I’ve unofficially declared Tuesdays (or Mondays, or Saturdays or any freaking day of the week when I’m all dried up and out of any real substance to talk about. heh- who am I kidding? When do I ever have real substance on here?) Update Day. Because, well, as you all know I have so much exciting and fresh information to discuss about my thrilling life in Kuwait (ha).

Something Actually Worth Reading...well...sort of
I was so excited to hear that one of places Will and I are visiting this year was named one of the new 7 Wonders of the World! I was already excited to go, but now? Now I’m just plain stupid about it. If you were too freaking lazy to click on the link for the grand revealing (don’t worry, I’m lazy too and rarely click on links), I’ll go ahead and tell you what new Wonder we’ll be visiting this year. We’re going to Petra, Jordan!

Will and I decided we really need to make the most of our time here and start planning the trips we’ve been talking about forever but just haven’t done because “we still have 103 more years in Kuwait.” However, we’ve already been here 2 (which is hard to believe!), so before we know it, it will be time to go home and we will have missed out on things we wanted to do. So, we committed to taking a few short trips during the rest of our time here. We invited my family along, so it should be a good trip. We’re going to stay on the Dead Sea a few nights, see Petra, go to Amman- it should be a good trip! I’m most looking forward to Petra, though. Mainly from an eschatological aspect (wow! you didn’t know I was a smartie, did you?). Will, however, is looking forward to swimming in the Dead Sea. I hear it’s physically impossible to swim in it because of the salt content- so watching him attempt to swim will be quite a show.

I have quite possibly the craziest story ever in all the world (okay, that’s a total flat out life) about planning our trip, but sadly, I can’t share. You can thank the Kuwaiti people that monitor the web for trigger words that I can’t even write in this post. Let’s just say it has to do with Jordan’s neighboring country- a place most Arab countries believe does not exist. Ha ha- or as my friend Sarah says, “the Whole-y Land.” Was that a good hint? I freaking hope so. Anyway, we had a creepy experience last weekend because of it and found out that the Ministry flags and blocks all calls to “that country.” Maybe one day I’ll get to tell you about it. Since I just taunted you with half a story and got you all like, “What the crap is she talking about!?!” I’ll go ahead and move on to something else. Sorry for the ambiguity.

Not Exactly Worth Reading
Other than the Jordan trip (which seems forever away), there just doesn’t seem to be a lot going on.

Last Tuesday afternoon I got an email from the wife of the couple we went out with (hmm, did that sentence make sense?.. who knows...). She asked us out on

The
Longest
Date
Ever.

It’s this 6 hour tour thing. It sounds like a lot of fun (ha- Will was thrilled), and I was actually looking forward to it until Will mentioned, “Uh- we couldn’t even carry on a conversation for an hour. how are we going to manage 6!?!” He’s right. This reality has set me into a panic. I think the couple might be just as frantic because I haven’t heard from her since the initial email. She told me she would find out the times and then get back to me. Granted, it’s only Tuesday, but now I’m wondering if they want to “forget” that we had made plans. I guess I’ll find out soon enough. I’m sure 6 hours will produce a plethora of blogging material. I’ll keep you guys posted on what will either be the 6 Hour Stand Up or the 6 Hours of Continual Conversation… or lack thereof.

Are you Still Reading!?
Last Thursday I went to Will’s camp to work out with the guy that is whipping my Will into shape! It was a lot of fun...well..fun might not be the right word. I was glad to get to see Will in action and see all the “abuse” Will says this guy puts him through. The guy was really great and helped me make some improvements to my own program. That’s not exactly how I would like to spend every Thursday, but it was nice to work out together and finally get to meet the guy that has helped Will drop almost 10 pounds.

We bought $80 worth of grapefruit last weekend. Yep, we love our citrus. I think we looked like complete morons checking out. I should also mention that we went to 3 different grocery stores this weekend too. Yeah, that was loads of fun. Every store has something the other ones don’t. It’s quite a headache. So, Will and I decided we would limit our grocery needs to 2 stores and just load up on things we need from the 3rd. That’s exactly what we did. Will loves these Del Monte jars of pre-cut grapefruit. We took all that was available and proudly walked out with 2 (extrememly heavy) bags. Isn’t that sad!? $80 and 2 bags? For freaking grapefruit!?! Gotta love the prices they slap on imported goods.

Hmm… Want to see the most beautiful hospital? Go here. It’s the newest and best women’s hospital in Kuwait. It’s like a freaking hotel. My mom had her surgery there. Surprisingly, it’s cheaper than most “normal” hospitals in the states. I have no idea why I just linked you there… probably because I need to make a doctor’s appointment and wanted you to know we actually have normal hospitals here and not something from behind a farm shed. Uh, well, we have those too- but at least we have options, right!? Sigh, sadly I still don’t think you guys are any more eager to move here.

What else?… I started re-reading the book of Daniel last week. I forgot how much I really enjoy that book. I’m only like 5 chapters in, but I feel so refreshed by the things I’m encountering. I just want to sit and continuing reading on and on. Here’s just a few things I’ve tried to focus on from my readings (in normal people’s language):

God wants us to give all of ourselves to him, even in things that seem sort of trivial.
Just because the “in crowd” is doing something doesn’t mean it will make you better in the long run
God stands tall with those who are faced with adversity
Pride comes before the fall, and God alone is sovereign. <- that's what I read about today- King "Nebby's" prideful heart.

