Growing and learning

Not having to work has allowed me the privelage of ignoring things like dates and times. I rarely know what the date is, and last night I realized that I go back home in less than a week! Today, with the help of Pink Floyd, I started reflecting upon the last three months and about how much I have learned about myself. Here's some of what I've learned:

• Piercings are a phase. There was a girl bagging my stuff at KMart with a big loop through her bottom lip. The first thing through my head was "That looks so stupid. Why do people do that to themselves?" I then realized what I was thinking, and that led me to the conclusion that piercings, for me at least, are a phase. I do still like my tongue ring, however.
• Tattoos are not a phase, at least not yet. I want more.
• My back problems are not stress related, I really do have a bum back. It went out two days ago.
• Lexapro does do something to me which keeps me in good moods. If I don't take it, I snap at people, withdraw from everything, and am just less pleasant to be around.
• I had never been in love before Matt. I might have thought I was, but I had never felt like I do now.
• My parents are the coolest ever. I don't get guilt trips if I don't call. They trust me and my decisions, even when they involve moving 4000 miles from home to live with a guy I met online. They will always be there for me. I love my family hehe.
• My friendship with Tony will last forever, even if we don't see each other for extended periods of time. I had questioned how my moving out here would affect our friendship. It has changed in some respects, but the love that we have for each other won't change.
• It is possible to quit smoking cold turkey, even if you don't want to, if someone pressures you enough to do it.
• Money and material things don't matter. I think this might tie into being in love.
• It is indeed possible for 65 degrees to feel really really cold.

For the most part, I'm still the same old me. I still love Pink Floyd, the Brewers, sports, video games, punk music, and I can still be really stubborn.

Big changes

Today we had quite a few rather large changes. Matt's sister arrived from Colorado. We picked her up at the airport at 12:30pm. We moved our futon into her room so she would have something to sleep on, as well as moved everything out of her closet and into ours. Fortunately, this apartment has ample closet space, so storing things really isn't a concern.

Since we moved the futon, which was my makeshift computer desk, we decided to go to OfficeMax and get a couple of real computer desks. Matt and I both found one that we liked as well as chairs to go with them. We had to rearrange our bedroom a bit to fit mine in, but the bedroom actually looks larger now. Matt's computer desk is going in the living room.

I also had to rewire the apartment for computer purposes. We were constantly tripping over wires in the living room, so I taped them all up and made them run under a large rug that we have in the living room. I also had to run two ethernet cables into each of the bedrooms for internet access. That took quite a bit of time, since I taped them together as well as to the wall to prevent us from tripping on them.

All in all, it was a very busy but productive day.

I got to see home

I just happened to be flipping through the channels today, and on ESPN the Badgers just happened to be playing Penn State. I caught them in the beginning of the game and watched it all the way through. The offense sucked, but the defense was more than enough to keep me occupied. They did end up winning. It was so nice to see shots of Madison on TV. It's making me homesick lol.

After that I was pretty bored. I logged into EQ and Dustin asked if I wanted to watch a concert DVD with him, so he came over and watched Tenacious D. They are a pretty funny duo. He stuck around for a while and we talked, then he went to his place and we played EQ together. Tony just happened to be up as well, so he joined us. Tony got a new phone today and has been picture and text messaging me on and off throughout the day. That has helped to keep me entertained as well.

Right now I am waiting for Matt to call before I go to bed. I am watching a 3rd Rock From the Sun marathon in the meantime.

We're nerds

Matt and I have officially reached the status of nerds. Not only do we spend the majority of our time playing online computer games, we have now branched into a new realm of nerdiness - model building. I have always enjoyed building models, and so has he. Tonight we took a trip to a hobby store in the mall where they sell models and model building supplies. We are starting with a WWI airplane. This should be fun and is a good activity for us to do together, albeit nerdy.

While we were at the mall, we had to stop at our favorite ice cream place, Coldstone Creamery. I had an awesome cheesecake special in a chocolate and candy dipped waffle bowl. Matt had a brownie mix in a waffle bowl as well. I got the medium size, and it was way too much to eat. The weather here is still gorgeous, and tonight was no different. We sat outside the mall and watched all the kids cruise the parking lot as we ate our ice cream. Some things are the same no matter where you are, I guess.

I think I'm tanning

I've been working on this tan thing for a while now, and I think it's starting to show. I still burn, but not nearly as easily as I used to. For example, today I was out by the pool for well over and hour and only got a little pink! Before I got here, 5 minutes would do me in. I have to look like I live in Hawaii when I come home in under two weeks lol.

