Kassie Freaking Out II

I TALKED TO YOU ON THE PHONE
FOR QUITE AWHILE
:D

and btw; I'm super confused:



poor dwight.


AND AND
this is just cute

Kassie Freaking Out I

YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK OMFG!

JENNAJENNAJENNAJENNAJENNAJENNAJENNA

IT'S MIDNIGHT AND I'M TOTALLY FREAKING OUT

HOLYCRAP

I called your mobile phone but alas, you did not pick up.

I really don't know what to do with myself.

love,
kassie

Kassie Update VII

I guess this isn't technically an "update".

But
I thought you ought to know.
I see this beauty all over the city
larger-than life.
it's awfully nice to walk by :)



YAY for gap ads.

enjoy!

<3kassie

Kassie Update VI

Jenna!
Sup fool?

I had the most random dream the other night!!!!
You, Alberta and I were down at Gihardelli Square "sampling" chocolate. We had sticky fingers! We were mostly eating the chocolate frogs. They were like crunch bars. You were taller than me in the dream, and your hair was blonder. Alberta looked a bit different too, but I can't pinpoint how.


Threadless reprinted this shirt!!
http://www.threadless.com/product/439/Ambition_Killed_The_Cat
I remember you liking it. I'm correct. yeah?

You can aslo get a wall decal of it!
http://www.whatisblik.com/threadless/
Pretty bomb, eh?

---

I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVEN'T UPDATED SINCE ROCKY HORROR
HOLY SHITE!

hmm WHERE to start
Well Steve is no longer in the picture, really.
He kinda stopped talking to Liz and I soon after Rocky Horror :P

And well, I kinda dated this guy Baraka, a friend of Liz's. But I wasn't too keen on him so I told him I only wanted to be friends.
He didn't take that too well. I haven't talked to him in about two weeks.

But then
there is this new boy
(haha
I sound like such a slutttttttt
kinda
It's not like I've made out with all of them.)

Derrick.
Is my new obsession.
He makes me sooooo giggly,
not in front of him tho.
In front of him I'm pretty chill.
But man,
otherwise I'm all giddy.


------------
HOLY CRAP JENNA
That was all two weeks ago.
I keep writing entries then having to save them as drafts.
eek!
Well
I'm no longer interested in Derrick.
right now I don't like anyone.
It's weird.
But it's nice.

FINALS.
Final projects, and exams. eek!
It's too weird that a whole semester is almost over.
My first semester as a college student! augh!
I find that I really dislike suburbia.
Going home for thanksgiving was nice, being at home
in my house
where there is always food.
me-time.
and mom-time.
but ugh
driving everywhere
all the same stores
lamesauce.

I totally had coffee with your mum.
My mum and your mum.
we chatted for quite awhile!
I enjoyed it.
we talked about you hahahhahahahahaahaha.
I GOT YOUR POSTCARD.
I lurved it.
we ARE two of a kind, hmm?
:)

AND THE SNAKE.
THE SNAKE.
(ooooooooh it's snaaaaake! badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger mushroom mushroom)
I'm super glad you were not bitten.
don't go breaking my heart, jenna dear.

I GOT YOUR FACEBOOK COMMENT.
HECKYES.
heart your face, I do.

I've been super bad in my classes.
I NEED to get an A+++++++++ on my finals.
eek!

DANNY CAME TO VISIT!
He was in SF with his papa AND I SAW HIM.
DANNNYYYYY!
It was too much fun, he is such a sweetheart. :D

JENNA.
come hang out with me in SF.
I don't know how I'll be able to survive a month in suburbia.
We ought to go into Seattle alot.
Peruse Urban Outfitters, maybe? mhm lovely.

miss you LOADS.
like, alot, omigod.

LOVE AND KISSES,
zaphod.

Less than one week ...

I can't believe that the semester will be over in less than a week! Boy, time flies!

A quick update ...

• I'm back from Grandma and Papa's. The last day, it rained so much that their pool overflowed! The winds were howling, it was thundering and lightning (rare for Maui), the power went out, the phones were out, the cable was out. I almost didn't get to the airport because so many roads, including S. Kihei Rd and N. Kihei Rd were closed.
• Today I went with Karen, Mark, Andrea, Bob and Erik to a glass blowing place and we created our own ornaments. It was fun! We'll have to do it when you get home. The place even offers lessons ... Hmmm ...
• Seahawks won today, 42-21, clinching the division title. Not really as impressive as it sounds since the other teams kind of suck. But, still ... you'll get to watch playoff games (hopefully plural) before heading off for new adventures.
• I haven't put up many Christmas decorations yet. I'm thinking about it. Let me know if you want me to wait.
• The puppies are all sick. They've been sneezing non-stop since I picked them up from "puppy camp".
• Today it snowed a bit. It snowed several inches last week when I was at Grandma and Papa's. Today was just a dusting. It's supposed to snow several times the first week, week and a half, when you're home.
• I saw Carissa and her mom yesterday. Carissa and Mackenzie are having a joint birthday party and want you to come.
• I just got your letter and the letter for Kassie. I'll try to get it to Kassie, but you might get home before she does.

I can't wait to see you in less than a week! I know you want to stay in Africa with all of your new "family", and I can understand why -- Bellevue will seem really boring after the past 3.5 months! But, I'm still going to be glad you're home.

I love you to Africa and back!

Love,
Mom

Where in the world is Jenna?

Are you in Botswana yet? Have you gone to the Okavango yet? I caught the tail end of one of the Planet Earth episodes tonight with Grandma and Papa, and I think part of what we saw was filmed in Etosha (we missed part of the show, so not sure), and of course, thought of you.

It snowed in Seattle area yesterday (Karen had 6 inches of snow!). And, it rained several inches today at Grandma and Papa's. Everyone's having wacky weather.

I had coffee with Kassie and her mom about a week ago, when Kassie was home for Thanksgiving. It was good to see them. I gave Kassie her postcard (you mailed to our house).

