A Toast to Mickey and Julie

Mickey and Julie Haranda. Hands down, two of the best people I know, two of my most favorite people in the world, two of my good friends, two people I can't imagine NOT having in my life have just had their one year anniversary!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! It seems like yesterday I was at their wedding and I'm still as happy for them as I was a year ago...I freaking love those two and I can't wait to see them next time I'm in Houston!!! So, here's to you Mr. and Mrs. Haranda, you two are seriously wonderful people and I wish everyone was just like you :] 

On a side note, I hate my job. I know, everyone in America says that, what makes me special? Nothing. But still, commiserate with me a little bit. I'm really trying to make the most of the situation that I'm in but in all honesty I hate waking up in the morning just for the fact that I know I'll have to go to work. I really, really dread going in each day. I love the people that come into the facility, I like the people that I work with on a day to day basis, but what I hate is how we get treated. The executive director doesn't consider us ("us" being the people who work at the front desk) to be part of the "professional staff" which is BS. If anything we're probably some of the most professional people because we know everything that is going on each day and we bear the brunt of the complaints and yelling and questions that people have. It's not a hard job, it's nothing fancy but it is probably the most thankless job I have ever had. Anyways, I digress, I could go on and on about how horrible my job is but I'm not going to.

For the past few weeks I've been feeling pretty down about how my life has been going while here in Kansas. I love the town, I love seeing my sister every day (even if the feeling isn't reciprocated) and I am SO excited for my nephew. But the thing that is so difficult for me is that I don't have very many friends. I definitely don't have anyone I can call up when I'm having a bad day and ask to go get coffee so I can vent, I rarely go out on weekends, I really have no social life. Granted, that's not a bad thing at all, but I would just like to have a friend that I can go to and know that I can count on them. However, I got a good piece of advice from a guy up here that I'm talking to and he told me that I need to stop thinking about Texas so much and look at what surrounds me here and my life here will only work out if I want it to, I need to find out what's important to me and let things flow. And he's totally right. I think that since I'm dwelling on the life that I left in Houston I'm really not able to really start my life here, and that's something I need to remember.

So, back to the real reason I started writing this blog (sorry Julie, I got a little side tracked when I went on my rampage). Mickey and Julie. I wish you two all the happiness in the world, you guys are always in my heart and I love you two so much and I hope you have at LEAST 74 more anniversaries.

Love y'all :]

Just Another Day...

I wish I was talented enough to write a book. I'd sell it as fiction but really it'd be a story of my life with a little bit more flair. Honestly, how cool would that be? I think I've had a pretty interesting life, granted some parts are a bit more boring and dry than other parts but that's why I would embellish things, make them slightly more entertaining. Badass? Yes.

True or false: Life sucks when you have no friends. Answer: True. 

Speechless...

Sometimes I amaze even myself with how stupid I can be...I am supposed to be driving down to Ft. Worth today for drill and I realized just yesterday that I have no freaking clue where I'm supposed to be staying or where I'm supposed to be going to actually drill. I emailed my Senior Chief and he gave me the contact information for the guy at the Ft. Worth NOSC who is in charge of berthing, so hopefully I'll get something back from him today. Otherwise, Senior told me not to come and just request AA's if I have no berthing. We'll see what happens. I'll just gear up like I'm going to go down there today and if not, great, if so well, not so great but I don't really have a choice.

In other news, Casey Anthony...let me hop up on my soap box real quick because I haven't had a chance to do so yet...HOW IN THE HELL DID SHE GET OFF?!?! There are way too many holes in the case for her to have even had a shot at getting released. I don't understand how a jury could have found her innocent of murder, we all know she did it. At the very least she should have gotten some kind of a negligence charge if Caylee actually drowned in the pool. What kind of a parent could have their child missing for a month before she reported it? I honestly don't get it...if I was on that jury I would have been the ass hole who caused a mistrial because ain't no way that girl is innocent. HER DAD THINKS SHE DID IT!!! To me that means something...there's a special place in hell reserved for people like her. I hope, on her first day back on the streets, that she gets hit by a bus and dies. That's what she deserves.