I'm reading the book along with a Prophecy commentary I got for my birthday. It's really enriched what I'm reading. Also, Beth Moore has an excellent study on Daniel, but it's better to do with a women's Bible study group, so I think I'll hold off on that one.

Go Ahead and Leave, It’s Pretty Much Downhill From Here
Boz has started doing the weirdest thing! He pees directly into his food dish after he eats. “What in the freaking crap are you thinking!?!” I constantly yell. He just cocks his head and looks at me and is all, “What, woman?! It’s MINE! ALL MINE!!” MUHAHAHAHAHA.”

This marking his territory crap makes no sense to me. I guess I’ll just at least be thankful men aren’t allowed to walk around doing the same. Think about all the wars that would break out over that!

Alright, alright. I think I’ve put you through enough crazy ramblings for one day. I wish you all a wonderful day!

More to come <3

I’m 7 years older than my sister P. That means I’m old enough to remember life before her, and therefore feel this sense of duty to be a Christian example and mentor. Yes, all because I am old enough to remember life before her (ha).

Yet-

at the same time I feel this tug to be the friend, the cool sister- not the mother.

Such a predicament. I often joke to myself that I’m the little angel and devil that sit on my sister’s shoulders.

I’m often the mother, you know, the one that you can actually tell “real” stuff to without fear of anything happening to you because you can’t be punished and at the same time can get some good advice. However, sometimes I’m the “cool sister-” the one that teaches you the right way to wear something trampy with class (ha ha or notsomuch. Sadly, my sister is my fashion expert. Not the other way around)- which is what I always want to be but for some reason can’t let go of myself long enough to capture.

Today I was the cool sister.

Totally the cool sister.

“Hello, School Secretary? This is P’s mom. She has an appointment at 11:00 and will need to leave school today. Her driver will pick her up.”

I hung up, feeling like the “cool sister.” I could feel the mother in me creep up and tell me I was an idiot, but I gotta level with you- I didn’t feel bad at all. I skipped my fair share of school (ha ha, but was such a nerd that I would actually call my mom to tell her I was going to skip… can we say major dork!?) and turned out just fine (well… that’s still up for debate, but work with me here). Besides, it was Senior Skip Day and all her friends were going to be gone. See? I’m a nicey.

So P- I hope you had a wonderful day off.

Oh and mom, if you read this post I’m totally kidding. I’ll say anything to be able to post, even make up outlandish stories about your perfect, wonderful, unblemished daughter.

The below post is 100% true email traffic that took place between me and my family last week. For some freak reason, by God’s intervention, we were all online at the exact same time the other day. Names have been altered to protect the derranged. You know the players in my life by now- mom, dad, my sister P, her boyfriend Z, and of course- Will. Oh, and I’m not kidding- we really are this strange.

B-Love- Hey! Our plan is to take Lucy tomorrow morning, and afterwards we wanted to know if you want to meet for breakfast somewhere around 10? Your choice of the place. We’re seeing Spiderman afterwards, P, if you and Z want to come (mom and dad- you could come too, but I just remember how excited mom was to see Star Wars ha ha- remember? You fell asleep). Just let us know!

Mom- Breakfast sounds great, what about the marriott it’s where i think Z, P, and Z’s mom went and she said it was really good

Dad- That sounds like a good plan.  I’m buying breakfast

Will- We’ll armwrestle for it

Dad- Nope, I’m buying breakfast. I’ll let my killer dog go after you!

Mom- I think even if I don’t have anything but fat in my arms I would still beat you both.

B-Love- Will! You silly! Now that they know you’re rich from the $20 bucks I gave you, they’ll make you pay! Ha ha just kidding. We’re still arm wrestling for the bill.

Dad- Maybe I can get my hernia to really stick out if I try really hard.

P- Um..EW.

B-Love- I know, huh? Do you remember the things we said about Will’s dad when he had his? Ha hahaha Sorry, Will.

Dad- I guess that settles it....I was the grossest, so breakfast is on me.

Will- Okay- this time. You forget I have the bigger dog!  By the way I think perhaps he is getting bigger!  Maybe he’s not fixed, and his hormones are kicking in!

Dad- How big can a Maltese get? 

Will- I guess we’ll find out!  Maybe we have a mutant Maltese, like in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

B-Love- See! I knew you’d admit it! They messed up fixing him! I want our 18KD back!!!

Mom- You have to admit that small baby Maltese pups would be adorable, at your house at least not at ours!!

Will- There would be nothing small about his pups!!

Dad- Maybe you can rent him out to see if he’s been fixed.....or I suppose a COMPETENT vet clinic could test him. 

P- You all are extremely entertaining.

Mom- Entertaining...this is just from email, you ought to join us out at the 3 ring circus that we get to attend daily!!!

B-Love- Will- are you being disgusting with your “nothing small” comment!? There ARE minors in this email thread you know!

Will- I didn’t even think about it like that, leave it to a “F (maiden name insterted)” to come up with that

P- I’m not a minor! I’m legal everywhere except America, silly brittny!!

B-Love- Again- CONGRATS on getting accepted to be a congressional page! I’m so proud of you! (for the millionth time)

P- Thanks. They havent seen any REAL white house scandals yet

B-Love- I’m scared to know what that means.

