[Insert lyrics here]

Yeah, it’s been a while again. And I suppose you’re expecting a long and detailed entry describing my wonderful life in astonishing and captivating detail. Sorry.

At this moment, I am stuck in bed with tonsillitis, feel like a knife is lodged in my throat, and oh yeah, I have to miss all my classes today and most of them tomorrow because it will take 24 hours for the antibiotics to become effective. So henceforth, I do not have the energy to do anything but feel sorry for myself. And make tea. Lots and lots of tea.

So why, you ask, did I choose to post a blog entry today? That’s an excellent question and I have no idea. Really.

But to give this rather pointless entry a purpose, I will inform you devoted reader(s) that if you are genuinely interested in the daily life of KD, I have recently joined Twitter, which I update frequently and which is loads of fun, even on days like this. You can find my profile here.

ON that note, I need a cough drop. [Insert clever farewell here]

KD

I wanna thank you for stayin’ out late all the time
‘Cause while you were out gettin’ yours, boy, I was out gettin’ mine!
I wanna thank you for cheating on me
‘Cause I almost loved you forever
Never would have found someone better!
I wanna thank you!

I bet you can’t guess, in a million centuries, whose album those lyrics were from.

If you guessed Beyoncé… well, you’d be wrong. It was Michelle Williams. Hahahahahahaha, I very possibly bamboozled you.
But really, all joking aside, the new Michelle album is great. She’s really grown as an artist, even dipping her toes into the waters of electronic dance music. Although her solid pop numbers are best, like “Thank You,” the song from which the above lyrics were taken.

And what of the Beyoncé album? Well, it’s not out yet. That’s in 2 weeks. Though her new song is great. Check it out here!

Anyway, now that I’ve updated you on vital DC type news, I really have nothing new to report. I’m still doing spectacular amounts of homework for each class. I’m now 7 weeks from the end of the semester and already longing for Christmas break. Remind me not to take 18 credit hours next semester…

My schedule is as follows: On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I have algebra at 8 (blech, not fun), psychology at 9, and World Music at 2. On Wednesdays I have piano at 10, and on Fridays I have recitals during that hour. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have Adolescent Spanish literature and Mexican culture. Also remind me not to take 2 difficult Spanish classes in 1 semester, regardless of the fact that it’s my major. Oh, and then there’s choir at 7:30 on Thursdays as usual.

Well, on that note, I’d better go do some parabolas and functions and all that other fun, amazing, fabulous algebra stuff. See you later!

KD

The tide is high, but I’m holdin’ on,
I’m gonna be your number one.
I’m not the kind of girl
who gives up just like that!
Oh no!
(Note, These lyrics have no relevance whatsoever to the rest of this post. I just like the song. Deal with it.)

So it is way too early to be up. Seriously. But here I am. In algebra, of all things. But that’s OK, because I feel remarkably well-rested. That’s entirely thanks to fall break.

I’m not going to apologize for not writing sooner; I figure I’ve done it so much lately (well … lately in terms of my previous posts, not in terms of the calendar) that it will just sound insincere and trite. Isn’t that a great word? Trite. I love it.

Anyway, this semester has not been pleasant. Everyone who reads this probably already knows why, but just in case…

In a nutshell, Eldora contracted Lyme Disease sometime this summer. We don’t know how, but things were looking pretty serious for a few weeks. She went back to my hometown with my parents because we have a vet there we like. Meanwhile, I was trying to take 18 credit hours and juggle book reports and papers and tests and monster reading assignments. I also had to find time to eat and sleep. Fortunately Eldora is back to work; I just have to give her pills and monitor her behavior and all that fun stuff. Our time apart brought home to me how much I really need her. Not in the way you might think–I can get around fine with my cane. But she’s become something like my adopted daughter. I need her like a mother needs her child. That’s right, y’all, I’m a 20-year-old single mom. Good for me, haha.

So… I should really pay attention in algebra now. I’ll post my schedule along with exciting news about the new Beyoncé and Michelle Williams albums later. I really would like to take up blogging again; it kind of helps me get my thoughts in order. We’ll see.

KD

It’s just those rainy days
Spend a lifetime tryin’ to wash away
‘Til the sun comes out and shines again
Smile for me, smile for me…

I will never again take for granted what it means to be clean and dry, in the mindst of civilization.

Whose idea was it to go camping again? Oh right, we have to go during staff training so we have some idea what the crap we’re doing when the students arrive. Still, they could have done the courtesy of picking a night that DIDN’T include a flash flood warning. (No, I’m not bitter. At all.)

