Smiling so much, it Seriously hurts!

Happy Monday everyone! I am giving myself 10 minutes to write a post... in order to keep this short!

There is kind of a lot going on here - and staying busy as usual. We have finally found an intern house and half of the interns will be moving there on Wednesday. Hammer, our intern director, drew names out of a hat to see who would be moving over to the house... I was chosen to stay at the condo, which I am fine with - because that means I don't have to pack my stuff up... But then again, it will be sad because 10 of the interns will be at the house! The house is just down the street and closer to the beach, so I will be visiting A Lot. We are all pretty excited about this, we just hope that we don't break our bond and lose touch - we all know we will be working together still, it will just be Really different!

Last Thursday I went out with 3 of the other girls - Krystal, Trice and Carly. It was fun to get away from the condo with the girls. We went to a lil Irish pub in Venice which was great because it wasn't packed and there was live music.

I ended up going to work Friday in order to go to a run-through for an event we are having this coming Saturday at a Bloomingdale's with Invisible Children and Charity Water. My mom and Don will be here and will get to see a little of what I do - I'm really excited!

After our meeting with Bloomingdale's, me and Liza headed to Newport to meet up with Pete Ferrer - before we all headed to Laguna Beach for an event that Garett put together at a small surf shop. We met Pete at Javier's, which is right off of the Pacific Coast Highway - It was an awesome view, and a beautiful evening!

The event in Laguna Beach was crazy... I would say at least 150 people showed up. We had a couple artists decorate shoes and two bands play. I am guessing that all of the LB hipsters were there - there were kids everywhere... It was insane. There were so many people running around, that I felt a little uncomfortable towards the end of the event. But, the guys working at the store were really awesome and fun to work with. Honestly, the people in Laguna are a different bread. They are exactly what I think of, when I think of "The OC".

Saturday afternoon, I was one of the 'artists' at a small event at a Nordstrom's in Topanga. I think I decorated a total of 8 pairs? We met a lot of cool people who were very passionate about TOMS, which is Always fun.

Saturday night, I didn't do anything... Well, I sat in my room job searching, working on my resume and looking at non-profit organizations in LA, while some of my other room mates went out. The Nordstrom's event wore me out and I felt that I really needed to spend a good amount of time searching for jobs. It is extremely overwhelming and I don't really know where to start... I just need to remember to not get anxious, to be patient and to keep my options open and go for anything that I am interested in. Like the one bible verse from below says... "to spread my seed, see which ones grow"....

Abbi bought me my first bible! When she came back from Tennessee from her Spring break, she gave it to me - I'm really excited about it!

Sunday morning I went to Mosaic with Abbi and Meg. We went to a different location than we usually do - it was a great! Mosaic is putting together their own Style Your Sole party, so we helped hand out TOMS fliers after the service and talked to a lot of people about TOMS. I have met so many great people through Mosaic! There are people from everywhere who go there! Sunday I met someone from North Carolina and someone from Pennsylvania - and both of them have only been here for a couple months as well. It is a lot of fun to meet these people and then see them at Church and have a feeling of community, in such a big city.

I spent the rest of my Sunday doing some reading and wrote in my journal, and then went to Mosaic's evening service at the Mayan. I really had a great day. I really enjoyed Erwin's sermon and I definitely picked up different messages from both services. He gave us a lot of bible verses to look at which I am really excited about (now that I have a bible!). I am going to be going through the different verses later tonight and I will eventually write about what Erwin talked about. (If you want, you can go to their website and hear the service on their podcast!)

I've truly been blessed. I have had so much to smile about for the past couple months, and especially these past couple of weeks. And I'm not kidding about saying that my face hurts from smiling so much. :) I've had so much time, and so much encouragement to focus on myself - while building relationships and learning so much about myself in these different relationships, its truly been... amazing.

Well - I'm well over my 10 minute mark... But I want to share something that was just read to me....

Kahlil Gibran -

"And the priestess spoke again and said:

"Speak to us of Reason and Passion."

