Many Thoughts

After a lovely night where we played a skins game of golf on the Wii with Genessa, we were getting into bed when I thought...when Lance lived with his ex-girlfriends, did he also have these kinds of chill out and peaceful nights too? I cherish the "time for bed" times with him. We have a little routine even. He'll go online and look for music/listen to music. I usually read one of my books for a little bit and listen to the music with him. Usually I'll turn in first but I give him my undivided attention until I fall asleep.

I didn't ask him but I will one day. Granted his life in the past was not one that I would have been able to tolerate, I still wonder if he had those peaceful nights. We're pretty domesticated. The other night, he came home from work and told me that it was really nice to come home to me. Since I get home first, I try to have dinner ready for him whether he is hungry or not and since it is getting colder now, the house was warmed up for when he came home. I am a pretty darn good girlfriend and I will make a great wife.

It is interesting how your perspective changes and I am so glad that I met him when I met him. I am sure I sound repetitive but really though. We're almost done with our 6th year together and will be working on our 7th year. If we marry, we'll probably do it in a few years. Whenever I tell people how long we have been together, they're amazed. Not just for the longevity but because of the type of people we are. Ah well. Opposites attract right? Except that's on the outside, on the inside, we share the same values and views.

Well...there was some other thought that I wanted to input but I can't think of what it was. I'm just waiting for this work day to be over and it has been DRAGGING

so even though Beck is supposed to be moved out, his stuff is still here. His room is still half full of his stuff. The garage still has some of his boxes that were never unpacked including that huge tent.

our car is still broken.

lance got me a new phone and we have a fab camera on layaway at the pawn shop.

dixie is fine although with the cold weather, she's trying to get under the covers and only lance will let her in and then she butts in between us and tries to lay down except I kick her out. she's becoming somewhat skittish. not sure what is up with that act but whatever. she's a bad girl sometimes. yesterday i caught her in the middle of a naughty act but i couldn't figure it out until later.

she tends to greet you at the door and is VERY happy to see you and tries to slip outside just in case. well. i noticed that the blue bowl i put over the chicken was knocked off a little and the plate the chicken was on was near the corner of the table.

in any case, eating lunch and leaving early today, yay! since i worked late on wednesday.

Beck is moving out of our house. That's fine. We're going to try to do it on our own. We're probably going to convert his room into a chill-out room. Put up some book shelves for my books. I want to get a futon so people have a place to sleep and we'll use it as storage too.

Once he moves out, we'll probably finally get a handle on the garage and organize that stuff. Right now, everything is still in boxes and I'm sure we'll find stuff that we have forgotten was packed away. I know I have three boxes full of books and I have bought enough books now that I can probably fill up another box.

I am really hoping that we'll be able ot pull this off. It would be fantastic. I don't want to move for at least another year or two.

Ho Hum

I am on break so this has got to be quick.

Weekend was fine. Lance had to work on Saturday but it was only for a few hours. His boss was late. OH! I have to tell you. I went to pick him up on Friday and I got there early so I went over to Dotty's to play some slots. I played Village People, hit a bonus, got a pooper the first three times but was fortunate enough to get a party saver. I cashed out at $120. YAY!

After I picked up on Friday, we stopped at Maddy's on the way home and I came out with $55. He also won some too. All this weekend, when we played slots, we were fortunate enough to break even or come up. I didn't really have to spend any money and the show on Saturday night was okay. Not a lot of people there but then again, there were tons of things going on that night. Beck's birthday show at Pala, Code 9 at the Branx, Country Fair in Salem this weekend. Lots of things going on.

Wanted

Lance is playing a party tomorrow night as a headliner. Great for him.

The party is a fundraiser for a guy who was pulled over in Baker City, OR and is charged with two Class C felonies. Apparently he had some pot on him. I don't know the whole story but the way it seems, there has to be more going on than what is being said. I have no feelings towards this. I don't even know the guy. I don't care if he goes to jail. Whatever.

It's just...I just feel like a lot of people are not getting the real story. It might be a lot shadier than it looks on the surface.

Yesterday we had a very nice dinner with Steve and Heidi. We just sort of dropped in on them but they had some extra steaks and we joined them for dinner. It was nice to visit with them. I had to go all the way into SE Portland to pick up Lance from his work and we stopped over. They bickered over little things and I don't know if this is how they are normally but they seemed really irritated with each other. He argued with her about the steak and...I don't know what brought that on. I hope all is well with them.

Later when Lance and I were coming back home, we talked about it and wondered if we appeared like that to other people. We don't argue like that over little things at home and if we do, we do it in a joking kind of way so...I don't know. I think we're a pretty funny couple and we don't nitpick at each other. At least we try not to do that in public and around our friends. There were a few times were I felt a little uncomfortable but what can you say. You don't want to step into it, I don't even know what it was about. There is some underlying tension.

Well, break time is almost over.

Not a good day for customer service

I am pretty good when it comes to customer service but...golly, there are some crazy patients. I had to tell a patient's wife that I was not going to argue with her about what was going on with their insurance. I'm trying to help them cut cost. I don't think they realize just how much an orthovisc injection costs. Not only do you have the cost of the injection, there is also the cost of giving the injection. That is almost $1000, if not more.

Goodness gracious. What a headache! I spoke with them before. The insurance is telling us the same thing in different ways and you know what. If you gotta complain, complain to your insurance because they denied it. Unfortunately, we are limited by what the insurance will allow us to do to you and if you want to pay out of pocket, fine. Just don't expect it to be covered by insurance and don't say I didn't warn you because I did.

I'm just glad that tomorrow is Friday and it is pay day Friday at that.

Faith Healing

In recent local news, a couple is standing trial for the death of their daughter who had contracted pneumonia and was not treated for it. The couple said that they did not believe in doctors so didn't believe that treatment was needed. Instead they opted for faith healing and the daughter passed away.

At some point, as a parent, you have to realize that there is modern medicine available to save your child. If this is supposed to be God's choice on whether your child survives an easily treatable illness, we would not have modern medicine. I believe that things are created for a reason. Sometimes it's something that shouldn't be created but I believe that there is a lesson to be learned for when things go bad.

Children don't know what they should believe. The best we can do as parents is to form a foundation for values. Despite the differences in doctrines for each religion, the base value is still the same. You want to be a good person. As to who or what you want to worship in or believe, that should be up to the individual and they should be given that choice.

I grew up in a shamanistic culture and I believe it but I also believe that there are other beliefs and I'm open to it. Some people do not feel the same way. Some people must have faith to endure life. Others swear off faith because they need concrete proof of its existence. That is the basis of belief, you just believe, right? Do you really have to have concrete proof and if so, can you handle that?

Pawns

it is quiet today in clinic. the last patient is in the room with the doctor now but it is a nerve conduction test so really, i don't have anything to do for check out. i've been going over my provider's schedules for the next two weeks and there is only so much you can go through before your head starts to hurt and your eyes feel like their crossed.

lance just got the unofficial promotion to manager at a new shop opening up on SE 82nd. how exciting. he hasn't even gotten his first full check yet. well, sure he got a paycheck but it wasn't a full pay period and now he is supposed to be opening this store next week. wowza!

i think this will change his schedule a little bit now that he has to manage a store. i am sure that he will be up to . today they have a meeting at their beaverton location and he is going to meet the main boss. his aunt susan is in town too and she was at their shop yesterday, maybe even today. thanks, aunt susan!

i spent a little more than i thought this paycheck. i paid off the electric bill and part of the phone bill. i don't have enough to pay rent and not overdraw and i'm going to do my very bestest not to do that either. next payday will be on july 10.

this weekend we'll be camping out at afuera.

in the news lately, michael jackson passed away last week due to a heart attack. that was very sudden. there were many sad people. we watched this special on him on 48 hours. Spike Lee said that whatever beef the black people had for him, he's theirs. everything is fine now and now is not a good time to bad mouth Michael Jackson in front of other black people.

in other news, people wonder if he really fathered his children because they don't look mixed. i wonder why anyone would care. he says they are his kids so they are. official documents say so. their biological mother says so. would it be different if it was gay and said the same? perhaps the most it is his implication that they are his biologically because at the time, surrogate mothers were not the in thing. these days, surrogate mothers are not abnormal.

honduras has been overtaken by the military and despite the democratic allusions that this new government makes, history shows that most military governments end in dictatorship. however you mask it, it is a dictatorship when you have to use force of guns to take over a government. the exiled president is not allowed to enter the country without threat of arrest. politically, it would be a wrong move to arrest the president and it would also be a wrong move to move in with foreign forces. i do not think it will resort to that. i think this government will fall eventually and did this man not think that this move of his will only spearhead the movement for another term for the exiled president. it is what started it all.

i think it is interesting now that i am old enough to know and understand what a coup is. we'll see how this develop. it happened yesterday so many things can happen between now and the weekend.

Wowza

The puppy was returned to her owner. That was fine, she was starting to chew things up and even ripped into a favorite pair of shorts. *sigh* c'est la vie, right?

My cousin, Megan, is pregnant. Proposed date of birth is February and wouldn't that be fantastic if it was a Pisces! I am going to have to send her something when the time comes for that.

Lance and I went to a house party on Saturday. It was kind of lame, the music was ravey which wasn't what most of the party goers were into. All except the three high girls. It was amazing to watch the transformation from anti-social, stare-at-my-phone girl to chattery, booty-bumping girl who wants to "help" the DJ pick the next song. It was amusing to watch.

The house itself was good for a house party and if it was my house, I would have confined everyone to the basement area because it's big enough for that. Instead, more people were upstairs because that was where the beer was.

I got tired and went to sleep in the car. That was a midnight. I just couldn't keep my eyes open long enough and at 2am, Lance was knocking at the door to bring his sound into the car. Yes, we supplied the sound.

