Day 01:

Your current relationship, if single discuss how single life is.

Righto. I have been in a relationship with a man named Michael for well over two years. My mom moved during high school so I went with her, and it happened to be in the same neighborhood as this obnoxious guy. I met him on the second day of school, on the bus, and we instantly made jokes. As it turned out, we had three classes together, so I saw him every day that year. It pissed me off at times. He was such a jerk! But weren't all guys in high school jerks? And he had ADHD...so he bent me out of shape sometimes.
Anyway, whenever we would fight (which was maybe once or twice a year), we didn't speak to each other or look at each other or want anything to do with one another. These fights were unlike any other fight I'd had with a friend before.
I'd had a couple boyfriends during high school, but those never lasted terrible long. Michael was always nice to them. Our senior year, he was the one who had a girlfriend. I was nice enough to her, but I couldn't stand her. I was insanely jealous, and I wasn't sure why because I didn't see myself dating my best friend at all. By senior year he drove us all to school. I was the only one who never paid him for gas because he knew I didn't have any money. I never had money. I didn't have a car of my own so it made it difficult to work, especially since mom wouldn't let me borrow her car. He bought me lunch because I didn't qualify for reduced lunch and neither me nor my mom could afford the expensive lunches at that school. He would buy salad for lunch, but I got his two sides and his milk. Every day this would happen. After the end of my last relationship, Michael and I were on the rocks as well. We bickered over that last boyfriend because he was no good and we both knew it.
We were still mad at each other at graduation. I was too proud to tell him I was sorry, but I was very sorry. I was so proud, that I didn't even see him graduate, though he says he saw me.
I'm not quite sure what brought us together. We had both mentioned in high school that while there, there is no such thing as a serious relationship. It's just not possible.
We'd made up at some point, and spent the first part of the summer with each other and friends. Halfway through I began working as a cashier at the grocery store he had been at for years. At that point he knew more than the managers, and that intimidated me. Here I am not able to press those damned buttons in the right order and there his is bookkeeping and department hopping. All of our friends and sort of friends in HS said we should date, and we both said gross no way. All of the people at the store saw us together and within the week, told us that we should be dating. Still we said no, gross. Yucky.
At that point I was on the rebound with that same old ex, and he was talking to a friend of his that I found to be a pretty gross individual. She was just nasty and mean. Not a very nice personality. She always called people bitches and sluts. Gee whiz. Anyway them talking to each other burned me up inside. I never let it show, but I hated the way she looked at him with a passion.
Anyway---to make a very long story a little bit shorter: We went on a real date (we were very nervous) and hit it off of course (why wouldn't we? We spend so much valuable time with each other that we grew up to reflect each other's personalities) and after a couple of weeks (I remember nervously kissing, that was pretty cute haha) we cast aside those other people and threw out or doubts and fears and went for it.

This relationship was well received by most, but others were not so approving. Said nasty girl actually threatened to beat me up, so I told her she was an animal. Seriously, beat me up? Over a guy? Get over it. Two mutual friends of ours said they were happy for us, but in reality they weren't. They said to me that I won't have any friends like them left because I spend so much time with Michael. They said it will never last anyway, and when it's over our friendship will be ruined because of it. For reasons unsaid I have chosen not to be friends with them anymore. That barbaric girl decided to come out of the closet and move to Cali with her internet girlfriend. I shit you not.

So back to the original point of this post. For over two years, Michael has been my everything. We know everything there is to know about each other. Habits, favorite phrases, temperaments. He knows my silent upset face and exactly what it means, especially when I say, "nothing." His family absolutely loves me, and my family loves him. So much so that he has a key to my house, like the rest of my mother's children. Mom told me he made it onto the list of favorite sons-in-law. His parents have offered to let me live with his family.

We have been given many opportunities to take shortcuts, but we're staying as old-fashioned as we can with it. We do not live together, nor do we plan on living together until we get married (Unless something comes up that makes living together the best option). We haven't planned our future around each other, but we have talked about it and made some room for the likely possibilities. Sometimes we both have this deep urge to run to the courthouse and get it over with now, but that never lasts long. We know better than to let go of our dreams so easily. We talk about weddings, we talk about gets, we talk about houses in neighborhoods close to our families. We talk about what our parents did and our siblings, and how their plans differ from our own.
We're boring in a way, because we already know what the future holds for ourselves and what we will do to get there. But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Peace, love and pudd'n pops
AMZ