Our camping trip started well enough. The other staff members and I really seem to have bonded, and we did a challenge course this afternoon (well … yesterday afternoon now, I suppose) that was pretty cool. Then we went to a park, set up tents, and cooked over a fire.

I had just drifted off to sleep under the stars when the rain really started falling. Gloria, my fellow staff trainee, and I tried to tough it out when the storm was simply rain and loud thunder. Then our tent started to blow down, and we figured enough was enough for two city girls. We took shelter in our bus. Which is where I’m writing this now.

I’d tell you all about what else we’re doing in preparation for when the kids come, but Eldora and I are absolutely soaked and disgruntled right now. Get this: We were barely outside of our tent a minute, and I’m still wringing water out of the hood of my sweatshirt. I’ll write soon with more details and less whining, but right now, I wanna complain. Oh, shower! Oh, warm bed! Oh, mint cocoa! I want my mommy.

KD the Disgruntled

There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting…

There was a time when I updated this blog once a week or so. There was a time when I did not possess the latest DVD of Beyoncé in concert. There was a time when I needed a new computer. There was a time when I was unemployed for the summer. These times, my friend, are gone.

Well, how long has it been this time? Approximately 3 months? I am ever so sorry. Lots has happened, and I knew I would have to update you eventually, but I just kept putting it offf. Why? Because procrastinating is what I do best, of course! Besides, I think like 3 of you read this regularly anyway, so no harm done, right?

So here I am in the final week of my third semester of college! I’ve completed 2 finals so far, and was already informed that I got an A on one of them. This pleases me greatly. I’ve had a pretty good semester, but I’ve never had to write so many dern papers in my life. Seriously, every one of my classes (except the music ones, obviously) required at least 1 paper. Not cool!

List of KD’s Newly-Acquired Things

• A computer! It was supposed to be my birthday present, but my poor old laptop couldn’t hold out until then. So I now have a fancy, shiny new Dell running Windows Vista, with 4gb of RAM and 320gb of storage! I’m psyched! Vista is a bit different from XP, but I think it’s an overall improvement.
• A cell phone! That was supposed to be my Christmas present, but my old one died completely right around the time I got my computer. Since my mother insisted that I have a phone while in Iowa this summer (more about that soon), we went to Alltel and got me a brand new phone! It’s nothing special, but it makes calls, which was what I was looking for, at least until I can afford an accessible one.
• A summer job! That’s right, I’m oficially employed! This offer kind of landed in my lap, but I’m taking it; the pay is YUMMY!! So what exactly will I be doing? I’ll be at the Iowa Center for the Blind, teaching high school students Braille and computers and stuff. I’ll also be living with them in their apartments. So it’s kind of like the Center I went to before I came to college, only the roles are now reversed. I can’t pretend I’m not nervous, but it should be a great learning experience. And… I get money. Money is good.

That is all for now. I need to read some stuff for my history final, which isn’t until Friday, but which is also the one I’m most worried about. But before I depart, I shall explain my new method for titling and theming my blog posts. Each one from this time on will be built around song lyrics! I think this could inspire me to write more often, since I am the Song Wizard of the Universe. (At least according to Mary and G.)

Anyway, I must go play with the little brat-er, the darling puppy now. She pouts if I don’t pay enough attention to her. See y’all in Iowa probably!

KD

Guess who? OK, that was a dumb question. Because unless some hacker got into this blog and started writing entries, it’s gonna be the same person every time, right? Right.

Anyway, I’m afraid I’ve once again been negligent in regards to this lovely journal. But, as always, I do have excuses. First of all, I tried to post something my first week back in college, but I got an error message and it all got deleted. Therefore, afflicted as I was with a cold at that moment, I gave up. Secondly, my computer has the nasty habit of randomly switching from one of my open programs to another. So I’ll be typing away here, and then… poof! I’m in Windows Media Player! It’s rather annoying, and a great hindrance to the average blogger. I need a new computer…

But apart from that, life’s going relatively well. I finally got over my cold, I got 30 out of 30 on my first philosophy paper, and I no longer have a black fingernail!

Oh, right, y’all don’t know about that. It’s a rather long story.

