It's in. It's in. It's in.
The second and final submission for STA's World Traveler Intern 2009 Contest.
YESSIR THAT WATER IS COLD BUT DON'T YOU WANNA JUMP IN NOW TOO?
27.3.09
21.3.09
THIS IS IT.
Ok, Guys,
As it turns out, I was one of the EXTREMELY lucky ones to have been chosen as a top ten finalist in the STA World Traveler Intern contest. I would type how excited I am about this, but I think the amount of exclamation points would just scare you away. And I especially don't want that right now.
This is the last bit of the contest; this week, each of the top ten is to create a new video, due March 27th. The winners and runners up will be announced on April 1st (I know, right? April Fool's Day? Really?). From here on out, it's happening fast and it's happening TOUGH.
This is likely the last time I'll be playing this shameless self-promotion card, because this is the last part of the contest. But YES, you can still help, and YES, I beg you to do so. Here's what you can do:
COMMENT.
Comment. Comment. Comment.
It can be a comment on my facebook wall, it can be on my STA travelers page, it can be on my blog, it can be on the youtube page for my video, or it can be on the STA Travel Wire blog's newest post, which lists the top 10 contestants (in fact, this one seems to be the hottest place at the moment, because you can view all the videos AND post comments on one page). And please spread the word. If you have a website, blog, facebook, myspace - anything - and feel so compelled to post a link to my video (either on the STA travel wire blog or on youtube), well, I'm not gonna stop yahz.
http://blog.statravel.com/index.php/2009/03/20/world-traveler-internship-top-10/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAjj-NJ_34o
Also: If there's another video you particularly like, please be so kind as to comment on it, as well - all of these people deserve compliments, and not to mention, it's two people that are going to win this contest, not one - so I'd be really really interested to see who you could see as a potential travel partner for me!
I'm not sending out these links to show off. I'm excited with my video, yes, but I'm sending them because garnering interest and "support along the journey" is not only legitimately part of this competition, it's also something that I will need to be able to do regularly if I'm chosen as one of the World Traveler Interns. It's part of the job, and I think it goes without saying that this is not only the very job I've WANTED my whole life, it's also the job that I am certain I would do the BEST at, out of any other job in the world. So PLEASE, bear with me - I promise that if I get this internship, I will not let you down...
Again, DANKE, GRAZIE, MERCI, ARIGATO, GRACIAS - cheers.
Big time love.
Kdm
http://blog.statravel.com/index.php/2009/03/20/world-traveler-internship-top-10
8.3.09
HEY YOU.
I'm sorry I've been M.I.A. - I've been big time busy over here in Evian and in all my off time have been devoting myself to the production of THIS video, which you are going to watch right now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAjj-NJ_34o
.....thankyousomuch!!!!!!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE watch and if you like it, you might be so kind as to leave some positive comments!!!!!!!! Your support and encouragement and love and everything that you already do, my friends, means the world to me....and you know when I say "world," I'm talking business for realzies.
I will write soon, and I totestotestotes can't wait to tell you about all these things. All kinds of things. Alllllllll kinds of things. Just you wait!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAjj-NJ_34o
.....thankyousomuch!!!!!!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE watch and if you like it, you might be so kind as to leave some positive comments!!!!!!!! Your support and encouragement and love and everything that you already do, my friends, means the world to me....and you know when I say "world," I'm talking business for realzies.
I will write soon, and I totestotestotes can't wait to tell you about all these things. All kinds of things. Alllllllll kinds of things. Just you wait!
31.3.08
30.3.08
Alarms Going Off In My Head
What kind of a video blogger am I, I missed out on filming the bike marathon fundraiser on the roof of Jittery Joe's.
Yes, I was on my way to my new second job yesterday (more on that later) and was sitting at the Five Points stoplight when I glanced lovingly at my place of work and noticed two Athens bikers, in full Athens biker garb, aggressively pedaling away on bikes, on the roof. The roof of a coffee shop. In the rain. I haven't used this word this way since high school, but um, random?
Granted, they were stationary bikes. But still, it was SO great! It was impressive, it was (somewhat) dangerous, it was a hysterical sight, but the GREATEST thing about it was that it was the first time that I have seen an Athens biker at 5pts that WASN'T IN MY WAY on narrow Milledge Avenue!!! It's like, come on man, I get it, you're on an earth-friendly bike, I'm in my Mazda, you win - but I've got places to go, too! At LEAST stick to the bike lane, I mean really. Man, I wish they would all just switch to stationary bikes and convene up on the roof of Jittery Joe's. It's not like they have places to go, anyway. Except maybe like, GNC, for their protein bars and crap. I would be willing to bring all the protein bars GNC has in stock to the roof of Jittery Joe's every morning so that bikers would flock there and stay out of my way. I would throw in some Nalgene bottles, too.
