The Year of 24

Remember that post about being 23? And how Coolio rapped, "I'm 23. Will I ever live to see 24? The way things is going, I don't know"? Well, unless Griffey knocks a ball out of the ballpark and onto my gentle head, I can confidently say yes. I will live to see tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'm 24.

Usually, I declare the years as something. I think last year it was The Year of Average Haircuts as well as the traditional Year of Kelly Walden. Here are some ideas for this year:
-The Year of Pretty Comfortable Shoes
-The Year of Oatmeal with Cinnamon
-The Year of Appreciating Wild Plants
-The Year of Hydrated Skin
-The Year of Lemons (literal, not figurative)
-The Year of Susan Boyle

Others may come to me as a I gaze at the beautiful lemon tree picture to the left. Heeeeeey lemon tree.

Meet Susan Boyle.

Susan Boyle will make your heart explode, in the good way. Some rascal* won't let me put the video on my blog, so you're just going to have to click this link.

Prepare yourself for the most special seven minutes of your Youtubey life.

*"Rascal" is most commonly used by a fellow named Drew.

Neuroticism by state

The picture is both interesting and linky!

Bissues

Our dogs' names are Buster and Blue. If you have a master's degree, like me, then you noticed that both names start with "B." That's why my life is complicated.

You see, I like to call dogs by their first initial. It welcomes them into the friendship club. But if I only did that, it'd be like our dogs have the same name!

Here is how I deal with the B crisis:
-Call them both "B", like "Hey B. Hey B."
-Call them "[Color] B", like "Hey Brown B. Hey Black B."
-Call them "B" and "Other B", like "Hey B, Hey Other B," depending on who I saw first.
-Call them "Big B" and "Little B," like "Hey Big B. Hey Little B." Unfortunately, this is complicated too, since "Little B" is always Blue, who is actually bigger than "Big B", Buster. It's an age thing.

Though it can be confusing for me, I'm confident that the doggers understand who the heck I'm talking to. Good job, B's.

Here's a guy holding a baby manatee he saved.

Heeeeeey baby manatee.

I'd write one of those happy, medium-tempo rap songs about this week.

Sure, I've graduated, but that doesn't mean I've stopped learning. Here are some new things I've discovered:

-Raphael Saadiq!

-Apple Cinnamon tea tastes like that powder apple cider mix. This is excellent news. Tea is cheaper and healthier, and if a snoot were to call me up randomly and say, "TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE DOING THIS INSTANT," answering, "Drinking tea," would be thought of more highly than "Drinking cider."

-Dog throw-up does not get less gross as one grows older.

-One can simultaneously love and hate a book. ::stink eye to Bel Canto::

-Unemployment isn't so bad when your parents are willing to pay for housing, food, wine, the occasional ice cream sundae, and so on.

-I am da bomb. Psssssych! That is not a NEW discovery.

Geeze, I need a job.

Reuinted and it feels so good.

One thing I missed while in Norway: book club. Look at us. Look! Only literacy and hilaaaaaaarious jokes about Voldemort could bring forth such smiles.

Sister Act

I have decided to spend my unemployment doing important things - thus, the four part series, "Musicals Are My Soul: KJW's Correct Opinions About Great Movies." This is the first installment.

Sister Act is the greatest film of its time.

Maybe I'm biased because as a wee lady I hated Mass more than anything on earth, and Sister Mary Clarence's choir could have changed that. But probably not. I think the allure of Sister Act is universal.

First of all, um, Whoopi! Who else could have fit that afro into a habit? Who else could have switched from gold pants to black and white robe so gracefully? Who else could have balanced such sass with compassion when telling Alma to check her battery? Nobody. To this day, my heart beats faster when I see Whoopi Goldberg on screen. I don't like fast heartbeats, though, so I don't watch The View.

Also, that scene where Sister Mary Clarence tries to say a fancy prayer before eating the chili-looking stuff but instead says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of no food, I will fear no hunger," is freaking brilliant. Sister Act is so funny!

And finally, there's all the heavenly music. When Sister Act is playing, one cannot sit still, no matter one's religious preference. Even Protestants that usually feel uncomfortable when someone mentions Mary will get moving when "Oh Maria" starts playing. Also, Sister Act not only provides music for your listening enjoyment - it also teaches you how to sing! To this day, I still imagine myself singing above in a room full of people, lots of silverware, people dropping stuff, talking loud, drunks, women with trays going "What're you gonna have?" when I sing Salt'n'Pepa tunes at Karaoke.

I leave you with this masterpiece:



Sister Act be with you.

FYI 2

I like Paula Abdul, and I will defend her from your scornful, envious remarks.

FYI

Ryan Seacrest is my least favorite person.

Walden, out!

The Good Life

Here are the productive things I've done since finishing grad school:
-Set up my parents' wireless internet
-Made a delicious sandwich
...

The end.

I tore myself away from gazing at a sparkly creek to tell you this.

I've been eavesdropping on your conversations, so I know you have been upset by my lack of updates. Here are things I've been doing instead of blogging:

1. Cross-country skiing. Through mini-forests, across a lake, to Yellowstone hot springs where we relaxed like nobody's business!

2. Snowboarding. I'm getting better, and my muscles will stop shaking soon.

3. Seeing moose. Four of them! Two trotting down a hill to snuggle with me, one on the side of the road, and one muppling about in the river as we skied toward it!

4. Tricking you into thinking I'm still in Norway because I'm doing all these snow things, but no! I am in Wyoming!

5. Graduating. Teaching certificate! Woo! Masters degree! Woo! Real world! Hmm...

6. Celebrating St. Patrick's Day. I dropped some food coloring in my mouth and swished it around. It was a good look. Everyone wanted to date me.

7. Missing my Europeans. I like them. I tell the Americans about them.

Anyway, there will be more, next time with pictures (maybe)! Wait patiently until then, ya doofus.