Allowed excitement.. gushy warning!

Teh Bear is COMING TO BAHRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm impressed with what I can do in paint sometimes.

The tickets have been purchased, Americans are still currently being allowed in the country (which was something we've been monitoring due to political climate issues), dates are set... AND WE ARE UNDER 30 DAYS!

It took a VERY long time to finally get to this point.  As in, when I left in September, it was like, well, see you in a year, deuces.  Maybe a lot sadder than that and we actually already knew that his vacation time was in July (standby for the reasons on why that was a bad decision), but not the point..

It has been over 250 days since I've been in Bahrain.  I mean, its not in the 300s yet, but damn if we aren't getting close!  Let me break down 250 days for you, in case you're bad at math like me..  Got here Sept 23rd, its now almost mid-June, so for estimation sake, we'll say June is 1/2 a month and the Sept time was 1/2 a month, so that equals 1 month.  Add the rest of the full months, which is Nov-May (7).  7+1=8.  By the time July gets here, add one more month... 8+1=9.

Side Note: I know I have spring fever when anytime anyone mentions 9 months, I immediately think, that is a human gestation period, exact inner monologue quote.

There was a lot of debate about vacation.  Mostly was the cost.  Lesson of the year: vacationing during the summer is EXPENSIVE.  Vacationing during the summer after bin Laden was killed, which caused gas prices to rise for some reason = even MORE expensive.  Good time to vacation?  Late Jan-April.  Hello birthday trips!  (that may or may not be a hint hint for Teh Bear.........)

ITALIA!!!

Originally, I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to finally get to the destination of my dreams..  ITALY!!!!  We looked at several package options, but it was very complicated to deal with one person needing airfare and one person not (if I hadn't flushed R&R down the toilet by taking leave in Feb/Mar if I were to use R&R).  It was also expensive, and we made the mistake of comparing the July price with prices at different times of the year.  It was quickly decided that we weren't ever taking vacation in the summer evar again.  The estimates were around $4k, then add food/touristy things/extra incurred vacation costs, and I had a feeling we were looking at more money than I was wanting to spend.. and by feeling I mean, deep depression over the fact that I was looking at the trip of my dreams and telling myself no because of the price tag.  Siiiiigh, one day, Italy, one day we will be together.

Then we looked at other places that could be potentially cheaper.  My 2nd choice?  Scotland.  Mmmmm, love those accents.  Again, July prices weren't giving me any warm and fuzzies, and any flight through the UK is ridiculously expensive, not really sure why the Heathrow airport has to rape people with their extra taxes, but I wasn't a fan.  And the same issues for price were coming up with all vacation costs not being nice to ze pocketbook.

YAY YAY USA!

At the time, my R&R was still available, and there was consideration of coming back stateside, but that would still include hotel costs if I was in FL for any period of time, along with food and etc costs (my ridiculous love of shopping in America?).  And that would have also included a flight to NC, and coordinating my flight back to Bahrain, because R&R flights are usually arrive and depart from the same place (yay for military inflexibility!).  And lastly, it would mean split time.

So then the thought occurred to Teh Bear, why not just fly him to Bahrain?  Well, thats so damn clever!  Why didn't I think of that?  Well, because its the Middle East in the middle of the freakin summer (which is why we shut down that idea of going to Egypt and doing a Nile River tour, and add political hot mess to that list).  And because Bahrain isn't a vacation for me, its the place I live (and it sure as hell ain't a vacation).  But it is 2 weeks of no work, and I mean, people take 2 weeks off of work and sit at home, right?  Right.  Good.

So now the cost is just the plane ticket (thank you Osama for getting killed and making the prices of tickets rise) and groceries and whatever Teh Bear decided to buy while he's here.  For a while, the biggest concern was the political situation in the Middle East, but particularly Bahrain.  The Saudi's rolled over the Causeway (very long bridge between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain) in March and they've been parked roadside the hot protest areas since they arrived.  Its a fun time to go to the mall and see the APCs and tanks just chillin beside the road, blocking the exit to what used to be the Pearl Roundabout (/tear).  We were quite worried about him actually being able to enter the country, cause to waste spend $2k on a plane ticket to arrive at your destination almost 20 hours later and be told, sorry you can't stay....  My reaction to that is probably something I shouldn't think about.

Its like Where's Bahrain instead of Waldo...

We projected that in May we would make the final decision on vacation.  May has passed.  Bahrain is currently letting Americans enter (and the base has even lifted the dependent ban).  Italy is still expensive.  My R&R is no longer available because I took leave with Teh Sister visited in Feb/Mar and taking leave makes you ineligible for R&R benefits (dumb rule, but I don't make them, and I'm a peon who's opinion doesn't matter).  I've also been talking about Teh Bear visiting to my Bahrain Peeps (since the idea of him visiting first was discussed) and they are interested in meeting him or in the case of a few, wanting to meet the person who puts up with me, harhar.

I made myself wait until the tickets were purchased and we had less than month to count down till I got excited (because honestly, I've been counting down since I knew Teh Bear's vacation dates almost a year ago, but I've been keeping it on the DL).  I know how crushed I get, and how easily it happens, so I knew that this painful delayed gratification would be worth it in the end, just in case something didn't work out... or in the case that everything worked out, I could be ridiculously excited and giddy and my "tail" could wag uncontrollably (don't judge me, I get really excited sometimes, people are lucky I don't pee a little on the floor).

Tangent:  Hello NAVCENT.

One of the only pics of a building on base that I've ever found on the internet.  Not even searching NSA Bahrain yielded good results to show my family where I work..  But this is it.  Being in the Navy has given me a deeper appreciation of windows...

YYYYAAAYYYYYY TEH BEAR IS COMING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

was that amount of !'s excessive?  good.  I'm that excited.

   

The difference between the east and the west...

