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.*~*

It’s amazing out today.

Simply amazing.

Today is the sort of day that reminds me, “Brittny, you can do this. Life is about so much more than this stupid job.”

It’s true.

God gave me the most beautiful day today and instead of just being thankful for the beautiful sun and the warm air, my thoughts are consumed with how much I loathe my job.

I had to go outside to take something to another office and was just taken aback with the beautiful day.

Now- the pessimistic, “I hate my job” side of me initially thought, “Ugh. A reminder that the hellish 130 degree summer is on it’s way.”

However,the optimistic, “God is going to give you strength to get through this time” side of me thought of E.E. Cummings and “Thank you God for this most amazing day” (I think I wrote it right… don’t kill me English majors.). I love that poem.

I seemed to banter back and forth between the two during my walk but finally decided.

Yes. I hate my job. I have never been more unhappy in more short life than now. Yes. I am afraid that this job is changing me as a person in some ways, but you know what? In the grand scheme of things my job ultimately doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. Today, a beautiful day such as today, reminds me that knowing God and making Him known to others is really the only thing that ultimately counts. That enjoying his creation and appreciating it’s beauty brings Him honor. It reminded me that I have so much to be thankful for.

Today, as I was enjoying the warm air, I simply thought, “I can’t wait to see Will tonight.” It made me look forward to finish my work day and get home to something that really mattered. Will is forever telling me, “Life is too short to worry about everything.” Actually, because my mind is forever clouded with worries Will shortened it and simply says, “Life’s too short,” and he is so right. He has to constantly remind me of this, but I constantly need reminding! He is so about enjoying life while we’re here.

I remember one fall night after church in particular. It was a perfect evening. We were headed home when all of a sudden he pulled into Taco Bueno (the best Mexican fast food place ever!). We were so poor our first year of marriage, and Taco Bueno was like going to the Ritz Carlton for us. I remember that we only had like $20 in our bank account until the next payday. I told Will we didn’t need to spend money on fast food that’s for sure! He simply told me that life was too short. We got our food and he took me to our college campus (the place where we met), where we ate at picnic table and then walked around campus talking for over an hour.

Some might have said it was foolish to blow 6 bucks on a dinner when you only had $20 in checking. Yeah, maybe, but that night was the best. Will and I talked about so many big things. Important things, our dreams, life things… it was a wonderful night. That’s just a simple one but it was the first thing that came to my mind today for some reason. We’ve had lots of “Life’s too short” moments like that- because of Will and certainly not because of me. It is easy for me to lose sight of the small little things that make life so much better when you’re watching. Instead I blow past them and look for the big stuff.

I have spent my day in negativity all day, hating everything.about where I am. How wasteful. How wasteful and foolish of me to concentrate all my efforts on hating something when I could instead be blessed by enjoying the simple fact that the sun is out and a warm breeze is blowing and that before long my sweet husband is going to come home and hold me really tight.

Just typing that makes my heart fill with excitement. I only wish I could truly appreciate the day instead of being stuck inside, but perhaps just acknowledging the fact that I need to take time to enjoy these little blessings more will put me on the right track to live a fuller life with my favorite person.  <3

*******************************

I’m finally home and enjoying my evening. I typed the above “stuff” while I was at work today. Will and I both got off a little early tonight, so it was really nice to have the extra time together.

I know I rambled on about “the sun” and “the great day-” gag, right? Sorry, but it was just on my mind. I really need to focus on being an optimist about where I am in my life right now, and today reminded me of that.

thanks for listening to me attempt to be “deep.” ha ha. As you can see I’m not good at it.

Anyway, hope you’re enjoying the rest of your weekend. Seize the day!

You would think I was harvesting octuplets for barren parents or something.

I am on a ravenous rampage, taking out all around me- small children with candy, old ladies with bran muffins.... I have no prejudices! It is taking all that is in me to refrain from grabbing large handfuls of cookies and shoving them whole down my mouth. I don’t quite know what the deal is, but I have had the appetite of an adolescent boy in puberty the last two days.

I’ve been like an animal. I should be featured on the Jeff Corwin Experience or something. Maybe even Crocodile Hunter. “Now mate. Look at that female go! Step away! She’s eating swallowing that sandwich whole! She almost took my bloody hand off as I fed it to her!”

Okay, if you’ve read long enough you know that I can eat, but these last 2 days have been different. I don’t know if its because I was sick and now I’m feeling better so my body is hungry again or what. It could be Aunt Flo too. She’s back in full force, very angry that I have been ignoring her calls. I did a major no no. I switched to this new Kuwaiti stuff 3 months ago and purposely skipped the visit 3 times, each for it’s own reason (will’s b-day, trip to Qatar… etc). I know that’s okay to do sometimes, or at least my crazy doctor said that, but I think my body is mad at me, because I have been paying for it with the worlds longest, unplanned, and unwanted cycle. Once again, that lovely Brittny info no one cares or wants to know. Sorry guys.

Okay anyway, I am officially scheduled for a visit today (even though that broad has made herself comfortable and kicked her feet up on my uterus while reading USAToday the whole flipping month), so maybe that has something to do with it.
I have been out of control! I’ve been trying hard to maintain a good diet now that I’m working, but these last few days have been terrible. It’s like my willpower is taking a nose dive or something. I think another big reason is because I work in a building full of shops and yummy things to eat. Let’s see… we have Baskin Robbins, Subway, a coffee shop… the smells fill the whole building, which is beyond enticing. Not only that, but behind my building there is a taco bell, burger king and about 50 million other things. I feel like shoving cotton up my nose so I won’t be tempted by the aromas. I haven’t given in, except I do have Subway or Taco Bell for lunch, staggering days between that and a Meal on the Go bar.

Peer pressure is huge too. I was convinced I would eat a Subway salad for lunch yeterday. I almost wrote a freaking memorandum and had it notarized so it was set in stone. My new friend calls and asks me out to Taco Bell and I fold like a 7th grader’s note asking out the band guy. I don’t know what my problem is. I think another thing is my new schedule. I eat breakfast at around 4:25. I am so ready to take out an all-you-can-eat buffet all on my own by 10:00. I should probably keep a snack in my desk- but we don’t have desks yet so I am literally at a long brown table. It’s really sad. Anyway, I eat lunch and then when I get home I am ready to tear the whole house down. I really need to get myself adjusted to my new schedule.

