Journey Home pt 2

I made it home safe and sound the other night. The start of the flight from Hartford was a little rough. I was in one of those small planes where it was 2-1 seating. I hate those planes with a passion. Anyway, while in Bradley International, I met up with a girl who was also going to Orlando who works as a Business Analyst and goes to UCF. Her name is Kim and she was pretty nice. We managed to sit together on the flight to Orlando from Chicago. Guess the guy we kinda booted out wasn't very thrilled, but he could deal. He got in wicked late! His fault... haha. Also I had the exit row, which was even better. <3 legroom.

I had free WiFi on the flight, only because I watched a Jetta ad and put in a promo code. Fun times! It was actually fairly decent wifi to boot. It was nice. Glad that my laptop's battery held out the entire flight.

Landed around 6ish, didn't even get my bag till about 6:50 and ugh when I got my bag, I wasn't a happy camper. I'm aware that generally airlines aren't responsible for "damage" and such, but there was oil ALL over the top of my bag. I wasn't impressed. So I went to the luggage office just to see if anything could be done.

While there, there was a Brazilian woman who was complaining that her luggage was damaged. From the looks of it, it was only cosmetic and it wasn't that big of a deal, but she made it a huge deal. It got to the point where she was calling the airline "Stupid" and calling everybody in the room "Stupid" and began ranting and raving and then she said "I hope one of your airplanes gets blown up!" and that's when I just couldn't hold back anymore. I turned around and told her to shut the hell up and that saying shit like that can get her arrested and that ontop of that, that's a shit thing to say and that she was an idiot and to get the hell out (cause by that time when she said that, she was stalling on leaving). It was actually fairly amusing because everybody in that room went quiet, even the woman who couldn't believe someone was actually standing up to her. 

Seriously, you just don't say that shit! Especially in an airport! I can understand that woman was pissed that her luggage was "damaged", but that does not give her the right to say insane stuff like that! Needless to say I was so mad I was shaking when that was done. I apologized to the attendants behind the desk, but they just shook their heads and told me it was completely fine and she deserved it. Guess they were glad I said what they couldn't in such a well.. colorful manner.

In the end, the airline said that when it comes to oil, they do take care of cleaning. So I'll be bringing my bag back soon to get it cleaned up.

After all that, I went to the security check point where Jeff's gates were and hung out till he landed. Grabbed him and went home, and omg, we walked into a frigid house. Dunno what was going on, but our heater is acting up and last night was pretty chilly (got down to 31 degrees. CT was 32...). So Jeff was up half the night trying to figure out what was going on and to kick it on manually so we could have some heat (when the burners actually kicked on).

I have today off, which is awesome, cause I need a day to recover. Plus I gotta hang around and wait for the repairmen to come look at the heater.

Oi...

Journey Home

Christmas has come and gone and the New Year is around the corner! Have to admit, I'm looking forward to this New Year. Originally I was going to go see my cousins in Lecanto, but something came up, so I'll be staying at home, but! I'll be hanging out w/ nifty youtube friends. So that'll be exciting!

This year I flew back home to my parents house up in good ol' East Granby, CT. I flew up on Thursday, the day before Christmas Eve. Got to the house and was practically pounced on by our dog Xandra who was extremely happy to see me. Went to Christmas Eve service at Old St. Andrews, which was really peaceful. I hadn't been to church in about two years.. so it was good to be back. Last year I ended up missing service because of being delayed in Ohio because of a toilet...

Christmas morning rolled around with lots of awesome gifts. I didn't get a large haul, but the stuff I did get is amazing and I'm very thankful. The first major thing that I got for Christmas is a Toshiba Camileo video camera! It's pocket sized and it's awesome. I'm so excited! So chances are you'll be seeing more videos from me soon :)

Next up I got a few rings from my Nana which have been in the family for a while. She's not sure for how long, but she found them one day and thought I'd like them. It pretty much brought me to tears. Up next I got year 4 of the Harry Potter blu-ray editions. Sadly, Years 3 and 4 aren't the extended versions like years 1 and 2 were which is a huge huge disappointment, but whatever. Also got a $50 gift card to Amazon from my best friend, Ellen, checks, and other odds and from the stocking.  The stocking pictured below was my original stocking from when I was younger that my mother gave me to bring home. (which I think I forgot back at the house now that I think about it...as well as the amazon gift card... oops)

                                                              Here's a pic of my loot:

That day, I spoke to Dad about changing my flight so I could stay an extra day. So I got the number, called them up and with in a short amount of time was able to get somebody, which I was impressed about since it was Christmas day. Because my ticket was a rewards ticket, I was able to get my ticket changed free of charge for the next day. Good thing I did that when I did, because Sunday night we got slammed with a blizzard and my original flight for Monday ended up cancelled! If I hadn't done it sooner, I would of been fighting with people to get onto another flight home and probably would of ended up here longer.

Sunday Craig, Dad and I went to Stratton up in VT.

Craig and I

Please excuse the blurry shot. There was a smudge on the camera lense.

Surprisingly I did fairly well since I hadn't gone skiing in the past 2-3 years. It felt really good to get back onto the slops again, even though it was wicked cold!! Needless to say, the next day I really felt it and just couldn't move around at all. Stairs were my enemy. 

Monday I went and hung out with my good friend Dan, whom I've known for about 24 years. After that did a few errands then went out to dinner with Ellen and her father. Yadda yadda, came home, slept, woke up, packed and here I am now, at the airport, waiting to for my flight to Chicago then transfer to Orlando.

