sf bay area rocks!

so far, i am loving the bay area! i know seem to be saying 'i love this' and 'i love that' a lot lately. it's true though; i've been here just a day and a half, but it's been an incredible day and a half!

Brian and Carla

i was met at the san francisco airport by my brother at a little before 5 a.m. thursday morning. after grabbing my luggage, he took me to his apartment where i would be staying through the weekend, which included friday's meeting with my college counselor.

wait, i'm getting ahead of myself a bit.

Brian and Carla have been together a little over a year and became engaged in june. she essentially met my family when he brought her home for my high school graduation. the reception from my parents, siblings and myself was a positive one for her. i imagine it can be daunting meeting your fiance's family of military parents and seven siblings. i, for one, was quite impressed.

prior to my arrival in san francisco, Brian and Carla informed me that they had a big surprise for me.

my brother and i arrived at the apartment from the airport at about 5:30. Carla was already awake. each of them had to go to work in a couple of short hours. i was going to get a chance to rest after my two weeks in new mexico and nebraska.

i was told to help myself to the fridge and cupboards, make myself at home and feel free to watch any movies or listen to any music i found in the place.

then my brother nodded toward his fiance and said she had something to show me. she smiled slightly then motioned for me to follow her. i did so, and Brian followed me. down the hallway and to the last door.

she stopped for a moment, then opened the door.

what i saw brought me to tears. the bed, the chest, the desk. and a theme of my favorite pink.

i was then informed that this was my room, for whenever i wanted to take a break off campus and drive the 30 miles north. this was offered as my refuge by a smiling couple. i was amazed and honored.

Brian had grabbed my bags and he set them inside. he approached me as i was walking around beaming, a smile from ear to ear. what he told blew me away. Carla had remodeled the room just for me. he said she wanted to make a great impression since i would probably be the family she would get to know best.

i smiled at her, went over and gave her a huge hug. i love it!

college counselor meeting

i met with my counselor at the university for the first time in person this morning. she's a sweetheart and i really think we'll be able to work together.

we spent a lot of time on the curriculum and what it will take for me to attain the goals i have for myself. this basically included the courses and overall plan of action for me to earn the degrees for which i'm aiming.

she showed me a layout of my classes for fall and a layout of the buildings on campus. we also talked about my dorm, parking permit and the student union.

she also gave me a special treat. as we were concluding, she said 'ah, one more thing.' she picked up the phone, looked at a paper on her desk and began dialing.

that one more thing was a call to my dorm mate, a blond girl named Julie from oxnard, california. we spoke via speakerphone for about 10 minutes and exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses. it's great that we'll already have been talking before we actually meet face to face. needless to say, i'm feeling pretty good about it!

so here i am, in my room near my school, loving ththe bay area!

~ Kassandra

des moines, lunch with grandma, heading west

you know, this really has been the vacation of my lifetime. in just under two weeks, i feel like i've lived a summer's worth of adventures. i've seen probably 85 percent of my extended family, encompassing both sides!

there's no way i can recapture all this in one blog, but i can say it would make one hell of a 'what i did on my summer vacation' report!

mississippi river and des moines

when we last left off, my grandparents, aunt and cousin were off to des moines, with a detour to the mississippi river and the state of illinois. it was a great day, even though much of it was in the car.

from lincoln we went through southern iowa and northern missouri to burlington, illinois. my impression from this part of the trip: the mississippi river is friggin huge! i mean, i knew it was big and the current was strong, but i don't think i was prepared for the sure size and awesomeness of it.

monday night in des moines was wonderful. my cousin, Stacey, lives there and showed us some midwestern hospitality that would make a southerner jealous (not sure about the validity of that; it just sounded good!). after my grandparents and aunt decided to crash out, Stacey, Rebecca, Stacey's roommate Candice went to a club in des moines. i just have to say, as i may blog about this later, the iowan guys are something very special!

last day in nebraska

i had wanted to drop into kansas, so on wednesday before leaving, my grandmother and i had a girls day out. we drove past some of the larger farms in the area, then took a little drive across the kansas border into marysville where we had a nice little lunch and did some shopping.

shopping was a major activity in all these places, but there were also some other souvenirs from the trip ... how about a little summary:

sixteen state-named t-shirts; 12 pieces of jewelry, over 25 little trinkets, about five special mementos, samples of dirt from nine states (10 if i can get some during my layover in minneapolis/st. paul!) and, get this, samples of river water from two of the country's largest rivers (mississippi and rio grande).

how's that for a summer?!

brother and school

from here, i go to san francisco to stay with my brother for a couple of days. i have my first face-to-face meeting with my college counselor friday and that's only a 40 minute drive from my brother's apartment.

i should arrive at the airport there early morning of the 12th.

he already told me that he and his fiance, Carla, have a surprise for me when i show up there ... i have no idea what it might be!

but i do love surprises!

