Monday, September 27, 2010

Leftover advice questions - and answers!

Alright. So last week on fiveawesomegirls we did silly advice week, and I'll admit… most of my answers were less than helpful. So today, I'm going to be answering some of the more serious questions in a more serious manner here on my blog. Annnd.. here we go!

lobi89: how do you know if a guy likes you?
I know everyone's experience is different, but I've always found it to be pretty obvious if a guy liked me in the past. If he starts complimenting you in ways he never did before (especially on things like your looks), or starts randomly doing nice things for you out of nowhere, those are generally the first tell-tale signs that he's started thinking about you differently.
Or, in my experience, if he posts a song on YouTube telling everyone he likes you; that's a pretty dead giveaway.

xfallenwarriorx: How do I find a nerdy boyfriend? It's so complicated. D:
You're going to hate this answer, but sometimes you have to wait for that nerdy boy to find you. Love usually doesn't come when you're looking for it; in fact it quite often falls out of the sky, into your lap, at the worst possible time when it was the last thing you would have expected. But that's why it's called "falling in love", not "bundling up, heading outside with a compass, and hunting love down".

penguin1124: Do you have any advice for my senior year of high school?
I was one of the few (it seems) who actually really enjoyed high school. I mean, I definitely had my share of hardships, with friend problems and identity issues, but I really felt like I had it all figured out by the time I was a senior. In my last year, I spent most of my time either in the theatre (where I was drama club president), in the journalism lab (where I was the Opinion section editor) or in the TIP lab, which was were the other computer nerds hung out.

And I'll admit, my lesson here, really, is to spend the first three years of high school working your way up to the things you know you'll love senior year, and not everyone can do that. But you don't have to be president of a club to enjoy it - just get involved. Seriously, get involved in high school and make your experience there about your extra curriculars and yours friends, because while classes are great and all, they're definitely not what made high school amazing for me.

madamesuede: what should I bring to my first and only HP-con (which will be Leakycon2011)??
Hmmm. Definitely bring a camera (video or still, whatever your thing is) because there are memories to be captured there and you don't want to miss out on that. Bring any Harry Potter related clothing you have (cloak, wand, t-shirt with Ron's face on it) because this is one of the few times you'll look like a total baller wearing it, rather than that weird kid in the corner. Bring your phone (obviously) so you can tweet about how much fun you're having every second, and bring something super hawt to wear to the ball, because generally wizard kids tend to go all out for these things.

ProfessorAliceC: What's the hardest thing you've had to give up for Harry Potter? (eg. not attend a b-day party for a HP book release) .
My family takes this annual trip to North Dakota every summer to see my grandparents and all our other relatives who live back there (it's a lot of people). I really, really enjoy going and seeing my cousins, my aunts and uncles, everyone. We live so far away from so much of our family that it's usually the one chance we have to see everyone until the next year.
I've had to miss this family trip twice now because of Harry Potter. And while I wouldn't give up the opportunities I've had to tour and go to conferences, it was pretty hard for me, knowing my family was having fun without me.

margaretdarling: @KristinaHorner How do you deal with procrastination? Perhaps not you, since you are a goddess of productivity, but maybe the other girls.
Haha. Procrastination is a real problem for me, now that my job IS blogging, making videos, and recording music. I don't have a boss looming over my shoulder, causing me to minimize my freecell game or pretend I'm working when actually I'm checking email.

I've always been a go-getter, though. The internet, while a pit of procrastination for a lot of people, has always been a golden chalice of opportunity for me. I have FUN doing things that other people might see as hard work: blogging, replying to email, building my presence online, researching things for various writing projects, etc. I don't have a schedule of deadlines given to me by other people for the most part - I operate under self-appointed goals, and before I go to bed each night I ask myself, "have I accomplished enough to feel good about how I spent my time today?" If my answer is no, then I make sure I do more tomorrow.

The short answer is, "I live out of a very meticulously organized planner with a complicated system of prioritizing and crossing things off as I finish them".

ProfessorAliceC:@KristinaHorner Where where you and what were you doing when you heard about MJ's death?
I was actually at @Mickeleh's house with Alex Day. I remember Alex was visiting and Michael had wanted to have us over for dinner, so as we were eating our chicken and salad and discussing everything under the sun, he got a text from his roommate Leslie about it. It's amazing how big events create such vivid memories of how you found out about them, because I remember so many tiny details about this night with such clarity.

