SUNDAY'S POST:
Oh man, oh man. It rained so hard all last night and this morning. And with the rain came a whole bunch of inconvinience...
The streets were too muddy to cruise on so only 3 people showed up to the music class. I was supposed to take pics and vids of my students doing their thing but not enough people showed up... on top of that, the battery on my camera died. Oh and I was also 1.5 hours late due to the fact that I had to cross the city in those unnavigateable (is that a word???) streets.
The only way I was able to go was because one of my students that lives on this side of the city volunteered to give me a ride to the music class. However, it turned out to be at the expense of his little toyota... we waded through so many flooded streets (And I mean seriously waded) that once we got to the church and parked the car, it decided to die. After our tiny and short class, when we were attempting to go back, we realized the car wouldn't turn on. My guess is that the transmission is ruined... Oh darn.
Anyhow after that I came home (ended up getting a ride from a different student while the other one stayed to find a mechanic). I was supposed to do laundry in preparation for the trip, but it started drizzling again so I gave up and just chilled the rest of the afternoon.
Ended up having a nice evening with Eddy and Elsa... we went out to Bob's Burger (McDonald's equivalent) and then passed by to visit Chinha and her baby. Such a cutie. Anyhow... back at home now, getting ready to start another week.
That's all for today... Tootles!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Plans Not Followed
SATURDAY'S POST:
Sabbath was nice. It was my turn to play the piano at church, and then they announced I'd be gone for a month and ppl were like 'again?'... anyways the sermon was aaight, and then we had a good meal at Tio T's house. After that, I was supposed to get picked up by one of the brothers from a different church because I was invited to participate in the music program they had in the afternoon, but I was out of minutes on my phone so I couldn't call him to make sure everything was still going to plan... so I don't know what ended up happening, I just know I never got picked up so I just went home instead (after a quick nap on the couch) and did some reading... and now I'm prepping some material for tomorrow's class. My poor students are gonna have to go another month relying on their own dedication to advance their musical skills, since there'll be no classes going on :S
I was also supposed to visit my grandma again, but that just didn't happen because it got too late for me to go a-wandering around the city. Especially in her part of town. Gotta make it a point to go by her place when I come back.
Anyways, that's all for now. Tootles!
Sabbath was nice. It was my turn to play the piano at church, and then they announced I'd be gone for a month and ppl were like 'again?'... anyways the sermon was aaight, and then we had a good meal at Tio T's house. After that, I was supposed to get picked up by one of the brothers from a different church because I was invited to participate in the music program they had in the afternoon, but I was out of minutes on my phone so I couldn't call him to make sure everything was still going to plan... so I don't know what ended up happening, I just know I never got picked up so I just went home instead (after a quick nap on the couch) and did some reading... and now I'm prepping some material for tomorrow's class. My poor students are gonna have to go another month relying on their own dedication to advance their musical skills, since there'll be no classes going on :S
I was also supposed to visit my grandma again, but that just didn't happen because it got too late for me to go a-wandering around the city. Especially in her part of town. Gotta make it a point to go by her place when I come back.
Anyways, that's all for now. Tootles!
Facebook Troubles
FRIDAY'S POST:
Another weekend is here... yay!!! Just chilling at home, unwinding a bit after an eventful week. I've been trying and trying to upload pics into my facebook but for some reason it just wont let me. It keeps saying 'Upload Failed' after me having to wait like 30 minutes for it to pretend it's uploading. Uberannoying.
Gotta study my lesson and then hit the sack because tomorrow will be an extra early morning, being that it's the end of the trimestre and there's a special Sabbath school program starting 3o minutes earlier than usual.
This is my last weekend before my trip to the great U S of A. It's almost time to pack!!! :D
See yall in a bit.
Another weekend is here... yay!!! Just chilling at home, unwinding a bit after an eventful week. I've been trying and trying to upload pics into my facebook but for some reason it just wont let me. It keeps saying 'Upload Failed' after me having to wait like 30 minutes for it to pretend it's uploading. Uberannoying.