It's too bad I didn't get up before 2 pm yesterday due to X-treme Girl Talk hangover, otherwise I coulda gotten footage of the bike marathon and put some clever Rocky soundtrack tunes to it. But lucky for you, I have a pretty great video to post anyway. Girl Talk on Friday was, of course, a blast; it was an evening of rapid inebriation that I hadn't experienced since maybe Freshman year, followed by a dance concert with enough beats, flashing lights, and fanatical fools to make those "Krush Girls" look like the hired help at a retirement party. With the flashy lights and the ecstatic crowd, it was the closest I've ever come to a rave, and the closest I ever want to come. Sadly I feel like I've gotten too old to shake m'tailfeathers at a mashup dance concert, but it was worth it to sell myself out juuuust a little bit (I think I made something up about being a videographer for the city of Athens, which isn't a complete lie, if you think about it) to get onstage with Gregg, with Brooke and Jodi, and all the Day Glo-ed, American Apparel-ed 19-year-olds, because you know, those kids have heart. "Those kids." Am I one, too? Just a kid? Well, I sure never want to grow up, I'n tell you that much.
Ladies and gents, I present to you a small portrait of what I think it is to be a kid in Athens in 2008 (apologies if it induces seizure...):
Yes, I was on my way to my new second job yesterday (more on that later) and was sitting at the Five Points stoplight when I glanced lovingly at my place of work and noticed two Athens bikers, in full Athens biker garb, aggressively pedaling away on bikes, on the roof. The roof of a coffee shop. In the rain. I haven't used this word this way since high school, but um, random?
Granted, they were stationary bikes. But still, it was SO great! It was impressive, it was (somewhat) dangerous, it was a hysterical sight, but the GREATEST thing about it was that it was the first time that I have seen an Athens biker at 5pts that WASN'T IN MY WAY on narrow Milledge Avenue!!! It's like, come on man, I get it, you're on an earth-friendly bike, I'm in my Mazda, you win - but I've got places to go, too! At LEAST stick to the bike lane, I mean really. Man, I wish they would all just switch to stationary bikes and convene up on the roof of Jittery Joe's. It's not like they have places to go, anyway. Except maybe like, GNC, for their protein bars and crap. I would be willing to bring all the protein bars GNC has in stock to the roof of Jittery Joe's every morning so that bikers would flock there and stay out of my way. I would throw in some Nalgene bottles, too.
It's too bad I didn't get up before 2 pm yesterday due to X-treme Girl Talk hangover, otherwise I coulda gotten footage of the bike marathon and put some clever Rocky soundtrack tunes to it. But lucky for you, I have a pretty great video to post anyway. Girl Talk on Friday was, of course, a blast; it was an evening of rapid inebriation that I hadn't experienced since maybe Freshman year, followed by a dance concert with enough beats, flashing lights, and fanatical fools to make those "Krush Girls" look like the hired help at a retirement party. With the flashy lights and the ecstatic crowd, it was the closest I've ever come to a rave, and the closest I ever want to come. Sadly I feel like I've gotten too old to shake m'tailfeathers at a mashup dance concert, but it was worth it to sell myself out juuuust a little bit (I think I made something up about being a videographer for the city of Athens, which isn't a complete lie, if you think about it) to get onstage with Gregg, with Brooke and Jodi, and all the Day Glo-ed, American Apparel-ed 19-year-olds, because you know, those kids have heart. "Those kids." Am I one, too? Just a kid? Well, I sure never want to grow up, I'n tell you that much.
Ladies and gents, I present to you a small portrait of what I think it is to be a kid in Athens in 2008 (apologies if it induces seizure...):
27.3.08
On blogging and having nothing/everything to say: Suis-Je Normale?
OkI'mPostingThisBlogWithAVideoBecauseIThinkThat'sMaybeAGoodDirection
ForMeToTakeWhatDoYouThink
Yo,
I'm not gonna lie and be like "OMGYOUGUYS, I AM SOOOOOO BACK YOUHAVENOIDEA," but I am gonna lie and be like "hey guys, what's up, I'm like, back."
Hey guys, what's up, I'm like, back.
The lie resides in the finality of that statement. I wish I could say that this time, the shit's for real, I'm 'on be layin' down some e-rhymes up in here every day from here on out. But just I don't know that I'll have the time to do that with everything going on these days (when am I ever not able to use the statement "with everything going on these days"?? My life is exhausting). Anyway, we'll see.
