WHEN THINGS BREAK

Man it's been a messed up week! My camera (which I've only had since Christmas) broke. I turned it on & the screen was completely white. Like, I can still see the images on the screen but it was covered by a white coat. I tried troubleshooting everything to no avail :-(

Then my freaking "check engine" light came on in my car. Actor checked under the hood & turns out the motor mount (which I just got replaced in August) was defective, rotten, fell apart & pieces got stuck at the bottom of the engine. He had to get a hanger to pry it up.

Now if you know me I hate when things break, especially if I didn't even cause it. But, being the problem solver that I am put a resolution into action instead of complaining & being sorry about it. Well, I did complain a little, but that's besides the point. haha.

So I found my receipts (I keep all of my documents & even copies) for the camera & service & turns out I still had warranty on both things. Whoo hoo! Sent the camera back Monday & they're done fixing it & are shipping it back to me as we speak. Kodak has the best customer service & turnaround time. Props to them!

The "check engine" light went off so we think it was just a slight momentarily malfunction. Cuz the motor mount has nothing to do with the emissions system, which is usually what is wrong when your check engine light comes on. Like your catalytic converter or thermostat or something. Hey, don't look at me like I'm crazy. I know way more about cars than you think. hehe. I used to stand in the shop with my dad & watched as the mechanics fixed our cars. I like to know how to do things.

Actor & I took the car to the shop yesterday & they bought the part & replaced it within an hour of me getting there. Love them too. They be hooking me up! They're my dad's mechanics. My dad got connections man. We're always joking about how we think he's in the mafia cuz anytime he needs anything done he gets it. Like, with a snap. When their house got broken into the lowlives kicked the door out of the frame & completely destroyed it. My dad got home, looked at it, made a phone call & a friend of a friend came straight from work to fix the door. Within like an hour. Put it all back together free of charge. Just like that. AND he went & bought a replacement door & put that on for him a few days later too.

We were telling Q about the service last night & I was like "Man I wish I had my dad's connections. That thing is great!" Actor said "You do! Through him. Man, you're like the Mafia boss' daughter & I'm the guy from the streets that they took in as family or something." I said "Nah, I'm the boss' daughter & you're the hot gardener that's banging my mom." haha. "Eww, gross. Why can't I be a simple regular civilian that's involved with the boss' daughter." "Cuz... you're supposed to be the hot plumber or milk man man."

I dunno. We're slow. Don't judge us. haha

THE SICK, THE IRATE & THE IDIOT

I'm feeling slightly crappy today. Every single person around me is sick. Actor & his brother is sick, half of my coworkers are sick, especially the one in the cube next to me who's coming down with the flu & another one who just came back from the flu. I've been feeling a little worse everyday but refuse to acknowledge or give in to it because I REFUSE TO GET SICK. I haven't been dramatically sick in a veryyyyy long time & plan on keeping it that way. I woke up around 5am this morning just to drink some OJ cuz my throat was clogging up & went back to sleep. Like I said, refuse to get sick.

I had some Airborne but it's been in my purse for awhile & all of this lint somehow got in the bottle so I really don't wanna drink it. You know I'm anal about stuff like that. I heard about the law suit against them too. How everyone got their money back? I don't know if it's a placebo effect but I think it works. I used to take it all the time & never got sick... I heard some people are swearing by Emergen-C now so I might try it...

On another note, check this out:
"BARNSTABLE, Mass. – A Massachusetts man who walked into a police station and asked for help removing a pair of handcuffs dangling from one wrist ended up wearing another pair instead.

Police Sgt. Sean Sweeney said 21-year-old Allahmanamjad (el-ah-MAN'-a-jahd) Barbel showed up Tuesday claiming he couldn't get off the cuffs his sister slipped on him at a child's birthday party.

Police ran Barbel's name through the state warrant system and discovered he had outstanding warrants on charges of driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of an accident, threatening to commit a crime and making annoying phone calls.

Sweeney said police removed the cuffs — then slipped on a new pair to arrest him.

They never confirmed his story about the party."

Hanh: Uh... 1st of all, did they really have to put the pronunciation of his name? haha. And what an idiot! Are you serious?! You didn't know that you had some warrants? lol! Why would you even go to the cop for that? Darwin's Law man. Darwin's Law.

And speaking of cops, here's another fun one:

"Authorities said a man, 66, was arrested after calling 911 on Saturday to complain that a fast food restaurant ran out of lemonade. After a drive-through employee failed to respond to the man's threat of contacting the police, the irate diner called 911, a police report alleges.

He spent about 5 minutes talking to the 911 operator about his complaint.

Boynton Beach said the man was charged with abuse of 911 communication."

Hanh: Aww poor man. Ya'll thought he was playing huh? He don't have time for that foolishness! He's serious bout that lemonade. Lol! Better get some more before he comes back!

GRAMATYCAL & SPELLEING ERRURS

Tell me why so many people make simple grammatical and/or spelling errors? I don't know how or why I'm so prone to pointing out these mistakes because I don't even look for them but as soon as my eyes cross something I can see the mistake instantly. Maybe one of my Language Arts teachers taught me well or I'm just psychotic (but that's not the topic right now. lol.) Anyhoos, here are the ones that I see so often & it drives me crazyyyyyy:

1) It's

Why can't people use it in its correct form? UGH!!! I mean, I speak in slang everyday but it still makes sense. It's messed up to use slang & make no sense. Now you're just sounding like Lil Wayne...


"It's" stands for "it is" or "it has" people!


So many people use "it's" to replace "there" in a sentence & it sounds so stupid! For example: "It's 3 people at the party." So you're basically saying "It is 3 people at the party" or "It has three people at the party." Does that make sense? NOOOOOOOOO! You mean to say "There are 3 people at the party" or at least say "There's 3 people at the party" even though it's not all the way correct it's better than "It's 3 people at the party."

And I hear professional people say it all the time. Radio hosts, tv anchors & etc. I'm like, somebody needs to get an "IT'S" lesson from Hanh!

Some other wrong examples: "It's snow on the ground." NO! "THERE'S snow on the ground."
"It's gonna be some cute men at the club tonight." NO! "THERE'S gonna be some cute men at the club tonight."

Some right examples: It's gonna be a nice day. It's been a while since I had some lobster. It's like that? It's crowded in this room... well, you get the point.

