Tuesday's Labels: Almost Famous, Sweet Tatts, and (Satisfactory) Nose Piercings(?)

So Almost Famous is a fantastic film. I think if I had watched it at any other time, though, it wouldn't have resonated as deep within me. The night before, my drummer boyfriend, Cody, told me that he was going to quit his mediocre boy-band so he can grow as an artist. His best friend's dad drives a tour bus for a living (his most recent clients were Saving Abel), and the guy offered to take him with on the next tour as a roadie. arghhh*&^%$#@! I could never rob him of that experience, but seriously? What does he NOT understand about the phrase "SEX, DRUGS, and Rock-&-Roll?"

Anyhoo, the film had a strong impact, and I need to make him watch it, to let him know that I know what happens on tours lol.

Cody came up to Cookeville last night to get a tattoo at Alleycat's. His tatt, btw, IS AMAZING!! It's pretty big, probably 7 inches tall. It's a zomibe hand coming out of the ground making a party-on/devil horns gesture, with a little tombstone next to it that says "punk lives." Because the hand comes up in a curve, I suggested that he should get it curving around his shoulder blade. It is so sexy, I swear.

I was getting ancy because we was getting another tat and I wasn't. So I decided to get my nose pierced on a whim. I like it... but I kinda wish that I pierced the left side as opposed to the left, as I have a natural Marilynesque beauty mark close to my nose on that side of my face.

I've been wondering all day whether or not it would be a big deal to pierce the other side and let the one I have close up... I'm about to look it up online, I do believe=]

Native Dance Practice, Teacher On the Radio, and Too Much More

Yesterday was a freakin' sweet day.

I woke up a bit nervous. I have my first Psychology exam this coming Wednesday, and I only made it to one of two classes he had last week. So I had no idea what I missed and how that would affect my grade on the test tomorrow. At the end of class, he gave us a review. [Insert angelic ray of light and glorious high-pitched singing]. Then German was fantastic because a woman came and talked about their study abroad program, which whole is the reason I go with foreign languages.

I skipped math,

So school was good.

I picked up my lovely native american dancer friend, Dove, from her middle school and we spent the afternoon together. Went to Bear's, which is one of the most spiritual places I've ever visited, and talked to him about my Pow Wow regelia. We still have to make it, and the Pow Wow is October10 and 11. He's so inspiring.

We then left and ventured to her dwelling, that turns out to be way out in No Where, Cookeville, to pick up her stereo so we can have dance practice. Went to my den to burn a CD of awesome drum music, and we were on our way to Dogwood Park.

As it turns out, she grabbed the wrong cord and we couldnt use the stereo. So we used my car. We parked at the edge of the Cookeville Historic Museum (which I just discovered on our Culture Crawl last Saturday) and blasted Native American drum music from my Kia with the windows down. We danced in the grass with our shawls waving behind us. Right as we were really getting into it, the people who work at the museum came outside to leave for the day. And who was there to greet them?? Why, The Fancy Shaw Ribbon Dancers of Hilham, TN lol.

It's funny, it was raining before we got to Dogwood but it had subsided for about 30 minutes. The sun even came out some. When we were done, it started to rain again. Sunny rain. I bet those people thought we were pretty BAD. But we weren't doing the Rain Dance anyway.

So I got to dance today. For dinner we went to Kristy's, which I had never heard of, but it was quite good. I got lost coming home from her house and her mom had to come rescue me :/ But I made it back in time to hear Mister Andy's radio show! Which is the whole reason yesterday was awesome.

It was freakin' sweet hearing him on the radio, anyway, but we texted the whole time! Made me feel special. Plus I got some good information on what to do with the CFP I had to edit. I have to be honest, my boyfriend was jealous lol. Almost mad. He's so dumb. He's just insecure about the fact that I'm away at college without him. OFF TOPIC...

Actually, there's not much of a topic to be off of. And I have to get ready for class/make a review for Psych.