Will- Well I hate to say goodbye to such company, however I have to run. Bye guys!

So after that the traffic dramatically slows, and we all go our seperate ways. Just thought I’d share some insight as to why I am the way I am. ha ha

Have a good day! 

Just jumping on real quick because (as if you didn’t already know) I have obsession issues with this place.

I’m posting from my parent’s house. How fun is that!?

My poor sister was having boy problems so I thought (after yesterday’s post!) I would be a good friend to her and come right over. It took me an hour to get there but I made it. We talked boys and I told her how dumb they were and we laughed and had a good time.

Then I called Willy and told him to come over after work. He got here about half an hour ago. We watched a Seinfeld. My sister is doing her own thing (something she has done a lot lately since becoming a true 16-year-old!) and my parents are being totally goofy. I can’t way what they are doing but they are cracking me up.

Get this!

We are such a lazy nation in Kuwait.

We actually ordered food online we went to http://www.6alabat.com and typed in where we live and it automatically comes up with all the places that deliver to your area. How fun is that! We ordered pizza… yes… I’m eating pizza tonight. SOOOO unsouth beach. At least I’m being honest. I COULD say I ordered a side salad… but....no.

It’s too crazy. You order online and then 30 seconds later they call you on your phone to confirm. It is totally scary! It trips me out.

Hmmm, and yet I am left to wonder why Kuwait has a seriously high rate of diabetes…

Could it be that all restaurants- even freaking fast food can be personally delivered to your house at any time of the day??

Maybe…

I’m looking forward to hanging out tonight. I just dont know how much time I’ll be around my fam and I want to soak up as much time as I can.

I think we’re about to watch dr. Phil too. A girl we know was on the show!!! how crazy is that!? It was a few on in the states a few weeks ago. Both Lyna and my grandma taped the show for us. My grandma’s came in last week so I’m anxious to watch it! I was so shocked to see she was going to be on the show!

Okay, the food is here. I love you guys. I just wanted to say hi and let you know that as you’re eating breakfast I’m eating dinner!

Have a super day and I’ll talk to you guys soon!

<3

blue today.

it pretty much sums up how i’m feeling.

i so need a big fat hug and a whole bunch of genuine girlfriends to surround me with support. i say genuine because i’ve found it very hard to find true and loyal girlfriends that aren’t backstabbing and don’t glory in your defeat. i’m sure some of you can understand. anyway… why did i feel the need to say that?… i don’t know. i guess i’m saying please just listen to me today and be my friend and don’t think i’m crazy for my scattered thoughts.

i had a funny post all written up this morning that i was going to post when i got home, but that was this morning, and a lot has happened since 8:00. it was called “date night with fred and ethel mertz.” see, we were supposed to go out with them tonight because it’s her birthday. gasp. yes, that’s right, we were going to get the men in the same room together. i didn’t even have to drug and blindfold will to go along with it! i have to admit, i was nervous about seeing them interact together after their two little tiffs, but i was still excited about the evening. we haven’t been on a couple date since we’ve gotten here.

i had to cancel today.

i feel like the worst person ever and what makes me feel the worst is that she is the nicest person ever and responded in kindness and totally wanted to make sure will and i were okay. i love “ethel” lots and i let down my only friend in kuwait down on her birthday.

i feel so sad for that.

anyway, i so wish i could tell you all that is going on in my life but i can’t.

maybe soon…

i will say it entails the possibilty of packing up and going home. i know it’s hard to tell you all something that big and not explain why, but i just can’t right now.

i just got off the phone with will. we had a 15 minute phone converstaion about this topic. i hate talking about something this huge and important over the phone. i mean, this is honestly a huge life decision and it doesn’t need to be discussed on the phone.

we are both very emotional about the subject and don’t seem to see eye to eye, which is never a good thing when you are talking about something so massive.

it’s so funny because we totally flip-flopped our opinions regarding this matter. okay, it’s not funny at all. it’s strange and bothersome because for so long one of us has relied on the other to keep us going and then all of a sudden we totally changed positions regarding the matter. one of us has such a strong conviction about this whole mess that they are talking crazy things! okay, not crazy, but just things that totally surprised the other one.

going home in our first year was never ever an option. never. no matter how miserable we were or how terrible people were, we were going to tough it out. i mean, it’s no secret i hate my job, but i am resoved to be a finisher. 4 years is our long term goal, though i am positive that regardless of what we decide it isn’t anymore.

we have to have a decision by the end of this weekend.

no pressure or anything.

ha.

i don’t want to make the wrong decision and honestly God is no where to be found when i pray about this. i know He is, but i just can’t seem to “find” Him when it comes to what we’re supposed to do. i mean “hello!!! this is a huge life altering decision and i would some input from You!” He already knows that. maybe i’m trying to rush Him. His timing is much different than mine.

i just don’t know what to do and i so wish i could talk to someone. i don’t want my parents to know this stuff yet (ha okay- i’m writing for hundreds of people to read, one of them being a good family friend and i say i don’t want them to find out that we’re thinking these crazy thoughts… hmm...), so i can’t talk to them about it. besides, we could totally decide “dang it! we’re freaking staying 4 years!” this weekend and telling them something now when we ended up decided to go ahead and say is unnecessary.

