Other side of the world, here I come!

I've been working, which is exhausting.
I went shopping today, which was annoying but successful.
I have so much packing left to do.
My mom and brother are driving me up to school tomorrow, and IN THE MORNING I LEAVE FOR NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA!!!!!!

I'm so excited, but I'm also filled with a certain amount of dread. I HATE flying. Well, I enjoy being up in the air and all, but I'm slightly terrified of the idea of flight. I've been on a plane many times, and I still haven't gotten over it. No amount of comforting statistics can convince my brain that air travel is safe. Baaaaahhhh.

OK. I can do this. Once that 14-hour flight is over, I will be in a magical land that many Americans never get to see. I will be singing the Mozart Requiem in the Sydney Opera House. I will (hopefully) be seeing John Green at a bookstore in Sydney. It will be an AMAZING, once-in-a-lifetime trip. I can do this.

So this is probably my last blog post for a few weeks. To hold you over until I return, here's a video of me doing the Hoedown Throwdown. :-P

Bye guys! See you when I get back!

Subscribers: 1,025
Days 'til I head Down Under: ONE!!!

Haircut and Homos

Hello, everyone! Guess what? I finally got that haircut I've been teasing you with for weeks!


Do you like? I like. SO much. My head feels so much lighter. My short hair dries on its own in less than twenty minutes, as opposed to the hour and a half that my long hair took. I can buy shampoo half as often as I used to. And...AND!...it styles itself pretty well on its own. No awkward flip-outs. I can let it air-dry and not have to put it immediately in a ponytail. That's the punchline.

I feel strongly that this haircut was a positive life decision.

In other news, I just finished Maureen Johnson's The Bermudez Triangle. I thought it was great. There's really nothing monumental or life-altering about the story, but that's why it's so good. They're just three normal teenage girls dealing with life and relationships. Some of these relationships happen to be lesbian relationships, but it didn't really. I really felt like I understood their pain, even though I've never dated a girl. It's not a book about lesbians; it's a book about people. Nothing about the book shouts, "OMG LOOK WE'RE GAAAAAAAYYYYYY." The story is interesting, yes, but bigger deal is what the book accomplishes - normalcy.

I feel like I didn't explain it very well. It's also nearly 4:00 AM.

That's all for tonight. I'm REALLY trying to post a video or two before I leave for Australia/New Zealand. Video-making is so much harder when I live at home. Siiiiiigh.

Did I mention that I'm going to New Zealand and Australia? Oh. I am.

Subscribers: 1,017
Days 'til I head Down Under: 4

A Whole Year of Shiny and Happy

This week we're celebrating the 1st anniversary of the ShinyHappyVloggyPPL, the super-fun weekly-themed collab channel I'm a part of. I've had a lot of fun with these people over the past year. I'm not so good at expressing my feelings, but I gave it a shot in this "looking back" mash-up montage video I made:



Thanks for a fantastic year, guys. Thanks for making my day five times a week.
Love, Me

Really good movie that you should never, EVER watch with a parent: The Reader

P.S. I think about SHVP every time I'm at work because the R.E.M. "Shiny Happy People" song is on our trailer tape this month. So throughout my whole shift I'm singing, "Shiny happy people haaaaaaands." Well, my whole shift except for when the tape gets to "Livin' on a Prayer." That song trumps any other in get-stuck-in-your-head-itude.

Secret Internal Ugly American Conflict

So I'm going to register for another website or buy something online, right? I get to the part where I have to select my country of residence from a drop-down list. I click to open the list and...oh good! United States is at the very top of the list! That's delightfully convenient.

Wait...what?! Did I seriously just think that???

I try so hard not to act or think like an "American," despite family influence, but sometimes even I slip up a little.

It's the Classic Internal Struggle: If the US is at the top of the list, I'm torn between delight at the convenience and annoyance at the web site's ignorant attitude of American superiority. However, if the US in its proper alphabetical place on the list between United Kingdom and United States Minor Outlying Islands, my conflict is between delight at the web site's egalitarian attitude toward all countries and minor chagrin at having to scroll all the way to the U's.

Normally my Ugly American thoughts will pass after a few seconds, and at this point I am filled with GUILT and SHAME and GENERAL UNWORTHINESS. OH, THE HUMANITY!!!!!

Do any of you ever experience this thought process, or do I just think too much?
(If your comment has even the slightest trace of shameless Ugly Americanism, I will never respect you. It's all about the shame, people.)

