YES WE CANNNNNNN

I'm sure everyone is blogging about the election but... HOW CAN YOU NOT?!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

OBAMA WON!!!!!!!!!!
YES!!!!!!!!!!

We took Q down to his county to vote & guess what? He was in & out within like 10 minutes. I swear! I was like dang! We should've waited till today to vote. Oh well, I don't mind standing in line for change.

We hung out at his dad's place for a minute & went back home around 6 or so. I watched the entire process on CNN all night; from beginning to end. Well, I switched to Trading Spouses, Real Housewives & Rocky inbetween but I caught most of it. I wanted to be surprised at the numbers so didn't want to watch it the whole time. At 1st McCain was in the lead 8-3 & then I turned back & it was like 33-16 (or something) in favor of Obama. Can't remember the specific #s but Obama kept soaring & never looked back. I screamed for joy EVERY. SINGLE. TIME his # went up, even if it was 4 points. lol. By the time he reached over 270 I was ecstatic. I ran in the room to tell Actor, high fived Q & screameddddddddddddddddd. Longest scream I've ever done in my entire life! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! I wanted to go outside & run around & scream but decided not to. lol.

Everybody started calling us & we called others & all screamed & talked shit. Everyone we knew were rejoicing.

It was THE most amazing thing that I've ever seen in my whole entire political life. For the American political life period. The 1st African American president. Wow. I'm SOOOOOOOO proud. I feel deeply honored to be a part of this. I've always been a huge supporter & believer of civil rights. I'm so thankful for those before us that led the way, fought, bled & stood their ground so that we could come to this. It's a beautiful beautiful thing. I might not be black but my family & friends are & I'm a minority in this country so I still feel proud. I feel proud for Actor & Q & all African Americans. It's indescribable how much the atmosphere has changed. At that exact moment.

Actor said (looking at the tv) that black people actually look like they belong now (referring to this black lady host amongst her white counterparts.) That black children actually have a shot at becoming a president now. Nothing is impossible now. He said that back then black parents used to tell their kids that they could be anything, but they knew deep down inside that it couldn't be a president, you know? Can't kill a kid's dreams though.

Him & Q said that there's no excuse for black people now. Especially men. Alot of them feel like society and/or the judicial system is against them or whatever & now they can't say that. They can't use that excuse anymore to be sorry at anything. At parenting, having a job or any race related cop out.

I personally hoped that alot of racist people were watching, people who think white people are the only good or that only the blacks were happy for Obama's win. The crowd proved otherwise. Obama coming out & everyone at Grant Park (blacks, whites, asians, hispanics... everyone) cheering brought me to tears. It was refreshing & life changing to see that everyone wanted him to be president. Not just blacks.

That leads me to another subject: haters. I just don't understand why people are so hateful, angry & narrow-minded. Every since this election started there were strong supporters on both sides. But people are so wrapped up in their own views that they are condescending to the opposite party & I really can't stand it. My coworkers get so worked up & upset at each other talking politics that they don't speak to each other for days. I don't discuss politics at work anyway so don't ever engage them. But it's so disturbing to hear people call each other stupid & narrow-minded when you're the one doing the same but even worse. Everyone has their own opinion, who's to say who's right or wrong? Just stick to what YOU believe in & let others feel how they feel, you know?

On that note, I couldn't believe that the McCain supporters booed while he was making his congratulatory speech. Are you kidding me? Have some class and/or respect for your country & new president. HE AIN'T GOING NOWHERE. At that moment I actually felt a little sympathetic towards McCain. He's a good guy & he ran his race. Not many people can say that they've ran for President.

But they did & Obama won. By more than double. Now THAT I wasn't expecting. Since both sides had such strong supporters I thought this was gonna be the most heated & close race in history but it was quite contrary. I couldn't believe the numbers; I know alot of McCain supporters didn't believe it either. But that just goes to show that AMERICA wants Obama. Not just blacks. Not just younger people. But EVERYONE. Refer to the crowd at Grant Park for proof. And the number; numbers don't lie. He even won Florida & numerous other "Republican" states. Goes to show even further that everyone feels like change is needed. And they feel that Obama can bring that change. So for all those who say that people are stupid for voting for Obama I guess the whole nation is stupid then. We'll all be stupid together.

I'm extremely proud that this election broke voting records. From people voting for the 1st time to those who are voting again after a long time. From younger & more urban people to older & conservative people. From gays to straight, rich poor, abled & disabled. Everyone showed up & did their thing. That makes me proud. To see everyone unite for a cause worth believing in, for change that we needed. Shows that anything is possible when people work together.

