Monday, June 21, 2010

Tour, clothes, and more about my favorite security guard.

Stress for being about to leave for tour aside, I've been having an awesome week.

I'm a freak who loves organizing my life by to-do lists and being able to cross things off, one after another, and there has been plenty of that this week. I started packing for tour early so my floor is covered with all these different piles. There's the "electronics and cables" pile, the "travel sized funthings I bought at Target this week" pile, the "decide which books to bring because you can't bring seven, Kristina" pile, the "don't forget to bring me because you need me for your shows" pile, and then the pile of clothes I'm sorting through and deciding which to bring.

The problem with packing for a month is that you have to bring clothes you like enough not to get sick of them after a few weeks, but also not clothes you like SO much that you'll be disappointed if you ARE sick of them once you're home. I had this trouble in London last summer; I still feel a mild aversion to most of the clothes I had with me there because they were all I had to pick from for two whole months.

Then there's the trouble of having to decide what I want to wear to VidCon, or the Infinitus Ball, or to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, this far in advance.

I am such a girl. This is such a girly post. I am going to talk about something that's not clothes now.

So recently I made friends with Kaleb Nation (seriously the best name on the planet) from YouTube and he found out that I don't watch the Shaytards. And he said to me, "I can't believe you don't watch the Shaytards!"

So I subscribed. And it's only been about a week of following this wonderful family's lives but I am completely hooked. I honestly feel like I've been missing out on some huge YouTube family gathering of sorts. Like I'm a black sheep of the YouTube community because I don't already know everything about Shay and his wife and kids.


It feels weird in my house right now. PJ is moving out in a few days, which sucks because she's been my favorite female roommate thus far (aside from Eia obviously). After she's gone, Justin is actually going to be taking her old room and some new guy is going to move in downstairs. So everyone is packing this week.

Yesterday I went tubing down the Cedar River with a bunch of my friends, and the water level was higher than ususal, so I did a lot more arm-paddling than I anticipated. I'm sore in places I didn't even know could get sore, like my upper-side-ribcage area. There was one spot on the river where my tube got caught momentarily on a branch and the current knocked me into the absolutely freezing water -- my friends Colin and Justin had the pleasure of seeing it happen (because they were slightly ahead of me) and they said the look of pure shock on my face was one of the funniest things they'd ever seen. Jerks.

Anyway, it was a nice way to spend one of my last afternoons in Seattle. It's kind of funny. For the last four years, Seattle has felt more like a landing station, or like home base, than it ever really felt like home. The entire time I was in college I felt like the time I spent in Seattle was sort of just my down time between adventures - I never had that real connection I felt in high school, when I was working on musicals and sang in choir and all those things I used to do.

But things have been really great here lately. Seattle really does feel like home to me right now, and even though tour is going to be Amazing with a capital A, I am feeling a slight hesitance to leave all of the new friends I've made and opportunities I have in front of me.

Those things will still be here for me when I get home though, and this summer is going to be so great. VidCon, Infinitus, going to the Harry Potter theme park, spending all summer with my best friend, some of my favorite wizard rock people, checking a few more states off my list of places I've never been... I'm feeling super lucky right about now.

Today I felt really guilty - remember the adorable old man who works as the security guard at my bank? He now smiles super, super wide every time I go to deposit a check and says, "It's really great to see you again." That means he remembers me, and likes it when I stop in. I felt so bad, knowing it would be over a month until I'd be back, I actually told him today that I was leaving. He was opening the door for me on my way out and he goes, "See you soon! Always a pleasure!" ...and I couldn't just leave.

So I said, "I'm going away for a little while on a trip. I'll be back in a month though, I promise." I instantly felt dumb, like, "Hey security guard man, you wont get to open the door for me for a whole month, how will you survive?"

But he frowned a little and said, "Aww, that's a shame. Well, have a really great trip. I'll see you when you get back!"

I love him. It's strange, because all we've ever really said to each other are very generic standard pleasantries, but I think seeing each other every few weeks brightens his day as much as it brightens mine. The world is a weird place. I wonder if he has other favorite bank-goers. I hope so, he's a nice old man who deserves to be smiled at.

I'm going to try really hard to keep up with blogging while I am on tour. I am saying this here, right now, so that I feel guilty later when I'm on the road and the temptation is there to not blog about my experiences. Oh future Kristina, I will not allow you to be lazy!



Last google search: octopus with coconut shell
Chipotle burritos: 12

23 comments:

Rosanna said...

Your summer plans sound so fun! I'm jealous your going to the Wizarding World of Harry potter...it'll probably be years before I get the chance to see it...enjoy your tour!

Jess said...

Kaleb! I love Kaleb, he's awesome. I am an on and off viewer of the Shaytards, currently off. Sometimes I like having daily videos, but eventually it just gets to be too much.

Good luck on tour! I'm sad that I won't get to see you, but what can you do? :/

Christina F. said...

Yes! I love the Shaytard family! At first I was against subscribing, because his videos are on average, 10 minutes long, and I thought it would be just too much to watch every day. But I just got sucked in! They are amazing family and it makes me happy just to see them happy, you know?

Anyway, I hope you have fun on tour! I can already tell it's going to be exciting for you! As well as being able to be with Luke for more than just a week. Hope you can keep us posted while you're on the road. :)

Also, I'm INCREDIBLY jealous that you get to go to the Harry Potter Theme Park! I'm dying to go!

Anonymous said...

I've noticed that you and Kaleb have been talking on twitter lately... glad you guys are friends! I actually found the nerdfighters (and you!) through him. Funny how that works. I also haven't watched the shaytards yet and I DO feel like a black sheep. I just haven't gotten to it yet. But i will.