Ok, you wanna hear something totally nasty? I'm not even joking, this is gross and pretty unbelievable...a woman drowned in a pool. That's not unusual, what's strange is she wasn't found until two days later. Still not entirely out of the ordinary. What's strange is that she drowned in a public pool that had lifeguards and other people there swimming. So a lady drowns in a public pool and no one notices for two days...impossible, you say? Nay, says I. Apparently the water in the swimming pool was so cloudy that no one could see her until her body eventually floated to the surface. Now what's really gross is the fact that people were still swimming with this lady's body for two whole days!!! GRRRRRRROOOOSSSS!!! And what's even more disturbing is a little boy told one of the lifeguards that the woman went under the water and never came back up and the lifeguard totally dismissed him. WTF?!?!?!?! I know that when I was lifeguarding if the pool started to get even remotely cloudy it was my responsibility to make the water clear again, and if someone told me that a swimmer was drowning or whatever I would be in the water SO FAST you would think my ass was on fire. You can't dismiss things like that, if you do you're obviously terrible at your job or maybe your company doesn't instill the fear of God in you like mine did. I know if I didn't keep the pool deck or bathrooms clean I would get nailed to the wall. Anyways, that's all I have to say about that, it's just gross and disturbing. Here's a link to the story if you want to read it: http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/woman-dies-in-public-pool-in-fall-river-25-apx-20110629

That's all for me today, I'm working on getting some laundry done so I can have clean clothes for the weekend...

July 4th Weekend

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!

I'm SO wiped from this weekend, we (me, Sarah Jane and John) drove down to Houston for the weekend to hang out with the family and go to a baseball game...oh my goodness. I am so tired of driving, I'm surprised I'm still awake, I can hear my bed calling my name. But this weekend was SO MUCH FUN and it was also a much needed break from the monotony that is Salina, Kansas.

I got into town early Friday morning and unloaded the Mazda and helped Bee get acquainted with Bo, April, Teddy and all the cats. I talked with Meatloaf and Dad for a bit, took a shower and went to bed at 5 in the morning. The reason I know it was exactly 5 was because as soon as my head hit the pillow my alarm went off :( NOT an excellent start to the weekend, but whatever. I think I slept for about 6 hours until the dogs woke me up, so I get up and start getting ready for a VERY long day.

Here's my weekend in a nutshell, I'm too tired to dish out all the details...

Friday:
Wake up, take Elizabeth with me to get lunch for my BFFF, Lindsey, because she was going to Vegas Saturday and that would pretty much be the only time I got to see her. So we did that, then we hoofed it over to Ramiro's apartment to meet up with him and Clinton and Dianna to go shopping for outfits for Clinton's party that night. It was a "Jungle Fever" themed party so we drove down to Harwin, which is this kinda sleezy place off of Westheimer to go look for outfits. Dianna and I got the sluttiest animal print dresses for $20. It's nice that everything is so cheap there, that way I don't have a dollar attack for buying something so horrid. So we left and Elizabeth and I went back to Cypress to run some more errands for Meatloaf then we went home and got ready for this party. Much to my chagrin I find out that Ramiro invited Elizabeth to go so Meatloaf pretty much made me take her. Good thing she acted like a decent human being while we were there and she didn't embarrass me at all. So, here's some awful pictures of the party, and please, please, please don't judge me. I'm really not a prostitute...

 Me and Dianna

 Ramiro in his drag

 Dianna and Clinton

 Clinton in his outfit

Beer pong :)

So that was Friday. Here's Saturday:

Wake up, get ready to go to Sarah Jane's baby shower. I knew about this in advance, however, I thought it was going to be at our house. Nope. It was at a tea room...I was forced to go there while my dad and John Carson are out at St. Arnold's brewery having a grand old time drinking beers...something about this was not fair...well after this little festival of babies I go home with EK and we both take naps, she jets off to the drive in movies with some of her friends and I go meet up with everyone else at Don Julios for dinner and margaritas :). After that I drive myself down to the outlet mall because I was in desperate need of some shorts for the ball game on Sunday. Then I grab a Redbox and head home for some Narnia action.

Sunday:
BASEBALL GAME DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Astros vs. Red Sox. So, I'm 99.9% stoked about this game, I know going into it that the Astros are going to lose, I actually thought they were going to get spanked, but that didn't happen!!! It was 2-1 Sox, and both of those runs could have been avoided by the Astros if someone hadn't blown a throw to home when someone else was stealing the base, or if some dumb ass manager hadn't decided to walk a batter which in turn caused the bases to be loaded when the Sox's next batter was their big stick. But whatever, I'm not paid millions to make those decisions...anyways, I had SO MUCH FUN!!! I love baseball, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Astros and that's pretty much my most favorite place in the world. Humphrey Bogart said it best, "A hot dog at the ball game beats prime rib at the Ritz." And that is so true...my heart belongs in the Juice Box, that's where I'm going to marry Hunter Pence at :) he just doesn't know it yet...oh, and P.S. I HATE Red Sox fans. I don't have any feelings for the Sox themselves, but I wanted to punch all of their fans in the face. Especially that loud ass guy sitting behind us...

