Felix...one strange kat!

I think I'm going to hang out at the aiport more often. As I stood there leaning against a pole as I waited for my mom last night, I thought about how intriguing it would be to work at an airport. Why?...because people are so dern interesting...and where else but at an airport would you find such a wide variety of people?

Let's just take last night for instance. I was only there waiting for 10 minutes. But within that 10 minutes, I saw at least 3 characters that I would seriously make interesting subjects for short stories. But the most interesting was Felix.

I'm not sure why I chose Felix, but it just sounds like a pimp name to me. This is exactly what Felix looked like. The elevator door opened, and all i could see was a luggage cart, full of luggage. The driving force behind it was completely hidden behind the pile of suitcases. All of a sudden I saw a pair of feet slide on either side of the luggage, as if the body behind it was holding on to the cart for dear life, but the two cream alligator loafers slipped and almost lost control. Finally the feet scuffled together, and from behind the cart emerged Felix. At first, I thought he was wearing a Halloween costume, but I quickly remembered that Halloween had come and gone. Felix was wearing a light green and gold checkered suit with a long jacket and a vest. He had a green tie to match and a creme hat to match his creme shoes. I wasn't the only one who looked at him quizically. What struck me as funny was his stride. He walked around the airport as if it was completely normal for him to be dressed like a pimp in the mid-1970's, and the rest of us were stuck in a fashion time warp.

If I saw someone as interesting as Felix within the first 10 minutes at the airport...imagine what I could see in an 8 hour shift!

I'm ba-ack (again)

After 2 weeks of traveling, I'm finally back home for a while. And I must say, it feels good. I now have to somehow get myself back into the groove of being at work, watching what I eat, and running. The misery I will face of in the coming days as I re-train myself will be well worth it...considering all the fun I had. My trip to Houston was a killer. Never again will I drive 8.5 hours by myself again. Especially since I have this problem where I sleep while I drive!! I went to H-town to see my cousin Kenji Burian and attend my newest nephew's baptism. Both were very eventful. After the baptism, I discovered I locked my keys in my car. Poor Jessy, who donated her triple A card so I could call a locksmith. As we waited for triple A to show up, we both got bit by fire ants. My foot itched like crazy..but Jessy had an allergic reaction, which caused her to itch from head to toe, turn red, swell, and she couldn't breathe. Later in the ER, Mikey compared her to the scene in Hitch when Will Smith reacted similarly to sea food. Horrible situation!! But glad to report that she's much better now!

I'm currently recuperating from my travels and worrying myself sick about getting the dog TONIGHT! Will I be a good dog owner? I hope so. I have no one else to devote my time and attention too. So, I think this will be a good thing...for both of us. I hope.

Other than all that jazz, i'm still waiting to hear from the jobs. The wait is pretty much making me crazy. But what is it that they say? Patience is a virtue. Lord knows I should be the most virtuous person around...considering all the things I've been patiently waiting for. ;) So anyway, for those kind souls who have been praying over the matter...please continue to pray for me. Also...for those of you blog readers who aren't flog readers. A fellow flog sister's mom is pretty ill right now. Please keep Sibil, her mom, and her family in your prayers...that she will get through this and be able to come home soon!

That's all for now, folks!

I've never spent a Thanksgiving going where I wanted to go or doing what I wanted to do. It feels odd to me that suddenly, I don't have someone narrarrating my day's agenda. I get to pick! Yeehaw!! I will be leaving for Dallas early Thursday morning, where I will be spending Thanksgiving with CCL. I have been assigned the task of making green bean casserole. I have no doubt that I can make it and that it will be good. However, I know better than to think that CCL will consume the GBC without some sort of insult. Back when I was 7, I made a horrid pan-fried steak...and despite the fact that I've grown up and can now cook pretty darn well, she will never forgive me for it.

