Last night, I went with Belinda, et al to this Mexican restaurant for karaoke. The place was small and a bit cramped with all the people there. All Latinos. Belinda sang a song or two. I sang a Paulina Rubio song. And Belinda and I did one of our famous :) duets: "Always" by Atlantic Starr. We did the only English song that night, heh.

When I entered the place, I saw this guy sitting at a table and I thought to myself, he looks familiar; I think I know him... And I thought back and decided he was probably this guy I met last year when I went to Tammy's birthday party at the restaurant her sister works at. It was this guy that worked there who I thought was kinda cute. Later on that night before he was about to leave, when he walked by me I touched his arm. And he looked at me and was like, "hey, wassup, girl." lol. So cute in his fob accent. :) So we spoke briefly asking how the other was doing. Then he asks if I have a cell now to get my number. I'm thinkin' - this fool ain't call me the last time I gave him my number! :-P But he goes into his phone and my name was in there, then I give him my digits. Wonder if he'll call this time. His English seemed pretty good. I don't remember if he really spoke it that well the last time I saw him. But then, I just spoke to him in Spanish that one time.

So when I first walked into the place and we're heading to a table, this guy stops me talkin' 'bout he likes hair like mine, with curls and what not. I think he gave me some line, and even touched my face. I just smiled and said thank you. And he was sweatin' me the whole evening. You should have seen him. He asked if we could get to know each other outside of the bar. I said maybe, but I suppose I'm leaning more towards "maybe not." I tell ya, I need to learn to say what I really mean and stop being too nice. He also told me I spoke Spanish very well, that I spoke it better then all the Central and South Americans and Boriquas and Dominicans and what not, that he understand everything I was saying. I think he was just referring to how I enunciate and mostly speak "proper" Spanish. Weirdo. When he asked me what I was, I told him to guess. First he guessed the Philippines... He also said Peru. Ha.

Anyway, at least Belinda didn't get arrested this time. :) haha. Got home around 2 or 3, I think. I woke up about 7 for some reason, the alarm on my phone went off. I don't remember setting it. So I let my dog out and fed him. Then I went back to sleep cuz I'm lazy like that. I was in and out of sleep during that time. And funny, I think I kinda started thinking about that Cambodian guy I met the other night and then he called. This was around 10:30 this morning and we spoke for two hours. Still don't know how I should feel about him. But he seems like cool peeps.

He's told me several times how he perceived me as a conservative person. Good observation. :) He also told me he thought I was Cambodian when he saw me. He even said that he knows this one Cambodian girl that looks just like me. And it turns out he's not full-blooded Khmer. He was born in Phnom Penh and speaks the language, but his dad is actually Chinese/Vietnamese and his mom Chinese/Khmer. He wants to learn Spanish and I wanna learn Khmer, so we got a good trade off. I'm gonna impress my mom now. :)

Hmm... I wonder what today will hold in terms of what I end up doing. There's a chance I'll go to the movies with Tara and Taneka. I should try to be studious and read some books.

This week was the worse in terms of commuting for me. Getting him between 9:30 and 10:30 every night this week and having to wait for my stupid parents to pick me up is a pain in the ASS!! Although, Tara was kind enough to get me last night and I got home "early". Like 9:15. :-P

Wednesday I went back to the deli in the building down from mine since the one in my building was closed. This time I talked to the brother of the one Palestinian guy I was chatting with last time. We were talking about Arabic and accents and stuff. He said my accent was nice - not Gulfi (the countries in the Gulf, e.g. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait), but that it was more Levantine (FYI: the Levant is the countries of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine). Heh. That's funny, cuz I didn't think I had really developed an accent yet, at this point. But I guess since my dear friend Nadine is Lebanese, perhaps some of her speech has rubbed off on me.

Yo, last night was a crazy night. I ended up going to the club with Belinda. Danced a tiny bit of salsa, a bunch of merengue, then some bachata. And then danced to reggaeton. Got tired of all that and went to look for Belinda, who hadn't come back from the bathroom like she said she was going. Found her in another room. Ended up dancing to some old school joints - eighties/early nineties jams. Met some Cambodian peeps. There was a rack of 'em. I gave my number to one cuz he was askin' if we could hang out some time. I'm cool with that. I wanna be with my Asian peeps some time. And there was this other Khmer guy. And I thought he was kinda peepin' me so I made an excuse to go over to him. Examined his necklace and either asked him if it was Buddha or if he was Buddhist - it was kinda dark in there.

So I was dancing with this dude and then I think I stopped and was talking to another one of the guys. Then the guy with the Buddha necklace later comes back for me to dance with him. He was tall and skinny. And he had cornrows! Imagine that. :) Anyways, we exchanged numbers and I've talked to him several times since. Hmm... We'll have to see wassup with that cuz I don't know what to think about him...