Gotta study my lesson and then hit the sack because tomorrow will be an extra early morning, being that it's the end of the trimestre and there's a special Sabbath school program starting 3o minutes earlier than usual.
This is my last weekend before my trip to the great U S of A. It's almost time to pack!!! :D
See yall in a bit.
Monday, March 29, 2010
and even MORE!!!
Yes, that's Mr. Morelos himself greeting us from afar...
Sabrinota got real patriotic for a second there... lol
Que onda Morelos? It's been a minute!
For your enjoyment... More Pics :)
LA Michoacana en el Pueblito :)
La Ponderosa is now a whole Restaurant!
Colonia de Maestros... the best house ever!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Unprecedented Changes...
Ok, how come the plans changed drastically all of a sudden? I was having a pretty slow and uneventful workday (as all my workdays seem to be lately) when suddenly I got an email that changed the schedule that had been confirmed on Tuesday. Now I have to scramble around and change the reservations for the rental pick-up locations, the times I'll be in Keene, and the places I'm going in-between projects.
Oh, and on top of that, they told me I have to take along my own coveralls, goggles, steel-toed boots, hard-hat, and long-sleeve company shirt. Those are some thick, bulky items! I thought I could get some once I get there... but no, gotta lug my own around accross the Atlantic. So I started scrambling around to make all this changes, which took all afternoon (the bureaucracy in our company gets a little ridiculous. Everything needs to be approved by at least one higher up... everything.) and I still didn't finish locking down on everything as I'd hoped. I don't like not having parts of my trip in place when it's this close to departure day... anyways I'm just complaining now so I'll stop here :)
Hope you're all having a great morning, afternoon, or night. Much love!
Oh, and on top of that, they told me I have to take along my own coveralls, goggles, steel-toed boots, hard-hat, and long-sleeve company shirt. Those are some thick, bulky items! I thought I could get some once I get there... but no, gotta lug my own around accross the Atlantic. So I started scrambling around to make all this changes, which took all afternoon (the bureaucracy in our company gets a little ridiculous. Everything needs to be approved by at least one higher up... everything.) and I still didn't finish locking down on everything as I'd hoped. I don't like not having parts of my trip in place when it's this close to departure day... anyways I'm just complaining now so I'll stop here :)
Hope you're all having a great morning, afternoon, or night. Much love!
TX DL is now within my reach
WEDNESDAY'S POST:
I got the rental car! I was able to convince the Finance manager to cover the rental for the weekends and then deduct from my paycheck next month. He said yes! So plan USA is a go-go.
Today was an easy-going day... nothing out of the ordinary.
Now I just have to figure out a way to pay for some driver's surcharges for old tickets so I can renew my license as soon as I get there. And this time, I plan to keep it with me and bring it back to Angola so I can just submit it to get an Angolan license as well. It'll be good to be able to drive here legally (not that I have much access to a car, but it's still good to have that capability...).
Ummm anyhow, that's it for my otherwise uneventful day. I'm still counting down the days til I'm back in good ol' TX!
I got the rental car! I was able to convince the Finance manager to cover the rental for the weekends and then deduct from my paycheck next month. He said yes! So plan USA is a go-go.
Today was an easy-going day... nothing out of the ordinary.
Now I just have to figure out a way to pay for some driver's surcharges for old tickets so I can renew my license as soon as I get there. And this time, I plan to keep it with me and bring it back to Angola so I can just submit it to get an Angolan license as well. It'll be good to be able to drive here legally (not that I have much access to a car, but it's still good to have that capability...).
Ummm anyhow, that's it for my otherwise uneventful day. I'm still counting down the days til I'm back in good ol' TX!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Gitcher Motor Runnin'....
I'm trying to finish up tying a few loose ends in regards to my trip. I want to get a rental car, but it's proving quite difficult given the fact that I don't have a credit card. Also, the bosses in Houston didn't see it necessary to throw in a rental car for me because I'm gonna be on the road during the weekdays that I'll be working and transportation is already arranged for those times. They feel that I would only use a rental car on weekends, my 'personal time', so that should come out of my own pocket. I don't disagree, but now I'm stuck with this dilemma... how do I get myself a rental car???
