My New Acquisition

Today has been a good day indeed. Jason and I spent the afternoon together. We ate an awesome lunch at Fuddrucker's. I really love that place. They have the best burgers I've ever eaten, and the shakes are also hard to beat.

After we ate we went to Goodwill. I love thrift shopping. It's one of the few things that I think Jason and I always agree on. It's been a hobby of ours for a few years now. You never know what treasure might be found or what deal you may come across. I'm pretty dorky like that :). I did get a few things. The one right by my house is a pretty upscale Goodwill.

Finished with thrift shopping, I got the bright idea that we should trade in a bunch of games and my PS2 (because Bryan and I each had one). We went to Game Over because most of my stuff included really old stuff like NES and SEGA. Game Stop is a pretty cool place if you need something current, but they just don't really don't do it for me. I like ALL things video games. I still have all my old systems (NES, N64, gameboys (several!)). This place is AWESOME! They even have a little museum of every system you can imagine, plus they have a bunch of old systems for sale. It was pretty sweet. I definitely saw about 10 things that were a must have. :) I ended up having $64 in store credit or $38 in cash. I've found it pretty impossible to walk out without making the trade. After looking at all of the old systems I really wanted one. So, I settled on this:



Oh yeah - a Game Cube! I haven't plugged it in yet (waiting on Bryan), but I am so excited to crank this thing up. She's a beauty!! I got 2 controllers and 1 game. I spent about $25 extra, but it was totally worth it.

I'd like to brag on myself at this point by saying that not many girlfriends acquire video games/sets while their boyfriends are out of town. Bryan, you are a lucky fella!

Speaking of the man...I can't wait for him to get home. 4:30 tomorrow! Let's just hope that I don't get into any wrecks on the way to the airport this time. ;) Ok, I have to get back to cleaning. This house must be spotless for Bryan but more importantly his mom. She comes on Wednesday!!

The Testing...

Today was the big day. Testing. I know its been all I've talked about on here lately. It has pretty much consumed more and more of my thinking the closer it got. But it's over now! I tested at 8:30 this morning. TKD Plus school from all over Austin and surrounding areas were also there. It was quite a lot of people. There will be testing all day.

They got all of the yellow belts together (all ages), and then they tested us starting with adults and going down. I had to sit through every little kid testing. All the kids running around and acting up and pushing on me was really testing my nerves and stress level before the test. However, after I had finished they were actually pretty cute. One kid even stopped in mid test to point out how "cool" the black belt sparrings looked. The judge got him back on track. What can you expect from a 5 year-old?

Ok, Ok...I know you are all just wondering how I did. I did pretty good, and that's the best I'll give myself. I let my nerves get to me enough that I didn't do my best, but I did pretty good. I was better than most of the adults there. I didn't really get to see the ones who did theirs behind me. I'm confident that I passed. I hope I don't have to eat those words later. They don't tell you how you did there. I'll have to wait till I go back to class. I think there might be some sort of ceremony, but that could just be for the kids. I'm not really sure as you can tell. I know there won't be any classes on Monday. That's probably a good thing because I'm sure I will be getting ready for Bryan's mom's visit up until she arrives on Wednesday.

Let me recap since my last posting:

The week went by...slowly for the most part because of Bryan being gone to New York. (He comes home tomorrow!) Work has been getting better and better. I'm enjoying it more everyday. I'm learning a lot and finally starting to get into the swing of things, but there is still much to learn.

Friday:
I went to class. It was a good class with lots of review for testing. After that I met up with the group at a Persian restaurant that had belly dancers. I didn't like the food. I'm a simple palette type of girl. :) What can I say? I was raised on simple Southern food. I barely got to eat out when I was growing up. I'll try anything, but I'm still working on liking it. :) Anyway, it was still fun hanging with the group. Ben even got a belly dancing lesson which was pretty funny. After eating, we all headed to Ben's to hang out. I didn't stay long because I needed my rest for this morning.

Here are the pics from Friday night:

Tommy and Elizabeth watching Ben...


Ben gets his belly dancing lesson...






Ryon and Elizabeth chillin and drinking...



Saturday(today):
Now that I'm done with my testing I feel like I can finally tackle some stuff here at the house. There is a lot of cleaning and unpacking/organizing that needs to occur. But first I'm gonna meet Jason at Fuddrucker's (my favorite!!) for lunch. I also have some errands that need to be ran.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

I Miss Him....

....but I guess I'll survive. However, I'll be super happy when he gets home. I sure hope he doesn't have to leave again for awhile.

TKD class was good last night. The instructor told me that my back stances had improved along with a few other things that I had been having some reoccurring problems with. So now I feel like my form is finally ready for the judges. I know my one steps too, but still feel like they need much practice over the next couple of days. I only have till Saturday!!!! Every time I mark a day off the calender I get a nervous wave through my body. I doubt I'll be super nervous at the testing because I will know there is a task at hand but until then...well, I can't be so strong.

So, Bryan really hasn't been gone all that long, but I miss him. I played a lot of guitar on Rock Band last night. I needed a night of play after all the moving. And I needed something to distract me from the presence of all the cats and the absence of Bryan. I love the PS3 version! It's so much fun. And I was tearing it up last night. It was like my fingers had a mind (one smarter and faster than mine) of their own. I remember when I made the move from medium to hard. I never thought I'd get even one song down. Looks like soon I'll have to make the last move...but let me not get ahead of myself here. :)

I know it's extremely dorky to post pics/vids of your Rock Band/Guitar Hero accomplishments (unless you're that one dude from YouTube), but I have been known to be very dorky on many occasions. So here:


I stayed up way too late last night trying to get in as many songs as possible because I was afraid I'd wake up today and be clumsy on it again. I may be. I don't want to play today; I'd rather sleep. However, I really need to unpack, organize, and clean. I would also like some snugly kitty time. :) The guest room is almost done. I definitely want to finish that tonight. Bryan's mom will be here only a few days after he returns home on Sunday. I don't want her to think he's dating a slob! :)

Bella is doing better and better with Mallos and OC. I am very proud of her. I can't imagine being uprooted and being dropped in a new house with 2 people I didn't know or care to know. Mallos really wants to play with her. She has been letting him get close but not too close. OC seems to be as uninterested in getting to know her as she is in getting to know him. That relationship may take a little longer. They are both used to sleeping in the bed with us, but since neither wants to be too close to the other, it is a battle for the right. Bella won last night. I guess it's a first come first love situation. And speaking of cats...have you ever cleaned a litter box after 3? Lucky you!