The next time you say it's and can't tell if it's right or not then break it down & see if it makes sense. Challenge number one.

2) Their. There. They're

This one is a little more extensive than "it's" because, well, there's 3 of 'em. But how many people didn't pay attention in school? My God! What are we wasting our tax money on?

This isn't a verbal mistake as when you say them they all sound the same but when you write it down then that's when people look like a) they didn't get more than an elementary school education or b) they are so careless that they just write whatever & not check it.

So as a public service announcement, here are the (broader as I'm not gonna get extra detailed cuz that would take forever) definitions & examples of each:

Their: shows possession. As in: their keys, their books, their car, their sense of humor.

There: shows location or state of condition. As in: Your keys are over there on the table. You went to Vegas? We went there last summer. There! I'm finished.

They're: They are. As in: They're crazy. They're going to therapy this Sunday. They're going to be late too.

Get it right people! It's not that hard! Just think before you write/type. Challenge number 2.

3) People mispelling business signs. Are you kidding me?! Why would I want to do business with you if you can't even spell? First warning sign right off the bat! lol! I'm sure most are just simple mistakes but if I still see the same mispelled word day after day & month after month then somebody obviously hasn't checked or noticed. That would mean you are careless or unattentive which would also be another bad warning sign. Or it could mean that someone told you that it was wrong & you won't change it cuz you don't feel like it or keep forgetting to change it. Either way that makes you lazy, stubborn or forgetful so that's three other bad warning signs to not do business with you. Either way, a mispelled anything for a business is a no no. Ergo, check your signs people! Challenge number 3.

Of course even the most literate people make grammatical & spelling errors & they aren't the biggest problems on earth but you might be surprised how it affects you. It might affect you not getting a job if it's on your resume, affect a potential date from not happening if he/she sees your myspace or whathaveyou & see that you can't spell for nothing which means you might not be that smart, or something just one letter off can mean a completely different word which can completely change everything.

Just a little something to think about...

TELL ME WHY NOBODY HAS GAS?

In case you are from another region or just haven't been watching the news, most of the Southeast are suffering from gas shortages. Hurricane Gustav & Ike damaged & closed most of the refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast & Louisiana whom account for most if not all of our gas in the metro Atlanta area. Ergoooo, we are so lowwwwwww on gas. I mean, at any point during the day you have to drive around to at least, at least 3-5 gas stations to find one with gas. If so you'd still have to wait in line after the 12 cars in front of you at each pump. It's realllyyy bad. The refineries are recovering & are getting back to production again but it doesn't seem to be fast enough.

We've been cool for the past week or so because I got a $100 BP gas card from my job so we haven't had to pay for gas. And the BP that we go to usually have gas so we haven't felt any negative effects all week... until last night.

Ok, so my plan was to go to Target & pick up some dinner on the way because I was gonna be watching the Heroes Season 3 premiere all night & wasn't gonna cook. I went to Publix & got the Ultimate 3 meat with garlic Digiorno pizza for the 1st time. It was so good by the way... But anyways, as I left Publix I realized that my tank was on E. No sweat. I drove to the QT that I usually go to & the lines were sooooo long that I couldn't even turn into the station. So I went to a BP down the street. Out of gas. So I went BACK to the QT & figured I might as well wait in line cuz I don't feel like searching for gas stations on E right now. Got there & the whole lot was nearly empty. I was like "Yay it died down." Went in to pay & the lady said that they were out of gas. Are you kidding me?! Ughhh!!! No wonder why everybody left. Makes sense.

Mind you, this was about 7:30pm & I had to get back to the house by 9pm to watch Heroes. So I'm like, well, I'll just head to Target & find gas on my way home. So I went to Target, couldn't find what I was looking for, didn't see anyone around to ask for help & their "Need help?" button at electronics wasn't even working. So I picked up their desk phone & called the operator. Waited for about 5 minutes & nobody came so I hunted down a floor person that wasn't even from that department & he helped me find what I was looking for. I didn't blame them though, they're always good with customer service. Shoot, they were probably understaffed cuz their workers probably couldn't find gas to get to work.

I checked out, left Target & headed to the BP that I usually go to. They ALWAYS have gas. Well, for the last week anyway when nobody else did. So drove alll the way there & they didn't have any gas. FUCK!!! I turned around (in the opposite direction of my house might I add) & saw a Citgo that had gas. Couldn't turn into it from one entrance so I went around & turned in at the other. It was a small station with only 4 pumps & the lines were ridiculously long. There were maybe 6 cars in the middle turning lane waiting to turn into the place on both sides.

I finally got in line & waited my turn. All of a sudden two cops pull up and look around. I guess because they saw the volume & wanted to keep things orderly, which was good. They were walking around & this older fat guy said something to one of them & they headed over to my car. I was like "What the fuck?" The cop said that I was blocking the "flow" of the pumps so I had to go around to the other side. Apparently all the other cars were waiting in one direction & I was going opposite. Are you kidding me?! That was the only place I could move to cuz there were so many cars. And my tank was on that side anyway.

The cop was all like "Look I don't want any trouble, just move." I rolled my eyes, shook my head & said "Don't worry about it. I'll go around." Man did I want to choke that fat bastard that said something to him. Or soak him in gas & light him on fire. You want some fucking gas?! Here's your damn gas! Ughhh!!! Ok maybe not that extreme but visualizing it made me feel better.

I drive around to the other entrance & couldn't turn right into the place cuz it was freaking back up remember?! UGHHH. So I turn on my blinker & waited. How about some other cop came right up & fucking turned his lights on. I was like "What the fuck?" He was about to say something to me on the speakers but the other cop came up to my car & said that I have to move. I'm like "Well, the other cop just told me to go over here." "Well, but you can't turn in & you can't block traffic so you're gonna have to get in that middle turning lane behind those cars or go somewhere else. I think that guy wants to give you a ticket" *breathe Hanh breathe*

So I just drove off. lol. The cop didn't go after me though. I guess he got a signal from the other guy or something. By this time it was 8:45pm, my needle was BELOW the E, still don't have any gas, got kicked out of line, TWICE, and was about to miss my Heroes premiere. I was HEATED!!!

I drove down another street for a couple of minutes & finally found a Chevron that had gas. Whew! Thank God! I don't think my blood pressure couldn't taken any more gas hunts for the night.

