Congratulations Paul & Caragh! (Continued)

(click to embiggen!)

Paul and Caragh's video on the Pantagraph official website was featured on the front page of Ebaumsworld!! Go Paul and Caragh!

Here's the video, for your viewing pleasure:



Enjoy!

-Stinkier, excited to know someone whose video is on Ebaumsworld.

EDIT: Apparently, this story was also on CNN and Paul just said that the CBS Early Show is flying him and Caragh to New York for an interview! Remember us little people when you're famous, Paul! :)

Bowling, Drinks, and a Taco Bell Wedding

(To read the picture caption and the article, click to embiggen!)

Friday night was one of those adventures that seem to happen when I'm around. *bows* Thank you, thank you, it's a talent. :)

It started off with bowling at Circle Lanes with Dana and Jim, the two coolest coworkers a girl could have. Mind you, I am the world's worst bowler. We bowled three games and my scores were: 104, 83, and 65. Yeah, I get progressively worse the more games I play. Didn't help that I was drinking and laughing; mostly, it was the laughing that made me chuck my ball into the gutter. I stand by my theory that booze improves my aim. :)

Our names:
Jim: "SETHSVOICE"
*Jim's voice sounds almost exactly like Seth Rogen, it's freaky. Jim's personality is pretty close to his, as well, which makes for a good time.
Kristine: "NUPRIN"
*Little. Yellow. Different.
Dana: "CHASEBANK"
*Apparently, she has a side business at Chase Bank providing services to her own clientele. Haha, I don't know. :)

We then continued on to Maggie Miley's in "Uptown Normal" where we continued our boozy evening. Upon sitting, we noticed a girl wandering around in a dress that can best be described Prom Dress 2005. It was hot pink/fuschia with a v-neck that had a rhinestone embellishment at the end. The hem was like an upside down V with a flounce-y, ruffled hem. She was then dubbed "The Girl in the Slutty Red Dress".

Dana next ran into a friend who told us that she just came back from a wedding at Taco Bell! The media was all over this story, with both WEEK 25 doing a news feature and Pantagraph having a story in their paper the next day (see above). Jim, Dana, and I thought this was way cool and loved the story; random dude at the bar thought this was the worst idea ever. Fucker. His idea of a good time is probably sitting at home with a cup of real decaf while watching the U.S. House of Representatives channel.

I also ran into my buddy, Raleigh, who was still nattily dressed from his shift at Bachrach. Of course, he was en route to a group of girls. ;)

Next up was the one. The only. Mr. Paul Brooks! *applause, screams*. I worked with Paul at Hobby Lobby and the first memory I have of him is him asking me to be in his zombie movie. Because I only met the guy two days before, I politely declined. This movie later became the totally awesome Late Afternoon of the Living Dead. It has made the rounds in various indie film festivals and is incredibly well done. Watch it and be forever changed. :)

Anyways, it turns out, Jim knew Paul from high school. Paul is, as Jim put it, "his hero in high school" and hadn't seen him since then. It was a grand ol' reunion. :)

Paul then told us he just got married that day. At Taco Bell!!!! So now Dana has a connection to Paul as well! I'm not surprised. I'm convinced that everyone in B-N is somehow connected to Paul Brooks. :) This is a small world we are living in, friends.

He then proceeds to say "Meet my new wife. Wow, it's still weird to say!" and gestures toward a blond girl behind him. Which turns out to be the girl whom we had dubbed "The Girl with the Slutty Red Dress". Jim, Dana, and I all looked at each other with the same expression: "Holy crap" and "Wow, I feel really bad". :)

Caragh (pronounced "KAH-RAH") turned out to be this really sweet girl who moved from Australia and met Paul through an internet dating site (not eHarmony :)). She has the coolest accent, of course. :)

Our evening commenced with more drinking, PrimeTime Pizza for Dana, and Jim serenading us with "Hard to Handle" by the Black Crowes. Awesome.

Best. Night. Ever. Can't wait to do it again.

-Stinkier, happy.