Though to back peddle a little bit. Security was interesting. They have those x ray scanners at every check point now from the looks of it, and they wanted me to go through, something I wasn't comfortable with. So I told them I wasn't comfortable with the device and opted for a patdown instead, which wasn't bad. Lesser of two evils I say. It went fairly quick. 

So, now I wait for my plane... *shiver*

Hope ya'll had a wonderful Christmas! What did ya'll get from Santa?

Fresh Start?

Alright, so I really need to be more active with this blog and ontop of that, keep it from getting emo, cause being emo can get lame. So from here on out, no more emo! Save that for LJ (which I haven't touched in like.. 10 months..)

Christmas is around the corner! Which is insane. I'll be flying home to CT to see family for a few days. It'll be nice to see everybody. My brother and I are also planning a day of skiing. Something I haven't done in a long time! I'm fairly excited about that. I'm also getting a brand new video camera (HD!) for Christmas, so expect new videos by the end of December! I actually feel pretty bad about not making any vidoes since about August, but because of work as well as poor equipment, I've just haven't had the motivation. I'm also still trying to figure out what kind of a format I'll have.. Oi. Any suggestions?

Which reminds me, I want to make a HP Fan Film one of these days. I'll have to bug some of my hp buds about that soon.

Work is going pretty well. It's been getting colder down here in Florida, so I've been having to wear thermals, gloves and a beanie.

I've applied for an AdSense account so I can put ads on this blog. I'm hoping it'll go through, cause I would love to have some extra pocket money.

Alright, this post got boring fast.. Hope ya'll are well!

Bullying

This article struck a note with me:

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/ohios-mentor-high-school-under-scrutiny-after-spate-of-suicides/19667585?icid=main|main|dl1|sec1_lnk3|176523

I have a learning disability. Reading/Listening comprehension, to which I was in Special Ed for. I'm not ashamed to admit that. Yes, I was a Sped student. But guess what, I'm not mentally handicapped or have downs or anything like that. I'm normal. I just learn differently than everybody else. Over the years I have been able to learn to live with it and work around it to where it doesn't impede on my daily life. Because of this, I was also a target. All through school, I was tormented by my peers either because of my learning disability or just because I was the odd one out.

It wasn't till middle school is when things really started to go south. I was tormented every single day. Yes, I had friends, but I honestly didn't trust half of them because of how I was being tormented. So finding someone that I could rely one was lack there of. It made me feel small. It made me feel useless, and it made me think that maybe I just shouldn't be around anymore. That's a shit load of thoughts a 14 year old shouldn't have to deal with. Thankfully, I had a counselor who I could talk to, plus an outside therapist, my church, and also the support from my parents who helped try and pick up the pieces that were my self esteem from the floor. Another thing that helped alot was my mom enrolling me in Kenpo Karate, which helped me gain confidence in myself.

There were times that I'd wish I actually had a solid friend to help me, other than outside help, but when you have a class of 50+/- kids that you've grown up with since preschool, finding someone who wasn't against you was slim pickins.

Thankfully High School was a little better since alot of the kids started to mature for the most part.. but either way, I was still an outsider and had no idea where the hell I fit in or belonged. I wasn't an athlete, I was a cheerleader for only half a semester and quit, and I was far from popular, so in those years I was still tormented from time to time. Thankfully, by that time I overcame my depression (for the most part) and just focused on graduating and getting the hell out of there and tried to just ignore everybody. And because I wasn't friends with really anybody in my class, I never went to my senior outing. Why bother when I was just an outcast?

Today, I'm pretty much happy with how I am, but I still can't help but feel paranoid that the friends that I have don't feel the same way about me as I do about them. It's pathetic, I know, but it's a scar from all the bullying that not matter how hard I try, I just can't cover it up.

tl:dr

Why the hell am I posting this? All this is is me being whiny and bratty, but at the same time, I feel like my feelings are validated.

I've made some amazing friends from YouTube. Friends that I'm sure I'll be in touch with for a very long time. Now I am aware that among my friends, I am basically at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to views, subscribers, and hell yes, even video quality. I am able to accept that part really, but at the same time, I can't help but feel annoyed with that, feeling like I'm just the little friend whose tagging around the big rock stars.

This is stupid, really, this entire blog post and my entire feelings toward this, but the reason why I'm doing this is because it has to come out in some way or else it's just going to torture me. I don't like confronting people half the time, I'm more passive aggressive.. but I don't want this to come off this way. I don't. But I'm just going to come out and say it.

On YouTube, there is a box where you can make a list of people who are your friends or people you should sub too, and I've noticed a trend. I'm not on any of my friends' list. Not one. (except MuggleSam, and I thank her so much for that.) And I think I know why. It's because my videos are crap. Yes, they are. I'm fully aware, and I fully accept that, but the fact of the matter remains, I'm not on a "top 8" so to speak.

I have no idea why this petty little thing bothers me so much and I really really don't mean for this to be a guilt trip, cause that's the last thing I want to put my friends through, but still.. how do you tell your friends they're making you feel incredibly left out?

I'm going to buy a new camera soon.. because I want to use this as motivation to prove to people that I am able to make good videos, and I am able to get the number of viewers and subscribers...

ugh... I'm really sorry about this, I really am.. and I hate to be bringing this up and to act like a whiny little child who didn't get picked, but if I don't bring it up.. it would fester and I don't want it to do that either.

oi..

