Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Kara's LiveJournal:

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Saturday, December 2nd, 2006
3:32 am	My boss, who called me a "trendsetter" for voting, thanked me for being aware at work and told me I "get it" meaning, I understand working in an office setting. I love where I work, but isn't "office knowledge" supposed to be fairly common? (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 8th, 2006
2:25 pm	My boss just called me a "trendsetter" for voting. Her words. No joke. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
10:20 pm	Something Gross It's deer season, and something that really grosses me out is dead roadkill. Its' one thing to see the dead deer on the side of the road, which is sad, but its another to see the blood smears in the middle of the road. One in particular was killed Monday night, just hours before I drove by. My guess is that it was hit by 2-3 cars, based on the blood bursts, smears, and the fact there was no whole animal nearby, only parts. The blood was all shiny, and there was carnage everywhere. But I think the one part of driving by/over deer roadkill is the smell. You can smell the blood each time you drive over it. Do you know what it smells like? Iron. Wet iron. I hope I don't hit a deer. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 12th, 2006
9:52 pm	I.....................need to update. Greetings from the working world! My name is Kara, and I no longer have any remnants of a life. I work full-time at a law firm in Des Moines, IA, hold a part-time cleaning job on the side, and coach flag routines at Ogden High School every once in awhile. They pay me, so I work. I check my email thrice a week, at best. Sadly, that's probably the best way to get a hold of me. I love it. I wake up every morning at 6am and get ready. I leave about 7 in order to get down there, accounting for "rush-hour" traffic (basically really fast chaos...nothing grossly "metro"), and I get there usually around 8. I have a box of granola bars/pop tarts I keep in the car to munch on my way down, and I typically sip on a frappuccino as I curse and glare down other stupid drivers. It really is a grand old time, so long as I'm not in a time crunch. Once I'm down there, I typically have 1-2 more cups of coffee, depending on the urgency of the task I'm working on. So, a lot has gone on in the time since I last posted. I can't possibly list everything, so I'll just give a few highlights, and pray that I have the motivation (and time) to update more often. 1.) I bought a new car! Well, "new." 2004 counts as new, right? It's a little red Chevy Aveo and it fits into very small parking spots with ease. Plus it gets good gas mileage, so I'm not dumping out my ENTIRE savings to fill up a 10-gallon tank. (-: 2.) Charles and I moved into a new apartment together! Fear ye not, traditional-minded people, we have separate rooms and separate bathrooms, to save some of that "surprise" for our wedding. (-: 3.) Speaking of weddings, my little brother proposed to his girlfriend of 3 years! Its really hard to wrap my mind around it, because its my little brother, and I'm gonna have a sister-in-law. They are probably getting married two years from now, so it won't overload my mother with both of her children getting married in one year. 4.) I had the privilege of attending a rally for women's rights at Roxanne Conlin's residence in Des Moines. Nancy Pelosi spoke there, as well as Leonard Boswell, and his wife, Dody. I was able to make some connections and meet some highly motivated, impactful people. I love surrounding myself with people who can think critically and who fight to make a difference in this world. Roxanne's event was just the opportunity for that. Wedding planning is coming along, slowly, albeit, coming along. We have a date and locations and a photographer, we are looking for a florist now and I need to find myself a dress. Hoooo-wee. I don't remember if I already announced it, but our date is June 9th, 2007. Book the date, and don't plan anything on it, unless of course, you don't want to come, and need a good excuse for declining an invitation. That should be all of the big points. Until next time -- email me if you can't wait that long. (kvjohnso@gmail.com) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 27th, 2006
