Gonna Take a Little Getting Used To

Oi!
Greetings from Brazil. Well I've only been here 4 days and already I have a world of experiences. I put together a small list of things so far that has been not easy to get used to but I think by the end of 6 weeks will be no problem.

1. Toilet tissue does not go in the toilet. That's right. After you wipe you throw your tissue in a trash can to the side because of the bad plumbing problems that can result with too much tissue. I'm just gonna leave this one for you guys. Surprisingly though I should note that the bathrooms, or at least my house, doesn't stink because meu Mai throws away the trash a lot.

2. There are NO driving regulations in Brazil. Taxis, bus drivers and regular drivers . You guys familiar with Grand Theft Auto? Well that is exactly how every drives out here. PEDESTRIANS do not have the right away! There is no such thing as J-Walking but if you do decide to J-Walk you are really DEATH walking because you are putting your life at risk. Of course I am being a little dramatic but still the road is something that will take a second to get used to.

3. The BOYS. If you make eye contact with boys here they will walk up to you and kiss you. It is there way of saying that you are pretty and asking for your number. Its not disrespectful at all just a little much. You can be in deep thought looking in the direction of a boy and he will walk right up to you and attempt to kiss you.

4. The World Cup is like a NATIONAL HOLIDAY! Literally! Yesterday Brazil had a game so school got canceled. Not only did school get canceled but stores are closed down, HUGE big screens are put up all over the city and the EVERYBODY celebrates. The only thing open are bars and clubs to celebrate! On Friday, the next time Brazil plays, classes are canceled and we are encouraged to take care of any shopping beforehand. ITS CRAZY! Every single person is a Brazil soccer fan. Its so weird to see a whole country dedicated to something. My friends luggage was late and he called to see if it was arriving and the lady said "No, Brazil plays today, sorry!"


Well that's all for now. I'm about to take a nap before I go Salsa/Samba (I say Samba because although it’s a Salsa club I plan to use all the Samba I learned during my Afro-Brazilian dance today) tonight. Tchua!

Muzzled

Wow. I really can not believe that GROWN people are over analyzing a teenager quote on his twitter page. Malcolm is one of my best friends and he writes poems on his spare time and often puts random quotes of his poems on his twitter..I actually know what he is talking about and it does not have to do with bashing his coach or having to due with basketball period. SMH at people who have no lives...


Muzzled

So many fears embedded
So many tears I've shed
From my pair of eyes
I'm paralyzed
I've been selfless
In my selfish social life
How will I survive?
Unable to break free
Time is never on my side
Feeling like a caged pitbull
that had been on a chain for two years
Embedded fears and tears I've shed
From a life
I wish I had
Two years I've longed to have

Malcolm Lee

Puppy Love

While I think there is no end all event that a couple can go through in order to tell whether or not a person is the "the one" but I truly believe buying a puppy with that certain someone can help really gauge the depths of your relationship and when its all over at least you have a cute dog at the end of the deal.... or not.

1. Naming the Puppy
Although names for puppies can be creative, if your boyfriend wants to name the puppy Gangsta, Pyru, Murda, Ben Ladin or anything violence associated it might mean that he knows Micheal Vick... or really that this dog is nothing more than a toy to him that he will probably get tired of after a while rather than a loving addition to your relationship.

2. Dog Duty
Depending on how old the puppy is, it is important that it is treated like a baby and has constant attention which means there has to be a lot of doggy sitting that occurs. If your boyfriend is suppose to pick up the puppy at noon so you can go run errands, but he doesn't call until 3pm to tell you that he overslept then that should let you know alot of things. Number one he isn't dependable and number two he needs to have more to do than have long ass naps in the middle of the day.

3. Midnight Madness
While the other two signs were important I think this is the deal breaker. When the puppy who is probably sleep at your bedside or maybe in the bathroom is crying how your boyfriend acts is important. But not the first day....nope that's too easy. After a week of the pup waking up and doing its usually whimpers at 2am if your boyfriend -who slept through the entire time you had to wake up and feed event- looks at you the next morning as you sleepily get ready and tells you that you guys should give the puppy away because it keeps you guys up at night - then right there you know he isn't the guy for you! Or at least don't expect him to wake up when your child is crying in the middle of the night.