Habibi

Arab-night is the best. Hands down.
Friday, a mutual friend of Michael and myself invited us downtown to a get-together some friends of ours were having. We were the token white people in a small apartment full of arab men and women. The party was thrown by Ahmed and Nadia, a couple that we know pretty well, and in attendance were ourselves, our good lady friend, a girl we'd never met from the next building over, and some guys that we had met before but not known very well. We had two hookahs smoking with orange and mint in them. We passed around hoses and ate spinach that was wrapped in dough and baked in bread with lemon juice. Ahmed had the grill going outside, and Nadia ran around like a chicken with her head cut off carrying cooked and uncooked foods to be put in particular places. When dinner was ready, we dug into babaganouj, Damascus bread, grape leaves, spinach pastries, chicken kabobs, salad, and beef kabobs. Michael and I ate ourselves stupid, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells in the room that remind us of family.
After dinner, we all puffed happily on sheesha while the girl we'd never met went on floating from person to person, having intoxicated conversations. She was the only person there drinking. In fact, she was the only one that drinks much, and it showed. I'm not saying it was a bad thing, I mean to each his own, but she was a little obnoxious at times. Anywho, after dinner we continued smoking and eating sweet treats while we played a game of good 'ol charades. It's funny how you can have good clean fun with your friends without the use of drugs or alcohol or those things that so many other people my age feel are necessary to have a good time. We played charades for what I think was two hours, until we just couldn't do it anymore.

We will have to do it again soon, before the boys leave for Saudi and Oman permanently and we will never get to see them again.

So, a couple of friends of Michaels, whom I was friends with in high school but did not want to be friends with them during college, contacted me the other day to patch things up. I was quite honest, and I said I was not interested. They pursued the matter, asking for reasons, and I could not lie. I gave them every good reason I had for not wanted to associate with them anymore. They tried to turn it around, claiming that I have myself wrong and that I do not know myself as well as I should and other things like that. I said something something, they said something something. They threw out the claim that I only dislike them for their friendship with Michael, and I cannot come close to what they have. Trust me, I stayed civil even after all of that, though I found it hilarious. In the end, I offered to keep going the way things were before, civil and avoiding, for the sake of poor Michael who had been caught in the middle. They aren't interested haha. No skin off my back, because contrary to what they think, I do have real friends (they think if someone isn't friends with them, they don't have real friends), and they are fantastic. See awesome Arab dinner, above. All of that is said and done now. 

Anyway, I will be doing this: http://f0x.tumblr.com/post/1513434733/im-doing-this with Sjaan and Jenn. So be prepared for your dashboards to blow up.

Peace, Love, and Pudd'n Pops

Deux Ans, Mon Amour

I skipped the weekly update for last week. Forgive me, Sjaan, I was actually busy for once this summer.
Last Wednesday, Michael and I celebrated our second anniversary. I had planned on cleaning up his car and making it look nice. I got him seat covers, a CD case for his 100+ CDs, a trunk organizer, and enough cleaning supplies to make it look brand new. What I did not expect, however was a multitude of obstacles. They were varying and pain in the ass-y, so I will skip them.
5 hours after taking his car, I headed back to his house in a white and brown dress, new heels, and no make-up aside from a little play on the eyes.
Michael looked particularly handsome. He sacrificed his facial hair to please me. It was worth it.
We kept it simple as far as dinner goes, we decided to keep it simple. We went out, had a grand old time enjoying each other’s company and doing that mushy eye-contact thing.
Friday we left for vacation at the home of a relative of his with his family. In short, we went through hell and back to get there. I talking about a blown transmission, 5 hours in a foreign place, and a rental van that couldn’t gun it up the side a mountain like we wanted it to.
I don’t remember the last time I was that relaxed. We spent five or so days there. During the day we spent time with each other and talking about our lives. When it started to get dark, Michael would go into the living room and play piano while the sun was bright red in the windows, sinking into the ground. At night, we wined and dined and made the most of our time with Michael’s cousin.
One day I convinced Michael to drive us to a particular distillery 30 or so minutes away to get my mom a certain kind of bourbon that can only be bought on site. The GPS ended up taking us in circles for an hour or so. We grabbed the booze ASAP and flew back to the house. The last day we were there I convinced him to go with me to a local chocolate shop to buy Bourbon chocolates for my mom also. For some reason I thought liquor would be a good gift for someone who seldom drinks.

I am trying to describe my trip in a way that doesn’t infringe upon the privacy of Michael’s relative. I mean, if someone came to my house and had a great time, then went home and posted the good, the bad, and the ugly on the internet, I would destroy them. Anywho, here are a few photos:  

   

This was a wonderful break in our hectic lives. Now we’re back to work, and soon back to school. Life goes on, my friends. I can honestly say that I am happy.
Things are going amazingly well. 