When I got home it was 8:55 & we had 5 minutes to prepare the tv. By the time we set everything up (cuz I wanted to record it) we had missed a couple of minutes from the beginning. It's all good though. I caught the rest of it & boy was it GOOOD!!!! It made my night so much better. By the time my pizza was done I didn't eat it for another half hour cuz I was so glued to the TV. lol.

All in all boys & girls, today we learned that:
~ Hanh did not like people last night.
~ The economy is getting more & more screwed up by the day. First the houses, banks, hurricanes & now a gas shortage.
~ Heroes & pizza makes her happy/ feel better.

Now stop reading this & go get some gas if you live down here. Don't get to E & go through the same thing I did.


GO!

FRAGRANCESITE.COM

I've had a bad shopping experience so decided to broadcast a public service announcement:

Shoppers beware!
Fragrancesite.com is a fraudulent website that scams you out of your money!!!

Do NOT for any reason buy anything from their website. Don't register for their site so they'd have your personal info. Don't even go on their site period.

~~~
Back story: As you all should've read, our anniversary & Actor's birthday was this past weekend. So I decided to get him some cologne as part of his gifts or whatever. I googled under the "shopping" tab for colognes & their site showed up. I wanted to get 2 mini colognes so he could sample them & to see if he liked it before I bought him a big bottle so my purchase was only about $20.

Back back story: Someone in Australia tried to scam my account so the bank froze my account. My bank said basically what they tried to do was draft 97 cents out of my account to see if it would work & then they would increase it over time until they cleaned me out. They caught it (luckily) but froze my account without my knowledge (annoyingly.) I found out the hard way because I tried to pay for gas with my card & couldn't. I figured the pump was just having technical difficulties so didn't think anything of it. Then the next day I tried to pay for Actor's gift online & it wouldn't let me. That's when I called the bank & they told me my account was frozen. Well, thanks for the memo you asses!

But anyway, so Actor's birthday was coming up & I couldn't pay for anything cuz my account was frozen so my co-worker said that we would get it for me & I'd pay her back when my account was back to normal. So she placed the order for me on fragrancesite.com.

Now back to the original story: Now everything on their site looks very legit: the shopping cart, order review, account registration & the whole nine. It looks like any other normal online store. So we put in the order & paid through Paypal & got the confirmation & everything. That was last Monday. They said that they ship priority so the order should've gotten to me by Wednesday. Thursday came & I didn't get my stuff nor did I get any contact from them saying anything about my order being delayed or anything. So I went on their website to find a # to call & didn't find one. The only thing they had was an email contact. That was the 1st red flag.

I asked my co-worker to check if the payment went through & everything & it did so we didn't know what the problem was. She finally found a # that they had through PayPal & called them. A guy picked up & she said he was breaking up really bad & had a thick accent so she could barely understand what he was saying. After she chewed him out he said that my shipment was supposed to be here by now & that he'd go down to the warehouse himself & check on it & call her back in 20 minutes.

He never called back of course. She tried calling him numerous times with no answer, of course. So she tried to email them & it came back as an invalid email address, of course.

Her boyfriend did a little research & found out that they were an illegitimate website & they reported them to the Better Business Bureau. Ugh!

And to think I registered with them & put my personal info on there. At least I only put my work address & not my home. I don't have any accounts opened under my work address so that made me feel a little better. What made me feel sooooooooo horrible was that my co-worker tried to help me out & her account ended up getting messed up. Just got word from her today that the charges were reversed on her PayPal so hopefully they didn't hack into that & get her personal info & she'd have to cancel/change her account or something cuz then I'd feel like even more crap.

I don't order online much & that's exactly one of the reasons why: I don't trust sites other than big corporate names like Target or Barnes & Nobles, etc... I definitely wouldn't have bought from them if I had suspected anything but I guess they got me this time. Now I feel really slow because now that I think about it they had a lot of mispelled words on the site. It annoyed me at 1st but then I gave them the benefit of the doubt because I know alot of sites that have mispelled words (even large corporattions) especially if it's a smaller business & someone just made a website for them. I should've listened to my gut.

Oh well, lesson learned. This hasn't stopped me from shopping online but it sure as hell has made me way more cautious of who I should buy from. Some helpful hints is to look them up in the Better Business Bureau, check their seller ratings & just use common sense. If it sounds too good to be true then, boys & girls, it probably is.

And oh yea,

Shoppers beware!
Fragrancesite.com is a fraudulent website that scams you out of your money!!!

Do NOT for any reason buy anything from their website. Don't register for their site so they'd have your personal info. Don't even go on their site period.

STEVE THE GRASS MAN

We haven't bought a lawn mower so we rent one & cut the grass whenever we get a chance. Needless to say, with our busy schedules the grass gets prettyyy high before we'll tend to it lol. So ever since we've moved in we've had numerous people come by & tape business cards for lawn care service on our door, mailbox & whathaveyou. Some have even come by the house & rang the doorbell & spoke with us. Ahhhh, but there's always that one persistent one isn't there?

I shall call him Steve because if you know who I'm talking about it would make sense... But anyhoos, Steve is quite a character. He's middle aged, drives an olddddd beat down country blue truck, wears farmer/old school clothing, never looks groomed & always look like he's under the influence. Of alcohol or drugs or both? Your guess is as good as mine. *shrugs*

The first time he came by the house was when I was home by myself. Needless to say I did not open the door. Why? Refer to the paragraph above & the fact that I was new to the neighborhood, home by myself & is a safe & cautious person. Yea... So he rang the door & knocked twice or so & left.

The second time he came by was when me & Q-Ball were home. I told Q-Ball to open the door & after a minute or so of mumbled incoherent conversation Q closed the door & said that he wanted to cut our grass. I said "Tell him we're good. We cut our own grass" and so that was that.

