a best friend's guide to my birthday

If I haven't beat it into your head enough, my birthday is in 11 DAYS!!!!!! so this is a helpful guide as to what my plans are and what I want :)

PLANS: All of Saturday will be spent out on a boat watching all my skilled fisherman friends in the Reeling for Robbie tournament and will be followed by dinner and drinks at the dock. I highly suggest that everyone come out and bring $20...$10 for dinner and $10 for a t-shirt. It's for a good cause!! And what better way to kick-off my birthday than good times in honor of a friend? As for Sunday, my actual birthday, I'm hoping that my brothers and friends will be generous enough to taxi people out to Williamson, a.k.a. my favorite place on earth. I also can't think of a better way to spend my birthday than on a boat and beach with my best friends. The plan for Sunday night, so far, is to go to Molly McGuire's for dinner and drinks simply because I feel as if everything will be somewhat free? I know I know, it's my 21st birthday and most drinks will be free regardless but I enjoy Molly's and think most others do too so come out if you can! As for Monday, call to make sure I'm alive but for the most part, leave me in peace.

The party will continue all week and into the weekend after my birthday (if I get off work...Patrick has been giving me lots of weekends off lately and so I'm not sure it I'll be so lucky again). GOOLIA and maybe Kaitlyn will be in town!! So the plan will be to get dressed up for a wine and dine at the Bohemian or Ele and then a night downtown...but if you want to see me completely obliterated, I suggest you find me on June 6th because I know from experience that heels, an absurdly expensive dress, alcohol and cobblestones are NOT a good combo.

PRESENTS:

The beauty above is known as the David Yurman Noblesse ring...I will take it in Black Onyx or Morganite. The kind people at Levy Jewelers will help you out. It will probably be easier to afford if everyone pools their money together but I have no objections to getting just one present if it is this beautiful.

And this adorable creature is a Scottish native known as the Border Collie. As most of you know, I originally begged for an Australian Shepherd, of which will also be accepted with open arms... but after becoming painfully aware that my 13yr old puppy is slowly nearing the end of her unfairly short life (I am crying if you were wondering...she's my most loyal and best friend and the reason I love dogs more than life itself) I have decided that every dog I get for the rest of my life will be of Scottish decent in her honor. Since she is a West Highland White Terrior named Nessie, my next dog will be a Border Collie named either Wallace, Finlay, Wylie, Camden or Annabelle...all of which are typical Scottish and/or Gaelic names. You may think I'm pathetic but you probably don't know my family very well...my dad bought a Clan Hamilton kilt...FOR HIS BEER. That's right, folks, my dad spent $20 on a kilt koozie...it's actually more awesome than you'd think. Long story short, Scotland and my dog are massive parts of my life and I intend to keep it that way and I want this puppy more than that ring...that's saying alot.

to clarify: no, I don't expect either of the above from anyone, not even my family, all I really want is the company of friends as cliche as that sounds.

beach bummers

If it's not apparent enough, the title of this blog is what I would like to consider a pretty clever pun. If you still don't get it, hopefully you will by the end...

Beach Bummer #1: Today started off pretty dumpy when I was put under the impression that my friends dipped out on me and the boat day that I wanted oh-so-bad...so I made the exective decision to call my river rat of a brother. He immediately responded by saying that I was too late and he was leaving the Landings harbor to pick Mason up from a dock on the Willmington River. Conveniently enough, Sarah and I were in bathingsuits walking out the door to head to Tybee so it was extremely simple to change our destination to 1708 Wilmington Island Road. It seemed as if everything was building up to be a perfect day on the river...until karma attacked Sarah. Or as Andrew put it, boderline raped and pillaged her...

In the process of unloading the boat and setting up on the beach, I stepped on something slimy. Though my first thought was sting ray until I talked myself out of it with thoughts of cannon ball jellyfish and/or clay. Apparently, I was wrong in every sense of the word...very soon after my brush with Steve Irwin's killer, Sarah experienced it first hand. As soon as I heard the blood curdling screams, I immediately assumed Sarah was having one of her overreaction moments. Once again, I was proven very wrong. Jeremy, Mason, Andrew and I stood in around with looks of sheer confusion that only worsened when shown the gaping wound where her ankle used to be. After half-assedly taping Sarah up, Mason and Jeremy carried her back out to the boat while Andrew made sure it didn't float away. The guys radioed the Landings Harbor and by the time we pulled in, a fire truck and ambulance were waiting for us...lights on and all. It was actually slightly hilarious.

