Note to Self

Dear Kristen,

Please find time to blog soon about all the hilarious and badass things on your list of "Things to blog about..."

Love,

Kristen

All About my Crazyness courtesy of StrengthsQuest

STRATEGIC

The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?” This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles. Guided by where you see each path leading, you start to make selections. You discard the paths that lead nowhere. You discard the paths that lead straight into resistance. You discard the paths that lead into a fog of confusion. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path—your strategy. Armed with your strategy, you strike forward. This is your Strategic theme at work: “What if?” Select. Strike.

MAXIMIZER

Excellence, not average, is your measure. Taking something from below average to slightly above average takes a great deal of effort and in your opinion is not very rewarding. Transforming something strong into something superb takes just as much effort but is much more thrilling. Strengths, whether yours or someone else’s, fascinate you. Like a diver after pearls, you search them out, watching for the telltale signs of a strength. A glimpse of untutored excellence, rapid learning, a skill mastered without recourse to steps—all these are clues that a strength may be in play. And having found a strength, you feel compelled to nurture it, refine it, and stretch it toward excellence. You polish the pearl until it shines. This natural sorting of strengths means that others see you as discriminating. You choose to spend time with people who appreciate your particular strengths. Likewise, you are attracted to others who seem to have found and cultivated their own strengths. You tend to avoid those who want to fix you and make you well rounded. You don’t want to spend your life bemoaning what you lack. Rather, you want to capitalize on the gifts with which you are blessed. It’s more fun. It’s more productive. And, counterintuitively, it is more demanding.

WOO

Woo stands for winning others over. You enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you. Strangers are rarely intimidating to you. On the contrary, strangers can be energizing. You are drawn to them. You want to learn their names, ask them questions, and find some area of common interest so that you can strike up a conversation and build rapport. Some people shy away from starting up conversations because they worry about running out of things to say. You don’t. Not only are you rarely at a loss for words; you actually enjoy initiating with strangers because you derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection. Once that connection is made, you are quite happy to wrap it up and move on. There are new people to meet, new rooms to work, new crowds to mingle in. In your world there are no strangers, only friends you haven’t met yet—lots of them.

COMMUNICATION

You like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write. This is your Communication theme at work. Ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, to energize them, to make them exciting and vivid. And so you turn events into stories and practice telling them. You take the dry idea and enliven it with images and examples and metaphors. You believe that most people have a very short attention span. They are bombarded by information, but very little of it survives. You want your information—whether an idea, an event, a product’s features and benefits, a discovery, or a lesson—to survive. You want to divert their attention toward you and then capture it, lock it in. This is what drives your hunt for the perfect phrase. This is what draws you toward dramatic words and powerful word combinations. This is why people like to listen to you. Your word pictures pique their interest, sharpen their world, and inspire them to act.

ACHIEVER

Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by “every day” you mean every single day—workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving.

Vocabulary Lesson: Hater

Word: Hater
As defined by Urban Dictionary

"A label applied to people who are more negative than positive when discussing another person. It most commonly refers to individuals whose negativity is so extreme that it is all-consuming. However, there are various levels and forms of being a hater, ranging from completely dismissing any positive traits or actions, to merely painting a less than flattering picture by using words with negative connotations. Hating is often attributed to jealousy, but just as often, it seems to stem from some other source."

Person A: Ben Gordon is one of the best clutch scorers in the league!
Person B: Gordon is an impressive scorer, but he's still a role player.

Desperate

Brooke Hogan being an idiot, again.

Really? Really?!?

Some people are just desperate for ratings on TV shows.

Arrivederci,
Kristen Marie

Hope

Yeah, in case you haven't noticed I've blogged a few times this evening (meh, morning?) and it may be a result of anticipation for a new semester, the extra-large white chocolate mocha I drank at 1am, or the simple fact that I just have a ton on my mind.

Everyone knows the saying "live your life with no regrets" and while that is something I try to uphold as much as possible I know (as well as the world) that being 100% regret free is just not possible. With that being said, there is one thing that I for sure do not regret in my life and that is my hope tattoo.

I'm not a stranger to the tattoo parlor as I have gotten a new tattoo every summer since 2007 (except for this summer, yikes - I better get on that) and it has been over a year since I got my new piece. Since I have had a year under my belt of living with this tattoo I figured now would be a good time as ever to reflect on it.















Last Spring really, for lack of more sophisticated words, sucked. It was only positive in the sense that my family's health was doing well and none of us were getting surgery or anything so around the house everything was in order but outside the safe quarters of my quaint Ogdensburg home....shit was hitting the fan. It seemed almost like God had put a spell on all of my friends and made them instant assholes or some sort of personality disorder acted up in almost every single one of them. I found myself being in the company of people that I once knew and loved but suddenly seemed very distant and different. In addition, my boyfriend of 2.5 years and I split after he decided that I wasn't supportive or the same person anymore.

Cover-up excuse: I had changed....wasn't the same "Kristen" anymore....and he wanted to move on.

Real excuse: I was the only girlfriend he had ever had and instead of being up front to me about things he lied, acted very ungrateful, liked one of my best friends at the time, and wanted to let me go to have a shot at her.

Someone (I am almost certain) will probably direct message him on Twitter and show him this link but frankly I really could care less. Any who - on with more tattoo talk...

After the chaotic train wreck that was my spring, the summer came and my friend Amanda (who had gone through her own hot messes too) and I decided we needed HOPE. I'm not talking the Barack Obama/empty promises/commercialized hope either. We needed a real connection to God/inspirational/something to be a reminder of our survival kinda HOPE.

