So yesterday I had written a positive spin on my post, talking about how much I had learned from TV...but apparently that part got erased. So I just wanted to post today (for all two of my readers) and say that things are better. I watched a lot of housewife TV yesterday and it made me realize some things.
1. I am really looking forward to being old and awesome like the Golden Girls. I am hoping to be more platinum when I'm old (get it, rich!) but just as cool. Those ladies are fabulous and wear the best clothes and I can't wait to be just like them! And I get to live in Miami, which will be great because it stays nice and warm there.
2. TLC's What Not To Wear is another fabulous show. Makes me realize I could be waaay worse off. I know I'm not especially fashionable, but I am definitely not struggling like some of those people. And one woman I saw was just downright hateful, rude and extremely unappreciative. Who wouldn't appreciate FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS worth of free clothes!?! Apparently not this heinous bitch. In short, I'm glad I'm not horrible like her. It also makes me miss Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. That show was fantastic.
3. There is another show but refuse to watch about little girls in beauty pageants, but I see the commercials all the time. That's where the sassy walk off line is from...one of the moms is mad at her little girl because there is too much skipping in her walk. It's really ridiculous. Then the host person is talking about how little girl pageants is his PASSION. Which is kind of creepy. How do you get passionate about something like that? Those girls are so sad and weird looking. But, whatever, to each his own I guess.
And on a side note, my brother is a lot cooler than I give him credit for. Sometimes. Like yesterday.
Now I need to finish packing. As soon as I finish watching The O.C. It's sooo dramatic, I love it! I'm really close to being finished (with packing) and am hoping to de-stress enough to be excited. I wonder how many "last nights" I'm going to have....
Dream big people.
31 December 2009
30 December 2009
jacky and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
Is it even legal for me to take the title of that book and just change one word? I hope so. Just to cover my back, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" is by Judith Viorst, is fantastic and in no way my own orginal combination of words.
It is just how my day went. It just really sucked a lot. A highlight was lunch with a friend at one of my favorite sushi restuarants, but I had trouble enjoying it because I was so upset. Money issues have been dragging me down lately and I hate that, but I guess that's what happens when you go unemployed for months at a time. I did have other highlights I guess. My brother turned out to be a lot cooler than I had been thinking lately and I watched like, four episodes of Golden Girls and it really did make my life better. GG therapy...you should try it. Then I watched some What Not to Wear and that made me happy too. Man, I did a lot of TV watching today. Shame. I guess sometimes you need it. I'm just stressing about the big move and questioning if it really is a good idea. Part of me thinks it's totally ridiculous and stupid, but another part of me knows that I really need to leave Charleston and should at least give LA a try. I'm just going to get back to packing and look forward to tomorrow not sucking so bad.
Dream big people.
It is just how my day went. It just really sucked a lot. A highlight was lunch with a friend at one of my favorite sushi restuarants, but I had trouble enjoying it because I was so upset. Money issues have been dragging me down lately and I hate that, but I guess that's what happens when you go unemployed for months at a time. I did have other highlights I guess. My brother turned out to be a lot cooler than I had been thinking lately and I watched like, four episodes of Golden Girls and it really did make my life better. GG therapy...you should try it. Then I watched some What Not to Wear and that made me happy too. Man, I did a lot of TV watching today. Shame. I guess sometimes you need it. I'm just stressing about the big move and questioning if it really is a good idea. Part of me thinks it's totally ridiculous and stupid, but another part of me knows that I really need to leave Charleston and should at least give LA a try. I'm just going to get back to packing and look forward to tomorrow not sucking so bad.
Dream big people.
26 December 2009
22 December 2009
Making a list, checking it twice
I don't really feel like writing, so I'm just going to make a list of my random thoughts lately. Do with them what you will.
1. Sixteen candles is a super fabulous movie. "No, he's not retarded..." CLASSIC.
2. I am getting really excited about being famous in LA. Also really pumped to peace out of Charleston for a while.
3. I haaaattteeeee cold weather. Hate it.
4. I am really bitter right now. I wish I weren't, cause I feel I should be festive and jolly, but I'm not. I'm feeling more Grinch like.
5. My brother is super lame. Even if he did give me a the great new tag line I've been looking for.
6. Jon Stewart is fantastic. As is Stephen Colbert.
7. I am interested in knowing when I am going to finally learn my lesson when it comes to boys. Apparently not today.
8. People can get crazy when it comes to ham. This woman today was seriously stressing out. It took her 45 minutes to pick out a ham, no joke. It was ridiculous, I had to walk away. Also, I need to work on not shutting down when people piss me off. Two women came in today and one said "She doesn't find that amusing" in reference to me. I'll let you fill in the blanks, but obviously I was a little less than friendly. And I'm sorry, but when you demand that I open five hams without a please in there, I don't take kindly to it.
9. Conservative people are also crazy. But it's funny.
10. The Big Bang Theory is hilarious. I wish my computer didn't suck, I would watch episodes on line.
11. The "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" commercial with the Latin flavor is beyond amazing. Kudos to their marketing director.
12. I need to make a new life to-do list. It's flying by and I am not really prepared.
13. Oh my gosh, Tiger Woods, GO AWAY.
14. I CANNOT understand why Ray has the Christmas lights going off at 2:00 AM. Who is out admiring our lights at 2 in the morning? WHHHHOOOO????? Besides me, last night, when I was out driving Cody's dumb ass around.
15. I miss my right Converse shoe. Every time I see the left one I get a little sad I can't wear them...and a little depressed I can't afford to buy myself another pair.
That's it for now. Time for bed, I'm back on grandma schedule. I kind of like it. Night fools.
Dream big people.
1. Sixteen candles is a super fabulous movie. "No, he's not retarded..." CLASSIC.
2. I am getting really excited about being famous in LA. Also really pumped to peace out of Charleston for a while.
3. I haaaattteeeee cold weather. Hate it.
4. I am really bitter right now. I wish I weren't, cause I feel I should be festive and jolly, but I'm not. I'm feeling more Grinch like.
5. My brother is super lame. Even if he did give me a the great new tag line I've been looking for.
6. Jon Stewart is fantastic. As is Stephen Colbert.
7. I am interested in knowing when I am going to finally learn my lesson when it comes to boys. Apparently not today.
8. People can get crazy when it comes to ham. This woman today was seriously stressing out. It took her 45 minutes to pick out a ham, no joke. It was ridiculous, I had to walk away. Also, I need to work on not shutting down when people piss me off. Two women came in today and one said "She doesn't find that amusing" in reference to me. I'll let you fill in the blanks, but obviously I was a little less than friendly. And I'm sorry, but when you demand that I open five hams without a please in there, I don't take kindly to it.
9. Conservative people are also crazy. But it's funny.
10. The Big Bang Theory is hilarious. I wish my computer didn't suck, I would watch episodes on line.
11. The "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" commercial with the Latin flavor is beyond amazing. Kudos to their marketing director.
12. I need to make a new life to-do list. It's flying by and I am not really prepared.
13. Oh my gosh, Tiger Woods, GO AWAY.
14. I CANNOT understand why Ray has the Christmas lights going off at 2:00 AM. Who is out admiring our lights at 2 in the morning? WHHHHOOOO????? Besides me, last night, when I was out driving Cody's dumb ass around.
15. I miss my right Converse shoe. Every time I see the left one I get a little sad I can't wear them...and a little depressed I can't afford to buy myself another pair.
That's it for now. Time for bed, I'm back on grandma schedule. I kind of like it. Night fools.
Dream big people.
18 December 2009
Just a suggestion
Well dammit.
Things were going well, I was having a pretty fantastic week and then I got home today and everything went all to hell. But, I think things will be better tomorrow. Anyways, when I got home today I had some mail waiting on me and one was a super lovely bill for $200 for a doctor's appointment a few weeks ago. It was for blood work I had done that was a total waste of time and I'm just really pissed about the whole thing. The entire doctor experience just made me angry. Then I went upstairs and Under the Tuscan Sun was on and it made me sad. So here I am, pissed and sad and I should just go to bed. I'm headed that way soon, don't worry.
However, prior to this silly evening, things were going really well. I had some interesting experiences this past week that put a smile on my face. And last night we got second at trivia, which would make me a second place winner for two weeks in a row now. That basically makes me a genius. Only not really because I was not the only person playing and didn't really have that much to offer in the way of answers. But who's keeping track?
I also started working at the ham store this week and it's actually really entertaining and kind of fun. Plus I get free sandwiches and they are soooo good. The Santa gig is getting kind of old. It's super easy, but my manager annoys the shit out of me and being in the cold for hours at a time is not all that fun. The kids are fun, but that's where the fun ends. Only a few more days though, I think I can deal. Plus it's the holidays and it's almost Christmas so it's ok.
Well, I have more interesting things to say but the movie just keeps making me sadder, so I'm going to stop. Things will be better tomorrow.
Night night.
Things were going well, I was having a pretty fantastic week and then I got home today and everything went all to hell. But, I think things will be better tomorrow. Anyways, when I got home today I had some mail waiting on me and one was a super lovely bill for $200 for a doctor's appointment a few weeks ago. It was for blood work I had done that was a total waste of time and I'm just really pissed about the whole thing. The entire doctor experience just made me angry. Then I went upstairs and Under the Tuscan Sun was on and it made me sad. So here I am, pissed and sad and I should just go to bed. I'm headed that way soon, don't worry.
However, prior to this silly evening, things were going really well. I had some interesting experiences this past week that put a smile on my face. And last night we got second at trivia, which would make me a second place winner for two weeks in a row now. That basically makes me a genius. Only not really because I was not the only person playing and didn't really have that much to offer in the way of answers. But who's keeping track?
I also started working at the ham store this week and it's actually really entertaining and kind of fun. Plus I get free sandwiches and they are soooo good. The Santa gig is getting kind of old. It's super easy, but my manager annoys the shit out of me and being in the cold for hours at a time is not all that fun. The kids are fun, but that's where the fun ends. Only a few more days though, I think I can deal. Plus it's the holidays and it's almost Christmas so it's ok.
Well, I have more interesting things to say but the movie just keeps making me sadder, so I'm going to stop. Things will be better tomorrow.
Night night.
11 December 2009
The party don't start till I walk in....
Don't ask me why, but I am so in love with that "Tik Tok" song. You know, "wake up in the morning feelin like P Diddy...." etc. I get really happy every time I hear it. I imagine that is what life is going to be like in LA. I'll brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack, smack boys that are too drunk, and so on. It's going to be great.
But for now, life is not as interesting. The jobs are going ok, nothing exciting. I am, surprise, not a fantastic salesperson, but I am getting good at taking pictures and running the register. And at the Santa job the other day a little girl asked me if Santa was my dad. It was pretty funny.
On Monday I went on a little road trip to PC to ask for recommendations and get transcripts, which turned out to be a lovely little visit. I got to see old professors and friends I haven't seen in a while and it was really nice. It was only slightly cumbersome to keep explaining my life over the last couple of months over and over again. Everyone had different questions and comments though, so it was fine I guess. I also stopped by my high school on the way home and the secretary asked if I was a senior. Haha, just when I was thinking I maybe looked age appropriate. NOPE! Good times.
Currently, I am in the process of applying to grad school...in Amsterdam. So it's pretty challenging/frustrating/confusing/expensive. I am trying to focus on the end product though and how it would be so freaking AWESOME to go to school in Amsterdam, so I keep on pushing through. I only have a few things left, so I'm hoping to get it done soon. Cross your fingers for me!
Oh, and I got a new phone yesterday. I really just wanted a newer model of the one I already had but apparently they don't make those anymore. The phone store guy was straight up making fun of me and how old my phone was. Whatever phone store guy! I totally love my old phone! In fact, I might just take the SIM card out of the new one and go back to it. It's small, fits in my pocket and does everything I want it too. The new one is bigger, doesn't do everything I want and does way more than I would ever want or need. I'm going to give it a fair chance and test run it for a few days, but it's not looking good. It doesn't do basic stuff, like allow me to block numbers, use my own music for a ring tone, and convert money for me. Old phone did all that and we got along just fine, thank you. I don't know why I'm so resistant to the newer phone models. I think it's kind of because whenever I see people that are constantly on their phones and think they are all super awesome, I think they are pretty lame and I don't want to be like that. Old phone keeps me grounded. And we went through a lot together, it's like an old friend.
So that's that. Back to writing a motivation statement.
But for now, life is not as interesting. The jobs are going ok, nothing exciting. I am, surprise, not a fantastic salesperson, but I am getting good at taking pictures and running the register. And at the Santa job the other day a little girl asked me if Santa was my dad. It was pretty funny.
On Monday I went on a little road trip to PC to ask for recommendations and get transcripts, which turned out to be a lovely little visit. I got to see old professors and friends I haven't seen in a while and it was really nice. It was only slightly cumbersome to keep explaining my life over the last couple of months over and over again. Everyone had different questions and comments though, so it was fine I guess. I also stopped by my high school on the way home and the secretary asked if I was a senior. Haha, just when I was thinking I maybe looked age appropriate. NOPE! Good times.
Currently, I am in the process of applying to grad school...in Amsterdam. So it's pretty challenging/frustrating/confusing/expensive. I am trying to focus on the end product though and how it would be so freaking AWESOME to go to school in Amsterdam, so I keep on pushing through. I only have a few things left, so I'm hoping to get it done soon. Cross your fingers for me!
Oh, and I got a new phone yesterday. I really just wanted a newer model of the one I already had but apparently they don't make those anymore. The phone store guy was straight up making fun of me and how old my phone was. Whatever phone store guy! I totally love my old phone! In fact, I might just take the SIM card out of the new one and go back to it. It's small, fits in my pocket and does everything I want it too. The new one is bigger, doesn't do everything I want and does way more than I would ever want or need. I'm going to give it a fair chance and test run it for a few days, but it's not looking good. It doesn't do basic stuff, like allow me to block numbers, use my own music for a ring tone, and convert money for me. Old phone did all that and we got along just fine, thank you. I don't know why I'm so resistant to the newer phone models. I think it's kind of because whenever I see people that are constantly on their phones and think they are all super awesome, I think they are pretty lame and I don't want to be like that. Old phone keeps me grounded. And we went through a lot together, it's like an old friend.