Game photos!!!

 Choo choo!

 My love striking out

 We LOVE baseball!!!

Hunter Pence. Love him.

And to wrap up the weekend, that night I went out to Big Texas to meet up with my most favorite cousin, Kasy, and some of his friends to see Roger Creager. But since I had to drive back to Kansas the following morning, I left around 12ish but it was still really good to see him. And Creager. He's always fun.

Monday:

Drive. Drive. Drive. 12 hours of it. I never want to see the inside of a car again...and neither does Bee.

And that's the 4th of July weekend in a nutshell. Now, trying to go to sleep with all these fireworks going off is going to be a bit of a hassle...it sounds kind of like Afghanistan...

Good night, and Happy Independence Day.

I Think I Need a Drink...

So it's been a few days since my last update. I'm sure everyone was just dying to know what's been happening in my life in the past month or so...nothing. That's what I do now, I just kind of sit around. Ok, well that's not entirely true, I do go to work. I applied at another place for a full time job but they haven't called me back yet. I need another job so I can get an apartment and a new puppy!!! I want one that looks like this:

Awwwww!!! I want a cute little Australian Shepherd dog and I will name him Walter...This doesn't mean I don't like Bo or April, but they belong in Houston. My dad would be way too sad if I took Bo away from him and April would be depressed without Bo and Teddy around. She acts like she doesn't like them but I know she does...or I could take April up here with me and then just get my little puppy anyways. That's not a bad plan...

Anyways, so I'm going to Houston on Friday hopefully. I asked for the week of the 4th off and I haven't seen the schedule so I'm not sure if I am actually going to get those days off or not. I'm really hoping that I do...I need a break from this small town life. It's not bad, I really don't mind it up here, but I miss my friends and family and I need to go out! I need a real mall, I need Starbucks and bad drivers and traffic and hobos. Ok so I really don't need all of that stuff, but I just want to see my family and the Astros. That is something I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT live without, no matter where I am, is the Astros.

So, funny story: I learned how to knit so that I could make Sarah's baby a blanket for when it's born. Turns out I'm pretty terrible at it AND my shoulder and elbow are killing me...hahahaha I don't get injured from running or playing sports or anything normal like that, I get injured from KNITTING...oh how the mighty fall...I'm so embarrassed.

Oh, now it's time for a serious story and this one REALLY chaps my ass...when I was younger and dumber than I am now, still in high school, still thinking I'm hot shit, I briefly (6 hours, give or take) dated a football player. I thought it was a good idea because he was a senior and I was a sophomore and I'm sure there were some other reasons I had but that was six years ago. So I "broke up" with him and you would think that's where the story ends. Nope.
He graduates and joins the Marines, gets sent to Iraq, we write letters back and forth, I would get those few early morning phone calls from him, etc. There was always something there between us but we never really acted on it, we just stayed pretty close friends. So it's like that for the next two years, then I graduate and join the Navy, get bounced around and then I'm back in Houston and he's out of the Marines and living in San Antonio.
Over the course of the past four years we saw each other a few times, we hooked up once and every other time we just talked and did some other things that were less bad than hooking up...like I said, there was always something there between the two of us but we never dated again. Mostly because there were a few times we were together and he had a girlfriend that he was cheating on, so I don't trust him AT ALL...anyways, long story short it was like this for about five years and then I pretty much told him I was done with him when I deployed to Afghanistan, but he didn't listen.
Well, my friends don't like him, my sister says he and I have a very unhealthy relationship (which is true) and he just wants to date me for some reason, even though we fight like cats and dogs and I'm a douche to him (also true).
The other night he and I were talking - I had been drinking and he took full advantage of that - and I was talking about my version of paradise and he just started talking about how he could make it so much better, basically blowing hot air up my ass, and then he says that we should be together and like always I said no, but this time I gave him reasons why not. I think they're pretty legit reasons NOT to be with someone, for example, we're not even dating and we fight until we're ready to kill each other and I know he's a cheater so I can't trust him. He turns them into reasons why we should be together, we fight because we care, he cheated on an ex with me and that's the only time he's done it.
I told him that I can't trust him any more than I can throw him and he says, "I swear on my own heart that I would never cheat on you, I really feel like I love you. It's crazy when we are together, we can't keep our hands off each other (false, I can keep my hands to myself, he can't). I can just never see myself cheating on you." AND HALT: I thought we had squashed this at least a year ago, I've told him I don't want to date him, I'm all about being friends but he doesn't seem to understand that...I know he knows I still have some feelings for him but not enough to want to be in a serious relationship.
Anyways, so he continues with, "I want you here with me (in San Antonio), you know I would provide for you, you know I would treat you like you have never been treated before...Come live with me and I promise you that you won't regret it. You won't have to pay for anything, you can go to UTSA with me." Ok, 1) you couldn't pay me enough to live in San Antonio, I HATE THAT PLACE!!! And there is no way I'm going to go to UTSA. 2) I don't need to be provided for, I can take care of myself, and I like paying for stuff. 3) How the hell does he know how I've been treated before? I guess he's just assuming that every guy I've been with was a total d-bag and he's gonna be my knight in shining armor. Whatever. So I tell him, "I can't live in San Antonio, I hate it there. Besides, I'm not gonna leave Kansas, my sister needs me, I have a life here."
I'm done, that's where my story ends and I think that's where it's gonna stay. I'm not going to encourage anything else from him.