Here's a video I took of me and Bella playing last night. She's a wild one!

New York or Bust (Almost A Bust)...

Well, Memorial Day weekend has come and gone. It was a good weekend though...very busy, but very good.

Yesterday (Memorial Day):
We didn't really get to sleep in. We had to wake up and get over to the duplex to move what little furniture I wanted to keep. This included my bed and a futon. Without Jason and his truck this would not have happened...so, thanks Jason! :) Bryan was a huge help too! Those boys knocked it out in no time while I worked on packing this and that and loading down my car. After everything had been unloaded and something put away, we finally started on the holiday festivities. This included cooking/grilling by both Bryan and me (yes, me). I made one very delicious mock apple pie.

Here is the recipe:
Ritz Mock Apple Pie

The classic pie, featuring Ritz crackers baked in a golden crust,
is perfect for the holidays.

Pastry for two-crust 9-inch pie
36 RITZ Crackers, coarsely broken (about 1 3/4 cups crumbs)
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Grated peel of one lemon
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


1. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9-inch pie plate. Place
cracker crumbs in prepared crust; set aside.

2. Heat water, sugar and cream of tartar to a boil in saucepan
over high heat; simmer for 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and peel;
cool.

3. Pour syrup over cracker crumbs. Dot with margarine or butter;
sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll out remaining pastry; place over pie.
Trim, seal and flute edges. Slit top crust to allow steam to escape.

4. Bake at 425 F for 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is crisp
and golden. Cool completely.

Makes 10 servings

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION per serving
413 calories, 3 g protein, 63 g carbohydrate, 17 g total fat,
3 g saturated fat, 339 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber.

Preparation Time: 45 mins.
Cook Time: 30 mins.
Cooling Time: 3 hrs.
Total Time: 4 hrs. 15 mins.

Jason came over and ate with us. It was a very good meal indeed. After as much food as we could handle was consumed, we packed up the rest and hauled it to Ben's house. We were supposed to be going over to swim. If wearing a swimsuit and dangling your legs in the pool counts as swimming, then yes, we swam. It was good conversation with lots of laughs as always, but we couldn't stay long. We needed to be in bed early so that we could get up early in order for Bryan to catch he flight to New York this morning. I woke up at 4:30 am to get ready. I drove him there. Traffic was moving along very nicely....and then....

About a mile from the airport, I spotted a truck up ahead in the lane. I saw that it had its break lights on, but I quickly realized that it was stopped completely in the lane. I had to put on my breaks kind of heavy, but by no means was its a slam on the breaks kind of stop. However, the idiot behind me either was too close or failed to pay attention to what was going on ahead of him because I heard the screech of breaks and then Wham! Yep, he rear ended me. I pulled over knowing this was going to kill Bryan's chances of catching his plane. I felt bad, but when we surveyed the damage there really wasn't any. Thank goodness for this idiot of a driver because I'm pretty sure he was an illegal alien. He didn't seem to know any English anyway. I'll hold in that rant for the time being. We didn't waste any time and moved on to the airport. It was hard to say bye to Bryan knowing he will be gone till Sunday. The wreck though made it a little easier becuase I was still a little shaken up and hot from it. And now that all that has passed, I miss him like crazy. I know that's extreme. He hasn't even been gone a full day, but we're not used to being apart. Ok, ok...I know it will probably be good for us and all, and I am glad that Bryan will get to see his family. I know he misses them. So, I hope that he has a great time, but I will be very happy to have him home. To top things off, now that it is light outside, there was some very minor damage done by that idiot who hit me. It really wouldn't be worth the trouble of having it fixed. You have to put your nose right up to it just to see it. So don't! Promblem solved.

Enjoy the rest of the short week at work. I know it might feel like Monday, but it isn't!! :)

Weird Dreams!

This weekend I had some very odd dreams. I wonder what they meant? I won't mention one because it involves people I know, and though all parties already know of it...well, I don't want any help interpreting it. :) It was nothing bad...just odd...like WTF?

But Saturday night I had this really disturbing dream. You know the kind. This one goes in the top 10 scariest/disturbing dreams I've ever had.

Ok, so here it is:
The U.S. (not sure if it was the world) suffered in a major way from sort of disease. No normal disease, it basically was the destroyer of our society. So many people died that all organizations of any kind including government were unable to stay together. No schools, hospitals, or any other kind of organization that you take for granted these days were around. There were utilities but only as long as nothing destroyed them. If a power line was knocked down then it was finished. No one from the electric company was going to come out and fix it. Crime was everywhere. No one left their homes unless absolute necessary. People pillaged stores and homes for food and items that were needed. And though money didn't really mean anything with out stores it was still highly coveted (imagine that). Most people seemed to come together in small groups and live together at one home. It became a family/community of sorts. Without prior knowledge, most of these groups had a hard time gaining food and medical care. Not many people had had to farm or do much of anything for themselves before this point. The breakdown of sanitation led to more sickness. Fevers and death often caught on and ran throughout the homes often killing half the group. It was questionable whether it was a blessing or curse to survive the outbreaks. I can't remember much about my group. I do remember a fever sweeping the house. I caught it, but somehow I managed to survive. I mostly remember tons of graphic images one would expect to find on the news reporting such a story, but there definitely was no news crew. I suppose it was just my dream filling in the missing spots.