So that's that. Back to writing a motivation statement.
04 December 2009
Working Machine
I am back to my old ways of multiple jobs. Which isn't a bad thing, because I like being busy. However, it does mean more encounters with the public, which is not my favorite thing in the world. But, we are going to think positive because it does mean I get three paychecks and though they are small, it's still real money. Three months of no job has taken it's toll on my bank account and I would like to see more happening on the deposit side of my account. It is currently dominated by the withdrawal side and it's really just kind of depressing. I also can't control my spending. I try to just avoid going in stores but sometimes it can't be helped. Today I went to Michaels and had a freaking field day. There are so many cute things in there and I bought all this ridiculously cute stuff to make Christmas cards with. Then I kept seeing things I could make/buy for gifts and I just couldn't not buy them. So really, I'm being totally selfless because I'm buying gifts. Ok, that's kind of a stretch because I bought myself something too, but I like to put a positive spin on things.
And although I'm pretty sure it's wishful thinking, I would like to think that after this year, my time at really stupid jobs are over. I do not like being trained by ridiculous people that think I am an idiot just because I am taking a part time job. I can read and I also know how to count change. Tonight my new boss literally read my contract aloud to me and then asked at least four times if I knew how to make change in my head JUST in case I hit the button on the cash register too soon and the amount I am supposed to give as change goes away. And then he asked if my mind was blown after he explained how to make a transaction AND issue a refund in the span of 10 minutes. I mean, it was A LOT to process, but somehow my mind stayed intact. UGH. People. I need to dust off that resume and get it looking nice and impressive for LA.
In other news, today I shot a handgun, a shotgun and a rifle. At targets, not people. Pretty sure I wasn't anywhere close to hitting the targets, but it was still pretty exciting. I also tried to have a nice discussion about food with my dad and brother and they just were not having it. Apparently they are not as into discussing where they like to eat as much as I am. I need Katrina for that. Also, we didn't really agree on what's good and what's not. They have bad taste, I don't. It was difficult.
I'm back to my old woman ways of going to bed early and not being interested in leaving the house. I think it's the cold weather. I HATE COLD WEATHER. I am seriously going to look into moving somewhere near the equator permanently. Who's with me? And don't tease me because I really want to do it.
In the meantime, I am roadtripping to PC next week and I'm really pumped. You should be too.
Adios amigos.
And although I'm pretty sure it's wishful thinking, I would like to think that after this year, my time at really stupid jobs are over. I do not like being trained by ridiculous people that think I am an idiot just because I am taking a part time job. I can read and I also know how to count change. Tonight my new boss literally read my contract aloud to me and then asked at least four times if I knew how to make change in my head JUST in case I hit the button on the cash register too soon and the amount I am supposed to give as change goes away. And then he asked if my mind was blown after he explained how to make a transaction AND issue a refund in the span of 10 minutes. I mean, it was A LOT to process, but somehow my mind stayed intact. UGH. People. I need to dust off that resume and get it looking nice and impressive for LA.
In other news, today I shot a handgun, a shotgun and a rifle. At targets, not people. Pretty sure I wasn't anywhere close to hitting the targets, but it was still pretty exciting. I also tried to have a nice discussion about food with my dad and brother and they just were not having it. Apparently they are not as into discussing where they like to eat as much as I am. I need Katrina for that. Also, we didn't really agree on what's good and what's not. They have bad taste, I don't. It was difficult.
I'm back to my old woman ways of going to bed early and not being interested in leaving the house. I think it's the cold weather. I HATE COLD WEATHER. I am seriously going to look into moving somewhere near the equator permanently. Who's with me? And don't tease me because I really want to do it.
In the meantime, I am roadtripping to PC next week and I'm really pumped. You should be too.
Adios amigos.
02 December 2009
Hi December!
I only wrote four posts in November and that makes me a little sad. So I'm getting December off to a good start and am going to try and do better this month. Not making any promises.
I'm currently watching the Biggest Loser and have some thoughts. First off, I'm kind of ashamed that I got sucked into this nonsense. Reality TV makes me so sad, but my family was all about it in Florida and I got all involved. And it's not that I really even like this show, there is way to much crying and too many dramatic pauses. Also, Jillian whatsherface sucks. More on her later. But I do like to see how much these people change. It's crazy how much better they look! I mean, I know that sounds awful, but they do! They just ran a marathon and that is crazy awesome. I am doing good to run a mile, so running 26.2 is completely unreal to me. Especially these people that were hugely overweight just a few short weeks ago. Go them. It makes me feel pretty lazy. I wish it inspired me to go run, but it actually does the opposite. It makes me grateful I am not hugely fat and then I go eat some ice cream. So that's not good. I mean, I see how great they look after losing weight, so seeing that I'm already crazy hot, if I lost some weight, imagine how fabulous I would look. It could potentially blow your mind. Also, I don't think it's fair that they put the men and women against each other...it's a lot easier for men to lose weight (or so I've heard) and it's ridiculous to pit them against each other. Lastly, Jillian is just a little much for me and I don't like her. Especially after reading an interview with her (it was at the doctor's office, there were no other options) and she said walking is for losers...or something along those lines. I am so happy for you, Jillian, that you get to stay fit for a living and have the money to exercise all the time and eat organic food, but not everyone has that luxury. So shut your ugly skinny face. I like Bob and his cool shoes, interesting voice and sweet tats.
Moving on. I think I got another job today. We'll see. As far as the elf gig, it's going ok so far. I'm happy it's only a seasonal job, but it's really not bad. It gets chilly for sure, but everyone I work with is nice and it's fun to watch how different kids react to Santa. Most of them are really cute, but we have a few that freak out and it's pretty funny. We have lots of rich yuppy Mt. Pleasant parents, but most people are nice. And last week we had pet night and that was really fun. We had probably 20 dogs come get their picture with Santa and most of them were sooo cute! Some were slobbery and I didn't like that...and one scratched my face, but for the most part it was fun.
Anyways, if anyone needs to check if they are on the naughty or nice list this year, let me know and I'll hook you up. Me and Santa are pretty tight. Santa is a borderline creepster, but overall a pretty nice guy.
Side note: I bought my ticket to LA! It's official, I'm going. Makes me a little nervous, but I think it's going to be a good thing.
And last but not least, a shout out to my buddy Katy B, who's message made me smile real big tonight. Thanks Katy! :)
Ciao people.
I'm currently watching the Biggest Loser and have some thoughts. First off, I'm kind of ashamed that I got sucked into this nonsense. Reality TV makes me so sad, but my family was all about it in Florida and I got all involved. And it's not that I really even like this show, there is way to much crying and too many dramatic pauses. Also, Jillian whatsherface sucks. More on her later. But I do like to see how much these people change. It's crazy how much better they look! I mean, I know that sounds awful, but they do! They just ran a marathon and that is crazy awesome. I am doing good to run a mile, so running 26.2 is completely unreal to me. Especially these people that were hugely overweight just a few short weeks ago. Go them. It makes me feel pretty lazy. I wish it inspired me to go run, but it actually does the opposite. It makes me grateful I am not hugely fat and then I go eat some ice cream. So that's not good. I mean, I see how great they look after losing weight, so seeing that I'm already crazy hot, if I lost some weight, imagine how fabulous I would look. It could potentially blow your mind. Also, I don't think it's fair that they put the men and women against each other...it's a lot easier for men to lose weight (or so I've heard) and it's ridiculous to pit them against each other. Lastly, Jillian is just a little much for me and I don't like her. Especially after reading an interview with her (it was at the doctor's office, there were no other options) and she said walking is for losers...or something along those lines. I am so happy for you, Jillian, that you get to stay fit for a living and have the money to exercise all the time and eat organic food, but not everyone has that luxury. So shut your ugly skinny face. I like Bob and his cool shoes, interesting voice and sweet tats.
Moving on. I think I got another job today. We'll see. As far as the elf gig, it's going ok so far. I'm happy it's only a seasonal job, but it's really not bad. It gets chilly for sure, but everyone I work with is nice and it's fun to watch how different kids react to Santa. Most of them are really cute, but we have a few that freak out and it's pretty funny. We have lots of rich yuppy Mt. Pleasant parents, but most people are nice. And last week we had pet night and that was really fun. We had probably 20 dogs come get their picture with Santa and most of them were sooo cute! Some were slobbery and I didn't like that...and one scratched my face, but for the most part it was fun.
Anyways, if anyone needs to check if they are on the naughty or nice list this year, let me know and I'll hook you up. Me and Santa are pretty tight. Santa is a borderline creepster, but overall a pretty nice guy.
Side note: I bought my ticket to LA! It's official, I'm going. Makes me a little nervous, but I think it's going to be a good thing.
And last but not least, a shout out to my buddy Katy B, who's message made me smile real big tonight. Thanks Katy! :)
Ciao people.
27 November 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
It's been awhile. So sorry friends, but seriously, there hasn't been much to blog on. And, I'm tired and cranky most of the time, so you don't want to listen to me anyways. BUT-today is Thanksgiving and I'm going to be cheerful. And short, subsequently.
Mainly I just wanted to reiterate how much I love Jimmy Fallon. I love him. I can't wait to be famous so I can go on his show and we will have the BEST time EVER and it will be fabulous. He is so freaking funny! Also, I've noticed he isn't wearing a wedding ring. I'm just saying. That probably means nothing and is like, the new, cool thing in Hollywood. Whatever.
Oh yeah-I made a bombass apple pie for Thanksgiving. ALL by myself! My mom stood there and told me what to do, but the actions were all me. And it was pretty freaking tasty, I have to admit. I'm pretty much a baker now.
Let's see. I start my elf job on Saturday! I mean, I'm not really an elf, more of a "helper," but I think it's funnier to say elf. Even though we are very drab elves and have to wear all black. For some good news, we don't have to wear turtlenecks. Rejoice! I hate turtlenecks. They look stupid on everyone and my neck doesn't like to be suffocated.
I watched "Angles and Demons" tonight and it made me sad because it's all in Rome and I miss it. Then I read online that it was all filmed in a studio in LA and that gave me hope because I'm going to LA. So maybe I'll wander into a recreated Rome somewhere and it'll be just as good. Probably not, but I'll keep dreaming.
I'm sure you have all heard that Oprah's show is going off the air in 2011. Don't be sad people, because that means there will be an open slot for THE JACKY SHOW! Only my show will be better than Oprah's because there will be NO depressing and intense shows like she sometimes has. There will just be more awesomeness because it will be me, so it's a win-win for everyone. Ciao Oprah, Ciao Jacky! haha, get it? It means hello and goodbye!
I need to go to bed. Ciao!
Mainly I just wanted to reiterate how much I love Jimmy Fallon. I love him. I can't wait to be famous so I can go on his show and we will have the BEST time EVER and it will be fabulous. He is so freaking funny! Also, I've noticed he isn't wearing a wedding ring. I'm just saying. That probably means nothing and is like, the new, cool thing in Hollywood. Whatever.
Oh yeah-I made a bombass apple pie for Thanksgiving. ALL by myself! My mom stood there and told me what to do, but the actions were all me. And it was pretty freaking tasty, I have to admit. I'm pretty much a baker now.
Let's see. I start my elf job on Saturday! I mean, I'm not really an elf, more of a "helper," but I think it's funnier to say elf. Even though we are very drab elves and have to wear all black. For some good news, we don't have to wear turtlenecks. Rejoice! I hate turtlenecks. They look stupid on everyone and my neck doesn't like to be suffocated.
I watched "Angles and Demons" tonight and it made me sad because it's all in Rome and I miss it. Then I read online that it was all filmed in a studio in LA and that gave me hope because I'm going to LA. So maybe I'll wander into a recreated Rome somewhere and it'll be just as good. Probably not, but I'll keep dreaming.
I'm sure you have all heard that Oprah's show is going off the air in 2011. Don't be sad people, because that means there will be an open slot for THE JACKY SHOW! Only my show will be better than Oprah's because there will be NO depressing and intense shows like she sometimes has. There will just be more awesomeness because it will be me, so it's a win-win for everyone. Ciao Oprah, Ciao Jacky! haha, get it? It means hello and goodbye!
I need to go to bed. Ciao!
13 November 2009
Beat It
That is what I wanted to say to the stupid ass drunk girls at The Elbow Room while watching Who's Bad. They were freakin ridiculous! I don't normally like getting into altercations with complete strangers, but I was ready to rumble with these bitches. Their concert etiquette was nonexistent and it was really annoying. In my opinion, shoving your way to the front and then just standing there is not acceptable. Also, if you leave your spot and someone else moves into it, I'm sorry, it's lost forever. Especially if you had a prime one right at the front. We paid the same price to stand and you don't get to reclaim your spot if you leave. If you leave, don't look back. That's what I always say. And before I move to something positive, if you do happen to get a good spot at the front, don't just stand there! JUST DANCE. If you're not going to, make way for someone that knows how to behave at a concert. Thank you.
On the other hand, the concert was AMAZING. So so sooo SO good! Other than the idiot girls, I loved every minute of it. Who's Bad is a Michael Jackson cover band and they do such a good job. Oh, and I forgot my MJ hat and that was sad. I didn't even remember that until just now, so really, not that big of a deal. Last night, I was so happy and dancing like a complete fool and life was really good. Sigh. I really just can't even describe it. It was so fabulous. And the whole experience was made even better because I got to go with my friend Sarah who is one of the only people I know that can appreciate a Michael Jackson cover band like I can...and like it needs to be. I'm only sad because they are not playing anywhere near me anytime soon. I'm also sad because the super cute trumpet player from the band was standing around after the show and I really wanted to talk to him. I wanted to ask his favorite MJ song and then we would talk and he'd be so impressed with me, he would ask if I wanted a job hanging out with the band and upping their cool factor and I would get to travel around jamming out to MJ every night and it would be so unbelievably awesome. Instead, I just said excuse me and gave him a high-five and left. SO LAME. That sucked. Damn, he was so cute too.
