Creepy bedtime story

I got to see Lady in the Water tonight. I really liked it. I know a lot of people talked a lot of crap about it, but you know what? It was amusing and entertaining, so it got the job done. There were scenes that made me jump in my seat, and surprisingly, there were a lot of funny moments too. I don't want to spoil anything, but if someone watches it also, tell me what you think of Reggie? He was quite the character. Now I really want to look at the book, I heard the illustrations are awesome but the writing is not so great. Too bad my library system doesn't have any copies.

Oh yeah, I watched You, Me and Dupree. I thought it was alright, not as good as I thought it would've been. I think Kate and Owen have been in better films. Kate looked so amazing, then again, she always does. I really could have done without Matt Dillon though.

The best hour of my life

My internet was not working since this morning and I decided to just wait it out. After half the day went by, I decided to call tech support to see what was up. I'm usually pretty hesitant about calling them since I'm not computer savy, so I feel that I can't answer their questions or know what they're telling me to do. So here's how awesome my tech guy was:

(TG): Thank you for calling...blah blah, let me verify the account....blah blah, mmmkay, what can I help you with?
(Me): I can't connect to the internet. I don't understand why I can't when my router/modem has the DSL and internet lights on. Also, the computer says I'm connected.
(TG): Uh huh. (long pause)
(Me): I've tried turning the router/modem off, I've unplugged the cord, I've restarted my computer, and I've disconnected/connected a lot of times.
(TG): Uh huh.
(Me): I know that areas of NY and CT are having some outages, so I was wondering if it's happening in NJ? Cause if it is, that's fine, I just want to know so that I stop trying.
(TG): Uh huh. (long uncomfortable pause) Well, let's try a few things. Turn off your modem and wait a minute.
(Me): Okay. (Dude, I told you I tried this 900 times already)
(TG): Okay, now turn it back on and try to load a page.
(Me): It's not working. (Surprise!)
(TG): Uh huh. Let's try to run it. Type in ping, blah blah.
(Me): It says timed out. It stopped.
(TG): Uh huh.

Now this went on for another 45 minutes. He would ask me to redo the same things over and over again. When I told him it still didn't work, he would answer with "uh huh." Then he would ask to put me on hold for just 2 minutes for him to resolve the problem. This of course really meant he didn't know what to do and was asking his sidekicks to help him. Oh right, and this 2 minutes of waiting were more like forever. Just to clarify. After many failed attempts, we were finally able to get my internet working.

(TG): Let's try to disconnect verizon online and then try to load up a page.
(Me): Really? Okay. Holy crap, that's weird. Now I can go onto web pages....
(TG): Uh huh.
(Me): Huh. Imagine if I had just done that this morning. But I still don't understand why I would have to disconnect it to get "on". It was actually another woman from verizon who told me to connect it whenever I wasn't able to view anything.
(TG): Uh huh.
(Me): Could you try explaining to me why I would have to be disconnected to be connected?
(TG): So let me resummarize this. You called with a connection problem and I helped you resolve that issue. You know can get onto the internet.
(Me): Yes. But still, why would I be disconnecting it??
(TG): Let me rephrase it. You originally were unable to get onto the internet. Now after my help, you no longer have a problem.
(Me): Right. (Dude, why are you NOT answering my question??) Okay, so from now on, should I always make sure verizon online is disconnected? What if tomorrow I can't get onto the internet, should I just keep them disconnected?
(TG): Just to let you know, we are here for you 24 hours a day. Is there anything else you need help with today?
(Me): No.

Are you kidding me with this? If I had to hear him go "uh huh" one more time, I was ready to pull my hair out. Why couldn't he have asked me to do that from the start? I can't even remember the number of times I've pinged something and had to tell him nothing changed. Why wouldn't he answer my question about the disconnecting to connect? What kind of response is summarizing what he had done? I would have respected him more if he just came out and told me he had no idea.

Temptation wins...

Due to my issues of fitting into my dress, I tried giving up a bunch of carbs. I was good for a few days, saying no to any form of bread or potatoes. I am all about fries. Even when I don't order it and someone else does, I will have to have some. Kevin actually thought I had a fever for saying no to fries and mashed potatoes. I actually even stopped with the ice cream. Well, that all changed today thanks to Jess. We went to try Emack and Bolios tonight. The moment I saw the blinged out waffle cones and ice cream flavors, I was telling her, "No, I can't do this...." I told her I would do one scoop of ice cream but no way to the cone. She of course said I had to do the cone and that I could just starve myself later. We ended up trying out the smores cone and the rice krispy treat one. I really liked the rice krispy one, I wasn't feeling the smores one so much. I had originally wanted the mud pie but they didn't have any so I just kept it with coffee and went with the trippin' on espresso. I liked it, very flavorful but not as strong and intense as Baumgart's Cafe. Jess had the caramel moose prints, it was good but a little too sweet for my tastes. It kills me to be in places that have too many flavors because I can never decide. Especially when they have berry ice creams as well. From now on, I must say no to the ice cream.

