Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Sunday everyone! :D Hope you've all enjoyed your ham dinner (or whatever you ended up having), the beautiful spring day, the egg hunts, and of course the fact that today Christ rose again. Yes, it makes for a good day. :) The pastor had a really good service about what actually is the criteria for being a follower of Christ. It was 1 Corinthians 15 I think...one awesome thing about him is that he doesn't beat around the bush, trying to make things sound good. He says what is true and right, and I love it so much. :)

Just thought I'd let you know: My cat decided today would be a great day to get into a cat fight while his Mom (aka, me) went to church. I came home to him mewing pitifully, but it wasn't until hours later that I saw this long cut right on top of his head. Fail, Raton. Anyway, my Mom put some alcohol on the cut, and at first he was like, "Ooh, weird cotton stuff is rubbing my head! Cool!" But then it began to sting and he meowed and tried to escape. Poor thing. Hopefully it'll be a lesson to him. xD

I just realized that my apple tree is blooming. How I managed to miss it, I will never know. It's on the other side of the street from my house, and I don't generally go there much anymore, so that was probably part of it. But yes, expect some pics of apple blooms.

I saw the movie "The Lorax" on Saturday. Oh my gosh, it was sooo awesome! I kinda want to see it again... ( Any interest?) xD Does it make me childish for liking it? Maybe. But it reminded me of Pixar movies somewhat, and so I choose to say I'm not  childish. :)

Anywho, just a quick update. Happy Easter!

Monday, March 19, 2012

The Adventures of Mc. Donalds

I'mma going to try and keep this short, 'cause I want to get to bed early tonight...

So...Mc. Donalds. I'm finally starting to get the hang of it, and I don't find myself dying within every time I realize I have work sometime in the week. My schedule generally has 2-3 days of the week filled (Monday, Friday, and all of Saturday). Monday and Friday are obviously my preferred days to work 'cause I have less hours on those days, and I'm with coworkers I can handle more; AKA, the boys. I prefer working with the boys because they don't speak in Spanish to each other, nor do they seemingly make fun of me, nor do they joke around with each other. Thus, I feel a tad bit more welcome with them. Sadly, when I work on Saturdays I'm stuck with the girls and their weird, gossipy stories.

Alas, I have finally learned how to make the coffee/hot drinks in general! :D Well, more or less. We have WAY too many coffee options at that place...it gets confusing. Today I tried making hot chocolate for my first time though...heh...it came out all white and steamy, and after my second failed attempt, I turned to my manager and said,
"OK, I'm obliviously doing something wrong." Her eyes went wide. "You should come help me."
Apparently, I had managed to only get warm milk. Fail, yes. Go ahead and laugh. After she explained it to me, she asked if I'd remember how to make it in the future. And I'm thinking, "YOU'RE TALKING TO ME. I DON'T REMEMBER THINGS." But I said I'd try. Satisfactory, I do believe.

Hmm, what else? Oh, yes. I found ants while sweeping the floor the other day. A lot of them, too. Don't come to my restaurant if this freaks you out (but remember; you didn't hear this from me). xD

Random factoid of the day: My favorite thing EVER to do at Mc. Donalds is make the desserts, such as ice cream cones (I have just recently figured out the technique to creating a flawless cone :D), smoothies, shakes, and sundaes. Maybe it's because it's the only food I do make. The sandwiches are out of my hands--I just take orders, make drinks, make desserts, and give the food. Yesh. I used to want to work in grill, but now I don't want to have to learn something so drastically new. I think I'll stay to the cashier, thanks. ^_^
On St. Patrick's Day, this lady walks in and asks if we have any Shamrock Shakes left. I blinked and said yes. "Oh, good!" she cried. "You're going to make my little girl so happy! We've already gone to five other locations."
And guess what? We're out of it now ourselves. D: I about cried when they told me that today (jk). So did the costumers when they asked...