Okay, this is why last night was crazy - Belinda nearly got arrested! A-ha. It's kinda funny now lookin' back on it. Somehow a dude she was dating and his roommate started scrappin'. Dude was fed up with how his roommate would always try to get with the girls he was seeing. And Belinda had mentioned how the roommate had made passes at her. So, guess he couldn't take it no more and punched the guy. I didn't see it happen. I was busy talking to one of the guys that worked in the club. Then I heard a bit of a commotion behind me and saw some kind of scuffle but didn't think nothing of it, really. Later I saw the roommate and he didn't look to happy. I asked him what was the matter and he just shook his head. Then he told me my friend was outside getting arrested. I'm like, WHAT?!? Ya know?

So I go outside the club and see my girl pushed up on the hood of a police car being cuffed. I went over to her and she's all talking about her constitutional rights and how he needs to read her her rights cuz she hadn't done anything wrong. And the guy who was tryna cuff her was an asshole, naturally. Why do people think a fuckin' uniform gives them license to be jerks? Belinda told me to get her phone. I'm like, where is it? She said she dropped it on the floor inside. Luckily when I went back in and after I looked on the ground not seeing anything, I talked to a guy that worked there and told him my friend had dropped her phone when the fight broke out. So he produces from his pocket the cell phone.

I go back out to Belinda and she's just wondering if her neighbor/friend had called cuz she wants to know if she's alright (due to some other unrelated drama). So she has me listen to the voicemail. And that fake-ass cop tried to tell me to back up. I just looked at him and did not budge cuz I do not like to be talked to in any disrespectful way, especially since I wasn't doing anything wrong. Anyways, I bet if he wasn't tryna come off as some hardass, it would have been much easier to handle this whole biz.

Basically, according to Belinda, he cuffed her cuz she was trying to stop the guys from fighting. She said that when he grabbed her, she wasn't even doing anything, not touching anyone. And she said something about the cop guy saying that when a cop tells you to back up, you need to back the fuck up. Ugh. When I first saw Belinda, I was tryna tell her not to talk back so much, to chill. Of course it was futile to say it. But I was telling her, don't worry, I'm your witness, and some crap about my dad's a cop... lol. And I was telling her not to say anything and we'll take down his info and what not. She said she couldn't even see his badge and that she didn't think he was a cop.

And later the cop was saying he'd let her go if she stopped actin' up, but she was still tryna run her mouth and we're tryna hush her up still. Then another fight breaks out right by the cop car and Belinda's like - see? You're gonna arrest me and I haven't done anything and let those guys fight? Anyways, he eventually let her go so we were like, let's go. And on our way to the car, there was a police sitting in one of those police vans. Belinda wanted to ask her a question. Belinda goes, "Excuse, me officer. Sorry to bother you; I know you're really busy but..." And then she proceeds to ask the officer her opinion on if the asshole cop handled the situation correctly, or, if he was allowed to handle it the way he did. The lady was like, since she wasn't there to see it herself, she couldn't really say with certainty, but that basically the cop was allowed to do what he did. What the fuck ever.

Anyway, that dialogue with the cop was cut short when we nearly were hit by a rogue vehicle! Man, this guy crossed the street, hopped the curb and went up on the sidewalk and hit this fence. (I think a fence was there. I don't know how accurate my details of this story are cuz I did have a few drinks. :-P). Anyway, the guy quickly backed off the sidewalk and sped back onto the street, but then a cop car turned its lights on and the guy eventually stopped and got out the car and all. But we just were tryna get away. Belinda and her friend were tryna walk forward to where the car was parked. But I hesitated to move cuz I didn't wanna move forward and somehow be in the line of that crazy driver. I was ready to walk back to make sure I couldn't be in his path.

I ended up driving. Belinda couldn't drive. And I wasn't sure about the friend. So we started driving and the friend is like, we gotta go back for his roommate. Guess he cooled off a bit. We scoop him up. Drop him off at where they had parked there car. Then the original trio, we go to this diner and eat. Why does everyone ask if Belinda and I are sisters? We don't look alike? It happened at the club and diner. Anyway, I got to use my Arabic skills with this Jordanian guy that worked there. I thought he looked Arab, so I asked where he was from and then busted out an Arabic greeting to him. His eyes lit up, lol. And we began a convo. That was cool.

And, hmm... Dropped dude off at his place then Belinda and I went to my house to crash. It was after 6 in the morning when we got home. Yeah, long evening. And she and I are heading out tonight. Hope she doesn't get into too much trouble at the karaoke bar. :-P

Alright. I've written enough. Bye-bye!

I HATE COMMUTING!!

I HATE COMMUTING!!

Anyway, we've got some treacherous weather. Black ice and shit. I left work and was walking to my mass transit stop and crap - I fawkin' fell! And then when I was riding home with my dad, the car skidded a bit. Dangerous.

I went to my Arabic class last night. And Hebrew kept seeping into my head, intruding my thoughts. I was thinking of Hebrew terms for the words I wanted in Arabic. I turned to my classmate for aid since he could understand how my mind was working since he studied Hebrew as well.

