Being Happy: Taking advantage of every opportunity to smile, laugh, and appreciate the beauty of everything. Living in the moment and letting each experience saturate my senses.
Getting Presents:
Active Stuff: traveling, hiking, camping, RVing, biking, dancing, tae kwon do, yoga, jogging, weight lifting, kayaking, trying new things, getting dirty once-in-awhile
Philosophy Stuff: studying religions (Buddhism is my favorite), philosophy, debating philosophies, meditation, being in nature, thinking for myself, being generally passionate about life
Good Times Stuff: being silly, playing with my kids, snuggling up with my hubbie, watching comedy with people who also love to laugh, making people laugh, talking to old and new friends, day dreaming, reminiscing, dressing up for no reason at all
Helping People: volunteering, giving advice, helping people see things from a new perspective, teaching kids, educating people (because stupid is bad!)
Nerdy Stuff: learning new things, psychology, science, history, genealogy, researching stuff, organizing things (everything!), puzzles (any kind), webpage design, giving tech support, writing little programs, networking stuff, fixing things that are broken, improving things that are fixed
Creative Stuff: writing, writing, writing, photography, drawing and painting, designing things (from web pages to houses), interior decorating, landscaping, knitting, quilting, sewing, cooking, baking
Issues I Support: being a vegetarian, animal rights, human rights (too bad Darfur doesn't have any oil), child safety, free speech (even if you hate what others say), responsible choice in matters of abortion, sex education in every year of adolescence, free condoms and backup methods of birth control for everyone, curing cancer, more military benefits and pay, banning capital punishment (he was actually innocent... oops), privacy (stupid Patriot Act), no religion in public organizations (if you want to teach my kids about your religion, then I'm teaching your kids about Scientology, Wicca, and atheism), preserving the environment, better education methods (with less standardized testing), 100% health care coverage for children, disabled, and elderly, basic health care coverage for all other adults, legalizing marijuana and other drugs for medical use (I don't think it's a big deal if a terminally ill patient gets addicted), death with dignity, reasonable gun control without banning guns (if you need an automatic weapon for hunting, you need target practice; and anyone who is mentally ill probably shouldn't be allowed to use a tool designed only to kill things)
I'd like to meet:
People... because alpacas, pandas, gnus, and emus don't make good conversation partners.
Please send me a message to introduce yourself when sending a friend request. To avoid spam, I don't automatically add anyone I don't know.
Kristen's Friends
Since I don't have time to update my friends list right now, and there are so many pics to update and friends to add, I decided I would remove my fancy friends list for awhile.
Click here to see my friends
Music:
I listen to almost every genre. I usually find myself listening to alternative, rock, industrial, punk, ska, new age, indie, instrumental (Classical, Baroque, Romantic, Renaissance, etc.) and kids' music. I especially love anything that makes me feel good or giggle.
Check out these musicians:
Abandon Ship
Nathan, Damien, and Gabe Lester (yes girls, it's the Lester Brothers). Music to make you think. Very relaxing. Excellent harmony (but what did you expect). Perfect end-of-the-day-with-a-cup-of-tea music. Love it.
Shawn Mafia and the Ten Cent Thrills
It's the kind of stuff that makes you want to grab a drink and a group of buddies and engage in some good ol' drunken singing. I have high hopes for this band.
Warsaw Poland Brothers
Fun music. Lots of energy. It makes you want to pogo and engage in spontaneous hip thrusting at the same time on the dance floor.
Movies:
I like any movie that makes me feel happy or inspired. I especially love comedy. If the movie is so weird it makes you think, there's a good chance I'll like it. I hate horror movies because they scare me.
Favorite Film Makers: Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Rob Reiner, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Adam Sandler, John Hughes, Chris Columbus, Mike Judge, Kevin Smith, Robert Zemeckis, Lasse Halstrom, Nora Ephron
Favorite Movies: Star Wars series, When Harry Met Sally, Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings series, Indiana Jones series, Big Fish, the Breakfast Club, Joe Verses the Volcano, Army of Darkness, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Office Space (you just can't truly appreciate the docudrama quality of this movie unless you've actually lived in Silicon Valley); everything Monty Python; the Princess Bride; Notting Hill, The Matrix series; Elizabethtown; Breakfast at Tiffany's; Goonies; Real Genius; any movie my kids and I can enjoy together
Television:
I almost always have the TV on in the background, so I absorb most shows while working on other projects. I love my DVR. I rarely watch live TV anymore. Thank you Tivo for letting me skip the commercials and anything else that bores me.
Battlestar Galactica (one of the few shows I make a point to watch with dimmed lights, surround sound, popcorn and all after the kids go to bed; NEXT EPISODE 2008? DAMMIT!), GlobeTrekker (what a dream job), Good Eats, Gardening by the Yard, The Daily Show, The Cobert Report, MythBusters, Six Feet Under, My Name is Earl, Scrubs, Gilmore Girls, Wonderfalls (why the hell did they cancel that show), Survivor Man, Man vs. Wild, Inside the Actors Studio, The Directors, Biography, stand-up comedy, South Park, Countdown with Keith Oberman, SNL, Mad TV, Conan Obrien, David Letterman, Graham Norton, Monk, How It's Made (my kids are addicted to it almost as much as we are to Battlestar), British sitcoms, The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, DOCUMENTARIES, DOCUMENTARIES, AND MORE DOCUMENTARIES, and the Muppets
Books:
I love to read. I can spend hours in libraries and bookstores. I read everything I get my hands on.
Nonfiction: I read anything non-fiction, from how to build a bird house and knitting to biochemistry and theoretical physics. You name the subject, I've probably read a least a few books about it.
Fiction: I love children's and young adult literature. I'm most interested in sci-fi and fantasy or stories that are just generally inspiring.
Favorite Authors: J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Gail Carson Levine, Isaac Asimov, Kurt Vonnegut, Frank Herbert, Douglas Adams, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, William Goldman, Stephen King (even though I can't read most of his horror novels because they give me nightmares), Natalie Babbitt, Madeleine L'Engle, Roald Dahl, Joseph Campbell
Heroes:
Every person I've met has taught me something and inspired me, whether they've insulted me or encouraged me, loved me or hated me, hurt me or cared for me, whether I've aspired to be like them or unlike them, whether I've met them in person or only via media, whether or not they've ever known I exist. Without each of them, I would not be who I am today or who I will become tomorrow.
