Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas.
I hope yours is better than mine is... for the past 15 hours I have been throwing up on and off... Curse you germ-covered holiday shoppers!!!

Speaking of germ-covered holiday shoppers...

"Would you like to purchase a gift card for anyone this year?" I ask as I am supposed to.
"Yes! One for the sweater and one for the shoes." the G-CHS replies.
"No, a gift card is a card you put money on to give to someone, which allows them to pick out whatever they'd like, you imbecile!!! You are thinking of a gift receipt. Get it right! It's not that hard! Card. Receipt. Card. Receipt." I feel like yelling at them.
Congratulations. Score one me, score -18 for G-CHS.

------------

"Would you like any gift boxes today?" I ask with a smile on my face BEFORE I put their merchandise in the bag.
"Umm, no, I've got plenty of boxes at home," the G-CHS replies.
("Yes, one less thing to do," I think to myself.)
I hand them their bags and say, "Thanks! Have a nice day!"
"You know, could I get some boxes?"
("SERIOUSLY?!?")
"Yes, how many do you need?" I reply, inevitably sounding slightly annoyed, then, more often than not, just giving them another bag of just their boxes because you can't put boxes in a bag that already has clothes in it.
"Oh, I only need one bag though," G-CHS tells me after I had them their bag with only boxes in it.
("This is why I asked you before I put your clothes in the bag, G-CHS.")
"Have a nice day, thanks for coming in."
("Now get out of my face.")

-------------------

"If I have to hear another Hilary Duff or NSync Christmas song one more time I am going to punch someone."

---------------------

"Do you have this in an XXL?"
"No, our store sizes for women's clothes only go up to an XL. We have extended sizes on our online store at aeropostale.com."
"Could you go check in the back?"
"No, our store sizes for women's clothes only go up to an XL. But we do have extended sizes on our online store."
"Well, I need it before Christmas."
"I'm sorry, but we don't carry anything above an XL in our store for women."
"Fine, I guess I'll just have to come up with something to tell my daughter why you didn't have her size."
("Holy hannah, lady. Chill out. It's not our fault. Do your holiday shopping before the 23rd next time.")
"Well, if there was something I could do, I would. Maybe you could rush order it."
"*SIGH* Fine. Maybe there's another store in here. Maybe I'll look online. Bye."

----------------------------

8:30 shows on the clock.
"Alex! We close in half an hour! Woo hoo!" I exclaim to my co-worker.
"I know. I can't wait to get out of here."
"Me neither. However, hopefully we can get all these people out of here."
"No kidding. There are so many people..."
9:00 rolls around and there are quite a few people in the store still, however a lot of them are hurrying to finish up.
9:30 -- most people are in line, however there are still a few stragglers around the store.
10:00 -- There are two Bosnian customers and one girl from Vernal.
10:15 -- The Bosnian customers leave. The girl from Vernal is still in the store. She's already made a purchase, mind you.
10:30 --
"Is there anything we can help you with?"
"Yeah, do you have this blue sweater in an XL?"
"Let me go check in the back."
"Thank you so much!"
"Here you go."
"Oh! Thank you so much!!! You are AWESOME!"
("Alright lady, get out. We've been closed for an hour and a half.")
10:45 -- Vernal girl's still in the store. Our store manager has gone up to her 2-3 times at this point and told her that we all need to leave.
"I'm just finishing up. I'm almost done."
11:00 -- Still in the store. Let me remind you we have been closed for a grand total of 2 hours now.
11:05 -- She finally gets checked out and leaves.
"Thank you so so much!" She exclaims as we lock her out.
Good grief. Respect, lady.
We didn't leave the store until after midnight that day. Lame sauce.

--------------------


Those are just a few examples of why I love my job.
It's a good thing I like the people I work with. Or else I would have to shoot someone. Or myself.


--------------------



But seriously though. Merry Christmas! I hope you remember that Christ is behind Christmas. It's what is most important. I feel as though people lose that in all the hustle and bustle of shopping and stupid 'Christmas' songs. Classical 89 on the radio has the most beautiful Christmas songs. But they're not your "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" or lame songs like that. They're old carols that people probably wouldn't associate with Christmas anymore.
Forget the stupid blow up decorations, the lame songs, etc, etc, etc (refer to my Christmas Rant post for further annoyances.)
Remember the true meaning. Charity.

Love you all.

.Kelleen.

.December 2008.

HoHum.

Last Tuesday was my last session for Practicum. After assessing the students, I chose to work on increasing participation duration with student J. Wow. He really has improved. During our last session he sang most of "Hakuna Matata." Now J. only speaks using 1-2 word phrases. This was phenomenal! I was so excited. And he was waving his scarf the entire time.
I am really going to miss those kids.

