Kim Katastrophies

My Random Rant on Twilight

2011-01-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, so believe it or not, this post isn't gonna be about me hurting myself!

It's about me almost hurting someone else.

Ya see, if I don't vent about how much I hate Twilight, one day I might just snap and punch somebody.

Let's get started!

"What would I do without Edward?"
"I need him like air to breathe!"
"Who needs friends that don't want to eat you?!"

Now what vampire-loving, catch-22 obsessed albino do I sound like?

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know how popular the Twilight series has become. Over 17 million copies of the first book have been sold in the U.S., and 42 million worldwide.

Now what makes this series so popular, you ask? Well, I've narrowed it down to three options:

1. It's an easy read.
2. Everybody wants to see what the big deal is about.
3. Desperate people enjoy reading about how "flawless," "perfect," and "sparkly" Edward is.

Frankly, I think everybody is getting WAY too obsessed over Twilight. When I see "I Heart Sparkly Guys" t-shirts in the hallway, it makes me wonder what people did BEFORE Twilight came out.

I'd like to just point that I have nothing against Washingtonians or Stephenie Meyer. In fact, I congratulate her on the success of her novels. AS for the Washingtonians... congratulations, your tourism income probably has increased by 50% since Twilight came out.

Speaking of which, I wonder what life has been like for the people who live in the real Forks, Washington. Do they have a sign as you're entering the town that says, "Welcome to Forks, home of the Cullens?" or "Forks, WA- where the largest newborn vampire showdown took place?"

And is the ballet studio in Pheonix where Bella let herself get beat up now a national landmark?

Anyways, the point I'm trying to make with this article is that TWILIGHT IS NOT REAL. I'll say that again. VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES DO NOT EXIST.

Sorry if I disappointed you.

~Kim~

P.S. I miss the good old days, when "twilight" meant the sun going down...

Self Defense (Practice?)

2010-12-02T17:40:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but some days when I'm doing something dangerous, risky, or just plain stupid, I hurt other people along with myself.

Today was one of those days.

So remember how in "World's Most Dedicated Fake Baby Babysitter" I mentioned I would tell Nathan that I almost lost his baby when we were done with our self-defense unit in gym? Well, today we had some Tae-Kwon-Do guy teach us some ways to defend ourselves. And let's just say he'd never want me in his class.

We were practicing what to do if some creeper guy tries to choke you from behind. I got out, but when I got to the palm-to-the-nose part, I accidentally hit him. Hard. Very hard. So hard I gave him a bloody nose and he had to excuse himself from class for a couple minutes.

I apoligized like a million times, but the guy said it was okay because he gets accidentally hit all the time. Poor guy.

But then he started messing with me. When we were practicing how to flip people, he made me flip the other guy instead of him. Then the other guy was like, "I don't want her to hurt me!"

But I flipped that guy anyways. And I don't know if it was the fact that we were on a springboard, but the guy made a pretty loud thud.

Well, here's today's summary:

Kim + Tae-Kwon-Do guy = KATASTROPHIE!

~Kim~

P.S. When I saw the Tae-Kwon-Do guy after school, he was holding a Kleenex to his nose. I'm going with the story that it was the dry air.

Blog Action Day 2010

2010-11-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

Well, this has been an awkward day.

First, I run up to a police officer and tell him my friend's flour is missing. Then, I realize I'm late for Blog Action Day.

Again. For the second year in a row.

So here goes tonight's second post. The theme is- water!

Okay, I'm just gonna start out by saying I hate it when people say water doesn't have a taste, because it does. They say it tastes like nothing, but really, how do you know what nothing tastes like, because, I mean, it's nothing!

Well, now that that's out of the way, I'm going to talk about the real issue- water pollution!

I'm gonna cut straight to the chase when I say I bet fish hate us. I don't blame them. We throw a bunch of trash and stuff into their home, and then they die. Who wouldn't be angry?

Next point. Disney's whole "Friends for Change" thing. I have to say, I admire and hate this program. It's great when little kids see their idols like Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato helping to save the earth, but who says that those overpayed Disney stars actually do anything to save water? It's not like they can't afford to pay the water bill or anything.

Disease. That's what's happening in places like India, where the Ganzes River will supposedly heal you of all wounds and illnesses if you drink from its water. Yep. If typhoid and cholera is considered healing.

Okay, I realized my post is kinda choppy, but I'm tired and just wanna go to bed.

Next. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know about BP's fantastic little "promotional stunt," where an estimated 190,120,055 gallons of oil was leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. Now thousands of animals have suffered, beaches have closed, and BP is favorited to win Repower America's 2010 Snake Oil Award. Quite an honor. I bet their ex-CEO is proud.

Well, it's already almost 10, and my brain stops functioning around 3:30 PM, so I'll stop going all hippie on you and do everybody a favor and go to sleep. Night.