I have class tomorrow night. That means I gotta leave work early. I have yet to work a full 40 hours a week. So, I should go try and get to bed now so I can maybe, just maybe, get to work early.

Man, the weekend is already more than half over. I slept a lot of it away. I hope the rest of the day goes by slowly. Yesterday, accompanied Tara to run her errands. We ate at Quizno's. Had to use my coupon since it was the last day for it. Need to get more coupons cuz $2 off a sub is a pretty good deal.

Then in the evening, Shawn scooped me up to go to his party for a little gathering. It was cool. Got my drink on a little. Kept droppin' pretzel sticks. Staggered as I walked, lol. End of the evening, ended up having a "discussion" with the guys. A stupid one where I had to defend myself where race is an issue and the arguments being thrown at me were doo-doo. But I still handled myself AND I was drunk. And what? :-P

Ken took me home. It was around 5AM. We ended up sitting in the car for a while talking about race issues and politics and what not. Heh. Oh, and though Ken kept his mouth shut during the argument, he totally knew where I was coming from and basically, agreed with me. It's cool. Sometimes it's best not to say anything. How's that one saying go? Never argue with a fool cuz you'll never win? But Ken was about "being the better person." Hey, I am, too. But sometimes I just can't help myself!

It's funny, with this blog, I reveal a lot of what's on my mind or stuff that's happened and I write in my particular dialect. But... I do censor myself quite a bit due to cultural sensitivities. I know that some of my friends or even strangers who read this blog wouldn't understand certain forms of expression or concepts dealing with race and language. So sometimes I'm vague with what I say. Like I won't go into detail as to what the aforemention argument was. Gotta avoid contraversy for the sake of those who can't handle it...

Anyway, is everybody up on their current Middle East events? Well, I wanna bring ya'll up to date. Allow me to share with you a brief article:

---

38 Palestinians Killed Since Last Suicide Bombing
AMJ Calls for an End to Selective Outrage over Mideast Civilian Deaths

(Washington, DC 01/29/04) Today's bombing in Jerusalem, which claimed the lives of 10 Israelis, was the first suicide bomb attack in over four weeks. During that period, reported by the media as a "lull" or "calm" in Mideast violence, Israeli occupation troops killed over 38 Palestinians and maimed over 314 others. Many children, along with two teenaged mechanics, were among the victims.

"The killing of innocent civilians is appalling and must end, regardless of who the perpetrators are," said AMJ Executive Director Khalid Turaani. "It is also appalling that many comatose pundits who have been silent as Israel has gone on with its daily killing of Palestinian civilians, have only today awakened to the terrible deaths of Israeli civilians."

Since the last suicide bombing, Israel has killed over 38 Palestinians and injured over 314 others. Only yesterday, over ten Palestinians were gunned down by Israeli occupation troops in the Gaza Strip. The UN reports that in the last two weeks alone in one Gaza refugee camp, almost 600 Palestinian refugees were made homeless when Israel bulldozed their homes.

"Where is the outrage over the continuous plundering of Palestinian land, of Israel's daily killing of Palestinian civilians? Why does our media find discussion of Palestinian deaths beyond the pale of the permissible and the politically acceptable?" asked Turaani.

When pundits claim that today's attack broke the "relative calm," it unfortunately makes clear that Palestinian lives are considered dispensable and their deaths unworthy of outrage. "Attacks on innocent civilians can never be justified or condoned, but we have witnessed selective outrage for too long. On a very basic level, media coverage could contribute to Mideast peace by expressing equal grief and outrage at all loss of life," concluded Turaani.

---

And do you know what those asshole Israelis did after the latest suicide bombing? They go into Bethlehem and destroy the house of the suicide bomber. Now, what the hell? Yeah, I'm sure that'll solve things. I guess they're tryna intimidate and show that they won't stand for no mess. But sounds like something a kid would do; something immature. Anyways, how would you feel if one of your relatives committed a crime and so the government in retaliation demolishes YOUR house. Yeah, sounds logical. *rolls eyes* Everything's so fucked up with this world...

Glad the weekend's here! I just want some R&R. Not that I've been working so hard and really need it. I'm just lazy like that. And I been eating a whole lot this past week. Dunno what's my problem.

Anyway, went to dinner tonight with my sister and one of her old friends. And I ordered a combo platter even though I wasn't hungry and the burrito I ate for lunch was still sitting heavy in my stomach. They ordered Chipotle at the office today.

I talked to the Persian chick in at my job today. Turns out she's married, though I feel like she's my age and I wouldn't have thought of her as being married. And her husband's Palestinian. That's cool. I met some Palestinians Thursday afternoon. I went into work late that day cuz I had some bidness to take care of in the morning, so I arrived at work after noon. And when I finally decided to eat, it was 4. To my dismay, the deli in my building was closed for the day. A delivery guy or whoever he was suggested I go to the next building over since there was a deli there. And that's where the Palestinian guys worked. I noticed the one guy had a necklace with Palestine on it. So I chit-chatted with him. I would like to meet more Arabs so I have more opportunity to practice Arabic.

