling down the stairs, or smacking my head on the top bunk. (All of which I have done... more than once.)

This particular morning, I was the first person on the schedule for the desk, meaning I would perform the "opening" tasks. These include security rounds, calling Coro to let them know we're open, and physically cranking open the window. Opening is easy. Usually.

Today, however, just as I began to crank the window open, the lever snapped off. All of the sudden I was holding the lever and it was not attached to the window-opening mechanism. This left me with an open slit of about two inches where I could peek (very creepily, I might add) into the lobby.... and there was no way to actually open up the desk area. The emergency maintenance response was quick, and they ended up having to dismantle the entire cranking apparatus to find the problem. The guy said it was going to break sooner or later. (It figures it was during my shift.)

Although I was in shock that I "broke the desk", the situation didn't really surprise me.

*****

Update: Later, during the same glorious shift, I also managed to lock myself out of the desk area. This left me with one option: vault myself back over the counter. Excellent. I'm very acrobatic and coordinated and such, you see.

Doce

Consistency and reliability are pretty difficult characteristics to personify. Life gets in the way, sleep deprivation leads to forgetfulness, and priorities are imposed upon us. Nonetheless, I have been (for the most part) a consistent and reliable person... until recently. I can't figure out quite where the disconnect has been occurring, but somewhere between making plans, writing them down, and executing said plans I haven't been able to manage to keep up with things. I've always been the kind of person who makes lists and reminders on Post-Its, in planners, or on my hand. However, all of the aforementioned methods of reminding myself about what I am supposed to be doing seem to be failing me at the moment. I can't remember anything without it being written down. And sometimes I forget before I even have the chance to write it down; there's just no hope at that point. This is all very, very strange to me.