I'm gonna keep looking for a loophole in the system. Somehow, I have to be able to expense it and then get it deducted from my paycheck at the end of the month... hmmm... we shall see.
If everything works out, I'll be able to spend another weekend in Keene, because I'll just grab the rental as soon as I get to Houston (coming from Louisiana) and jet out. Then I'll drive back on Sunday afternoon, to be there by Sunday evening...
I really hope I can find a way to rent a car!
Anyhow. That's been what I've been focusing on today.
Did some routine stuff at work... came home and worked out (the P90X ab-ripper... it really feels like it's ripping your abs out. Ouch.), and then had my daily showering competition with Eddy. We always count to three, run to our respective rooms, grab our pj's, run to our respective showers, shower as fast as possible, and run back to the living room. Whoever gets there first, wins. He's been on a winning streak for a while. Tomorrow the tables will turn! (that's what I tell myself everyday...)
Other than that, the day has been pretty uneventful.
Oh, and if you're a new reader due to the plug that Edna did on facebook, welcome. This is my rather uneventful blog that I'm forced to write in everyday because of a challenge way back in February.
Just kidding, I do enjoy keeping my peeps updated through this blog. Hope you enjoy reading!
I'm gonna keep looking for a loophole in the system. Somehow, I have to be able to expense it and then get it deducted from my paycheck at the end of the month... hmmm... we shall see.
If everything works out, I'll be able to spend another weekend in Keene, because I'll just grab the rental as soon as I get to Houston (coming from Louisiana) and jet out. Then I'll drive back on Sunday afternoon, to be there by Sunday evening...
I really hope I can find a way to rent a car!
Anyhow. That's been what I've been focusing on today.
Did some routine stuff at work... came home and worked out (the P90X ab-ripper... it really feels like it's ripping your abs out. Ouch.), and then had my daily showering competition with Eddy. We always count to three, run to our respective rooms, grab our pj's, run to our respective showers, shower as fast as possible, and run back to the living room. Whoever gets there first, wins. He's been on a winning streak for a while. Tomorrow the tables will turn! (that's what I tell myself everyday...)
Other than that, the day has been pretty uneventful.
Oh, and if you're a new reader due to the plug that Edna did on facebook, welcome. This is my rather uneventful blog that I'm forced to write in everyday because of a challenge way back in February.
Just kidding, I do enjoy keeping my peeps updated through this blog. Hope you enjoy reading!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Itinerary Confirmation: Check
Today was routine, routine, routine. No big news. Except for my trip itinerary getting confirmed. It's now written on stone: I'll be landing in DFW on Thursday, March 31st, at 10.15 am. I can't wait...
I'll spend the weekend in Keene, and then it's off to Houston to spend the night there before taking a mini road trip to Louisiana with the trainer to put up a process improvement project in our facility there. I'll be there for two weeks, then I go to Houston for a weekend. The following Monday I fly to Colorado with another trainer to put up another process improvement event for another two weeks. Then I fly back to Houston, spend the weekend there, and then back to Luanda. So it's pretty jampacked but I'm excited about the traveling, the people I'm gonna get to hang out with (even if it's just for a little bit), and the work I'll be doing and learning from while I'm there.
So that all got confirmed today... and I'm ready to jet off already. I tell you, living in a constant state of eagerness is not healthy. I can't wait til I'm on the plane headed over there.
Other than that, it was back to the stadium for some training, and then home for chillaxing and helping Eddy with his homework before bedtime.
Hopefully the rest of the week flies by and I'm packing my bags in no time :)
See ya in about 10 days!
I'll spend the weekend in Keene, and then it's off to Houston to spend the night there before taking a mini road trip to Louisiana with the trainer to put up a process improvement project in our facility there. I'll be there for two weeks, then I go to Houston for a weekend. The following Monday I fly to Colorado with another trainer to put up another process improvement event for another two weeks. Then I fly back to Houston, spend the weekend there, and then back to Luanda. So it's pretty jampacked but I'm excited about the traveling, the people I'm gonna get to hang out with (even if it's just for a little bit), and the work I'll be doing and learning from while I'm there.
