The 29 List has Landed!

Cripes! It’s over one month since my birthday, and I’m just officially getting this list announced. I updated it multiple times, but I failed to save it. But with all pomp, here it is! This is my last of the yearly lists, and I’m ready to own it like I’m going to tackle moving, Canada, and grad school round two. It’s time to see how I fit in this wide world, after all.

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The 28 List: Final Results

I don’t know how often I even thought about The List this year, mostly because I spent 28 doing EPIC SHIT ALL THE TIME. I mean, this year started when I took last summer off to patio drink my way through the season with two friends, which made me want to be social for the first time since college. That, in itself, was amazing. I actually went on a couple dates with a guy. I got to be in an Indian wedding. Then I got to go to India and attend a wedding. I also lost my job, got accepted into 9 graduate programs, and chose to move to Canada. I indulged the shit out of my bookshop, James Bond, adventure loving self. I actually went to 15 countries during my 28th year of life. I could not feel like this year was more of a win, even if I did only complete 18/28 on The List. I think I raised plenty of cups to the stars, and in no way gave up who I am.

Read the whats, hows, and how-nots, below. (And stay tuned for the 29 list.) From the original 28 List page.

——–

“We’ve come to far to give up who we are,
So let’s raise the bar and our cups to the stars”

– Daft Punk, “Get Lucky”

Dancing at weddings, cruising in Europe… This was my jam last year. And I’m making it my motivation at 28. Here we are, two years closer to thirty and two years into my task mastering. I’ve made some great strides in the last few years and I shouldn’t stop now. But there are some big things on the list this year that are going to require commitment and a change of pace. Late nights, long weekends, early mornings–whatever it takes. I’ll stay up all night to stay lucky.

True to form, this will remain fluid and open to new goals. I’ll track my progress, in an unfashionably slow manner, here.

The 28 List

1. Travel three places I have never been
   Stop one: Galena, Illinois. I went there when I was 3, and I don’t remember it, so it totally counts for this.
   Stops two through seven: Copenhagen, Denmark; Bergen, Norway; Shetland, Scotland; Thorsmork, Iceland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Edinburgh, Scotland. A friend and I tackled a 14-day Norwegian Star cruise, pretty much owning the gloriousness of my 28th year. Then in January, I ventured to India.
   THEN my parents and I did three weeks in Europe. The headliners being Epinal, France; Paris, France; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Luxembourg and Germany. Oh, yeah. And Vancouver, British Columbia. #NailedIt

2. Have a monthly cocktail
   June: Mimosa (home)
   July: Josh’s Poppin Lime Aid – Muddled cherries & limes with Cruzan Black Cherry, Pimm’s, grenadine, lime juice, sour & club soda. (At Fong’s)
   Aug: The Old Fashioned (Bride’s drink of choice)
   Sept: Irish Coffee with brown sugar, French press coffee, and strong whiskey
   Oct: Whatever goes with wine (I think I just mixed it with more wine)
   Nov: Eggnog and chocolate vodka (not half bad!)
   Dec:  Champagne cocktail of sparkling wine, sugar cube, and bitters
   Jan: Ciders
   Feb: Bud Light.
   Mar: Bloody Mary (in Boston, no less!)
   April: —
   May: Gin & Tonic (you need something strong when you’re about to enter the Red Light District. With your parents.)
3. Host brunch
   Hah! Practically cheating, because I hosted a birthday brunch. Day One, one check!
4. Attend a professional baseball game
   I came so close! It was supposed to be a Twins game. But plans got changed last minute. Oh well!
5. Cook meat
   Yeah, buddy! I mean, it was technically pre-cooked meat I paid too much for at Target, but I put it in a skillet with oil and browned it and baked it in the oven. And it was awesome.
6. Make a cheesecake
   I’m going to make this one: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-cookie-cheesecake/detail.aspx
7. Work out 30 days in a row
   Coming from working out never, this will be hard. And, 6 months in, I still haven’t done this. Aww, shit.
8. Stop the pop
   I was doing so good. Then it spiraled out of control.
9. Personal
   And for personal reasons, I failed.
10. Four classics
    I really wanted to read some more classics, and actually read them, not audiobook it. Mansfield Park while happened on the cruise. The Handmaid’s Tale, a newer classic, was read for my sorority book club. Little Women hit the list because everyone should have read that, right? Finally, The Sun Also Rises happened, and I actually loved it.
11. Birthday postcards
    Failed for three of the six months that have passed. Rats.
12. Veggie a week
    Already failed at this. Failed hard. But I’m only three months in, and in the words of John Legend and Snoop Dogg: I can change. Six months in? Still failing hard. And I probably just ate brussels sprouts every time I even thought about it.
13. Lose 10 lbs
    HAH omg are you serious? What was June-Kristina thinking? Not about future Kristina, I’ll tell you that much. This was more like, gain 10. Fuck me. Back on the list next year.
14. Travel somewhere with my parents
    Well, we went to Galena, IL together and then Madison, WI for my high school friend’s wedding. It was a lot of fun! I’m glad we don’t go on roadtrips all the time, but I enjoy hanging with them. And then we went to France, Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. I say I knocked this one out of the park.
15. Blog more books
    Hey! I’m doing this one. I’ve started a “Last & Lingering” style of blogging to cover things I’ve read/listened to, but didn’t have anything much to write. And I’m going back to the books I read in the last two years, but did take notes, and I’m finally blogging those, too. My goal is to have them done before grad school.
16. Blog the Bond books
    As part of moving all my belongings into my parents’ house, I actually typed up my notes on these books. Yep, that’s as far as I got.
17. Get my vintage lamp rewired
    … Or not. I changed my mind. I was worried it’d burn the house down, and so I left it plugged in for a long time. No problems. Maybe it doesn’t need to be rewired.
18. Don’t check my phone right when I wake up
    I am SO good about this, and I definitely prefer to start my day without panic (email) or comparison (social media).
19. Go to a Concert
    Ed Sheeran on June 9 in Des Moines, Iowa, was the best concert I’ve ever enjoyed. That man. #pantydropper
    
