Day 31

I'm going to have a hard time getting through this class. I already don't like the instructor. My last class was great and I feel like I learned a lot. I'm not sure about my new class.

I need to do something with my hair. It looks terrible. I'm shedding like crazy.

I will have a short workday tomorrow because I will only be working 4 hours! That means I will have the rest of the day to finish up the my reading for the week and part of next week and I will have free time to do whatever I want. I'm considering a trip down to the Glendale Galleria. If I don't go, I will go out with my new camera and go take some nature shots. That's always relaxing. Hopefully the weather will be nice. Or I can go to some camera shops and price cameras. I have my eye out for the Nikon D300. I feel like such a traitor because all the cameras I've owned in the last 5 years have been Canon. Which reminds me, I need to think about buying some stock in which ever company I do decide to purchase a digital SLR camera from.

I finally met with a financial advisor. He gave me some helpful advice. I've been putting my money into a fund that I had to pay taxes on every year. That didn't seem right to me. Plus, I have some other money stashed that I needed to do something with because that money will eventually get taxed as well. I can't wait to open my Roth IRA. I think I can still contribute if I do it before I file my taxes for last year and still have that money count for 2007. This will allow me to put more money in since there's a limit on how much money you can put in a Roth IRA every year. I think for 2008 it's $5k.

I've reached a landmark with my blogging. I have blogged 31 days in a row! It's not a hard as I thought it would be. I've actually come to feel the need to blog. And I always feel better after doing so.

Day 30

I almost went to bed without blogging! I couldn't do that. I'm enjoying blogging now that I've committed to blogging everyday. LOL.

I just got finished with my homework. I only got to read one chapter tonight and boy was it a long chapter. I was hoping to get at least two out of the way but it wasn't going to happen.

I was going to post something long but decided against it. I don't have much to say. Oh, I started to tear today because someone said I look like I'm 30. Do I look 30? Don't like to me, just give me the truth smoothly.

I don't like the idea of growing old. I want to be 22ish forever. I need to go to bed now. I have to get up in 5 hours.

Day 29

I got a little miffed today at work. You remember that guy I wrote about, the one that admitted to having a crush on me, well he entered me into a sports bet at work without asking me if I wanted to bet. I have no idea when he did it, but he did and I ain't happy about it. I don't do sports betting because I don't know a darn thing about sports. In fact, I don't do betting of any kind.

Now for good news, there's a dentist in my new class and he didn't say he was married or had kids. Most people will say whether they are married and/or have children, because for some reason, they're so proud.

What the heck is bohemian anyway? Someone who doesn't wear deodorant? Gosh, I can only imagine what I would smell like if I didn't wear deodorant. There have been a couple of times where I forgot to put deodorant on and I swear, I tried not to move all day in fear I would break a sweat and start to smell. That is totally not the lifestyle for me. I've been around people who didn't wear deodorant. Their pits could have been classified as biological weapons of mass destruction! I can't hang with that funky stuff.

Day 28

I've just completed my fourth class. I have nine more to go.

I checked in with my next class. It looks like it will be easy or so I hope. I'm not looking forward to another class like the one I just completed.

I thought I was being lazy when I posted the same bio I used in my previous classes in my new class. Apparently, I'm not because I know three of the people in my next class and they posted the same bio as before.

Television is so boring. There's nothing on tv to watch because of the writers' strike. I think I missed the SAG awards. I've never watched one anyway.

I went to the grocery store today to buy some oatmeal and some milk and I forgot to get the milk. So, if I want a bowl of cereal, I'll have to go to store and get some milk.

Do you believe that if you think something to be true, it will eventually become true?

Day 27

I had the longest day working on my exam and the team project. One of my teammates plagiarized a portion of the paper and I had to spend the evening rewriting it as she didn't seem too interested about fixing it.

Tomorrow is my last day for this class. I'm on to the next one. Nine more classes to go and I'll be free to do whatever I want with my time.

That's all I have for today.

Day 26

Ah, I'm about to take a break from studying. I've been at it all day long. I had to spruce up the team paper and attempt to finish my final exam. I still have 6 more multiple choice and 3 essay questions to finish before Monday COB.