Just pretend this post never happened? k? thanks <3

So here's the deal

Ha.. man, I neglect this blog way too much.

Moving on..

I've recently created an ericaeeks youtube account, but I'm unsure of what to do with it. A part of me wants to make that my official vlog channel, while the eeks1120 could be my nonsense channel where misc. videos go. My only problem with this, is that I've already kind of established myself on youtube as eeks1120 (I have close to 700 subs), and I'm unsure if I should "start over." I'd post a video on eeks1120, stating that I've moved channels, and I may end up x-posting videos for the first few months (not uploading twice.. but I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about) so that some of my subscribers who don't watch all the time can catch on.

I would love to know what you guys think. Let me know. :-d

Type type type-ity type

I'm doing such a horrible job at updating this! I'm so sorry.. but it's not like it really matters anyway, cause I don't think that many people really read this (judging by lack of comments, but I could be wrong..).

Work's been pretty decent lately. I did something to my wrist today because of the harnesses' which kicked up my carpel-tunnel in the worst way. I was half tempted to go to Team Care and get it looked at, but I knew all they were gonna do was wrap it up, put me on advil and then put me on Safety for a week which means no platform. Sorry, but I may like Greeter rotation, but not that much. So, I went home, thinking I'd just put my brace on I had here.. well.. of course it goes MIA when I need it... I remember seeing it at some point but ugh, go figure.

Summer plans are almost in full swing! I've asked for time off in July as well as August for Paige's b-day party bonanza and EmotiCon up at Alan's place. I really am excited for what this summer has in store and I hope everything follows through as planned! Crossing fingers..

Album stuff.. yeah... I have yet to even start writing music.. and to be honest, I highly doubt I'll be able to reach my new years resolution of writing an album (or atleast an EP's worth) of music. I don't know why I'm having such trouble. It sucks, it really does.... I need a really good muse is what I need. I'll be accepting applications asap!

Raquel and I hung out the other night, fun times were had by all. I tossed out an idea to her about making a Harry Potter fan film type thing. She's game. Woot.. Now it's just plotting it out. I actually had a number of scenes run through my head today while I was on platform, scenes I'm not about to reveal yet cause well.. it'd spoil the flick ;)

UGH!! So many things, story lines, plots, charectors running through my head it's just giving me a headache...

yeah.. i'm done rambling now....

I wanna hear good news

I admire the Five Awesome Girls because even if they have crappy days, they still find something there that's awesome.

Today, I'm finding it a tiny bit hard to do that. Woke up this morning not really feeling all that great. I had a rough time sleeping last night, ended up sleep walking about once, and woke up about 2-3 times. Got to work and missed getting hit by a Lynx bus by a foot. I literally had to jump back so I wouldn't get squashed. That did not go over well for me. I've had near misses before, but nothing that came that close, and with those I was like "Wow, suck" then moved on. But this one shook me up to the point where my lead didn't want me to work and sent me home. 

So I'm glad I was able to come home and relax. I also managed to get a hold of someone at the Lynx bus company and told them what had happened. I don't want anything from them, I just wanted them aware of the situation, but I did tell them that my lead sent me home because of this.

Bah, screw it, I'm gonna try and make a list of the GOOD things that so far have taken place:

- I didn't get squashed like a pancake and I'm alive.

- I was able to get ER'd (early release) because I have an awesome lead whose incredibly understanding.

- Mandy and I went to TGI Fridays where we had awesome food and came home with cheesecake that is now in the fridge, waiting to be devoured.

Another awesome thing that happened yesterday was Justin and Cody booking their tickets to Florida in July! I can't wait.

Ugh.. I'm going to go sleep now..

why did i post this?

where do i belong?

seriously, i want to know where the hell i actually belong.

i feel like through out my entire life, i've never found an actual spot where i can say "this is it, i belong right here, this is where i feel right." i've never had that, and i'm 27 years old. there's something wrong with that.

now don't get me wrong, this has nothing to do with jeff. jeff is awesome, i love him, that aspect is fine. i think that's the only solid thing i have going for me..

but as for friends? i seriously have no idea where the hell i belong. i have my friends from college, my three 'sisters', but even then, we've become insanely distant. one i haven't spoken to in god knows how long, cause i just feel like we just don't click any more, second is just so busy with school and work it's just hard to get a hold of her, and the other, we still talk on a daily basis, and she's the one i'm closest too, but still.. i feel distant.

i have a best friend in ct who i can talk too, she's the only honest to god, drop anything at the drop of a hat friend i have in the state of ct. yes, i have other friends, but nothing like ellen.

but even with these friends, they're all scattered.. every single one of them, too far away to drive to. too far away to make a weekend trip out of.

i have nerdfighters, but even in that community where at the start i was like "wow, i belong." now i just feel like i'm just turning into the outsider.. imposing on something that was already established. late to the game as they say.. and it's then i don't feel like i belong, cause even now i feel like some friendships i've made in the community is already starting to fizz out..

i have my dragons crew.. they're a pretty cool bunch.. but even so, half the crew has already been established and i just feel like i'm just imposing on something that's already rock solid.. the outsider whose trying to make a small, awkward spot for herself.

i know i'm just over thinking this. hell, it's close to 2am and my stupid brain tends to over react and i have no idea. trust me, i'm not writing this to get any type of pity from any of you.. i'm honestly just writing it for well.. myself. it needs to come out, and if i did this in vlog well.. let's just say you really don't wanna see my snot ridden face. it's not a pretty sight. but either way.. this had to come out somehow or else i wouldn't of been able to sleep at all...

i just really wish i knew where i belonged.. .