Oh, and I saved the best for last...Tonight was really boring and slow up until my last 15 minutes of work. I was in the lobby sweeping, having a jolly old time, when this old, creepy, hobo-looking man calls out to me.
"Ma'am? (Haha, people call me "Ma'am" now...) Have you seen my glasses?"
"No..."
"Did you take them?"
"...No, I didn't..." The manager thought it'd be a good time to get involved then.
"Kathryn, did you see his glasses when you were wiping the tables a while back?"
"No," I answered truthfully. "I didn't see them, or his newspapers, or even him! I didn't see him walk in, either."
So she went to check the cameras to make sure I hadn't just sealed my first job by stealing a customer's pair of glasses. Meanwhile, I went up to the man and asked him what the glasses had looked like.
"I'm not crazy," he muttered angrily, not answering my question. "They were right here!" He looked through his stack of newspapers for the fifth time, just to make sure. I gave up after my third try to help him, and continued with my job, avoiding the man to the best of my ability. Honestly, he was creepy.
Finally, the manager called him, and she said something like,
"I checked the tapes, and apparently, when you went to the bathroom a lady took your glasses and walked away with them."
"I don't believe you," he replied curtly. For some reason we didn't go show him the clips.
And then my time was up and I exited the building from the other side from where the man was sitting, 'cause I was honestly afraid of receiving some death glare, or worse, being attacked. Yes, my imagination runs wild.
THE END.
And thus, you got an inside view to my job. I'll tell you all more stories when they come up--they can be SO funny...!
~Kathy

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Today

Today was a good day, and I'm looking foward to an epically awesome week-end. xD Here's a list of why:
1. I got off school at 12:20 PM today because of parent teacher conferences!
2. I don't have school tomorrow or on Monday! (Two chances to sleep in!)
3. I learned today that I will be going to a basketball game with my friend Sydra Monday night!
4. I'll be seeing some family friends Saturday night!
5. I don't have any math homework this weekend!
6. My Daddy gave me a rose today (belated Valentine's present)!!! :D
7. I watched NEW episodes of Phineas and Ferb today!
8. I helped a friend with her writing--for some reason, I love doing that sort of thing!
9. I finished my book, "Poison" today!
10. And I talked to my best buddy/cousin on the phone this evening, Marian!

Not a bad day or upcoming weekend, huh? xD Now if only I didn't have any work...haha.
~Kathy

Sunday, February 12, 2012

I am alive!!! :D
A lot's been happening in my life recently. It's not until now though that I've actually had the time to sit down and write about it.
Number one: I got a job at Mc.Donalds. Any kids reading this right now are most likely feeling sorry for me; any adult is beaming with pride. I find that very interesting.
I basically work at the front counter and clean the lobby when the place is calm. The job is harder than it looks, honestly, but the people I work with say I'll have it down soon. Since it's been two weeks, I'm still unsure about their "promise" of me ever understanding the job completely. My biggest problem is understanding the difference between a customer ordering a sandwich and getting the meal. They NEVER specify, so I have to ask, and I almost always forget their fries. Either that, or I give them fries when they only ordered the sandwich. The other workers have had to come to my aid in almost every order it seems, and I'm getting sick of it all very quickly.
But the place is kind of humorous when you get the right customers...I already have three stories. When I was on my first few days, a lady wanted to order a sandwich without a bun. I think she did it on purpose 'cause she saw I had no idea if you could even do that. But you know what? You can order a sandwich without the bun. Very exciting, isn't it? Yes, I have taught you all something new about Mc. Donalds. I encourage you all to now go order a sandwich without a bun. xD
This next one actually made me laugh at the time, because I didn't feel I was being teased for some reason. xD Some guy ordered his meal and I calculated the change wrong or something. I don't even remember. Anyway, another cashier had to come help me, and as he figured it out the man ordering said, "This is geometry!"
For those of you who don't know the difference between basic math and geometry, here's a hint. Basic math teaches everything from 2+2 to 54*2. Geometry studies shapes, like triangles and circles.
"Can we change that to algebra?" I asked. I knew even then it was a bit off, but it was better than geometry.
"Sure," the customer replied. "Basic math, algebra, trig..." When I told the manager the story later, he laughed and said,
"Yeah, we sell sandwiches with 90 degree angles."
And my final story took place last night. An irritable old lady asked for a side salad with ranch dressing. We were out of ranch, so she changed it to some dressing I can't even pronounce. Due to that, I gave her the wrong kind, and she came back ten minutes later furious. Without thinking she went behind the counter where we were.
"Ma'am, you can't be back here!" the manager scolded her, and the lady irritably went back to her rightful spot, while another employee showed her the other choices of dressing.
"I wouldn't have to go back there if you hired people that can read!" she yelled. That actually got to me. Thankfully she came back at the end of my shift and apologized.
And so far, those are my best stories of the job I have come to acquire.
Number two: This semester I had a free hour I needed to fill at school, so I put in librarian aid. I've come to REALLY like the place! Unlike Mc. Donalds, I don't mind talking to the kids (maybe it's because I actually know how to give them what they want), and I even enjoy shelving the books, mainly because I find some for myself. I think I have nine books out right now. xD Sadly I'm only devoting myself to one book right now that I read in 7th grade and loved. It's amazing how you can come back to a book three years later and understand the themes and what's going on soooo much more! Same goes for movies. The book is much more enjoyable today I bet since I can actually follow the storyline more. And it's nice to know how the book ends, too. xD I "work" with two other kids: Alexa and Thomas. They're both juniors I think, but Thomas will be graduating this year. They're pretty fun to work with. :)
Number three: Rootbeer's been acting strangely ever since I made my bed a month ago. Beforehand, he rarely ever joined me up on the bed while I was doing my homework or sleeping. I always figured it was because when I get irritated with him I grab him and stuff him under the sheets with me until he calms down and I can release him. But now, almost every time I'm doing my homework, he'll jump up onto the bed with me, find a comfortable spot and take a catnap. I really enjoy his company, but it still leaves me puzzled, even more so when I wake up to him dozing on the bed. Is he just growing up or something? Oh where has my familiar kitten gone (not that I miss this particular part of him--I LOVE having him on the bed with me. Makes me feel loved.)?