I'm so tired of finance and accounting but I've definitely learned a lot. This class has really got me paying attention to my investments and the economy. Right now my investments are losing money but this is the best market for finding bargain investments. I will meet with a financial advisor on Thursday to discuss the possibilities.

I purchased a copy of Oscar Micheaux's Within Our Gates from Amazon last week. I couldn't believe that I could get a copy of this movie as the movie is from the Silent Film era. It's not the best film but what film was during that time? The plot is all over the place. But in the end I think it is worth owning a little history because if I recall, Oscar Micheaux was the first black filmmaker. (BTW, I actually hate keeping tally of "the first" but I think this is worth mentioning.)This got me thinking. When I have free time, which is basically when I get done with school, I would like to make a short silent film.

I came across a website that puts trips together for single people like myself. One of my cousins told me about it. She went to a couple of places through singlestravelservice.com.

Anyway, I have my eye on a trip to China or Brazil, with much interest in China. The only problem I have with the trip to China is I don't think the trip is long enough. I would like 2 weeks minimum to spend there because it is a very large country.

Day 25

What makes someone commit suicide?

When I was at the dentist today getting my teeth cleaned, I watched a news story on tv about some teenagers in South Wales who committed suicide.

Not that this is important but AJ, that character on Sopranos I wrote about yesterday, tried to kill himself.

Have I thought about suicide? Yes, I have. I thought about it a lot when I was living in Colorado. But I weighed my options and decided that killing myself would be eternally permanent while I'd only be in Colorado until I got orders someplace else (eventually did-to Korea). My misery had an expiration date.

My future miseries will have an expiration date. I'm currently waiting for my obligation with the Army to expire. That magical date is 21 August 2008. That's my new birth date, BTW.

Speaking of the Army, I got an email (again) telling me I need to join a reserve unit. Let me share the misery email:

Over the past months many Career Counselors have attempted to contact you. Some have been successful. I'm sending this message out to remind you that the IRR Muster will start soon. HRC-STL will send out approximately 40,000 1 day orders, across the nation. If you receive an order, just follow the directions.

I'm rolling my eyes now. I get one of these babies every week. If they are going to call me back in, they're going to call me back in. There's nothing I can do about that. What else does the email say? Let me share that too:

As you may know, the USAR is approximately 13,600 Soldiers short now. This is a +/- 3,000 Soldier decrease from Jul 07. There is a big push to fill slots in USAR Units. These policies that are still in place:

1. 2 year MOB Stabilization. (Contractual Obligation must be completed)

Yeah, sure. Show me one, just one reserve unit that hasn't deployed within one year after already completing a tour to Iraq/Afghanistan? Oh, wait there's more.

2. Military Service Obligation Reduction (Contractual Obligation must be completed and have at least 2 years left on your current contract)

Ah, yes. I still have only 7 months left. Dang. What else?

3. Prior Service Enlisted Bonus. (Contractual Obligation must be completed). This incentive is currently suspended until the bill is signed into law.

Play close attention to "currently suspended." Now, please look at policy #1, again. LOL.

1. 2 year MOB Stabilization. (Contractual Obligation must be completed)

Yes, I believe MOB stabilization will eventually be suspended until signed into law.

4. Enlisted Affiliation Bonus. (Contractual Obligation must be completed). This incentive is currently suspended until the bill is signed into law.

Extra money is currently suspended! Dang. I just keep missing those opportunities. But there's more.

5. Officer Affiliation Bonus.

6. The USAR has been offering Troop Program Unit Soldiers TRI-CARE medical. The rates are $81.00 for single soldiers and $253.00 for Soldiers with dependants, per month. These rates are valid as of October 2007.

Hmm. Let me think. Kaiser or Tri-care. Kaiser or Tri-care. Free or $81. I'll take free. But thanks anyway.

21 August 2008

Day 24

I just finished reading a chapter from my weekly reading so I feel the need to reward myself by writing a long blog post.

I stayed up rather late last night because I wanted to watch the last two episodes of the Sopranos. Well, I have a few thoughts about what I had seen.