Last night I came home and had a brownie. Then I had 2 pieces of thin crust cheese (yum, my favorite pizza ever), a few spoonfuls of leftover homemade mac and cheese… and then I sat down and ate half a dozen cookies drowned in milk. I didn’t even bat an eye at the time, but afterwards I looked at the horrifying rampage I had went on and thought, “This better be Flo.”

Anyway, I also wonder if it has something to do with the low dosage of hormones I’m on. It’s the lowest on the market- they don’t even manufacture it in the states (which isn’t very comforting ot me). So, maybe that is a factor, or maybe that is me rationalizing (it’s probably just me rationalizing). Whatever it is, it shocked me the last 2 days. Once again, giving you all lots of unwanted information.

Sorry.

Food has been on my brain this week.

I had my mom and sister rolling yesterday. I was telling them I was so hungry yesterday that I was even daydreaming about food.

“I had mozzerella sticks and then 5 cheese fettuccini.”

“Where did you go, Britt?”

“Johnny Carinos.”

“Then Will and I split a canoli… and turtle cheesecake.”

I guess you had to be there…

Yes ladies, not only am I weird, but I am crazy. I wasn’t joking about my appetite! I am kicking that crap to the curb tomorrow and going back to normal, darn it. I went to the gym for the first time since I started work and it nearly kicked my butt. Sorry guys, but I’m sorting my male-like desires for french fries and Lord know what else out!



As for other things, Will got a new ride- sort of. Everyone shares cars here, but he was signed for a Pajero that is crimson. It’s the Sooner Mobile now. Despite their terrible record, we’ll drive it with pride. He came home early last night which made me so happy. That rarely happens, so it was a surprise. We watched some news, and then of course Sportscenter. We were debating whether or not to watch a King of Queens, but we opted for sleep instead. We’ve become that boring couple you all talk about.

“They never have any fun!”

” They are such sticks in the mud!”

On weekends we get out and do stuff, but weeknights are reserved for showers and sleep. In bed by 8:30. We sound like your 7 year old niece, don’t we? Oh well.

I am really making myself seem bad aren’t I? Some crazy girl that eats cookies and milk like its cereal and then goes straight to bed so she can congeal in my tummy and butt 10 minutes later.

What a goof. Enjoy your last day off

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

Are there any constant key losers in the group?

Please stand up.

Anyone that has after getting in the car has to frustratingly get out to make sure both the curling iron AND iron are turned off?

You’re welcome too.

I have serious problems. I am calling on the creative Nesties to create a trend so I can overcome this terrible annoyance.

I think I lose or forget to do something on an everyday basis. I whine, “I lost my chapstick!” to Will at least 3 times a week. I am constantly having to be reminded, “Did you have the keys?”

” Are you sure?“

“Show them to me.“

It really gets on my nerves when Will does this. I almost always have to physically have to show him the keys or money or whatever before we leave. It really aggravates me, but I have given him EVERY reason in the world to have to do this, so I figure until I can be a “big girl” and remember the simplest things, he probably is justified in asking me to show him where my money is and that it is zipped up, or where my keys are.

You win Will.

Yesterday topped it all. I will officially for the rest of my life have to surrender the, “Show it to me” crap.

I’ll be honest, a lot of times if he doesn’t ask me to show him the keys or whatever else and just says, “Are you sure?” I will just say yes so we can get a move on. Yes, I’m not the brightest blonde in the bunch.

I did my “checks” before we left.

“Do you have a key?”

“Yes.”

“Money?”

“Yes.”

“Phone?”

“Yes.”

(I really did have those things)

So, we head out and go to Buffalo’s for lunch. We had an enjoyable time, and then it was time to go. I get my stuff together and of course get my, “Are you sure you have everything, Britt?” question (I sound like an OLD lady don’t I!!?). I do my passing, “Yes, Will,” without looking, which I’m sure was my demise.

We then head to Marina Mall to catch a movie. We got to the theatre and Will reminds me to turn my phone on silent (I really DO sound like an old lady!!). I start searching through my abyss of a purse…

“Where is that stupid thing?”

Nothing.

I pull everything out of my purse and can’t find it. I was sick. Not the best weekend in the world to lose a phone.

It was gone.

After the movie we went back to Buffalo’s, though I didn’t expect anyone to fess up if it had been left. It’s amazing how much trouble you can get into if you steal something, but a lot of the third country workers do it anyway. I went in, and of course it wasn’t there.

I was so mad at myself.

Will was pretty mad at me too. It was more of that terrible parental disappointment. I got the “irresponsible talk“ the whole way home, which didn’t make me feel any better because I was already mad at myself and didn’t really feel like hearing Mr. Responsible’s take on my carelessness.

We got home, and I tried to call my number, hoping someone would answer. Nope.

I went in the bedroom and plopped on the bed. I knew Will was still upset with me because now we would have to buy a new phone when it could have been avoided, but he was pretty merciful. He took me in his arms, and while I knew he was upset with my constant “scatterbrainedness,“ he told me it would be okay and he would buy me a new phone today, and not only that but he would get me the exact same one I had before (which was a little pricey). for some reason I felt worse! What a dork. I guess I felt like I should get a piece of crap phone this time just for like a probationary thing or something, but my sweet husband, annoyed with me as he was, is going to take care of me.

So that’s good. It really sucks that I have to get a whole new number and stuff now though, and all my important numbers were in my other phone. Grrr. The way 98% of cell phones work here is that you buy a phone, get a chip from the one cell phone company that is here, and then you use prepaid phone cards. So my phone is not only gone, but my chip and number and everything else is gone. You can’t cancel your service here.

Anyway, I am now convinced I need someone to design me something fashionable that is able to have my phone or chapstick or whatever the case may be attached to my clothing or purse or something!!!!!

Any ideas?

Maybe I need to have someone constantly with me making sure I have everything with me...wait… that’s Will’s job, and we see how great that worked.

