The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things...

I once heard that life is what happens while you're making plans. As much as it pains me to begin my first post of the year with an adage, and a rather sickly-sweet one at that, life has hit me with the full force of its weight while I was still making plans. In other words, I am now at a new college and sitting in my new dorm room and feel, for the first time this week, that things are settling down.

I learned I would be starting at this college only two weeks ago and learned that I would be moving into a dorm in the center of its campus only this past Friday. Yesterday I navigated campus for the first time as an official student and only got lost once. After meeting with an academic advisor I can declare that I have gone from having a foggily outlined future to having the next two years of my life mapped out in great detail. I am finally on course towards obtaining my major - Communications Journalism for now - and the only loose end seems to be which language I will take next year. (I have four years of high school Spanish under my belt, so Spanish seems like the past of least resistance, but I am so very intrigued by German and Italian.)

Life is a lot less predictable than I make it sound. But it's comforting that, amidst all of this change, that I have some solid goals to work towards. I want to thank all of those who have prayed for and supported me over the past nine months. I am so grateful to have as caring and as loving a community as I do.

Keep an eye out - I'll keep you posted on my comings and goings on my new campus!

When did I learn to smile?

Earlier this summer I helped put together a slideshow celebrating my younger brother James. Throughout the process I came across pictures of yours truly as a young child. I don't think I learned how to smile until I was five or six - half of the time my face is scrunched up in this weird grimace. My oddness is compounded by the fact that in most of the pictures I'm seated next to this adorable blonde cherub of a baby, James.

But there was this one great picture of us with an old rocking horse. Because this blog is about me (and not cherubic James) I cut him out of the picture. But now it's the picture heading for my blog. Just wanted to let you know!

So...Forgot to post once again!

So once again I let an unforgivable amount of time lapse between now and my last post. Perhaps unforgiveable is a strong and pretentious word to use. In any case, my apologies.

Classes are in full swing. And (surprise surprise!) I'm doing quite well in them! Most exciting class: international relations! I actually had a conversation about Aghanistan and General McCrystal (love that name!) the other day. Classes are keeping me busy though. Busy enough that I don't have much else to write right now.

Except that where did summer go? It's almost Halloween! It's weird to think of Halloween because my house gets no Trick or Treaters and James and I are, of course, too old to dress up anymore. We don't even carve pumpkins anymore! I used to obsess about my Halloween costume and pumpkins and going out with other neighborhood kids to Trick or Treat. The last time I went was my freshman year of high school. I was Sandy from Grease and, looking back, my friends and I were probably to old. I went to my first Halloween party that year, too, which was a bit more age appropriate. The friend who hosted it had an indoor pool which is, I guess, what I remember most.

Good times, huh?

Wickedness!

Okay, I'm a week late posting this, but last Sunday my mom and I went to a performance of Stephen Schwartz's Wicked at the Paramount. We saw the show the last time it came to town, but it was so amazing then that I got tickets for her birthday. Veronica and her mom Sandy got tickets for the same night, and we enjoyed dinner downtown before the show. Never one to miss a photo opportunity, I asked my mom to take pictures of Veronica and I in front of the theatre.

Random Musings: Archie Comics and Betty Cooper

Three or so months ago my (formerly mentioned) friend Leo sent me a link to an article similar to this one. Years ago, around the time that we first met, I was enamored with the world of Archie Comics. I rooted for Betty and Archie, cursed Veronica when she foiled their dates, and generally spent a ridiculous amount of money collecting those comics. Now, as a twenty-year-old, I remember Archie and the rest of the Riverdale gang with the same fondness that previous generations remember Beverly Hills 90210 and Dynasty.