Many people are fearing assassination plots and such. I refuse to believe that someone will carry that out. I'm sure many are thinking it, but if someone were to try then I'd be so disappointed at this country. I would lose my patriotism. I just, I dunno, I pray for his safety but I also pray that I wouldn't have to pray for his safety, you know? I shouldn't have to. People need to stop being so hateful.

But at the end of the day, I am proud to say that I am VERY happy that Obama is our new president. I pray for him to be successful, loved & respected. I pray that he makes the right decisions, change the right things & make a positive impact in this country & world. I have so much faith in him as I'm sure millions of others do. Make us proud Mr. Barack Obama. We'll stand by you every step of the way.

Love,
Hanh

ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE DAWN

We heard the news about Obama's grandmother last night at dinner. I'm so sorry for his & his family's lost. Mannnn. That is CRAZYYY. She's going to miss her grandson becoming the 1st African American president. Physically anyways; I'm sure she's watching over him every step of the way. I can't even imagine what he's going through right now trying to deal with the passing & the biggest election of his life at the same time.

They say it's always darkest before dawn & his dawn is definitely coming. I have so much faith in him & I know that he'll make a great president.

Today is a beautiful beautiful day in Atlanta. It's 72 degrees, sunny & bright; perfect for people who are voting. I encourage EVERYONE who hasn't voted to go vote. It's SO crucial. SO important to this race. Please don't be discouraged by the lines. You'd camp out for concert tickets, the new Js or the Wii so how can you NOT wait a couple of hours for the biggest political moment? Go vote!!!

I have to take Q about 45 min. from our house to go vote today. Since he couldn't vote in our county he decided that he didn't want to wait in line again at his former county. But I encouraged him to do it last night. So we're going straight there after I get off of work today. Hopefully the lines won't be too bad. Who knows whether people voted early or are voting after work there. Either way he's still gonna vote. I'm debating if I'm gonna stand in line to keep him company though. Me & Actor don't really want to but I'm sure he'd like the support. Makes the time go by faster when we're acting crazy. I'm probably gonna end up waiting with him. Cuz I'm that hype. lol.

One of the reasons that I didn't want to wait in line though is because I really wanna watch tv & see everything following up to the announcement. I wanna catch it all. I'm so excited!!!

So there it is. I'm not telling you who to vote for. Just go vote!!!

OBAMA

* And I just realized that I didn't have my "I voted" sticker on yet. It's in my purse from last week. About to wear it right now. Whoo!!!

SHAKIR STEWART & JENNIFER HUDSON

*sighs*

Just found out Saturday night right before we went to a birthday party that Shakir Stewart committed suicide. If you don't know, he was the CEO of Def Jam who took over after Jay-Z stepped off. I didn't know him personally, but we knew him through Slim of 112 & he seemed like a very nice guy. So condolences to his family.

I'm thinking of Jennifer Hudson & her family today too as they are having the funeral. God bless you & Shakir's family.

To everyone else out there: I know life is not pleasant & easy sometimes but hang in there. No matter what is going on in the economy, your love life, or at work everything will be allllll right. Don't ever ever think that you are alone. God loves you. At the end of the day if you don't have anyone to talk to you still have him. Talk to him. He'll be happy to hear from you. If you don't believe in or want to talk to him then talk to me. I might not know you but I'm always here to listen. I won't judge or make fun. It's actually easier to confide in a stranger because you'll get a refreshing & unbiased point of view or advice from them. Sometimes you just need to step out of your head a little, you know?

Well have a great & blessed day everyone. Stay positive & do great things because you can. Hug your loved ones just a little longer. Tell them that you're proud of them. I'm sure someone would really appreciate it.

Love,
Hanh

OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!!!

We voted yesterday. Stood in line for almost 3 hours but it was worth it. GO OBAMA! Whoot whoot!

My initial plan was to get off work at 4pm, get home by 4:30pm & get to the polls by 4:45 or 5pm. I was trying to beat the 9-5ers getting off work but that didn't happen. lol. I told the boys to be ready but when I got home Actor was still sleep. *stares* It was cool though, we didn't have any plans for the night so could afford to wait in line.

We got to the place at 6pm. Followed the signs, went inside & smiled. We saw the line wrap around a little bit but it didn't look that bad... and THEN the officer asked us if we were here to vote & directed us to go to the back of the line. We walked around a maze kind of to find the line. And boyyyy was it long. It snaked around the whole entire building. Not like a baby snake. Like the snake when you play that game on your phone when you've gotten to like the 10th level & you've eaten so much stuff that the actual snake is filling up the screen & you have no where to really turn & end up dying because you hit yourself kinda long. Yea....