I fell asleep pretty early last night and forgot completely about posting. There's not much new to post about today, either, and I'll probably turn in fairly early again.

Graduated to more advanced cooking

Ok this might not seem like a big deal to most of you, but for me it was a big deal. Tonight I made stuffed peppers. I was sooo proud of myself! They weren't exactly like Mom used to make, but they were still pretty good. Yes, I've graduated from Hamburger Helper every night to more advanced things like baked chicken, roasts, steaks, etc. I am excited lol.

I did some work on the site and got some new pictures up in a couple of the sections. I finished the Brewers section and added a Waikiki section. Not much else happened today. Matt's sister moves in with us this Sunday, and everything is pretty much ready. I still need to empty out the bedroom closet, but that's about it. I suggested to Matt that we get a bed for her so she has something to sleep in when she gets here, but we haven't done that. Oh well I tried.

I am looking forward to coming home. I am also looking forward to bringing my cats back with me. That is really the last big thing I've got weighing on my mind. Then I can really relax. :)

Lazy day

On the second day of Matt's weekend, we decided to take it easy. He got up before I did and was playing Diablo when I got up a little before noon. Tony called around 2:00 and wanted to play EQ, so we switched over to that and played for a couple of hours.

Then we went grocery shopping after some procrastinating, and we just got home. Matt is playing Diablo II, trying to get his character caught up to mine. I am waiting for supper to finish cooking. We also wanted to go to Home Depot to get two more rugs for the apartment, but we didn't get around to that.

All in all, it was a very lazy but relaxing day. It's fun to go out on the town and see all that Hawaii has to offer, but sometimes it's nice to just sit at home and do nothing, too. :)

A night on the town

Today was Matt's day. He has been working so much lately and was actually given a weekend off. Today he got to pick everything that we did. We started with a little EQ, then we went to eat at Outback Steakhouse. I had the very good prime rib and Matt had a steak. While we were eating dinner, we got to talking about what we're going to do when he is out of the Navy. Previously, a couple of different things had come up - move back to Wisconsin, Arizona, or New Mexico. Matt wants to go to school to possibly be a teacher.

Anyway, a new idea came up that sparked the attention of both of us. It sounds kind of crazy, but I think we'd both enjoy it. It is buying a large sailboat and living on it. Ironically, Outback is adjacent to a marina, so we walked around it for a while looking at the different types of boats. Then we saw some postings for boats for sale, and they are surprisingly cheaper than you'd think. Then we walked for about a mile along Waikiki beach in the dark. The reflection of the moon on the ocean is really neat. Once we figured out where we were on the beach, we headed into Waikiki and had some ice cream and people-watched. Then we made the long walk back to the car. I took a lot of pictures and hope to be adding them soon. I'm about halfway through my Brewers section at the moment.

We found out that Matt's leave was approved, so he will be coming to Wisconsin October 21-October 27. I am glad that he is going to meet all of my family and friends that he has not met so far. :)

I hate duty nights

Matt goes on 24-hour shifts every 4 days. These are called duty days. I do not like these days, I get so bored. Today is one of those days where I have a very low attention span. I have switched between EQ and Diablo about 4 times, and played my bass on and off all night. I could watch a movie or something, but nothing is really appealing to me at the moment. It's like when you're hungry but nothing sounds good to eat, so you don't eat anything lol.

Matt and I are going to Waikiki tomorrow night, and I'm looking forward to that. It's one of my favorite places to just go and walk around. There are tons of shops there, and ice cream every place you look. It is also the location of the infamous "tube", which I am hoping to get some pictures of.

The mystifying human brain

Sometimes I have what seem like totally random memories pop into my head. Most of the time they have no significance on my life, and there's really no reason that I should remember them. An example of this could be simply driving along and suddenly remembering riding the bus to school in kindergarden.

Having the analytical mind that I do, the question always arises for me - why did I just remember that? A really good example of this was about a year ago while I was at work one night. I was working on a report at my computer, and I was suddenly very sad, but had no idea why. I stopped for a bit to look at everything around me and figured it out. At that time I had the Cheers theme song playing on my computer. After some thought, I remembered that when I was very little my mom used to bowl on Thursday nights. Thursday nights Cheers was on TV, and Dad must have been watching it close to the time that Mom would leave, which made me sad. To this day, I get a sad feeling every time I hear the song because of that.

Think about that the next time you have a "random" memory pop into your head. It could be a song, a smell, an exact place, a word, anything. I bet you it's not random at all.