I need to web log because for God's sake, it's the easiest way to "connect with people," these days, the easiest way to "express yourself", and possibly the easiest way to "get discovered." (Those bits in the quotation marks sound like an ad for a career college, don't they? Connect with others! Do what you love! Get discovered! No thanks, U.Phoenix, I'm totally chill just rockin' my blog)
It's certainly the easiest thing to nurture. Personal blogs are maybe the chia pets of the aughts. Like, really, there's no point, more than likely no one gives about your chia pet at the end of the day, and if anything, they're making fun of you for having one. But it's a no-brainer to post a little something every once and a while, just as it is a no-brainer to sprinkle some water on your chia pet - and both of these things are, in their own ways, quite cathartic. I like to hope that people are still scribbling down at least SOME of the things they think about or find interesting, because if thoughts are contained exclusively within the brain, they're just going to fade away unnoticed someday, and how sad - might as well go all out and immortalize your thoughts online. Anyway, it'll be kind of cool to be able to say that you did your part in perpetuating one of the trends that will go down in the popular media history of our generation, this generation of useless information and largely unnecessary personal thoughts. Plus, admit it, you like the irony of keeping up with your "thoughts" via your computer or your iphone in your cubicle at work, in the same way you like the irony of keeping up with the marjoram growing on the terra cotta Garfield resting on your stack of New Yorkers and vintage Playboys.
What I'm saying is that whether it's Chia or blogging, everyone should discipline themselves with some kind of quotidian hobby, do it right, craft that shit, show some dedication up in HEA. It's a mediocre world, and while blog content is, admittedly, often mediocre itself, the heart behind it can at least be something worth talking about. And you know, the bit about people not caring isn't 100% true - in fact, as the popularity of blogs is on the rise right now, people might just care more than ever. So I say, blog away. Right?
Hm, look at that, I wrote much more than I intended. The whole point of the video at the end of the blog was to say what I was too lazy to type. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to do better next time. In the meantime, watch my vid if you have any interest in knowing what kind of miserable and pathetic senioritis-stricken life I lead these days. Is it really "senioritis," though, or are the symptoms of "senioritis" just eerily similar to my inherent personality traits and behavioral tendencies which are simply exacerbated by the approach of graduation? Suis-je normale??? Does it matter? Ha, and can I even call it senioritis if I am TECHNICALLY short of one hour to graduate, and won't be able to do so until further notice? (thanks a lot for that one, Univerisity of Georgia, by the way - real cool)
Please don't allow me to talk about myself or express my opinions in such a disgustingly self-induglent way ever again. I think I've done enough for one lifetime in this one blog entry. Ugh.
But, do keep watching the videos. They'll get better, I promise. And yes, less self-indulgent. Just remember: SENIORITIS.
ForMeToTakeWhatDoYouThink
Yo,
I'm not gonna lie and be like "OMGYOUGUYS, I AM SOOOOOO BACK YOUHAVENOIDEA," but I am gonna lie and be like "hey guys, what's up, I'm like, back."
Hey guys, what's up, I'm like, back.
The lie resides in the finality of that statement. I wish I could say that this time, the shit's for real, I'm 'on be layin' down some e-rhymes up in here every day from here on out. But just I don't know that I'll have the time to do that with everything going on these days (when am I ever not able to use the statement "with everything going on these days"?? My life is exhausting). Anyway, we'll see.
I need to web log because for God's sake, it's the easiest way to "connect with people," these days, the easiest way to "express yourself", and possibly the easiest way to "get discovered." (Those bits in the quotation marks sound like an ad for a career college, don't they? Connect with others! Do what you love! Get discovered! No thanks, U.Phoenix, I'm totally chill just rockin' my blog)
It's certainly the easiest thing to nurture. Personal blogs are maybe the chia pets of the aughts. Like, really, there's no point, more than likely no one gives about your chia pet at the end of the day, and if anything, they're making fun of you for having one. But it's a no-brainer to post a little something every once and a while, just as it is a no-brainer to sprinkle some water on your chia pet - and both of these things are, in their own ways, quite cathartic. I like to hope that people are still scribbling down at least SOME of the things they think about or find interesting, because if thoughts are contained exclusively within the brain, they're just going to fade away unnoticed someday, and how sad - might as well go all out and immortalize your thoughts online. Anyway, it'll be kind of cool to be able to say that you did your part in perpetuating one of the trends that will go down in the popular media history of our generation, this generation of useless information and largely unnecessary personal thoughts. Plus, admit it, you like the irony of keeping up with your "thoughts" via your computer or your iphone in your cubicle at work, in the same way you like the irony of keeping up with the marjoram growing on the terra cotta Garfield resting on your stack of New Yorkers and vintage Playboys.