~Kim~

P.S. 78% of people think water has a taste.
P.P.S. I made that statistic up. ;)

World's Most Dedicated Fake Baby Babysitter

2010-11-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

Now, looking at the title, you're guessing my post is gonna be about some lady in China who sacrificed herself to save her daughter's doll, right?

Wrong.

You see, it all started Monday. Well, actually, it technically started Tuesday. Anyways, that was the day the health class's baby project started.

You know the project I mean, right? The one where you have to carry your sack of flour around with you everywhere and if someone sees it alone they'll steal it and bring it into the health teacher to get the $5 they were promised?

(Okay, well maybe not that last part.)

Anyways, I don't have health this semester, I have gym. So a lot of times, my friends in health will be like, "Kim, can you watch my baby?" Of course, I can't say no. So I pretty much just stand there holding a doll for who knows how long.

Well, today I was watching my friend Nathan's baby Clarice. He was in the lunch line, and I wasn't eating lunch because I had a big breakfast. All the sudden, I hear someone say, "Kim!" I turn around, and it's my friend Dayna, who I haven't seen in like forever! So run over to her table to talk.

5 minutes later...

Oh my God. The baby's gone.

So I'm on the verge of a panic attack, Dayna's wondering what the heck is going on, and somewhere some babynapper who needs some cash is running around with a sack of flour.

Now I'm thinking, "what do I do? Nathan's gonna fail and it'll be all my fault! And some low-life is gonna get $5 because of it!" I look around, and lo-and-behold (I've always wanted to say that), it's the school police officer!!!

So I run up to him, feeling like an idiot and say the stupidest thing ever-

"My friend's flour is missing!"

The guy kinda looked confused, until I explained about the baby project. He just laughed and said he'll look around.

(Nathan is still in the lunch line while this is going on.)

So I go back to the table, trying not to hypervenilate, and watch the police officer walk around the cafeteria. I hold my breath when he stops some girl putting a sack of flour in her bag. He pulls it out, and it's- Clarice! I walk over to the police officer and thank him. The girl just rolls her eyes and says a word that-shall-not-be-named.

And before Nathan gets out of the lunch line, I have Clarice back on the table, and I'm studying for the English quiz tomorrow that I'm gonna fail.

And I just laugh when he jokingly pretends to feed Clarice some Sun Chips.

Sure, maybe I'll tell him the whole story some day. Like in December, when we're done with our self-defense unit in gym.

~Kim~

P.S. I'm Clarice's godmother.:)

Canadian Thanksgiving

2010-10-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

In my defense, the reason I haven't been able to do a post in a while is because I've been busy. School started September 1st, and since then my day has been packed.

6:30 Wake Up and Get Ready
7:00 Eat Breakfast
7:20 Leave for School
8:00-3:20 School. The highlight of my day. (That was sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell.)
3:45-6:00 Cross Country
6:30 Eat dinner
7:15 Homework
9:00 Bed

Don't freak out at me for going to bed early. I need sleep. 3+ miles a day wears me out, all right?!

So yeah. I hope everybody's school year has been going well. Mine's been, well, intersting. I have a teacher who talks about his ex-girlfriends ALL THE TIME. Most of them don't even tie in to what we're talking about.

I know that he kinda sounds like a fun teacher, but he's actually pretty strict. Last week, he held me after class to lecture me because I circled my answers instead of boxing them in. And I am SO not making that up.

Oh hey, guess what?! I saw a freshman get trash canned the first day of school!

Then again, he kinda had it coming. He was making fun of a senior varsity football player's haircut. Hehe. Smart move. (That was sarcasm, too.)

Well, I guess you're wondering what the heck the title of my post is about. Yesterday was Thanksgiving in Canada.

"But wait a minute Kim! Thanksgiving is an American holiday, right?"

Yep. I mean, since when do Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving, the day our first president was born???

That was a joke, by the way.

So I Googled "Canadan Thanksgiving." They asked me if I meant "Canadian Thanksgiving." I said "yes."

Here were the results:
Looking for Canadian Thanksgiving? Find exactly what you're looking for today!
Thanksgiving (Canada)- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pumpkin Bread Recipe for Canadian Thanksgiving
What is Canadian Thanksgiving, Anyway?

I picked that last one. It was pretty much a Q&A.

So, when is it?

It's the second Monday in October.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Thanks.

Why is it called Canadian Thanksgiving?

It's not. In Canada, it's just called Thanksgiving.

But why is it so early in the fall?

Because Canada is colder and the harvest ends sooner.

If you were in Canada with your family, what would be for dinner?

Same stuff: turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, and mashed potatoes, which, if you're my grandmother, you mix with turnips. Also, candied yams. And pumpkin pie for dessert.

Does everyone crowd around the TV after dinner to watch football?

The guys do, yeah.

Is it always on October 11th?

No. Since 1957, it's been celebrated on the second Monday in October. Before that, it was celebrated on November 11, which is the date of another mysterious Canadian holiday called Remembrance Day, when you make sure to call your grandfather, or anyone else you know who fought in a war. Long before it had National Holiday status, however, the harvest was celebrated by natives.