May 2nd, 1998

Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still. For they must needs be present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent. In this divine glass, they see face to face; and their converse is free, as well as pure. This is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present, because immortal.

            -- William Penn, More Fruits of Solitude. 

Disgruntled!

I guess it's a must in life, when renting, that you have to deal with at least one incompetent landlord/third party company. I don't think I've ever been so blown away by the unprofessional way things are run by a company.

So here's our short little story:

At the first of this month, I dropped off our 30 day notice that stated that we were moving and when we were planning on leaving. We also said in the letter that our living experience had been pleasant and we've enjoyed the house very much.. etcetcetc.

Jeff later on calls Jenn (our landlord) after we get approved of our house and informs her of our moving date (sat, 17th) and asks what to do with the keys, and also informs them that we're willing to sell our washer to the landlord since our new house has a washer/dryer. She tells Jeff that they were closed on the weekends and gives him no other information as to what to do with the keys or the garage door opener and that's it, nothing else, and also said that she'd have to contact the owners about the washer and she'd get back to us.

She had yet to get back to us.

Jeff calls a few days later to follow up, leaves a message, no calls back. This goes on for a few weeks.

Yesterday, I decided to just say screw it and I went into the office to see if I could talk to Jenn directly. She wasn't there. So I left a message and asked the receptionist to have Jenn call me asap since time is running out. This was around 1pm.

I didn't receive a single call from her that day after leaving that message. 

Today, I called the office, left a message with the intent that if I don't get a call back by 3, I'll just go in again.

3pm rolls around and I go into the office.

Guess who leaves at 230 on Fridays!

I explained to the woman that was there yesterday that I hadn't received a phone call back from Jenn and we were moving tomorrow and I really need answers. I give her our property address, and then her eyes widen in realization and she hands me a paper.

"Oh! This is for you. Jenn wanted me to give this to you." 

"Um.. I'm really glad I came in today then, because nobody told me I had to sign this."

"Really..?"

"Yes."

She then excuses herself and turns the corner and I hear her go:

"Tom?"

"Yes?"

"We have a disgruntled.."

Disgruntled?! Seriously? Annoyed, yes, Frustrated, Yes. Disgruntled? You're making me sound rude, for which I'm not. I was being polite and just stating my dissatisfaction for the lack of communication. I shook my head, smiled and said "Disgruntled, eh?" and the lady leaned around the corner, her eyes wide as in 'Oh my god she heard me.'

When Tom came out, I shook his hand and said:

"First of all, I'm not disgruntled. I'm just a bit frustrated with the lack of communication we've been having with Jenn. We're moving tomorrow, we've given our notice, and we've been asking her what should we do with our keys, and the washer that we're willing to sell and we have yet to hear back and it's been a few weeks."

All in all. Tom was very nice and told me what I could do with my keys tomorrow, which was very helpful, and as for the washer, I told Tom that we're just taking it with us and it's their loss. It's sad, because we all know a house that has a washer has more of an appeal than a house with out. 

I also informed him that I was glad I came in so I could pick up the paper I had no idea I had to sign. I told him that  it was lucky because "I was in the area" And just thought I'd swing by since I hadn't gotten a phone call.

Tom said that he would have a talk with Jenn, and I thanked him. I told him that Jenn is a nice girl, but the communication skills are just lacking. 

Oi.. Sorry Jenn, but I don't read minds. So you'll have to start learning how to use your phone more often.

I can't wait till we move and work with a landlord who actually gets crap done.

You done now?

Uggggh... Packing sucks, but atleast we've been smart and started packing things a week ahead of time instead of... the day before of moving..

Even though we're renting a huge truck to move everything and I know I won't be forced to throw anything away or give things up, I'm still a little anxious.. I think it's because you don't realize how much crap you actually have till you start packing it all up. It's pretty f'd up

Jeff had hit me up on aim earlier and had asked about how the packing went..


 (3:07:30 PM) jeff: done packing everythign yet?
(3:07:35 PM) Erica: No :-p
(3:07:39 PM) Jeff: how bout now
(3:07:41 PM) Erica: Yep!
(3:07:45 PM) Jeff: nice ok
(3:07:48 PM) Erica: hooray for time travel
(3:07:58 PM) Jeff: nah you didnt time travel
(3:08:01 PM) Jeff: we'd all be dead
(3:08:29 PM) Jeff: plus i highly doubt you have the power of a black hole at home
(3:08:38 PM) Jeff: LEARN TO PHYSICS
(3:09:55 PM) Erica: Pffftt... nooo.. I gots a tardis so it's cool
(3:10:17 PM) Jeff: reason #4738943743 i hate dr who: pays no attention to the laws of physics
(3:10:22 PM) Jeff: :P
(3:10:52 PM) Erica: But that'd make the show boring
(3:11:05 PM) Jeff: lol


And now to tackle the bathrooms....

Rawr..

So many awesome things!!

The rental house in Kissimmee is now ours! We signed the lease this week and will be moving in this Saturday. I can't wait! I have a few friends of mine from Universal who are going to be helping us out with the move, which I'm extremely thankful for. As a thank you, we're going to be buying them pizza (and putting gas in my friend's tank.. ha)

Wooo! Our new house!