And he answered saying:

Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage war against passion and your appetite.

Would that I could be the peacemaker in your soul, that I might turn the discord and the rivalry of your elements into oneness and melody.

But how shall I, unless you yourselves be also the peacemakers, nay, the lovers of all your elements?

Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul.

If either your sails or our rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas.

For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.

Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion; that it may sing;

And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.

I would have you consider your judgment and your appetite even as you would two loved guests in your house.

Surely you would not honor one guest above the other; for he who is more mindful of one loses the love and the faith of both.

Among the hills, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace and serenity of distant fields and meadows - then let your heart say in silence, "God rests in reason."

And when the storm comes, and the mighty wind shakes the forest, and thunder and lightning proclaim the majesty of the sky, - then let your heart say in awe, "God moves in passion."

And since you are a breath In God's sphere, and a leaf in God's forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion."

Goodnite!!

-K to the J

*side note... I just read this post and I noticed that giving myself a time limit definitely limits the quality of my writing. So, I apologize for using "so much" about 26 times.

Okay, last post of the Day!

This is me and Carly - I thought I would put a picture up of her and I since I will be picking her up tonight from the airport!

Okay. In order for me to get up-to-date on what I have been up to out here, I'm going to try to make a list and paraphrase... I know I get SO long winded, and really. Not everyone wants to read that. Here, I will try:

A couple weeks ago I got to hold the boom mic/be a personal assistant for a day - for a movie producer Ken Kokin, who is putting together a little film about TOMS. I got to follow him around all day and watch him interview different TOMS full-timers, who shared their experiences on the shoe drop, or how they came to TOMS, etc. It was an amazing day - I got emotional when a couple people talked... especially when Liza was interviewed. Liza is who I report to daily and the one I have been working with the closest. She is amazing and I have learned so much from her and I've kind of taken her on as my mentor... And, it was just so emotional for me to hear her accounts of South Africa. And I loved hanging around Ken, he is a riot!!

One weekend, a bunch of us went out in Hollywood. We went to the Hotel Cafe and then went to a place called the Beauty Bar. The Hotel Cafe is a great place to hear a wide variety of live music. While we were there we heard three different performers - and they all were pretty good! Everyone should know by now how much I love to hear live music, so it was a really great night. Then at the Beauty Bar, we met up with a couple other friends and danced for the rest of the night. The bar offered a wide variety of people - Definitely not like a bar in Nebraska or Minnesota! It was very interesting.

Last week I took my first run on the beach boardwalk! I took off from our condo at Playa Vista and headed towards the beach - Once I got there, I realized how far it was to run back - I think it ended up being a 4 mile run. It was awesome to get some fresh air and actually get in a really good work out, which I have been needing. I personally hate running outside - I'm usually a treadmill girl. But, running next to the beach is a real treat - I absolutely loved it! I can't wait until we move out of the condo and move closer to the beach (We are moving sometime next week!)

Discovering new music has been a big thing for me since being here. I have been exposed to so many different types of music because of the people I am around and the culture here in LA. I have been listening to such a huge variety: from rap/hip hop/latino dance music to Christian artists, from techno to soft rock, from pop to country... I'm pretty much listening to it all and loving it. I love being able to connect favorite songs to moments in time and associating moments with music. Here are my recent favorites:

1. Phil Wickham - True Love
2. Paramore - My Heart
3. Shawn McDonald - Take My Hand
4. Metro Station - Shake it
5. Pitbull - The Anthem
6. M.I.A. - Paper Planes
7. Missy Higgins - Nightminds and Unbroken
8. Rilo Kiley - Money maker and Dreamworld
9. Lupe Fiasco - Supestar and Sunshine
10. Regina Spektor - Hotel song
11. The Ting Tangs - Great DJ
12. The Walkmen - We've been had

