The Verdict is In

I saw the movie Twilight before I read the book. I thought the acting was horrid. The characters were so flat and one-dimensional. I couldn't relate or anything to the movie. So, I decided that the book HAD to be better than the movie (not that it was much of a challenge). I wanted to see what all the hype was about and really give it a chance to be worth my time. Plus, I wanted to get back into reading. When our emergency trip to Pittsburgh came up, I figured I could finish reading Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez ( I had been reading it off and on for a few months) and start/finish Twilight. It was a looong flight, so I had time and then some. I went ahead and read the book and I wasn't able to really give you all a proper review because I had so much to catch up on at work. Sorry! In a nutshell, PASS. As for New Moon...

Within the first 20 pages I was already over Bella. How can someone be sooooo miserable. All. The. Time. All she does is whine and complain and find more ways to be more miserable. Even when she's "happy". It gets worse when Edward leaves her and she is depressed for MONTHS. Each page that she narrates feels like a month's worth of reading. It was excruciating!

Enters Jacob. Jacob's character may have saved the book in my honest opinion. He's such an unpretentious and real character, up until the whole werewolf bit. It's just very easy to like him. The whole Bella-Jacob love thing was also much more believable than the Bella-Edward story. The author actually took the time to develop their attraction and you almost fall in love with them as their relationship develops. It wasn't carnal like Bella and Edward whereby Edward was attracted to Bella like a fat kid to chocolate cake and Bella was attracted to Edward like the fly that is attracted to the pretty blue light of a bug zapper. When Bella is with Jacob, she is ALMOST likable. It's as if she's a different person. She laughs, she jokes, she's NORMAL.

Unfortunately, Edward makes a re-appearance after a very coincidental series of events. This causes a rift in her relationship with Jacob. Bella is sad, again. Then the book ends. Yes, it ends just like that.

I blame a lot of the faults in the series on the author, Stephenie Meyer. It's as if she was a desperate housewife and in between breastfeeding her kid, decided that she would write a book about a girl who falls in love with a vampire and lives vicariously through her characters. Clearly, she never bothered to research the subject of vampires because apparently, vampires have all sorts of special powers except shoot fireworks out of their asses. She went against such widelly accepted vampire traits that it was just a slap in the face! Just when things were starting to get "good" she would underdevelop the scene and leave you high and dry. What would have been a good sequence of events would be done in two pages. I don't know if she had the intention to target teenagers with her book, but you can definitely tell that it is written at their level. If you wanted to improve your reading speed...highly recommended. In the time it takes you to pinch a loaf, you'll have read 25 pages. MINIMUM! Vocabulary, not so much. There were a few instances where you know that she busted out her Thesaurus and found some "big" words to replace her overly simplistic prose with; words like hyperbole and chastise as opposed to exaggerate and punish.

All in all, I don't see the allure the series has on adults. I can see where teenagers that still have the romanticized and idyllic notions of love would love to place themselves in Bella's shoes. But I just don't know how adults do it. It's a teenage Harlequin series!!! Not even a sex scene to hold you over! Don't get me wrong, I'm still a romantic and love all that finding true love garbage. Even among humans, aliens, vampires and seals, but this was pretty close to unbearable.



Highlights: Jacob Black, New Moon movie (the trailer looked pretty good--it seems they were able to do what Stephenie Meyer couldn't do)
Not so much: Bella, Edward, Stephenie Meyer's writing abilities

Feel free to hurl the tomatoes now!

Dear Mr. West

On behalf of the entire world, I would like to ask you to please STFU!

Love always,

Amy

So, I've been thinking...

...I want customized Ashley Brooke stationary! Wouldn't notecards with TomTom, Jake, Sophia and I be the cutest touch ever? Head on over to her site for some serious cuteness overload. My fave designs:

and this one

and this one

Credit

See?!?!?!?!

Breathe

Disclaimer: The following post may have a little TMI. Consider yourself warned.