Already we have some epic plans in the making for the summer. Paige will be spending a few days with me after Infinitus in July and since her birthday is on the 18th, we're planning a Dinosaur themed birthday/pool party for her. That's going to rock :)

Also what's awesome about living in Kissimmee now is that I'll be closer to my friends from Universal, as well as fellow Toastie Raquel and also Stephen (aka FizzyLimon). So that's something I'm pretty excited about. While living here in Lecanto, it was very hard to make actual friends to hang out with since everybody here is well... old. Technically, where we live is mostly full of retired people sooo yeah. Nothing to do here, and the only friends that we did have (and the reason we moved to this area in the first place) we ended up having a falling out because the husband made a jerk comment about me, which honestly, is pretty sad.

But whatever! I've made tons of friends while at orientation at Universal and I'm sure I'll be making tons more when I start work on the 18th. Ha.. I just realized that the 18th is a recurring date. April 18th is my first day at Universal, June 18th is the opening day of WWoHP, July 18th is Paige's birthday.. ha.. I wonder what May 18th has in store?

Moving on...

Last night my cousin Johnny invited us out to dinner at this restaurant called The Rusty Duck, a reservation only type place. Apparently it's the only fine dining restaurant in Citrus County. The cool thing about it is that it's one of those hole in the wall places. When you drive by it, it honestly looks like a run down building with overgrown vines covering the walls, but the inside is soo cute and the food.... oh Lord the food was fantastic. One of their specialties is the prime rib, which we had to order ahead of time because there is only a limited amount. 

Let me tell you, this prime rib was monstrous!! 

                                     

                                                          That's one huge cow...

Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen so much meat on my plate before in my life. I was blown away, but oh my god, it was soooo good. I actually managed to down a good part of it, that even the owner who came out to thank us said I did a really good job haha.

                                    

                                                      Nom nom nom...

What I couldn't finish, I brought home with me in a doggy bag and plan on having for dinner tonight. Yummmm....

Anywho, today will be spent recovering from the wine as well as more packing.. yaay...

Take care everybody :)

House Hunting! Among other things

Hey all!

Sorry I've been neglecting my blog lately. Haven't really had much to talk about, but, now I do, so here I am!

Since I now have a new job at Universal, Jeff and I are now in the process of finding a new home closer to Orlando and today we went and looked at 4 houses, one of them VERY promising and another which is more of a fall back while the other two... well... they looked better in the photo's..

My day started out by waking up at 6:15am. Not a fun time to wake up on a Saturday morning when it's supposed to be your day to sleep in. Was out the door by about 7am and met up with the realtor at the first house at 9. Off the bat, the neighborhood looked somewhat decent.. but as we got to the house, I could already tell that this was an automatic No. It wasn't very well taken care of, it looked dirty, the back yard was less than desirable.. it was a flat out No. We were out the door by 9:10 with our next appointment at 10:15.

So with in that hour, we decided to check out the houses I had the lockbox codes for. This was the second house we stopped at:

The yard could use some work, the neighborhood is pretty decent. We could tell that old people used to live there (smell.. plus the ceramic squirrel that was hanging out by that front window.) It has a fenced in back yard, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms.. neither of the bathrooms I liked.. they were tiny, as well as the bedrooms. Not high on my list, but a fall back house if that.

After that we still had time to look the other house with the lockbox. The one house that I prayed looked awesome IRL as it did in the pictures.

This is a pool home. 3bed 2 bath, and it has the coolest tub in the master bath, EVER! Honestly, Jeff and I were sold as soon as we stepped foot into that house. It was very nice. We're hoping to get this one. As soon as we got home, we called and left a message then received a call back a few minutes later. The woman said nobody else has placed an application down *knocks on wood* which is a great thing in our favor. So she sent us an application and that'll get turned in on Monday.

Pool partay!!!

Even with our minds set on that last house, we still had an appointment to look at a house which still resided tenants. They knew a week in advance that we were coming. I knew as soon as we turned into the neighborhood that it was a no go. The houses looked run down.. way too many cars parked in the street.. I wasn't impressed. So we park and go up to the house and ring the door bell and is greeted by a guy in basically his PJ's. We step into the house, and seriously, the place is a mess. It was dark, dingy.. I felt really bad for the house since in the pictures it looked amazing. Sadly, this wasn't the case. Honestly, if I was showing my house to potential renters, I'd make sure it was so spotless, it'd pass the white glove test! He brought us into the master bedroom which we could hardly see cause it was dark (it was 10:30 in the morning mind you) and his lazy girlfriend was in the bed practically passed out (looked like she was hung over), then showed us the master bath..and man, I was embarrassed for him. They had clothes EVERYWHERE and the sink was a mess..I felt dirty.

So as we were leaving, I asked about the neighborhood and he's like "Oh well.. the reason why we're moving is cause we got robbed." ".......oh, lovely."

Needless to say, I crossed that house off my list pretty darn fast.

I'm seriously considering calling the office on Monday to inform them of how our showing went..

Oiii yeah.. that was my day. Cross your fingers for me for that pool home. I hope we get it!!

Zombie?

I had this creepy dream last night that I was in this house, which just so happened to be a lab where this doctor was trying to find a cure for the zombie virus (sorta like that last man on earth movie w/ Will Smith) only not as cool. Well anyway, we had a test subject, and I injected the subject and the effects went away. We all breathed a sigh of relief, till a few mins later he woke up, zombie like (with new sores on his face) turned his head and bit my arm. I freaked and we all stood there for a few hesitating moments wondering if I was going to turn.. but I didn't. So I treated the wound.. and continued doing what I was doing and soon the wound healed.. and even though I was relieved, I knew something wasn't right. A few hours later I looked down on my arm and noticed new sores.. sort of like leprosy. I again panicked, and I looked to the girl I was hanging out with at the time and said "I don't know what's going on, but I know right now I don't have a craving for brains.." ha..