The third time he came by was when all of us were home & Actor's dad was visiting. Actor's dad engaged him in conversation even though we told him we were good. I guess older people just tend to gel together easier or something, I dunno... But during their convo Steve done walked all around our front yard & also tried to look at the side to see what all he could cut. We were a little irritated because we really didn't want him on our property in the 1st place let alone scope it out. He even tried to go around & look at the backyard & Actor's dad was like "You might not want to do that buddy" (Brando you have my permission to attack! lol)
But anyway, Steve is a horrible horrible business man I tell you that much. Not only does he not look the part, he doesn't sound or act it either. Actor's dad asked him for his name & it took about 3 times before we could understand what he was even saying. And he talks really fast & incoherent. I don't trust fast talking people as a general rule of thumb. Not all as there are exceptions but most people.

So Steve said that he'd cut our entire yard for $25 (which is really good because we have a huge yard & others have quoted $50- $80) because Actor's dad is still talking to him & asking questions. By this time we're both irritated & want Steve off of our property so Actor said "Hey my man, thanks for coming by. We're good on the grass but give us your card & we'll call you if we need you." And did Steve have a card? Pleaseeee. That, boys & girls, was a rhetorical question. Steve did however, have someone else's card though & wrote something on the back. Maybe his name or #. Who knows, I can't remember if Actor or his dad took it but it sure isn't on our fridge now. He then procedes to tell us where he lives (down the street, take a left here & a right there to be generally exact) so I deducted that he didn't have a number that we could reach him at. Basically "If you need me just go to *insert vague incoherent directions here* and I'll be there."

We nodded nicely & sent him on his way.

He came back a week or so later of course.

And again.

And again.

We kept telling him that we're good & finally told him that we don't have any money to pay him so maybe he'd leave us alone if we can't pay him. And did he back off? No. He was like "Oh, well, when are you gonna have some money?" "In a couple of weeks." "Oh ok, I'll just come back."

It's like damnnnnnn. He's like a roach that you can't get rid off. You know those roaches that you spray & spray because they're out of "stomping" reach but they never die & seem to get faster? Yea. Those kinds.

So tell me why we came home one night & our grass was cut? I didn't know how to feel. I mean, I gotta give him his props cuz he did a great job but...

WE DIDN'T ASK HIM TO!!!!

I mean damnnnnnn. Ughhh!!!! The first thing that came to my mind was "Now he's gonna keep coming to our house cuz he feels like we owe him money." Motherfucker.

And came by he sure did. He came by one night (why are you coming to my house at night anyway? I. Don't. Know. You) and Actor just paid him $30 instead of $25 to be nice. I wouldn't have paid him. It's like, hey I wasn't here, you shouldn't have been on my property in the 1st place. Secondly how do I know that you cut it? It could've been any of the other people that left us a card and now you're taking credit. So not only were you trespassing but you don't have any proof of your service. So... too bad.

I told Actor to tell him to not ever come by the house again unless we ask him to. And to definitely not cut our grass unless we ask him to. I am NOT cool with that. Don't be coming by my house asking for money for something I didn't ask you to do.

Don't be coming by my house asking for money for something I didn't ask you to do.

Through this whole experience Actor has been way more patient & calm with him than I have. He talked & dealt with him the entire time really. Yours truly does not have time for crappy business people. For sorry people in general. I have way more patience & am nicer to you if I see potential or if you're sincere. But if you don't have your stuff together then I am not messing with you. Whether it's business or personal. Point blank pur-red.

I have to say though, in the end Steve did get the job done. He might not be or know alot of things or but he sure as hell can cut some grass. And he is the most persistent person I've ever encountered. He should be a bill collector. But yea, I feel a little bad for being so harshly judgmental of him based on, well, everything. But hey, didn't you read DRESSED TO IMPRESS? It's human nature to judge the people you associate with because the lack of it can not only get you in a bad business transaction but a heap load of trouble.

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."
Jim Horning

AUGUST 13, 2008

I'm not a superstitious person. I don't believe that I'd get bad luck if I see a black cat, walk under a ladder, or open an umbrella in a building. I dunno what's the deal is with America's Friday the 13th thing but... anyhow, in my culture 13 is an unlucky number. And I just happened to graduate #13 in my high school class. Out of 3 or 400 students I graduated #13. Pretty smart eh? :-D.

My mom is more superstitious than I am. Her & Actor went to my graduation ceremony & the whole time she was saying "Hanh got #13, bad. Bad." lol. Of course she was proud but she'd rather me get #12 or 14 than 13. Go figure. She doesn't speak as much English so it's funny to see her & Actor communicate. I'm getting off track...but anyways, what I'm trying to convey is that nothing bad or weird has ever happened to me on Friday the 13th or any day the 13th. Until yesterday.




The night before I had to fast & not eat after midnight because I had to go get my blood drawn for an annual check up or whatever. Mind you I hate needles & haven't gotten my blood drawn since I was 7 when I first came to America. They had to take a sample of everyone's blood to make sure we weren't infected or to just have a copy of our blood in case they ever needed it I guess. Who knows. But now that I think about it I'm not even sure if they even took my blood cuz I was too young. Who knows on that either. My memory fails me sometimes; bare with me.

The point is: I've never gotten my blood drawn ever or even if it was once I can't recall the physical pain of it therefore it doesn't count. Oh yea, by the way, did I mention that I hate needles? And blood? Bad combination. I can watch movies all day & watch people get shot & stabbed but I can't deal with "sick" blood. I know, I'm a tough punk. I could never do drugs, well, the injectible ones anyway, or be in the medical field. Yours truly would just stand & stare at a bleeding person in dire need of help like... um... *stares until someone else takes over*

I've avoided having my blood drawn for 22 years now. I've never been in the emergency room or broken anything on my body or anything remotely close to a bad injury so I guess it never came up. But since I'm older & have to get an annual "female" exam yearly my Ob-gyn made me get some blood tests done. Boo.

So not only am I getting stabbed in the arm & getting blood drawn but I have to fast before? You're killing me! I am the queen of late night eating! I can do without breakfast if need be but I can barely, barely make it till 11:30 or 12pm at work without eating lunch. I'm always hungry! But guess what? The doctor doesn't take appointments until 1:30pm that day. So I had to not eat from midnight till after my appointment. I was miserable. Midnight to 1:30pm sounds easy but we're on a crazy/ not so healthy eating schedule (cooking lasagna at 2 in the morning, cookies at 4am kinda schedule) so it isn't quite easy for your truly ok?!

