My thanksgiving

How was yours? Mine was awesome. I'm sure I gained a million pounds. I'm going to fast for Christmas (ha!).

My day began at 1030 as it usualy does, with a John and Kate marathon! Yay! I watched that for a minute then my mom called me saying the food was done and did I wanna eat before I went to work. We were out of milk so why not have thanksgiving breakfast?

Man. I was eating forever! She put so much food on my plate! Did she not realize that it was still morning and that this was indeed, not her plate? I even have some stuffing and turkey to Mikey in lieu of his usual worms. He was basking, but when I got home last night it was all gone.

I headed to work and chilled out. There were more guests than Wednesday, but they were either foreign or airline employees. People underestimate those that have to work regardless of holidays. Breezy came in a few hours later, mad because by the time he left for work his dinner was just gettin put out. I thought to bring him some of my mom's food, but I assumed that everyone was like her and cooked the night before. I figured he had eaten by 5PM. Sorry b! So we ammused each other, listening to music on his computer and cracking jokes until it was time for me to leave.

Before I left, a guy came in. We asked how his thanksgiving was going, and he said not good. "what can we do to make it better?" "take back the last 8 years with a different president." turns out he was a Vietnam vet, and his son had just died in his 3rd tour in Afghanistan. He told us about his son's decision to go in, and how he fought it, and how they didn't talk about their tours because it was too much to handle. He told us about his son's confessions, and how he called a man an asshole and kicked him out of the casino he worked in for hating on Obama. He was here to bury his son on thanksgiving. All B and I could do was listen as this man poured his heart out to us about the son he'd raised all alone since his mom had been killed by a drunk driver. I mean, it really touched us.

I left work and headed to kesi's house for dinner. "right on time! We were waiting for you!" how sweet! It explains why the youngest N was calling non stop while we were driving to the house, though. Hungry self. Ci, kesi's middle brother's girlfriend was there. They're so different than Kesi and I, lol. We're so affectionate, and even though they were dating for months, we haven't been able to confirm it until recently. Not until I woke up at the house and she was there too. They're best friends like we are, so we weren't sure of their level of closeness. They never kiss! At least not when we're around. So anyway, she did the prayer and she said she loved him! Aw! How sweet!
Dinner was so good! Kesi's mom is a kitchen beast. Her candied yams were so good I went back ad had more today. I felt bad that there was a lil bit of food left on my plate. I mean, I was afraid she was gonna think I didn't like it or sumn. But I was stuffed.

After the dinner and obligatory itis nap, we got on the net and spent the night watching YouTube dancing and fail videos. *check out "parenting fail," that poor baby. And the bird walk by the kids in Tokyo. And Lydia... Damn I can't remember her last name but if you search her and "Memphis walk" you will see sumn special.* we were up til about 230 laughing and watching. Great night.
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Amen obama plate

So, I was at work, bored, naturally, when a commercial I have seen many times came on. I'm sure you have seen it too. Work Sam and I were in a giggly mood, having already discussed that if we knew the new whitehouse chef we'd have him put a corner store candy counter somewhere in there and a "papi." what's a papi? The Latino guy frequently found in a north eastern state's bodega. He runs that joint but acts like he doesn't know what you're talking about half the time. My grandma used to have me buy "$3 of hard salami, sliced #2" from papi every other day. Then, of course, there's change leftover to buy as many sourpatch kids as possible.

Anyway, the commercial. The Obama Plate. Don't forget its close cousin, the Obama coin (in full color!). That shit is so tacky. I'm sorry if you want one. Cuz you are tacky. Bless your tacky lil heart, you probably have "china slippers" that you wear in public and don't match your outfit. Or you move your phone from your ear to your mouth when you're talking as if the microphone can't pick up sound from 6 inches away. If you do any of those things, this blog isn't for you anyway, so...

So Sam goes into how the man is saying "I never thought this day would come," and how that's code for, "I didn't want a negro on my plate, but it completes the set..."

Then there's a shot of him writing something in the office, looking at his plate, then nodding and smiling and going back to work. What the hell? Who is he writing to? Why is that tacky ass plate the highlight of his desk? He got 2 kids and the only photo on his desk is of Obama. On a plate. You tacky man. We imagined his letter: "dear makers of the Obama Plate: thank you for such an awesome product. It sets my workspace OFF! How else would I commemorate this historic and monumental event if not for you and your tableware? Do you make spoons?"