Either way, I knew that was it and I had to die, so I begged one of my friends to do it.

Then the dream ended.

Yeah... weird..

Things are looking up!

About a month or so ago, I applied at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I had my first interview toward the end of January with a second interview on Weds, Feb 10th. I was told that I would hear back by the end of the week to find out what the deal was. Sadly, Friday rolls around and no calls. So I call up and I ask them what the status is. They told me that they have been jam packed, so unfortunately they didn't know when they were going to be doing the phone calls.

I brushed it off my shoulders, even though I was starting to get extremely nervous. More applicants? That means more competition! I'm not a crazy fan of competition! Do not want! But.. I put it aside, and just kept doing what I was doing with life and threw in a small prayer here and there.

Friday, February  19th.

Work day as usual with my anxiety levels just a tad higher than normal since it had been over a week with no word from Universal. Brenda, the instructor I assist, told me not to worry, that with a huge company like that that there must be alot of paper work to go through and workers to verify. I agreed and continued to work while trying not to think about it.

10:15am One of the clients that uses a wheelchair asks to go to the bathroom. In the middle of helping her onto the toilet (thank goodness she can stand on her own.. just have to hold her belt) my phone rings. Unknown Number. My heart literally jumps to my throat. I answer the phone, and it's a woman from Universal. I ask her if she could hold on a small moment while I quickly take care of a client. So I get the girl on the toilet and run off. 

"Hi, this is So and So from Universal Studios, how are you?" 

"I'm okay, what's up?"

"Hi, So I'm calling to say that we thought you were a great candidate (*insert mini happy dance here*) but sadly all our full time positions are now full."

*Insert heart breaking into a million pieces here* "Oh.. is there any other full time spots available anywhere else in the park? Cause I really really wanna work for you guys."

"Let me check *few seconds later* No, only part time and seasonal."

"Oh.."

"If you want, I can put you on a list in case someone doesn't show up at orientation."

"Yes! Please.."

A few minutes later we hang up, my heart crushed. This was my dream job.. and there was a large possibility at this point that the dream was gone. Surprisingly enough though, I didn't really take it as hard as I thought I would of. The fact that they told me I was a great candidate helped and there were no flash backs to Carnival Cruise Lines (bastards) telling me I wasn't qualified when in fact I was (bastards). So, with a very very small amount of hope in my heart, I dried my tears and went back to work and told myself that whatever happens, happens.

Monday, Feb 22nd: 

I told my co-worker Terri, whose in the workshop two days a week (and will be taking my spot when I leave) what happened and told her about how only the seasonal and part time was available, neither of which I could do. Terri then told me that sometimes Seasonal comes with full time hours and to call and find out. So I agreed. For some reason, I didn't really feel like making the call that day.. I was still a bit bummed, even though deep down I knew this wasn't over.

Tuesday Feb 23rd, Today:

Decided to wear my Gryffindor t-shirt today. Went into work, and told Brenda about what Terri said and asked if I could make a phone call during break. Break rolls around, I call Universal with a slightly renewed ray of hope. I spoke with a lovely woman who explained how Universal's seasons go, and by the end of the conversation, realized that seasonal was much to unpredictable for my liking. I told the woman my situation and she told me she knew exactly how I felt, for she was in a similar position a few years back. She told me not worry about it and feel free to call in every once and a while to see what was available and that since it sounded like they really did like me, my chances of getting in were pretty good. So I thanked her and hung up.

I was basically given permission to pester.

I told Brenda what the deal was. I was disappointed, but knew this wasn't over. It couldn't be.

3:15pm.

All the clients went home for the day and I am now in the process of getting ready to clean the floor of the bathroom. I felt my phone vibrate. I look down, my heart pounding. I have my phone set to go off only if it's a phone call. I take it out of my pocket, Unknown Number. Heart pounds. I answer, 

"Hello, this is Erica."

"Hi Erica! This is Mark from Universal Studios!"

"Hi!"

"So I understand we called you on Friday.."
"Yeah, you guys told me all the full time slots were full.."
"Well, I'm calling to let you know that someone didn't make it to orientation and it was a full time position, and I was wondering if you would like that spot?"
"Yes!" *insert me jumping around like a crazy person "Just to let you  know, you just made me jump around like crazy. Thank you!"

Mark laughs and we begin talking about what ride I might be needed on (Dueling Dragons!) and when I could come in to work on the paper work. I do a little more jumping while talking to him and he laughs and says, "You're jumping right now aren't you?"

"Ha.. Yes..."

We discuss a few more things and we hang up. I then begin to bounce around the workshop squealing in joy as my co-workers either laugh at me or with me (haa.. both knowing a few ;))

So! Friday, at 345 I go in to work on paper work and hopefully then I'll find out when exactly I start and what I'll be doing.

Seriously, God really was looking out for me. I knew, I just knew that in the end, something will work out. Things happen for a reason, I'm a huge huge huge believer in that silly little cliche, but it's true.

