THE TOWER

When you hear the word TOWER, one usually thinks of a tall, narrow building, stairs leading up to the top. Similar to one found in the fairytail of Rapunzel... In London, apparently TOWER means fortress ... and by fortress I mean a castle, and a city with a large wall around it; oh and not to mention a torture chamber and crown jewels. On Friday we experienced THE TOWER OF LONDON. It was amazing! Much larger than I had anticipated, and soon we made friends with the BEEFEATERS, or the Yoeman Wanderers, if you will, who told us of myths and facts about the TOWER. Like the story of the bloody tower...


We had a great time exploring, and making friends with the Ravens (if you will shout Good Morning to one of them, he will say it back, or so we were told?) The afternoon down pour that we got also made us more inclined to stick around and explore the tower more, which we were all grateful for.
yeah this looks cute ... tudor style and all, but its where they held the prisoners.

After dinner we decided to hit up the hot spots of London and strolled by the London Eye, Big Ben, Westminister Abby, Through St. James Park and onto Buckingham Palace. I think this is when it hit me -- I am living in such an amazing city. Big Ben was much larger than I realized, and Westminster Abby honestly took my breath away. St. James park left me the most peaceful I think I've been since I've been here. The wispering willows, and calm river, with the wind whistling through the trees was the closest I think I will get to the sounds of the ocean from home ... Buckinham Palace was ... well to be quite honest a little bit of a let down after Big Ben and Westminster Abby (why did they put all of those together, when CLEARLY the other two outshine the palace so much??) at any rate, it was a fabulously London evening ...

OUR FIRST NIGHT OUT

If you know Anna or I, you wouldn't be surprised we hit up the pubs on our 2nd night in the city. (In fact, you probably thought what took us so long??? Its called JET LAG). Thursday night we decided to hit up a pub or two in Soho. After checking out the scene we ended up at Three Greyhound, a smallish pub that appeared to be full of action. Anna immediately became "friends" with the fiesty Spaniard bartender, and soon thereafter we met some awesome Brits -- The little one on the right was my favorite, and a smart one too (he graduated from Oxford). We spent the night with these boys and hit up O-Bar later on to go dancing. However, soon thereafter we got a feeling it was time to go home. Although it wasnt late, we knew it was time to go. Little did we know what a smart decision that was. Thank goodness for the tender mercies of the Lord prompting us to get out of the area. As i'm sure most of you heard, there was a car bomb found in London at 2am Friday morning-- blocks away from where we were at. No need to worry, we are perfectly safe.

In case you dont know what i'm referring to, the NY Times had a good spread on it: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/30/world/europe/30britain.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

My London Blog

Its taken me a few days to get settled and used to London life. Especially detrimental to my London Blogging experience is the difference in outlets, and voltages, or whatever... needless to say my computer wouldn't charge, and it still has difficulties.

Anyway, onto the good stuff! The trip over was long ... so we geared up on the Shopoholic series!! I wasn't too excited for the 3 hour layover in CANADA however, it did prove to be successful after a stamp on a passports...and the Toronto airport is amazing with the 50" plasmas and free wireless, oh and not to mention the urban cowboys -- ) but we made it!! My girl friend Anna also came on this trip, but unfortunately not on the same flight. Without cell phones and efficient planning, we failed to coordinate a meeting place. Luckily, Anna is a smart girl and waited by baggage claim for us, so we could all take a taxi to the center together. Ashley grabbed our bags while Anna and I reunited ... well she grabbed most of our bags I should say. Of course the airline lost one of my bags ... and not only that, but my bag with all my essentials in it. (No need to worry though, I got my bag 2 days later--- just in the nic of time!!) So we grabbed a taxi and got a brief tour of London from our Londoner taxicab driver. Our house is beautiful and as soon as we got unpacked, we went out on our first walk (of many) around our neighborhood. Which we learned is RIGHT by Whitelys (the oldes shopping center in the world), Notting Hill (yes, where the movie was filmed), Hyde Park (where Princess Diana Played), Portabello Road (have you seen bedknobs and broomsticks?), and lots of other cool stuff.







The next day we went on another walk, this time it was much more scenic. We saw the Tower of London The Tower Bridge the tower bridge and the Tower Bridge we also happened upon this awesome Gibson Guitar art exhibit ...



This walk was amazing, and I was instantly awestruck with this beautiful city; the history, the combination of the old and modern architecture ... and everything about it!


