Last Day

I leave this morning for Basic training.  I'm a wreck of emotions: excited, nervous, and sad.  I'm excited because the day is finally here.  I'm finally shipping out. I woke up at 615 almost autonomously.  I know in the next several weeks I'll be getting up almost two hours earlier than this, but for someone who has been sleeping in until 10 every morning, 615 is a good start.  I'm nervous because I don't like the unknown, and this is a point in my life where a lot of things are unknown.  I don't know my flight number, I don't know anyone down there, I don't know what language I'll have, I don't know when I'll get to call.  I know that is part of the experience, but I still don't like it. I'm sad because the tables have turned and I am the one who is leaving now.  With David and my's relationship, he has always been the one walking out the door (first to Korea, then to Japan).  I've never had to play the "no I promise I'll be fine" role before. 

But David, he's pretty damn special.  He knew that I was an emotional wreck and let me keep to myself yesterday. I wanted to be close to him but not on top of him.  I knew that if I weren't occupied I'd start crying. I've been very good about crying until now. So we woke up in the morning, laid in bed for an hour, and then called our friends to do Ramen one last time before I left.  Ramen was of course tasty as all hell, and the company did well to distract me.

After that, I went back home for a brief few seconds to kill time before I had to meet with a friend for coffee.  Coffee was nice. Brief but nice.  You always meet people you genuinely enjoy right before you leave, and Krista was definitely one of those people.  She has a twisted creative mind, but she's a blast to hang out with. 

After that, we pretty much sat around the house.  David played Diablo, and I started organizing my pokemon cards by type and number.  It took a lot longer than I had anticipated, because I had to add about 600 new cards to the deck. Then I got hungry and David took me out to eat at a nice restaurant which serves Mediterranean food.  He got his steak right away, but I had to wait almost 20 minutes for my meal.  But it was still very nice. 

After that, David wanted to take me to Melody Road, something I saw on a local website.  So, we drove about an hour away to a small strip of road, secluded from the main highways. The story goes that two local people were separated due to the war and agreed to meet up in a small village.  They created a folk song, about how much they loved each other and wished to stay together forever. 67 years later, the village that they ran away to decided to commemorate the love song, and had created a strip of road with the grooves to let you know to slow down (sorry, I don't know the technical term for it) in it, cut at different depths. Therefore, when you drive over it at a little under 40km per hour, it plays the tune.  It was only about 60seconds long, and was hauntingly beautiful. 

After the trip home, I continued sorting my pokemon cards. I finished after about an hour, and I now have enough cards to fill a gallon sized bag. I know this because around midnight I had everything organized but not in the binder.  Fuck it.

So I went to bed.And then 6 hours later, I'm talking to you for more than likely the last time before I get out of basic.

Phillip and the Proposals.

So someone who we get most of our news from is on the Internet. I know, it's not the most official source, but they are at least blatantly biased in each of their ways. His name is Phillip DeFranco, and he created SourceFed. I think the reason I like them is that they are regular people who put the hours in and faced the hardships to get where they are, AND STILL REMAIN HUMBLE. I guess that's a common theme for me.

So because of this, I grow attached to them, just like a fictitious character. And recently Phillip DeFranco had been talking about eventually marrying his girlfriend of 5 years who he met on the Internet. While doing a special in Arizona which was a live show, one of the audience members asked Phil if he's ever going to get married. Phil starts laughing uncontrollably, and then pulls out a ring and gets on his knee. Everyone freaks out and is cheering, and I am home in my underwear crying my eyes out. 

We get done watching the video and I start wiping my eyes, and David sees me. He laughs and asks if the video made me cry. I openly admit it did, because proposal videos always fill me with such joy. It always takes me back to the emotions I felt when David just plopped on one knee and busted out a ring. I had been waiting for it. And I was now the happiest girl alive. 

So yes, strangers I have never met just started the rest of their lives together and I shouldn't get worked up, but I completely do. I assume it is no different than when someone watches movies, except in my world they are real and continue that awesome feeling after I leave the theater. 