So, the last two weeks have been psychological torture for me. I was two weeks late. Not late for work, not late for lunch... LATE LATE! I had changed BC methods last month and I knew that could have something to do with it, but I hadn't been good at taking my pill. I would take it every other day, if that. I knew it was a definite possibility. So for two weeks, whenever I would sit down to pee, I would immediately look for Aunt Flow. Over and over again, it was torturous.

So finally, I told TomTom that I would wait until Tuesday before I took a test (you know, to not ruin the weekend). Yesterday, with my heart in my throat, I went over to the base clinic to DEMAND a blood test. I couldn't bear the thought of a false positive with a home pregnancy test or a urine test, I needed a blood test. The triage nurse was very nice and set me up right away. She said the results would take two hours or so, but that she would call me first thing in the morning as it was already the afternoon. The questions circling my mind for the last few weeks were now playing on repeat as I walked to the lab. Would i be able to devote myself completely to another human being? Would I be able to go to law school? What would a baby do to our relationship? How would b=my body change? Would I be able to handle the labor and delivery? The questions were endless! So I had blood drawn and went back to work; immersing myself in work--anything to get my mind off the results. At 4:45 the same day, the triage nurse called me with the results.




NEGATIVE!!! *sigh* I have never felt such relief in my life.

I understand children are bundles of love and little miracles and that there are people all over the world hoping to one day be parents yada yada yada. I'm just not ready to make such a large sacrifice at this point in my life. Children aren't a new handbag that you wear until you grow tired of it and then buy a new one, they're F.O.R.E.V.E.R. I like to curse, I like to sleep, I like to spend money on me and TomTom, I like to travel and dote on Jake and Pia. For all these reasons, waiting for Baby Mulhall is a good thing!

For now, I hope to work on changing my selfish tendencies in hopes that I will one day be ready for two ankle biters, 2 years apart!

Oink?

I just wanted to share that I have come to the conclusion that I must have some recessive pig gene in me. Let it be known that I went to the commissary today. It's not our local commissary, but it's a much bigger one at a semi-nearby base. My intent was to just buy items that we don't carry at our local store, but noooo this little piggy was hungry or possessed! I went up and down the aisles. I started at the produce area looking for some fruit and then I came across the cake and frosting area. I immediately gravitated to the Betty Crocker Whipped Cream Cheese frosting. All I could see myself doing was watching Gossip Girl and spooning whipped cream cheese frosting a la Kevin James in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry... I've been known to do this before. Put the little tub in my cart. I then went to the bread and baked goods aisle, I grabbed some light wheat bread and some sweet Hawaiian bread to eat on the ride home *drop*, followed by some Entemann's Louisiana Crunch Cake *drop*. I haven't figured out if it was a bit of nostalgia (my mommy and I used to scarf down a large slice with chocolate ice cream when I was little) or if I was just hungry since I had skipped breakfast and lunch. I kept moseying down the aisles and I got to the deli. I needed some turkey, had a 1/4 lb. cut just for me! Okay, I can't lie! I've tried, but I didn't go to the deli for turkey. I went for the delicious cakes and pies they have RIGHT NEXT to the cheeses!!!!!!!!! I NEEDED a slice of carrot cake with CREAM CHEESE frosting! There was no stopping me!!!!!! I made the deli guy cut me a slice of carrot cake AND a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting!!!!!!!!!! In another attempt to lie to myself and TomTom, I told him that I bought him a slice of chocolate cake. I felt really bad and I figured I should cut back somewhere, so with my head down low, I went back to the cake and frosting aisle and returned the frosting to its original place. I have since eaten dinner and licked the plastic container that once held my carrot cake. I now find myself fighting every urge to not go downstairs and eat "his" chocolate cake! Seriously, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!

I think I should note that just 15 minutes earlier, I had picked up triple chocolate M&Ms, 3 Rice Krispies Treats (one which I ate at the store), Sqworms and S'mores Pop Tarts...

Back in Japan

TomTom and I landed in Japan a week ago. I've been super, duper lazy at home this week. In my defense, it was a hectic week at work! As I type this, I am lying in the groove I've created over the last two days of vegging in bed.

