I love to exclaim things!

This weekend I went out of town with my parents. I was reminiscing a few weeks ago, because we used to take these family trips down to Vancouver, WA all the time (because we have a lot of family down there) and now, due to my being busy or having (past tense) a job or not living at home anymore, that just doesn't happen very often. So I called up my mom and told her, and what do you know. She invited me down to Vancouver with them for the first weekend of my spring break.

So I had a really nice time! My dad went to a basketball game with my uncle the first night, so my mom and I got a hotel, went shopping, ate a fancy dinner, and enjoyed the hotel's hot tub. At dinner, I also found a type of wine (FINALLY) that I actually like.

I surprised myself, actually, because I do drink wine sometimes but usually it makes me make this face: XD
But lo and behold, Sauvignon Blanc does not make me do the XD face!

The next morning we got up and went to see Multnomah Falls in Oregon, which was beautiful.


There was a bridge the goes across the waterfall halfway up, so the picture looks like I'm standing above it; which I am! Weird angle to take a waterfall photo from... kind of nauseous-making.

A conversation I just had:
*literally 5 seconds ago, while typing up this blog

Justin: The meaning of life is to maximize happiness. Not for the individual person, but for a higher deity (God, if you will). Human existence is just the way that happiness is maximized.
Kristina: So, let me get this straight. If I'm God, then the world is my lego set?
Eia: Or my Lincoln Logs.
Kristina: My Harry Potter lego set.
Eia: What! No fair!

This is what happens in my living room.

Tomorrow I am picking up Luke from the airport and then we are racing home in time to catch the Richard Alpert episode of Lost (so excited to watch it together). Then we have a whole week together to do fun and exciting things! And our album comes out on Sunday! I could keep using exclamation points all day! I love to exclaim things!

Since we'll be busy doing ALL CAPS things, I probably wont have much free time in the next week. In that case, what better time to answer some formspring questions than right now?


Do you have a tattoo? If yes, of what, if no, do you think you'll ever get one and of what?
I have a lightning bolt on my right foot. I'll let you go ahead and guess what that represents.
I also want to get a less-than-three heart on my inner left elbow, but I am still working on that one.

How do you keep your skin so pretty and clear? :)
I actually had pretty bad skin growing up. I started getting acne in 1st grade (seriously) and it only got worse up through high school. I finally made the decision to go on accutane, which was horrible but it worked wonders. Since then I've appreciated having clear skin so much that I wash my face twice a day with either St. Ives Apricot Scrub or Clean & Clear Continuous Control Acne Cleanser.

Are you going to release another album with Eia?
Hmmmm. MAYBE.

What's your vocal range like, approximately?
My entire life I was told I was a Soprano, and I always sang the high parts in choir/musicals. Then in college I realized how much better I liked singing lower harmonies and how much more comfortable I am as an Alto. So... the moral of the story is, I have a rather large range, but I prefer singing lower.

Oh, hey Kristina.
Clever.

How many people do you live with?
Five. Kind of. Eia and PJ and Justin live here, Paul mostly stays in his bedroom, and Ben pays rent but basically lives with his girlfriend. So three. But five.

What message would you want to read in a fortune cookie?
Surprise! Your dinner is free!

Okay, I was going to do more but I just realized it's after 1 in the morning and I should get to bed, since Eia and I have a big morning planned that includes buying our new pet turtles we've been talking about for probably over a year now. I am torn on what to name mine -- Prince Zuko (from Avatar: the Last Airbender) or Olmec (from Legends of the Hidden Temple). Expect twitpics tomorrow. :)

Chipotle burritos: 8

My ANTM dreams are crushed?

This is horrible, horrible news I have just received.

Someone commented on my blog yesterday saying:

"If you are selected for ANTM, they'll make you take down all of your videos, blog posts, and internet stuff. There was a girl who was pretty active on flickr and other sites a few seasons ago, and they made her take down everything."

Can anyone verify if this is true or not? Because if it is true, that's a huge dealbreaker for me. I mean, if on the crazy, bizarre off chance I won, that would be GREAT, but it's not really worth it for me to risk everything I've built here on YouTube and with my blog for the minute chance I might become America's Next Top Model. Because what if I lost? Then I'd be sad, AND I wouldn't have my blog or my channel anymore. Not. Worth. It.

