And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
|
. // bloglinks +
airina
artieee
bjössi
brandon
caterina
chillicrapblog
chris (one-year-gap)
cordelia
dhalif
donald
ember
ewan
ewen
fadil
frances
giggs
guthrie
huiwen
ian
ivy
jane
jay
kenny
labbit
leck koon
leonard
linus
marcus
maria
melissa
melvin
michelle
morganth
nat ho
nat yong pamela
potatobiscuit
pris meimei
rudi
sade
samantha
sidney
siew ling
silver
sharon
stacy
terentius
travis
tom
wenting
zhen ru
. // archives +
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Honestly, being here for the past 24hrs or so just feels different now. I'm familiar with the place I've lived in for all my life, but to me, it's not a home anymore. People say that home is where the heart is, and I feel that it's true. My heart is no longer here, but with him, in Idaho.
Don't get me wrong, I love my family and my friends. But it feels weird, it feels different. Getting used to him and then having it taken away from me and thrown back into a world I once knew. Three months isn't a long time, no... but it was long enough for me to build a stronger relationship with the man I'm going to marry some time in the near future.
Update on the immigration issue. Karl called the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and they said that they have not processed our petition. In fact, they don't even know if they have received it, so they asked us to call back in two weeks. I'm thinking of getting Karl to call back slightly earlier, just to bug them until they do something. The uncertainty and stress of this whole issue is putting unnecessary strain on our relationship.
I'm going to rant a little bit now. I cannot stand one of Karl's roommates. Technically, one of his roommate's wife. There are five of us. Karl, myself, Ry, Mal and his wife Jess. Let me just get this clear. I-DO-NOT-LIKE-HER. Not because she's a woman and I feel she's invading territory, nothing like that. After all, she was there first. But she marks her territory obviously. With filthy, disgusting dishes.
Let me set the scene for you. Ry is a nice dude (with an anger problem), with occasional bouts of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) where he tends to clean. A lot. Lucky thing is, he doesn't direct his anger at people directly. He just punches things. Like his door. The one other person who actually does cleaning, especially in the kitchen area, is me. However, the two of us know how to make a mess, and clean it up after we're done.
Not Jess.
She's 19, I think. But maturity doesn't come with age. She seems quite self-centered and confrontational sometimes, and she wants Mal all to herself, not understanding fully that he has other friends too. I've heard stories from people, and they're not exactly pleasant to listen to. I mean, if Karl wants to go for a late-night poker game, I let him. Why not? He deserves a night out with the guys whenever he wants, really. Jess however, told Mal to put off his plans (made a week in advance, mind!) and take her shopping. THEY got a hamster because SHE misses her cats. How is that logical?
This was an actual conversation.
P: What's up?
J: Nothing much, I'm just having a feud with Malik right now.
P: Oh? What happened?
J: I wanted to buy this pair of pants but Malik got all pissy on me, so we haven't spoken for a while.
P: Ah hah...
J: So I'm headed out to buy those pants. And when I return, I'm going to tell him, "Let me feel good about being your wife. Let's go out to eat."
In my mind, I was trying not to make any snide comments. My mind's free to roam, but I made sure my mouth stayed shut. But honestly, I was thinking to myself, "Like Mal's gonna be sooo much happier having to spend even MORE pointless money."
ANYWAY! Back to what I was going on about dishes. I honestly don't mind doing the dishes for Ry and Mal. Ry cleans the bathroom we share with Karl every once in a while, and several times, the kitchen floor. Mal does his own laundry as well as Jess', so I kinda don't blame him. Jess however, does nothing but make a mess larger.
So about those dishes. Mal and Jess cook a lot. Mostly taco meat and other not-so-nutritious things. When they're done cooking, they dump the pots and pans and plates into the sink before taking their food into their room to eat. On several occasions, the crockery sits in the kitchen sink for a couple of days as I usually do the dishes anyway.
One time however, I had just done the dishes and went out with Karl. When I returned, I found that the sink was full. Again. With dirty dishes, and a tupperware case of pasta that had been sitting in the fridge for a month, then out of the fridge for a week. I decided to leave it there and see when they'd actually lift a finger to help. A week passed. Nothing. Ry comes home each day after work getting angrier and angrier at the pile of dishes. He even broke one of the dishes on the kitchen floor in his anger. That only made him even more pissed.