loosee123: Do you have any tips for cheap travel? It is breaking my bank.
I always use kayak.com for booking flights; I believe it to be, by far, the best flight comparison site around. Beyond that, this question is kind of hard for me to answer, since I don't know exactly what kind of travel you're talking about. But if you're traveling abroad - definitely check out hostels rather than hotels. If you're traveling to see friends - try to go at off peak times in the year, and fly on days like Monday or Tuesday when it's cheaper. If you're traveling for Harry Potter conferences or shows - start a wizard rock band so you're asked to play and don't have to pay for registration. Ha.

m3lf4c3: how do you decide what personal information to share with your online community and what to omit?
You know... I share a lot of myself with the online community. Thinking back over fiveawesomegirls, I put a lot of myself out there. I keep it a little more contained on my personal channel (being more about entertainment than talking about myself) but the 5AG videos are still all out there. Twitter makes it so I can share literally any fleeting thought I have with an audience of nearly 12,000. But the real kicker here is my blog. If you read my blog (which I assume you do, as you're here reading my blog) then you know a LOT about me. You get a first hand account of probably 60% of the things I do. You read about my reactions, my emotions, my problems, my happinessess... and over time, I have needed to learn to omit things here and there, based on the past and what I know is good for me to keep private.

I try to leave out times when I am feeling really low. I try to leave out specifics about my personal relationships, romantic or other. I try not to share information about my friends if I know they wouldn't want that online, because while I enjoy "broadcasting myself", my friends and family might not be so keen on it. I also try not to mention things that are happening in the future that aren't sure things, because I don't want people to get disappointed if they don't happen.

It's all a balancing act. I am a lot more candid with my life than most people like to be, but you have to decide what you're comfortable with. Some people, like the SHAYTARDS or Dan Brown, are completely fine with putting everything online. I try to be a little bit more guarded, but still like sharing as much as I can with you guys. :)

feqwhy: You seem like you're always happy and have your life put together. How do you do that?
I know this isn't true in every instance, but you get out of life what you put into it. I approach life as if it's an adventure, and every day is a new opportunity to do great things, have fun, and hopefully touch other people's lives in some small way. I also try to find joy in the smallest aspects of life, because then you'll always be surprised by what can put a smile on your face.

I would say, having just graduated from college, I am far from having my life together. But I know that the things I am doing now are things that make me happy, and that hopefully are leading me down the path to finding the career I will love for the rest of my life. When I know I am working toward a goal like that, it's tough to not be happy.

Also, my friends rock, and there are thousands of strangers that I get to interact with every day that are some of the kindest, sweetest people I've ever had the pleasure of talking to. I wouldn't be surprised if my blog comments were a big part of why I seem so chipper every day.


Thanks for the great questions, guys! I had a lot of fun answering these, and I wouldn't mind making it a more regular segment of my blog. Have a great Monday, and let me know in the comments what you have on the agenda today. I'm just curious. :)

Last google search: "commonly misused phrases"
Chipotle burritos: 20

29 comments:

Haley :) said...

I get to write a 2 page speech on the French Revolution. The best part? I have to write it as if I'm a young noble in Paris. But of course I'm procrastinating at the moment.

Ben Cracknell said...

My agenda today was to write a blog entry. Nothing special. I love blogging, but sometimes lack the ideas on what to write about. I was planning on talking about my day in general, but reading your blog was like an epiphany. I know what I'm going to write about now. You do that to me so much. If I don't know what to do, or if I'm lost on a writing project, then I'll just listen to your music, or watch a video, and I'll know.

Thank you so much.

Abby said...

Working on a presentation and two papers.
Hopefully going for a long bike ride on what is sure to be one of the last beautiful days of Minnesota fall.
Potentially doing laundry (but let's face it I'll probably hold out for a few more days).
And lastly, enjoying a cup of mint hot chocolate while watching my favorite Australian TV show, McLeod's Daughters.

Ms. Dana Something said...

My agenda today is continuing to write the outline for my novel. It's starting to get a little maddening :/ Also, I just wanted to say that I really look up to the way that you live your life. I graduated from college in 2009 and work at a bakery...which is more than slightly embarrassing to say. Even though things haven't been that great, I still come home and know that I have my writing and I just have to keep working towards it. That the bakery is not my career, that I will never give up on getting my writing out there...but my point is, seeing all of the work you do, and the passion that you have for it reminds me to keep coming back to the paper... and maybe not worry so much about where I am right now, but to be excited about where I will be. Thank you.

Also, I don't know if you've ever seen it, but there's a great TED talk about writing given by Elizabeth Gilbert-the author of Eat, Pray, Love. Here's the link if you would like to see it: http://tinyurl.com/b6yvfk
its kinda long but its worth it.

Crystal said...

I have to work 3-8. :\ But I work at a library, so it's not SO bad. xD

I finished season 5 of Lost this morning. It was good, but I still think season 1's finale was the best. Either way, I'm surprised Claire was hardly ever mentioned in season 5.