P.S. - Click here to see the article plus the picture in color on the official Pantagraph website.

2-8

All I'm going to say is, I do not feel like a 28 year old.

I feel like the Age Council is going to swoop in at any minute and declare me a fraud while hereby revealing that I am, in fact, only 17 years old.

:)

-Stinkier, older, but definitely not wiser. :)

The House on Hovey

House from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Here in Bloomington, during every Christmas season, there is a house on Hovey Street that truly goes above and beyond simply stringing a few lights around some winter-saddened tree branches. In Bloomington, one merely has to say "The House on Hovey" to immediately know exactly which crazy, light-bedecked, plastic-figurine-laden home he or she is speaking of.

I have seen this house almost every winter for the past ten years I've lived in B-N. And every year, I forget to bring my camera to capture this house in all its glory. This year, I was determined to get a picture of it. So, Tony and I bundled up and started the 20 minute drive across town....only to discover they had taken it down!! AUGH!!!!! I thought all houses took down their Christmas decorations after the new year!

I was very sad. :( Next year, I'm going to succeed in getting that picture!

Couple notes on the house:

-There used to be another house across the street that would do the exact same thing. I don't know if the intent was humorous or evil, but it was funny to imagine that the two houses were in competition with each other to have the most lit-up house on the street.

-The house is very small. So small that I wonder where all the decorations go after each year. They have got to have a separate storage facility where they keep everything because there is no way all those decorations would fit in that house.


-Stinkier, bummed, but optimistic.

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Above: Hannah and I at her sister's wedding
Below: Hannah, circa 1996? 1997?

I first met Hannah at Asbury United Methodist Church (now defunct) during Sunday school. She and I had the same 80s permed hair, it was awesome. Oh man, if I had a picture of us with permed hair, I would totally scan it in.

All of us Sunday school girls were friends and stuck together. We were all total nerds and decided to form a book club. We called it 'CHIBYY' which was an acronym of the first letters of our last names stuck together. We were the coolest! :) We also all came up with our own personal symbol and penned this into the books that we lent each other. I was apparently technologically advanced because my symbol was the "@" symbol back in 1992. :) I didn't even know how to pronounce it; I remember just calling it a swirly A.

Anyways, I digress...

Hannah is always a fun girl to be around. From learning how to properly throw a football to learning how to do the H.O.T.-"Candy" dance, she taught me so much about life and friendship while growing up. I, in turn, have had the joy of watching her grow into a mature young woman while still being the tomboy that I remember from Sunday school. I imagine that she is now a fantastic teacher whom all her students adore. :)

One interesting (well, I find it interesting :)) fact about Hannah is that she played basketball in high school even though she is about the same height as the rest of us vertically gifted Korean girls. I always thought that was the coolest thing ever and totally awesome that she showed everyone that you don't need to be a giant to play a giant's sport.

So, happy birthday, Hannah! I hope that this year gives you many blessings and happiness!

-Stinkier, with love.

Pigeon Walking

I somehow messed up my back on Friday. It started out as a dull pain that flared up only when I bent over, but by the end of the night, it hurt to even walk. Funny thing is, I have NO idea how it happened. My personal theory is that Tony gave it to me (since we all know back pain is contagious), because he's been nursing a bad back for the past three weeks. The pain is located right at the base of the spine so, being the big baby that I am, I simultaneously curse and cry whenever I move the slightest inch.

Tony's been really sweet, though. Since his pain is not as severe, he's taken over the household duties and letting me watch the entire third season of Arrested Development. And, we've been playing "old people tag" throughout our "enormous" apartment; it's basically chasing each other at the pace of old people. Funny and painful all at once.

I also walk like a pigeon. I've been wishing I could walk differently then my normal walk for a really long time. The phrase "Be care what you wish for" has never rung truer. I now shuffle along super slowly while carefully placing one foot six inches directly in front of where it previously was. For some reason, this causes me to bob my head like a pigeon. This is probably because my torso is remaining completely stationary but, since I'm not keeping my neck stiff, my head moves around at its own leisure.

I look mighty ridiculous walking around.

