Eeny Meeny Miney Mo

First I'd like to say (quite cryptically if you don't mind) that sometimes I'm an idiot. Usually it's about the same thing...I'm glad I've moved on from that.

Ok. Moving right along....

This weekend has been an interesting one. I'd like to give you every little detail..but it will bore you. TO DEATH. So just take my word for it when I say the devil is trying to do a number on me...but no no no I won't let that happen!

So during this weekend, I came up with a list of reasons not to live in Chicago. And I feel compelled to share this list with you!

I'll go from least important to most important.

The Cubs are awful. [All the cool people like the White Sox.]

The weather is crazy!

If you like normal pizza (from Dominoes) you're OUT. OF. YOUR. MIND.

People here like the Bears. Ew.

Snow.

There's always construction. Always.

The roads are crap..that's why there's always construction.

Everyone wants everything done yesterday. [this one really bugs me]

The people here aren't as friendly as they are in the South.

My uncle lives here.

Please don't get me wrong. I love love LOVE it here. I know, it sounds like I don't. I do. I just don't like the idea of staying here permanently. 

I think there are more reasons but I didn't write them down so I don't remember. Yes, I'm one of thooooose.

I went to church today. TWICE! I found out that the morning church preacher was in the Navy. I hope to talk to him eventually. The 2nd church was great. It was recommended by a good friend. I'm glad I know him. The people there were fabulous. I might be getting together with a couple of the women to do a Bible Study. We'll see how it works out! :) 

My Navy test is Friday. Please be praying for it. I'm nervous about it. But really excited too. 

I Have Grown Too Strong To Ever Fall Back In Your Arms

It's been a while, right? I know. Trust me. :)


1. I went to Six Flags Great America on Sunday. It was awesome!!! My cousin and I did the DareDevil Dive! It was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fun!!! :) Seriously. FUN. You should check out my pics on facebook! I also got to ride the American Eagle. If you've seen the tv show Step By Step, you've seen this roller coaster. If not, watch this:

Looks SO fun, right!? Oh it was! I thought it was just going to be like a slow ride because it's a wooden roller coaster...no way jose! That joker FLEW! It was GREAT! :)

2. I saw a Navy there. 

3. My test is in one week and one day. (August 5) I'm sort of nervous about it. I know I can do it. I'm just afraid I won't. I'm really excited though too. I'm just ready to get the ball rolling for this part of my life! 

4. My grandparents are coming on Friday and bringing my sister along. I'm glad they're bringing her. If they weren't, I don't know the next time I would see her. By the time I get back home, she'll be back at school!

5. I follow a young woman's blog who is FABULOUS! She and her husband are hilarious! He's in the Navy and she's along for the ride. She's hosting a giveaway (click on that link to see the cool stuff!) on her blog and I'm really excited! She's giving away lots of cool stuff! :) Go check it out!

6. My uncle is a child. 

7. I think I'm addicted to starburst candies. How unfortunate.

8. The bracelet that my Marine friend gave me is breaking. :( It looks like this: 

Mine is the whiter arm.

I've tried everything I know to fix it. Well..actually just superglue. It seemed to maybe have done more harm than good. It's got a hole in it. Does anyone know a way to fix it? Please share it if you do! I know I could probably get another one but this one was handed to me..by him. It wouldn't be the same.

9. I'm convinced I'm leaving the shop this week with one less finger...the other day I nicked my pinky with a wrench, that same day I broke my first nail. And those of you who know my hands, you know that I don't have long nails so it was quite a feat. Then today I busted up my knuckle and I don't even know how! [sidenote: it is STORMING outside! Geez lapeez! I think we have a tornado warning for the next hour. The wind and rain are outrageous!] So I went to get this tiny kid's bike, handed it to the woman, went to get the attractive man with lots of muscle's bike, I look down and my knuckle is bleeding. What on Earth!?!? Sheesh.

10. Ya know, I don't appreciate when people say "well when you're in the Navy you won't be able to do ____" It make me so irritated. I want to yell at them "Do I LOOK like I'm in the Navy to you!? Well, I'm not..so until I am, I'll do whatever I feel like doing!" or "Are YOU in the Navy!? No. Didn't think so..so how the heck do YOU know I won't be able to do _____?! You don't. So shut up." I especially don't like it when people try to tell me I'll have eat all sorts of nasty and that I should just go ahead and suck it up. Why the heck would I do that now if I don't have to? There are certain things that I know I will have to do once in the Navy. And when the time comes, I'll do them. Until then, go eat dirt jerks!