So Ta-Ta peeps

PS- I felt like green today =]

Culture Crawl and Other Various Ramblings

So yeah. The Culture Crawl was absolutely fantastic. I loved the idea of experiencing Cookeville's artsy fartsy places, as well as the historic area (which I have considered the "cool" part of town since I moved here). Being together with friends and acquaintances checking everything out was really nice. Now I want to start a group that gets together and experiences cutesy cookeville every week. Like, maybe every sunday morning or something? We could get together at a coffee place, chat, then walk around the shops. It's not as fun to do it alone, but I can deal lol.

So Mister Andy is the most amazing person ever. And I love the fact that my boyfriend kinda jars when I talk about him using his first name haha. We're gonna be bffs... I can feel it.

Anyway... I had sort of a falling out with my boyfriend this past week. I've successfuly identified the problems... it's just a matter of him fixing them. Will he prevail? I hope so :/

But I'm gonna skidaddle. I only have 20 minutes until German and I have to pee so...
TTFN
Ta-Ta For Now!!
=]

Freewrite Einz: I've Got the Fever.

I'm a singer, always have been. I wasn't always good, but I always felt it there within me. Not everybody was born with that spirit. I have so many favorite kinds of music, to sing and to listen to. Musical soundtracks, COUNTRY, blahblah... One of the Blues Brothers once said, "I'm a soul man." That is me to a tee, and Soul is certainly my music.

I began to break out of my shell in high school when I started singing karaoke at a bar called The Moose. My Aunt Karen was the karaoke DJ there, so we always went and had a good time. My first good song was At Last by Etta James. It was actually Karen's favorite song to sing, and I only thought to try it at her wedding reception, held there at the Moose, because it was her wedding song and obviously she couldn't dance to her own wedding song if she was singing it. So that started it all. My appreciation for anything soulful--the Blues, Jazz, Swing-- came rolling in like Katrina. From Etta it went to Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee, to Billie Holiday and finally to Marilyn herself, who didn't really do all that much singing anyway... but whatever. They were all strong women with strong voices. The boys--Frank, Fred, Bing, Dean, Cab, and Mel Torme--were thrown in there as well, but to be honest they didn't quite have the impact on me that the girls did. I always imagined it was me up there on that dimly lit stage, singing the upbeat crowd-pleasers with the band behind me, or laying across the piano humming the romantic standards.

...

A season or two ago there was a contestant by the name of Syesha Mercado. She was a cuteAfrican American woman who showed off her soulful voice in such songs as "One Rock and Roll Too Many," "Me and Mr. Jones," and, of course, "Fever." It was her rendition of this song that was my catalyst. The stage, like mine in my fantasy, was dimly lit, with only a soulful basist and a single wooden chair for her to dance around.

NOT DONE=[

The Rental.

So last week, the day before school started actually, my boyfriend's mother t-boned my car. I laughed... no big deal. The insurance would cover it. Whatever. I was more upset about the off-centered car decal I had gotten that day beforehand.

Everything worked out with the auto repair people and the insurance people and the car rental people... I was due to pick-up & drop-off Tuesday at 9:00 am.

First, it turned out everything wasn't worked out, but that was fixed with a short phone call. I see my new hot car... brand new Ford Focus... and I can't wait to hop in. I take the basket of laundry I did the night before out of my trunk and opened the Focus's trunk... to find hundreds of gnats fly at my face and get caught in my hair as well as the ronchiest level of concentrated garbage stench I've ever experienced. Apparently the last person the car was rented out to had left an ungodly amount of their personal garbage in the trunk, and Hertz didn't think to check it. When I broguht it to the car repair peeps' attention, they asked me to pull it around to the back so they could clean it. WHAT??! Are you FREAKING KIDDING me?? Let me tell you, it was not just the trunk that reaked. The odor had definitely sunk into the fabric of the whole car. And apparently gnats can wiggle through fabric, so I got another headhair-full. In the end, all the repair peeps did was spray it with downy and, after I asked, vaccumed the dead gnats from the back seat.

If I leave the car closed up and then open it... It still stinks. We're talking ralphing-in-the-parking-lot stink. I wish I could take it back and trade... but I REALLY don't want to come off as that spoiled teenager. But seriously... HOW ridiculous.