I am so incredibly happy right now :)

Sign Language

Ever since I was a kid, I've always had a fascination with sign language. It really is a very useful tool to have on hand, and also, it's fun. I talk with my hands alot anyway, so why not put my flailing around to some use? There have been times while working in retail where my small knowledge of the language had to come into play, and ever time I found myself in that position, I always wish I knew more, since half the time I'd have to break down to mostly finger spelling with some words here and there.

Thankfully, because of work, my skills in sign language have slowly been improving, but it's not enough to where I feel comfortable holding an actual conversation with someone who is deaf.

I've taken a course while I was in college, and since then I've been looking up words and phrases online.. but I really miss the classroom setting. So I've recently been seriously thinking about going back to school to learn sign language. One of my dreams (ever since I was little) was to actually be an ASL interpreter. Weird eh?

It's just a matter of trying to find classes in my area.. free or somewhat cheap..

Rollercoasters

It's only weds and I can't even begin to describe how this week has been. I've been so incredibly stressed and strung out that it's been effecting my personality and sadly, my co-worker has noticed, and that bothers me. Normally I'm fairly chipper, but lately..to be honest, I haven't been very pleasant to be around. I dunno it's just hard to explain, but my co-worker and I talked about it and in the end I was in tears. Things between us are cool, but I just felt, and still feel, incredibly bad for how I've been. I'm glad she understands, but she shouldn't have to put up with that.

There's just so much on my plate right now.. and really, compared to everyone else, it's peanuts.. but still, it's weighing.

So here's a list of things that are currently hassling my mind:

Possible New Job: 2nd interview went great, but everything is still up in the air. The interview itself went really well and I'm fairly confident I'll get the job, but at the same time I keep thinking about the what if's. I can't stand the wait because the entire time I keep thinking back to when Carnival said they'd call me and let me know, but instead got a letter in the mail saying my skills didn't reflect the ones they needed for that position. Which is honestly complete bullshit because it was an entry level position and I was fully qualified for that spot. Everybody told me there's a chance it was because I was a female. Wouldn't surprised me. But it's good I didn't get the job because I can't do 6 months out at sea and be away from Jeff for that long. 

Work itself: Finally, after 3-4 weeks of not having any contract work, we FINALLY get something in so we can stop scrambling around to find things to do for the clients..that in itself has been a stress..But before all that..Last week while at lunch we saw an ambulance and a fire truck across the campus at the other cafeteria. One of the clients was choking... well.. all in all, said client passed away this passed Sunday. I didn't really know her that well, but hearing that she passed was somewhat hard.

Moving: Jeff and I have to move sometime with in the next month or two.. our lease is up in Feb, and the landlord said we could pay month to month till we find another place. Which is nice.. but trying to find a place around Orlando with in our price range is a pain in the arse...

And of course, the one thing that's always bothering me and is constantly on my mind is my stupid debt. I have a huge chunk of it already under control and steady, which is good, except for one which I'm having a hard time dealing with, and because of this, I have to call up certain people tomorrow (already had to call a few tonight) and see what my options are. I'm not in trouble, I'm just not liking where my current position is. Does that make sense?

And then of course there's that awesome lovey dovey day called Valentines Day.... sarcasm? I have a love/hate relationship with this hallmark holiday..and that's all I'm gonna say about that.

Then on top of all that, there are a few friends I've been out of touch with (twitter/facebook) and I've noticed because of this, I've been slowly pushed outside. It's partially my fault since I haven't been interacting as much as I should be, but all in all.. it hurts to be the one always looking in through the window... I'm always that person..

So all in all.... I'm pretty frazzled.. and I feel like curling up under a rock till I hear some shred of good news.

:'(

The woes of writing

All day today I have been staring at a blinking cursor, mocking my ability to write down a string of letters that in turn form words and in turn form sentences and yadda yadda yadda yadda...It sucks, because I love writing and lately one of my outlets haven't been available, so I've been working on another.

Thing is though, when I have all this creative stuff running around in my head, it can be hard for me to get it out properly to the point where I'm happy with it. If it doesn't come out decent the first time, it doesn't come out at all. It's frustrating and as much as I hate to admit it, it actually effects my mood. I get cranky. It's not a pleasant experience to say the least.

What I really need to do is find someplace other than home to write music and also write my silly little story which none of you will read most likely (and not because it'll suck, but because I won't let you)

Oi..

This night though wasn't completely horrible. I chatted w/ my buddy Alan who came up with an awesome idea for our gathering. I'm excited and can't wait for that. It'll be great to finally meet him irl. :) Seriously, it should be against the law for nerdfighters to be so far away from each other..

On a slightly good note: I managed to pick out a little bit of the intro to Extra Ordinary by Better Than Ezra. Woot. <3 them. Saw 'em in concert actually and met them afterwards a few years back. Lead singer thought I was cute. I may or may not have swooned...

actually it was more like 'Huh? Oh....thanks?'

okay! Done rambling and wasting your time now! :)

Children still stereo-type.. sigh

About 2-3 days a week I stand on a corner sidewalk around 8:30 am to make sure all the clients from the housing facility down the hill make it up to the campus safe and sound. (I work for an Adult Day Training facility fyi.)

Normally it's pretty uneventful, but lately there is this 8 year old girl who has been going to work with her Grandmother and has been starting to pick the bus up at the group home her grandmother works in. Normally we'd give each other a small wave, but today she decided that she wanted to come up and talk to me.