I did well though. We grilled & ate dinner by 11pm & I was cool all night. Went to work at 7am & I couldn't even drink coffee can you believe it? ughh! I don't drink coffee much anymore but I wanted some probably just because I couldn't. By 9am my stomach started growling so I drank water to hydrate & hopefully fill but that didn't work too well. Water makes me even hungrier and it gives me a nasty mediciny taste if I drink too much on an empty stomach.

I think most of it was really just me being freaking nervous & scared to death about getting my blood drawn, but still, I made it all day without food or drinks. Actor accompanied me to the doctor's office cuz I told him I might pass out. lol. I know was being all extra dramatic but hey, I've never had my blood drawn before so I don't know how painful it could be or how my body might react to it so... leave me alone!

Got to the office & out of all days there was only 1 person in front of me. Usually I'd have to wait at least half an hour or so but they called me in almost immediately. AHHHH!!! I went to the room & got my weight & blood pressure taken & yada ya & then came the big shebang. They sent a lady that I've never seen before in my life in to take my blood. How comforting. She was professional & found my vein & took my blood with the 1st try. I was relieved because I heard they have to poke some people like 4 or 5 times. But yea, it only pinched a little when she stuck the needle in my arm but I couldn't feel any other pain after that. I looked away at 1st but then yours truly being the intrigued person that she is looked & watched as she drew 2 tubes of blood.

Whew!!! I'm glad that was over. I had made the scenario so bad in my head that when it actually happened it was nowhere close & I felt relieved. lol.

We left the hospital & went straight to get something to eat. We decided on American Deli & drove all the way over there & it was closed. As in no longer in business. Damn! We also passed by a spot that my co-workers eat at for lunch & that spot was closed too. The economy is really rough these days. We finally went to Quiznos' & I got a black angus steak sub. Yum yum! I was tempted to get a second one cuz I wasn't even full from the 1st but decided not to.

Oh yea, on the way we drove over a dildo. lol! Gross! It was just in the middle of the street all big & dirty. haha. I was like "Well damn, did it fall out of someone's car or did someone have sex in the middle of the street?" Who knows... It was funny though.

We got home & everything was peachy until I decided to lift up the band-aid & check out my war wound. So tell me why I have a big ass blood clot the size of a nickel with a stem connected to it? That is NOT normal! I rubbed alcohol on it & re-covered it with a fresh band-aid.

I showed my coworker today (she's an expert on medical stuff because she's always in & out of the hospital due to surgery) and she said that that means someone screwed up. That the stranger lady inserted too much of the needle & punctured my vein open & blood is leaking internally that's why from the outside it looks like a big ass blood clot. Great. Thanks stranger lady!

The clot hasn't spread so I'm assuming the hole is closed now so I should be fine & healed within a couple of days *sighs* So much for a not scary 1st time blood drawing experience. I have pictures of it by the way. Couldn't load it cuz my comp is acting like a dodo & won't register my phone pictures.

At the end of the day I still don't feel like 13 is a bad number. Even though I'm semi bleeding internally it was a person's fault, not superstition. I'm pretty hungry & sleepy right now so this blog & the whole "the number 13" anecdote might not even parallel or fit together but, hey! It happened on the 13th & I took the time to blog when I'm bleeding internally so read it with compassion & sympathy ok?! Geezzz. Say it together now "Hanh makes perfect sense & this blog is great." "Hanh makes perfect sense & this blog is great."

There. That wasn't so hard was it? Not nearly as hard as a piercing needle.

TELL ME WHY

There are things in life that makes sense, a few random examples would be: children going to school, eating if you're hungry & bathing if you're dirty. So someone please tell me why there are just as many things that don't make sense? From what people do to the things they say or just how things work period. That is why from now on I'm going to put things that I just don't get under this label. And if you feel the need to explain or answer my mostly rhetorical & sarcastic questions then feel free. Otherwise, join me in asking these idiots what they are thinking or doing? Ugh!!!

Tell me why:

~ Do people that try to help always make the situation worse? If I asked you for help then that's a different story. But if I didn't solicit it then please don't do anything. You're more than 99% likely to screw things up & make the situation worse than it was. So, float away from me ok? Just float away.

~ Are the Heroes season 2 dvds not coming out till 8/26? We've been waiting foreverrrr & still have to. Arghh. We missed the 1st few episodes so didn't watch any of them because we wanted to see it from the beginning. So... hurry up!

~ I love Caesar salad so much even though it's probably the most fattening salad? :-(


~ My total bill for car repair and maintenance was $910? Long story. Will blog about it later.

~ It's miserable when it rains at our house? Branches fall off, leaves are everywhere & our electricity is weaker than a fat man being bribed with a steak.

~ My dog whines excessively & unnecessarily? He's so spoiled. When it rains or gets too hot outside I take him inside & put him in the crate in the den. I eventually had to move it to the open area next to the living room so he could see us & feel involved but he still whines. He stops after a while but the 1st few minutes are soooo annoying. I can't let him run about because he'll scratch the hardwood floors & jump on the furniture with his dirty self. And he'll whine when I leave the room to Actor or Q & Meatball. He'll stop after a while & start whining when I come back like "Hey you left me! and I forgot, but now you're back! Don't leave again!" And he has different whines & gets louder if we ignore him. He rolls his tongue too. lol. It's cute but annoying at the same time.


~ I have to pay $25 for my doctor to give me my medical records? And for them to fax them to my new doctor? That's some bull! Why do I have to pay you to see my own damn information?! And yesterday I asked them to fill out this form for my insurance company & they said that they would mail me the paper within 7-10 days and it'll be $15 bucks! Please! I'm standing here right now. All you have to do is check the damn boxes & sign. Takes about 15 seconds max. So why the hell do I have to wait a week AND pay $15. Most stupid thing I've ever heard in my life! Stop trying to make money any way you can. I understand if it might be time consuming if everyone asked you for records. But everyone isn't. And most of the time the staff aren't doing anything but sitting there eating & gossipping anyway. So I don't wanna hear it! DO YOUR JOB PEOPLE!