How can I be so flipping in my own world? Not like a stuck up in my own world, but just thinking about tons of stuff and wondering about things and looking at the flowers on my way out the door…

Only me I guess.

If you watched The Apprentice this past season I was thinking I needed to enlist the group that made pockets to hold ipods in the American Eagle clothes to design something comparable for me. I may not be joking.

Anyway, I get sad on Fridays because my weekend is almost over and yours is about to begin. Nonetheless have a great Friday!

Do you have your keys?

Your money?

Your phone?

Anything else important?

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

Do you ever think in some ways college has made you stupider?

I mean, you spend all this time focusing on one main area. It’s like your brain totally forgets basic things everyone should know. Give me a map of the world and ask me basic geography questions like where mountain ranges in Asia are or whatever else, and you would laugh in my face. My sister had algebra homework last night. Basic Algebra 2, and as I glanced at it I thought, “Are these REALLY things I will HAVE to know in life? I hope not.“ The last time I attempted math was my freshman year in college algebra. I got my first and only C in my life and was done with math forever. That stupid class is the reason I wasn’t magna cum laude and just cum laude… stupid class… I’m not bitter though…

Case in point- college made me stupider. All I came out knowing dealt with interpersonal communication or the UN.

No math. No gravity. No XY=USHEUS squared.

You think I’m crazy don’t you??

Okay, so maybe I’m alone on this one, but last night Will and I had a moment when all I could think was, “Wow. If we ever decide to have kids, they have a chance of really being on the dumb side.”

Okay, so we’re really not “dumb” (I caught you smirking!), but I do wonder how we could be “smart” for our lives and then not be able to do basic things…

Will got Madden a couple of weeks ago. I think this game’s demographic is like from 12-30- I have absolutlely NO clue- but I know it attracts both young and “old.” Anyway, one of the features is getting to create your own player, sign him to a team, and make him this all-star.

To do this you have to do fun stuff like create what he looks like and pick his parents and stuff. Well, before you can get drafted into the NFL, your player has to take a 2 minute, 20 question I.Q. Test of “real” questions.

“Yes! Our guy is going to be a genius on and off the field! Everyone is going to want to draft him!”

We start the simple I.Q. test. It didn’t help that we were both trying to take the test, and as Will was reading I was shouting the answer before he could even finish the question. We take the full 2 minutes to answer…

and we get a 60%!!!!

Wow. That is a D. We got a D on those stupid, “If Sara is X times the age of her brother, and her brother is X times the age of their aunt’s second cousin’s estranged mother in jail, then how old is Sara?” Something like that. SEE! I can’t even MAKEUP the stupid question! How am I going to answer it!?

Anyway, we totally died laughing. Our “agent” left a message on our phone saying, “Your I.Q. test was less than desired, Idon’t know how the draft will go.”

Wow. College grads flunking a video game IQ test while 12 year olds are acing it. Hmmm…

We deleted “Whittny L” (we tried our best to combine our names, I goofily suggested Willttny, but Will just thought I was a dork) and started over.

We had to take our test again. It had different questions, but I refrained from yelling and answered politely and after Will had read the whole thing.

And we got an 80%. A B.

Wow.

Did we not learn anything in school?

It really humbles you when you fail a mindnumbing, brainsucking, “We don’t want you to be smart, we want you to sit here and play video games all day” I.Q. test on Madden, a game devoted to “dumb jocks.”

The game should say, “Madden: rated G for Genius’ only.

Have a good day back to the grindstone.

I am still the Brittny you all know, so please don’t hate me for what is to follow.

I will probably never bring this issue up on my blog again, unless it deals with a neutral issue. So, please, no backlash in the comment board. Feel free to email me with it, but lets keep things nice on the nest.

Okay, I’m blabbering and confusing myself. On with the show…

I still have a lot going on in my head today, and the fact that OU lost makes matters worse.

Will stayed late at work to watch the game. He just called and you would have thought his dog had just died. It’s amazing how something like OU losing would normaly have me depressed (yes, we are crazy, extreme and hardcore fans), yet with the things I’ve been watching on the news it is far from secondary.

I really believe Will is depressed though. I think stuff like this is so different for the male gene. It is beyond bad enough that we are not there, sitting in our seats cheering on the team for their first game, but they lost. OU doesn’t lose. Ever (okay, they have lost twice in the last 2 seasons, but you know what I mean). I think we were both in disbelief. Poor guy. That is one of those things that truly gets him through the days here- being able to look forward to football. I hope that in light of the things going on in the south he will realize how many many more things we have to get us through the day that we daily take for granted.

Okay, enough about that.

Today was our day off for Labor Day. I was so excited to have the entire day with Will before my puppy dog days are over and I have to start work. however, our day came to a screeching halt at 9:00 this morning when his boss called him and told him that he should come in. I wish I could go on a 30 minute tangent about this issue. Not only would it have me feeling much better, but it also may leave you needing to check your pants because of the laughter that would have ensued. so much for thatl. It sucks to wonder who may read this blog, and the fact that the first 90 days leaves all new employees under greater scrutiny doesn’t help.

Anyway, that news left Will in a bad mood and me even madder. We tried to make light of the few hours he had before having to go in, so we decided to do our favorite weekend hobby: eat.

We went around 11:30, a time when you are literally the only people sitting in a place that fits 300. However, we forgot that not only was it an American holiday, but also a Muslim holiday. So it was crazy busy.

I love quiet lunches.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the news and wanting to throw a brick at the tv. I know this is the nest and the focus of blogs are newlywed stuff, but being someone highly interested in politics I can’t just sit back and shut up. I will try my hardest just to write and not let my personal political leanings get in the way- okay that sounds funny because everything I’m about to say has to do with them. I guess what I mean is that I am not going to let my other political viewpoints get in the way, and hopefully after you finish you will not be able to know my party choice, because it really doesn’t matter. I’m sorry. Rambling again.