I went to my Arabic conversation class. Got there late cuz I got a little lost. I had forgotten to bring the address of the place with me. D'oh! Anyway... figures once again I am a minority in the class. Story of my life, pretty much. I'm the only Black girl. I can't say Asian, since there's this Japanese chick in there. Another girl is of Lebanese descent, but basically, she's American. Anyhow, I hope I'll like the class. I signed up for Level I, but the teacher-guy and I both agree I should move up at least to the next level. So I need to remember to handle that on Monday before the next class. But shit - I need this class. I'm gonna be beast at Arabic once I get accustomed to speaking it more. :)

Well, my computer is gettin' on my nerves. I think I need to buy a whole new battery for it or something. So... laterz!

I didn't go into work two days in a row. I blame the snow. And my laziness. But I did some work from home. And I've lounged around quite a bit and ate more than I do during a regular week of work. I don't make sense. When sedentary, I eat a lot. When up and about just commuting to work and working all day long, I starve myself. Whatever. But I'ma eat lunch tomorrow this time. Got my Quizno's sub in the fridge...

Sunday, Tara and I went to Quizno's for dinner (it was breakfast for me, even though it was after 5pm :-P). Then we headed down to the city to Wholefoods so we could connect with Claire and Victor. And coincidentally, bumped into Rohan there. Rohan was the friend of Claire's that I just met last Thursday. He happened to stumble into the same aisle Tara and I were in. But didn't really get to politick with Claire and Victor. Unfortunately, it began snowing that evening, so our plan to chill at Border's afterwards was cancelled because we didn't wanna get stuck in any snow mess.

Talked to one of my Canary friends online the other morning. He's currently in Brazil. I'm telling him about the snow we got and he's talkin' 'bout how hot it is down there. He's gonna be down there about 6 months. That's so cool how he'll just work really hard when he's home in Spain, then just decides to go live somewhere for a few months. I would do the same had I not taken the whole college track. I think I have a nomadic spirit, sorta.

Hmm... I should try to get to sleep soon. I need attempt to wake up and get ready for work and actually make it there this time! And I still have yet to meet with the owner of the company to discuss going from contractor to permanent employee. Also, after work I have my first day of class. My Arabic conversation course was supposed to begin Monday, but due to the inclement weather, it was cancelled. I can't wait to get my Arabic up to par with my Spanish. That would be tight. Wonder how long it'll take, though...

Anyway, think I should take my dog out one more time tonight to pee. Bye! :)

Okay, so it was long before Lisa came. We're talkin' 11 when she got here. Funny cuz initially she was talkin' 'bout leavin' around 8/8:30. Anyway... We got to Catherine's place and two people were leaving as we got there. Then several other people left not long after that. We just got there too late. It ended up being me, Lisa, Catherine, her boyfriend, and one of my friends who came up. And this friend of mine. I hardly know him. I met him in person only once before. I'm sure he's mentioned in a previous blog. Belinda saw him the other night at the club and he was asking about me. Ha. Why he sweatin' me? lol. He's an attractive man, but I'm not feelin' him in that way... And oh, my gosh - his 'breaf' was kickin' last night! :-X

Anyway, we directed Lisa on how to get back home then I had this guy take me to another area of the city even though things was shuttin' down at that point. It was about 2:30 in the morning. Was tryna meet up with another friend whom I'd only met in person once. Ha. The internet's a funny thing. :-P He been tryna see me since we first met and since he's goin' away to school soon for some military stuff, so I thought I'd try to meet up with him. He's sweatin' me, too. I don't like this. Why the guys I'm only interested in on nothing more than the friendship tip wanna hook up? Not cool cuz I'm just too nice to tell 'em straight up, even though I should. So anyhow, first guy is ready to go home and asks if I got a ride cuz he'd take me home if not. And so I verify that I got a ride and hang out with the second guy and his friend. We got our jumbo slices of pizza. Good stuff.

When I walked pass certain guys and we'd make eye contact, I would put on my innocent smile. So funny, kinda flirting with these dudes I would never ever wanna pursue anything with. Oh - and it turns out the other guy we were with - I had recently corresponded with him online. So funny. He said he was thinking to himself that I was familiar. Again, small freakin' world.

Okay, so don't know what I'ma do today. Not motivated to do anything. There's a study group this evening that I don't know if I'll make the effort to attend. And even if I did decide to go, I don't gotta ride. Argh. I need to get me a car or move soon. "First dude" been tellin' me he could help me get a car at an auction since he knows what cars are good. He sells cars. Last night he said he could get me one for 500 bucks. Hehe. Hmm...