There's been a few other things in my life, but the one needs to stay hidden under lock and key and the other is still developing. I'll write all about it when it finally reaches it's conclusion (which could be anywhere between next week and the next two years). Until then, later!
~Kathy

Sunday, January 15, 2012

I Am Number Four

So I actually finished a book today! This is rare for me, because I come home with 2-7 books every time I look for "a" book, and then I never have time to finish them all. Generally, I don't find any good books anyway.
But now, being the librarian aid in school, I have a feeling my two books I've already found myself checking out will go up to twenty before the end of the semester. And I might finish five. xD

So, for the last few days I've been reading the book, "I Am Number Four." The movie came out a few months ago, and when I saw the ad I was hooked. Unfortunately, we never got around to seeing it. When I was wandering through the library the other day, though, I ended up finding the book, which I figured was the next best thing, if not better. So I checked it out myself (that's the advantage to working there XD) and began to read it.
I started the book knowing the movie, according to rumors, had been awful. But I tried it out anyway, knowing books are 99.9% better than the movie. At first, the book seemed promising. The first half covered the main character, named John/Number Four, who's an alien from a planet that was destroyed by another alien race. He and 8 others had been on the run from the other alien race for maybe 10 years. Three of them had already been killed, and John was next in line. This meant that he and his father-figure, Henri, were constantly on the run, avoiding the other aliens to the extreme.

It doesn't sound like a bad book when this is all you hear. But the rest of the book was basically John/Number Four trying to cope with his alien powers and his love story with his human-girlfriend (already creepy) named Sarah. Generally, I'm a hopeless romantic. But although sex never occurred (miraculously) in this book, John was too devoted to his girlfriend and not to his own alien race's survival. I guess you can't expect much more from a 16 year-old boy. But still.
Also, the book's sentences felt forced to me, meaning the words did not flow together. When I (or authors I admire) write, the sentence structure varies from a very short sentence, to long, complicated sentences. However, this author used short sentences more often than not, especially if it was supposed to be an intense scene. This in itself distracted me from the story.
Furthermore...the book felt cliche-like. Popular-jock hates John who falls in love with the jock's ex. It sounds like a High School love story, and last I knew, the book was supposed to be science-fiction. I know other kids my age like the High School stories, but I really don't. They bore me in their, "I'm not popular; I'm going to become popular; I'm popular!" story-line that takes place in almost every book. Either that, or the story-line goes, "I like this girl; I gotta get this girl; we're dating! Yay!".
I hear these things every day at school. Get me something new, please.
However, I make it sound like this book was awful. It was, to some extent. But I haven't totally given up on the next five books in the series. Only one of the five, book two, is out as of now, so I'll be getting it from the library soon, hopefully, and expecting a much better story-line. Thankfully, I have a feeling John's girlfriend will be out of the way more. :D We'll see how the book turns out...
Anyway, I'm off!
~Kathy

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas/Birthday!