For the witches, one had green skin and one had white skin (if you don't know what I'm talkin about, I'm sad).
For the coasts, one has liberals and the other has conservatives (mostly-ish-y).
But for North Carolina...  there are a few significant items (which I will list here for you, because I'm awesome).

1.  Barbecue
Ok.  Look.  You might pretend your bbq is delicious, but in NC, we do it, and we do it right.  But we have different ways of doing it.  Example: Eastern NC bbq is usually vinegar based (not so yummy), but Western NC bbq is honey based (yummmmmm).  I hear that Western NC bbq is like Kansas style bbq, but we can steal being first in flight from Ohio cause those boys decided that the OBX was the place to make flyin' happen, so we can steal bbq props too.

food porn (source)

Best barbecue I've ever had?  Danny's BBQ.  This place looks like one of those sketchy chinese food places you'd never go into because its usually located in a strip mall, but OMGGGEEEE....  most delicious meat evar (and thats what she said).  They have 4 different types of bbq sauce on the tables (with different base types), vinegar, honey, mustard (wtf?), and spicy.  Honestly, I could eat the meat without the sauce at all because it was so delicious.  If you're in the RTP area (Raleigh/Durham/Cary), its totally worth going a few minutes out of your way for.

 2.  Landscape

Topography of NC

When I was in middle school, every year AG would take a trip.  One year we went to the Outer Banks, more commonly known/abbreviated as OBX (gag, although that is what is on the licence plates out there).  Our teacher, Ms. A made sure to get on the microphone (yay charter buses) and wake us all up to remind us to watch the landscape change as we drove across the state.  Since we started in the foothills it was slightly mountain-y, then it turned to hills, then it turned to rolling plains, then it turned to farm land, then to sand.  NC is cool like that.  Its also one of the reasons that a lot of folks move to NC, because they can live in the middle of the state and decide to go to the beach or mountains and get there in less than a day.  Been there, done that.

3.  Ways of speaking
Let me be clear about something.  North Carolina is in The South.  See how I capitalized that?  It's because The South is a proper noun.  We all speak southern, but mountain folk talk different than the coastal folk.  If you're trying to pretend in your head that I'm reading this to you with a redneck accent, stop, because you're  doing it wrong.  If you added the not silent -uh to the end of wrong, you might be talkin to me too much.

(google search)

People from The South are known for drinking sweet tea, saying ya'll, and dropping the g's off the end of words.  For instance:
Southern - I was talkin to Bill the other day, and ya'll ain't even gonna guess what he done.
English - I was talking to Bill the other day and you are not even going to guess what he did.

Now, for a story to illustrate East vs West NC speakin.
My roommate in college was from eastern NC.  Fountaintown actually.  And in ebonics it would have sounded like this: Fount-annn-town.  I'm from western NC.  Lenoir actually.  And in ebonics that would sound like this: Lee-nor.

One day, after I returned from class, Mally said to me (direct quote), "The printer weren't workin cause it weren't plugged in."  I was baffled.   I had no idea what the words directed at me meant.  My face explained this with its confused look, and after a few seconds of trying to decipher what had happened, I said, ever so eloquently, "huh?"

Mally:  The printer weren't workin' cause it weren't plugged in.
Me:  The printer weren't workin' cause it weren't plugged in?
Mally: Yeah.
Me: The printer weren't workin' cause it weren't plugged in? (mostly to myself at this point because I knew it was something about the printer)
Mally - stares at me.
Me - thinking on this, decide that its like a math problem, too many contractions, lets simplify.
Mally - moved on to whatever she was doing before I entered the room.
Me: (excitedly) OHHHHH!!!!  The printer WAS NOT working because it WAS NOT plugged in!  I GET IT!
Mally:  Thats what I said.
Me:  I didn't understand all those contractions and double negatives, my bad.

Ok, maybe that last line I wish I would have said, but not the point.  The point is, sometimes even North Carolinians (that is pronounced care-o-len-ians) don't even understand each other.  So the next time you're talking to your favorite southerner (who doesn't have to be me), and you have no idea what they're sayin', just know that no one else knows what they're sayin' either.


PS.  The other speaking quirk I have is that anytime I say anything that ends in a 'g', I add an 'uh' sound to the end of it.  Example:  Wrong is pronounced wrong(uh).  When I articulate the 'g' at the end of words that don't normally have the 'g' dropped off, the -uh always magically can be heard.  But if its supposed to have a 'g' and it can be dropped, it usually gets dropped instead of the -uh being added.  Example:  Driving becomes drivin' instead of driving(uh), unless I'm making a point.  :)

Speaking Southern is VERY complicated.

I've been tryin' since college to lose my Southern accent (source)

What did I miss?

 

Adulthood comes with responsibilities.

Overalls are tricky.  They can be cute.. if you're a child, have the right body type, are doing manual labor.. but there are too many ways overalls can go wrong.

Examples of WRONG:

This is NOT okay for multiple reasons. (google search)

This is NOT ok. (image)

What brings on the fashion police?

I was standing watch a few weeks ago and a lady walked in wearing bleached out denim shorts overalls.  She looked like she should have several kids trailing behind her screaming or she had been at a picnic, and decided that she'd stop into work real quick.  I'm not really sure, I guess it just rubbed me wrong.  If I was her and looked at myself in the mirror that morning, I probably would have said, wait, something is off.. oh yeah, its these overalls from 1992, let me try some slacks.

Who am I to judge?  I mean, I had corduroy overalls in brown that I wore until one of the buttons fell off in middle school.  Then I upgraded to a mickey mouse pair that were hand me down, but looked baggy and at least kinda cute.  Then Mickey was to childish, so I upgraded to a plain pair from Old Navy (miss that place).  I think I had another button/strap malfunction that never got fixed, so they were a lost cause.  But I feel like overalls you really have to be careful with.  Especially as a woman...  meaning wearing overalls REQUIRES WEARING A SHIRT UNDERNEATH.