Once upon a time, there was a man known as my grandfather. He was driving along one day during my Christmas break, not really paying attention, and consequently had quite a dramatic car crash! His old car was totaled, but luckily he was OK, only sporting some cuts and bruises. So a few days later, Papa went to the car shop and bought himself a brand new vehicle with his insurance money. He thought it would be a grand idea to show it off to Mom and me. So we all piled in and headed to Burger King to test it out. That was all well and good until the journey back, when Mom shut her door quickly to get out of my way. Unfortunately for me, what she actually ended up doing was slamming the door on the tip of my right index finger! That was some bruise, let me tell ya! However, it’s healing quite nicely. I no longer feel any pain, and I think I trimmed the last black bit off my nail last night. (I really hope no one was eating when they read that part.)

Well, this has been quite a lengthy post, at least by my standards. Before I go, though, I shall give you guys my new schedule. I’ll write soon with more detailed info on my classes, but not now. I’m kind of hungry at the moment.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I have history from 11 to 11:50, philosophy from 1 to 1:50, and Spanish composition from 2 to 2:50. On Monday mornings, I have voice lessons at 9:25; on Wednesdays, I have piano at 10:15; and on Fridays I have recitals at 10. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have masterpieces of literature from 10 to 11:15, and the ever-present choir on Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:30.

I think that’s it! Oh, but before I go… HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY, MS. KELLY!!! (It was on the 11th.) And my favorite song of the entry has got to be “Once Again” by Frankie Jordan. I came across it when I was organizing my music on cassette, and fell in love all over again. You know sometimes when you don’t listen to a song for a while and forget how good it is? Yeah, that’s what happened.

And now, I’m off to find food! See ya!

KD

Hellooooo world! I’m back! I’m alive! I exist! I’m using exclamation marks waaaay too much!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to my very first entry of 2008. I hope it will be the first of many, although as skeptics will note, my number of entries has seriously decreased in the past year. But I believe that, with this new home for my blog which is seven kinds of awesome, the problem has now been remedied. So here I am!

It is now Christmas vacation, and I’m seriously enjoying not working all the time. Next semester I’m taking less credit hours so my brain doesn’t explode. Believe me, it came pretty close to happening once or twice…

Tomorrow we’re going to Omaha to celebrate Christmas with my dad’s side of the family. We would have done this 2 weeks ago when Christmas hadn’t already happened, only the weather was supposed to be bad, so all my aunts decided to cancel. Unfortunately, the weather turned out to be just fine, but oh well. We’re doing it tomorrow. It’s all good.

I’m trying hard to think of any wonderful, life-changing news I need to report here, but so far I’m not having much luck. Eldora and i are still doing fine, although she has a weird fettish for shoes lately. She’ll have a whole pile of toys in front of her, but what does she choose to carry around? My shoe! Or Mom’s shoe! At least she doesn’t chew on them.

Oh, I got a keyboard for Christmas! It’s lovely and shiny and has lots of nifty sound effects. I also got a foot massage, the kind you put hot water in and turn on. That was awesome as well, it feels wonderful. My other gifts included a Colbie Caillat CD (she is awesome), a Thai cooking kit (delicious), a new wallet, some Uno cards, and $100 from my grandparents! Good haul, no?

Anyway, I’d better go see what my dog is up to. If she stole one of my sneakers again…

Oh, and my song of the entry is “Bubbly” by Colbie Caillat. Great song, y’all!

KD

OK, so get this: it’s Saturday morning. I have a crapload of homework to do, including a monster verb chart for Spanish that I did some monster procrastinating on, an essay for English due Tuesday that I haven’t really started on, and a LOT of random, pointless, German exercises. I have two big, stressful choir concerts this weekend. I have a Spanish presentation to prepare over a movie I fell asleep while watching. And yet … I’m inexplicably, completely, honestly happy.

I really shouldn’t feel this at peace with the world right now, but here I am, lying in bed, the dog sprawled out on top of my feet, smiling like an idiot. (Me, that is, not the dog. She is sleeping.) I guess it helps that I have music on. Craig David’s voice is yummy. And I have made considerable progress on the verb chart.

Anyway, despite the major workload, life is going well. And good news for all of you who care: I’m almost done importing entries from Diaryland, which means that soon you’ll actually get my more recent entries instead of stuff from last year! *Bows at the cheers and applause from the crowd*

Speaking of crowds, I really have half a mind to see if I can perform at a coffee shop somewhere or something. I miss singing so much! And not in choir. It’s not the same for me. Classical singing is great, but–call me a diva, I don’t care–I love doing solos. Pop solos. Duets with Karen are also fun. We should try setting something up.