We left on Saturday, May 23rd. We were at the airport quite early and we decided to have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe near the airport. When we came back, we still had like 3 hours before takeoff. We waited patiently, took naps and took a couple pictures...

The flight was awful! There was turbulence throughout the whole 6 hour flight, I had a massive headache, I couldn't sleep...ugh, it was endless! TomTom said I looked as though death had run me over...ain't he sweet? We finally landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok at about 11:30 at night and took the airport's limo to the hotel. It wasn't a bad hotel for $30/night. The decor was modern, new and it was in the financial district. We weren't so sure when we first drove up at 12:30.

At the airport, we had set up a tour through some pseudo government entity. We had breakfast at the hotel, which was included, and went downstairs to meet our guide. As soon as we met, she sent us right back up to our room to change. We weren't dressed "appropriately." I was wearing khaki bermuda shorts and a brown tank top and TomTom was wearing khaki shorts and a black t-shirt...in like 105 degrees with 100% humidity. Worse than Miami...by a lot. So we ended up changing into pants and sleeved-shirts; basically, what we flew in with a few minor changes. F! It's the only thing we had that fit the bill! We went to the Royal Palace, Wat Phra Kaew and SHOPPING! The temple and shrine were gorgeous. Such colors and detail. It really was quite beautiful. After sweating every ounce of water in our bodies, our tour guide took us to some jewelry place that is backed by the Thai government (a very important requirement). Did some damage there followed by a tailor. I was drooling over the different colors of Thai silk and TomTom was talking about custom-made French cuffs and flat front pants. We went to eat that night at the most amazing Italian restaurant followed by a trip in a tuk-tuk to Patpong, the red-light district. There was a night market where everyone kept pawing at us to buy all sorts of junk and plenty of ping pong bars.

The next day we went to Wat Pho. A lot of history there. We walked around, took a couple of pictures saw the giant reclining buddha. We wanted to go to this aquarium that was in this huge mall. We went to the huge mall, but we never made it to the aquarium. We walked around, shopped a bit, saw a Night at the Museum 2 and then went back to the hotel to change prior to TomTom's fitting. Yes, they had already completed part of his order. Everything fit perfectly! He was quite happy. We ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and went to see Angels and Demons. Back at the hotel, we repacked and got ready for our trip to Phuket the next day.

We arrived in Phuket at around 10:30 in the morning. Sadly, the rainy season had just started. It was raining when we arrived and it rained until we left. Our hotel was amazing! We were right on the water! We had massages, took a dip in the infinity pool...it was sooo relaxing.

The next day, we had booked a trip to Phi Phi Island. This was the highlight of our trip! We took a speedboat there and spent the day going to different areas on the island including Mahya Bay where The Beach, with Leonardo DiCaprio, was filmed. We went swimming and snorkeling, all under the rain but it was loads of fun and everything was sooo pretty! Definitely going back. The next day we flew off to Samui.

Samui was in one word...disappointing. All the pictures we had seen were clearly taken elsewhere. The whole island reeked. Bad. And the beaches were AWFUL. I felt so cheated! We arrived at the hotel ready to take a dip in the beach; after all, we had flown in our bathing suits! So expecting things to change, we took a ride over to the center of Chaweng expecting to do some shopping. Nothing to really buy except knock-offs. F! Once again, there was more pawing and the sort. TomTom found a dive shop and booked a dive trip for the next day leaving me all by my lonesome...

The next day started pretty early. I decided I'd go out in town and I was determined to shop, as I had seen a REAL Catherine Malandrino dress the day before, and find a nice beach. Didn't end up buying the dress or anything else. I thought I'd get a manicure and/or pedicure, but I had a hard time finding a place that I liked and that looked clean so I ended up just heading back to the hotel to lay out in the sun.

The day we left, we visited the Samui Aquarium and Zoo. It was small and nothing like a zoo back home. We fed turtles and monkeys and took pictures with a tiger! I've come to find that the US has the best zoos and that most of those abroad would probably be considered inhumane, at least this is so in the ones I've been to. We got back to the hotel and had just enough time to eat, grab our bags and head out to the airport to fly back to Bangkok. We arrived in the late afternoon. We waited for the tailor to deliver TomTom's order. Soon after everything was delivered, we went to see yet another movie (yes, TomTom really missed a decent theater) and one last dinner before we left.