Examples that work:

This is okay. (google search)

This is okay. (google search)

This is okay. (google search)

This public service announcement was brought to you by Teh Megan.

PS.  When I get back to America, I want a pair of overalls now, but I promise if they are too tight they will stay in the store and I'll dream of how cute they could be, and if I do wind up owning overalls again, I promise to always wear a shirt underneath... duh.



PS.  Are we FB friends?  Like can I decide another day on FB and we can be!  At 75 likes there will be a giveaway surprise!!!!

Vloggin.. I'm not sure that word is ok to use in front of your children or parents.

So, blogging is soooo 1990s and now apparently the cool this is to vlog.

WTF is vlog you ask?  Its video blogging.  I wouldn't have guess either, but I've been to a few blogs that have vlog Friday's and I was like, hrm, interesting concept.

The most interesting part?  Actually doing it.

I mean, I've got opinions on plenty of stuff, and I know there are vlog (every time I type this I feel ridiculous, which I'm glad for) rings out there, where someone suggests a topic for the vlog event, which is kinda cool.  Not sure how I could get in on one of those.  I like the blogging challenge.  I try to post blogs at least every other day.  Sometimes, that doesn't work out, but most of the time, I'm pretty good about it.

Vloggin would be another challenge for myself.  Could I do it?  Could I get over how country-bumpkin I sound and put my face on the internet for random people to see?  What if I had a HUGE zit on vlog day, can I take a sick day?  Why would I even care what the internet thinks about my vlog?

Step back.  I know how to work skype, but getting my camera do work on its own seems kinda like a challenge, I know if Teh Bear is reading this, he's shaking his head at me, because he's left me videos on my computer before, which I would find waiting for me after a grueling 12 hour shift, and it would immediately make my day infinitely better.  He's one of three options: a- apathetic to my new blogging addiction, b- supportive in that he would teach me how to use my camera for something other than skype dates, c- not supportive because he likes my face all to himself via the internet (least plausible option).  PS, Teh Bear is great.

Idk, its a consideration.  Something to decide another day?

Potentially something you'd see if I was a vlogger.

   

Your body is a temple... of art?

My parents very rarely miss out on an opportunity to be, well, parents.

Evidence 1:

Teh Dad does NOT approve of this top.

I once wore a cami/spaghetti strap tank top while I was staying at Teh Dad's house the summer before I graduated college (so I was over the age of 21), and when I walked into the kitchen, he saw me and IMMEDIATELY, without taking a breath, said, "Is that an appropriate shirt?"  No jk.  This is the man who changed my diapers, who even gave assistance in the genetic gene pool for the table that I carry around on my chest (aka my boobs), and I wasn't even planning on leaving the house.
Me: Well, what's wrong with it?
tD: Your all hanging out up top.
Me: Pretty sure I saw teh stepsister wearing a shirt exactly like this one yesterday and you didn't say anything to her.  (she wasn't even 16 yet)
tD: Yeah, but she doesn't have to worry about what you have to worry about.
thanks for the sublty Dad.
Me: Well, its not like I'm going anywhere.  And I'm pretty sure that if you go to town you're going to see way worse, cause I don't own  booty shorts.
tD: And you better never.

Evidence 2:

Teh Mom does NOT approve of this piercing.

I told Teh Mom that I wanted my eyebrow pierced soon after I turned 17.  I have a history of piercing my ears, she wasn't really surprised, but she definitely wasn't ready for facial piercings.  Her response was the combination of over my dead body and hell no and I'm not signing for that and whew, you're not 18 yet, hahaha.  I broached the subject again before my 18th bday, which went something like this:
Me:  I'm getting my eyebrow pierced on my birthday.
tM: No you aren't.
Me: It's what I want.
tM: You aren't allowed to have piercings at school.
Me: There's plenty of kids with piercings at school, there's even a freak kid who's got his nose bridge pierced and all sorts of other wacky face places.
tM: You need to wait 6 months, so you can think about this.
Me: It has been over 6 months since I decided this.
tM: No, wait 6 more months.
Me: I'm still going to get it done.
tM: We'll see.

3 months goes by after my birthday, I felt like this was a happy medium anddddd well, I'm not known for my patience, so I rebroached the subject.
Me: I'm going to get my eyebrow pierced.
tM: No you aren't.
Me: Yes, I am.  I've wanted this for almost a year now.  I'm doing it.
and I did.  And I loved it.  And it grew out.  And then I pierced the other eyebrow and took it out before the same fate happened.  Was Teh Mom pissed?  Oh yeah, pretty sure she didn't talk to me for at least a week, and if she did it was mostly painful.  We weren't in a good place then.  Then again, we aren't normally in a good place, so I guess we were setting the standard for the future?

Tangent:
Who else was pissed?  My work place, HellValue FairValue.  They made me cover it up with a bandaid, so since I'm a pain in the ass rebel, I bought kid's Dr. Seuss bandaids because Cat in the Hat had just came out in theaters.  They were not pleased with my neon green bandaid, but it was a bandaid, so I got scorns and customers asked me what was wrong with my face and I told them nothing, I had my eyebrow pierced and management didn't like it.  I forgot my bandaid a few times and had to wear a normal sized regular colored bandaid and it half covered my eye.  I almost took off a finger with the meat slicer because I couldn't see and told my manager to wear a bandaid over his eye, so I could call him a pirate and see how he liked it.  Regular customers complained to me that the bandaid was ridiculous that you couldn't even see my eyebrow ring normally (I loved those people).  When I had on the regular bandaid they were even more concerned.  <3 the south and conservative people. (Sarcastic font)  Siiiiigh.