The first 7 or songs remind me of certain moments here in California and the rest have been suggested to me by my roomies, co-workers and friends from home. Mr. Dan Fly put together a huge list of songs for me to check out and he pretty much knew my taste of music to a T - I have enjoyed everything he has suggested - Its been a really good music week for me. Music makes me happy. :)

I finally finished Blue Like Jazz on Sunday, and now I have started two new books. Erwin's Soul Cravings and Sex God, which is another one of Abbi's suggestions. So far, I like both. I've read two chapters of both and look forward to continue reading! Wow, I really enjoy reading!! It is amazing what you discover when TV is taken away! haha But seriously, if I had TV I probably wouldn't be able to listen to as much music as I do, or read as much as I do - So, thank you TOMS for not giving us TV!

I recently rented Into the Wild with a friend, and I suggest that everyone see it. I think there are a lot of lessons to learn from his experiences and the main thing that I took from it, is that there is no happiness unless it is shared. :)

The last thing I will write about, is the "Visit California" commercial that I recently saw. When my family was here, I got a little TV time and one of the commercials was this one... Go to www.visitcalifornia.com and click on the "Visit California Video" link... and You will see why it made me smile.

I think I am all blogged out for awhile. I'm going to continue to TRY harder on keeping up with this thing, so that my posts aren't this long each time!

Much Love - I miss and love everyone who is not here and who I have not seen in a very long time.

-Kirsten aka Kirken aka K-Fed aka KJ aka Kirken Marie

Almost the end of Mustache March!

I wasn't able to finish my post yesterday - But, I have a good chunk of time today to be able to write! Yay. I'm excited to get everyone up-to-date!

This past month has been "Mustache March" here at TOMS. All the men at TOMS have had mustaches - Mine hasn't been very successful even though I tried really hard to grow it out! ha. Mustache March has also been extended to some of our other friends out here in LA.

I have to show you some of the greatest Mustaches... This of course is also a testament to the type of people I work with and the people I hang around.

Don't those mustaches just make you smile? Haha. It has definitely been funny to watch a group of guys at work, talking serious, with these ridiculous mustaches! And then, having to explain to people coming in for meetings that it is Mustache march and that is why all the men look the way they do. It really has been daily entertainment.

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I should go back to talking about my dad and the Oberg's visit! While they are were here, we went to The Pageant play at the Crystal Cathedral and then also went to Sunday morning service. The play was truly amazing; What a grand production. I can only imagine how many hours it took them to put everything together. My cousin Bryan had mentioned he learned a lot from the play. There were a lot of mini-stories within the play that I had forgotten about. It was a great refresher! The service on Sunday was great as well - The guest of the day was Ken Behring who is the founder of the Wheelchair Foundation - which is a foundation that brings wheelchairs to the disabled poor in countries across the world. Ken Behring's story was great to hear and I could tell you all about it, but I encourage you to read about it for yourself. What he is doing is truly amazing and in a way connected to what we are doing at TOMS.

We also went to Disneyland while they were here. I have never been there before - and it was really fun! We did a couple of really great rides! I don't remember the last time that I rode a roller coaster, and I was seriously giggling like a little girl - it was so much fun.

On one of the roller coasters we went on, I sat next to this really cute 5 year old with all the joy in the world. He asked me if I had ever been on the ride before, I said no and he said to me: "This roller coaster makes me feel ALIVE!" It was honestly one of the cutest things I have ever heard. He also held my hand a couple times during the ride - he made my day, well other than being there with my family.

I wish the weather could have been a little better for while they were here, but I think it was a great weekend, even though it was so short! I really hope they enjoyed their time. They said they were impressed by how well I knew my way around. I'm already starting to plan their next visit out.

The day after they left - I got to see my cousin Jenny and aunt Becky in Bakersfield. Jenny had a tournament there, and it was only an hour and a half drive from LA. And the drive was up in the mountains --------------------------------------------->

It was really great to see them and spend a couple hours with them while they were here - which of course was weird to meet them out in California! Me and Becky found some great finds at the Dollar Store too! And of course Jenny is doing great things as usual, going to Grad School starting in the Fall! Wow! Soo proud and so envious of her academic achievements and opportunities! My cousin is truly gifted.

