Thank God it's Saturday

Wow, this has been one helluva busy week! Even with J at work yesterday I was still running around for the better part of the day. I actually woke up at 6am and went to work with him - for which he was happy because he got to sleep in the car while I drove. I needed to fill a prescription at the base clinic, which opens at 7:30am so I just went along and read a book in a back room until they opened. I was in and out like a flash, no waiting, nothing. I think I'll always go early when I have prescriptions to fill there.

Thursday was just nuts. We went to the shop to try and pull the back left rotor off J's crashed car since mine broke in two, yes I'm not kidding, the wheel has been dragging for ages. Now while that means I've only had three working brakes and only one tire pushing my RWD car I have been able to do the most amazing drifts for a car with no LSD. But sadly that's no more because the new rotor is fitted on the car, no more sliding for now unless I really put my mind to it. We had to use a big flat head screwdriver looking power tool to cut off the panel behind the door just to get the tire out. (The reason that car is hitched up down at the shop is because it was totalled when someone rearended it.) We also took off the aftermarket struts and springs. The plan is for J to put them on his car and I'll get his Intrac suspension setup. I was filthy by the time we left. I feel off a car I was trying to climb over and banged up my knee and I also sliced my arm a bit on some jagged metal from where we had to cut away. Sometimes I really do with I was stronger then I could pull most of these nuts and bolts off myself!

Wednesday was just as bad. J and I spent most of the day hauling around 2 sets of rims and 8 tires in Luan's truck - he's Pam's boyfriend - and boy was I exhausted after that. At one point while we were waiting on the tires to be mounted on the rims and then I balanced I gave up and went to sit in the air conditioning in the truck :-) Besides it has a CD player and since the one in my car is still busted, hey I had to take advantage of it for the short time we had the truck.

Interspersed with all of that I've been playing the Sims 2 as usual. Now I've figured out how you can check out my sims page and see what I've been up to: http://thesims2.ea.com/mysimpage/mysimpage.php?user_id=115821

Tonight we're going to try to go to the state fair. Last night J and I went to see "Saw" with the Shift_ Sideways gang. That movie was so harrowing it gave me a headache! I had to snatch two Advil from the bathroom afterwards before we went cruising. So I definitely need some moderate excitement tonight LOL

• Mood:we're going to the fair!
• Music:Usher - Caught Up (Launchcast)

Sim Accomplishments

Well today has been a busy day in Simsville. It's a pity that I can't make a link to my page over at TheSims2.com because then you could actually see what I've been doing with the various neighborhoods. Anyway, day before yesterday I'd made the Miller family. Cooper, the grandfather with a hunger for knowledge, his son Jacob, a knowledge buff as well, Jacob's wife Peaches, regular home-maker and their teenager daughter Julie who's intent on being Ms. Popularity.

Well the Miller's had a gardner named Meredith and before I realized what was happening, Cooper had romanced her and she was hanging out after work everytime she came over to do the lawns. So I said what the hell, and got them into bed together. And now they're married. Since Meredith and Peaches' is on her third child I figured I'd move grandpa out into his own house. And that's what I spent most of the day building :-)

On the school front, I still haven't heard back from the director of the MA program at LSUS with news about what immigration status I'd have to be in. I just hope that I won't have to pay that out of state tuition fee, $4000+ may not seem like alot to some but it's only J and myself to foot the bills and deal with life. So I do pray I get the in state tuition because that'll be the only way I can afford to do a masters. The way I see it, I got my BA without going into debt, no sense starting now.

• Mood:We're going out for dinner!
• Music:The Golden Girls on Lifetime

Dishwashers etc

The dishwasher is such a fabulous invention. Normally just wash all the dishes when I wake up and stick them in the dishwasher to dry since it saves space not having a drainer on the counter. J and I don't generate that much dirty stuff, especially when he's off working days but yesterday I cooked lunch and dinner and we had our neighbors over for some Jamaican food. Loooots of pots and pans and dishes, so I just rinsed them off and chucked 'em in the dishwasher. I mean it comes free with the apartment so why not? :-P

