Boy Meets World

So my lovely boyfriend is off on his great adventures as a trucker. He's been on the job for a little more than 2 weeks and has already seen more of the country than he's ever seen before. If he keeps it up, he'll be caught up with me, although he's been to several states that I have not, and I've been to states that he has yet to see. Since he's driving for 10 or so hours everyday, we don't talk as much as we used to and it's mostly confined to the hours of 10pm and 2am, not counting the few times he call to check in from truck stops and food breaks. It's been hard on us to be sure, but it's also been a valuable growing experience for him I'm sure. Being on his own, seeing new things, and driving new places. Even though I wish I could be seeing these places too, I have been making the most of it by tracking all of the different places that he goes, what he picks up, and mapping his route on Google Maps. Last night, he told me he was in love with his personal GPS :) I keep him up to date on how far he has until his next stops, his final destinations, and how many mountain chains he has to drive through because according to him, "downshifting is a nightmare".

In this blog post, I've decided list all of his destinations so far and give some sort of interesting fact about each place (if I can find one), if there's nothing interesting about the city then I will at least say something about the state. So here goes nothing:

• Kennesaw, GA- It has a population of 29,783. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. During the Civil War, Kennesaw was the staging ground for the Great Locomotive Chase on April 12, 1862.
• Tuscaloosa, AL- Tuscaloosa is named after Tuskaloosa, the chieftain of a Muskogean-speaking people, who battled and was defeated by Hernando de Soto in 1540 in the Battle of Mabila. From 1826 to 1846, Tuscaloosa was the capital of Alabama. During this period, in 1831, the University of Alabama was established. ROLL TIDE!
• Little Rock, AR- Little Rock was named for a stone outcropping on the bank of the Arkansas River used by early travelers as a landmark. La Petite Roche (French for "the Little Rock"), named in 1721 by French explorer and trader Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe, marked the transition from the flat Mississippi Delta region to the Ouachita Mountain foothills. In 1957 The Little Rock Nine are enrolled at Little Rock Central High School after public protests, and the Arkansas National Guard under the direction of Governor Orval Faubus, prevents their first attempt at enrollment. At the time, Arkansas was the third most segregated state in the country (behind Mississippi and Alabama respectively). President Dwight Eisenhower dispatches federal troops to ensure the students' safety and enforce their right to attend school. These events are collectively referred to as the Crisis at Central High.
• Pottsville, AR- Pottsville is a town in Pope County. As of the 2000 census the population was 1,271. There are few large businesses in Pottsville with most or all being family- or self-owned. Workers for large companies usually commute to larger cities like Russellville. The major events in the year are Butterfield Days, celebrating the history of the town when the Butterfield stagecoach Route ran through the town. This directly caused the rise of the town when the Potts family set up a boarding house for travelers to rest, creating a place for people to stay, instead of continuing onward. The Potts Inn is now a museum.
• Las Vegas, NV- The most populous city in Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. Las Vegas bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World. Established in 1905, Las Vegas officially became a city in 1911. At the close of the 20th century, Las Vegas was the most populous American city founded in that century. The city's tolerance for various forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and this image has made Las Vegas a popular setting for films and television programs. The first reported European visitor to the Las Vegas Valley was Raphael Rivera in 1829. Las Vegas was named by Spaniards who used the water in the area while heading north and west along the Old Spanish Trail from Texas. In the 19th century, areas of the valley contained artesian wells that supported extensive green areas or meadows (vegas in Spanish); hence the name Las Vegas.
• Colton, CA- Colton is a city in San Bernardino County. The population was 52,154 at the 2010 census. Colton was named after David Douty Colton who was the Vice President of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. Colton is the site of Colton Crossing, one of the busiest at-grade railroad crossings in the United States. The main transcontinental trunk lines of Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe cross at this point. Famous residents include Kit Carson, Kat Von D, and Virgil and Wyatt Earp.
• Cheyenne, WY- The capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It was named for the American Indian Cheyenne nation, one of the most famous and prominent Great Plains tribes closely allied with the Arapaho. Cheyenne has one of only three enclosed shopping malls in Wyoming, the Frontier Mall. Cheyenne Frontier Days, which occurs during 10 days centered around the last full week in July, is the largest outdoor rodeo in the US. The events include professional bull riding, cattle roping, barrel racing and many others.
• Pingree, ID- Yes, he picked up potatoes in IDAHO! Pingree is an unincorporated community in Bingham County, ID. It is located on Idaho State Hwy 39, SW of Blackfoot, and NW of Pocatello. Idaho’s largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state. Idaho's nickname is the Potato State and the Gem State, because nearly every known gemstone has been found there.
• Salem, VA- Europeans first explored the area of Salem in 1671, when the Totero people had a village nearby. Explorers Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam gave the area its first recorded name: Totero Town, after this tribe, who supplied them with a guide to help with further exploration. It is bordered by the city of Roanoke to the east but otherwise adjacent to Roanoke County. The population was 24,802 according to 2010 U.S. Census.
• Kingsport, TN- a city located mainly in Sullivan County with some western portions in Hawkins County. It was originally referred to as “Salt Lick”. The majority of the city lies in Sullivan County. The population was last recorded as 47,356. The name is a simplification of "King's Port", originally referring to the area on the Holston River known as King's Boat Yard, the head of navigation for the Tennessee Valley. Douglass High School in Kingsport was one of the largest African-American high schools in the region when it closed for desegregation in 1966.
• Grand Prairie, TX- Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Ellis, and Tarrant Counties and is a part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Grand Prairie is a suburb of both Dallas and Fort Worth and in 2006 had a population of 153,812. The city of Grand Prairie was first established as “Dechman” by Alexander McRae Dechman in 1863. The town of Grand Prairie was eventually incorporated as a city in 1909. During World War II and since, Grand Prairie has had a long history with the defense and aviation industry. Selena Gomez is from Grand Prairie.