Did you are the kids staring at the plate on the coffee table? Its not a toy children! Go play outside! You're gonna break it! That Obama plate could be worth something in a few years! You all simply do not understand my disdain for this product. Why the hell, in this economy, would I buy a useless plate to hang up on the wall and look at?! I will be able to experience Obama every day if I turn on the news. Go ahead, try it! He's made 3 speeches this week and its only Wednesday. I'm working on an Obama blanket. It KEEPS YOU WARM. At least one day down the road when the Obama presidential dollar comes out I can spend that joint! (not the previously mentioned limited edition coin, but the dollar coin that will come out in a few years.) I just hate how these people are trying to validate such a wack item! If you want to show that you voted for him, buy a button. They're cheaper and his face is on them too.

And of course there's black people in the commercial. With their Obama plate on their bookshelf. Its not a willow plate! Are they going to write it into their wills and leave it to their children? I bet people are buying them for their grandparents. If anyone buys that for my grandma I will beat them.

Spend your 1995 on some food for the homeless or in need. I'm sure President Elect Obama would better appreciate that.
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Slacking

I just been slacking. I just have been doing other things rather than blogging. Especially since the ES left. Ugh! I will only be mentioning her in passing from now on, for she is no longer annoying me on a daily basis. If you don't include having me do her work... So when I went back to work, our food an bev manager kind of hinted at me getting a promotion. On the one hand I could do it, and I culd use the extra money and itd be a new experience, but on the other hand.... I hate working in there! You should have seen me the other day, just not in the mood. And on top of that, I'm really worried in about my holiday plans (I know, what a reason to turn down a job, right?) working in Starbucks means I can leave work at 10 or sometimes earlier but in the shop we close at eleven no matter what and I more than likely have to work new years eve. I hate, HATE traveling on that night. Usually I request the day off or to work earlier that day. I just don't know what to do. Bah. I haven't even been offered the job so...

I cooked last night. When I went to walmart last week something told me to check the organic section for my sushi rolls, and there they were! Yay! So I came home to make my lumpia for Kesi. If you were so inclined to make some its very easy. If you have a very hungry person around I'd advise the big pack of ground turkey and 2 packs of eggrolls (the white ones, not the seaweed). Then thinly dice celery, maybe one whole stalk, a quarter of an onion, and a carrot (I used baby carrots so I wouldn't have to peel them; about 5). Mix all that up by hand and so the ratio of meat to veggie is about 2:1. Then roll it up! The meat on each roll should be about the size of your pinkie. And here's something I forgot.... Eggs! I needed an eggwash to close the end of the roll but I forgot to get eggs. So I just had to hold them down in the pan. I wouldn't recommend this for deep frying. They cook pretty quick, and they had to be turned. They turned out so good! Kesi ate like 10. No lie. The small pack of turkey made about 20. But he was full! This, unbelievably, was only the 2nd time I've cooked for him in almost 7 years. But he loved it so I'm very happy. Its hard to compare to his mom who has been cooking (sometimes professionally) since she was 10. I don't cook very much at all. I know how, I just don't.

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Ding dong!

The bitch is gone, which old bitch? The evil one who works in the gift shop! (gotta sacrifice the integrity of the rhyme pattern to get your point across)

Yes, I had a great 3 days with Kesi, and I'll get to that soon enough, but first, we dance.

Ding dong! Lol. Yeah so last night the cool supervisor calls me, and I knew it had to do with scheduling. So she asks if Monk called me and told me "what happened." no. "ES quit Monday. She did a Beverly, she just decided it was her time, and she's not saying way her next move is." personally I feel like she did a Mo, who was the other coworker who left the day before my birthday. Beverly was our old manager, the best a person could want, and she left to take care of her son, who she said needed her influence as he headed to middle school. Anyway, so, the chick who replaced me many months ago went into labor AT WORK last week, so that literally leaves 1 permanent person in the shop at night. Everyone's kicking in to help, but on short notice, guess who's filling in today and tomorrow since she's already scheduled to work? ME! Yay? No. And I get to work by myself!