Evidence 3:
I had talked about getting a tattoo for years, especially after the ordeal with Teh Mom about the piercing, I knew it had to be something that I loved, for permanent.  I thought long and hard.  I searched through tattoo databases for many moons.  Finally, I settled on a triquetra (aka, the symbol from the show Charmed).  It is an old Celtic symbol that had several different meanings that I liked.  I found a particular design I liked and waited.  I decided on it when I was with the ex-fiancé and he told me he wanted to get a tattoo also, so I should wait for him to decide what he wanted, which I agreed to.

"Wow, thats not as big as I thought it was
going to be." -Teh Dad

I discussed this decision with my parents, being the young, nieve, oldest child that I am.  They weren't pleased.  NO ONE WAS PLEASED.  Not Teh Mom, not Teh Dad, not teh stepmom, not Teh Granny.  The elders weren't pleased.  But, like always, my mind was made up.  I explained what it meant to them, I think they did appreciate the trinity aspect of the symbol, and they expressed their dissatisfaction.

Teh Mom: That will be on your body for LIFE.  Its a bad decision.
Teh Dad: YOU WANT WHAT ON YOUR BODY?
Teh Granny: Girl, you know I love you, but sometimes I just don't think you think with the brain God gave you.
teh stepmom: silent treatment with a stare, then walked away

Almost 2 years and a breakup later, I finally got my damn tattoo without the ex-fiancé (Thank Jesus).
I've never regretted it.


Evidence 4:
Proud Parenting comes in many forms.  My family is pretty good at showing it.

He loves that sweatshirt.

Notice the coordinated Wolfpack red?

Teh Mom after we chalked up the road to
celebrate Courk's graduation.  She definitely
goes above and beyond to celebrate,
its awesome.

When I gave Teh Dad this shirt,
he hated it and called it tacky,
which he still denies.
I still love this shirt and he wore it
for me while I was home on leave,
I think its growing on him in his old age.

I'm not even sure if Teh Mom or Teh Dad even read my blog.  If they do, neither of them have commented yet, which kinda makes me wonder.  Its too bad I don't vlog (video blog), cause the voices that my parents have when I'm telling stories is apparently very amusing.  Maybe that will be a decision for another day.. or better yet, a very large commitment for another day...

          

Memory Day...

The price of war.  Memorial Day, GTMO 2010.

Facts:
1.  The last Monday in May is observed as Memorial Day in the United States.
2.  I am the first person in my family to be in the military (to my knowledge).
3.  Memorial Day used to be known as Decoration Day.
4.  Decoration Day was first observed in 1865.
5.  Memorial Day is the first vacation day from work after Easter (aka spring holiday for those who can't handle religion being "thrown in their faces") for many people.

Additional fact:  Today at quarters (for non-military: a meeting where all enlisted in my dept show up to hear the "good news"), as we said the Sailor's Creed (which we do at the start of every quarters session), it hit me that today was memorial day, and I am but a small part of something much larger.

Teh Mom posted a status update on FB about being grateful to the military, with a shoutout to her daughter (me) who is currently serving.  Teh Dad tried to get ahold of me yesterday also, because they had been thinking about me since it was Memorial Day weekend.

Another Fact:  I didn't join the military to be part of something larger, or to support my country.  I joined because I needed a job.  I'm not ashamed of this.

I don't necessarily agree with all the things we're fighting for, but I don't necessarily disagree either.  I'm very appreciative of all the things that the military has provided for me.  Yes, my life is hard, but there are people that have it worse (always a valid argument).

As I recited the Sailor's Creed with other sailors in my department, I realize that if I was in an actual combat zone (with the bombs and the guns and the outright terrorists), the person standing next to me today, might not be standing beside me in days to come.  And it made me think back...  so many wars, so many lost.  THAT is what we're remembering.  The day for recognizing the armed forces that are still with us is Veteran's Day, its in November.  But I mean, who's complaining about recognition?   

Today is a day to honor those that paid the ultimate price for their service.

Those that died thinking, hell yeah, only 82 more days and I'm out of this desert, or this snowstorm, or this jungle, or this trench.  I'm goin' home and I'm gonna have a beer and enjoy my family.  Those that never got to see their last day, or the end results of their efforts, even if it was just as a mail carrier, cook, mechanic, doc, those jobs that seem small but are necessary to ensure that the military remains functional...

The price of freedom is death.  Death of sons and daughters and husbands and wives and fathers and mothers and friends and even enemies.  Someone who meant something to somebody.

So while we continued saying the Sailor's Creed, I thought about peace.  I thought about the people who had died trying to achieve "peace", which only seems to be a band-aid to the wound.  People who died during the Civil War, WW1, WW2, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, the War on Terror...  People who are AT peace, by paying the price of death, to give their countrymen the gift of rights, to choose war or peace...

So, complain about your gas prices being too high and enjoy your 3 day weekend.  Think about the man or woman who was vigilant and killed the man or woman that could have risen to power and made the wars that we've fought significantly altered where our enemy won instead of us.  Think about soldiers who fought during the Civil War for same rights for all skin colors, about soldiers who froze to death during WW1, about solider's bodies that littered the beaches of Normandy during WW2, about soldiers who have died from cancer or other health reasons from exposure to chemicals used during war (Agent Orange), about the solider who faces a child who has bombs strapped to his body...

Because I'm that American, that never realized what Memorial Day was about until I was in the military.  I knew what it was about, but it was just the free vacation day at the end of May for most of my life.  So I will sit back and think about the gruesome past that allows us the present that we live in.  The price of life for a life.

SAILORS CREED:

I am a United States Sailor. I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and I will obey the orders of those appointed over me. I represent the fighting spirit of the Navy and those who have gone before me to defend freedom and democracy around the world. I proudly serve my country's Navy combat team with honor, courage and commitment. I am committed to excellence and the fair treatment of all.