We got in the next day in the afternoon and drove the two hours back home. Luckily, the flight back was the complete opposite of the flight there.

Summary: Thailand is a colorful country. Lots of yellows, pinks, purples and blue. The shrines are beautiful, but you'd quickly become "shrined out" after 2 or 3. It can be quite cheap if you eat the food, which TomTom doesn't. You'll hear and read lots about buying clothes there. I didn't really see much other than fake Ed Hardy shirts, but there were plenty of tailors. An Irish woman I met seemed to agree with me as she had brought along few clothes thinking she'd buy a ton there only to have to pay for laundry service every 2-3 days. I was rather disappointed with the Thai people. After visiting many 3rd world countries, I had never seen such a sense of entitlement or desperation. Everyone asked for a tip as well as ask for more! I guess this became all the more insulting after living in Japan for two years and never tipping ANYONE. Taxis were absolute rip offs. Mostly in Samui. Amazingly, for a country that mainly runs on tourism and has a tourism police force with measures to protect tourists from jewelry hoaxes and such, you'd think they'd actually enforce the use of a meter! Just a suggestion... When you see Thailand, it has all the signs of a developed country: everyone has a cell phone, large buildings, livable housing, fairly new cars. Felt particularly unsafe, too. We'll definitely visit again. We might skip Bangkok and Samui, but we certainly want to see some other islands as well.

Highlights: Phi Phi Island, our kick ass hotel in Phuket, dinner at Biscotti

Not so much: Taxis, streets, pollution, beaches in Samui, rain in Phuket

Tick, Tock?

There's been a lot of baby talking near me over the last few weeks. Lots of talk about strollers, crib sets and gadgets...
So, all this baby talking has got me thinking about me becoming a mommy...is this me subconsciously wanting a little one? If and when, what will my reaction be? Will I be happy? Will I panic? What will it feel like? I become very excited when I hear of others expecting, but I don't think I'm quite ready. TomTom and I are happy with things the way they are; we thoroughly enjoy being selfish and only focusing on ourselves. There is also the fact that I'm also petrified of childbirth. I honestly don't think I can handle it (so if anyone is willing to pimp out their uterus, I will pay!). When all is said and done, if I looked back at my life after 50 years or so and saw myself childless, I think I'd feel pretty unfulfilled. I wonder if I'll know or reach a point where I'll yearn to be a mother...

Is Nothing Sacred Anymore?

I have to be honest, I hate old people using technology! Call me selfish, but dammit! I enjoy the privacy (as ironic as that may be). It's like there is always a question regardless of how many times you've explained it before: how do I do this? or that? YOU JUST DON'T! While there are some folks that are probably more computer proficient than I, they're not the folgies I know!
HM has decided that we should target a younger crowd by using Facebook and Twitter. I'm on Facebook, and as you may have already read, I rant and rave on there to my miserable heart's content! Now, he takes THAT away! He can barely turn his computer on and now he tries to torment me, and others, in our virtual world of freedom. Is nothing sacred anymore???

Hey there, Stranger!

I've been gone a while...I know this. So I wanted to get back into the swing of things with a bang (yes, pun FULLY intended).

I debated whether or not to post the following pictures, but they're just too good not to! I warn you, some are graphic and not for the faint-hearted but while it was tons of fun...it was also a CULTURAL EXPERIENCE.

Last Sunday, BH, Mrs. AK and Mister Mrs. AK went to the Kawasaki Fertility Festival. We had been warned, but it was a must see. We were immediately greeted by flags and that's how we knew we were THERE!

There were tons and tons of people there. A lot of Japanese folks and definitely a lot of Americans. From what I read, this has been a tradition for a gazillion years and ladies of the night would go to the shrine and pray that they'd avoid diseases and such. Now it's changed a bit, I'd say... When we first got there, there were quite a bit of people and then in a matter of an hour or so it was packed! It really didn't seem as though the park could accomodate that many people. Safely. But I hate to sound like a wet blanket...