On Friday, I'm off to Houston. I have lots of cousins from both sides there, so it's always difficult to visit everyone. But, I will definitely make the attempt on this trip. My cousin Benji will be in town from Chicago. I haven't seen the dude in 12 years...which is horrid, but true. I'm looking forward to spending time with him as well as my cousins on my father's side. My cousin Mikey is the only person I know who gets excited about family get togethers. He loves family bonding, and I think that's why I love most about him. =)

It's going to be a long weekend...and a lot of driving will have to take place...but it will be well worth it. Wish me luck...as I attempt to clean my bathroom, room, vacuum, sweep and grill chicken fajitas in the span of an hour and a half. =/
Before I go, I'd like to list a few things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving...

I'm thankful that despite the fact that I live in an evil world...where no one knows exactly what can happen at any given time...the Lord has kept me safe and sound.
I'm thankful that my sister and I were able to give my mom her very first birthday cake!
I'm thankful that I have 3 precious children in my family who are healthy, ingenious, and beautiful!
I'm thankful for my friends who make me smile even when I don't want to.
I'm thankful for my insane, yet entertaining family...far and near!
I'm thankful to God for giving me a something to be passionate about!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'm ba-ack

I just received a call from a very important person in India, Mr. DM...he told me that I needed to get on the ball and post some pictures from my trip to the Bahamas...so I thought I better oblige.

I've been back for 3 days, and I still feel like I'm swaying. It's really weird. I've heard people say that you have "sea legs" after a cruise, but I never fully understood that term till now. I had a few short days with no worries, and now i'm back to the rat race. I had an interview yesterday. It was the most I've ever been questioned in an interview...questions ranging from what's your favorite color...to what was the worst professional decision you've made? =/ please pray for me folks.

however...the memories of paradise still linger in my mind....

Tuesdays version of Friday Shout outz...

Today is my Friday since I'm out for the rest of the week! I know you will be desperately sad, but I have no time to put up the word for the day. I'm running around like a chicken with no head to get my b-znass taken care of before I go.

In honor of my Friday...I shall give you my Tuesday version of Friday shoutouts!

To Tuesday...the checker at Hobby Lobby, who undoubtedly has spent her entire life listening to people mock her about her name. Why? Why would parents do that?

To the best pharmacist in Okc, my pal, Ruby...for ordering me Sea Bands since no other pharmacy in town carried it!

To the cast and crew of 2911 for the 2nd week in a row...my thoughts and prayers are with you.

To DM in Banglore...I don't know how I'm gonna live for 3 days with out reading your blogs.

To opentable.com, which allows me to make dinner reservations online! i love it!

To all of you suckaz...that still have to work Wednesday-Monday.

oh oh oh...and best of all...TO MY LORD JESUS! I made it to step 2 of the interview process for the job I've been trying to get!

aplomb \uh-PLOM\, noun:
Assurance of manner or of action; self-possession; confidence; coolness

Because of her training and skill she was very aplomb.

Is it jsut me or do Mondays come around so quickly? The good thing about this week is that I only have one more day before my vacation. So technically, this is my Thursday and tomorrow is Friday! Yeehaw. I would have loved to know about my job situation prior to leaving, however at this rate, I don't really think I'll know anything till after Thanksgiving. I will survive.

I don't think I was at home for more than 5 minutes on Saturday, which was A-ok with me. Sunday was jam packed too, but I was able to make a run to Blockbuster last night and rent a really heart-wrenching documentary. It's called "Born into Brothels." It's basically the story of a photographer who spent time in Calcutta's Red Light District...with children of prostitutes. She taught them everything about photography, and raised grant money by selling their pictures in art gallery showings. It was absolutely awesome...how art changed their lives...if even for a brief moment. It gave them hope. If you haven't watched it, please rent it!

I feel good...cuz it's FRIDAY!

puissant \PWISS-uhnt; PYOO-uh-suhnt; pyoo-ISS-uhnt\, adjective:
Powerful; strong; mighty; as, a puissant prince or empire.