What's the holiday all about?

It's a celebration of the harvest, where you give thanks (to God, technically) for all the food you get to eat. For the most part, it's celebrated as a secular holiday, though.

What about settlers and Pilgrims—are they involved?

According to Google, the first Canadian Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1578 when a lost English explorer named Martin Frobisher landed in what is now the butt of many Canadian jokes—Newfoundland. But as a public-school-educated kid who was taught all kinds of Canadian things growing up, that's the first I've ever heard of it, or him.

So, really, it's all about the food.

Yeah.

Do Canadians have their big dinner on the actual day of Thanksgiving?

Canadians are practical and Monday is a school night, so usually not. The big dinner is traditionally the night before, on the Sunday.

Are things closed on Thanksgiving like they are in the Unites States?

Yes, although if you live in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, or Prince Edward Island it's not a statutory holiday, which means it's not a paid day off. But most stores are closed.

Is the day after Thanksgiving the biggest shopping day of the year?

Nope. That would be Boxing Day, yet another mysterious Canadian holiday, which is the day after Christmas. It's when everyone returns the stuff they got for the stuff they actually want, but for cheaper.

That was very helpful. (Not sarcasm.)

Kim

P.S. One of the comments on the article said, "Canadian Thanksgiving is the day when all the Canadians give thanks they're not American." Hehe. Good one.

Source: O'Connor, Siobhan. "What is Canadian Thanksgiving, Anyways?." GOOD (2010): n. pag. Web. 12 Oct 2010. .

Hey, I don't want to get arrested for plagiarism, alright?

I Can't Really Think Of A Title Because This Post Is About A Bunch Of Stuff Because I Haven't Done A Post In A Long Time

2010-08-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

First, that was a really long title.
Second, I'm sorry I haven't done a post in a while. But I have a good reason.

I was too lazy to.

Haha, just kidding. Sort of. Actually, I've been the opposite of lazy. I've been busy. Well, I've been so busy that I'm lazy when I do have free time. Does that make sense?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

So about a week after I published my last post I left on another mission trip, this time to Rapid City, South Dakota. (12 hour drive :P) I worked in a home for people with special needs. And when I got back, I spent most of my time taking decent showers and getting back into shape at cross country camp. And then at the beginning of August, I had a backpacking trip with my church. I still have mosquito bites. But heck, I can't complain. I'm just thankful I didn't fall 200 feet on one of the 3-foot-wide ledges.

Hehe.

And then the night I get back I have to get up at 4 in the morning so we can leave early for vacation. Darn it. (I meant to the getting up part... not the vacation part.)

So yeah. We got back almost a week ago. But "official" cross country practice started Monday, and that goes from 8-10:30. It's pretty brutal. Yesterday...

~I logged 7 miles.
~I did 45 push-ups.
~I did a lot of curl-ups. I lost count after 78.

I kinda wish they'd be easier on the freshman. But the coaches know what they're doing, I guess.

So by the time I get back I just go back to sleep. But by then the sun's up so I usually just kinda lay there and suck down water.

Well, that's what I've been up to this summer. No major injuries to report. Except for... wait, I don't want people to know about that. It's too embarrassing. Hehe.

Fine, quit begging, I'll tell you.

When I was running at cross country camp, I was on a trail across from the golf course. And some guy trying to show off to his golfing buddies by hitting a ball from across the street hit me on his backswing.

I guess it's kinda my fault, I didn't even see him. But I'm not sure it's even legal to hit a golf ball across one of the busiest streets in town.

I hope everybody had a good summer and good luck this year in school!

Well, we can all hope. ;)

~Kim~

P.S. One of the coaches said she was impressed how "graceful my form was." Ha. Wait 'til she gets to know me.

iPod

2010-07-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

GUESS WHAT?! I'M REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE FRIDAY NIGHT I GOT AN IPOD NANO!!! AND NOW I CAN'T STOP TYPING IN ALL CAPS!!!

SO AS OF NOW, I HAVE 76 SONGS ON IT. I ALSO GOT AN ARMBAND THINGY THAT YOUR IPOD FITS INTO SO YOU CAN RUN WITH IT.

WHAT IF I'M SO DISTRACTED WHILE LISTENING TO MY IPOD THAT I DON'T SEE A PERSON OR CAR OR POTATO OR SOMETHING IN FRONT OF ME AND I TRIP OVER IT AND FALL INTO THE CONSTRUCTION ZONE ON THAT ONE STREET AND GET JACKHAMMERED? (IS THAT A WORD?)

BUT THAT'S JUST A WORST-CASE SCENARIO. (EXCEPT WITH MY LUCK, IT BECOMES A LOT MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN.)