11.Lately I've wanted to spell taco.."talko"..I know, it's weird. :)

12. Today I heard a song that I've heard a gajillion times before. But today I really listened. It spoke to me, no not spiritually. Situationally. Yes, I'd applied it before but today it was different. It was like I was hearing it for the very first time. I could tell it was written about someone. Not just to make money. Someone's heart was broken and they let the raw emotions inside of them bleed out onto a page. It's beautiful. 

This song is perfect for me. I hope I never have to play it for the person it applies to though.

To check out the song I'm talking about, click here

That's all lovely readers! I hope you enjoyed! :)

Refinnej Eldnab, Where Are You These Days?

Today was my 2nd day off in a row!

Craziness, I know! It's been ridiculously hot here so no one has had bicycles that need repair. Please don't ask me why. I have no idea. The best answer I can give is that they're whimps. But I can't say I'd be riding my bike either in this junk! All I know is that hardly any repairs have come in.

So I had yesterday off. I watched a movie: The American President. It was good. And studied. 

Today I watched 2 movies. Both bad: Die Hard (the original) and Black Hawk Down.

I usually enjoy war movies but I just didn't like this one. And Die Hard was just dragging on and on and on!

And I tried so hard to study. I'm just so tired of it! I feel like my brain is going to explode soon if I don't get all of this information out of it! There's soooo much to know!

I've got 2 weeks and 2 days until my test. Ah!

Today was rough. It definitely could have been a lot worse, but little things kept happening that just made me want to scream "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!"
Like: I set my phone down next to my taco. I picked it up and it had sour cream, taco sauce and cheese on it. BAH!
Then. I was leaning over my cup of water and I spilled it. ALL. OVER. MY. NOTECARDS. And a little got on my computer but just on the top. Ugh. So irritating.

BUT! It was all made better when a lady, from the AWESOME church I visited this past Sunday, brought me cupcakes!!!!!!!!! YES! Cupcakes! I thought they were just regular yellow cake with chocolate icing. Oh no no no. I was fooled. They had chocolate IN THE MIDDLE and dark chocolate icing!! Oh they were gooood! She also gave me a thank you card! I had already decided to return there for the rest of the summer. But, had I had any doubts before, they would have gone out the window after that! Hahah. That was such a kind gesture. She (or someone..) took the time to make those just for me (and probably other visitors too..). That's why I liked this church. The people reached out and welcomed me. At the other church, I don't think anyone even knew I was a visitor. Which is sort of sad when you think about it. It wasn't a HUGE church, I've been to bigger. I don't know, I just feel like the people at the door should know a stranger when they see one. As soon as I sat down at this new church, a young lady came up and introduced herself! She was so sweet! And like 4 more came up after her!

It felt like home. And that's what I was looking for.

Tomorrow I will be driving to work alone. My uncle is taking the day off.
The trip should be interesting. There are about 14 different ways I can get there. I'm pretty sure I know the way he told me to go. I hope so anyway!
My uncle requested me to make some more strawberry shortcake this week! YAY! I LOOOOOOOOVE it. It's my favorite!! :)

Friday I'll be going with the neighbor girl to get her ears pierced! I'm really excited. She's such a sweetheart! Friday marks one month until her 9th birthday! :)
I've got lots of fun things in mind as presents for her!
I'll tell you all about them soon enough!

Goodnight!

Piiiiiictures! :)

I got permission from the photographer to post these. Her name is Gloria and you can check her out here. The pictures have  funny quality because I had to take them to the store and scan them on to a cd. But the originals are perfect.

Sorry, they're willynilly no order. :)

The Bride and her brother. I walked down
the aisle with him. 

Dancing. :)

The photographer told me to do that, I promise.

The Bride and her mother.
That's me crackin it up in the background!

The Girls! :)

The Bride and I. :) This was our fun pose.
I told her I wanted to take advantage
of my pockets!

There's a Green Bay Packer in this photo.
Can you figure out which one he is!?
The answer is soon to come!

Aaaawe. 

:)

This was the Best Man's idea..the guys were down for it
but the girls had no idea what to do!

The Girls, again. :)

This was our serious pose.

This picture is so stinkin cute! They're gorgeous!
The girl on the right, holding the groom, is his sister.

:)

The Bride's Grandmother and Grandfather

I didn't meet him but she's precious! I love her!

The Bride's mother and step-father. 

Aaaaawe! :)

THAT'S THE PACKER AND HIS BROTHER!!!!!!!

Their dance was so cute!!

SO Cute.

Instead of throwing her bouquet, she gave it to her mother.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDD

Last but certainly NOT least! :) 

This is for my daddy.

A picture with the Green Bay Packer. 

Please don't tell him. 