Halestorm

So we were lucky enough to get backstage passes for a meet and greet after the Halestorm concert. We love Halestorm for about a year and a half now, and when we heard they were coming near us for a free concert. Through my lucky networking, we participated in a Facebook contest and got the backstage passes. 

I was really excited to meet them. I had two questions: how do you work together so well as siblings, and why weren't you at my going away party the previous night. The words that came out  of Lizzy's mouth were awesome: we have our days, but it is nice to be with my little brother. And we weren't invited! 

She asked what I was going away to and when I said I was joining the Air Force, she got excited for me and gave me a hug, and wished me a great career. RJ thought it was awesome, and gave me a hug too. :) 

I think the coolest part of this was that even though they have been making music for over a decade, they are still so down to earth. Real people making great music to please other real people. 

I doubt that they will ever read my blog, as I know that I am just an average girl, but if they ever do I want them to know they were more appreciated than they know.  

Nightmares and last chances

I haven't been sleeping well lately. I think that it's because I am secretly freaked out about leaving soon. At first it was insomnia and then just waking up randomly. Last night it escalated to nightmares all night. Dreams of bombs and being topless. Not the same dream. I just think its weird. 

For me the scariest part of me leaving is that I am actually leaving. You'd think after 8months of preparation I'd be more mentally prepared for that aspect. Lol. 

I've started eating last meals with people though. And tonight is my going away party. The last time I will drink with my Okinawa friends and possibly last time drinking before Tech School. 

But all in all I am excited. It isn't every day you begin a career you are committed to for at least 6 years. Haha. I really feel this is a great move for me. I just wish I wasn't gone so long. 

Catching Up Before a Planned Hiatus

Well, if it isn't Mrs. Average herself, signing back into the old Blogger account.

I have a good excuse! I SWEAR! See, I was working and I got stabbed by an angry member who happened to also be a giant spider.

LIES! THAT IS PERFECTLY NON-AVERAGE! You are an AVERAGE Alyssa!

Shit.



Ok, so I don't have a good excuse as to why it has taken me nearly 6 months to post again.  See, I was working full time, and modeling part time, and then doing the Ultimate Game Show more than part time but less than full time.  At one point I was practicing three times a week, for over two hours a clip, and I'd make it home just before David fell asleep.

It was draining.  And I really felt as though making the same posts about a member being mad at me, and I had to fold laundry again just WASN'T what you all wanted.

It has been so long that I don't even know if I told you all that I was enlisting.  *checks previous posts* Crap. I guess I didn't.  Part of me wanted to keep it secret until I had a job and DEPed in, but here it is 17 days from boot camp and I still hadn't posted anything.

Maybe it was for the better. All that suspense does the body good.

That's a total lie for me. I hate scary movies because I cannot physically handle the suspense.  That's a nice segway into the "list of stuff I failed to inform you of" that I was going to do.

1. I played Slender for the first time. Well, one of David's friends played and I told him where to go. He has this ridiculous gamer mouse that I swear has 26 buttons on. BUT. I CANNOT do scary. So it being 9pm and dark, and him turning the bass up, and watching him play that game nearly caused fecal accident alllll over the place. Luckily I have a strong sphincter. lol.

2. I have lost 10 pounds since I started working out religiously with my trainer in January.  Plus, I have been watching what I eat and I have been very good about controlling my portions.

3. David and I picked up swimming about two weeks ago.  I can tread water, but I am a terrible swimmer.  I guess that makes me average in that aspect as well, eh? I have been working on my breathing, and have dramatically improved on my swimming in the two weeks we've been going.  I guess having goggles and earplugs helps.

4. I had my last show with the Ultimate Game Show in Naha, which was off base.  I thought it was awesome, and I had so much fun.  The top prize was 1,000,000Yen, which is about $10,000.  That contestant walked away with a Yen. that's 1cent.  It was amazing.

5. I've made quite a few more friends. All in the last week, mind you, but that happened none the less.  It always happens like that though, you make friends right before you have to leave. 

6. I saw Flyleaf in concert, and won backstage tickets to meet the band.  It was amazing, even if the bassist was SEVERELY sick so all we got was a quick hello.

