The Bet

Last Friday afternoon, I made a bet with a coworker friend, Stephen, that he wouldn't be able to "rick roll" me five times in a week. If you're sitting there wondering what the heck I'm talking about, click here. The bet was to begin Monday, and he had to get all five rick rolls in by 5:00 Friday.

When Monday rolled (no pun intended) around, I will admit I wasn't even thinking about Friday's conversation. So, when I came in to work and checked my Facebook, I totally did not expect this note to contain a rick roll. Alas, it did. Strike one.

"Okay," I thought, "game on." Minutes later, I received an e-mail from my boss, Corey. Attached was a link -- supposedly to a work-related document -- but, you guessed it: Rick roll number two.

I was determined not to let it happen a third time. I refused to click on any link or open questionable e-mails. I was feeling pretty good, and smiled my way out of the office for a minute to run some test forms to the folks that operate the Scantron machine. When I came back, a customer was waiting to be helped, so I opened my web browser to pull up the iCARE page, and BOOM: rick roll number three. I couldn't react as dramatically as I wanted to, thanks to the customer, but nevertheless Stephen was feeling pretty good about himself.

Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon. I had gone out for a short while with my BFF, and came back to a video game playing husband on the couch. As we chatted, I sat down next to him and opened up my laptop. I opened my "favorite links" and clicked on Facebook, and... yeah. Rick roll number four. As it turns out, my own HUSBAND had betrayed me to help Stephen out with the bet. Not cool. I was seriously determined NOT to let #5 happen.

Wednesday was great - not a single rick roll, not to say Stephen didn't try a few times. I outsmarted him ALL day and was extremely proud of myself.

Fast forward to Friday afternoon. Stephen had been busy all day at work and had not even made one attempt, but still I kept my guard up. I had to run a company errand, and flitted out without logging out of my computer - big mistake. When I came back, a good friend was here, visiting from grad school. I gave him a big hug and he, Stephen and I talked for a few minutes. I absentmindedly opened my work e-mail account as we were chatting and saw a message from Corey's boss, Elizabeth. Attached to the e-mail was a link to a photobucket account full of work pictures. You can tell where I'm going with this, I'm sure. RICK ROLL # 5. From a BOSS. This time, I was not so demure in my response. I almost knocked my chair over when I jumped up, and I think I may have even screamed - good thing there were no customers this time. :) I pushed Stephen into the wall and then just about collapsed because I was laughing so hard.

It was over; he had won and I had lost. Just a couple more hours and I would have made it... ouch! I bought Stephen a Coke from the office vending machine, as per the terms, and presented it to him on one knee as if he were a knight, and the Coke, a sword. Our entire department came in one at a time at intermittent periods throughout the afternoon to laugh about what had happened. All in all, I don't care that I lost. This week is one of the best I've had in a while!

Gosh, I love this job.

Love and Lattés,
Katie

PS - If you want to see a video clip of my reaction, as taken by another coworker, click here.

A Bit of Silliness

If you haven't been to http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ yet, you need to go. So hilarious!

Here is my 1964 yearbook photo:

Love and Lattés,

Katie

Spoiler Alert!

If you are a fan of The Office and haven't yet seen the season premiere, don't scroll down!

AHHHH!!!! It finally happened! Jim proposed to Pam OUT OF NOWHERE! I was home alone watching the episode and I had to laugh at myself when I realized that I had been sitting there with my mouth open for about a minute straight. How exciting is this?! Of course, we all know that something will keep them from tying the knot right away. Maybe those new friends Pam is making at school? Hmm... I can't wait to see where the writers go with this! I am just so happy :-)

Love and Lattés,

Katie

Love Love Love

As we were driving on Sunday afternoon in our nice church clothes, we were listening to Norah Jones and being the adorable couple that we are... it started to rain, steadily at first and then it really started to come down.. on an impulse, he pulled the car over on the side of the road.. We both got out of the car.. I was barefoot, and the grass on the side of the interstate was cold, but I didn't care.. it was raining hard enough that by the time we got to each other, my hair was stringy and my eye makeup was running... he took me in his arms, and with the sound of the rain on the car and the thunder in the distance, he kissed me so passionately that afterwards, we just stood there, shivering, nose to nose, rain dripping off of my eyelashes.

That wasn't an exerpt from a romance novel.. it was something I wrote in October of 2004 during my first trip to South Carolina to see Justin. I had completely forgotten that I used to write down my thoughts on livejournal.com, and recently stumbled upon years of memories when I came across my old account. It was like discovering a time capsule... very cool!

My sweetie comes home from a two-week work trip tomorrow. I can't wait to see him! It's been four years since I wrote about our kiss in the rain, and we are still just as much in love now as we were then. I'm a lucky lady. :-)

Love and Lattés,
Katie

I Dare You!

How many of the 100 most commonly used words in the English language can you name in five minutes? I, an English major, only got 51%. How well can you do?

http://quizicon.com/quiz?id=37

Ode to Autumn

Fall came today. Not in the literal sense, though, because it doesn't officially start for a few more days. But as far as I'm concerned, autumn is here and I am loving it. I can't put my finger on why the arrival of fall puts me in such a good mood. Is it because my birthday is in November? Because of the changes in the weather and the reds and oranges that brighten the landscape? Because the holiday season is upon us? All of these are good reasons, but I think mainly I just enjoy the feeling of fall. I love the crisp chill in the air, the smell of the fall foliage, the pumpkins, the cider... all of it. I always start to feel so festive this time of year in preparation for the months ahead. Even if I have to do it alone, I still carve a pumpkin each year, and I've also been known to eat my fair share of candy corn. Why don't I get the "warm fuzzies" during springtime and summer? Those are great seasons too. Perhaps it's because I'm a Michigan girl at heart, and life just isn't complete without scarves and mittens, hayrides and hot chocolate. I don't know about you, but I say bring on fall, and winter too!

Love and Lattés,
Katie

"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." -Albert Camus

Remembrances

This month marks an unhappy anniversary for me. In a couple weeks, I will have been away from my parents and brother for an entire year. It was wonderful to see my sister the two times she visited. Being with her brought back a flood of emotions and memories, and I miss her already, too. There is just something very strange about a family being separated for so long. Since I last saw my family, I have celebrated a birthday and a wedding anniversary, I have become an aunt, and I started a new job, among other things. It seems to me that milestones like these are meant to be shared with family, and it always seems a little impersonal to do everything over the phone and through e-mail. I miss them so much. I miss Mom's affection and Dad's encouragement. I miss Clark's ability to make me laugh, and the fact that there is never a dull moment when Callie and I are together. I miss Skye, the family dog. I miss the home where I spent years growing, changing, making mistakes and learning from them. I miss the sounds, smells, sights, textures, and tastes of my youth, which are already starting to feel like a distant memory.

The past year has had its ups and downs, and of course one of those downs has been the distance between my family and me. Still -- and what I am about to say may surprise you -- I wouldn't change any of it. Would it have been nice to see my family on a regular basis over the past 12 months? Yes, definitely. Do I miss them like crazy? It drives me to tears sometimes. But by being separated the way we have been, the encounters we share now are so very special. I have gained an appreciation for things I never even paid much attention to before. I hope that in the future, we don't have to spend another whole year apart, but if we do, we will get through it because we are strong, and the bond that holds us together can withstand any amount of time.

Love and Lattés,
Katie