SO ANYWAYS, I LISTEN TO MY IPOD ABOUT 14 HOURS A DAY. (THE OTHER TEN HOURS I'M SLEEPING AND IT'S CHARGING.) HOWEVER, I DON'T THINK MY PARENTS ARE AS PROUD OF THAT FACT AS I AM:

Mom: Kim, if you listen to that iPod a lot with the earphones in, you'll go deaf.
Kim: WHAT??????
Mom: I said, IF YOU USE THOSE EARPHONES A LOT, YOU'LL GO DEAF!!!
Kim: WHAT?!?!
Mom: (pulls earphones out of Kim's ears.) TAKE A BREAK!!!
Kim: First of all, ow. And second, fine.
Dad: If you listen through earphones a lot, the risk of ear infection goes up 700%!
Mom: ...
Kim: ...
Dad: What? It's true.
Kim: Okay, fine. I'll just take out the earphones, turn the iPod up really loud, and we can ALL listen to it!!!
Mom: ...
Dad: ...

OKAY, SO MAYBE IT DIDN'T GO EXACTLY LIKE THAT.

~Kim~

P.S. THAT FACT ABOUT EARPHONES INCREASING THE RISK OF EAR INFECTION? IT'S TRUE.

What is Blog Action Day?

2010-06-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know I did a blog post Saturday. But I was just reading over some of my old posts and I came across the one titled "Blog Action Day 2009." And I figured some people (okay, most people) didn't know what the heck Blog Action Day (BAD... wow, ironic.) was.

So BAD is a day when a bunch of "bloggers" (wow, that sounds nerdy) write a post about a certain topic. Their job is to inform as many people about whatever the topic is. The 2009 topic was climate change. Here are some of the impressive statistics...

~BAD '09 exceeded the number of climate change articles on any given day by 500%.
~CNN covered BAD '09.
~There were 32,000 blog posts about climate change.
~Those blog posts reached 17 million people. That's a big number.
~The White House's blog participated in BAD '09.

So yeah. That was my first year doing BAD, and I plan on doing it this year (on time!). Although my post was a week late, it still had various responses, including one from some website owner who was in charge of an organization in Germany. He congratulated me on my post and invited me to join his staff. I didn't think that was a good idea, though, because 1. his organization was in Europe, and 2. when I went to his website, everything was in German. I used a German-to-English translator, but that was still a lot of reading...

www.blogactionday.com

~Kim~

P.S. Here's the German guy's website: http://www.kaufda.de/umwelt/ I reccomend a German-to-English translator, unless you speak fluent German, which you probably don't. If you do, kudos.

UHO (Unidentified Hurting Object)

2010-06-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so last night my family and I got back from the Wisconsin Dells, "Waterpark Capital of the World!" We stayed at the Kalahari Resort, which now has an outdoor waterpark, indoor waterpark, and indoor theme park. (With a Ferris Wheel! :D) They also have a bowling alley, laser tag, rock climbing wall, ropes course, mini-golf, go-kart racing, and arcade.

So I was climbing the rock wall and I was only like two rocks away from being able to push the little buzzer button thingy. However, the higher you get up on the wall, the fewer rocks there are. See the highly detailed illustration below to see what I'm talking about.

So I was stuck in one place for like 5 minutes. There weren't any rocks close to me. Eventually, the rocks got really slippery from my sweat and I fell. On the way down, I hit my elbow on one of the rocks. Apparently you're supposed to push out on the wall when you fall. See the other highly detailed illustration below.

And now, on my elbow, I have a giant... well, I don't really know what it is. It looks like a cross between a bruise and mosquito bite. I have decided to call it a UHO (Unidentified Hurting Object).

Well, hopefully it goes away soon, because it's really starting to hurt, and I can't fully extend either of my elbows.

~Kim~

P.S. My family caused like 3 accidents on the go karts.

24 Hours

2010-04-08T06:54:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I kinda got myself into a tough situation here. (What's new??) I bet my friend Grace that I could go 24 hours without scratching, burning, bruising, or cutting myself (against popular belief!!). If I do, she owes me a $5. But if I do injure myself, then I owe her $5 and I have to wear pink someday. I hate pink.

I'm kinda lacking self-confidence on this. I don't think theres been a day where I haven't broken something, hurt myself, or hurt someone else. I had 3 stitches before I was a year old.

There are several reasons why I have to win this bet...
1. So I can prove to my friends, family, and self that someday I MIGHT outgrow my clumsiness/coordination issues.
2. I really need money for a pair of school shoes.
3. I don't think I own any pink.
4. I only have like 67 cents.

So I NEED to win. Feel free to vote at the poll on your right. I kinda need the support. =)

~Kim~

P.S. I'm doomed.

I'm Gonna Get My Braces Off!!!

2010-02-17T19:24:00.000-08:00

I'M GONNA GET MY BRACES OFF ON FRIDAY!!!

Sorry, I'm a little over-the-top, but after having braces since 5th grade, I'm gonna be kinda happy to get them off.

I remember the day after I got them on. My class was having a pizza party because it was the end of the school year, and I couldn't even eat because my teeth hurt so much.

There's a countdown at the top of the screen for when I get my braces off. WOOT!!!