In other news, I got a part-time job. I am....wait for it.....here it comes....Santa's helper! Seriously. I will be helping take pictures with Santa Clause. I think it's going to be awesome. I also think it's going to be completly ridiculous. But my whole life is ridiculous, so it'll fit right in. I kind of want to get another part time job because I'll have time, but not having a car is kind of problem. We'll see.
Also, no one comments anymore and it's making me depressed. I need some feedback people! Make it happen.
K, bye. (said in the pothole voice from the Geico commercial)
PS-this video does not even begin to do them justice. I think they should consider re-doing it.
On the other hand, the concert was AMAZING. So so sooo SO good! Other than the idiot girls, I loved every minute of it. Who's Bad is a Michael Jackson cover band and they do such a good job. Oh, and I forgot my MJ hat and that was sad. I didn't even remember that until just now, so really, not that big of a deal. Last night, I was so happy and dancing like a complete fool and life was really good. Sigh. I really just can't even describe it. It was so fabulous. And the whole experience was made even better because I got to go with my friend Sarah who is one of the only people I know that can appreciate a Michael Jackson cover band like I can...and like it needs to be. I'm only sad because they are not playing anywhere near me anytime soon. I'm also sad because the super cute trumpet player from the band was standing around after the show and I really wanted to talk to him. I wanted to ask his favorite MJ song and then we would talk and he'd be so impressed with me, he would ask if I wanted a job hanging out with the band and upping their cool factor and I would get to travel around jamming out to MJ every night and it would be so unbelievably awesome. Instead, I just said excuse me and gave him a high-five and left. SO LAME. That sucked. Damn, he was so cute too.
In other news, I got a part-time job. I am....wait for it.....here it comes....Santa's helper! Seriously. I will be helping take pictures with Santa Clause. I think it's going to be awesome. I also think it's going to be completly ridiculous. But my whole life is ridiculous, so it'll fit right in. I kind of want to get another part time job because I'll have time, but not having a car is kind of problem. We'll see.
Also, no one comments anymore and it's making me depressed. I need some feedback people! Make it happen.
K, bye. (said in the pothole voice from the Geico commercial)
PS-this video does not even begin to do them justice. I think they should consider re-doing it.
10 November 2009
Wishful Thinking
If Go West is the king of wishful thinking, I am most definitely the queen. But I have been a Queen my whole life (NOT a princess!) so this is rather fitting, if you ask me. I have little dreams and big ones. I'm going to discuss both because it's midnight and I'm bored, not tired and putting off doing anything productive.
I decided today as I was walking I want to be famous. Not crazy famous where people want pieces of my hair or some crazy shit like that, but famous enough that I'll get something named after me somewhere. In addition to the jg scholarship of awesomeness at PC, of course. I'm thinking that renaming 526 the jg highway of awesomeness would be sufficient. Or a stretch of beach. Or something, whatever really. I mean, this might be kind of difficult since I don't really have any talent of any sort, but those are just minor details. Once I get good and famous and rich, I'm going to drop out of the public eye and travel around doing volunteer work because that is what I would really do with my life if I could make a living out of it. But I don't think I can, so I'll get rich and famous first, enjoy it for a bit, buy a beach house, give money to cool places like YCG, not be heard from for a few years and then have a major comeback so everyone will be happy to see me and then I'll have a talk show. I'm going to fill the hole Ellen leaves when she gets too old for her show. It's going to be a good life and I'm pretty pumped about it. Or even if I get to have 15 minutes of fame and be like, in a commercial or something, I would be pretty happy.
With that being said, I am moving to LA in January! I KNOW, pretty exciting, right? Getting famous will just be a side project though, because I have to find a real job first. My funds are getting low and that needs to be fixed. And if the famous thing doesn't work out, I'm going to leave the country again. Got some options in the works, so we'll see what pans out.
As for my little dreams, they are really more of a Christmas list. I need some new Rainbows...mine have a hole in them. The factory store is in LA, so maybe they are cheaper out there. I also want a really cool pair of tennis shoes. I really wanted to buy some while I was in Europe, but I kept cheaping out at the last second, so I never got any. I want some crazy ones with lots of colors and interesting shoelaces. If you see any on sale, let me know. I could stand some new clothes as well, but most of all, I want a new computer. I want one of those little mini ones. It would be better for traveling and in general, I'm all about mini things. I can't resist them and this is really something I just can't live without. Just like travel size lotion. I must have them. Plus, my current computer is struggling and I think it needs to be retired. It's lived a good life and deserves to relax.
So that's my story. The next year or so should be an interesting one. I'll keep you posted. :)
I decided today as I was walking I want to be famous. Not crazy famous where people want pieces of my hair or some crazy shit like that, but famous enough that I'll get something named after me somewhere. In addition to the jg scholarship of awesomeness at PC, of course. I'm thinking that renaming 526 the jg highway of awesomeness would be sufficient. Or a stretch of beach. Or something, whatever really. I mean, this might be kind of difficult since I don't really have any talent of any sort, but those are just minor details. Once I get good and famous and rich, I'm going to drop out of the public eye and travel around doing volunteer work because that is what I would really do with my life if I could make a living out of it. But I don't think I can, so I'll get rich and famous first, enjoy it for a bit, buy a beach house, give money to cool places like YCG, not be heard from for a few years and then have a major comeback so everyone will be happy to see me and then I'll have a talk show. I'm going to fill the hole Ellen leaves when she gets too old for her show. It's going to be a good life and I'm pretty pumped about it. Or even if I get to have 15 minutes of fame and be like, in a commercial or something, I would be pretty happy.
With that being said, I am moving to LA in January! I KNOW, pretty exciting, right? Getting famous will just be a side project though, because I have to find a real job first. My funds are getting low and that needs to be fixed. And if the famous thing doesn't work out, I'm going to leave the country again. Got some options in the works, so we'll see what pans out.
As for my little dreams, they are really more of a Christmas list. I need some new Rainbows...mine have a hole in them. The factory store is in LA, so maybe they are cheaper out there. I also want a really cool pair of tennis shoes. I really wanted to buy some while I was in Europe, but I kept cheaping out at the last second, so I never got any. I want some crazy ones with lots of colors and interesting shoelaces. If you see any on sale, let me know. I could stand some new clothes as well, but most of all, I want a new computer. I want one of those little mini ones. It would be better for traveling and in general, I'm all about mini things. I can't resist them and this is really something I just can't live without. Just like travel size lotion. I must have them. Plus, my current computer is struggling and I think it needs to be retired. It's lived a good life and deserves to relax.
So that's my story. The next year or so should be an interesting one. I'll keep you posted. :)
09 November 2009
Ok Then
Lots of stuff going on! Kind of. I guess...since we last talked anyways. Currently, I am sitting at my mom's house wishing their stupid ass dog Stormy would shut the hell up. My stepbrother recently moved back home as well and brought his ugly ass dog Cid (for the Citadel) with him and it is also a boxer. Those dogs are slowly moving down my list of dogs I like. The bottom of the list is slobbery dogs, but these two are getting close. I've always disliked Stormy, but she has really been irritating me since I got home. First off, she is older and bigger than Cid and should probably be able to law down the law. Furthermore, it's her house and her pillow and if she doesn't want Cid on it, she should be able to make that clear. Yeah, well, she doesn't and instead she whines because Cid sleeps on her pillow and I kind of want to punch her in the face. But I don't, chill out.
Whoa. So Stormy has finally shut up and now I'm watching a documentary called "Jesus Camp" and it is blowing my mind. Basically it is about Evangelical Christians, what they believe and this bible camp they go to in the summer. And this stuff is straight up crazy. I thought I knew about people and their Jesus-talk, but clearly I had no idea. At the moment, the leader of the camp is praying over the seats and all the electrical equipment so that it doesn't go out so their message can get out to everyone. She also gave a shout out to Satan, telling him she knows how he likes to come in and mess things up by cutting the power, but Jesus is not going to let that happen this time. Then she started speaking in tongues and that's where I lost her. My Tongue is really rusty and she was speaking really fast, so I missed a lot of it. This was the same lady that said Christians are getting fat and lazy and told the kids it was their job to teach people about God. Kind of funny she mentioned being fat because she is about 100 pounds overweight.
Before they got to the camp, they were talking to some moms. The first mom home-taught her kid (he had a really intense rat tail) that creationism was the ONLY feasible and logical explanation for how humans came about. This same kid also told us he was saved at age 5 because he realized life was no fun without Jesus. Quite the insightful 5 year old. I think he probably would have a little fun if he got to go to real school and make some friends, but his mom and I are obviously not on the same page. We might not even be on the same planet. The second household had a mom that made the kids say the pledge of allegiance (it was a little different than the one I was taught...it started "I pledge allegiance to the Christian nation...) and put their hand on the Bible and say some oath before they ate. And then another girl went and tried to save someone in the bowling alley and the dad told her, "way to be obedient." I would have told her, don't talk to strangers and if you do it again, you're getting a whooping.
OH NO SHE DIDN'T!!!!!! Oh lady, you just messed up. The fat lady just said that Harry Potter would have been put to death had he lived in the Old Testament because warlocks are enemies of God. Oh my. Bitch, back up off Harry Potter. And get your facts straight crazy lady. Harry Potter is a wizard.
Whoa. This lady really is crazy. Now she is making the kids cry and speak in tongues and yelling at them and washing them with Nestle water because they are hypocrites. It is seriously weirding me out. These kids are so young! They are so brain-washed...it hurts me. Earlier the crazy lady was talking about how people in Palestine are brain-washing their kids and teaching them to take up the fight for Islam by killing other people. She didn't specify, so I'm assuming she means every Islamic person is doing this to their kids. So, she thinks we should do the same thing, only she has "the truth" so that makes it ok. I am very concerned for these children. She is now telling them the punishment for sin is DEATH.
Oh no. The bowling alley girl just hated on Catholic churches saying God doesn't like churches where the people just sit there. I'm not offended, I just want to know how she knows that.
Ahhhh!!! Now they are declaring war on the nation! I am so confused! Now they are blessing a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush. Now they are being lectured on abortion. And crying because 50 million of their friends were killed before they got a chance to live. Now they are handing out plastic fetuses (where do you even get those??) and taping up mouths with red duct tape that says LIFE. Not sure what purpose that serves.
What I would love to do is watch this with someone that is hardcore about church and see what they think about it. I also think it's interesting that the South is considered the Bible belt, when this nonsense is going on in Missouri. Quit hatin on the South people, cause the crazies are everywhere.
Um, ok. So this post was supposed to be about how fun my Halloween was and how I took the train home to Charleston...that's right, the train, they still exist. And how I got complimented on my eyes in both the Tampa and Jacksonville train station. Which I thought was weird because I can't think of any other time that has happened and now it's happened twice, both in train stations. Hm. And then I went to North Carolina to hang out with some family and that was really fun/interesting/hectic/slightly stressful. But this Jesus Camp nonsense just blew my mind instead and we'll just have to get to that stuff later. But here is a picture of my awesome Halloween costume in case all my babbling bored you:
I know, awesome, right? Adios people. Less weird stuff next time, I promise.
Whoa. So Stormy has finally shut up and now I'm watching a documentary called "Jesus Camp" and it is blowing my mind. Basically it is about Evangelical Christians, what they believe and this bible camp they go to in the summer. And this stuff is straight up crazy. I thought I knew about people and their Jesus-talk, but clearly I had no idea. At the moment, the leader of the camp is praying over the seats and all the electrical equipment so that it doesn't go out so their message can get out to everyone. She also gave a shout out to Satan, telling him she knows how he likes to come in and mess things up by cutting the power, but Jesus is not going to let that happen this time. Then she started speaking in tongues and that's where I lost her. My Tongue is really rusty and she was speaking really fast, so I missed a lot of it. This was the same lady that said Christians are getting fat and lazy and told the kids it was their job to teach people about God. Kind of funny she mentioned being fat because she is about 100 pounds overweight.
Before they got to the camp, they were talking to some moms. The first mom home-taught her kid (he had a really intense rat tail) that creationism was the ONLY feasible and logical explanation for how humans came about. This same kid also told us he was saved at age 5 because he realized life was no fun without Jesus. Quite the insightful 5 year old. I think he probably would have a little fun if he got to go to real school and make some friends, but his mom and I are obviously not on the same page. We might not even be on the same planet. The second household had a mom that made the kids say the pledge of allegiance (it was a little different than the one I was taught...it started "I pledge allegiance to the Christian nation...) and put their hand on the Bible and say some oath before they ate. And then another girl went and tried to save someone in the bowling alley and the dad told her, "way to be obedient." I would have told her, don't talk to strangers and if you do it again, you're getting a whooping.
OH NO SHE DIDN'T!!!!!! Oh lady, you just messed up. The fat lady just said that Harry Potter would have been put to death had he lived in the Old Testament because warlocks are enemies of God. Oh my. Bitch, back up off Harry Potter. And get your facts straight crazy lady. Harry Potter is a wizard.
Whoa. This lady really is crazy. Now she is making the kids cry and speak in tongues and yelling at them and washing them with Nestle water because they are hypocrites. It is seriously weirding me out. These kids are so young! They are so brain-washed...it hurts me. Earlier the crazy lady was talking about how people in Palestine are brain-washing their kids and teaching them to take up the fight for Islam by killing other people. She didn't specify, so I'm assuming she means every Islamic person is doing this to their kids. So, she thinks we should do the same thing, only she has "the truth" so that makes it ok. I am very concerned for these children. She is now telling them the punishment for sin is DEATH.
Oh no. The bowling alley girl just hated on Catholic churches saying God doesn't like churches where the people just sit there. I'm not offended, I just want to know how she knows that.