i need so badly to pour my heart out and say all the things that i’m thinking but i simply can’t right now and that is the absolute worst. in fact, i probably said too much with the thoughts of leaving stuf.

on top of that we got some bad news about will’s dad. that was the kicker. will is so down today.

his dad is his hero.

i have only seen him cry twice the entire time we’ve been together and one of the times was this past fall when he was missing his dad. he loves that guy and so do i. i won’t go into details, because honestly, we don’t know a lot, but i know that is another mountain of yuck that has been added to our stress pile. keep will and his dad in your prayers. they have a special relationship.

i’m worried about will. i know that really made him sad. the worst thing is that on top of that stress we seriously need to come to a decision about what we’re going to do with the “other situation” and instead of just being there for him, i forsee us both getting upset because we don’t agree on what needs to be done. i told him i would really rather talk about all that stuff tomorrow and tonight just be together and hold each other. he, however, want’s to talk about it.

amazing! i can’ never get the guy to talk about feelings and junk and all of a sudden he turns into a woman. go figure.

my heart feels so heavy and burdened. i’m not the strong one, will is, and all of a sudden i have to be strong for so many reasons.

i feel so tiny, hence lowercase today. i’ve felt like that for a long time but today has magnified everything. i just feel like i’m floating in the middle of the ocean uncertain of everything.

part of me just wants to log off the computer and watch crappy usa high reruns on tv until will gets home

another side of me wants to cry my eyes out so i’m better by the time he gets home

that is one thing that i admittedly hate about living here. besides my family i don’t have that “one friend“ to go to. you know what i’m talking about. a girl has to have one of those and i don’t. today i need one!

sorry for being so ambiguous. i just need to sort things out today and since i don’t have anyone to vent to (besides my family and ethel, whose birthday is today which means it would be easier and faster for me to set her gift on fire rather than ruining the day by venting) i vent to my blog.

this is my blog and i can say whatever the crap i want, therefore i assume by now you’ve all dropped out of reading so i can continue to write all i want just to keep myself together and not have to think that once again my life could be uprooted and totally change in the blink of an eye.

i don’t want to think about that yet.

wow, this is turning into a pity party. i just reread my post and thought, “i sound terribly pitiful and desperate and ‘poor me.’“ i have so many awesome things in my life and i am full of joy for so many things, and i think you guys have known me long enough to know i have an overall cheerful disposition, so don’t think i’m a weirdo for posting all this stuff. it just comes down to the fact that this was going to be home for a long time and all of a sudden it might not be and my mind is racing.

i should also say that all of this is due to our own personal feelings. no one has said, “you have to make a decision whether or not you’re staying or going.“ it’s nothing like that at all. this is all us, though we do have to have a decision that soon for another reason.

boy i didn’t forsee my day turning out like this! i thought at this time the mertz family and the wb family would be slapping our legs in laughter and telling old college stories over johnny carino’s.

such is life huh?

i guess i have good news. i got my travel check for being with the company for 6 months. that was a nice little bonus today. i guess that is one positive point of the day.

another one is that i decided to become active in selling mary kay again, hence the link. i love their skincare line- especially the moisturizer- so i’m glad i made that move. i’ve been a consultant for a long tiem but haven’t really sold in ages. i took 4 orders this week. that’s more good news. i get to order fun make-up this weekend. i can ship anywhere so if you ever want anything email me!

okay, enough with the sales crap. i’m just trying to get myself out of this “poor me“ rut and realize that God is in control and no matter where we are will and i have eachother and that is key.

okay, i think it’s time to get off for now. sorry for the melodramatic post and “oh poor brittny“ talk because frankly, i annoyed myself with it and i love myself, so i’d hate to think what all of you guys who simply just “like“ me were thinking!

Thanks for letting me vent. I needed it TONS!
I love you bunches.
Tomorrow is a new day- thank goodness.

I look forward to writing a normal post tomorrow.

*~*When life gives you lemons, cut them up, put them in your iced tea and thank God you’re a southern girl.*~*

I will simply say today: be warned. The beginning isn’t bad… but it gets worse.

With that said I will start.

I flushed a wash cloth down the toliet.

Isn’t it amazing how many of my posts deal with crap? If I look through the archives I can think of at least 3 with toliets as a main topic- and that’s 3 too many!

My junior high best friend’s parents teased that I would have to start going to the bathroom outside after a plug up incident at their house. Oh if they only knew all the major feats I had yet to accomplish in my high school and college career… they would be so proud.

Anyway, I flushed a wash cloth.

I am officially an idiot. I just finished my work out and headed to the bathroom. Because I have the elliptical in the privacy of my own home I can do whatever the heck I want! If I want to exercise in MC Hammer pants and a lime green sports bra with a purple sweatband on my head I can freaking do it! Since I have hyperhydrosis (I say that but I don’t know for sure. I sweat like a man that’s all I know. To me that’s too much. Thank God for Certain Dri) I have to constantly towel myself so that my eyes don’t burn from all the salt infused sweat I rain. I keep my little cloth tucked in the back of my shorts- like in the waistband by the small of my back. Okay, enough of all the stupid details.

I finished working out (as I already said) and went straight to the bathroom. As I flushed I noticed my toilet paper looked a little fluffy. Then it hit me. I flushed my freaking wash cloth!!

