Double the List

This blog is coming to my dear sweet readers from: THE UCO LIBRARY YA'LL.

To my adoring fans (I have always wanted to address you as that)

I won't apologize for having zero posts between September and now ( I AM SO SORRY, I WISH I COULD WRITE YOU, I HATE THAT I DIDN'T, PLEASE FORGIVE ME). In other news, sometimes people write things in parentheses that don't really count towards what they are actually trying to say.

Since September I have eaten a couple of times, slept a few nights, and studied for Organic Chemistry and stuff. So knock knock...who is there...I have missed blogging. 

When I was in Panama this past summer, many of the teenage kids I hung out with wanted me to open them a Facebook page. The following is a list of the reasons why it was a bad idea that I even tried to:

1. They don't have electricity in their homes

2. They don't have regular access to a computer

3. They don't have an e-mail address

4. None of their friends have any of the above

5. You have to have all of the above to have a Facebook

6. Now my google account is under the spanish name "Hillarye Torrero" because I tried to make Hillarye Torrero a profile and now I can't figure out how to switch my google email back to be under my name, "Katelyn Jackson"

Because of those aforementioned things, I was stupid to have tried. So it's like...my name isn't Hillarye you know?

I am feeling in a list-y kind of mood right now, so I'm gonna throw down another list.

1. It is Christmas time

2. So I am feeling just fine

3. I'm just staying on my grind

4. So I don't fall behind

5. Haha #1-4 was a poem 

6. I cannot bring myself to listen to anything other than Christmas music until December 25th

7. But I am liking it

8. I am just putting everything in list form so I can use sentence fragments

9. Fragments seem to be funnier

10. People like the fragments because they are kind of snappy and quick

11. Like a nice quick wit

12. Luckily I got some really good Christmas music to enjoy this season

13. I have them on my iTunes in a playlist entitled "Christmas Jamzz"

14. Today while I was making a sandwich in the panini maker at school someone caught me making sound affects for the no-stick spray as I was applying it to the hot griddle.

15. It was like a little high pitched laugh/whoosh when I made it spray. 

16. I really need to studying but I feel weird leaving this at only 16 things. I'll give you 20

17. I am going to be a youth intern next summer

18. My birthday is December 18th.

19. My favorite food is any type of finger food.

20. Merry Christmas

Thank you so much for reading this, it means a lot that you did.

God bless your day!

Year of Lipstick

This blog post is coming to you live from: my dorm room.

The proof you crave. I just thought I would include this picture. I thought it was funny.

This post is entitled "Year of Lipstick" for many reasons. First and foremost the title represents an activity I am committed to and thus learning how to be committed to other things in my life, but more on that later.

My best friend Courtney can be seen at many fancy events wearing a classy shade of lipstick. In the true fashion of friendship, I promptly copied her idea and went and bought myself some lipstick at my local Wal-Mart. Naturally I chose the cheapest lipstick and wound up with a tube of Wet-and-Wild brand lipstick. It is a great color, but cheap as it is, my lips look like the dry Sahara desert if I don't but a little chap-stick underneath. Ladies, a word of advice, don't skimp on the limp, and by that I don't know what I mean. I'm a sucker for a rhyme. JUST DON'T BY CHEAP LIPSTICK AND YOUR LIPS WILL THANK YOU.

Moving on. I bought myself some lipstick for the fancy occasions in my life, but every time I wore it out I found myself getting more attention (mainly from the ladies but a compliment is a compliment). In turn, the lipstick gave me more confidence. It made me feel prettier, so I kept wearing it. People like me better when I wear the lipstick! Soon I began to use the phrase "year of lipstick," proclaiming to all that this current school year I would wear lipstick everyday, and so far, I have done fairly well. I committed to the lip color and soon twisted my fun and mostly shallow statement into a deep and profound ( I mean I am trying to be profound at least) metaphor for my life.