Finally I realized that I could live and die in this hell hole of a house or I could make an attempt at something better. Dying out on the streets or in this house sounded pretty much the same to me. I'm not sure who I was trying to reach, but I was pretty damn determined to get there. I saw so much violence and crime in the streets. It was not safe to walk out in the open. The journey was slow as each movement had to be carefully planned. I'm not sure when, how, or who, but several people had joined in my quest. I never made it to this person that I was seeking. I supposed they had some answers or plans that I knew would be beneficial to me. However, I met a woman and her family who had somehow maintained a fairly normal existence. They were convinced this would pass, and were determined not to let their children be exposed to what was happening right outside their door. I believe the father was some sort of doctor. They were very intelligent. For the most part they had food and stability that they were providing for themselves. They didn't seem eager to have us stay for too long, but were happy to try and teach us their "ways."

That's about all I remember before I woke up, but that is plenty. It was surreal to see the world in that state. Yet when I woke up I just remember thinking that this somehow could really happen, and it definitely sends a cold chill down your spine. I dunno. I'm not really worried about this, but it definitely makes me stop and think. How long could we survive if we only had a handful of strangers to depend on? Or worse...only ourselves? Me...not long at all....not long at all. Hell, I already can barely feed myself. I am one of the worst cooks ever. Without a microwave, I become a nothing in the kitchen. Well, I have been known to bake but cook...definitely not!

I don't remember dreaming at all since Saturday night. Hopefully this means it was just a weird couple of nights that are done for now.

Memorial Day Weekend

I am loving this looong holiday weekend.

Friday:
In Friday's post I told you that Bryan and I were trying a new diet (if you will) where you fast. We made it through the 24 hours! When we finally at it was at the Alamo Drafthouse as we watched the new Indiana Jones movie with the group. It was pretty good but a little odd. I have mixed feelings about it. The food was awesome however. This is natural considering. :)

After the movie we made a trip to Wal-Mart to grab some stuff for the house and food for the UFC. We ended up getting the PS3 version of Rock Band. I have been wanting ever since I played on Nik's. It has so many more features than the PS2. Totally worth it. After that we went home to sleep. Good day.

Saturday:
I woke up at like 8:30! WTF? Oh well...I ended up getting up and going to try out the new Rock Band. I'm just like a little kid. This version is so awesome! We ended up downloading some more songs for it, and I also played against someone online. Love it!

I skipped TKD class. There was so much to do with the moving and getting ready to host the UFC 84 at our house. I wanted to clean and all and not feel rushed. Bryan cooked some great chicken spaghetti (my granny's recipe) for the party, and I took a big ole nap....so typical. The fight was awesome. So many people came. I think everyone had a lot of fun. There were so many pictures! So many laughs...I love this group of people.

Check out the pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010118&l=eea04&id=163200356
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010136&l=d82ea&id=163200356

Check out these vids (random UFC dancing):


Sunday:
This has been such a long day full of everything. We went shopping at Garden Ridge and then Lowe's trying to get more stuff for the house. We are trying to "kitty proof" the backyard so that the cats can go outside without our constant attention. After that we met up with Jason for some BBQ. Then it was time for me to move all of my clothes and bring the cat. Wow...introducing all the cats to each other. It went better than expected, but hisses can still be heard every now and then. Mostly it is my cat. Bryan's cats just seem to want to smell or play with her, but she is not having any of it. I don't call her a princess for nothing. :)

I unloaded a bunch of my stuff and tried to organize a bunch of it. Bryan cooked hamburgers on the grill and we dined while we watched 300. It was a good movie but nothing compared to the food. He never displeases. :D I'm a sucker for a good meal, and he knows it!

Tomorrow we are moving my furniture. I want to have it all set up for Bryan's mother's visit. Oh, and Happy Memorial Day. Enjoy your time off from work if you are that lucky. I am, and I will!!

Eat-Stop-Eat (Currently Stop)

Ryon turned Bryan onto this book called EatStopEat. I'm horrible at explaining things like this so I'm gonna steal right out of Bryan's blog posting that he wrote earlier today.

The basic idea behind this is as follows:

"Diets" or "eating plans" most often fail in the long term. Sure, in the short term, they might work really well. How many of you have tried the "South Beach Diet" or the "Abs Diet"? I have. I got pretty good results for the first couple of months, then pretty much said "fuck it, this is way too much work", and went back to whatever I was doing before I started.

Some of the myths/misconceptions that this book speaks to are:

• the idea that fasting will kill your metabolism.
• the idea that you will lose muscle mass from fasting.
• that eating 6-8 times per day will "stoke" your metabolism.
• why eating "plans" or "diets" typically fail once you extend the observation period.

So, currently we are in the stop process...no eating. The 24 hour mark is approaching. I thought this would be harder, but I'm actually doing quite well. We're going to try to do this twice a week. I'll save judgment for now. I don't know how I'm gonna feel the next time it's time to fast. I might find myself weak to the temptation to get my grub on, but I'm optimistic. It would be awesome if this turns out to work. At least I don't have to prepare any crazy meals or even a lot of simple meals. If you know me well, you know that I'm a procrastinator and always running behind meaning I'd never be able to keep up with meal preparations. I also can't cook worth a shit so there goes me making any meal period. But I might be able to not shove food in my mouth for a day. At least one would hope I could. Hopefully, there will be two pluses to this - lose weight and save money. I love to kill two birds with one stone. :D

The 24 hour mark will be up when we arrive to see the Indiana Jones movie tonight at the Alamo. Thank you Alamo for serving food! I usually don't partake of the food there, but tonight I can promise you that we will both be chowing down. Hmmm...what to eat, what to eat. Suggestions?