Why? Why the sudden urge to get a simple four-letter word tattooed to our bodies? Because it was almost like a badge of honor to us. Hope is what kept us alive for about a good 3 months. Army and military personal come home all the time with badges, kids come home from school with certificates of recognition, and athletes get handed trophies. For the emotional and mental war the both of us had been through those past few months....we deserved our certificate of survival...in the form of new tattoos. For us hope was what we held on to when we had nothing else and as a way to make sure that we never lost it, ever, we went to Lark Street Tattoo Shop in Albany and made it official.

1 year later...
Amanda and I don't really speak anymore as we live in different places and have found ourselves this year busy with other activities, life choices, friends and what have you's. I think about her often and manage to shoot her Facebook hello's every once in a while and well as for my life...since last summer my life has been a long journey of exploration, meeting life long amazing friends, and helping others while growing my self esteem as well. However, my tattoo hasn't really grown with me....it's kind of faded to be honest. Anybody who hangs out with me on a regular basis knows that I bitch constantly about how faded my tattoo has gotten and how the purple heart next to the word heart has lost it's outline and needs to be retouched. But, this evening I had a pretty big epiphany about how important HOPE still is to me because even though it is fading on my skin it really still hasn't left me or my life.

This epiphany is thanks to someone I've been blessed to meet through my all time favorite hobby and service organization, Circle K.

My friend T.J. is a pretty remarkable guy and when I say remarkable I mean that he is one of those people that everyone loves to be around because of his impeccable smile, warmth, and genuine spirit. Every month T.J. writes a monthly column on his Web-site http://tjmartin.org. I read it as a pick-me-up and a way to jump start my month with a positive attitude. While perusing his site yesterday I clicked to get my monthly dose of feel-good-blogging and the title of his August 2009 column was "Hope: A Positive Attitude." I began to read the short three paragraph post and was instantly moved.

'Hope is a positive attitude, that with it carries out positive thoughts and positive actions. Maintaining these positive attitudes is essential in maintaining the actions that follow, and leaders are the central bank of hope for everyone else to draw from." -Timothy (T.J.) Martin

What an extraordinary thought. Really....really...extraordinary thought. While T.J.'s quote above deals directly with leadership and leaders I still think it applies to everyone and serves as a reminder about hope in our lives. We do in fact have to sometimes be the bank of hope for everyone else to draw from but also never forget that while you make withdrawals out of that bank that you also have to stop and make deposits too.


If you haven't had the chance recently to re-energize yourself or do something you enjoy...

Go out and do it.

If you haven't already clicked on the link above for T.J.'s monthly column...

Scroll up and do it.

If you are still holding on to heavy issues or bad memories of the past that do nothing but weigh you down and hold you back...

Cut them loose and do it.

and lastly, if you find yourself in need of inspiration and hope to hold on to.

Confide in your friends or God and do it.


Thank you T.J. for reminding me through your column what the true meaning of hope is and why it is so essential and valuable. You really did give me the jump start I needed for this upcoming semester.


Arrivederci,
Kristen Marie


Author's Note: I've received news that earlier this week, T.J.'s mother has passed away. If you are a person of faith please send love and prayers of strength and healing to T.J. and his family. I know hope and strength will get you through this T.J. and we all love you very much.

Jeff Lewis: Flipping Out

Hi all:

I feel the need to share with everyone that the best part of my week was when I got to witness this dialogue on Jeff Lewis: Flipping Out on Bravo:

Jeff: When is your date with the gay guy? And if he's gay, why isn't he asking me out?

Jenni: He asked me out for a salad and now it'll be sushi.

Jeff: OK, and you don't think it's a red flag. Have you ever had a man ask you out for a salad?

Jenni: No.

Jeff: No. Red flag. See, this is what I'm trying to teach you. You've got to pay attention to these things.

With this guy as your guru, what can possibly go wrong?

Jeff Lewis completes me. That dialogue is SO story of my life.

Life is good.


Arrivederci,
Kristen Marie

Ride that Pony...or not?

Sup world?

So, I've been a total bag of lazy-ness lately and haven't had the chance to write.
This is mostly because of four main things:

1. Alabama.
   I went to Alabama for my CKI international convention and got so caught up in friends, sweet tea, humidity, and amazing southern hospitality that being cooped up inside with a computer was the LAST thing I wanted to do.
2. Mom.
   My mom is healing up pretty well! She had a doctor's appointment in Vermont yesterday and the doctor said things are looking good and shes doing great. I just pray that she (and our family) never has to go through another brain or serious surgery again.
3. Knee.
   Since I am such a child, I played this game called "Ride that Pony" and blew out my knee which rendered me in a wheelchair at the Birmingham Zoo. This was all in Alabama so for the past 2 weeks I've been hobbling my ass around in a knee brace, crutches, and wheelchairs because my left knee won't go straight. Needless to say I will never play that game ever again and I'm praying for the best and I am so antsy to walk normally again.
4. Picnik.
   Oh guilty pleasure how you have caught me in your web! So recently, www.picnik.com has come out with a new kind of premium membership which is by paying on a monthly basis. I, being curious, bought the $5 monthly premium membership and I loveeeeeeeeeee it. This site is totally my ultimate procrastination tool and although I'm sure my friends on Facebook are sick of being tagged in sepia toned fun framed creations I on the other hand love getting my picnik on.

In other news, Project Runway was really good tonight. I don't really give a crap about the drama that happened between Lifetime and Bravo and lawsuits but I am really excited that the drama, sewing, and high fashion is back on the television screen. I know where I'll be Thursday nights this fall.

I'll leave all of you fun folks with a photo I created with an inspirational quote. Enjoy a ton and take care.












Arrivederci,
Kristen Marie