And despite all those thoughts, we weren't even finished with the Creed yet...  But soon enough, and the day trucked on...

PS.  Excellence comes in difference forms.  Just sayin.



 

AND THE WINNER IS......

Me when it comes to making a decision..  (Image)

A Dell XPS 17.  Its a refurb, but it will still be new to me, kinda like buying a used car.  Cheaper, but still new enough.


I'm pretty excited by the decision.  Mostly the MAKING the decision, finally.  I'm pretty sure I sat at the submit order screen for 14 of the 15 minutes I get for inactivity.  










The inner monologue went something like this:
Am I getting what I wanted?  Am I getting too much?  What is the difference between BD-RW and DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM?  Should I just get the better BD-RW?  When the hell would I ever burn a blue-ray disc?  Did I get the processor I wanted?  Should I just kick it back down to the minimal version, save $100?  Should I just go with the 1gb video card instead of the 3gb?  Should I just go with 6gb of RAM instead of 8?  You know you are being ridiculous, right?  But its a blue-ray player, Teh Bear has been buying blue-rays and if I want to watch Toy Story on my computer, I'll need the blue-ray player, because Lord knows operating that PS3 will make my brain explode.  You know you've looked at computer for DAYS now, and you have seen what's out there, and you've asked for help, and no one has really made any concrete suggestions, so you're on your own?  Be a big girl and just click the damn button.  But what if I'm not getting what I want?  How is this computer NOT what you want, you just picked it out, dumbass.  (Yes, I call myself dirty names in my inner monologue.)  Yeah, but there's so many options?  Should I just go spec out a new one and see if there's any good coupons?  Oooo, should I wait until June 1st and see if any Dell Outlet deals come about?  *shift body, screen falls all the way back with a pop*  Ok, no, I won't wait.  But what if when I check out they charge me tax and shipping and then that extra $100 that I just spent is doubled cause of tax?  Oooo mmmm geeeeee.


Finally, I unfroze (which is a sign of me panicking), and open a new tab to the dell outlet one last time to make sure that I was getting the right one.  I mean, I know people preached APPLE to me, and some people threw some other brands at me, that I couldn't really find/didn't meet my standards, but what's a girl to do!?!?!?!


So I looked again at the submit order button.  Realized there was NO tax AND Dell is shipping the computer to the APO.  


SUBMIT ORDER.  
check.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
36 hours passed without an email from Dell confirming my order.. oh and yes I had written the beginning of this blog in the excitement and blissful glow of being soon-to-be-new-computer-owner...  I had a purchase ID, but not an order #... 2 VERY different things.


The last 12 hours of those 36 included several calls to Dell.  I tried calling so many times at work that I'm sure I can recite the "this call isn't toll free from your location" message... in Arabic...  ok, maybe not, but potentially parts of it.  I think the guys says poop at some point.  I couldn't get a working number, so those annoying pop up boxes when you are trying to configure a new computer that ask if you want to chat with a rep?  I actually had to use THAT to talk to someone this afternoon about the lack of order confirmation.  Sushi Sheesha Seeshi T gave me a number to call that ACTUALLY worked, and I finally spoke to a Dell rep.  I told both the chat person and the phone rep that I wanted to make sure the order was cancelled.  The phone rep assured me that the order wasn't going to go through anyways due to shipping it to a PO box.  No, lady, an APO isn't a freakin PO box.  GOSH.


So, with that order cancelled, I sorted through all the options again, this time finding one slightly better because it has facial recognition!!!!  Which is one of those stupid cool things that I was pleased with.


This time I shipped it to Teh Bear (who has recently become my personal postal worker, and for that he is awesomest) and put in the correct billing address (oops, my bad).  I got a purchase confirmation email AND an order confirmation email in the SAME MINUTE, which completely negated Teh Bear's argument about how I was being impatient about the first order, thank you, Dell (you assholes).


What I ended up:
-- XPS L702X Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
   Unit Price: $1,049.00
   Quantity: 1
-- XPS L702X
-- Documentation
-- Service Software
-- Label
-- NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M 3GB graphics with Optimus-- Service Software
-- 9 Cell Primary Battery-- Certified Refurbished
-- DataSafe Online Backup Software
-- Service Software
-- Blu-ray Disc Combo (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM)
-- 17.3 inch HD+ (900p) WLED Display-- Dell Support Center 64 Bit 2.0
-- Elemental Silver Aluminum
-- Power DVD Software
-- 64BIT Operating System
-- Operating System DVD
-- Shipping Material
-- Wave Systems Software
-- Internal Backlit Keyboard - English
-- Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 and Bluetooth 3.0-- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Operating System DVD
-- AC Adapter
-- Software
-- No Media Selected
-- Microsoft Office Starter
-- Processor: Intel Core i7-2720QM processor (2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.30 GHz)
-- 500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)-- Sound Blaster X-Fi MB Panzer software version 1.2
-- 125V Power Cord
-- Facial Recognition Software-- Information
-- Processor Label
-- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
-- 500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM) 2nd Drive-- Label
-- 8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)-- Software
-- Dell WebCam Central
-- Image Restore Software
-- Bracket
-- Roxio Software CD
-- XPS 17-L702X: 1 Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis (Included In Price)
   Unit Price: $0.00
   Quantity: 1
   Total Price: $0.00
Subtotal: $1,049.00
Shipping and Handling: $19.99
Shipping Discount: -$19.99
Sales Tax: $68.19
Total Amount: $1,117.19

I feel like out of all the systems I looked at and for, I got the best deal for the best specs with this system.  No, it didn't have a fingerprint reader, but that was one of the surprise cool things about the Stupido 17, along with the lid design.  It will most likely come with a silver lid (which are great for Peace Frog stickers).  But it won't have the insides of the computer showing, and the lid will close properly...  I won't have to worry about coming home one day and my computer not having a display anymore (yay peace of mind, peace frogs, peace of mind.. hehe get it?).

