My Journal- June thru December 2001

Friday December 21, 2001

Just want to wish all my friends, family, email penpals and journal readers a VERRRY VERRRRRY Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!!

I've decided to be excited for Christmas! At first, I didn't want to be since my bro and his wife won't be able to come to Dallas for Christmas this year; but then I decided I should be excited anyway. After all, I bought my last Christmas gift last night and I'm ready to go. AND I'll get to spend my first Christmas with David and his family (who are are SO fun and cool!).

However, to add some stress in my life, David brought over one of his gifts to me last night. Why is this stressful, you ask? Because it's HUGE! It's tall... like 5 feet tall, and like a foot wide and deep. What on Earth IS IT?! Oh my! What torment! I have no idea what it could be! It's pretty heavy and solid, and oddly shaped, so I don't think it's one of those boxes filled with boxes.. Who knows? It could be a pair of socks surrounded by bricks or something to throw me off. That's the one gift I know David did get for me. Socks. I need some badly. He's sick of me walking around with stained, holy, falling-down-no-elastic socks. Do you think he could have put the socks in that huge box? That's an awful lot of wrapping paper to waste for a pair of socks!

I just can't imagine what I might want that is that shape and size. Heck, I can't think of something I WOULDN'T want that is that shape and size. Hmmm.... well, it could be a box for a bookcase or shelf or something, but I have no room for another bookcase in my place.

It could be a mummy case for a skinny, short mummy.

(still thinking) Well, that's it. I still can't fathom what it could be. Go figure. So I'll just keep torturning myself til Christmas since he's clearly not going to break down and tell me what it is or let me open it early.

:-) Hope your Holidays are filled with excitement, curiosity and love!!

---

It was spectacular. You can see photos of the trip here. We spent a lot of time eating, SCUBA diving, relaxing, eating, enjoying the beach, eating, and catching some rays.

Of course, we left the day of the DFW area ICESTORM (very unusual), so our flight was delayed and we missed our connection in San Juan to St. Lucia. But we finally got in 3.5 hours later and our adventures began.

By the way, did you know that coconuts can go rotten? Just trust me on that one. We decided to smash open a coconut that I found under a tree (I initially thought it was a petrified head since the coconut had "hair" -- hey! It was at night-time, how could I tell the difference??). Anyway, the night before we left, we decided to try some fresh coconut, so David smashed it open on our balcony and the most FOUL, HORRID smell emerged. We dropped it and ran into our suite and slammed the door. OH MY GOSH! David's hands were infected with the coconut and no amount of washing seemed to get the stench off. Finally a rubbing alcohol scrub-down seemed to do the trick. But we sure as heck weren't going to open the door to our balcony again! Thank goodness it was our last night! We were convinced we stunk up the whole resort with that coconut. I don't think I'll be forgetting that smell anytime soon. Eeesh! That coconut could have been 100 years old. Anyway, if Sandals St. Lucia is being evacuated now, don't tell what we did!! [giggle]

A bit of drama did happen on our way back through San Juan. I had a metal hair clip in my fanny pack that I put in my hair to keep it off of my neck. Well, when my fanny pack went through the x-ray machine, they told me they had to confiscate it!! My freakin' hair clip!!! Ergh! I was pretty upset, cuz this was a nice, expensive hair clip! What was I going to do? CLIP someone to death on the plane?! Freeze them to death by clipping their hair up and blowing on the back of their neck?! The pen we had in our carry-on surely was more dangerous; but NO, they didn't want that, they wanted my favorite hair clip!!! I admit I got a bit testy with the security guy. I vowed not to clip anyone with it, but he wouldn't take my word for it. I flipped him off as I huffed away. Guess I was lucky I wasn't thrown in the San Juan jail. Perhaps they don't know what the finger means there?

Once David and I got on the plane I started wondering what on earth they DO with all the junk they confiscate. I mean, do they throw it away, raffle it off, or do they give it to Good Will? Perhaps they donate it to the Red Cross. I can just see victims of a tornado being given 30 hair clips, 46 pens and 12 pairs of scissors...

"Here, this is all we have to give you at the moment. Just be sure you don't run with the scissors, OK?"

Hmmm.... You never know!

I gotta tell you, I'm a little disappointed in myself. This year I came up with no unique costume. I attribute that to the fact I'm no longer working for CompuCom. They did the coolest Halloween Events every year! And Bob and I would have so much fun creating costumes and making people guess who we were! Oh, I do miss that!! Although I don't miss CompuCom, per say. I heard they laid off another 30 people in their I.S. Department. It's good I got out while I did!

