The goals of two roommates for the month of €June

Amanda will clean out her car. Soon.
Amanda will clean her side of the room that is slowly taking over the whole room.
Amanda will run a 5k in 30 min.
Amanda and Timothy will finished their draft of Mr. Elephant Throws a Party.
Amanda will go see Iron Man.
Amanda will think of a name for her future dog.

Katie will look into different ways to spend her 40 hour work week.
Katie will work on screen printing. (if you want a screen printed shirt, we will make you one)
Katie will take a class at JCCC.
Katie will take a sign language class, or one on learning to read braille.
Katie will bike to work, bike to the gym, and then bike home.
Katie will go to the gym 3 days a week.
Katie will swim with her new goggles.
Katie will figure out her life.
Katie will avoid going to see Iron Man.
Katie will find a new hair style she likes, and get her hair cut.

Katie and Amanda will blog twice a month.
Amanda and Katie will have an Asian Lawn Party.
Katie and Amanda will have an Asian Lawn Party on June 28th.
Amanda and Katie may change the date of their Asian Lawn Party.
Katie and Amanda will plan their meals for dinner, like Chicken Sandwich Night, or good ol' Taco Salad Night.
Amanda and Katie will learn where to recycle their aluminum cans in their neighborhood.
Katie and Amanda will finish their story on their blog, and it will end happily.
Amanda and Katie will give out more Triumph Points.
Katie and Amanda will love the Royals even when they lose for twelve straight games when they should be winning because their pitchers are pitching beautifully or their batters are scoring a lot of runs, but they just can't pull it together and fail instead.

the royals are losing and a lunch box

amanda is nervous. to be honest, i am a little too.
That is a good opening, Katie. Rather suspenseful. I believe we may have caught our readers' attention right off the bat.
well, i would hope so. I mean, now people might want to know what we are nervous about. would it be a good idea to tell them?
nah.

We would like to apologize for being so long in returning to blogging. If we have checked the records correctly, this has been the longest we have been away from you all. Forgive us. We have forgotten the faces of our fathers, indeed.
callaspo.

If anyone was counting, I do believe that Bank Midwest won the Second Roommate Battle. I mean, I haven't done any counting. But it sounds right to me.
that is true. what did we promise to the winner? although as far as i have experienced promises might not be followed through on. speaking of which, i do believe every new triumph hopeful has failed. true or false?
Well, on the first account, I don't believe there was anything for the winner. Though, I haven't checked, but let's just agree on that, since someone (Brett) didn't follow through with the last one, and no one received a prize. But next time, there is going to be quite the prize to fight for, perhaps so great an award that two roommates may have to do some voting (or at least bribe other people to vote for them). As for the second topic you brought up. . .
well this is awkward.
Sorry, but it is shameful to be a part of a group that had such high aspirations. I personally will not be receiving a triumph point because I have gone to zero Royals games this month.
well you could still do something about that. but you might not want to so i will allow you to do whatever you feel like doing. I would now like to change the subject and say that this very day i received a wonderful prize from work.
Oh. I know. Is it fabulous?
oh, my yes. you would not even believe how fabulous it is. and even green, and has the possibility of tastiness.
Um, I know what it is, Katie, and sorry, but you cannot eat it.
but something tasty could be found inside of it.
Ah. Yes. I am okay with that. If I didn't know what it was I would ask if it was a refrigerator.
well its not, but in another way it is, don't you agree?
And with that wonderful quote, it is time for The Office.

We are still a teeny nervous. True?
true.

Baseball, baseball, something else, baseball.

Announcements:
*Katie's day at work was actually pretty good.
*Amanda's day at work was also pretty good, but isn't over yet. She will be going back. But it is with Jack and Kyle, so she doesn't mind at all.
*Katie just celebrated her one year anniversary at CRL and received a card signed by everyone. Tomorrow they will have a group picture in honor of her year dedication to the company.
*Amanda got into the Online English Degree program at the University of Illinois at Springfield. She is happy. She is ecstatic. She loves this news with a crazy amount of overjoyedness.
*The Royals are smashing the Yankees--though this news will be worthless if they lose.

Random Thoughts (that are not actually random but really about baseball):
-We have just seen the new HD screen at Kauffman Stadium.
It is rather huge and a bit much.
I will second that.
There will be no more cute little baseballs when someone gets a walk. I am sad for this. They were almost doing a jig.
-After going to three Twins games this past weekend, Katie has decided that she likes outdoor baseball better than indoor baseball.
Baseball is about the experience, and the experience changes when it is outdoors rather than indoors.
Also, if there is a fly ball and you lose it inside the Metrodome, you cannot turn your head frantically looking for it, or you will never find it. You must choose a point on the roof, and stare there, waiting for the movement of the ball to catch your eye. This is what you must do if there is a fly ball.

Now (Jeremy) we shall change the subject from baseball to something else, forgive us our little indulgences.