Angst.

Twenty Minute Countdown to German

So I have twenty minutes before I have to venture the 10 feet to German class. I've been doing homework in the Foreign Lang PC Lab... Math is done, as is German. But I STILL have GOT to catch up my blog. I still have yet to post about:

1. How my writing history relates to rhetorical situations
2. Us and Them
3. Mick Jagger Wants Me
4. The vexation I feel about my rental car
5. And God knows what else.

Let's makes some scratchy marks on my checklist, hm?

I feelt like red font today.

The Test Reflections...

I forgot to reflect... oops.

1) Myers Briggs Personality Test

Because the quiz results were so accurate, I didn't really learn too much about myself. I was very impressed with the questions, though. Normally I get a pretty good idea about where the questions are leading to, but I was pretty blind throught this one. Great quiz.

2) Political Compass

This was cool, too. The only difference I wish there would have been is an overall synopsis of my results. All I got was a graph=[

3) Spiritual Inventory

Andy, you did a great job composing these questions. I felt like it was a great oppurtunity for me to express myself. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have posted the results on google groups, as my answers could always offend someone. so... oops :/ But if anybody else feels comfortable enough with their beliefs enough to post them, I will certainly enjoy reading their crap =]

4) Native American Elemental Clan

These results are not from a quiz. Every person belongs to an elemental clan, which is an animal based on the month you were born in. There are four different clans that represent the 12 moons in one year (Butterfly, Frog, Thunderbird, and Turtle. To find out which clan is yours, ask me and I will show you a chart online that maps it out.

Ultimately...

This was a great homework assignment. I know I'm going to love this class!!

Peace,

K

The Test Results...

So I just did my personality, political, and spiritual quiz thingies, and I thought I'd post my results to give my awesome readers a little bit more Kati-insight. Enjoy=]

1) Myers Briggs Personality Test

Take this quiz at http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=93753738186&ref=search&sid=622405672.1284908392..1

ENFP (Extraversion, iNtuition, Feeling, Perception)

You are warmly enthusiastic and imaginative. You see life as full of possibilities. You make connections between events and information very quickly, and confidently proceed based on the patterns you see. You want a lot of affirmation from others, and readily give appreciation and support. You are spontaneous and flexible, and often rely on your ability to improvise and verbal fluency.

Famous people with your same ENFP personality include: Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Andy Kaufman, Bill Cosby, Robin Williams, Sandra Bullock, and Robert Downey Jr.

2) Political Compass

Economic Left/Right: -3.12

Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.79

3) Spiritual Inventory

Do you have a spiritual belief or practice? Yes I do. Well actually it's not much of a "practice" as it is a general understanding (because I'm lazy and don't meditate). I do consider myself a very spiritual person.

Is belief itself a problem? Not at all. Well, I suppose it may for some people who exist in the negative and therefore have nevative beliefs about their lives and/or the world around them, but they attract their misery on their own. But anybody having faith and hope in anything is a good deal, I think.

How important is tolerance of differing beliefs in regard to this topic? Very important. People need to learn to coexist. If we let go of our prejudices we'd discover that, in reality, most belief systems are the same or very similar. It's the "religion" part that tends to get in the way.

Do you believe in a divine being or higher power? Yes, but I really don't approve of the term "higher power;" it suggests the presence of a reigning-being over us. I imagine the Great Spirit (call it what ever you'd like: God, higher power, divine being) as this great big mass of pure light, energy, love. The white light in us, our souls, is merely a tiny portion of this universal light (Universal Love). Every being is composed of energy (The Universal Energy) and therefore is ONE with everything else. Remember that quote from that famous guy, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself?" Yeah, this is what he was talking about lol. We are all one and should treat each other accordingly. Whoa that was long... sorry.

How do you relate (or not) to this concept of a higher power? Umm...pretty sure I answered this already in quite some detail.