Well, the day is almost over. Five o'clock draws ever nearer. It's Memorial Day weekend which means good food and most importantly a day off from work. Yeah, I know I'm loving this new job, but I love lazy days at home more. :) However, I really doubt it will be too lazy since the moving starts on Sunday and continues into Monday. Sunday comes clothes and the necessaries and the cat. Thanks to Bryan's trip to New York on business the furniture has been pushed up a weekend and will now occur on Monday. Thanks to Jason (my current roomie) for offering up his muscle power and truck. Without these it would be a very difficult move indeed. It's important to me to get this furniture in because of Bryan's mothers upcoming trip. I want everything in the house to be really nice looking. Plus I need a little touch of my own there. :)

Ok, well I will keep you updated on the new diety thingy, TKD, the move, integration of the cats, the job, and whatever else I'm up to these days. Have a great Memorial Day!

The New Job Kicks Ass!

Tomorrow will complete my first week at the new grindstone. I love it! :)

Not much new going on this week, but I'll give you a quick update on the usual.

TaeKwonDo - I skipped one class due to being absolutely exhausted. However, I drug myself to class tonight even though I felt pretty bad. I had taken the skin off of my two of my knuckles earlier this week. Tonight while hitting the targets I made one of them bleed. Something about seeing my blood awakened my inner "ninja"...hehe. Anyway, after that I really woke up, and and I did my best form to date. I test next Saturday. I get one more week to practice. I finally feel confident. I'm finally excited to test! Bring it on!!

On other news...and I'll make this quick and to the point...I'm moving. Yes, with Bryan. I can't wait. This will be awesome! We will now have 3 cats under one roof...wow...that's a little crazy. I don't think Bella is going to like this at first, but she should adjust after a little time.

This weekend will be pretty hectic but should be fun. Bryan and I are meeting a bunch of friends at the Alamo Drafthouse tomorrow night to catch the new Indiana Jones movie. That should be a lot of fun. Plus we start the move. I'll be stretching it out over the next month, but I'll be moving the essentials on Sunday. Saturday is the UFC fight at Bryan's house. I'm pretty sure everyone will be in attendance. That is always a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to Saturday's TKD class.

Bryan's mom is coming visit soon. I'm really looking forward to meeting her. Hopes she likes me. :D

3 Down, 28 To Go

I might be rushing it with this one...a bit of an assumption. Sometimes you just know, you know? I am pretty certain that I am going to like this job. However, I've got to get out of this training stage which I know can not be rushed. However, just watching the other assistants I can tell that I could do this for awhile. I like the people and the company but most importantly the job itself. I'm glad that I found it...er...it found me. :) Already I feel less stress and aggravation, and I like it. Other things are changing for the better too.

Last night Bryan and I did our weekly dinner at Kirby Lane after class. Class was great in case you were wondering. There was a new instructor that I had never taken under; I had only seen him in class. He is good, and he worked us hard. I was really sweating. I <3>

I Love A Good Weekend.

It's true I do. And this one was no exception. Lately they've all been so wonderful. A string of good weekends...it's better than a string of pearls.

Friday:
Friday was awesome if for no other reason that I started my new job at Lott Brothers Construction. It was a day of learning and mostly just settling in, but it was awesome!

After work Bryan and I went to the Cheesecake Factory where his friend Jose was having a birthday dinner. It was good company, good food, good drinks, and many, many laughs. We went back to Bryan's and eventually went to sleep. Good way to end a good day.

Here are some pictures from the birthday dinner:











Haha...after dinner (he's only resting his eyes) :)


Saturday:
Saturday morning I had the model shoot through my photography meetup group. It was so disorganized, at least in my opinion. We met at a park downtown. Fine, but the organizer of the shoot only noted himself as the place to meet. Not fine. The park is big. He said, "Look for the guy with the camera and model releases." Do you know how many people at this park there were with cameras. Idiot! I spent 30 minutes looking for this dumbass. I pretty much let my disgust be known in front of the entire turnout. I might bring it up at the next meeting. Hmm...mostly likely will depend on if I'll remember by then. :D Anyway, it was 3 photographers per model. Also not fine. We were in each other's way, and the model was confused about where to look. Completely a waste of my time and gas. Plus it was really hot.

Here are some pics I shot of the park:








After an hour of that, I left for my TKD class. It was really good. I'm enjoying them more and more each time. I'm almost excited for testing (but still mostly nervous). There is still much practicing to be done.

I chilled at Bryan's for a little while, and then we were off to Tommy's house for the Indiana Jones Movie Marathon. That was a lot of fun. I love this group. :) I guess they watched all 3 movies, but Bryan and I only stayed for 2. But we ate and drank and were very merry. We even got a little Rock Band in before the show. It was super fun. I love movie nights. Just be careful who you sit by...hehe. Kidding! Ben, you were a riot! Always sit on the "loud couch" because that's where all the fun happens just like the floor is where all the sleeping happens. After that we pretty much just chilled and then slept.

Check out these pics from the movie marathon:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010041&l=63c01&id=163200356

Sunday:
Ah, the sleeping in day...and we did! But we finally had to stir and start the day. We went shopping for some groceries, played some games, and I did a photoshoot of Bryan's martial art moves/weapons. I need to edit them before they can become public view, but hopefully soon I will have something to post for ya'll. We also met Wendy and her son for some coffee/tea and fun/silly conversation which all occurred outside. I am loving this really warm weather, but I feel you have more Texas. Bring it on! :D We stayed up really late, but finally we slept.

Today (Monday):
It was brutal to get up so early this morning thanks to super late chatter. But work was really good today. It's exciting to be starting my first full week at LBCC. And after hanging out with some of the other girls at the company for instructions, I can tell this job is for the one for me. I came home for lunch and took my cat outside while I ate. Again - loving the weather. And she really enjoys her time outside.

On a side note:
I received this month's AT&T internet bill (see past entry). I didn't want to jump through all the circus rings that I have had to in past month's. So, I wrote out my check at prepared it for the mail, but when I went to make out the envelope this is what I discovered:

No, you're eyes do not deceive you. They actually printed the bill with a mail payment to: and then left it blank. I had to call to find out where to mail the check, and they were really rude! Ugh...I hate them so much. I mean, was this really an accident? I kinda think it wasn't as sound as that would be.