I am stating that if I can commit to wearing lipstick everyday and making that small decision in my life, other things that I need to commit to will also fall in line. If I can stay committed to a small thing, that small thing will manifest itself into bigger things and my life will explode into one that is truly committed to important things. Such as:

1. My Faith and the constant pursuit of a renewed mind

2. A significant other (but where oh where can he be?)

3. My school work that is the foundation to the rest of my goals in life

4. My friendships and the intentionality I want to have with all of them

5. My year of transformation

The list can go on and on. 

These are my freshly colored lips.

Here the lipstick can be seen at a fancy event. Doesn't my good friend Kaitlyn look so beautiful?

This year I will daily continue to transform myself and let God mold me. I will not get discouraged because as Ephesians 1:8 says, "he has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding."

So what reason do I have to not love this life that I have been given. 

Wear lipstick, feel better about yourself, and stay committed!

K. Jack

You are Now Being Redirected

This blog is coming to you live from Farallon, Panama, inside my room in the Upton's home.

I am just writing this blog quickly to inform you that if you would like to continue following my blog for the summer, I have created a blog specifically for my summer activities.

Click here for the link!

I created this blog for the supporters of my trip and so forth. I just didn't want my blog title to be "I'm a Creep, I'm a Weirdo" to be  displayed to all who wouldn't normally be reading my writing and I did not want to change the title of this blog. Thus, I created a summer missions blog. I love you all! Keep reading if you dare!

K. Jack

Welcome Summer

This blog is coming to you live from the Tinus private lobby.

there it is. and by it I mean me.

I finished my first year of college this week and moved out of my room today. Overall, I could have done a lot better school-wise, but you know what is weird, I'm just trying to get MY DEGREE. I don't know, when I think about that, it really freaks me out. So much has happened since the last time I blogged.

Since we have chatted last I have made new friends, went to a banquet, stopped the war on terrorism,read the Book of Mormon, when to a National concert and lots of other stuff. 

I also thundered up.

stood in front of a large glowing cross with my best friend Courtney

and I already told you about the concert

Tomorrow I leave for chorale tour, which includes an entire chorale traveling on a bus across the U. S. and stopping along the way to Washing D.C. and New York City. I mean, I am excited I guess, but I just want to go home. I just don't know what else to blog about, I'm all blogged out.

Bliggity Bloggity Bloop.

K. Jack

My Portfolio

This blog is coming to you live for the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library

Just me, in a library.

So upon returning from Spring Break, Oklahoma Christian University has proved to be relatively uneventful. Last week was WPA (women pay all) week, and boy let me tell you, I payed all. Monday was ice skating, Tuesday a movie, Wednesday frozen yogurt, Thursday a sock hop, and Friday was a Rwandan cultural night. When I say I payed all I actually mean everything was free except for the two sodas I bought at the sock hop. I also talked a big game and informed all those around I was about to "blow the week up" and "have a date every night." Both of those statements were false. I had a date two of the nights, and didn't even go to some of the events. So much for the potential explosion my week could have been.

In other news, if you ever need to write a really large amount of words in a short amount of time, come talk to me. I had a rough draft of a paper due this past Thursday, and I just waited, and waited, and waited to begin. It was due at 5:00 pm Thursday evening. Want to know what time I started? 1:00 pm Thursday afternoon, and I was done by 4:00! Granted, it was only six pages when I was aiming for ten, but hey, it was a rough draft! Get off my back.

Also, I caved. I downloaded the "instagram" application for the iPhone and am loving it! Just so you know, I will never give instagram credit hereafter for the photos I will take. I will save them to my phone and upload/tweet/print/publish the photos as my own creation with no outside help whatsoever. That is probably illegal, but who is counting! I mean arresting, I mean...

Here is some of my original artwork:

I call this one: Kendall Maddog Mayes

I call this: Karissa Teaching

Well there is my portfolio. Making it big, instagram style.

K.Jack

A Flaming Hot Blog Post

This blog is coming to you live from: my home.