That is all for the moment.

THE TITLE OF THIS BLOG

It's Friday & I'm in a crappy mood. Don't take me wrong, I'm VERYYY glad that it's Friday because I'm off for the weekend, but... I'm having a blah day. I don't like what I'm wearing, my hair looks like crap cuz I washed it last night, ergo it's fuzzy at the roots. Not nappy, but more like the baby hairs are sticking up & there's no way that I can make it lay down cuz I don't like putting products in my hair. Go figure.

I got 3 hours of sleep last night, got to work 15 min. late this morning, stomach hurts a little bit & it's freaking freezing at my job. Needless to say, yours truly is not having a good day right now. Therefore, I am making a hate list. Of random things. Not just from today but everyday. And in no particular order. Sue me.

1) Bathroom doors that has openings 2 inches wide on each side so people can peep in & see you. Who the hell can't measure and/or is a perv?

2) People who complain all the time. Especially through loud random outbursts. For the record, I don't give a flying flip! I'm having a bad day too; don't wanna hear about your shit! Keep it inside until it accumulates & you go shoot a random person at the grocery store or something. I don't care! Just, shut up!

3) Sporadic headaches. They come & go out of nowhere! Ughh!!! Even though they only lasts about 30 secs they are a pain in the ass. I mean, head. Whatever.

4) Sporatic toothaches. *insert me stabbing someone here* There's nothing worse than a toothache. I'd rather have a million headaches than one toothache. Cuz most of the time it leads to a headache anyway. So save me the extra pain shall we & just skip to the 30 sec headache? Thanks!

5) The fact that technology fail too often for my liking. Our company runs on our own system so when it breaks down I basically can't do anything because all of the info that I need to work on is in there. All our client's names, info & etc! So I gotta sit there & wait for it to be fixed & try not to choke the crap out of the people that are complaining about the system being down. Refer to #2.

6) Brando's ugly habit of jumping onto people. He doesn't jump on me as much because he knows better, but everytime we have guests he's unnecessarily hyper & toooooo excited for his own good & jumps all over them. He has sharp claws so it scratch people sometimes & it hurts! He also loves to lick! Well duh he's a dog & that's what dogs do to show their affection but he's tricky with it. He's smart so he knows what he's doing. But everytime I squat down on the ground to fix his bed or rinse out his bowl outside he'll run up behind me, lift up my shirt & lick my back. Little bastard. It was cute for awhile but not so much anymore. And sometimes he'll jump on me, lift up my shirt & lick my stomach. It's so disgusting. And if I'm not wearing jeans he'll drench my ankles with slob. Asshole. I remember one day I came in the house heated cuz both of my ankles were soaking wet & Q was like "What's wrong?" & saw my ankles & died laughing. It wasn't funny. At the moment.

7) Spending $90 on groceries that last 2-3 days max. I have some big boys with an even bigger appetite in my house. Why the hell is the price of everything going up & not my salary? huh? How much sense does that make you stupid government?!

8) Speaking of, $40 to fill my tank now. Used to be $20. Every couple of days. Even though we carpool. It's not much compared to other people's cars but still! Ughh!!!

9) The fact that I went to a bunch of different stores in the mall, tried on outfits, finally found what I wanted to buy, stood in line, got up to pay & didn't have my card with me. And only like 5 bucks in cash. Moped...

10) Being too sleepy to finish a movie. Or start a movie too late, it's so good that I can't stop watching & end up getting 3 hours of sleep for work the next day. Damn my obsession.

11) Busy work

12) Just cuz you see me doing something for someone else doesn't mean you should feel obligated to ask me to do it for you too. I already did it once. And I hate repeating stuff.

13) And I hate repeating stuff

13b) Being asked to get up to get something for someone as soon as I sit down & get comfortable. Even worse when asked to go back to the place where I just came from.

14) People who use my stuff & don't put it back where they found it. I have warning signs around my cube now. Put it back or get ink poisoning.

15) Getting an eyelash, or anything, in my eye. Contacts + intruder = Hanh turning into the Hulk.

16) People who are nice to you when they know damn well you hate each other. I do it sometimes for political reasons. Even though I honestly could give a *rhymes with duck.* But most of the time if I don't like you I won't talk to you. Take the hint & go screw yourself.

17) Ugly babies. Yes there are ugly babies! And don't get mad at me if I make a face out of uncontrollable reaction and/or on purpose. I love most babies. Just not yours.

18) Impatient people. Especially at an eatery. People who make a loud scene when their order is wrong. Yea you're so not getting any dandruff flakes and/or other stuff that secretes from the chef's body in your food. Seen "Waiting" lately?

19) People who can't control their kids. I'd gladly help you out but I might get arrested, therefore not such a good idea.

20) The fact that I've been cursing way too much as of late. I've got alot of anger inside of me. Maybe from all the things from the list above. Go figure. But Actor & I had a swear jar thingy going on last week. He did it so I would stop cursing so much. Basically we had to put in a dollar for every curse word & at the end of the week whoever curses the least gets all the money. Tell me why I only cursed 4 times & he about 20? So I got 20 bucks. We didn't do it this week though; I've stopped cursing as much. I usually try not to curse so much on here cuz I dunno who reads my blog & I don't wanna be a bad influence. (Yes I do care! About children especially. I feel so bad every time I accidentally curse around them.) And I usually don't curse much but as of late I've just been really really angry. Sure I could throw out a ton of "big, intellectual" words in it's place but hell, cursing makes me feel good sometimes.

And so does this list.

"YOU DON'T WANNA GO THERE CUZ I WILL RING MY BITCH BELL SO LOUD..."

The past month have been the most busy & fun month as of yet. Of this year anyway, since it's the 1st month so doesn't have any competition. lol


* My birthday party was on Jan. 12th at Hooters. It was great! Started off kind of rocky but ended really well. We were supposed to go to the Atlanta location & I called & told them like 10 times but 20 minutes before we were supposed to be there they told me that they didn't have any tables available for me. Some sorry service... So we changed it to the one near where we lived instead. It was way across town so some people couldn't find a ride/ make it so I lost about half of my party but alot of people still showed up. (The real, true, ride or die friends. lol. Boo everybody else! Still love you though :-p) We had a blast! I got great gifts :-D