As we speak (or as I type), Thomas should be somewhere between Little Rock and Grand Prairie. Exactly where I have no idea because he does not have his microchip in yet and I have not yet talked to him today. Since he was going to be driving until about 8am, he's probably asleep in his bunk right now. But when I do finally hear from him, I will have all sorts of fun facts for him about the places he's been visiting. Hope you guys enjoy the knowledge as well....


Hasta Luego!

Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman....

Shout out to Britney Spears for such an accurate title to describe my life right now! That's exactly how I feel right now. At 24, I'm still stuck in this transition phase of my life. I can't find a decent job to get me out on my own and my parents don't buy the fact that I can really pick out my own clothes and decide when I've stayed out too late on a weekend.

So last week was my nephew's birthday, and I was excited for a chance to glam it up for a night. We were all going out to dinner at Chili's, so I figured that I would dress a little nicer than jeans and a tshirt, do something with my hair, put in my contacts, and try for a little drama with my makeup. Yes, this is only a 7-year-old's birthday, but being cooped up all week will make you use anything as a reason to go out. So I got dressed in a flowy tank, and some cute tie-dye leggings that I scored from the girls' department of Target (don't judge me, they fit!) My mom looks me over and rolls her eyes, typical mom behavior. The shocker comes when she says, "You know I don't approve of that outfit, so you can either change clothes or find a ride with someone else to dinner." Ever the dutiful daughter that I am, I skulk back to my room, grudgingly change into some bermuda shorts and a shirt, and try to act like this entire ordeal was no biggie instead of revealing that this just added reason #82 of why I believe my mom thinks I'm a whore. I didn't even bother with my hair or makeup after that, I was dressed in my usual laidback skater apparel and no longer felt the need to dress it up.

Friday night, I decided that I was in a good mood, that I felt like dancing, and I was going hit up my favorite Friday hangout spot (when I can get there), the Buena Vista Social at Maison. Imagine a dark room with a bar, flashing light, fog machines, and hot mixes of spanglish, salsa, merengue, and reggaeton blasting while everybody's on the floor getting down to the beat. It's like my Friday night wet dream. :) I lay out this hot new ensemble that includes a purple minidress, black belt, black heels, and my newest miniature black hat complete with a veil. It was semi-retro and totally my style (as if that's one distinct type). My mom spots it and asks what the outfit is for. When I tell her that I'm going out, she gets all huffy but won't say why. I really did want her opinion even though I didn't really care what is was. After all, this is the same woman that told me that 10:30 was kinda late to be heading out with friends on a Saturday night a few weeks ago. I understand you want to protect me but come on! I refrained from saying that Latin Night doesn't really get started at midnight, and I'm usually there by myself. I'm careful when I go out: I don't get wasted, I always carry my knife, I make sure that someone knows where I am when I'm not in the club, I don't really stay out past 2am. To me, that seems pretty responsible, but maybe I'm kidding myself????