I have that spring break glow.

Disclaimer: The contents of this blog may offend some/ make others feel uncomfortable. It deals with a rather serious event that recently occurred in my life and I plan on making light of it. I also plan on speaking bluntly and just want to forewarn any who may not want to read such material.

Spring break started a bit early for me this year. By early, I mean I left the night before I planned to leave, so not anything radical, but early nonetheless. Of course, I had a reason for departing early. Unfortunately it was because there was a fire in my home. 

Around 8:00 pm I received a hysterical call from my mother that brought me news of the fiery inferno that was my home. I knew I had to get home as soon as I could, but I still had a day of classes and exams. Obviously I was quite shaken up and not thinking rationally. I was not concerned with the seven hour drive I had ahead of me; I was just wondering how to tell my professors, "Hey, um, I just got a call that my house was set on fire by a crazy person (I will get to that detail) and, um, I was wondering if I could get excused from class/exam tomorrow." I was, thankfully, taken complete care of by my wonderful friend Amy Kelly. She made a few calls and off I went into the night.

To make a long story short, my mom married this guy, guy went crazy, mom filed for divorce, guy went crazier, mom and brother got a rent house, all of our stuff was still in the old house, then the old house was set on fire. You can put the pieces of "whodunit" together yourself.

So upon arriving in Jonesboro around 4:00 am I went to our new house (which we were so lucky to have seeing as our other house had been engulfed in flames) and caught up with my mother on the evenings events.

Our backdoor had been kicked in and three separate fires set inside. One fire was on my mothers bed, another on a pile of dirty clothes in the hallway, and the last one by the back door on some photos and newspapers. Investigators determined it was indeed arson and a investigation is currently underway. 

The first picture is of the bathroom and you can really see the soot and smoke damage. The next one is of the hallway ceiling.

The top picture is my mothers bed and the bottoms picture is the hallway.

 For legality sakes, I cannot say who we all feel set the fire (apparently that is slander), but being readers of above average intelligence, I feel confident you have a good idea as to who may have had a motive. 

Anyhow, the whole situation sounds terribly sad, and it is, especially after being inside my home and seeing the damage and smelling the smell and not being able to take anything out with out detoxifying it first, but over all it was a positive thing. I mean, if my house was going to burn what better time than spring break? Because it happened Thursday night, I even got out of my Friday classes and one ridiculously hard exam (although I will eventually have to take it)! Also, no one was hurt only material possessions were lost ( about $80,000 of material damage, but hey who is counting). 

I am a bit bitter though. I'm bitter because of the state it has left my family in, and the hermit-like state it had induced for me. I want to see my friends, but I also don't want to leave my mother or our house in general. 

Speaking of friends. They are the best. I had so many people checking on me and making sure I made it home safely. I cannot thank those of you who were looking out for me enough!

On a lighter note, I have now watched all of the movies that were nominated for best picture this year and they were all phenomenal. 

The most fun part of having your house burn down is being able to use it as an excuse/response for anything. For example:

Teacher: Clay (my brother) can you please stop talking.

Clay: Oh sorry, I was just telling my friend here how my house burnt down last night.

or maybe:

Cop: Mam, did you know that you were speeding?

Said Mam: Yes officer, but my house was set on fire tonight, and I'm just trying to get home to be with my family.

or how about:

Jane: Hey want to go see a movie?

Sue: I would, but my house just burn down! 

You get the drift. 

Well that is all for know, leave a comment if it is your burning desire.

K.Jack

Inside Out

This blog is coming to you live from the DAH. (Which I'm not sure what DAH stands for, but it is the building in which my next class is contained within.)

looking fly as ever.