To avoid the obnoxious ambulance fee, Sarah sucked it up and let me drive her to the hospital where we learned a very valuable piece of information. Question for Tybee lifeguard and mascot, Bear Williams, to prove his ocean rescue abilities of course...do not google, do not phone a friend, do not pass go...just answer: what is the best and fastest way to ease the pain of a sting ray sting?

Sarah is recovering with the help of crutches, a numbing shot that she actually didn't need Valium to get (are you convinced that your fear of needles is absurd yet?), lortab and friends that care way too much. Just be warned that if you ever want to get her out on the boat, be fully prepared to piggy back her to the beach.

Beach Bummer #2: It's official, I have to work at 4:30 on Friday...aka Beach Bum. I'm pretty upset but not for the reasons you'd think: I don't give a rat's ass about the parade, traffic is unbearable and am not a huge fan of getting doused in freezing cold water but just the fact that everyone is going to be down there getting drunk while I'm at work is downright depressing. I'm also a little nervous because Friday nights are our busiest nights and I've never had to serve one before...I might have a stress&nerves induced breakdown. RECAP: So not only am I missing Beach Bum, work is going to take me to a whole new stress level. THE BRIGHT SIDE: since I'm a fabulous employee and didn't put "I want off on beach bum" stress on Pattycake's shoulders, I'm getting my 2nd and 3rd favorite holidays (1st is St. Patty's day of course) off! And for those of you who can't figure it out, I dont have to work my birthday weekend OR July 4th weekend!!! Not to mention, come beach bum I will only have 2 weeks till my 21st birthday and I'd love to stay out of trouble.

In Other News: A Bear shared his shrimp with me a few nights ago....Oh, and if you were curious, their snores are comparable to the sounds of a Freight Train. STILL.

-18 DAYS TILL I'M 21!!! Time to start planning the birthday extravaganza...any ideas?

-it's still summer...hellllll ya

-JULIA WAS IN SAVANNAH and it was everything I wanted it to be...I am finally whole again.

-why is every new movie in 3D? I hate wearing glasses while trying to watch a movie/TV. Besides, the 3D is never quite right...or at least it isn't to me.

-Sarah's new nickname is "Irwin" and I will allow her to answer to only that...lets make this one stick.

summertime and the livin's easy

warning: you'll hear about summer and my love for it until it's over so get used to it.

-work is starting to become a bummer simply because weekends are when I'm needed most and weekends also happen to be when most people head out on the river. I'm sick of getting "come to williamson!" texts because I can't...on the bright side, I don't have to feel like the mooching friend that begs people to take me out on the boat.

-reason #696472964852 why I love summer: my biggest worry so far has been "who's going to the beach with me?"

-New Jersey, Orange County, Atlanta, New York, you name it...I love it. The "Real Housewives" reality series is my TV trash obsession.

-I love the new AT&T commercial with the song from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Probably just because I love the song.

-I'm still a little upset that we never got the monsterous "thunderstorms" that were threatening my tan for days...not because I didn't go to the beach, but because I miss the thunderstorms; they're one of my favorite parts of summer.

-I really need to stop shopping without Sarah. About 98% of the time I buy something without her there, I end up returning it. Haha it's pathetic, I know.

-30 days till my birthday...I want a suprise party. But to be warned, I'll figure it out. I've just never really had a birthday party and won't really care enough to have one after this one. ANDDDD I still want a puppy so keep that in mind.

-Got out in the river today and it was complete perfection...we had the whole beach to ourselves which meant Bocce with the big leagues. It seems as if I have finally inherited the Summerell bocce gene seeing as I kept up with my brother and actually won a game...that has NEVER happened before. Jeremy is a bocce badass. (p.s. if you've ever been curious, the picture above is my brother [second from the left] and his friends playing "all-terrain bocce" in the dunes of williamson)

-to anyone who sees me on a beach this summer: REMIND ME TO WEAR SUNSCREEN! please and thank you...I know Sarah, you tell me everytime but do I ever listen to you? kidding

-after going so long without one, I have finally remembered that the worst part of summer is the 8pm hangover...theyre so much more bearable when you have 12 hours to sleep them off as opposed to 12 minutes on the couch

-I think Miley needs to tone it down a little...the song is actually kinda catchy and I do think she (well her makeup at least) looks pretty but has she forgotten that she's 17yrs old?? I get it...when I was 17 I thought I was a billy badass too but the only difference is that I didn't have every kid in America looking up to me as a role model. Good lord the average age at which kids lose their virginity nowadays is 12...thanks Britney, Christina and now Miley...'preciate the influence.

