I finally put a guestbook back up. Feel free to sign it.

I recently joined Everyone’s Connected.

You should try it out. Jake introduced me to it this evening and so far it is a great opportunity to connect with your friends and meet interesting people and see interesting things. If you click the link you can also browse around as a guest.

Click here to join.

If you get any problems using this invitation, open a new browser window and cut and paste the hyperlink into the address bar.

My username is Nexy on Everyone’s Connected.

Yeah my brother has been withholding valuable information from me. Sunday evening he told me that Family Guy now repeats on Cartoon Network six nights a week. No telling how many classic episodes I have missed!! And now I just turned on the station and X-Men Evolution is on…but damnit I have seen this episode before. The one where Magneto’s daughter was searching for him :heated: I am still traumatized that FOX ended Family Guy.

Monday Mission 3.28

1. When was the last time you were in the hospital as a patient? As a visitor?

I have never been a patient in a hospital. The last time I was a visitor in a hospital was when my godson, AJ was born on March 03, 2001.

2. Have you ever been put under anesthesia or sedation? For what reason? Did it mess with your mind?

I have never been put under anesthesia nor sedation. These questions make my life sound extremely boring mmmhmm.

3. Have you (or someone close to you) ever had any major surgery? How did it go?

My aunt has had major surgery. I was in fourth grade when it happened and it went pretty well.

4. How about the emergency room? Have you ever had to be taken there, or had to accompany someone else? What happened?

I have never been to the emergency room, nor have I had to accompany someone to the emergency room. Watching ER on NBC is good enough for me.

5. Have you ever donated blood (or other fluids)?

I never have donated blood nor any other fluids. I am trying to think of what other kinds of fluids can you possibly donate *scratches head*

6. Are you an Organ Donor? How do you feel about having your organs being donated to those in need once you die? Have you or someone you know ever been the recipient of donated organs?

I am not an organ donor. This has been something that I have contemplated over for almost ten years. I think I should donate my organs once I die; however, there is something preventing me from signing that off on my identification card.

7. Do you know any men who refuse, or are too afraid, to go to see a Doctor? Why are so many men like that?

This does not only pertain to men. I know people who are afraid to go see the doctor or they are too involved in other aspects of their live to take the time to go to the doctor.

BONUS: Do you remember when we used to sing?

I do not recall this.

Today’s Comment Question: What action do you take when you get mad at a fellow blogger?

I write about the bastards and bitches in here!!

http://www.promoguy.net/

I guess it is about time that I wrote about my fabulous trip to New York. This is part one of…well I am not sure how many parts. I stole this idea from Chris (even though he never finished his other parts).

Last year, my best friend Tiffany, thought that it would a great idea to go to New York for her bachelorette party. She is getting married on Saturday, August 30, 2003. The bachelorette party would consist of all the bride’s maids; myself, Sonya, Terenie, Lena, Jackie and Stacy. First thing that came out of my mouth was, “Umm yeah, how much is that gonna be?” I am not really a cheap person, but my budget is tight and New York ain’t no cheap place to travel or LIVE in. Tiffany researched and found this great package on Expedia, $450.00 per person which included airflight (round trip) and three nights of hotel stay. Luckily, I was able to pay for that with my 2002 federal tax return.

I really did not get too excited about the trip until the week of (we left on Thursday night). I started telling co-workers at work about my trip and some
were telling me where I gotta go. I was like psssst whatever because when it came down to it, I was gonna go see the sites that I wanted to well at least as many as I could see in that brief duration.

I sent this to Sprint PCS today regarding the new charges that they are applying to all activations,
whether for a ESN (electronic serial number) change or new line of service.

To Whom It May Concern:

I think the fact that Sprint PCS is now charging $36.00 for all new activations is extremely inconvienent for customers. I feel a loyal customer who just
wants change service from one phone to the other (because the phone is broke) should not experience this charge. Sprint PCS is taking advantage of its
customers and this is not appreciated. I think the company should have online ESN changes free. It is convienient for both parties to have this service.
It cuts down on the amount of landline customer service.

and the response:

Hello Rashaan,

This is in response to your inquiry regarding the phone activation fee.

A non-refundable activation fee of $36.00 is charged to every PCS customer only once at the time of activating a PCS Phone.

This fee helps manage the rising costs associated with activating a phone to our network and allows Sprint PCS to continue providing you with the newest
technology available.