11:58 am	Okay, so I'm updating slightly more often than I used to. That's better, right? There's quite a bit going on in my life. This morning I had a job interview for a youth counselor position, and it was the hardest interview I've ever had to do, to date. Role plays, hypothetical questions, getting grilled by 7 *big* guys about all sorts of topics. I am slightly scared of what it will be like, but the people were extremely nice and it looks like the staff gets along really well. For someone who doesn't like talking in front a handful of people, I was surprisingly comfortable, and not very nervous. I have to pass a physical, running, strength, things like that. They asked if I would be interested in helping out with their artsy-like programs like band and theater. It sounded like they were going to hire me, but I won't find out for a few days (gotta check out my "criminal past"). In the meantime, I'll start running and lifting. The harder thing in my life is my mom. She just learned that Charles and I were thinking about moving in together, and just flipped her lid. She's emailing me now, saying we need to talk, and threatening to take away the gift money she was going to give us and calling our marriage a "sham". Now she wants to move the date up, but I'm not sure she realizes that these are our decisions, and not hers. We would spend the $5000 she'd give us just in our costs to live in separate places for nine months, so either way, the "gift money" is going to go down the tube and not to good use. I get so frustrated and stressed just thinking about it, that I can feel my heart rate rising and my veins "cholesterolizing." So I'm gonna stop writing about it, for my own psychological health. I have to get reading on my motivation, anyway, if I'm gonna do well at this job. Let's hope I get it. Now off for some dinner and running... (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 30th, 2006
2:01 am	I just had a birthday. And it was awesome. I found out I have friends. I have friends who come celebrate with me. And I have friends who walk me home when they're done celebrating with me. I am drunk. Yay, drunk posts! Surprisingly, I am typing well. This will probably be the last time I am drunk for quite some time. So I want to thank the people who left notes on my facebook wall with birthday wishes! It honestly made my day about 10x better, and I hold a special place in my heart for all of you (and no, that's not the Long Island talking). You are all wonderful people; I appreciate good friends. (-: And before I forget, I just want to cataloge what all I had...which wasn't very much. I started with an amaretto sour (can't go wrong there), and then Pat bought me Sex on the Beach (that was fun). Brennan bought me a Long Island, Rob bought me an Alabama Slammer, and Ace followed it up with two shots, a Blowjob and an Orange PushPop. I guess now that I see it all, its not too shabby for the state I'm in now. And now I'm gonna pass out. Somehow I got a Budweiser Select sticker on my boob. Interesting. BIRTHDAY!!!! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 16th, 2006
1:34 pm	Ick. I am sick. My throat hurts like mad and it's all swollen and hard to swallow. When I do try to swallow, it hurts so much that I clench my teeth, and then it makes my head hurt. I'm all tired and sore, and my glands in my neck are swollen. I'm supposed to go to student health at 2:30 and get "checked out", but I know that's gonna consist of me waiting around for them to tell me things that I already know. "You have a sore throat, its all red and swollen back there." Ya think? I just hope they don't draw blood, because everytime they do they manage to make it feel like they are digging around and then leave my arm bruised for a week. Too much pain to just have them tell you they don't know what's wrong, and give you medication to "heal" what they don't know is wrong. I can't wait until I'm graduated and can get a job with REAL health insurance. So I can go to a REAL medical clinic when I get sick so I can know what's REALLY wrong. I'm gonna take a nap. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 15th, 2006
4:00 pm	I have the final update from (after) Dallas. We left Sunday afternoon, after eating at the hotel's breakfast buffet and "loading up" on cereal and yogurt for the trip. Our bus departed at 2pm and getting through security was a breeze (amazing). We walked around the terminal for awhile before getting on our flight. On the plane, I got a window seat, but had two old men sitting next to me in the other seats. They were nice, and normally I wouldn't mind, but about 3/4 of the way through the trip, I had to use the restroom. I asked them to move so I could get out, but as soon as I got out of the row, we hit turbulence and the pilot put the fasten seatbelt light on. so I had to crawl back in, and wait. My kidneys hurt so bad, and I think while I was waiting, we flew really close to some lightning - I saw a really bright flash and instantly later the warnings in the cabin started going off and the plane dropped. It was pretty scary. After about 15 minutes we were free to move around the cabin again. We flew around in a holding pattern for about half an hour before landing (inclement weather). When we got off our flight, our flight from Chicago to DesMoines was delayed 3 hours. During our walk to the next terminal, it was cancelled. We spent about two more hours in the airport before making arrangements to stay in a hotel for 6 hours until we could get our luggage in the morning and leave for home on a charter bus. Pretty exciting. We did stay in a Westin, with heavenly-soft beds for cheap ($70/night), and left Chicago bright and early in the morning. I slept the entire way home, but still managed to get the songs from RENT stuck in my head. We got home safely, and less than 2 hours after getting home I had to go to work. It was great. And that concludes my trip to Dallas. Not a very exciting ending, I apologize. But hopefully it'll get me to write in this thing more often. (-: (Comment on this)