Thursday was another walk, this time through business district. (Ugh we are SUCH tourists!!)
I figured out that men in Europe LOVE pink--- even more so than Americans. We started counting men in pink and got to #35 in less than an hour. Also noted was a building with businessmen smoking outside -- only wearing blue shirts ( We then had an assignment at the Museum of London, and learned about the Roman history of London. Which, to be honest wasnt that exciting. But what WAS exciting was the old Roman wall amongst all the office buildings ...


Kk well this blog is long and boring so i'm finishing it now. there is more to come.

Saturday June 16, 2007 I graduated cum laude from The University of California Irvine. I'm glad I had no expectations for the ceremony, because it was nothing like I would have anticipated. I am so excited to be done!! Here are some photos:

Graduation



The parents ...


The Fam.


Funny Boys.

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Posing ...



The Babies


Gelato Anyone?

My first request to my congressman:

MY PASSPORT!
I don't know if I've heard of anyone having as much trouble as I did ...
After waiting for 11 weeks for my passport to arrive I began to call the passport agency (to no avail), and checking online to find out the status of my application. I called the Federal Passport agency relentlessly, and after getting hung up on 20 times, I began to be frustrated ... and worried. Its now been 13 weeks before I finally got through to talk to someone, only to be devestated by the response:
"Oh. I'm sorry your application is in Charleston and hasn't been opened yet".

I of course, start freaking out, and call my dad to fix it. He calmly assures me that he will take care of it. He calls my congressman, and Kristin, at Congressman McCarthy's office totally hooked me up-- well sorta. She finds my application (which was BURIED in North Carolina) and has it FedExed overnight. I checked it out, and thought I was ready to go. That is, until Wednesday, June 20, at 1:00am when a friend was looking at my new passport and said, "umm Kiley? This isn't your last name..." I look at my passport again and see the name: KILEY HURT. ok, honestly? My name is NOT difficult! 4 letters--its a word, a brand even!! So Thursday morning, 7am, I am back on the phone with the passport agency. It only took 5 calls to speak with someone this time. Only to be told that I would need to take new passport photos, and head to the LA Federal Building (see below)



to wait in line and pray to get a new one printed that day. (Friday, June 22 was my best friends wedding, and my flight left Monday June 25 at 10am, so Thursday was my only chance).

So I headed off to LA. While on my way Kristin, once again hooked me up and got me a special handling appt so I wouldn't have to wait in the horrendous line. To my surprise, however, the special handling appt only got me so far. Once i was inside the building, there was another horrendous line! This time it was up to me to get ahead. I put a smile on my face and began to strut my stuff. The officer totally bought it, and before I knew it I was at the front of the line :) They couldn't print my passport that afternoon, so my amazing mother went to LA on Friday (since i was in the wedding) and waited in line for 3 hours to pick up my passport. I told her to start flirting in line, but she declined ...



Do YOU want to be one of those people in the photograph? I didn't think so. If you have problems with your passport -- call you congressman and brush up on your flirting skills.

"My generation is going to be high-maintenance."

The conversation of my Generation (which is Gen Y for those of you who aren't familiar with the term are people who are ages 6-25) used to be taken with a grain of salt; until I realized how true our Generations' culture was. We are first generation to use e-mail, instant messaging (IM) (which I have always attributed my amazing typing skills to) and cell phones since childhood and adolescence.

According to a recent article:
"At 11 years old, Kate Achille had a pager for her parents to reach her when necessary. At 13, she had a cell phone. Now 22 and working for a school, she e-mails her mother as many as five times a day and calls her on the cell phone several times a week...

Many millennials may lack basic spelling and writing skills because they have come to rely on spell check (I can only think of roommates that constantly ask me, "how do you spell "definitely"?). Moreover, some millennials have become so accustomed to using IM abbreviations, such as “b/c” for “because,” that some don’t know how to spell it correctly. In addition, millennials need to learn how to conduct old-fashioned research in books and other primary sources. “It doesn’t occur to them to go to the library, but there’s a whole bunch of stuff not on the web,” says Wendover. (Soo true).

Millennial Bramlett agrees. “New college grads strongly believe all Internet information is valid, and if it’s not available on the Internet, then it doesn’t exist. This can create problems in work quality if someone is relying 100 percent on Internet resources.”


Wait...so is this a bad thing? The funny thing is, while reading this article my parents called me 3 times. When I didn't answer the first time, they called again. Coincidence? I think not. They may be hovering just a little.

(To read the full article: http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0507/0507cover.asp)

Countdowns:
Finding Nemo Preview: 1 day
Graduation: 10 Days
Amy's Wedding: 16 Days
London: 19 Days

I have a lot ahead of me over the next few weeks... So excited!!
Any suggestions of "lasts" in Orange County?