Retro Peace Frog is the bestest, which is why I have the towel and used to have this sticker on the very first laptop and on my car, and I have the outline peace frog on my Camelbak bottle.  I'm kind of a Peace Frog fiend. (Peace Frog Store)

   

Cooking Adventures. 1

Being deployed is hard.  When you aren't near your favorite stores with all your favorite things.  Or sometimes you don't even have the means to make things happen, like cooking.  For over 2 years, I only had a microwave and mini fridge.  I have microwaved eggs, I've trekked in the rain to a community kitchen for cupcakes, I dealt with no ice cream because a freezer was optional..  Being deployed sucks.

At work, we are in communication with some of the vessels in the AOR.  We do the same jobs, just somewhere else.  I try not talk about civilization to them, because I've been in that situation where people talk about their "real life" aka their American life and I don't have the same things that they have (my own bedroom that didn't include a bathroom, a kitchen, etc).  It sometimes feels like they are rubbing it in, despite knowing that isn't the intention, really I know, they were just telling me about their normal life, which happened(s) to be better than mine.. :)

One day, I accidentally brought up the fact that I was eating an enchilada for dinner while chatting with someone.  I received the standard, you asshole comments, and immediately felt pretty bad, so I offered a compromise, what could I send?  Its nice when people send you things that you've asked for.  Sugar cookies was the solution.

So, I went on a baking spree.  When I went to the NEX the other day to pick up ingredients, they also had marshmellows for $1.  Woot!  Rice Krispy Treats!  And since there was no cheap rice krispy cereal in a bag I was feeling experimental, I got chocolate rice krispy cereal instead of the regular kind.  There was also some Jello No Bake strawberry cheesecake thingies on sale, which I also purchased, but decided to make another day.

All the supplies.  Including the ipod dock, which is one of the most super-de-duper items I own.  This cooking session also served as a jam session.

Yes, I'm lazy, I use prepackaged stuff, like sugar cookie (which I didn't find at the NEX, siigh) and brownie mix.  While I appreciate the effort that it takes to make something from scratch, sometimes its hard to find all the necessary ingredients to make something from scratch here.  Teh Ginger's wife challenged me once to make a rainbow cake, which essentially is white cake mix with food coloring, placed in the pan in layers..  And while it looks awesome, I don't have that much free time on my hands, nor the kosher food coloring kit that I could buy from amazon.  Maybe one day when I'm a housewife domesticated goddess (both options are so ludacris).

Peppermint Brownies..  oh does that have alcohol in it?  my bad.

Recipe for peppermint brownies:
Follow the directions on the brownie mix, except for the add water part.  Add peppermint schnapps till you think there's enough minty smell.  Not too much cause you'll make your brownies all watery then they won't be fudgy and delicious.  The recipe called for 2 tablespoons of water per package (I used 2 packages), so I put prob over 4 tablespoons but less than 1/3 of a cup in the mix, but who was measuring?

You can also substitute your own flavor, I've also done these with amaretto, but I didn't use enough so you couldn't really tell it was there, although there was a slightly nutter than normal flavor, even though there were no nuts in mix.

this photo is awesome, mostly because of how hard it was to take the photo... and how delicious the batter smelled.

The best part about making brownies is making sure you got all the batter out of the bowl...  Waste not, want not.

For rice krispy treats, I followed the generic directions you can find online.  6 cups rice krispies, 10 oz marshmallows (although apparently these bags are actually 16 oz, but I helped the first bag out by eating several), a few spoonfuls of butter, and for the PB part, the recipe called for 1/2 a cup, but I had a little more than 1/2 a cup of PB left, so I just used the rest of it.  Yeah, thats how I operate, I do what I wawnt!  Take that directions!
 

PB chocolate rice krispy treats ingredients.

melting too many marshmallows for the rice krispy treats.  wooden spoon = bad idea, lesson proved several times.

Trying to get them to go in the pan proved difficult with a wooden spoon.  I smartened up and used a silicone spatula for the 2nd batch.

While it looks mostly disgusting.. its so delightful!
It made me keep thinking of the spider webs in Tol Barad where you have to kill the spiders.
(WoW reference for those of you that didn't get it).

The brownies finished right as I finished the 2nd batch of rice kripies.  So beautiful!
  And the ipod dock remote sneakin into the picture (which is why I bought this particular dock).

Mixing up the sugar cookies.  Baking isn't fun unless you can play with your hands get dirty.
These are the most awesome pants I own, btw, my Merry pants.

Look at those beautiful golden edges.

What I learned from all this:
My oven is environmentally friendly and after about an hour of being on, it decided it weren't gonna work no more (intentional bad grammar that goes back to a story about a printer and my college roommate and her Eastern NC talkin that I failed to understand once).

This sucks because my oven is kinda cool in that you turn it on for a certain amount of time, say 45 minutes, and then it starts to cool down after 45 minutes.  This doesn't mean if you don't take your stuff out of the oven it won't burn (lesson learned the hard burnt way), because it will still be hot.  But after 2 batches of sugar cookies not getting my beautiful golden edges because they weren't cooking at all, I had to just set the oven to stay on and not use the timer... Siiiiiigh, keeping up with time is soooo annoying.  I should probably invest in a timer if I'm going to keep caudling the inner Betty F-in Crocker.

Baking in mass quantities seems easier than baking one thing at a time, like sugar cookies one day, brownies the next day, etc.  I was prob in the kitchen for less than 4 hours for all of this.  Now I just need to get it packaged and boxed up so I can ship it out.  Its good I have so many boxes hanging around in my storage room.  Ah, moving every year has its benefits.... /roll eyes.  And hopefully, the mail will get there quickly!