7. I helped a friend go through a very rough divorce, letting her stay at our house for a week. Her ex-husband is psychotic, so I figured it was safer and cheaper for her here than at the hotel.  Plus she helped me cook and clean. lol.

8. I got bitten by a poisonous spider on the top of my foot. It was a mystery spider I never saw. I was already drunk and I didn't want to go to the emergency room for it, so we waded it out. David was anxious to pop the scab and put hydrogen peroxide through it. I was convinced he was punishing me for something I did. 

9. I ended up in the emergency room on the Fourth of July. I wish it were something extraordinary, but alas, I am average. I didn't drink enough water and went to the emergency room for dehydration and heat stroke. 

10. David and I took our honeymoon. Originally it was supposed to be to Australia. But. My average human husband didn't realize we were staying the night in Shanghai, and didn't get visas for it, realizing this three days before we were supposed to have wheels in the air. So we called Expedia and got our money back as a miracle. Booked our trip to Tokyo and loved every minute of it. My favorite was the pokémon center because I am a pokémon fan. I got the coolest backpack that has been getting me compliments from Japanese and American people alike. 

Packed

I'm busy until the day I leave pretty much now.  Today is Wednesday, and I decided that I was going to pack my bag for basic today. After eating lunch with David and getting some groceries for my going away I did just that. The only thing that I don't have in there is my gameboy for the plane ride and my pay as you go phone. Those are not going in there until the morning of, because I want to make sure they both are fully charged.  Today I also started the gummy Soju Snakes. Last night I started the Skittle Vodka process.

Tomorrow, Thursday we will be cleaning the house.  I also have a hair appointment and we are selling the car David drives.  Maybe some Diablo in there too.

Friday I have my 3 day appointment with the recruiter, and mad dash to clean the house and prepare sleeping quarters for people who will be partaking in the alcoholic fun variety. Then it's my going away party.

Saturday is recovery day from night before, with full recovery estimated before 4 so we can head to the concert where we scored backstage passes to Halestorm. Heck yes.

Sunday will be recovering from that, and I have a zombie photoshoot. Probably my last photoshoot before I leave. I was hoping to have one more, but I think the timing is bad.  Oh well. 

Monday will be spent doing absolutely nothing.

Tuesday I swear in and fly out, and arrive. Gotta love international travel. 

My thought on Cosplaying

The following article is from the New York Post by Linda Stasi entitled "Syfy looks at world of make-believe reality"

I'm confused--or maybe they are.

In case you don’t know, (and I sure didn’t), there are hundreds of thousands of people around the world who spend millions upon millions of dollars on intricately constructed costumes for their personal use.

No — not just gowns or nutty Civil War costumes that people wear for reenactments. Nor is it the job description of the costume designer at a local theater group.

That’s all mere child’s play, or should I say, “cosplay” compared to real thing — cosplay. What the hell isthat?

It’s competitive costume-making and costume-wearing at comic conventions — events at which competitors spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on outfits to look like characters in animated movies, comic books, graphic novels and video games.

It’s not enough to go to a costume store and rent a Demon Hunter outfit? I mean, seriously. Renting is so last decade!

Syfy, which loves all things comic, cosmic and costume has a new series, “Heroes of Cosplay,” devoted to these very folks who are devoted to competing around the country at comic conventions.

Competitive cosplayers make giant molds, sew elaborate outer space outfits, spray-paint their bodies and create armor from plastic molds they build themselves.

We learn that if the cosplay industry has a legend, it’s the one-and-only Yaya Han — a woman who is such a remarkable designer/wearer of the wild, hugely expensive costumes she and her boyfriend create that she’s now the go-to authority.

She is, in fact, a cosplay mogul with lines of accessories and God knows what else. Then there are the competitors themselves, some fairly new to cosplay and some who’ve been doing it years.

We aren’t given any in-depth knowledge about what these folks do to earn a living in the real world that enables them to spend every waking hour and dime on making costumes. Several of them seem to be involved in the industry.

No one seems rich, but there are big cash prizes for winners, which helps defer the cost of the elaborate costumes.

The weird thing, (well, all of it is weird), is that these folks really want to be the fictional characters they portray.

This article is insulting. 