So, I'm still sitting on this couch with the heating pad shoved directly above my bum and taking Excedrin every few hours. I think I'm getting bedsores and creating a permanent divet in the cushion. The pain is gradually decreasing, so I'm hoping that I'll be fully recovered in a few more days.

-Stinkier, in pain. >:-(

Happy Birthday Abby and Nathan

When I was younger and an attention whore, I loved birthdays. Me, me, me. I loved being the center of attention and people noticing me on my special day. Now that I'm a little bit older, a little bit wiser, and quite a bit shyer, I like to focus attention on others instead. :)

So first up is my friend, Abby. Hi Abby! Her birthday was actually yesterday, but I couldn't find pictures to scan until today. The one on the left is from Cedar Campus my sophomore year, and on the right, she is the head of the horse. What, you can't tell that's her? :)

I met Abby at InterVarsity my sophomore year. The first time I noticed her, she was putting on a sock puppet show during an IV gathering with my future husband (I didn't know he was going to be my future husband at the time). My first impression of Abby was of an extremely caring woman who was always enthusiastic about the people and things she loved and, I'm happy to say, that this impression rings true to this day. Even though life has taken both of us into different directions that causes us to have difficulty in finding time to get together, I know that she is always there to listen if I need a friend.

My favorite memory of Abby is probably when I saw her as that horse during Halloween my senior year. I was having an awful day and had decided to stay in and study instead of partying away with my friends or making out with my fairly new boyfriend. ;) As I settled down with my stack of books and stack of Oreos, someone knocked at my door. I opened up and in walks Abby and Cassie as this horse. At first, I thought that these were people that knew my roommate and not me, but then I hear Abby and Cassie say "Hi Kristine!" I was laughing so hard I could barely take the picture at the top. After staying and chatting for a few minutes, they trotted away with perfect precision, not knowing how much they cheered me up. (Well, now they know :)).

One interesting fact about Abby is that she and her mom made all (about a million; okay, more like around 400) the chair covers for her wedding and now they rent them out to people. Can you imagine how much time and fabric that must have taken?! As someone who got married fairly recently and who also sews, it boggles my mind.

So, happy belated birthday, Abby! Hope that this following year brings you plenty of joy and many happy moments with Jason. :)




Today is Nathan's birthday. Obviously, (or maybe not) that picture is of Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords. I don't have a picture of NBG. When Nathan doesn't cut his hair or shave, he kind of looks like him. Kind of. I think Bret looks kind of homeless sometimes. Anyway...

I met Nathan my first day of History of India at ISU. He's probably the first friend I made on campus. Our professor launched into a lecture on that first day and Nathan was scribbling away on two 3x5 index cards. I felt bad for him and offered him some paper, which he accepted. I like to joke around and say that he only passed that class because I lent him my (extensive) notes before the final exam; I never missed a class so they were pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

Nathan is a very kind person, as the following story entails. My first apartment as an ISU student was not that far from campus. A bit of a walk, sure, but completely doable. So, I decided that one day, I was going to walk instead of drive; you know, be environmentally friendly and all. After classes were over, I hoisted my bag until my shoulders and trudged home. About halfway there, I started inwardly cursing. It had gotten hotter by the afternoon and the walk that was so pleasant that morning was now miserable, akin to what I bet the Trail of Tears was like. This car pulls up next to the sidewalk I was on, so I prepare to run. Or scream. I hadn't yet seen the driver so I was completely sure that this was some lunatic trying to steal my virtue. But, it turned out to just be Nathan, and he very graciously drove me the rest of the way back. I never attempted to just walk back and forth from campus ever again.

Hmm...interesting fact about Nathan...if he could, he would live during the 1800s. Or any time period that was a simpler time. He is probably the least materialistic person I know, and moves around with his only possessions being his computer, a desk chair, and clothes. As a person who probably owns too much, this impresses me.

Hope you enjoyed this first installment of friends' birthdays. Keep your eyes peeled, because I could be writing about you on your birthday. ;)

-Stinkier, with love.