Also last Tuesday was a great concert. Benton Paul came up to Logan, UT. I took a few pictures for him and talked to him after. He's basically awesome.







Tomorrow officially starts the week of death. The outcome is unknown to me.
We'll find out...
However, something made me extremely happy last week. I get a message from one of my friends who is taking a computer art class. She needed to make a magazine cover for it and didn't like how the pictures she was taking were turning out and was looking through mine. She asked if she could use one of them! Yay! And she was so cute, she just told me (more than once, even!) that she'd give full credit to me as the photographer!
I was completely honored and I can't wait to see how it turned out!
And it made me so happy that she asked and said she'd give me the full credit at the photographer and she "wouldn't put her name on it as her own."
I really am excited to see how it turned out.


Well... I have a few other things to say, however, I have a lot to do today in preparation of the death week...

Christmas Rant

Well, I was looking down at the pictures I posted of Kadie... and well, we'll just say that you can tell it's the end of the semester... I obviously couldn't figure out how to make the pictures look good, and it's not even showing the whole photo... I guess you'll just have to click on them to see the whole picture. Dang.


Yes. IT is the end of the semester. Three days left of classes, then the week of death comes. I have so much to do, and no time to do it. I know what you're thinking... "You could do it now."
You're right... but let me tell you something. Yesterday, I was on campus from 9:15 AM to 8:10 PM. Eleven hours and fifty-five minutes.
Today I was at school from 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM then I only stopped at home to practice a couple things for practicum then I was off to it. (Practicum was especially good today. So fun, but that will have to be saved for a happier post.)
I needed a break before I went insane...er...




OK. Well. Last week was Thanksgiving. And my grandma's 90th birthday (on Wednesday). My family, my grandma, aunt, and uncle went to Anaheim, California to celebrate. My family and uncle flew out Tuesday night. Wednesday we went to Disneyland. "The Happiest Place on Earth..." (I suppose it could be... but only once out of every 3-4 years.) Well, we arrive at D-Land, and the whole place is decked out in Christmas decorations. And you can't forget the Christmas tunes blaring through the speakers.
Me, being the biggest Scrooge on the face of the Earth, wasn't thrilled, to say the least.
A few rides were modified to fit the Christmas season as well... such as "It's a Small World." And, the most significant to American society, "Haunted Mansion."
Now, "Haunted Mansion" was modified to "The Nightmare Before Christmas." I have never seen this film, but as I mentioned before, I feel it fits American Society.
Halloween is a pretty big holiday. Then as soon as November 1st hits, Christmas music is playing, all the extra Halloween candy is on sale, and Christmas decorations are on display and on sale everywhere.
OK, OK, I may be pushing it a bit. But not much.

Seriously folks, what about Thanksgiving?!

Even if the stores do wait until the middle of November to put out their Christmas stock, the day after explodes with Christmas everything. Black Friday... People shout death wishes to people they might be best friends with just so they can get the best "deals". It's a mad house. All over the country. Before you know it, an elbow is in your face, the woman next to you is stepping on your foot, and her little girl is pulling your hair. Oh, and Merry Christmas.
I don't know about you, but something about that picture seems completely wrong.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Christmas is the time of year where people are generous, cheerful, and to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Hmm...
Well, another thing. Let's see. The entire month of December (and most of November) is spent thinking of Christmas. Thanksgiving is just that other holiday in the middle of Halloween and Christmas. Just another day of the year. One day.
But once again, 24 hours later, Thanksgiving is thought of no more.


Seriously. You see all these people with ridiculous blow up toys in their yard, excessive hideous lights all over the place. Gross.
Is that what Christmas means to them?

(Wait, who am I to talk... I am grumpy throughout the entire season... But I work retail, keep in mind.)


So, through all the hustle and bustle, the elbows to the face, excessive lights and stupid blow up lawn decorations, the same music being played for months on end, etc, etc, etc. The true meaning of Christmas is lost.
Thanksgiving gets one measly day out of the year. Maybe Thanksgiving is better than that.

Good job, America. Good job.

.Kadie.

November 2008

Music Therapy and the Exceptional Child

This is what we do in class sometimes. Yes, our professor is fully engaged as well. (He's the one in the middle with the orange scarf on his head.)

Love love.