So anyway, that's a little disappointing, because I had literally already talked my friend Liz into driving down to Portland with me for the open call. I did read through the eligibility form yesterday, and didn't see anything about not being able to have an online presence, but I guess they could easily just pick me for the show and then say "okay, take everything down."

That would make me one sad Kristina.


Today is extreme studying day, for me. I finished my Human Sexuality class completely yesterday (got my test back already and passed! Yay!) and now I just have to study for my Lit class (it's an open-note essay test so today involves just writing down literally everything I can find that may help me) and finishing up my research paper. The paper, as I mentioned before, is on side shows, and I have already written the historical part, now I am at the fun part where I get to compare and contrast difference instances of carnival and side show usage in pop culture, such as in the TV show "Heroes", the kids book series "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (The Carnivorous Carnival), and references on Britney Spears' album "Circus", to name a few. So it's a reasonably fun paper, it's just time consuming and a lot of pages to get through.

I am sick of being a finals-studying-recluse. I am so, so excited for this Spring Break. Mostly because Luke is coming up to visit for a nice long stretch of time and he's never really gotten to experience my city with me, but also because my last day at my job is on Thursday, so I'm getting to start my "me" time immediately after. Couldn't be happier. Also, Wednesday, which is also the last day of Finals, is also St. Patrick's Day. I live in a college town. There is FUN TO BE HAD.

But first, this paper.


Chipotle burritos: 7

Finals, Twilight, and America's Next Top Model.

You guys are all way too amazing.

I'm sorry I hadn't blogged in such a long time and then just hit you out of nowhere with a moody, mid-collegiate-crisis type episode, but the amount of people who told me they were feeling the exact same way made me realize that sometimes, being honest about my shortcomings can do just as much good as being fun and entertaining does.

Though, I promise I'll try to be fun and entertaining more often than I am gloomy and introspective.

Today I have my Human Sexuality final exam (and I am incredibly nervous, since I not only have to take the final, I also have to immediately after do a retake of Exam 2 to try and get a higher grade; how much knowledge can I really cram in my head?!), but then that class will be OVER. Then I can focus on finishing my 15 page research paper on madness and insanity with regard to Circus/Carnival side shows for my CHID class and study for my Journalism & Lit final on Wednesday, and then I will be DONE WITH WINTER QUARTER. That will feel so, so good.


So this morning I was wasting some time on Facebook instead of studying. For some reason I was reading my wall-to-wall with my old coworker, Coral, and I happened to read back as far as 2007. We were talking about Twilight, and something we said to each other, LONG before Breaking Dawn was ever released to the public, made me laugh so hard I had to share it with you guys (it goes newest to oldest, so read hers first and then mine):


Click on that image if blogger makes it too small to read.

I can't believe we just totally called it like that. No WONDER I laughed my entire way through that book; I hadn't even remembered that this conversation ever took place. So anyway, that amused me.

Finals week is situated so badly in TV programming. xD Lost is back on, Gossip Girl started last week, America's Next Top Model also started last week, and FlashForward starts up again this week. How is a girl supposed to study when all of her favorite shows are on again? Not to mention I am halfway through Season 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender. My roommate Justin and I have been completely hooked (thank you Netflix); we've been watching 2-3 episodes a day if we have time.

Speaking of America's Next Top Model, if this new season has already started, that means there's GOT to be some information coming soon about auditions for the next cycle. If anyone hears anything, please let me know! I'm still totally serious about auditioning.


I'm going to end this blog post with the advice that stuck out to me the most from the comments of my last entry:

"My honest advice for you: don't over-think things... not even a little bit! If you want to do something, and you have the means, do it! Plan for tomorrow and live for today. :)" -Rivvy

Here's to planning for tomorrow but living for today. <3

Chipotle burritos: 7

Wake up call.

One of the scariest things about life, I'm finding, is that you need to be able to count entirely, 100% on yourself. You have to be able to be okay being alone, and be able to take care of yourself, make your own happiness, and not just completely fall apart if someone/something doesn't live up to the expectation you have for them. Even if those expectations aren't very high. This includes friends, school, jobs, boyfriends, everything.

This is something I've been struggling with.

Right now I am in the process of "growing up", learning to not be as dependent on my parents, graduating from college, considering career paths, having to think about money and credit and bills and insurance, thinking about where I want to live - and all of these things are scary. And a lot of times I feel like I am making all of these decisions completely on my own. Sometimes I still wish there was someone holding my hand through this hard stuff.