Oliver's been bugging me about my blog "dying", so I decided to update today just for him. Luckily I actually have stuff to say, and photos! :D
Since today is my birthday, my family celebrated Christmas yesterday. We had our traditional coffee cake for breakfast, opened our Christmas presents, visited my Grandparents, saw Christmas lights, and went to the Christmas Eve Service! A pretty full day, I'd say, but I enjoyed it. The Christmas Eve Service was awesome, and it was great to see my grandparents.
Since I'm basically broke right now (all my money is going to a band trip to Branson, Missouri later this summer), I had a "fun" time giving presents to my family, heh...in the end, I got a stuffed mouse for Mom (she loves those type of stuff, ya know xD), wrote a heart-felt poem to Dad, and Oliver recieved two presents he had already bought for himself, but he allowed me to give them to him. I also gave him a "Get Out of Dishes 3X Free-Card." Heh, next time I'll try and be more creative. Oh, and all three of them again received a music video I made of my 2011 photos. It's having trouble uploading on my parents' facebook, but hopefully I'll get it up there in the next few days.
I'd have to say that my favorite Christmas presents are the book "One Child" and t-shirts from Oliver, and my pj's and stuffed bear from my parents (they know me SO well xD).

 Then came today! :D The first half of the day was spent at church, which was...interesting, to say the least. A person would think the place would be packed, considering it's Christmas Sunday, after all. But the place wasn't anymore packed than on a normal Sunday, and there was only one service today, not two. It made me sad.  Luckily, there was this adorable little two year old sitting one row behind us, and when he tried to sing along with the congregation I would practically squeal. He was adorable I tell you. :)
I need a little brother or something...*sigh*...
Anyway, so after church we headed home and we opened our stockings. Even though stockings technically go with Christmas Day, we've always opened them on my birthday. Mom came up with it when I was born so as to not make Oliver, the older brother, jealous that his annoying sister was stealing the holiday, hehe. Afterwards, I couldn't wait any longer, and so I opened my birthday presents! My brother got me yet another book I've been wanting called "The Book Thief" (!!!), and this hilarious trombone t-shirt. I plan on wearing it the day I get back in school, and if the trombone section doesn't get it, I might just punch someone. ;) My parents got me two epically awesome DVDs I've been hinting at; Cars 2 and How to Train Your Dragon. One of my guy friends says the latter movie is cute but took away his "manly-ness" when he watched it, and so every time I look at that movie I think of his comment. He just needs to embrace his emotions is all. xD
The best gift is the one currently on my finger. A few months before my birthday, my parents decided to buy me a purity ring, and they took me shopping to pick it out. It was very exciting. It's a silver ring with the verse Proverbs 3:5, and a diamond in a cut-out cross. It makes me happy, and it'll be on my wedding finger until marriage. :)

Anywho, so I think I've mentioned the squirrel (named Nut) by my house that always shows up, right? The crazy one that's tried to kill both me and my cat while mowing or just walking through my yard. It's gone on all year. Anyway, so I saw him today of all days, and like usual I called out to the nut and made fun of him. I mean, c'mon, he's a perfectly good squirrel to tease. It just works.
He was digging for some old bird seed under the feeder today. Unfortunately for him, that meant getting into a foot of snow and trying to find a needle in a haystack. So I got some pretty funny pictures of the Nut. Take a look. :)




Who would think he wasn't cute with that snow on his nose?? But he's still a Nut, and an annoying one at that. ;)

~Kathy

Monday, October 17, 2011

I Am Alive!

Yea...It's been a while, eh? But I am alive! Be amazed.
Marching band and history homework have taken all my time in the past month, basically, and will continue to do so until another week passes. However, I'll get to that all later. This blog is dedicated to how school is going, and not just the band part of it (although, that is most of my life, as I've said already).

My first class of the day is honors math. This is totally not how I would like to start the day, but at least it kicks out my least favorite class at the beginning. It's not that I'm terrible at math-I just don't enjoy it. It doesn't help that my math class is the only class where I don't have any friends/acquaintances to really talk to. However, the teacher is nice, and algebra II has come easier to me than geometry ever did.