Going to class tonight and looking forward to it. Monday night classes are my favorite I think. Haha...maybe that's because Monday is the night that Bryan and I go to Kirby Lane for dinner. I always get the special pancake of the day.

Things I'm loving lately:
Bryan :D
my job (wow, can't remember the last time I thought that)

Music I'm really digging right now:
- Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl
- Citizen Cope - Son's Gonna Rise
- Radiohead - House of Cards (even though this isn't new)
- Natasha Bedingfield - Pocketful of Sunshine
- Jordin Sparks - No Air
- Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart

Nooner

Hey everybody! Just wanted to give you a quickie in the middle of the day to let you know that I'm so happy to be on the new job!! Everyone is so nice. I know today doesn't really reflect a normal day for me in the future because its the first day, and I'm mostly just doing little things here and there as I familiarize myself with the people, job, company, etc. Still, I love it. And I love the commute. I left my house at 7:55 this morning! Bet none of you can beat that drive. If you can, please share. Today the company had lunch catered. After I ate though I decided to come home so I could see Bella (my cat) because I had promised her I would when I started the new job. She's so happy too. I'm glad that I did. I don't really know what all I will be doing this afternoon, but I'm just so excited that I'm not doing leases!! :D I'll tell you all more later.

On a side note...I have a new photoshoot lined up with a model next weekend. I'll give you all the details on that at some point. Ok, enjoy the rest of the work day and have a great weekend!

I'm A Bad Girl.

I've done a very naughty thing. I felt bad until about noon today. After that I was like well...right or wrong the deed is done. So, here's the story...

As many of you know I gave my notice to my current job that I was moving on on Friday. They quickly began looking for my replacement. My boss and I even had a deal that I would create a guideline for my replacement to help them understand their job. I didn't have anything to help me learn, and it made it difficult. They wanted to help the next person learn the role more quickly and easily, and I agreed this was a great idea. They asked if I would also train the person, and I said I would. However, instead of phasing me out and giving me time to work on this extensive document they seemed to take advantage of my remaining time by piling it on. Yesterday the work load just became ridiculous. I don't want to go to a pity party here. All I am saying is it became too much to do a job I already hated especially when they are taking advantage of me. I was still on through the staffing agency and not really obligated to the company. I mean what can they do fire me? Technically no... I'm leaving anyway. I do not care. After work yesterday I cleaned off my desk and left them the key to the office. The staffing agency did call looking for me at 11. I do I feel I owe my boss an explanation. He is currently in Mexico so I will have to send him an email. I do feel bad for ducking out. It was so hard just to finish that day out. I did what work I could during the day, but I left a lot undone. I would normally beat myself up over this...but...since I feel they piled it on, I really can't make myself feel too bad. I'm glad to be rid of the whole thing. I'm sorry for the pitiful and less than graceful exit I made, but my sanity was at stake. I will not miss the office or the commute...especially the commute. I wonder if they are cursing my name today.

I took today off. I needed it. And good news...I start at the new job tomorrow!! I am so excited. This job is going to totally change my life...not just career but also in being able to do things after work. I will not waste all the extra time I will gain by not having to drive all the way to and from South Austin every day. The money I'll save on gas however, I will try to keep in the bank where it draws major interest.

Today I am just relaxing at Bryan's house trying not to distract him too much from his job and catching up on some music. We went out for sushi for lunch. Soo good! Later tonight I will be going to class again. I have really been loving it lately. I can't wait to have more time to rest before I have to go. I used to come home from work and barely be there before it was time to leave. I need to get my head cleared before I can go practice a martial art. I bought some TKD t-shirts at the school on Tuesday. I wore one to the sushi restaurant today. It says TKD in Korean...least I think so. :) I can't read it, but the hostess said, "Ah, Tae Kwon Do." LOL...yeah! I wonder if she thought I just wore it because I like the tiger one it...hehe.

Last night the weather was pretty bad. I wasn't scared though. Anyone who has known me for years knows that I get really scared during tornado weather. It hailed, but I found myself more worried about my car than a tornado. I was pretty proud of myself. Even when the sirens went off I didn't really care. I checked the weather online and while it looked bad I could tell everything was going to be just fine. By the way...my car came out without a scratch...or dent. Thank goodness! No one wants to spend their one day off working on an insurance claim. I tried to take pictures but found that they just couldn't do it justice. It has hailed more since I moved to Texas than I've ever seen in my life, and trust me, I have seen tornado weather. Hope everyone made it through the storm too.

Music I'm loving lately (check em out...I wouldn't lead you astray):
- Ghostland Observatory (esp. the song Sad, Sad City)
- Once I Loved - Astrud Gilberto from Juno B-Sides: Almost Adopted Songs
- Fall Out Boy's remake of Beat It
- Handlebars by Flobots
- Mercy by Duffy

Antsy!

What a week! Another bleak day here in Austin...no, yesterday was bleak...today it rained on me all the way to work. Don't mind rain, but combine rain with traffic and lots of mini vans and no thank you! It took me forever to get to work this morning. Usually I would have been going crazy, but I was pretty calm. That's because I didn't want to get to work. This week has been so excruciating. I have been antsy to get out of this job and to my new one. All I have to do is make it through this week, and it's already half over. :)

Nothing major has happened so far this week. Class has consumed most of my nights which is fine considering testing is fast approaching. Last night's class was pretty awesome. I finally obtained my other two stripes on my belt. One is for knowing all of the required blocks and the other is for knowing all of my one steps. Yes, I FINALLY got them down. Now I will just need to refine, refine, refine. That should be the theme for this month. :) Well, I do want them to look good. Stances are my biggest problem area at the moment. I am going to have to start devoting 30 minutes a day to just practice getting them down. During my form I stop and evaluate my stance and realize that while the upper part of my body is perfect, the stance is horrible. I can not go into testing doing bad stances. I will be penalized for sure. Mostly it is my back stance which wouldn't be so bad if 50% of my form didn't use this stance as well as most of my one steps. I need to keep practicing the one steps. They need a lot of work too. Just knowing the moves won't cut it. I suppose I will have to drag Bryan in for help because I will be doing them with a partner at testing and well, he's the closest/easiest person for the job...sorry Brayn! :) But don't fear for his safety...yellow belts aren't supposed to make contact. So as long as he doesn't flinch, I won't kick or punch him...promise!!