I would like to start out by saying the Soprano kids (Meadow and AJ) are rather spoiled. AJ tried to kill himself. Why? Who knows, but I doubt it had anything to do with the fact that his Dominican girlfriend broke up with him. I think AJ's problem was that he was unhappy because he is white. His girl broke up with him and he starts getting depressed over the stuff that's going on in the world and specifically the Middle East.

There was also that incident where AJ watched his friends beat up some African dude (more on this in a minute). AJ really starting screaming "Why can't we all just get along" to his psychiatrist because, you know, lunacy runs in that family.

Back to the African dude. For black folk born and raised on American soil, (this doesn't include me by the way) but many of them are delusional when it comes to the motherland (Africa). Most Africans look down on American-born people of African descent. Let me summarize the dialogue between AJ's friends (white boys) and the African:

EXT. CITY STREET - WINTER AFTERNOON

A group of young white males are confronting a black male.

White Males: You f^cking N!gger!

African: I'm not a n!gger! My name is Kunta Kinte, and I was born and raised in Uganda, and I go to college.

The white males push African on the ground and throw his bike in the middle of the street so that a car runs over it. AJ steps back and watches his friends stomp the crap out of the African.

There's a whole lot of subtext going on with the African's dialogue. (BTW, I can't remember the name or country the African dude said he was from, but it doesn't matter, does it?) I know it's fiction, but I've experienced what African's think of black Americans first hand which is why I'll tell anyone who would listen that I'm not African. They (Africans) don't consider me as such and I consider myself American.

Day 23

I was going to write about how I broke my beloved camera a couple months ago and the wonderful replacement I got to cheer myself up but I ran out of time. I had homework to do and I had to explain the marginal cost of capital. My answer sucked by the way. I don't think I answered the question fully.

I didn't get to meet with a financial advisor today because I was on a deadline at work. I was disappointed because had I known I wouldn't be able to make it, I would have cancelled sooner and save the guy a trip to desert.

I think I mentioned I'm watching the last few episodes of the Sopranos. I can't wait to see the final episode.

I think HBO ripped people off by selling season six in two volumes.

I hope it snows tomorrow. Not only do I hope it snows, I hope it snows a couple of feet.

Day 22

I had a busy at work today. I can't wait until my coworkers come back. All three of them took today off.

My instructor finally posted the final exam. Too easy I must say. I need to get some reading done. I will post something significant tomorrow. Cheers.

Day 21

I'm thinking of turning off my comments. I've been contemplating this for a while as if I ever decide to host my blog elsewhere i.e., dot Mac, I don't want to worry about comments using up my storage.

Also, folks don't seem to have a grasp on the English language. I've had people leave comments several times which lacked proper spelling, grammar and punctuation. What happened to people wanting to show they have intelligence? Or is being stuk on stoopid the new smart?

I'm going to have a very busy day at work. Here to hoping that I won't snap.

Day 20

I don't know what to write about. Have I exhausted my topics to blog about? I hope not. I have so many more days to go before I can claim mission accomplished.

I haven't had much of an opportunity to cruise the web for subjects to write about. I'm still working on my assignments that are due tomorrow. I turned in my paper to plagiarism checker and now I'm waiting to see the results. I have four accounting problems I need to get done. I'm hoping to be done before midnight. If I hadn't gone to that play yesterday, I would have been done by this morning.

I want to spend tomorrow pampering myself and catching up on next week's reading as I have a final exam and a team project due next week. My last week for Finance and Accounting. Exhale.

Day 19

I had the busiest day a work the other day. I don't think I've been that busy in a long time.

I didn't get a chance to email that guy that has a crush on me. I like him as a friend and I wish he had never told me. I want to be friends but I don't want to encourage the feelings because I can't return them.

I'm one year out from graduating! The days are going by so slow. I want them to be over with already. I've got so many plans for all the free time I'll have.