Language arts is my second hour, where I share it with a few band buddies and friends. The class, although honors, is a total joke. We don’t really do anything in that class except listen to the teacher ramble on about…well, I don’t even know. What does that say? I swear, that area in the school must have issues-both teachers I’ve had in that general area have been, what teens would call, a fail. But the nice thing is currently we’re writing short stories, and I’m totally in Heaven. My love for writing has come back, and I’m excited for the possibility of getting back into it.
Third hour goes extremely fast for me, and that’s AP U.S. History. My government teacher made me scared to death of anything that had to do with our country last year- but thankfully, I have no reason to be scared of this years’ teacher. Not only is she nice, but she’s funny and keeps the class entertained. Class is tough, and I get a lot of homework (this is an AP, remember). It’s been hard keeping up with it all due to marching band, but I’ve managed and still remain strong in this class. J I share this period with one of my guy friends.
Fourth hour is another favorite of mine: Honors Biology. The class is difficult and I’ve only recently managed to get it back up to a grade I can live with (very exciting!), but I enjoy challenges sometimes. I’ve learned a bunch too, and I like the teacher pretty well. The class has a few class pets to keep me entertained- 2 saltwater tanks, a guppy tank, 2 tortoises, 1 turtle, 1 mouse, and a tarantula sleeps quietly behind me. I’ve learned to respect that spider though. I mean, seriously, it’s behind glass. I don’t think it can escape and kill me…In this class with me are a few band friends againJ.
Fifth hour is Spanish, which has always been a joke for me. I enjoyed bragging about doing my math homework in it last year and still passing the class with an A. This year’s a bit different (she won’t let me do homework, sometimes, and it’s more challenging), but I’ve still managed to be fine in there. The teacher-like all Spanish teachers- is optimistic, “fun”, etc, and it just makes me want to laugh. I don’t know- the Spanish teachers, they try. But they try a bit too hard to make us feel welcome in there. Thankfully, I share this class with four friends (3 from band), so it goes by relatively quickly.
Afterwards, I finally get lunch! Depending on the day and my mood, I usually sit with 1-12 kids. This depends if I sit at the band table or not; otherwise the number dwindles down to 1-3 kids. (Yes, I am a band kid. Don’t judge me.) This results in quiet days and loud days. It makes my life interesting, to say the least. J
            My next two hours are relatively easy and I enjoy ‘em. Sixth hour is journalism, and I share it with two band friends and a new friend as well. The teacher is a favorite of mine-we get along very well and we have learned to respect each other in a way I usually can’t with other teachers. Within the class, we don’t do much- that helps, I must say. We read about writing newspaper articles in the textbook and discuss current events, mainly. Recently, we interviewed a school teacher, and the best three articles in the class will get published in the school newspaper! I have my fingers crossed.
My last class is band/marching band, where I’m surrounded by friends and acquaintances. We call each other our family members, so our bonds with one another are strong and I enjoy it that way. I’d be a total loner without them at school, to be honest. Although most kids in the band hate the teacher, I don’t generally have a problem with him- he’s just like another teacher to me, only a little bit more demanding (he kinda has to be-we don’t listen). As most of you know, I play the trombone, and I generally enjoy it (until recently because my chops are DEAD). I am challenged in that class in every way; emotionally, physically, in my relationships, my responsibilities, my musical ability…I guess everything but mental power. As I said earlier, I like a good challenge. Hence, one of the main reasons I am in the class. I think it helps that I enjoy it all, too. J
Besides playing music and having friends, band has been a great way for me to observe people (see last blog entry), shine my “light”, and watch people grow in their own talent(s). I thoroughly enjoy it. Everyone in the low brass section has something going for them, even those that most people would throw out, saying, “They don’t work hard enough.” It’s been a blast getting to know the kids on a better level, and I look forward to spending 3 more years with all of them (except one--he just has to be a junior… -_-). 
And…that be it! That is my life in a quick little nutshell, right now, without the drama. Marching band will be ending this Saturday at the latest *tear*, and I’ll suddenly have free time again…I honestly don’t know how I will manage. It’s late over here, and I should totally be heading to bed now. I’ll update you again, soon (we hope)! J
~Kathy