I have always wanted to go back to school - but as of right now, I really can not afford it. But, there are always things that I can on my own, kind of set my own agenda to continue my growth in the areas I will eventually pursue. Which is what I have been thinking about a lot over the past few days. I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do after TOMS. I Want (with a capital W) a job at TOMS, because of the passion that it brings out it me . But, if the opportunity does not arise, I need to be prepared. I have been looking at ad agencies, non-profit organizations and different businesses that are out here in LA to see where there is a spark of interest. Right now my feelings are towards a non-profit organization, hopefully working with underprivileged women and children or working with the homeless.

I have been praying a lot about where I will find my fit, and where God will lead me and the opportunities he will provide. I also have been praying for patience because I know it may be a hard road ahead and that finding a job, or finding my place may take longer than I may want it - which I need to understand is apart of His plan for me. I do truly believe that LA, is where I need to be.

I have been so motivated and inspired by the people I have been surrounded my and honestly, this is the place that I feel the closest with Him. Just like the little boy on the roller coaster at Disney Land.. "This place makes me feel alive!" I love this place. I love the people. I love the opportunity. I love the community that He has created for me here. Patience and Grace will be key for the next month and a half.

The relationships that I have built here so far have been a huge blessing to me. And its not just one person who has ignited the different aspirations of my heart. My dear friend Abbi has helped me work through many questions that I have had about my faith and has continued her encouragement in my growth. Another friend's motivation, continued search for personal and work related growth and education has completely rubbed off on me. This motivation has also been a huge push to strengthen Me and who I am and who I want to be. I am forever grateful. My room mates are all also so amazing in their own ways and I honestly have grown to love them all and what they offer me. (so thanks guys :))

Also, another person that has given me motivation, is my dear friend Lindsey. She also has a blog and has been looking to move out to LA and most recently interviewed for her dream job. I pray that she finds her perfect opportunity and everything works out for her. She found a passage that is completely relevant to my life right now and I thank her for writing about this because it gives me both encouragement and patience.

She found a passage in the Bible that is SO perfect timing as I am starting to search for jobs out here ... isn't it funny how and where we randomly find encouragement from God? Meaning - I started to read Lindsey's blog as I was up really late searching for Jobs and came across this particular post with this passage? He is brilliant!

Ecclesiastes 11: 4-6 If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. God's ways are as hard to discern as the pathways of the wind, and as mysterious as a tiny baby being formed in a mother's womb. Be sure to stay busy and plant a variety of crops, for you never know which will grow--perhaps they all will.

The verse goes on saying to remember the Lord when you are young and to cast away anxiety and troubles from your body... "Young man (woman), it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do."
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Be So Beautiful!

Here are a couple pictures from the sunset from last night. I went to the same spot I was at when I took the sunrise pictures - It was awesome. It was a little hazy, but the pictures still turned out great.

I have so much to talk about, but I think I will just have to highlight a couple of key moments from my past couple of weeks otherwise this post will be 10 pages long!

This past Sunday was Easter of course - and I unfortunately was alone, but then again, I had a truly great day. I spent the day at the beach, did a lot of reading, spent some good quality time with God, went grocery shopping, made myself a good dinner then later went to the Easter service at Mosiac.

The service at Mosiac was awesome, the title of this post comes from a song that we sang that really touched my heart. The sermon was really refreshing and talked about being able to always recognize God's beauty that surrounds us. Erwin said many things that I've been able to relate to in the past couple of months. Such as, he said that many people go on living their lives without God. But, 'our story' or the song that God has placed in our hearts was intended to be written by God. Him saying that was so powerful for me since I can 100% agree with that idea and can attest to the difference that I feel on a daily basis. It is so easy to get into routines and forget about the beauty that constantly surrounds us... Not just in scenery, but also seeing God's presence and beauty in others.