* My friend Cali's birthday was this past weekend. We had an all girl's dinner on Friday (well, all girls plus one gay guy, same difference) at F.R.O.G.S. I've never been there before but we ended up having to go there because Loca Luna (I hate you guys by the way) was a horrible horrible stupid idiotic place with the worst customer service EVERRRR. We got there at 8:30pm & waited until 10:30pm and left. Mind you there was no waiting area so we sat/stood by the door where people were coming in & out & it was the freaking coldest night of the week & I gotta freaking cold as we speak. And they said that we couldn't make reservations until 10pm but people were coming in in herds & got tables immediately, cuz they, of course, had reservations. WTF man??!!!!!!

When we 1st got there they claimed that the wait was an hour. We called around & every restaurant in the vicinity was about the same so we decided to wait. An hour later it was "Oh, your table's coming up. Give us 15-20 minutes." Half an hour later it was "Oh yea, 15-20 more minutes." Half an hour more... well, you get the picture.

F.R.O.G.S was ok. I'm just not into hispanic foods like that so... ehh. Just went there cuz the birthday girl wanted to.

But yea. Boyyy. Alot of people almost got stabbed that night. By my purple suede stilettos. For realll. But none of us made a big fuss cuz we were all starving & had no energy to. In the words of our fab gay friend "You don't wanna go there cuz I will ring my bitch bell so loud... honeyyyyy"


* We went to Bazaar for our friends' mixtape release party after dinner. They brought her a chocolate cake and all. It was delish! And thennnnn.... dun dun dun... a fight breaks out! Apparently 2 guys started fighting over lord knows what & our guys had to break them up. Turns out they were on the same team. They were both our friends. Crazy I tell ya.

Actor was mad because he met us there & had only been there for half an hour & we got kicked out. lol. They kicked our 2 guys that were breaking the fight out too & the party was for their mixtape. lol. Talk about ironic.

* We spent the night at Cali's house & went to Red Robin for lunch the next day. It was greattt. One of my favorite burger joints now. They're hugeeee. lol. Our friend Meth got a monster burger & by the time he (barely) finished it he was breathing heavy & face was a little flushed. hahahaha. It was funny. And their freckled lemonades? Whew! I had like 5 of 'em. The best ever! It's lemonade with real strawberries in it. *drools*

* Me & Actor have been going shopping crazyyyy. One of the things we said that we were gonna do this year (we don't believe in NY resolutions, you should try to do better all the time, not just on a list once a year. But anyways...) was get more stuff. And indeed we did. I swear I've literally acquired 5 pairs of shoes in like 3 weeks. Including some ridiculously banging Coach shoes for a ridiculously low price. hahaha. Yayyy. :-D

That's all I can remember as of the moment. I shall write more shortly.

Toodles.

Love,
Akanke

UNNAMED

Some disturbing news to me:
1) A family in Cali said they found maggots in Gerber baby food. Gross. They just asked for their money back. What?! I would've sued the hell out of Gerber. Cuz they found 2, not one but TWOOO bottles with maggots in it. That's disgusting! I wonder if the baby actually ate any of them.

2) A father threw his 4 kids off a bridge in Alabama. WHATTTT?????? I've heard millions of disturbing news in my life & time but this shocks me. And he's Vietnamese (which is what I am.) That doesn't have anything to do with anything except for the fact that Vietnamese people never really get that much press. Especially in the news. For murder! I can only imagine how his family & friends feel. They're so embarassed right now. More on culture exposure later.

3) The Golden Globes are cancelled. ARE YOU F&*$&%* KIDDING ME??!!! That blows. I hope the writer's strike ends soon cuz this is going too far. I want them to get what they deserve & I want to see things other than re freaking runs on tv. K thanks!

*sexy voice* In other news...

My birthday party is this Saturday bitches!!!!!!!!! It's gonna be on & popping!!!!!!!!!!!

KROGER IDIOTS

"I can't stand ignorant people. And I really can't stand people who know that they're being ignorant & don't care... And I can't stand cops who don't do their job. And I can't stand... UGHHHHHH I'm pissed off. Hmm, should I say something? Maybe I shouldn't. Cuz if I do & he says something rude back he's gonna make me go ape shat on his ass. And I can't do that in public. I'm a lady... Maybe I'll just watch & see what happens. Maybe the cop'll do something... Yea right. He's not gonna. Oh well. Mind your business Akanke. Mind your own business..." *la da da da da*

All of this is going through my head as I stand in the self-check out lane at Kroger. See, me & this guy was standing in line, (let's call him Bob. Cuz you know, remember to check for Bob. If you don't know, ask somebody in retail) him in front of me, waiting our turn. You know how there's 4 registers & you just kinda stand in the middle so whichever register opens up 1st you go to that one? Yea, that's what we were doing. All of a sudden, these two idiots come out of nowhere & put their stuff on one of the registers. While the person was still ringing up their stuff might I add.

So Bob says "Hey, there's a line"
"WHAT?! THERE AIN'T NO LINE! YOU WAS STANDING OVER THERE."
"Yes there is, we're standing over here. There's a line."
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU TALKING BOUT. AIN'T NO LINE."

Bob shakes his head & walks over to the opposite register that just opened up. I knew he wasn't gonna put up much of a fight cuz he was kinda nerdy looking; I was actually surprised that he spoke up at all. Way to go Bob! And I'm next in line, just standing there looking. The security for the store was an actual cop and he was standing on the other side of the register looking dead at them, but he was too busy on his phone caking to do anything about it. (Yes I knew he was caking cuz guys have that face on when they're caking, smirking, with their head kinda turned to the side speaking in the phone all sensitive & shat.) But anyways, he didn't do nothing about it. And it pissed me off.

Sorry excuse for a cop. Sorry excuse for a man. All 3 of them. (Not Bob, the cop & the 2 idiots. Keep up people!) He knew damn well there was a line, and his fat sidekick just standing there instigating. Bob finished his transaction & left, while the 2 idiots were still trying to figure out how to work the machine, and how to pay with their EBT cards. Your broke ass. And the sidekick's over there like "Where'd he go? Did he leave yet?" like he was gonna go out to the parking lot & do something. Man sit your fat ass down.

They were in their early to mid 50s, both looking intoxicated. I didn't know if they were high or drunk or both but they were acting ridiculously ignorant & I'm willing to bet that they'd act like that regardless if they were sober or not. Boo them. And boo the cop. You're all out on the streets gunning down speeders but nowhere to be found or won't so shat when a real incident happens. Boo you too.