Saturday, March 11th, 2006
5:45 pm	Hooray, more glorious stories from Dallas! However, I must pick up where I left off yesterday. We ended up going to the Improv Comedy Club in Addison, TX and seeing Bill Buhr and Cash Levy. It was fun, I got to meet Alex Weigel and got to sit with Denise and Jess (yay!). When we came back, we decided to go to the zoo instead of Six Flags (like everyone else). So we got out our public transportation (DART) map and spent an hour figuring out how to get to the zoo on the bus. We had internet resources, all sorts of maps and the giant bus-map of Dallas all spread out in our hotel room, circling all sorts of intersections. It was great -- anyone who would have seen the map and not had any idea what was going on would definitely have thought it be an underground drug ring. So we get things figured out and then decide to go tell people and invite them along (those who weren't going to Six Flags). So we ask the Poker crew and Grant, and Grant says he'll go. On our way back we decide that we need to invite Mr. Smith, but it was nearly midnight by then and figured he'd be asleep, so we started to make him an invitation. We got a bunch of pamphlets and markers and cut out the animals and stapled them to a piece of paper and gave them word bubbles that said things like "...too the Zoo!" "The price is right, only $8.75!" and "It's Gravy Baby!" We also put pep band songs on there -- we cut out "Eye of the Tiger," wrote "Jungle Boogie" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit to me!" -- we're such nerds. It was the highlight of our night. Then we snuck to Smith's door and slipped it under. We didn't sign it, hoping that it would add to the intrigue and he would at least meet us in the lobby to see who had written it. He didn't join us, however. We had a great time making it, and couldn't stop laughing. So we woke up early in the morning and caught the DART to the zoo. We made it there in an hour, which isn't too bad considering we went through Downtown Dallas. We got to see chimps and elephants and rhinos and giraffes, and all those fun animals. We saw penguins, but they were plastic. Not real=not cool. Oh well, we had fun taking a picture of Grant's imitations. The zoo ended up being a really good time, except radio Disney was there, right by the lions, where there was a sign saying explicity to keep down the sound because it scares them. We didn't get to see the female lion. Stupid Radio Disney. But we were sure to get a picture of all of us before we left. After the zoo we got back on the DART. The wrong direction. So we went around the first half of the loop and then back to the zoo bus stop. And then we missed our downtown bus stop because one of the streets was different, so we ended up going around the other half of the loop. On our way around, I saw a sign that said "Let DART take you on an adventure." Too real. All in all, we spent an hour and 45 minutes on the bus. And that was only the first leg of the trip. Once we got on to our transfer bus, we made it back to our hotel pretty quickly. We were on that bus for so long that at some point we all had taken a nap, and Grant memorized a poem they had posted (entitled "A Birthday") and then recited it to Crispy, ironically enough, for his birthday. I felt a little sorry for the kid; who would want to spend 2 hours of your birthday on a DART bus? My motto for the day: It took us 2 hours, but we didn't get shot! We finally got off the bus, at the Galleria and went in for some ice cream. We conquered Dallas and wanted ice cream. That part was pretty uneventful. After that, we got back to our hotel and decided to go swimming. Denise had bad allergies today, and I don't know what I had -- I'm guessing I had allergies too, even though I don't think I have allergies -- but we were both sneezing up a storm today (still are). We thought the hot tub would be a good thing for our ailments, so we went down to the hotel swimming facility, and there are kids everywhere. kids in the hot tub, kids swimming inside, kids swimming outside, everywhere. And the parents really weren't supervising. So we went outside and decided to swim until it was "suppertime" for them. I've never heard so many swear words coming from a 10-yr old's mouth -- and