Just as well though, I was ready to go and he was nice enough to want to go home. We don't know most of the people there and my social anxiety was really flaring up. I get very uncomfortable when I'm at a party at someone's house that I don't know. When we got home, we made some chicken nuggets and played a round of golf. That took about an hour and a half. Lance beat me. That's okay though. The person I created is still very new and haven't really developed her skills.

We went to bed after that and watched a bit of TV before bed time. We also had some naughty time together and that was amazing as usual.

In any case, all in all, the weekend was good.

Possible New Puppy

Ever since Blackberry went back to our family, we've been talking about getting another puppy. Lance is going to start working in a few weeks. He just turned in his application yesterday and his name came up to be a manager at a Portland store. Go figure. :p

That would be nice because he'll earn a little more and with both of us working in Portland, we can eventually gather enough funds to move down there instead of having to commute to Aloha all the time. The commuting is not a big problem for me since I work the usual work schedule. For Lance, we're not quite sure how his work schedule will turn out since he'll be working weekends and...I don't know how long pawn shops are opened.

In any case...it will be nice to have another income coming through so we're not quite so tight with our budget. Whew!

I had a nice talk with Pajmim and Karen yesterday. It was about Pajmim and dear girl is a little stressed out but, like we told her, it is her decision and if that is how she wants to learn, that's up to her. We will support the decision she is making on the ground rule that it isn't going to mess up her life and we'll back her up if the parents' aren't too happy.

The great thing about my parents though is that while Mom can be quite the worry wart, Dad will allow us to make our decision and help us when we need it. I love him for that.

We got to talking about the other Hmong people and apparently there are some girls younger than Pajmim who hate her all because this guy one of the girls likes was attracted to Pajmim. Ugh! Stupid drama. That side of the family can go f-themselves. All they do is whine and complain and pretend to be something they are not. They want to be party girls but they want to seem like they're good girls. People can see through that. Be honest.

It annoys me that some bitch would dislike my little sister so much like that. At least she is honest with herself and know who she is. I love my sisters. We're very similiar in that we can care less what other people think as long as those that matter think well of us. We don't have time for stuff like that. One Hmong girl that I talk to, every time we talk, i end up listening to our woes of relationships, what happened when we were at OSU, and how much life sucks for her. Same old thing but...whatever. That's just how she is.

No wonder Lance doesn't like her very much. She says one thing but does the opposite or she'll say she doesn't like to talk about people but here she is running her mouth about them.

Blackberry Saga

The puppy that we found. We found Lost & Found posters for her where we found her. We called the phone number listed and thus far, we haven't received a call back so I wonder if they still want her back. She's gotten a lot bigger. Last week she couldn't get herself on the couch. Few days ago, she started jumping up on the couches. Yesterday, Lance said that she managed to get herself up on the bed.

I haven't seen it yet. I usually pick her up and put her on the bed. Whenever she'd want to get up to the bed, she would wait or she would crawl under the bed to my side and I'll pull her up.

The pokey rib bones are no longer quite pokey and she's answering to Blackberry. Her original name is Luna.

I'm trying not to get too attached to her but it's tough. She's so darn cute.

In the mornings, I'll put her out while I get ready and then when I bring her in again, she'll run to the side of the bed and I'll pick her up and put her next to Lance. Now, I do the same but I put her back in her cage when I leave so she spends a little time with us on the bed.

I am hoping that the car will get fixed today. It's not raining but it certainly is gloomy-ish today. It rained last night we're supposed to have some thunder storms. How exciting.

I am leaving early to catch the bus to Hillsboro so I can finally pick up my contacts. I'll be cutting it close today if I don't leave at 3:45pm like I should.

In any case, Lance and I are fine. On Friday night, we went to see Crystal Method. It was Chad's birthday and what an AWESOME show. We went to Pala afterwards. I think they all went home because they left the balcony and went downstairs. We remained upstairs. Screw that. I was starting to wind down by the time we were at Pala. Just when we were going to leave, Beck told us that Crystal Method was going to come over. They took too long and so we left. AJ gave us a ride to his place. We caught a cab back home but had to drop a guy off in the opposite direction that we were going.

This guy...he's an odd one. He was in complete all of AJ and AJ is AJ. He's a chauvanistic. He's a dickhead. He's blunt. He talks a lot. Really though...we know what's up and this dude was just in complete awe of him.

.....

Last night, I was enjoying my night and watching 'So You Think You Can Dance.' Lance came home from hanging out with Shawnie. All of a sudden, we were arguing about walking the dogs. He wanted me to do it in the morning before work. I told him I wasn't going to and that I told last month I would be doing it after work. So he's getting upset at me and saying "so you want me to wake up at 6:30am to walk Blackberry."

If he has to, yea! I'll put her out before I leave but I am not going to wake up extra early to walk both of them and then RUSH to get ready for work. I go to bed late, I try to go to bed early but it never ever happens unless I'm VERY tired. He has the luxury of going back to bed because he's home all day. I don't! If our roles were reversed, he would use my not having a job against me. I don't do that to him.

Then it went into how I don't exercise enough. WE never talked about me exercising. I had talked about it. WE never did. So to have him go at it like that threw me off guard. When I got up to leave, he followed me and yelled at me. He never gave me a chance. I heard everything he said. I listen to him and I replied with me usual "okay."

I mean, what the hell am I supposed to say? What do have to promise to get him off my back and have him understand that I do know hear what he is saying and will do that. He didn't believe me in the first place, it would have been a waste for me to do otherwise.

I'm sick of it. He apologized later but...for someone who says he knows me....he should know this. I do listen.

Happy Hour after Work

Yesterday, since Lance was in Portland lunching with Sondr, I met them on 28th and Glisan after work. I got trashed. It wasn't intentional either. The drinks at lucky were sooooo cheap. A tall glass cocktail is $3.50. I had two and...oh man...I was pretty faded and I really shouldn't be in public trying to act normal in the daytime like that. Nooooo way. Not unless it was a party atmosphere, which it was not.

I can barely remember the salmon burger I ate. I know it was good but I was also sharing with Dixie-girl and our lovely girl...

In any case, today has been...steady. Lots of work done. Monday is another thing. Lots more calls and lots to do. But it's Monday and it is expected.

Cinco

Cinco de Mayo was a pretty chill and mellow time. We went over to Scott and Claudia. They live with one of her sister's and the sister's family. Along with the household was Claudia's parents and Scott's parents and an uncle. The food was delicious. Scott's mom brought over a 7-layer dip and some lasgana and macroni salad. She cans her own spaghetti sauce and tuna and all sorts of foods. They also make their own brandy. I was allowed to try some and it is SOOOO good. There is the alcohol bite but it's mostly like drinking fruit syrup.

In any case, we kind of all just gorged ourselves. There was cod, salmon, chicken, smoked pork. Pasta salad. Yumminess.

I left at around 10:30pm to get home for bed. Lance stayed a little later, probably spent more money than he should on video poker and drinks. He made it home though.

Until recently, I never used to eat cucumber. I didn't like it. The seeds grossed me out so I never indulged willinging. Every now and then, I would give it a try but still didn't like it.

Now though, I've been on a cucumber run. I like it with ranch dressing. I like it with salt and pepper. I like it. It's a good snack. It's healthy. It's refreshing. I'm totally going to be bringing cucumbers to outdoor parties. It's a great food to have around.

I don't know if Lance is going to go to Seattle this week. He said he was low on money and it's also been raining a lot lately.

In any case...I better get back to working.

Fried Fish

My boyfriend is going to be leaving for Seattle on Wednesday to spend a few days with one of our Seattle friends. It will be good for him because he'll get to work on his laptop with someone who really knows what they're talking about. He (the friend) did work for Microsoft and all, you know.

This weekend we had a storm that blew through. It was pretty amazing. We were at our friends, Steve and Heidi, in North Portland. We looked out the window and noticed it raining very hard and it was really windy. Then we heard some loud whooshing noise and opened their front windows. The rain was vertical and we're their front door is, it's like a wind tunnel so it was 10 times the effect. Things were flying by the window, it was outrageous. A little scary but pretty cool. After seeing that and then the larger than usual hail, Lance and I decided to stay a little longer to wait out the storm.

We found out later that there were trees that fell or broke apart from the storm. A guy died on Barbur when a tree fell on his car. One of Beck's coworkers called in to work because a tree fell on her house. When we came home, the only thing that happened was our garbage can fell down. Other than that, it was okay. There was thunder and if there was lightening, we didn't see it.

Later that day on Saturday, we went to a house party/BBQ. It was really a fundraiser and the vibe was pretty chill. I didn't know anyone but met some nice people. There was one youngin, a 19 year old, who was just all over the place. I know that a lot of the people there were taking stuff so that would explain some of the hyperactivity but still....this dude wouldn't leave me alone and later he told one of our friends, Shorty, that two bums followed him to the house.

They turned out to be neighbors but they stuck out like a sore thumb. I told the owner of the house who didn't even know that they were there. He was still working on getting them out of his house. Having the drunken youngin around didn't help matters.

We were ready to hang out at the place until at least 4am but by 3am, the easy going vibe just seemed to fall apart. It was a combination of a lot of things.

A new DJ came on to play and he must have been a newbie because he didn't know what he was doing. The bums had shown up by then and just making me very sketched out. People were starting to leave and/or pass out. I was ready to go go go and then all of a sudden, I just didn't want to be there anymore. I wasn't feeling it and Lance was feeling the same way.

After a while, it was just...I was sketched out.

If it was my house, that youngin and those hobo-like neighbors would have been kicked out. I'm nice but I'm not that nice.