Boo everybody. Get out of my way so I can go home & cook & eat & go to bed. Ain't got time for this foolishness. Everybody learn your damn manners & shut the hell up.

I'm out.

SURIN OF THAILAND

Saturday me & Actor went to Surin of Thailand; it's our favorite Thai restaurant as of yet.

Distinct with a self-titled blue awning, Surin of Thailand is on the corner of Greenwood & North Highland Avenue. Parking is limited, but you can park on the streets or in a nearby plaza & walk there (Atlanta life for you...)

The excellent service begins at the door as you are welcomed by the host & a manager. After taking our seats we absorb in the yellow walls, trimmed with artistic photographs, beautiful bar, adorned with a massive leaning tree on top & decorative flower vases on the side, oil candles on every table, black embossed ceilings, and a hanging flag of a Buddha (don't know which one.)

The servers are always great here (we've been numerous times, the first of which was my 20th birthday) and we have a great time conversing & interacting with them. They're always pleasant & very informative about the food, which is the best Thai food we've ever had!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As usual, here is a mini breakdown of the menu:

Appetizers: $3.50- $7
Soups & Salads: $5- $9.50
Stir Fry: $8.50 for tofu or meats, $10.50 for shrimp
Curries: $10
Entrees: $9- $17
Deserts: $3.25- $6.75
Bar: Wines $4- $8 glass/ Beer: most $4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We started with Thai iced tea (sweet tea mixed with Half & Half cream) and the papaya salad for appetizers (green papaya shreds dipped in fish sauce & comes with beef jerky & sticky rice on the side.) Now before you say "Eww gross, fish sauce" Actor lovesss it. He says fish sauce makes everything taste good. True story... So we massacred the salad (Yea it was that good) and got started on our entrees.

Actor ordered Ka Proud Lamb & I the Spicy Mixed Seafood, shown here. Sorry the lamb pic isn't as clear; I had to stretch it. They both tasted as good as they look by the way...

There were 4 pieces of lamb, garnished with mushrooms & broccoli in Ka Proud sauce, which tasted like my spicy basil sauce (sweet & salty). The seafood was a medley of New Zealand Mussels, sea scallops, plump shrimp & squid, garnished with onions, and red & green bell peppers.

We had the Chocolate Brownie Crumble Sundae for desert, which wasn't as good as we expected. The brownie was very soggy at the bottom, and it had nuts in it which Actor doesn't eat... Hey, you win some & you lose some.

Overall, Surin of Thailand is a great restaurant with decently priced food. Ranging from soups & salads, chicken/shrimp curries, noodle/ rice stir fry, to catfish, lamb, and seafood, there is sure to be something appealing to every member of your party. It's a quiet, romantic atmosphere, perfect for dates etc. & small parties, but not recommended for big/loud parties. I mean, you can, but shouldn't have your tailgate or bachelor's party here. lol.

Go check out this great restaurant soon!

Love you guys,
Akanke

P.S.- Here's their website for more info:
SURIN OF THAILAND

CUSTOMER SERVICE pt. 1

As I mentioned in IDIOT OF THE DAY case #1 I hate hate hate bad customer service. I mean, it really irks me & I abhor it with a passion. To me, if you don't like your job, then quit. It's that simple... But if you need money to get through school, feed your kids, fund your passion, alcohol addiction or whatever the case then perk the hell up! If you're gonna be at work then DO YOUR JOB! At least act like you wanna be there.

I understand everyone has their days where everything is going wrong: relationships, bills, boss acting like a b... etc etc, but you're at work. So pull it together, block everyone out, and do what you gotta do so you can finish your day & go home. I don't expect you to be all extra friendly & accomodating, but at least do the minimum: acknowledge my presence & get me what I paid for in a timely manner. That's all I ask. You ain't gotta ask me how my day is or tell me my toes look nice (true story) etc etc. Just get me my stuff so we can both go about our days. Now if you WANNA talk, then we can talk. I've encountered people who were so refreshingly nice & pleasant they made my day.

But back to the topic at hand... I've ran across zillions of people in a variety of places that are just horrible. And this transcends all races, ageS & cultures. For instance, there's this cafe at my job; the ONLY eatery in the whole plaza right? Our plaza consists of a plethora of businesses so everyone is very professional & up to par. We're all busy & sometimes don't have time to drive somewhere & get something to eat. So what do we do? We walk over to the cafe. It's in the middle of all of the buildings, like a courtyard if you will. Needless to say it's a great location, so she gets alot of business... kind of... well, she'd get way more if she'd be nicer to people.

The first time I went in there she was very abrupt with her customers, always saying only one or two word responses to their inquiries. I figured it was because she didn't know how to speak English that well (she's Korean) or was having a bad day. The next couple of times I went in there she was the same way: rude, abrupt, always frowning & always asking people "Is that it? That's all you're getting?"

It didn't take me long to pick up on the fact that English wasn't her problem: customer service was.

And to make it worse, her food isn't that great. Everything is overpriced: $1 for mini chips, $3 for hamburger, cheese & etc is extra 50c each, $2 drinks, etc etc... The salad/ fruit "buffet" for lunch is always filled with dried or old looking stuff & she's very stingy with condiments. She doesn't have any to go packages, so if I wanted ketchup I'd have to squeeze some from the bottle onto my burger before I leave. And she's watching me the whole time, like "You better not take too much." Needless to say, I rarely, if ever, go over there. Her place is the last resort for me. I only go there if I don't have the car that day or if I'm lazy & don't feel like driving. 90% of the time I'd drive, lol. Nomatter how much I don't want to, I'd rather drive than eat over there.

I told Actor if I had enough money to open a restaurant there I'd take ALL of her customers. Dead ass. I'd have finer food, exceptional customer service & my prices would be competitively lower. I'd sooo take all of her business... By the way, did you know that one of my future plans is to own a restaurant? Yea, she better watch out, I might have more than one type of restaurants.

Actor & B-Ball said I should bring chips, drinks & other quick foods & sell it at lunch time out of my car for cheaper than what she's selling. lol. I would if this was somewhere else, but I refuse to do it at my job. First of all that's just tacky & second of all, everyone at my job would be like "Umm... Akanke... Are you ok? Do you wanna borrow some money?" lol. This ain't that type of crowd. Ergo, no thanks. If i had free time on my hands I'd sell my food somewhere else though. I bet I'd get alot of business cuz my foods are delightfully delicious :-D

I have plenty more customer service things to talk about, but I have to go now, so this shall be continued on a later date...


Thanks for reading. Until next time... Akanke