Self Evaluation

I can't eat a sandwich unless it's cut in half diagonally.
I like the edges of brownies best.
I'm developing a passion for rock climbing and bouldering.
I hate the cold.
Thailand is still the best place I've ever been to.
I want to live in a third-world country for at least a year.
I want to travel and gain knowledge through experience, and have true friends all over the world.
I don't understand the girls who get married by age twenty.
I am OK with that.
I hate working retail.
I'm still working on being happy, however, some experiences seem to never leave you, making it harder to do so.
I'm getting there.
Slowly.
I know I'm supposed to experience things and that some experiences will be inevitable, but I'm still trying to remember that everything happens for a reason and has the potential for making me stronger.
I have wonderful friends.
I have extremely dry hands.
I like being honest with people.
I like people being honest with me.
I have a lot of outlets.
I try to avoid people as an outlet for some things.
I still go to school with a packed lunch in a Superman lunch box.
I, more often than not, have trouble sleeping.
Knowing you have someone there for you is so comforting.
I'm kind of a hippie.
I've been in the library for too long.
People watching is pretty entertaining.
Red and dark gray (charcoal gray) are my favorite colors.
I don't like pink or purple. At all.
I still consider Logan to be a small town.
I think it's weird when I see people push strollers around campus.
I find it hilarious when people have rolling backpacks and roll them up and/or down the stairs.
I make it a point to NOT listen to the radio.
I am currently satisfied.

.Karissa.

Karissa Klein. (Soon to be Karissa Kim.)
November 2008

.Anna.

I love Anna Doot. She is beautiful.
October 2008

Antisocial Personality Disorder

We talked about it in my ab psych class today.
Aaaand we watched a video of an interview with a man who has it.



So freaky.



(In short... he didn't care about anyone or anything. Didn't care if he hurt someone.
Age 10-11: Switch-blades, stealing, vandalism, lying, starting fires, got high from marijuana at school, had been drunk multiple times.)






Sad. So sad.

.Realizations.

I haven't really made an actual post for a long time, so I thought I'd just let everyone (who cares to read) know some things I've been through and realized as of late. It'll be long, so you don't have to read it, but I do appreciate all readers and comments. Yay!

*Going through some experiences can be extremely hard and terrifying. This particular experience that I'm speaking of made me realize how much I need to increase my relationship with God and made me realize how many people are on my side.
For the first time I had numerous people actually come out and tell me they were praying for me. I was surprised at how many people told me that. I was surprised about how many people really do care enough for me to let me know they care enough to say a three second prayer.
I am very, very blessed to have such amazing people in my life. I can only hope I give back to them what they do for me.

*When you don't see your family for a very long time, it should be a good time to catch up when you do see them. Am I wrong? Well, listen up. When you have a family member come home DO NOT SAY ONE SENTENCE THAT WILL BRING THEM DOWN. Yes. One sentence is all it takes. Remember how you haven't seen them in a while? Do you even care? Think about it. You never know when you will see them next... if ever again. I don't know your meaning behind this, but to me it was harsh and cruel. It really hurt my feelings, and I would tell this to your face, but I know you well enough to know that you won't listen. Thanks a lot...

*I need more friends in Logan. Being confined to the Fine Arts building and working a lot doesn't help much with that factor. And sometimes I'm just too nervous to go up to someone and tell them that they have really cool hair, or something. I think it's because when I have done it people often just look at me weird.

*I got new rock climbing shoes, a harness, a chalk bag and chalk, and mukluks for less than $65. All equipment purchased was new! Love love. The guy who helped me out was pretty good looking, easy to talk to, and was someone I would definitely hang out with. And I'm sure he knocked down the prices a lot more than he was probably supposed to. What a guy, right? I went back the next day with my roommate, Kadie, in hopes that he was there, and because I had gotten such an amazing good deal, and Kadie needed a harness. Unfortunately, he wasn't there, and Kadie didn't get as good of a deal... Sad faced.