It's a surprise.

I can't decide which is better.

In one I have funny eyes and the other I feel like I look awkward. 

Votes, please. :)

Rumor Has It!

I will be posting 2 blogs tonight. One full of fun things that need to be said.
The other....WEDDING PICTURES!!!! (no, I'm not the bride....but that doesn't make it any less exciting!!!)

So this blog is the Not As Exciting blog..but you should still read it.

So, I follow the blog of a woman who is familiar with an organization called Got Your Back Network. I'm not sure if she does volunteer work for them or if she donates to them. I'm not sure. But it's really cool. They help families who have lost loved ones in the war. You should go to their store and look at the bracelets they sell. I really want one. I might have to buy one! Or maybe someone will buy one for me lol.

Today this guy came into the shop who is a cop in a neighboring suburb. This suburb is predominately black (I think). When he picked up his bike he said something about the heat and Dave said "yea, but at least when they run away it'll be slow because of the heat!" and this guy said "Nah man, they're quick out there! They're like gazelles or something!" hahahaha We laughed about that for a few hours.

So. In this blog I told you about a man who looked like an older version of one of my friends. Well. I came to the conclusion yesterday that they just had similar facial features, because yesterday I saw exactly what my friend will look like in 15 years. No joke. I couldn't stop staring at this man. It was so weird. So. Weird.

My uncle collects beer cans. Why? I don't know. He started when he was like 11. He thinks they're worth millions. My aunt and I think he's full of crap.

Yesterday a woman came into the store and needed something put on her bike. So my uncle assisted her. While he was assisting, she was waiting...in my chair. So I swept the floor (that's what I do when there's nothing else for me to do. If I just stand around waiting for someone to arrive I get yelled at. So I just look like I'm really busy).  I went over to where she was seated and got my dust pan. She said "So, it's Friday night! You got a hot date tonight!?!" I said "hahahahaha...no...I'm going home to sleep! By the time we get home it'll be like 730 or  8." She asked where home was and I told her. I was flattered that she'd think I had a hot date...

In my house, you grab a cup and it's yours until you put it in the sink to be washed. Not here, no sirree! Sometimes I don't even get to use the same cup all day long! It's crazy! It just gets snatched up and stuck in the dish washer! Then by the end of ,however long it takes for us to fill up the dish washer, I'm drinking out of strange holiday cups...Holiday cups don't matter..it's just weird that I can't keep the same cup as long as I want! Especially if I'm just drinking water. Sheesh.

So I've got all but like 4 of my Navy notecards finished...there are around 200. Yes. Two. Hundred. Soooo many. Half of those are pictures though. I would try to explain it to you but it wouldn't make a difference. Just know that I don't have to memorize that many...the pictures are matching.

This has been the week for military appreciation! An escalation of it anyway, I appreciate the military every single day, but this week has been phenomenal. I've had 2 Armies, a Marine and an Air Force all come in this week! Crazy. That doesn't sound like a lot, but trust me, it is!

I was thinking the other day, the closest I'll ever get to being in the mob is pretending that I'm John Dillinger while using the pressure washer. EXCEPT for the weekend that Megan comes up. I'll tell you all about that closer to time though! :) You'll LOVE IT! And if you don't, well poo on you!

Have any of you ever heard of The Dragon? Apparently it's the windiest (as in curvy) road in the U.S...or something. It's in Gatlinburg, or near it. I'd never heard of it. It's really popular among motorcyclists. It's got 318 curves in 11 miles. Crazy, right!!? There's even a restaurant or hotel something at the end of it that has a "Tree of Shame." When someone dies on this road, the owners ask the family if they can have parts of the motorcycle the person was using. They then hang it in the tree! It's crazy.

The weather reports here are outrageous. I'm not even kidding or exaggerating when I say they last 15 minutes. I'm completely serious. I go away having learned nothing about the weather happening in my area...the man talks about all of the U.S. and it takes soooooo long. Weather reports at home or only like 2 minutes maybe. Maybe we have a shorter attention span down there...who knows!

Nasal irrigation. That's a strange term hahahahahah.

One might think that country music is only popular in the South. Oh contrare! I walked into one of the biggest grocery store chains up here and they sure were playing country music. It was the oddest thing...but it was real! lol

Stay tuned for the pictures!

There's Only One Thing To Do Three Words Four Yooooooou.

Today was a goooooooood day. Much better than any day last week. Well, maybe except for Monday because I was alone all day and it was pretty good.