-I have a final tomorrow at 1...say it with me: s-c-r-e-w-e-d.

-Friday had all the potential to be a great day&night combo until I got suckered into working a double on Saturday. In case you were wondering, a double as a server on a Saturday is a 13+ hour shift...f*ckkkkkk

-Goolia, the love of my life, IS COMING TO SAVANNAH for Pegasus's birthday on Tuesday!!! Hopefully Peg will share my best friend with me and allow her to spend at least one night at my house since I think we all know I had the hardest time coping with her semester in Italy :( you should see the pathetic puppy dog face I'm making right now...Sarah saw it today...it's quality.

-Wait, I remembered another thing I hate about summer...peeling.

-Ok, where are the new seasons of TrueBlood and Entourage?! Jack and I are going to need stuff to do on Sunday nights (other than sitting at Molly McGuire's...Jack's second home)

holy hangover...hellooooo summer

For anyone else that hasnt figured it out yet, the past month or so has been absolutely miserable...not anymore though! its summer :) I apologize for the emoticon, I'm just really f*ing excited that its summer...my favorite season of the year.

For the past couple of years, I have been convinced that summer of '08 was going to forever be the "best summer of my life," but I think this summer may be a close runner-up...I had to work last night (of course Patrick makes me work my enitre first weekend of summer) which pissed me off because I immediately though "goodbye summer...I've sold my soul my job" but I was proven wrong. Of course everyone went to the Sand Gnats game so I assumed I wouldnt see them since my ID is miserable and the ritual is Baseball then Tubby's...not last night, though. I met up with Kyle, Jordan, Tyler, Kelly, Brad and others at Shuckers and the rest was a blur. But a great one. It was the night I needed to confirm my expectations for this summer.

I just got my first (and sadly, probably last) $300 paycheck from Molly McGuire's. Since servers only make $2.15 an hour, and all of it goes to taxes, I hope I make the tips people keep claiming I'll make. Since Molly's is only my second job, I've never had a solid cashflow over the summer but I've always had a great time...now that I have money, things are going to be that much better.

I love birthdays and the summer is full of them. Juan turns 21 on Wednesday, Pegasus turns 21 on May 11th, MY BIRTHDAY IS IN 36 DAYS!!! Meg's 21st birthday celebration in New York on June 19th. Griffin's birthday is June 22nd and Brad's is June 30th. There aren't many birthdays in July, I don't think but I'm hoping for a Blue Goose repeat for Adam's bday in August. After him come Ike and Mallory whose birthdays are in August and November and then Monica in December. As I said, I love birthdays and turning 21 makes them even better.

Did I mention that I'm going to New York for Meg's 21st?! Hellllll yeh. Now if only I could find people willing to go to the Bahamas for mine...

my other half is no longer in Italy...GOOLIA IS HOME!!!!!!!! And I've reminded her of that every 5 minutes since her plane landed. I send her messages just because I can...and all of them just say "OMG I can text you now!" Until Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" came on the TV show I'm watching...It's our song. It was a sign.

July 4th is just two months away...hope I won't have to work. Yes, I plan this far ahead. Is it too soon to ask for it off?

Just applied to Southern since Armstrong doesn't have the major I want to change mine to...hope I get in (never thought that sentence was going to come out of my mouth)

I really want to go see Dave and Gov't Mule in ATL on July 27th and Widespread Panic in Charlotte on July 30th & 31st. Well, Gools and I already have tickets from the Dave concert but hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in some panic...it's been too long. (jonathan...dont attempt one of your smartass comments)

I want a damn dog! So for all of yall thinking to yourselves "hmm what can I get Kathryn for her birthday?!" The answer is a dog. I like border collies, australian shepherds, golden retrievers and black or chocolate labs. Please and Thank you.

One month the Sex and the City 2 comes out in theaters. I can feel the excitement (and the massive hole that series about beautiful clothes puts in my wallet) already.

I would write more but I have to leave here for work in 10 minutes...hah like thats gonna happen. Moving a little slow today. Helloooooo SUMMER :)

be young, be foolish but be happy

I know everyone is just dying to hear how my life has been going since I have been slacking with the updates so here ya go...