Alright, I'm out!

Gettin' ready to go out tonight. Waitin' for Lisa to come scoop me up so we can go to the apartment of this one chick we both studied abroad with in Mexico...

Thursday after work I met with Claire. Our plans to go see "Battle of Algiers" were cancelled to go meet up with one of her friends whom she hadn't seen in months to go to power yoga. But, we didn't make it on time to go to the yoga class. Instead we three went to some vegan/vegetarian place run by Black Hebrews. heh. We sat and talked. I tell ya, I'm tryna surround myself around smart, conscious people. But they can't just be smart. They gotta be "down," too. Cuz not all smart people are "cool." Anyways, I'm sittin' with these young intellects. Conversation consisting of terms such as "nerve ganglia"... "energy"... "fractals"... Talking about some good documentaries or music. I gotta get outta my dumb stage. Claire has inspired to actually make more of an effort to increase my knowledge.

After we finished our food, we went to go see a friend of the guy we were with. He wasn't home at the time, so we dipped into this chill cafe down the street for quite a bit. Then we went back to the visit the one friend and parlayed for a while. Cool peeps. But hangin' out with these people who are into yoga and are vegans/vegetarians... I don't think I'll adapt their lifestyles, but I definitely wanna engage in the mentally stimulating convo.

Well, I think I ought to get dressed. It shouldn't be long before Lisa starts heading my way...

Year o' da Monkey!!

Year o' da Monkey!! oo ee ah ah

Happy New Year, my peoples!!! It's Vietnamese lunar new year once again! After work, went with my mom, her friend, and my sis to someone's home, a Viet family. Got some grub and then my mom's friend brought me and my sis back home while my mom stayed. I gotta wake up early for work. But I really wish I could actually participate in some New Year's celebrations one of these day! Ahh... guess there's always next year. :-P

I was sure slackin' at work today. My supervisor didn't come to the office 'til 5 in the afternoon, so that left me with no one checkin' up on me. Well, the supe called a few times. But by his not physically being there, I was workin' pretty slow. I hope tomorrow will be a fruitful day. And I'm gonna try to leave early enough so Claire and I can go get dinner before we check out a flick.

Alright, I need to get some rest. Peace out!

Another one of my co-workers quit. This is the second one since I started working. Jamie quit so unexpectedly, I was told. He just put his coat on and walked out. Both Jamie and Carmen seemed to quit for the same reasons - they didn't feel they were meeting our project manager's expectations. They felt pressured. So my supervisor calls me up and let's me know that I'm meeting his expectations. LoL. That fool wouldn't wanna see me quit just like that. Yet he did want me to quit my last job without giving them the proper two-weeks notice. Anyway...

So my boss, the owner of the company, took me out to lunch on Friday to offer me a permanent position. I'm still debating it. It has some pretty good benefits, I suppose. But I just don't know what I wanna do. I need to give my answer this week, though. I think I'm mostly scared of having new or extra responsibilities. I don't know how well I'll put up with the pressure. I don't wanna crack like Carmen and Jamie did. We'll see. I'm thinking I'll take the job.

Friday night I hung out with Justin and Belinda. Went to this one spot that was overpopulated with white people. So we just had one drink each and bounced. The place we ended up in was better in that it was not so homogenous. And we stayed there the rest of the night. It was an alright place. Can't say that I'd care to go there again, though. I got back home at 2am, stumbled outta my clothes and put on my night clothes and conked out.

Saturday I did absolutely nothing. And Sunday, Tara and I went to the movies. We saw "Along Came Polly" and we liked it. Both of us could see ourselves in Ben Stiller's and Jennifer Aniston's characters. Like a combination of both. But Tara would be more like Ben and I more like Jen. Anyway, we headed to the Macaroni Grill for dinner. Then it was off to Border's to read for a while. I brought this book I had bought a few weeks ago: "I Saw Ramallah"; an account of a Palestinian man who finally goes back home to Palestine after an absence of thirty years. It's an English translation expressing all the vast array of emotions of the Palestinian in exile vis-à-vis a return to the homeland. And then since Border's closed at nine, we drove around a bit until the next movie we was to start: "House of Sand and Fog." I had never even heard of this film, but Tara wanted to see it and so I went. It was okay. Tara thought it sucked. I guess it seemed like it should have been a made-for-TV movie. And it did lack some depth. Ah, well...

Then when I got home, I watched my "Alias", which I had some VCR timer to record. And that's my weekend.

Here it is - midnight and I should be sleeping. Like last week, I'm sleep deprived. I travel to work, just wanting to sleep at every step of the way, then fight Mr. Sandman at my desk while sitting in front of the computer. This just can't go on. I've got some important stuff to do tomorrow. Hope I don't yawn at the wrong times or nod off during anything...