Anyway, so I head to Maison at 11, and sit in the car to talk to Thomas while heading towards a buzz with a shot of Skyy and a Bailey's Margarita. My night was pretty awesome! I spent most of it dancing with "that guy". The one that I always end up dancing with, but we've never even introduced ourselves to each other. I found out that he actually doesn't speak any Spanish, just listens to the music enough to "know" all the words. I discovered this while listening to Daddy Yankee, he was singing the chorus to "lo que paso paso", which is a song I actually know. He was pronouncing it kinda funny so I told him the right way to say it and what it meant in English. I always have a great time dancing with him, but I always find myself wondering if he can tall I have no interest in him beyond his dance skills. I think it's mutual though, and that's cool in a way because we know we can just hang out, dance, make fun of the dance-psychos around us, and have no other reason in the world to have any contact with one another. Those other thoughts just pop up when I find myself in the middle of the dance floor grinning like an idiot, not because of who I'm with, but because of what I am doing and the awesome background music that doubles as the soundtrack of my life for a few hours.

This Friday night was different, I had a new dance partner who introduced himself as Glenn. He asked me to dance to some Pitbull song, so I said sure. What mildly pissed me off is that when the next song came on- a salsa track- his question was not did I wanna continue to dance, but "Can you dance salsa?" Um yeah, guy... I just come out to Latin Dance night all the time for the hell of watching other ppl. I've been told that I overreacted, but he didn't ask me if I knew how to shake my ass to Pitbull, so why is it when it's Elvis Crispo there's and issue? When I called him on it, he apologized and acknowledged that as a Black man, he would get the same stereotyping, and that not many Black people can salsa, but they probably don't hang out where that's the majority of what the crowd is doing. His skills were okay, not as fun as dancing with "that guy" cuz he doesn't really do spins as much, and seemed to enjoy dancing to reggaeton more (gee, wonder why), but it was nice to change it up for a while. I was having so much fun, I ended up staying out until 2am, and getting a blister on my foot from all of the dancing. Well worth it, I need to go out again soon!

On a more serious note, I got an interview for an internship with the Husbandry Department of our local aquarium. While it is one step closer to maybe finding a job, it's still annoying because their internships are unpaid. Since I have been volunteering there for over a year without getting paid it won't be much different, but a source of income in my field would be nice. This was also nice after finding out on Thursday that I have "poor Eustachian tube function", and could possibly never be cut out for SCUBA diving. SCUBA certification is pretty much mandatory for a Marine Biologist, and I have previously not been able to apply to quite a few cool jobs due to my lack of certification. At least I made it through my classes, but I still have to successfully complete my certification dives in the next 6 months, and I'm already missing the first one because I got an ear infection on the last day of my pool dives. Having to pay out of pocket to see a doctor on top of all of this is making this whole situation pretty bleak, but we'll see how it turns out. Hopefully I will be cleared for diving and this internship will lead to more experience as well as a possible job when it's over. Next, I have to get ready for the GRE so I can get into a good Marine Science grad program.

In totally unrelated news, I cut one of my old t-shirts into a uber adorable tank top and can't wait to take pictures of it. I think I will try out a new makeup look that will match it, then post pics of them both to the blog....

Hasta Luego....

Puff, Puff, Pureminisce...

So, I'm sitting in a hookah bar in Mobile (lame, i know) with Thomas, and his friend, Andrew. It's cool, been a long time since I got to hang out with people my own age. And for once I've gotten to do it for 2 Saturdays in a row. Last Saturday, I spent a night on the town in Chicago with my kid, her friend, and Mia from Vandy. We hit up downtown and went to the bar where Mia is interning, Tzar! It started off with the bouncer trying to overcharge us, but we eventually got in for free. After witnessing 2 guys in a suit fighting and suffering collateral damage, we left, but it was still a good night. Tonight I'm out with the guys after a long day of video games, swimming, and bad TV. We're just sitting in Purple Cafe, playing on our respective computers. I'm enjoying hookah, lamb kebab, and tzaziki. It's pretty amazing and I'm tempted to order a chicken kebab too, but considering that I'm not actually hungry, that might not be the greatest idea ever. This kinda feels like the old days in Palmer Hall, when I'd come home late and Thomas and Shane would be puffing away on the hookah, I'd crawl into bed, and puff away the hardships of the day... Miss those days.

   

Keeping UP!

So, I've been noticing that all of my friends that are entering the blogosphere are updating their blogs SO much more often than I am, I realized I need to step it up a bit. So to start it off, 10 randoms facts about me:

1. I pick my nose when I'm bored in the car
2. I love fresh roasted corn on the cob
3. My belly button is kinda half-innie/half-outtie
4.  My first unofficial date ever was to Qdoba...and it was terrible! (the food, not the date)
5. I love black cherry mojitos
6. I hate fish!
7. I got my ears pierced at 20, which was after I got my belly button pierced
8. I'm not too sure how many real friends I have, but I'm sure it's fewer than some people like to pretend
9. I could see myself with about 5 tattoos and a mohawk, but I have none of those things :)
10. I've watched porn... and thought most of it had terrible acting and plot

Self-Esteem

Self-esteem- noun, a realistic respect for or favorable impression of oneself. 