Honestly, I don't know what else to say about that, so I'm just gonna put random stuff for the rest of the post.

The dot above an i is called the tittle.
There's a city in the state of Washington called George so the city is George, Washington :D

Okay this random stuff is not working out for me. I can't try to be random. It just happens.

Has anyone else been watching the Olympics? Watching them makes me want to move to Canada.

See?? Unintentional randomness!!! Okay, back to the braces.

I had a really big overbite. That's when your top teeth go too far down when you bite.

Well, I can't really think of anything else to say, so bye!

-Kim-
P.S. Someone told me that when they scrape glue off your teeth, it makes an awful noise.

Scared of a F.A.C.E.

2010-01-18T16:54:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the last week of the semester, which means it's my last week of health. We're finishing up our health and nutrition unit. I think I'd rather learn about whole grain AGAIN than go to my new class.

F.A.C.E.

F.A.C.E. is basically a home economics class, where we cook and sew. Most people would want to get free bags and eat free food, but let me clarify just one thing.

KIM + OVENS AND NEEDLES AND EGGBEATERS AND SEWING MACHINES = AMPUTATED INDEX FINGER.

And, I hear my teacher, Mrs. Lubeck, is really mean. According to one of the ninth graders, she once beat a kid with a yardstick because he didn't preheat his oven to 350*.

You can see why I'm scared.

Luckily, we'll have groups when we're cooking, so maybe I'll let them do all the dangerous stuff and I'll do dishes.

Then again, I might stab myself with a knife...

~Kim~

P.S. Did I mention that I already have a bad history with yardsticks??

Oh, Thanksgiving Tree! Wait, What?

2009-11-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Well me, my mom, dad, sister, and grandparents got back from Walt Disney World last night! It's 20 hours both ways, so I was kinda happy to be able to sleep in my own bed last night.

Does anybody else think Best Western's pillows smell weird?

So this morning I woke up to the sound of fake tree branches being bent.

It was that time of year.

Usually people think, "Oh, it's November. Time to pick out a turkey!!" Not for my mom. It means it's time to put up the Christmas tree(s).

I really should've seen this one coming. Last year, she had the tree up before Halloween. She even decorated it with little pumpkin lights.

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, but my mom... she can be a little over-the-top.

Did I mention she puts a Christmas tree in every room? Even the bathrooms. Mom also put one in the sunroom this year because it got redone. (She didn't want the tree to get all full of spiderwebs. Yes, there were spiders in our sunroom.)

As much as my mom LOVES Christmas, my dad doesn't exactly share this excitement/unhealthy obsession. Mom was going to pay me a dollar to take the Christmas tree and put it right next to my dad when he woke up, but she didn't really follow through on that one.

On the bright side, my mom will be making Christmas cookies sooner!

~Kim~

P.S. It's kinda weird to step out of the shower and worry about stepping on a foot-high tree.

Blog Action Day 2009

2009-10-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know I already did a blog post tonight.
Yes, I know Blog Action Day was last week.
Yes, I know I'm late.

But better late then never.

So the magical topic is... CLIMATE CHANGE!!

You know, I don't really know much about climate change, except that Al Gore has something to do with it (I mean with the helping part.). So I looked up "climate change"on Merriam-Webster Online, and here's what I came up with:

The word you've entered isn't in the dictionary. Click on a spelling suggestion below or try again using the search bar above.

So I looked it up on the open dictionary on Merriam-Webster Online. Guess what I came up with:

No results found starting with "climate change."

Now something didn't seem right here.

Then I thought of something; maybe it's not the website, but the people.

We see the subject of climate change (global warming, recycling, etc.) everywhere we go. Billboards. TV. The bottoms of shampoo bottles that say "please recycle me." So what is it that causes people to be ignorant of this issue? I mean, I know we're all stressed out, and we have our busy lives, etc., etc.. But isn't the subject of our home worth a little time in our day? That's what I thought. We need to spend a little more time taking care of our planet, rather than getting an overpriced cappuccino at Starbuck's, which isn't that good anyways.

And even if we do get that cappuccino, couldn't we at least recycle the cup??

Animals are losing their homes because of our wastefulness. When is the last time you used the back of a piece of paper to write down a note to call someone back? We're wasting paper. We're killing animals.

I realize I'm getting pretty accusative here, and I don't mean to. But think about it. Everyone in America uses approximately one 100 ft. tall Douglas fir tree in paper and wood products per year. (EPA, 2008) Now, imagine if we used just half of this. Big difference.

There's also the subject of global warming. Our ice sheets are thinning/dissapearing. Imagine if Antarctica sank into the ocean. This would raise our world ocean level by 200 feet. It only needs to be raised a few feet to flood major cities, like New York, Beijing, Hong Kong, Sydney... need I go on?

Think about the mosquitoes. Still water is ideal for them to breed. This could cause major spreadage of diseases like malaria or West Nile virus.