Some of us don't spend thousands of dollars (the most I spent was $130 on Harley because of the fabric) and we do it because yes we want to portray a character. Are you slamming the actors who do this very same thing? No. 

Another reason I cosplay is that I love the look on people's faces when they see someone I am cosplaying who they are fan of. Example: Kitana. I had someone beg to come with me in to the shoppette because I was dressed as her. And Harley: Japanese teens asking for pictures. 

We spend countless hours on something we love to improve our skills, develop our talents, and challenge ourselves. What is wrong with that? That is why we don't rent our costumes. There's no pride associated with renting that "I MADE this" gets. 

And yes, some of us even have "real" jobs that we use to make money to spend on our hobbies. Some of us are bankers, and writers, and casino workers. 

The first time I made my own costume from scratch was Kitana. I had no idea about sewing. I just thought she was the sexiest video game character ever. So I looked at pictures of her online and sketches out how her costume looked.  Then I got some shiny blue fabric and began cutting. I made everything too small. So I started over, with the same piece and used it as a template to make the next attempt larger. Before I knew it, 8 hours had passed and the costume was done and my studio apartment was covered in sewing mess. I was going to make this costume for the bedroom but as I finished it I was so proud of it, that I wanted to wear it everywhere. 

Then, I got into Modeling and wanted to expand my portfolio. I began thinking of how I could, and cosplaying just made sense. I did a Poison Ivy shoot. I did Harley Quinn. I plan on doing Raven. I am going to redo Mystique. 

I wonder what the author of the article does in his spare time. I wonder if he actually believes playing on the XBox is that much more appealing than what we as cosplayers do. 

Pre-Milestone Anticipation

You know how any time you are looking forward to something--whether it is vacation, or moving, or graduating, or the birth of a child, or wedding, etc--you do a countdown, and as you are further away from whatever the event is (I'm dubbing it Milestone) it seems like the Milestone will never happen. Then before you know it, it seems like the Milestone is right around the corner.

The transition from years to months, to weeks, to days for me has always been so dramatic, that I often find myself wishing time would slow down a little.

My milestone is of course Basic Training.  I began thinking of enlisting in October, with the intent of leaving for basic training right after New Years. Of course, that's not how today's military works, when they are trying to limit the number of people in, and be highly selective of the people who get let in.  In December I took the ASVAB, and in January I received my results.  They were pretty high, and the only part that I wasn't very high in was mechanics.  So, I had a wide range of options.  Because my score was so high, my recruiter suggested I take the DLAB to see how well I can learn languages.  I knocked that one out of the park, even after a mild temper tantrum during the test* and scored in the top tier for the languages. This lets me learn languages like Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. I was kind of surprised that Russian was on a lower tier, especially since I was always under the illusion (I originally had the word "conception" in there, but that made me think of childbirth.  Would that have been grammatically correct?) that Russian was one of the hardest languages to learn (though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHfroJBMlVM says that a drunken college kid can learn it in a trip).  Right around this time, I swore in at the end of January.  I spent the next couple of months harassing the recruiter every time the job list came out.  In the first week of April I get my job, and have to wait until AUGUST, literally 4 months, to get to basic.  Man, four months seems like a lifetime when you just aren't happy in your worklife.  Around 2 months later, I get moved to full time at a different branch.  Then life doesn't seem quite as bad, because I have a decent paycheck to combat the crazy job.  But a few weeks later, I quit so I could go to Tokyo and spend time with the husband.

Originally I thought I would use this time to work out.  But when you get in the vacation mode, and don't have work to come back to, it is very difficult to snap out of it.  But when August 1st hit and I realized I had 20 days to get into shape, I still didn't kick my exercising into gear, but I definitely stopped eating bad. lol.

Then last week, I realized I had 10 days left. And then I have single digits left. And now I'm a week out. I feel like it was so long ago that I started this journey. But I feel like it is going by too fast. I have to start packing by bag today, and tomorrow I begin prepping for my going away party this weekend.  Then after this weekend, I'm shipping. It's insane.