So anyways, I still happy I don't have to work with the devoid of soul anymore. I wish her the best in whatever it is she's going to do and I hope she's not pregnant, because that child would grow up so sad.

*ps, why did I see a man riding a horse down old national highway just now? We saw a different horse and rider yesterday afternoon and I thought it was a fluke. And it was a black guy too! In a cowboy hat! And he was young! I'm so perplexed. I went to the Bill Picket rodeo in 8th grade, so I know there are black riders, but where the hell is there a stable on old national? Per-plexed. I texted Kesi about it and he said, "times are hard," to which I replied, "hay is cheaper than gas." *
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ahhhh!!!!

so im packing for kesi's and my 2 day get away to luxurious downtown atlanta, and i move my bag, and what do i see? this lil homey on the left side of the pic.... for reals, i am a friend of all things reptile, but this lil gecko dude freaked me out!!!! i tiptoed upstairs and squealed at my mom and brother that there was a lizard in my room!!!! my mom seemed unphased: "why dont you just pick it up? i thjought you liked those things." yes, when theyre outside and not hiding in my room since god knows when! geez. so my bro followed me downstairs armed with a pringles can and chased the poor lil thing around the room. then we got the idea to cover it with a chip bowl and slide something under the bowl to trap it (actually this was kesi's idea, when i told him he may have to come get me if the lizard wasnt trapped asap). then we started taking video. yes, parts are dark, but i think that the audio is worth the listen, especially when my brother and i go into our geico impression.

Crow-shay

Those french. They can't just spell the stuff the way they'd like you to say it huh? Maybe that's why french is not as easily retained as Spanish. I remember very little from my 2 years of French, despite the fact that it was during a stress free period in my life- when I was 10. "oh Joy, that was 15 years ago!" you say. But Kesi took french in high school and barely remembers anything past hello. And La WENT to France! Don't even get me started. Meanwhile I can hold a convo in Spanish with the men of the International Poultry Convention with only a few sintax errors.

But that's not what this post is about. I got off on such a tangent! Its about crochet! Yay! Don't worry, I won't bore you. Firstly, I've been working very hard on a number of projects. But of course I don't like to display them until it gets in the hands of its intended. So you'll see them soon enough. My mom got me some patterns and I noticed something very disturbing. I've been undercharging. The pattern called for baby sizes to be a lil over 2 feet. Meanwhile I've been doing 3.5. And the adult size was closer to my baby size! Which leads me to think I know some big babies. Lol. Anyways I may have to reconfigure some stuff so I'm working smart, not hard. So those that have a blanket from me got a good deal. I don't think I'll be trimming my sizes too much, but I've gotta think about it.

There's one pattern I'm doing for free (for a baby gift) that is so time consuming! I worked for 7 hours the other day and got 1/4th done! Yeah, that baby will be able to walk before I'm done, lol. I'm debating taking it with me on my mini vacay just because Kesi sleeps later than I do. We'll see.

My mom wants me to make her a strawberry shortcake applique. I have no doubt I can do it, but here's the problem: its free! I'm not getting anything out of the deal. Its a gift for a coworker. But she keeps bugging me about it (and a snoopy) while I'm working on something I'm getting paid for. Don't be making promises on my name. Also, she's been "borrowing" my yarn. If you haven't been to my crochet site (and why haven't you?!?!)(annalula.blogspot.com) the heading photo is a big bin I have at the foot of my bed with skeins of yarn in it. At least once a week she comes down asking if I have any of xyz color. Yes, I do. For ME! Ima start charging her. Because I have to go replace them. *shakes fist* You feel some kinda way about saying no to your mom, right? She raised you and all that, and you can't give her a $2 skein of yarn? Adversely, the economy is rough and I can't be heading to walmart all willy nilly. Especially when people find out you're going and ask you for stuff they really don't need, like ice cream, and then there's expensive yet kosher digiorno garlic bread pizzas in the freezer section and you know you should maybe buy some turkey bacon just to offset that, or some romaine lettuce and carrots.... See?! I choose to avoid that scenario altogether. You can't have my yarn.