We also saw Vera which was kind of funny because ten minutes before she showed up, we were talking about how we hadn't seen her in a while. It was nice to catch up for sure. Bree and Shorty showed up with Beck and those two girls were trashed. Bree was just everywhere. Mingling and wobbling around. It was cute to see because she's one of those girls that rarely get trashed but when it happens, it's pretty amusing. She's a great person.

So anyway...I was talking to Vera and she asked me about Erin, Raph's ex. She was recalling the morning of Festivus when the woman just wouldn't leave me alone to the point that I had to tell her straight up that I didn't want to talk to her anymore and to go away. She's never seen me like that. Honestly, I very very rarely ever have to do that. EVER. I always try to be nice or at least diplomatic but....I was just sooooo annoyed!!!! I had to get mean.

That girl is just crazy. There is something not quite all the way there in her. Sweet when she's lucid but...small doses only. Lance can't stand her. A friend of ours is sleeping with her because she's easy. He doesn't care that she's the way she is. Really though, you should. You don't want some crazy baggage to carry over into another relationship.

That brings me to another point. For some of our bachelor friends, it seems like they have been single for so long that they will remain thus. Some of them are choosy and that's good because they're great catches. I wouldn't want them to be attached to some ho who won't understand their lifestyle and love them for them. There is the other group of single men who get girls but just use them. They know they're awful, they know they want that right girl, but they screw up everytime.

If I had single girlfriends, I would hook them up with the more responsible ones because those guys are great. Like our friend Aaron. Very likeable guy. Cute. Has a great career. He's done his fun stuff and is more responsible with his life. Talented. There's our friend Jason. Same thing. Likeable. Great career. Talented.

Maybe their just neurotic but it does take that special kind of person to be able to accept it all and they know...they're just tired of waiting. I am sure the right girl will show up though. I have faith in that.

In regards to Lance and I, we're doing well still. I love him for him. He loves me for me. We have our occassional arguements but we always work it out. If not quite all the way, we at least acknowledge it and apologize for being dickheads to each other. That's all I can ask for. He knows, despite what he'll say in the heat of the arguement, that I don't want to change him. He will change because he wants to. If was I was horrid girlfriend and bitched at him all the time, we wouldn't be together. Fortunately, I don't.

And, a good point I gave him, when I do bitch at him, at least I'm not doing it while I'm drunk or have been drinking. That way at least, I have merit behind what my complaint is all about. He'll try to start a fight sometimes with me when he's drunk and being a dickhead. When that happens, I berate him and refuse to continue on our line of arguement until he sobers up and apologize for treating me horribly. I know my worth.

Night Angel Triology

I just finished the triology. I bought the first book on Friday after work and it captivated. I thought about just waiting until pay day to buy the next two books, by Sunday after Easter luncheon at Grandma Archer's, I went to Powells Books in Beaverton and bought the other two books in the triology.

I finished the last one today. Well, I finished it about an hour and a half ago. It is amazing. I had to go onto the author's website and comment. It has been a while that a book had so captured my attention like that. It had magic, fighting, intrigue, love, and a whole ensemble of characters that I liked. I love it when you can also love the secondary characters as much as you love the main character.

Sometimes you end of liking one or the other more.

Lance is at his friend, Shawnie's, place right now and Dixie is with him. It would have been nice to have some company but at least I know he'll be home eventually. It is actually nice that he wasn't here when I got home. Today was quite a work day and I was in an irritable mood. Lately it feels like there is something going on with him or maybe it is just me.

Last night while eating dinner, I told Lance that his mom had inquired about children. Specifically, when are we going to have children. It was because she was talking to Mel who said that she and her boyfriend were trying to have another baby but having a hard time about it. She wanted to know from Lance's mom if I wanted children.

Not until I'm 30 and older. I know some people think that that is too old but really...it is when you're most sure of yourself and most settled. Besides, there is no rush to bring another child into the world when you, yourself, are still trying to find your place in the world.

In any case, Lance told me that he'll marry me after his has his child support all figured out and caught up. In return, I told him that I'd like to be married when we have a baby and he whole heartedly agreed. I don't want to be another statistic and be a single mom or have a child out of wedlock. Although if it were to happen, it happens but if I can help, I'd like to go the traditional route.

In any case...I think I'm going to shower and play some video games. I feel...still a little irritable but at least it is nice to have some alone time.

Getting Hit On

I have a tendency to get flustered when I get hit on. Well, let me correct that. When I get hit on and I'm aware of that, I get flustered. I don't get hit on a lot or maybe I do, I'm just not interested so I don't pay attention to that sort of thing. In any case...

One night, we went to a friend's house for a midnight BBQ of which we did not partake in the food because, well, Lance had a gig at midnight and they didn't start cooking the food until 11pm. We were there at 9pm and there wasn't anything made yet. At this house, there were a few people that we met, one of them was a lesbian who I thought reminded me a lot of our Arizona friend, Steve. Same coloring, same mannerism of speech.

She said that it was her last weekend in Portland so she was going to go club hopping but would stop at the party later to see Lance play.

She came and since I was the only person she knew, albeit we just met that night, she started chatting with me. It turned a little awkward for me the moment she started scooting in closer and talking about her relationship. How she and her girlfriend have a great relationship but they have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. And every time she alluded to wanting to hook up with another girl, she would, in the same breath, declare her love for her girlfriend. Her girlfriend was going to school in Alaska, she in New Mexico. I know.

I thought maybe I was just imagining things and then I would scoot a little to give us some space. She would talk and scoot closer. It was then that I thought, ok, the boobs keep brushing against my arm, something is going on.

Ugh!

Even if it had been a guy, I would still act the same. It was the hinting at hooking up and still protesting faithfulness and love to her significant other that raised the flag. Her body language confirmed it. I was uncomfortable.

Pirates

The captain that was captured last week by Somalian pirates was rescued when Navy Seal snipers took out three of the pirates. I am so glad to hear that he is okay and that he was safe. I almost feared that the pirates would do away with him. In today's CNN news, Somalian pirates have declared that they will call all French and American sailors that they take hold. To this, I say: Are you freakin' nuts!

I really can't imagine that American sailors will sail unprotected now. The time for these pirates is nearing an end.

Sometimes patients are so distressing. Sometimes they are just aggravating. Sometimes they're just very nice and for those, I will bend over backwards and do my darnest.

Yesterday, I received a call from a patient who had missed her April 1 appointment. After I made her follow up appointment, she started crying. I asked her if she was okay. She started spilling her guts and told me that she started using heroin again because she doesn't have pain medication to manage the pain. I feel sorry for her but on the other hand, if she didn't abuse the system and keep her appointments with her primary care doctor, she would have someone to care for her.

Sometimes I feel like we're stuck. You want to help these patients but you also don't want to have them depend on you ALL THE TIME.

Best get back to work.

Continuation

At the retirement party, I realized that Lance is like my Dad. Even though he was supposed to relax and enjoy the show, Daddy found himself in charge of making sure the food was set out for the dinner and all of that good stuff. Even as people lined up for food, he was still chopping the roast pork. That saying about how you are attracted to a man who is like your father is true.

Even if we have nothing to do with an event or show, Lance will still step in to help and almost always end up being the one in charge and/or the one with authority. He'll delegate and make sure it is done his way. That's just like my Dad. He doesn't stand idle and if he can help, he'll help. Almost always, he'll find himself in a position of authority and delegating people to certain tasks.

It is very much appreciated and noticed in the Hmong community.

It is one of those things that is so different from American culture. There are certain households that don't teach this mannerism but it seems like a standard in the Hmong culture. Or maybe it was just the way we were raised. I was always taught to lend a helping hand and if it is not needed, be at the ready to assist.

We left the party a half hour before Mom and Dad danced together. That would have been great to see. I talked to Pajku some more about it and she said that they asked Dad to get it started so he looked for Mom. And when they were waiting for Mom in the car, she was with the women in the hall....dancing. That would have been a sight to see, oh my.

In any case....that's that.

That weekend, while we enjoyed our time hanging out with Burnside and Stephanie (mostly him because she was tired the next day and understandable), we learned that Danny G's party was a no go. It was cancelled and that was 9pm. The Seattle folks, some of them were told that someone called in the party and the cops closed it down because of that. Truth of it was, one of the promoters confronted Danny G about what was going on. Danny G went on the defensive and called in some of his boys who tried to stop the promoter and two other people with him from leaving.

I do think that this promoter didn't help matter much by starting the arguement and you know, Danny G shouldn't have reacted the way he did but c'est la vie. Rumor has it that he was in jail for the weekend although I am not sure for what. Attempted assault? I know that the cops were called.

The drama on NWT didn't end quite then though, it lasted for another week in a different thread. I think people in general are just tired of it but hey...it made for a good read at work for me...when I had the chance and these days, I rarely do.

Thoughts Here and There

There was a retirement party for one of my uncles a few weekends ago. Mom told me that we had to be there at noon. We skipped lunch and arrived at 1pm because I thought that was the start up time. I should have known better. The thing didn't even start until 3pm and the food didn't get served until 5pm.

The food was great. I just forgot how long-winded Hmong people are when they're going to give a speech. My dad was called up and instead of giving a speech, he sang a traditional song for my uncle. In my uncle's thanks to people who he looked up to, he said that Dad was always the one giving him grief about things and bullying to do or not do things BUT he said that it was much appreciated.

We did go and grab something to eat at 2:30pm though before everything started. Of course, the moment we left, they started. Oh well.

In the midst of all this in the world wide web, Danny G and company were getting gangster and Danny G 86'd Lance from the scene. He posted on NWT and said if a promoter is thinking of booking Lance for a show, he'll pay three times that amount.