Ahhhh!!! Now they are declaring war on the nation! I am so confused! Now they are blessing a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush. Now they are being lectured on abortion. And crying because 50 million of their friends were killed before they got a chance to live. Now they are handing out plastic fetuses (where do you even get those??) and taping up mouths with red duct tape that says LIFE. Not sure what purpose that serves.
What I would love to do is watch this with someone that is hardcore about church and see what they think about it. I also think it's interesting that the South is considered the Bible belt, when this nonsense is going on in Missouri. Quit hatin on the South people, cause the crazies are everywhere.
Um, ok. So this post was supposed to be about how fun my Halloween was and how I took the train home to Charleston...that's right, the train, they still exist. And how I got complimented on my eyes in both the Tampa and Jacksonville train station. Which I thought was weird because I can't think of any other time that has happened and now it's happened twice, both in train stations. Hm. And then I went to North Carolina to hang out with some family and that was really fun/interesting/hectic/slightly stressful. But this Jesus Camp nonsense just blew my mind instead and we'll just have to get to that stuff later. But here is a picture of my awesome Halloween costume in case all my babbling bored you:
I know, awesome, right? Adios people. Less weird stuff next time, I promise.
28 October 2009
Wild Thing, I Don't Think I Love You
So tonight I saw "Where the Wild Things Are," and I was not a huge fan. The whole time I was pretty much like, please let this movie be over soon. And it may have been because I was in a hot car with 4 kids with runny noses and stinky feet. And one that would not sit still or stop talking. I really did try to get into it, because I love books, especially childrens books. However, I just wasn't feeling it. The whole thing was just boring and dark and kind of depressing.
It was pretty cool to go to a drive-in though. It was my first one and I would someday like to attend another, perhaps on a date and not with 4 young children. But we did take this super cute picture in the dream:
I know not everyone looks like they are having a good time, but trust me, a good time was had by all.
Also, I would like to mention that I am all about Jimmy Fallon these days. He is on way late and I usually can't stay up late enough to watch him. However, today I didn't get out of bed until 1:00 pm...I know, WHAT?! Lazy! But in my defense, I didn't go to sleep until 4:00 am (I was reading). And I don't have a job, so what else do I have to do? AND-I still managed to have a pretty productive day that included exercising, laundry, packing, job searching and a drive-in movie. So I don't feel totally useless. ANYWAYS-he is such a goober and his show is completely ridiculous, I love it. He plays all these crazy games, like having box-scooting races and is just really funny in general. And so cute. And married :(. Too bad for him.
Well that's it. Ellen still reigns supreme, but watch The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon if you too can stay up super late because you have no job or obligations to be up for the next day.
Night night :)
It was pretty cool to go to a drive-in though. It was my first one and I would someday like to attend another, perhaps on a date and not with 4 young children. But we did take this super cute picture in the dream:
I know not everyone looks like they are having a good time, but trust me, a good time was had by all.
Also, I would like to mention that I am all about Jimmy Fallon these days. He is on way late and I usually can't stay up late enough to watch him. However, today I didn't get out of bed until 1:00 pm...I know, WHAT?! Lazy! But in my defense, I didn't go to sleep until 4:00 am (I was reading). And I don't have a job, so what else do I have to do? AND-I still managed to have a pretty productive day that included exercising, laundry, packing, job searching and a drive-in movie. So I don't feel totally useless. ANYWAYS-he is such a goober and his show is completely ridiculous, I love it. He plays all these crazy games, like having box-scooting races and is just really funny in general. And so cute. And married :(. Too bad for him.
Well that's it. Ellen still reigns supreme, but watch The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon if you too can stay up super late because you have no job or obligations to be up for the next day.
Night night :)
26 October 2009
At Last
I FINALLY figured out the song that has been stuck in my head for like, a year. I never knew who it was by or even the words, really. I just knew how one line kind of went and by some miracle, I actually managed to figure it out. It's "You Give Me Something" by James Morrison. And it was all thanks to the Sirius Radio in the Dream....where dreams really do come true. And as an added bonus, James Morrison has tons of other fabulous songs, so I downloaded some of those as well and my life has been better because of it. I went on a walk today and had to stop to do a little dance because I was so moved. I almost started running. But I was not that inspired. I don't know what it's going to take for that to start happening, but for now, I'm going to pretend my foot is still holding me back.
I digress. That is really the only exciting thing going on right now. I am going to start making my way back to SC in the next few weeks, so that is kind of exciting, I guess. And I started formulating a tentative life plan, but it's gotten mixed reviews so far, so I'm going to keep it to myself for right now. I just checked my bank account as well and it is suffering, which makes me very sad. So that needs to change. If anyone needs a part time worker, let me know because I am ready and willing.
In other news, I found an AMAZING Halloween costume. You'll have to wait to see pictures because describing it doesn't do it justice. Patience, my friends. I also found out tonight that Dutch people don't do Halloween. Sad, huh? I thought so too.
I also had a revelation. I figured out that I only know how to talk to/flirt with boys I have no romantic interest in. Which is how I've managed to get some very non-interesting, slightly douchey boys interested in me in the last few weeks. So I'm going to work on that and get back to you.
And lastly, I got a free salad from McDonalds today just by filling out a survey. So that was pretty sweet. Thanks McDonalds!
That's it. Going to my first drive-in movie tomorrow...with 5 young children (second cousins) so it should be fun. Or interesting at least.
Ciao people :)
I digress. That is really the only exciting thing going on right now. I am going to start making my way back to SC in the next few weeks, so that is kind of exciting, I guess. And I started formulating a tentative life plan, but it's gotten mixed reviews so far, so I'm going to keep it to myself for right now. I just checked my bank account as well and it is suffering, which makes me very sad. So that needs to change. If anyone needs a part time worker, let me know because I am ready and willing.
In other news, I found an AMAZING Halloween costume. You'll have to wait to see pictures because describing it doesn't do it justice. Patience, my friends. I also found out tonight that Dutch people don't do Halloween. Sad, huh? I thought so too.
I also had a revelation. I figured out that I only know how to talk to/flirt with boys I have no romantic interest in. Which is how I've managed to get some very non-interesting, slightly douchey boys interested in me in the last few weeks. So I'm going to work on that and get back to you.
And lastly, I got a free salad from McDonalds today just by filling out a survey. So that was pretty sweet. Thanks McDonalds!
That's it. Going to my first drive-in movie tomorrow...with 5 young children (second cousins) so it should be fun. Or interesting at least.
Ciao people :)
20 October 2009
I do, I do, I do-ooooo
Wedding week!!!
Is over :( But it was so super fun! I'm just sad now because everyone left me and now I don't have anything to look forward to. But let's focus on the positive for now.
So JC got here last Monday and the party got started. Only not really because there is not much to do here as far as bars and clubs go, but it was still fun hanging out. Then Aus and Luke (the bride and groom) and Luke's brother came Tuesday and the Villa got really happening. The rest of the week was spent with me following around Austin, trying to be helpful and remain calm while she spazzed out over various situations. Wednesday and Thursday were mainly spent shopping and trying to tie up some loose ends. We had the bachelorette party on Thursday night and that was super fun. There were a really interesting mix of people there, including my grandmother and a blow up doll, Rico. And lots of booze. And a list of things for Austin to do that included doing the Macarena onstage by herself, wearing a bra over her eyes, collecting 10 pairs of underwear...with her teeth, and lots of other completely ridiculous and hilarious activities. And somehow she managed to do it all. It was really fun, but apparently Thursday night is not the big night to go out in Tampa, because there were very few people out with us. We were pretty much the only in the piano bar we went to and the club we went to was empty until a fraternity showed up with their dates and it turned into a frat party, which made me feel really old.
Friday was more partying, as well as Saturday at the rehearsal dinner. And Sunday was the BIG DAY! And sadly, it was really windy and really cold...no good for a beach wedding. Liz and I hung out with the bride all day, starting things off in the hot tub. Then we laid around for a while and around noon, we were like, oh, Aus is getting married...maybe we should shower or something. So we did and then some serious spazzing started. But, everything worked out and Aus looked absolutely beautfiul. Seriously. Gorgeous. We had the wedding on the beach and other than it being freezing (I was afraid my tears would freeze on my face), nothing went wrong. And then came the reception. And that shit was crazy. And soooo much fun. We ate and then just danced our asses off. Luke's family is Polish so they had this crazy Polish wedding dance where the bride dances in the middle and people pay to dance with her, as well as get a shot. And later, when we were counting the money, I found out it's tradition to tie the money up in knots or some other crazy crumply thing. That turned out to be somewhat annoying as money is kind of difficult to untie. Anyways, after everyone dances with the bride, the groom tries to bust through all the people dancing around her to get to her. It was really really fun and funny to watch.
However, the best part was definitely when they played Thriller and everyone had their own moves to show off. And Luke's dad, who the call the Hammer, did the monster and it was freaking hysterical. Especially since I think I had heard him speak maybe two times the entire week. It was super fabulous.
So then it was all over and I spent Monday trying to recover, spent Tuesday playing taxi and cab and today being sad because everyone is really gone.
But, I think I am going to do some traveling in the next two weeks and then head back to Charleston. After that I need to figure out what I'm doing, but I've got some ideas and things are looking up. I'll keep you posted.
Check out the wedding pics on facebook, they are awesome! Later dudes :)
Is over :( But it was so super fun! I'm just sad now because everyone left me and now I don't have anything to look forward to. But let's focus on the positive for now.
So JC got here last Monday and the party got started. Only not really because there is not much to do here as far as bars and clubs go, but it was still fun hanging out. Then Aus and Luke (the bride and groom) and Luke's brother came Tuesday and the Villa got really happening. The rest of the week was spent with me following around Austin, trying to be helpful and remain calm while she spazzed out over various situations. Wednesday and Thursday were mainly spent shopping and trying to tie up some loose ends. We had the bachelorette party on Thursday night and that was super fun. There were a really interesting mix of people there, including my grandmother and a blow up doll, Rico. And lots of booze. And a list of things for Austin to do that included doing the Macarena onstage by herself, wearing a bra over her eyes, collecting 10 pairs of underwear...with her teeth, and lots of other completely ridiculous and hilarious activities. And somehow she managed to do it all. It was really fun, but apparently Thursday night is not the big night to go out in Tampa, because there were very few people out with us. We were pretty much the only in the piano bar we went to and the club we went to was empty until a fraternity showed up with their dates and it turned into a frat party, which made me feel really old.
Friday was more partying, as well as Saturday at the rehearsal dinner. And Sunday was the BIG DAY! And sadly, it was really windy and really cold...no good for a beach wedding. Liz and I hung out with the bride all day, starting things off in the hot tub. Then we laid around for a while and around noon, we were like, oh, Aus is getting married...maybe we should shower or something. So we did and then some serious spazzing started. But, everything worked out and Aus looked absolutely beautfiul. Seriously. Gorgeous. We had the wedding on the beach and other than it being freezing (I was afraid my tears would freeze on my face), nothing went wrong. And then came the reception. And that shit was crazy. And soooo much fun. We ate and then just danced our asses off. Luke's family is Polish so they had this crazy Polish wedding dance where the bride dances in the middle and people pay to dance with her, as well as get a shot. And later, when we were counting the money, I found out it's tradition to tie the money up in knots or some other crazy crumply thing. That turned out to be somewhat annoying as money is kind of difficult to untie. Anyways, after everyone dances with the bride, the groom tries to bust through all the people dancing around her to get to her. It was really really fun and funny to watch.
However, the best part was definitely when they played Thriller and everyone had their own moves to show off. And Luke's dad, who the call the Hammer, did the monster and it was freaking hysterical. Especially since I think I had heard him speak maybe two times the entire week. It was super fabulous.
So then it was all over and I spent Monday trying to recover, spent Tuesday playing taxi and cab and today being sad because everyone is really gone.
But, I think I am going to do some traveling in the next two weeks and then head back to Charleston. After that I need to figure out what I'm doing, but I've got some ideas and things are looking up. I'll keep you posted.
Check out the wedding pics on facebook, they are awesome! Later dudes :)
16 October 2009
I'm Dumb
Soooo....the song I was trying to quote and look cool...it actually says, "look outside at the raincoats coming, say OH." So yeah, I'm a moron. Not that anyone cares, but I wanted to clarify in case anyone was actually concerned. I have no idea what the lyric means. Also, I think my lyrics make more sense. Maybe I'll take up songwriting since my real life isn't going anywhere.
12 October 2009
Look outside, the rainbow's gone
I'm grouchy, yet optimistic. Grouchy news first.
First off, I cannot understand how people spell my name wrong in emails. I mean, I try not to get too worked up because my name can be difficult, but seriously, it is RIGHT THERE. I sign the email with the correct spelling, my name is in the byline of the email and yet, people manage to spell it incorrectly in the salutation. What gives people?
There are also these commercials here for some lawyer you need to hire if you get in a car accident and here's my beef: the commercials are of people DRIVING. They are driving and looking at the camera and having a "conversation" with you, the viewer. What the hell?! Seems to me that would be the way you get in accidents in the first place...by being distracted and not doing what you are supposed to be doing while driving, which is watching the road. And one of them is this horrible woman and she does this laugh at the end and it is sooo annoying. These commercials run constantly and I just watched one, so there you go.
I HATE being bored and having no friends down here. And I am really mad in general at the few people I did meet here because they turned out to suck. Grrr.
And for the good news, my brother is flying down here TODAY! Hooray! My sister comes Thursday and the whooollleee family (moms side) will be here this weekend for my cousin's BIG WEDDING!! EXCITING! I am ready for some drinking, dancing and I do's. My dress has some mysterious stain on it, but I'm going to pretend I get it the day of the wedding so no one freaks out on me. Don't tell anyone.
So I have something to look forward to. Leaving the grouchiness behind. I'm going to try and keep it at bay next week when everyone leaves me. Oh and I finally got around to downloading new music my Dutch friend recommended and I really like the bands...The Whitest Boy Alive, Vampire Weekend, The Airborne Toxic Event and The Smiths. My Dutch friends also got my package this week and this is what I got in return:
Kind of hard to explain, but it totally made my life. And made me miss those goobers something awful.