Peace, Love, and Pudd’n Pops,
AMZ

 

I’ll Meet You Where the Page Proclaims The End

In a few weeks I will be turning twenty. This shouldn’t be much of a big deal, but to me it is catastrophic. I have been told that twenty is nothing to freak out about; twenty-one is the one that really matters. Well, not to me it doesn’t. Who cares about alcohol? It’s expensive and unhealthy. Aside from wine on a special occasion I don’t see much of a point in it. My mother told me that I will look back and wish I could have the time before twenty back. I think she is right.
I have always been the type of person to think too far ahead. I am prepared for everything, even if I didn’t prepare for it. I am thinking about the way life will wind down before it has even picked up. So I turn twenty, okay. Then I become a twenty-something, then a thirty-something and who knows how many somethings God will allow me to have on Earth. But I digress.
The twenties are the most hectic times in a person’s life. They turn twenty-one, they graduate from college, are introduced to loan repayment plans, get big-kid jobs, find a worthy person to settle down with, then finally settle down. Oh, and car insurance goes down at twenty-five. I am honestly more excited about money I don’t have to spend on insurance instead of money I will spend on liquor.

The fact of the matter is that I don’t want to grow up. I’m a toys-r-us kid, dammit. I put on my big girl pants and grew up a long time ago, so why should I be forced to put another notch up on the year post? Isn’t it enough that I’ve been twenty-three for the last two years? (by that I mean I am young enough to still be immature when I want to be, but old enough to not be phased by offerings of that gasoline people call liquor). Can I not be frozen in time at this age?

Peace, Love, and Puddin’ Pops,
AMZ

Twilight Shift

This past Friday, I went to see Twilight Saga: Eclipse with Duha. Duha is worthy of a blog post of her own being as complicatingly interesting as she is, and I mean that in a good way. Anyway, Eclipse. I watched Twilight online, skipped New Moon, and finally shelled out the 10 bucks for a ticket to Eclipse. In high school, the books were alright. The first one was very good, the second alright, though they got progressively more strange, and by the end of the series I was actually a little surprised that I put myself through that.
I, being a gullible and cooperative person, tend to follow the path of interest that the author sets me down upon. Main girl = a clusterfuck named Bella. kay. Main guy = a glittery gentleman named Edward. Gotcha. Then I saw Eclipse, and my views of the series changed dramatically. Bella is still a clusterfuck, but it seems that every word she says and every emotion she attempts to convey is done so with her powerful chin. Edward is still a glittery gentleman, but the look on his face makes it seem like he is very…uncomfortable. His words are forced and raspy, and his cheek bones are very severe. I’d have to say the biggest thing I noticed that changes my opinion of the series would have to be the budding poof of chest hair that peeks from beneath the collar of his shirts. Oh my. No thank you. Good day sir.
Then we have the character Jacob, who never wears a shirt. Reading about someone not ever wearing a shirt is not very interesting compared to watching a character not ever wear a shirt. I enjoyed his character very much, and judging by the ‘mmm’s and gasps coming from beside me, so did Duha. My interest has definitely shifted from Edward in the books to Jacob in the movies. Afterward I actually promptly texted Michael so that I could ask him if he could become a werewolf for me and just conveniently never wear a shirt.

The Cullen clan left some to be desired all around. The women of the family were fine. They are always dressed well, but the men…no. Emmett’s haircut is very square and severe. I wonder what person, alive or undead would endure an awful haircut like that. Carlisle has slicked back blonde hair. Enough said. And the other male character, Jasper, just bugged me all around. His button down shirts were always buttoned all the way to the top. If he wasn’t already dead he would have choked to death. I mean honestly, who buttons the very top button? He was always very stiff and reserved in movements, like those awful outfits kept him from moving. His orange hair was chin-length and wavy. I don’t know what it is about these people and bad haircuts. And his eyes were always wide, as though surprised, but at the same time scrunched at the outside edges as though he’d just received devastating news.
Finally, of things to complain about. Two words: Dakota Fanning.

Don’t get me wrong, the movie was enjoyable. They definitely got a much bigger special effects budget than they did when making the first movie. I didn’t let these odd observations ruin the movie, but they were something I laughed about afterword.

Ah anywho, I am pleased to say Michael has finally given in on my girly pleas and gotten a blog of his own. I just want to hear what he has to say! That isn’t to say I he isn’t completely honest with me. He is, we haven’t kept anything from each other. It’s just different, ya know?

