Accidental Cleverness

This is me really trying to blog.

Did you know that a lot of people in my life ask me to blog?  It's not just Valerie anymore.  It's lots of people. (If "lots of people" is any amount over 3.)

That's a lot of pressure on this pretend blogger!

What pressure you ask?  The pressure of a well rounded post, the pressure of always having a photo, because I read once that "a post is always better with a photo."  Not groundbreaking information...and an obvious statement besides.

A photo.  This post is about the jewelry I wore today, so the smart and RELEVANT thing to do would be to photograph the jewelry.  Or photograph me wearing it...but it's dark now, and the lighting in my apartment is weird, and it means I would have to stage a photo and edit it.

Even as I say that a part of my brain says "you can do it!" while the other side says "if you stop to take a photo you will NEVER finish this blog!"  Hmmmm....right vs left much?  My left is winning, even though my right is imagining what that photo would look like.

Instead you'll get this other photo that's already on my phone and edited....it's from July 5th right after I got my hair cut:

It's still relevant because I'm wearing another new[ish] and favorite jewelry item.  A small, persimmon colored House of Harlow suburst pendant.  I love it because it's small (the signature HoH sunbursts are bigger and on a longer chain) and it's "trendy" enough that I've actually received an "I love your House of Harlow necklace" comment from someone.  That's as trendy as I'll ever be, so I'll take it!

Oh, right...the jewelry I wore today.

A few months ago I found this website that had custom hashtag necklaces.  I fell in love with the idea.  I NEEDED one!  I LOVE hashtags.  Not in an annoying way, because I maintain that I'm always an appropriately enthusiastic fan [of things] - never a crazy, over the top fan.  I don't go out of my way to use them in a ridiculous way, but I think they're amazing because they actually gave us a new way to express a thought, feeling, or theme.  It's an actual advancement in language.  That may be romanticizing it a bit, but I really find it fascinating.  And useful.  (At the time that I'm writing this, the current name of the blog uses a hashtag "#KatBlog".  This is the second name of the blog.  The first name was "I remind myself of someone named Alice")

Back to the necklace...what should it be?!  I polled my friends....none of the hashtags I use for myself made sense on a necklace.  #Katriculous (haha) #RawrKat (love this #, but...a little strange to wear around my neck).  I realized that what would make the MOST sense would just be #Kat, but....no one very few people call me Kat in real life.

There went the custom necklace.  Then a couple weeks ago I found new inspiration in an instagram post.  Someone I followed was wearing hashtag earrings - GENIOUS!!!  WANT!!!  MUST HAVE!!!

.....

They were harder to find than you think.  I wanted silver, but I took the first decent looking pair I found, which were gold.  That's fine - I equally wear gold and silver.  No one (as in...none of my friends) knew that I was looking for hashtag earrings.  I wanted to debut them and hear a chorus of "oh my gosh - hashtag earrings!!  How PERFECT!!!"  This plan led to disappointment.  No one seems to notice them. To be fair, they're studs, and I have long hair that probably blocks my earrings most of the time, but...they're so amazing - how can people not see that?!

I caved and pointed them out to Jared.  I wish I hadn't done that - it made it less fun.  I won't do that with anyone else.  That was exceptionally hard today for two reasons.  (Oh hey...this is the ACTUAL story I logged in to write about.)  One: I had lunch with Byron.  Byron would totally appreciate my hashtag earrings, having been along for the whole hashtag ride.  Two: Without thinking, I also wore my gold Marc by MJ necklace that has his little signature bird on it.  At a glance....I'm wearing a bird necklace and hashtag earrings.  It's like Twitter, but not, and better, because it was an accident.

Byron didn't notice...no one noticed.  #SighStorm

Which is why I wrote this today...because I can't tell anyone about my awesome new earrings.  Except you.

Happy 4th of July!

Seattle Fireworks Display ~ 7/4/10

Did I ever tell you about the time I worked for the 4th of July Committee in Vancouver, WA?

The committee was responsible for the fireworks show which used to be the largest 4th of July fireworks display west of the Mississippi River.  I don't think it's actually the biggest anymore, but it's nice to have that history.

Vancouver, WA (USA!) has a historic district near downtown and a Fort (Fort Vancouver of course!) so take my word for it, the town feels very patriotic, and it's a great place for a big fireworks display.

Working for the 4th of July Committee was one of my first paying jobs as a teenager, and one of my most favorite jobs of all time.  We sold fireworks to fund the display, and when I say we sold fireworks....I mean we worked in a huge fireworks tent!  Now, take whatever you're thinking when I say "fireworks tent" and triple it in size...and then add at least 12 registers...and shopping carts. 

I worked there for...I want to say 5 years.  Without boring you with all the details, it was a great lesson in leadership, overtime, controversy, retail, fireworks law, teamwork, and above all it was a blast.  Customers buying fireworks are [usually] happy, and I've never personally seen so much cash in my LIFE.

I grew up going to the fireworks show with my parents.  I can remember sitting on blanket in the grass, sitting in my mom's lap and her leaning back and saying "woooaaah!!!" with the big explosions, and then leaving the park with THOUSANDS of other people!  How on earth did we even get there....or get home with so many people!?!  Other years we watched from my dad's office building - they had a lounge on the top floor with a great view.

Once I started working with the 4th of July Committee, going to the show was less important.  I was exhausted by that night, plus I was older and more interested in setting off my own fireworks than going to the show.  Although one year we were given VIP passes and allowed to drive down near the airfield where they set them off.  That was pretty sweet. :-)

Being me, as much as I love fireworks, I also have a healthy respect for the danger that surrounds the holiday.  If you're setting off fireworks tonight, please be safe! Keep water near by, never relight, don't hold fireworks in your hands, and take care of your pets!

In the midst of all of your celebrating, take a moment to remember the reason for the holiday.  I often think about how I could've born anywhere in the world, and I'm incredibly grateful to have been born in the United States.

Happy Birthday America!