Different but the same

Poor Matt worked 36 hours yesterday/today. When he got home, obviously he wasn't in much of a mood to do much, so we simply laid in bed and talked. We ended up just lying there and talking for 2 hours. It felt like 20 minutes. During this talk, we both reflected on things from our childhoods.

I am glad that we are so close in age. Some of the things that we realized that were the same are kind of silly, but it is a part of the learning and growing that we both have to do together yet. Here are some examples:

-Both of our dad's did the thing with the VCR where they record a movie off of TV and try to pause out the commercials. My dad was a little more organized in that he actually wrote down the number that the next movie started on.

-Both of us had siblings who watched Pete's Dragon. Hehe remember that movie, Mom?

-We discussed our medical histories and anything that the other might want to know should an emergency pop up. Neither of us have any allergies.

These are just a few of the things that we discussed. It was a light-hearted and fun conversation. Sometimes we have much more heated debates. The other night and continued last night we had a rather large debate about the difference between right and wrong and who gets to decide what is right or wrong. I'll leave that at that :P

My head is spinning!!

The new EverQuest expansion came out today and it's really good. Now my mind is being torn in three different directions - EverQuest, Diablo II, or work on the web site?!?! Ah, to be able to have such major problems in life is grand. :)

I spent most of today fixing Matt's computer. I was trying to get it so he and I can play Diablo II together, but ended up making it so that he couldn't log onto the internet at all. I got it fixed after about 4 hours of troubleshooting. Then after that was done, I gave it a good cleaning (software) for a couple of hours. I'm baking brownies at the moment and just got done cleaning the floors.

I needed a scanner so I could scan a lot of pictures in that I have sitting around (remember that album you gave me, Mom?). Of course, I could not just settle for a scanner. No, I ended up buying a scanner/copier/fax/printer. The guy won't ship to Hawaii, though, so I have to have it sent to Tony's so he can in turn mail it to me. All of this hassle and the extra shipping is still cheaper than I would have paid in a store, though. Go Ebay.

I'm getting there

What I have done at this point has taken me almost 12 hours to do. Check out the pictures site, though, I have added a bunch of pictures, and added captions to them as well. I only have a few categories left to do, but I am finished for the night.

I guess I haven't charged my phone in a while, because when I went to go do my calling for the day (my family and Tony), it was dead. I'll get you all tomorrow :)

I am now taking a much deserved Diablo break. I haven't played it in two days!! And I'm still alive!!! Matt is working tonight, so I need something to keep me busy.

Picnic on the beach

Last night I was supposed to go out with Dustin, but he didn't show up. So, since Matt was on duty, I played Diablo. I love that game. Anyway, Matt called and asked if I wanted to go on a picnic on the beach with him today. I made some sandwiches and pasta salad, and had everything ready for us to go. I will be posting a pictoral explanation of our day in a little bit. To sum it up, we did go to a beautiful beach, had lunch, and swam for quite a while in the ocean. I think this really helped my quest for a tan, I did wear sunblock. I got a little pink in some areas, but more tan in the spots that I've been working on. Someone better comment that I'm tan, darnit. I did burn the bottom of my feet on the very hot sand. It was a very torturous hot dash over the sand.

We came home, cleaned up, and took a nap until just a few minutes ago. Now we're watching the Back to the Future trilogy, we're just about 10 minutes into the first one right now. I haven't played Diablo all day, and I'm not planning to. It's starting to get unhealthy, I see things from the game as soon as I close my eyes. I'm going to start to cut back lol.

My first missed post

Last night a friend of ours, Dustin, took us out to dinner. Dustin is the only other person besides Matt that I knew before coming out here. He was also an EQ player and we talked a lot prior to my arrival. Anyway, we went to Chili's, his treat. Then we came back here and watched a movie, The Punisher. Then we watched The Tonight Show. Then Matt and Dustin both passed out. It was 1:00AM by this point and I didn't want to wake Dustin up with my typing, so I played Diablo II instead. I only use the mouse in that game.

I didn't wake up until 3:00pm yesterday, either. My sleeping pills are gone, and for the last few nights I've been having trouble falling asleep. Last night wasn't so bad, though. I just woke up today about 20 minutes ago. I don't care too much if I wake up before 1:00pm, but I was kind of irritated about waking up at 3:00.