R.I.P. Cafe Atlantic.

Do YOU Have an Annual Disneyland Pass?

If so, you MAY get a chance to be a member of my FINDING NEMO PREVIEW party on June 7th, 2007. (Even if this is a block out date for you, you would be able to go). So, start kissing up ... NOW.

Fresh Mex Not Always Healthy Mex:




Chipotle Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 Burrito
Amount Per Serving
Calories 1449 Calories from Fat 570
% DV*

Total Fat 63g
Saturated Fat 20.5g
Cholesterol 166mg
Sodium 3899mg
Total Carbohydrate 155g
Dietary Fiber 18.5g
Sugars 10g
Protein 66g

Vitamin A 152%
Vitamin C 85%
Calcium 55%
Iron 36%


If you need more info than this check out: http://cspinet.org/new/200309301.html

Thanks Mom for bringing this to my attention. Its depressing to admit I used to eat an entire burritto.

PollPub.com Vote

Once you are in a new relationship, what do you do with the ex photo albums/paraphernalia?

Why would I take it down? He/She will always have a place in my heart.
I'm too lazy to move them from the top of the closet, besides, what if I want to reminisce about old times?
I thought I was normal and spoke for most people when I seal my old stuff in a box and put it in the attic.
What paraphernalia? Anything I had was destroyed in the freak post break up gasoline accident.



View Results

Poll powered by PollPub.com Free Polls

A friend of mine recently found herself in this situation. To help her out, I decided to take a poll on what "normal" people do. Considering my sample size isn't large enough to define normal, I'll take your opinions.

My Modeling Career.



Deseret Book puts on an event called Time Out for Women at various cities throughout the United States. Its a great event with inspiration speakers such as Sheri Dew, Steven Robinson, and Michael McLean (and sometimes you are fortunate enough to get the gorgeous Scott McLean as well). Last year, there was one held in Long Beach, and my mom thought it would be fun to have a Mother/Daughter Day out of it. So we show up at the Long Beach Convention Center, and can't even get inside the door before we are stopped by a random camera man and asked if he can take our picture beside the Time Out for Women Sign. Flattered, of course, we laughed and take the picture. Throughout the day we saw the camera man taking pictures of the event, as well as many other pictures of the thousands of women that attended the event.


A few months later I got an email from my cousin that read,

"Kiley, I think I saw a picture of you and your mom on an email that was sent out about Time Out For Women, is that you?" I had her track down the email and send it to me. I was HORRIFIED. The picture is terrible!! (My version was much better!) He caught us mid laugh, but there we were, posing in front of the Time Out For Women Sign. I immediately called my mom and shared the story with her. We were the poster girls for Time Out for Women. However, little did we know how far this would go. We continuously got phone calls and emails asking if this was us ... I even got a call from an old friend that lived in Idaho, who saw us on a brochure for Time Out For Women on his aunts refrigerator. Just when we would think they had switched our picture out, we would get more phone calls about the picture. However, the pinacle of this picture was when my Relief Society President approached me on Sunday and asked, "Are you a model for Time Out for Women? ... I was in Riverside this weekend at Time Out for Women, and your picture kept popping up on the (huge) screen."



Over a year later and they are still using our picture picture to intice people to come to Time Out For Women, we are still on the website, mailers, brochures, and even the big screen they use duringn the event. There was no written consent for this picture to be used... I think I should get be awknowledged for the vast success of the event, especially considering how terrible I look.

McDreamy.

I came back from lunch to find the office in a buzz. A Deposition was going on, and the opposing counsel was gorgeous (thank you to whomever came up with glass conference rooms!) This occurs from time to time, and is always exciting, however this time was different.
"If a guy went to BYU and BYU Law School, does that mean he's mormon?"
"Yes, probably" I responded. "Why?"
I think the intrigue of possible Morminism caught the interest of everyone in the office. (ok, so really, this is just the women involved.)

Our MPG McDreamy: Tall, dark, hot, single and (apparently) mormon.

After the deposition was over, and McDreamy left, I was bombarded with all sorts of questions about McDreamy (as if I would know), but more importantly questions about the church, and mormon culture. I decided this is the way for our generation to share the gospel with nonmembers. Invite a young, dreamy, charasmatic Mormon into the office and you'll be answering question about the church for days. Fortunately, my McDreamy came in by chance, and if I am frequenting the 8th floor (where his offices are) you'll all know why.

Ladies, he'll be back for another Deposition on Monday at 2:30. Set your clocks accordingly.

Go Green with ELLEN!

