Random Thoughts...

Three songs that I can't get enough of right now -

"Songbird" by Eva Cassidy (was in one of my favorite movies, Love Actually)

"Come on Get Higher" the live cover by Sugarland

"Second Chance" by Shinedown

Listen and enjoy if you get a chance!

"Welcome to the Cool Kids' Club"

Let me tell you about last Friday. I made an appointment - no, sorry - a "personal shopping appointment" at the Apple store in Southpoint Mall in Durham. My intention was to go look at macbooks with the help of my friends - Christina, Matthew and Rick. Christina and I got there first, walked into the Apple store, and thought "holy crap". The place was packed - and when I say packed - picture Williams Sonoma about a week before Christmas. Actually, any store about a week before Christmas. It was NUTS! Then, out of the blue, a little Apple savior appeared. She asked if she could help me, so I told her I had an appointment. She asked if I was going to the "Genius Bar" (...is there something I can drink to make me smarter?)... but I was pretty sure this isn't what I needed so I said "no, I made a 'personal shopping appointment' ".

Within a minute, Apple savior #2 - Daniel - said he could help me with anything I needed. And he did. Amid the chaos, he spent the next 45 minutes talking to Christina and I alone. Other customers tried, and failed, to get his attention and ask him questions. He was having none of it. He didn't even look at anyone else other than the two of us. After giving me a rundown of 2 different macbook options, he then gave me a thorough tour of the one I was leaning towards. I was beginning to see why "Apple people" were such avid Apple fans. If the customer service alone wasn't enough to convert me, the enthusiasm of the Apple user would be.

In addition to the macbook I was looking at, there was also an offer for a free "iPod touch" with the purchase of a macbook by anyone with a student ID. I joked with Christina that she should buy one, use her student ID, and I would pay her back :) (In addition to being there for moral support, she was also tentatively Christmas shopping for a mac for Bing - shh!!!). Alas, I purchased the macbook on my own, but when Daniel went to the back to get it and came back, Matthew said "you're getting the iPod touch!!"... to which I responded, "No, I don't qualify, I'm not the student." But, lo and behold, there on top of everything was an iPod. I said to Daniel, "I don't qualify for that, I'm not the student" - to which he simply smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said "it's okay." Let me be clear - stuff like this NEVER HAPPENS TO ME. Even when I think I WOULD qualify for something like that, there's always a loophole that eventually disqualifies me somehow. And so, in the middle of the Apple store, I jumped up and down like a small child and told Daniel "I could seriously kiss you right now". Matthew turned to me and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but welcome to the cool kids' club!"

If I wasn't before, I am officially converted to being one of the "Apple people". Now keep in mind I haven't had or really used an Apple since the "Apple 2GS" that our family had back in the 80's. I distinctly remember the most exciting game to be the mouse tutorial clicking and "squashing" bugs on a windshield. Let's just say they've come a long way. A long, long way. Any anxiety I had about spending the money on it disappeared the instant I bought it. It was one of the best shopping experiences I have ever had. If anyone else is looking to be converted, just let me know, I'm more than happy to demonstrate my new-found knowledge and love of the mac! You too can be part of the cool kids' club!

WANTED: Good books to read!

Like most avid readers, I am perpetually on the hunt for good books to read. I have read so many excellent books recently (The Help, Shanghai Girls, The Book Thief, World Without End...) that I feel I've become something of a book snob. If I pick up a book that's just *average*, I simply do not have the patience to stick with it. Once again, thanks to Matthew, I've discovered "Shelfari" for my blog, so I can put up my favorite books as well as what I'm reading now. The next two books in line for me to read are Bless Your Heart, Tramp: and Other Southern Endearments, by Celia Rivenbank (also thanks to Matthew)-- (and click the link to read it for free on Google Books!) I also have a sample on my Kindle of Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah, which Stella highly recommended.

If you have any books you've loved recently I hope that you will share them! Post it as a comment for all to see or shoot me an e-mail and I'll post it for you.


Happy Reading!
-Kat

Home Sweet Home

Trans"plants" from the house and my new welcome mat!


One of the first things I bought for the new apartment. It is girl-y and ridiculous and I love it!!!











The first thing I usually see when I open the front door :) My little greeters.


Buddy is always very calm and welcoming, while meanwhile Apollo has run off and is excited about the possibility of eating dinner.











Little fatty, just after his walk, wondering what treat he might get if he sits and smiles.


Living room from the entryway. WARNING #1: apartment is messier than it appears!










Turn left from the above picture and you can go into the guest room and closet where chaos reins supreme.

Christmas decorations and wrapping paper have daily meetings in here. I'm pretty sure stuff moves around when I'm not home :)














Guest/craft room. It's a really big room with so much potential. I vow to get it organized soon and move forward with my projects!

Guest bath. I am CONFIDENT the shower curtain I bought for in here will not suck as much as the one I first put up in the other bathroom...(more on that later)














View of the kitchen from the entry and across from guest bath. I don't miss many things from the old house but the dishwasher is one of them!


Further into the kitchen and around the corner. Dining room and back door in the background... I love all the windows here!












At least the spice cabinet is organized. That's a start right? Had to make sure dad could find the cumin and the black pepper when he comes to visit... PRIORITIES people!! (and coffee for mom!)














The embarrassing state of my bedroom. But hey, I promised "the state of things" and this is how they are. Hopefully this will get straightened out this weekend, along with my bathroom and closet! (and yes, that is an ironing board to the right of my bed. I've discovered it doubles quite well as a phone-charging stand and place to put all accumulated junk from the day. Again, I'm working on it :)





Okay, the shower curtain. WARNING #2: shower curtains may be *way* uglier than they appear in the package photo. I bought the first shower curtain operating under the assumption that it might look something like it did in the picture. Got it home, took a good 20 minutes to put it up with the pain-in-the-ass shower rings I bought and *VOILA* - it looked terrible. It looked like someone took a plastic shower curtain and then dipped it in MORE plastic. Needless to say, I went out the next day and bought another one, made of fabric this time, not plastic. I wish I had pictures of the other one but that would require touching it and I might get plastic poisining.





My closet. It's actually a fairly big closet, it's just too filled up with unpacked junk right now for me to do it justice. Maybe I will get to that this weekend too.
















Looking out from the doorway to my room. You can see Apollo, who followed me everywhere throughtout the whole picture-taking ordeal and Buddy, who just ignored me and licked his ice. Finding dogs in these pictures is like playing "Where's Waldo?"... they are always lurking somewhere.




Buddy, wondering why I'm interrupting his ice-licking time to take his picture. The disdain is so obvious.

The State of Things

My first blog post! Thanks to my new-found friend and co-worker, Matthew, I am discovering a whole new side of the internet, technology, communication and education that I never knew existed. It is SO much fun learning and exploring all these new ways to connect to one another, and especially to see how everything ties together.

So in the spirit of starting the next "phase" of my life I'm making an effort to stay better connected to the ones I love, care about, and who wish to know what's going on with me. I am really, truly loving life right now and I'm very excited about the present and the future. Work has been FUN recently (in the past month or two) for the first time in a long time. I have *wonderful* friends, the best family one could ask for, and just feel truly lucky for all that I have. Not to mention the two furry critters that I consider my children. Plenty more on them later.

Happy Blogging!
Kat