So it's really easy to then shift some of that weight to the other people in your life, if they're there. It makes it a lot easier (though not necessarily healthy) to base hard decisions in your life on other people. To see what steps they're taking in their lives. Or to count on them to make you feel better when you have too much going on. Or to even use your interaction with them as an escape from reality.

But you CAN'T rely that much on people. You just can't. At least I've never been able to. They have their own stuff going on, their plans may change in an instant, they forget to call or break your plans, they move out of the state; and then where does that leave you?

One thing that I am learning very quickly is that if you don't look out for yourself, no one else will. No one else is going to put you first. I mean, aside from your parents, but as a 22 year old, it's natural to want to not have to fall back on that for everything.

I've never had the courage to just make a drastic life change on my own before. I wanted to go to an out-of-state school for college, but ended up chickening out and staying in Washington. I wanted to study abroad in India for an entire quarter, but ended up doing a shorter month-long program in London, where I know loads of people. I want to try living in a new place after I graduate, but the idea of picking up and moving somewhere new all by myself terrifies me.

I don't want to be afraid to take big leaps. I quit my job last Tuesday because I want to start being the pro-active change I want to see in my own life. I worked there for 4 years and was really comfortable, and that's the very reason I quit. I wanted to take away my safety net. I want to force myself into new situations.


I'm getting cold feet about starting to live in "the real world" after graduation, but I don't want my fear of the unknown and of being alone to be my own downfall. On the same note, I also don't want my mediocre experiences with people in my past to impact my future ability to trust those around me. I don't want to end up as a Cat Lady, alone in my one bedroom apartment, cupboards stocked full of Spaghetti-os and Fancy Feast (ha, I've been reading Miss Hoover's blog. We both fear the Spaghetti-o lifestyle).


I don't really know what my point is. Basically, I am a little bit scared right now. I am trying to learn how to have utter confidence in myself so that when that scary time does get here, in less than six months, "myself" will be enough to keep me successful and happy. I'm tired of projecting my needs onto other people and allowing myself to be disappointed over and over.

I'm also unemployed, now. Which is more liberating than scary. I finally have time to actually dedicate to my school work. I can actually spend time working on music and videos and writing, instead of squeezing it in between school and work. I'm giving myself 6 months, to see if I can be successful without working, and then this fall, maybe I'll get an internship. Maybe I'll have written a book. Who knows. But I am tired of waiting around for something great to happen to me. I want to go make things happen for myself. :)


Chipotle burritos: 7

Why I'm Not a Bartender

Hahahhaa.

Okay, so last night we had this big party at our house for Night Zero. There were christmas lights everywhere for ambiance, an epically confusing scavenger hunt for the guests to figure out (which I still don't know the conclusion of, but we'll get to that later) and a bar in the kitchen with drinks for a dollar. And so, so much hummus. Mmmm.

Eia and I were running the bar. There was a giant tub of hooch (lemondade, seven-up, and vodka) and these "mystery shots" that were actually just homemade Kahlua. Everyone got 1 free mystery shot (because a clue for their scavenger hunt was written on the inside of their shot glass) but after that they had to answer to us if they wanted to drink more. So that was fun. Oh! Just now, as I am sitting here, I remembered I have a bunch of singles in my back pocket that people were giving Eia and I as tips. Being a bartender is awesome! Especially if we don't actually have to make the drinks... I can pour pre-made hooch into cups like a boss.

Anyway, before the party started, Eia and I were put on goody-bag making duty. The party was for the release of Volume 2 of the Night Zero comic, so everyone who preordered got their comic in a fancy bag with a length of rope, glowsticks, a pocketknife, bandaids, and alcohol pads. You know... a zombie survival kit. I injured myself four different times cutting that stupid rope.

Then after Eia and I were put on bar duty and successfully smuggled an entire tray of party dip, a mini tub of hummus, and two bowls of triscuits and tortilla chips behind the bar with us, people started spilling into the party. Some people were costumed, like the guy who looked like his eyes were gauged out, my friend Jana who was carrying around a pick-axe, and my friend Forest who'd created an entire set of body armor out of carabeners. I was a little disappointed I didn't think to dress up; I asked Eia at one point if I could rip her sweater to make it look like she'd been attacked by a zombie. She said no. xD

Okay, so the reason this blog entry started out with me cracking up, is because I realized that last night, around 11:30 or so, I started feeling a little woozy (bartenders got easy access to the hooch) and also, I only got 5 hours of sleep the night before due to a late night wii game session with some friends, so I remember saying to Eia, "I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

I went upstairs, and since this was a giant party, the bathroom was naturally occupied. So I remember thinking, okay, I'll just go into my bedroom and lie down for a second.

