Kottabi Jenkins

So I spent last weekend going to a wedding (surprise!) in Peoria, IL. As, the previous four I have been to this year, this one was also great fun. I went with three other girls. Two of them were bridesmaids. The other one and I were the guest book attendants, even though the guest book was not at the church. It was at the reception, and I didn't have to attend to it there.


We handed out programs,

but, our main responsibility was to keep children out of the ceremony. The bride and groom hired babysitters to watch children in the nursery, and of course they didn't mention it beforehand to the parents. My fellow attendant/bouncer became the evil child haters who had to stare down parents and tell them to put their kids in the nursery. Four babies got by us, but I wasn't about to try and make a mother separate from her infant if she didn't want to. I whinced when one of the babies started making noise during the vows. I didn't see it, but knew the bride's eyes were rolling.

We also had to pass out bubbles to guests as they left the church. The bubbles also provided us with minutes of entertainment.



The reception was a lot of fun, and I should know. It was the fifth one I've been to this year. (I was much better behaved than the last reception I attended.)


The bride is half Iranian, which made the reception an interesting mix of stereotypical white person wedding reception tunes (read, YMCA) intertwined with Iranian music. Turns out, I'm really good at Iranian dancing.


And then there were three (left unmarried or not engaged - two pictured below).


The riverfront in Peoria was a neat little area. The city was a lot bigger and nicer than I expected. Since we weren't bridesmaids, Crystal and I had all day Saturday to walk around and explore. We ended up on a search to get our nails done. We decided to go run to a place we had seen earlier when we drove to the rehearsal. After a slight detour, we found it. We got weird looks for stopping in the middle of a run to get nails done, but we didn't have a car and we didn't smell too bad.


And on a final note, the meatballs at the rehearsal dinner were the most delicious I've ever had. The bride revealed they were the main reason for choosing to have the dinner at that restaurant. They came with a bowl of pasta, but our table asked for a second bowl of just meatballs. (A good thing about having a pregnant friend is you don't feel bad for asking for seconds and being specific about it. You can just blame it on the prego.)




Actually, on another final note, one of the most awesome parts of the trip was that when we got gas to head home it was LESS THAN $2 A GALLON!!

I am so smart. S-M-R-T!

There is a mentally handicapped person who works in my building doing various janitorial duties. Well today when he came to pick up our office's recyclables, he also had to point out that my fly was unzipped. It's a good thing I've talked to and walked by at least 30 professionals today. Awesome. Now if you can excuse me, I must go crawl in a hole.

I Have to Get the F out of Dodge (or Oklahoma)

So lately I've had a HANKERING to listen country music. I drove to a wedding in Peoria, IL, this past weekend (pictures to come), and 25% of the music listened to in the car was country...and I had control of the radio. Help, help! I'm a fixin' to becomin' a countrified bumpkin. How did this happen? This is a cry for help.

TU Won Their Homecoming Game!

If you think I look terrible in this picture, you'd be right. Fun times were had the previous two nights, but sleep was not, but late night IHOP excursions were. VI no longer carries my beloved jalapeno poppers, but IHOP's stuffed french toast has come to my rescue. Perhaps we live in a just world after all...














And in other news, my hair has gotten really long.

In Remembrance

Today is September 11. I can't believe it's been five years since the buildings went down. I really can't believe it's been five years since I was a junior in college either, but that's an entirely different psychological issue I'm ungracefully handling.

But seriously, have you ever really thought about that day and what went down. If you think about it hard enough, it becomes incredibly scary, or at least to me it does. I don't let fear dictate my life though, which is fortunate. September 11 is really heartbreaking. It will forever leave the questions "how" and "why". Because when I start to think about September 11, and especially its aftermath, I fear for the direction our country is headed in. I don't want to live in a country that the rest of the world hates, and where I feel our government's actions are not representative of its people. What percent of the American people are really happy with the way our government has handled the whole situation, but more importantly, what percent of those unhappy are doing anything about it? According to a poll done by CBS last year, 55% of Americans believe going into Iraq was a mistake. (In 2003, the number was only 25%.) It just makes me sad to think that the general public can easily be so ready to support an attack on a country that didn't attack us by tying it to a separate incident. I am pretty sure Osama is not in Iraq right now. Remember him? It amazes me we haven't captured him yet. It seems if the U.S. really wants to arrest someone (Saddam) then we go in and get it taken care of (war in Iraq). Are we so easily swayed by a media call for patriotism and waving flags in our faces? But my main point here is not how stupid most of the American public is or how the government started a war under false pretenses, my point is that I am afraid that we have become way too complacent. If any of you are like me, then you don't really approve of our country's actions and behaviors in regards to the attacks. But if you are still like me, you haven't really done much about it, even enough to know what better course of actions could have been taken. It appears I care, but not enough. And it scares me to think that most people are more concerned with finding the perfect picture to post on Myspace than to try and change things they perceive to be wrong. It seems easier to just ignore the tough issues and go on being self-absorbed, self gratifying beings. Yet, if we all are like this, where is our future headed?

West Coast Love

I went to L.A. over Labor Day weekend. Finally. For the past three years, my college roommate and I have been trying to plan a vacation that would include a beach. I like the city of angels a whole heck of a lot more than I thought I would. I have four really good friends from either high school or college out there. We truly had a good time. I won't give you all the details. They are just typical going out and getting rowdy shenanigans. They are hilarious, but I am too lazy to share. There are loads of pictures, but you have to be on Facebook to see them all. Haha.

Day 1: Surfing lesson at Manhattan Beach followed by going out to The Shore in Hermosa.





Okay, me on a surfboard in the ocean is a BIG deal. I have a phobia (not fear) of sharks. This is a big achievement for me, so next time you see give me my due props for balling up and getting out there.


Some guy at The Shore asked me if I like poles insinuating that I should dance like a stripper around one, but I said, "no, I prefer Americans." I am so clever and witty. I win. Also, here is a good trick to use when you are out at a club and your friend is meeting you but must wait in line. First, make friends with a manager or someone with clout who hangs out by the door. Next, go up to the bouncer and tell him that the manager/clout person told you it was okay to let a person cut line. The bouncer will ask who. Call out to the manager/clout person and just wave. When manager/clout person waves back, the bouncer lets your friend cut line. Ta-da! I win again.



Day 2: Laying out at Santa Monica followed by a barbeque and going out in West Hollywood where I met a gay male model who is the most gorgeous person I have laid eyes on in "real life". You would know him if you ever watched the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency show on the Oxygen Network.



We made up a new picture taking game. We call it progressions. This is the only progression I will allow online. We call it, "hot dog consumption at a bbq".




Can I keep him? Please.



Introducing A Train, K Shack, and S House:


We were losers by the end of that night, but...


Greg and Ito were ROCK STARS!


Day 3: A nice breakfast in Beverly Hills followed by a night club during the day with dollar beers at the Dragon, followed by sobering up in time for a nice meal and going to a comedy club. The comedy club was a little empty, and the most famous comic we saw there was Bobby Lee (the Korean on MAD TV). If you are in LA, go to the Dragon on a Sunday. You will not regret this decision.

Fayette came to Fayetteville

A week ago, Faye was in Fayetteville. I joined her. The results were as follows:

Don't ask because I don't know.


We are pretending to be en fuego.


Zane wants to be a dinosaur (a Lightly Frosted reference for those who remember).


Pontoonin' it up with Patrick.


We got punched in the face and got fat lips, or we just smashed cherry juice on our lips.


Out on Dickson fondling a statue.


I want to push my bangs out of my face. Gah. I brought pita bread and artichoke dip to the party.


Yeah, that looks about right.