First off, I cannot understand how people spell my name wrong in emails. I mean, I try not to get too worked up because my name can be difficult, but seriously, it is RIGHT THERE. I sign the email with the correct spelling, my name is in the byline of the email and yet, people manage to spell it incorrectly in the salutation. What gives people?
There are also these commercials here for some lawyer you need to hire if you get in a car accident and here's my beef: the commercials are of people DRIVING. They are driving and looking at the camera and having a "conversation" with you, the viewer. What the hell?! Seems to me that would be the way you get in accidents in the first place...by being distracted and not doing what you are supposed to be doing while driving, which is watching the road. And one of them is this horrible woman and she does this laugh at the end and it is sooo annoying. These commercials run constantly and I just watched one, so there you go.
I HATE being bored and having no friends down here. And I am really mad in general at the few people I did meet here because they turned out to suck. Grrr.
And for the good news, my brother is flying down here TODAY! Hooray! My sister comes Thursday and the whooollleee family (moms side) will be here this weekend for my cousin's BIG WEDDING!! EXCITING! I am ready for some drinking, dancing and I do's. My dress has some mysterious stain on it, but I'm going to pretend I get it the day of the wedding so no one freaks out on me. Don't tell anyone.
So I have something to look forward to. Leaving the grouchiness behind. I'm going to try and keep it at bay next week when everyone leaves me. Oh and I finally got around to downloading new music my Dutch friend recommended and I really like the bands...The Whitest Boy Alive, Vampire Weekend, The Airborne Toxic Event and The Smiths. My Dutch friends also got my package this week and this is what I got in return:
Kind of hard to explain, but it totally made my life. And made me miss those goobers something awful.
04 October 2009
Alrighty Then
Well here we are again. Sitting at home on a Saturday night. Not having any friends within a 200 mile radius kind of blows. It kind of blows a lot. However, looking on the positive side, I once again get to watch SNL. I am so in love with Andy Samburg right now. He is so darn funny. And, as an added bonus, Ryan Reynolds is hosting and he is so fine. I got super excited because he wasn't wearing his wedding ring while he was doing the monologue and was like, oh hey, maybe he got a divorce and maybe we'll meet sometime and get married. But then his stupid wife made a cameo on the show, so I'm thinking they are probably still together. So that's too bad for me.
Anyways, now that I'm back to not really having a life, I am back to watching a lot of TV. Which I hate because I feel like watching TV makes me get dumber but that's life. With the TV comes lots of questions. Mainly about companies and their advertising tactics. Also celebrities and why people are interested in them. And other random things...
1. Why does the Nasonex bee have a Spanish accent and sound like Antonio Banderas?
2. Why is the lady in the phone commercial for some new touch phone so freaking creepy? I am never going to buy that phone mainly because I don't want to end up like her.
3. Who told Ryan Reynolds cardigans were a good idea?
4. WHY IS LADY GAGA SO FREAKING WEIRD? How does she get away with this shit? Ugh, I so wish I were famous and being weird was cool and trendy. Also, I think she's kind of ugly, but I can't really tell. Oh wait, she kind of redeemed herself at the end of the show.
5. Do events like the ones in the Smirnoff commercials really happen? If so, I want to go there.
I have more, but I keep forgetting to write them down.
In other news, I recently discovered the liquor cabinet at my grandmother's villa contains Southern Comfort, which I think is pretty funny.
And that's about it. Hoping something interesting will happen next week.
Anyways, now that I'm back to not really having a life, I am back to watching a lot of TV. Which I hate because I feel like watching TV makes me get dumber but that's life. With the TV comes lots of questions. Mainly about companies and their advertising tactics. Also celebrities and why people are interested in them. And other random things...
1. Why does the Nasonex bee have a Spanish accent and sound like Antonio Banderas?
2. Why is the lady in the phone commercial for some new touch phone so freaking creepy? I am never going to buy that phone mainly because I don't want to end up like her.
3. Who told Ryan Reynolds cardigans were a good idea?
4. WHY IS LADY GAGA SO FREAKING WEIRD? How does she get away with this shit? Ugh, I so wish I were famous and being weird was cool and trendy. Also, I think she's kind of ugly, but I can't really tell. Oh wait, she kind of redeemed herself at the end of the show.
5. Do events like the ones in the Smirnoff commercials really happen? If so, I want to go there.
I have more, but I keep forgetting to write them down.
In other news, I recently discovered the liquor cabinet at my grandmother's villa contains Southern Comfort, which I think is pretty funny.
And that's about it. Hoping something interesting will happen next week.
30 September 2009
Taking Care of Business
Helllloooo people!
Things are still going well down here in sunny Florida. Surprisingly enough, I have been staying pretty busy. No complaints though, I like being busy and the more things I have to do, the more I feel like I have an actual life. That is also less time to be sad about not being in Europe anymore. Moving right along.
In addition to being chauffeur to Germaine, I also started an internship at a local paper down here. It has four separate editions that are published monthly and it's called the Osprey Observer. I got an official name tag today and everything, so I mean business. I've only been in the office two days, but I have already been given assignments and have something due by Thursday. I am pretty excited about the whole thing because I'll get published and this will look awesome on my resume. Especially because otherwise I would have a big hole for these months and it never does anyone any good to have holes in the resume. However, I do need to find some paying work because today I spent $80 a the post office. I need some cash flow for real.
In other news, I also made some friends! Hooray friends! My aunt works at a high school and she introduced me to some of the younger teachers that work there and we had a grand ole time last Friday. The people I met were really nice and friendly and hopefully I didn't scare them away when I showed up to Happy Hour with Germaine in tow. I think it'll be ok though...she seemed to be a big hit, per usual.
So between cruising around in the Town Car (aka "the dream"), the internship and my cousins and their six kids, I have a pretty full schedule. On top of that, the weather is still pretty nice down here so I get some outside time in as well. And, the best part of all, I pretty much have my grandmother's villa all to myself, so I pretend it's mine and life is good. I love living by myself, even if it is in some one's house and with slightly outdated decor. I'll take what I can get.
I still need to figure out what I'm going to do with myself after this is all over, but I'm not feeling very motivated. I realllllyyyyy want to go somewhere else (out of the country) and try teaching again, but I have been lazy pants lately when it comes to that. Words of encouragement are helpful, so feel free to send some.
So that is my life. More to come, don't worry. I'm sure things will only get more exciting from here. Ciao friends :)
Things are still going well down here in sunny Florida. Surprisingly enough, I have been staying pretty busy. No complaints though, I like being busy and the more things I have to do, the more I feel like I have an actual life. That is also less time to be sad about not being in Europe anymore. Moving right along.
In addition to being chauffeur to Germaine, I also started an internship at a local paper down here. It has four separate editions that are published monthly and it's called the Osprey Observer. I got an official name tag today and everything, so I mean business. I've only been in the office two days, but I have already been given assignments and have something due by Thursday. I am pretty excited about the whole thing because I'll get published and this will look awesome on my resume. Especially because otherwise I would have a big hole for these months and it never does anyone any good to have holes in the resume. However, I do need to find some paying work because today I spent $80 a the post office. I need some cash flow for real.
In other news, I also made some friends! Hooray friends! My aunt works at a high school and she introduced me to some of the younger teachers that work there and we had a grand ole time last Friday. The people I met were really nice and friendly and hopefully I didn't scare them away when I showed up to Happy Hour with Germaine in tow. I think it'll be ok though...she seemed to be a big hit, per usual.
So between cruising around in the Town Car (aka "the dream"), the internship and my cousins and their six kids, I have a pretty full schedule. On top of that, the weather is still pretty nice down here so I get some outside time in as well. And, the best part of all, I pretty much have my grandmother's villa all to myself, so I pretend it's mine and life is good. I love living by myself, even if it is in some one's house and with slightly outdated decor. I'll take what I can get.
I still need to figure out what I'm going to do with myself after this is all over, but I'm not feeling very motivated. I realllllyyyyy want to go somewhere else (out of the country) and try teaching again, but I have been lazy pants lately when it comes to that. Words of encouragement are helpful, so feel free to send some.
So that is my life. More to come, don't worry. I'm sure things will only get more exciting from here. Ciao friends :)
24 September 2009
The Sunshine State
I'm sure everyone has just been dying to know what is going on with me. Yeah right. Now that I'm back in the states, things have once again gotten a little on the boring side. But you, my fabulously loyal reader, are still interested to hear about life and it's happenings, I just know it.
I spent about a week in Charleston, mainly sleeping and venturing out of the house every now and then. I drove around, ran some errands and tried to get my stuff in order. I didn't do a very good job, but I managed and got myself down to Florida with way to much stuff. Many thanks to my great friends and family that drove me and all my stuff around. But now I'm down here and the tables have turned. I am now the one driving and am pretty much a chauffeur for my Grandmother. I am not complaining, because I get to ride in total style in her Lincoln Town Car. I know, you're jealous. It actually drives really smooth and has a Sirius radio system, so basically I'm a baller. I've only been here a few days, but I have a couple job leads, have been helpful and am enjoying the fabulous weather. So far, so good. In fact, I'm heading to the pool after this to soak up some sun.
Ok, so that's my current life. I wanted to share this picture from my past life though, because I think it's hilarious. When I was in Greece, I was in a of secluded area and was not meeting any hot Greek gods like I had hoped for. I also wasn't really allowed to go anywhere to meet Greek gods and I was getting a little frustrated. So when my family told me we were going to go up to the tennis courts so Pana could take tennis lessons, I had extremely high hopes that the instructor was going to be beautiful. Now, no one had mentioned anything about him being good looking or young or available or anything, but I built it up in head and was going on some extreme wishful thinking. So we go up there and I'm all ready and hopeful and excited about having a summer fling with this Greek god and this is who it turns out to be:
I spent about a week in Charleston, mainly sleeping and venturing out of the house every now and then. I drove around, ran some errands and tried to get my stuff in order. I didn't do a very good job, but I managed and got myself down to Florida with way to much stuff. Many thanks to my great friends and family that drove me and all my stuff around. But now I'm down here and the tables have turned. I am now the one driving and am pretty much a chauffeur for my Grandmother. I am not complaining, because I get to ride in total style in her Lincoln Town Car. I know, you're jealous. It actually drives really smooth and has a Sirius radio system, so basically I'm a baller. I've only been here a few days, but I have a couple job leads, have been helpful and am enjoying the fabulous weather. So far, so good. In fact, I'm heading to the pool after this to soak up some sun.
Ok, so that's my current life. I wanted to share this picture from my past life though, because I think it's hilarious. When I was in Greece, I was in a of secluded area and was not meeting any hot Greek gods like I had hoped for. I also wasn't really allowed to go anywhere to meet Greek gods and I was getting a little frustrated. So when my family told me we were going to go up to the tennis courts so Pana could take tennis lessons, I had extremely high hopes that the instructor was going to be beautiful. Now, no one had mentioned anything about him being good looking or young or available or anything, but I built it up in head and was going on some extreme wishful thinking. So we go up there and I'm all ready and hopeful and excited about having a summer fling with this Greek god and this is who it turns out to be:
And I don't know if you can really tell from the photo, but he is about 80 and has on some super thick glasses that are taped together in the middle. And even though he was apparently a looker in his day (I found out he has like, 9 kids from a few different women) and was still rockin on the tennis courts, he was a little too old for me and my summer romance dreams were shattered. So that was sad.
And that is the end of that story. Nothing else going on. More to come, I'm sure. Later dudes!
15 September 2009
A List
Oh people. Here I am. Back at home. Watching 'America's Got Talent' with Ray and Mom, both loving and hating everything about being back in the USA. I know it's cheesy and cliche, but I seriously feel like I have a little hole in my heart. I know.
I know.
I'll move on. I'm trying to focus on the positive, so let's first recap the end of Europe and then we'll talk about the good things about being back home.
So, before the long journey back home began, we (Christin and I) were in Amsterdam for the weekend and we had a SUPER good time. Our hosts were extremely nice and gracious and really showed us a good time. We did a walking tour of the city, which was a little long. Not that I minded, but my foot was a little upset with me. It stopped whining later in the evening, after a bottle and a half of wine. Haha, it took wine to make the wHining stop. Jesus, am I really talking about my foot like it can talk and making bad puns? America makes me write bad. Stupid America.
Anyways, we also went to a club and it was AWESOME. They played really bad music and the floor was uncomfortably sticky. I was literally stuck to the floor. It hurt my foot to try and pry it off the ground, so I gave up and pretty much stayed in one place the entire night. Or morning rather because we got there around 2 and left around 5. AM. And we went to bed around 6:30. In the morning. Which was cracking me up just a few days later, when I went to bed at 9:30. At night. Oh, how quickly things change. We also went on a lovely boat tour and were serenaded by the greatest rendition of 'Hallelujah' I have ever heard. Seriously, it was fantastic. The next day, I was treated to bike tour by a local, so I felt super cool. Definitely cooler than the touristy goobers on Mike's Bikes. Or whatever. It was a little scary though, as I had to ride on the bike with my foot just dangling out there, for any passerby to hit or a car to rip off. Fortunately, that did not happen and it was a really nice day to end my visit to Amsterdam. It ended rather abruptly that evening so I can make it to the airport the next day, which is a different story that I don't feel like reliving. But I got to dance and I was SO happy.
SO, on to the positive things. Because being back in the US does have it's advantages. Let's do this list style. I'll try to get to 10:
1. I got lots of hugs. I love hugs. There are hugs in Europe, but they're a little on the weak side. They do more of that cheek kiss business, which I like, but hugs trump it for sure.
2. I get to DRIVE. And I LOVE driving. Ain't nothing better than windows down, music up.
3. The weather. It was getting a little chilly in Germany/The Netherlands but the weather here is fan-freakin-tastic. And that means I get to go to the beach. Which leads me to...