Courtney said...

I'm excited about tour! I'll see you guys in Akron on Sunday :D

Crystal said...

I worked at McDonald's for two years in high school, and I had favorite customers. Some came in every day, some came in once a month, but it was always nice to see them. Some people you just click with. It doesn't matter if you only see them for two minutes every few weeks. You just get along really, really well.

Good luck on tour! I wish you guys were coming to Illinois, but what can you do? ^_^

Sammie Halligan said...

Oh man. I'm glad other people love organization as much as I do. My favorite thing to do is buy new agendas, sharpies, hi-lighters, post-its, etc....haha. My background on my laptop is most definitly a to-do list I made on paint, and when I finish something, i cross it off, and re-save and set as the background again. I'm obsessed. I also love you and your bank man friends, whenever I go to the gas station near my house, there's a cute old man as well, and we chat.

Anonymous said...

I'm going on a vacation for 10 days and as of right now I'm bringing 8 books. And I'll probably end up bringing all of them, because I'm leaving in 5 hours. So don't feel bad about 7.

anna said...

I'm so glad you're watching the Shaytards! If you ever feel down, just watch one of their videos; they will never cease to amaze you and make you smile.

Kristen said...

Don't feel bad, I just subscribed to Shaytards about a week ago as well. One of their vids showed up in my "recommended" box, so I figured why not watch? I adore them now =)

Tour will be awesome. Just make sure to pack the lime green tank top and the funky zebra-stripe one. I'll see you on the 5th! <3

Emily said...

I hope you have a SERIOUSLY AWESOME time on tour! I'm super bummed because the only show you're playing in my state is Infinitus, which I am too poor to go to! D:
I'm considering trying to see if some of my friends want to road trip up to GA to see you in Decatur. Which, honestly, is unlikely at best. :[ SUPER BUMMED.

appletrain said...

making and crossing off lists are the sole reasons i have made it this far in life <3
HAVE AN AMAZING SUMMER, i hope i get to see you when you stop by in socal :)

@anonymous said...

I have a guy similar to your security guard. His name is James, I think, and he cleans the sidewalk on 103rd street between Broadway and West End Avenue. When I was in high school, I'd see him almost every day on my way to the subway. He always said good morning and smiled. When I was running late, he'd tell me "You're gonna make it!" He'd ask, "how are you doing this morning?" if I was walking slowly enough, and I'd sometimes tell him when I had a big test, and he'd say, "I know you'll do well!" I even saw him on the day I graduated from high school, when I was walking with my mother to the subway. I was wearing my graduation robes, and we said hello.

I saw him again recently, now that I'm back home from college, and I ran up to him and gave him a hug and talked to him for a minute before continuing towards the subway.

VTBurninator said...

Have a blast on tour!! I'm pretty sure you don't make it as far south as I am, so I'll be relying on your blog (no pressure). Also I can't wait to hear what you think about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I was fortunate enough to be one of the people there for the soft opening and only had to wait 45 minutes to ride The Forbidden Journey(walked right on to Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge)!!

Tikva said...

omg your summer is going to be so amazing. I wish I could go to Infinitus. I will be a overnight campp (which is also amazing but still...)
you will be a wrockstock right?

anyway, the bit about the 'decide which books your going to bring because you can't bring seven, Kristina' made me laugh and your cool and awesome.

the thing I like most about wizard rockers is that even though people on the internet tell them that they're awesome all the time they live normal lives unlike Justin Bieber and all those other celebrities with absolutly no musical talent whatsoever.
love your blog! <3

ImJustDevin said...

That's so strange and ironic because I just started watching the Shaytards as well. It's weird that I haven't heard of them before because they're so popular. (:

Me said...

I'm so jealous that you're going to the Harry Potter theme park! I can't afford to go as I live all the way ove here in England. :( Have loads of fun though! :D

Helen said...

That Security Guard is AWESOME.

Azucena Paloma Garza Garza said...

Can you believe that I found you through Kaleb? He favorited a video of yours, and then tweeted about it -a year ago- and then I found you, and fiveawesome girls, and fiveawesomeguys, and vlogbrothers, and etc, and it was awesome because I was already a Harry Potter fan and had all this nerdy stuff going on.

And to think that I found all this thanks to twilight, and I'm not even a fan anymore. I like Kaleb, though. He's a great guy. I do hope he was known as "Potterguy", but oh well...

Good luck on tour! Rock out! And drink a butterbeer at the Wizarding World for all of us who won't be able to go. Have fun! :)

Rebecca said...

I'm glad you've fallen for the Shaytard family.I felt like I was the only one not watching their vlogs.I thought they were too long but now I love them! Wish I could see you on tour, not coming close enough to my town.:(Ah well, hope it's amazing for everyone there. It's lovely to hear about the sweet security guard!:)

TheRandomOne said...

i love your blog because its so interesting! xD

Anonymous said...

I pack the same way. Especially with the books part. Last time I went on a trip I packed 10 books and I didn't even read one of them! lolz.

I'm going to be going on another trip, and I know I'll have the same problem. (what's even worse is that I don't know if I should trust library books with airplane security... yikes!)

I hope you have tons of fun on tour and next time you should go to northern Illinois or southern Wisconsin! =]

Unknown said...

So the last bit at the security guard made me think of today.
There's this teacher that intimidates me and today he was like, Oh hey, how's it going? And then I awkwardly said, Hi, then walked off. He gave me the weirdest look.

I've been reading all your blog posts starting from the newest and I'm currently on this one. Your life is hilarious. Or the way you blog it is great. :D