What I'm saying is that whether it's Chia or blogging, everyone should discipline themselves with some kind of quotidian hobby, do it right, craft that shit, show some dedication up in HEA. It's a mediocre world, and while blog content is, admittedly, often mediocre itself, the heart behind it can at least be something worth talking about. And you know, the bit about people not caring isn't 100% true - in fact, as the popularity of blogs is on the rise right now, people might just care more than ever. So I say, blog away. Right?
Hm, look at that, I wrote much more than I intended. The whole point of the video at the end of the blog was to say what I was too lazy to type. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to do better next time. In the meantime, watch my vid if you have any interest in knowing what kind of miserable and pathetic senioritis-stricken life I lead these days. Is it really "senioritis," though, or are the symptoms of "senioritis" just eerily similar to my inherent personality traits and behavioral tendencies which are simply exacerbated by the approach of graduation? Suis-je normale??? Does it matter? Ha, and can I even call it senioritis if I am TECHNICALLY short of one hour to graduate, and won't be able to do so until further notice? (thanks a lot for that one, Univerisity of Georgia, by the way - real cool)
Please don't allow me to talk about myself or express my opinions in such a disgustingly self-induglent way ever again. I think I've done enough for one lifetime in this one blog entry. Ugh.
But, do keep watching the videos. They'll get better, I promise. And yes, less self-indulgent. Just remember: SENIORITIS.
7.5.07
Overheard in the Maceplace: "Disfunction Junction" or "When did my folks get to be so totally old and WHERE did my sister get that ass of hers?"
Int. Maceplace Kitchen. Mom is at sink pouring more water into a temporary fishbowl for our fish, Guadalupe and Carlos. Cailin stands next to her (even though they were, only minutes before, screaming at the top of their lungs at each other from opposite ends of the house), pouring a bowl of cereal. Dad is leaning on island counter behind them, reading the newspaper. And I am seated at kitchen table to right, glued to my computer screen and typing away, ostensibly shutting out the real world in favor of the digital one. Dad has just returned from picking me up at the MARTA station where I had arrived from the airport, and is now about to take Mom and Cailin TO the MARTA station to get to the airport.
Mom: Steve, will you go dump the rest of Guad and Carlos' dirty water so I can clean it before we go?
Dad: Where are they?
Mom: They who
Dad: The fish!
Mom: They're in this bowl.
Cai: Sick!
Dad: Dodi! I use that to make salad! Have you used it for this before? It's probably got diseases growing in it!
Mom: Of course not. I'll throw it out after this.
Me: CAILIN, oh my God, do you remember when you used to name every goldfish "Sally?" Even the boy ones?
Dad: Cailin- oh, what was I going to say...OH, Cailin, your butt is getting big.
Cai: Yeah uh huh, kiss it.
Me: And you named every puppy "Ed" and every pigeon "Louie." That's so weird. But interesting, don't you think?
Dad, from outside, dumping water from dirty aquarium: It's from all that rice you eat in the morning. That's not a normal breakfast. You should be eating like, I dunno, whole grains, or something.
Me: I have quite a behind too, but, I eat ice cream for breakfast. All the time. Apparently.
All: What?
Me: Nothing, I just-- never mind.
Mom, taking now empty aquarium from Dad: Kelly, you have got to stop skipping breakfast.
Me: What? I just said I eat breakfast! Ice cream for breakfast! (a pause) Hurray!
Mom: Did you eat breakfast at Jeff's? People think it's weird when other people don't eat breakfast. It doesn't look cool, or anything. It's not like you need to impress Jeff for some reason. It's just Jeff.
Me: Mom, are you seriously still talking?
Dad, softly, to me: It's the chemo that's talking.
Mom: I heard that.
Dad: ANYWAY, Cailin, can't you eat like, wheaties?
Cai: Sick!
Me: Dad, are you like, a spokesman for bulimia? Cailin's practically already on the cover of Sports Illustrated, don't crush her dreams!
Dad: Well, I'm just saying...
Me: Oh, I don't really care. Cailin's butt is actually way bigger than like...4 days ago.
Cai: Smack that. (Without even turning head, smacks own butt)
Dad: Are those wheaties?
Cai, indifferent: Dad, stop it. I'm sick of you calling me fat. (Bites down on spoonful of Honey Bunches of Calories, walks out of kitchen)
Dad: Well, I guess I'm gonna get some McDonald's for lunch before I take you to the airport. You guys want anything?