4. The beach! Love it. The Greek beach was awesome, but I missed sand between my toes.
5. I can make phone calls without worrying about my credit running out on me.
6. TV. This is a positive and a negative. I have a love/hate relationship with TV. I love it until I get sucked in, end up watching the SOAP network and am forced to watch the news...or the VMAs. Thank you Joe Wilson for making look SC look stupid AGAIN. And Kanye West. Vomit.
7. The pool. Went today, it was awesome. Until little kids showed up, then I had to peace out.
8. Nice, big, fluffy pillows. For whatever reason, all the pillows I encountered over there were TOTAL weaksauce. They were really sad.
9. Crispix and Chic-Fil-A. I missed them.
10. AIR CONDITIONING. Omg, love it.
So there you go. There are a lot of things I miss, no doubt. But let's think positive. I watched 'Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay' the other night and would like everyone else to do so as well. Not ONLY does it have my FAVORITE song EVER in it, but it also has them in Amsterdam at the end. Now, I don't know if I consider Amsterdam my Heaven on Earth, but it was definitely hella fun.
I know.
I'll move on. I'm trying to focus on the positive, so let's first recap the end of Europe and then we'll talk about the good things about being back home.
So, before the long journey back home began, we (Christin and I) were in Amsterdam for the weekend and we had a SUPER good time. Our hosts were extremely nice and gracious and really showed us a good time. We did a walking tour of the city, which was a little long. Not that I minded, but my foot was a little upset with me. It stopped whining later in the evening, after a bottle and a half of wine. Haha, it took wine to make the wHining stop. Jesus, am I really talking about my foot like it can talk and making bad puns? America makes me write bad. Stupid America.
Anyways, we also went to a club and it was AWESOME. They played really bad music and the floor was uncomfortably sticky. I was literally stuck to the floor. It hurt my foot to try and pry it off the ground, so I gave up and pretty much stayed in one place the entire night. Or morning rather because we got there around 2 and left around 5. AM. And we went to bed around 6:30. In the morning. Which was cracking me up just a few days later, when I went to bed at 9:30. At night. Oh, how quickly things change. We also went on a lovely boat tour and were serenaded by the greatest rendition of 'Hallelujah' I have ever heard. Seriously, it was fantastic. The next day, I was treated to bike tour by a local, so I felt super cool. Definitely cooler than the touristy goobers on Mike's Bikes. Or whatever. It was a little scary though, as I had to ride on the bike with my foot just dangling out there, for any passerby to hit or a car to rip off. Fortunately, that did not happen and it was a really nice day to end my visit to Amsterdam. It ended rather abruptly that evening so I can make it to the airport the next day, which is a different story that I don't feel like reliving. But I got to dance and I was SO happy.
SO, on to the positive things. Because being back in the US does have it's advantages. Let's do this list style. I'll try to get to 10:
1. I got lots of hugs. I love hugs. There are hugs in Europe, but they're a little on the weak side. They do more of that cheek kiss business, which I like, but hugs trump it for sure.
2. I get to DRIVE. And I LOVE driving. Ain't nothing better than windows down, music up.
3. The weather. It was getting a little chilly in Germany/The Netherlands but the weather here is fan-freakin-tastic. And that means I get to go to the beach. Which leads me to...
4. The beach! Love it. The Greek beach was awesome, but I missed sand between my toes.
5. I can make phone calls without worrying about my credit running out on me.
6. TV. This is a positive and a negative. I have a love/hate relationship with TV. I love it until I get sucked in, end up watching the SOAP network and am forced to watch the news...or the VMAs. Thank you Joe Wilson for making look SC look stupid AGAIN. And Kanye West. Vomit.
7. The pool. Went today, it was awesome. Until little kids showed up, then I had to peace out.
8. Nice, big, fluffy pillows. For whatever reason, all the pillows I encountered over there were TOTAL weaksauce. They were really sad.
9. Crispix and Chic-Fil-A. I missed them.
10. AIR CONDITIONING. Omg, love it.
So there you go. There are a lot of things I miss, no doubt. But let's think positive. I watched 'Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay' the other night and would like everyone else to do so as well. Not ONLY does it have my FAVORITE song EVER in it, but it also has them in Amsterdam at the end. Now, I don't know if I consider Amsterdam my Heaven on Earth, but it was definitely hella fun.
12 September 2009
PA
My Pa died on Monday morning, surrounded by his family, in
But enough about me. Let’s talk about Pa. Because, seriously, he was one awesome person. He was an award-winning painter, a writer, a traveler, a veteran, a gardener, a wine maker, a story teller, a generally nice person and overall, one fabulous grandfather. I really don’t even know how I can do him justice on a blog, but I know he read it to keep up with my travels and I want to honor him in my own little way, because I couldn’t be there to say goodbye to his face.Of course with death (especially a grandparent) comes the old clichés about how you wish you had more time with them, had talked to them more, said I love you more, and gotten a chance to properly say goodbye. It's weird for me to think about the 66 years Pa had before I was even around and how I didn't and won't ever really get to hear about all the amazing things he got to do and see. Luckily, though, he kept a record of his long and eventful life. I haven't gotten a chance to read everything, but he went to a lot of cool places and got to see and do a lot of really interesting and fun things. And, lucky for me, I did do a lot of listening while he was still here and got to spend a lot of quality time with him. I have so many great memories of times spent at my grandparents house and other visits with them. I'm going to try and share some, but they're all random and scattered, so bear with me.
He made his own wine in his basement, in the wine cellar and whenever he took me down there with him, it was my special duty to pull the string that turned on the light and he always made sure I performed it to my maximum potential. After our visit to the wine cellar, we would spend time in his greenhouse, watering the plants and making sure all was growing like it was supposed to. He also grew mint right outside the porch steps and when we would go pick it, he would talk to his friend Mr. Bee that lived in the plants. I was convinced that it was the same bee that lived there for at least four years and that Pa really was friends with him because he never got stung. And he had another friend, Moley, a stuffed mole who would crawl up his arm and had been with him around the world. My brother was completely convinced Moley was real and took him to show and tell in elementary school, positive Moley was just sleeping while on display. I remember him up in his beloved office, at first painting and going through his collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and then later, after he lost his sight, at his computer, with everything enlarged five times so he could read or look at things. And he was always so nicely dressed. He had a hat for every occasion and a suit to match. He was an extremely stylish man and would often out dress everyone he was with. He loved to drink a nice cold beer or a nice glass of wine and was always cracking jokes and making everyone laugh, even when he was sick or in pain. Being Irish, he loved St. Patrick's Day and knew how to celebrate it right.
Whenever I think about Pa, I always picture him laughing. Everytime his face materializes in my mind, there is always a smile on it and I can think of very few times in my entire life that I see Pa in a less than cheerful mood. Going to his funeral, reading his stories, listening to his friends and family and going through old pictures made me realize just want an awesome person he really was and how lucky I am to say he was MY Pa. And even though it makes me unbelievably sad that I couldn't be there with him when he passed, I have no doubt he knew how much I loved him and I that am the lucky one that inherited his traveling bug. I hope to keep making him proud with my travels and want to make it Egypt one day so I can understand his fascination with the country.
And just in case you needed proof of how awesome he was, let me tell you about his last wishes. It was his first choice to be buried completely naked, with only his Army dog tags on. But because he knew my grandma wouldn't go for that, he opted instead to be buried in his Guinness pajama pants and Carney's Pub t-shirt, with Moley in his hand. Seriously. Awesome. Apparently it was genetic.
I miss you Pa. I know you're looking down on us, laughing, drinking and living it up in your pjs.
05 September 2009
Pray for Pa
P-A, PA.
Pa is my awesome grandpa and he is not doing so well at the moment. Prayers, finger crossings, thumbs in, sacrifices, whatever you do for people that need help is welcome. And a little extra for me too because I'm a sad, all the way over in Germany and not with the rest of the family in Florida.
03 September 2009
Nice People Are Awesome
It's true. Nice people are 1000 times cooler than non-nice people. I have been doing some studies and it's proven.
Ok, sorry for being dumb. But, since I got to Germany, everyone has been SO nice to me! Maybe it's because I'm crippled, but seriously...I almost feel bad sometimes. I mean, what did I do to deserve this niceness? I really hope one day all of these nice people come to visit me in the US so I can return the favor. Maybe not all at one time, but I want them to all eventually get there.
Anyways, some quick stories about nice people. When I hung out with Sven and his friends in Wolfsburg, it was someones birthday so we went had a cookout and people played soccer. I, obviously, did not participate in the soccer, but had a lovely time watching. Anyways, every single person that came to the party came over and introduced themselves, made a little conversation and I even got a few hugs. I felt so special, these people didn't even know me! And everyone was very concerned about my foot, made sure I was comfortable and well fed. One guy even took it upon himself to hand feed me...that got a little awkward, but it was funny. We also went over to people's houses and I was again fed and warmly welcomed.
And Sven and his family have been beyond nice. I am so not fun and useless with the broken foot, but they are super patient and always trying to help. I feel kind of bad, actually, but they just keep on being nice.
My favorite though: last night we went to a bbq for Sven because he is leaving the company he has been working at. It was in a nearby park and everyone brought food and such. And again, everyone introduced themselves and expressed concern over my foot. The girls even included me in their bathroom trek even though I made the journey about 15 extra minutes than necessary. Anyways, I was talking to one guy about my Greek family and I told him how I had bought them Prosecco in Italy as a gift and that they told me we would drink it on my birthday. Of course, we didn't do that and I never got opened at all and I was joking about how I should have taken it back and brought it with me to Germany. Well, later, the guy leaves to buy more beer and he brought back a bottle of Prosecco! I mean, really, how special is that? And he even made a toast for my belated birthday. It was so great. After that it started raining and we continued to sit there (I was slightly confused as to why we didn't just leave, but whatev) and overall, had a lovely evening.
So those are my nice people stories. Sorry they are kind of boring, I just wanted to share. In other news, my foot is killing me and it's making me very angry. I'm trying to stay positive, but it's really annoying. Getting a brace and all that is a little more difficult here, but we are going to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully he'll have something to give me. What I really need is some Madame Pomfrey. If you know what I'm talking about, you're awesome.
Ok, sorry for being dumb. But, since I got to Germany, everyone has been SO nice to me! Maybe it's because I'm crippled, but seriously...I almost feel bad sometimes. I mean, what did I do to deserve this niceness? I really hope one day all of these nice people come to visit me in the US so I can return the favor. Maybe not all at one time, but I want them to all eventually get there.
Anyways, some quick stories about nice people. When I hung out with Sven and his friends in Wolfsburg, it was someones birthday so we went had a cookout and people played soccer. I, obviously, did not participate in the soccer, but had a lovely time watching. Anyways, every single person that came to the party came over and introduced themselves, made a little conversation and I even got a few hugs. I felt so special, these people didn't even know me! And everyone was very concerned about my foot, made sure I was comfortable and well fed. One guy even took it upon himself to hand feed me...that got a little awkward, but it was funny. We also went over to people's houses and I was again fed and warmly welcomed.
And Sven and his family have been beyond nice. I am so not fun and useless with the broken foot, but they are super patient and always trying to help. I feel kind of bad, actually, but they just keep on being nice.
My favorite though: last night we went to a bbq for Sven because he is leaving the company he has been working at. It was in a nearby park and everyone brought food and such. And again, everyone introduced themselves and expressed concern over my foot. The girls even included me in their bathroom trek even though I made the journey about 15 extra minutes than necessary. Anyways, I was talking to one guy about my Greek family and I told him how I had bought them Prosecco in Italy as a gift and that they told me we would drink it on my birthday. Of course, we didn't do that and I never got opened at all and I was joking about how I should have taken it back and brought it with me to Germany. Well, later, the guy leaves to buy more beer and he brought back a bottle of Prosecco! I mean, really, how special is that? And he even made a toast for my belated birthday. It was so great. After that it started raining and we continued to sit there (I was slightly confused as to why we didn't just leave, but whatev) and overall, had a lovely evening.
So those are my nice people stories. Sorry they are kind of boring, I just wanted to share. In other news, my foot is killing me and it's making me very angry. I'm trying to stay positive, but it's really annoying. Getting a brace and all that is a little more difficult here, but we are going to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully he'll have something to give me. What I really need is some Madame Pomfrey. If you know what I'm talking about, you're awesome.
01 September 2009
The Book of Love
So I was going to make this post a little "book of love" by putting up my favorite pictures so far...things I love, basically. But then I got lazy and decided to just put up my most recent favorite. The above picture cracks me up because Sven is just so dang happy. We were at this tiny little club that played reggae music in Wolfsburg (where he lives) with a bunch of his friends and it was the funniest thing I have seen in a long time. They were sooo into dancing and it was cracking me up! And it was good I was entertained because I had to just sit and watch because I still had the cast on. Speaking of, it came off today! Hooray! My leg was super gross, dry and hairy, but it is extremely happy to be free of its plaster confines. We are on the road to recovery and it feels good.
In other news, I have been doing a lot of internet surfing since I can't do a lot of walking, and came upon this amazing song I wanted to share with everyone:
The video is really stupid and I can't find it on iTunes, only as part of an album, but the song is SO good. It was on the finale of Scrubs. Another good one, "Even If It Breaks Your Heart," by Will Hoge. And, "I Know There's Something Going On," by Frida if you need an 80s fix.
And lastly, this is really funny:
I looked at other Panda videos (because I'm awesome) and decided that Pandas aren't real, they are all just people in Panda suits. Go look at some videos if you don't believe me.
So I'm in Berlin for a few days, then its back to Wolfsburg and Amsterdam this weekend. Not sure what happens after that, but we'll be in touch.
Ciao!
27 August 2009
True Story
How awesome are those shoes? Too bad I can't wear both of them at the same time. I borrowed the one from Christin for our big night on the town and I was feeling pretty awesome. I might have to get my own pair.So the big night was ok...I felt bad because I was grouchy and no fun, but walking is seriously such a bitch. It puts me in the worst mood! And, I feel like everyone is looking at me. Who knew I was so self-conscious? Damn.