I have been so frustrated at the selfishness of people. There are citizens seriously needing help, yet people want to focus on the political implications of the whole issue. Yes- I’m not totally blonde. I know this disaster comes with political issues- but that’s not what I’m trying to say. I just want to yell. Okay! I know you hate Bush! About 85% of the world does. Just pipe down for 2 weeks and let things settle down! There are far more important things than pointing fingers right now. I promise, there will be PLENTY of time to make your Bush Admin. stabs, but now is so far from the time. I have been sick at how people want to polarize everything, shadowing the fact that there are still thousands of people stranded in NO by doing whole news stories with the sole focus on “who is responsible.” Yes, the way things were handeled were shocking and should have been handeled better (that is an understatement), but sadly we can’t change the way things happened and the horrible way things have been played out. It is now time to get over pointing fingers, bashing people, and talking politics during these first few weeks. We Americans need to be better than that. Where is our unity? Can we not put down our right wing vs. left wing politics just for a few days? There will be plenty of time to bash the admin. (as well as the LA gov’t) and what he didn’t do and what he should have done… after we get these poor people out of the hell they have been experiencing. It is time to look at the voices of those suffering. Those hurting. Those who have been wiped out entirely. We need to come together and do all we can. How selfish is it for us-sitting in our comfy houses with plenty to eat and drink with our family- to make this about “us” and what we think and Bush this and Bush that. It is about the thousands needing help. We have to put away “our” (I’m not talking specifically to the nest - just people in general) political mindsets and focus on uniting and being brothers and sisters to those who have needs most of us will thankfully ever know.

Wow. I feel lots better. I probably need another forum to yell my frustrations out. The Nest isn’t quite the right place. I’m sure you are all nodding you head. However, as American married couples on our own in the real world for the first time, I think we can all easily put ourselves in the shoes of those affected and think about, “what if that had been us?”

Thankgoodness this is a holiday weekend and most of you will be out with your family and off of the nest! I needed to sneak in a “loud Brittny” post.

I promise I’m not turning this into a crazy political yelly blog. I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.

My prayers are constantly with the Gulf States.

Wow, OU’s loss just doesn’t seem near as important now…

Today is long! I went on entirely too long, and I even cut some stuff out!This is pretty much a minute by minute recap of my whole trip, just so I can look back and tell myself I didn’t totally hate my first few months here, so I’m sorry it if is mind numbing today!

August 27, 2005

I’m beyond angry right now. Will and I “splurged” and got the internet in our room, but it won’t let me post. How irritating.

I’m fully convinced that the first few hours of a vacation are crucial in a relationship. The first few hours set the tone for the first day, and maybe even the whole trip!

Okay, like- how did you wake up? Was it super early and you both stayed up too late cramming the shirt that you HAD to have but will probably never wear into you over-packed suitcase?

Are you running late and rushed? This could create attitude conflicts.It could also leave Will very annoyed, and if we’re both late, it just puts everyone in a bad mood!

Is it hot (this is my issue)? Are you waiting outside with the luggage (after being rushed) with the sun pounding on your head while your husband goes out back to get the car!? Being hot puts me in a terrible mood. It is crucial that I do not let it get to me during the “mood setting” hours.

What about the drive there? This can be just as important as climate for setting the vacation aura. Is your spouse driving like the plane leaves in 20 minutes, leaving your body to be pressed against the seat because of all the G Forces? “We have to make good time!” We have to make what!? We are leaving 2 hours early. I would say that can be considered “good time.”

What about missing your exit?

Twice.

“Sorry. I can’t believe I did that… again.” (but I’ll make up for it by driving my Camry like it’s a Vet).

Also, how far away are you parking? The closer the better… but this rule was thrown out today. “I LOVE lugging my bag 4.5 miles to the entrance.” These are all crucial factors.

Will: “Do you know where to check in?”

Brittny: “Yeah, I think it’s over there.”

Will: walking a different way than “there.“

“I thought you said you knew where we were going.”

“I DID! You went a different way!”

All of these factors, occurring in the beginning hours of a trip have the potiential to set the vacation momentum. These were the many factors Will and I faced this morning, and although there was opportunity to get snippy, we did very well.

I did, however get the “talk” about being more responsible and not so careless. I then got defensive and went on and on about how responsible I was… only to unknowingly have my ticket fall out of my lap and onto the floor as I “carefully” headed to the bathroom none the wiser. Thank goodness for Will! So much for being responsible.

I think “early vacation momentum stress” is a universal thing, and after watching other couples while we waited for our plane, I quickly learned that vacation tension knows all regions. I couldn’t understand a single word these couples were saying, but I didn’t need to. The nonverbals said it all. My best bet was that she was running late this morning, making him mad. He said something stupid about it, and she unleashed on him- probably about all his annoying habits, like leaving his full of stains dish dash (their long white robe- not positive on the spelling) on the floor, and never putting the lid down when he used the bathroom. I was glad that Will and I had made it through vacation round one unscathed.

***You go through a million metal detectors in the Kuwait airport, but I’m totally convinced that you could load your pockets with coins and your carry on with Swiss army knives and they’d never say a thing. I watched at 3 different spots how the x-ray watcher guy payed little attention, and how at one he was busy talking to someone as bags slid on through.

“Kuwait Air: Keeping you Safe One Metal Detector at a Time.“

So today Will and I flew on the best airline either of us had been on- remember it was one of the three 5 star airlines. ha ha. Anyway, Qatar air was very enjoyable , and I can see why it ranked so high. They didn’t play scary music, like Kuwait Air which was an instant plus. They had flat screens on every other seat, so that was nice. I do have to say, the snack was a let down. I guess they were too fancy for the simple Oklahomns.

After our short flight, I was once again greeted by the friendly lady that said “Welcome to Qatar where it is humid as a rainforest and hot as hell.” She wasn’t kidding. We got our stuff and got a taxi. So far, I have to say Qatar beats Kuwait. They have lush green grass everywhere. It is so beautiful. Doha, Qatar is truly an oasis in the desert. They are gearing up for the Asian Games next fall, so stuff is going up everywhere.