All: (variations of negative response)
Dad: Alright, later. (Exits)
Cai, from living room, noticing that Mom has just cleaned and refilled aquarium and reintroduced G & C: Cool, Mom, Guad and Carlos' hooch looks so totally like, feng shui, now.
Me: I'm surprised you have that big word in your vocabulary, Cailin. Although I think you meant to say "zen."
Cailin: I don't speak Japanese, Kelly.
Me: How many times do I have to tell you that the Japanese language sounds staccato. Does "feng shui" sound staccato to you? Oh snap, you don't speak Italian either.
Cai: Moooom!
Me: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm being a bitch. But-- it's not often I'm more witty than you, Cailin!
Mom, walking past and bopping me on the head with newspaper: Don't say 'bitch,' ya little twat!
Me: Wow. Wait - did you just wash that bowl? The one you used to hold the fish in? I thought you were going to throw that away.
Mom: Pfft. I do this all the time. Dad doesn't know it, but his favorite salad is goldfish shit salad.
Me: Mmm, goldfish shit. Mine too.
Cai: Aw, Sick!
Mom: Sorry girls, I shouldn't have said 'shit' just then.
Cai: Mom, you are so gay!
SCENE
Mom: Steve, will you go dump the rest of Guad and Carlos' dirty water so I can clean it before we go?
Dad: Where are they?
Mom: They who
Dad: The fish!
Mom: They're in this bowl.
Cai: Sick!
Dad: Dodi! I use that to make salad! Have you used it for this before? It's probably got diseases growing in it!
Mom: Of course not. I'll throw it out after this.
Me: CAILIN, oh my God, do you remember when you used to name every goldfish "Sally?" Even the boy ones?
Dad: Cailin- oh, what was I going to say...OH, Cailin, your butt is getting big.
Cai: Yeah uh huh, kiss it.
Me: And you named every puppy "Ed" and every pigeon "Louie." That's so weird. But interesting, don't you think?
Dad, from outside, dumping water from dirty aquarium: It's from all that rice you eat in the morning. That's not a normal breakfast. You should be eating like, I dunno, whole grains, or something.
Me: I have quite a behind too, but, I eat ice cream for breakfast. All the time. Apparently.
All: What?
Me: Nothing, I just-- never mind.
Mom, taking now empty aquarium from Dad: Kelly, you have got to stop skipping breakfast.
Me: What? I just said I eat breakfast! Ice cream for breakfast! (a pause) Hurray!
Mom: Did you eat breakfast at Jeff's? People think it's weird when other people don't eat breakfast. It doesn't look cool, or anything. It's not like you need to impress Jeff for some reason. It's just Jeff.
Me: Mom, are you seriously still talking?
Dad, softly, to me: It's the chemo that's talking.
Mom: I heard that.
Dad: ANYWAY, Cailin, can't you eat like, wheaties?
Cai: Sick!
Me: Dad, are you like, a spokesman for bulimia? Cailin's practically already on the cover of Sports Illustrated, don't crush her dreams!
Dad: Well, I'm just saying...
Me: Oh, I don't really care. Cailin's butt is actually way bigger than like...4 days ago.
Cai: Smack that. (Without even turning head, smacks own butt)
Dad: Are those wheaties?
Cai, indifferent: Dad, stop it. I'm sick of you calling me fat. (Bites down on spoonful of Honey Bunches of Calories, walks out of kitchen)
Dad: Well, I guess I'm gonna get some McDonald's for lunch before I take you to the airport. You guys want anything?
All: (variations of negative response)
Dad: Alright, later. (Exits)
Cai, from living room, noticing that Mom has just cleaned and refilled aquarium and reintroduced G & C: Cool, Mom, Guad and Carlos' hooch looks so totally like, feng shui, now.
Me: I'm surprised you have that big word in your vocabulary, Cailin. Although I think you meant to say "zen."
Cailin: I don't speak Japanese, Kelly.
Me: How many times do I have to tell you that the Japanese language sounds staccato. Does "feng shui" sound staccato to you? Oh snap, you don't speak Italian either.
Cai: Moooom!
Me: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm being a bitch. But-- it's not often I'm more witty than you, Cailin!
Mom, walking past and bopping me on the head with newspaper: Don't say 'bitch,' ya little twat!
Me: Wow. Wait - did you just wash that bowl? The one you used to hold the fish in? I thought you were going to throw that away.
Mom: Pfft. I do this all the time. Dad doesn't know it, but his favorite salad is goldfish shit salad.
Me: Mmm, goldfish shit. Mine too.
Cai: Aw, Sick!
Mom: Sorry girls, I shouldn't have said 'shit' just then.
Cai: Mom, you are so gay!
SCENE
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