*When you take the DLAB there is no studying for it.  If you look online, most people say that you'll either do well or you won't.  The DLAB is in 4 sections.  The first three are relatively simple, and if you have any kind of knowledge on how any language besides English works, you will do fine. The first section you listen for emphasis on syllables in a made up language.  For example: They will ask which has the emphasis on the second syllable for the word gorgukta. GORgukta, gorGUKta, and gorgukTA. Obviously you don't get it written out. you just have to listen.  Then the second section they apply a single rule like the adjective which ends in o comes after the noun which ends in a. Then you have to choose which is right in the sentence. It is a little easier because they take english words and add letters at the end. So which is correct: Redo Balloona, balloono reda, balloona redo, and reda baloono.  The answer is the third one.  Then the third section is sentence structure with ALL the rules of the second section.  I am not even going to attempt to make an example. Then the final section is what tripped me up.  To this day I don't know what the hell to do.  They give you a row and a colum, then four pictures. You have to figure out from those, what the answer is.  I remember the example being two tables as the answer, with tables on the top, and a bunch of weird symbols on the side.  Somehow I was supposed to deduce that those combined were two tables. It was weird and unfair. I think I missed the instructions for it or something because I got the example wrong.  And just like any test, you know if you get the example wrong you pretty much are screwed.  In most tests, the question is which is a plant: a lion, a tiger, a bear, or a tree.  But whatever.  I took the test and got to the last section, got to the example, failed it, and was very upset that I couldn't figure it out, and that I'd be a civilian for the rest of my life. You can return to the original story now. 

The Sweetest Going Away to Be Had

I have my going away planned for Friday night, and I am very excited. I figured if I were to have healthy options for the main dishes, then I can splurge on the liquor. And splurge I shall. Here is what I have planned: 

Skittle vodka

Soju gummy worms

Awesome Jell-O shots of four varieties. 

I am looking forward to making all of these because I have never done them, and they all sound pretty sweet. Pun totally intended. 

Bask in the terrible glory. 

Identity Stolen?

So I was perusing the book of face yesterday. Someone has posted in one of the local yard sale pages about how the store on base has been sharing credit card information.  Rather than just say "Hey, guys, they are sharing our information, you should be careful" the person listed about 400 people, and the first digit and last four digits of their credit card information. Of course, I am perfectly average so my name was on there as well as my credit card. Oye.  Since I worked for a bank, I know that this information alone is not hazardous to my safety and identity. BUT. Thanks for posting it.  NOT. I worked in the bank long enough to know that I have to call my bank and cancel the card and order a new one.

That's what made me the most angry about this situation. This person posts a vague description and a long list, but doesn't say who the store is sharing with. NEWSFLASH: Everyone shares information like this to do business.  They share it internally with other stores, headquarters, and things like that in order to track how many items they need to keep stocked, how often things get returned, etc.

And now because of this I don't have a working credit card, and I leave for basic next week. The card won't get to me until I leave. So thanks, person. I mean, I could have decided not to cancel my card, but how do I know that this person doesn't have any more information?

I'm a little peeved to say the least.

Harley

A couple of months ago I got into a cat fight about being Kitana from Mortal Kombat and another girl had the same costume. So I decided I was going to fashion myself a Harley Quinn costume. It was my first ever time working with spandex, and my first time making a body suit. As with my experiments 85% of the time I got VERY lucky in that it turned out fantastic. 

And so I did the show as her and got so many compliments, but I didn't get very good pictures of it. 

A couple weeks ago I did a photoshoot with Harley in the downtown-esque area of a nearby shopping area. I was anxiously awaiting the photos because I kind of love Harley, and I was very proud of how well the costume turned out. 

I got the photos back last night, and Oh. My. Goodness. They turned out phenomenal. The heat from the day was unbearable and caused my makeup to run, but the photographer was able to make the makeup look clean. Just awesome. 

There's one shot where I am in this alleyway, and he tinted the picture blue, and it just completely caught the look I was going for. 

This my friends is why I cosplay. To see me bring these characters to life, and to see how awesome the pictures come out. 

Sun burns suck.