It wasn't a bad experience though. I brought my word search puzzle book (that I've been on obsessively for over two weeks now,) Actor brought a book to read & Q had his Ipod so we were good. After a while all of us put our stuff down & started talking to each other. We always have a ball talking about random things. The better part of our waiting in line was spent people watching & talking about them. hahaha. People are funny man. We said who looked like which celebrity (good or bad,) who was looking crazy & etc. This one older white guy had a thickkkk mustache, teal sweatpants on, a white tee & a black & white South Pole hoodie on. It was funnnyyyyy. We did a "guess who I'm describing with these 2 adjectives" game. His was "stache & South Pole." haha. They spotted him immediately.

There were alot of celebrity lookalikes there: Shaq, Montel Williams, Charles Barkley, Flav & etc...

The line was moving pretty fast considering. But since it was still so long we started to play a "I know what can make you get out of line right now" game. (And this was when we had been in line for like an hour & a half. We weren't going ANY. WHERE.) We were in a building that hosted different boutique shops & stuff. It was like a mall/business plaza kinda thing. So Q was like "Actor, so if somebody came up to you right now & said "I have some Ferragamo shoes on sale for $20 each. RIGHT NOW. You wanna buy 'em? My store's just right around the corner. What would you say?" Actor was like "Ummm. I might have to hit that corner real quick & come back tomorrow." haha. Q then asked me the same but in regards to Jimmy Choos & Manolos. I was like "Well, if you had the time to go around the corner & ask me this then why don't you bring the shoes back to me & I'll buy them right here." Hence, I ain't getting out of this line. haha. We then proceeded with other temptations like PS3s, laptops, celebrity sightings & etc.

Once we got to the top of the line the actual process very rather quick. Had to fill out an absentee form, get the voting card & then to the booth. We got our stickers too. Yippee! I'm gonna wear it on Tuesday when Obama wins :-D

Tell me why Bob Barr was still on the ballot?! haha. I didn't even know he was running until like last week. Crazyyy.

And tell me why Q couldn't vote?! UGHHHH. It was the most disappointing thing of the night. He's registered under another county & didn't change his address on time. But I called the elections office & they said that he could just change it at the same time when he came & voted. THEY LIED. So he stood in line all that time with us for nothing. *shakes head* The lady at the door was really nice though. She gave him a sticker anyway.

All in all, we didn't mind the line. We feel special voting in a historical election. And if you haven't voted WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Go do it now!!! Don't wait till Tuesday cuz you'll probably be in line for 8 hours. And in some places you'd have to wait outside in the cold. Don't say I didn't warn ya.

OBAMA for PRESIDENT!!!

HI MY NAME IS HANH & I'M ADDICTED TO TV

Tell me why I've been watching so much tv? I haven't really watched tv in a longgg time & just finally picked up the remote like a couple of weeks ago. I've been watching everythingggg. Here are some thoughts:

~ The BET awards was actually very entertaining; one of the best that they've done. T-Pain was a good & funny host. I wished Eve & Missy would've came out for the all ladies performance. Wayne was showing OUT coming on stage like 80 times. haha. He was actually likeable for the moment & I felt that he deserved all of the awards. T.I. & Luda did their thing. Ummm.... I can't remember much else but it was pretty enjoyable overall

~ I've been trying to catch some new CSI episodes but have caught mostly reruns & I've seen about all of them so... *channel surfs*

~ Why are the American Idol hosts everywhere?! Ugh! I can't even look at the guide station without hearing them interviewing somebody or some other crap. And there's like 20 different ones. Go away!

~ I watched the reruns of Housewives of Atlanta for the 1st time last night. I don't really care for reality shows but I guess I had nothing else to watch so stuck with that & it was actually pretty entertaining. Lisa is gorgeous & I love her business drive & personality. Deshawn doesn't really do much for me; I feel like she's a boring character. That girl tried to raise $1 mil. in one night. haha! Yea, right. Kim is pretty cool but she gives off this materialistic (well, all of them but Kim the most) & air-headed vibe. Doesn't help that she's blond with big boobs either. Well, at least she's a good (but spoiling) mom. Nene is definitely the drama factor in the show. She is a trip! Sometimes she gets on my nerves but she's definitely entertaining. Sheree is cool. She's pretty & laid back but won't take your crap. I like her & Lisa the most.