A few good laughs

I finally was able to read The Year of Yes. I can't even begin to imagine going through an entire year of going out on dates with anyone that asked you. I'm sure most of us can relate and come up with a bunch of skeezy, creepy, strange, totally unattractive, over age, under age, etc. guys that have come up to you. Imagine saying YES to each and every one of them. Though I'm sure some of the dates would be rather interesting. The more recent ones that stand out in my mind would be: Mr. Asian Fetish 3-some guy, Mr. Library, and of course Mr. We're Meant For Each Other Because I Go To Grad School Too.

I've recently started watching this new HK show called Beautiful Cooking. It is so freaking hilarious. There's a saying that most guys' mothers want a daughter-in-law that is not only gorgeous but can cook as well. Basically, she's got to be good in the kitchen and good outside of it. The premise of the show is that they have 3 beautiful celebrity women come onto the show and do a bunch of cooking tasks while they are rated. The looks on the judges' faces as they put things in their mouth or when they just spit it right into the garbage is priceless. It's funny to see the techniques that some of these celebrities use. The end of the show resembles Iron Chef, where they are given a mystery ingredient and have to work their magic. I would have to say one of the freakiest ones was the giant cuttlefish/octopus thing. I felt so bad because normal people don't know how to kill it. It looked so heavy and the girls ended up getting the male hosts to hack away. All you saw was the black ink all over the place, ick! Totally random though, the episode that I just watched before, I recognized a familiar face in the audience. It was my grandmother! There were a lot of shots of her since her seat was behind one of the kitchen areas. Even better, the end credits have at least a 5 second shot of her singing along with the song. We showed my dad, telling him that the scene was hilarious. He sat there and never even realized it was his own mother in the back. He thought we were all crazy since we were all cracking up hysterically that he had no clue.

Candid shots


What's more romantic than getting married on a mini golf course?

Ooooh, who are those two people in the doorway? You're lucky you can't see it close enough, the amount of sweat from the heat was ridiculous!

Ahh, the money shot. Nothing like an European in a banana hammock. Why yes, I do believe that looks like a panty liner in his speedos.

The sexiest pirate that there ever was! We so were such huge fans and stalkers of Mr. Sass!

The Asian call of the wild....mahjong! Who doesn't love a lil pong and gong?

Our motto on the cruise? Fcuk it! Fcuk the stress and what you shouldn't do/eat.



The poster speaks for itself....

Labadee


The final island, nothing like a private paradise! Since our ship couldn't dock, we had to take smaller boats to get onto the island. It was so gorgeous and gave you such a calming feel from the moment you step foot onto the sands. There were beach chairs everywhere, floating mats
station, drinks galore, and they even had these cute kiddie water parks.

Lamy, a guide, informed us about the current situation with Haiti and just about life in general there. It was a real shocker to tell you the truth. Not that I didn't know about the constant fighting, but to hear it first hand from a native was upsetting. Apparently his job with RC pays more than what a doctor or police officer makes in Haiti. People with the "good" yearly salaries make around $500. It's pretty crazy thinking about what is really going on outside of our little paradise. We found our way to Dragon's Breath (oh man, it felt like a roaster there). It's cool, somehow the placement of the rocks and the tides causes a sound much like a dragon breathing.

After our picnic, we wandered into the market where they were selling plenty of craft items. I ended up getting some wooden things and some paintings. I know that you could have haggled but I didn't feel right in doing so since I knew they needed this money to survive. M picked up some booze and cigars. They actually gave her this weaved straw bag to hold the booze. As we went further in, most of the people were selling similar items. They would fight for you to buy things from them, each lowering their prices. I can't even remember the number of times that I've been harassed to get my hair braided. With less than 2 hours left before having to leave, the 3 of us found hammocks and we just relaxed on those. I want a hammock so badly now! They are just that awesome. Kevin and M had the luxury of completely conking out but I stayed awake to watch the time. I was having a blast watching all the people who could not figure out how to get onto a hammock! Oh right, they had so many lizards running around all over the place. There was even one that was right on the tree in front of us.

A note to self

Dear me,

Please stop putting so much pressure on yourself. Stop taking on the responsibilities of others. Your life shouldn’t be put on hold right now and you know that, so don’t feel bad and let others know. You’re becoming extremely great at what Daniel Powter calls “faking a smile with the coffee to go.” It’s alright to be exhausted and not want to keep it up anymore. Why shouldn’t you be allowed to feel this way? You can’t be strong enough for everyone else. You know this, now start believing it. Most importantly, tell them to stop demanding impossible things. Tell them all to stop giving you sh*t and making you feel disgustingly guilty. Make them understand that you can only do so much and the rest is up to them. You can express your concerns but you can’t control what someone does. You’ve done more than enough.