At Tokashiki we put sun screen on. But apparently not well enough. David and I got burned. His back was pretty bad, but my butt got fried. Bad part about snorkeling I guess. I posted today how getting burned on your butt is number 3 on the worst places list and David asked what the others are. Good list idea if you ask me.

1: boobs

They hurt when you breathe. They hurt when you sleep. They hurt when you reach for things. They hurt when you hug. 

2: bottom of the feet

They leave you incapacitated. They hurt to walk. It makes it hard to do anything. 

3: booty cheek

Oh man. I have this burn at the moment. It's the area where every plastic chair sticks to you. But when you put aloe on it, EVERYTHING sticks to you. I can't sit on the couch, or the toilet. Getting out of bed hurts. Walking hurts. wearing shorts with butt pockets hurt. Basically the only thing I can do comfortably is lay on my stomach. 

4: front bikini line

This one sucks because everything is always rubbing it. Rolling your underwear is the only way to get rid of that issue. But shorts hurt too with this one. So your best bet is to wear a dress. 

5: back of the knees

Walking hurts, and any kind of bending your knees hurts. Depending on the length of your shorts you run the risk of rubbing. 

6: bra strap lines

We gotta wear bras in most social occasions. Bra strap lines hurt because you have to find a bra that won't rub your sensitive skin. 

7: neck

This is just painful if you have a severe burn. Moving the neck stinks. 

8: nose

I rub my nose quite a bit and I almost always know when my nose is burned before any other kind of burn. I think this is because I can see it and because I rub it so often. Plus I look like I am Rudolf. 

9: arms 

Depending on where on your arms, this can be painful because of bending skin or scratching fabrics. Armpits are the worst of this. 

10: legs

Same thing as the arms, but also includes the back of the knees. Plus there is that annoying legs-stick-to-everything-when-you-sit thing. 

Tokashiki island

Today I went with my hubby and our friends Beth, Dave, and their two boys to Tokashiki Island. It's an hour ferry from home, and there isn't much to do on it. We went on the boat, and I slept most of the way because I knew it was a long ferry. 

The plan was to all rent scooters and snorkel on the beach all day. Confession: I have never driven a scooter. Confession two: I have the coordination of a newborn giraffe. So I get on it and immediately realize this was not going to work out, but they were all out of the two seater scooters. What do you know they had a four wheeler. Well. The last time I rode a four wheeler I broke my thumb almost completely off. But that was almost 12 years ago so what is the worst that can happen?!

With sound logic like that, I should be taken off the streets. But we were left with no choice besides me walking which wasn't going to happen since the beach was on the opposite side of the island. 

So I get on the four wheeler and keep it about 10km below the speed limit, and end up safe and sound at the beach. :) 

Beth and Dave and the kids brought goggles and snorkels so David and I rented some as well as some fins. The beach we went to was a nice sectioned off area filled with coral reefs. This was also my first time snorkeling in about 13 years so it took my brain a moment to adjust to the fact that looking under water I was NOT going to drown. 

We swam around looking at the zebra fish and the rainbow fish, and the schools of white silver fish. And then next thing I know, David is right next to me. 

He grabbed my hand and we began snorkeling together, and it was the single most romantic thing we've done in a long while. He grabbed me around my waist and we just floated, looking at the fantastic water life under the sea. 

Next thing I know we are in a secluded area, surrounded by gorgeous orange finger coral. Fish are swimming around us. I felt like a mermaid. I was definitely in love. 

Until we swam too close to the coral and it cut up my knee. 

Then after an hour we got out and headed to the town to look for something to eat but the restaurants were all closed. 

Back on our bikes (and four wheeler) we just drove around the island. Wind in our hair, fantastic views in front of our eyes. 

I'm back on the ferry, and only a little burned on my neck. We are all relaxed, and I would say it was a greatly needed escape. From one island to another. 

Schvie the barbarian

Today after dying in Diablo III about 10 times fighting the same monster I decided I needed a break from my demon hunter. So I created a new character named Schvie. She is a ginger barbarian. I didn't intend for her to be a red head. I just wanted a character who could handle hand to hand combat. 

IT'S SO MUCH EASIER!!! I swear simple skeletons and imps took me about 5-7 hits to destroy with the Demon Hunter. With the barbarian, it takes me two at most for those same guys. 