Oh and my point of mentioning this is because I started watching Lost when you guys were all excited for season 6. I'm always late in watching shows. -_-

Anna said...

I've always admired you for being so open with your community and your fans. It makes you more of a real person to us, rather than a face on the camera. You say you try to hide when you're feeling low, but I'd say that you shouldn't--because it reiterates to your readers that you're like them, and have tough times too, and because your readers can then help bring you up and make you feel better :).

JawaKitten said...

I'm in Italy this semester, so my Monday's almost over. I plan to do my Italian homework, research works of art for my art history project, and start reading Peasant Fires. Also, I should probably update my blog.
Have a good Monday!

Anonymous said...

My agenda for the day: Work 8-5 at a law firm (it's 1:30 now). Then go home, make a giant salad for me and my sister for supper, do some chores, watch the new episode of How I Met Your Mother, then work on my NaNo 2009 novel so I can submit a piece to a writing mentorship program.

Busy, busy.

Foxy Roxy said...

I really admire you for being so chipper. Life is not all hugs and roses, but I do agree with you that the online community is probably a big reason why I'm so happy. I have probably a total of 15 blog readers, but the ones that are interested and leave comments are always the kindest and nicest ones! I don't necessarily have the best friends in the world. Trying to change that, but stuff like that bogs me down and I can forget sometimes how really awesome the internet is and how many caring people are out there, even if I can't see them in real life. :)

Michael said...

I just got home from class. I'll be writing a blog at some point. I want to finish reading Book four of the Odyssey tonight. Other than that tonight is all about playing Video Games!

Newt said...

My agenda mainly consisted of school. Now that that's out of the way [Which isn't how I usually feel about it, but I have a cold so I'm not keen on working] I have homework. I've done it all except Algebra, which I'm working on and definitely doing something wrong. XP
Then I'll devote most of the est of the day to playing the Sims 2.
My friend re-addicted me to it. =3

Madame Suede said...

Thanks for answering my question! Leaky Con is gonna be so much fun, it's gonna be my first time in the US and I spent my day planning the vacation! Do you have any other suggestions for things to do in Orlando/Florida that I shouldn't miss out on?

Jessamyn said...

Today after having spent my day at school (where I read a lot of the book Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements, which is excellent so far), I have just arrived home after a bus ride. I am now going to proceed to rewrite my essay for final edits due tomorrow in English, and then do some math homework. After this, I will go to jazz band for two hours. And when I get home, I will work on my English Commonplace book (it's basically a book of assignments we turn in at midterm, but usually more freeform type things) while I watch the new episodes of House and How I Met Your Mother.

Side note: You are watching Buffy like I am, and are much farther ahead than me, but watching Buffy, and Bones and HIMYM (where Angel and Willow exist anew) is very jarring after an afternoon straight of Buffy. Have you experienced this in any manner?

seanababy16 said...

Today I have to study for the organic chemistry test I have tomorrow, plus finish my calculus assignment that's also due tomorrow. And if I have any time left, I should probably start my organic lab formal lab report that's due Wednesday morning.
Reading your blog is pretty much the most important part of all this work :P lol

Rosanna said...

I love hearing you answer questions, your answers are always so good!
As for my agenda...I have a mountain of school work to do and my school formal at the end of the week (which I am dreading!)

Sammie said...

It's so relieving and nice to read your blog, you're such a source of sunshine! Thank you for that ^^

Allison said...

Posting a song about the person you like on YouTube is the most amazing way to do it ;)

Rachel said...

I have a lot of homework to do; I'm reading your blog!

I felt as though I should answer the questions as well (or at least the ones that apply)

lobi89: how do you know if a guy likes you?
When he is really, really nice, to a point of awkwardness.
xfallenwarriorx: How do I find a nerdy boyfriend? It's so complicated. D:
If only I knew the answer...
penguin1124: Do you have any advice for my senior year of high school?
I'm in my sophomore year but I would say: have a planner, be organized, spend as much time with friends as possible, make plans early, let your parents be part of your life, and enjoy yourself.
madamesuede: what should I bring to my first and only HP-con (which will be Leakycon2011)??
Essentials, HP things, a camera, what Kristina said...
ProfessorAliceC: What's the hardest thing you've had to give up for Harry Potter? (eg. not attend a b-day party for a HP book release) .
I haven't really given up much for HP. However, I skipped a "mandatory" carnival shift for Camp Fire USA. I got in trouble but it was worth going to a Wrock show.
margaretdarling: @KristinaHorner How do you deal with procrastination?
This is very difficult for me but I think having a list of things I need to accomplish with me at all times is important. It's also important to know ahead of time what you will be doing during the weeks ahead.
ProfessorAliceC:@KristinaHorner Where where you and what were you doing when you heard about MJ's death?
I was working at a kids summer camp. I was at the nurses station getting one of the girls a bandade, when the director got a txt. I was surprised, but not upset because I've never been a big fan.
loosee123: Do you have any tips for cheap travel? It is breaking my bank.
No idea.

rose24 said...