The TOMS interns have the week off work this week, so a lot of people went home. Currently, I'm sitting in my room, drinking my coffee and Orangina alone! All three of my room mates are gone. Abbi went home to Tennessee until Friday, Carly is in Alabama until tomorrow and Becca went to NorCal (Northern California/San Francisco) until next Tuesday. I enjoy being able to sprawl out in our room alone, but I know I would get really lonely if this lasts much longer!

Just like usual, these past few weeks have flown by! I had to write out a list of things for me to write about, so that I don't forget anything!

I had family come for the first time a couple weekends ago. My dad, Wilma Jean and Ernie, Connie, Bryan and Amanda came and stayed in Anaheim, which is about 40 miles from where I live in Santa Monica.

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Happy Easter!

I continue to be amazed by how fast my time flies here. I have A LOT to write about, but I wanted to first share some pictures that I took yesterday - and hopefully I will get to writing later today.
So, here are some pictures that I took at the beach by the Santa Monica Pier yesterday morning... I took Abbi and Carly to the airport at 5:45 and then drove straight to the beach to watch the sunrise - It was amazing. I seriously took 500 pictures. (Later in the day, I took another 200 pictures at Zuma Beach, it was a great picture taking day!)
Here are a few - You can click on them to see a bigger version.

I'm Shh Shh Shakin!

Do I look a little excited?

This is me with Brett Dennen in the background, from his performance last night at the Roxy in West Hollywood. Brett was one of four performers last night at a benefit for Brandon Schantz; Lisa Donnelly, Graham Colton and Rooney were the others.

I went with two of my roommates, Abbi and Carly and another intern Mary - It was a really great night for many reasons. First of all - We didn't know who Brandon was, but his family and friends seem to be amazing and it was definitely a great celebration for them. Brandon died of a very rare cancer sometime last year - It was awesome to see how many lives he touched and to see the love in his family's hearts by just listening to them talk about Brandon for a couple minutes.

Second - Brett was wearing the TOMS that Mike and I had given him almost a month ago! At first I didn't notice, because most of the time Brett plays on stage without shoes. I randomly said to Abbi - "Wouldn't it be cool if he would have worn his TOMS?" And so we decided to get a little bit closer and we saw that in fact he WAS wearing his TOMS. I was so excited! Of course I took a bunch of photos and videos of his performance. He played with just his guitar and of course he was amazing as usual.

Third - I actually really enjoyed Rooney! Rooney is a band that one of our friends Blake, manages. When you first see them, you think they are trying to be like the Beatles - which I guess in a way they are - But, their music is very upbeat and entertaining even if you have never heard it before. And, the lead singer was in the movie The Princess Diaries from back when I was in high school!

Fourth - We saw Mischa Barton after the concert. (She used to be on a popular TV show called 'The OC' from a couple years go - for my parents who won't know who that is.) I guess she is dating one of the guitar players from Rooney and she was hanging around after the concert.

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Okay, I couldn't finish my post last night - I took some Nyquil and got really tired. I think that my cold is pretty much gone - Yay!

This past week at work, I got to join in on a retail marketing retreat in Pasadena. We spent the first half of the morning in Pasadena looking at window displays in old town Pasadena and then at one of the malls. The second half of the day we spent at Garett's house brainstorming - I was really excited that I got to be apart of the meeting, I definitely learned a lot. And retail marketing and event planning are two completely different areas, that I have interest in.

We had a beautiful day in Pasadena - It was sunny and probably 70 degrees. Garett's backyard is absolutely gorgeous - Of course I took a lot of pictures. I actually haven't been that good about taking pictures recently, but I will be getting back to it.

Yesterday, we got a half day at work because the TOMS full-timers got their holiday vacation trip to go skiing at Mammoth. It's crazy to me that you can drive a couple hours and find snow! And that even being in LA, you can see the mountains that have snow - I hate to admit it, but California really does have the best of both worlds!