I went to see a Tyler Perry play today (The Marriage Counselor). I was surprised to learn that one of the cast members is from Lancaster. Oh my gosh! I'm sad to report that I'm disappointed yet again. Still giving black women only two options: evil rich black man (with HIV) or average joe black man who doesn't pay much attention to his woman. On the other hand, average joe black man's dad got some options: old fat black woman or young skinny white chick. Guess which one he chose? Neither one of these women are bad choices but they are much better choices than were given the black woman.

Implicit meaning of this play: black women need to lose some weight and when you have a marriage that's unfulfilling, your only other option is to get a bad man that's bad for your health. LITERALLY!

Bottom line-the play was garbage with a Jesus kick. The Jesus part was fine, it's the garbage, aka lack of choices for the black woman that I didn't like. In short, I will never watch anything Tyler Perry again!!!

I just spent the last two hours watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. This is a great show, BTW. I doubt I will have an opportunity to watch the last of Heroes unless they managed to tape the entire season before the screen writer's went on strike. That's the only other show I enjoy watching.

Day 18

I had a long day at work. I The only thing that made my day was the burrito I ate for lunch. I bought it last night and only ate half. It was sooooo good.

I went for Japanese food tonight. I really didn't like it. I ordered salmon teriyaki, some kind of friend chicken (yuck) and grilled shrimp. I should have ordered sushi.

I never enjoy my meal when I order cooked Japanese food. I don't know why though. I almost knew I wasn't going to enjoy my food when they served my soup with a regular large spoon instead of the Japanese style spoon they usually serve soup with. I will have to try the Sushi next time.

I have a three-day weekend. I'm so glad. The more time off work I have the better.

I'm going to see a Tyler Perry play tomorrow night. My mom bought tickets (before asking me if I wanted to go) and then when I told her I didn't want to go she had to find someone to go with her. Since she didn't really have anyone to go and because my homework this weekend is light, I told her I would go.

I have no desire to see anything Tyler Perry. The last movie I watched was Daddy's Little Girls. Why are black women always expected to marry down? It's either marry down or be single?

Day 17

I forgot to write about this but yesterday (Day 16) someone admitted to having a crush on me. When he stammered to tell me I was hoping he was going to tell me anything but that as I don't feel the same way about him.

What is it about the opposite sex? Why is it that when you're not looking, people develop crushes on you? What is it about me that makes this guy like me? I'm generally a nice person. There are things that will piss me off in a heartbeat and cause me to write one off. I would consider myself somewhat ambitious, even more so when I finish school, and I don't why men who don't seem very ambitious tend to be attracted to me. I don't consider 98% of men worth my time. I'd rather be chasing money.

Anyway he wrote me an email today telling me how nervous he was to tell me and that he hadn't had a crush on someone since grade school, which by the way, was quite a while for him as he has two grown kids. I didn't know how to respond to this email. I hope he wasn't wondering if I would return the feelings because I can't. I want to finish school and leave the desert more than I'll ever want to be tied to a man.

This is one of those instances where I'm grateful for women's liberation.

Back to what I was blogging about yesterday. I came across an article on the net about YouTube. It pretty much discusses the growth of online video and how the amount of time spent watching online video.

“If you are CBS, the fact that people are watching a few hours of online video a month is of some concern,” Mr. Bernoff said. “But if there is some member of your audience who is there for one or two hours a day, you’ve lost them. They are never coming back.”

I found it very interesting.

On the other hand, for those hoping to stock up on digital content for, let's say, the Apple TV, they could incur a hefty fee.

"Time Warner said on Wednesday that it was going to start testing a new rate plan in Beaumont that would limit the amount of bandwidth each customer can use each month before additional fees kick in."

This is one thing that could hinder the popularity of Apple TV, if the product ever really takes off.

I'm going to make an appoint to talk to a financial advisor sometime in the future. My 401k has been losing money. In fact it's lost 8% percent of its value since January 1st. I am very cautious but I know now is the perfect time to start doing some investing.

(I'd just like to point out that in the last 17 days, I have surpassed year 2004 in number of blog posts.)

Day 16

I read in an article of Wired magazine where the future of entertainment resides on the Internet. I can't remember everything the article said because I read the darn thing when I was in Afghanistan, but I do recall a particular video blog, Lonelygirl15.