~ Kimora Life in the Fab Lane.
I loveeeeeeeeeee her show. I've always admired her & Russell for the empire that they built & the loving interracial relationship from way back. Watching her show is fun & informative. You see how the industry works, how much work, time & money is put into just one single event, and I love to see the assistants stress out. haha. She has a good sense of humor & I love how she is with her kids. They're so cute!

~ Intervention.
Just saw this one episode where this girl kept inhaling dust remover. Lol! That was funny & crazy!!! I couldn't believe she kept doing it. It was weird for me cuz I'm so used to seeing people on drugs & alcohol. But seeing her inhale the dust remover can made me cring. And she was cutting herself too. Somebody didn't have enough art time in elementary school. Scissor cutting & glue sniffing to a whole notha level. Well, at least she got better. I'm always glad to see that.

~ And tell me why I always get teary-eyed during the intervention? What a wuss. Lol! I can really feel the family's pain man. Get off me!

~ I'm sorry to hear about Jennifer Hudson's family too. It's so horrible. Condolences to her & her family & I hope they find the suspect(s). Sorry Jennifer! Be strong girl! God is watching over you. Maybe I could help, you know I be on them CSI shows. I know all of the procedures!

"AN" ADDENDUM

Oh. Yea. I forgot one more error: "An"

You put "an" before any word that starts with a vowel people! (And also some words that starts with an silent h. Like "an hour")

As in: an apple, an empty glass, an initial contact, an octopus, an umbrella

I gave you an example for each of the vowels. So you better learn & you better learn quickly!!!

Incorrect examples: a apple, a empty glass, a octopus, a annoying idiot who doesn't know how to use "an."

I think out of all of the errors this & "it's" are the most annoying one to me. It just sounds so wrong! And once again, I hear everybody use it incorrectly: radio hosts, tv hosts, business people... EVERYBODY. I mean, seriously. Learn. It. People!

K thanks! You can go now...

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...

WE HAVE GAS. AND NOT THE BAD KIND. Wait, is there a good kind?

Our gas shortage is officially over. Well, it's been over for like a week or so, I just haven't had a chance to post. But thank God! Everybody was starting to panic & fight each other for gas. Ugh! It was starting to get pretty ugly pretty quick.

I'm sure you've noticed but gas prices are falling dramatically & boy am I glad. Gas was starting to become my biggest monthly expense. I mean, I pay more for gas per month than my car note. Can you believe it?

And can you believe that we've been getting gas for $2.99? Yeaaa buddy. You read right. $2.99. A couple of stations near our house are dropping down to that. I read that in other parts of Georgia gas is $2.79. I hope that catches on and I hope that it never goes back up lol!

On an adjacent note, I just read that OnStar has started a stolen vehicle slowdown program. If a car with OnStar is stolen, a signal would be sent to the engine that gradually slows the vehicle down. How dope is that?!

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 300 people die each year in the 30,000 police chases that occur. Before the slowdown program there were only three ways to stop a police chase: the officer stops the chase, the suspects stops (or runs out of gas haha) or in the worst case scenario, there is a crash. So I think it's definitely a better & safer alternative for everyone.

Basically what happens is once a person reports their car stolen, they'll use GPS to track down the car & report it to the police. Once the police have the car in site & confirm that conditions are safe they can tell OnStar to slow the car down. As the car is slowing, everything else will still work, including power steering and brakes.

I love technology (most of the time) and I definitely think OnStar is cool, especially now with the slowdown program. Maybe I'll get one one day. I've been thinking about trading in my car anyway. Want an alternate fuel car though. Do they have any with OnStar? Hmm, have to do some research....

A BLIND DATE THAT TURNED INTO 60 YRS.

From NPR.org:

"They've been together for over a half-century — but Ben and Bernice Finn met on a blind date. It was eight months after the end of World War II, and Ben had recently returned home to Brooklyn, N.Y., after serving in the Army.

"My two best friends were Hank and Eddie," Ben said. And unlike Ben, they both had girlfriends. So, the two asked Ben if he'd like to go out with them — and a blind date.

"In those days, you wore a suit and a tie when you went on a date," Ben said.

"I didn't have a suit to my name. So, I bought a suit to match the tie that I had."

That sparked a memory from Bernice: "Did it have apples on it?"

"It had apples on it, yes."

"I was very nervous," Ben said. "She was so pretty."

"I remember that day very well," Bernice said. "And no, you weren't pretty."

But when the couples all went out that night, there was a chill in the air.

"And I took your arm," Bernice said.

"I was thrilled by that," Ben said.

"And the reason I took your arm is, you seemed nervous. And I wanted to make you more comfortable."