Not a lot of new things to report. Puppies are doing fine. Seahawks won today. Univ of Hawaii played Univ of Washington yesterday. UH won at the last minute and now gets to go to the Sugar Bowl. Grandma and Papa were very happy. The Office last week was a rerun -- when Michael got back from the Bahamas and showed people the picture of Jan, and when Pam cried because she was "PMSing real bad". Dwight, sigh. :-)

I hope you're having a great time! I heard you were leader the day Rachel was bit by the snake. That must have been stressful! Are you all sleeping in the truck now? :-) Be sure to keep your hands and self inside the canoes when you're in the delta and in the kayak when you're on the Zambezi. I can't wait to see you -- in less than 2 weeks! Have a wonderful time the next two weeks, study hard, take lots of pictures.

Love you TONS,
Mom

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you're having a great day and enjoying an exotic Thanksgiving meal! Whitney said you might not have turkey, but that Crispen would use his great culinary skills to provide a great feast! You'll have to let us know if his gravy comes close to Mark's. Do you get sweet potatoes there? Pumpkin pie? Rolls that someone forgot to take out of the oven until halfway through dinner?

Take a picture of your Thanksgiving feast so you can show us what Thanksgiving in Namibia is like!

Love you tons! Gobble, gobble!
Mom

11/14 update from mom

Hi, there! It's been 2.5 weeks since we talked. I've been wondering what you gals are up to, and how things are going. I hope to hear from you soon.

I had a nice surprise today. I was going through the mail and say a postcard of a lioness and her cub. I thought it was an advertisement. I thought "I'll have to save this for Jenna", and as I moved it to a pile of stuff for you, I realized it was a postcard from you! Thank you! I've read it at least 5 times so far. :-)

Not a lot going on here. Kind of the same 'ol, same 'ol. Here are a few things to update you on:

• Project Runway starts tonight (and, yes, I'm recording it)
• Seattle has a MLS Soccer team! They start playing in 2009. They're taking suggestions for team name. You'll have to submit one, http://mlsinseattle.com/. And, we'll have to go watch.
• I went to watch Erik play his last soccer game of the season. He had a great trap and immediately kicked over a few defenders heads. Nice play!
• Seahawks won on Monday Night Football, 24-0. They have more wins on MNF (5) than any other team (second place teams have 3), and have done this in about 1/4 the number of games. Something to cheer about given their so-so record and playing this year.
• Puppies doing well. Yesterday was funny -- synchronized pooping -- at three at the same time. :-) They had a minor fight tonight over popcorn, but decided it was better to stop fighting and beg for more.
• I broke my big toe two weeks ago. It's still very bruised and swollen. It's supposed to take 6-8 weeks to heal. Youch! I was cleaning up the utility room because the furnace stopped working when a huge roll of craft paper fell on top of my foot. :-(
• Going to Karen and Mark's for Thanksgiving. I'll eat an extra serving of Mark's yummy gravy for you. :-)
• Going to visit Grandma and Papa before you get back. I didn't get to see Grandma much last time, so it will be good to see her more.

I hope you're having a great time, studying hard, and speaking up in class. Call me when you get a chance or send email. I'm looking forward to hearing about what you've been up to in the past few weeks.

Love you to the moon and back!

Mom

Happy Halloween!

Derek wasn't too sure about it all, but everyone had fun, especially Vivilene who ended up happily donating her candy to our trick-or-treat shortfall (more kids stopping by than anticipated).

Great talking to you the other day. Best of luck on your continuing journey.

Love,

Dad, Lena, Vivilene & Derek

Kassie Update V

(OH SNAP THE FIVER!)

jenna.
I want
your letter
mmk?
and
I want
you
to write about nelson mandella
like woah
mmk?

Holy crap, I have so many photos to post.
I hope you enjoyed the wasabi story!!!!

WHERE TO START? IT'S BEEN TOO LONG!

Friends:

Ryan and I have been conferring via snail mail since I arrived in SF! It's pretty awesome. He uses the typewriter I got for his bday, and I use stationary I have. We've gotten about 200% closer since I moved, which is crazy!

Gunner and I are about the same closeness, so that's good. we chat on the phone every now and again.

Rachael and I....it's weird, we haven't chatted in about two weeks. It's both our faults, really. She's super busy all the time, with hw and her sister being engaged! It's one of those situations where I'm busy when she's not visa versa. Eek! But I don't think it's affecting out friendship in the sense that I know when we will talk next we'll blabber on no problema.

Leah and I haven't spoken since I left except for occasional messages via facebook. Grr.

Nathaniel and I chat ALOT via MSN. Isn't that crazy?!

Alex is driving me absolutely bonkers. I really don't have feelings for him anymore but he obviously does for me. It's awkward and I really should tell him straight but I feel like it would be mean. yuck. He and I definetly not as close as before. Want to hear something crazy? Since he got to college he's now a partier AND he's a pledge in the fraternity Sigma Nu. I was really suprised.

College Friends:

Liz and I have gotten pretty close. Most of the time I like her more than Amanda, but she has some character flaws that really piss me off. It's easier for me to talk to her than Amanda too, and we're more into the same activities. She's super smart too.

Amanda is so effing emotional. It drives me crazy. She reminds me of Courtney in the way that she's like "I'm going to be like THIS from now on" but of course there's no follow through. and she's so messy. but she's super sweet and funny.

Samantha is hilarious! She's super fun and great to be around. I think if I lived with her I'd find plenty of flaws like I have with Amanda and Liz though.



Me, Sebastian and Samantha! at like 2am one night.

Sebastian. I'm not so sure I'd call him a friend. He's more on "buddy" level. I donno. He's super cool tho.
SEVEN FEET TALL. HOLY CRAP.

Adam doesn't make any sense. I think I did something to really annoy him because he doesn't talk to me like he used to. but whatever, he's adorable.

Steve is actually a friend of Liz's, but I'm slowly working on seducing him. He's super duper funny. and cute. eeek!