plenty of f-bombs. Stupid teeny boppers. Eventually we got into the hot tub...scared a few of them out. It felt great. Since we'd only have Zoo food to hold us over, we got pretty hungry and decided to make a trek to Wendy's. What takes you minutes going 50 mph takes much longer on foot. At least there was no DART. On the way there though, I thought I saw the moon. And I saw Crispy look behind him and I said 'no, it's over that building' and pointed forward. He said, 'yeah, I don't think that's the moon,' and proceeded to point upwards, at the REAL moon. Needless to say, two hours and a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger later, here I am. We leave tomorrow at 2. I'll have a little time to sleep in, I'll probably pack tonight so I don't have to worry about my cold/allergies/whatever it is acting up tomorrow. There's enough dramamine to get me home, and I can't wait to have a glass of wine. That's the thing about alcohol -- I don't really have the desire to drink any until its forbidden. And since it's been forbidden all week, I could easily get plastered tomorrow night. A few of us are thinking we should hit up the bar as soon as we get back, we'll see how well we're holding up; our flight gets in at 11pm. I should probably cut this update short, since it's so long (Dallas is just so big!). So when you hear from me again, I'll probably be back in Ames. Cheers! (Comment on this)
Friday, March 10th, 2006
1:58 pm	This one is a day late, because it was full of excitement!! We got to sleep in because we didn't have to leave until 2:45! Amazing. So we went to the Galleria (again) and ate at Bennigans. And then Denise and I split a Strawberry Torte from a little french bakery they had there...it was delicious! We need a french bakery in Ames...we don't have enough. So we came back and I was the first one on the bus! The first! That never happens. We went to the West End for a pep rally and had a little time to walk around. I registered to win an iPod Nano, and got a second entry for singing our fight song for everyone. Woohoo! It was a great time. I also filled up a gas tank (some game) and got a tire pump, and a card for 25 free songs from iTunes! I'm definitely going to use those. After the pep rally we went to the game and had about 20 minutes to get ourselves and Pat's drums through security, to the court and set up. In the meantime, I got squished all the way to the end and watched the basketball hoop the majority of the game. Our Cyclones lost, but put up a relatively good fight. The officiating was terrible (as usual). Now we look forward to the NIT. Exciting. We ate at Cadillace Bar, a nice mexican restaurant, for supper, and it was good. I always like eating with our director, he's so much fun to be around in a not-marching-band setting. On the way back, we got a flight-preparation speech from the pom/cheer squad, they actually interacted with the band, although I believe some had been drinking. (What really pissed me off was the band members who kept saying, "That's not fair!" So what? They have a different drinking policy. You want to drink? Become a pom.) We went back to the hotel and played some poker -- always a good time. I went out and then starting playing at the losers table. After that, the hotel has to do some electricity maintenance, so they had to shut off the electricity in the building for three hours. They gave us all glow sticks and we decided to go outside and play capture the flag around the hotel in the dark. It was a great time until the hotel security came out and made us stop (I guess we're not allowed to run around an empty parking lot in the dark). Brennan was the last to find out, it was funny watching him peek over the cars trying to get to the other base and then being chased...by his own teammates. So we retreated to the pom's room up on 6th floor. Didn't really do much there, just packd a whole bunch of band kids into a room. We left, and then hotel security came and broke that one up too. (They probably don't like us by now). We decided afterwards that playing glowstick poker in our instrument storage room was the best place to go. So we went and played poker with glowsticks until late. I went to bed around three. The glowsticks were fun, though. I wish I had more. So that's what went on yesterday. Today we were just lounging around, but we might go to a comedy club this evening. Oh! I got to wear my new Pumas!! They are so sweet and comfy, I love them to death, and I'm gonna have to buy more. Lots of Pumas. Okay, I'll write more tomorrow! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 8th, 2006