More later.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/032609dnmetcopstop.3e9c080.html?nTar=OPUR

This is an article from a Dallas newspaper about a cop who pulled over a NFL running back while he and his family were rushing to the hospital to see his dying mother-in-law before she passed away. The cop pulled them over in the parking lot and pointed his gun at him. He has been reassigned to dispatch until the investigation is over but I hope that they fire him. I doubt they will. He had a clean record until this.

I really do think that even though he didn't express it to the dasher cam, I think race had a lot to do with his reaction. I think that if it had been another family of another color, he would have been more apt to let them go see their dying mother-in-law. It disgusts me that there is such corruption. It defeats the purpose of serving and protecting the public when there is such blatant disregard to common courtesy. Just because you're used to dealing with criminals, it doesn't mean that everyone is a criminal.

After watching the first season of The Wire, which is a great show, I feel like the legal system is one big fat hypocrite. This cop is probably going to be allowed back on the force and why? Politics. Sometimes not even public outrage is enough to make a change and that saddens the heart.

Even though there are some great changes going on in our country, I still feel like...there is still so much corruption. It's disgusting this boys club where they do their damndest to cover each other. I just...sometimes I wonder why there is so much animosity and hate. Why can't people just let it go? What the past generation did is past. That is between that generation. It should be up to us to shape what society will be in the future and just when you think things are going great...something like this happens. We have to start over again. It disheartens the soul.

No wonder people would just rather ignore the plight and carry blinders when they walk out into the world. Sometimes the world is just not a very nice place to be in, even when it is the United States where you are "free" to be you.

Sweet Tea

I need to buy some more of that sweet tea vodka. It is so tasty. A little lemonade and it tastes just like sweet tea. Every time I drink it, it makes me want some chicken wings. Why, you say? Because the only time I ever drink sweet tea is when I'm at Fire in the Mountain eating chicken wings.

Yesterday, NWT was just crazy. Effendi was going psycho being the online bully and threatening physical harm. I'm not too worried about it. Lance and I talked about it yesterday when I came home from work. Effendi sent me a PM and basically told me that if I didn't keep a leash on my boyfriend, he was going to hurt him.

I said whatever. I'm not scared of you. To which he replied that I should just be silent. Whatever that means.

People who don't know us will often think that since Lance has the louder and bolder personality, he dominates our relationship because I'm a passive mouse. For those who do know us, they know that this isn't the case. I'm pretty easy going and really mellow. I also know what I'm worth and what I deserve so if I think he's being disrespectful to me (which seldom ever happens) or doing something stupid, I'll tell him. Just because we don't get into publicly doesn't mean we have a lop-sided relationship.

Anyway....that party that was supposed to happen at the 2410 by Danny G got cancelled. Spun Academy has taken it over and since they have DJs play at Mt. Hood every now and then, they're going to have all interested DJs go there instead. I don't know what that will mean for the ravers since...well...Mt Hood is a ways away and it's probably going to be outside.

We were going to go but Lance cancelled. No communication from Spun. It's better that way. Our friends Burnside and his wife, Stephanie, are flying in from Idaho and will be here for the weekend. AND my uncle's retirement party is on Saturday.

Cleaning House

This weekend was pretty relaxed although I feel like I drank the whole weekend. I really didn't. It's only because I went and bought some liquor on Friday after work. I found this Sweet Tea vodka and it is tasty. Add a little lemonade and you don't even feel that alcohol bite at the end. I had maybe three glasses of that. James drank plenty of that too and walked home more than a little drunk.

I also bought this Three Olive Cherry Vodka and I have to say, I am liking Three Olive Vodka. Their flavored vodka tastes good. I used the remaining of that for some jello shots and those tastes pretty wonderful too. On Saturday after breakfast, Lance and I went back to the liquor store and bought more.

But let's get back to Friday...we watched the game, didn't really do much that night. Lance played some music and Aaron came over to play music too. It was a very chilled night and we just drank. Lance and I both fell asleep with a full glass. When we woke up in the morning, we started drinking again and then went to Malone's for breakfast. The wait time for food was ridiculously long. The bartender said there was only one cook but it shouldn't take that long to make breakfast. it shouldn't take long to even toast bread. I finished my breakfast before I got my other toasted half (she dropped the other half on the floor). I never did receive it. Lame!

I could make breakfast for a house full of people in that amount of time AND still have time to eat and mingle. Geez. Poor service indeed. They have good Bloody Marys though.

Saturday we watched the game and then went to see Rusko later. We got there at about 11:15-ish and ran into some of the PDX 503 kids (well, they're adults like us). It was a nice time. Berbatis was so freakin' warm. Goodness!

While standing outside with everyone for some air, James Crews' girlfriend was a little drunk and kept calling me Diana. I later found out that it was because James had introduced me as such and...I felt so bad. I wanted to correct her but I didn't want to do it when it was so loud. Anyway, she wants to hang out and become friends, which is totally fine with me. She seems like a really cool girl.

Aside from chatting with Brittany, Aaron and I were talking about the people that we were observing and laughing at some of the antics. All of a sudden, Karen comes flying across the street with a doughnut in her hand. It was really nice to see my sister out and about. I guess they went clubbing for Quynn's birthday and stopped at VooDoo doughnuts for something sweet before leaving. It was almost 12:30am at this point.

Rusko was awesome. It had his own set-up and a bass guitar. He brought his own MC and it was just a fabulous time. The only thing that bugged me were the people trying to get in front of me and they're all big, tall people. For someone as small as I am, I don't like it but I refused to move from my spot to accommodate them so I pushed and nudged where I needed to.

There were these frat boy looking kids next to us who were really getting into except they were also drunk and just getting really obnoxious. One of them kept trying to bump around, mosh-pit style and he'd run into Lance who would step on my foot. Lance would push him back and then a friend would step in to calm the guy down. Finally, he did it a fourth time and I yelled at him and told him to stop it. He did.

They left right after that and one of their friends, this Asian guy, elbowed Lance on his way through the crowd. It was very not a nice thing to do. So....Lance pushed him back. All of a sudden the crowd cleared a little around us. His chest got all puffy and he was yelling at Lance, telling him to go outside to fight. I wasn't going to have this ruin my night and have someone drag my boyfriend into a fight so I moved right in front of Lance and started yelling at the Asian guy.

I told him "Fuck you, walk away right now!"

Before he could do some more posturing, Taz moved right in between us and totally blocked our view of the little small fry. It was pretty amazing. I looked at Lance, put my arm around him, glanced over to make sure everything was okay and we went back to viewing the show. Taz is a HUGE guy. Really tall. Lance and I both thanked him. I think if the Asian guy tried to rush Lance, I would have tried my darndest to punch him....but Lance probably would have pulled me out of the way and wrestle the guy into submission.

In any case...that was the only minor incident for us. We went home after that but we were too hyped up to sleep immediately so we listened to the music he downloaded. Sunday was a lazy day. We cleaned up the house.

Today at work, it is our first day with our reorganization plan. So far so good. It's a Monday, our busiest day and I'm finding that I have some downtime. Especially this afternoon. Hmmm...neato.

Energy

On St. Patty's day, we went to that pub my Kmart and listened to some rock music. Lance ran into some people that he went to middle school with. There were three of them. The girl in the group was going out with one of the guys and she confessed to Lance that she had a crush on him when she was in highschool. She smacked him on the butt when we were leaving. Whatever. Wishful thinking on her part, bitch.

In any case, right after that, we went to Ichabods and that place was much more mellow and less crowded. Thank goodness. I don't do drunk crowds very well.

While at the second location, we watched Lance win some money on the slot machines, had some burgers (pretty good) and then we had a really good conversation about energy and...it was a pretty deep conversation. It was just Lance, myself, and James. They were talking about drugs and the different affects it has and then it went to how it opens ones mind and gets rid of the walls that we give ourselves.

Most of the drugs they were talking about, I have never done before. But what they spoke of, I don't need drugs to understand. I think it is my background and culture that allows me to understand that not all things can be explained by science. We talked about how everything had energy and how what we do can affect the things around us.

For myself, I know there are things around us that we cannot name or explain. That's okay with me. I accept that there are some things that I will never understand but I am open to learning it if that is possible. I think that this is what some people have trouble accepting. They have a certain picture of how they want things done and how they want things to be in their world. If it doesn't make sense to them, a wall comes up and conflict ensues because there is no understanding between each other.

There are some things and some people that I will never jive with. I'm okay with that. I can choose not to associate with them. I will be civil. I don't see a reason not to be. After all, there are so many different perspectives that explain the mysteries of the world, it wouldn't make sense to try to force an answer/view on anyone just because one thinks that one's view is the right one.

Take my mother for instance...she's raised in the animalistic shaman culture but has since then embraced being a Jehovah Witness. In doing so, she renounces what she once believed and that is a conflict in interest. On top of that, she tries to get us onto the same boat with her and you know...seeing what we seen and being around shamans our whole life, how can you explain that? How can you explain the name changing ceremony? I truly believe that after we performed this ceremony for two of my siblings, they were healed.

Of course, when you ask her this, she says it was God's doing. Maybe it was the shaman who rode through the spirit road to locate the lost spirit and bring it home. Who can explain the battle that the shaman was in in trying to save the lost spirit? I can't. But I accept that something happened and it is such a profound experience to see this happening.

Sometimes I feel that I cannot express such thoughts because who can understand unless they live the same culture and/or have witnessed such an event.

I really do believe that everything happens for a reason and that dreams do reflect the future one way or the other.

Being 27

Almost a month into being 27 and ... I think I should feel more grown up but I still feel like I'm in my early twenties and enjoying life. I'm a domestic goddess, taking care of my boyfriend and dog, doing some baking here and there, and playing Ravin' Rabbids. Mentally, I don't feel any older. Physically, my joints do hurt a little more and even though I don't work out like I should, I still consider myself a pretty healthy person.