So that all got confirmed today... and I'm ready to jet off already. I tell you, living in a constant state of eagerness is not healthy. I can't wait til I'm on the plane headed over there.
Other than that, it was back to the stadium for some training, and then home for chillaxing and helping Eddy with his homework before bedtime.
Hopefully the rest of the week flies by and I'm packing my bags in no time :)
See ya in about 10 days!
Tales of a Narcoleptic
SUNDAY'S POST:
The other day Tia Susana was watching a documentary about Narcolepsy on the discovery channel, and I happened to catch a bit of it. It was such an interesting episode... the cameras followed narcoleptics around and captured how they try to live a daily life as normal as possible with their disease. One of the subjects of the documentary was a 15 year-old girl that was a tap and ballet dancer... and the rigorous workouts she would get from her dance practices would aggravate her narcolepsy so much she would straight up pass out wherever she was for a minute or two every five minutes or so until she was rested enough to withstand getting up and walking... but at any given point she would just collapse into a deep sleep... it was so shocking. The whole time I was watching this, I was just so curious as to know what it feels like to feel like that... being controlled by your body's need to sleep at an unnatural rate or on an abnormal cycle.
Well, today I found out. I was so tired (I stayed up too late last night and had to get up too early this morning), I kept falling asleep at the most inconvenient times. In the taxi, the guy that collects the money had to wake me up so I would pay him (I asked the aunt for a donation to help me get to class!). I nodded off while sitting outside the classroom waiting for the people that were using it previously to clear out. I dozed in and out of consciousness while waiting for choir rehearsal to start. I fell asleep in the bus on the way back home (this one was some deep sleep, I almost missed my stop), I kept falling asleep while Eddy was trying to tell me stories of his day's adventures... I was like wow. This really doesn't feel so great. I feel sorry for the narcoleptics. I just could NOT stay awake!
I finally just took a shower and got into bed... and surrendered to the powerful force that had been oppressing me all day.
Ah Sleep, you are indeed a friend disguised as an enemy. Or is it vice-versa?
The other day Tia Susana was watching a documentary about Narcolepsy on the discovery channel, and I happened to catch a bit of it. It was such an interesting episode... the cameras followed narcoleptics around and captured how they try to live a daily life as normal as possible with their disease. One of the subjects of the documentary was a 15 year-old girl that was a tap and ballet dancer... and the rigorous workouts she would get from her dance practices would aggravate her narcolepsy so much she would straight up pass out wherever she was for a minute or two every five minutes or so until she was rested enough to withstand getting up and walking... but at any given point she would just collapse into a deep sleep... it was so shocking. The whole time I was watching this, I was just so curious as to know what it feels like to feel like that... being controlled by your body's need to sleep at an unnatural rate or on an abnormal cycle.
Well, today I found out. I was so tired (I stayed up too late last night and had to get up too early this morning), I kept falling asleep at the most inconvenient times. In the taxi, the guy that collects the money had to wake me up so I would pay him (I asked the aunt for a donation to help me get to class!). I nodded off while sitting outside the classroom waiting for the people that were using it previously to clear out. I dozed in and out of consciousness while waiting for choir rehearsal to start. I fell asleep in the bus on the way back home (this one was some deep sleep, I almost missed my stop), I kept falling asleep while Eddy was trying to tell me stories of his day's adventures... I was like wow. This really doesn't feel so great. I feel sorry for the narcoleptics. I just could NOT stay awake!
I finally just took a shower and got into bed... and surrendered to the powerful force that had been oppressing me all day.
Ah Sleep, you are indeed a friend disguised as an enemy. Or is it vice-versa?
BROKE
SATURDAY'S POST:
Yes, that's right. I'm BROKE with a capital B, R, O, K, and E.
Too broke to afford a taxi to my church... so I just took to walking to the church that's close by (Central church). The service was good today. I took along my clarinet just in case they wanted some extra help during song service... and just by coincidence I bumped into the director of music just as I reached the entrance so I volunteered to join the accompanists and he said that'd be fine. Thank the Lord song service went really well, people enjoyed it.