~ Kassandra

loving lincoln!

actually, i'm loving the area about 15 minutes outside of lincoln, nebraska. i arrived at the airport very early last thursday and have had the most wonderful several days with my grandparents on dad's side.

we've had two big barbecues the past couple of days, one at their house and another at my aunt and uncle's house. many of my cousins here are close to my age and it's been amazing meeting them, many for the first time in person. before this trip, the only cousins i've really met repeatedly are my uncle Mike's (dad's brother), who live in southern california.

it's a very surreal feeling knowing about these people and having heard their names, yet not ever actually meeting them. it was the same thing with my cousins in new mexico. it's been a real eye opener of the people i've been missing out on. i hope this propels me to improve and continue these 'new' relationships.

early monday morning, my grandparents, an aunt, a cousin and i are taking a two-day road trip, which could take us through as many as five states.

we're starting out going south into kansas, then east into missouri. knowing that i've already seen the rio grande river when i was in new mexico, my grandfather feels it only appropriate that we continue through missouri to the mississippi river. i actually am hoping we can make a quick run across the river into illinois (just to say i've been there)! from there, the plan is to head up to des moines, iowa. my cousin, Stacey, lives there and has promised to put us all up for the night.

on tuesday, we'll head back into nebraska. we've mapped it and there's about 10 hours of driving time monday (we're leaving at 5:30 a.m.), and about three hours on the way back. i'm told this is a relatively quick trip around the block, so we should have some time to stop in each place and take a look around.

something i'm also doing is taking a dirt sample from each state which i've visited. it started with hawaii, and continued during the first leg of my vacation. it strikes me as very strange that by the time i'm finished this summer, i'm going to have dirt from 13 states -- and that's just this summer.

this vacation is very special to me, but i'm very much missing my own family. i've video chatted with them several times, but there's nothing like being there. when i get back, i will only have a few weeks before i go off to college. that thought -- and the feeling of missing them -- continues to grow in the forefront of my mind. my family is very special to me and i fear i'm not handling the impending separation from them very well. i shall attempt to address that in a future blog.

for now, i'm looking forward to the next couple of days!

~ Kassandra

mid-summer blues

new hair

actually, i'm not blue at all. truth be told, i'm blonde! my natural hair color is dark brown, but since this is the summer between high school and college, i decided to have a little fun with it. rather than just dye the whole thing, i put blonde highlights in there.

the truth is, i don't really care for the look. it was nice to try, but i think it'll be back to dark brown very soon. i guess i'm just a brunette at heart!

the grandparents

my visit to the grandparents is nearly here. i leave july 29 for my mother's parents in albequerque, new mexico, where i'll also see some cousins i haven't seen in quite a while. i'm told some surprises planned for the visit.

the southwest has always interested me; i've always felt that mainstream education usually glosses over the mystery and beauty of the area.

after six days, i hop on a plane in albequerque and head to my father's parents just outside of lincoln, nebraska. i bet that'll be a huge culture shock!

these grandparents are not farmers, but they rely heavily on the agriculture industry. this is the heartland of america and i am honored to be hanging out there for another 6 days before returning home to portland.

i look at this as a very special time, as my grandparents are footing the bill for this trip -- my high school graduation present. i'm honored that i am able to spend this time with each of them.

trail blazers

with the exception of a few trade rumors and some fans' player wish lists, this is a very slow time of year for the portland trail blazers. i remain skeptical about many things involving the moves they have made.

however, this is my team and i will not stop supporting them and pulling for them to win. that's called loyalty, and that's what i'm all about.

not working

other than my travel, i feel like i'm not doing much this summer. i'm not working steadily for my dad like i have the past two summers (my 16-year-old sister, Jessica has that honor this year).

my mother is still settling into the new business and it's taking up a lot of her time. therefore, my responsibilities at home, especially with Monika, have increased. i have no problem with this since i am beginning to fear leaving my family behind when i go off to college. of course, that's a whole other blog.

Monika is truly the light of my heart. i love her immensely. i shall miss her more than i can fathom.

more updates to come!

~ Kassandra

cousin laurie, going to hawaii

cousin Laurie visits

i was very fortunate to have so many wonderful friends and family come to help celebrate my graduation from high school. both sets of grandparents visited, from nebraska and new mexico. my uncle Mike cousin Laurie came up from southern california.

Laurie and i have always been close, and have always been able to tell each other our deepest secrets and darkest desires. we do not judge each other. we've remarked several times at how our closeness is reflected in our commitment to not judge each other.

we had one final weekend before she had to return home, so we decided to let our wild sides out. now, i would never let my mom what either of us wore that last night, but we each turned quite a few eyes when we made it to the first party.

we were not looking to drink a lot, and i will never force Laurie to tell me what happened for that 45 minutes she disappeared with that guy (they were a cute couple, even if he was more 'mr right now' rather than 'mr. right!').

for my part, i never realized i was so adept at performing lap dances in front of relatively large groups! granted, both could probably be considered three-quarters of lap dances rather than the whole thing (not that the guys were too bothered at that).

Laurie and i hung out all night and it was quite wonderful seeing her again. much like i had during a visit to her town two years ago, she thanked me for a wonderful evening and terrific visit.

i love my cousin very much, and while i will miss her, i will always be close to her for the things we can share.

off to hawaii

it's somewhat of a tradition, and since i consider myself a traditionalist, i am taking a graduation trip to hawaii with my best friend, Shawna.

we've planned things out very well. being the creative one, Shawna is in charge of planning the sightseeing and activities; and being the analytical one, i overseeing the travel and accommodations.

i'm not sure what we will have in store for this trip, but we are poised to have a lot of fun. i will update this blog with some details later as they happen.

oh, and yes, i have sunscreen and a couple new bikinis ... what more could a girl need for a week in hawaii in the summer?!

~ Kassandra

ps: i will miss the nba draft, but i will get all the updates later that night. good luck blazers!