HUH? What did I just say? It's good I quit CompuCom in time enough to get established at a NEW job (e2 Communications) where I could get laid off at a year and a half later. LOL. That's the way the cookie crumbles, eh?

Ergh, I'm so easily distracted. I was trying to tell you that for the first time ever, I've bought my costume at Party City! AHH! The HORROR! The ONLY good side to this was that David could buy the matching "his" costume. The even FUNNIER thing is that I still can't really figure out what I am!!! I mean, I bought this costume and I don't really know what it is!? Maybe you can help me figure it out after I post the Halloween Party Pics on my site. I guess that'll be a little too late, though. Oh well.

Which reminds me... did I ever mention how fun I think it would be to be a Party City flyer model? I mean, you could get dressed up in all those costumes for FREE... actually even get PAID for it, I assume! But I think they require you to be an actor/actress before giving you the job, cuz you gotta have just the right expression on your face to "sell" the costume, you know? Darn, Party City doesn't put their flyers up on their site and I wish they did so that you could see some of the convincing acting abilities of these Witches, Cheerleaders, French Maids and Carhop Girls. It's unbelievable. PartyCity.com DOES, however, have Corporate and Store Employment Opportunites listed on their site. Perhaps I can start now to apply for a "modeling" job for NEXT years Halloween costumes! I'll be sure to add to my resume that I am SURE I can do a very impressive Disco Queen, Go-Go Girl and probably even a Playboy Bunny (if I get my implants- heehee... JUST JOKING! I'M NOT GETTING IMPLANTS! Well... atleast not until AFTER I have my kids. har har).

Oh gosh... where was I again? Just ALL over the place today. Oh yea, right... Jury Duty. THAT'S where I was. Anyway, so I have Jury Duty the day before Halloween. I've never had Jury Duty before. I'm a bit nervous. I mean, I really don't want to be picked. Perhaps if I tell the lawyers about my website and how I wrote all about how I had to go to Jury Duty, they'll definitely think me unstable and NOT count me in on their precious Jury. I mean, one look at this site and I can pretty much be labeled a "quack". Who wants a QUACK deciding if they should go to jail or not?

<gasp!> Maybe I'd be on a jury deciding if someone gets the DEALTH PENALTY or not. I mean, we DO do that here in Texas! Oh gosh golly gee! I could have the life of some deliquent (let me rephrase... ALLEGED deliquent) in my hands! Although, somehow I don't think Denton County is really having any large murder cases that would warrant the Death Penalty. Too bad I don't still live in Dallas County, I'm sure they have TONS of pending Death Penalty cases. I'm just one block away from Dallas County, actually. Maybe they'd let me switch juries??

Nah... I doubt it. Well, wish me luck on getting kicked out of Jury Duty! I can't afford to miss my contract job. I don't get PAID to go to Jury Duty like I would if I were a full-time employee. Just figures I'd get my first Jury Duty call as soon as I'm a contractor.

So I wish you ALL a Happy Halloween! And don't forget... if you show up to my party... YOU MUST BE IN COSTUME! :-)

The other night David and I were for some reason talking about the Bible. I started reciting the books of the New Testament (we had to memorize them in confirmation class as a teen).

I said "Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Corinthians I and II..."

He interruped and said "Corinthians is in the Old Testament, Silly."

I said, "No it's not."

And he said, "Yes it is. I think I would know. My father was a baptist preacher!" And we continued this way for a bit. I almost started to doubt myself, but was willing enough to put a friendly wager on it. You know, now that I think about it, betting on the names of the books of the Bible just doesn't sound very Christian. Ooops.

So I said "OK, I'm so sure Corinithians is in the New Testament that I will do anything you want if I'm wrong. You name it. But if I'm right, you have to rid my back yard of weeds. Not just by weed wacking them, but by dousing them with Round-Up and pulling the remains when they die."

David was up for the challenge. "Sure, no prob. But if I'm right, you have to wash my truck by hand in a bikini with a toothbrush."

Eh???? A toothbrush? I did get him to take back the toothbrush part, but I might as well have left that in, since as you may have already guessed, I was right. Corinthians IS in the New Testament, exactly where I said it was.