Funny thing, though. The couple doesn't cook when there is nothing to use. It got to a point where all there's left in the cabinets were PLATES as we had tons of those. No cups, no glasses, no bowls. Even the large serving bowl that belonged to Karl had been missing for a month or two.
During the week, Ry had expressed his desire to move out of the apartment within the month to Karl and myself, while we were playing on the Wii. He was growing very tired of the couple's (mostly Jess') habits, and wanted out. Needless to say, Karl and I were pretty upset. I mean, we like Ry, he's a good guy. Sure he has a hole in his door where he punched it last year, but nevertheless, a good guy. To be sure, we even asked if it was our fault, if we had done anything to upset him. He didn't place the blame on us, but on Jess.
Riding in the car with Karl later that evening, I told him that I was kinda bummed that Ry was intending on moving out. Karl agreed, and at that point, I felt that I had to persuade Ry not to move out. The next day while Karl was still at work, Ry came home from work, and I told him that both Karl and myself were not happy with the fact that he had decided to move out. I asked him to take some time to think, preferably when I returned Stateside. We ended up discussing alternatives, one of which made us think hard, but the idea pleased us. It meant both Karl and Ry moving out to a smaller apartment, same complex or no.
Considering it's a lot cheaper than living in a house, and a lot more convenient (just a lot less customizable), the idea didn't seem like it had any flaws. I can cook and clean, and Ry cleans too. Karl and Ry had been sharing a bathroom since Karl moved in two years ago, and there had been no disputes there, so even a 2 Bed 1 Bath apartment wouldn't be a problem. The plan was almost perfect. It was getting them to move out on Mal that was going to be a problem, as they were all friends, and it would seem like betrayal in a way. Still, both men decided to sleep on the idea.
After a week I finally broke down and did the dishes. I even scrubbed the kitchen counters and cleaned everything, from the cabinets to the hobs. I even cleaned and dried the sink and emptied the waste disposal, which was still rather full with leftover and ultra-drenched, rancid food. I was still scrubbing and cleaning and cursing under my breath when Matt came over. Ry came home and was surprised, but he didn't seem as angry as he was the day before, when he broke the plate.
After that incident though, it turned out that Ry might not be moving after all. I'm glad, honestly I am. I've grown to get used to Ry, no matter how much he pokes fun at me. I even like being around him.
However, as soon as I was done with the dishes, they began to cook again. This time, they brought out all the hidden dishes and cutlery they had stashed in their room. One of them was particularly vile; it had once contained macaroni and cheese, but now contained an awful mix of macaroni, mold and bacteria. The tupperware case of pasta was still sitting in the sink, now joined with another tupperware case of pasta sauce. I gave up.
So yeah, I'm kinda pissed.
Oh well, I'm not there anymore, am I? All we gotta do now is wait for the USCIS. That might take some doing, but hey. Who are we to rush them, right?
. // prawninator | 02:18 + ~ I'm coming home.
I leave on August 11, but I'll be home August 13, at about 00:05hrs. It's been a trying time, an emotional time, but a good time overall. I have neglected to use my camera over the three month period, but I have assured myself I will remember everything I can on this trip.
Such as this past weekend. It was awesome. Karl and I drove out of Boise for about an hour and a half, and spent Saturday night with David and Ivy at David's aunt's cabin near Banks. We stayed up watching a crappy (but otherwise funny) John Waters film, and played Uno while sipping champagne from old school Coca-Cola glasses and munching on candy and tortilla chips. David and Ivy got the bedroom of course, while Karl and I got the loft. I went to bed horrified of the number (and SIZE!) of the bugs just hovering above my head and around the cabin.
The next morning, I was groggy and still sleepy. David and Ivy made breakfast (yay!) consisting of scrambled eggs, pancakes and strawberries. That wasn't really the highlight, though. Karl and I drove about twenty minutes back to Banks, where we were meeting several other Flying Pie-ers. Apparently, every year during the summer, they would hold an annual rafting trip. Each employee is allowed to bring one guest, so Karl brought me. :D
Already dressed for the event, with Karl and myself in respective swim outfits, we smothered ourselves in sunblock and loaded ourselves up on the buses, that would take us to Bear Valley rafting. On the ride, some of them were drawing "Flying Pie-rates" tattoos with Sharpies and ball-points on their arms.