I serve a puissant God, and everything is possible with Him on my side.

Good Friday to you all...I am in much better spirits today. I have finally realized that I need not worry because God is on my side. With that being said, no more whining about my work woes. I know He is going to see me through this situation. I called the lady that I talked to yesterday. If you'll remember, I completely jacked a phone interview with her. I called her to "touch base" since I hadn't heard from her yesterday. (I just knew that her lack of response was because of my horrible interview). However, she explained that she hadn't finished phone interviews and would let me know today. I think I've done all I can...showed her I was interested...so now it's in God's hands. Meanwhile, I have another interview today, but I am kinda iffy about whether I want this one or not. So, anyhoo..we shall see how it goes.

On to my shout outs for this Friday...

To next Wednesday!!! My suitcase is packed and I'm ready to go. Bahamas here I come. I can't wait to feel the sand between my toes (shut up, Sheryl) and the waves nipping at my ankles (cuz i wont be going any deeper than that!)

To Sherry P, my first event planning customer!!!

To having my BF in town this weekend and next week till I leave...let the good times begin!

To the cast and crew of 2911...good luck and God's speed...you've reached "the week before"...you will be living and breathing 2911 and my heart goes out to you all!! I'll think of you when I frolic on the beach. ;)

And that's all for today, folks. have a wonderful weekend. I have to spend the evening deciding what to wear to a wedding. why do we girls do that? It's not like all eyes will be on us, anyway? It's usual focused on the chick in white.

=/

laudable \LAW-duh-bul\, adjective:
Worthy of praise; commendable.

I didn't give a laudable performance on my phone interview today.

Well folks...I had a phone interview today. Except I didn't know it was going to be a phone interview. So, I freaked out because I sit out in the open where everyone and their mothers can hear what I say on the phone. So, if I had known the lady was going to do a phone interview, I would have waited till I was at lunch in the comfort of my office, the CRV to talk to her! So, she asked me questions, and I nervously replied. But, it was worse than that. I had 50 second pauses between words where I was trying to remember the English word for ORGANIZATIONS! oh my goodness...talk about SCREWING UP! Now, the next step is an in person interview...if I make that far, it will truly be God's grace and nothing else. It's hard to think about anything else other than my non-laudable performance this morning. =( But, as the good word says..."if God is for you who can be against you?" So, I'm just praying that the good Lord is for me!

Ok, let's talk about something else, shall we? So we can get my mind off my non-laudable performance. I was thinking about how much "stuff" I do in the car besides drive. Normal people juggle driving and talking on their cell phones. That's not so much of a challenge and still relatively safe. But me? I'm a total multi-tasker. I put on make up and drive, read and drive, and eat cereal and drive. Let me tell you, i love those bowls with the straws attached. I know theyr'e for kids...but they come in handy when you're driving and eating cereal. That way you don't have to tilt the bowl and cover your eyes when trying to drink milk.

ok guys, this isn't working. i'm still thinking about...u know what. =/ I have to get out of my current situation. It's so bad that "Hoo" the BC's groundskeeper has noticed that my current state of funk is a serious one. He called me this morning and said, "Hootie, when you go off to the Bahamas, you need to think long and hard about what you want to do. I don't want you to come back and sound as bad as you do now. You only have 2 good days in a week and the rest of the days you sound like hell."

Pray for me, folks.

Reminiscing about the college crew...

oneiric \oh-NY-rik\, adjective:
Of, pertaining to, or suggestive of dreams; dreamy.

My trip to the Bahamas should be an oneiric paradise!

I was reminiscing today about my college days. My mother wonders why I'm not hooked up as of yet because back then I solely hung out with guys. But what she doesn't understand is that I wasn't one of those girls who had a throng of guys around because they were attracted to me like bees on honey. Instead, I was just kinda one of them....and this is why all of them are married now..but not to me. (thankfully...no offense, guys). I know there were other girls on campus, but I guess I couldn't relate. I was definitely in that tomboy stage until my mid-twenties. (Strange, I know) I always used to buy my shirts from Structure. (sheesh..so weird!)