School:

Fashion Illustration. I'm definelty improving in that class! I just need to schedule my time better!

Visual Merchandising. I am PWNING this class. Except for quizzes. Fucking hell, I hate hate hate tests. They mess up my grade hardcore. I did really well on my midterm project presentation, I know that! Not so sure how I did on the midterm exam tho :(

Intro to Fabrics is PWNING me. I really suck.

Intro to Fashion Business is ok. The teacher doesn't really know how to teach. eek!

In general, I'm not applying myself fully therefore only doing OK.

Other FUN Stuff!

Besides the Wasabi story, the most interesting that has happened was ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. I went to a midnight showing last saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was sooo much fun.
We've been planning it for awhile, and it really all came together nicely! :)
Most of us dressed up as specific characters wooo!

PHOTOSTORYTIMESam and Samantha came to Amanda, Liz and my dorm around 8pm.
The game plan:

1. Meet Steve and some of Liz's friends outside the Pine St Dorm at 8:30
2. Walk to Steve's sister's apartment, get dressed and do makeup there.
3. Leave to go to Clay Theatre at 10:30
4. ROCKYHORRORTIME

What actually happened:
Sam and Samantha show up at 8:15. We're running late, of course! haha! We all decide to get mostly dressed in our outfits, minus makeup. I put on my tights, skirt and bodice. I put my Tower of Terror shirt on over my bodice because I thought it was halloween-y :). I put on flats to walk around in, and put makeup, satin black gloves and my heels in my purse. Samantha got decked out in her maid outfit minus makeup and heels. Amanda got decked out as well but minus makeup, but wore her boots. Liz wore everything but makeup. Sam really only had these cool glasses that he got when he, Amanda and I saw Nightmare before Christmas 3D! woo!



Sam being nerdy :)


Samantha gettin purdy

We didn't end up leaving the dorm until about 8:45. Steve and Liz's friends weren't there yet grr.



Liz and I killing time. That pic didn't come out.

Then Liz's friends showed up. They were 3 girls, none of them very social with us at all. but whatever! Steve finally came down as well, and said we ought to meet up with some of his friends down the street. We got to the corner of Pine and Leavenworth, where we were to meet them, at about 9:00. They didn't show up until about 9:20. We all walked to Steve's sister's and she was super nice! Some of the kids started drinking, rum and cokes and cheap beer mostly.
Then the chicas started to get ready!



Me, Samantha and Liz


Nick and another of Steve's friends playin guitar :)

Have you ever heard the song "Business Time" by Flight of the Conchords? It is hilarious! I convinced Steve and Nick to perform it. I was grinning like an idiot, it was so funny!

Here are some lyrics, so you can get a feel for the song:
Girl, tonight we're gonna make love.
You know how I know, baby?
'Cause it's Wednesday.
And Wednesday night is the night that we make love.
Tuesday night�'s the night that we go and visit your mother, but Wednesday night is the night that we make love.
'Cause everything is just right conditions are perfect.
There's nothing good on TV.
Conditions are perfect.
You lean in close and say something sexy like,
"I might go to bed I've got work in the morning."
I know what you're trying to say baby.
You're trying to say,
Oh, yeah. It's business time.
It's business time.

(Your father must be appaled by your choice of friend. JUST WAIT UNTIL HE SCROLLS DOWN AND SEES MY COSTUME!
hahahahaha
My sister saw these pictures and asked if I was trying to give our dad a heartattack.
whoops!)

Then on the walk to the theatre....Liz's friends were pretty drunk as well as Steve. Then they started blazin' which was interesting haha.
At one point Steve asked me to hold some of his stuff in my purse, and dropped half of it, missing my HUGE purse completely. So we got left behind a bit. He asked me "Am I wasting my time with Liz?"
I was really glad he asked this question. It has been super obvious that he was pursuing Liz, and Liz was not interested AT ALL. And she was sending pretty clear signals too! I knew she was becoming annoyed with him. So I told him, "Yes, yes you are." And he was like, "Alright. Thanks."
The other reason I was glad he asked was because I've got the hots for him, even though I've tried really, really hard not to. I never understood why Liz wasn't interested in Steve, because I think he's a pretty cool dude! But whatever.

We made it to the theatre at about 11:20, ten minutes before they started selling tickets. Not alot of people were there, suprisingly. So at 11:30 we got our student-priced tickets and got an AWESOME place in line, right at the corner of the building. The the pictures began. These are only a few. Samantha and I took about a total of 60 pictures the whole night, from my dorm to the theatre.



WOOOOOOOOOOOOO YEAH!


Liz and I


the group! minus Liz's friends. and minus Steve's because they didn't come.
From left:
Steve as Rocky
Amanda as a Transylvanian
Liz as Columbia
Me as Floorshow-Janet
Samantha as Magenta
Sam as Brad (only really the glasses are Brad-esque).


Amanda kissed me on the cheek ^_^

At one point in the night these two guys, one dressed as Rocky and the other as Dr. Scott, asked our section of line "Who HAS NOT seen Rocky Horror at Midnight?". And me, being the honest fool I am, raised my hand. The Rocky grabbed my wrist and told me, "Ooooh, you shouldn't have raised your hand." And I was really perplexed, and simply asked, "....What?"
Rocky (and it turns out he was the Rocky of the cast! haha!) said to me, "Don't worry, we're just going to draw all over you."
Oh god.
The Dr. Scott walked over to me and shook my hand and asked if I had seen RHPS before, and I said no. Then he pulled out a lipstick and said to me, "I think you need a bit more" and I was like, "No, I'm good," turned my head and showed him the cheek imprint from Amanda, "I'm got some riiight here."
He laughed and said, "Let me emphasize it a bit." And drew a V for (Rocky Horror Picture Show) Virgin on my cheek!



Rockin the V ;)

Overall it was a pretty awesome night, and definitely the time when I was most out of my shell!

