Hot cocoa mug

I came home from work tonight and made my usual Ghirardelli double chocolate hot cocoa with milk before crawling in bed with a book (Grisham's lastest).

Well, my usual hot cocoa mug (that I got from my mom and is adorable and I absolutely love) was dirty from my V-8 light juice earlier that morning.

Instead, I used a mug from my plate collection. That mug is a lot bigger than my other mug, it's practically a bowl.

My tummy hurts now.

What a day

Tuesday started off as a quiet, snowy morning. I stayed in bed through the afternoon attempting to combat the bug that was going around the office I knew I was bound to get. (No windows and a bizillion of us stuffed in a small area....it's inevitable) Anyways, I was enjoying my day when my phone rang and it was work.

It's always a bad sign when they call me before I get into the office. My editor asks "Wanna be on your way to work?" I said "Sure." He said "OK. Fatal stabbing, go to it."

First of all, if I had said I didn't want to go into work early, I could've missed out on a fatal stabbing that happened in the middle of the day! That would've been disappointing. I guess he had to make sure I was dedicated to any story. Blah.

The stabbing turned out to be a love triangle gone really bad after the woman's husband, who beat her, left jail to find a job but instead showed up at their apartment where her much younger boyfriend was at the time. The husband got mad and killed the guy. Sounds like a country song, eh?

I went back to the scene to talk to neighbors who got home from work. I was there for 1 1/2 hours and when it got dark I decided to head back to the office. I also wanted to get out of there before they took the body bag outside. I got in my car, started to leave when my tires began spinning out of control landing me right in the rain gutter.

A surge of tears started and lasted for nearly 30 minutes. I was terrified and had NO idea what to do. It was the worst area of town and dark. I watched the police officers start to leave and got even more worried. I didn't know who to call but my fellow police officer/source/friend.

I called Sgt. Ledford on his cellphone, hating to bother him at home, just to simply ask what I should do. I was in a rain gutter, I didn't even know if there was anything but a tow truck that could get me out.

Long story short, he made the 20 minute drive to come and get me out with his truck. I was so embarassed and extremely grateful that he came to help me! It was funny, right as he was pulling up he called to see where he was and said "Instead of your knight on a white horse, I'm a knight in a white truck." Classic.

After nearly getting his truck stuck and taking out a garbage can, he pulled me out of the ditch and I returned to the office, very grumpy.

I wrote my story and 20 minutes before I was going home, the story changed completely and I had to re-write the story with all the copy editors waiting for me so they could go home.

That is the last I want to ever remember of that day.

For reals?!

I thought this was a joke. I hoped this was a joke. It's not. See for yourself....



This commercial made Austin and I laugh forever. Watch around 28 seconds, they look like coneheads/aliens. This is scary for so many reasons. The best part was Austin said "That's the ugliest thing I've seen."

That's my boy, anti-poof and all!

A compliment...at work...huh?

Today my editor complimented the lead of my story. He actually said "I like it." He went as far to make sure I hadn't changed a word when I turned it over to the final edit.

And, right as I was writing this the other editor came up to me and said "Kristine, I think this is the best story you've ever written in terms of start to finish. It was a perfect mix of everything."

WOW. I didn't even know what to say.

I wish it was that rewarding and easy here everyday. But, it's not. The real world is full of criticism, I get that. However, I had no idea how criticism dominated my temporary career choice would be. Now, it is a shocking reality.