5:27 pm	Right now I'm chilling (literally) in our hotel room. Someone turned our air down and it was below 50 degrees in here. Denise and I are cuddled under our blanket playing with our laptops and facebook. The women lost this afternoon. It was to be expected, since we did pull off an upset last night and were playing the #1 team in the conference today. We put up a fight though, and kept the score within 1-2 points pretty much the whole game. After the game we went to Hooters. I'd never been there, but it was fun. The food was kinda bland, and our waitress couldn't possibly have put more makeup on her eyes. And afterwards, Pat motorboated Brennan. So funny. We have plans to go to the Galleria this evening, and maybe get some flip flops. I *heart* Old Navy flip flops. And Coldstone. I think I'm gonna play poker with everyone tonight, it's only a $2 buy-in, and the jerks from Texas Tech won't be playing with us. I had a really strange dream last night. It was about someone I haven't thought of for a long time. I don't know why that person was in my dreams, but it was pleasant. It was a time of catching up and remembering. That's all I'll say, because I prefer to keep this dream to myself. (-: (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 7th, 2006
10:03 pm	Long one So I haven't written in a while. I've decided that's not a good thing. Writing is good for your mind, and it helps me think creatively. Something I did these past few days was read my journal all the way back to when I first started. One by one, backwards. Its amazing to see how much I've changed in the past 5 years. Its also shown me how much I've stayed the same, and which characteristics will always be mine, and shape who I am. Its interesting to see what moods I was in when I posted and the pattern of posts based on my emotion. And its interesting too see how I've evolved intellectually. I've actually coined a new term, "intellectually retarded", because I believe as i've written with less fervor and thought, my insight and creativity has ceased flow. I don't think college has helped much on that end, either. I've decided I need to update this more. I need to get my mind moving and my thoughts down on paper. I'm thinking I may start picking up writing poetry again, now that I'll have spare time *gasp*! Who would have thought "I" and "spare time" would have ever shown up in a sentence together? (-: I will write more so I can document what happens in my life and have that available to read as I grow older. I'm going to write more for myself, for my own advancement, and my own pleasure, because I enjoy writing, and I always have. You guys just get the privelege of reading it! So to get things moving, I am in Dallas right now. This is pretty much the first free time I've had in a long time to do anything I've ever wanted to do. Its Big 12 tournament time, and I'm sitting in a room of a nice hotel, where it is warm and enjoying it. Go Cyclone Women! And men, once they start playing! I've been so incredibly busy lately. Things started last August, when I took on two additional jobs in addition to my original and full-time classes. I volunteered also for the Convention Chair in our sorority, to plan our midwest district convention. What an experience! Convention was held this past weekend, and I can attest that I didn't get any sleep. But we put on a kickin' convention, and people had fun and things went so smoothly (other than when some kid ran right through a wall) that it was worth every hour that I didn't sleep. And more. As many of you who've been paying attention to my sporadic LJ posts, Charles and I got engaged in December! And we've set a date for June of 2007! Its way exciting, and now that I'm not so busy I can start planning a wedding! So if any of you want to be invited, drop me a line. I seriously want to invite each an every one of you, but I need your addresses, so email them to me (kvjohnso@iastate.edu). The wedding will be in Ames, and it will be a great, fun and meaningful time. There is so much in my life that I have figured out. I am really at peace with myself and feel that I finally have the confidence to search embetter myself. This whole running the district convention thing has taught me so much about how to deal with people, how to handle stressful situations and how to handle myself in the presence of others. I have grown so much, and my experiences thus far have been the sole contributors. I can face my past with steel resolve and a compassionate heart, and I can reflect on my emotions and heartaches without feeling guilty. I can let things go that don't matter, and focus on the things that do matter. I can control who I am and how I react and what I can do with my life. And I can confront my insecurities and imperfections and embrace them to improve myself. I can stand up for who I am, what I believe and make a positive impact on this world and in the lives of others. And that is what has been going on in my life. As I am still in Dallas (haven't moved really in the past 15 minutes), I will continue posting about life events and feelings and what is going on. I enjoy this whole livejournal thing. (-: (Comment on this)