Things aren't looking too hot. Well, they are, but I meant they aren't looking good... stupid puns...

There's so much out there that could be fixed when it comes to climate change. Are you ready to help???

If so, go to...
http://www.climatecrisis.net/
http://www.repoweramerica.com/
http://www.blogactionday.org/
http://www.kaufda.de/umwelt/

Help make a difference!

-------------------------------------------
Sources:
http://www.wisegeek.com/
www.oberlin.edu/recycle/facts.html

~Kim~

P.S. Those cappuccions really are overpriced.

Health Class

2009-10-19T18:16:00.001-07:00

Well, it's the beginning of the year, and now that I'm in 8th grade, I have health class with my favorite teacher, Mr. Little (which is really weird because he's tall, and his wife, who was my 5th grade teacher, is really short.).

Now I always knew I was gonna have a health class, but I thought it would be all about intestines and guts and stuff. Nope. Today we started a whole new unit. Guess what it was.

SEX ED!!! :( :( :( :( :(

I would have rather gone with the guts.

So of course, half the class is practically throwing up onto their notebooks, and the other half is making sexist jokes. (Like the "mature" 8th graders we're supposed to be...)

Now Mr. Little has three rules for this unit...

Act appropriately. (Like that's going to happen.)

Ask questions. (Even though if we do, your reputation is done for.)

No personal questions. (For example, "Mr. Little, how old were you when you first kissed a girl???")

So, after a really long Q&A session (you can only imagine...), it's time for lunch. Of course, I don't feel like eating now that I know... certain things.

So I'm running around the cafeteria, warning everyone that has health 6th period about what's to come.

I see several people who aren't eating after that.

Then my friend Raquel comes over and sits by me. "Thanks so much for the heads up, Kim!" My other friend Connor comes and joins her. He agrees.

So I'm kinda scared about what's to come tomorrow. Who knows. Maybe the State of Wisconsin will suddenly ban informing kids about this, to save them from being scarred for life.

But they're not those kind of people. So I doubt it.

~Kim~

P.S. I'm sorry if I made you kinda scared.

Dumb Treadmill

2009-09-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

The day this happened, it wasn't a very good Monday. Ya see, I always run a little to the right, and while I was running on the treadmill in P.E. my foot hit the side and I fell off. My feet were against the wall, so my knees kept getting scraped until the safety stop went off. Speaking of which, it didn't go off for like ten seconds. Yet when I accidentally knock it down with my arm it turns off right away.

I'm starting to think technology doesn't like me.

So the "safety stop" goes off, my friends Emily and Connor walk me over to the gym teacher. I tell them I'm fine, and that I don't need surgery or anything, but do they listen to me? NO THEY DON'T. So the gym teacher tells me to go downstairs and wash my scrapes up. They didn't hurt at all- until a fly landed on them.

Man, that hurt. Right now, you might be thinking, "a fly? Do you have a life outside of the computer?" But an insect just came and landed on open sores, then laid eggs there. Not very polite, if you ask me.

So after I was done washing my scrapes, I went back upstairs and was forced to put bandages on them.

Then gym ended and I went to put my clothes back on. I kept my gym shorts on because it hurt too much to put on jeans.

So at the end of the day, I went over by my sister's locker. And to my surprise, she didn't even notice. Maybe it was because my family is used to seeing me injured. So here was how the conversation went:

Kim: Hi, Kayla! How was your day? Mine was awful.
Kayla: Why? Did you fail your math test again?
Kim: No. (itches leg.)
Kayla: Then what was it?
Kim: Just what we did in gym class.
Kayla: Oh... did you get hit in the head with a dodgeball again?
Kim: No, today we worked out in the weight room. (winces.)
Kayla: I know! You fell off the cargo net!
Kim: Nope. I worked in the cardio room.
Kayla: Let me guess- all the treadmills were taken?
Kim: Oh, I definitely got a treadmill. (takes out a band aid and applies to a scrape.)
Kayla: (looks down at Kim's legs.) Wow!
Kim: Yeah.
Kayla: People were making fun of you in the cardio room because your legs were so hairy?
Kim: Yep, I fell off- wait what??
Kayla: (looks down at legs again.) (gasps.) Kim, what happened!?!
Kim: I fell off a treadmill.
Kayla: Wow. It takes a really "special" person to do that.

Okay, so I may of exaggerated a bit, but she really didn't notice and she really called me special.

~Kim~

P.S. Never trust the safety stop. NEVER.

Vacation '09

2009-08-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

Here is what I would like to introduce to help me tell the story of my vacation this summer, which I got back from a month ago. I like to call it...

The Kim Katastrophies Khronichles!

Here's the beginning of the story...

Kim woke up with a yawn. Today was the day she left for vacation and she could hardly wait. Of course, she would miss her Guitar Hero and bird and TV and running water and her nice warm bed and her lights and her technology and her fantastic blog posts and a bunch of other stuff, but soon she would be out on the road and there wouldn't be any of those things.