So, to summarize:

random friendship fluxuations

should be doing hw instead of this blog

rocky horror is awesome

seduce steve

Love you madly!
♥kassie

2/50 Ain't Bad

Derek in His Fancy Duds

It's tough to capture a good photo of the little guy. - He doesn't sit still for 2 seconds. This photo turned out pretty good (1/50). The window in the backgound forms a halo around his head, proving that photos can lie. :-)

Kassie Update IV

JENNA
HOLY CRAP
NELSON MANDELLA
did I just spell his last name wrong?
BUT HOLY CRAP
my life is so boring in the shadow of yours :(
You do insanely amazing things

.....whereas I do amazingly insane things
example:
I ate two lumps of wasabi tonight.

We were at Sushi Rock. "We" being Sam, Samantha, Liz, Amanda and I.
And I said to Sam, in the middle of dinner, "Hey, Sam, if I ate this lump of wasabi, would you pay for my dinner?"
He laughed and told me no.
"Ok, what if I ate this lump of wasabi AND that one?"
"Hmm...if you chew this lump of wasabi for three seconds, and then immediately eat the other WITHOUT water...then yes, yes I'll buy your dinner."
"Alright then!"
And then we shook on it.
And I ate the first one, counting in my head ONETWOTHREE. But when I hit TWO Amanda started counting out loud on her fingers, "One...TWO...Thr--" and I shoved the second one in my mouth.
Almost passed out.
My face was burning up, my eyes tearing up and I was gagging so much I almost couldn't get the second down.
Then I did. I took HUGE sips of water, breathed sporadically and stole a bunch of Liz's rice.
And drank more water.
Everyone was pretty much shocked that I actually ate all that wasabi. Liz and Samantha were cracking up.
I breathed out, and said, "That was so worth it."

Our server came around when I was slightly recovered, and Samantha informed her we wanted checks.
"Seperate?" She asked.
"Yes," I piped in, "But HIS and MINE are together."
and Sam was like, "Nice, sealin the deal."
And Samantha told me I was crazy.

Then I found five dollars.
Except not really ^_^
but I saved about ten! HA!


Ok I'm actually too exausted to continue. I've gotten about 10 hours of sleep the past 3 nights.
I'll update, with some photos, in the next day or two!

LOVE YOU LOADS
--kassie

new calling card

I have a new calling card for you (much better per-minute rate). I sent the access number and PIN in email to you. You can also call me or your dad.

10/22 update

Hi, there! I hope you're enjoying your homestay!

Today is Grandma and Karen's birthdays. Grandma told me to tell you that she and Papa are enjoying reading your updates, and can't wait for you to get back so they can hear you stories an see your pictures. Grandma says to take a picture every day. I agree -- even if it's of the place you stayed that night or where you met for classes. I went to dinner last night with Karen and family for her birthday. We went to a new sushi place on Lake Bellevue, where Grandma Gerry used to live. Dinner was very nice, and it was nice to see everyone.

Interlake JV Girls soccer beat Sammamish, 1-0. Yea!

Interlake football is on a hot streak, winning its last two games! They beat Sammamish 33-7. Yea!

I'm going to order your IHS sweatshirt without your name unless you tell me otherwise. I posted a link to the website so you can see in an earlier post.

Seahawks (finally) won again, 33-6, against the winless St. Louis Rams (hey, you gotta take a win where you can).

Just saw this when looking for the Seahawks score. They award $2500 scholarships to two football and two girls soccer players who do community service. You should try for it next year! http://www.seahawks.com/qlc.aspx

Two figher jets flew over Lake Sammamish four times on Saturday. WEIRD!!!

Stephen Colbert announced he is running for President, but only in his home state, South Carolina. :-)

Dumbledore is gay, says J. K. Rowling.

Fires raging out of control in southern California. Students at Pepperdine University had to be evacuated.

Have any packages arrived yet?

I hope you're enjoying sharing your adventures with your host family, and are showing them pictures of your family, dogs, friends, etc. Have you played soccer with the kids?

Love you!
Mom

Fall in the Canyon & Derek Before the Fall ( - not really -)

fyi: calls to cell phone ok

I checked with Verizon, and I'm not charged extra when you call me from outside the country using your calling card. So, you can still call my cell phone. Of course, if it's at night or early in the morning, call the home phone first.

Love you!
Mom

a few things ...

Here's the link to the IHS Class of 2010 sweatshirt designs. Let me know what you want.

Also, I updated the puppies' blog with pics and emailed you the phone number you asked about.


Finally, if you can watch youtube, check out this video from J-Bay, http://youtube.com/watch?v=bWauuX_1KH8&mode=related&search=rolf%20jana%20duijker%20duyker%20south%20africa%20jeffreys%20bay The cool stuff starts at about 30 seconds.

Kassie Update III

OMG!
I was sooooo excited when you posted that bulletin on myspace! egats!
And I am suprised I'm the only one posting. I'm sure Alberta could put my long posts to SHAME. haha.
I hearted your blog! and I commented! but it says it needs approval..but w/e :)

Also, when your mom sent out an e-mail about you, she attached the link to this site, which immediately made me think "oh snap, pretty much everyone and their dog can read about my life in-depth now." but I don't care, really, because it's for you! and this is better than my e-mail because I can attach photos here :)

I wanted to send you a luna bar, because you said you wanted snacks, but I didn't.
I'm lazy like that.
I hope this post, and future ones, compensates!


So.
Since the last post,
so.
much.
has happened.

Geez, where to start!
Well first of all
two weeks ago
turns out
David has been in a relationship with this one girl for almost two years, and they had a fight and broke up right before college then he met me and decided to see if he could move on from her so basically I was a rebound and he is back together with her. he told me that the more time he spent with me the more he realized he was in love with her.
so that was two weeks ago and I'm so over it.
But I can't really be friends with him, because he lied and used me. bummer because he was such a cool kid.