I decided that I wanted to read this new, purportedly more mature Archie storyline. So far only the first two comics in the six part series have come out, but spoilers for future issues are all over the internet. Basically Archie proposes to Veronica, marries her, gets a top job at her gazillionaire father's international conglomerate, and eventually has a pair of twins with her. Given that this is the Archie Comics universe, where things fall easily into place for the sake of telling a decent story in a limited number of pages, I shouldn't have been surprised that Archie lands a job (fresh out of college and with a degree in history) that will provide him with more money than he could spend in a lifetime; unemployment and mortgages and foreclosures are probably still a bit too "mature" for Archie's universe. What fascinates me more than the fluffily amusing "problems" Archie faces in marrying Veronica (purchasing a tuxedo that fits, etcetera) is how people on the internet (also, apparently, former Archie Comics readers) have rallied to the side of Betty Cooper: Archie's "other" girlfriend, Veronica's sometimes best friend, and the obviously "better" choice for Archie.

"You're just too good for the boy," concludes one blogger. Another fan reportedly sold off his rare copy of the first issue of the comic series in protest of the "pending" nuptials. Being a longtime Betty fan I almost joined their ranks, but then I had a thought: what about Betty made her so much better than Veronica? (I know this sounds a bit odd - putting all this thought into a comic book series - but bear with me.)

In some ways Betty Cooper is a very admirable female character. She's smart, athletic, and above all kind. She had goals and aspirations (often explored in her diary entries) that Veronica never seemed to possess. But at the same time one of Betty's trademark characteristics is that she allows Archie to use her over and over again. No matter how many times Archie dumps her sweet blond self for the sultry Veronica, she comes right back to him. Another thing that bothers me is the way in which the Betty-Archie-Veronica love triangle pits two supposed best friends against one another in the pursuit of a commonly liked boy. I don't think Archie Comics are harmful (at all!) but I do think that young girls who read them should learn to examine the lessons that their characters teach at an early age. If I have daughters do I want to give them comic books where the “strong” female character’s lifelong goal is to become Mrs. Archie Andrews, no matter how many times he throws her over for another woman?

Veering off from the Betty-geared post: another commonly recycled plot line involves a big, slow-witted football player named Moose physically attacking other guys who date his "girl" Midge. I've always sort of wondered A) why Moose would stay with a girl who ran around on him so often and B) why Midge would stay with a guy who loses control of his temper when she hangs out with other boys. Once again, is this a social behavior lesson I would want my young daughter (0r son, for that matter) to learn? I'm not so sure.

This kind of deviates from my normal "Sam's life" oriented posts - but maybe I'll add more random musings about more random topics as time goes on. Hopefully I'll get better at organizing my thoughts, too. I realize that this post wanders a bit!

Lucky #10

Just one last post tonight, this one involving my younger brother James. He's started playing soccer again! Last Sunday morning, on our way home from Whidbey Island, the Ketterings stopped off in Bothell to watch him play a game. According to my dad, James and his teammates are growing like weeds - they've been playing together for four or so years, and now several of them (James included) are taller than their fathers.

Blue T-Shirt Posse

Here's sort of a photo essay of my Grandpa's 90th birthday celebration. My cousins Mollie, Betsy, and Annie have blogs too - and I'm sure they'll post their musings about Grandpa's birthday bash too. On a side note, Annie is an amazing photographer, and if you live in the greater Seattle area and need a fabulous candid photographer you should consider her!

Waiting for the ferry to Whidbey Island

On the ferry

The back of the official birthday bash T-shirt

I started taking pictures of everyone in their blue T-shirts

Mollie and Nick

Annie, a fellow photographer!

Beach boys

Cousins at play

My dad gave a short speech

Harry Kettering, born 9/9/1919

The really neat picture cake

Uncle Bobby, Andy, and six other grandkids

Grandma Jane and I

Grandpa Harry and Dad (the youngest)

Ryan and Callie

Uncle Dave, Dad, and Aunt Katie (with great-nephew/grandson Nick)

Betsy and Miller

Uncle Dave (the eldest), Grandpa Harry, Aunt Katie (the middle child), and Mark (the baby)

Grandpa Harry, Me, Grandma Jane, and James - the next morning

One last look at the beautiful day