If you change you handset and activate a new phone on your account, you will be charged $36.00 as activation fee. However, you can avoid this charge if
you sign up for a new PCS Advantage Agreement.

Please write back, if you have any further concerns.

Vicky B.
eCare

I will definitely respond back to this email. I want to specifically ask, “So I can (technically) switch my handset every month and as long as I sign up

for a new PCS agreement, then I will not be charged for the $36.00 fee?” Sprint PCS is surely finding a way to trap customers into their services. If only Verizon,

I am back and home safe. Details about the trip soon.

Three days late with the Friday Five.

1. Do you remember your first best friend? Who was it?

Charis. We were great friends from headstart through first grade.

We lost contact when I moved to Denver, Colorado in the second grade. When I moved back to

href="http://www.stltoday.com/" target="new">St. Louis in the fourth grade, Charis had moved away from the county to the city away from me.

2. Are you still in touch with this person?

Unfortunately, no; however, I recently saw her brother at the Meacham Park

Homecoming and he says all is well with Charis, her children and her parents.

3. Do you have a current close friend?

Yes, Tiffany as well as the love of my life, JT <3

4. How did you become friends with this person?

I met Tiffany at a summer camp called Sprog during the summer after fifth grade and we have been friends ever since. I met JT two years ago at a

href="http://www.stlcardinals.com/" target="new">Cardinals’ baseball game. June 3, 2001 to be exact.

5. Is there a friend from your past that you wish you were still in contact with? Why?

Yes, I wish I had contact with a few friends from college. I lost contact with some of them and I would really enjoy getting in touch with them again.

<3 Daniela, Angela, Ketura and Erica

http://www.fridayfive.org

Yeah I am still on this left foot thing. JT told me it is normal for the non-dominate foot to be larger. Double eh. Yes. I bought another pair of sandals yesterday and since there ain’t no shame in my game, I picked them up from Target. A sista is on a budget, plus they are cute. I had a bit of an ordeal with buying the sandals. Plus, they over charged me for a dress that was on the clearance rack!! The sandals were on the 50% off rack in the shoe department. The sign clearly reads:

50% off all sandals
Price taken off as ticketed

This means that if the shoe says $9.99 on a red ticket and it was originally $19.99 then that particular shoe is already marked down and can not be marked down any further. Right? Simple. On the other hand, if the same sale rack has a pair of sandals that says $19.99 with no red ticket, then this means that the buyer gets 50% off of $19.99. Right? Not simple.

I spent about an hour and a half buying and searching throughout the store. Last minute shopping before my trip tomorrow!!

Before I even got up to the check out lane, I decided to look for someone’s assistance in the shoe department. I found absolutely no red shirt within site and I was not surprised at all. I went over to the self price scanner, scanned the sandals and it read, $19.99. Then my mind started building a master plan. I finished all the shopping I had to do. I almost forgot a few important items so I ran through aisles like on Supermarket Sweep and dashed over to the aisle one, the handicap lane.

*Note, I do not see anything wrong with using the handicap lane when no one else is there.

1. Can you think of one single decision you made that changed the course of your life. A decision where if you had done something else, everything would be different now?

When I decided to go to Washington University in St. Louis instead of University of Missouri at Columbia. Had I went to Mizzou instead, I may have continued with my engineering studies and I would be a chemical engineer now instead of being aspired for a career in diplomacy.

2. Do you think every life has a pre-determined course, that we will wind up at point X regardless of the decisions we make?

I think every life has a pre-printed blue print of their lives. Meaning, there is a course that I am to take in life, but I may deviate from the course a bit. Instead of making two right turns and going straight for fifteen minutes to get to Burger King, I may take the short cut to the alley. Regardless, I still make it to the restaurant. I also feel that anomalies happen in the world and things go wrong where I may not end up at the restaurant at all when I was supposed to be there.

3. Do you think that it is left up to us and random chance to decide who we are with? Are we are guided to the person we were meant to be with or could you be with the wrong person while “the one” is still somewhere out there?

I think that we are guided to the person we were meant to be with, but ultimately we decide that we want to be with that person. Going back to the previous question, we at times deviate from our paths and may end up with the wrong person. I definitely believe in soulmates. The One is always out there, some are lucky to end up with their soulmates, others may not.

There is something about the combination of a hot bubbly bath and (almost) any body soap from Bath and Body Works that eases my pain, mentally and physically. The inside label of my Smoothing Warm Vanilla Sugar Shower Scrub states:

…The creamy lather cleanses and natural exfoliaters get skin glowing, so you step out of the shower soft, smooth and scented with the comforting fragrance of Warm Vanilla Sugar.