20. Learn/attempt to master a frosting technique
    Jenn and I took a cake decorating class for her birthday. I’ve been experimenting with Wilton tips. It’s a thing.
    
21. Take reusable bags to the store
    This must be happening, because I’m damn near out of Target bags which I use for trash. And, of course, I couldn’t possibly be producing more trash.
22. Develop a routine
    Hardly. Too much traveling.
23. Learn an e-reader
    This is important for my profession. And my cool factor. I have an iPad, and though I find it infuriating at times, it’s really easy to highlight passages–I like that a lot. BUT, you can’t easily copy the highlighted passages into blog posts. I have to type them up. Wah wah.
24. Read magazine subscriptions the month I receive them
    I’m doing this one, and it makes me really happy. I’ve decided not to keep anything but Esquire (even though that was a little hard to narrow) and it’s been nice to read, identify if I want to keep something, then recycle.
25. Make a conscious effort to better my handwriting
    You know, I think a lot more about it when I’m writing. It’s not drastically better, but I’m trying. That’s all I needed.
26. Finish the Jazz documentary I started a billion years ago, and watch two more
    Ken Burns Jazz is done and it was SO good. I suggest you watch it. Then I watched a couple shorter shows, Secrets of Selfridges and Secrets of Highclere Castle from PBS, and the mini-documentary Inside LEGO.
27. Go one day – AT WORK – without saying anything negative.
    You know, it’s damn near impossible. But I’m counting Jan 5, 2015 as the win. I wanted to avoid shit-talking my job and complaining. And I more-or-less did, even trying to avoid negativity on the weather! Any less-positive commentary was followed by a positive or acquiescing comment. Negative and realistic was acceptable. Woo!
28. Make 10 things I’ve pinned on Pinterest
    1. Cinnamon Caramel Cookies
    2. I did a take on these Baked Tacos
    3. I did a version of slow-cooker sprouts
    4. Birthday Brunch included Cinnamon Roll Cream Cheese Monkey Bread
    5. I really only wanted the frosting on these Blueberry Pancake Muffins
    6. I had pinned something more complicated, and went with this Nutella Frosting recipe instead

Five-Year Mark

This year, I’m invited back to my first class reunion at Drake. I couldn’t possibly have graduated five years ago, but apparently, I did. That same glorious time-o-year is the five year mark of my single status. The death of my last relationship. (Well, official, Facebook-removal of said relationship, anyway.)

I tended to be secretly optimistic about the whole thing. While pining for the last guy, and claiming total and utter desperation and willingness to settle, I secretly believed I was, indeed, going to get somebody better.

::cue John Mayer’s Another You::

Yeah, girl! You don’t need him! And you don’t need any man! But you’ll get one, no problem! He’s going to be so much hotter and nicer to you than any of those past guys! You deserve more and you’re going to get it! Your ex will be so jealous and you won’t even care! He’ll be so sexy and smart and… 

I mean that’s what girls tell each other and that’s what we’re trying to believe, right? And when you reach that point where you recognize there were problems and reasons it didn’t work out, you start to believe it’s true. There really is someone better for you!