The sermon was preached by Pr. Vasco Cubango, a retired pastor, and part of the 1st generation of SDA Pastors in Angola. He's a pioneer, and such an inspiration. My parents know him from back in the day and my mom has mentioned him a couple of times. It was great to hear him preach... he finished up by singing a song that I guess you could refer to as an 'oldie but goodie'... lots of people sang softly along with reminiscent expressions on their faces. It is at times like this that I'm reminded that Angolans have gone through a lot... their lives are books full of stories not even the most creative writer could've conjured.
After church, I headed back home and just chilled out with the fam... we actually sat down and had lunch together. That's a VERY rare occurence at the Tadeu home... everybody has their own schedule and there's always too much going on. But for some reason, today everyone happened to be home at lunchtime and we had a nice time eating together.
The rest of the afternoon I lounged around, read a bit History of Redemption, and dozed off a couple of times. I was supposed to go spend the night at Avo Elisa's house, but I guess there was some miscommunication with Moises who was supposed to come pick me up so that didn't happen. Oh well, I guess I'll go next weekend. It's been a while since I've seen la abuelita.
So that's pretty much all I did today. If you excuse me, I'm going to let you go so I can call my boyfriend (*sounding nasal*)...
Goodnight my dears!
Yes, that's right. I'm BROKE with a capital B, R, O, K, and E.
Too broke to afford a taxi to my church... so I just took to walking to the church that's close by (Central church). The service was good today. I took along my clarinet just in case they wanted some extra help during song service... and just by coincidence I bumped into the director of music just as I reached the entrance so I volunteered to join the accompanists and he said that'd be fine. Thank the Lord song service went really well, people enjoyed it.
The sermon was preached by Pr. Vasco Cubango, a retired pastor, and part of the 1st generation of SDA Pastors in Angola. He's a pioneer, and such an inspiration. My parents know him from back in the day and my mom has mentioned him a couple of times. It was great to hear him preach... he finished up by singing a song that I guess you could refer to as an 'oldie but goodie'... lots of people sang softly along with reminiscent expressions on their faces. It is at times like this that I'm reminded that Angolans have gone through a lot... their lives are books full of stories not even the most creative writer could've conjured.
After church, I headed back home and just chilled out with the fam... we actually sat down and had lunch together. That's a VERY rare occurence at the Tadeu home... everybody has their own schedule and there's always too much going on. But for some reason, today everyone happened to be home at lunchtime and we had a nice time eating together.
The rest of the afternoon I lounged around, read a bit History of Redemption, and dozed off a couple of times. I was supposed to go spend the night at Avo Elisa's house, but I guess there was some miscommunication with Moises who was supposed to come pick me up so that didn't happen. Oh well, I guess I'll go next weekend. It's been a while since I've seen la abuelita.
So that's pretty much all I did today. If you excuse me, I'm going to let you go so I can call my boyfriend (*sounding nasal*)...
Goodnight my dears!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Breathing Easy
Another weekend is here. Another chance to rest from the rigors of the workweek. Although I can't complain about the week that just passed... It was amazingly productive. Lots of things happened, and it all culminated with me picking up my visa this morning. Now I can officially travel in and out of the U.S. whenever I want to or need to! Well, for the next to years at least. Then it'll be this whole unnerving cycle all over again. But I'm so excited!
Anyways, that's the biggest news I have for today. I'm tired and I need to finish studying my lesson before I get to bed so I wont make this a long one. But I did wanna mention that after paying for the apartment, I'm so ridiculously broke that I can't even afford to catch the city bus to go to my church on the other side... So I'll just have to go to the one nearby which is walking distance. Oh well... and I also have no credit left on my cell phone to call my co-pianist to tell him to cover for me because I wont make it tomorrow :( I need to get it together... I seriously have a grand total of $3 to my name right now. It's gonna be a rough couple of weeks til payday :S But praise the Lord, I live close to work, I have free food and lodging for the time being, and there's a church within walking distance of the house. I can go 2 weeks without spending any money :)
Anyways. So happy that Sabbath is here. I love the Sabbath!