In other news, I'm seriously considering applying to LSUS to start my MA this spring. I'd do an MA in liberal arts and the good news is that I don't have to take the GRE to apply. When the director of the MA program called me back with that good news I nearly leapt to the ceiling with joy (1. because it's so expensive to take the general GRE much less a subject test, 2. that'd be some hard core studying to get everything in before Dec 11 and 3. I never do very well on standardized tests especially multiple choice tests)

Now I just need to call to find out which visa I need, if I need one at all. I hope not because instate tuition is SO much cheaper!!! *crossing fingers*

• Mood:my stomach's in knots
• Music:Talib Kweli f/ M.J. Blige - I Try

Blasted hormones

If you're a girl you'll know exactly what I mean. That one weel before the actual hell begins where you feel that the least infraction could diminish you to tears or make you scream your head off and you just feel quite unstable. That and you feel the urge to eat, and eat, and eat... good God I've been eating since 5:30pm!!!! I think I'm just going to take myself off to bed now so that this madness can stop... at least for today.

• Mood:restless or haunted says J
• Music:Watching The Transporter on HBO

[Enter subject here]

I'm bad with making up headlines or subjects so I'll leave that tag up there for now. Just woke up awhile ago, have my tea in front of me and I'm going through the email motions and seeing what's happening in Jamaica. God Bless the internet for that else I'd be so behind. Unlike my best friend in New York, who can tune into a Jamaican television station I have to catch my news on websites like the Jamaica Observer or the Jamaica Gleaner.

Jennifer and Tony's wedding was beautiful. The church was ablaze with many candles and it set quiet a romantic mode when they turned off the church lights. The ceremony was short and sweet with a liturgical dance and songs sung by various members of the wedding couple's respective families. I sat on the bride's side and her family is so nice. I didn't really know anyone there but everyone started chatting with me and telling me family anecdotes, it was quite nice. I nearly lost it when they pointed out Jennifer's mother though. And during the procession when she was ushered in to take her seat it was all I could do not to bawl. Moments like that really bring it home to me that my own Mommy's gone and that even if J and I renew our vows 10,000 times she'll never be there to watch. I didn't cry though. I feel quite proud too, especially since nobody in my pew had any tissue it would've been disasterous.

After the ceremony I offered to help carry the flowers from the church to the reception (which reminds me that I now need to vaccuum my back seat) and so I raced on base to drop them off because I also had to go home to pick up clothes for J and take them on base to him at work. He cleans up so nicely that I love when we have an opportunity to get dressed up and go out even if we didn't stay very long at the reception. Thank goodness we got to the NCO club when we did because we barely managed to catch the last of the food!

I guess on one hand I was a bit down because J and I didn't have an elaborate wedding ceremony. (We got married at the house of the JP with our two friends as witnesses.) But the longer I've thought about it the happier I am that we got hitched that way. It suited us more. I thought about how people were trying to sneak into the church during the wedding procession and I think if that happened to me I may have just fainted, pitched a fit or just broke down bawling. Besides that, Jamaican wedding receptions are notoriously LONG. And God bless Jennifer and Tony's bridal party because their toasts were all short and sweet and no other family members wanted the microphone. Jamaican wedding toasts? Everybody has something to say and it's usually embarassing stories from your past or lewd jokes. In the end I'm glad we escaped that!

So congratulations Mr. & Mrs. A Burts, Jr. welcome to wonderful wedded world :-)

• Mood:calm
• Music:Talking to J on the phone

Back home again

I'm home again. I braved the mall and found a nice inside top to go with my black pants and jacket. So clothing wise I'm good to go. Grabbed some Subway for J and I for lunch then ran on base cause we works this weekend *bleh* I forgot the shirt at ambulance services and had to turn around when I was halfway off base. The one way system confused me and I ended up turning off somewhere that was really just a drop off point, all this with FOUR motorbike cops behind me. I wanted to wilt away in the seat. Anyway, I'm here now with my lovely shirt (and belt to match, I'm nuts I know :) Time for Sims before it's back to the mall again for the people at the hairdressers to try and tame my wild cane trash called hair...

• Mood:Three more hours to wedding!
• Music:Monica's Top 25 Countdown on BET

Back Home... Closet Rummage Time

Just got back home. Did some domestic stuff. Yesterday I'd bought some hanging plants for the back balcony and some yellow mums and two green garden stands for out front, so I checked whether they needed more water and put some plant food into their pots.