But that friday I met this really cool guy Justin but he lives in San Diego. We've chatted on the phone quite a bit. Even though he seems super nice and cool, I'm super super skeptical because of David. I'm still my optimist self, but my trust levels have plummeted. it sucks!

There is this cool kid Sebastian in my Business class. He and I have chatted in class and during breaks for the past few weeks, and we get along well. He cracks me up. Last thursday Samantha and I ran into him at the shuttle bus stop outside 79, and we were all chatting and his bus came...and I decided that I want this kid as a friend for reals. he had his cell in his hand and I was like "Give me your phone, dude." and he was like "What?" and so I grabbed his (huge-ass and bulky) phone and put my number in haha. He was like, "Putting your name in?" and I replied "Yeah" and he said "Good." Then I gave it back and he got on the bus. He called me a few seconds later to give me his. I know he went home this weekend, so I didn't hear from him at all.
I told alex all of this and he said that Sebastian more than likely got the impression that I'm interested in him. I think it's because I'm so forward. But whatever, I hate dancing around the whole "phone number" ordeal.


Classes are going ok, I have midterms ALREADY next week. EEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

can you see flickr accounts?
I just made one to see if that would be easier fo r my family to see pics I put up.
my flickr
There's photos from this summer till now.

What else...This weekend was so effing busy.
ERIK came up and suprised me!!!!! ack!
He's in oakland for a job interview, and suprised me saturday morning.
So naturally I felt obligated to entertain him. It was pretty fun, but also inconvienient. I was going to really be on top of homework this weekend, but ack! it didn't quite work out because he took up all of saturday and 3/4 of Sunday.
And it was awkward because it was clear that he still has feelings for me whereas I am not interested in him at all.
But I got some kick-ass photos!!!! haha because I took him up to Chinatown, and Haight/Ashbury and Pier 39. He saw most of the tourist spots haha. I'm an awesome guide.

Skipper darling, miss you and love you!
My laptop is dying! and I'm at a cafe!
So I might upload photos later.
Can't wait to see you and hear from you again!
Stay safe!

--kassie

10/7 update from mom

Hey, I just read your blog! I'm glad you were able to update it and tell us what's going on. Everything sounds so interesting, fun, and amazing! I can't wait to hear about the Zulu wedding ceremony. And, of course, see pictures of everything!

A few updates ...

Puppies. I can't wait to see the puppies. I'll take some pictures of them when I get home and post to the blog.

Maui has been really hot, but nice. I got to the beach about half the days, but it was pretty quite -- not too many tourists at this time of year.

Grandma just got home from her trip to Mexico with Aunt Leona and Aunt Terri. They had a great time! Makes me want to visit Puerto Vallarta soon. Papa's doing well, despite the next item.

And lastly, because they deserve to be last, the Seahawks. Today was so painful to watch, I'm glad I was helping set up Papa's new computer and distracted. They had a total of 141 yards, about 30 of which were in the 2nd half. Seneca Wallace who replaced Hasselbeck part way through ran for 10 of those 30 in a single play. The defense was on the field 41 minutes out of 60. The worst part was that it was against Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh. Of course, all Steelers fans now feel totally justfied in having the Super Bowl handed to them by the refs two years ago. It was UGLY!

Oh, btw, I sent 3 small packages and 1 envelope. Hopefully all 4 will be waiting for you when you arrive in Cape Town. I hope you enjoy(ed) the Garden Route, are having a great time, and studying hard! Talk to you soon!

Love,
Mom

10/3 update

It was great talking with you today! I hope you all had an enjoyable time at the orphanage playing with the kids.

Soccer: Varsity lost a close one yesterday to Newport, 1-0. Don't know who JV did. The US Women's soccer team got smacked by Brazil a few days ago in the Women's World Cup, 4-0. There was quite the scandal when Hope Solo, the goalie who had played recently was replaced for the Brazil game by Briana Scully, who played in the Olympics and previous World Cup games. Ms. Solo blasted Sculley after the loss, saying the coach made the wrong decision and she would have made the saves. Her public hissy fit was rewarded with a benching, and she missed the semifinal match when US beat Finland 4-1.

Seahawks: Won a fun game on Sunday against San Fran, 23-3. Seahawks had six sacks (seemed like 16), intercepted SF twice, recovered 1 of 5 SF fumbles and watched as SF penalized themselves into negative yardage the first half. I don't think SF got a first down until the third quarter. Rocky Bernard sacked their QB on their first drive, then did his signature shoulder pump dance. Fun to watch. Unfortunately, he injured the SF QB who will be out for several weeks. That's what the guy gets for letting a 300+ lb person tackle him. Rocky went out later in the game, limping, but he came back in the game before the end.

Other football: Papa and I watched a lot of football last weekend, including the Huskies almost pull out a huge upset against USC who is rated #1 (or was) in the country. Green Bay won, with Bret Favre throwing two touchdowns to take the record for most TD passes ever. Green Bay, Indianapolis (and Payton), and the Cowboys are the only undefeated teams at this point, all 4-0.

Top Chef: I just saw the Bravotv.com site and know who won without watching the show. Spoiler alert: if you don't want to know, skip ahead to next item! Final four down to Casey, Dale, Hung and Brian. Brian sent home. Next up, Casey, Dale and Hung work with famous chefs to create a 3-dish meal, then get the curve ball to do a 4th dish with Howie, CJ and Sara M, respectively. Casey sent packing. Down to Dale and Hung. You know who I root for. Guess who won?

Beach: I went to the beach today. Pretty deserted -- I guess Sept is the time to come. They closed the Kaanapali beaches over the weekend because there were packs of sharks 5-10 ft from the water's edge. Trudy and her friends were swimming, wondering why no one was in the water. Oops!

No update on the puppies. :-( I'm sure they're doing fine. Hopefully, Emma and Pooka have stopped barking at all of the other dogs. And, at least Emma can't find any rocks to eat. :-0

Love you! Have a great week!