I remember vividly when the guys first invited me to go to lunch with them. I felt like I was finally being inducted into the brotherhood. We sat at Taco Bueno...and I listened intently while they talked about various stories of how they lit fire crackers. (so enthralling, right?) At one point, something humorous was said, and I laughed. Or should I say...I snorted. It was the first time the guys had heard me snort. It was the first time a snort had accidentally leaked out. I stopped abruptly...and so did they. They all just kinda stopped and stared at me. But, then after a few seconds, they proceeded with their nonsense...and I hung out with the brotherhood ever since.

Now my brothers are married with children. In fact, last week I went to one of the guys' house, and his little girl was tugging at his pant leg, saying "daddy, daddy"...and it was so strange to me. How is it that time has flown by so fast? Weren't we just sitting at taco bueno yesterday?...Laughing, talking, and snorting amongst each other? Now all of a sudden there is a tiny little human calling you daddy?!? It was a surreal moment.

Luckily, when I was 24 or so...I realized that it was time to start behaving like a girl. I began making gal pals and became engulfed in the drama of the sisterhood. =) Sisterhood...or brotherhood...I am a pretty lucky girl because I have great friends. They accept me and love me...snorts and all!

Following Suja's Lead...

nosegay \NOHZ-gay\, noun:
A bunch of odorous and showy flowers; a bouquet; a posy.

I told Sheryl to order nosegays for her bridesmaids boquets, and she had no clue with they were.

Following SujaK's lead today with a twist. I figure half of the stuff on surveys no one cares about...so i picked the top few interesting questions from each portion and answered ....

Basics
Where were u born? Chicago, Illinois...the home of awesome people like Jeesho!

Favorites
Memory? I'm not sure this is my favorite memory, but it's definitely a funny one that comes to mind. When me and Sheryl thought lake Hefner was only 4 miles around...and tried to walk it and then discovered it was 10 miles around and had to call Sonia to pick us up! =/

Family
Favorite cousins ?
This is so easy....Susan T. aaaaaaaaaahahahaha, sorry CCL!

Friends
Friends you spend the most time with? Finuji, my neighbor!

Who is the ______ person you know?
Craziest…Lisa, my cousin
Loudest ....Lisa, my cousin
Most trustworthy ...Sonia, her mouth is a steele safe
Ditzy...Sherika Jenkins Jacob
Smartest...DM
Prettiest...my sister
Funniest...Sheryl, Lisa, and Billy
Talented: Mikey Mathew
Most creative: Sybil
Most mature: DM
Hottest guy...JT. ;)
Best to joke around with...DM and Billy
Best person for advice...DM and Sonia
Person you tell everything...Sonia, Sunu A, Lisa, and Susan T
One you can’t stand...Sonia, SunuA, Lisa, Susan T know

Love
No Comments

This or That
Pepsi/Coke...Coke

Random ?’s
How many people do you trust with your life? 1
What’s your biggest regret? No regrets...learned a lot from every stupid thing i've done.

Last
Who was your last hug? My niece, Missa

What do you
Want? a new job
Need...a new job
Crave ...Taco Bueno
Love...traveling
Think about ALL the time...getting a new job
Like looking at ...job ads
Wish...that I could get a new job
Hate...my current job

Almost Done
Any last thoughts...this has made me realize that I want, need, wish for, think about getting a job way too much!!

propitious \pruh-PISH-uhs\, adjective:
1. Presenting favorable circumstances or conditions.
2. Favorably inclined; gracious; benevolent
Sentence: I hope this will be a propitious week for me.