And you know what!?!?!

IT WENT DOWN!!

Will has been freaking out about it. Apparently just because it went down doesn’t mean we’re in the clear- at all. There’s a good chance it will get lodged in there, and with my luck I will have eaten a load of mexican food and overdosed on Fibercon only to flush after birthing a moose and have my toliet violently puke all over the floor in protest to the whole wash cloth thing.

Ew.

Yep. That is sooo my luck.

Next week you’ll see a post about this. I pray not, but probably.

As I flushed, and as Will was freaking out as I yelled what I had done, I had flashbacks to my early grade school years. I had the flu and was really sick and shaky and had the runs so bad it was probably unnatural.

Anyway… PAUSE- am I REALLY talking about this to you guys!? Do you REALLY care!? Of course not! Why then am I sharing this horrifying information with a large group of pretty and sophisticated ladies!? AGH. I feel so embarassed. I’m debating whether I should delete this… I know I should… but I won’t. I’m in too deep to my story.

Okay, anyway, I was changing the toliet paper roll when all of a sudden I dropped the plastic holder thing the toliet paper rests on in the toliet! As a 7 year old I had no clue what to do- I just knew I wasn’t going to fish that thing out!

So, I call my dad.

That’s what dad’s do right?

Well because I was a young and dumb (ha, now I’m old and still dumb. so sad...) I thought it was best not to verbalize what I had just done and instead lift a cheek so that poor old dad could see my damage.

“Ew britt, flush,” he said so tenderly and sympathetically (ha!).

I had to say, I was shocked to hear him tell me to flush, but he was dad and he knew everything and if it was going to flush and he wasn’t concerned, then by golly, neither was I!!

I finished up and flushed and then mentioned that the roller went down just fine. he looked at me with shock and asked what I was talking about. Apparently he just thought I wanted to share my love with him by showing him the art I created on the toliet bowl. He falied to notice the freaking black toliet paper holder floating right in the middle!!

Dad- why in the world would you think I would just want to show you that! Yeah, I was 7, but please! I have a little more couth than that- even at 7!
The toliet was surprisingly fine that day but then the next day it turned into a huge mess. Water went everywhere and warped some of the wood in the next room. It was just a little lake in our house. All from a little 7 -year-old.

huh. 

We had to have a German plumber come and fix it. that’s all I remember.

anyway, that was my flashback. I could just see us having some huge leak and water splurting everywhere and having to call a plumber to come here on a holiday weekend (it’s a Kuwaiti holiday this weekend- sidenote, it is PANDEMONIUM here, but maybe I’ll talk about that later). We would be told Ensha Allah (not sure of the spelling, sorry!), which means “If it’s God’s will.” So- Ensha Allah I will be there tomorrow, but it could also be 2 months. It’s sort of a scary term because you never really know when things are going to get done.

So, now we play the toliet waiting game. Praying that little washcloth will join the ranks of all the other great “non flushable” items that have gone on before it.

“Swim little wash cloth! Swim!”

So there you go. Another stupid and embarrassing story I am sharing with you guys even though I shouldn’t. Oh well. I guess I’m brave… or just weird. One of the two!

Thank you God for the weekends.

I am so glad He valued a day of rest. I went to bed at 8:00 last night. I always thought it was strange when Will would just fall dead on “Friday” nights, but now I can understand!

Early this morning I woke up with cramps that would even make a NFL football player cry. I got up and you would have thought I had turned into a 275 pound college football playing beer guzzling fraternity brother. I stood in the kitchen and chugged 3 bottles of water in less than 6 minutes. I then had a banana and went back to bed. By the way, thanks Lyna for your letter. You are too sweet. I am getting Gatorade today! I drank the last one a couple of days ago.

Lesson to all, you may need a lot more water than you think- so freaking drink plenty!

My parents had me a little upset the last two days. They have basically packed our bags and are now constantly asking us when we are moving. They even went and got the key to our new place for us.

Hmmm.

I guess that was a hint. It kind of upset me, and in some weird way hurt my feelings. I’m freaking sick and there is no way I can move this weekend. Plus I hadn’t talked to my boss, the person who coordinates my transportation, about it. He thinks I am moving next weekend, because that was the plan. I know my parents are ready for us to go- we’re ready to go too- but we made no plans to do it this weekend. Plus, the housing lady told us it would be next weekend, so that is what I’m going to go by. I told them we were waiting until next week and they didn’t say a lot It wasn’t like they were mad or anything, but I could tell they probably wished we would get out sooner. The way I see it is we’ve already been here almost 5 months, what’s another week, right? It has been interesting with 5 people in an apartment that’s for sure!

I am so glad it’s Saturday for us. I don’t think we have anything great planned. We are going to go see Cinderella Man late this afternoon. Can you believe that is just now coming to Kuwait! How crazy. We get stuff as it leaves theatres in the States, but this came really late! I guess I will enjoy my time going to see an “old” movie during the day! In the next few weeks that will be a luxury I will miss bad!