Driving out to the nearby village to drop of Dude, her bird, who turned out to be a girl when everyone thought she was a boy, seemed like a really long drive. Kim commented again on how far away her grandparents lived from the city.

"It's only 15 miles, Kim," her mom said. "At the end of this trip, we'll have 5,000 more miles on this van."

Kim's mouth practically fell open. 5,000 more miles? That was like 333.333333 more times than driving to the village!

After they dropped of Dude, they were off on their vacation!

Okay I'm gonna stop now because it's really hard writing in third person. Anyways, after we dropped of Dude we went through Minnesota and Iowa to South Dakota. (Yes, I have a US map out right now.) We spent the night there and then were off again. From South Dakota, we cut down through Nebraska into Colorado and then to Las Vegas. We stayed at the Calabar, or the Calibrian, or something like that. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to do for two pre-teen girls in Las Vegas. After that we went into Arizona. There we saw the Grand Canyon, which was really cool, except for the fact that I could fall off at any second, which my parents kept reminding me of. Geez, you'd think they would show some support at my improving "condition." After a few hours there, we left and slept at a truck stop. I laid on the dirty clothes bag, which was remarkably comfortable. Then they had to wake me up because we were going to drive again and I had to get into a "legal position." Seven hours later, we arrived at my great aunt's house in Southern California. I love it there. She has an amazing garden around her patio and it always smells like oranges. My sister and I invented a game there. You see, she has an RV that sits on a hill. There's a mini canyon in her backyard. (At least I fell off this one, not the Grand Canyon.) Anyways, the orange grove is right next to the RV, which sits on a driveway about 100 feet long from the road. There's a tube that the oil from the RV goes down, instead of sitting on the driveway. So my sister and I take a rotten orange from the trees and go all the way up to the road. Then we roll the oranges down the hill/driveway until they go under the RV and down the tube. Then we see whose went the farthest and fastest.

We stayed in California one night. Then we said our goodbyes and went to Anaheim.

Now any person with kids, is a kid, or wishes they were a kid (or at least younger) knows what's in Anaheim, California. Yes, it is...

DISNEYLAND!!!

One day at each park didn't seem like enough. Luckily, we did get to go on and see everything. And I mean everything. We waited half an hour for a 30 second ride. No, I'm not exaggerating.

After Disneyland, we went out to Yellowtone National Park. During the day, it was nice and sunny, with big horn sheep and buffalo and otters and deer and birds. However, at night, IT SNOWED. IT LITERALLY SNOWED. We got in the van at about 5:30 in the morning to go and see the geysers. (And get out of the cold.) God bless the person who invented seat warmers.

It was beautiful at Yellowstone. I wish we would've been able to stay longer. However, school was going to start soon, and we had to get home. So we left Utah and went back to Wisconsin.

And that was the end of our vacation!

~Kim~

P.S. Squirrels don't like it when you are eating out of a can of nuts and not giving them any.

Mission Trip 2

2009-07-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Yay! I got back from my mission trip on July 24. It was really cool. I was working at a nursing home and it almost made me cry to see all these people who need help turning on their TV! (I don't know how I would survive!!)

Anyways, I met this really nice deaf lady named Alma. I wanted to bring her home with me! I kept on having to write down things on a dry erase board so she could read it!

Another thing I learned was that old people can be really mean. I know that once you get old you start to go crazy and stuff, but I think they could have appreciated the fact that I was trying to help them. I went to go help a lady play bingo but another lady at the table shouted at me, "Just leave her alone!" Geez. Everyone in the room turned to look at us (at least, those that heard or those that could turn around in their wheelchairs.).

The last night was really sad. The counselors washed your the group leaders feet and the group leaders washed your feet. It was supposed to be like the Last Supper, when Jesus washed his disciples feet. The youth director for my church, Renee, washed mine. They washed your feet in the warm water (which felt really good after swimming in cold Lake Superior) and then said a prayer. A counselor was playing sad music in the background on her acoustic.

Everyone got up once they were done crying and ready to go to bed. I was the last one in the quiet gym, along with Renee, another kid's mom, and the church pastor. I stared at the lamp burning in the corner, and I silently prayed a short sentence, over and over again.

I promise to do better, Jesus. I promise.

~Kim~

P.S. We didn't end up staying in a hotel. We slept in a 140-year-old prebysterian church that leaked sand on our heads. Yes, that's right. Sand.

Mission Trip

2009-07-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I leave for a mission trip this Sunday to Duluth, Minnesota, and I can already tell things are going to get BAD. First of all, I'm gonna be in a van for 6 hours with 11 people, and the church van is only supposed to hold 7 people. Second, I have to get up at 8:00 in the morning. That's still considered the middle of the night for me.