Special Ingrediants:
Strawberry seeds and fruit purees gently polish skin.
Aloe Vera softens skin.
Lemon, Lime and Orange extracts brighten skin.

Such combinations of natural ingredients wipe away my tension as if I took a few extra strength Tylenol. Aromatherapy and natural healing is so amazing. Natural healing methods are why I rarely rely on over the counter medicines. I prefer hot baths loaded with epsom salt for body aches and magnetic therapy for migraines over a few pills any day.

I would have to say that my mother influenced me into my pro-natural healing mindset. She always says, “Mind over matter. If you tell the cold it is not there, then the cold is not there.” Even last night, as I began to have a severe migraine while the bass pounded loudly in my ears; to my left, Mama calmly said, “close your eyes and relax. Mind over matter.” My headache disappeared within minutes.

Now of course, one cannot always be so fortunate with the mind over matter theory.

It only takes one little thing to change the entire mood of an evening. How did I know it was coming?

My evening was great until a few moments ago.

But let us rewind until this morning.

I woke up around 9am and called Nikki to go Party City to check out prices of bridal shower paraphernalia. Most of the day involved finishing up the bridal shower invitations and rushing them off to the post office. We made a few other stops along the way. I wanted to get a flag shirt at Old Navy, but they only had the ugly olive t-shirts left UGH.

After buying two books of stamps and mailing off the invitations, Nikki and I browsed around the mall for a bit. Dillards had a great clearance on some sandals, but of course they did not have my size!! I have been cursed with big feet. Well, size ten is not that big, but for a woman it is just not a common size. I thought I could get away with a size 9½ sandal then little did I know that my damn left foot is bigger than my right foot. WTF… yes my left heel hung way the fuck over the sandal compared to my right foot. I was truly flabergasted by this. So I threw a pair of Bass sandals and the salesman and said “how about these?” (Un)lucky me, they did not have those in my size either.

I am still trippin about my big left foot…

Anyway, Nikki found her a pair of sandals and I found a Nine West purse marked down from $59.99 to $14.75. I could not resist.

Happy Independence Day

I hope everyone is having/has had a safe and wonderful Fourth of July weekend.

On a sad note… Rest in peace Barry White. We have lost a true R&B legend.

Friday Five:

1. What were your favorite childhood stories?

I Can Do It Myself Sesame Street book. The title is the motto of my life. Ask anyone that knows me.

In A Dark Dark Room and Other Scary Stories, but in particular… The Green Ribbon. This story scared the beejesus out of me when I was young LOLOL. Definitely a classic.

James and the Giant Peach I read this in first grade and I have loved it since.

2. What books from your childhood would you like to share with [your] children?

All of the above, plus The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, all of the Tolkien books, Dr. Seuss series, Sesame Street series, Berenstain Bears series and the Little Golden books.

3. Have you re-read any of those childhood stories and been surprised by anything?

Yes, I am truly surprised that “The Green Ribbon” scared me as a young child.

4. How old were you when you first learned to read?

Three.

5. Do you remember the first ‘grown-up’ book you read? How old were you?

Hmm I don’t recall the exact age, but I would say that the unabridged versions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were the first ‘grown-up’ books that I read when I was in elementary school.

http://www.fridayfive.org

My brain is really not functioning well at the moment.

I went to bed at 2am because I was working on my Tiffany’s Bridal Shower invitations. Near the end of printing all thirty six of them, my HP7550 decides that it wants to mess up. The printer started grabbing two sheets at a time, but the stock cards were overlapped; so it partially printed on both sheets. Luckily, I cancelled (TWICE) in time, to not waste too much ink; however, I did waste five stock cards. I did not get too frustrated because I bought extra stock cards. I always prepare for those types of situations. You can’t just buy the number you need.

Fair St. Louis starts today. I hope that I will have an opportunity to meet Carmen in person. Since STL Today.com is having a photography contest, I will be sure to take my digicam. I wonder what I am going to wear today… It is currently 8:21am CST and I should start getting ready in ten minutes and I have no idea what I’m going to wear today. This is what I go through every day. For the past week and a half, I have not even left the house on time to catch my 8:57am bus. I have been catching the 9:11am bus and I really do not gave a fuck that this pushes me to the limit for being on time for work.