I am really looking forward to this weekend. Friday night we are going out to dinner with some of Bryan's friends. Saturday morning there is a photoshoot scheduled through my photography meetup group. They have lined up some models for us to shoot in a park. The cost is $10 which is nothing really. I am excited to work with people I've never met before. That used to be the scariest part about getting models in school. I only wanted to stick to people I knew but also wanted to see some fresh faces. I don't know how many models there will be or how much time each photographer will get will them. I suppose a lot depends on how many photographers actually show up. I should get about 1.5 hours here and then it's off to class. I like Saturday classes because they are double classes. Because of this we usually get to do more...sometimes even fun things. Sunday I want to do the photoshoot and couples workout with Bryan. Shoot...that reminds me. I better prepare a workout. :D

Things getting on my nerves lately: bleak Austin days
Things I'm loving lately: Juno Soundtrack, Ghostland Observatory, and Bryan (because he loves and appreciates my silly side - I love his also)

Just Another Monday...

I am tired of bleak days here in Austin. Seriously, what is the deal? I am thankful that the weekends have for the most part been beautiful, but Blah! what a way to kick off the week. And it's already gonna be a hard week because I don't want to be at this job. I want to be at my new job. I spent about 30 minutes at the new place this morning simply meeting some people and getting acquainted with office in general. Should help day 1 go a little smoother. I'm also scheduled to do the same thing in the morning. Looking forward to meeting with everyone. I am not necessarily ready to jump into a new learning curve, but I am ready for change no matter how it has to happen. So, I'll work my ass off until I learn my job...and then...I'll perfect it and do it the best they've ever seen. Because that's how I roll... :) It's so nice to have a job title I'm proud of.

Here is a link to my new company's website: http://www.lottbrothers.com/. Check it out.

Anyway, enough of the job stuff. Sunday recap:

Sunday was a good day. Can't say that everything was accomplished, but it was an awesome day none the less. We slept in because we stayed up so late on Saturday. However, Saturday night was a lot of fun so even if it did mess up my sleep a little, I'm glad we did it. We hung around not doing much for most of the day. I had been wanting to start a couple's workout on Sundays. I thought it would be fun since we both like to work out, but we never do it together. Just another way to spend time with one another I suppose. :) Bryan planned the whole workout. It was really good...and fun! My legs are a little sore, but the good kind (I can still walk). I'll work it out in class tonight. I hope we can do that as many Sundays as possible. I think I'll plan this Sunday's workout. We'll see if he can handle it...hehe.

That evening we went downtown so I could attend my photography meetup group's monthly meeting. It was a little different than normal. They had a photojournalist come to speak and share his experiences. He is still starting out even though he's been in the industry for a few years. It's hard to make a living in any art profession unless you really stick with it or are extremely lucky. I wouldn't want to do what he does, but it was very interesting to hear him talk about his job. It must be awesome to have a big portfolio of printed works. He brought along some pretty cool prints from his personal work too. I'm really loving the meetings now that I am getting to know some of the people and they are getting to know me too. I really look forward to everything they plan, and they have some really cool things that they want to initiate into the group. Sounds like I joined at a good time. There should be some sort of shoot this weekend. I'll have to keep my eyes posted on the website for the info. I love a photoshoot.

Speaking of...I really wanted to do a martial arts photoshoot of Bryan. He has so many cool movements and stances. I would love to capture that in black and white with extreme lighting. I'd love to get that in this weekend. I've been going over it in my mind for some time now and am ready to see it translate to film.

The rest of Sunday was lazy just like I like it. We cooked a super simple yet tasty meal and played PS3. Who could think of a better day?

Backtracking a little...the 9th was our 3 month anniversary. It feels like so much longer though. I think that happens when things just go so smoothly and feel so right. Anyway, I won't go on and on because I'm sure no one other than Bryan wants to hear about it. :) But let me say that he's an awesome man, and I feel blessed to have him. Looking forward to more anniversaries.

A New Chapter...

Well its been another long week of work...and commuting. But Thursday that all changed...

To get to this point I need to go back a little. Most of you who read my blog don't know about my previous employer - Lighthouse Remodeling. I loved that job...not my boss. No, I pretty much hated him (yes I used hated), but I loved the job. And though working there quickly turned sour, it was one of the most important jobs I think I'll ever have. Why? Because that is where I gained a lot of confidence. Before Lighthouse I had never had to talk to clients or vendors. I was always in the background. It didn't take me long at Lighthouse to realize that I loved talking to clients. I've always loved to talk and never meet a stranger but talking to people in the work environment was a new thing for me. And since I held that job I have found so easy to talk to people which is good because I found myself looking for a job one day unexpectedly. Lighthouse (the 7 day remodel) crashed and burned. Not because we tried to do a remodel in 7 days but because of bad and idiotic management. I better not get into that rant. :) So one day I come in to the biggest disaster ever. That place couldn't have been more screwed up. And every single person working there found themselves jobless and most being owed paychecks. So, I went job hunting.

I interviewed at many places. The job I wanted the most was for a construction company called Lott Brothers. It's less than a mile from my house. It was the best interview I've ever been on. I loved the company's mentality. Plus, my whole background has been in construction. Alas, they didn't think I fit the position. And as many of you know, I went with a company called LGI Financial Solutions. It's a 3rd party leasing company. I like everyone here at the company, but I do not like my job. At first it was hard, but once I had learned it...it was only repetitive and boring. It didn't take me long to realize there was no career path here for me. And the commute! I live in North Austin, and LGI is very, very South. I quickly grew weary of spending so much time driving especially lately as gas prices have soared. I was so tired when I got home that I found I skipped a lot of my TKD classes. No, I definitely was not happy. I wanted change, but I was both scared and unsure how to make it happen. This was the blog I posted about not complaining about things I have the power to change...fyi for those who were wondering. I guess I didn't do much to change my situation. It more or less fell right into my lap. Hmm...either way a change occurs. Lets not get caught up in the details.