To me, it seems difficult to maintain that self control is only based on what you think of yourself. This is because a lot of times, how you see yourself depends upon how those closest to you view you. Especially when they are vocal on sharing their opinion. One such case for me is my mom. While I have never really been the rebellious teen, I have over the past few years realized that I have been disappointing myself due to the fact that I feel like I haven't been being myself, just what I wanted people to see of me.The instances are fairly small, but still they nag me when i feel like I am denying a part of myself that I want to show. I hid my clothing from my parents, snuck around to hang out with my friends, and hid things about myself that I felt would disappoint them. I got my belly button pierced in 2007 and have been doing all I can to keep them from finding out. I've also always wanted a tattoo but I have yet to get one on the chance that my they will see it and I will get a lecture. I guess there really isn't much more they could do, but the thought of disappointing my parents is still a tough one for me. 


I think my mom secretly hates me. She always has something negative to say about me: the way my hair is cut, the way I dress, my makeup. It's really frustrating to deal with, especially when I don't know why she hates it so much. Perfect example is our first interaction of yesterday. This is what I looked like: 

When she saw me, the first comment she made to me was not a hello or how are you, instead it was, "With all of that mess on your face, you look like a clown." Does it really look that bad? I clearly didn't think so when I left home! This isn't the first time that I've worn this exact same look. Additionally, I actually got a few compliments while I was out. I like to play in makeup, I think it gives me an outlet to express my creativity and love of bright colors. But when I get comments like that, it's hard to ignore it and keep doing my own thing. It makes me never even want to be seen putting on makeup or wearing it in her presence. She also commented on my new haircut, which she does every time I get a new haircut. To add insult to injury, this morning she commented that my hair was gonna be as short as my dad's. When I confusedly asked he r explain what she meant, she went on to say that every time my hair starts breaking off I get it cut (duh, that's what you're supposed to do to keep your hair from splitting and breaking more). What made the comment hurtful was the way she made it seem that the problem was not that I wasn't taking taking care of my hair, it was that I cut it to get rid of the breaking ends. I don't think that she realizes that it's hard for me to see my hair falling on the floor around my feet. I've always wanted longer hair, so to have to cut some of it off in order to get it to grow more is a hard but necessary evil in my opinion.


Another thing that I have been constantly criticized about is my clothing. I'm a typical female in my 20s. I wear jeans and tees, and miniskirts and heels. I hate getting the look like I'm being a slut due to the fact that my mom and grandma think that wearing jeans and a spaghetti-strap top is being "half-dressed". I remember once when I was younger, I went outside in my PJs to check the mail. My mom told me if I ever went outside like that again (t-shirt and shorts) that she would burn every pair of shorts that I owned. While she has grown from being that person, I have never forgotten that moment, and I think it has partially shaped our mother-daughter relationship. The first time I ever wore jeans in front of my parents may have been my second year of college. Even now, I hide my clubwear at the top of my closet and only wear it when she won't see me. it feels pretty crappy to have to hide myself, but dealing with the ramifications is sooo not worth it right now. Maybe one day when I move out and have my own place and own money, things will change.


Having older sisters does not help the situation. My older sister complains about my parent's over zealous strictness, but will not say anything about it because she feels that it should be unnecessary. Yes, they realize I'm not a little kid, but I guess they still feel the need to protect me and know my every move. I don't even go out much to Latin Dance night much anymore because I hate having to justify going out alone. I'm sorry I'm a loser with no friends to go out with. Maybe if I had been allowed to go out, I would have friends! Instead, the people I still talk to from college are several states away. Just yesterday, I told another of my sisters that I wanted to come with her to the salon to get highlights. She was cool with this until I told her I was having trouble deciding between PURPLE and BLUE. I'm young, can't try something a little crazy? It's not like I was dying my hair, it was just temporary! She texts back and is like "What! Oh no, you must mean a lighter brown or black highlights" Um no... those things sound nothing alike.

 

Is this really so bad? I think it looks pretty cool, and it's not super out there, just a little flash of color.


