Remember when I wrote a post a couple weeks back about the wonderful people I go to school with? I mean you’ve sort of seen an example of that in Yow Yow’s guest posts, but now I would like to introduce you to someone lovely in a new format. Not too long ago, Seattle University had the opportunity to host TEDx and one of my peers, Renee Vandermause, gave a talk.
Renee is someone that I don’t interact with very often, but I pretty much think the world of her. Along with being a Civil and Environment Engineering student, she has dedicated a great deal of her time to service through Professionals Without Borders and leading and participating in immersions. She is someone that I find inspiring on campus and I wanted to be able to share this video of her spreading this important message.
For the past two weeks, all I have been hearing is how Seattle is the most hipster city in America. I mean, through word-of-mouth, I assumed that it would be the number one or number two city, but the people have spoken! The press has been printed. Seattle is the number one city and I for one, could not be more excited about this. I’m all about the hipster culture of Seattle and if I didn’t have enough pride before about my city, I definitely do now. The picture above embodies the Seattle hipsterness pretty well as it is of Cafe Presse – my favorite french hipster eatery – and oh, is that an Instagram-like filter I see?
Check out the rest of the article here and learn to love Seattle as much as I do.
I’ve always been known for my larger-than-life laugh. It’s to the point that it’s even been officially titled. Twice, actually. While most people find “The Kristina Cackle” ridiculous and (if visibly with me) slightly embarrassing, I find it to be rather telling of my life… Or maybe, more correctly, my outlook on life.
When people ask how my experience in Guatemala has been, there are two predominant conversation paths I can travel down. I could begin by listing off the absurd amount of health cases that I’ve been dealt (thigh-encompassing allergic reactions to ant bites, sun-blistered lips, parasites, bed bugs, lice, and yes, even fleas). But where’s the fun in that? I laugh most of those off anyway. Rather, I choose to begin by listing off the reasons I love this place. Why, you ask? The latter is a much longer list AND puts a bigger smile on my face.
Take munchkin Tony for instance. He is a five-year-old who doesn’t have a terribly large vocabulary due to a developmental delay. Regardless, not only has he won over my heart, he’s won over the heart of all my family that has come to visit. Tony has the two most adorably crooked front teeth I have EVER seen. He can’t help but flash them as he runs up to me shouting his version of my name: “Tee-naa! Tee-naa!” Because of his endless energy, I’m never bored when with him. We do anything from make paper airplanes, to rummage through the sandbox for hidden trucks, to play the “Tony Scares Kristina” game, to receive endless kisses from him while together. Tony is the FIRST kid I would stow in my luggage.
Participating in activities in places where they do not belong is riveting to me. Would you ever, in your life, imagine a floating cinema out in the middle of the water? No, of course not. This is probably the coolest thing I’ve seen all week though and I would jump at the chance to be able to watch a film here in Yao Noi, Thailand.
The Floating Cinema was designed by the talented architect, Ole Scheeran.
I’m not exactly sure what the Sketchbook Project 2012 world tour is all about right now, but what I do know is that it is a project that connects creative artists and designers from around the globe. This video above was made by Christina Paone and is entitled, “Sometime in the Next 50 Years…”
It is absolutely beautiful. Not only is the entire design structure of it just captivating, but being able to see her sketch and paint through her goals is moving because I believe it’s something that resonates with all of us.
So I just realized that my first post about San Francisco was a little bit weak. It was all sorts of reflective-ness and such, but I didn’t even go into detail about the things that matter the most: the food and the sights and everything we did in between. San Francisco is a beautiful city. It has so much character and color. People are full of energy almost all of the time and being there for four days was an adventure like I’ve never experienced before. Many friends told me before leaving on my trip that San Francisco is a lot like Seattle. I disagree. It’s in a city, sure, and it’s near water, but other than those two things, nothing else stood out to me that would support the cities being similar. If you’re making a visit soon, just stop – and look up at the buildings and the structure of it all. There’s also way more things to do there than in Seattle. In fact, I’m probably going to need to plan another trip again soon to complete it all.
On our first day, we picked up lunch at a popular deli called Arguello. We took our sandwiches up to the old army barracks overlooking Golden Gate and battled the intense winds as I tried to nom my sandwich desperately needing a hair tie. Afterwards, we just decided to embrace the wind. The photograph above is just a still of my girlfriends running with it for five minutes.
I haven’t done as much traveling as I would have liked at my age nor am I a huge fan of geographic items, but I absolutely love maps. I am a huge fan of recycled globes and printed maps and I usually try to showcase them on the blog when I come across them. This chalkboard wall decal is a pricey $159, but allows you to update and modify your own text to the map whenever you please. Also, think of how sleek this decal would look on the wall of your office above your desk, in a bedroom, or a living room. It’s a natural conversation starter.
Since I was in San Francisco this past week, there were a few places on my agenda that I had to stop by: Fisherman’s Wharf, Golden Gate, etc. However, when you’re in another city, there’s no way you can pass up a shopping opportunity – especially in San Francisco. I did my research beforehand. There were two Zara’s in the city. There are zero here in Seattle. I needed to make a purchase.
This wasn’t some impulsive buy though; I knew that I was on the hunt for some event-specific dresses in the spring so that’s what I had my eyes set on. As soon as I walked into the store, my eyes went straight to this dress. I’ve been looking for a white dress like this for a very long time and not only did I feel pretty in this dress, but I didn’t feel restricted at all.
Two main lessons to be learned from this story. Every woman deserves to own a dress that they can feel pretty and comfortable in. You need to find a dress that is true to you and that you know when you walk in a room, your entire goal is to turn heads.
