Feral Birthday

Last weekend was my birthday and it was awesome.

All the talk of birthdays got me thinking back on past birthdays and how my opinion of them has changed over the years.

When I was little, birthdays were the coolest thing since edible play dough. Not only did you get presents but the day was supposed to be all about you. You even got a themed party, though I was never very good at them, plus I always thought giving away all those awesome party favors was weird. It was my birthday after all, wasn't I the only one who was supposed to get presents?

But then, something I like to call "The Bella Swan Syndrome" began when I got into highschool. Birthdays got very uncool. It was horrifying if anyone outside the family wishes me happy birthday and utterly humiliating if your teacher said in front of the class.

Over the years I've settled somewhere in the middle, birthdays are a little awkward but they can be fun. Since starting college, this is what usually happens...

- Katie 

Going into the Closet

I've had awesome closets in the past. Except for my first one. That one smelled like leather shoes and I was convinced it was inhabited by a family of mice.

But then we moved and I instantaneously fell in love with a certain room.

It was a hideaway type closet, perfect for escaping reality. As you can imagine, I was pretty devastated when my brother got dibs.

But a few years later, when the room situation shifted again, my dreams came true.

It was great, until I hit a growth spurt...

A few years later I switched rooms to one with a walk-in closet. This happened about the same time as we were watching Gilmore Girls, which gave me inspiration for my new closet.

I had a disco lamp, lava lamp, brightly colored pillows and a poorly made 'Do Not Enter' sign.

Eventually I realized that the more time I spent in the closet, the more stuff I missed. It was harder to eavesdrop and I kept missing the dinner call. And to be honest, most of the time I would have rather been playing video games anyway. 

Plus with all the pillows, it ended up turning into a great napping spot. 

- Katie

A Feral Obsession

Kara and I tend to get really into things that interest us, which really isn’t all that surprising. A few years ago, I got really into the TV show Merlin on BBC which follows the legend of Arthur and Merlin.

Then last year, the fifth and final season began and I was very excited to start again. Kara and I had been chatting before I started the first episode, so when it started, she lingered a little to see what all the fuss was about, and ever since that night, she has been hooked.

Kara is going to hate me for telling you this, but what in particular hooked her was a certain character who is more than a lot attractive and is shirtless for the better part of the episode.

We then began to watch the entire season over again from the beginning, getting through whole seasons in a matter of weeks.

We had more free time then. 

Then it was over, which was heart wrenching and emotional... so like the emotionally healthy adults that we are, we dealt with our separation issues by forcing the show on our sister and brother and we’ve been watching it several nights a week ever since. 

Why do we love it so much? The characters are super loveable and the story is a really interesting spin on the classic legend and frankly, there are a lot of attractive guys.

So now we’re coming to the end of the series, again. I’ve seen almost all the episodes three times, several of them four times and a few of them five times. Even so, I still love it and I’m willing to bet there is going to be some serious emotional breakdownage happening when it’s finally all over and I have no one else to force it on.

- Katie

TechNOlogy

Warning. This post contains some complaining about first world problems. You have been warned.

Technology and I have a tumultuous relationship.

I like the idea of technology. I like the idea of it making my life easier, I like playing video games, I like the crazy amount of weirdness that the internet has become. I like a lot of things about technology. But I hate a lot things too.

Exhibit A.

I recently purchased a Wii U that included a downloadable version of Wind Waker HD and the Hyrule Historia. (Take a moment to laugh at my nerdiness... and moving on.)

Setting up a new game system these days takes a long time, yes, and I can’t blame technology for the fact that it takes me ten minutes just to decide what hair my Mii should have.

But when it takes me an additional hour to just get the darn game download started, that is plain frustrating.

Turns out I was using the letter O when I should have been using the number 0.

Exhibit B.

My first laptop was amazing. A handmedown from my sister, the beast had no battery life to speak of but could operate the only two programs I cared about at that time - SimTower and Microsoft Word. She actually still works... if you have an hour to wait for her to start up.

My second laptop was at least committed. She would completely go for it when she decided to work or break down, she didn’t tease me like number 3. When 2 died, number 3 attacked with spotty internet, random crashing that brought an end to my computer game playing and a sickeningly ironic ESC key that mysteriously disappeared after a week.

I quickly returned number 3 and got my current laptop, Midna. Presently, I’m trying to explain the concept of wireless internet to her... mainly that it is WIRELESS, so stop telling me to plug in a flipping Ethernet cord…….

I could go on for pages, but I think I’ll end with my issue with Chrome.

Now, I like Google. Don’t get me wrong. When it becomes self aware, it’ll be a great world dominator. But have you ever had a problem with a google product? and googled the answer?

This is what comes up.

Thank you, Google, for every bit of the no help that you have been.

- Katie

So Eructation is an Awkward Word...

This is the story of how I became a belching legend.

A long time ago, a certain relative, who will remain nameless, taught me to burp on command.

Not very surprisingly considering my other interests as a child, this quickly spiraled out of control.

First came practicing the deep and guttural burps, which provided a great base for my new skill.

I practiced my alphabet, then moved to complete words.

And, on occasion, with some luck and Pepsi, I would manage semi-complete sentences.

I was a popular spectacle among the middle school boys.

Obviously, my family was less than thrilled about my weird party trick, but I’ve always held some pride in the fact that I can often out burp grown men.

But then, just the other day, I shocked and awed my family with a powerful eructation… that I have no memory of…

That was a bit disconcerting.

With great belches comes great responsibility.

- Katie