Hmmm....27....it's just a few years closer to 30.

Snowing

No, not really. There are little tiny flakes falling and sticking to the roof but not on the ground. We had a few patients call to cancel their appointments because they were scared to drive around in the snow. Lame. It's barely even sticking to the ground.

This weekend was nice. We went to go see Kalani's first lacrosse game/practice this Saturday morning. He did great. He is learning to hustle although I think he should pick up his feet a little more instead of shuffling. He does a lot of shuffling. Mel is trying to keep him active and away from videogames. We support that. He always wants to be in front of the TV playing video games.

Lance and I were joking around that it seems like everyone seems to come over just when we're getting dinner ready and then we invite them to join us for dinner. It seems like ever since Beck has started spending more and more of his time with his girlfriend, we have more people eating our food aside from just us. Genessa is good about repaying back but she is sure timely in getting to our house at dinner time.

Lance had to play at the rave on Saturday...or Sunday at 4am. I stayed with Kalani and we just both slept while he was gone. Time also jumped ahead because of daylights saving and he didn't get home until 5:30am. It was fine. Kalani had Dixie right next to him and I was snug and warm. All in all, it was a pretty lazy weekend for all of us.

Gosh

So last night when Lance came home at 4am, I told him how I felt. When I want to speak seriously, it isn't about what has happened recently. It is an accumulation of things that has been going on for longer than a few weeks. It takes me a while to think about the issue and determine if it is something that I'm just freaking out over for no reason or if I really do have something valid.

In all the years that we have been with each other, you'd think he'd get it by now that when I am telling him how I feel, I'm not talking about right then. I'm talking about a month worth of observations. I'm like my dad in that way. I won't say anything if something is done that doesn't jive with me. I'll wait. I'll wait to see if it happens again. I'll wait to see if there is a pattern. Only then do I say anything.

Last night, after receiving a text from him at around 1:30am that he would be at Jame's place for a beer and then come home, at 3:20am, he wasn't home. I called him to see where he was. Mostly to see if he was okay as in, not arrested for DUI or something. I laid there and thought about it.

Lately, ever since he lost his job, I feel like even though he has more time and we see each other every single day, I feel like we aren't together as much. With just us. I'm fine with him being with his friends. I'm okay with them coming over. That's fine. But I miss just hanging out with him. I miss hanging out with him without some loud mouth hanging around. I miss sleeping with him. Granted it's just sleep but I want him next to me for at least three hours before I have to go to work.

If he comes home on a weeknight at 4am and I have to up at 6am, I wake up when he arrives and it takes me 30 minutes to an hour to fall asleep again because he'll want to talk about the show and I listen because I want to. Then afterwards, depending on how much has drunk, he snores. He threw all of my ear plugs away so I can't block that noise and it freakin' irritates me because I can't sleep with all that damn noise. It's not just him making that noise, it's the dog too.

Since he lost his job, I have been awaken many a week nights by either one or both of them snoring!!!! I f-ing hate it. It makes me cranky when I get up and I HATE waking up in an angry or cranky mood.

I want to make sure this is documented here. As always whenever I try to tell him my feelings, he talks over and/or he'll refute what I have to say with an excuse of his own. All I want is to tell him how I feel and get it off my chest. I don't need him to get defensive on me. Of course he freaks out because he thinks I'm freaking out except it's really that I'm upset because I feel like he is not listening to me. He says I don't listen to him and you know what...he never gave me a chance to say what I had to say.

In any case, the conversation went south and turned into a stupid arguement. UGH!

He told me that I can just ask him to come home. I told him, I have done that on occassion and I have been burned. I am not going to go through that again because he says so. Next time, I know he's going to burn me when I ask that and forget about it. Again, I feel like I am getting mixed messages. This will never end.

I'm just ... tired. Tired of being tired. Tired of feeling that little spark of annoyance. Tired of being unsure. Just plain ole TIRED. I knew that night that this would happen. I knew it. I hoped for the best but it went exactly the way it always does and he will never get it. I don't want to argue, I just want him to listen. It's not listening if he's trying to talk over me at the same time.

I forgot

I forgot to add into the last entry that is.....TO is no longer with the Cowboys. I think that will be good for the team. As talented an athlete as he is, he's also very high maintenance to the point of paranoia. Paranoia because he'll raise a stink if he thinks people aren't paying him enough mind. What a shame though. He could have been a great star athlete. Instead, he's going to be a has been because he's such a diva on the freakin' field. WTH!

What else was I going to say in here.....hmmmm....

Darn, I forgot.

Right now, I'm sitting in bed watching The Eleventh Hour. I've only seen bits and pieces while channel surfing. I do like the actor though. I think he's pretty darn good. I just finished watching the CSI show that Taylor Swift guest starred in. She's such a cute girl. She seems so geniune. I hope her star shines bright and I think she will. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders.

I thought the episode was really good. Sad. But goood.

OMG. Someone just burst into flames in The Eleventh Hour. It starts out with anthrax attack and now...someone combusts in flame for no reason? Hmmmm....

I think I am going to stop blogging on MySpace. It's a pain in the ass and the format looks all warped. If I am going to be letting other people in on my blogspot, I don't think I can be as candid. I didn't say anything bad about anyone....except I don't want Lance to feel bad. I would feel awful. Even though he wants me to be upfront with how I am feeling, when I try to be, it never seems convenient for him to be open to it so...might as well keep it in and wait for the right moment. But sometimes...there is no right moment.

Still...I hate arguing with him and fighting about stupid little stuff just because we have different communication styles. Sometimes I think I am more clear than he is...but then again, like they say about women, we're more in tuned with our feelings. AND we can't compartmentalize it like men and I wish that I can just do that. I wish I can just put a feeling in a category and let it go. Instead...the harder I try to let it go, the harder it is to NOT think about it.

It is a good thing I am stubborn and I can listen. Otherwise, we'd get no where. I just wished I didn't have to do this sort of ring around the rosie just to know what my boyfriend thinks. Sometimes I feel like I have to ask the same question ten different ways in ten different kinds of scenarios just so I know how he is feeling or thinking. I don't read minds.

I bought an umbrella and I have only used it once and that was yesterday on the way home....after I complained to my coworker, Holley, about how I haven't been able ot use my new umbrella. Funny thing with the umbrella, when I went to go buy it last week on my way to Lance's mom's house, I had one of my fleece jackets under my arm....by the time I got to her place, it wasn't there anymore.

On the way over, I had noticed this trail of Cheetos bits on the sidewalk....I don't know where I could have dropped it. I didn't see it at all from Fred Meyer to his mom's place...It could have been in Fred Meyer....but I don't remember if it was before or after I paid. Fortunately, I didn't have anything valuable in there....if I had kept my phone in there, I would have been freaking out but....all safe. There's only used kleenex and maybe some lose change.

Well...I suppose I should settle into bed. I wanted to go out with Lance to his Techno Thursday night but unlike him, I don't have the luxury of sleeping in til my heart's content in the morning. I have to wake up at 6am and be out the door by 6:15am so I can catch my bus to get to work on time. It's a pain in the ass but it is a lot easier to do now that it is lighter outside...of ccourse, day lights savings time is coming up and that's just going to screw with it.

I hate waking up in the morning and having to be out in the cold. I hate it. I am tired of being cold! I've worn a skirt or dress all week because I have nothing to wear to work. I wish I had a pair of jeans to wear to work tomorrow. Too bad casual Friday doesn't include sweats.

Hiccups & TO

When I came home yesterday, I became suspicious because Lance was being very attentive, lovey, and nice to me. I realized later that he was getting drunk (he had finished off a 40 oz of 211 when I came home) and he had NOTHING to eat that day. Genessa was nice enough to come over and make us some dinner. That was super nice.

However, because of the drunkeness, he was also being kind of a dick. James wasn't helping much in the matter. I had to talk to Lance and he apologized to Genessa for being like that even though it was not his intention. It happens like this. When he hasn't had anything to eat and then starts to drink, he talks really loud and it's like he's yelling at you. In addition to that, he's always right.

He started to tell me that I wasn't on his team and it wasn't cool that I wasn't watching his back. Basically, he didn't think I should be helping Genessa. I reminded him that Genessa bought food and is making dinner for us. If she wants to pan fry the chicken instead of deep-frying it, let her. She was nice enough to bring dinner and we should thank her for it. When he said I wasn't watching his back, I told him, "Don't you pull that dick move on me again. This all comes down to how the chicken is cooked and I don't want to fight with you about it. She is making us dinner and that's the way she wants to make it so be nice. It's going to taste good anyway."

Then he tried to say some stuff about if she thinks it is her kitchen, I shouldn't help. I told him, it's my kitchen and if she wants me to help her, I will. All I have been doing was giving my opinion on how the chicken is cooked. In any case, he apologized and said I was 100% right. I just want to make sure I have that documented in case he ever says otherwise.

After dinner, Lance got the hiccup attacks. It lasted all night. Poor guy. It was really bad. We went out to Pala and the Crown Room anyway. He bitched the whole time and James bitched along right with him. It gets really loud sometimes when they're like that. Lance raves or rants about something and James will chime in whether he knows what all is going on or not.

The night was fine. Lance wasn't having a great time because he was feeling horrible from the hiccups. Last night was Diselboy and I've seen him so many times. He is a great DJ, don't get me wrong, but I'm also totally fine not seeing him time and time again. We left about 10 minutes before Dieselboy came on. I was fine with leaving early. I have to get up early in the morning anyway.

I hope he's doing better today. I am going to have to make sure that we're well stocked with Tums and Pepto.