I wanted to end this post with an odd picture of the Cullen family doing what they do best: dressing strangely, but is seems as though I can’t find one good enough. So this will have to do:

 
Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Two people who will never live down the parts of Cedric Diggory and Sharkboy.

 

 

 

 

 

Peace, Love, and Pudd’n Pops,
AMZ

Matriarchal Ways

Grandma’s visit flew by quickly. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and Michael made a great impression on her. Mom loved it up until they had a good ol’ mother-daughter bickering. Those are always more fun to see than they are to be a part of.

She came with a two cases of wine and two bottles of Vermont maple syrup. The syrup will last a year or two, and the wine…well, I’ll have to get back to you on that. When you’re with Grandma, most any occasion is a wine occasion. Half the supply of white that she brought is gone!

We all enjoyed a great dinner at an Italian place, and afterward had coffee. I must say (to all of you who either sick of hearing it or just plain don’t give a damn) that Michael was looking particularly handsome in his shirt, tie, etc. drinking a cup of coffee. If this is what the future looks like, I’m game.

Michael was amazing enough to drive us to Charleston for the day with Grandma in the front seat. Mom and I are were in the back. We saw some good historical points of the city because G-ma is a history buff. I didn’t spend much money. I bought a photo at the slave market of the Cooper River Bridge at sunset with the bridge lights lit, which I adore.

Halfway into the week, our vacuum’s belt decides to get stuck in the motor and melt, filling the whole house with an unpleasant burning smell. This is moments after mom mopped the floor to clean up after the 4th of July party saying something along the lines of “I love the smell of a clean home.” The vacuum is between 10 and 15 years old, so they stopped making belts for it. We bought the closest size to it per the vacuum store man’s recommendation and I, apparently, broke a very small piece of plastic that holds the vacuum upright. Fantastic. Time for a new vacuum!

Meanwhile, a bolt that holds the tank of the toilet in the main bathroom onto the base broke and tank water rushed onto the floor of the bathroom. I’m sure it’s the same toilet that has been there since the house was built 20 or so years ago. This means in addition to the broken vacuum I had a broken toilet. Nice.

We bought a new toilet, and with the help of Michael at an early hour of the morning we installed the damned thing ourselves.

I am extremely pleased with the work we’ve done. And it saves water whoo!
Mom on the other hand, though happy about the new thing, has succumbed to paranoia and decided that the AC unit will be the next thing to go. It was 100 degrees outside today and a stuffy 85 degrees in my house so that we could baby the AC a little and give it time to rest.

The moral of this story is that Michael has earned the stamp of approval by the Matriarch. Booyah.

 

Peace, Love, and Pudd’n Pops

Would You Like More Steak with Your Steak?

Here I am, in my brother’s room, typing away on the computer. Why am I in my brother’s room? Well folks, tomorrow is G-Day. G-Day is the clever name I bestowed upon the day with Grandma arrives from up north for the week. Many preparations have made for G-Day. Lawn-mowing, organizing, scrubbing!
Being a polite person I am giving Grandma my double bed for the week and I have decided to sleep in my brother’s twin bed. Or the couch. Err.
My entire day off has been spent getting ready for her arrival. Now it is 12 am, and I am wondering where my day went.

This is a very lame blog post.

In the world of work, I managed to figure out how to take a five digit zip code, zip4, and Delivery Point Bar Code numbers and transform them into an actual barcode! See, we’re trying to send out 4 thousand or so magazine/booklets I designed for the department to all of the members. In order to be efficient we are trying to eliminate the standard mailing labels and the whole step of printing the labels and slapping one on each booklet. As you could probably guess, this would take me a very long time, and my hands would fall off before I ever finished. We are also trying to eliminate our current postal software that makes life a little bit easier in favor of a postal software that is full of operation wizards. Import wizard! Export wizard! Address Correction Wizard, my God! This is a nerdy girl’s dreammmm!
We are in between programs right now, and I am having to configure the barcode information and transform it into a full blown postal bar code, including start and stop lines, the exact zip code and delivery point information, and a check digit! I am such a beast! This is something that the original software company offered to do for me for the low low price of $150 per hour. What a deal?

My boss is especially proud of me lately. He is proud of how I am doing in school, and how I am doing at work. Hell, he took us all out to Ruth Chris’ last week to prove it!

 

Note to myself: Things to write about next time=> coffee pots, wine and drinking ages, G-day, Toy Story 3, and ceiling leaks.

These are things that sound terribly boring now, but I will turn things around and make it entertaining. Or will I?

 

Peace, Love, and Puddn’ Pops
AMZ