So, what does it say about the rest of your day if you start it out by putting your underwear on inside out? I happen to be victim to inside out underwear at this very moment. However, my day has been moderately nice. I made it to class, finished an annotated bibliography, and am going to spend this night doing fun things. Speaking of annotations, my research partner for my bible science and human values class is my good friend Thomas Smith. He actually hates me a lot, but we worked on the bibliography together. The plan was for him to send me his half this morning around 9:00 am and I would piece it together. I finished my half last night and sent it to him for him to review, and unknown to me, he pieced the bibliography together and turned it in. So there I was about 10:00 am in Chem Is Try, with no bibliography from Thomas. I was freaking out. I sent him a series of about 20 hateful text messages. I tried to call, but to no avail because his phone was off. At about 11:00 am I receive a call from him saying he had turned it in and then I felt like the biggest jerk in the world. So I sent him a series of parallel text messages all centered on the theme of love because of his wonderful ability to be a team player in our study of genetic engineering. 

Now I will include some photos of some events from the past few days of my life.

This is my latest purchase. It serves as a schoolclothes/sleepclothes hybrid

It has been lovely weather (apart from the past week) here in the OKC and I have enjoyed some park time with my pals.

Look who I met. His house once made all of his families meals if you know what I mean.

Just wanted to provide a closer of image of my hybrid clothing.

Well, I guess that is all.

K. Jack

Wizardry

This blog is coming to you live from MY HAMMOCK.

You know you like the proof.

It is February (as I am sure you have heard by now) and it is 72 degrees here in Edmond, Oklahoma. 72!!! As much as I do enjoy the cold, I love being able to regulate my temperature easily while outdoors, so here I am, hammocking.

Yesterday was the good old day of love, the day where it all goes down, the red day if you will. If you won't then it was Valentines Day. I must say, I was quite the wizard yesterday. By saying that I mean I was the wizard of love. So many people do not like the holiday because they are single or don't have anyone to "love" them. I think all of those negative feelings are crap. I DON'T HAVE ANYONE EITHER AND I LOVED MY LIFE YESTERDAY. I made all my little baby broskis a card and a small gift and for all the others I love I made some special valentines that look a lot like the following.

So there they are.

Mid-hammock my friend Josh McCoy came to visit.
K.Jack

Virgin Mary

This blog is coming to you live from the Branch household. Snow days are the best days.

here is the proof.

So I will preface the rest of my entry with informing all my readers of what I have been doing from approximately 10:00 pm Monday night until right at this very moment. I have been in the middle of a snowpocalypse and stuck inside of Lee Branches home. I know many of you were frantically looking for me and because all of the phone lines and roads are down, I have not been able to contact anyone. Luckily I have found some internet service and I would like to dissipate all of your fears. I, and the rest of my crew, are completely fine.

cute.
In other news, I found the virgin Mary in the community bathroom in my dorm. I was just showering one morning and there it was. I was freaking out, got on my knees and sent praises up to heaven because I clearly was on some sort of holy ground. Ok, maybe that was blasphemous, but seriously THE VIRGIN MARY WAS IN THE SHOWER WITH ME.

There she is.

So, if you want to come see her I am selling tickets for $10.00 a piece. Come, be blessed.

K. Jack

Cross Continental Love

This blog is coming to you live from my dorm room (for the third time in a row.)

That is potentially the worst picture of me in existence, but I have got to keep up the live photos you know what I mean?

So I just had a thought, or maybe we can even call it a realization, whatever-I had to write it down. Let me just preface this following statement by informing all of my readers that this is not a ploy for anything more than sheer enjoyment at the ridiculous nature of my "love life."
I put "love life" in quotations because it is something that floats above my reality, never actually becoming a part of it.
Anyhow, I have never really had guys "hit" on me. It's just something that I have been lucky enough to steer clear of. That statement, however comes with one exception. That exception is creepy Egyptian (well most of them are Egyptian) guys on Facebook. It's like I add one, I added all of them, and they all want me to come to Egypt and love them. Plausible? No. Desirable? Even less than the previous no. I just have not been censoring who I add as a friend as well as I should have, so now I get creepy comments and messages from people I don't even know. ( I had all of these screen shots of examples but I can't get them to load.) The strangest of all of the incidents happen on Facebook chat. I mean, why can't a normal species of the male persuasion approach me with words like "Hey, I saw you from across the room, and let me tell you girl, you have got it going on." How hard is that? I did get a Valentine tonight though. So there is that, yet this particular Valentine is more like a Friendtine.
Valentimes are the best times, I always say.
K. Jack

Call me a Realist.