- Everyday Music has officially moved across the street. [Source]
- Ballard burger spot, The Counter, has closed. [Source]
- A store I recently discovered while in San Francisco, Bevmo, will open up two locations in Washington in Silverdale and Tacoma. Um…I think they really meant Seattle, but that’s not happening. [Source]
- Seattle Restaurant Week begins April 8th! [Source]
- There is a Vintage Wedding Fair going down this weekend. Swoon swoon swoon. [Source]
Other
- Miami Heat show their support for Trayvon Martin. [Source]
- Jason Russell’s naked meltdown was because of a brief reactive psychosis. [Source]
Having been away from Yow Yow! for several days, I almost contemplated not even coming back for a bit. I can’t tell you how nice it feels to truly “take a vacation.” If you’re a blogger, I’m sure you understand what it feels like when you feel consumed by it. Over spring break (my last spring ever,) I decided in a very last minute decision to take a road trip with my friends Riley and Jeanette to visit our dear friend Samantha in San Francisco.
This was a trip of milestones:
First road trip
First college spring break
First trip with friends
First time visiting a friend in another state
It was a pretty big deal and I won’t lie to you and say that I wasn’t nervous about it before going on the trip, but I did it and it happened and I feel so much better for just going through with it. I am lucky to have such wonderful friends and to be in their company for my 22nd birthday.
Initially, I went into this trip thinking that I would want to have a birthday project like I did two years ago. On the car ride up, the three of us brainstormed and settled on an idea that would lead us to conversing with strangers and locals about their experiences in San Francisco. How did they get there? Why do they stay? What did San Francisco do for them? We had the Flipcam and planned on documenting every one that we met along the way, but when it came down to it, the project never got done. In fact, it never got started. It’s not because we can’t commit, but it’s because we initially believed that we had wanted to understand other people when really what we wanted was to understand ourselves in a different setting. I can’t speak for the rest of my friends, but this is what I was feeling.
On the way back, Riley and I were reflecting on the trip and he asked me: “You went on this trip and you had a lot of fun. Do you see now that there was nothing to be afraid of? What were you afraid of to start with?”
Happy spring readers! We’re long overdue for a Collection post so I thought I would leave you with one before I embark on the rest of my spring break venturing for the week. It’s definitely shorter than usual, but still packed with pretty pictures. I wanted to kick off this collection post with a comic from one of my favorite sites, A Softer World. Together, they are the perfect combination of beautiful photography and witty thoughts.
Out of my group of friends back home, I am the “workaholic.” At Seattle University, I’ve realized that I’m friends with a bunch of workaholics though so it’s nothing out of the ordinary. It is true. I love my work and doing work. The last time I was ever bored was probably in high school, but that may or may not have something to do with this blog here.
Today, I am beyond thrilled to say that once again I have finished my second to last quarter here at Seattle University. It is practically my last though and now I am looking forward to spending my last quarter with my dear friends of mine and truly taking advantage of the “college life” before I am headed into the real world. While I may be a workaholic to some extent, I would also like it to be known that I am someone who knows how to celebrate at the same time. I’m always the friend that rallies everyone together for a social gathering whether it is relevant or not and that is probably because I’m an event planner too.
At the end of every quarter, I like to hold a little celebration for myself and here is what it entails:
Sell your books immediately after taking your last final. Today, I got jipped, but eventually I’m going to put them on Amazon to rid myself of these text books for good! This is one aspect of the celebration process that can be a hit or miss. When the rewards are greater than you expected, then you know that it was successful. Usually it’s not, but one can hope.
Toss your old notebooks, papers, and assignments in the recycling. Let’s be real – you’re not going to dig those up again. And even if you did, you’re not gonna need the hard copy.
Have a glass of whatever. If you’re 21 – you know what to do. If you’re under age, that’s okay, appreciate your juice. Innocence is a blessing. I’m not saying you have to get cray-cray, but you can and should be able to relax and enjoy a glass. Ashley and I started this new tradition for myself last quarter in which we head over to Joey’s for Bellini’s!
Sit and do nothing for an hour. Pull a couple of all-nighters for finals week? Consumed more cups of caffeine than you can count on your hands? It’s time to wind down. Whether you’re sitting at your computer or sitting on your couch, just sit. Don’t stand. Learn to do nothing for a little bit of time and appreciate doing nothing.
Buy yourself something nice. You worked hard this quarter. You put in hours at the library and buried your nose in the books. When was the last time you did something for yourself?! I don’t want to support the notion that money solves everything, but I can’t lie to you. After a quarter ends and I make that trip down to Urban Outfitters, I always feel so much better.
Get a fresh look. We’re sort of going in order here for celebration steps. This isn’t absolutely necessary, but it’s always refreshing to come back from a spring break with a new hair cut or a new wardrobe and starting off the new quarter with a new slate. When you look good, you feel good.
Take a trip. This is also not required for the celebration steps, but if this were easy for everyone, I would advise it all the time. I love flying and I love trips so there.
Some people have unhealthy obsessions. I’ve got an obsession that I don’t actually pursue unless it’s convenient. And it’s flying. I love flying. I love airports. I love the news stand and eating airport food and getting a Starbucks before getting on a flight. I like purchasing a magazine and reading it slowly to see if it will last me the entire flight and buying a pack of Orbit Sweet Mint gum to distract me from my ears popping. I like talking to other people, before the flight, on the flight, and after the flight. According to my friends, they all would hate sitting next to someone like me, but oh my goodness – I just think it’s great.
Unfortunately, I won’t be flying for my spring break, but I’m crossing my fingers that there will be some more flights in my future.
Virgin America added a new stop today to Portland, Oregon and made this video to accompany the news. I was really just using this piece of information to further express my love for flying and airports…