Now don't get it twisted. I only played long enough to beat the Skeleton King. I haven't even gotten to the fallen Star yet. But...

I'm in love with my more muscular, less evolved, more aggressive version of my own self. 

Grocery Shopping/Paying it Forward...ish?

It had been a while since I stocked the freezer, and we were down to our last frozen ground turkey and frozen turkey breast packages. I braved the Commissary today to stock the freezer back up with delicious, healthy, (easy to prepare) frozen meats. I only had about 7 items on the list, and knew that it would be relatively pain free.  After all, payday was last week. 

So I gathered all of my stuff, noticed there wasn't a line in any of the registers, but I closest to register one which is the "15 items or less" lane.  Well, since no one is after me, I started unloading my cart.  After I was about 10 items deep, they told me I had to go to register 7 (a non numbered lane) and they started packing my cart back up.  I get to register 7, and there are these Vacation Bible Study leaders discussing something with the cashier. Oh great. Shoo me away from the lane which had no one in it, and into the lane which is having problems.  Not cool, commissary.  Apparently they didn't bring enough money for the $420 worth of snacks for the kids that they wanted to buy, and I was frustrated already from the stupid cashier shuffle, so after they took the items off the tab, I offered to pay for their remaining items. 

They were so grateful. And it felt great to help out. "It's for the kids" they kept saying.

Ok fine, I get it, you didn't budget enough to buy everything you wanted and you wanted to thank the samaritan who helped you. Sixteen times over. BUT THE POINT WAS TO GET YOU OUT OF THE LINE FASTER! And if it's for the kids, how come you didn't dip into your own pockets to cover the bottle water, the juice and the gatorade? That would have been my first reaction.

I just wanted to file a complaint with the commissary, who I felt shouldn't have kicked me out of their line, when they had no other customers. 15 items, or 39.

So I did a good deed today, even if it was for personal benefit.  Does that still count?

Procrastination Bites

So around three months ago I got an email saying to renew my domain name, or else everything would expire. Then thirty days out I got a reminder email. Then the day before it expired I got another email.

"I'll do that later. I don't even update the blog anymore. How hard could it be to reactivate a domain name, eh? "

Answer: $95, a new domain name, and three hours on the phone/chat/email with godaddy.com trying to figure it out.

So for now, you can hit me up at anaveragealyssa.blogspot.com. I'm in the process of figuring out my new domain server. Seriously, the most complex stuff I've ever done in my life. And I was in honors Calc in college.

UPDATE:
I figured it would be easier to just buy a new domain name for $10/year than pay $95 to recover the old domain name. So my blog will henceforth be reached at averagealyssa.com.

It took me another couple hours to figure out how to try and get some silly coding things in there to make it where all you have to do is go to that website, and when I tried it said they were unavailable, and to call tech support.

I want to say his name was Jeff. I'm sorry if you are now reading this, and that is not your name Tech Support guy Jeff.  But, he told me I could just redirect traffic to the blogspot address (listed above) and that would essentially do the same thing. He asked what I use the domain for, and when I said that I blog about stupid everyday stuff like playing Diablo he went into complete nerd mode for about 5 minutes with me.  It was awesome and not what I expected at all.  He totally made the experience much better.  Thank you sir! 

Laundry and Demons

Today was a very productive day. I spent quite a bit of it on the computer slaying demons. I was playing Diablo III and trying to level up my Demon Hunter on nightmare difficulty. Demon Hunters are not good hand to hand combatants, and every single enemy wanted to have a fist fight. I died. A lot.

I died so much that I decided that every time I died I would do some push ups. Better to integrate some exercise in my lazy routine. 

Then I finished laundry as well. It was nice. 

Kilala got super excited when I opened a can of soup, so I crumbled and gave her a can of wet food. Prissy kitty didn't even eat any of it. Lol. 

Creepy Clowns

So a couple weeks ago I did a photoshoot with a clown wig and a russian gas mask. It was by far the strangest photoshoot I have ever done.  I got the pictures back today and I loved them. I'm not really one for creepy because I just don't do well with that sort of stuff.  Seriously, when I was young "Mars Attacks" scared me.