Cookies

Lance made some special butter and while I was at work, he made some special chocolate chip cookies. Genessa stopped by after work and after five cookies, she was pretty much out for the count. Dixie snagged some cookies (bad girl) and she was pretty listless. Not even the promise of a walk or a car ride stirred her. Poor girl.

I had three of them and it was really strong for me. I woke up for work on Tuesday still feeling woozy and it was like that for most of the day. It was a concentrated effort to focus and surprisingly enough, I think I got a lot of work done. I was quite the busy busy bee.

Last night I had one cookie and I was still feeling woozy. Jake came over with his new sound. He wanted to hook it up and see how it played. It sounds awesome. He brought his projector too and we played some Wii games. It was pretty awesome but the bad part about it was that you couldn't stand in the middle because you would be blocking the projector.

Lance went to go meet up with Steve (Mayhem) at Adam's place. I wanted to go too but...it was better if I stayed home. It would have been a late night and I can do with 4 hours of sleep but not with 3 hours. Lance came home a little after three and some time during the night, he woke me up and...well...that was a half hour or so lost. Oh well.

While he was gone, I had taken a shower and hung out in the room playing Gaiaonline. It is so much faster and easier to play it on the explorer vs the google chrome.

I best get back to work. Laters!

Birthday Weekend

I went in to work for half a day on Thursday even though I had requested the day off. I wanted to get some work done so I didn't have to come back to more work than I left with. Lance came to pick me up at about 12:30pm and we went to get some lunch at Jinwah in Beaverton. After that, we went home to hang out. He bought me a card and some fresh tulips and a rose. I love fresh flowers.

I baked cupcakes for the party. French vanilla cupcakes with made-from-scratch chocolate frosting and butterfinger crumbles. It was good. I only made about 24 of them even though Lance wanted me to make 48. The problem was transporting them. I ended up just foiling a box lid and laying them in there. They were all gone at the party and I hope people liked it. I know James ate two of them, he told me so.

Everyone who played were awesome. Lance started out with some dubstep then Justin 3peace came on with some techy electro. Tom Swift was pretty darn awesome and Little Terror with his 2-step ended the night pretty wonderfully.

I was so surprised to see our east side friends like Naoki and Kevin. It was very understandable to me if they were not able to make it because it was a work night and all. Karen even showed up! Yay! It is great to see her always. Lance's mom was there with two of her friends.

My hand was never without a drink. I had such a great time. I didn't realize how drunk I got until the end of the night. I remember getting in the car and thanking James for driving us home. I don't really remember the ride home or getting out of the car. I remember smoking with them and then I said good night because since there was nothing stimulating me, I was tired.

There were almost two fights at the party. Wendy showed her face because Allen told her that he was going to be there. What a dumbass. I was oblivious to this until later. Apparently, Tracy saw her come in the door and promptly pulled her out to confront her. She pushed her and Wendy fell to the ground. Shannon was out there smoking and she talked Tracy out of doing more harm.

After Justin was done with his set, he went outside and confronted Allen. Allen was sucker punched and fell to the ground. I guess he got up and started running and called the cops. When we were going to go out there for a smoke, Beck told Nicki and I not to go outside. I went back to the bar in my happy oblivious bliss and later found out that there were 6 cop cars and a K-9 unit out there looking for a guy in a red hat and red shirt, which was what Justin was wearing.

Someone snagged his hat and another person switched shirts with him. A few cops came inside to do a walk around but couldn't find him even though he was only sitting a few seats away from me at the bar. It was quite an interesting night, I would say. Justin, of course, apologized profusely.

And that was that. It was a great party. A great night. The rest of weekend, I just laid low in my pajamas. I don't think I went out at all. Lance went out with James to the DJ club on Friday and to Fetter's on Saturday. I opted out of the DJ club but woke up when they came back home. I was up watching Iron Chef online and playing gaiaonline.

I don't like going to Fetter's. Despite what they say about having a bunch of people over, there is almost always just ten people that show. All youngins looking to get drunk. It's really lame and even though Lance thinks Fetter is arrogant but learning. I just think that Fetter is a douchebag. The guy thinks he is the shit and he thinks he's an awesome DJ. Ugh! I think he's boring and that he talks more than he does.

In any case, it was a good weekend.

Shopping

Lance's mom took me out to buy some make-up yesterday as a birthday present. I got a nice water-based foundation that should be arriving in the mail soon. They ordered it because they didn't have my color in stock (beige). It surprised me a little how light my color was. I think I have always bought a shade darker which works in the warmer months because I'm more tanned.

I also got a foundation brush and blush. This was at Nordstrom at Washington Square at the Bobbi Brown counter. It felt really nice and light. It didn't even feel like it was on my face.

We walked around the mall a bit and it was nice to just hang out. I got home at 9pm. We started at about 6pm. I met her at her place because I thought Lance was still there doing laundry.

I didn't get to see him at all after the quick stop home until he got home at 4am. He had a gig to play at Pine Street Bistro. It went well until a fight broke out and people scattered. Did you know that yesterday was Mardi Gras? Who knew! It wasn't very advertised at all but then again...it's only a holiday I attribute to drunkards. It's the same with St. Patricks. It's a drunkard's holiday.

In any case, after he came home, it was hard to fall asleep again because he was snoring and I haven't been sleeping all that well. I keep getting up in the middle of the night and it really ticked me off because I had 2 hours until wake up time and in that span of time, I woke up five times. The last time was just before the alarm went off and I just got up anyway. Ugh! It annoyed me SO much!

Damn snoring and he threw out my ear plugs so I couldn't block it out. I woke up and left the house in a very ticked off mood which doesn't bode well for me because tomorrow is my birthday. Better thing good thoughts and just turn my work mode on.

Wii arm

I've heard of Wii-related injuries but I never thought I would be one of them. I bought Ravin' Rabbids this weekend and it is a very fun and interactive game. Kalani and I had a great time playing it. We played most of Sunday. After he left, Genessa and James were over so we all had a 4 player game going on. The first game was fine and I won. The second game took a little longer than we thought it would. We started at 9pm. We weren't don't until a quarter til midnight and by that time, I was a little too amped to go to bed immediately.

I didn't go to bed until almost 1am because I was also reading a book. The problem was, I couldn't fall asleep. My left forearm was hurting. A lot. It was a dull ache that went from my inside elbow down to my finger tips. I would imagine that is how carpal tunnel would have felt like because there was some numbness. I even put Icy Hot on it twice. Once before I went to bed and again at 2am when I woke up again.

Lance came home later from dropping off James and he distracted me quite wonderfully from the throbbing ache in my arm. I was able to fall asleep until my alarm came on but the ache was always in the background. Quite annoying.

Today it is not so bad.

The End of the Work Week=Horrible

I work in Orthopedics as a scheduler and managed care coordinator. The managed care coordinator title is just a glorified title that means I do all the front end insurance checks before a patient gets into clinic. The gate keeper, I suppose. Part of my job is to provide great customer service and let me tell you, some days it is tough to keep that chipper tone in my voice.

If I had my way, I'd let loose on exactly what I think about the oxycodone pill popper who calls on Thursday or Friday to ask for more pills because the 60 pills they got at the beginning of the week just plan ran out. Give me a freakin' break! Or the person who needs a check from the workers' claim office but didn't think to submit the paperwork until Thursday. And the paperwork is due Monday. Wonderful.

Yesterday, I received a call from a patient who said he had left a message on our triage line (which is only a message line) about paperwork that one of our trauma surgeons needed to complete for him so that he can receive his Social Security benefits. Mind you, when he called the first thing he said was "This is a medical emergency."

I'm thinking that his leg broke again or there is an infection in the wound area. The guy kept on going on and on about his medical emergency and I wasn't able to get a word in edgewise. I was able to deduce that it wasn't a medical emergency, he just needed the surgeon to fill out his paperwork. The paperwork was due on Monday. I asked him if the paperwork was in clinic.

"No, I have it. I left a message a few days ago and no one called me back," he exclaimed.
There was no telephone encounter in his file so either he was lying to me, which was plausible if he thought it would make his case more favorable, or he did leave a message but didn't say who he was or where to get a hold him. That second part was also very likely since some of our patients somehow think that we know who we are talking to when they call. Sometimes we do via caller ID, sometimes we don't.

"I don't see that there was a message left by you. I will have to transfer you to the triage line again so you can leave them a message. I will also send them a message myself so that they ara aware of your situation," I told him in my most calm and professional voice.

Again, he steamrolled me and went on and on about how important it was that the paperwork be filled out and ...

"I'm homeless. I need this money. If i don't get it turned in by Monday, I'll have to wait another 30 days. Can I talk to the doctor?" he asked.

"The doctor is not in clinic this week," I told him. "Do we have the paperwork?"

"No I have it!"

"Can you fax the paperwork to us or drop it off at our clinic?"

Again, the triade of his homelessness and how important it was to get the form in and "He's not here this week!" This is between side conversations with his girlfriend. Finally, he said, "What should I do?"

"Well," I began. "If you can stop interrupting me, I was going to say, you can drop the paperwork off in clinic but Dr. Friess is not in clinic this week. He may come and go but I really don't know if he will."

"Bitch---" he started. I hung up.

First off, after listening to his barrage and not being listened to, I'm not going to sit there and take his verbal abuse. So I hung up. It's not my problem if his lazy ass didn't get the paperwork to our clinic and it certainly isn't my problem if he waited until Thursday to check back again. If you want me to be helpful, which I was anyway because I put in the phone message, you better be nicer and acting the way he did and then calling me a bitch is the fastest way to get zero help.

I put in the phone message, wrote an email to my supervisors, and went back to the usual work routine. He sounded like he would be a volatile patient if he showed up and the way he was acting on the phone...paging Dr. Strong!

