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

Happy birthday, Grandpa!

My Grandpa Harry (my dad's dad) has spent the past ninety years leading a truly incredible life. His father died when he was young, just after the Kettering family had purchased hundreds of acres of farm land. Rather than bemoan the way his life had turned out my grandpa helped his mother run the farm before deciding, at the age of seventeen, that he wanted to be a doctor (more specifically a maternity doctor). Flash forward some ten odd years, and my grandpa achieved his goal, graduating from (I think!) the University of Washington and eventually establishing a practice on Mercer Island.

My dad, my uncle, and my aunt were all raised on Mercer Island too. Eventually my father bought (from my grandparents) the house he had been born in (which would, coincidentally, become the house my brother and I were born in). Given that my dad had grown up on Mercer Island, surrounded by my grandpa's patients, it's not so unusual that, years later, those patients would approach us when they learned our last name.

"Are you related to Harry Kettering?" they'd ask. "How amazing! He delivered my son!"

Grandpa Harry delivered my brother's kindergarten teacher's children as well as the daughters of a local pet shop owner, and these are only the occasions I can remember.

Later in life my dad's mother, my Grandma Molly, passed on. Luckily for my brother, cousins, and I, Grandpa got remarried to our Grandma Jane, and the Kettering family expanded to include the Bigsby clan. I regret that I do not know the Bigsbys better, but they're a wonderfully fun crowd of people to be around, and even if I don't seen them for years at a time it's always easy to fall into conversation with them.

My point is this: a little less than a week ago, on September 9th, 2009, my Grandpa Harry celebrated his ninetieth birthday. For months my Grandma Jane (with the help of my amazing Aunt Katie) has planned a festive celebration of his milestone birthday. Family flew in from Hawaii, San Francisco, Alaska, and other places I cannot recall to raise a glass to my grandpa's longevity and health. The party was held up at my aunt and uncle's home on Whidbey Island, and I have not been to such a wonderful party in ages. Friends from my grandparents' past, as well as the Kettering, Campbell, and Bigsby clans were in attendances. I got to see my Uncle David (who lives in California and who, if I'm lucky, I'll see twice a year), my cousins, their husbands, and their vibrant young children. (I apologize if the adjective is a little cheesy - I couldn't think of any other word to describe my cousins' seven young kids, each of whom have their own blossoming personality. I guess I don't spend time around children much, but it's been a while since I've met such enjoyable ones!) I also got to learn more about my grandparents, something I have been formerly remiss in doing. Throw in the matching blue T-shirts my aunt ordered to commemorated the event and you've got one weekend that I'll always treasure!

I guess I want to end by posing this question: what would you do with your life if you knew you'd live to (and, in my grandpa's case, past) ninety years old?

(P.S. I took tons of pictures, which I'll post in just a few minutes [hopefully]!)

Better late than never!

When we last spoke I was about to venture out onto the Puget Sound with my dad and my close friends Veronica and Leo. The day was overcast, and our boat bounced a bit on the waves, but thankfully the heavy rains did not start until the next morning.

The rest of that peaceful Labor Day weekend was filled with a very wet canoe ride, all three Matrix movies, and misadventures with the timers on our digital cameras. I don't know if I mentioned this in my last post, but I've known Veronica, Leonor, and Angie (a third friend who, unfortunately, had to return to college before our weekend jaunt) for ten years. Veronica and Leo have known one another even longer than that - since kindergarten! We all went to elementary and middle school together, and despite venturing off to three different high schools and then three different colleges we've all remained good friends.

I think I sat next to Leo the first day of fifth grade, and Veronica and I were partners for our fifth grade science project. At the age of ten I had absolutely no idea that those two (and Angie) would help me celebrate every birthday I've had since then, including my twentieth, when they treated me to dinner in downtown Seattle. I guess I'm always amazed at how well we get along together after all these years.

In any case, here are some pictures from the weekend.

Our friends, the Pinneos, are remodeling their beach home - they have the most amazing views from their decks!

We went for a beach walk and tried to use the timer settings on our cameras to take a group picture. This is the best one I got...

The canoe started taking on water REALLY fast...

...so we all got REALLY wet!

But not wet enough to turn down another photo opportunity!

...

I'm down at the beach yet again, in the company of Veronica and Leonor. We're about to go out on a boat ride, and we'll keep an eye on Leo - she's not a strong swimmer! (That's sort of a joke!)