The group went to a coffee shop, where they all started ordering hamburgers and drinks — everyone, that is, except for Ben. He didn't order anything.

"And I say to myself, 'Oh my God, I bet he doesn't have any money,' " Bernice remembered.

"And there I am, starving," she said. "And I ordered black coffee. Because I was afraid my date didn't have any money. So, you owe me a hamburger," she told Ben.

"I have no memory of that," Ben said. "Maybe it was I didn't have any money. Maybe I was just cheap. I don't know."

"Okay," Bernice said. "I'll buy that second explanation."

The couple dated for two years before getting married. Ben eventually got a master's degree in education and taught elementary school. The Finns have two children, Gail and Steven, and three grandchildren.

Their 60th wedding anniversary will be this Christmas, Dec. 25"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hanh: That story is so inspiring & uplifting. It touched my heart so I just had to share. This is what I want; something true & long-lasting. I still want my husband to be my best friend even when we're 90 :-D

HANH'S TAKE ON SOME LOCAL NEWS:

"The number of black men registering for the first time in Georgia increased by 33% from 2004.
The number of black women registering increased by 22%.
The number of white men registering for the first time decreased by 7%.
The number of white women registering for the first time decreased by 11%."

Hanh: Good job! I know I haven't been very vocal about the election but I'm very supportive of Obama. I've been trying to get everyone that I know to register to vote for a while now. Glad to see everyone else was doing the same. Many are for McCain and Obama; they have great supporters. But if people aren't registered then they can't even vote for them in the 1st place. So good job people! Whoo hoo! Obama's getting closer to office!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The ex-husband of televangelist Juanita Bynum is recasting his new reality show and will be counseling couples even as he courts the would-be new Mrs. Thomas Weeks.

"The Holy Hook Up: Who Will Be the Next Mrs. Weeks?" will track Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III's search for love, but he will also share the stage, coaching singles and other brokenhearted couples and drawing on his experience as an author, minister and twice-divorced man.

Weeks told listeners, "It's going to be a very tasteful, five-star presentation.""

Hanh: Seriously?! Are you kidding me? If you guys didn't know, they had a really dramatic & might I add VERY public altercation last year. He beat her outside of a hotel. Badly. Yea... He was given 3 years probation, 200 hours of non-church related community service, and ordered to attend anger management counseling. Who's to say she didn't start it & who's to say that he hasn't changed. But seriously? I'm good. Church women better watch out! Sounds like bad business to me...
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"Detectives said three men burst into the home, chased down, and killed Carver High School student Devontae Alexander Jones.

According to detectives, the killers tried to also kill Jones’ mother; but she survived. They said drugs do not appear to be related to the murder nor do they think anything was taken from the home.

Police are searching for three men and one woman who they believe are driving a burgundy-colored sports utility vehicle.

Authorities said the victim’s dog was also killed by the intruders."

Hanh: That's just horrible. It's crazy how people are so violent these days! I mean, there's always been violence but it's another story when it's so close to home. Actor & I were just talking about how it's legal to carry guns in most public places now. We feel that it's the right thing to do to give people a fighting chance in case some crazy nut tries something, you know? It's hard to control because you don't want guns in the wrong person's hands but if somebody's gonna do something illegal they're gonna have a gun regardless so might as well protect yourself. We're all for the right person carrying guns.

My condolences to their family... And did you have to kill the dog? My God!

MAN HITS SHARK TO SAVE DOG

"ISLAMORADA, Fla.

A dog is recovering after a Florida Keys carpenter dove in to save his pet from a shark. Greg LeNoir said he took his 14-pound rat terrier Jake for a daily swim at a marina Friday.

The five-foot shark suddenly surfaced and grabbed nearly the entire dog in its mouth.

LeNoir said he yelled, then balled up his fists and dove headfirst into the water. He hit the shark in the back and the creature finally let go of the dog.

Man and dog made it safely back to shore. The dog suffered bite wounds but was not critically injured."
------------

Hanh: Wow. What a brave guy. He must really love that dog. I love Brando too but I dunno bout jumping in & hitting the shark. Might have to shoot the shark or something. Either way it's animal cruelty. *sighs* You can't win.

Way to go Hero of the Day!

LIFE QUESTIONS pt. 2

I was always taken cared of financially. Actor & Q said they ate so much Hamburger Helper, sometimes without the hamburger, ate leftovers for days, went without gifts for holidays and birthdays & couldn't go on too many field trips cuz their parents wouldn't pay. I told them that I always got what I wanted. I could always get what I wanted to eat at the grocery store. Gushers & Fruit Roll Ups. Holla! I went on every single field trip that was offered, got a nice little budget for back to school shopping every summer & had my own computer & everything. And mind you my parents weren't rich by far. They worked in factories on minimum wage.