A half hour later I get a call back from him. This time, besides saying that this was a medical emergency, he told me that he thought we were unprofessional especially the girl he was talking to.

"I know her voice. I'm going to be in clinic in about 10 minutes with my paperwork and I want it signed!" he told me.

Suurrre, you know her voice. You're talking to her, fucker.

Since Dr. Friess wasn't in, he wanted to know if someone higher up can do it and if he can talk to someone with more authority. When I told him that my supervisors were not in their office, he was even more incensed and hung up on me. Ugh! Whatever though.

Rebecca, our practice manager, said she would talk to him. She warned the front desk to call her if he came in. Alex, one of our front desk guys, sent me a google message and told me that he left a message on triage and said "why don't you suck a dick!" Ummm....okay. It sounded to me, when I was talking to him, like he wanted to confront me. Unbeknowest to our patients, the scheduling office is not located in the clinic. In any of the clinics.

So...Alex told Rebecca and it was advised that if the patient showed, call Public Safety and page her.

I don't know if he ever came to clinic. What a bastard!

Today....well, today. I picked up a call from a lady who wanted to cancel her appointment with one of our Spine doctors. She also wanted to leave a message for our foot specialist but before I could send her to triage to leave said message, she had a breakdown. Started psuedo yelling at me and it sounded like she was going to cry.

"I have a note here from Dr. ___ who says that my foot is fine except my foot isn't fine. I've have had it with you people. Cancel all of my appointments. I don't ever want to come back to you," she cried.

This was all to my very innocent question: "And what is the reason for your cancellation?"

Before I could nicely ask her if she would like me to transfer her to the triage line to leave her message, she hung up on me. That bitch. I should just cancel her ENT appointments too. Ugh!

So...yes...we get some pretty interesting calls. Aggravating. If I can reach through the phone lines and bitch slap a person, I would.

Justifying a Purchase

The cheapskate in me can't justify the purchase of an expensive wallet or small purse bearing a designer name and it can't justify the purchase of department make-up items like MAC or Lacome. I blame my childhood. I was raised in a household where the dollar was stretched and everything we had, we shared.

But here I am, about to turn 27 years old, just three years shy of the big 3-0, and it is time that I just get myself that designer bag and the department make-up that cost $20 bucks for a tube of lipstick. Quality is key, right?

We'll see.

Lawsuit for the Smokes

I understand that smoking is harmful for your health and it is very addictive. What I don't think should be done is people sueing the cigarette companies for their spouse or for themselves not being able to kick the habit. Sure it was the cool thing to do 20 years ago.

It isn't the cigarette companies fault that you keep ingesting nicotine into your system. It's not like they're holding a gun to your head and forcing you to do it. It is like sueing McDonalds for getting fat because you're too damn lazy to cook your own food and instead rely on the greasy fatty quickness of Big Macs and super size fries.

In this day and age where it costs an arm and a leg to even get a pack of cigarettes, there is no excuse for your own bad behavior. I am so tired of people not taking responsibility for their own action. Got lung cancer? That's your own damn fault for choosing to smoke chemicals.

Of course, there are the second hand smokers and for them...go ahead and sue if you'd like. It isn't your fault that you are made to ingest toxic fumes, however, if it is gotten from frequenting smoky places...that is your own damn fault for putting your health at risk. So own up and quit crying.

Sweethearts

This weekend was amazinging fun and relaxing.

I can't remember what we did on Friday but I'm pretty sure we did something. I think we ended up at the Phoenix Lounge where I saw Shannon and Hara Isis. Justin 3Peace was playing records with another DJ and Lance and I came by around 1am so that he could play. We left at 2am and didn't get home until just before 2:30am. It was a good night.

We slept in on Saturday and just sort of lazed around in bed watching movies online. Saturday was Valentine's Day and normally we would have something planned but it was a lazy Valentine for us. I think it was the best one yet. He didn't get me anything, which is fine with me since he's throwing me a birthday party and all.

I got him a card and in it was the location and time of his massage that I booked up. I booked him a 30 minute deep tissue massage at the Portland Spa and Boutique which is right next door to the Riverplace Hotel on the Waterfront. He was excited about it. He told everyone about this massage. We finally roused out of bed in the afternoon for some brunch. Lance made me some biscuits and sausage gravy. We finished it off with some watermelon vodka and cranberry juice mix. It was a good brunch and back in bed we went.

We finally roused ourselves in the late afternoon and went for a walk, I think, with Dixie. Later we were in Portland running an errand with Steve and then went back to his place. Heidi was there getting ready and we all had salad and chicken for dinner right before the Sweethearts show.

For this show, Lance and I bought those 5 hour drinks and they work very well. Normally towards the end of the night on the stuff we were on, I would be ready to past out at 5am. Instead, I was able to hold out until 6am when we got home, although truth be told, I was nodding off in the car while Lance drove.

Sweethearts was a good show. We spent most of our time behind the stage under the tent. That was where Kevin and Naoki were doing their visuals. Most of the Giganticore crew members were there too but they all left early. Still, it was nice to see them and catch up. Depending on your perspective, it could have been a little awkward. Kari was trying to be talkative with Erin and you know, after giving someone the cold shoulder, you don't just pretend it never happened and hope that they forgot it too. It doesn't happen that way. Erin was fine with the situation and if she's fine with it, so am I.

We left at 5am and went over to Steve and Heidi's place for a little while. Heidi showed us her ceramic works and it makes me want to get back into ceramics. She also just turned 23 on Feb. 15. I always thought that 23 was a good age. But then again, it was also when I was graduating and moving onto the next phase in my life.

Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday day time. We slept in, watched movies in bed, and when James and Genessa came over, we played Wii. Lance and I really want to get Ravin' Rabbids. It is a FUN game. Very interactive. The other games she brought over were pretty neat too.

Monday was another lazy day. We were in bed until noon and then left at 1pm so that Lance could get his massage at the Portland Spa and Boutique. Dixie and I dropped him off and went to find a place to park. He was only in there for 30 minutes but he said it felt like forever. Any longer and he might have fell asleep.

Dixie and I sat out front and walked a little bit. Mostly we sat and watched the river. When he was done, he looked so happy and relaxed. With his back aching so much, I thought a deep tissue massage would help him out. I also noticed that the nail boutique, Pink and White, moved right next door. I will have to make a nail appointment. I haven't had my nails done in a few years. Not since the last time I went with Erin and that seemed forever ago.

All in all, a good and relaxing weekend. It is nice to just hang out with my boyfriend and it is nice that he doesn't mind it either. I wished I had another day but next week is my birthday weekend and we're going to be exploring the Shanghai tunnels on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Douchbags

Honestly, I really don't understand people do cruel things to each other.

This DJ we know started going out with a Techno DJ called Comix Vixen. I don't know her personally but we see her at a lot of the parties that we attend. She's a pretty cool girl. Really down-to-earth. The guy's ex, although a nice girl, was also a bit of a bitch. Their relationship was crazy. One minute they're ok. The next minute, they're fighting with each other. It's extreme love and hate.

Comix Vixen is a little more sane and not as crazy so I thought they were good together. It turns out, he's been cheating on her and James was in the room when the ex called her to tell her all about it. How awful is that!

It looks like ever since they had started going out with each other, he's been sleeping with his ex. And they have a few gigs coming up where they are playing together as a tag team set. This is the second tag team couple we know who have broken up and ...

I just really don't condone this kind of behavior. What the hell?! Why ruin a good thing by screwing around like that! It really makes me sad. People, good people, shouldn't be treated in that way. I am sure, in his own way, he really wanted to make it work for Vixen but just couldn't get away from his ex for reasons unknown and uncared for (on my part). No reason is good enough to cheat on someone you're in a relationship with. If all you wanted was a quick fuck with someone you say you don't care about, why be in a relationship with someone else?!

I'm just so digusted. I abhor cheaters.

This also made me think of Lance. I know he is a one-woman man but already there has been two cheating rumors and...I hope that if he does screw up, someone will tell me. The last thing I want is to be involved with someone who doesn't respect me enough to be loyal to me and love me the way I love him. I know my worth and I know that I don't deserve to be manhandled like that.

Guppies and Good Cooking

The other day Lance received a text message from Mel to let us know that the filter on Kalani's fishtank busted and that his guppies had 5 babies. That's awesome! About the guppy babies, not the busted filter. The most important thing for Kalani was that his fishes reproduce. No wonder the male guppies were sold in a different tank from the female guppies. It surprises me though how quickly they reproduce. We only got the fishes a few weeks ago.

We've been having some really good meals at home lately. It helps that Lance is able to do all the grocery shopping. It definitely saves me time.

Sunday we had roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy made from scratch.

Monday we had steak, baked potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and asparagus. It was a really good meal and so much food. The mushrooms were sauteed in white wine, butter, and garlic. Yummy!

Tuesday, I came home to some pho that Lance made earlier and he was working on chili which we had later that night. We made chili dogs with bratwurst and it was tasty. I brought some chili to work for lunch and I'm really looking forward to it. I just need to get some cornbread from the cafeteria to go with my chili.

Tonight will probably be chili again which is perfectly fine with me.

Work-wise, I just goofed on an appointment that I made. It was supposed to go to another doctor but I spaced and set the patient up with the PA. Ugh! What a blow to my work pride.

Weekend Recap

It's funny how smoke can hide the real smell of the bar. Since the smoking ban, we haven't been back to BCs until Friday night when Lance got booked to play dubstep. At first I thought it was coming from the DJ booth but I realized after a while that it was everywhere! The place smelled like ass and fart. It was HORRIBLE. I almost missed the smell of cigarettes. Almost.

The good news from the place was that I broke even playing slots.