Monday again. It comes so fast. I have a lot to look forward to this month, however my work woes are getting the best of me. On Friday, I was walking out of work with this lady, and as soon as our feet hit the pavement of the parking lot, she jumped as high as her 4 foot 5 inch self could jump and yelled, "Yesssssssssss, it's Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She's been here for 26 years. It was a horrifying thought to me. Living like this day in and day out for weeks, months, years. I shudder to think about 26 years.

Anyway, so as I was saying...I have lots to look forward to if I could just get past my current situation. BF comes to town on Friday. We are going to try out a posh, new cafe in the art district here in OKC..where we will be sporting all the cute "New York-ish" clothes we bought on our visit to the Big Apple. ;)

Then, next week...I'm Bahamas Bound!!!! I'm so excited despite the news of the recent pirate attack on one of the sister ships of the carnival cruiselines. I figure we'll be sailing on US waters, so I should be farely safe from pirates. I can't believe pirates still exist. I wonder if they are the "others" on the island in Lost. Hmmm...I wonder what pirates look like. Not that I'd like to run into one and find out.

Thennnnnnnn....it's Thanksgiving. Typically Thanksgiving is farely boring because I never go anywhere, and God knows no one comes to Oklahoma. But this Thanksgiving, the maternal unit will be visiting my sister. This means, I have the house to myself for an entire week! Yee to the Haw! I will be hosting a little pre-thanksgiving feast for all the friends Wednesday night. And then Thursday, I'm headed south for a Thanksgiving with CCL and gang. After which, I will be driving to Houston to see my namesake cousin and the new baby, as well as my cousin on my mom's side who I haven't seen in a good 12 years. Wow!

Yes, exciting times are ahead...if only I could be excited about them!

dapple \DAP-uhl\, noun:
1. A small contrasting spot or blotch.
2. A mottled appearance, especially of the coat of an animal (as a horse).

Sentence: I have a dapple on my forehead from when I ran into the wall as a kid.

It's Friday. And in 7 hours, I can rejoice. Till then, I will just keep praying that I can survive the day.

I don't have many shout outz this week...

To God for getting me through yet another week of the rat race.
To DM for being able to fly all the way to India in first class because he's officially a business man now.

And that ends my shout outs for the week. Last night on the way home, I listened to this radio dj tell this story about how he was in an elevator and sneezed and a fart popped out also, and he was completely mortified. Then all these callers were talking about embarrassing situations. So, I thought I would share my own...and a few others.

My most embarrassing situation is when I visited the Mar Thoma Church in Chicago several years ago. I went to the bathroom and came out, walked all the way up the stairs, through the sanctuary, sat down in a pew, and stood during various times in the service. Finally, when I was about to leave...this kid comes up to me and says..."your dress is stuck." Sure enough, the bottom of my dress was stuck in the waist band of my hose. In other words, I was flashing the entire church! I was mortified and haven't been back to Chicago since!

Here's another funny one...my friend Sheryl being the dope that she is was boarding a plane one day. The hostess stretched out her hand toward Sheryl (for the ticket) and Sheryl shook her hand. Then the hostess said, "uhh, I need your ticket." I witnessed the entire thing...and thought "what a moron!" When I tried to call her out on her moronic behavior, she insisted that she shook the lady's hand on purpose in order to be funny. (whatev!)

My other friend...who will remain nameless for this story...did an equally moronic thing. It was at a hotel in houston. I was pretty pissed off about something, and in order to relieve my stress, she suggested that we go chillax in the sauna. When we got there, I decided it was way too hot. But she jumped in. There were a few guys already in the sauna. So it was her, 3 guys, and my feet. (no comment Sheryl) I was wondering why the guys were staring at her hypnotized for some reason. But, suddenly it made sense to me when one guy floated over to her and said "you might want to stay under water because we can see through your shirt." Needless to say, my brilliant friend had worn a white tee with no bra! aaaaaaaaaahahah...

Got an embarrassing story?

How to make a brotha blush...

subfusc \sub-FUHSK\, adjective:
Dark or dull in color; drab, dusky.