The only thing that differs with our familes are that Actor & Q are definitely, by a long shot, closer to their family than I am or probably ever will be. That's the only thing that I can honestly say that I ever lacked. I never had to worry about not having dinner or school clothes or the lights being off but our family isn't a very, how do you say? talkative & open family. Probably because it's our culture or whatever but it was always whatever my dad says goes. There's no discussion, no my doors are always open so you can talk to me about anything deal. Talk to my dad about dating or love for music or movies? Are you kidding me? I wasn't allowed to like or be focused on anything but going to school & to become a lawyer or doctor. If you know me, needless to say that was not finna go down. lol.

I can't say I'm envious because that wouldn't be the right description but I do wish that my family was closer like how their family is. My brothers & sisters moved to different states when I was still in elementary school so I basically grew up as an only child. I never had any brothers or sisters to go through things with. We still don't talk much to this day. I probably see or talk to them 4 or 5 times a year, if that.

With white families, if they're wealthy then their parents are probably always working, have no idea what their favorite hobbies or who their friends are, miss their games & shows & compensate by throwing money at them. Again, not all but most.

With Actor & Q's family they are tight-knit. They talk about everything with each other, they laugh, cry, have family dinners, fights & do it all over again the next day. I remember going to my 1st housewarming with Actor. My 1st Thanksgiving dinner. 1st Christmas dinner. 1st baby shower. 1st any family gathering really. My parents are Buddhist therefore don't really celebrate any American holidays. They barely even celebrate any Asian holidays for that matter.

My dad was soooo strict. While I could get any material thing that I wanted, I couldn't get a social life. He used to tell me how long to keep my nails, what I could or couldn't wear, I couldn't talk to boys on the phone or even stand near them when he came to pick me up from school. I couldn't go to the mall unsupervised; they used to walk behind me in the mall. It was so embarrassing. I eventually stopped asking to go. lol. Just told him that I had club meetings after school & went with my friends instead. Don't even get me started on all the tricks I did to get to do what I want. haha. I'm not gonna incriminate myself. Maybe I'll tell ya later. It's sort of a bragging right.

Therefore I guess I'm stuck in the middle. I have the best & worst from both the lower & upper class people. I was taken cared of financially but not emotionally. I couldn't afford a monthly trip to Greece but I always had money in my purse. I didn't have the family support or confidante that I wanted but they paid attention to me. Too much attention & in the wrong areas. I couldn't express myself or be who I wanted to be without feeling guilty or sad because they didn't approve.

So my question is: What is a better situation to grow up in? A poor loving life or a rich loveless life. People out there that have a rich loving life are exceptionally lucky. But the reality is, most people are either or. Maybe more or less but still. Would you rather have a little less to eat, less expensive clothes on & be close with your family than to wear the best clothes, have steak in Italy for lunch & be disconnected & dysfunctional with your family? I'd choose the former.

But does your relationship with your family define who you are? Does a failed home life mean a failed social & work life? If you have problems with your family does that mean your romantic relationship will have problems? If so will they be the same problems? What about when you get married? Will you treat your children the same way? Will it be a never-ending cycle that trickles down from generation to generation? If so, will it ever be broken?

LIFE QUESTIONS

Me, Actor & Q-Ball are always talking about something whether it's music, movies, life, finance, so on & so on...

We got on the subject of how much race has an impact on your upbringing. Besides the obvious discrimination and/or treatment from society, we were talking about how growing up a certain race completely makes who you are in your adult life financially. For instance, they said that growing up in a lower/middle class home where their parents made due but still struggled really affected how they are now. How they were never taught to handle finances correctly; to budget, save, or not live check to check so they had to learn it themselves growing up. That they're older & more responsible, but if someone had told them about the importance of credit & etc. they would be way better off now than having to go back & repair the damage that's already done.

We talked about how most white people are higher class & they lead completely different lives, even from birth. They were born into money, never have to worry about college tuition, cars, bills or anything. They get to travel the world even as a tot, don't have to work if they don't want to because as long as they keep their grades up their expenses are paid for & they make more money from the abundant amount that they already have because they were taught to invest & run businesses, etc.

Don't get me wrong we know there are always exceptions & whatnot. I'm sure there are struggling whites & wealthy blacks but the majority is the latter from what we've seen & experienced.