We soon became hungry. I had had some Lucky Charms on the way there and after 2 hours or so, this little piggie was hungry! BH of course had had Gatorade for breakfast. All together now: GROSS! So we found a radish stand, but again...gross! So we moved along and found a potato stand. I thought it was a fried baked potato stand and my tummy immediately went "Oink!" Alas, it was not. It was a boiled potato that was undercooked on a styrofoam tray with chopsticks to jab at it with. Miraculously, I didn't end up wearing said potato.

After giving up on my potato and crepe (which had BANANAS in it!), we walked around a bit. They had a couple of stands selling novelty items but everyone was gathered near the front of the shrine and so we thought things were going to start and headed in that direction. Well, the parade didn't start for another hour or so. We decided to make the best of things and become one with the Japanese. Why not in front of a giant pink mushroom a la Alice in Wonderland? PEACE!

We moved along to the street where the parade was going to go through and waited patiently. First a priest and some cantors came down the street to perhaps bless something or other. It was in Japanese, so I have no idea what was said. One of them had the fiercest shoes that Victoria Beckham would envy! Then the portable shrines came bobbing down the street. After they came and went, we went back to the park, listened to some taiko drummers and then it was time to go. We decided to skip the bus and head over to Hard Rock for some yummy-ness and finally home! All in all, it was an interesting trip.

Highlight: Spending the whole day with BH.

Not so much: Whole lotta ass

Hello, Oscar!

It's been foreeeever since I last blogged. I've been pooped...I'm sorry. What better way to jump back into blogging than by going over Sunday night, the Oscars.

Even though I was never a big fan of the Oscars, I always found the fashion part of the night to be the best part! It was always very inspiring. My prom dress was "inspired" by Jennifer Garner's Valentino dress she wore for the 2004 Academy Awards:

This year's dresses were a bit of OOH and a bit of BLAH. Here are my top three:

LOVED Marisa Tomei's dress. It was perfect for the Oscar's! For an awards show that highlights the dramatic arts, what better than a beautiful, dramatic dress? Kudos, Marisa!

Another favorite was Evan Rachel Wood. Don't believe I've seen her in a movie or anything and I know she was dating that freak Marilyn Manson, but the girl cleans up well! I love this dress. Whoever her stylist is, they should get a raise! This dress is gorgeous...

The last one to round off my top three......................

Yes, I know! I'm almost ashamed! But alas, I have put on my big girl panties and admitted that I LIKE Miley Cyrus's dress. It's a dress that someone young and spunky can wear, like Miley Cyrus, or someone that lives on the edge of fashion like Sarah Jessica Parker or Diane Kruger (love her!). I love the top, I could do with some smaller petals but it gets a thumbs up for me. It all pulls together nicely: accesories, hair and makeup.

I was torn for the #3 spot as I thought Taraji Henson looked amazing, too! I was also torn because I didn't want an all white/beige list. I thought the Golden Globes were a bit washed out, but white is H-O-T-T!

My biggest LOSERS, where do I start...

BEYONCE, what in the hell are you wearing? Designing jeans is one thing, but a dress to the Oscars??? Did you and Jay hit up a hydroponics lab before getting ready? Momma did you some serious wrong. Definitely FUG!!!

Next, Amanda Seyfried. I loooved her in Mamma Mia. She seems so down to earth, but this dress is so beyond earth's level of ugly. The color, the cut, the matching lipstick...ugh! Save her!

Last and definitely least, Marion Cotillard. Remember she wore that gorgeous fish scale dress last year when she won for best actress? This year she has disappointed the Oscar gods! The dress was not pretty at all. Whoever designed it must have been inspired by a black eye! And the makeup. She must have stopped by Hialeah's Westland Mall to get her Chonga makeup done. Pobrecita.

Anxiety Nation

As some of you may or may not know, Virginia didn't work out for us. When Tom first told me, I felt as though I had been punched in the stomach. I had begun to plan my new life in VA. I went house hunting online, researched schools in the area and in my head, I even saw my babies running in a backyard again.