Let me tell you how it happened. Lott Brothers contacted me at random about a month ago to ask if I was available. I was! They had liked me, but I just didn't fit the original position I had applied for. However, they wanted me for a project manager's assistant. Thursday I went in to interview and was hired! This is going to change my life. I have to stay with LGI for at least a week while they search for my replacement. They took it much better than I had played in my head which made it much less stressful for me. I'm super excited to get to my new job. I'm glad to go back to my roots in the construction industry. It was just random luck I ever got into it, but the industry quickly grew on me. Perhaps it was always in my blood. My grandfather does mostly dirty work, and I grew up surrounded by heavy machinery. I dunno the reason, but I do love the construction industry. I will keep everyone posted on the transition. I'm ready to start but do have a loyalty to LGI. I need to leave guilt free which means doing whatever possible to make them have a smooth transition.

Let me recap the weekend so far...

Friday:
I cooked dinner...Dorito casserole. After eating we just lounged...drank some tea...played some Simpson's on PS3...it was quite nice. After giving the "news" to LGI it was a stressful day and the lazy night was most appreciated.

Saturday:
We slept in because though Friday night was lazy, we stayed up way too late. I went to class. It was a great class, but I was disappointed when I got to work with the instructor one on one to go over my one step sparrings. I forgot everything! I dunno where my brain was. However disappointed I was in my lack of memory, I was glad for the moment because I realize there is nothing for me to get cocky about. A lot of practice is still required before testing on the 31st. There is still time, but it must be spent well.

Tonight Bryan and I went to celebrate my new job at Truluck's....sooooo good! I love that place!! It was very sweet for Bryan to take me there. After that we spent a little time at his house and then headed out to meet everyone at Sam's Boat for drinks/crawfish/pool. After that we went to Ben's for TV and finally home to bed. Another late night. I suppose tomorrow we will be sleeping in again...just the way I like to start a Sunday off. :)

Tomorrow I have the monthly meeting for my photography group. That should be fun. It's Mother's Day as well. I will have to give my mom and step mom a call.

Nerves!

Ok...I am getting nervous about my testing. It's still weeks away. I can't let my nerves start getting to me already! I guess it really started when I looked at the calender and realized it was May and at the end of the month I test. But then last night in class we really began to discuss what testing is really like. When I tested for my yellow belt in Chattanooga I tested early. Therefore, I have never experienced a true testing. I have never done my form with multiple people at the same time. I probably won't know the judges. It will be loud. They might ask me to do my form facing various directions. Ok, actually this last one scares me the least. I really don't get confused when facing different directions of the room. However, if they were to put me on an angle...I might just be doomed. Last night in class we practiced doing forms in close contact and also doing them facing different directions. We even had to do them with our eyes closed after being turned. I did pretty good on that one. It was a little weird, but it actually ended up being the best time I did my form in class. It will also be loud and distracting during tests because lots will be going on. All the schools will be coming together....people I've never met. Ugh...I'm scared! And perhaps this nervousness stems from my feeling of not being ready. There's still lots of time, but seeing that date circled on my calender is scary and looming...always looming nearer.

I am loving class though. I have come a long way since that first Saturday...hehe. It's everything I remember loving that one summer so long ago. I hate that I had to take the time away, but I'm truly glad that I did come back to TKD. I could have easily never gotten back into it. Last week I was showing Bryan my medals and certificates from that summer when I participated in the International TaeKwonDo Alliance Tennessee Regional Tournament. It made me think what a fun time I had in class and doing the tournament that summer. And doing that tournament was extremely terrifying. Do you know how dumb I felt being a white belt adult competing? I realize I shouldn't feel like that, but it was just odd to be older and the lowest rank in a competition. At least looking back I know that if I can do that, this testing will really be nothing. Besides they give you 3 chances. However, the goal is to only need one. :) I'll keep you updated as May 31st draws near.

Sorry for the sporadic writing/thoughts, but that's how it comes out when I think about it...a flood of nerves. Practice, practice, practice. Practice makes perfect...and all that good stuff.

I found this video on YouTube.com of my form. I am not making any comments on this video. I wanted to use it for illustration purposes only.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eA3wefxIAG8

Weekend Recap

And now it's time for everyone's favorite part of Monday: my weekend recap.

Well, you've heard about Friday - from good, to bad, to worse, to great. Whew...after that anyone would deserve a good long weekend. It was good too!

Saturday:

Woke up and went to class. It was a good class. It wasn't the usual Saturday teacher. I liked this guy. Only 4 people so it was a small but good class. I was the only non black belt. Usually this would make me very uncomfortable, but since I'm starting to know people I feel more relaxed. Plus, no one really cares so why should I? They make me feel welcome, show me lots of attention, and help me when it's needed. The class seemed very long because we did so much, but I felt awesome when I left. I even earned my blue strip which just means that I know my form. I'm not sure why its necessary for adults, but they like to give white and yellow belts...maybe even green...stripes to show they have learned certain things. I still have 2 more to obtain. I'm already nervous about testing on the 31st. I really need to be devoted to TKD this month. I'm not worried I won't get my green belt, but I'd just like to know that I'm looking good when I test. No scrape by's. I'm really looking forward to class tonight.

When I got back to Bryan's, we went to the Old Pecan Street Festival. It was a lot of fun. We found great parking which is always pleasant. We looked, and looked, and looked...so much to see. We drank and ate and ate and drank. So much to take in. I bought some cool earrings. We had some lunch at a restaurant which was pretty bad, but it was good to sit down for awhile. After that, we met up with some of Bryan's friends from Kung Fu there at the festival. We hung out for awhile and finally headed home. I'd never been to this before and it was fun. I'll definitely want to go again next year.