As for me, I guess I grew up in a middle class family. We came to America in '93 & my parents started from the ground up. I was only 7 so can't recall specifics but I think we were on food stamps for a minute. We lived in a rural part of Vietnam so I've never experienced the whole inside marketplace. In our town all of the shops were outside booths or a small store that the owners lived at upstairs. Like how some of the shops are in Chinatown in any city over here.

I remember the 1st time that I went into a grocery store over here I was ecstatic. I've never seen so much food in my life! That had to be the happiest day of my food life. lol. I even have a picture of our whole family posed in a grocery store for the 1st time I kid you not. It was a BIG deal. That's why I love food so much now. We didn't have much in Vietnam. I remember my dad used to come home with an apple probably like once every 2 weeks or a month & he'd slice it & we'd all share one apple. I used to eat it soooo slowly because I didn't want it to go away. Yea... It's like that. It was a luxury.

But we came over here & my parents found jobs in factories & they built us a nice little life. It's a good & bad thing at the same time because that was the only job that they could get because they didn't have any degrees or know how to speak English. But to this day my mom still works in a factory. My dad just got a new job fixing ambulances or something, I'm not sure what he does exactly... I guess I just want so much more for them. But since they were way older in years than I was & I went to school, I picked up on English more than they did. My dad can speak & converse with you in broken English & my mom even less. Ergo, they still don't have any degrees or anything so they stick to what they know: hard labor working in factories. You know my mom hasn't gotten a raise in like 5+ years? It's crazy but it's all they know so that's how they make their money, you know?

All in all, they came over here making minimum wage in factories & built up a nice life for us. I have 3 brothers & sisters & they all own their own businesses. They do nails; typical I know, but hey, people stick to what they know & what their friends tell them have profited. Why do you think Indians own Dairy Queens & gas stations & Hispanics work in construction? I'm getting sidetracked here, but the point is we literally came over here, built from ground up & are living comfortably.

So my question is: How is it that my family can come over here & flourish & thrive better than most people that are born & raised here? Is it society or the economy? How is is that I never lacked anything living on minimum wage & families with parents making double or triple my parents' income lack so much more? I'm not saying we're better than anybody at all. I'm just trying to get an answer. How is it that Hispanics can come over here, crunch together in one house (and car) & stack their bread & build up nicely?

Is it because Americans spend or indulge in more things than we do? Is it that immigrants come over here & were told a set of rules & abide by them, whereas Americans know more (like loopholes & tricks) & try to beat the system & fail? Credit & debt wise any way. Is it because they don't appreciate the value of money or was never taught to budget? Is it the drive or determination from the experience of not having anything & never wanting to lack again? If different races were given the same amount of money & the same opportunities will they all end up the same? Probably not. I guess it all comes to survival of the fittest. Natural selection if you will. There always has to be someone at the top & at the bottom. That's the way of the world. Can we change it? Possibly. Will we? We'll see...

TELL ME WHY NOBODY HAS GAS pt. 2

An update on gas: We still have a shortage!!!!!! UGHHHH!!!! So annoying! And guess what? They lifted this ban & are now allowing "dirtier" gas to get here to supply the demand. Are you kidding me? I'd rather have no gas than put dirty gas in my car! Who's gonna pay my mechanic if it breaks down? Pleaseee. There's actually been 2 cases where 2 women put gas in their car & it broke down as soon as they pulled out of the gas station. Same station. Same day. 6 hours apart. I don't think it was his fault because the warning system they have didn't go off for dirty gas but the owner said that he'd pay for their car repair anyway. But can you imagine how many people got gas inbetween the 6 hours? I wonder how many more people are gonna break down.

Well at least those people found some gas, dirty or not. Last night me & Actor drove around on E for almost 2 freaking hours & didn't find ANY. Can you believe it?! 2 hours! We drove down every single street & passed at least 40 gas stations & there weren't any gas anywhere! We literally drove in all directions from our house covering at least a 4-5 mile radius to no avail. I kid you not! I don't even know how our tank held on for so long.

It was horrible because Actor was supposed to go to his best friend's performance at 10:30pm & he couldn't go because we couldn't find any gas. His friend came back in town for only a week or so & is leaving for Cali on Tuesday so it was a really really bad look. He really wanted to go.

It got so bad to the point where we were both emotionally & physically exhausted from trying to find gas. I was developing a massive headache on top of my neck ache, almost-sprained ankle & came-out-of-nowhere-never-had-it-before-sinus problems. So we went home... We figured we should save the drops of gas that we had left to get some in the morning before work.