Ramadan is coming soon, and that will be an experience I will never forget. I’m sure you will hear me talk about it all the time for the next month. Everything shuts down all day during that month. The government ministries’ work even comes to a trickle. The Kuwaitis fast all day long and then all night is like a huge massive party. I think the night life may be neat to see (minus the terrible traffic), but the day will be unbearable. Everything is closed, from fast food to grocery stores- everything. If you are caught eating or smoking during the day you can be arrested on the spot until Ramadan is over. Even if you are in your car drinking water! The good thing is that since I I will be on a military post I will be able to eat during the day while I’m there, and by the time I leave at night it will be dark (they fast from sunrise to sunset), so it won’t be too strange, though I’ve heard it can get crazy at nights.Anyway, I said all that stuff to basically say I am going to enjoy going out to eat and to a movie this weekend because we won’t be able to do that soon!

Thursday posts are always boring and uneventful. Ah well. I just can’t stay away from you girls. What can I say?

Have a great day. <3

I’m beginning to feel like sleep has become a waste. “Why bother,” I think, “I just have to get up in 4 hours anyway!”

Okay, I NEED sleep. In fact, on weekends I could be compared to a cat. I could sleep all day, but lately the idea of sleep jut ticks me off. That sounds so weird, but that was the very first thing I thought as I heard the alarm this morning. I seriously thought, “It’s like it [sleep] didn’t even matter.”

Will started his new schedule this week and it is excruciating. He works 4 14 hour days, PLUS lunch and a 3 hour drive (total time), so it works out to being at work 18 hours. Plus, he’s in the middle of no where. The “desert gem” camp (HAHA), where there is nothing but hot wind, lots of blowing sand, and big tents (I haven’t been there, I think there may be a few buildings set up, but mostly not). I think that adds to the misery and makes the days drag even longer.

He got home late last night, looking like he had been punched in both eyes. They were all black and droopy. After he said hello he said, “I have to do this all over again in 6 hours.” He took a quick shower and fell into bed fast asleep.That boggles my mind. He seriously did have to get up and do the same thing 6 hours later. I know tons of people do this everyday, but I am not used to it yet. There is no time for anything.

Sleep is just not long enough. I get up at 3:20 every morning. I had to tinkle at midnight last night (the old woman bladder thing), and usually I would think, “Ahhh, 6 and a half more hours of sleep.” Instead I got a sinking feeling in my stomach knowing I only had 3 hours and I grumbled the whole way to the bathroom and back, and then irritatingly went back to my “nap.” That’s sort of what it feels like (a nap). I know we are working towards a goal. I have to meditate on that each day and ask God to carry us through, but I have had such a shock getting used to the loooong days.

Sleep is just enough to make me mad now! I’m sure a lot of you all can relate.

The lady I’m riding with works 12 hours (that includes lunch), so I have to sit and wait for her another hour after I get off before we go home, which gets me there at 7. It has been frustrating. All I want to do is eat dinner, take a shower, and go to bed! I’m hoping when we move I’ll be able to find someone that goes in at 6 and leaves at 5. PLEASE!!

Anyway, that’s enough about sleep.  It’s just going to take time getting adjusted to the long days and the hot sun. My body tells my it is time to go home and see Will around 4:30, but I still have 3 hours to go (that includes a drive home). My body tells me it’s lunchtime at 9:00 since I ate breakfast at 4:15. (that may just be me though. I can eat at anytime, which is a problem!)

I’m all out of wack. I am going to have to adjust myself to this new schedule, especially Will’s long days (I think that’s the 3rd time I said that!). That will take some getting used to. I felt bad last night because I missed him so much that when he walked in the door, seriously exausted, I attacked him with excitement and love and lots and lots of chatter and questions. I know I probably bombarded him, but as I said earlier this is a new schedule for both of us and I’m used to having a few awake hours with him at night, but now I just have the sleeping hours! 

Thank God for my mom. She has picked me up everyday this week. If she didn’t I would get home an hour later. It has been nice because I am so close to their apartment, but when I move, I won’t have anyone to take me home on time, which will be very depressing. that means if my ride stays an hour of over time, I have to too. Kind of sucks. She picked me up again tonight because in the middle of the afternoon my ride told me, “by the way, you need to find a different way home.”

Great.

It’s not that easy because I really don’t know anyone here yet, so finding rides has been a huge pain. My boss is supposed to coordinate all that, but from what I’ve seen you’re on your own a lot. Sigh…

I know Will won’t be here until late, but I can get everything ready for tomorrow so when he finally does come home and is awake for 15 minutes, I will cherish it.
**********
As for other things… Today I saved Kuwait. Okay, so that is a HUGE exaggeration, but let me say it anyway. I went to the bathroom this morning and as I turned the knob on the facet to wash my hands, the whole handle broke off in my hand. The water was on full blast and splashing up on me as I tried to think what I should do.

This place is a ghost town in the morning. I was on my own. I was thinking, “I could just walk out and leave the water- an important thing in the desert- keep flowing none the wiser to what had just happened.” I’m sure most people that truly know me would agree I’m good at being oblivious. “Or, I could figure out how to fix the faucet, being the skilled plumber I am.” I tried to screw the handle on, only for it to fall off. The water is continuing to splash all over me, but I was in plumbing mode. Nothing was going to stop me from fixing that freakin’ faucet handle. I try just pushing it on, only for it not to fit. Then I start my goofy worrying, “What if I can’t fix it!?” I would feel so bad if it ran for an hour or two until someone finally came to fix it. What if Kuwait ran out of water and then they were on a hunt to find the person that drained the reserves!? They would find me, tucked behind my desk contently looking at a book, having no clue I was about to be taken in for questioning. Okay, obviously I was overreacting big time, but I did sort of amuse myself with the above thoughts as I struggled to force the stupid handle on the attachment thingy (such great plumbing jargon). 