I of course didn't mind. She was a fairly nice girl from what I've seen. So she walked up to the fence, gave me a quizzical look and asked, "Do you have short hair?" At the time I was wearing my hoodie, so I slipped it back and showed her my hair, saying yep. She tilted her head to the side and then said, "Are you a girl?" I let out a laugh and nodded, "Yes, I'm a girl." she then gave a "Huh.." look and said, "I thought girls only had long hair and boys only had short." And I'm like "My hair's not that short, it's down to my chin! see? Girl's can have short hair too."

Yes, I was trying to justify my haircut to an 8 year old girl. Go me. It's not a manly haircut! It's very girly.. ugh..

Well, the conversation didn't last much longer than that since she had to run and catch the bus, but I found her curiosity fairly amusing.

Yep, that was my day. Nothing exciting. Scampering off now.

I need to write more music..

...Yeah..

So one of my "new years resolutions" is to write a full length album before the year is out. Twenty-four days into the new year and I haven't even began to think up of any lyrics or chords or anything. Fail. I think it's mostly because I'm way to self conscious about what people will think about my music. I've only written one song out of the entire ten years since I've had my guitar (ClickClick) and even though I'm proud of it, I'm still unsure, and I don't even know if I want that to go on my album..

I really need to start brain storming more.

A large part of me (Okay, every single inch of me) wished I had friends in the area with musical talent (actually, friends of any kind in the area at all..) so I could drag them to my house and bounce ideas off them. Hopefully come by March/April that'll change since Jeff and I are planning on moving closer to Orlando.

Uggh.. Someone kick start my brain so I can just write and write till I can produce something worthy.

Monthly YouTube Memes?

I'm aware there is a Vlog Everyday in April, and a No Editing in May (aiight?) but this got me wondering. Is there any other random month where you're supposed to put a certain spin on your youtube videos?

I'm extremely tempted to take part in both. The VEA will be a little hard, but I can somewhat get away with no editing.. I'll just have to plan my videos out in advance and just.. go..

If you guys know of any other fun things to do during x month on youtube, let me know!

In other news, I have a very important event tomorrow, and I'm extremely excited/nervous about it. Hopefully things go well! Wish me luck!

Bloggity blog blog..

Oi, so this whole "blogging more" isn't going as well as I'd like. It's been, well.. it's been a few days since my last post. Whoops? It's not really my fault.There were many times where I've opened up my blog, sit there and then everything goes "Vompf!" out the window.

Vompf.. huh..

Well, in other news, it's been cold here in Florida, and I'm not saying "Omg, 50...brr" No, what I'm saying is.. "Oh my God, it's 20 degrees (got down to 14 earlier this week at night...) out and there are insanely tiny snowflakes! Grab the kids, we're hittin the bomb shelter."

Well, that's how the Floridians around here were reacting. Myself? I'm used to -40 where almost every morning last winter I sat in my car and prayed it'd turn over. I find it amusing though how people around here who aren't used to the cold are reacting like it's the end of the world. Though I will say, this is very unusual weather for Florida and the citrus farmers are taking a hard hit...tear.

But! On the bright side, it's starting to warm up again! Today it reached close to 70 which was a very nice change from the past few days. Yesterday I had to wear my winter jacket + sweatshirt. Today I was leaving work in a tank top. Love it. Though I am a bit nervous to see what our electricity bill is going to be like this month with all the extra heat we had to run. Bah..

Alright, I'm done blabbing about the weather.. and my brain hit a brick wall, so I'm signing off. Night!

2010

It's 2010. Where are the flying cars? Sigh..

For those who don't know me, my name is Erica and I tend to go by the nickname Eeks (which, honestly, I prefer). I'd go into a whole summary of who I am, but I'd much prefer if you just came back every once in a while and learn over time about what makes me, me. It'll spare me some time.

So onto the blog!

Normally I'm not the type of person that makes New Years resolutions. Reason being is because they always last for a week if that, so why bother?

But this year I would like it to be different. This year I set up a few goals for myself that hopefully can be accomplished before the end of the year is out.

Super Serious Goals:

- Blog more often. I used to (well, still have) a Livejournal account, and I've had it for nearly 6 years, but I feel that I've grown out of it. Plus, since I started using Twitter, it feels like I've become more ADD on the blogging. So it's something I need to get back into.

- Create an album's worth of original music and maybe release it on CD. One of my dreams is to also do a collab with someone, but we'll see. Of course, before any of this really happens I have to purchase the proper recording equipment, which brings me to...

- Find a better paying job that doesn't pay once a month and get myself financially stable. Don't get me wrong, the place I'm working at is wonderful, just the pay isn't enough to keep me afloat.

- Trade in my car for a better, none rusted to crap POS. I love my car, it's cute and awesome, but the rust is killing me. Stupid Maine...

Fun Goals:

-Successfully stalk AlanDistro! Well, to be less creepy, help organize a youtube/nerdfighter gathering in his home state sometime in the summer/fall.

- Find more Nerdfighter/Harry Potter friends in the area.

- Become a ventriloquist. For Christmas, my brother gave me a WhatNot muppet (which made me revert back to my 5 year old self). I've always wanted to learn since I was in middle school and read those "Night of the Living Dummy" series by R.L Stine. Oddly enough, reading those books didn't scare me away from wanting a dummy.. I was a creepy kid. So now that I have an actual muppet, I can now start to learn puppeteering and ventriloquism.

- Audition and win a role in a play/commercial/film/etc. A very very very high goal, but something that would be cool to do. I miss acting (on stage), and it'd be fun to get back into.

So that's that. Some are realistic, some not so much, but it's nice to have some goals set.

I hope everybody has an awesome New Year!