Around 2am he heard word from our friend Buckets that there was gas so we went to the QT down the street & got some. No lines. Whoo hoo! I guess that's what we're gonna do from now on: get gas in the middle of the night to avoid the traffic & crazy people. The way that it's going right now I wouldn't be a bit surprised if people were arrested for fighting over gas.

Well, that actually did happen. lol. My coworker said that this guy was cursing at & harassing her at the pump because she was supposedly taking too long. She was like "Uhh, I can't make the gas pump any faster. It's taking forever cuz there's 50 people here getting gas at the same time." I guess he kept at it & a police officer came over & told him to back away from her car. She left but saw him getting arrested a few moments later. lol! Sit yo big ass down! Won't have to worry about getting gas cuz you won't be driving for a minute buddy. lol!

Arrested over gas. Can you believe it? My other coworker was around during the 1970s' gas shortage where he said it was on the news that people actually got into fights over the pump. In one situation a guy actually shot (and maybe killed?) a honeymooning couple. That's just crazyyyyy.

Well, that's all the gas talk that I can handle for the day. Hopefully I won't have any more bad stories but they're not expecting things to get back to normal for a couple of weeks so...

Stay tuned!

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!

MISSION FAILED

In lieu of all of the bad economic news these days I thought I'd share a news article with you guys:

It wasn't the preferred way to enter the Knoxville Museum of Art, but Richard Anthony Smith told police he was on a mission.

The 25-year-old Knoxville man called 911 from his cell phone before dawn Wednesday saying he was trapped in an air-conditioning duct leading from the museum roof, Knoxville police spokesman Darrell DeBusk said.

Police and firefighters reached the roof, found a rope and cable and followed them to a vent shaft. Peering inside, they spotted Smith about 45 feet down.

"Mission failed," he told them.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported a 911 operator got the call from the 25-year-old Smith before dawn Wednesday, saying he was stuck and needed help.

Police called on the fire department to lift officers to the roof, where they rescued Smith from the vent and restrained him, charging him with burglary.

Smith told police he was a "special agent from the United States Illuminati, badge number 0931" and had rappelled onto the museum from a helicopter, a police report said.

He said he was following orders to "defuse and confiscate" a Soviet-made nuclear warhead, specifically a "MERV6SS-22AN" warhead, according to the report.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

LMAO!!! Ok, so I would've believed the whole defuse and confiscate a Soviet-made nuclear warhead thing if you hadn't gotten caught. I mean, stuck. Lol! I'm all for conspiracy theories cuz if I see someone pale-faced, out of breath, sweating & running out of a store saying there's aliens in there you best believe I'm taking my ass out of the parking lot. But for real though? You called the cops to come get you out? What? Your Illuminati special agent friends were too busy on other missions & couldn't come save you? Aww mannnn.

*STARES*

But next time you decide to rappel down from a helicopter can you do it at my house on Dec. 25th? I can tell everyone you're Santa Claus. Best mission ever!

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.

HAPPY BANNIVERSARY!!!

Today is mine & Actor's 4 year anniversary :-D
And tomorrow is his 25th birthday, or, as he'd like to call it, quarter of a century. lol.

Happy birthday!!!!!!!!!

Love you!
Hanh

CURRENT SONG FAVS (9/7/08)

Songs that I'm feeling at the moment (in no particular order)

~ Monica "Still Standing"
I can feel the emotions in this song. Favorite part is when she says "never" in the hook.

~ Rihanna "Disturbia"
I love this song. Very cool yet mysterious. Love the lyrics & notes. And the video is hot. Perfect for Halloween.

~ Chris Brown "Forever"
Isn't is funny how everytime you mention either Rihanna or Chris you automatically think of the other? Well, for me anyway. But I like this song too. Very different from regular CB songs. Loveddd it when I first heard it but starting to get old fast though cuz they play it every 2 seconds.

~ Leona Lewis "Better In Time"
Like her first single & love this song. Haven't heard her album but I heard that she had ok songs. Well, she picked 2 good songs to release so far...

~ Robin Thicke "Magic"
He's the greatest. Love everything he does. Also on my Favorite Celebrities list that I shall be posting soon.

~ Keri Hilson "Energy"
I saw her at a private Dallas Austin concert a couple of months ago & had no idea who she was. lol. But she's growing on me. At first I didn't know what all the hype was about but she actually has really good music. I might be a future fan...

~ T.I. featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Jay Z "Swagger Like Us"
Pretty hot that they all are on the same track but the song format could've been better. There's no solid hook & it would've been hard if they caught each other's last words and did it like a tag team freestyle since there was no hook but the beat.

That is all for right now,
Hanh

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