It can be found on YouTube and according to that article in Wired magazine, the video blog generates $10,000 a month from advertisements. That's a pretty nice chuck of change for 2 to 4 minutes of a "show" that probably took a couple of hours to write, shoot and edit.

Which brings me to why I'm excited about Apple TV. You can now watch YouTube on Apple TV which is great if you're like me and don't like the nonsense that has become television. Combine the lack of good content and outrageous cable bills and I've pretty much got a good reason to an Apple TV.

Of course I won't. I would rather produce content to be seen on Apple TV than actually watch it. And that's why I'm so excited about it.

I've been able to watch some of my favorite tv programs over the Internet which is great because I'm not bound to times when my favorite shows air. I can watch Bionic Woman any time during the week I so choose. It's television on demand. It's the kind of tv I like best because of my schedule.

I have cut this short as I promised myself I would be in bed by 9 p.m. and it is now 9:10. More on this tomorrow.

Day 15

I completely forgot what I was going to write about today. I had it all planned out. Oh, how I wish I could take my computer to work with me. It would make doing my homework so much easier.

I can't wait to finish this class. Next week is my last week for this class and after that I start class #5. Nine more classes to go. Oh how sweet it will be. To finally have my weekends free and money for traveling. Since I get every other Friday off, I plan to spend my 3-day weekends in a different major city in the U.S. For my vacations, I want to go to China or Brazil, especially China, but I need to find a travel agency that sells a travel package, one where I can spend at at least 2-weeks in China. I want to taste the food and see what this country is all about.

I know someone who obviously doesn't eat Sushi. This person commented on how it gave him goose bumps thinking of a fish getting cut up alive. I've eaten at plenty of Japanese restaurants and I've never seen the Sushi chef (is that what you call them?) cut up a live fish. EVER. I'm not sure if this person was just trying to make conversation or what.

The local airport has shuttles to San Francisco. I'm going to have to take a trip there as I've never been to SF. I will have to wait until I finish school though. Come on 2009!

UPDATE!!!

Now I know what I wanted to write about (how could I possibly forget?). Macworld 2008. I wasn't there, but I watched it at apple.com just now. It was very interesting. I really liked Time Capsule, iTunes movie rentals, iPhone, Apple TV, and the Macbook Air.

I don't see myself purchasing any of these products now, but I do think I will have a use for Time Capsule, iPhone, and the iTunes movie rentals. Also, with the way things are going in Hollywood and the cable companies going high def (more on this in my next post), I can see myself getting an Apple TV. I want to pick what I want to watch when I want to watch it. The only thing that bugs me about Apple TV is there is no blip tv support (that's where I host my vlogs). I hate YouTube.

I'm impressed with the Macbook Air, but I'm not looking for ultra portable because I'm still in love with my PowerBook.

Day 14

I think my job is starting to effect my personal life. I completely snapped at my team for not using brackets to inclose information within parentheses. Doggonit. I can't believe I snapped. I would have been okay with it had they just left my present value of annuity equation alone. It was fine the way it was.

I hope the Writer's Guide strike ends soon. I can't wait to see the new episodes of Heroes.

I've been watching that show, How I Met Your Mother and I think it's weird because in the show the guy is dating his wife's sister. He's explaining to his kids 20 into the future how he met his wife (their mother).

I went to see P.S. I love You tonight. I didn't like the movie. I think it's cruel to keep someone hanging on. I didn't like the movie. Oh, I already said that.

I'm running out of things to say.

Day 13

I almost missed another day. I was so busy surfing the web I almost lost track of time.

I'm sitting here blogging and watching Terminator 3. That movie sucks. You can tell James Cameron wasn't the director of this movie.

Two more weeks and I'll be done with class #4. Only 9 more to go. I can't wait. I've already seen the syllabus for my next class and there is so much work to do. I'm going to try to get started on some of that reading next week but I doubt I will get to it because I'm such a procrastinator.

I have the worst neck pain. I used to sleep without a pillow as my lower back would hurt if I did. Now if I sleep with a pillow, my neck hurts unless I'm propped up almost to the point where I'm sitting. I hate pillows.

