Here in Katie’s Head

Here at Sellards, we have a favorite tradition known as candlelightings. When a girl has a Big Thing happen in her life–the kind of mushy thing other girls get all excited about–she secretly puts a candle in the mailbox of our hall president. The president sets a time for the candlelighting, when we all gather in a circle, and pass around the candle. When the candle comes to the girl whose Big Thing we are celebrating, she blows it out. If she blows it out on the first time around the circle, it means she got into grad school or some other academic celebration. The second time is for a promise ring, the third is an engagement ring, and the fourth is a pregnancy.

And today, just before dinner, it was posted that there will be a candlelighting on Sunday. So the rumor mill is cranking at full speed because no one knows who its for or what she did.

And I’m sure you don’t need to be told this, but girls are really fucked up.

“I hope someone’s pregnant, that would be fun!” is heard echoing around at dinner. Fun for whom?

So when a girl approaches the group I was sitting with, asking “so who do you think it is?” Erica says flatly, “Katie’s pregnant.”

All eyes on me.

I laugh, “thanks for ruining the surprise.”

“WHAT?!??!?!!??!?”

I shrug and go back to eating. You know, can’t skimp on meals now that I’m apparently eating for two.

That and I was thinking, I have no better clue whose candlelighting it is than anyone else, so why not throw off the pool by perpetuating a rumor?

I’m amazed after this nasty little rumor was repeated to half the house, I still haven’t had a single inquiry as to who the father might be.

Posted: 10:55 pm · Category: Sellards · Comments: 5

Ow.

I need to marry a chiropractor.

Posted: 11:48 am · Category: Weaknesses · Comments: 1

I am so unfunny this week.

I blame the truckloads of homework I have. As opposed to the usual absence thereof.

However, my second story for Fiction Writing was workshopped this week and got remarkably better reviews than anticipated–especially from the prof. (And I now feel VERY BAD for writing all sorts of harsh criticism for the other guy that we workshopped today.) I suppose my piece is a bit better than I thought at first, but I was going through hardcore caffeine withdrawl at the time, so in retrospect I take back a lot of things I said that week.

But yes, I must get back to my homework. Politics readings (my unfavorite) tonight, then Spanish and religion and writing the next two days.

Posted: 11:05 pm · Category: School · Comments: 1

I’m having one of those “I love you guys” days (don’t let that frown on my webcam fool you).

1. Thanks to Luke, Shawn, Josh and Kevin for keeping me entertained over fall break. You guys are four of the coolest people I know. Yes, even Shawn.
2. Thanks to Derek for saying I’m his “favorite ever“. I’d say that’s an amazing compliment for someone I’ve never met, but…that’s not entirely true.
3. Thanks to Karen for walking downtown with me when the shopping bug bit. I appreciated getting out of the house for a bit, and I’d like to think I saved you from VH1 overload.
4. Thanks to Ben for keeping me sane over the past couple of weeks. It’s nice to have someone like you around when life takes a turn towards drama.
5. Thanks to the weather for helping my lettuce grow into far more edible lettuce than I really planned on growing.
6. Thanks to Kristen for ordering far too much pizza on Saturday. I enjoy leftover pizza far too much.

I think that’s all the urgent ones for today.

Posted: 3:46 pm · Category: Misc Friends · Comments: 3

I was raised Methodist, but quit believing a lot of it about a week after I was confirmed in sixth grade. I went on to be the resident agnostic and president of my youth group. We had a very liberal, secular group and I liked both the power and the people there.

Now, as I have explained to my mother, I prefer to think that God created Sunday mornings for sleeping in, rather than complex made-up rituals. While I’ve been in Lawrence, I have not been going to church at all, but instead I have been catching up on sleep.

God is totally okay with this, by the way. He knows a weekly sermon doesn’t do anything for my spirituality compared to, for example, a nice sunset.

Plus, when I see other girls here leaving for church, I’ve taken to asking them to say hello to Jesus for me, and they’re usually more than happy to pass that along to him.

Posted: 11:21 am · Category: Church · Comments: None

I am spending today, much like yesterday, wasting time because I’m on fall break and most everyone else is out of town.

I woke up at 11:30 and lied in bed for another hour. I had Hi-C fruit snacks for breakfast. I sat around the house with a toothpaste stain on my shirt. And when I finally decided to look into human contact, I shuffled downstairs to see who was tagged in on the in/out board.

When I got to the entryway, Megan and Karen excitedly announced I had a package that arrived in the mail. Now, if I was legitimately awake, I’d have known right away. But instead I was confused.

As soon as they handed the package to me, I remembered. Sweet.

I tore at the paper envelope, as they cheered, “What is it? What is it?”

I looked inside, the shirt I ordered a couple days ago and some exciting Fray goodies.

I laughed, remembering that Derek had emailed me to tell me I was the first person to order a shirt. I feel special.

And since new clothes give me hives, I am doing laundry. In an hour, I will have a NEW FAVORITE SHIRT to wear while I continue to do nothing all day.

Meanwhile, I have slapped a sticker on Killer, my moped.

Posted: 3:17 pm · Category: Geek · Comments: 1

People have been telling me how remarkably I resemble my mother since grade school. Friends and relatives alike have been calling me by her first name accidentally since I was seven.

A year or two, it became painfully obvious that not only do I look like my mother–I am turning into her.

I was standing barefoot in my bedroom, trying to decide what to do next, when I looked down at myself. Jeans a year or two past their expiration date, with holes in the seat that are just a bit too large to wear around other people. Greenish bruises I can’t explain, at least one as a consequence of running into something while watering my lettuce. Dark blue tanktop, bra-less because no one is around to notice/care today. Hair less than perfect, because I am far too lazy to do anything except brush it a couple times a day. Paperback novel laying nearby, probably nothing remarkable, but the cover interested me. Cheap $10 watch. Diet Coke lust. Several days’ leg stubble–again, no one around to notice/care. Temptation to spend the day doing something outside.

Now I just need to marry a dorky science major and the transformation is complete.

Posted: 3:02 pm · Category: Family · Comments: 5