Saturday was a gorgeous day and we ended up going downtown and walking along the waterfront with Jon. It was a nice walk. Everyone and their dog was out. It was awesome. Later when we were trying to find Mt. Tabor to walk some more, Lance suggested we got to the casino that night. I've always wanted to go so of course I said, "Yes, let's do it."

We drove back to Aloha and dropped Dixie off at the house then we drove to Grande Ronde, which is by McMinnville. It was pretty dark when we got there, it was almost 8pm. We played a few slots and got in line for the buffet which was pretty good.

Casinos have no sense of time. The parking lot is almost always full and the place is packed with people. It seemed like the later into the night we were there, the more people there were. There were a lot of Asian people, mostly Viet, but I overheard some Hmong speech here and there.

I did pretty well. On one slot game, the first spin got me 10 free spins and in the middle of that, I got another 10 free spin. I cashed out at $30, I should have played for longer but...oh well. Next time, I think I'll stick with one or two machines and insert more money. I lost some money very fast at a few machines because I didn't know what the heck I was doing and just wasn't paying attention.

All in all, it was a great night. We got blazed before and then after dinner. We grabbed a drink from the bar and we hope to go back after the night club is open. Lance is thinking of seeing if they need a DJ. It would be good money and I don't mind hanging out at the casino all night either.

We drove back home at around 1:30 and got home an hour later. It was a good night.

Sunday, we slept in and after making brunch, I got ready to go shopping. Before I left, Lance told me to think color when I browsed the racks. It's because I usually tend to go for darker tone clothes. I came back with a multi-blue tunic and brown shirt. A gray pencil skirt. Two pairs of flip-flops. A khaki pants. Black yoga pants. Two tanks tops (black and cream).

It looks like this year's prom color is going to be neon colors. Barf! Loud bright colors are not something I'm totally into. I'm into the classic styles and neutral colors because they go with everything and it never goes out of style. Black and earth tones will always be in. Another thing about the mall, I hate the mall. Aside from the crowds, it's the type of people in the crowd. All teeny boppers, girls with too much make-up and boys with their pants down too low trying to hit on each other and play coy. How disgusting. It made me wonder if I was the same and on hindsight, I rarely ever walked around the mall for fun and on the occassions that I did get roped into it, I really don't know what is so fun about it. I remember being bored and spending too much money.

When I came home, the door was wide open and there were garbage bags in front of the trash bin. I asked Lance and James what was going on and during the few hours that I was gone, they hired the local bum to take our cans back. For the first load, they collected $15 from him and told him that the second load, he can just take all the money from the cans. As collateral, they held onto his tent which he just purchased that day.

In addition to this, the TV was turned towards the door and the music was on really loud because "we were outside and wanted to listen to music." The TV was promptly returned to its place, I closed the open window and the door. We had two other people over and I got to take a bite of out a VERY large Sugar Daddy. I haven't had a sugar daddy since I was a kid.

Last night we also made a roasted chicken dinner. It was awesome! It tasted so good. Gravy from scratch and mashed potatoes with garlic.

You know...

I hate when I'm in the express bus full of middle-age women, almost every time one of those women will complain that it is too hot inside the bus. Nevermind that it is 30 degrees and COLD outside, she's hot so she wants the heat turned off. It drives me NUTS! I don't care if you have hot flashes, the rest of us are COLD!

I love my boyfriend so so much and I love to cuddle with him when we sleep...except when he starts to snore in my ear. Even with ear plugs it keeps me awake. Added to that, my dog snores and she was sleeping so good. *sigh* What to do, what to do. On top of that, he put his pillow over my head, I guess to make himself more comfortable but I promptly removed the offending pillow and tossed it across the bed. I do love my boyfriend and I think it is really cute that he'll move into my spot when I get up for work. It's cute.

Last night, I had the most horrid dream ever! We were watching a movie starring Jennifer Aniston and she bared herself except her private parts were just...OMG. I can't even begin to describe it except that it was wrinkly and huge and it looked like what I would imagine a hermaphrodite would look like....in any case...that was when he put the pillow over my head and I woke up.

Sick on a Lovely Day

I called in sick yesterday and it was a gorgeous day. Despite the near perfect weather with its blue skies and warm sunshine, I couldn't enjoy it like I wanted to. When Lance turned on the news in the morning, they said it would be 70 degrees on the coast.

"We should go to the beach," I croaked.

"Babe, you're sick," Lance retorted with a smile.

"But it's going to be 70 degrees!"

Keep in mind, my face is burrowed in the pillow and I can barely make myself out. Still it would have been nice to go to the beach. On hindsight, my boyfriend was right.

Despite the wonderful weather, I was exhausted and very very cold. All I wanted to do was sleep. I got up at 11:30am when Lance came back from his walk with Dixie. They found a straggler. The pup from next door busted loose from his leash and was found scampering down the street chasing after birds. He almost got hit by a car. A few cars.

The family next door, while nice, should not be allowed to have pets. This is their second that we know of and the darn thing is stupid. There is no leash training and he'll run off with no fear to his own safety. Cute thing but stupid.

I went back to sleep after we walked the dog and Dixie again. It was a nice walk.

When I woke up again, Beck was home and James came over shortly after. We played Wii Golf. I beat them all. -1 was my overall score. I scored the birdie in the last hole. All the other courses were at par. In Wii Bowling. I beat them all in the first game. The second game, I did well.

Still, for such a lovely day being sick, I wished I had more energy to do something. All I could do was sleep but I'm tired of sleeping and drinking tea. I'm tired of my nose feeling runny and then dry. My head still hurts and I hestitate to take cold medicine because it makes me loopy and sleepy. I don't like being under the influence of ANYTHING when I'm at work.

Baby Mama Drama

I predict a lot of babies coming out at the end of summer due to the two week snow-in in December. We already know of one couple who is expecting and that's great news for them. In other baby news, there is an aspiring DJ we know whose girlfriend is expecting and I can't help but cringe. The baby drama is already starting and he doesn't even know it yet.

I'm not a nosy person but I have been able to deduce that his girlfriend is pretty young. I don't think she is quite the legal drinking age yet because I have not seen her with him at any of the club nights. However, she did tell him that her internal clock was ticking for some babies while they were together the first time. For anyone, you'd think this would be an immediate flag. When she was off her birthcontrol, she told him she didn't want to get back on it. I don't know what the hell he was thinking. Pulling out is not an effective birth control method, dummy. GEEZ!!!

After he found out she was preggers, he decided to give the relationship another whirl. But looking at him, you can tell he's fed up with her but doing his damndest to be committed because he's really excited to have the child.

I understand that there comes a time in a woman's life when they really want a baby. I went through that period a time or two but never followed through. Why? I'm responsible. I am not going to bring another person into the world when I can barely take care of my own things. I am also not going to subject another person to taking care of a child if I am not able to. I have a great support system and should it happen, I think I will be fine. BUT I also enjoy a childless life right now and it would be selfish for me to bring a baby into my life when I'm not ready.

So I wonder about these people who don't seem to think further than the "I want a baby." What about child care? Healthcare? Food? A home? Work? Come on, people! As far as I know, these two people don't have healthcare insurance and there is only so much that the Oregon Health Plan will cover. Coming from working with health insurance on a daily basis, I can tell you that having the Oregon Health Plan is a pain in the butt. Even if you could get in to see a specialist, there is a long waiting period and then there are all these guidelines about diagnoses and procedures and sometimes the insurance won't cover it.

Just like driving, I think people should take a test or something before they are allowed to have a child AND it should be that both parties are willing and committed to raising the child whether they are married or not BEFORE the baby is created. There should be no option to have deadbeat dads and loser moms. The future is important and if kids are the future, we should ensure that they receive the best all around care.

Karaoke?

Friday after happy hour at McFaddens, I dropped Lance off at his cousin's place in Tualatin. Since the next night was going to be a fairly long one, I opted to chill out at home. I told him to call me when he was ready to go home and I would come get hime. At 2:30am, he called me. There was a fight at the bar they were at. About 20 minutes later, I met up with them down a road they were walking on. We went over to his cousin's house so they could wind down.

They were at a karaoke bar and after a few songs, they were told to leave. Aside from Lance and his cousin were two other girls. As they were leaving, a group of guys were behind Lance and his cousin and shoving them out of the door. Another group appeared in front and continued the shoving. It appeared to them that this scene had been re-enacted many times and the employees of the bar were fine with it considering they were all friends.

One of the guys, named Josh, pushed Lance down. In the process, one of his shoes came off and he badly bruised his knee. Instead of getting into a fist fight like most drunkards, Lance decided to call the cops. As he was speaking to the 911 operator, the same guy lifted one of the girls and threw her across the room. She ended up going to the hospital for a concussion and hand fracture. Her husband had not wanted her to go out that night. Perhaps she should have listened to him. Lance said that had I been there and the guy had touched me, he would have gone crazy on the guy...or at least try to considering the guy was your typical bouncer height and weight.

Josh was arrested for two assaults. The bartender and bouncer tried to say that Lance and his cousin had been trying to start fights all night. I know my boyfriend can be a loud-mouth when he drinks but he's never malicious and he's usually great fun.

What really ticks me off is the small town mentality. It was clearly there in that bar. I guess there was some kind of history between the dude who assaulted them and the girl that was thrown. I don't know what it was about but there was more to the story than what I heard from Lance or from what he cared to know.

It amazes me sometimes how some people just remain in the same clique throughout life. It's great definitely but I find that it also leads to some small-mindedness. Most of these types of people are pretty close-minded about a lot of things. It is especially true when they come up against "city people". I don't understand what the deal is or why they feel like they have to bust some balls to be cool.

I guess at my age, I'm just surprised that there are still some people who still act like their in highschool. It's immature. It's a waste of time. I'm calling the cops and shit goes down.