Thursday, January 26th, 2006
11:32 pm	Hey Buddies! Here's a little something for y'all... Give me your best scavenger hunt item/idea (for a digital camera scavenger hunt). Best idea gets a cookie from me. (-: (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 21st, 2005
2:22 pm	Good news Hey Everybody! Good news...I got engaged on Dec. 16th!!! (-: I'll have pictures to post soon! (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, August 22nd, 2005
9:54 am	School starts today, it doesn't feel right. Marching band camp is done. Life is good. (Comment on this)
Friday, August 19th, 2005
9:56 pm	Public service announcement: Life is hard. Learn to get along, people. Leadership is a lonely path. Some will just never understand. I have sharp pains in my stomach. They've been there all day and they hurt. Band starts again tomorrow, 8:40. I get to sleep in. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 19th, 2005
4:36 pm	They blew up my home! Knapp and Storms Halls no longer exist. I watched them fall this morning. It was kinda sad, since it was the first place I lived when I went to college, but they had to go sometime. Knapp fell down in one piece, but Storms practically crumbled, great structural capacities (of course, that's the one in which I resided). Got some cool picture, though, and the news channels around here covered it like nobody's ever imploded a building before. If that's not enough, go here and here. (The "tarps" they talk about are actually pieces of the building that are missing. No tarp.) (Also, the building were designed to last 10 years. Not 40.) (Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 12th, 2005
1:52 pm	Whoever thought that doing a total of 30 situps (4 different ways) and jogging three blocks would make for a sore body the next day? Not me. Out of shape is an understatement. I really haven't posted for awhile, so I'll update about my last semester and this summer. Took 17 credits this spring, was involved in Orchesis I (a dance group), planned a district-wide convention for Tau Beta Sigma to be held in Ames in 2006, worked at the clinic and did Pep Band. Lots of trips, too. Went to Kansas City with the band, as well as Fresno, CA and Hollywood, thanks to the ahtletic dept. Also went to Colorado to present our bid for district convention, which we recieved. All of that was done in the month of March. I also had a birthday sometime in there. I applied for a staff position with the marching band for next year and received it, so come August, I'll be getting paid in addition to that one credit. The summer has flown by; I moved home to save money, but it turns out I haven't really saved all that much. Found out that my mom is actually a cool person, just not when she's around me. Took a class this summer, will probably get an A in it. Charles moved to Cedar Rapids for the summer, so that gives me somewhere to go on the weekends. We went to Chicago the weekend of the 4th to see a Cubs game and the Aquarium, it was a good time. Took the "scenic route" to the aquarium, didn't get murdered when we accidentally stumbled into the southside of Chicago. Kira got married, it was the most fun wedding I've ever been to. Its really weird to think that her name isn't Shonkwiler anymore. I think that's about it. Next semester I'll be working with the band, teaching colorguard in Ogden and still working at the clinic, preparing for a district convention, and going to school, but I'll only be taking 13 credits. I'm kind of excited for my Counseling Techniques class, that should be fun. I suppose if anything else big happens, I'll let you know. Something I've been thinking about - How you know if he/she is "the one": 1. You're not telling yourself, "I think they're the one..." 2. They don't make you cry or feel bad about who you are. 3. They don't keep you away from the things you love to do. I'll add more to the list as I think of it. I was just thinking one day, once someone asked that question, "how do you know"? Its so easy for us who do know to say "You just know", but people who don't know can't relate to it. Anyway, I think the biggest point on that list is #1. Feel free to list your thoughts on it, too. Also, why is it that even though the speed limit in Iowa changed and went up, people are now going SLOWER than the ORIGINAL speed limit??? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 23rd, 2005
11:54 am	Congratulations Jason!!! (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 17th, 2005
12:12 pm	So I need to start a list of things my mom says/does at home. The most recent: She called me at 11:15 last night at work because she was worried about me. She wanted to make sure I wasn't bleeding to death in a ditch somewhere. (Note: the first night I worked and I was living at home I didn't come home until after 11:30...that didn't seem to bother her.) The bets are still open. (Comment on this)