I meant to tell you this, maybe on Saturday. I don't remember which day. I do remember that I was very angry at my uncle because he took the bumpiest road in the whole state and that stupid motorcycle made my esophagus hurt. UGH I was irate.
Buuuuut I was entertained at one point. hahahah.
So my uncle believes the only kind of music that's worth listening to is rock-n-roll. I believe I've stated this fact before. Anyway. So this attractive male pulls up in a pickup truck next to us at a stop light. Out of his radio is playing Eminem. HAHAHAH. My uncle was SOOOOOOOO annoyed. I thought it was hilarious. THEN when the light changed and the kid got ahead of us, I saw that he had  US Navy license plate holder. That made that moment ten times better! haha.
While I'm on this subject, I'd like to clear something up. I don't know the technical terms for women who like men in uniform. Yes. I do appreciate viewing these men. And I wouldn't mind marrying one. However, what ever man falls in love with me and can't seem to live the rest of his life without me is the man I will marry...whether he wears ACUs or tutus! Ok, maybe not tutus...but you get my drift. I just wanted to clarify. Moving on...

I painted my nails last night. The color is called "Blue Me Away" by Sally Hansen. First I must interrupt your regularly scheduled program for this announcement. I can find ANYONE on Facebook. I'm serious. hahaha. I just found a friend of a friend that that friend had been looking for for a whiiiiiile haha. It took me like 30 seconds. Seriously. Ok...so I painted my nails. It took me like 3 tries to get my middle, ring and pinky fingers of my right hand to look halfway decent. Today at work I washed windows. I had to put this stuff called "Goof Off" on parts of it because papers had been taped up and the glue was left. Well unbeknownst to me, that junk takes off every kind of goop it come in contact with...and what do ya know...my fingernails happened to be right there in the middle of the action all painted and pretty. Those 3 stinkin fingers that I spent (probably literally) 30 minutes on were ruined. Ruined. I was so sad. I still am sad. Not sad enough to fix them yet though...maybe in the morning.

Today, I built TWO bikes. I was only supposed to build one. This is what went down...my uncle told me to go get a pink "Puddin 16"" bike out of the basement. Well, little did I know that there's also a bike named the "Lil Puddin" and it's 12" So I bring up the Lil Puddin. I start putting it together and see that it's only a 12"...I think "Well, maybe I misheard him" That was the only "puddin" I saw down there. So this had to be the one. I am almost finished putting it together and he comes over to get something. He says "I said a Puddin..that's a Lil Puddin, you did the wrong bike" I look at him, dejected and say "I'm sorry" and he said "It's fine" and walked away. HE JUST WALKED AWAY! I thought for sure he was going to yell at me to listen more carefully next time or look around a little more. Nothing. I got nothing. Mind blown. So when I went down to look for the bike I'd originally been instructed to assemble, I found it. But not in the right place. The first bike had been inventoried. Which means it had been assigned a number and a receipt. There was a row in the middle of the floor that I didn't even look at because they hadn't been inventoried and I wasn't supposed to build them if they hadn't been. So I told him that it didn't have a number or anything and he said that was fine, he'd take care of it. So I built the bike and put the serial number in the little basket.
Phew. Crisis avoided. (yes, I know the word is averted but I didn't do anything to avert it..)

Today is 7/11..which means you can get a free 7 oz slurpie at 7/11 because it's their birthday.

It's also the 213th birthday of the President's Own United States Marine Band. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOYS! (and girls) I wish I had known before 9 pm...I would have celebrated properly. But, I know for next year! :)

That's all for tonight, folks!
AH! wait, I got permission from the photographer to post the wedding pictures from the wedding I was in! So as soon as I can figure out if I can make a cd at walmart from pictures that aren't on a card, I will have them up!! :)  I'm REALLY excited. Hopefully, by Wednesday (that's my day off and I can run errands) I'll have the one of Mr. Masthay and I and I can post that as well.
Ok. That's all for real this time.

I Could Flirt With All The Guys...Smile At Them And Bat My Eyes

So I'm noticing this is becoming a "Whiny Schminy Blog"
I'm not down for that.
Not every single time I blog any way. Maybe once every 5 blogs. 
I might start blogging once a week. Just save up all the good stuff that happens and write it all at once. Unless one day is abnormally exciting lol. :) Then I'll lay it on ya a little at a time.
Just know that he (my boss, about whom I'm whining) is a jerk and that's probably not going to change. If it does, I'll let you know.
I've decided that whenever I feel the strong urge to slash his tires or key up his Harleys real good, I'm going to think about happy things...like my best best friend coming to visit me in August, or my future husband, or how much my dad is the opposite of my uncle and how thankful I am for that, how much my mom loves me, how blessed I am to have the friends that I do, how I'LL BE IN THE NAVY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR! Ya know, stuff like that. 
The reason for this change of thinking...I was talking to a friend's mother this morning. I don't think she knows what's been going on. If she does well hot dog..but this is what she said to me (and we weren't even talking about life up here..):

and you will learn a lot about yourself and how much you can handle! hang in there and keep being your cheerful self!!