Work goes like this....
1. Find a story that hasn't been written in the past 5ish years and sell it your editors. But before you say anything, keep your mouth shut until you know you can actually get it. (Telling them about it, and then not being able to do it is bad news)
2. Start the calls and researching. At that point you learn to deal with rejection. For some reason, nobody likes to talk to a reporter. We're manipulative and sensationalist. Whatever it is, I've heard every excuse and just been completely ignored. Makes you feel really good about yourself. 3. Write the story. From the moment you start, tailor the length of it to whatever the editors want. Oh, and don't use big words because apparently Northern Utahns can't handle them.
(My editor told me I have a tendency to use too abstruse words)
4. Put the story into city edit where it will then be read by one of the editors. I swear I still get nervous when I try to open my story and it is locked because they're reading it. I just sit and hope today they like what I gave them. They usually have something to say about it.
5. The story goes into city ready. Here, they place it onto the paper and cut obscene amounts of it. It has to fit, right?
6. The paper goes out and you hope your story somewhat resembles what you originally intended.
7. You check your email the day it's in the paper to make sure nobody hates it, or you, enough to take the time to tell send hate mail. (I've actually had someone tell me I am incompetent and my story was trashy and I should be ashamed and red faced)
8. You do it all over again.

I didn't want to sound like I'm complaining too much because I enjoy my job. Really, it's great. There's just been some moments when said supervisors have been harsh in their criticism. I guess it's meant to be constructive, but most days I feel like it's just critical of me.

As a reporter, you put effort into stories everyday and put yourself on the line with your writing skills, organization, interviewing, etc. We're subject to 65,000 critics a day. And that's just those who subscribe.

Law school apps

Law school....exciting, eh? Law school applications....most annoying, time consuming, busy work EVER!

For the past I'd say about month all I can think about is this little organization LSAC-Law School Admissions Council- that is the mediator between me and said future law school. OK seriously people, it's got to be intense if there needs to be a national admissions council right? We're talking different personal statement requirements, different resumes, different application due dates and amounts, different processes (mailed, LSAC, their web-site), letters of recommendation for every school. I'm terrified I'll get one of my schools mixed up and ruin all my chances. It has actually given me nightmares.

For law being so universal....the application process for law school is opposite.

As my friend at work pointed out, maybe the application process is so brutal to deter the less dedicated students from going through with it. What a great weeding out process and also a fantastic way for them to drain my bank account. It's about $75 per school...I'm applying to 8-9. Do the math and Ouch! My bank account with a measly salary as a starting journalist has taken the hit.

Well LSAC, you've gotten me on the edge many nights and almost pushed me back into undergrad classes to get ready for med school. However, I'm sticking with it and giving every dang school the exact amount of pages/words/characters and a tailored resume they want. Happily, of course.

It all paid off when I receieved an email from a law school in North Carolina that I applied to for "fun." (Maybe that's why I'm stressed out over this, I'm applying to schools that just invite me to apply for free) Anyways, the school said my g.p.a and LSAT score placed me in one of their highest position for a candidate for a top merit scholarship.

That, my friends, is just the ammunition I needed to keep going with this tedious process.

Now and Then

Now:

and Then:

A night of relaxing at home turned into a night of reminiscing and nostalgia I hadn't experienced in awhile.

It's Friday night and I had to work late. Looking forward to my night at home, I decided to order appetizers and watch a movie. My justification is that I'm going to start working out hard again and eating crazy healthy, so....one more night of whatever I wanted seemed appropriate!

I ordered my boneless wings and curled up in bed to watch Now and Then. Since I was it on OnDemand, I've had this weird desire to watch it. So, I took the trip back to 1995 and enjoyed every minute of it. Although, I have to admit I can't believe I watched that movie at such a young, impressionable age! A bit mature at moments, and scary. Pretty pathetic when I've got to turn the light on as I watch it in my apartment! All that cemetery and seance stuff.

The 1 1/2 hours of girl bonding time, summers in 5 pastel colors per outfit, seances (weird...i know) and tree houses brought back a lot of childhood memories. I grew up in a great neighborhood with lots of girls my age and we made the best of our large group. OK, at times there was drama, but I will always have a place in my heart for those girls. There was about 10 of us and we all took shifts being best-friends with one another.