Anyway, after I went to check out a room in this house, I met up with Claire again and we had lunch at my favorite Viet spot. Then she brought me home and met my dog and - *gasp* - my stupid dog peed on her! That monstrosity knows not how to control his bladder. How embarrassing... Then later that night, I went with Jeannie and another friend for a basketball game at my alma mater. Damn, it was a cold night! Oh, yeah - and we won. Goooo, Retrievers! :)

Last night I met up with Claire again after work. We went to a free concert that I had heard about the very same day. It was cool. Marcel Khalife, a Lebanese oudist. An 'oud is a Middle Eastern string instrument. I guess like a lute or whatever. It was accompanied by a piano and a bass. East meets wests. Jazzy and oriental sounding. I prefer vocals over instrumentals, so when Mr. Marcel began singin' I really enjoyed it. And when the audience was singin' - sounded really pretty. Lotsa Arabs there. Saw Nadine there. And then Shireen. Oh, and met a really cute Palestinian-American guy. Man, I need to go hang out at the Arab functions. :) Oh, my supervisor told me to get him a CD. Luckily I had a single check on me cuz they weren't accepting credit cards and I had no cash. So I bought myself a CD, too. And I even got it signed. That's when I saw Shireen. She was standing in the autograph line (although she had nothing to get signed, hehe) and she let me in. She was telling me to talk to Marcel Khalife in Arabic. I did the minimum and he wrote in Arabic: "To Sheena, With Love" and then his name. Yay!

Okay, I should try to get some shut-eye since I have to wake up so freakin' early!

Whew - long day at work today. Left the house around 6:30am; didn't walk back in 'til around 10pm. The thing is, everyone pulled some extra hours cuz we gotta meet with our client tomorrow to go over the progress of the project. And figures - the day I decide to bring a lunch insteada starvin' like the other days, the boss treats us to lunch. But yeah - my paycheck's gonna be fat! And I'll be quite disillusioned by it, I'm sure, since it'll be the raw figure pre-taxes. I looked at the sum on my invoice (I'ma contractor, so I gotta bill the company for my services) for a single day of work at my new job and was like, dayum! It was about as much as I made in a week at my part-time retail job.

And I'm sleep-deprived. Haven't been getting to bed early and having to wake up early... Not cool. I was tellin' Jeannie, I need to find me a job where I can go in at, like, 1 in the afternoon. And leave at 3. PM. hehe... But it's Friday tomorrow! Yay! The weekend is here! I just may get up with that one girl I met last week. We're tryna go to my fave Viet restaurant. Turns out she likes that place, too. And we've gotta catch up on our girl talk...

Well, end of blog. Bye!

On Sunday, Belinda came and got me and we went to this 'phở' place around her way. It was a'ight, the phở gà I got. But it really wasn't all that. I've had better. And Belinda's phở bò had a fly in it. Or two. :-P Our waiter was this mixed Viet/white guy. He was diggin' Belinda. And he said she looked more Asian than I. Haha. Cuz Belinda thinks I look more Asian and that she hardly does. But I knew she was mixed like me when I first saw her. Anyway, I was askin' the Viet guy about this Vietnamese thing I'm interested in (remember how I said I had a tattoo idea). He said he has a friend who does tattoos. I dunno if he'll ever get back to me, but that'd be tight if I could get a design worked out cuz I only have a rough idea in my head. Look at me - entering the workforce and still tryna get tatted up s'more. :) Thass how I do. Gotta keep it gangsta. Sike.

Anyways, after the Viet place, we went back to Belinda's place for a bit to chill. I never did get a chance to kick her butt in Scrabble 'en español.' I'm tellin' her - she don't want none! Truth be told, I've never played Scrabble in Spanish. But I'm sure I could still beat her.

Then yesterday, had to go to the jobby-job. But afterwards, me, Tara, Belinda, and my sis went to that Mexican restaurant. We were the only ones in that place when we got there. But eventually some more peoples rolled up in there. Anyhow, 'cause of me and Belinda's knowledge of Spanish, the waiter(s) got confused. Thought we were Latina. In fact, thought we all were Latina. But Belinda told Chuy that none of us were. And I even added how all of us had Black fathers (hehe - that sounds funny, right?). And he just couldn't get over it. Kinda insisted that we were Latina. So I proceeded to point out all our 'ethnicities': Tara - Puerto Rican, Belinda - Dominican, my sis - Brazilian, and me - Cuban. And then the other waiter guy guessed that we were all Puerto Rican. LoL. Fun.

And so my sis re-enlisted in the Air Force and will be gone by the end of the month. She tryna sell her car off on me. But I dunno. I ain't been workin' but for a minute. And I am definitely not tryna pay car insurance... And plus, I'm tryna move, too? This will take some consideration. I gotta make sure my budget's right... But coincidentally, one of my friends IM'd me tonight and we were talking... He said he'd help me get a car at an auction since he would know what cars were good or not. That'd be cool. I'ma consider that.