But last night I learned boys are stupid in every country, big surprise. We were sitting in a bar, at these couch things and I had my leg up on the coffee table and this guy (a very not cute guy) comes running in (literally, running) and tries to pinch my toes. WTF?? Then I'm like, go away loser (I was already very grumpy at this point) and he continues to try and touch them. Now, I don't have a problem with people touching my foot, but seriously, what are you doing? Just because they are out on display does not mean you can touch them. Also, they haven't been washed in a week and a half, so it's not in anyone's best interest to touch them. Then, he acts like he is going to pour his beer in my cast. Um, really? You really think I am going to let you pour BEER into my CAST? No thank you sir. Then he starts talking because I pulled my leg away and I like, scream at him: I DON'T SPEAK DUTCH. Then he says something else and I scream it again and he says he was speaking English. Which I think is a lie because it didn't sound like any English I had ever heard, so I just said it again. And he finally left. True story.
Here's to hoping once the cast comes off, I will attract the attention of more normal boys. Or at least cute ones that don't think pouring beer on someone is cute...or even acceptable.
26 August 2009
The Little Things
Not much has been happening lately. This stupid cast is seriously holding me back. I was all, oh, it won't be a big deal, I can walk around, loo-de-doo. Nah. That is not what is happening. After my excursions in Berlin, my foot was killing me! And the other day we walked to the grocery store, which would normally take about two minutes and it took at least twenty. The crutches are a huge pain and it was a little warm, so I was sweating in my cast and that was gross. I was mad too because I felt so lame and frustrated for taking so long and not being able to help carry groceries. So for now, I'm keeping outings to a minimum and have been watching a lot of "How I Met Your Mother," which is freaking hysterical! So all is not lost. I never watched it at home, but it's really really funny.
Oh, but yesterday, we did venture out and went to IKEA. And OH MAN, that place is AWESOME! It was my first time and I LOVED it. I am kind of glad there isn't one anywhere near Charleston because I think I would have spent all of my money there. They have fake apartments and rooms set up with how you can decorate and there is just so much cool stuff. And they have a restaurant! What??? They don't serve very much and the soda tastes like cough syrup, but they give you a little swedish flag when you order meatballs (I don't like meatballs, my friends got them. Just FYI) and they have lots of good desserts. And, as you can see above, they have chairs for losers like me and my awesome friends pushed me around. It was both hilarious and pathetic. Most of the time I was laughing but I did feel rather sad when they would walk off and I had to just sit there and not move because the chair would lock. I also had lots of little kids staring at me and I waved my crutch at one, and that made me feel like a crazy person. I also felt somewhat special ed because they would push me around and say things like, "look at all the colors, jacky!" But mainly it was funny and things only got better when I found masks in the clearance bin.
So there you go. Christin and Manja are awesome for putting up with my lame self and these are some of my favorite H.I.M.Y.M moments:
Damn. I can't find my absolute favorite parts. Go to Blockbuster (and appreciate it because they don't have it here!) and see them all for yourself.
Damn. I can't find my absolute favorite parts. Go to Blockbuster (and appreciate it because they don't have it here!) and see them all for yourself.
22 August 2009
Shits and Giggles
Not much has changed, but I wanted to share something I read in my journal and it made me laugh. A couple weeks ago, while still at the House of Bitch, I made a little list and it's titled "You Know Things are Bad When:"
-You are wishing bodily harm upon six year olds
-You're jealous of the dogs
-You're looking back fondly on the pee farm days
-The towels are getting ironed, but you're laundry is not even getting done
-You're sizing up high schoolers
-You are wishing for an illness or injury
Eesh, so that last one was a little too forewarning for my taste. I wanted like a minor cold or something WHILE I was there, so I would have an excuse not to be around the family. Broken foot the day I was leaving was not what I intended. Oh well.
And then after that I have an entire page under the title "Ridiculous nonsense." Haha! I was SUPER bored at the House of Bitch. Again, SO happy to be in Germany!
Also, I added a bunch of books to my list that I have read since I got to Europe. All of them are good, so check them out if you need something to read. Also, suggestions are welcome because I have lots of time on my hands now!
Headed back to the Netherlands tonight! Hopefully Amsterdam sometime soon and then who knows. Auf Wiedersehen!
-You are wishing bodily harm upon six year olds
-You're jealous of the dogs
-You're looking back fondly on the pee farm days
-The towels are getting ironed, but you're laundry is not even getting done
-You're sizing up high schoolers
-You are wishing for an illness or injury
Eesh, so that last one was a little too forewarning for my taste. I wanted like a minor cold or something WHILE I was there, so I would have an excuse not to be around the family. Broken foot the day I was leaving was not what I intended. Oh well.
And then after that I have an entire page under the title "Ridiculous nonsense." Haha! I was SUPER bored at the House of Bitch. Again, SO happy to be in Germany!
Also, I added a bunch of books to my list that I have read since I got to Europe. All of them are good, so check them out if you need something to read. Also, suggestions are welcome because I have lots of time on my hands now!
Headed back to the Netherlands tonight! Hopefully Amsterdam sometime soon and then who knows. Auf Wiedersehen!
20 August 2009
Better
The title: How my life is. Also, a song by Regina Spektor. It's good.
Well here is how cool I am: 3 countries in 3 days. All in a cast. I got to Germany safe and sound Tuesday morning and teared on during the landing because I was just soo freakin happy to be out of Greece and away from the House of Bitch. There, Christin and her friend Manja picked me up from the airport and had crutches waiting for me. Pretty exciting, right? They are interesting looking crutches though, I call them polio crutches...I have yet to take a picture, but I'm working on it. We went to see the new Harry Potter movie and I was sooooo happy! It was, of course, wonderful, even if it wasn't exactly on par with the book. Now I'm just waiting for the next one, which unfortunately won't be for a while. Anyways, then I got to hang out with Sven and his super cute girlfriend Inka and we had a really great time reminiscing and wandering around Berlin. Well, actually, the wandering part wasn't exactly great. I'm not going to lie, this cast business is a big fat pain in my ass. I know I'm extremely lucky for a lot of reasons, but walking with a cast is seriously un-fun. I have a whole new set of problems because of them. My broken foot doesn't actually hurt anymore...my other foot is the one that hurts now from having all the pressure on it. And my upper body hurts from the stupid crutches. Also, it's costing me a lot of money and that is annoying.
Done complaining. After Berlin we drove back to the Netherlands, where Christin goes to school and hung out in her cool old Dutch house. It's crazy because I felt like I could be in anywhere, USA when we were driving. Other than the signs being in German and then Dutch, it looked like the US. McDonalds and gas stations on the side of the interstate, all that jazz. Anyways, now we are back in Germany at her parents house and everything is good. We have just been hanging out, eating ice cream. It's so lovely to have internet, not be hot as shit, eat whatever I want, and be able to speak English with people.
Right now we are watching a movie and I'm super distracted, so I'm going to get back to that. Just wanted to let everyone know all is well. More updates later. Feel free to check out the pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026795&id=49500152&l=c6d3678fe5
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026714&id=49500152&l=6168ea0d8d
Well here is how cool I am: 3 countries in 3 days. All in a cast. I got to Germany safe and sound Tuesday morning and teared on during the landing because I was just soo freakin happy to be out of Greece and away from the House of Bitch. There, Christin and her friend Manja picked me up from the airport and had crutches waiting for me. Pretty exciting, right? They are interesting looking crutches though, I call them polio crutches...I have yet to take a picture, but I'm working on it. We went to see the new Harry Potter movie and I was sooooo happy! It was, of course, wonderful, even if it wasn't exactly on par with the book. Now I'm just waiting for the next one, which unfortunately won't be for a while. Anyways, then I got to hang out with Sven and his super cute girlfriend Inka and we had a really great time reminiscing and wandering around Berlin. Well, actually, the wandering part wasn't exactly great. I'm not going to lie, this cast business is a big fat pain in my ass. I know I'm extremely lucky for a lot of reasons, but walking with a cast is seriously un-fun. I have a whole new set of problems because of them. My broken foot doesn't actually hurt anymore...my other foot is the one that hurts now from having all the pressure on it. And my upper body hurts from the stupid crutches. Also, it's costing me a lot of money and that is annoying.
Done complaining. After Berlin we drove back to the Netherlands, where Christin goes to school and hung out in her cool old Dutch house. It's crazy because I felt like I could be in anywhere, USA when we were driving. Other than the signs being in German and then Dutch, it looked like the US. McDonalds and gas stations on the side of the interstate, all that jazz. Anyways, now we are back in Germany at her parents house and everything is good. We have just been hanging out, eating ice cream. It's so lovely to have internet, not be hot as shit, eat whatever I want, and be able to speak English with people.
Right now we are watching a movie and I'm super distracted, so I'm going to get back to that. Just wanted to let everyone know all is well. More updates later. Feel free to check out the pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026795&id=49500152&l=c6d3678fe5
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026714&id=49500152&l=6168ea0d8d
18 August 2009
And Scene
Ok, so I took a nap, a shower and had some food and am feeling better. My hostel is a little on the chilly side, but I am still 1000 times happier here than Strava. I'm sure you are all probably wondering what on earth made the experience so horrible, so I'll try to explain.
First off, let me say that I had REALLY high hopes for this place. As you all know, I was really pumped about the whole thing and thought it was going to be so great. And, the thing that is most frustrating, is that it really had potential to be super fun. The house was beautiful, the kid was manageable, and Greece, in general, is fabulous. But the family just made me feel soooo uncomfortable! It is hard to explain, really. I'll try. It's long.
First off, they never had a conversation with me about what exactly I was supposed to do and what they expected of me. I got a schedule, but that was it. And then we left for the beach and I was on my own, so I never got to have the conversation. Which I think is kind of strange because usually at jobs, you get some sort of training or at least an outline of what is expected of you. Also, they knew I had never been an Au Pair before, so you think they would help me out some and tell me what worked with previous Au Pairs, what didn't, etc. Nope, nothing.
At first, it was just me, the kid (kid) and the housekeeper and the dad (asshole) would come at night. Things were good during the day, but when asshole would come, it was awkward because I didn't know who was in charge. Also, asshole was kind of a jerk. He was always telling kid to speak in English, yet he would continue to have conversations with him in Greek. He also took every opportunity possible to make me feel stupid. He was always asking me these ridiculous questions that I didn't know the answer to, or just didn't understand because he had different words for stuff or was pronouncing it wrong. He was wrong a lot, but would insist that he wasn't, so we had a lot of pointless arguments. I just quit talking to him because it wasn't worth it. He also made me feel fat when he told me I looked "a lot slimmer in the pictures I sent." So that was nice of him. Later down the line, he apparently thought I wasn't talking enough and told me that I needed to be speaking English with kid "every minute of the day," which I thought was a little on the extreme side. And, like I said, he was constantly speaking to him in Greek, so of course I didn't know what they were talking about and couldn't really add anything to the conversation! This was a problem a lot, actually. The family would NEVER speak in English at meals or anything, even though they could all speak it. No one would ever translate for me or tell me at least what was so funny. So I just sat there and occasionally made comments about the scenery and got blank stares back. It was quite frustrating. And just super rude, I thought. But the whole family was like that. The grandmother didn't even acknowledge my existence and the older brother and his friends that came never even introduced themselves. They also ate meals with their shirts off and asshole dad smoked at the table, which is gross, especially because he had man boobs.
So that was asshole. Kid, was generally not a problem. When it was just me and him, we got along fine. We would have conversations, read, play, whatever. However, when his friends were around, he was sooo rude to me! I would ask him questions and he would either straight up ignore me or make some rude comment and make fun of me in Greek with his friends. His friends were these three other Greek kids that had a German Au Pair (Christin). They were ok, except for the youngest, who was seriously the devil. At first I felt bad for him because he has diabetes and the other kids are mean to him sometimes but then I figured out that he deserved it and I didn't feel bad anymore. In fact, I was constantly wishing bodily harm upon him. One night he fell while running and I laughed for ten minutes. He was sooo bad. And he's bad because his parent didn't discipline him AT ALL. He took my water bottle while we were on the beach and dumped out all of it, right in front of them and they did not say a word. He didn't have to apologize, get me new water, nothing. I hated this child. ANYWAYS, kid was rude to me with his friends and when his parents were around. And again, with the no discipline thing, he was just allowed to be rude and nothing would be said. And he was rude to me and treated me like dirt because that is pretty much how the parents treated me. Like I was the "help" and therefore didn't really matter. I was told to "fetch" water, had to set and clear the table, etc.
And then there was the mom (bitchface).Bitchface was seriously one of the absolute bitchiest people I have ever encountered in my life. I don't know what her deal was, but she took every opportunity to say something rude and/or she would just ignore me completely. Which I was confused about because she was nice at first. That all changed about two weeks in. She would never tell me what was going on or if I had to be around or what the deal was. And there were times kid was playing with his friends (and the devil) and she would get mad because I wasn't playing with them. Which was stupid because 1. the friends couldn't speak English 2. They didn't want me to play with them. I asked. and 3. if they are playing and happy, why do I need to get involved?? Ugh, there were just soo many things. One day she got mad because I called a wasp a bee by accident and she's like, "Don't you know the difference? Don't they have wasps where you come from?" I mean damn. Oh, and she asked me to not sit on her bed. Like I'm going to get it dirty or something. I was sitting, watching TV and talking with the kid and she comes in and tells me to get off her bed. Ouch. Sucks for her though, because before bitchface got there, kid and I would lay in the bed and read together. HAHA! Oh, and she got super drunk one day at this beach bar we went to and had to be carried home because she was incoherent. Meanwhile, I have to take care of kid and his two friends while she throws up all over the bathroom. And this was after I got yelled at for not putting the bathmat down in the shower. "I don't want to have to spend my entire vacation cleaning up after you," is what I was told. Hm.