My cheerful self. That's right. I'm a cheerful person. But I bet you couldn't tell by the tone of my last few blogs. And trust me, that tone has translated into my face. I don't like being unhappy or agitated. I don't like it one bit. So I'm going to stop. And she probably doesn't know it, but those words encouraged me a lot. So today was day one of...well I'm not sure what to call it hahah. But it was the first day. :)

So Dave and I were talking the other day (we do that a lot, our not-so-benchy work benches are right next to each other) about black people. I love black people. He found that out pretty quick lol. We were talking about how my uncle and Bryan are afraid of black people. hahahah. I told him "they're just peeeeeeeeople with more melanin! There's no reason to be afraid of them!" and he said "yea! I agree" then he affirmed what I've been thinking but wasn't sure was accurate or not. He said "Man, when have you EVER heard of a black serial killer. EVER!?! I'm afraid of white people. At least when black people kill someone they have a reason and it's not just for some creepy reason!" The man speaks truth! I'd been thinking that for a while but didn't want to say it if it was inaccurate. Dave knows a lot so I believe him. hahaha.

There's a nudist colony up here. HAHAHAH. My friends sometimes suggest that I join one. I just don't like wearing clothes. It's such a burden.

Like I said, Dave knows a lot. He's a body builder...but he doesn' t look like Arnold...I've never seen him topless. (hahah that sounds funny when you say it about a guy..but it's the same thing!) He probably looks more like Ryan. Anyway, as a result of the building of his body, he knows nutrition. I was talking about giving up sweets except on Sundays. And he looks at me with a hint of amusement in his eyes and says "and why would you do that?" and I say "because sugar is bad for you" and he says "yes, some kinds of sugar..but really, people who want to lose weight should, in theory, eat nothing but sugar. Your body burns sugar as energy, that's the only thing it knows how to do with it..it doesn't store it or anything. BUT you should  stay away from flour, and corn syrup..." and some other things. As long as it's pure sugar and not that high fructose corn syrup stuff, you're good to go. Good to know, Dave, good to know.

I wonder what it's like to live in a world where you're always the victim. Where you always count on everyone to think of you first, to put you first. Where you think of no one but yourself. A world where everything that goes wrong is someone else's fault, never your own. Where you're constantly putting everyone around you down. A world where everyone who asks a semi-difficult question is either a drunk or a stoner. Where the only thing considered "music" is rock-n-roll. i just wonder....

My husband will be self sufficient. If you're my friend on facebook, you may have seen my status about this...

Things he will be able to do while I'm gone, whether it be on vacation, deployed or gone for good:

his own laundry

shop for groceries

cook above mentioned groceries

clean up after himself

do the dishes (this would tie in with cleaning up)

take care of the dog (yes, we WILL have a dog)

take care of the children (if we have them)

pay bills

I think that's about it. Simple things. Yes, I realize it's nice to be needed, but I need his world not to crumble when I'm gone for a few days and I happen to not go grocery shopping the day before I leave. He needs to be able to fend for himself. 

If you can't tell, I really like Dave hahah. (no, not like LIKE him...) He and Bryan were talking about when I'm leaving for good and whatnot. I told them that my aunt said I could stay as long as I wanted, I'd just have to get another job. And Dave said "DUDE (maybe he didn't say dude, but that sets up the tone for the rest of the sentence)! You know what would really kiiiiiiill him!? If you stayed until you left for the Navy! It would drive him absolutely crazy! So if you want to get back at him for being such an *expletive* just stay as long as you want! And I can get you a job at Starbucks and you can start like tomorrow!" (his brother is store manager or something..) then Bryan chimes in and says "I could get you pretty much any job you wanted in Elmhurst" and he starts listing off jobs. I love these guys. They're looking out for me and making me laugh while doing it. I considered it for a few minutes, staying that is...but I don't think it's the best option. I can't pinpoint the reasons but I just don't think it is.

AH! I built a bike! I can't believe I didn't tell you about this! It happened yesterday (the 7th). Well, I didn't blog yesterday so that's probably why I didn't tell you! Probably also because it was a huge ordeal to learn how that I'm not going to go into. I'm going to think about my future husband and just post the picture. :)

Raleigh Jazzi. A girl's bike. 