After a couple of minutes it almost became fun, like a frustrating puzzle that would feel so great to finally solve. I did some more twisting and placing and whatever else and it finally snapped into the right screw or whatever and shut the water off. What a good feeling. I looked at myself in the mirror and gave an approving nod, as if I was doing it to someone other than myself or something (what a dork). I dried my pants off and made sure I had no plumber’s crack (okay, stupid, I know. I’m just kidding), and went out the door. I thought about checking to see if it worked, but I was sure it would only hold up another time or two. Oh well, at least I tried and the water won’t run out.

I felt pretty proud of the minor “nothing” I had done this morning, so please just let me bask in the moment. I have had few highlights to my days since I’ve started working, so I have to look for the little things.

I went back to the bathroom this afternoon and the stupid facet was back in the sink. So much for my amatuer plumbing. Oh well.

Anyway, I’m about to take the day off and get totally ready for bed so when Will comes we can have a little while to talk.

Have a good afternoon! <3

When I told Will what I was going to title this post he gave me a disapproving look, but I just had to do it.

Lucky for me he doesn’t read, but I’ll apologize nonetheless.

Sorry Willy.

Have you ever had a phase or period in your life when everyday the alarm goes off, and you are in the early stages of alertness, you rub your sleepy eyes and think, “I wonder what thing will morph into an incredibly diabolic mess today?“

Maybe not, but I’m sure you’ve had a day or two when you’ve woke to feel that.

Welcome to the last few months of this crazy girl’s life.

Okay, I shouldn’t say everything is going straight to hell. God has truly blessed us, but if you’ve followed me for a while you know things haven’t gone as smoothly as one would like- such is life I guess.

Well, today I woke up thinking, “YAY! moving day!!“

I annoyingly said this exact phrase every half hour on the dot. I really drove Will crazy. I continued to prance around and express my jubulation all morning.

We got around and got our first trip of stuff ready to go. We got there and decided to check out the place before we lugged our life upstairs. As we got out of the car I did a dorky little jump, grabbed Will’s hand and said- and I quote:

“Yay Will! We’ve waited sooo long for this moment and it’s FINALLY here! We get to be married again and have our very own beautiful apartment! Yay for moving day!“

A dead woman’s last words.

We got to our apartment, opened the door and got the shock of our lives. Things get fuzzy from here. I think I seriously hit the floor, but I can’t be too sure. Will had to pry my eyelids open and bribe me with a Snickers bar so I would not stay in the hallway, unwilling to go a step farther.

I’m such a freakin’ sucker for chocolate. What’s wrong with me. It honestly would have been better for me to have stayed where I was.

PAUSE: Okay, before I give you the good stuff let me explain how this stuff works. When a person moves out they are supposed to get everything inventoried and have an inspection- both of which did not happen in this case.

Okay, back to the story.

At this point it was just kind of like, okay pick the room you want to throw up in because you will seriously be sick at the sight.

I picked the WRONG room.

I picked the kitchen.

There is something crucial about the kitchen. It is one of those rooms that HAS to be clean. I don’t care if you are the slobbiest person in the world and sit around in a moo moo slathering Betty Crocker frosting on graham crackers all day with your 52 cats and 13 birds- you MUST keep your kitchen clean. There are a million reasons why this is a required rule written into law, but that may have to be saved for another post.

So, I went into the kitchen first. The floor was sticky and disgusting. My shoes were stuck to the floor and made that terrible Riiiip sound as I tried to pick my feet up to walk. Yum. I wonder what deliciously dried puddle of crap I just stepped in. There were dishes still in the sink. Cups full of only our Lord knows what on the counter. Sticky crap latched onto the stove. Get THIS!! There was crap all on the CEILING!! HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN!? How in the world can so much crap get stuck there? Is this Pippy Longstalkings where they hung out on the walls and made dinner from the ceilings or something!? “Hey sweetie! Throw some ketchup up here! Let’s see if I can squirt it into the pan!!“ The fridge, once white, was smeared with brown handprints and had a yellowish tinge. The kicker was that there was rotting food in the fridge as well as on the floor next to the fridge. Dinner at my place next week ladies!!

I wish you all could have been there with me because my descriptions DO NOT do it justice. It was like the Fiji fraternity had their national convention at our apartment.

I should have just walked out right there, but Will made me go farther in so we could make sure we could see what else was wrong before we called someone. Not a great idea sweetie.

There was nasty food glued to the furniture. I said refried beans, Will said pudding. You KNOW it’s bad when you can’t even decide WHAT is stuck to the furniture you will soon be plopping down on in just a few hours (YUCK! I can’t believe we are going to live there!).

There was food ground into the carpet, which was stained brown because of the filth. There was food attached to the coffee table. It was not going anywhere. It was stuck to that freakin’ table like Britney to Kevin. Her lovely shower cap and a slew of trash we left sprawled in one of the bathrooms. It was just horrifying. Think Amityville but kick it up a notch.