One summer we decided to have a club and host it in my dear friend Madison's backyard, where a red, glorious storage like building stood. It was the perfect meeting place. We made all sorts of rules and immediately formed the club. We painted the shed, placed old carpet in it, posted pictures inside and came up with all the secret passwords and even signs. In order to be part of the club, you had to own some sort of ying yang item. I think I had a ring, or necklace, or something. Regardless, it was the powerful Chinese symbol required to gain entrance.

The group of us voted on a President and all the other leadership positions. There were a lot of memories in that place and it makes me smile knowing adulthood hasn't completely washed them away.

At one point, I remember us all having a sleepover and doing our usual seance routine with the light as a feather trick as the following act. Thinking about it now, we were so silly! We thought we were on top of the world (and the underworld too I guess!) The thing is, we were there for each other and we were happy girls.

And just like the girls in Now and Then, we've all gone our separate ways. I guess that's what growing up and moving away does to relationships. But for now, I can still close my eyes and see that red clubhouse and those girls in our denim shorts and smiles gloating over our newest clubhouse rules and regulation and it's a simplicity I don't find in my life anymore. 

I also realized as I was binging on junk food during the movie, I don't need to go all veggies and chicken only. I need to allow myself things every now and then.  

Baby I'll be your...

I never thought a mixed cd taken from the rental car my parents brought to Utah for Christmas could ever bring such entertainment.

Saturday morning Austin, the boy, and I were driving to Ogden after I had met him at his dad's house after he got off work. After breakfast at my favorite small town restaurant we hit the road anticipating our day of shopping, dinner and a movie. Our usual.

The weather was fantastic, bright and sunny. (unlike anything you'd expect in WY/UT in January) Anyways, it all started when the boy put on my sunglasses after we had a lengthy discussion about his premature aging. OK, not so premature seeing as he's a bit older than me. Regardless, he has a few lines on his forehead, much to his dismay, that he attributes to not wearing sunglasses when he was younger. So by all means Aust, wear my sunglasses. (I've got a couple years on him so it was a sacrifice I could make)

Well the boy's driving away and we're just chatting when we realize music is missing. Weird for us. We're both music freaks. Addicts. Never without it. So, we put in a new cd. Little did we know it would be the most random/trippy cd ever!

Half expecting Sara Bareilles or Leona Lewis I sit back and get ready to sing along. When, all of the sudden, the car starts thumping with some absurd techno meets rock-n-roll song. We both start laughing and within seconds the boy's caught onto the lyrics and he's singing away.

The next song's on. A bit more tolerable, just plain 'ol dirty hip hop. We skip that one. The next song starts out kinda cool, it could be promising. The lyrics start and tears from laughter follow. The song went like this.

"Baby will you be my corona and lime? And I will be your main squeeze."

Not sure why, but so hilarious! It didn't stop there. It then goes through every major city describing the women there. Apparently girls in L.A. rock oversized shades, girls in the Hills get their hair straightened, girls in NY look like giraffes and girls in Miami street bikinis. Naturally.

The singer is ultimately looking for a girl that loves hip hop and rock-n-roll. He hasn't met her yet, but he says he'll tell us when he does.

It ends with him offering to be her sandy beach....if she's his corona and lime.

This provided a few minutes of Aust and I to make clever, or an attempt at clever, combinations of things we can be for each other. I'll spare you those details because as I write this, I'm thinking they won't be nearly as funny.

Well, the rest of the cd was unpredictable and tasteless (we decided it was some skanky girl's cd). That did not stop us from trying all 18 songs for a second in which we'd listen to the style, turn to each other at the same moment and then start dancing accordingly. The boy out grooving me everytime with my oversized sunglasses to prevent those further wrinkles and looked great (I was secretly wishing I could get down like Anne Hathaway in Bride Wars...which I tried to find a clip of but YouTube actually failed me on that one)

Who knew a random, forgetten in a rental car cd would bring so much fun on a Saturday morning drive and continue sto bring me laughs while I sit at work in my pepto bismol cubicle.

Thank you skanky girl who forgot to get it out of the car. It served us well!

In all that I never mentioned how much I love drives with the boy. Love 'em.