Before I bid you farewell, I just leave you with this picture of me right after getting my first handful of mexican candy IN Mexico... it had been 14 years since that had happened. What a joyous moment! hahaha
Can't you just tell by the toothy smile how excited I am? hahahaThursday, March 18, 2010
A couple of more Mexico Pics
My gracious escort:
The only documentation I got of the surprise:
Grocery shopping with the poppa on the first night. His fridge was ridiculously empty before this... lol.
Pictures of Mexico
I could tell I was headed in the right directions when characters like these were my fellow passengers:
Ok, so it takes forever to load... so these picture posts will be shorter than I originally planned :(
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Back with a Vengeance
Ok. I'm back guys. I know you've been waiting with bated breath to hear all about the terribly exciting journey that is my life. ummm ok not really but anyways...
First and foremost, I must state for the record that I have NOT OFFICIALLY LOST THE CHALLENGE. It's true! I know, it seems like quite a dubious statement but it's true! Why, you ask? Because Sabrina a.k.a Challenge Administrator Extraordinaire has declared that I get a second chance at making this a daily-posting blog. That's right, ladies and gentlemen. I get a second chance! Why, you ask? Well because Sabrina is the nicest, most mercifullest, most understandingest person ever... and did I mention she's also the coolest chick on the planet? (Sabs, I will ONLY admit this when I'm sucking up to you... so enjoy it!)
And only the most understandingest CAE would... erm... UNDERSTAND that there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with this blog while I was in the midst of the whirlwind that was my vacation (and beyond: catching up with a month's worth of work that had piled up while I was gone and all...).
So now to pick up the slack, my dear readers, I'm going to post several catch up blogs... packed with pics and maybe even some vids (cross your fingers that this crazy Angolan signal is strong enough for long enough) of my fabulous vacation. But at the same time, I don't wanna fall behind on the day to day events so I'm gonna try to include a little synopsis each day aside from the pics and anecdotes.
So for today's synopsis:
Yesterday and today, we've had training in one of the local hotel's conference room. It's been kinda crazy and hectic because somehow I got stuck with the organizing and coordinating of the whole event, since I've crossed over into a new department but I haven't had my official orientation and training done yet so I'm kinda playing the role of assistant for my new boss... or the role of the person who relieves the boss of the less relevant duties of our day-to-day jobs. Well those less relevant duties included organizing a training in which a lady is flying in from the U.S. to teach us all kinda nifty methods for improving our operations and whatnot. Anyhow... point of this story is that I was running around like a madwoman on Friday because I needed to make sure everything was in place with the conference room reservations, the several-thousand-dollar payment, the catering, the transportation, the schedule, etc... and ON TOP of that I had to play hookie all Friday morning to spend it at the bank making some personal transactions to pay for the first 3 months of rent of my apartment. Oh, I didn't tell ya'll: I'm moving to my own apartment. It's tiny. But it's all mine... I love it. It's also not bad as far as the price is concerned seeing as how it's smack in the middle of downtown. It was such a blessing to find it. And I'm suuuuper excited to get to decorate as I please, since the owner said I can have absolutely free reign with it while I'm there. I can paint it, I can install new flooring, I can knock down walls, I can add rooms, I can do WHATEVER I WANT! Not that I can afford many of these things... but it's just cool to be able to do that. And you better believe, whatever little funds I can scavenger, I will to decorate my little haven. I'm so excited! Yes, pictures of the before, the during, and the after process will be up on this blog if everything goes as planned. Anyhow. So Friday all of this was happening and I was running around town in high heels (A la Andy from 'Devil Wear Prada') trying to get my cash advance, pick up the money, go meet the landlord to sign the lease, make the phone calls to confirm everything was going ok with the training and.. ugh... I'm exhausted just remembering it all. Anyways, everything worked out just fine and dandy. And the boss feedback was 'You're the woman!' as in 'You're the man' but not. LOL. Yeah, he's corny. Anywho...
The training has gone smoothly, the apartment has been paid for. Now I gotta get ready for an appointment at the U.S. embassy tomorrow to see if I can get a visa for my business trip in a couple of weeks. So yes. Lots of things going on, and not enough time to update you all... but all in all I'm busy, I'm happy, and I'm having fun.