After about an hour, we finally reached the dock where the boats were waiting. It was six to a boat, so Karl and I went on one, along with Kregg, his guest Terence, the boss Howard and his dad Barry. I didn't know what to expect on a trip like this, but Karl had expressed his concern regarding my safety. So sweet.
Off we went down the river. The further we got, the more white water rapids we encountered, and our guide TJ was pretty good in steering, as well as directing us as to what to do. Barry wasn't really fit to paddle, but that was all right, as the rest of us paddled harder. He was sitting behind me in the raft and was always worried he'd whomp me or something. He's a pretty cheerful guy for someone so old, honestly!
Words cannot describe how exhilarating it was to ride the rapids. So many times I felt like I would be thrown out of the boat. So many times I felt my sunglasses inch away from my nose, ready to fall into the depths of the river. All I could do was soak in the glory that was nature, trees and rock formations all around me, a little waterfall, hot springs, sunk cars and trucks, logs we had to avoid; everything. Glorious.
The only downside is, I'm more tanned on one side than the other.
After rafting for a while, we got to Big Falls portage, where we had to disembark and have the rafts float themselves down a Class 6 rapid. Braving that rapid could have killed us all, so everyone on every boat disembarked and hiked a little bit further down and re-board the boats. Looking at the rapids that just surged around the rocks we were standing on, I saw how fierce and unrelenting nature can be. It was horrifying, yet fascinating at the same time.
A little further down from that was a rock jump point. We idled there for a bit while the Pie-ers jumped off a rock into the deep water. A lot of them said silly things, like Nick went, "Someone get me a beeeeeeeeeer!" as he hit the water. Victoria shouted, "Perlin I love youuuu!" and some guys discovered the high range of their vocal chords too. Marshall handed his glasses to me and jumped, as did Karl. However, Karl was still a little disoriented when I handed his glasses to him, and he dropped them in the river. The guide that saw what happened was almost sure that it dropped down a deep cleft near where we were standing, but Karl saw something glint, and like a professional spear-fisher, he caught his glasses as they were slipping off the edge of the cleft. Lucky!
There was a little area called "Trash Can", where rafters could "surf" the rapids. A raft (not ours, Howard and Barry probably couldn't handle it) braved the cold, cold waters and capsized, losing two out of its four crew, but they were okay as they were hauled back into the raft. Another raft lost its guide and none of its other occupants, but he was promptly pulled back in. No sense in rafting without a guide, at that point.
About 10 miles or so down the river, we were allowed to remove our helmets, as the rapids wouldn't be as harsh. Kregg and Karl were taught by TJ to play the "Trust Game", where they stood, each on one side of the raft, interlocking the t-grips on their paddles, and slowly inching away from each other over the edge of the raft but not quite falling in. Karl moved too quickly and was the first to get dunked. It was so funny to watch. The water however, was really cold so he wanted to be hauled back. Over the next hour or so, they tried again, with both Karl and Kregg getting drenched again and again as they tried to do it over again. We all had a good laugh.
Karl and Kregg took turns sitting on the front of the raft, as though riding a bull. It was so funny, because whenever we hit a rapid, Karl would just stick out one arm and pose, holding on to the raft with his other. We tried to take pictures with Terence's (waterproof!) camera, but he quickly ran out of batteries.
All too soon, the 14 mile rafting session came to an end. It took six hours (including a delicious lunch of chicken caeser pita) but it felt so much shorter. We didn't lose one person on the rapids! Karl and Kregg don't count; it was self-inflicted. Hehe. It was a great sense of achievement to have braved the ferocity of nature, and it was also definitely fun. Some of the guys even said that they'd probably have to stay working there for a while more JUST for the annual trip. I could go on more and more and more, but like I mentioned before, words escape me.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat though!
. // prawninator | 17:49 + ~
You might be living in my neighbourhood, or some other town or country far away. I don't know. And neither do you, at this point.
Wherever you are, I know I'll find you... if you don't find me first.
It's just a matter of time.
. // links | misc +
- poorgamergirl auction
- email me
- [shop] wear your dice
- [shop] the poor gamer girl
- idm website
- idm forums
- halloween photos
The Poor Gamer Girl Fund
:D
We could use any help we can get, but you are not obliged to.
:)