Events:
-The writers and the networks have remembered the faces of their fathers, and so Thursday, this very Thursday, in fact, The Office is returning! We will be watching it here, at our house, at 8pm. It will be an Office Reunion. Come and join us.
-A reminder: We are going to the Royals game THIS Friday. Anyone who wants to join us, let us know by Thursday, for we are going to buy our tickets early. Details will be discussed with those who love us enough to join us.
And, we're back to baseball. Oops.

A Review:
We shall now be reviewing the movie Leatherheads. In the tradition of never reviewing a movie that we have both seen, Amanda went to the movies with Juliet, Jeremy, Martha, and Nick without Katie, who was away in Minnesota this weekend.
Katie, what is your opinion of Leatherheads?
Well, I'm worried that it might be the same as that one movie John Krasinski was in. . . License to Wed: a crappy movie I might go see because Jim is in it.
Yes, Katie, you are close to the truth with your thoughts. Leatherheads was a bit of a disappointment. About the time I realized it wasn't really about football, it became about football. The middle was good, and had some funny parts, but the other five hours of film seemed a bit long. I will say, Jim was a dashing distraction.
Also, the VIP room at The Legends is ridiculous, and should be avoided (except for the very cushy arm rests on the chairs) unless you wish to spend lots of unnecessary money on not so great food.
Overall, Leatherheads + VIP at The Legends = waste of money.
But, it also did equal a good time with friends, and for that, I would go back and do it all over again. Though, I might order some candy. Candy is tasty.

That is all for today. Katie is asleep on the couch beside me, taking a mid-evening nap. The Royals are winning. The Yankees are losing. Everything is good in the world.
This time, we really are done talking about baseball. That is, until next time.

Keep voting, we feel we are not done battling this one out. Though, in the end, we may decide that this may never be over officially. Votes are now worth two, as of 4-8-08 at 6:20 pm.

Coming Sometime in the Far Off Future: An end to the story.

The Royals won.

Two weeks isn't very long, but in another way, it is very long.

Vacuums are false.
Late Christmas presents are true.
Royals baseball is true.
Regular sized items at Wendy's are false (though, they have mediums).
Ocean's 11 is true.
Ocean's 12 is false.
Study's are true.
The Office on April 10th is true.

Announcements:
-This month, we are celebrating our 6 month anniversary of living at Haverford West. That means, 6 months of smoke smelling clothes, 6 months of holding our breath while going into the cigarette stenched bathroom, and 6 months of hoping for a nice day outside so we can open the balcony door to air the place out.
And what a blessed time it has been. We hope to have many more similar days together.
-Royals Baseball starts Monday, the 31st, which is quite possibly today for many people reading this. The game starts at 12:05. We wish everyone who loves the Royals a very blissful and winningful day. For everyone else, :p

Triumph Updates:
We have some terrible news: there have been no Triumph points awarded since December 25, 2007 (upon Christmas day!?)
True, some people are striving for them now, but since upping the bar, we have found that there has been a severe lack of new certificates on our wall of glory. This saddens us. Therefore, we shall be doing something very exciting to fix that problem. Just not today.
For now,
-Brett, keep going to class.
-Timothy, if you make it to 120 blogs this year, you may still have your Triumph.
-Jeremy and Katie will start their crossword challenge on April 1st.
-Amanda's ready to go to lots of Royals games. The first being April 11th. Everyone is welcome to come. It is buck night, so that is good.


Roommate Battle Round 2:
Bank Midwest vs. Commerce Bank

Amanda's view: Bank Midwest. Never Commerce. Commerce is taking over the world. We must fight for our freedom. Fie on Commerce! *fist in the air* Arg, Commerce Bank!

Katie's View: I think Commerce Bank is better. It's really convenient, and really, in a bank, what else do you need?

Now, we realize many of you perhaps have not heard of either of these banks (though you'd have to be a blind, handicap person on a motorcycle to not notice the dozens of Commerce branches around the area), but feel free to take a side anyway. These battles are not for helping solve problems, they are for stirring up controversy and causing turmoil between friends. Go on, give your vote, even if you're not sure you know which is best. And w€$hen in doubt, vote for your favorite roommate.
$

Coming Soon: The rest of the terribly sad and depressing story that has a happy ending, photos of a change in scenery, and Taco Salad Night, the Party.

Governor's Children

katie's corner:
brilliant. some ideas are, some are not. i believe it is our place to point out and define what qualifies as brilliant, as well as judge and mock those ideas that do not. as an example, amanda had the idea to have taco salad for dinner tonight. my opinion? brilliant. other people had the idea of having corned beef and cabbage. my opinion? not brilliant. another person had the idea of putting a hood on the back of a sweatshirt. this is brilliant on many levels. not only does this keep your head warm on a cold, windy, or rainy day, it also makes you pretty dang stylish. but perhaps best of all, in the case when you are at work slouching in your chair and drifting to somewhere in that magical land between falling asleep and forcing yourself to stay awake and do your job, you might be wishing you had a pillow to rest your head on. if you are wearing a regular sweatshirt you may be sad. but if on the other hand, you are hip to the brilliance of the hood on the shirt, you will find that your pillow is built right in and all your worries will be gone. so, i say again, the bringing together of the shirt and the hood=brilliant.