Hmm... I should get ready for bed soon. I hate not getting my 8+ hours of sleep. Well, sometimes I've found I can handle lack of sleep. But shoot - this 9-to-5 bidness has got to go. I miss not being able to sleep in for as long as I want!! And the fact that I have to commute does not help. Well, hopefully, once I move I'll get to sleep in a little. Night-night!

Happy 2004

Happy 2004

But what's so happy about it? Nah... Just another year... Actually, it is kinda a new year for me in a few different ways. Gotta new job. 'Bout to get me a temporary new place. Think my life will be a little bit different in terms of how I'll be spending my time due to acquiring a nine-to-five, the location I'll likely end up in, and how I'll be spending my free time. I need to make out some kind of plan to help me manage my life in the short term...

I'm tryna think what has happened since my last blog that I could write about, but I really don't feel much like blogging either... Umm... Didn't really do much for New Year's. Was 'bout to be stuck just chillin' in my room that night. I was sippin' on my Vietnamese beer and apartment hunting when I got a call from Ms. Jeannie Vieve around 11. Ended up accompanying her over to Jamar's where we met up with him and his friend, then headed over to Jamar's house. We didn't really do much but sit around and talk. Drank a glass of Remy Red and watched South Park. Called people to wish them a happy new year. That was about it. Then I had to work my stupid retail job at nine in the morning (got there late as usual). I was supposed to work there Tuesday through Friday of this week. But luckily, I was able to get a co-worker to take my Tuesday and Wednesday. And then I got another co-worker to take my Friday last minute. So glad I didn't have to work there. I just wanted to be a bum.

On Tuesday, I finally had lunch with this girl I'd been corresponding with online for quite some time. Maybe several months? Anyway, very smart girl. An intellect. I need more friends like that. My mind needs stimulation and growth. And since I'm not searching for knowledge on my own, I figure I can obtain a bit of it from the company I keep. Then after work I hung out with homeboy for some grub and convo.

Oh, and that day at work, my supervisor had asked to talk to me and he wanted me to follow him somewhere else. I was like, oh, shit - I'm in trouble! I couldn't understand why he couldn't just tell me what he had to say right there. So I followed him down the hall to the conference. But thank goodness. Had nothing to worry about. He basically wanted to tell me he wants me to stay with the team, that if I was interested, he could make suggestions to the company owner to get me a permanent position (as opposed to my temporary one). He said how he really likes me, etc... That's pretty cool. I just hope I don't disappoint!

So I'm looking for places to live closer to the vicinity of where I work cuz I despise commuting. I've physically checked out two places that weren't bad. But I still wanna explore, so I'm gonna check out another place on Monday. I'm thinking that when I temporarily relocate, I'll sign up for an evening Arabic course. My Arabic is definitely rusty after barely using it and I still need to take my proficiency exam. Also, me and Nadine need to start studying for our comprehensive exams. I've gotta get my shit together!

This afternoon, Jose, Justin, and I went to a local Mexican restaurant. And then we went to an auto show, which basically seemed like a big car dealership. It was okay, I guess. Saw my old roommate there cuz she works at a car dealership. That's funny cuz last month I saw my other two roommates (separately) at the mall where I work. We all lived together my last year of undergrad. One I saw when I was standing at the entrance of my store greeting people. Turned out she also worked in the mall. Also that day, I saw my old suitemate from freshman year. Then last weekend or the one before (can't remember which), I saw one of my roommates when I was chillin' with this Persian guy whom I met in my store around Thanksgiving.

Well, that's about all I can recall from the past week's time... Nothing too spectacular or fabulous. I need to hurry up and move since I can't/won't be leavin' the country anytime soon...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Seven more days 'til the new year...

Well, I put my two-weeks in at my retail job. But I'm gonna stay on the payroll on some sort of contingent status. I'll have to work, like, two days a month. I started my new job at the consulting firm. It's a 3-month gig and I'm on a contractual basis. After that time is up, we can see what we wanna do from there. Perhaps I'll stay with the company, or maybe I'll get my "dream job" that I'm waiting on... We'll see. I actually went into work at the new job on Tuesday while I was off at my retail job. My new supervisor would much rather I start full-time right away, but I didn't wanna be cruddy to the other job and wanted to give notice. But my supervisor did make the point that I'll be losing money by staying there...

Last night I swung by Tara's place to drop off her gift. When I was leaving, I wanted to say "Merry Christmas," but for some reason, the word "happy" came out and I told them I was about to say "Happy Birthday." So I ended up saying "Happy Birthday, Jesus" and left it at that. :)

Then I went over to "homeboy's" place. We and another one of his friends were supposed to go to the movies. But that ended up not happening and we just chilled at his place. I left his spot shortly before 1AM, then headed over to Jeannie's to give her her gift. Got to her house around 1:30 and we sat and talked for about an hour and a half, then I went home.

Now here I am wondering what we're gonna do today. We'll have our family meal. But then I wonder if we're gonna head over to my grandparents' for a minute to drop off gifts. And I'm quite hungry right about now. Gonna go scavenge...

