An uncharacteristically good day

1/23/2009 WRI 1200 Free-write. Topic: Your morning. Focal point: Breakfast.

Every morning I wake up before my alarm goes off. I hate this, but it happens every single morning. Less than fifteen minutes before my alarm, I'm wide awake. I generally coax myself back into pseudosleep so that by the time my alarm does go off, I want nothing more than to stay in bed. My phone sounds its alarm. Not wanting to wake my roomies, I silence it, pulling it under the covers with me. I stare at the glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling until the alarm goes off again, this time vibrating against my collarbone. I drag myself out of bed, over to my wardrobe. Picking out clothes is a terrible way to stat a morning. I have so much clothing, but nothing to wear. The next decision is even harder. Sunglasses. Of my 20 or so pairs, what do I want to wear? Eventually the right pair presents itself to me. I grab my phone and keys and head out the door, still careful to not wake my two sleeping roommates.

Up the hill to the Dining Commons. One foot in front of the other. Same thing every morning. I open the door - Christiaan instead of Chuckie is waiting to take my number. 106. I grab my tray, silverware, plate. The peaches look better than usual today. I pile some on, move over to the cereal. The fruit loops are almost gone, but I manage to dredge up a sufficient portion. Milk. Usually a no-brainer. Today, kind of an issue. One large glass of milk - for drinking. Goes of without a hitch. One small glass of milk - for my cereal. As I set the glass down on my tray, it hits the edge and crashes over. Milk splatters everywhere. Floor, tray, but somehow not on me. I proclaim a not-very-carefully-chosen one syllable word and begin cleaning up. Leah hands me a new tray and one of the DC workers takes my milky one with a smile. I make my way to the table without further incident. I sit alone at breakfast - the way I like it. It gives me time to actually wake up. I put down my name at the grill - Kate: omelet with cheese. By the time it comes, I've finished my peaches and I'm halfway through my fruit loops. I stab the omelet with my fork a few times so it cools more quickly. I'm in a good mood today, despite the milk incident. Everything tastes great. A reflection of my sunny disposition. On my way out the door, Christiaan says "Goodbye, Kate." I wonder how he knows my name. He has a list with everybody's name and number, but the list says Kathleen...

NOTE: I also kicked ass on my Spanish placement test (96% heck yes) which continued my streak. Good day.

A bit of enlightenment

At the end of the summer, I went through my "memory" box with my mother. This box held every significant (or otherwise) piece of paper from kindergarten through middle school. Art projects, homework assignments, report cards, the usual. I stumbled across an assignment from first grade. From what I can gather, the assignment said to write about your Thanksgiving break. I had typed this assignment and drawn a picture at the bottom. Here is what I wrote - the spelling, grammar, and (this is important) formatting is exactly the same as my original creation. Here we go.

Spritz and Me By Kate Kincaid

11-25-96 I bought Spritz. He was very cuddly and I loved him
a lot . He was brown and white. I tried to make a leash,
but all it did was fall apart. So I did not have a leash .
Of course I slept with him .
11-26-96 I woke up with Spritz. What a ritz, what a ritz.
My blankets were a mess on the floor and on my head.
I read while I got dressed and I read through breakfast,
so I did not have much to eat.
Then my aunt and uncle came over, and I got in to a quick
HASSLE. I ran to the bathroom to get my hair.
I forgot my teeth because we were going
to DAYTON'S. So we drove out and when we
came back I was starving. So I had some
lunch. My Mom and Dad got sad
so now I am working as hard
as I can.

This is me at age six. Explains a lot.

Now I remember.

Every family has issues.

Luckily, I'm leaving in two days.

Wait, are you serious?

So I turn on my computer this morning. Check all of my emails (the yahoo account, both gmails, as well as my HPU address) and then log on to Facebook. I see a friend request. "Oooh," I think, "Somebody wants to be my friend!" I click. The photo is of a happy looking blond girl and her boyfriend. I look at the name. Karrah Watkins.

WHAAAAAAA?!

Let me take you back ten years or so. I'm eight years old and I'm camping with my family in Canada - it's our usual summer camping trip, but it's the first time I've been to Canada. Nothing special there (just kidding to all you Canadians). Point is, there was another little girl in the campsite across the path from us. Her name was Karrah Watkins. During our week of camping, Karrah and I became pretty good friends. We played a lot and got our families to hang out together. When it came time for Karrah to leave, we were both crushed. She gave me a friendship bracelet and we traded addresses, promising to write to each other. And we did. For quite a long time. Probably a couple years at least. Then one of us would forget and a letter wouldn't come for six months. Then the other would forget and a letter wouldn't come for a year. I think the last letter I sent was in 9th grade.

But today I pull up Facebook and who do I see? My long lost pen-pal Miss Karrah Watkins.
Weird weird weird world.

Really? I mean, really?

So I had my biology practical tonight. By flashlight. At least, that's how it began. I found myself at dinner, eating with the usual crew plus Kris. Suddenly, the lights flicker and go out. Not a big deal. We continue our dinner with the added ambiance of open curtains and natural lighting. Sweet.

I stop briefly in my room before heading to my exam. Upon approaching the Academic Center, I see that there is no power there either. On an unrelated note, I'm wearing my excellent Salvation Army sweater. I make my way up the dark and eerie staircase, almost crashing at one point because the stairs are unusually tall. I get to the classroom to find everybody chilling outside per usual. Dr. Kahng appears. The exam is not canceled. Moreover, it will be taken by flashlight. Great. This seems absurd to me, but I can dig it.

Anyway, the lights come back on a few minutes into the exam. No lies, I was pretty bummed. There aren't many ways to improve biology finals. But doing it by flashlight would have been a sure bet. Oh well, four finals down and two to go. Bleah.

A Collection of College-Related Haikus

Skittles.
I taste the rainbow
citrus is my favorite mix
not a fan of grape

Finals.
finals are a joke
information retention
yeah right, don't they wish

Printers.
ink is running low
and yet it keeps on printing
I don't like its lies

Energy Drinks.
nectar of students
slowly destroying kidneys
and yet we drink them

Freshman 15.
we eat what we want
but just around the corner
imminent weight gain

Weekends.
most people party
but we are major losers
so we just hang out

Easy Mac.
perfect little lunch
the staple of college life
wondrous cheesiness

Take a deep breath and....ahhhhhhhh

(sing this to yourself - the tune of Pure Imagination)

Come with me and you'll be
in a woooorld of biological alleviation.
Take a look and you'll see
into my absolute elation.

Here we'll start in my heart
and the fact that I'm no good at science.
To bio: I hate you
oh defiaaaaance!

If you want to see stressing out
simply look around my dorm room
There is always chaos, gloom
I want to kill my roommate...soon.

Nothing sucks quite as much
as my stuuuuupid bio class.
So I quit before it
kicked my sorry little ass.

If you want to see stressing out
simply look around my dorm room
There is always chaos, gloom
I want to kill my roommate...soon.

Nothing sucks quite as much
as my stuuuuupid bio class.
So I quit before it
kicked my sorry little ass.

Explanation: I changed my major away from Marine Bio/Oceanography. I am now officially a communications major with a double minor in Spanish and English. And I am THRILLED. Sad that I'll be leaving the ocean behind me, but happy that I'll be doing something I'm actually good at.