Author: kaleenamq

Near death, new life, and getting ready for Korea

Last week, my step brother died. It’s a fact he was excited to hear about.   *** When it happened, I was sitting at my parents’ kitchen table with my head in my hands, trying to digest the events of the last few days. Vignetted memories surged through my mind of the smiles, the laughs,… Continue reading Near death, new life, and getting ready for Korea

{Photo Essay} The Santa Barbara Mission

I woke up on Sunday with my ears ringing and my head clouded. While it was more likely a severe case of “I celebrated too much last night and there are pictures of me drinking wine straight out of the bottle because I’m a classy lady like that”, I’m going to chalk it up to… Continue reading {Photo Essay} The Santa Barbara Mission

Guns: And That Time I Got One For Christmas

Now that's what I call a father-daughter portrait

It all started in 2011 with a recurring nightmare. The dream manifested itself each time within a different scenario, but it always ended with someone shooting me in the neck: an angry man in the grocery store parking lot; a disgruntled ex-roommate; a serial killer chasing me around my house… Granted, it was not as… Continue reading Guns: And That Time I Got One For Christmas

The Pre-Korea Food Fest of 2013

I’ve been spending a lot of time this week in facebook group chats with the other teachers heading to Korea soon, and someone recently posted a story of how one guy arrived in Korea only to be sent home because he weighed 30lbs more than he listed on his application. Questionable veracity or not, this… Continue reading The Pre-Korea Food Fest of 2013

My New Year’s Non-Resolution

I’m not much of one for New Year’s Resolutions. First of all, I’m a little late on the uptake to be posting about my resolutions, seeing as the date is what it is; I almost decided to resolve to post twice every week, but I’ve clearly failed at that already. Making a New Year’s Resolution… Continue reading My New Year’s Non-Resolution

Sandboarding and Surviving My Own Near Apocalypse

In honor of the fact that the world is supposed to implode today and yet somehow–LOOK! we’re all still alive!– I thought I’d share a story of another day in which I thought I might die. Only on more realistic terms. This little (long) story is from my time in Argentina a few years back…… Continue reading Sandboarding and Surviving My Own Near Apocalypse

Stuck in Limbo

Just a little card I found at TJs one day that I've hung in my office for inspiration :)

There have been more tears this week than I care to admit. It would be easy to blame the tears on the Connecticut tragedy, as that truly did upset me on a very deep level, but that was really only one dip in the emotional rollercoaster I’ve been riding lately. The end of the year… Continue reading Stuck in Limbo

The Secret of the Santa Barbara Courthouse Clock Tower

One of my favorite sights to show visitors in Santa Barbara is, oddly enough, the Courthouse. Not because it’s a place I spend much of my time (I have–miraculously–never been arrested, thank you very much) but because it is a beautiful and historic site that epitomizes the Spanish style architecture that defines Santa Barbara. The… Continue reading The Secret of the Santa Barbara Courthouse Clock Tower

Prioritizing Priorities: An apology and explanation

That's right, I DO know how to do awesomeness. As long as you believe a handmade, prize winning peacock costume to be awesome. Which you should.

If you’re a consistent reader of Kaleena’s Kaleidoscope (giant Heimlich squeezing hug of thanks to you!) you may have noticed I’ve been mysteriously… absent lately, cropping up periodically only to post half-inspired little ditties and photos. I have been violating the first gospel of blogging, which is posting consistently and frequently. So smite me down,… Continue reading Prioritizing Priorities: An apology and explanation

European Memories: The Birth of my Wanderlust

In browsing through old photos on my computer, I came across a file of pictures I hadn’t looked at in ages. As I scrolled through, a wave of memories surged over me–each as vivid and colorful as if they’d happened yesterday. I didn’t expect the memories to be so clear, especially since I can’t usually… Continue reading European Memories: The Birth of my Wanderlust

That Time I Ate Wilbur: A Pig Roast in the Philippines

As we near the quintessential American holiday of Thanksgiving and my facebook news feed brims with statuses of thankfulness and “how the hell am I going to cook this turkey” fears, I find myself wondering if this will be my last Thanksgiving celebration in this country for a while. Since I’ll be moving to Korea… Continue reading That Time I Ate Wilbur: A Pig Roast in the Philippines