It's 5:30 in the morning. Time to go to sleep. :-P Friday night, Justin and I headed to Belinda's for some drinks and convo. That was cool. And then I got dropped off at a local spot to meet up Robert, where he had been gettin' his drink on with Dana and one of their friends. Had to be Bert's designated driver and actually ended up letting him crash at my place.

Then I had to freakin' work late Saturday evening. From 3 to 11 was my shift. And they only gave me a 30-minute lunch. You're posta get an full hour if you work at least 7 and a half hour. Them bitches. :-[ Anyhoos... Afterwards, me, Jeannie and a couple friends went to a bar in the city for drinks and atmosphere. Then we headed to IHOP for a late-night snack. I'm full. And tired. Time to sleep. And unfortunately I gotta work tomorrow afternoon. Bleh.

So I had my interview yesterday morning. Had it with 3 different people. First, the hiring manager, then the project manager, and then, the owner of the company. I'm not any good at interviews and I didn't feel really confident about it. But I also didn't feel really bad about it either. I just didn't feel I made the impression I could have. At the end of my interview with the owner was over, he told me they'd get back to me before Christmas. Boy, he wasn't lying! The first person I met with had called me a couple hours later. I wasn't able to answer her call at the time due to bad reception, but she left me a message asking for my thoughts and feelings about the interview and to see if I was indeed interested in the job. I didn't end up talking to her until a few hours after that. But basically, I was offered a position. I told her the job was ideal to me, but that I'd get back to her. Cuz I still need to figure out what salary I should ask for. My ex-prof who put me on to the job in the first place thinks I could ask for more. So, I'm trying to get in touch with her before I call this job back. But look at me - trying to get employed. And if I take this job, my azz will probably relocate... And I get to put my 2-weeks in (if I'm feeling kind) at my retail job. :)

While I was on my way to the interview, I got a call, but again, couldn't answer it cuz I had no service where I was. It was "homeboy" calling, wishing me luck and saying that yeah, we should get up together for lunch. So, we did. We met up and got some grub. Yay - free food! Just kidding. Even if he just got food and I had to sit and watch him eat it, I would do so gladly. :-P Sike, sike. So BaJiGGiTy!

Tonight, Tara, Belinda, and I went to PF Chang's for din-din, then walked around the mall. Saw a couple familiar faces at the mall. One of my friends works in the mall and hadn't seen him in quite some time. And then there was this other girl who recognized me from undergrad. Funny... Belinda thinks I know everybody when we go somewhere. Like, to her it seems I'm always bumping into people. I don't think so...

And right now it's late and I'm tired. I started watching "Finding Nemo," but I think I'll put it off 'til later to finish watching it cuz I gotta freakin' work in the morning. But wow. Didn't know Nemo was deformed. And I also didn't like him in the beginning for the way he was a brat and defied his father. Anyways...

I've got a job interview lined up for Thursday morning. Hope it goes well. Then maybe I can leave the damn mall once and for all. And maybe I'll get hired for enough hours that would make me eligible for some benefits, such as health care cuz I sure don't have any now. If something happens to me, I'm pretty much screwed, right?

Anyhoo... mentioned my interview to "homeboy" and perhaps we'll do lunch afterwards since I'll be closer to where he works. That'd be nice. Still bajiggity...

What a momentous occasion! My dog appears to finally be lifting up his leg to pee. Thank goodness. Wouldn't wanna have a gay dog... :)

Hmm... I think I may have bombed one job offer, but I'm pursuing another, while I wait for the job I "really" want to come through. It'd be cool if I could turn my back on the retail biz once and for all! It'll be a great day for me when that happens. :-P

I did some splurging today. There was a close-out sail and I bought some DVD's and CD's. Some of the DVD's were for friends, but all the CD's were for me. So much money, even if they were 40% off the ticket price.

Well, I'm in the middle of one of the movies I bought: "Punch-drunk Love." It's kinda weird. Not your "typical" romantic comedy. A bit on the dark side, if you ask me...

Let's see... it snowed again. And I had to work today. And the people still came out. What is wrong with you people? Don't ya'll have homes? J/k... It wasn't so bad today, I guess, since I had a relatively short workday. Although, it was still tool ong for me.

So I didn't end up doing anything Friday night. And I didn't hang with Patricia for her birthday Saturday night like I was thinking of doing. Instead, I hung out with "homeboy." Finally got to take him to "the" Vietnamese spot and to my fave Viet restaurant. Too bad we went kinda late cuz we didn't get to walk around to the other shops, since most everything was closed by the time we left out the restaurant. Then we ended up watching "Office Space."

And tonight, I hung out over at Tara's and we watched a couple flicks. I finally got to see "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days." I really liked that movie. Then we watched "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

I'm feeling quite tired now... I may retire for the evening real soon...