If anyone is looking for something to buy me for Christmas, a holiday I don't really celebrate with gifts anyway, so don't be upset when I don't buy you sometug back, or if you're interested in being my unofficial sponsor, there's a huge set of needles at walmart that I kinda need. They range from super tiny to really big, and I think they even come with a case! Need! Either that or some roller skates, lol.
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Non Barack news

I've been writing about nothing but the election for a while now. But other stuff has been happening too, right?

My manager told us that her stepdaughter and 2 of her friends went all "superbad" and made a book of cartoon penises. The kicker though, is that her older sister and my manager found it when the girls' grandmother was in town. She's Cuban. Upon seeing animal-themed wangs, she exclaimed, "ay dios mio! She's a freak!" And started crying. Of course my manager and the older sister started laughing like kids.

I met Jameil this weekend. We went to jalapeno Charlie's. Yum! Well at least 2 out of 3 was good. I don't know what exactly Rashan had, some kind of nachos, but he and Jameil loved it. She wasn't really feeling her fish tacos. I had mango shrimp and veggies. So good! I must go back and have more. *drool* so I think we had a good time. Good conversation, nice atmosphere, smiles and laughs. Kesi wasn't there though. He was probably still asleep. Oh yeah and Jam and Rah got lost. They ended up on Boulevard and Jameil said she knew she was in the hood because she saw 2 men boxing in a parkinglot. I told her Boulevard brings out my CT bourgie side. I start locking doors and turning my nose up. We took pix too, and I pray that Rashan deleted the one where I was making the most retarded face in history.

The last 4 days I worked were the most stupid. Firstly, tons of foreign guests who don't understand "what size?" is not an invitation to repeat what drink you want. I seriously have a pet peeve with people who visit a place and don't know the language. Especially if you're there for a conference. Double especially if you're a doctor. But they tipped well. I mean really well. I split my tips with the barista if they make the drink. So they usually end up with about a third of whatever I make. Well I have enough money for kesi's birthday dinner, so I know she broke good. Maybe they felt guilty for giving me a headache.

Speaking of my lovey boo's birthday, yes it was last week, but we're celebrating next Monday. Wwe Monday night raw, hotel downtown, a lovely dinner, and 2 days of not dealing with those people we live with, lol. John Cena may or may not be there because he got injured but I'm still gonna wear my shirt because I love him. So there, lol. I'm just really excited to excape a little.

Today I worked in banquets to get some extra dough. Banquet lunches are so dumb! You spend like an hour setting up a table to a tee, then a guest may or may not sit at that table or place, and if they don't you can't recycle the tea/water/silverwear that you placed and no one used, no. That needs to be recleaned or dumped. So you may have a table no one sat at but that stuff is considered dirty and your work is naught. Not only that but you have to carry that ish on a tray, and I broke some glasses today. Oops. Only like 6, but... Yeah. I just woke up from supernap. Doing it again tomorrow.

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13 things I never knew, until.

There are certain things in this world that have never crossed our minds, until they do, and ten you wonder why you never put 2 and 2 together. Someone, in recent years, called them unknown unknowns. I have a lot of those. So here's my list of things I didn't know were possible, until they were.


1 I never knew a blonde woman from astoria NY would wanna tap dance, until I turned on MTV this morning and saw her killing it.

2 I never thought I'd want to get married until I was in a serious relationship.

3 i never considered alligator food until I moved to the south.

4 I never knew milk crates weren't book shelves until I went to my friend Nicole harrigan's house at age 9.

5 I never knew there was such a thing as a blog until I read la's.

6 I certainly never knew it was so mentally rewarding until I had my own.

7 I never knew the one republican facebook friend I have would aggravate me so much with her damn statuses. Palin 2012? Really? Fucking sheep.

8 I never thought I'd want to tattoo "yes we can" on myself, until 2 nights ago. I'm wavering, cuz I know hella people probably want to get it too.