...an hour later I remember Justin coming in and asking me why I was asleep with my light on, took my computer and piles of stuff off my bed, took my jacket off me, and tucked me in. I could still hear the party going full swing downstairs. He said, "I'll tell Eia you love her or something. She's mad at you."

Hahhaha. Oops. I guess I wasn't meant to be a bartender after all. Sleeping through my shift is probably frowned upon outside the zombie apocalypse world.

Anyway, what I DID experience of the party was a blast. Even if I missed finding out what the scavenger hunt was all about, or even knowing if anyone solved it. It was hard. I also wish I could have socialized a little more, but whatever. There will be more post-apocalyptic parties to attend.

Maybe I should start getting more sleep so I don't accidentally go to bed early at more parties. xD

Chipotle burritos: 6

Your questions, answered.

Alright, I SHOULD have started my research paper tonight, but Justin is picking me up in a few minutes to go play wii games with some friends of ours, so I decided to use my small amount of free time to answer some formspring questions for your blog-reading pleasure. :)

Here we go!

Where did you disappear to? Neverland?
I disappeared to the land of full time school, having a job, having a boyfriend, needing more time to myself and possibly I divulge too much of my life on the internet. But I promise, I'm never going to really leave you, because writing my blog, making videos, and answering your questions is something I really, really enjoy doing. I just need little breaks sometimes to make sure I still know who I am.

What is your favorite Musical?
That's actually a really had question! I did theatre in high school and have worked at a theatre for 4 years now, so I have seen and been in a number of shows. I guess I would say that of the shows I actually acted in, my favorites were "Seussical" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream", but of the shows I've seen.. either "Once Upon a Time in New Jersey" or "A Secret in the Wings".

If you could change your youtube channel name, what would you change it to?
I would go with the username I use most frequently now, which is "ohheykristina". I feel like my biggest YouTube mistake was not putting my first name in my username, because now people have to associate two different names with me.

How do you manage to ever get any schoolwork done? With everything you do, how do you ever focus? I have enough trouble and don't do nearly as much as you!
It's hard, I'll admit that. Part of this has to do with why I haven't been blogging or formspringing as much lately, because I have needed that extra time to myself to be able to focus. Mostly, though, I find I work better under pressure, and I get really bored if I don't have a ton of projects to work on. I am definitely not a sit around and watch television type girl, so taking on a lot of projects has just always been the only way to live my life.

Around how much was your Sony Handycam?
I bought the HDR-CX150 (same as Alan Lastufka!) and it cost me $550. I saved up for a long time to get myself a nice camera. :)

Would you rather ride the Love Train or the Love Roller-coaster?
Depends. If we're talking metaphorically, I would want my romantic experience to be a long, safe, enjoyable ride, rather than a fast, jarring episode that's over before it's even begun. However, that being said, I think roller coasters are awesome.

If long distance relationships didn't work out the first time, why again?
Because. It wasn't the long distance that didn't work, it was the relationship with the particular person. In fact, long distance was probably the least of our problems. I'm not dating a distance on a map, I'm dating Luke. It's an entirely different situation, one I am quite happy with.

Where did you live before Seattle?
I've lived in Seattle since I was about 2, but I was born in Bismarck, North Dakota. Between North Dakota and Seattle, we lived on the East coast a while for my dad's job, and then my mom and I had a brief stint in Vancouver, WA, which is near Portland.

What is your opinion on dinosaurs?
Awesome. My favorite is the pterodactyl. Or the Utahraptor.

If you could learn one word in every language what word would it be?
Well, I know that 'bread' is 'pan' in most languages, so it looks like I'm set. Oh, I get to pick another one? How about… 'wifi'. Then I'd always be set.

I have stolen a box of your Eggo Waffles. How do you feel about this?
I HAVE INTERROGATED EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY ROOMMATES AND NO ONE WILL ADMIT TO WRITING THIS QUESTION. This is the unsolved mystery of my life.