Love,
Mom

Emails

A quick note to let you know that I've fwd'd emails to your gmail account in case you still have troubles reading your hotmail. And, you might want to check your Facebook and MySpace pages. You've received mail saying various people, including Kate and several from Landmark, your 2nd cousin Stephanie, and friends from school have posted things (I've just seen the titles of the mails; haven't read).

The Office premiere

Michael hits Meredith in the parking lot (she was on foot, he was in the car) and sends her to the hospital. Dwight kills Angela's ailing cat. Jim and Pam? Well, you'll just have to wait ... ;-) In the meantime, check out this image ...

Oh, and you can actaully watch at http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/.

Love you!

Mom

Surfing in South Africa

This was from the world's record in South Africa in 2006.

Check out this link: http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/09/02/343170.aspx
Love the photo!

9/25 update from mom

Hi, Jenna! It was really nice to hear your voice and hear all about your exciting adventures! Can't wait for the next call.

I went to the girls' soccer games today. They played Sammamish. JV almost pulled it out, but Sammamish won 3-2. I saw Krista score a goal in the second half (missed the first goal). Varsity lost 0-2. Lots of folks asked about you. Anne gave me a letter to mail to you. Hopefully, you'll get it in Cape Town. Mackenzie says "hi" and asked how you were doing.

Speaking of soccer, I saw Erik play last weekend. This is his first year. He has some good moves. Kira wanted to jump in and coach -- she saw lots of things she wanted them to do.

Kira started BCC this week! She sounds excited.

Seahawks pulled out the win in the last minute, 24-21. Alexander has a broken hand, but will continue to play. I didn't actually see the game, so can't give you any details.

Top Chef: Sara got kicked off last week. It's down to Casey, Brian, Dale and Hung.

It's been pretty cold for Sept. Lots of spiders outside. In fact, two are hanging about eye level at the front door. I've almost run into them a few times. Too bad they won't still be there for Halloween.

The puppies miss you! They've been enjoying their walks every day. Had to go to the vets today since I'm going to visit Grandma and Papa. Chloe knew what was going on about 5 miles away. She hid on the floor of the passenger side until I dragged her out. Emma even jumped back in the car when she realized where she was! They have three 10-week old pug puppies -- so cute! And, a few French or English bulldogs (not sure which) -- not as cute as pug puppies. I'll take a picture of the puppies and post when I get back.

Love you! Be sure to use your water wand for one full minute so you don't get sick again. And, use your sunscreen! Talk to you soon!

Love,
Mom

Kassie Update II

JENNA!
Hey miss you like crazy. dur.

At Wallgreens (the one-stop shop for just about anything) they've put their Luna bars on discount. 3 for $2!!! So I've been snacking on the Lemon Zest ones, partly because they're delicious and partly because they remind me of you :)
I'm acutally out right now so I should buy more. They've mostly been my breakfasts.

I've stopped trying to catch the school shuttle to get to class each morning. There's no point! I could catch the shuttle at 7:45, get there at 8, and wait until class starts at 8:30; OR I could sleep extra, walk to class at 8, and get there around 8:15. I sleep in until at least 7 so there's no point in me rushing. And walking the 10 blocks will help scare off the Freshman 15 haha. although I've been eating the oreos my mom sent religiously, so it'll probably even out. :P

Well the butt shots worked on my strep! I didn't go to sleep as early as I should have the following nights, so I was worried that it would come back. But! It didn't! Yay! When I go out with friends I order hot drinks just as a lil attempt at keeping it as bay :P

Fashion Illustration is going ok. My teacher is....super super nice BUT she gives us extra assignments, and none of the other illustration teachers seem to. But whatever! I'll learn more and it IS helping to improve my drawing.
We had to do a drawing of a view through a window. So I went to this cute little cafe down the street, ordered a green tea latte and proceeded to draw for two hours.
and here it is!

link to see the whole thing
Just so you have an idea of what I'm doing. I used a blue colored pencil instead of charcoal, and defined little pits with marker.

Introduction to Fabrics is going to be an easy A, I think. The first class was all stuff I ALREADY knew. muahahahaha. SO my two classes of that so far have been really boring.

Visual Merchandising! The class from SO MUCH HOMEWORKland. Stephanie Lavender teaches this class AND my fashion business class. She's super nice but expects a lot from her students so there's alot of hw. She recognizes me tho! and seems to like me. Funny stuff tho, she calls me CASEY. haha. The first two times I corrected her, but now I don't care. I have a couple of friends in that class and they look at me funny. But whatever. She "knows" my name and not theirs. So ha. :P

I've made a few friends! woo! Only like 5 tho. and two of them are my roomates haha. I donno, I've been shy in classes. I talk a lot to the teachers but I'm like you with new people haha.

link to see the whole thing
Amanda, Sam and I!
I have yet to get a picture with Liz. But s'all good.
Samantha is small, cute and really spacey. We get along really well and she laughs at my jokes. :)

And I have a special friend ;)
Hardeeharhar
I've been dating this cool dude David.
link to see the whole thing
He often reminds me of you, actually. He's super quiet/shy like you.
And absoultely adorable. LIKE YOU. holla.
It's kind funny because he's not my stereotypical "type".
He's more rocker, I guess. Into AC/DC and Aerosmith whereas I'm used to "indie" rock guys or just good 'ol american boys.
not that he's not american. haha.
He's actually sitting right next to me so it's kinda awkward talking about him to you right haha.
We took that pic like five seconds ago. :P
He says "Hi".
I'll tell him you say hi back, k?
hardeeharhar.

ummmmmm I can't really think of anything else.
I'll try to take pictures of the city so you can see where I'm living :)
<3333333
be safe skipper!
love,
kassiekins