I knew the whole "going green" was a trendy these days, however, I did not realize the Celebrity endorsements that I would encounter so soon after I expressing my "going green" here on my blog. I'm glad to say I was a bit ahead of the curve, and decided to state my opinions before her "Go Green" rampage this week. I stopped to watch the episode because I like Cameron Diaz, who was Ellen's first guest. However, it wasn't long before I asked my roommate "Is this Ellen going "Green"? My roommate was had NO idea what I was even referring to (I'm still not sure why I even asked her, though it was a more speaking out loud thing, than it was expecting an answer from her). Cameron was there to talk about Shrek, her recent break up with Justin, as well as teach the audience simple ways to be more environmentally conscious (Such as, shutting off the water while brushing your teeth, and switching the light bulbs in your lamps) as well as endorsing her car of choice, the PRIUS (of course Ellen gave one away to a lucky audience member). Ellen has also gotten many other celebs to promote this "Go Green" Attitude, such as Lindsey Lohan, Carmen Electra, Marcia Cross (hmm... is this a coincidence they picked hot female celebs to promote going green?) If you would like to hear their tips, or perhaps, just like to see them, you can go to:

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/showinfo/greenshow/celebs.html

However, if you would like to know how you can be trendy and part of the green movement, here are some of Ellen's everyday tips:

ADJUST YOUR THERMOSTAT (I try to do this until my roommates turn it back down/up)
Moving your thermostat just 2 degrees lower in winter and 2 degrees higher in summer will not only lower your energy bill, but you could prevent about 500 lbs. of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere a year.
TURN OFF THE LIGHTS when you're done (ALWAYS do this)
Shutting the lights cuts carbon emissions by reducing electricity use. You can also install motion sensors to activate lights as needed. Dimmer switches use less electricity, and the light is often more flattering.
KEEP YOUR FRIDGE FULL to save energy (I don't have to worry about this with my roommate keeping 4 gallons of milk in the fridge, for herself alone).
A full refrigerator doesn't have to work as hard to stay cold. If you don't typically have much food in your fridge, fill it with jugs of water. The jugs will insulate the interior and help keep it cold.
USE YOUR MICROWAVE (hmm not so sure about this one).
It's 70% more efficient than a stovetop or oven.
USE SAFER CANDLES (good to know).
Candles made from soy or beeswax are nontoxic, biodegradable, and they burn longer than paraffin.
USE RECYCLED PAPER (I don't really like paper towels anyway).
Recycled paper uses 60% less energy to make than virgin paper. Each ton saves 7,000 gallons of water and 17 trees. Grab a dishtowel instead of paper towel when you dry your hands. Instead of paper towel, clean with rags or microfiber towels, which grip dust and bacteria and go in the laundry when you're done.
BUY A LAPTOP (Done. Love it.)
A desktop computer uses 50% more energy than a laptop.
DRIVE LESS (hmm Irvine is definitely not coducive for mass transit ... its built around the car).
Walk, bike, carpool or take mass transit more often. You'll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don't drive.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR CAR (Maybe I need to take a class on caring for my car?)
Something as simple as making sure your tires are inflated properly, the air filter is clean and getting regular tune-ups will improve your gas mileage and help keep dangerous pollutants out of the air. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 lbs. of CO2 out of the air.
DON'T IDLE (good to know).
Shut down your engine. Idling for any length of time burns more gas than it takes to restart the car. You'll save more energy by turning the ignition off.
CONSIDER PURCHASING A HYBRID AUTOMOBILE (I AM considering it...)
Not only do the cars get better gas mileage, but they also produce less pollution -- about half that of a comparable vehicle with a gasoline engine.
EAT LOCALLY (Does anyone know where a good farmers market is?)
Produce travels 1,500 miles on average from farm to grocery, and much of the transport is powered by fossil-based fuels. Green markets, farm stands, and conscientious supermarkets offer locally grown produce. Buy it and you'll conserve fuel, reduce pollution, and get more flavor. Search localharvest.org by zip code for farmers' markets, greengrocers and food co-ops in your area.
When ordering take-out food, request no napkins or flatware.
USE A COFFEE MUG instead of the disposable coffee cups. (I LOVE mugs. done.)
Starbucks will even give you a 10 cent discount for using your own mug.
GET OUR KIDS OUTDOORS MORE (I LOVE to be outdoors!!)
The best way to protect our resources for the future is by helping children develop an appreciation for the outdoors.

To me, most of this is common sense, but clearly Americans have turned into an overconsuming population and don't know how to be efficient within their daily lives.