Ok, and for those of you who do not know the biggest news yet, I have a boyfriend. I know, shocking, lol. His name is Crawford. Most of you know him. I'm actually ecstatic to be his girlfriend... but enough mushyness for one post. It's just not my style ;)
More on that later...
First and foremost, I must state for the record that I have NOT OFFICIALLY LOST THE CHALLENGE. It's true! I know, it seems like quite a dubious statement but it's true! Why, you ask? Because Sabrina a.k.a Challenge Administrator Extraordinaire has declared that I get a second chance at making this a daily-posting blog. That's right, ladies and gentlemen. I get a second chance! Why, you ask? Well because Sabrina is the nicest, most mercifullest, most understandingest person ever... and did I mention she's also the coolest chick on the planet? (Sabs, I will ONLY admit this when I'm sucking up to you... so enjoy it!)
And only the most understandingest CAE would... erm... UNDERSTAND that there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with this blog while I was in the midst of the whirlwind that was my vacation (and beyond: catching up with a month's worth of work that had piled up while I was gone and all...).
So now to pick up the slack, my dear readers, I'm going to post several catch up blogs... packed with pics and maybe even some vids (cross your fingers that this crazy Angolan signal is strong enough for long enough) of my fabulous vacation. But at the same time, I don't wanna fall behind on the day to day events so I'm gonna try to include a little synopsis each day aside from the pics and anecdotes.
So for today's synopsis:
Yesterday and today, we've had training in one of the local hotel's conference room. It's been kinda crazy and hectic because somehow I got stuck with the organizing and coordinating of the whole event, since I've crossed over into a new department but I haven't had my official orientation and training done yet so I'm kinda playing the role of assistant for my new boss... or the role of the person who relieves the boss of the less relevant duties of our day-to-day jobs. Well those less relevant duties included organizing a training in which a lady is flying in from the U.S. to teach us all kinda nifty methods for improving our operations and whatnot. Anyhow... point of this story is that I was running around like a madwoman on Friday because I needed to make sure everything was in place with the conference room reservations, the several-thousand-dollar payment, the catering, the transportation, the schedule, etc... and ON TOP of that I had to play hookie all Friday morning to spend it at the bank making some personal transactions to pay for the first 3 months of rent of my apartment. Oh, I didn't tell ya'll: I'm moving to my own apartment. It's tiny. But it's all mine... I love it. It's also not bad as far as the price is concerned seeing as how it's smack in the middle of downtown. It was such a blessing to find it. And I'm suuuuper excited to get to decorate as I please, since the owner said I can have absolutely free reign with it while I'm there. I can paint it, I can install new flooring, I can knock down walls, I can add rooms, I can do WHATEVER I WANT! Not that I can afford many of these things... but it's just cool to be able to do that. And you better believe, whatever little funds I can scavenger, I will to decorate my little haven. I'm so excited! Yes, pictures of the before, the during, and the after process will be up on this blog if everything goes as planned. Anyhow. So Friday all of this was happening and I was running around town in high heels (A la Andy from 'Devil Wear Prada') trying to get my cash advance, pick up the money, go meet the landlord to sign the lease, make the phone calls to confirm everything was going ok with the training and.. ugh... I'm exhausted just remembering it all. Anyways, everything worked out just fine and dandy. And the boss feedback was 'You're the woman!' as in 'You're the man' but not. LOL. Yeah, he's corny. Anywho...
The training has gone smoothly, the apartment has been paid for. Now I gotta get ready for an appointment at the U.S. embassy tomorrow to see if I can get a visa for my business trip in a couple of weeks. So yes. Lots of things going on, and not enough time to update you all... but all in all I'm busy, I'm happy, and I'm having fun.
Ok, and for those of you who do not know the biggest news yet, I have a boyfriend. I know, shocking, lol. His name is Crawford. Most of you know him. I'm actually ecstatic to be his girlfriend... but enough mushyness for one post. It's just not my style ;)
More on that later...
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