*** Well, as I had said earlier, our hotel was more expenxisive than we would have liked (little sidenote: this is a trip I have to take, so it wasn’t a planned vacation or anything and it wasn’t something we were financially planning for. So while this is a trip for us, it is actually something I had to do and learned about a week ago. The trip away with Will is just the bonus). There were limos and BMW 700 series pulling up to let off guests, and here comes me and Will, rollin’ up in our tiny Honda taxi.

We clearly stand out as we walk in. There are lots of older Westerns, and Arabs, but then here comes the young and Casper white Will and Brittny! I wanted to stay, “Yes, we are in the right place! Stop staring!” We get our stuff and ask a few questions and head to our room.

We get there and I have to go to the bathroom-bad (the fact that I have a bladder the size of an 80 year old doesn’te help the matter). I try to turn on the lights but nothing happens. Will and I try over and over, flipping the switch real fast, then real slow, and a million other techniques (yeah, because it’s all in the tecnhique… if a light doens’t turn on, you just flip the switch differently and it will work) to no avail.

“Surely they aren’t all burned out!”

This goes on for like 5 minutes and finally we, the young Clampett Americans call for help. Apparently you have to insert your card key in this slot fot the lights to work.

What you you doing! Are you just making up stupid stuff to look fancy!? Well, you look fancy and we look stupid! What a dumb idea- stick you card there and the lights work. They obvisouly don’t know I’m the most scatterbrained person in the world and there is no way I will remember to take my key with me unless its in my purse, and not in some “make the lights work in the bathroom” slot.

Enough about that! Our room is very nice.

I totally had a food crisis the first 10 minutes here. There is a yummy basket of fruit, calling to me on the table. I say, “I think it’s free.” Will says, “I think it’s not.” Go figure we would say different things.

Did I say we looked too young to be here? Maybe it’s too unrefined, though I think we know our etiquette and manners.

I text P and all she writes back is: LMAO! Call the front desk! Right. So they can hang up and say, “You’ll never guess what the Americans in 111 just said!” So, the fruit thing is up in the air, but I think I’m toing to have an apple anyway. I’ll show them!

Today was mostly spent getting here and figuring out the internet in out room. It’s from our tv, so it can’t do everything a a computer can- like post! The main reason we got it was for Will’s fantasy draft (talk about timing- in all the weeks out of the year our random trip and fantasy draft fall together). Will spent a chunk of the afternoon on our draft, which kind of put me in a bad mood. I felt bad because our “first hours momentum” kept getting better, and then it came to a stop. I really did need to shut my mouth, but it was too late. Like I said, I needed to realize our $ situatuion for this trip, plus the fact that this draft is so important to Will- maybe even more important since we are so far away from football this year. Anyway, that was a litlle hiccup.

After Will did fantasy stuff the plan was to go to Arbys and a grocery store to pick up water. We went down to ask about a taxi, and all the hotel provides were limos, which is not really how we wanted to spend out money. Talking taxis was a mess. “No thank you. We don’t want a limo. We just want a taxi,” we said a million times.

What we should have been saying was, “Look. We don’t want your freakin’ limo! We are on a budget and want a piece of crap to drive us around. Do you think you can find a piece of crap!?”

We ended up going with this rental service in the hotel and had the guy drop us off at the City Center, where we could do everything we needed. The City Center is the largest mall in the Middle East, and the 7th largest in the world. It was great. We mostly just went to say we have been there. There is an ice rink on the bottom floor, which is funny to think that in the middle of the desert there is ice. I guess you all need to own up to your, “when hell freezes over” bets, because it has happened! Kuwait has one too, but I’ve never seen it. 

We walked around a little. We went to the third floor there where was a movie theatre and little amusement park and got dinner, and then desert at TCBY. We walked around and slowly made our way to the grocery store. That was semi-stressful!

First off, I find one or two grocery stores I line and that is where I always go. because I know where eveyrthing is. Going here was all new! Plus it was super busy, which didn’t help as I bumped into everyone and their five children. “I just want some granola bars and some water!!!! That’s it! Is that to much to ask! Why don’t you label your aisles!!“ That is what I wanted to scream after about 10 minutes.

We got our stuff and grabbed a taxi and went back to the hotel. I got around for bed and put on their fluffy, cushy robe and decided that no matter what the real purpose of this trip- business or pleasure, I am going to have a good time.

August 28, 2005

This morning I woke up to a major surprise! A huge head of curly hair! Ugh. I tried so hard to make sure it would stay straight- to no avail. It is so humid everywhere. Our sunglasses are constantly fogging from walking inside to outside. Will and I got around and ordered room service for lunch. It was really good and I’m glad we did. I was starving and totally attacked my sandwich. Poor thing.

After that , Will got online to check his draft while I sat around. We have a tour of the city scheduled for 3, so hopefully it will be fun.

** Back again! Our tour was pretty cool. It was supposed to be 4 hours, but we cut it down to 2- thankfully! I think Will would have died! The emir of Qatar is trying to give his country lots of good PR. I mean, how many people can point to a blank map and find Qatar? His goal is to make Qatar a country people know, hence the good airline and hosting the Asain games.

750,000 people live in Qatar, and only 250,000 of them are Qataris! How crazy! The rest are TCNs, like in Kuwait. They are also rich because of oil. One liter of gas costs you 25 cents! Doesn’t that make you sick!?

Unlike Kuwait, drinking is allowed here- only in the desert and hotels. How they moniter this… I have no idea. The driving is just as bad- just imagine Kuwait, with a few drinks knocked back.

Horse and camel racing are a big deal here, and another propular pastime is falcon hunting. They take the falcons in the desert to hunt for game. They are very expensive and can cost up to $20,000! The guide took us to a falcon souq. It was so incredible! There were about 25 falcons, and they all had eyecovers on so they weren’t disctracted. They were hooked on perches, but totally out in the open. I asked for a picture, and this old man, clad in his dish dash and red headcover (meaning he had been to Mecca) went up on the platfrom where the falcons were and told me and Will to get up there and take our picture! It was so crazy! I was less than a foot form these powerful birds and it was amazing.

After that they took us to the camel market. The are popular for racing, but they are also eaten, especially during Rammadan. We saw a million other things, but I am getting tired of writing!