I should find a Kansas farm boy like this one...

Yummy :)

Just Fishing...

Well, my first week in Kansas went off without a bang. Thursday we went to a car show down at the DQ here in town, classic cars roll up every week. It was pretty cool...

 

I've just been working and trying to figure out how I'm going to make it with one part time job but I guess I'll have to figure something out. Hopefully I'll be eligible for 100% of the Post 9/11 GI Bill so that way when school starts I'll receive some money for a housing allowance. I know after this trip to Texas for drill I'm going to be completely drained of cash.

Went fishing Sunday at someone's farm and I caught a HUGE large mouth Bass. We fried that bad boy up for dinner Monday along with some Croppie, it was all delicious!

Wednesday we have a fish fry for the Church and then Trina's birthday thing. I have no idea what I'm going to get her, I guess a card (obviously) and then something else. No idea what. I don't really know her that well and I'm surprised she invited me but it should be fun.

I have to drill this weekend, not really looking forward to that. I got my car road ready today, now I'm pretty much completely tapped for cash. I had to get 4 new tires which ran me almost $600 then an oil change which ran me another $40. Now I'm flat broke and I have no idea how I'm going to swing the drive to Texas. Good thing though, next month I should be picking up some more hours at the YMCA because one girl is quitting. I know the week of the 22nd I'm scheduled 6 days of the week. I'm getting the sense that Wednesdays are my day off since I'm never scheduled then, which is good.

I'm really hoping for a tornado to hit town right as I'm planning on leaving so that way I won't have to leave :) That would be super.

Stupid Baby Names

Ok, I'm all for originality but kids names these days are STUPID! There is no originality anymore because all the names sound the same. What happened to names like Sarah, James, Rebecca, Scott, etc? Why do parents feel the need to name their kids something stupid like Rayden, Kemper, Ansley, Brayden, Kaylen, etc? I think people are forgetting that their kids are going to have to grow up, they're not going to be cute little 2 year olds forever. What happens when they're 40? If your name was Ocean, would you want to respond to that when you're that age?

Here's a list of the top 10 most hated baby names in America, and unfortunately, they're probably the most popular ones right now:

Girls:
1. Navaeh (Heaven backwards)
2. Destiny
3. Madison
4. Mackenzie
5. McKenna
6. Addison
7. Gertrude
8. Kaitlyn (not the name specifically, but more of the strange spelling. Originally spelled Caitlin)
9. Makayla
10. Bertha
11. Hope


Boys:
1. Jayden
2. Brayden
3. Aiden
4. Kaden (see a pattern?)
5. Hunter
6. Hayden
7. Bentley
8. Tristan
9. Michael (apparently it's "too boring" but I disagree)
10. Jackson

90% of those names are stupid and made up. Personal opinion, I'm not a huge fan of trendy names, I'm a traditionalist, I'll name my kids after someone in my family (ex. Elaine after my grandmother and John after my dad).

According to some articles parents who choose trendy names for their kids, 5-10 years down the line, end up hating the names they chose for their kids. Well duh, that's because you picked a shitty ass name.

I'm done. This subject makes me really mad for some reason.