*Last weekend was wonderful. It was my "Fall Break." Meaning we got Friday off. (I feel extremely ripped off that the U got a week off, and we only got a day, but a day was MUCH better than nothing. In a nutshell...
...The weekend started off with coming home Thursday night to an empty house... Yes, my entire family was gone. My parents and Rachel were in St. George, Liz was in Zion's National Park, and Kristen was on her way to her boyfriend's house. OK, at least my cat was there... Anyway, I went over to Shawnee's after she was finished with play practice. It was so fun to see her. Miss that girl a lot.
Friday consisted of going over to Korey's house and watching some scary movie in Spanish and then carving pumpkins. It was a blast. I haven't seen any of those people forever. It was great to see Korey, Jared, and Nichole, and to meet a few other people as well.
Saturday was completely random. The U game against the CO State Rams started at noon that day and I didn't have a ticket. I was thinking of how fun it would be to go, but was stuck at home with a bunch of laundry to fold and a music hx test to study for, while "Signs" was playing on the TV. I get a text from my friend Grant (at approximately 11:10 AM) wondering if I was in SLC and wanted to go to the game with him and our friend Jordan. What luck! So we all head to the game and watch the first half then head over (and sneak into) the MUSS for the second half where I was reunited with a bunch of friends I haven't seen since high school. So fun.
Shawnee's 1920's -- 1980's themed costume birthday party was that night so we all head to that. Grant being a 60's who-knows-what, Jordan being a classic boy scout, and me being an 80's workout instructor fully equipped with spandex and a leotard ...while changing on the way over. Hahaha, you had to be there. Good times. Shawnee's party was so fun. It was incredible to see the things people showed up in. The Village People even made a special appearance.
Then Mike's birthday party was after. I was convinced to go to the party then change after entering his house and asking for a bathroom... Wow. There were a lot of people there and I received a lot of weird looks. Good times. At Mike's party there were even more people I hadn't seen in a looong time and got to do a quick catch up with them. It was wonderful. At his party, I also went on a date with someone I just met. We had pictures taken of us. Pretty steamy if you ask me. Haha.
Yes, it was a fabulous weekend.

*This weekend was also so fabulous as well... Just a quick recap:
Friday I had 2 1/2 doctor's appointments, so I came down early to make them all on time. After the last appointment, I went and got my rock climbing equip! So good! And not long after that I got to go to lunch with Anna Doot!!!! I haven't seen her since this past spring. Wow. (The past two weekends I have seen a lot of people I haven't in a very long time. It has been so good!) It was so wonderful to catch up and tell each other what has been happening in our lives. She put her mission papers in and hopefully will get her call this week! After lunch we just went up to Tanner Park and did a quick photo shoot. I haven't looked at the pictures yet, but she is absolutely gorgeous so I'm sure I got a few pictures out of it. Love that girl to death.
Then Friday night I went to dinner with Jens, Alex, Ashley, and Nate. We ended up going to La Frontera. Mmm. So good. I, once again, haven't seen these people since I moved. I'm so glad they have been keeping in contact with me though. It makes coping with Logan that much easier. We ended up going to Alex's house after and my roommate Kadie showed up! Yay! We started watching the new Hulk movie but I was out within the first twenty minutes. It was really great movie...
Then Saturday Kadie, Grant, Jordan, and I went to lunch at Red Butte Cafe then on to the Body Exhibit! Grant left once we got to the exhibit... haha, you had to be there to understand, but it was a really cool exhibit. Long, but really cool. I was surprised how much I had remembered from the anatomy and physiology class I had taken four years ago.
Jordan needed someone to go to a dinner with him that night and couldn't find anyone who could, so I ended up going with him. It was a dinner at the U for people who are rich and donate a lot to the school and are awesome and such. It probably should've been more awkward than it was, but it was fun. Good food too. And his Grandpa was glad he went. Ha.
It was a wonderful weekend.

*Communication is key.

Well, here it is, the end. Sorry it was forever long, and I commend you if you read the whole thing. That is about how my life is right now... minus the fact that I am now very behind on homework, but after this Tuesday, hopefully, will be on top of it all!

.xoxo.

.emotionless.

On the inside looking out.

Motionless.
Motionless.
Motionless.


Emotionless.


Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Maybe it'll come. Maybe it won't.

It does.
Thought's flutter in and out of my mind. Trying to remain motionless. Emotionless. It doesn't matter anymore.

It's out there. You're in here.

How does one thing differ from another? Going around and around.
What goes around comes around.
(Or so they say.)


Who are these 'they' anyway?


The only one who will have to pay is me. That is, if all goes according to plan. What plan? No plan. That is, if all goes according to how life takes you. Where it takes you.

You only live once.

But it's out there. You're in here.
Standing.
Looking out.
(Wishing to be out.) Wishing to live.

Standing, motionless.

Motionless.
Motionless.



Motionless.




Emotionless.

Tribute

Today is one of my best friend's birthday.
Happy Birthday Shawnee (Kathryn) Kennington!

I first met Shawnee when we went out to dinner at Robintino's with Mike Parker and Tyson Ronnow, to celebrate Tyson's mission, and to wish him luck, as he was leaving a week or two after.

Some of my favorite memories have been (in no particular order):

When we play dress up.




Thomas Jefferson's 265th birthday party where we watched his favorite movie, "While You Were Sleeping."


Playing at Highland Park... even/especially when peddling was included!




And of coarse all the other wonderful times too...








Love you Shawnee! (All the way from Farmville.) ♥

Miss you.