But he was a good sport about it. So now I'm gonna wait and see how long it takes him to make good on his end of the wager. Boy, I tell ya, those weeds are getting OUT OF HAND. It's kinda scary back there, especially on dark and stormy nights. <giggle> And I just pulled all the weeds 2 months ago! What is it with me? I really don't like yard work or gardening, do I?

It was the day after my birthday and despite my recent bad luck I was in a good mood. I had just spent a wonderful 3 day weekend in Las Vegas with some of my very best friends. I was getting ready to go to a contract job when my phone rang. It was my friend, Jennifer. She told me to hurry up and turn on the TV... that 2 planes had just crashed into the World Trade Center Twin Towers in an apparent terrorist attack. As I turned on my TV, my adrenaline levels shot sky high. As my TV came to life, the visions of the burning buildings was a horrible site to behold. I sank on my bed and couldn't find the words. So many things ran through my mind. How could this happen? Were the planes commercial or private? What about all the poor people working in those buildings? What about the surrounding city??

Yet even then I didn't have full grasp of how terrifying this would get. Later that morning at work I watched the Pentagon in flames and thought of my friend who worked there. Was he OK? Was he there? I tried calling my friend in DC, but the line wouldn't go through. Then I watched as the Twin Towers completely collapsed. Oh Lord! Was it time enough to get everyone evacuated?? What about all the rescue workers?? What about all the people who were trapped to start with when the planes struck? What about the nearby buildings and bystanders? NYC looked like a war zone. Ash, soot, twisted metal and melted windows everywhere. Wouldn't this destroy the city? Then the plane crash in Pennsylvania. What seemed to be the only failed attempt. What did the people on these planes go through in the moments before their lives were stolen from them? What amazing feats of heroism was there by these innocent bystanders that we've yet to learn?

Days later as the stories start to spread, I hear about the last minute frantic phone calls from those aboard the highjacked planes to their loved ones. I hear about the heroism that did show itself aboard that Newark/San Francisco flight. That is the ultimate sacrifice, isn't it? I mean, they knew they were going down anyway, and several bonded together to make sure they atleast went down in a non-populated place without the terrorists in control. Would I be able to do the same in such a sitation?

I also hear about the phone calls from those in the World Trade Center after the initial plane crashes. Now their spouses, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers are wondering the fate of their loved ones. Is there a chance they're still alive? Is there a chance they escaped? If indeed they are in the rubble, how long can they hold onto life? How long do you hold on to hope?

When things like this happen it makes my problems and even my life seem so insignificant. Poo on me for being sad I lost my job. Poo on me for complaining about a stupid flood. Sept. 11th is undoubtedly a date that will be etched in our minds forever, even surpassing the horrifying memories of the Challenger explosion, the San Francisco earth quake, and even the Oklahoma City bombing. When else in history have all airports nation-wide been shut down simultaneously? When else has the Stock Exchange been shut down for nearly a week? I'm even impressed that football and baseball games have been cancelled in respect for what our nation is going through. I pray for the families and friends of those who were directly affected by these terrorist attacks. I pray that each new day will bring more survivors being rescued. I pray for each and every rescuer out in NYC and DC and thank them for their selfless acts of heroism.

I wanted to share with you a letter that my friend, Lars, from Norway sent to me today. It really touched my heart. It reminds me that we are NOT alone in this, that we have so many nations supporting and rallying for us. I've seen the Photo Essays on Time.com of other nations putting flowers and candles outside their US Embassy's. It's sad that it takes something so horrible as this, to make us realize the majority of us really are unitable, not only as a country, but as one World, under God.

------------------------------------

Dear Katie,

I have spent the last two days watching CNN, what has happened is beyond terrible. I just felt to express my deepest sympathy(?) to someone, and you are the only american that I feel like I could do this to.

One can only wonder what is happening in the minds of people that somehow can justify to kill innocent people in massive numbers, by the idea of pure hate.

I guess that you are in even more shock than us in Europe/Norway. I came back from the greek isle Ios on Sunday, still remembering the plane trip back... what if, we all think.

In Oslo, people are travelling in 100's/1000's, leaving flowers and candles outside the american embassy. The whole country here are prepared to fight this evil along with our friends to protect everything we believe in. Beside reports from the terror in the news, the main question is the Nato treaty article 5, the solidarity against external enemies. While I am writing this, our foreign minister confirmed that this is an article 5 issue, if you are at war, we are at war.

Even though I am not religious, God bless America.

Finally, I really wish I could have another reason to mail my first ever mailfrend, but we are all deeply shocked. I just hope that people are able to see the difference between peaceful muslims and mentally sick individuals. What we dont need is someone making this a racial/religious issue.