Ugh, there was seriously so much more. I was rarely given time off. I got four days total, I think and three of them were because they just left me there while they went back to Athens for one thing or another (including the wedding I was uninvited to). I had to watch the kid every waking hour and I had "curfew." The house had two gates, one you needed a controller to get in and the other just had a lock. I asked if I could go out one night, after kid went to bed and they wouldn't let me! They said they gate was locked when they went to bed and that was that. Which was such bullshit because I could have easily locked it behind me OR they could have given me one of the three controllers to the front. But no, I wasn't allowed.
And then there was the whole food nonsense. I was never asked if I liked the food, if I had enough, anything. And it wasn't that I didn't like any of the food, I just wanted smaller portions. Those people at SO much food, it was crazy! One day bitchface was like, "I'm beginning to think all you like is hamburgers." At first I thought she was joking but then I realized she was mad because I asked for one stuffed tomato instead of two like she was giving everyone else. I mean, I'm 24, which is plenty old to decide how much food I want to eat. I think she was trying to insuate that I was fat as well, I guess to establish comradarie with asshole. But it pissed me off because I NEVER complained about the food, nor did I ever mention anything about hamburgers. They thought I was weird because I don't like watermelon and wouldn't buy me apples or bananas because they weren't in season. Oh, and that whole relationship (between bitchface and asshole) was awkward too because they were constantly yelling at each other and/or kid and I was just sitting there, uncomfortable. I even told her I was uncomfortable and wanted to leave two weeks ago and she told me I had to stay until the 17th. No conversation about why I was uncomfortable or if it could be fixed, nothing.
To sum up, here's how my last day went. I stepped wrong on the stairs and have a feeling something is not right with my foot. Bitchface tells me to just sit awhile. Asshole finally comes and gives me some ice and wraps up my foot. Kid sees me with the ice and goes on about his business.. Bitchface gives me my money, all awkward and it's much less than what I deserve. The family leaves to go to dinner and leave me there on my own. I hobble around, make myself dinner and crawl up the stairs to go to bed, without saying goodbye to kid because we were leaving at 6 the next morning. Six comes around. Asshole sees me carry 3/4 of my luggage down the stairs before he offers to help. We ride to Athens in silence. We go to the hospital, where I get an X-Ray and a cast and asshole is annoyed everything is taking so long (we were there maybe 45 minutes). He insists I don't need crutches, even though the doctor said I did and my cast is not a walking cast. We get medicine at the pharmacy, but they don't have enough of it, so I'm told to just get more in Germany because asshole has things to do. We go to the house to get the rest of my stuff, I sit for an hour, he takes me downtown to my hostel. And this is what really set me off (and it's my mom's favorite part), I get out of the car and he just sits there on his phone. He doesn't offer to help even get my stuff out of the car. I struggle to get it out, cast on and everything and start to go inside. Then he yells out the window at me that I owe him 20 euro for the medicine. I mean really. Couldn't even help me with my luggage. Greek men are not known for the chivalry, but seriously people. I had a cast.
Whatever. I am SOOO happy to be gone from there, I don't even care. I honestly think the whole cast situation is kind of funny. I mean, really. Of course this would happen the day I get to leave. Stupid foot. But after that last car incident, I lost it. So I'm sitting in the hostel looking like an idiot because I'm crying and I have this gross cast and all this stupid luggage and life sucks. But the reception lady was really nice to me, someone carried my bags and things are better now and I am really excited about Germany.
The weird thing, to me, is that everyone else I've met so far has been SO incredibly nice. Like, beyond nice. I even questioned it sometimes. Why are they being so nice to me? I didn't do anything? But I guess that is the good in all of this. I have so many nice people to think about and remind myself that it's not me...it's that family. I didn't do anything wrong...people generally like me and I have new friends to prove it. My Italian families were so far beyond fabulous and accommodating. Christin, the other Au Pair, has been so helpful and wonderful in helping me get my flight and is picking me up in Berlin and offered to get me crutches and everything. And I met this Dutch family at the beach and they invited me to spend the entire day with them when I got left there by myself, even though it was their last day of vacation, and took me to the grocery store so I could buy some fruit. They also invited me to come visit and were just all around so fun and nice. Christin and I are going to try and visit them in Amsterdam. So, I have things and people to look forward too. Fuck those Greek people. There's more, but I'm moving on bitches.
Also, here are some photos. Facebook won't let me upload them all right now, but here are some to tide you over. It was at least pretty there. And I got a glorious tan, even though I'm worried the cast is going to ruin it. Sorry for the rant. Had to get it off my chest.
Where I sunbathed, by the church
The nice Dutch boys
Christin and I by the sea
The view from my room
View from the hill
The driveway
The house
Another sunrise. Taken after I took Midol (with caffeine in it) and couldn't sleep the entire night.
First off, let me say that I had REALLY high hopes for this place. As you all know, I was really pumped about the whole thing and thought it was going to be so great. And, the thing that is most frustrating, is that it really had potential to be super fun. The house was beautiful, the kid was manageable, and Greece, in general, is fabulous. But the family just made me feel soooo uncomfortable! It is hard to explain, really. I'll try. It's long.
First off, they never had a conversation with me about what exactly I was supposed to do and what they expected of me. I got a schedule, but that was it. And then we left for the beach and I was on my own, so I never got to have the conversation. Which I think is kind of strange because usually at jobs, you get some sort of training or at least an outline of what is expected of you. Also, they knew I had never been an Au Pair before, so you think they would help me out some and tell me what worked with previous Au Pairs, what didn't, etc. Nope, nothing.
At first, it was just me, the kid (kid) and the housekeeper and the dad (asshole) would come at night. Things were good during the day, but when asshole would come, it was awkward because I didn't know who was in charge. Also, asshole was kind of a jerk. He was always telling kid to speak in English, yet he would continue to have conversations with him in Greek. He also took every opportunity possible to make me feel stupid. He was always asking me these ridiculous questions that I didn't know the answer to, or just didn't understand because he had different words for stuff or was pronouncing it wrong. He was wrong a lot, but would insist that he wasn't, so we had a lot of pointless arguments. I just quit talking to him because it wasn't worth it. He also made me feel fat when he told me I looked "a lot slimmer in the pictures I sent." So that was nice of him. Later down the line, he apparently thought I wasn't talking enough and told me that I needed to be speaking English with kid "every minute of the day," which I thought was a little on the extreme side. And, like I said, he was constantly speaking to him in Greek, so of course I didn't know what they were talking about and couldn't really add anything to the conversation! This was a problem a lot, actually. The family would NEVER speak in English at meals or anything, even though they could all speak it. No one would ever translate for me or tell me at least what was so funny. So I just sat there and occasionally made comments about the scenery and got blank stares back. It was quite frustrating. And just super rude, I thought. But the whole family was like that. The grandmother didn't even acknowledge my existence and the older brother and his friends that came never even introduced themselves. They also ate meals with their shirts off and asshole dad smoked at the table, which is gross, especially because he had man boobs.
So that was asshole. Kid, was generally not a problem. When it was just me and him, we got along fine. We would have conversations, read, play, whatever. However, when his friends were around, he was sooo rude to me! I would ask him questions and he would either straight up ignore me or make some rude comment and make fun of me in Greek with his friends. His friends were these three other Greek kids that had a German Au Pair (Christin). They were ok, except for the youngest, who was seriously the devil. At first I felt bad for him because he has diabetes and the other kids are mean to him sometimes but then I figured out that he deserved it and I didn't feel bad anymore. In fact, I was constantly wishing bodily harm upon him. One night he fell while running and I laughed for ten minutes. He was sooo bad. And he's bad because his parent didn't discipline him AT ALL. He took my water bottle while we were on the beach and dumped out all of it, right in front of them and they did not say a word. He didn't have to apologize, get me new water, nothing. I hated this child. ANYWAYS, kid was rude to me with his friends and when his parents were around. And again, with the no discipline thing, he was just allowed to be rude and nothing would be said. And he was rude to me and treated me like dirt because that is pretty much how the parents treated me. Like I was the "help" and therefore didn't really matter. I was told to "fetch" water, had to set and clear the table, etc.
And then there was the mom (bitchface).Bitchface was seriously one of the absolute bitchiest people I have ever encountered in my life. I don't know what her deal was, but she took every opportunity to say something rude and/or she would just ignore me completely. Which I was confused about because she was nice at first. That all changed about two weeks in. She would never tell me what was going on or if I had to be around or what the deal was. And there were times kid was playing with his friends (and the devil) and she would get mad because I wasn't playing with them. Which was stupid because 1. the friends couldn't speak English 2. They didn't want me to play with them. I asked. and 3. if they are playing and happy, why do I need to get involved?? Ugh, there were just soo many things. One day she got mad because I called a wasp a bee by accident and she's like, "Don't you know the difference? Don't they have wasps where you come from?" I mean damn. Oh, and she asked me to not sit on her bed. Like I'm going to get it dirty or something. I was sitting, watching TV and talking with the kid and she comes in and tells me to get off her bed. Ouch. Sucks for her though, because before bitchface got there, kid and I would lay in the bed and read together. HAHA! Oh, and she got super drunk one day at this beach bar we went to and had to be carried home because she was incoherent. Meanwhile, I have to take care of kid and his two friends while she throws up all over the bathroom. And this was after I got yelled at for not putting the bathmat down in the shower. "I don't want to have to spend my entire vacation cleaning up after you," is what I was told. Hm.
Ugh, there was seriously so much more. I was rarely given time off. I got four days total, I think and three of them were because they just left me there while they went back to Athens for one thing or another (including the wedding I was uninvited to). I had to watch the kid every waking hour and I had "curfew." The house had two gates, one you needed a controller to get in and the other just had a lock. I asked if I could go out one night, after kid went to bed and they wouldn't let me! They said they gate was locked when they went to bed and that was that. Which was such bullshit because I could have easily locked it behind me OR they could have given me one of the three controllers to the front. But no, I wasn't allowed.
And then there was the whole food nonsense. I was never asked if I liked the food, if I had enough, anything. And it wasn't that I didn't like any of the food, I just wanted smaller portions. Those people at SO much food, it was crazy! One day bitchface was like, "I'm beginning to think all you like is hamburgers." At first I thought she was joking but then I realized she was mad because I asked for one stuffed tomato instead of two like she was giving everyone else. I mean, I'm 24, which is plenty old to decide how much food I want to eat. I think she was trying to insuate that I was fat as well, I guess to establish comradarie with asshole. But it pissed me off because I NEVER complained about the food, nor did I ever mention anything about hamburgers. They thought I was weird because I don't like watermelon and wouldn't buy me apples or bananas because they weren't in season. Oh, and that whole relationship (between bitchface and asshole) was awkward too because they were constantly yelling at each other and/or kid and I was just sitting there, uncomfortable. I even told her I was uncomfortable and wanted to leave two weeks ago and she told me I had to stay until the 17th. No conversation about why I was uncomfortable or if it could be fixed, nothing.
To sum up, here's how my last day went. I stepped wrong on the stairs and have a feeling something is not right with my foot. Bitchface tells me to just sit awhile. Asshole finally comes and gives me some ice and wraps up my foot. Kid sees me with the ice and goes on about his business.. Bitchface gives me my money, all awkward and it's much less than what I deserve. The family leaves to go to dinner and leave me there on my own. I hobble around, make myself dinner and crawl up the stairs to go to bed, without saying goodbye to kid because we were leaving at 6 the next morning. Six comes around. Asshole sees me carry 3/4 of my luggage down the stairs before he offers to help. We ride to Athens in silence. We go to the hospital, where I get an X-Ray and a cast and asshole is annoyed everything is taking so long (we were there maybe 45 minutes). He insists I don't need crutches, even though the doctor said I did and my cast is not a walking cast. We get medicine at the pharmacy, but they don't have enough of it, so I'm told to just get more in Germany because asshole has things to do. We go to the house to get the rest of my stuff, I sit for an hour, he takes me downtown to my hostel. And this is what really set me off (and it's my mom's favorite part), I get out of the car and he just sits there on his phone. He doesn't offer to help even get my stuff out of the car. I struggle to get it out, cast on and everything and start to go inside. Then he yells out the window at me that I owe him 20 euro for the medicine. I mean really. Couldn't even help me with my luggage. Greek men are not known for the chivalry, but seriously people. I had a cast.
Whatever. I am SOOO happy to be gone from there, I don't even care. I honestly think the whole cast situation is kind of funny. I mean, really. Of course this would happen the day I get to leave. Stupid foot. But after that last car incident, I lost it. So I'm sitting in the hostel looking like an idiot because I'm crying and I have this gross cast and all this stupid luggage and life sucks. But the reception lady was really nice to me, someone carried my bags and things are better now and I am really excited about Germany.
The weird thing, to me, is that everyone else I've met so far has been SO incredibly nice. Like, beyond nice. I even questioned it sometimes. Why are they being so nice to me? I didn't do anything? But I guess that is the good in all of this. I have so many nice people to think about and remind myself that it's not me...it's that family. I didn't do anything wrong...people generally like me and I have new friends to prove it. My Italian families were so far beyond fabulous and accommodating. Christin, the other Au Pair, has been so helpful and wonderful in helping me get my flight and is picking me up in Berlin and offered to get me crutches and everything. And I met this Dutch family at the beach and they invited me to spend the entire day with them when I got left there by myself, even though it was their last day of vacation, and took me to the grocery store so I could buy some fruit. They also invited me to come visit and were just all around so fun and nice. Christin and I are going to try and visit them in Amsterdam. So, I have things and people to look forward too. Fuck those Greek people. There's more, but I'm moving on bitches.
Also, here are some photos. Facebook won't let me upload them all right now, but here are some to tide you over. It was at least pretty there. And I got a glorious tan, even though I'm worried the cast is going to ruin it. Sorry for the rant. Had to get it off my chest.
Where I sunbathed, by the church
The nice Dutch boys
Christin and I by the sea
The view from my room
View from the hill
The driveway
The house
Another sunrise. Taken after I took Midol (with caffeine in it) and couldn't sleep the entire night.
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