EDIT/////////9.21
Yeah so I didn't want to tell you all about David while he was RIGHT THERE.
He's awesome.
He's super, super sweet. He opens the doors EVERYWHERE and feels bad if I get to the door first. It's funny.
He's a total gamer nerd! Really into Star Wars and World of Warcraft.
Like I said, he's "rocker". Got that lil goatee and long-ish hair. But he looks good in it.
He doesn't drink, smoke or do drugs! He thinks they're idiotic. Which is awesome.
He drinks TEA. haha! Totally suprised me. At 2 different restaurants we've shared a pot of tea. It's nice.
He insists on paying for everything, which I think is super sweet, but c'mon! We're in college. Lemme grab the tab once at least so I don't buy you out of house and home, so to speak.
He's a Motion Pictures and Television Major, specializing in Editing.
He made me a CD of a bunch of music he likes, and I actually enjoy it. Big shocker for me. It's good stuff tho.
The other day he talked to Rachael on the phone for like 5 minutes. His answers are elaborate as yours haha which Rachael said was "awkward". But he earned points from her when he said he had a sister. You know about her weird thing with guys having sisters, yeah? Silly. She asked him, "So, you like my friend?" and he was like "a smidgen" why grinning his face off at me, but rachael seemed to take it differently. But it's all good.
You'd like him, I'm sure :)
The other day he and I went for coffee after classes at like 4:30. We went to Cup-a-Joe's just down the street. We both ordered a bit of food and something to drink. We were there, talking, for almost 5 hours. FIVE. Then we went to dinner and were there for another hour, then we hung out for ANOTHER hour meandering around Union Square. It was awesome.
Yeah, so, that's all I can think of. :)

Love ya!
Hope you're enjoying me posts. I'm trying to make them as "conversation-like" as possible. Workin out? :P

<3kassie

The Office -- What They Did on Summer Vacation

Check this out ... http://youtube.com/watch?v=HCDXIyRdwG0

Gives you a sense of what's to come.

:-)

9/18 update from mom

Hi, Jenna! I think of you every day, wondering what adventures you gals are up to! I hope you enjoyed your first safari trip. A few updates:

Puppies: Still silly. Chloe still refuses to sit on command. We didn't make it to the puppy park on Sunday because it rained all day (so much for our typically nice September!). They lounge around waiting for you to come back so you'll rub them and play with them.

Sports: Everyone lost. Seahawks (painful loss, 23-20. Hasselbeck and Alexander looked like a comedy act on the play that cost them the game -- missed handoff). Varsity soccer (lost to Bellevue tonight (6-0), not sure about JV score -- I'll get an update tomorrow).

Emmy Awards: No Office winners (several nominated), but some funny bits, especially when Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert decided to give the best actor in a comedy series to Steve Carrell after the actual winner didn't show. "Michael" actually came on stage and the three danced around and high-fived each other. Top Chef, Project Runway, Scrubs nominated, but lost, too.

Check your email and other sites: I've seen mail that Landmark folks and school friends have posted things on Facebook and MySpace.

Hope you're having a GREAT time!!! Miss you tons!

Love,
Mom

09/12 Dad, Lena, Vivilene & Derek

Hi Jenna,

Hoping all is well. Big hello's from all of us. We're missing you.

Not much new here. We did get our hands on "The Office" season 3. Very funny! It'll be interesting to see how the new season starts. Guessing Michael may have trouble adjusting to his underling turned boss.

Fall is in the air. Days becoming cooler. I'm in Bellevue today, getting ready for an office move. New location is apparently much nicer than where we've been.

Grandma, Cathy & Lavon will be visiting us in Wenatchee this weekend. Will be fun to see them.

All for now. We look forward to hearing from you. Remember to take lots of pics.

We love you!

9/10 update from mom

Miss you! Thinking about how your classes are going. I'm going to start reading "Cry, the Beloved Country" tonight so that I can at least feel like you're here doing homework.

Love Kassie's post below -- be sure to read it.

A few updates:
Family: Grandma said she bought a map of South Africa so she can track your travels. Andrea’s in Japan with Bob. One of Grandma’s friends told her she had no one to blame but herself for having two granddaughters in Africa and another in Japan at the same time. Grandma definitely passed on the love of travel!
Puppies: They miss you! I’ve been taking them on walks in the morning and afternoon so they get out. Then they spend the late afternoon/early evening on the deck barking at birds, planes and everything else. The weather’s been really nice the past few weeks, so we’ve been taking advantage of the deck. Tomorrow I’m taking the puppies on the walk with Judy and Ann. And, and check out Emma’s long-lost cousin, http://www.king5.com/video/index.html?nvid=173996&shu=1.
Seahawks: WON!!! 20-6 against Tampa Bay. They looked pretty rough the first quarter. Defense looks really good. They did better than offense -- unusual. OK, Tampa Bay isn’t supposed to be great this year, but a win is a win.
Tennis: Novak choked. He was up in the first set 6-5, serving 40-0 and ended up losing the first set. Roger came back from 5 set points to get to the tiebreak and then one the tiebreak. Second set, Novak up 4-1, lost in a tiebreak. 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Novak: You MUST see these: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qR9pj6Op_KU and http://youtube.com/watch?v=xYA_7RUSarU&mode=related&search=. Novak impersonates Sharapova, Nadal, and others. Really funny! But, he should have spent more time thinking about Roger than his impersonations. :-)

I hope you’re having a FABULOUS time!!! Work hard! Talk to you soon!

Love you! Mom

A Kassie Update

OMGGGG JENNA COME BACK TO THE US AND VISIT ME.
I'm really glad we have the same winter break.
Anyway.
I started classes last thursday! wooo! I had my Fashion Illustration 1 class and Intro to Fashion Buisness.
Illustration seems like it will be neat. The teacher (who is super nice) has us doing different techniques than what Kathy had taught us. For example, we cannot do any SHADING. No SHADOWS. I don't know what to do with myself because SHADOWS and SHADING were Kathy's two huge things. That I remember, at least.
We also use live professional models! In the nude. I was suprised. It's actually a neat idea, they say that "you need to learn how to draw the body so you can understand it, and therein understand how clothes fit and drape the body."
My buissness class seems like alot of marketing. Alot of talk about visual merchandisng. But the teacher is nice. So far it's one of those classes where very few kids talk and actually answer questions. I feel bad becase the teacher'll ask a question and end up just standing there. It's awkward! So I ended up talking. Alot (shocker, I know). It was only me and about 3-4 other people out of a class of 30 answering. and most of us were sitting in the same corner. Funny stuff.
For that class I have to read 27 pages (1 Chapter) by this Thursday, I have yet to crack open the book.