9 I never thought I'd be making big plans to visit DC again since La left.

10 I never knew I'd care so much, but I really do.

11 I never thought I'd be so bummed about not hanging with Jameil yesterday, but I was. *fist shake*

12 I never knew someone else's echelon could make me feel different even in my very soul.

13 I never thought about a black man being president until I got the chance to vote for one. Not just any one, but THE one.
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oh my god.

he won. im freaking. i spent the night talking to shani, la and x factor. watching cnn. scratching uncontrolably (i itch when im anxious). oh my god.

here are a few pix of my day. because i cant put this feeling into bloggable words:






my mommy in the middle, casting her vote



me and my pariphenalia.

omg. theyre on. gosh. malia and sasha's daddy is the president. michelle will be the fiercest first lady since jackie o!

jameil, rashan, time to toast it tomorrow. gotta go.

Live blogging the vote

November 4, 2008
1216am
My bff bre, who at my birthday party told me he didn't see the point in voting, spent 2 hours waiting in line to vote. I'm excited and so proud of him. Barack really can change minds eh?

I met a woman from wasilla who is a democrat. She said she never liked or voted for Sarah Palin. She was awesome.

I also met some Obama campaigners and they gave me an official button! Yay! Now I have two!

I'm getting these lil random thoughts out of the way so I can concentrate on what's happening in front of me at the polls. I'm waking up at 630am to go vote. My mom and my bro will be up too. Im looking forward to it!

630am
Kesi is already at the place. I haven't eaten yet! He says there's 160 people there. He'll be done way before me cuz he's already in line. I'm debating going in my pjs. I'm too tired to put thought into clothes I'll just change out of to go back to sleep....

645
I'm dressed and ready to go. Decided to put on jeans and a light blue shirt. This IS history, lol. The line has swelled to 300+ by now. The news happens to be at my polling place. Thank you channel 2! I'm waiting for my brother to vacate the bathroom so I can go brush my teeth and jump in line.

My mom said my grandma couldn't move last night and she sat all night waiting for someone to come by. Not that she called anyone. She can be so stubborn! So my cousin Tia took her to the hospital. She's a nurse... Gosh.

701am
I'm walking to the polls. Its a nice day! You know, for the sun to not have risen yet. I'm listening to Omar's "give me sunshine." I love how psychic my music player is! I got my camera case something historic happens..... You know, like a black man running for president or sumn.

711am
My mom and I are in line. A neighbor gave us a ride. Kesi said there are no cell phones inside. I've already started taking pix. I'm at the end of the parking lot and kesi's inside the building. My mom is talking about the crazy ammt of ballots there was to be sent out Sunday night.

727am
There's a woman out here selling coffee and krispie kremes. Damn I forgot my snack! System of A Down's "soldier side" is on now. Just filled out my voter certificate.

733am
"I got another wall to work through then i'll be in the hall right before the voting room." that's what an hour got him, lol.

743am
Rainbow connection is on. I smell coffee. I'm pretty close to the door and I'm close to the coffee vendor's table. Blahh. We're supposed to be giving out free coffee at Starbucks but they say our store isn't participating. Wack! I hope we are though. I gave away pastries and coffee to the staffers I met yesterday and a few others. Its just how I felt. "the warmth" by incubus is on. "remember why you came and while you're alive, experience the warmth."

752am
"Pretty good year"- tori Amos. See? Psychic mp3 player!

757am
I'm in the building and the line has wrapped so that Kesi and I are literally 10 feet from each other. We're making google eyes at each other. I just took a pic of him. When I volunteered a few weeks ago I was calling out, "take a date to the polls! Girls think voting is sexy!" its true.

804am
Kesi banned me from texting him til he's done.
Ooh seats! Ahhh. I just walked up to a fellow voter to ask about a crochet pattern. Her mom made the blanket. Damn. Of course mom's not here... Their baby was so cute though.

813am
Just walked up to my brother and told him he looks like our father cuz he's pouting. I think the guy in front of him thinks I was flirting with him or something when I was waving.

816am
Someone is catching the spirit right now in line. Every few seconds I hear "Jesus!"

820am
Kesi's done and gone. :( lol that means I should be out soon. Maybe by 9? I've zoomed through here.

823am
Kesi joked that he voted for McCain. I joked that we would not be having sex until further notice.

836am
My supervisor's facebook status has been donated to the McCain campaign. I respect her right to be totally wrong. She'll enjoy Barack as a president. She'll see.