I'm so proud of that bike. I asked Bryan what I needed to do with it and he told me to move it to the other side of the room and I said "OH! Wait, I have to take a picture of it" and Bryan said "a picture...?" and Dave said "Yea man, she's proud of it!" 

Bryan makes fun of me because I have 800+ friends on facebook. The day after we became friends, he came into work and was like "So I think you know the whole state of Tennessee..." I was like "huh?" and he said "You have 830 friends on facebook!" and Dave said "What, are you number 831?" and Bryan said "Yea..(turns to me) do you even know all of those people!?" I explained that between college, church and high school, yes I had met every single one of them at one time or another. He was taken aback. Hahhaha. :) 

That is all...until the next time when I have a lot to say. :)

Fresh. Exciting.

Today was just as bad as yesterday. I don't really feel like re-hashing all the bad parts so I'll give you a brief rundown. I'm just tired of the junk. I won't be surprised if one of the guys goes off on my uncle in the coming weeks. They're getting really irritated that he's treating me like I should know everything there is to know about everything. We'll see. If it happens, I'll let you know.

I did find out that 1. my uncle did know it was my birthday because he said something to Bryan about it yesterday and 2. he was at the shop at 8 yesterday morning. My train arrived at 915. He could have picked me up. But he didn't.
My aunt texted Bryan this morning about last night and she was apparently IRATE. My uncle has it coming when she returns. I do not want to be around for that conversation!

Tonight would be one of those nights when I wish I had my Flopsy-she was my first dog and my best friend. She was a bassett hound. Whenever I'd get upset and just want to cry, I'd lay down next to her and cry and cry and she'd let me, for as long as I needed. I miss her very much at times like these.

Today, I learned how to build a bike! Bryan taught me how. I'm in the middle of building one now. So hopefully I can post pictures tomorrow night of the finished product!

A really pretty boy came into the shop today! He wanted to buy a bike. Unfortunately, I haven't learned how to sell them yet. Man, if I knew how, I know he would have bought it! But I didn't know exactly what to tell him and everyone else was busy with customers. He said he'd come back. I'm not sure if he did or not. I was busy being yelled at. He was one of those people who really listens to you when you talk. Or at least he looked like he was interested in what I was saying lol. He was very polite. I like polite. After this summer, I will not take polite for granted.

I was told exactly where my place is in this house [according to my uncle] and now I'll tell you.
Uncle
Motorcycles
Aunt
Jenny.
Yes. I should be after my aunt. But motorcycles? Really? No he didn't give me this order specifically. I drew conclusions with the context clues I was given. He said we couldn't go out for my birthday because his motorcycles came first. Whatever.

On a happier note: I got the wedding pictures I ordered! If I'm allowed to post them, I will! They're marvelous. :)

I really enjoy working with Bryan and Dave. They're both entertaining. They make work go by faster and help to keep my tongue in check...whether they know it or not lol.

That's all. Hopefully tomorrow will be fabulous. I get to wear my new tie-dye shirt that Rebecca sent to me! yay. :)

Take The Last Train To Clarksville

Life has been interesting lately. This will be completely random...do you really expect anything less? :)

Up here, people ask me what I have a taste for. Do you know what that means? Well I'll tell you. 

Question: What do you have a taste for tonight?

Translation: What are you craving for dinner?

Why don't they just say "craving"? 

Weirdos! haha

I spent the 4th of July with a true New Yorker! My uncle has godparents. We spent the evening with their son, my uncle's best friend from childhood, and his wife. She's from New York City. She's something else! It was really fun. We went out to eat with them and then we watched the local fireworks show in their backyard. Then I met their daughter. She sleeps with her bearded dragon. He has a place right next to her...so weird. 

I haven't had a 'normal' piece of pizza since I've been here. To me, normal is Dominoes: crust, sauce, cheese and maybe some kind of meet. These people have crust, sauce, a pound of cheese, meat, more cheese, vegetables and more cheese. Don't get me wrong, it's good...but I just want something normal. The guys at the shop make fun of me for calling it normal. That's what it is...it's just plain, normal, pizza.

I had the house to myself this past weekend. It was glorious!