Don't complain about work ever again

Poor Matt. The Navy had him tied up again today for 15+ hours. The sucky part about how much he's been working lately is that he is salaried, so working 2 or 12 hours is the same. I feel bad for him, but I try to make his time at home as good as possible. I try to pamper him, feed him, give him back rubs and stuff. I think it works :)

Tony is back in EQ and is on my server. We played together today and it was really cool to be in the same group with him again. It's the way it should be. I only played Diablo for a couple of hours tonight. We were supposed to go out with a friend of ours but since Matt had to work so late we couldn't. I played my bass for an hour or so, too. The last time I played I just didn't seem to have my groove, but tonight it was back. I love the bass, it can be so easy sometimes, even in songs that sound more complicated. For example, Pink's Just Like a Pill is only like 5 notes throughout the whole thing.

My aching head

I think I overdid the Diablo II last night. My computer sits to the right of my couch, with the monitor sitting on top of it. I have to have my head turned to the right, my mouse on the couch, and my keyboard on my lap. I played Diablo last night promptly after I posted, and ended up playing about 12 hours total. I woke up with a splitting headache, and I think that's why. I never spend that much time with my head twisted like that. Live and learn.

I just had a craving for boiled eggs, which I haven't had in quite a long time. They're boiling as I type this. Tonight we had a really good pork chop supper. I seasoned the pork chops with an italian seasoning, had mashed potatos and gravy and mixed veggies. It was yummy! For dessert Matt made homemade strawberry and fruit cocktail smoothies. Also very yummy! The poor guy had to work over 18 hours again last night. He is counting down the days until he's out of the Navy. I don't blame him.

Mom, you've lost another one

I have purposely steered clear of this evil knowing some of the problems that I've had in the past. Seeing as how I am a recoving addict, I should have known better. What compelled me to pick up the box in the store is beyond me. I believe that there was a force greater than you or I at work. It's name translated to English literally means "devil." Tonight I found out why.

Yes, I did it. I admit it. I bought Diablo II. And I played it. And played it. And played it. My character is now level 10, after just one night. I barely took a break after eight hours to inhale some leftover tacos. I have managed to quit smoking, I have managed to cut back on EverQuest. I should have known better. I got mad when I got stuck and quit after I died for the fourth time in a row, otherwise I probably wouldn't have posted tonight. But I did take a walk today, to the mall, to get some pictures that I had developed as well as, yep, Diablo.

The quest for the boxer shorts

Sometimes people are really funny. And by funny, I mean the stupid kind of funny. Last night Matt and I went to Dave & Buster's, a resturaunt/arcade. After a really good steak dinner, we went and played in the arcade for a while. They have a lot of fun games like ski-ball, tons of video games, virtual reality, and a couple of games that make you spend a whole lot of money really fast. They've got a great system set up, you purchase a card for $2, and then you can recharge it. You swipe the card at the games. They also have a "winners shop", where you can cash in your tickets that you've won at the games for prizes.

In this winner's shop, there was a pair of Dave & Buster's boxer shorts. For some reason, I thought they were cool and wanted to get the 750 tickets necessary to get them. So, we played two of those games that make you spend a lot of money fast. One was a clock that you had to try and stop as close to 1000 as possible. The closest I got was 1001, I was pretty proud of myself. Keep in mind, this was probably after $10. The other super addictive game we played was that one where you drop a token in and it drops down and pushes other tokens off the ledge. Good thing we ran out of credits on the card or I might have kept going forever on that one. Long story short, we probably spent about $35 to get a pair of boxer shorts that cost about $8. But hey, it was fun.

Just like in the movies

Picture this if you will...

You're walking barefoot along a deserted beach in the moonlight, hand in hand with the one you love. The tide rolls in over your ankles in rhythmic motion as you stroll along. You look over at your companion, stricken at the sight of his face in the moonlight, with sand dunes in the background. You continue to walk along, sometimes talking about the complexities of life, sometimes talking about a movie, but knowing all along that you really don't need to say anything. You are stopped in your tracks when a fish jumps out of the water only a foot in front of your feet. You both spot a stream trickling into the ocean and you follow it. You find a large rock and you both sit on it, hand in hand, not saying a word, just watching and listening to the ocean crash against the rocks just below your feet. As you walk back through the low tide to your starting point, suddenly he grabs you and kisses you. Life is perfect at this point.

Yeah, this wasn't a movie, this actually happened last night. Matt and I went out for a walk at midnight and decided to go to a beach. Words really can't describe how perfect it was, it almost seemed fake. It was one of Hawaii's more famous beaches, Waimea Bay, and I can see why. I wish I could have had a camera along that could have captured it in the dark, but I don't think any picture could have gotten it right.

We worked out today, played tennis, catch with a softball, jogged a bit, and then went for a dip in the pool. It feels good to be exercising again.