As I've said again and again, I don't love living in Japan but I don't hate it either. The last couple days have been rough for me. I have this constant feeling of anxiety. As though I'm trapped in a glass box and I can't break through. I think a lot of it is that in nearly three years of marriage, this is the longest we've stayed at any one place and the longest I've worked anywhere. We were in Jacksonville, FL for three months and Kings Bay, GA for nine. I've been in Japan for twenty months!

I haven't been home since and I think I have to start planning a trip soon because I'm going to end up in a nut hut otherwise! I need a breather to step away from work and life here. I miss good ole American/Latin food, family, friends, sun, beach...America. Case in point, V-Day is this upcoming Saturday. If we were home, we'd probably go to a nice restaurant just the two of us. Here, we don't know any nice restaurants and if we did they'd be outrageously expensive and the food wouldn't be very good...bland and odd. I'm stuck in a rut: home, work, home.

Maybe I need a new hobby. Any ideas?

Metropolis

Metropolis is a free weekly magazine in Japan that is in English. You usually find it at locations that you are sure to find Westerners like Outback Steakhouse, T.G.I.Fridays, etc. On Saturday, we picked up a copy at Outback and were perusing the classifieds. Metropolis is NOTORIOUS for it's hialrious personals. My favorite of the week is:

"Male maid? Ladies, hate cleaning? Would you like a maid? I am a transvestite maid that loves to clean. I'll clean your place in exchange for makeup and dressing tips."

I might just respond!

Spoilus Bratticus (defined)

A spoiled wife, also Amy, is a member of the brat species in the spoiled family.

Yes, that is my genus species because I am the most spoiled wife EVER!!! The precious has arrived! Remember my blog on my latest source of lust? Well, my BH has come through! YAY!!!

Honey, in case you're reading this, you have definitely made up for Christmas! I love you!

Hi, my name is Amy...

...and I'm a shopaholic. I don't think my BH realized that living in Japan would feed this newfound addiction. So, it's no lie the Japanese are the number one consumers of luxury goods. I hop on the train in a pair of jeans, t-shirt, nothing spectacular but these women and I feel like Dowdy McDowdy. Not to mention, with no family obligations or a laundry list of things to do like I would in the States, I find myself spending lots of time shopping ONLINE! I always shop the sale section, though! I've gotten some CHEAPO items! The dress I wore for BH's Christmas Party, Diane von Furstenberg at almost 70% off! Ka-ching!

Neiman Marcus, Saks, Barney's, Gilt, I can't help myself! Speaking of Gilt, I LOVE it! If anyone wants an e-vite, let me know!

Birthday Recap

This past Thursday was my 23rd birthday! I definitely feel older. I think a lot of it is conventional math: graduate high school (18), graduate college (22), old fart (23). While I didn't necessarily follow that pattern, 22 for me seems like a "young" age and everything else is an abyss. It's weird, I know. No big deal.

I have to say that even though I saw Tom for a grand total of 90 minutes, it wasn't a bad birthday. I worked which kept me occupied. The best part... HM's birthday present to me was to leave me ALONE! My employees took me out to lunch and got me flowers and balloons! BH got me flowers and balloons, too! My office smelled like a garden! Loves it! BH's present hasn't come in yet, though!

Thanks for all the warm wishes!

I Want!

My birthday is coming up. And I want...

Yes! Yes! Yes! My beloved husband said it might come true! I'm a rotten little girl and I love it! Actually, this rotten little girl has been eying this little sucker since 2007! I was unemployed (poo!) and when I started working, I said mine! BH said, "Wait till October so we can pay some bills off and you can have it then." To my surprise, I agreed. How old and married of me! Little did I know that my dreams would be DASHED for October came and went, November came and went, the Yen plummetted, December came and went and now January has come and is going. But this little lovely will be all mine soon!

I'm back!

Sorry, ya'll! I had a hell of a week last week. All I wanted to do was give one giant middle finger to HM. It was THAT bad! Luckily, HM was golfing today! It was fabulous. I actually had time to draft a termination letter that I had to have done last week!