I still love working at Molly McGuire's as much as I did 3 weeks ago. Actually, I may love it more now. I am training to serve which means more cash flow is in the near future and it's a lot more entertaining than hostessing. I had to hostess alone last night from 5-8 (I got cut obnoxiously early) and it was miserable. All of the servers hung out in the kitchen while waiting for their order to come up but I, being the only hostess, couldn't leave my stand. I felt like the little kid in time-out that can't play with the others. The only other thing that frustrates me is my co-workers' undying interest in my lackluster love life. In their minds they have created a perfect relationship between me and (hah did you really think I was going to bring names into this?) and it's beginning to get old. We hear it all the time. We never act on it. Hearing it from 10 basic strangers isn't going to change our minds so back off. Please and thanks. Other than that, it's perfect:

-I walked out of the restaurant with $50 in my hand yesterday thanks to everyones willingness to share their tips.

-a firefighter gave me $5 on Saturday for finding him a table? which is my job...but hey, he was just trying to be nice and it was probably one of the highlights of my weekend.

-the band we had on Saturday played great music...such as "be young, be foolish, be happy" which is a personal favorite.

-I have decided that more of my spare time will be spent at the restaurant because if I don't meet my future husband there, It'll never happen. That place is constantly swarming with beautiful people.

-I love getting to see Steve and Ms Christina (jack's parents) all the time...they always put me in a better mood.

-I get to see some interesting (for the lack of a better word) people on a daily basis. For example, I met the tannest man alive the other day. No really, find the darkest wood furniture you have in your house and imagine a white man that is the same color...he was tanner than that. Basically, he was teeter-tottering on the racial edge.

-My friends have decided that they love hanging out there which means that even when I'm at work, I get to hang out with them. It's pretty convenient.

-if you haven't figured it out yet, I love my job (well, my restaurant job)

Since I wrote the above portion a whole week ago, here is a more recent update on the happenings of my life:

-It's my last week at the bridal shop...hallelujah.

-40 days till my 21st!!! holy anticipation.

-I am 3 days and two 10pg papers away from SUMMER. In all seriousness, I will pay someone good money to write a paper or two. There is no way I'm getting either one day.

-I think I may be taking a semester off of school? I dont know how I feel about it yet...but AASU doesn't have the major I want so it's either online college, SSU or GSU. Chances are I'll end up commuting to Southern...which will be terrible but a degree from there will go further than a degree from Savannah State, right?

-GOOLIA COMES HOME ON THURSDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yes, I really am that excited.

-I think I may go to DMB in ATL and West Palm. I mean, why not? I have a job so I can do stuff like that...

-I am way past due for a trip to Charleston.

-I cannot wait for everyone to get home over the next couple of weeks

-I'm forcing my brother to take me out on our boat so I can prove to him that I know what I'm doing. Once that happens, I get the boat all to myself (seeing as he's got a 5 month old at home)...hello williamson alllllll summer.

-If someone could get Sarah Lundgren to call me back, I'd greatly appreciate it. I feel like I havent talked to her in days.

-2nd annual Regatta-Knotta is scheduled for July 10th...I highly suggest you save the date.

-The first Reeling for Robbie fishing tournament is the night before my birthday (June 5th). Everyone better be there. NO excuses (play like a champion).

growing older but not up

So my parents have conveniently gone out of town on my first weekend of working two jobs and left me with a decrepit dog and a psychotic cat (don't get any ideas, no parties) and let me just say that being an adult sucks. For starters, I have two jobs. Now many of y'all may have had multiple jobs at one point or another but I personally find a morning job, class then a night job to be completely exhausting and stressful. If I didn't have two 10-page papers to write within the next two weeks, I'd probably feel different, but as of now I'm at my wits end. On top of that, my dog is ancient and just had minor surgery so she requires around-the-clock care that I simply can't provide right now. I had to wake up 3 times in the middle of the night to let her out which started an attention war between Nessie and the cat (chewbacca...chewy for short). Before I could crawl back in bed to sleep I had to get both of them to shut up and separated which just caused my mood to drop and anxiety level to rise. How the hell am I supposed to be able to wake up 5 times a night with an infant sometime later in life? Ugh...and that was just last night.

I am currently at Bella Mia, my day job, and will be leaving here at 12 to make sure Nessie gets her medicine on time. I'm going to make a whopping $10 dollars at this store today. What is the point of my presence? Oh wait, I'm here so everyone else can run around town (on the clock) and leave me to do everything on my own. For those of yall who've never worked in a bridal shop, there is a lot of shit that employees are supposed to know that I have yet to learn due to the short time I've worked here. People call and ask questions that I can't answer. Again, my anxiety level rises. On top of that, I simply just don't enjoy this job anymore. I am grateful for the opportunity, and the paycheck, but I now know that I am not meant to work in the land of retail. If I get doomed to working a job I hate as an adult, I'm going to need a xanax presricption.