Speaking of music, I’m going to buy a small keyboard for my dorm room so I can get to some serious song-writing. There are pianos in the fine arts building, but this presents two problems: (a) Inspiration for melodies and/or lyrics strikes me at weird, random moments when said building is not open; and (b) By the time I’ve walked all the way across campus to said building, my inspiration has most likely fizzled and died. So therefore, if I want to actually finish some compositions, a keyboard is a good idea, in my opinion.

Anyway, the verb chart is calling, so I’d better put my nose back to the grindstone. I’ll try–key word, try–to get these entries up soonish. Favorite song of the entry: “Tattoo” by the one and only Ms. Jordin Sparks!

KD

Hello! I’m actually writing again after just 3 days! ‘Tis a miracle, no?

As you’ve no doubt surmised from this entry’s title, I’m sitting in class right now, English, to be specific. The others are working on reading logs for the chapters we were to read this weekend, but since the company I ordered my book from finds much pleasure in operating as fast as drunk snails, I have no book and therefore nothing to do. Well, nothing my professor would consider productive, that is.

So today, for the first time since we started going to class, Eldora did a perfect job! She did not chase squirrels, she didn’t get corrected for making a wrong turn, and she didn’t try to snatch tidbits off the ground! Gold star for the puppy! She’s currently lying under my desk with her head on my foot.

Well, it seems that the writing time is nearly over, so I’ll say “Au revoir” for now and see y’all later. My fave song of the entry is “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by Fergie.

Oh, and happy birthday, Beyoncé!!

KD

Hello, dear readers! Have I ever discussed with you my feelings about Saturday mornings? I don’t think so.

All my life, I’ve felt that they are a time for sleeping and nothing else, a time to catch up on the rest one has missed throughout the week, a time when only the insane actually get up and do something productive. Well, guys… the transition hasn’t been easy, but here I am, up and alert on a Saturday, writing in this blog.

So why did I drag my lazy self out of bed? Well, my dog needed to relieve herself and could not wait another minute. And I hate to say it, but it’s kind of nice lying here in bed, listening to the birds, knowing that my German homework can wait a few hours because I have time to just chill beforehand.

OK, let’s backtrack a bit since it’s been so long since I’ve written. Again. The first and foremost thing you should know is something I’ve already mentioned in passing: I got my guide dog! Finally, after years and years (literally) of waiting, I have a beautiful, spunky, slightly insane golden retriever named Eldora. She loves people, food, and even cats. She’s wonderful and I love her to pieces, as everyone and their brother who’s read this blog knew I would. But it’s so wonderful having a constant companion walking with me all the time, one who wants to learn and loves to cuddle with my feet when I’m in class. It’s also great when I leave the room for a few minutes, then come back to have her run in joyous circles around me, growling with her stuffed raccoon in her mouth. She is currently curled up in a fuzzy ball on her mat, sharing the laziness of this morning with me. She thankfully sometimes goes back to sleep after she does her business, and doesn’t expect me to play with her right away.

Oh, and you might also have correctly guessed, after my mention of German homework, that I’m back in school! I shall even put my schedule up here so people know when to call me!

I have a class at 9 every day. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday it’s music theory; on Tuesday and Thursday it’s fundamentals of basic musicianship. I also have a class at 10 each day. On Monday through Thursday it’s German; on Friday it’s music recitals. On Monday, Thursday, and Friday, I have a large break from 11 to 2, but on Tuesdays I have piano lessons at 11:30 and on Wednesdays I have voice lessons at 12:25. I then have a class at 2 every day: on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have Spanish, which goes until 2:50; on the other days I have English, which goes until 3:15. And lastly, I have choir practice on Thursday nights from 7:30 to 9:30. So yeah, I’m quite busy this year.

But that didn’t stop me from reading Harry Potter 7 over the summer, man! That book was totally worth the wait. I flew through it, then had to go back and read it again more slowly. J.K. is such a great author. Her writing style just draws you right in. I couldn’t stop reading on Saturday, and finished at 4:00 the next morning.

And now comes the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the rant on Kelly’s album!! I still hold true to my conviction that all three ladies of DC have separate and distinct styles. Kelly’s songs are either light, fun, and carefree or serious, sweet, and profound. Either way, they’re wonderfully written. Kelly cares less about showing off what she can do with her voice than making her lyrics and concepts understood, and I like that about her. It’s a great CD, y’all. BUY IT!!!

Anyway, I’d better end this rather long entry and try to go back to sleep before Miss Eldora wakes up and starts nudging me with her toys. I’ll reeeeally try to write sooner, but I’m not guaranteeing anything. Oh, and my fave song of the entry is “Say It Right” by Nelly Furtado.

KD