I'm past trying to understand Seattle's weather. Last weekend it was eighty degree weather, and now the water is choppy and the skies are grey. I guess when you live in the Pacific Northwest you sort of have to roll with it. Hopefully the boat ride won't be too bumpy or wet, but we're hearty girls, and we're up for anything.

Back to school...for James

James starts school tomorrow! He'll be a junior. I can hardly believe he's able to see R rated movies on his own, and it's that much more difficult now that he's an upperclassman with a parking pass for the high school's parking lot!

James, Me, and Veronica at the beach this summer (August 2009)

...

I guess this all could have gone into one post. But I'm trying to hit at least one-hundred posts by the end of the year, and I need to get cracking. Even if these first few are random ramblings, they're going to count.

Basically, I am woefully under informed about the world, American history in particular. Even though I've had consistently amazing history teachers (Turner, Shoe, Segall! the fantasticality of those three and their different methods!) I've been recalcitrant in properly absorbing everything they've told me. I totally need to relearn about all of the American wars and several of the important American presidents. And I need to learn more about the world, too - the Ottoman Empire, the colonization of Africa, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, Vatican II, the social status of women throughout the world, polytheistic religions, oh god so much!

So if anyone knows of a great historian or an anthropologist or someone who explains information really well, holler at me!

Also, who the hades doesn't know what band Sgt. Pepper refers to? (I just finished a rather ridiculous rerun of Project Runway. Oh my goodness, Tim Gunn is fountain of fabulousness!)

Training...I guess

I almost forgot! My mom and I are going to start training for a half marathon soon. If we go through with our plan - and I really, really hope we do! - then I will most definitely be traveling farther away from home than the KP! I'm going for a run tomorrow. Let's see how that goes. I've heard running is sort of an art form - or, at least, that's it's more than moving your legs faster than normal. I think the marathon is about thirteen miles, which is totally doable (in my mind) because that's less than five laps around Greenlake. I don't know anyone who runs around Greenlake five times at once, but then again I don't know many "runners." I'm just super thrilled to have something to work on between the end of my summer courses (at UW) and the start of by fall courses (at Bellevue College). Philosophy and international relations await my in the late days of September, but for now I'm a running reader!

Picnics

Picnics are jolly good business. Alas, the picnic season is almost over in Seattle and as of yet I've assessed (personally) only one decent picnic location in the Greater Seattle area. And does it even count, because that picnic location is Downtown Park in Bellevue? At the start of the summer I thought I'd at least make it to Gasworks Park. Ah, well. These next two or three weeks promise to be more adventurous than the rest of my summer combined, at least in terms of travel. Where shall the winds carry me? Hopefully a little farther than they Key Peninsula, which is lovely but which I have experienced more than enough of for the time being.

Something borrowed, something blue...

During the first week of August my family and I attended the wedding of a "Bible Study kid", Karli Johnson. I got a chance to debut my new haircut while wearing a little black dress and my favorite colorful pumps ever! I didn't stand a chance against the bride, though, who looked absolutely sensational. Because I am me, I used the wedding as an opportunity to snap some photos!

Kettering family photo

Dean Johnson, the bride's father, has a wonderful habit of dressing us as SNL's Guido Sarducci at weddings. Because this was Dean's daughter's wedding, Guido made a special appearance, and a brought along a retinue of bodyguards. He told the wedding guests that this one was named "Mario."

I wish all the best to the wedded couple, Karli and Zach Zarcone.

Chopped off six inches!

Towards the end of July, Seattle experienced the most dastardly heat wave in its recorded history. I hate to put my hair back in a ponytail, so instead (to air out the back of my neck) I chopped off six inches of hair!

I went from this...

To this!

All in all, I took off about six inches. It's the shortest my hair has been since the sixth grade!

"...Oh, say can you see?"

The last time I posted was around the 4th of July. My parents and James were in Hawaii, and since I staid home for classes I headed down to the beach for the holiday. I got to spend time with my uncle, aunt, and three wonderful cousins as well as fellow beach family and longtime family friends, the Pinneos. As an added bonus their son Luke had recently returned from Peru (where he worked at an orphanage!) Luke is great with kids, and he spent the whole weekend playing with them.

That night we set off some fireworks and roasted s'mores. It was a fantastic weekend, and I'm so glad I got to spend it with family! Here are some pictures.