Tonight we decided to be lazy and get comfy. We ordered room service and watched You’ve Got Mail for the millionth time. The fruit thing is still up in the air, but tomorrow I think I’m going to make it my breakfast. Its not like its caviar or something! Its a Lebanese banana!

August 29, 2005

I had a good day today! I wish vacation lasted forever. I wish everyday was vacation. People may say, “Well then is it really vacation?” I’m willing to find out.

Will and I woke up about the same time and left the lights off. He checked his league, while I lay in bed wishing I could go back to sleep.

We ate a late breakfast.. and I ended up being a “rebel” and having a banana out of “the” frust basket. ha ha. what a goof.

We watched some TV and finally decided to get around. We called a “normal people” taxi to take us to the city center just to get out and about.

They have about a thousand athletic clothing/shoe stores, and about a million baby clothing/furniture/everything else your kid needs stores. I guess that’s because all women do here is reproduce 5 kids and then spend the rest of their lives chasing their little ones around, hence the demand for atheletic shoes.

I saw the funniest thing and am kicking myself that I didn’t get a picture! They have an abbaya Barbie! I love Barbie, and collected them up until my 2nd year of college (totally dork, I know). Maybe I should clairfy- I didn’t play with them, I just collected some of them… am I making sense? I probably sound totally weird. I hope you know what I mean! Anyway… back to the matter at hand...She had her long, black outfit, but she also came with a “regular” outfit- with a head scarf to go with it of course! Pretty crazy. I always wanted the teacher or singer or model Barbie. These girls want the Barbie with the stroller included (totally joking). I guess that is a cultural thing, and the way different groups are taught.

We ended up watching Bewitched in their theatre. The “new” movies in Qatar are just as behind as in Kuwait. I think Will may have fallen asleep through it. It was pretty cheesy, but cute. I love Nicole Kidman. After the movieI drove Will crazy for the next half hour twitching my nose and tugging my ear, and making the sound effects whenever Samantha moved her nose. After the move we had dinner… and TCBY. As I was walking ot the table I got a text telling me my visa was in. I was excited, but my elation quickly turned to reality. “It’s here.” I am officially required to be a responsible adult. My puppy dog days are over. :(

We walked around some more and decided to get a taxi and head to the hotel. As we waited Will looked at me in utter disgust and said, “You have a booger hanging out of your nose.”

Great. Thanks sweetie for the sickly look.

“It’s one of those that you can’t fix until you get alone.” Even better.

I got my mirror out and he was totally right. Something about living in the desert makes the whole nose situation very bad. I won’t gross you all out.

I tried sniffing really hard… nothing. I did this for 3 or 4 minutes as Will aimlessly tried to get us a taxi.

“It’s because I have a booger huh!!!?”

We waited and waited (good thing it wasn’t humid or hot or anything! <--- sarcasm!!)

Finally 2 pull up. A nice one, and one that looks like 30 drunk Qataris piled in and decided to take this tiny 1980 toyota camel tipping.

It, of course, stops for us.

It was because of my snot. I’m totally convinced.

Do we have an aura that screams we are hicks from Oklahoma or something!? Did our hotel send you as a joke!?

We hop in and I begin praying. As we are listening to Britney Spear’s “Toxic“, the only think I keep thinking about was that she must have written this song after riding in this orange taxi and breathing the stench. I will now forever associate this song with tonight’s ride.

As I tried to buckle up I realized Safety is about as important as writing your favorite detergent company to tell them how great they make your clothes smell… it’s that big a deal here.

I pull and pull and get nothing but a small strap. The buckle is trapped somwehere. I am panicking! I don’t want to die in a toxic orange taxi!

I thought I’d say something, but he was driving like a bat out of hell and the strange crackling and ricketing sounds from the bottom of the car- probably very important parts- were deafening and I’m sure if I would have said something he wouldn’t have cared anyway. I stick my arm in the strap- because that was going to hold me in if something happened!

What a ride.

I do have to say it was our cheapest ride yet.

I wonder why…

So, tomorrow ends our trip. Sigh.

I start my new life Sunday. Sigh.

At least I’ll have a few days to get myself together.

August 30,2005

Last night I could hardly breathe before finally drifting to sleep. I kept waiting for the front desk to call saying there was a disturbance.

I lay there, flat on my back, my eyes wide open, staring at the blank ceiling.

You would have thought I robbed a bank or something and I drove to the nearest warehouse to wait out the search.

Will and I are typically not extremely unruly or overly loud love makers. I guess you could put it this way: we wouldn’t be the ones you’d whisper about at the neighborhood association meetings. I don’t know if it was the fact that for the last 3 1/2 months we have had to play “beat the clock my parents are in the kitchen and can probably hear,” or the fact that it was the last day of vacation andwe were going to have to go back to living with my parents and being sneaky,(I think it was the first factor), but we morphed into different people or something. We weren’t “yelly” or anything, but around midnight the wall against our bed took a beating, leaving our neighbors to pound back on the wall- I’m sure that is a universal “shut up” signal.

I was freaked out that the “Holy Muslim Police” were going to storm our room last night and make Will and I stay in different places. Today it sounds funny and silly, last night I was freaking out!

* * *

So, our trip is over. So sad. I am totally resolved to believe end of vacation attitudes are just as crucial as the start of vacation momentum. We woke up fine and called in b-fast- and I ate way too much. We casually got around and did our room check- 4 times.

“Are you sure you have everything, Britt? We won’t be able to come back if you forget something. Did you check the bathroom?

The table?

The… the.. the..”

He does this a million times because he is convinced I will realize something I forgot- me being the scatterbrained one. The joke was on him today though.

We left the hotel and caught a taxi- much better than last night’s.

I totally cracked up on the way to the airport. They were playing filthy music- with the “F” work as the main noun, verb, adjective and everything in between. Amazing. They won’t show a kissing scene in the public movie theatre, and you can’t wear shorts, but you can say the F bomb all day long. Only in the Middle East. The FCC would have had a heart atatck had that been said in America. How funny.

We got to the airport-the super tiny Doha airport, and grapped a seat to wait to check in.