Things were flat out bad. I could give you all a room by room analysis, but I think you get the point and I honestly don’t have the time to do it justice.

We seriously got screwed. We called the housing lady, which I totally love, and she was very aplogetic. She said things would be taken care of within 3 days. I know she will do her best, but the problem is that I think she is going to make the lady clean the place herself, which never quite works out because when you are cleaning something that is not yours anymore you don’t do as good of a job as if it were yours. Am I making sense? What they REALLY need is a team of engineers to overhaul the entire place and steamclean every room from top to bottom. Another problem is that we were given this day to move, which was an inconvenience to those we work with, especially those who work with Will because they are in the process of moving to a new camp. This deplorable mess has inconvienced a lot more people than just us (not to mention my parents that got the call this afternoon and had to hear, “We’re baaaack.”)

I was very upset. I want to go on about the whole ordeal, but I should probably start to wrap things up.

I think what bothers me the most is that the place is beyond unacceptable. I don’t think I’d even let someone I didn’t like stay there. I am sick with the whole problem.

I think what makes me the maddest is the fact that we still have to live there. Yeah Yeah, I know they are going to clean it, but there are somethings I KNOW they will not clean properly, like the furniture (she’ll probably just do a “half-arse“ job to make it look decent), and this is the furniture we will be sitting on, the bed we will be sleeping in- it just disgusts me to think. I get mad thinking that I KNOW I will have to go behind this lady once we FINALLY do get to move in and clean the place the way it needs to be.

I was very disappointed. I’ve been very impressed with the way they have set up the rooms for newcomers I had seen before, so this was an utter shock. The housing lady is so great, so I know someone is going to get in trouble, but that doesn’t help us now.

Do I have some aura around me that yells, “Let’s see what makes the nice girl not nice!! Let’s make a game out of it!“

So this afternoon we are going to meet my mom at the apartment so she can see it, not that we need someone to validate the filthy conditions, just so she can get pissed off too I guess. She is bringing her digital camera, I’m sure we’ll capture some beautiful shots of our first apartment in Kuwait. heh.

Sorry for the vent session. I was so looking forward to this day, and now who knows when we will get to move. It has been quite a shocking day, and now with our schedules I’m not really sure when things will get fixed and when we will get to move in.

ARGHHHHH.

So, back to the current living status. Business as usual indefinitely.

I may post the pictures at the apartment later, but not really sure.

All I have to freaking say is that I better have cheered SOMEONE up out there today that was having a bad day by telling today’s crazy story.

<3

If you haven’t already realized, I say tend to say some pretty dumb things sometimes. I regularly say something that leaves Will simply looking at me in disbelief and saying, “Are you being serious?“ It goes back to the whole book smart and blonde dumb I think.

I stuck my foot in my mouth BIG TIME yesterday. As if my first few days weren’t nightmarish enough, I just went ahead and went all out.  If Will would have been there, I know for a fact his jaw would have dropped to the ground and he would have told people I was his derranged sister that wants to hug on him because and call him husband because I have emotional problems, if anyone asked if we were married.

After the big meeting I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I hung out in my mom’s office. I know the people she works with, one of them being a friend my mom has gotten to know fairly well since she’s been here.

This lady is so nice. She has a different ethnic background than I, and she is very proud of her heritage. I truly enjoy learning about her culture and the customs and practices. She has a lot of stories about her family and their life. She talks about her culture a lot, so there are times you are talking about one thing and somehow we get on the subject and I don’t even realize it.

So yesterday she was teaching me a few things about their food and stuff. The conversation ended and I went back to typing an email. A few minutes later, my mom tells her something and starts to give her a hard time. The lady (can’t say her name or it will give it away) starts teasing around and says, “What do I know, I’m just a _____________ (can’t way the term, pretty derogatory)!“ She starts laughing.

My mom laughs too (because they have that sort of friendship).

I don’t say anything.

“Do you know what that stands for Britt?“ she asks.

“No.“

“It stands for: _____________ (still can’t say, but whatever you thinking you are probably right) .“

“Oh! How cute! That is too funny that you guys came up with that!“

She just gives me a strange look. Not really a mad look, just a weird one.

A few seconds later she says, “ Do you know what other names there are for us?“

She then proceeds to give me a few, all which I totally knew.

“Yeah, I know all those. People called me cracker. I guess that is one of those terrible stereotypes our society has. I think it’s great that you guys have a name you use that shows them who’s the boss!“

She just looks at me and says nothing. She then says, “______ is not a name we came up with, it is a name others gave to us. It’s a terrible insult.“

Insert foot in mouth.

I had no freakin’ idea what _____ was. I’m sure I’ve heard it in passing but never thought much of it, but boy will I remember forever now! I can’t believe I said it was freakin’ CUTE!!

I was so embarrassed. Talk about insulting a culture! “That ______ word is so cute! You show those people who’s boss!“

What an idiot.

So last night we all went to dinner and I asked Will and my sister if they knew what ______ meant. They first told me to quick talking so loud because I’d get us all shot, and then they looked at me like I was a cave woman that had been frozen in 1000 B.C.

Apparently EVERYONE knows what that term means… everyone but me!!

Thanks guys, I really could have used some street knowledge on cultural sensitivity before I had that conversation.