843am
I can see the voting room! Lol radiohead's "no surprises" is on. Yes please, no surprises today. Just let me vote. Gosh I wish I had brought my fruit and nut bar. If yall haven't been to Starbucks and had one, do! I have 2 waiting for me at home.

856am
Done! I voted and now I'm walking home. My mom was still at the booth when I finished. My brother was in line so told him I was heading home. I looked at Barack's name, took a deep breath, and pressed "cast ballot." I love it. Today I'm wearing all my paraphenalia. Buttons, shirt, my "I'm a Georgia voter" sticker... Just passed a neighbor on the street and told her the lines are short. I knew it! Everyone rushed to be first, annd now there's no one there! But its all good. The earlier the better.

I'm headed home to sleep, if the excitement isn't too much. Pics soon. BARACK THE VOTE!
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Weekend's over, I am sad.

Friday was the Halloween party. In case you haven't seen my facebook album, I was the Obama-natrix, and I whipped those who had not yet voted. Fortunately I didn't have to get after too many people. We had a great time, but the DJ was a slight bit wack and didn't play, like, ANY recent songs. I'm talking at one point he played "white tee." that song came out when I was in high school. So we started heckling him and he started yelling and stopped playing. Then someone was like "have a heart, its Halloween!" and I was like "yes, Halloween 2008." and so we had a lil back and forth. It was maybe 3am so everyone left anyway, lol. It was still fun and those that did dress up did a great job. Breezy went as t pain, and even made his costume. I helped! I still have glitter on me.

Saturday I had lunch at zaxby's with my mom. We never do that. When we do its always catching up over errands. Which is what happened this day. We were on our way to walmart. That lil restaurant is good! Even their toast is good. We talked about the documentaries I'd been watching on BBC (I'm no Jameil, I like docs, but I like them to entertain, lol), one of which had to do with Britain's youngest grandmothers, the youngest of whom was 32 at her grand's birth. It was all about the statistic that showed teen mothers are more likely to have kids who are teen mothers. Good times having adult convo with mom.

After that Kesi, Jeremy, thurm and I saw "zach and miri make a porno." I greatly recommend it. But you can't be weak about it. You kinda have to think gross things are funny. I mean really gross things. Jason long's character was the funniest thing. A gay porn star. "you're not really my demographic, its ok." "what's your demographic?" "do you like p***y? Then not you." hilarious! I haven't laughed so hard at the movies in a long time.

After that Jeremy somehow ditched us on the way to the IHOP. For some reason we never manage to get to a restaurant with that boy. He did the same thing on my birthday. I'd think he was anorexic if he wasn't 240lbs. We stayed in there until the 2nd 1am, even though we'd long since finished eating and digesting. Talked about everything and nothing. I like that about friendship. I've known Thurm since the 2nd day of 9th grade and since then we've had the most irreverent conversations. He also inevitably bruises me every time I see him. This time he jabbed his fingers into my arm pits. Anyways we showered Kesi with affection and talked about being 25 and how there are things we're planning for and working toward. And how I should jog instead of trampoline.

When we got to kesi's house we spent quite a while staring into the sky. I saw a shooting star! I made a wish! It was pretty cool. I have literally never seen one before. But we each ended up seeing one. It was a nice 25 hours from the moment his birthday started.

I crocheted for a bit then fell asleep. Kesi said I was snoring but I just refuse to believe it! Bah! Lol. When we woke up we took his brothers to work and I picked up his real present, tickets to WWE/ECW! Woooo! Rawk! Lol. I also continued my search for sushi wrap. The sushi guy in the grocery store said I definitely have to go to an Asian market, but had no idea where one was. Wtf! Can I point out the fact that the grocery store had a sushi maker, but didn't sell the individual products he used! Scream.

The rest of the birthday was spent in various states of sleep, awake, hunger, fullness, and cuddles. It was a great day. I hope my birthday is as relaxing.

And now its Monday. The Monday between kesi's birthday and election day. Could there be a less relevant day? I doubt it. And for that reason it shall last til forever.

Ps, my cousin Shanae, who went as a Barack B girl for Halloween, cuz that's how we roll in our family, told me that our grandma is indeed voting. Totally made my day. Maybe Monday won't be *so* bad.
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