So last week we got commisioned for the trip. It was basically just where the pastors said a blessing during the early church service at 7:30 outside. That means the grass was still dewey, and I was wearing sandals. Wow, that was cold. Anyways, after the commisioning (if that's a word.) the high schoolers left for Kansas City. They were doing this thing called Iraqi Children where they sent school supplies to Iraq. To send off the high schoolers, everybody honked the horns in their cars. (If you're wondering why I was outside to get commisioned and everyone was in their cars, it's because there is a church service you can go to at my church where you can just park your cars in the church parking lot and turn on your radios to a station, while the pastors are doing the sermon on the stage next to the parking lot.) I just really hope we don't get honked at while the middle school mission trip leaves.

While we're in Duluth, I think we're going to do stuff like work at homeless shelters (since 15.5% of the population lives below the poverty level), work at thrift stores, work at elderly centers, and volunteer at children's programs. Here's the daily schedule below.

Breakfast- 7:00- 8:00
Devotions- 8- 8:30
Depart for Ministry Sites- 9
Shower/Dinner Prep Time- 3:30- 5:30
Dinner- 5:30- 6:30
Evening Activity (like visiting the Maritime Museum and Canal Park, the World of Wheels, and spending an evening at Park Point)- 6:30- 8:30
Evening Programming- 9- 10
Prepare for Bed/Lights Out- 11- 11:15

Oh yeah, did I mention we're going to stay in a hotel??? I don't know what the hotel is yet, but I hope it's really cool.

Okay, well I'm going to go, because I need to pack. Bye!

~Kim~

P.S. If you want to do a mission trip like this, talk to your pastor or youth director and go to www.youthworks.com

Wow

2009-07-02T19:24:00.001-07:00

Wow. It's been forever since I got on this thing! There are SOOOO many injuries I need to tell you about. I also need to tell you about some of the, well, dumb things I've done. Stupid blondeness. (Is that a word?). Okay, I'm just gonna make a list. I'm sorry if you get carpotunnel or something from scrolling down so much.

After mowing the lawn earlier this week, I tried putting the mower back in the garage, but our sunroom is getting redone (that's another story) and the wood for it took up like half of the garage. Therefore, I had to squeeze the lawn mower in between the wood and van. After doing that, I came out the way I pushed the mower in and saw my new paint job- scratched paint all the way down to the metal, costing my family about, oh I don't know, $2,000? I told my mom (who wasn't very happy with me) that I was going for racing stripes. That didn't really help the matter.
The same day as the lawn mower incident, I was playing Guitar Hero: World Tour when my mom called me over into the kitchen. (After the earlier incident, I figured she was going to cut my leg off with a knife or something.) I was walking over there when the strap holding the guitar controller came undone from the controller! (gasp here.) The controller hit the floor and BOOM! I cost my family another $1,000.

Now at this point, you may be thinking something like, "oh no! Poor Kim!" or, "I feel bad for her so I'm sending her money to pay back to her parents!" or, "Dummy." I don't blame you, especially those of you who are thinking the second one. But there is one thing that causes me to be so uncoordinated and blonde. And that thing is GENETICS. Do you really think that all this is my fault? That I'm just too blind to see that this isn't my parents fault? Well you're thinking wrong. Now as you continue reading, remember to blame my parents and NOT ME.

I was playing Clue with my family the other night and I wasn't paying attention because I was so tired. My mom asked, "Kim, do you have ballroom, Miss Scarlet, or rope?" I was so tired so I just said, "yeah, mom. I have rope." For those of you who don't get it, I just told everyone I had rope, giving them an advantage.
I was playing Guitar Hero: World Tour when my dad called me. I turned around and the guitar hero controller slammed right into the TV, denting it. Again, I owe my parents another $1,000.

So those four are pretty much the worst things that have happened to me since October. And I probably left out, scratch that, did leave out a lot of stuff since I have the memory span of a chocolate chip cookie. Speaking of which... see ya later!

P.S. I wasn't kidding about that sending money thing.

Beginning of Blogspot

2008-10-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well, today I started using Blogspot, and it probably is a good thing, because I have a lot of things to write about today.
First, let me introduce myself. I'm Kim, age 12 1/2, and in 7th grade at E. Middle School in a town of about 65,000 in Wisconsin. I enjoy running cross country, reading, writing, and snowboarding.
Ok. My day didn't get off to a very good start this morning. I'm in the school production of Disney's High School Musical, and we had to run to get into our places. I ran down the aisle in the auditorium, and my foot caught on a chair leg. BOOM! I did a flip in the air, landing on my head and knee.
Well, I ended up with a hurt head and hurt knee, so I won't be climbing the stairs to my bedroom anymore.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RUNTHROUGH OF MY DAY:
HOMEROOM: Missed this; was at home almost screaming in pain.
READING/LANGUAGE: Latin. A dead language.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Research Paper on comparing and contrasting the Panama and Suez Canal.
MATH: Test. Yippee.
GYM: Excused from class because of injury.
ART: Watercolors for our paintings of animals.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After school I just layed down, did my homework, went on the computer, and watched TV.

~Kim~

P.S. Latin really is a dead language.

~~Kim Katastrophies~~