I wish you the best, please forward all my "sympathy" (I cannot find the correct word) to your fellow americans.

Love,

Lars William

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Someone saw the picture on my Photos Album homepage and said I look like... and I quote... "You resemble that girl in "Sex and the City" the one that goes out with Big. What's her name?"

OK, now there are SEVERAL reasons why this is a compliment. First, I LOVE the show Sex and the City; second, I think the character that goes out with Big (Carrie Bradshaw) is cool; and third... Sarah Jessica Parker is sort of like an idol to me. Well, not really an idol, but just someone I want to be like. :-) She's way hot. Listen, I'm not insinuating anything about my sexuality, I'm just saying I can recognize when a gal has a killer body! I want to look just like HER!!

OK, what do you think... could we double as twins?

Herm... well, we don't have the exact same hue of highlights, nor the exact same expression on our faces, but if I tried to imitate her, could I??

Sarah Jessica Parker also just seems to be a really cool person. And she's married to Matthew Broderick! Not bad! Beuller???

How bout another try. I'm sure you'll begin to see the similarities:

Not really, eh? Herm... well, how bout this:

Alright, I admit it... I'm really reaching here. Sarah is definitely a couple sizes smaller than me, and she's definitely more "cut" than I am. She's also got larger... well... breasts than I do. She's got it goin' on! The good news is that if I really want to look more like Sarah Jessica Parker, a decent amount of hard work in the gym and some reasonable implants could really do the trick! [pondering]... [still pondering]... 'Nuff said. :-)

Sunday July 8, 2001

I also have some other interesting, perhaps surprising news to share with you. I'm yet again single. Trey and I decided to call it quits after we returned from our trip. We are great friends, and unfortunately it never developed into more due to a few specific personality conflicts. Truth is, we probably would have done this 2 months ago if it hadn't been for our trip. But don't worry... we still had a BLAST on our vacation together. We scuba dived and enjoyed the ocean and sun. No problem, MON! You've gotta check out the pics of the trip by clicking here!

Trey and I shared a very fun near 8 months and had many adventures together such as Tahoe, San Antonio, Pittsburgh and Jamaica. What's great is that we are going to remain friends and stay in touch. That makes me very happy!

You know what song I really like right now? It's DRIVE by Incubus. The lyrics are beautiful and I've decided to post them here (below) since I feel they reflect how I feel in my life right now. I want to start "driving" a bit more instead of "going along" for the ride. Sometimes I feel a bit out of control and I'd like to get a better grip. The feeling that a big part of my life is up in the air again is a bit scary, I admit. I'm not getting any younger, but atleast I'm getting wiser. I swear one of these years will bring the happinesses I seek; but I will continue to look within my heart, soul and mind and explore the possiblities there.

Yes, big change. [pondering]  I will miss Trey because I know our friendship will most likely turn vague and sparse as each of us move on. I will cherish the things I learned and experienced with him forever. And as a few others have in the past, he leaves with a little bit of my heart. I hope he knows and understands that. I give it willingly.

So, thanks for coming into my life, Trey.   :-)

Sometimes, I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear.
And I can't help but ask myself
how much I'll let the fear take the wheel and steer.
It's driven me before,
and it seems to have a vague,
haunting mass appeal.
But lately I am beginning to find
that I should be the one behind the wheel.
Whatever tomorrow brings,
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes.
Whatever tomorrow brings,
I'll be there... I'll be there
So if I decide to waiver my chance to be
one of the hive will I choose water over wine
and hold my own and drive?
It's driven me before and it seems to be the way
that everyone else gets around.
But lately I'm beginning to find
that when I drive myself my light is found.
Whatever tomorrow brings,
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes.
Yeah. Whatever tomorrow brings
Would you choose water over wine....
hold the wheel and drive?
Whatever tomorrow brings,
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes.
Whatever tomorrow brings,
I'll be there... I'll be there.

Tuesday June 19, 2001

I never realized all that was involved in getting scuba diving certification. Wow, it's more complicated than I thought! So much to remember about dive depths, times and ascents! You also have to pop your ears a LOT... and that was only at 10 feet deep! Imagine if we go down to 60 feet! If you're in the Dallas area and wanting to get certified, I highly recommend 2 Dive 4, they were great!