Horror movie desensitization

Matt and I went ot see the new Exorcist movie out in theaters tonight. Like all but one horror flick, it just left us laughing. It has your typical formula for a horror movie - dark places, demonic possession, stupid white people, a female shower scene, etc etc. It gets me to thinking that way back when the original Exorcist probably genuinely freaked a lot of people out. We've just gotten too used to them, the bar is continuously raised.

The only movie to ever really scare me was The Blair Witch Project. Matt said the same thing. It certainly wasn't for special effects or the tremendous acting. Instead, it was the psychological part of the movie - you didn't know what you were scared of, but it got in your head and stayed there. It was hard for me to go into my own basement without picturing that guy in the corner for months afterwards.

Matt has off of work until Monday, and then should get Tuesday off, too. Tomorrow night we are going out with some of his buddies, and Sunday we were going to do the beach thing, but it's supposed to rain. Hopefully, it will be nice Tuesday. That works better, anyway, because then most of the tourists will be gone and there will be much more beach space for us :)

Online banking is the best

Technology is great. I have only had to write three checks since I have gotten here. I either use my debit card or I have scheduled all of my payments online. Every account that I have offers online banking, and I am now using that to my full advantage. Ironically, the only one that I am having a problem with is my bank, it's not letting me transfer money between my checking and savings accounts. I have attempted to fix this online, by phone, and at my bank. It's frustrating.

I am watching Friends right now, and more and more the Phoebe character reminds me of my sister Tracy. Very fun, light-hearted, and she has her moments. No offense meant, Tracy :P

I am getting pretty good on the bass! I will be getting my new violin tomorrow, I missed the delivery today. And no, I did not exercise today. I got lazy. Matt has been instructed to make me from now on, though. He might get up to two days off this weekend! He hasn't had a day off since we went to the Blink 182 concert on August 13th. Darn Navy. We are going to do something, we're not sure what yet, but it will not involve being in the apartment. :)

I am too out of shape

Ok, I started the exercise thing today. Matt was raiding in EQ, so I went out and played tennis by myself. The idea was to hit the ball against a wall at the end of the court and it was going to be fun. Then I was going to take a swim and lay out in the sun for 15 minutes or so. Here's how it really happened:

In order to get into the tennis court or pool, you need to have your building security keychain thing. Well, I forgot it inside. Problem is, you need it to get back into the building, too. Of course I didn't have my phone with me, either, so I ended up walking all the way around the building and going in through the loading docks. I got my security keychain thing and went back out to the courts. I had with me a tennis glove so my hand wouldn't get blistered, one ball, my racket, and a beach towel.

I bounced the ball against the clay court and hit it...over the fence. Since I only had one ball, I jogged (yes, jogged) around the court and had to climb up a steep hill to the area behind the court. This area was weeded and full of bugs. I found my ball and about six others. Repeat this about four times. I finally got a good rhythm going, and when I was reaching for a ball, I lost my balance and fell. Good thing I had that tennis glove on, which I ripped and put a nice bruise on my other wrist.

That was enough tennis for me for the day. I went to the pool and jumped in. I swam laps for about 20 minutes or so, and laid out for about 15. I think I am already starting to look more tan. Then I went back in the apartment. I felt really good while I was lying in the sun, but as I was in the elevator I started to get that really bad feeling. You know, the one where you suddenly see a really bright light and then you can't hear anything. I managed to make it up to my apartment and ended up getting sick. I laid in bed for a little while then took a shower.

I have no idea what made me sick, but I think I'm just way too out of shape and I need to take it a little slower. Or maybe it was some weird sunstroke or something. I'm not quitting, though! I'll be back at it tomorrow. :)

Chey versus the bugs

I am surprised at the lack of bugs here considering the warm and moist weather. However, sometimes I will catch a small roach or two running around the apartment. I usually leave the moths alone, because they sit on the ceiling and the ceiling is full of abestos. The biggest problem has been with noodles. Bugs manage to find their way into the box and eat the noodles, making them non-edible. I think a lot of this could be avoided if we got a screen door for the patio, we currently just keep the patio door wide open. I figure if I nag Matt enough, he'll finally get around to it. :)

Matt has shown interest in learning the bass, and he made quite a bit of progress today. I was pleasantly surprised. And we actually did it today, we went out and bought tennis rackets, handballs, ping pong stuff, and a softball glove for Matt. I have a feeling he's going to be much better playing the bass than he will be at these things, but it's still nice to have someone who makes an attempt to play. The idea is to get into shape, anyway. I need to spend more time outside, too, so I have some sort of a tan when I come home. It would be nice to actually look like I live in Hawaii. :)