I learned a new slang term. It comes from the italians. Dave taught it to me. He's italian. He won't let you forget it. First I must tell you the story. So this guy came into the shop, luckily I wasn't at the counter when he entered. He talked so fast and with such a strange accent. I had to really concentrate on what he was saying. Apparently, he smokes a lot of weed. I'm not sure how Dave and Bryan know this. Sometimes I think they make that stuff up...they say that about a lot of people. Or maybe marijuana is easy to come by here. Who knows. Anyway. So they fixed his bike. He broke it. Well sort of. So he brings it back and Dave talks to him. Then Bryan talks to him. While he's talking to Bryan, Dave comes over and asks me if I can understand the guy today. I told him that I could better than the previous day but it was still hard. He said "that guy's italian. You know how I know?" and I said "bc he talks funny...?" and he said "no, well yes, sort of. he said momo" I said "momo? what on earth is that!?" and he said "you know 'i'm not a momo mamomo mamoron" I was dumbfounded. Hahaha. That's is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.  So if you think someone might be italian (should I be capitalizing that..?) just ask them if they're a Momo..then they'll think YOU'RE italian. hahahah! And they might shoot you, so only ask italians who look friendly.

The worst thing about this summer isn't that some people are incredibly rude. It's not that I have to wear closed toed shoes all day everyday. It's not that I have to live with the boss. And it's not that I'm not a mindreader. The worst part is not having friends. People I can just go hang out with and decompress. I'm not one of those people who just goes up to others and becomes friendly. I'd love more than anything to be that person. But I'm not. People think I'm stuck up because of it, I'm shy, not stuck up. There are no kids my age in the neighborhood and the church I'm attending is a bust. [I'm going to try a different one soon. Maybe this Sunday.] I just don't feel at home there. Yes, I have my friends from home and from school, but it's not the same. I can't just go sit on their couch and unload. They all have lives and stuff to do. I think I'm friends with the guys at work but I'm not going to hang out with them. And the other friends I have are either my aunt and uncle's age or under the age of 10. It's just hard. I'd like a friend. Although, maybe it's a good thing I don't have friends, I don't really have time right now to hang out with anyone. If I"m not working I'm studying or sleeping.

I'm a sucker for a good chin. Now, I'm not talking Jay Leno or anything. But I like a man with a strong jaw. And a big smile. Sigh. hahah.

Like these:

I own none of these photos

AH! Rebecca, I can't believe I forgot to tell you this, it's quite entertaining. Today I had to answer quite a few phone calls. I think someone was trying to mess with me because a few times it sounded like the same kid asking absolutely ridiculous questions. THEN this guy called asking if my uncle was looking for a talent agent. Weirdest. Thing. Ever. Untiiiiiil I answer the phone:

"Good afternoon, _____ Cycle Center"

"Hey baby girl, how you been?"

"Uh, I'm fine, how are you?"

"I'm good I'm good. So listen, I'm looking for an 18 inch boys bike. You be sellin them?"

"Uh, let me check"

I ask Bryan. Bryan says no

"Sir, I'm sorry we don't sell them here"

"Well *expletive* sweet thang, where'm I sposed be gettin one?"

"They only sell them at department stores"

"No, baby girl they ain't. I done been to all of the ones round herr"

"I'm sorry, the parts are too hard to get so we don't sell them" [Bryan is giving me all this info]

Then he said something unintelligible and [I think] he hung up. Or I hung up on him. Haha.

That was the strangest conversation I've had in a while....well except the one I'm having via facebook right now.

I swear I attract the weirdest people. This joker is about to get deleted and blocked.

Today is my birthday [by the time I post this, it should read "yesterday was my birthday"]

I babysat in the city last night for my cousin. So I had to ride the train into work this morning. I had the option of arriving 45 minutes early or an hour and fifteen minutes late. I asked my uncle what he preferred and he chose for me to be earlier. Ok, no big deal except we barely make it to work on time as it is, there's no way he'd make it to the station to pick me up. So I got to walk. Bryan offered to pick me up on his motorcycle but I didn't get a chance to respond before I was told to do something. 

So I walked to work this morning. It took about thirty minutes.

When I got there, my uncle was already there. It looked to me like he'd been there for sometime. He couldn't have possibly picked me up from the station. No way.

I'm not someone who expects to be treated differently because it's my birthday...but a simple acknowledgement of the fact would be nice. I'd say "well maybe he didn't know" OH NO he knew...his wife's birthday is the same day! She wasn't here today though, she's out of town. Nothing. Even Bryan wished me happy birthday [Dave wasn't there or I'm sure he would have too]. He was rude to me a lot of the time..not a whole lot more than usual. He got onto me about something..then when he left Bryan jokingly got onto me about it and I was like "Seriously, was I wrong?" and he said "no, I would expect you to do exactly what you did in that situation" and I said "ok, just making sure."

To top off the extra poopoo birthday, I ate dinner alone. All day long my uncle kept talking about how he's going to wash his motorcycles because he didn't get to last night. And he kept saying "When we get home, it's all about ME." He said it probably fifteen times. And I kept thinking "When is it NOT about you...?" So we got home, he said "you're on your own for dinner" and he left. I made a turkey wrap and ate it at the counter along with a couple of brownies that my cousin made me for my birthday eve.