I thought I was at a college frat party after about 5 minutes. There were 3 older men, clad in togas!! How crazy! Were they being serious? I think they might have been. I didn’t know people still wore togas!

I was waiting any second for 30 fat guys with huge beer bellies to roll in a keg and a funnel, and start taking body shots off the women- all vieled and in their black abbayas. ha ha. What a strange thought.

We had been sitting for a few minutes when my daily birth control alarm went off on my phone (did I way I was scatterbrained? These last 3 months of being “scheduleless” have left me so forgetful that I have to remind myself to breathe). Anyway, all of a sudden Will asks, “Where’s my phone?”

Great.

Mr. Responsible forgot something. Who knows what I’ve left behind. We begin searching. Here is a good rule to live by: if you search for something for longer than 15 minutes- there is a good chance it is not in the spot you are searching.

Then, the “male” in Will comes out and he tries to put it all on the bonde. Ha- I don’t think so!

“I really thought I handed it to you.”

“No, Will. You didn’t.”

“Check your purse again.”

My purse can barely hold tic-tacs- your phone is not there!

We search more and finally Will says “I have to go back.”

I don’t like “I.”

“I” is bad. It refers to one person- not “we.” He is basically telling me, “sit here with the toga guy and make sure our bags are okay while I go back to the hotel to find my phone.”

I was so nervous to be left alone with the ancient frat boys. I thought I was going to have to purchase a bag of Depends. I did just fine, though I did sit next to a pair of 5 year old twins that made me reconsider my entire opinion of children all together.

Will came back , phoneless, so that was a disappointment. I know he was sort of bummed about it because not only was he going to have to hear about it, but he was also going to have to pay for it. I decided not to give him the responsible talk.

We sat around the airport for a while and ate at A&W… and then TCBY… again (we don’t have on herein Kuwait). After that we went to our gate- but I first had to go through a metal detector. I had went through the first one just fine- actually, I set it off and no one said a word! That makes you feel good! I wasn’t joking about no one paying attention!

Anyway, I walked through this time and it went off and the army guy- who didn’t speak english, angrily said, “go.”

Go? Where?

He motioned towards this cold steel door.

“Go.”

Holy crap. What is behind that door!? Are they going to strip search me? I really don’t want to go behind the door . God help us all.

I went in and this old lady frisked me and used a hand held detector- it was my belt. I could have told her that, but she was the “behind the steel door” metal nazi, so I just shut up and let her do her job. I’m glad that is over.

We got to our gate and hung around. We finally were able to board. It is so amazing here. They don’t have terminals since the airport is so small, so they bus everyone out to the plane. You would have thought the people flying with us were told there was an all you can eat buffet on the plane because they were pushing and shoving like not only was there a buffet, but it was also free. It was frustrating but sort of humerous.

After we fought our way to our seats- we breathed a sign of relief. Sort of. We were in the very back of the place and were the only westerners in a 20 seat radius. The plane was hot and it smelled terrible. I had flashbacks to “toxic” and my night in the taxi. It was pretty gross. All Will kept saying was, “This is so ghetto.” He was pretty accurate. thankfully it is a short flight. I wished we would have flew Kuwait Air to Doha and Qatar air on the way back… wishful thinking.

We got in and I got my visa stamped and everything else I had to do. The Gauntlet wasn’t too bad tonight. It was a nice change. I am always expexcting pandemonium so was surprised last night.

We got in to find out a million morsels of crappy news, but I won’t get into everything because it will take way to long and I’ve talked way to much about stupid things that don’t really matter that much! So, that was our trip. you probably feel like you went along you know so much. I guess I overdid it a bit. That shouldn’t be a surprise though.

Thanks for sticking through! Have a great day. <3

Out of frustration I had to stop what I was doing and post.

Sort of a blah post today.

I guess I am obsessed now to the point where posting has become theraputic. Whatever the case may be, I had a headache starting to spread throughout my entire head and I had to stop and breathe and just vent in a post.

The last three months have been far from stressful in terms of having things to do, yet they have been stressful in other ways. I am learning how to deal with this kind of stress, but today I was confronted with “normal people’s” life stress and it was like, “What is this!?” I guess I’ve forgotten that sort of stress.

Welcome back.

Where do I start? The events don’t tie together, but I just felt like writing about them. They all don’t have to do with stress, but I guess that is how I’m how I’m feeling right so maybe I will start with that. Hmmm. Am I being confusing? Maybe. I apologize. I guess I just need to get a thousand things out and I don’t know where to begin piecing everything.

Okay.

Maybe I should start with last night. I have been totally void of “HEI” for the last 3 months. Let me clarify. HEI. Human Environment Interaction. My 7th grade geography teacher would have been proud that I actually remembered a concept. I’m sure all she remembers about me was that I used to flirt with William W. during class, and the very last day of school she had to separate us (I had a thing for Wills even back then). Well Mrs. K, I was listening. Anyway, my sister had old Mrs. K 7 years later and also learned the HEI concept. We had a talk about it yesterday and I was like, “That is IT! This is my problem.”

Human Environment Interaction makes the world go round and I have never been more void of it in my life. Seriously, if anyone came over to visit me tomorrow I would probably attack them with excitement. I’m not joking. I don’t think I would behave myself. I’d probably be going a million miles a minute just because I had someone out of my micro sphere of interaction- my sister- to talk to. I would probably scare a guest with being over-friendly and over-bubbly and overly everything.

Anyway, because my last few months have been different than anything I’ve ever known, and because I love being around people and haven’t, I have become clingy to Will (Agh! All men around the world have heard me say the “C“ word and run the opposite direction screaming in a high pitch shrill) This just stared to happen over the last 2 weeks. I don’t know if its because I know i have a job and am so anxious to start but haven’t been able to so I gotten edgy or what the deal it.  I don’t really know the right way to explain how I’ve been, but it’s even annoying me!

I get so glad that he is home and I want his full and total attention because for me, he is pretty much the 2nd person I’ve seen all day, but he has interacted with tons of people throughout the day. He wants to spend time with me, but he doesn’t want to be mauled with a million questions and the Spanish Inquisition of ALL details,

“How was your day!?”

“What did you do?”