Although cosplay is definitely my niche, I loved the chance to do something out of my comfort zone.  You never know whether or not you will like something if you never try it.

That's something that living overseas has taught me.  Granted, I'm somewhat of a hypocrite because I will not touch squid ink pasta.  But since I've been here I have had more sushi than I would have ever dared to try.

By the way, who eats raw anything?!? We aren't cavemen anymore. But that's just my thought anyway.

Movie review time: Wolverine (spoiler alert?)

We went to see Wolverine after going to see the 10,000 Eisa drummers. I enjoyed the movie even though there were two major things wrong with it. 

According to my friend, before he even met Jean Grey, Logan studied in Japan. Therefore he should know the customs, the language, and how to tie a kimono on. It appears as though saving old man from the bomb in Nagasaki made him forget all of that. 

Secondly, in the first chase scene, Logan and Mariko start in Minato where the Tokyo tower is, then cross into Rappongi, pass through Akihabara and then end up on a train in Ueno all within 5 min. Yeah. Google those names on a map, and you'll see my issue. ALL OVER THE MAP! In FIVE minutes? By foot? And in the middle of the day? Absolutely not. You'd get traffic stops, people in the way, and most importantly leg cramps. Why wouldn't you just jump on the train in Minato? 

But aside from those two issues the story was good and a couple of the lines pretty predictable. As per usual Hugh Jackman doesn't have a shirt on for 75% of the movie. Some of the scenes had me cringing from what I would imagine would be very painful. And the villainess is a snakey rip off of Poison Ivy, and nothing like the comic book Viper who had no poisonous powers. So there was also that. 

Even with alllll of that. I give it a 8/10 rating. You should definitely see it. 

True love

I find that the times I realize that I love David more than I ever imagined are the moments I least expected.

I love him at his absolute worst. I worry for him even when he was less than considerate to me. And at times it is difficult, but my wedding vows still hold true. For better and for worse. In sickness and in health. Til death do we part.

Because with David I have a hell of a lot of ups, so the fact that there is the occasional down is alright. And if I can love him when he is acting hardly human, I can love him through anything.

Sleeping alternative

I was supposed to go to the cherry blossom festival today. But that fell through so now I am laying in bed. I cant say it is interesting, but it's much better than doing anything else I had planned.

Manliness

I often wonder where you get your perception of what attractive people of the opposite gender look like. I'll be honest, my taste in men is rather different. I see the chiseled men with glistening chests and defined six packs and I think, "gross. Those guys need some food." I prefer my men with meat on their bones and fur on their body.

But I guess the same goes for men in their views of women. Some like the twigs. Some like the heavier ladies. Some like the fruit shaped women. Personally I know I could never look like a women's fitness model, all chiseled and boobtacular. But I like how I am built. Big booty, decent size chest, and a thinner waist. Just wish the scale would stop creeping.

What do you find attractive?

Vets

I love the Japanese vets. I really do. They are nice. They are knowledgeable. They have an open appointment schedule.

But--

I feel like they just find excuses for us to come back.

We got Kilala fixed, and she had stitches. They wanted us to come back 3 days later to examine her healing. They charged us ¥500. Then they wanted us to come back 3 days later to remove the stitches. It cost us ¥1000. Apparently they won't do the rabies shot (even though we called and asked if they could) today as well since she was chipped today (at the American vet because the Japanese chips are not meant for outside of the island). So guess what our next appointment is? 3 days from now for another ¥500 examination fees.

I get tired of paying to have someone stick a thermometer in my cats ass every three days.

I realize full and well that we are literally talking about $15. But it still frustrates me.

Misery

Today was horrible. I woke up early and ran in the rain and wind. Then I came home and showered. Then I go to leave the house and Kilala escapes the front door. I grabbed her by the tip of her tail and flung her back in the house. Then I drove to work and was a little late. Then I was boiling all day at work. And I came home and made dinner. And now I am laying on the couch waiting for David to get back from his run.

It was pretty average but I am just achy and sore and the rain does nothing for me wanting to do anything productive.