No "Happy Birthday Miss Jenn"

No "I'll pick up something while I'm out"

No cake.

Nothing. 

Yes, I know, it could be worse. But so could a lot of things.

BUT on the way home for work, my King showed me how much He loves me. It had been ridiculously hot all day long and then when I walked out of the shop to get on the motorcycle, the weather was absolutely marvelous. The whole ride home was very pleasant.

THEN a bajillion and one of my friends called and cheered me up! Even the one who is on a missions trip to Haiti called! I love them all and I'm so thankful that I have them.

Also on the way home, within a mile, it smelled like fruit loops, fun dip and dead trees. It was so weird.

Well, I supposed I've done enough complaining for the whole country of Uganda. I need to get to sleep so I can function tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Papa's Got A Brand New Bag

I didn't blog last night because yesterday was a bad day. Bad. Think of a cuss word and I'm sure it would describe the day perfectly. Seriously. I've forgotten most of what happened because there's no reason to rehash it....that's why I didn't blog.
The best part though: I saw a woman with a Green Bay Packers license plate holder. :)

Today on the way home, my uncle and I saw a plane flying really low. It looked like it was going to land at a local airport but it circled back around and got even lower. It was so cool. Seriously, I almost cried. I know, that's dumb, but I'm serious. I can't wait to be flying.

I also can't wait for this weekend! I believe I told you about the neighbor girl, Madeline [pronounce madelin, short "i"]. She's 8 and she's so stinkin sweet. She thinks I'm cool too! I might see if she's free if she wants to see a movie on Monday. I think that would be a lot of fun! She asked me to come with her to get her ears pierced!! I felt very honored! :) The first time I met her I had a braid in my hair. I'd been there for about an hour and she went up to her mom and said "Can you put a braid in my hair?" And so her mom tried but the braid didn't hold up to Madeline's standards. So I offered to do it. Because her hair was so short and so fine, I couldn't do it exactly like mine but she was very please with the results. She's so sweet.

This morning I read James 3. There were a couple verses in the passage that were exactly what I needed. It's James 3:10-12: Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring/ My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. The people at the bike shop can really get under my skin and make me want to yell curse words. I can't say that I haven't been thinking them because that would be a lie. This verse reminded me that to not say them is the right thing to do. If I profess to be a Christian and I'm cussing up a storm, who's going to believe me? That hurts my testimony and witness to others. God is good, He knows just what I need and when to give it to me.

I think every pretty young adult male [which isn't many at all] was out and about today. Several came into the bike shop. By several I mean like 4. And that's a lot more than usual. Usually we have maybe one. I stuffed some scrap paper into my pocket in case they wanted me number. hahaha. I'm serious. I did. None of them asked for it...which leads me to my next topic...

GUYS. [yes, I'm aware that there's probably not a male on this planet who reads this blog, but if one happens to, he'll have this nugget of information to pass along to the rest of them!OH! I just remembered you, Cody! :) so pass it along hehehe.] If you think a girl is pretty just talk to her...ask her out..do something..don't just stand there and stare at her. That makes her feel awkward and she's less inclined to want to date you. Most of the young women I know are pretty polite. They won't be jerks if they're not interested. I think that goes for most ladies...now, there's a another category that we won't get in to because that's not my area of expertise...it's actually not my area at all, I'm quite unskilled in that facet of women..ok anyway. I say all of this to say..most of us are not monsters. We won't grow 10 feet tall and gain 7 eyes..we'll politely make up a reason not to give you our number, go out with you..yadda yadda yadda. So, stop staring. We can seeeeeeeeeee you. Seriously. We can. And it gets annoying.

Well. That's all I've got. Today was pretty blah. OH! One exciting thing did happen. My name got put into the computer! I told you about how we have to get the customer's information. Well, when we do that, we print an estimate that tells them approximately how much they'll be paying when they come to pick up their bike. At the top you have to put the estimator's name. I've been putting Bryan or Dave, or if my uncle helps me I'll put his name. Well, today Bryan showed me that they put in my name! I felt so honored!! :) Also, I spent almost all day working at my not-so-benchy work bench! It was great. My thumbs are getting sore from taking tires/tubes on and off of rims all day but they'll live. My arms get tired about halfway through the day so I have to slow down a little but it's all good. :)

If for some reason I can't be a polite, I want to be an airplane mechanic. Ah. I love fixing things. Love love love it.
Ok. I need to go to sleep now. Goodnight all. :) Thanks for checking in! I appreciate those of you who actually read this stuff!