And the longer you wait the better he becomes.

But then it’s five years later and you’re still single and reality is a bitch.

In My Experience

Happy Valentine’s Day.

The Status Quo

Haven’t checked in with me in a while? New to NERdom? Simply wondering WTF is up? Well, things have been happening. Sort of.

I know a lot of pregnant people. This is new for me. Very excited for them!

New Years Resolution: Wear jewelry everyday, because, man, I gots a lot.

I dated a guy. (I think “dated” is the right word, but I never really know all the old/new school meanings.) This was new for me, too. Short Story: Still Single. [Long Story: I don’t think it worked out, least of all because he called me weird a lot and sort of told me I’m bipolar or schizophrenic and we had few things in common, but more because we were always on edge around one another. It wasn’t easy. Or comfortable. It didn’t click. At least that’s what he said the same night he actually admitted to liking me. I don’t know.]

Should be working out. Am not.

I got a new job! I told you a little about it before. Unfortunately I’m still trying to wrap up my old job, meaning right now I’m working on five different magazine issues. FIVE. It’s insanity. Worse, though, is that my new boss just announced she’s retiring. Remember this time last year when my old boss got moved? Now my editor is announcing her retirement in less than a MONTH after hiring me. I’m really pretty frustrated with her, but more terrified at how I’m going to survive until she’s replaced. As if I wasn’t questioning my decision to take this job already. Jeesh.

Moving up the sorority volunteer line, too. Lived at the house for a couple weeks. Might be becoming a pretty active adviser. Eh.

Got wireless Internet back after not having it for a month. #Winning

Life post-PB is liberating.

Volunteered at a high school debate tournament for the first time in a couple years. Felt dumb. So all things as usual there.

Going to be happily rejoining the lawyer book club just as soon as I can, and I am still going strong with the PB Book Cult and the sorority quarterly club. Goal: 30 books this year.

Finally, and unrelated: This clip which makes me think of this post’s title.

The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. 

How to Snag a Silver Fox

this face negates positive tattoo effects

If there’s anything my trip abroad (and last year of my life, actually) has taught me, it’s that my 007 tattoo is a golden ticket to finding that wealthy silver fox I want to marry for his money and sexy man maturity and money. For reals, this thing attracts the older dudes (ages 40 to 83) more than a low-cut shirt and short skirt!

Trippin’

Well gang, after 10 hours in airports/planes today, I’ll be done with my traveling binge for the year. This final surge started in October with a quick trip to Omaha to see family, and it ends with a LAS-PHX-DSM return from vacation.

The trips have all been enlightening in their own ways. San Fran’s wine country experience left me feeling uncultured–I know next to nothing about wine. And Vegas is so full of attractive people and nightlife that it makes one feel very plain and uninteresting. After Lubbock I am confident in my choice to leave grad school, and every trip confirmed that that my friends and family are good shit.

In all these places I’ve gotten to do a crapton of awesome things: from shopping at Those Iowa Girls, to touring Anheuser-Busch and the Zephyr showroom, taking in the mountainous Red Rock Canyon area at sunset, hanging from trees at Wash U and walking down Las Vegas Blvd. I ate at Fuzzys Tacos, Empress of China, Capriotti’s and Le Thai – to name a few. I enjoyed Bud Light at the O Bar, a Hemingway Daiquiri or two at Herbs & Rye, multiple pumpkin chai at Daybreak, a Grey Goose + Sonic special a la Megan Hansen, a quickly-downed fruity and delicious somethingorother at Frankie’s Tiki Room, and a sip of a bad-behavior-inducing drink called the “Amen” made by a bartender named Jim.

Thanks to everyone who made it happen. I’d be lying if I said I wanted to go home right now, but at least I can happily and exhaustedly surrender myself to working through the holiday season and into the new year… where a fresh batch of vacation days awaits.

all this story needs is a kitten and a cardigan

Today I got up and went to work early. I therefore left work a little early and ran to the grocery store. Then I came home, made pasta for dinner and watched an episode of GREEK. I lounged in bed for a bit and read a couple chapters in my book before going to yoga. After yoga, I baked a batch of Chai Breakfast cupcakes whilst watching Californication.

WTF. Am I Mr. Roger’s neighbor?

meow.