I'm supposed to be packing tonight :( It's funny because I'm in my senior year of high school so I was curious to see your response to that question about senior year. Getting involved has never been an issue for me. This year I'm yearbook editor, I'm on the team that organzies the school liturgies, I'm in the school band (tenor saxophone, heck yes), I am a part of a team that work's with the police to ensure safety within the school and I am leader of the Grade 9 orientation program. The reason I'm packing is because we're going up to a camp for 4 days with the grade 9's where the older students plan activities for them to do that will hopefully change their lives forever :) It's a lot of work but I feel happiest when I'm kept busy and involved within my community.

Sarah said...

I should be studying for math (derivatives! yay! :|), but here I am, catching up on your blog.

I loved reading about how you balance everything and your "approach to life". I think I'll start doing that more often, seeing it as more of an adventure.

As for the rest of tonight? Well, I have to send out an email announcing...the first Harry Potter Alliance meeting at my school, ever! Me and my friend just made one, and around forty-five people joined from our small high school. It's going to be amazing. I'm so excited.

Like, one of our ideas is kind of in the baby-stages, but it's basically to have a students vs teachers Quidditch night. Yes. Did I mention I'm excited? I'm excited.

Matt said...

As one of the few (I assume) guys that reads your blog, I'll go ahead and give my opinion on how to tell if a guy likes you:

We're painfully obvious. Even when we think that we're being subtle, we aren't at all. If you are ever unsure, ask your friends. They can usually see it when a guy likes you, even if you can't.

Unknown said...

My agenda for today? Well, even though it's 1 am, I'll tell you.

- Finish writing my paper due in 8 hours. Whoops.
- Go to two classes, then meet with a professor about a class I missed last Thursday. Double whoops.
- NAP TIME, WOO!
- Go to choir, where I will fumble over French words I didn't get to memorize because I was working on my paper...that's due in 8 hours. Triple whoops?
- Go to sleep AEAP (as early as possible).

Thanks for the good advice! And I must say that the following quote is going in my favorites on facebook:

"Love usually doesn't come when you're looking for it; in fact it quite often falls out of the sky, into your lap, at the worst possible time when it was the last thing you would have expected. But that's why it's called "falling in love", not "bundling up, heading outside with a compass, and hunting love down"."

Vicki said...

I have to pack ready to move to university on Sunday. Scariness :P But it means that all of those advice and q&as were very well timed for me :P

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Crystal's Blog said...

You truly are inspiring. I am the queen of procrastination, but after reading your blog and watching your vids, I feel motivated and capable of accomplishing just as much. After all, we all have the same amount of hours in the day as Kristina Horner! :)

Alex Dahlberry said...

Kristina advice is nice. :)
My agenda today:
well, I'm home sick. Which sucks. But it also means that I didn't have to wake up early, and it was okay that I didn't finish my homework last night. So I guess the plan today was to catch up on homework, but so far I've just caught up on Wheezywaiter and opiethemighty videos, and your blog.
I procrastinate WAY too much.

I'm going to try REALLY hard to make it to the Toronto stop on your tour, although that may be impossible. I wish you could have made it out to Montreal, but I understand. :(

Oh hey, advice question:
What should I do when my friends that I've had for a really long time are suddenly showing their backstabbing, bitchy sides and I have a whole new group of nerdier, more amazing friends (who are all either not at my school, or in a grade younger than me)? Do I ditch my longtime friends and graduate without friends in my grade, or do I just play along and deal with them until high school is finally over?

You don't have to actually answer that, there probably isn't a good answer.
But at least now you know what's going on in my life. *sigh* Teenage angst.

appletrain said...

i enjoyed high school too! and today i had classes and fliering and attending/running a meeting for my campaigning society called action palestine, which is one of the sole reasons i enjoy university. and now im running errands and doing some schoolwork. exciting life i lead! :)

Siena said...

Was your latest google search inspired by Hank's video? :) And, by the way, this is my first comment even though I've been reading your blog for a long time! I guess today is the day for first time comments. I really enjoy it; keep doing what you're doing.

AlphaAwesome said...

I have to admit that when someone asked the question about where you were when you heard about MJ's death, my first thought was, "OH MY GOSH! WHAT HAPPENED TO MAUREEN JOHNSON?" Had a bit of a mini heart attack there.

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