Hi Journal.  I apologize, I’ve abandoned you for quite some time to go post myspace blogs.  I’m going to write an update for this blog and then myspace blog again.  Don’t be angry.  I rarely update any blogs that I’ve abandoned.

I’ve managed to read Skullduggery Pleasant and, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  I’m nearly in book four of Anna Karenina, and I’m almost finished with Cyrano de Bergerac.  I bought Tom Jones in the B&N Classics section, and I hope to have a lot more books by Christmas.  It’s hard keeping up with reading everything I’m supposed to now that I have a Book Recommendation section in the school paper (I’ve decided to read most of the books now.), and I’m on Reading Competition as well.  Let me tell you the books on that list are dreadful.  I may have complained about this…

I’ve also somehow managed to get involved with ten thousand (hyperbole) different activities including: Tennis (which you know), Karate (which you know, I think),  NHS (which hasn’t required me to do anything but those service hours, yet…), Student Council, Reading Competition, Quiz team, Drama club (which will be starting shortly), and I suppose you could count Journalism, because I do most of it outside of class.  I miraculously aced a chem test as well, which was nice.  However, this stopped being nice when I realized I was doing well in Chem but not in English.  This realization made me sad.  I’ll fix that, but I’d really like to continue to do well in Chem.

I’ll update later.

Love,
Kathleen

Hi Journal, it’s been a while. I finished Wuthering Heights and I’m beginning to read Anna Karenina. Tennis was never canceled but I played pretty well that night. I never did laundry. Oh, and the county library is still pretty crappy.

First of all, I am proud to announce to the world that tennis camp is over! Of course, I’ll still have to practice every day there isn’t a game. I don’t have practice today or tomorrow, so I’m pretty content.

Now for some complaining about the novel I’m reading. Anna Karenina isn’t a poorly written book at all, I wouldn’t know either considering I’m on page 5. I was walking in a book store with a few people when I wandered off to the “classics” section, if you could even call it that. I found Anna Karenina on the shelf, and it was the only book to have a huge purple label on it proclaiming to the world, or the couple people who even look at that shelf, that it was on Oprah’s Summer Book List.

This is me attacking Oprah for putting my book on her list.

Today I woke up at six a.m. and did laundry.

This post was a bit desultory.

Love,
Kathleen

Hi Journal.  I went to the County library a couple days ago with my dad.  I had a list of about eight books.  I went to the library’s computer cat. system, and they didn’t have a single damn book on my list.  They didn’t even have Oscar Wilde or T.S. Eliot.  Somehow I managed to get four books by the time we checked out, but this took about an hour.  I must have been seriously disoriented while there, because when I got home, I realized I had an Emily Bronte book in my hands.  The minute I opened up Wuthering Heights I realized my ridiculous error.  I absolutely hate Romantic Period lit.  There is so much unnecessary crap in this book because, if I remember correctly, Romantic authors were paid by the word.  In spite of all this, I’m reading it anyway, and the other three books that I’ll list in a second, for the hell of reading them.  I should have been more aware considering I had already read Jane Eyre…

The other books I have in my living room right now are Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy, some compilation book by Washington Irving, which I don’t know if I’ll like, and A book containing The Scarlett Letter and The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  I only picked that book up because we’re required to read The Scarlett Letter this year in English.  I began Anna Karenina and the names in that book are insane.  I know Tolstoy is Russian or something close, but my God.  The main character “Oblonsky;” his full name is Prince Stephen something something something…

Anyway, it’s ridiculous.  Now that it’s raining, I’m hoping tennis is canceled.  I’ve gotten better, and I’m pretty sure I could beat my father now, but I don’t feel like going.  I know that sounds ridiculously lazy, but I’ve got a lot of other shit I have to do, like laundry.  Of course, if I hadn’t put it all off I wouldn’t have to do it now.  I’m going to go ahead and let myself believe for the next two weeks or so that procrastination and laziness are not synonymous.

Euphemism maybe…

Love
Kathleen.

Hi journal, it’s been a while.  I’m not really sure when my last post was or what it was about.  For the next two weeks, I’m going to be at tennis every day (excluding Saturday).  I do have time in the afternoon to do things, but the evenings don’t look very good right now.  They might change practice for some of us from 6:30pm til dark to 4:00 to 6:30.  This means I’ll have free Wednesday nights and free Friday nights, which I had anyway.  Friday practice is from 3:30pm to 5pm.  Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays I have karate.

Tomorrow I’m going to have coffee with a few people I know at 3pm then I have tennis at 6:30.   The only other plans I have after that is Keeley’s birthday party the twenty-second to the twenty-third.  I feel like I haven’t had a real conversation in a while, besides the one I had with Kerry, and to be quite honest, I could use a hug.  Personally, hugs make me feel safe, and I want to feel safe right now.  It’s not like I’m in imminent peril, but things are a little hectic.

Love,
Kathleen

Hey Journal. I went to tennis practice last night. It turned out to be the same old swearing and anger that usually sums up tennis practice. The coach said I was getting better, but I think he though I was going to kill some one…

Then this morning I played my dad for a bit. I think he won, but he decided to make me feel better and say “I beat myself.” It’s one of those “you stink at this, but I don’t want to rub it in”-isms. Well, my life doesn’t rely on tennis, so I can find the humor in it.

My life should also NOT revolve around Sims. I played that stupid game again today. I wasted my entire afternoon when I could have wasted it on something else. I just left this post because as I was looking for a picture to go along with this, I found Sims 3 snapshots and had to look at them and anticipate the new game’s arrival. What a pathetic life I lead.