Whatever, I'm working on my self-esteem only coming from self, and the people that know the real me. Like Cartman said on South Park, "Whatever! I do what I want!"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZLVi4v7lSM

A New Chapter...for him

So this past weekend was one of the greatest in a long time. My boyfriend decided to drive over and visit me for 3 days before embarking on a new job that takes him to Arkansas for the next few weeks and then across country pretty much indefinitely. Even though our relationship has primarily been a long distance one, we were always only about 3-hrs apart and saw each other about once a month. Now that seems like it's going to be next to impossible and we won't even be able to talk on the phone for the majority of the day. Major BUMMER is an understatement. i'm glad he's moving on to a more fulfilling job that pays more, but a part of me will miss being in constant contact with him. At least we went out with a bang!

On Wednesday we went out for ramen, sake, and sushi, then just hung out at his hotel (napping) and grabbed dinner. Thursday we set out with big plans to tackle the Zoo AND the Aquarium, but after a few hours in the heat while wandering around looking for the kangaroos and tigers, we decided to call it quits after lunch at O'Henry's. At least my pasta was good. And my nap was even better! :) Friday was a bittersweet day since he had to go home, but seeing X-Men: First Class, bowling (I beat him 2-1, take that!), and a few pictures in the park made it a little more bearable.

After shedding only a few tears (I promised I wouldn't cry), it was time to say goodbye and good luck!

Up in Flames....

Saturday was one of the scariest days of my life!!! What started as a somewhat comical event worthy of some crazy sitcom could have ended in tragedy for my family. My cousin called my mom's cell phone and asked where my grandma was, so my mom hands the cell to me and tells me to bring it to her... I walk down the hall, see the front door open, so I figure as usual my grandma decided to go sit on the porch. When I get outside, I see her sitting in a chair on the sidewalk in front of our house talking to some strange woman I didn't know. I decide to ignore this and just hand my grandma the phone and tell her that my cousin wanted to talk. It's then that I find out from the stranger that she was from across the street and my grandma had told her that some strangers had just pushed her out of a car and left her. When I explained the situation, she tell me that she had called the police and that my mom needed to come out. Then we spent another comical 10 minutes or so explaining to the officer that my grandma had moved all of the stuff from in front of our front door, snuck out, and forgot where she was. So we all had a good laugh, we calmed my grandma down, and called my cousin back to tell her what was going on. As it turns out, that earlier phone call is partially what precipitated all of these other events because she heard on her police radio that an elderly woman with my grandma's name said that she had been pushed out of someone's car. As the ruckus died down and we headed inside, things headed downhill. While my mom was outside she had left a pot of grease on to fry shrimp for dinner and it was starting to smoke. When I went out to relay what had happened to my family, the pot burst into flames. I partially blame myself for the rest of these happenings because I didn't turn the pot off, but at the moment I could only try to remember how to put out a grease fire. WATER IS NOT AN OPTION! So I handed my mom a pot top to smother the flames that had began to inch towards our ceiling. That didn't work. The flames were curling up around the side of the top. My mom then grabs a dish towel to try to knock out the excess flames. Then, in a moment when time seemed to simultaneously stop and go into overdrive, the pot fell off the stove and onto the floor. A huge fireball leaped up from the pot and scalding grease flew everywhere. At that moment I felt as if the world was burning to the ground. I ducked into the next room and feared for my mom's life because I could no longer see her through the flames. At this point I was coughing from the thick smoke that now blanketed our kitchen, thinking to myself that this is how those actors on TV would feel if they were in this situation for real instead of in another thrilling primetime slot. I ducked my head back in and was now relieved to see that my mom was ok and that while the flames had now spread to the rug (who puts rugs in kitchens), the flames had not engulfed the room and that my mom was still safe. As we continued to try to beat the flames into submission, my mom announced that it was futile and that the best we could do was try to drag the flaming rug out through the back door without setting the rest of the house on fire. So she grabbed the burning rug and I followed, smothering anything that was set alight as we made a calculated procession to the back door. Thankfully, we made it to the back steps without any further incident. It was at this time that my mom tells me that the grease hit her and her arm was painfully burning... She sent me to get something to put on it, the best thing being aloe vera. Being the wreck that I am, I had no idea she meant the plant by the back steps, instead I am shakily running through all of the room looking for a bottle of aloe. Literally shaking like a leaf, I put some aloe on her and beg her to go to the ER. At first she refuses, but after I buy her all sorts of OTC sprays and creams, she grudgingly agrees that we need a trip to the hospital. It is after midnight that we see an RN that somewhat indifferently tells us that it "sucks" that she got 1st and 2nd degree burns all over her right arm and hand, but that she would be fine. He then proceeds to tell me that he hates New Orleans and that I should join their ER staff because they all dislike people just like me...

Thank God we all survived mostly intact and with a home still, but I think it will be many years if ever that I can forget the emotions that this ordeal evoked, and the images of those flames are burned into my memory, just as the grease burned into my mother's skin.