Matthew the fisher

Paige the sparkler

Luke the climber

There was an amazing sunset that night

Aunt Jessie and Matthew!

Uncle Brian giving us a "sparkler" lesson

One of our better fireworks!

Returns

So, obviously (and once again) I've been terribly remiss in keeping up posts. To be fair I've just finished with my classes at UW, and I don't start classes at BC until late September, so I should have more time to document my latest and greatest! That is, if you're still listening!

I have been a bit busy over the past eight weeks, so I might as well post some of my adventures! All my best to you good readers!

Wow, I've been remiss in posting!

But in my defense I've been insanely busy lately. I just started taking summer courses at UW, and between philosophy readings and navigating the King County transit system I've had my work cut out for me.

Thank goodness for this past 4th of July weekend, which I spent at the beach with my aunt, uncle, cousins, and good friends. I'll post pictures later - I even got some of the fireworks. Although, as usual, our neighbor's show completely outdid us.

I'll post pictures and more details later. For now I hope everyone's enjoying the fruits of our independence!

"Doe, a deer, a female deer..."

So, um, deer. As in: there have been a busload chilling around my house lately. One even came into the backyard yesterday while my mom and I were working on various chores; it was gigantic and had velvet horn nubs (so I assume it was a buck) and thank goodness our little dog Gizmo didn't see it because he considers himself a regular deer hunter and has an unfortunate tendency to dash after them.

I know, a post about deer isn't that interesting. But in the wake of nothing interesting happening...This is what I have.

In other news I start summer courses at the U in a little over a week. I'm pretty excited, taking some good classes. I even have an English class where we read graphic novels instead of regular books which I am way excited for. 

I'll let you know more as it comes.

A "Carmitzvah" Recap

For the past ten years or so my parents have belonged to a bible study of about fifteen families or so. I think there are probably close to thirty "Fellowship" kids, and it's been a tradition for each child, when they turn sixteen, to have a night where the Fellowship and family and close friends come together and celebrate that child. We've taken to calling such nights "Carmitzvahs" because they usually coincide with the teen getting their driver's license.

We're almost a year late, but last night the Fellowship came together for James's Carmitzvah. 

Almost forty friends and extended family members gathered together to raise James up, to affirm his transition into young adulthood, and to give him sage advice. Four grandparents, two aunts, two uncles, seven cousins, four cousins' children, four young adult women with lives of their own, a couple in the midst of moving, friends from Everett and Brier and as far away as Ketchum all came together and said the sweetest things about "James", and gave him the greatest advice. Many more people than the ones I identified above came as well, and I know each and every person made a deep impression on James.

One of my favorite moments of the evening were when my Grandpa Harry gave a short but moving tribute to James and his family - "I don't know how you can fail with all of the love you have been given," he said. In my dad's letter to my brother he told James that while, in kindergarten, James went from "Jamie to James." My Uncle Bobby later said, "Let's make a deal. Throughout your life you'll introduce yourself as James to other people. But to the people in this room, you'll be Jamie." I loved that sentiment so much - it reflected the spirit of the evening so well!

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am and how many people I have supporting me. But each person who spoke about James (and there were lots) is there for me too. I am blessed to be surrounded by a community of such caring, good hearted, and supportive individuals. 

Thank you so much to everyone who came last night and to all who sent their regards! Also, double triple infinity thanks to my friend Lily, who came and helped my mom and I prepare for the evening. Lily found enjoyment in all tasks, from shredding twelve pounds of pork to placating the Kettering hounds during the tribute part of the evening to loading the dishwasher twice. As my mom said this evening, "She really busted her ass!" 

"At 20 years of age the will reigns; at 30 the wit; and at 40 the judgment..."

Oh, and one other thing! A few weeks ago I turned twenty (one year short of you-know-what.) 

I just wanted to thank my amazing family and my wonderful friends for making me feel so special. On my actual birthday I went to dinner with my good friends Veronica, Leonor, and Angie. I've known those three since the fifth grade, and I don't think I've celebrated a birthday without one (or all) of them since I turned eleven. 

The next day I went to dinner again with my parents, brother, Grandpa Harry, and Lily. (Grandma Jane was missed!) Then my grandparents Bonnie and Connie drove up the next morning to hand deliver birthday well wishings. I also received a slew of cards and Facebook comments from uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends. 

I am so blessed to have so many wonderful, thoughtful people in my life. Thank you so much everyone!