On a brighter note... we went to Tokyo Disney yesterday! Not Disneyland, but DisneySEA! It was so freakin' cool! I'll post pictures up soon. We went to Disneyland back in September for Labor Day. It was a Monday and we figured all the Japanese squirts would be in school. Boy, were we wrong. It was chock-full-o-squirts! Disneysea was no where near as busy! It took us longer to walk through the ropes than it did to wait in line. Tower of Terror had a 40 minute wait, and we didn't mind since we hadn't lined up for any ride ALL DAY!

Tom and I are going to chillax tonight and watch the Obama inauguration. It's a historical moment! I think all inaugurations are historic! I remember Bush's back in 2000. I personally didn't vote for Obama. I liked that McCain had no problem crossing party lines and his experience was definite plus. It's not that I didn't like Obama. I think part of me wanted to go against the grain and fight the "fad". I wasn't upset when he won, though. I kind of expected it in all honesty. There was Republican fatigue and America wasn't going to vote another one in for an additional 4, or possibly 8, years. Looking back, I think, and hope, that it was a great thing that he was elected. The good will he brings to the Office of the President is something, I think, will unite America as well as change many international opinions. I'm not so sure McCain could have done the same. I hope he ends up becoming one of our best presidents. He has a lot of work ahead of him and hopefully he can show everyone what he's made of! We won't look to him in anticipation of his failure, but of his success.

I must be honest and voice how peeved I am at the whole inauguration circus thing going on. I resent how they're making this all out to be a black thing. I like my presidents to be American. Not black, white, yellow, red, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish...I think I've made my point. All the celebrities are buzzing and yes, he will be the first African-American president. Amazing strides for America, without a doubt. I kind of feel cheated that no one has really come out to say, "Yes, he is America's first African-American president. However, he is American first and foremost." Like me, I'm Cuban-American. But I am 100% American. My Cuban roots are secondary. Do I understand the Latino plight? Certainly! Would a Latino or woman president cause a similar stir? Probably. But at some point, I'd expect them to call it for what it is.

My two cents...

His Majesty

I have titled this blog post after my beloved boss. Words cannot describe this man. And I am not alone! HM has no regard for ethics, does as he pleases, belittles and humiliates employees and if you make his sh*t list...you'll know it. I think I'm well on my way on it, but I just can't help myself! He's infuriating!

So he drives this one manager away and suckers like me are to pick up the pieces. I get assigned to take over this manager's change fund only to find it sub-custodied to a bunch of buffoons! Mind you, I'm not included in the email ASSIGNING me to the change fund. I've had an amazing mentor throughout these last couple months whom I've nicknamed as Sunshine and he's been an excellent source of knowledge! I would have lost my marbles LOOONG ago were it not for Sunshine!

So, my Finance guy is out of town for another two WEEKS! GRR!!! The first two weeks were okay, but this week was HELL! We've duked it out before, but he really does handle everything. He's also a major kiss ass! I guess this is why it's been so hot under the sun lately. He needs to come back ASAP!

I really was excited about this job. I loved it then and love it still...somewhat. I can do without a few people and a few tasks, but when all is said and done it's a great opportunity and the pay isn't bad. But it doesn't mean I'll stop looking for my next job!

*sigh*

My four day weekend is OVER! I'm so saddened. I have a full week ahead of work and I am so excited I can barely contain myself, not.

On another note, the husband has managed to piss me off yet again this weekend. The man really does try to make me raise an ulcer farm every Sunday night (cleaning time). I just did some damage at Saks and Victoria's Secret and that always makes me feel better! Yay! I can't wait till my packages come in!

I'll be posting pictures of our New Year festivities soon. I haven't seen them yet, but let's just say I was VERY festive!

First!

So, I have been wanting to start a blog for a while. With the start of a new year, I decided it's now or never. Call it a resolution of sorts. I'm hoping it will be an outlet for me as well as a way for family and friends to stay abreast on the happenings in my life.

Feel free to let me know your thoughts!