A side note:


Royals Baseball shall be commencing soon. This is the poster we made, which we shall use to track the many, many wins and few$€ losses for this season. Boys in blue, may you remember the faces of your fathers, and know that 100 wins would be a good way to do just that.









Rules of Roommate Battles:
1. The final say of each $$battle shall be decided by the Committee to Control and Regulate Voting in the Blogging Comments Area (this means Amanda and Katie).
2. Multiple votes are allowed, and encouraged.
3. One vote per comment will be counted towards the final tally.
4. If you have received a triumph point at any time before or during the alloted voting time, your submissions will count as two votes (this was not in effect last battle).
5. If you vote during 3 am and 5 am, your vote shall be considered a "Platinum Vote". These will be counted as one vote, but you will feel more important.
6. If you like Splenda over Sugar, your votes shall equal 7x the amount of your comments.
7. That is false.
8. Oh, fine

Coming Soon: Roommate Battle, the Second.

Now a bedtime story:
Let me start by saying that this story will not end with someone lying to someone else because they love them thinking that they are saving them. It will not end with the deaths of many loved ones along a weary and treacherous path. And it will most assuredly not end with the death of James McAvoy. It will however begin with the promise of hope in a time of death.

Everyone was dead. Eli sat cross legged on the rocking chair in his mother's bedroom. No tears fell from his eyes, and not a single sniffle came from his nose. Yet, he was sad. He was lost in his memories of those he had known in days which now seemed long ago. He closed his eyes and saw his sister holding hands with her husband walking up the dirt road towards the farm. His mother was in the kitchen cooking stew and corn bread, and his father was on his tractor in the barn, trying to park it while yelling at the chickens to get out of the way. That was yesterday. Today, they were all gone.
The new governor, who had killed and stolen the lands from the old governor three months before, had ordered their deaths. They had not sworn their allegiance to him, as the law now required of every individual who was older than 24. The governor's men had left Eli alive, for he was not yet of age. That day was still two years off.
It would be easy to sit here and not get up. To sit and mourn their deaths. To sit without a thought of what would become of himself. But he knew there would be others who were left alive and alone after this raid. The few he knew were too young and too foolish to protect themselves, and the countryside didn't need anymore unnecessary deaths. He would have to find them and help them survive. This was to be his purpose now: gather the children left behind, and keep them safe.

And the loser is. . .

News Update:
-Kansas is a state. (True in fact, it is a state, despite the confusion this may cause.) If someone calls into your work asking what state you are located in , and you say Kansas, and they then say "Yes, but what state is that?", and you say Kansas, and they ask again what state you are in, and you say Kansas, and they ask what state would that be, and you say Kansas, just know that you have been correct every time.


Roommate Battle-
We have now tallied the votes, and we shall tell you what the outcome is in just a second, because we really haven't tallied anything yet, and we need to go do that. Hold on. . now we have counted the votes, and the winner of Roommate Battle: Splenda vs. Sugar is:
Sugar with 26 votes
while Splenda only got 13.
Katie, do you want to say anything about your victory?
Just that I would like to thank my supporters for knowing the truth and speaking it.
Would you like to say anything about the rumors that Brett is going to buy you a Splenda drink even though you've won the battle?
Just let him remember that half the power of his Triumph Point is in my hands.
I would like to thank those who tried to boost Splenda to a victory, even though we lost. Long days and pleasant nights.

On TV:
-In case you are missing it, the history channel (55 to those of us in Shawnee, Kansas [the state]), is airing a very enlightening documentary called High Hitler, which argues that "drug dependence may have played a role in Adolf Hitler's decisions". We have now changed the channel.
-Tomorrow night the new Top Chef starts. We will not be watching it because we will be helping Martha pack their belongings from their old home, so that she and Nick can take their stuff with them to their new home.

Coming soon: A story for you to read, nice weather (72 tomorrow), a tour of our home that includes our favorite spots and features, and Royals baseball.

Also, if you've never posted a comment, because you didn't want to make an account, we've set it up so you can now comment without one. Sorry, we thought it was like that already.

You have until 5pm.

The voting will be over at 5 pm, Tuesday, March 11.

come on, splenda, we are losing! obviously, its the nature of your way. it is not a drink treat if it is not a treat! but i do like diet pop. that's the truth of it. they are drink treats to me. well there are no rules against stupidity. katie, how can you blog so angrily against me? easily.