Day 12

I hate the accounting. I can't wait to finish this class. I hate finance and accounting so much.

I almost missed my day 12. I have to take a break before I lose it. I'm so frustrated I feel like chucking my computer across the room. I don't really have time to blog as I just spent 5 hours trying to solve two problems

Day 11

There seems to be some confusion over what to look for in a presidential candidate like gender or race.

Just about every black person I know plans to vote for Obama on what seems to be the grounds that he is black.

Anyways, I don't have much to blog about today. I didn't do anything except sleep because I'm still trying to get over this cold. So far, the only thing that won't go away is my cough. If it doesn't go away by next week, I'll go to the doctor for Advair. That's the only thing that helped get rid of my cough last time.

Day 10

I went out with some coworkers tonight since I don't have to work tomorrow. it was nice sitting and talking with people about adult themes without the presence of children.

I don't get to hang out much because of school. When I'm not in school, I still don't hang out much because most of my friends have children. Going out with them isn't much fun because instead of talking about politics, ore, religion, or dating and relationship, we mostly talk about kids, and at this point in my life, I find children rather uninteresting to talk about all the time.

I got a spam comment. I hate spam. Before I lost all the content to my blog a few months ago, I would get what seemed like 1,000 spams a day! I restarted my blog and the more I post, the more spam I get. This will be a very interesting year for my blog.

Which has me thinking, I'm probably going to renew my hosting contract as I don't have the time to set up my blog elsewhere. I like the ease of use of a dot mac account, but I don't like the little storage and options with dot mac.

I need to go to bed. I just wanted to post my Day 10 before the next day arrives.

Day 9

I read an article in People magazine about teen pregnancy. I'm not really caring at all about teen pregnancy. I guess I would care if I had a teenage daughter.

I think the real topic is why aren't these very young girls giving their children up for adoption? There was only one girl in the bunch interviewed that chose to give her son up for adoption.

Adoption is the most logical way to deal with a teenage pregnancy. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if my mother had given me up for adoption. She was entirely too young for motherhood when she had me, granted she was legally an adult but she sure wasn't one mentally.

This got me thinking about black children in general. This is just my opinion, but I think most black children are screwed from the moment of conception. For one, the parent(s) is usually too damn young, undereducated, and financially insecure to try to raise a child. The one's who miraculously mature after the child's birth spend the next 20 years struggling to house, feed, and clothe the child to even enjoy parenthood.

Someone at work mentioned how much she struggled when she was young as a single parent working and while trying to go to school. She also said that if she were to have another child (her daughter is grown), she would be able to enjoy the kid more because she would have to worry about finances and getting an education. She also mentioned the differences in the households of her nieces and nephews. One set of children have parents who waited until they were older and financially secure before having their children. The other set of parents had their children young and without a pot to piss in. One set of parents actually have the time to enjoy their children; the other set of parents spend more of their days worrying about how they're going to pay the rent and put food on the table.

I could go on about why black children are screwed but I won't because I have homework to do. I do want to say that there are a lot of black children being raised by gay and lesbian (and white) couples. You could come to your own conclusions about that last sentence. Remember that Halle Berry movie, Losing Isaiah? You can come to your own conclusions of why I brought up that movie, too.

Day 8

I hate it when people have music on their blogs. When I surf the web or do just about anything on my computer, I like to listen to my own music. When I came across a blog with music imbedded, the music clashed with the songs on my playlist.

I'm a little bummed because I'm still sick (sore throat) and my 401K lost almost $300 in just 8 days! I have to stay strong and realize that a $300 loss now, could turn into a $600 gain in the future. When it comes to investing, you have to ride out the markets.

I keep looking at what it will take to retire comfortably and even if I can turn $20K into $100K by the time I'm 69, $100K is not going to be enough to live off of in my old age when you consider inflation.

What to do. What to do.

Buy low, sell high. That's the advice I've been given. Take the opportunity to invest more money when the price is low. My goal is to have the equivalent of half my yearly pay in a savings account, and the rest of the money, I put into different investments. I'm going to have to consult my dad on this issue. He's been investing money for a while now. He got me started in mutual funds.