Now it's time to go and find clothes! Today is My friend Jennifer's wedding and I still don't quite know what I'm going to wear. I've deliberately not run to the mall because I guess I should see if there's anything in my closet first :-) Hopefully there is because Saturday's is always a mad house at St. Vincent. The only place that might be worse is Wal-mart. I made the mistake of going grocery shopping there one Saturday afternoon. I nearly got run over by three seperate people and the lines were hideously long. Not that I could find food there to buy. Middle of the week for me, wait but not Wednesdays cause every other week that's military pay day I think and that's just as bad.

Anyway, I'm off to rummage in the closet. *crossing fingers*

• Mood:Must find clothes
• Music:Still the hum of the PC fan

Schiphol Taxi Service Reincarnated

I might not be in the Netherlands anymore but that doesn't mean I can't do airport runs! Not to Schiphol of course, that'd be a helluva drive but to SHV one of the airports here in the Shreveport Bossier City area. I'm dropping Pam off so that she can fly to FLorida to go get her baby girl Cheyenne. The only difference between back in Utrecht and now is that I have to go and pick Pam up on base. No more, 'Meet me at the car,' or parking the car outside if we were going to leave before the school gates opened.

My most memorable drive would have to be taking ama to the airport to go to Spain for her semester on exchange after having partied the whole night at UCU's Big Lustrum bash downtown at the Stairway to Heaven. Ahh but now it's after 8:30 and it's a long drive over to the east side so I better go...

• Mood:Jennifer's wedding is today!
• Music:The hum of my PC fan

The Strain of the Eye Doctor Appointment

You know how some people hate going to the dentist like it's poison? To the point where they know something's wrong but refuse to go until their teeth are almost falling out. My Moms was like that, God rest her soul. The blood would drain from her face just seeing the dentist's sign much less the ordeal it was when she actually had to go. Well this is exactly how I feel about the optometrist. I intensely dislike going and the only reason I keep to going regularly is because I dearly love being able to see and if I lost my sight then I wouldn't be able to drive and in general life would just become much harder than it already is.

So I had an appointment for 10AM. Unlike the store I went to while I was in Holland you had a pre-screening before you actually got to see the doctor. So twice the embarassment. Why does going to the optometrist embarass me? Well even with my contact lenses in I could only see down to the third line on the chart, bearing in mind that the first line is that big 'E'. With my left eye? All the way down the chart with a bit of squinting to get the last two lines right. Now I knew this place was hardcore cause out came the contact lenses. If I was anymore light skinned the girl would've seen me trun beet red because as I sat down at the two screening machines (which were much closer that where I'd stood originally read the chart) I couldn't even see the bloody 'E' with my right eye. Two more tests and then back into the waiting room to sit tight till the doctor was ready.

I'd deliberately starved myself this morning, no breakfast, no tea, nothing. By the time I got into I was finally seen by the doctor so my stomach was behaving quite badly and I'm not sure if it was the mortification of my stomach grumbling loudly or the obvious shock on the doctor's face that had me wanting to sink into the floor.

But for the first time in my life I know why my right eye's vision is so bad and doesn't react much to corrective lenses. Apparently the back of my eye isn't curved properly it pokes out just a bit stretching the nerves.

I still felt depressed when I left (-5.25 left and -10.00 right is a high prescription) but at least now I know where I stand. And that's always good to know. Well off to the Sims 2 :-)

• Mood:Bad eye but I can still see!
• Music:Watching 'Are You Being Served?' on BBC America

First times...

Okay this post isn't going to be long because I'm itiching to go and play the Sims 2. If you don't have it yet, you must get it. The Sims are so much more sensible this time around and there's a host of new stuff that you can do! Hmmm I think I'll get some food first because my stomach's starting to protest.

Anyway, this is going to be a continuation of the Say What section that I had on my geocities website way back, well before I went to college. I still have the html versions of those pages on my harddrive. Maybe one day I'll upload them and create an archive of sorts.

• Mood:need food
• Music:Houston - I Like That (Launhcast R&B)