I spent my half day off at one of the pools in our condo/complex. It was about 75 degrees and sunny - but it was a little chilly with the wind, so I hung out around the hot tub and got some really good sun. I did a lot of reading and wrote in my journal. It couldn't have been any more perfect.

Currently I'm reading Blue Like Jazz - which was Abbi's suggestion. So far I have really liked it - I have learned that for me, to learn about how I feel about God and my spirituality, is to hear other people talk about their relationship with God. Many of the stories that Donald Miller writes about have been VERY relevant to my life and where I find myself today. A lot of the time I will agree or disagree which I think is very important in figuring out what you believe (Does that make sense?) I know that I need to start reading the Bible daily as well. I will continue along this journey..,

Bye for now!

-KJ

Hello March!

Goodbye February and Hello March!

I cannot believe that February is already over. What a great month it was for me! And so far, March is looking good!

I realize I haven't talked about meeting Brett Dennen yet! The 15th of February, I got to go to his concert at the Skirball here in LA. His concert was in a very small auditorium with maybe 150 people - A very intimate atmosphere - It was Amazing!! He played a couple songs in tribute to Bob Dylan and I had one tear of JOY when he sang the "I love you by and by" song --- It was his best concert I have seen and it was a very close 2nd to being my favorite concert ever!

After the concert, I called Brett's tour manager Chad who brought me and Mike down to Brett's dressing room. It was so weird! We just sat down there with him, talking to him about TOMS and about his show. It was a little bit awkward - but it was really cool that he had already heard about TOMS and that he was excited about his shoes. Mike and I hung out with him and about 10 others for almost a half hour... and then we left. Brett was very cool, but I think he was actually kind of sick at the time --- But, it was definitely cool to meet him! I'm actually going to another one of his concerts this Thursday! I'm hoping to call Chad to see if we can get back stage again - That would be awesome!

Yesterday morning and afternoon, I helped run an event in Newport Beach, on Balboa Island. It went really well! We had an awesome turn out and in 4 hours we sold 123 pairs of TOMS. Which is awesome considering how small the store was. The picture to the left is of Blake, Maggie Grace and the store owner Allison, infront of the store -- Allison and her husband Michael Zschoche are the owners and they are Awesome. They also just recently started their own advertising firm just down the street from this store, I will definitely be keeping in touch with them!

The picture at the top is a picture that I took today at The Huntington in Pasadena. The Huntington is a huge complex with museums and botanical gardens - it is a MUST see in California and I hope to go back there soon. The weather was absolutely amazing today - I obviously took many pictures. The Huntington is also where a scene in the Wedding Planner was filmed!

Today was also just a great day for me because I got to spend a great, relaxing day away from the condo in good company, in a Beautiful setting. After days like I had today, I understand why people Love California so much.

I still can not believe how fast time has gone while I've been here. I have truly had an amazing two months here in California. I have been living these past few weeks one day at a time and enjoying every moment. The people that I have been surrounded by will truly impact me for the rest of my life. Living in this 'Real World' condo and working for this company has been absolutely life-changing. I truly believe that God intended for me to here, and that I am here in California for a reason. I can't think of another time in my life when I have felt so content with my life, enjoyed my work, enjoyed the people that I am surrounded by and felt so close to God - Which is very exciting for me. God is Good and I am reminded of that every day.

I'm currently working on a list of things that I love about California that I will eventually be sharing. But, I will tell you that one of the things that I like the most, is seeing random celebrities. Seeing 'famous' people on a regular basis, just makes celebrities seem so much more normal. But of course, it is still fun! So far since being in California, I have met Hanson and Brett Dennen and I have seen Rachael Leigh Cook, Drew Lachey, Dann Florek, and Amanda Ireton. And that has only been in two months!

I'm sure there is so much more I could write about - but I am catching the TOMS cold (everyone at TOMS has been sick these past few weeks) and I NEED to catch up on some sleep! I promise to write more this coming month. I really hope that March will be just as good, and if not better, as February!