Classes started yesterday. I can't wait to get this class over with. I have three more weeks of this class before I start my next class. Can 2009 get here any sooner? I want to be done!

I need to pay off my credit card. If I charge something on my credit card, I pay it off the next day. That way I don't carry a balance and get charged any interest. Plus I earn thank you points. I need to get some reading done. I have discussion questions due tomorrow and I have a team paper I have to work on.

Day 7

I don't know why every time I sit to compose my next greatest blog post, I can never remember what I wanted to write about.

I've got one year, one month and three weeks of school left. I already wrote about this.

I'm tired of talking about my hair. I'm tired of combing my hair. I'm tired of picking my hair up off the floor. Hair in general...

I've been checking out some more blogs on Sisterlocks. I'm discovering how different they look on different people. I've come across some blogs where the individuals locks look a little unkept.

I've worn braids before, and as soon as the braids started to frizz, I would take my braids out. Of course it doesn't take long for the braids to frizz and I would be spending hours taking the darn things out.

I've read that the frequency of which one gets their hair tightened determines how manicured the locks look. Now, my hair grows pretty darn fast, so I guestimate I would have to have my hair tightened every 3 to 4 weeks, maybe even sooner as I can't stand frizz.

If I were to get Sisterlocks, I would want them to look like Renea's. Her locks are so perfect (yes, I stalk her blog) but I suspect the way they look has a lot to do with hair texture and maintenance. (I'll be spending some of my free time reading some of her older posts to figure this out.)

I skimmed through some magazine a couple of weeks ago and there was a short article in there about 20 things women should let go of in the new year. The only one I can remember is the one about lusting over a celebrity. The other 19 things on the list I let go of years ago (I'm not telling my age BTW) but this is the one thing I just can't let go of.

This celebrity is smoking HOT!!! I. MEAN. HOT! I don't think I would have ever noticed him if it weren't for that one movie I saw where just about everyone was smoking HOT!

I think I'm going to go to the doctor's because I can't shake this cold I have. The only problem is EVERYBODY is getting sick with whatever I got, so I might not be able to shake it even if I tried. We'll just keep passing it back and forth. I hate cubicles.

Enough blogging. I've got a couple of chapters I need to read. Until tomorrow.

Day 6

Shrimp and burritos. There are just some combinations of things that I would never expect someone to put together. I mean, I like shrimp and I love burritos but I definitely would not think to put the two together.

I had my first shrimp burrito yesterday. I thought it was okay. I don't think I will ever get another one. I prefer my burritos with chicken, pork, or beef-the good old fashioned meats for burritos.

I finished the paper I had planned to write over New Year's weekend but got sick and decided to wait until the last possible minute (today).

This blogging everyday thing isn't that bad. I almost went to sleep last night without blogging but I convinced myself to get up and type something even it if were me only typing how much I didn't feel like blogging. It worked, too.

Oh, I managed to clear my hard drive of 6GB of space! So now I have 22.5GB of space left on my computer. It helps that I moved many of the large files to my iPod. I'm thinking of purchasing an external hard drive so I can transfer all of my pictures and music to. But then I thought I can hold out for nine more months before I purchase my desktop. The desktop will be so that I won't have to edit pictures or video on such a small screen. I could always just purchase a monitor and keyboard and hook them up to my desktop but...I don't know what a good enough reason would be actually other than to save some bucks. Monitors and keyboards are cheap.

I was playing around on Facebook with this new application called Make a Baby. I haven't posted it to my profile but I did make a little girl. Her name is Imma Culate Conception. LOL. She looks just like me, too. (It's scary).

I went surfing through iTunes and came across the audiobook for Stephen Colbert's I am America (and So Can You!). Someone wrote a review saying "reading is for liberals and people who like to THINK." Okay? I work with someone who uses the word liberal a lot and he doesn't seem to be to interested in school. I'm very tempted to get the audiobook. It will be one way for me to get my "reading" in while doing my studies. Speaking of audiobooks, I've been trying to finish Lovely Bones for like five years. I just can't get used to listening to books.