We had to practice "losing" our mask (mask covers eyes and nose) underwater and putting them back on and getting the water out of them (blow through your nose to force the water of the mask). We practiced "losing" our regulators (the mouth peice you breathe through) and putting them back in and getting rid of the water that flooded them. We also got to see what it would be like to run out of air completely- they shut off our air tanks for bit! We got to do LOTS of stuff. Did you know you absolutely should NEVER hold your breath while scuba diving? So much is involved in density, pressure and volume that if you hold your breath and go up you could EXPLODE!! Did you know you can only come back up at 30 feet per minute or you will most likely get the Bends (too many nitrogen bubbles in the blood)?!?! Wow!! We had to practice that we ran out of air and had to swim 30 feet with no air (but still blowing bubbles). You have to blow bubbles if you run out of air while acscending or the decreasing pressure (and hence rising volume) in your lungs will surpass your lung capacity! Did you know you can't fly after 12-24 hours of diving?! Gotta let your nitrogen levels get back to normal or, again, you're at serious risk for the Bends! I never realized the Bends were so easy to get! Evidentally, they've tested that you can get the Bends in only THREE FEET OF WATER (as long as you're breathing compressed air)! I find that stunning!!!!

Scuba is riskier than I ever imagined, but it's also very very fun! This weekend we (Trey and I) get to go do our 2 checkout dives at Athens Lake to get official certification. We have to go both Saturday and Sunday. Then we'll be ready to go for Jamaica!!

We leave next Friday morning for Jamaica (Sandal's Ocho Rios)! I'm sooo excited! Diving there is supposed to be AMAZING! I want to pet a Moray Eel! Our Dive Master said there were Morays in Jamaica! Weeeee!

Anyway, so I now own my own tempered glass mask, hard soled booties, fins and snorkle! The resort will provide the BCs (the inflatable vests), weight belts, and the compressed air tanks. Wonder if I need to get a wet suit? It's amazing how cold you can get while diving! Even these big burly men have to wear wet suits or risk exposure. Did you know water conducts heat away from your body 24 times faster than air does?!?! I think I'll call the resort to find out if people need them when diving between 30 and 60 feet in Jamaica. Maybe I can rent one?

The funniest thing about scuba diving is the whole breathing under the water thing. It's a very very weird sensation! It goes against my basic instinct. The other bizzarre thing is that you can't breathe through your nose. The regulators don't cover your nose, just your mouth, so you have to be very careful NOT to accidentally breathe through your nose! I did it once and let's just say it doesn't work very well. :-)

I highly recommend scuba diving to ANYONE who gets the opportunity! It is so FUN! So this year so far I've learned to downhill ski and scuba dive. Later this year is SKYDIVING!! WHOO HOO!

While we were at Six Flags, a big debate came up. See, we have a particular restaurant we love to eat at. It's called the Crazy Buffalo Saloon and we like it cuz they serve delicious buffalo burgers. My brother (Jon) brought up the point that he didn't think the buffalo we eat and think of was really buffalo at all, rather a bison. Of course, that statement struck up many conversations about just what was the difference between a buffalo and a bison.

Jon said he had read my parents old National Geographic mammal book (published in 1979) and that it clearly had Bison and Buffalo on two different pages. He said Bison were the "buffalos" we know with the furry manes and Buffalos were what were nearly made extinct in the 1800s.

The debate went on and on, but we all agreed with Jon that we were probably eating Bison and not Buffalo. However, Crazy Bison Saloon just doesn't have that ring to it.

So, when I got home from my trip, I decided to do a little investigating and here's what I came up with. Jon was darn close. Buffalo and Bison ARE two different species. Bison are the animals we know here in America. Here's a photo of a Bison:

This Bison is otherwise known as the "American Buffalo", although scientifically, it's not really a buffalo. Bison were nearly made extinct in the 1800s due to hunting (mainly for their tongues). Only 2 herds were known to survive in the early 1900s. But protective laws were passed and the Bison population rose from a few hundred to over 20,000. Whew!

This is a Buffalo (Water Buffalo):

These reside in southern Asia. Wild Water Buffalo are extremely fierce and have been known to kill fully grown tigers. Although there are domesticated ones that pull plows and carts.

There is also the Cape Buffalo which is known to be very fierce and resides in Africa:

So there you have it. The difference between a bison and a buffalo. So next time you're settling down for a "buffalo burger", just know that it's really a "bison burger" (that is unless you've imported some water buffalo from Asia).

"Oh... oh... give me a HOME where the BISON roam..."