Okay, time to go play some "JUST DANCE". I effing love that game and I haven't even played it yet.

Chipotle burritos: 6

Whatever man. Life is good.

I am currently trying to force myself to work on my final paper for my Journalism & Lit class on Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises", but this is proving to be much more difficult to accomplish than I thought it would be. Not only is it due tomorrow morning at 9 am, but I just can't bring myself to buckle down and focus tonight. Why do I always leave stuff until the last minute? This is my 16th year of school now, you'd think I'd have learned. But no.

I already turned down going to see a free pre-screening of Hot Tub Time Machine with a bunch of my friends tonight to work on this stupid paper; if I don't get it done now, I will be highly disappointed.

So. Instead of being grumpy over school work, I've decided to reframe my life, blog about some things that make me happy, and then try to dive back into the paper once I've cheered myself up a bit. So. Things I have to be excited about:

1. Tomorrow night's midnight showing of Alice in Wonderland. I can't wait. Going to see it with my roommates and it should be a really good time.

2. Dentist appointment out of the way. It had been a little while since I'd gone, so they literally tortured me today. But now my teeth are all clean and healthy, AND I didn't have any cavities!

3. Only 1 1/2 weeks of school left before Spring break. Which ultimately means a ton of work to do, but then I'll have that sweet, sweet week and a half off from school.

4. My friend Mallory, who is lovely, is getting married next month! She sent me the most adorable invitation and I can't wait to go to the wedding.

5. The new ALL CAPS album comes out in 25 days.

6. Eia and I found out that it's "ladies night" on Wednesdays at our favorite pub, and the prices are so low that we'll get drunk just trying to spend enough to close our tab. And it's only a $10 minimum. Not that I'm endorsing getting getting drunk on school nights, but come ON. Drinks are usually like $6 a go.

7. I own 4 boxes of Samoas girl scout cookies.

Maybe this is a little excessive, but I don't care. I love Samoas. I'll support the girlscouts. And I'll have cookies for days. Or... you know, until I eat them all, probably all during this month. They're just so good. So good.

So I didn't get to see a movie about guys teleporting in a hot tub. So I have 4.5 pages to go on my 5 page paper. I don't have any CAVITIES. I am probably going to get lots of cavities from all these girlscout cookies.

Whatever, man. Life is good.

Chipotle burritos: 6

ALL CAPS t-shirt announcement

I have a few ALL CAPS announcements to make, and while this blog may not be the most ideal place for that to happen, it'll have to do temporarily while the official ALL CAPS website is being built (which is also exciting!).

So my first announcement is that we have added additional sizes to the ALL CAPS t-shirts currently for sale on dftba.com. We have added fitted women's sizes in XS all the way up through XL. We have done this for two reasons:

1. Because you asked.
2. Because I myself wear a women's medium, and felt uncomfortable offering a product that I knew wasn't even being sold in my own size. We want to feel like we're always selling a quality product, and knowing we were limited in sizes was a problem for me.

The second announcement is that I know this is going to make a few of you a little bit upset. And we planned ahead for that. If you already ordered a t-shirt or a bundle in a size you don't feel is right for you now that we've added the new sizes, you CAN change your order.

This does need to be done manually, however. So if you do fall into that category and want to change the size of t-shirt you ordered, you can email dftbarecords@gmail.com with your paypal email address and the original size you ordered (these things are important, so be sure to put them in the email), and they'll take care of you.

Here is the link to where you can purchase t-shirts:
http://dftba.com/allcaps

And here is the new size chart:
http://dftba.com/shop/pages/Size-Chart.html

Also, just a reminder, these t-shirts are limited edition, and are only available to be ordered until March 10th. That gives you 8 more days!
The album comes out March 28th.


In other news, I was in LA this weekend. Had a pretty good time. Saw a bunch of my friends, went to Disneyland, stopped at the beach, watched the Little Mermaid at Alex Carpenter's house... and the best part is, I came back today to pretty decent weather in Seattle as well. This week is nearing finals week and I have more homework to do than I can even conceptualize right now, but I'm trying to adopt the outlook that while I may have two disgusting weeks ahead of me, school-work wise, then it's Spring Break, and I will finally, finally have that free time I've been craving for the last few months. So that's good. :)

Chipotle burritos: 6