Sentence: During the winter months, I resort to wearing subfusc colors.

It's Wednesday, weigh in Wednesday, and I'm crazy nervous. I'm not sure why, but my scale showed that I gained weight. Could it be my wool skirt? I hope so. In other news...I have no other news, per se. A funny incident did occur in the elevator this morning that I would like to share.

I was in the elevator with an older woman (gray hair and in her late 50's) and a young, rather attractive black man who was dressed to the nines today. In my head, I'm thinkin..."damn, brotha sure do look good." Just then, as if she was reading my mind...she told him, "you sure do look nice today. then again, you look nice every day. your mother taught you well." he chuckled an uncomfortable chuckle as he stared at his feet and muttered thank you. Then he assured her saying, "I don't look nice every day. Sometimes I'm a scrub." To which she replies, "well everytime I see you you look nice, and I can tell you enjoy looking nice because you're always trimmed and looking good." At this point, I was somewhere in the corner of the elevator dying of embarrasment. Luckily, the elevator doors opened and the blushed black guy left.

After which, the older lady turns to me and says, "i think I embarrassed him." Uh, yah...u think? Then she said,"but that's okay, I'm old. If I were young, he woulda thought I was flirting with him." News flash, I think he thought you were flirting anyway.
But, I gotta give props to the ballsy lady who spoke her mind. The fine brotha will remember her more than the girl in subfusc colors cowering in the back corner of the elevator.

Halloween...a recap

alpenglow \AL-puhn-gloh\, noun:
A reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains.

Sentence: As we climbed up the mountain side, we stopped in awe to admire the alpenglow.

I have to write about the festivities of last night to give you all a good chuckle or two. I got home last night to see that the M.U. (maternal unit) had already neatly arranged the candy in a bowl...all prepared for trick-or-treaters. She had one bag of chocolates open on one side of the bowl and one bag of gum filled the other side of the bowl. I proceeded to put stickers (the Jesus loves you labels I made) on the candy bars. In fear that I was opening up more bags of candy, the MU ran into the kitchen to see what I was doing. After realizing I was not "messing up" her arrangement, she relaxed and settled back in to watch the news. Mainly out of curiousity, I had to ask her why she didn't just open all 3 bags of chocolate. What was she saving the other two for? For us to eat? Afterall, I'm watching my intake and she has diabetes...so this wouldn't be a smart thing to do. Her reply? "I'm just saving."

I shrugged and started dinner. It wasn't long before the doorbell rang, and I yelled out to her that her friends arrived. She grabbed the candy and said, "Juth a minute..." towards the door. The kid at the door says, "I like bubble gum." And instead of giving him an extra one (which is what the kid was hoping for), my mom says..."I already gave you one."

At that point, I was thrilled when my niece called me to ask me if I would take her and my nephew trick-or-treating. It beat listening to my mom the stingy grinch all night with these kids...despite the fact that we had a whole stash of candy still unopen! So, I headed over to my brother's house to find my niece, the karate kid and my nephew, mr. pumpkin head all ready to go. Marissa had offered Andrew a crash course on Halloween etiquette, which he sampled on me when I gave him the first stash of candy (that I snuck out of my mom's carefully calculated bowl). Andrew looked straight up at me, held his bowl in front of my face, and said, "twick o tweat" as if his life depended on it....followed by a "thanku" when he heard the candy hit the bucket.

Taking him out to do the real thing was a different story. If any of the houses had decorations in front of the door, the boy freaked out. His sister would then coax him to the door step by reciting their mantra..."we gotta the candy"...As soon as he got the candy he took off running down the drive at high speeds and practically jumped into my arms saying, "I'm scared of that pumpkin!" (pointing at the jack-o-lantern lit up the doorstep). I asked him how he could be scared of a pumpkin when he was a pumpkin. His explanation was very simple. "i'm a cute pumpkin. that one's scary." Kids...gotta love em'.