With much concern and love,
your sanity

PS—FYI, the next time someone gives you the guilt trip or asks you ridiculous things, feel free to flip them off in your mind. I will not judge you.

"Puerto Rico.....to the window!"


There was a mandatory immigration thing in the early morning. Boy, was that a fun experience. Let's just say that people can get really angry when things are disorganized. Puerto Rico was definitely the hottest island, it was so humid too! I must have sweated gallons of goodness. We took a walking tour because I was interested in seeing the city and learning about the history. It also gave me a chance to rock my Spanish skills. We took a long walk to see El Morro, this giant fort! Since they built the fort and the cannons from a high point, no ships ever wanted to enter in through that way since they would be a direct hit. The walls are built from a mixture of things, if you looked really closely, you could see coral and sea shells.


We continued the tour through the old city. I just love the buildings and homes there! Just the colors are so pretty and they just give you such a nice feeling as you walk past them. Even their street signs and house numbers are cute. I really enjoyed walking on the cobble stone streets. The streets are actually this cobalt blue. We got to see many huge homes of government officials, but from a distance of course. In Puerto Rico, they have lots of cats that just roam around, most of them were either sleeping in the window in the doors, or on top of cars.


I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't go inside one of their biggest churches. I had been looking forward to it but apparently it had been under renovation for over 2 years and still wasn't ready for the public yet. The tour ended at the Cristo Chapel, though they liked to call it the pigeon poop area. The chapel was built to celebrate a miracle. Supposedly, a man lost control of his horse and went over the cliff. The horse didn't survive but the man did. So he had the chapel erected to express his gratitude.

It was just nice being able to leisurely walk around the city and seeing the intense amount of history. Of course the tour ended on the main shopping streets, but of course I wasn't complaining. There were a lot of fun shops but many of the clothing stores were way out of my price range. This spice food store caught my eye and we went in and got to sample a lot of hot sauces and jams. They even had banana ketchup!

Happy Freedom Day!

After more than half a year, I finally got my BRT and Jamba Juice fix on Friday night. Originally, Kevin and I were just going to lay low and get dinner at my puffy bread place. Well, then Bach calls up enticing me with the food and throws in the Jamba. Of course, I gave in and made the long commute. I was a bit disappointed with the garlic knots, it seemed like they became cheese knots. The mussels and the pasta were still delicious though. Luckily, we made it to Jamba with a little time to spare since dinner always takes longer than expected. This time, I didn't drop my drink near the exit! When I got home, there was a surprise waiting for me. Tom yum soup! One of the waiters is from Malaysia and he makes the best that I've ever had. It puts all the wussy restaurant ones to shame. It's such a good mix of the sour and the spicy! It had been a while since I had it so when I first took a sip, I nearly choked from the spiciness.

On Saturday, I ended up waking up early since I was meeting Susan, Matt, Michael, and Kevin for an early lunch. I hadn't seen her in almost a year! I just loved how Matt and Michael had been discussing the night before that I should add Nicole from PCD to my "list"! Later on, I went with the girls to meet up with Lyds at Cheesecake Factory. Mmm, the cheesecake was so good. Afterwards, we checked out Jess' place and got some drinks.

The girls and I decided to get manicures on Sunday. The 3 of us have never gone all together and since Beth is rarely in NJ, we jumped on the chance. Unfortunately, the cute place I wanted to go to was closed so we just went to one near home. Still good so no complaints. Since my cousin was leaving for VA on Tuesday morning, I had to rush making her some sweets. During lunch the day before, they kept hinting about wanting some goods. So I was able to bust out a pie, along with 3 types of cookies for them. Later at night, Beth and I went to see The Devil Wears Prada. I really liked it! I think Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci did an awesome job. I was loving all the clothing and accessories. Throughout the movie, I was naming the bags for Beth.

I have a confession. There was a trailer for John Tucker Must Die that had me all stoked for. It's not even about the movie, it's about who's in it! Dude, he is so hot! Back in high school, the only reason why I watched that horrible soap Passions was for him. Then when I saw him on Desperate Housewives, I was content but he's not on it anymore.


On Monday night, I went to catch the fireworks in Red Bank. It took us over 45 minutes to find somewhere to park. Then when we finally did, it was so far away that it took forever to walk back into the town. We tried walking to the Marina to meet up with Bach and them but before we could get there, the show started so we just stood where we were since we had a clear view. The show was amazing though, so much longer and they had all these cool fireworks! There was one that was ridiculous, I don't even know how to explain it but it's something I have never seen. Somehow the fireworks appeared like vertical lines that were slowly shifting across the sky! The only drawback? It was so hot and humid so I was sweating like crazy. Oh yeah, somehow someone/something made a huge scratch on the back of my arm. I don't recall how I got it but it burns. I ended the night with dinner and some drinks. My sandals got a complimentary drink. How? Some obnoxious chick spilled her entire drink onto my foot.