Roomates!
Woooo!
I got super lucky to have sane, hygenic roomates.
The first day I arrived I had a cool roomie named Brandi.
See, housing overbooked by about 500 students so kids were arriving with no permanent spot to their name.
So Brandi was temporary for about a week until they moved her to a NICE building with apartment-style rooms.
Amanda, my other temporary roomie, became permanent in my room just a few days ago. She's from ITALY. So cool.
And then Friday my ACUTAL roomate, Liz, arrived. She's super cute and nice.

Etc!
I have some favorite restaurants already! wooo! If you ever visit you can choose which to go to.
I colored my hair! wooooohoooooo! I did red at the bottom of my hair, and a streak on top. Bright cherry red. Amanda did it. It looks badass. :)

And today guess what!
I went to the nearby hospital to see about this pesky sore throat I've been having.
Swallowing is the most excruciating pain ever. Probably except for childbirth.
Anyway, they told me I have STREP THROAT.
Dayum. Lame.
The crazy part is that they gave me two shots in my butt instead of a pill prescription.
One shot was a anti-biotic and the other an anti-inflammatory.
The nurse said the antibiotic would hurt more, so he did that one first.
He lied. Ow.

Well, I hope you enjoyed that lil update!
I've got a few pictures of this and that on Facebook/Myspace that I'm too lazy to load up right now.

I have class in hours, but the room is too damn hot to fall asleep.
I'm seriously in shorts and a tank top and my roomies are in sweats and they're COLD. It was also like this pre-strep, but it's still obnoxious.
Acutally, I tried to fall asleep at like 11 but couldn't. So I did the homework for Fashion Illustration I was putting off until morning. Then I did a sudoku. And now I'm writing this to you! Yay!
I am going to hate myself in the morning.

Love and kisses! yay!
Chut up!
<3333333333333Kassie
Stay safe skipper :)


****EDIT**** 5:33 PM
PHOTOS!
YES!
sorry they're all backwards. Macs are like that.

firstly:
my haiiiiiiiiiiir:

nice, eh? cherry cherry pie ;)

Now my dorm! It's actually pretty decent :)
Our sitting area:

The room came with everything but the big blue chair. Liz bought that. And the couch isn't actually purple, that's the topsheet from my set. I never use them and the couch had grey stains and holes. So I was like EW! It looks pretty slick now.
And that pillow is Amanda's! It goes great. Crazy cool.

Across from sitting area:

Our "pantry" (because we have yet to get a fourth roomate so we took over her closet), random stuff, amanda's shoes, amanda's closet. :)

La Corner de Liz et Moi!

I have the top bunk. That's her desk. Her comforter and my sheets are the same purple. and her sheets and my comforter are ALMOST the same blue. CREEPY.

My desk!

It's like a little nook, because it's in a corner. hells yea. did you see the moulin rouge thingy? It's the mousepad you gave me! :D

And My bed!

woooo! and my penguin lamp. and my kick-awesome pillowcase.

I hope you enjoyed that! :) love ya!

9/6 update from mom

Not much going on today.
Pooka has a tummy ache. Didn't eat her breakfast or dinner, but happy to eat the chicken used to disguise a pepto-bismo tablet (although she found part of one and spit it out). Picky eater.
The Office: Dundler Mifflin web site, check it out! http://www.dundermifflinpaper.biz/
Tim Gunn: New show starts tonight. Make it work!
Tennis: Novak moves on to the semis. Nadal out in the quarterfinals. (Figured you'd like that).


Football: Peyton Manning (remember the SNL skits?) threw 3 TDs, Colts won today.

9/5 update

Got mail that you arrived in Johannesburg and took a 2-hr drive to the climber's hostel. Hope you're having a great time!

Puppies: Silly as ever. They're pooped out right now. Emma snored so much yesterday, Becky thought something was seriously wrong with her--aside from weighing a ton. :-)
Family: Erik started school today. Andrea got a full-time job offer! Malia loving where she is in Africa.
Friends: Kassie called hoping to talk with you before you left. She starts classes tomorrow. I emailed you her new email alias. Chatted with Danny; he asked how it was going.
Soccer: Interlake JV lost 0-2, varsity lost 0-3 yesterday. :-( Remember last year when Coach JP fell flat on the ground because he was so stressed?
Tennis: Venus Williams to play Justine Henin. Federer beat Roddick today.
Top Chef: Howie sent home.

Love you! Mom

9/4 update

Everyone asking about you!

Puppies: They miss you! Emma got a bath today because she was itchy. She spent at least 15 minutes rolling around the floor trying to get dry. Pooka was very interested in watching Emma get her bath. Silly puppies.
Family: Becky and Justin are here. Good to see them! Pooka keeps barking at Becky. Don't know why. Karen, Mark, Erik, Bob's parents and I helped Andrea and Bob move into their new condo yesterday. Paint colors look great!
Weather: AWFUL. It POURED most of the morning. The heavens took over crying for me because you're gone. :-)
Soccer: First Interlake soccer games tonight at Newport.
Tennis: Serena Williams lost to Justine Henin at the US Open.
The Office: Year 3 released today. I'm going to wait to watch until you get home. It will be tough not to open it and watch.
Tidbit: So tired last night that I started to ask you to take the puppies out. Then I realized you were in DC. :-(

Love you! Mom

Another family pic

Family Photo

Pic submit test

Across the ocean ...

This picture was taken a few years ago, but it seems to fit with Jenna getting ready to travel across the Atlantic to start a great new adventure in southern Africa.