What is the relationship between the physical and spiritual world? Ok, are you ready for this? There is no physical world... It's all a lie!! Haha just kidding. But not really. Like I've been saying, we're all energy and spirit, so actually we already reside in the spiritual world. We only perceive it to be the "physical world." You see, our brain is a filter. When a bee stings you, you only know it hurts because your brain sends you that signal. Think about that one ;)

How important (or not) is spirituality to your personal identity? Very important. It directly affects my point of view on situations, my decisions, and the entire vibe I pick up from the world around me.

What is your attitude toward people whose views on spiritual matters differ from your own? I feel I maintain a very positive attitude when it comes to discussing peoples' varied beliefs. Most of the time I try to pick others' brains and get a feel for the institution the person devotes themselves to as well as the source of their group's beliefs.

Do you believe your spiritual beliefs (or lack thereof) continue to change over time or generally stay the same? What is the importance of change or its lack? Although I don't feel that my beliefs have changed all that much as I've had new experiences, I think that change plays a very important role in it all. Through change we gain new experiences that provide us with new lessons to learn. After that whole process, we come out of it with broader horizons and a slightly adjusted point of view about certain subjects, which would eventually affect one's spiritual beliefs.

Native American Elemental Clan

The Turtle Clan

The Element of this Clan is Earth.

The Medicine of Turtle is "Mother Earth."

People of this clan tend to be brave, loyal, stubborn.

Also methodical, practical. They have determination, but take

things one step at a time. Some tend to be hard as rocks, and

need to work on that, but Turtle Clan people, like the Earth,

personify roots, growth, stability. They are not comfortable

unless they go to natural places frequently. In fact, doing so

revitalizes them. Turtle Clan people are connected to the rocks,

need to be around rock formations, need to have rocks about them

in their homes. The rocks will speak to them, if they

listen; but, they must be careful to not become too much like

the rocks, inflexible. This Clan has a responsibility to the

Earth Mother, and must take the time to appreciate her for

all she has provided, and to remind others of the bountiful things

she provides.

First Post... Woo Hoo!

So I have to be honest--this is my first-ever blogging experience. I still have that assignment blog to compose, but until I figure out what to write for that I'll just tell you a little about myself. 

My given name is Kaitlyn Louise Woods; I prefer to be called Kati most of the time. (Note the lack of "e").  I suppose the best generalized statement I can give about myself is that I have so very many interests that I tend to connect with everyone I come into contact with. Here's just a few specific tidbits about me

• I am a member of a Native American Circle out of Hilham, TN. I can shawl dance, weave dreamcatchers... But I participate mostly for spiritual reasons. And, like everybody from Tennessee, my family has Cherokee origins.
• I take great pride in my Irish heritage, as well. I enjoy studying everything from myths and traditions having to do with the "fairy folk" to the Emerald Isle's culture today.
• I love foreign languages. I originally started teaching myself Latin as a homeschool student, but when nobody offered that language at public school I settled for German and discovered the intriguing history behind the throaty resonance of Germans! German is currently my major, but of course is subject to change. My short(ish)-term goal is to teach English as a second language abroad, but in the long-run I'd like to go into Linguistics. I figure after I become fluent in German, I'll pick up Latin again. After Latin, Italian, French, Spanich, Portuguese, AND Romansch should come fairly easily. My dream is to be that know-it-all professional they call to visit recently discovered aboriginal tribes and identify the fundamentals of their unknown language.  I guess all-in-all my love is to communicate.
• That was a long bullet.

• I'm all in to peace. I tend to be the little government conspiracy theorist... But in the end peace is about loving everybody unconditionally. Corrupt government official or not.
• Some people call me a hippie... But I do also have that appreciation for the material world that I just can't shake. For example, lately I've been going through this I-Love-The-Forties phase that's been eating me up. Marilyn, Audrey, Frank, James... all icons. All awesome.
• I love Renaissance festivals.

Ok, this ended up much more long-winded than I anticipated. Oops... sorry, guys! So yeah I have a lot of different interests. The twisted part is the fact that I feel so passionate about each and every one I have; there's no one reigning favorite hobby. It gets overwhelming sometimes. But anyhoo I've got to skidaddle off to German class... Peace bloggas!