In other news:
-I started working at Blockbuster again. I'm working tomorrow 12:30-6.
-I'm feeling slightly nauseous right now. I kind of want some ice cream, but I doubt it would help the nausea.
-Robot Chicken is SO hit-or-miss.

Currently reading: The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson.
Subscribers: 1,015

You think you know, but you have no idea.

Life is bizarre and surreal sometimes. I went out tonight for the first time in quite a long time. I sang karaoke with some gay guys. I saw one of my high school friends and found out she's now a lesbian, which totally blew my mind. I never, ever would have suspected. Haha. But it's cool.

Now for the main topic. I've been getting some hate from a YouTuber called GrowWisely. He posted some really insulting comments on my video called "Thank You, Captain Obvious." If you've seen the video, you know that it's just me ranting about how it bugs me when people tell me really obvious things. Yes, such things do annoy me, but I think it's obvious that I'm speaking in jest. But this GrowWisely person assumes that I'm completely serious and tells me that I'm petty and weak and childlike and that I have a "twisted little mind." He also notes my "distinct lack of character" and seems to think that I'm being hateful. To see the rest of the idiotic comments, go here.

1. I am absolutely not being hateful. I don't hate anyone. I AM JOKING.
2. The first two examples in my video did not even happen to me. They happened to friends of mine who were equally annoyed in those situations.
3. I'm smart, ok? I work hard and am proud of the knowledge I possess. I am also very open-minded and accepting. I am always trying to learn more. Telling me that I'm small-minded insults me to the core. You would know that if you knew me on a personal level (or, to a certain extent, watched some of my other videos). Which brings me to...
4. You make think you know someone because you watch her videos, but you don't. People on YouTube only show you want they want you to see. Other YouTubers and I have already made videos on the subject. The Kaitlyn you see on YouTube is silly and spastic and extremely outgoing, but the real Kaitlyn is actually very shy and sensitive and introverted. She cares way more than she should about people and their problems. Yes, she is easily annoyed sometimes, but she does not lack character. Thinking that you can judge a person's character based solely on her videos is absolutely ludicrous.

I made that video because I thought it would be both somewhat entertaining and a chance for me and my subscribers to vent about life's little annoyances. For many people, it seems that it was. If you think I'm weak and childlike for posting it, you don't have to watch. I'm not sorry, though.

You. Don't. Know. Me.

Why You Don't Hook Up With Strangers...

OK, brace yourself. This is probably the most horrifying story you'll ever read. You will hate me for telling you this, BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW. K? :-D

Alright. So my roommate's friend was out at a club with some friends. One of the girls was making out with a guy who seemed perfectly normal. He asks her to go to his apartment, but she's with her friends, so she says no. He gives her his number and says to call him.

A few days later she gets a weird rash in her mouth. (Wait for it...) She goes to the doctor, and he does some tests. He tells her it will take a few days to get the results. THE NEXT DAY he calls her and says she needs to come in right away to see her results. So she goes back, and the receptionist greets her with "Oh, you're the girl with the test results." Uh-oh. She takes her to the very back of the clinic, where her doctor is talking to an FBI agent.

Turns out the rash was caused by a bacteria that you can only get by eating rotten flesh. Yes, you read that right. THE GUY WAS A CANNIBAL. The FBI were able to track him down because he gave her his phone number. When they got to his apartment, they found two dead girls that he had been eating. He later told them that the girl in this story was supposed to be #3. Imagine if she had gone to his apartment that night. HE WOULD HAVE KILLED HER AND EATEN HER!!!

Now, I know you probably don't believe me, but I swear that this story is 100% true. I know, this shit doesn't happen in real life. This is straight out of CSI or NCIS or something. But no. Apparently cannibals do still exist in real life, right here in America. And this guy seemed so normal. People hooking up with strangers they meet in clubs happens all the time. I bet you'll think twice about it now, though, right?

I'm sorry I ruined your life with that story, BUT YOU NEEDED TO KNOW!


Well, I have no idea how to transition to any other topic. I'm home from school for the summer. A bunch of my friends graduated. I'm really proud of them. It's a little weird for me, though, since this was my class and technically should have been my graduation. Hmm. Ah, well. I'm not ready for the real world yet. Congrats, guys! :-)

Ben and I finally saw the Hannah Montana movie!!!! We were waiting to see it together. I loved it. And I WILL learn the Hoedown Throwdown!

Subscribers: 1,009

Hanko de Mayo!

For Hank Green's birthday, I flipped off a Hummer! It was fun. :-)



Special thanks to Nicole for playing the Hummer owner and Ashley for wielding the camera.

Subscribers: 1,004