After I leave here, I get to go home to let the dog out, force feed her medicine, bathe her (since she decided to play in the rain and mud last night), feed the cat and then take him to get his nails clipped. All of that has to happen around my lunch, shower and laundry preparation for Molly McGuire's at 5. Now I should have plenty of time but the length of my to-do list is discouraging for a 3 hour time window. It would really help if my brother could help out since he's unemployed and everything but he's out playing golf somewhere. How convenient.

I'm done with the whiney part of the post, now on to how awesome my second job is. A lot of people tried to make the restaurant industry sound like a terrible place to work (because of all the bitchy customers) but I guess none of them have dealt with a PMSing Bride. Granted, I've only worked at Molly McGuire's since Tuesday and the weekends are notorious for being packed (so tonight may be stressful) but I still love it. I know yall are thinking...Kathryn? Two Jobs? and one she enjoys going to? I thought the same thing. The people at Molly's are hilarious. And far too comfortable with each other...and me even though I've only worked twice. Vick's favorite line of Wednesday night was "Kathryn, I'd sure like to see you in something other than those khaki shorts..." while Patrick rummaged through my purse, planned what shots he's making me take on my 21st (bear fights were mentioned) and offered to spike my Coke (coca-cola, that is...apparently you can't say coke in the restaurant industry without people getting excited and screaming "WHERE?!") Hahaha. But despite the perfect atmosphere I work in at Molly's, it can get stressful...Patrick put me on the schedule for 6 nights next week? and maybe a double? Goodbye grades...moral of the story is that being an adult with endless responsibilities, and at least one job you dislike, really sucks. Here's to growing older but not up as long as we can.

untitled.

After sitting here for about 15 minutes, searching every crevice of my brain for a title, all I can do is name this post "Untitled." I apologize for my early morning lack of originality.

1) I am almost positive that I will forever be terrified of scary movies/TV shows. Example: at this very instant, I'm watching a show on TNT called "Supernatural" that I vaguely remember watching in middle school. (It apparently still comes on the CW but the old school ones come on TNT at 10&11am everyday) This shit is just as horrifying as it was back then. Don't take my word for it though...I'm what one would call a "scaredy cat."

2) The parking situation on Tybee has gotten out of hand. I understand it was a holiday weekend but what makes anyone believe the chaos will be any different in the summer? Not to mention, a quarter only gets you 10 minutes of parking? Screw that. I already didn't like Tybee but the extreme lack of parking is going to cut my desire to go to the beach in half. Thank God I got the green light to sit on Izzo's dock whenever and the Talahi dock fence is easy to jump.

3) Saw "The Last Song" last night...and actually liked it. I saw Sarah Thran, Lauren Baker, Happy McCullough, Mrs. Hendrix and Mrs. Adams in it which was pretty awesome. But honestly, to watch Tybee and Wormsloe through the lens of a camera was surreal. For those of you who don't know, the beach house on Tybee used as the Dad's house in the movie belongs to my old roommate, Jamieson Adams...so it was even weirder to watch the house, that I've spent many many summers in, on the big screen. Did I mention that I bawled like a little baby? Yeh...it's a Nicholas Sparks book so it was only to be expected but it's a Miley Cyrus movie so unexpected at the same time.

4) Exactly 2 months from today, I will be 21. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel

5) An even more exciting countdown than my birthday (hard to believe, I know) is that Goolia comes home in 23 DAYSSSS!!!!!!!!!

6) Now if only Sarah, Monica and the Statesboro guys would come back too...

7) I start work at Molly McGuire's today at 5....how in the hell did I go from a person with no jobs to a person with two of them??

8) G-Day game this weekend...wish I was in Athens. Oh wait, thanks to school and work I wont be able to grace the classic city with my presence until this summer.

9) I had an overall successful Easter weekend....minus the worst sunburn of my life, the 3 outfit changes of Easter Sunday thanks to my 4 month old nephew and the fact that I didn't get ANYTHING for Easter. No candy, no basket, no nothing. Getting old sucks.

10) All schools should have the same spring break so I can avoid the envy I have for those that are sitting on the beach right now.

11) Anyone know when TrueBlood and Entourage are coming back???

12) Izzo turned 21 without getting arrested and without puking in my car. Huge achievement.

like the last post, I may come back to this but I'm far too hungry to focus anymore. It's another side effect of hypoglycemia.