**All photos are personal, and using a dslr one handed is VERY difficult while you're trying to do other things with the other hand, like not pour brownie batter all over the counter or get the blob of marshmellows and cereal into the pan and not on the counter..  While tricky, I'm amazing, so I make shit happen.  :)




  

spending lots of money... hurts.

Post Rapture Laptop Breakage... (personal)

This makes me worried.  Like, REALLY worried.  Like, stalk laptop sites with the intention of spending money worried.

In that photo, you can see the insides of my computer..  the ones you aren't supposed to see.  Also, before you suggest duct taping it closed because you can't contain your inner redneck, the grey shit on the orange/yellow area is duct tape residue from where I had my computer "fixed" before I came to Bahrain.  It has worked it's way off, with only minor interference from my annoyed fingers.  Its a story that also involves Teh Dad, but he didn't PUT the duct tape there.  He did have to endure the wrath that was Teh Megan realizing that the tech had put DUCT TAPE ON MY COMPUTER.  SO MUCH RAGGGGEEEEEE.  2ndly (stfu, its my blog I do what I wawnt), due to the breakage, the corner is no longer able to shut at all, much less correctly.

So new laptop?  Siiiiigh, looks like it.

Dell, HP, Apple, Toshiba, Sony, Samsung, someone even joked about an E-Machine.

Its overwhelming all of the options.  I dared to look at the Dell website a few months ago, because I've known for a while that my laptop is on its last leg.  Then, the best processor was an i5.  Now its an i7.  When I bought this laptop, 4g of RAM was a lot (which is what I have because I'm a computer snob).  Now 6g of RAM is the free upgrade and 8g of RAM is only $60 more.

So I'm torn.  Do I buy the biggest and the best that is available right now for about $1k or do I settle for a mid-line system that is potentially cheaper?  Because nothing about me says go the mid-line option.  Everything is pulling me to drop the 1k on the biggest and best, but I ask myself how necessary is that?

What is my dream computer since I'm obviously willing to shell out some money on a new computer? Well I'm so glad you ask, cause I've been droolin' over a Apple Macbook Pro 17" for years now.

But that is about $2500 that I'm not willing to drop because of a name.  Especially when the hardware isn't as good as what I could get somewhere else.  Yeah its the most stable system out there if you're working hard on your computer, but I'm not in college using Adobe/Final Cut anymore.  And I hear the touchpad on a Mac is the best you can get, ever, anywhere, and that makes my eyes glaze over in delight, but a touchpad isn't the reason to buy an entire computer.

What are my specifications?  Glad you asked, again.

I want:
17" (thats what she said) screen size
i7 processor - can be the lowest GHz
size doesn't really matter for my HD (thinking at least 350g), since I have the external, but it has to be 7200rpm, not 5200rpm
at least 6gb of RAM, but want 8gb
at least a 512mb stand alone video card, 1gb would satisfy me, 3gb would prob make me need to change underwear
a wireless card that includes the bluetooth extension
Blue-Ray DVD player would be nice, but not necessary, as I do not plan to start buying Blue-Ray dvds anytime soon
9 cell battery
preferrably with backlit keyboard (which is a nice, but not necessary thing) or I would trade this option for the fingerprint reader which I've LOVED on this computer (because I'm too lazy to type in a password when I can just swipe my finger 1-20 times on the thingy).

and one of the simplest yet biggest things: SHIPS TO APO/FPO............

Me when I find out places don't ship to/offer free shipping for APO addresses.
I KEEL YOU ASSHOLES!  (DBTP)

side rant: NOT shipping to APO/FPO is UNPATRIOTIC YOU AMERICA HATERS!!!  I've had to deal with this issue for 2 years now, and this is one of the most ridiculous things I've had to deal with being overseas, probably debatable, but I'm willing to have that lovely rant/debate.  I've had to send a lot of stuff to someone else, to then have them ship it to me (to take advantage of free shipping or simply because they don't ship to APOs).  Apparently, there are places that you can ship items to that then will ship them to APO, but they charge you more than it would cost for your family to ship it to you through USPS.

So my front runners:

HP Pavilion dv7t Quad Edition (HP site)

Dell XPS 17 Refurb (Dell Outlet)

I've never owned anything but a Dell.  That was a lie.  I once owned a computer that the Ex-Fiancé built for me to go to college.  It wasn't really a particular type of computer since it was acquired through the one of the school warehouse sells where they were selling the old CPUs and monitors that they'd replaced.  He and his dad did some work on it, mostly stuff I had no idea about because at the time I was technologically retarded. Either way, it worked, I got to name it (Ow, thats my ear! because when I asked for a name, that was the first thing anyone said because Ex-Fiancé's mom pull on his dad's ear for some reason).

Then he talked me into playing WoW with him, which would require a MAJOR computer upgrade for me.  That was my early cmas and birthday present that year, a new Dell desktop that I can't even remember what type it was.  Teh Granny has it now since she only really uses it for typing up recipes and looking at pics from trips she's been on.

As a pre-college graduation present/ if you want to go on this trip and take summer classes you have to have a laptop necessity, I bought a laptop.  An Inspiron.  I loved it.  The only reason I ever replaced it was because someone poured water on it, which I reported on my renter's insurance and they gave me money for a replacement computer since the HD was fried, which we didn't know was replaceable at the time.  After the  new computer was ordered (the now broken one), I took the inspiron to a computer guy who replaced the HD and it was good to go.  I'm such a nice person, I gave it to Teh Mom.  The only complaint I had was that the battery was dying to the point that it almost always had to be on the charger and the screen's hinges were loose, which apparently were able to be tightened.