Here's some pics that Bryan took of the event:

You know what these are...Bryan felt compelled to shoot a pic...

Me showing off my strawberry daiquiri red tongue

Couple of shots of Bryan at the restaurant

The remains of a really bad meal

My new earrings

After we were festivaled out, we just chilled at Bryan's for a little while and then went over to Dave and Sarah's where we also met up with Nik for quite a bit of Rock Band. It was a lot of fun, and we stayed up way too late. And thanks to Nik now I want the PS3 version of the game. Thanks Nik...I was happy until then. This version has some way cool features mine doesn't come equipped with...sigh. Sarah has some pics but they haven't surfaced yet. I can't tell you how good it was to get into bed after that long day.

Sunday:

Ah, we slept in. So good! After finally stirring we did a little cleaning at Bryan's place. I impressed him with my skills ;). We lounged for a little bit, and then we were off to see my coworker in a play called Speed the Plow. It was REALLY good. I was very impressed. I didn't know he was such a good actor. It was a small space, and the play only had 3 actors. However, though a small production, the talent was great. The story was a little slow taking off, but it really picked up in the second act. I was not really wanting to go. I really wanted to stay home and lounge some more, but I was really glad we went. It wasn't very long and helped me feel "cultured." :) When we got back to Bryan's, we ate another delicious meal cooked by the man. I swear he spoils me. We lounged some more and then hit the sack.

Monday:

It's Monday, and I have the Monday blues. The day started off bad, and work has been busy. I'm looking forward to class and Kirby Lane....and sleep. I hope tomorrow goes better.

Oh, and everyone say a little good luck prayer for me...can't say why...just do! Thanks! :)

Have a good week!!

Warning: This Post Contains A Rant!

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Mainly this post is all about Friday and what a shitty day it was!

The first thing I remember about Friday was walking out of my house to my car to leave for work. As soon as I stepped outside and the warm air hit me I thought, "Wow, what a day!" I said the same thing when I got out of my car at the end of the day. It's amazing how they came out sounding so different. Friday was so busy at work that I quickly became frustrated. Also my roommate had arrived home the night before which means let the bickering begin. All we ever do any more is bicker. It's over petty stuff mostly but still...it wears at you. And we did...all day...through emails, texts, and in person. Again...all petty. In an attempt to reach out to me he said he would take me to lunch. I jumped at the chance because it was something that used to be a Friday tradition and that I enjoyed immensely. He's been working on Fridays more so it's really been few and far between as of late. However, maybe after all the petty fighting it was best we didn't. We didn't really fight. It was more of just an awkward conversation. We ate at a pizza joint. The food was good; the waitress was not (slow). She made me late for work. Nice. Just add it on.

And now what you've all been waiting for - the rant!

So, on the way to eat, I decided to use the time to call AT&T so I could pay our internet bill. I always do it through phone because I forget to mail in the check when I get it. Why not just pay online? I know you are thinking that. Well, we have no phone line attached to our internet. Currently, you can not pay your internet bill online if you do not have a phone line. Hint: This phone line becomes very important to the story...er, rant. I would love to pay online same as I do for my cell. Why does this giant corporation not have this ability built into its website? My guess...its all to get you to get a phone (just hang with me). So, in my procrastination I call instead. Yay...let the fun begin. Ohh...I know what would be fun...let us do this rant in steps.

1. Call and go through the automated choices (none are really what I want)

2. After getting to the internet portion she wants to know my telephone number

3. Automated lady doesn't understand "no phone," "we don't have a phone," or any other variation...she says she doesn't understand me and puts me through to a live person...finally

4. Live person comes on...I say, "I'd like to pay my bill"

5. Live person tells me sure, but it will cost me $5.00 (now having done this for a couple of months now and somehow always getting out of this fee I tell her I've never had to pay before and she informs me that indeed I will...ugh)

6. Here she tells me that there is ANOTHER automated number (im familiar with this one from months past) you can call made just for bill pay (this number is not on my bill as far as I can see)

7. I inform her that I can not use this feature because the first thing it asks you to do is put in your phone number

8. She informs me that I can simply use my account number

9. I tell her I can't...unless they've updated since last month

10. Again...she says I can...then she wants to give me the number to the automated piece of shit service and I stop her to tell her to transfer me (see all the knowledge I've gained)

11. Music...stupid 80's elevator music

12. Automated guy asks for my telephone number and I put in my account number

13. He doesn't compute...

14. Repeat step 13

15. He informs me he will be transferring me to a live person

16. Crappy music...and then a live person!

17. I tell them I want to pay my bill....

18. They tell me that will be fine...for $5.00

19. "No! I never have to pay'" I say...and continue, "I don't want to pay your convenience charge because nothing about this process is convenient. I have already been on the phone for over 30 minutes. I just want to pay my bill. None of the services you have for paying your bill work for me."

20. This bitch now informs me in a haughty voice that I had time to send in a check (geez thanks Einstein...yeah, well, I didn't...and it's really none of your business)

21. Or she states..."you can have it debited from your account" (no for lots of reasons but not helping me today either way)

22. I start to go off...she transfers me

23. A genius answers the phone (who knew that AT&T employed them? why didn't I get her direct number?)

24. This genius informs me that the automated man indeed does not have the capability to take my payment with no telephone number and she will be glad to take the payment for no cost (finally)
Lesson: AT&T wants you to have a phone line!!!!! This much is apparent. Oh, and I guess don't procrastinate...but that's not really where I was going with this. Also, without the phone line AT&T can't combine my cell and internet bill either. That would be perfect, but alas the world is not a perfect place.

So, lunch didn't go well. Neither did the rest of my afternoon at work. I was so tired and beaten down when I arrived home, but then a break in the day came thanks to Bryan. He made me dinner and awesome coffee and took me to see Iron Man at the Alamo. That was such a good movie. In fact, the night was so awesome that when I got into bed I had already forgotten how rotten it started. Thanks Bryan!! :) He is the best!