“What did you have for lunch?“

“How many times did you go to the bathroom?“ and everything else (okay, so I don’t as the bathroom thing, but if I don’t get myself together this question could be included in the repertoire).

I don’t do this to be annoying, but it feels like I was apart of the day he had, and not sitting around all day totally bored watching Roseanne.

I know the way to fix this is for me to start working and to get out of this apartment and be able to have a “normal” schedule with normal HEI, but until then I really have to stop with the annoying stuff.

I have become so naggy to Will because it’s like I expect him on his best behavior and I am so sensitive if he doesn’t want to answer questions or he doesn’t seem as excited to see me as I am to see him. I have to realize that I am so giddy because he is my second HEI all day. He has had lots of HEI interaction and simply wants me to sit by him and relax a little.

Anyway, last night was bad. i was being sensitive about something and I don’t even remember how everything escalated, but we got in an argument and Will told me how he had been feeling- as if I didn’t already know-like I said I’ve been annoying myself for the last 2 weeks. I felt terrible.

He had gotten a box a 1983 football cards in the mail and was so very excited to open them with me (because this is a set we are collecting together), and I had to ruin the night.

I really did. I felt so bad.

I started crying and we talked and Will pretty much told me that I had to SHOW him that I was sorry and I couldn’t just say it. He is right. I felt yucky, but Will thought we shouldn’t focus on that stuff and should open our cards since we were looking forward to it for a few weeks now.

It was so awesome. talk about nostalgia. We bought 83 because it is my birth year and we are looking to by an 80 for Will. They were OLD cards, but it was so cool to open up a never been opened box of 22 year old cards with Bazooka gum still in the package.

Yuck.

Of course, I’m a weirdo and had to try this 22 year old gum. It turned to crap and powder in my mouth. Does that mean that since I’m 22 I have terrible taste and fall apart at the sight of trouble? You’d think during these last couple of weeks that was true! I really need a job! I’m ready to feel like my goofy, crazy (in a good way… if that is possible) self again.

The night was fun after that, seeing if we would pull any famous people and just the idea tht these were “historic” cards. It wasn’t as great as it should have been, but I’m glad it wasn’t totally ruined.

I really have to get some HEI in my life. I need to be able to be my friendly self and just smile to other people other than my sister!

I just want to get some HEI!

Well, I’m getting what I wish for.

Praise the Lord.

Unfortuately, it’s not going to be as easy as I had hoped. I got a letter from my recruiter and I have to leave the country so I can get my working visa. Will and I get to take a trip! Yay. The concept sounds exciting, but I’m afraid it is going to be stressful up until we get on the plane, and maybe even a little during the trip. We found out about having to take this trip last week, but weren’t able to make plans because we didn’t know when they would give me the go to leave.

So we have 3 days to plan a trip.

So many of the hotels are booked, and the ones that are available are out of this world. We didn’t get a chance to plan and save for this trip, so it has been a stressful afternoon. I’ve been searching endlessly for hotels where we are going only to be seriously disappointed. I feel bad because I know Will is stressed about everything and plus he has to ask off work last minute. On top of that, Will’s fantasy drafts started today and I know he is worried that we won’t be able to find a place where we can get on a computer to draft and stuff. I don’t need to tell you girls again how much of a priority that stuff is! (I did find an internet cafe online, hopefully it’s legit and he can draft and I can post a quick note of all the things I’ve seen) It just doesn’t feel like much of a trip right now. It seems more like a headache!

We had been saving Will’s living allowance for plane tickets back home for Christmas, so that wipes that account out! Sort of a bummer, but that is life. I hope tomorrow I will have more optimistic news, because we will have to book a hotel by tomorrow morning. I think once we secure a place, even though it’s organ donor expensive, I will feel a little better. I think it will be really great to get to see another place in the Middle East, so I just need to stay positive and enjoy time away with Will- God knows I need it and that I need some HEI.

So thats why I had to stop what I was doing. Last minute hotel searching in an expensive place- there is no fun in this.

As for some other news, we actually had some excitement in our area this morning! Okay- we do not live in the ghetto, but this story will probably make it sound like it. There is a decent amount of quiet prostitution and affairs and stuff that go on in this country, which is totally illegal.( yet the Kuwait orphanages are over flowing because so many Kuwaiti men sleep with their Filipino maids or store workers and they have to give up their child for adoption and the guy never gets caught. It’s all about wasta- or power).

I’ll tell you how little they tolerate indecency: 2 American employees were making out in a company car in the back of their apartment compex- it wasn’t in a crowded area or anything. Anyway, 4 cops dragged them out of their car, arrested them, and deported them back home. So, as you can see there isn’t much tolerance- even for some teenage-necking adults.

Every now and then you will read in the paper that they busted some TCN traffiking ring and stuff. Today we had a tiny little arrest at our complex! Its amazing how exciting things can seem after you sit in an apartment all day. The housing Nazis were doing inventory this morning, so my dad was home later than usual this morning. He got a call from a friend telling him to go out to the balcony. We go out and hear this deafening screaming. 2 police men had managed to struggle two women (there were originally 7, but the others somehow scattered and got away) into their car, close the door, only to have them to escape. They were chasing them, and the women were beating the cops and kicking them and yelling. They were laying on the ground and screaming hysterically. It was scary. My sister- sweet, empathetic soul- gets our camera out to capture the exciting “Keeping the Country Prostitution-Free” moment on tape.

From that moment on I can see the struggle and the fighting- which was totally weird- but all I can hear is my sister saying such Christian things like, “You slut!” and “I bet you were screaming like that last night!”

What a well-mannered, even-temered girl.

She does not get this yelling at those about to be arrested stuff from me!

I had to go in because I was afraid the cops were going to come after us next (I’m totally joking, they didn’t hear). I can’t do the story justice, you had to be there, but it was pretty crazy. The cop was doucing her with water and she was spitting on him and kicking him. I’m honestly surprised at how much restraint the cop showed. He sure did yell at her before he picked her up and forced her in the police car, this time for good. Oh the excitement. How sad.

Did I say I needed some HEI?

Yeah.

That’s evident.