One year from today and I'll be about to start my last class. The end is so sweet. I can't wait for the end. I plan on taking a trip to Arizona and purchasing a digital SLR camera. I've got my eye on the Nikon D300. I want to stick with Canon cameras but the Nikon has features that I don't think I can live without.

Day 5

I completely forgot what I was going to write about today. Oh, I think I remember now. I'm the world's biggest procrastinator.

I had planned to finish my paper on cash management techniques and short-term financing by 3 p.m. today; however, I have found every excuse in the book to not finish. I'm a procrastinator by nature and as long as I have time to spare I will wait until the very last minute to get something done. It's safe to say that this is one of my resolutions for this year.

Okay, now I remember what I was going to originally write about. I bite my nails. I quit nail biting shortly after getting out of the Army back in 2004 and had been successful at quitting up until I was recalled. I thought I was going to be able to stop once I got back from Afghanistan but I haven't. I think when there are things going on that make me feel stressed in any way, I tend to bite my nails.

I count school as a stress. Living the the AV is the other stress. Finish school and change my surroundings-two more resolutions.

Oh and biting my nails, I think it's the reason why I can't get over this cold. When I stopped biting my nails, I stopped catching colds.

Day 4

I've been fighting a cold for the last 3 weeks. I can't seem to shake it. I'll go a few days where I feel in perfect health and then I'll wake up the next morning with a sore throat and a bad cough. The only thing that seems to help my sore throat and cough is warm air.

I guess it's the change of weather. The rain storm finally made its way to the Antelope Valley. I can't wait for it to go away. I'm tired of bad hair days.

Someone said they hoped I got married because I seemed like a nice person. I'm very pessimistic about the prospect of finding "the one" because I don't believe he exists.

I actually do think about getting married a lot. The problem is when I picture myself on my wedding day in my white gown, in a church (go figure), walking towards the alter, there's no groom waiting for me. And all my guests are flickering, like when a wind is about to blow out a candle.

Something I've done or am doing is going to prevent me from marrying.

If you haven't noticed, I intend on blogging at least once a day for the next year. I think I already mentioned this. I was going to do the 365 self portraiture project but to take a picture of myself everyday and attempt to make it interesting seems too time consuming considering my schedule. School must come first. I will participate in the project next year.

Day 3

One of my goals for this year is to blog everyday even if it's only a few words or thoughts.

I'm glad the holidays are over. I helped put some Christmas decorations away at work. I think I annoyed the person I was helping because I didn't know the reason behind the 12 days of Christmas. I'm glad this aspect if Christmas is no longer practiced as I would definitely hate Christmas more than I already do now.

I found out one of my buddies I met in Afghanistan married his baby's mama. You have no idea how happy I am about this.

Doubts about Sisterlocks

I've been searching the blogosphere for more blogs on Sisterlocks. I came across this one.

I haven't gotten many positive reactions when I told people what I want to do with my hair. For the most part, everyone has said I would have a hard time getting a job. I've shown them blogs of Sisterlock wearers and for the most part, they like the way the hair looks. There's still doubt about the locks, like how will I take them out. Of course you don't but they can't comprehend why I would want to wear my hair like that for years. These are people who haven't changed their hairstyles in decades!

I've been wearing my hair the same way for years so far. I doubt I would ever get tired of not being able to yank out my hair or having my scalp burned by a hair dresser.

I brought up the subject in my last class since the topic was employment law and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I provided links to this blog and asked my classmates if the hairstyle was neat in appearance and if they would hire the individual. Most of them said they would. I don't think I got honest opinions.

Happy New Year

It's a new year and I'm hoping it will be a good one. I was going to post a vlog recapping my last year but I didn't get it finished in time before the New Year so I won't be posting it at all.

I won't have much going on in the next 14 months except school. I'm hoping my studies won't be interrupted as I only have 9 more classes to go before I finish and my contract with the Army ends in August. I'm so tired of school.

I don't have much to add to my blog. I had a birthday last week. It was the worst birthday ever. This year, I'm going to make some definite plans so I would have a repeat of 2007. I'm going to go somewhere where the people won't know I'm having a birthday.