This blog is coming to you live from my dorm room.

I surprise myself at how attractive I can be.

If I was a toast giving kind of girl, I would give a toast to myself for writing another blog so close to my previous post. As it turns out, I'm not a toast giver.

Today I traveled to Tulsa to the Philbrook Museum. Let me tell you, I loved every second of it. There were VanGohs, Picassos, and original Madonnas. It was an old Italian style house filled with beautiful things and surrounded by beautiful things. I literally just walked in and and began weeping at all the beauty around me. The other patrons of the museum just stared and contemplated whether or not they should offer me help. I politely announced, however, that I was ok, just simply overwhelmed by all of the culture I was being bombarded with.

I mean, come on! (This is a madonna for my uncultured readers)

I returned from Tulsa to the Christian Choral Festival that was taking place on the campus of OC. I arrived in time to warm up with the OC chorale, which I am a part of. Now, I have a confession. When warming up with chorale, and various other choirs and sometimes in general life, I am instructed to do things I have no idea how to accomplish. For example, my friend Karissa warmed up our choir for our performance at the festival. She instructed us to pretend there were bees in our mouths and to hum as if such a situation was occurring.  Ok, fair enough, bees in my  mouth, no big deal. She then tells us to sing as if the bees were flying out of the back of our heads. Um, what? Everyone just acted like they knew what to do, so I went along with it. She then instructed us further to to sing as if the bees were flying out of our foreheads. I mean whatever, but I heard no difference in sound, nor did I sing any differently.

(this guy is doing anything but singing I assure you)

 Its like the same concept as imagining you are in your "happy place." That has never worked for me. I just always smile and nod and pretend I am in some place super happy. Call me a realist, but I'm not following. Just a thought. I also sang with about 400 other college aged kids tonight and we were singing  with those bees flying right out the back of our heads.

K.Jack

Bag Lady

This blog is coming to you live from my dorm room.

I mean...

This is my first blog post Christmas break. It is three days into school here at OC and so far I have read two strange scientific/philosophy writings, one quiz over said writings, began a chapter of Chem Is Try, dropped one class, been a part of thoughtful discussion over the Renaissance and other related topics, and a menagerie of other events that are school related. You know, no big deal.

I went to good ole' St. Louis over the break. I don't have many pictures to show other than this one.

That is Kelsea Smith and Shane McFarlin

We did a lot of really exciting St. Louis related things, but sadly this is all I have to show for it. They look great though, am I right?

I also went to goodwill with a few friends (a common sight) and bought the skirt you can see pictured below. However, my roommate (also pictured below) claims it makes me look a bit down and out, if you know what I mean, so I accentuated what any destitute person might accentuate with.

If only I was sitting on a park bench with perhaps some pigeons and bread crumbs.

This is my roommate and I. She is awesome, except she turned the heat off a few nights ago and I woke up sick. You may notice some shiny/greasy skin around my nose. Do not be alarmed as it is merely Vicks Vapor Rub. (I hope my product mention makes me some sort of profit)

Speaking of no heat, on my way back to school this past Sunday I had to pull off the road because it was BLIZZARDING. So alone, female, and afraid I found the nearest hotel to check into and ended up in a room by myself at a Best Western in Van Buren, Arkansas. Although I missed the first day of classes, it was somewhat fun. It was a funny story at the very least. 

The break was wonderful, but now I am back to my own reality (or at least as much reality as I can achieve here at OC). What is anything?

K. Jack