Tonight I have karate. One more chance to prove my athletic ability…

Love,
Kathleen

Hi Journal.  Last night I went to fair for the final time this year.  I am absolutely positive this time, considering it’s gone today.  I left at nine-ish, and walked with Katie up to the fair grounds.  It does seem pretty absurd paying nine dollars to get in for an hour and a half, but I think it was worth it.  I got to say goodbye to Jeff (I told you I’d fix it), and I got to see my Russian man.  Of course, my Russian man pretty much blew me off again.

I’m going to go waste a little more of my life by playing Sims again…

Love
Kathleen

Well, Journal, I stand corrected.  Last night, after tonight, will not be my last night at fair.  After Katie gets off work, we’re going down for a couple hours.  One more chance to see my Russian.  I’ve got about an hour until then, so I’ll update you on my day.

I woke up this morning to loud laughter when I remembered that my cousins (who are older than I am) and my aunt were supposed to be at my house to get two cabinets from our dining room.  I went downstairs, in my pjs of course, and outside where I found my family in a little circle.  It was pretty much basic talking and then they had to leave.  We were all hugging each other and I hugged one of my cousins and he said: “Call me sometime, we should hang out.”  I thought that was awesome, because he’s my favorite cousin, even though I don’t get to see him anymore.  Well, actually, maybe the little gay one that sings RENT is my favorite, but this one is right up there.  I went back inside when I realized: He lives in North Carolina.  At this point I was trying to decide whether he had actually wanted to hang out with me.  He could have meant while he was up in PA, or that I could visit in NC.  Then again, he could have meant: It was nice to see you five minutes, maybe in a couple years, huh?  Oh well, it was a nice offer, and whether he meant it or not, I might take him up on it.

Afterward, my family went to Bestway.  Now, I’m not a very big fan of Bestway, because I’m not into Stromboli and spaghetti all the time.  I got hot wings instead, which isn’t that exciting.

I got home and started playing Sims.  I have a ridiculous obsession with Sims.  I think it’s the best game ever invented, because I can live out lives the way I want to and fix all of my mistakes on this game.   Of course, it’s not the perfect therapy, but who doesn’t like living dreams on the computer?  I wasted my time playing that for a few hours, so that was fun.

Once my mom and sister got back from Church we went to Wal*Mart, one of the main attractions of my small town.  We bought a bunch of useless things that we don’t actually need, which was put into to medium sized plastic bags.  Amazingly enough, those two plastic bags contained $71 worth of useless crap that we did not need.

I’ve still got about forty-five minutes until I meet Katie, so I’m going to go waste some more time on Sims.

Love
Kathleen

Hi Journal.  Last night was my last day at fair… I think.  I’m really not satisfied with my “fair experience.”  It’s not the rides and food, but the social aspect that’s disappointing me.  I never got to say goodbye forever to Jeff, which is really bothering me.  I never got to see the Russian again either.

Actually,  I did.  He blew me off.  He was “stamp man” tonight and he stamped my arm as if we had no history.  I’m not that bothered considering we don’t actually have a history…

I guess that’s the end of my fair saga.  I hate to see it go (but I love to watch it walk away).  I’ll figure out how to erase my one regret.

I would be the poor kid in the blue that looks like he's going to die.

Sunday is tennis practice, and another round of rage and swearing.  My dad said he’d play me a few days next week.  I’m excited.  Losing a set to a man with a bad knee and arthritis is a day in heaven.  I seriously need lessons.

Monday, maybe, I go back to accessioning books.  It’s definitely not something I’m anticipating, but I sold my soul, so I don’t really have a choice.  They’ll be mad I didn’t come in this week because I kind of said I would… Oh well.

If I find time between cataloging books and losing at tennis, which I will, I’m baking a cake for Mikey to replace his not-so-cool birthday.

Love
Kathleen

Journal, I’m pretty sure I’ve written in ten or more journals/blogs before you.  Well, the eleventh, or more, try is the charm, right?  A few things have been going on this summer that I figure I should talk about first.

I’ve had to volunteer at the Historical Society for “service hours” to join NHS.  The first day was fun, even the first week.  After accessioning books into a computer from 10 to 4 about five days a week, I think I’ve had enough.  While I have my NHS volunteer hours done, I don’t have all of my church service hours complete… so I’ll have to go back.

This week is fair week.  I’m sure if you could go, Journal, you would have fun.  Of course you’d need to go with some one to have the optimal amount of fun.  Standing alone in mud at a fair waiting for someone you see to beg them to ride something with you isn’t so much fun.  I guess that means I didn’t have so much fun.  Hold on a second, I’m looking only at the negatives.  First positive, I got to pet some piglets.  Second positive, I got to ride “the upside down thing” again.   Third positive, I met a really attractive Russian ride operator, who just so happened to operate “the upside down thing.”  There are more positives, like I got to ride other fun rides, I saw old friends, and I got to talk to Mikey.

About an hour ago, I got home from tennis practice.  I’ve decided that Tennis is not my sport. Tennis this year isn’t really working out for me.  It turns out I’m a lot worse than I had remembered.  Not only am I serving incorrectly, but now that I’m serving correctly, I’m still pretty awful.  The shots that I do make are usually lobs or really lucky forehands or backhands.  Last week at practice, I was furious.  With every miss, my rage increased drastically.  I swore at the ball, swore at my racket, and swore to whoever was in earshot.  This week, my rage “leveled up” to indifference.  That obviously didn’t help, and therefore, I was even worse than I was last week.

That concludes most of my updates for the summer.  Tomorrow I’m going to the fair for the last time, I think.  August 8th I’m going back to school shopping, and some where in there I’ll stick in more tennis, karate, and cataloging books…

Love,
Kathleen.