I bought a Stupido Studio 17 to replace the inspiron.  It was the brand new Dell thing and I had discovered the Dell Outlet and the choirs of angels that sing when something is used but still new, because the tech gods decide that it can be cheaper than buying a new one.  It came with a cool lid cover (that is apparently $85 now) and I had one month of love your new laptop time before I left for bootcamp, and love it I did.  The hinges had issues when I bought it, but because of time and circumstance I couldn't really return it unless I wanted to have someone else deal with it for me, and thats never a fun time for anyone.

Recently, I've been getting more and more BSoD (blue screen of death), complete computer freeze ups, ridiculously long start up/shut down times, and the hinge remains an issue... obviously.  I mean hearing your laptop screen POP when you open/close it is normal, right?  /cringe.

(Someone's college econ project, this is why I love college)

So now, as Rafiki said:

It is time.

I have to break down and find a new computer and sort through the 10 mabillion options to figure out what I want vs what I need and what is a good price vs what is too much (lookin at your Apple, with disdain on my face and sadness in my eyes and hands void of a Macbook Pro).




I know that many people have many different opinions on what is good vs what isn't.  I'm a brand whore, I've always had a Dell, and rarely have I had too many issues with them, so I would call them dependable-y-ish.  Chuckolas already said "Dells suck."  Check.  I know that Miss Reflective has a HP that she's not complained to me about, and when I briefly used it a few times, I liked the feel of it, even though I did struggle with the touchpad, but thats a matter of getting used to the platform.

So what do I do?  Do I go for the biggest and best?  Or do I just settle for a midrange prepackaged deal that makes other consumers happy?  Will I eventually get my standard buyer's remorse for spending so much money on a laptop when I know that something with less bells and whistles would get me by?  ORRRR  Do I go the way of delight and just drop the money on the awesome computer and overcome that buyer's remorse with the fact that once I get to America and have real high speed internet, my computer will be AHHHH-MAZINGGGG(uh)!!!!!!???

Its a tough call for me.  I need help.  And I need to narrow down the options a little more, because I'm afraid that one day on the trek from my desk dining room table to my bedroom that a wire is going to get caught or something is going to get jolted the wrong way and I will no longer have a screen.  So this isn't really something I can decide another day (haha see how I did that with the title of my blog joke?  haha, I'm so funny).  Time is a tickin.

What do I doooooo?

Facebook Rules (like the ones you follow, not like FB is awesome)

So, Teh Bear and I have an understanding when it comes to social media.  Our goal is to try to not make our friends want to barf when they read communication between us.  We established Facebook Rules, so we would not be like the FB friends that we sometimes grudgingly keep have who post on their significant other's wall or on their own wall:  I LOVE MY SWEET CUPCAKE MUFFIN <3 <3 :* :* :* :D :D  DWAYNE CLETUS WILLIS IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE.
And then Dwayne responds:  I love you hunny bunch.
Hunny Bunch:  I love you more.
D: I love you more.
HB:  No I love YOU more, cause I said it first.
D: XOXOXOXOXOXOXO, thats more love.

Gag.

Seriously?  (FB Group)

But, you've probably seen it.  I mean, its different if its their anniversary and they wanna be cute on each other's page like, oh, you've dealt with me for several years now, I love you, Mr/Mrs Muffinhead.  Or maybe if someone went out of their way to do something special, like when Teh Bear made me an entire box full of origami cranes.  Actually, it was more than just one box, because the 2nd package he sent also had cranes in it, so it was a lot of fucking birds.  And he did them all by himself.  Of course he got a subtly lovey public message from me about how awesome it was.  But I didn't all caps about TEH BEAR IS SO GREAT :* :* :* <3 <3 <3.  No, it was sly.  I posted a photo and made a status, or two, about it, and now they sit in my living room for me to gaze at from time to time because they are so freakin awesome.

The thing about the blog though is that this is my space (not to be confused with Myspace, which I no longer have).  I can say whatever the hell I want.  Although, I do still try to apply the Facebook Rules as often as possible, because even in the blog, no one wants to hear all that sap.  References every once in a while is endearing, but plastering your love all over the internet for the world to see just annoys everyone else.  The rest of us are glad you are happy, truly.  But, I'm deployed (even if this is a PCS, don't get sassy), and this isn't my normal life, so when you plaster all over the internet how happy you are, I'm happy for you in a please-shut-the-fuck-up-soon-no-one-wants-to-see-that-all-the-time type of way.

What mushy FB statuses would look like
if they weren't just words on the internet.
(allfacebook.com)

Your love for each other smothers me, and it makes me jealous.  Your wedding pictures are beautiful, and I'm jealous cause I want one.  Your baby is usually the most precious thing known to mankind, and I'm jealous cause I want one, maybe, eventually, sometime, in the far future.  Cause I have spring fever because I'm in my mid-20s and I'm in the middle east and never realized that being in the navy meant having a very small chance of having what most would consider a normal lifestyle.

Another one of the great things about this being my blog is that I can go off on as many tangents as I like... :)

Back to the rules.  We try not to smother everyone else with our lub.  Not everyone in the world needs to know the things that I can tell Teh Bear person-to-person via skype or chat versus a Facebook status.  I mean, I know my situation isn't the best in the world, but I know there are people out there that have it worse than I do, so while I sit in my comfy apartment talking about someone else's love smothering me, I don't want to be the asshole that rubs my relationship awesomeness in someone else's face.

So we have Facebook Rules.  If its anything close to mushy, reevaluate and decide if you need to break the rules.  Hell, sometimes even posting pics of us being silly together causes me to reevaluate, like hrmmmmm, should this be posted?  The kissy pic I posted for my 30 day challenge?  That was at least a 5 minute debate in my head, but that photo makes me smile every time I see it, so I stuck to my guns.  We hope that it saves us from earning the reputation of being that couple and saving people's gag reflex and potentially prior meal.