Unfortunately for me I had to experience these events first hand.... yep he tried to name her Damu (the name of the Blood gang)... but luckily we were only friends attempting to care for a dog. But after experiencing it I realized that it is the perfect way to really figure out if this is the guy that you can have a family with, and if not you can always give the puppy up like we did :( (Yes he sggested it that next morning)

always&forever.

Franchise

When to use LOL (for those of you who aren't really laughing out loud)

LOL by definition is a term coined to express laughing out loud via text messaging, email, instant messaging or any other non persnal interaction. In many cases a person isn't actually "laughing out loud" however, they may in fact be chuckling a bit in their head or they just want to acknowledge that something is funny.

However, suddenly I've discovered that LOL can be used in many other ways when things aren't actually funny at all. I call it LOL: the tension easer.

When NO is all you really want to put.
If a friend ask you for something that there is no way in hell that you would adhere to a simple LOL at the end of the text makes the text sound a lot less harsh and in the end you don't seem like a mean B*%^#

friend: Do you have an extra $20 I can borrow. I promise I'll pay you back this time.
you: Lol no

The simple LOL takes it from a harsh NO (bitch you didn't pay me back last time) to a Lol no (girl its a recession you know I'm broke to).


When you don't get the answer you want.
Whenever you ask a friend for something and you don't like the answer they give you... just put a LOL at the end so they don't think your mad even if you really should be.
you: Hey did you find my shirt you borrowed?
friend: Lol no (see the use of the LOL to ease the situation)
you: Lol ok.

To ease any awkardness in guy/girl conversations
When a guy is trying to get to know a girl they usually Lol more than anything else. Its their caution sign of saying don't judge me on anything I'm saying because I'm Lol-ing. Go through texts to the guys that are trying to be more than friends.... you'll see.

To end a text converstaion
There are numerous times where I did not want a conversation to go on any longer or I just was busy so I didn't have time to keep a conversation going so I just ended it with Lol. Without adding anymore after the Lol you are leaving a window for your friend to get any last things out the window but without asking anything or presenting more details or facts the Lol can be used as the new goodbye without having to actually say goodbye.

....
him: yea that was a fun party except it was real hot in there. Lol (this lol is the nervous laughter that usually occurs in person to ease the tension)
her: Lol yea it was (she simply put lol because he did and it also eases all seriousness from the convo)
him: Man good thing I didn't have to pay to get in Lol.
her: Lol
(There it is. That last lol is her goodbye unless he has something interesting to say totally switching subjects. Usually a person gets the hint of a lonely LOL so if you do want to keep the convo going never leave it alone)

In any other tense situations
Just any time you want to say something smart, harsh, or tense but you don't have time for an intervention through text.... just type in LOL.

always&forever.

Franchise

How to use your dating skills to find the right apartment.

After searching apartments for the past four months and seeing over 40 different apartmenst and dating my share of guys I have learned very valuable information for anyone searching for apartments. Apartment hunting is just like finding that right guy and just like boys apartment agencies lie!

The words like beautiful and large are very loosely interpretted. You know the guy that tells you he's living large but he lives at home with his mom... yea same thing with apartments. If an apartment add uses those two words (beautiful & large) yet it is far below the price that you first anticipated paying then do not waste your time. The apartment will be ugly with what me and my roommates refer to as "baby rooms".

And for the most part that is also true for guys... if he seems too good to be true then he probably is. Probably will hit you or has two baby mama's.

The exception to this is if the apartment is placed down the street from Ray Ray and Tone. Then the apartment may in fact be beautiful with large rooms except when your friends come to visit they will be expected to buy DVD's from your next door neihbors upon arrival.


When you do finally settle for an apartment after going to see 20 or so ugly apartments with toddler rooms, there lies another layers of lies from the management company. Just like when you finally decide that he could be the one you date... then all of a sudden the real him starts showing.

Remember to keep track with exactly who you are talking with and attempt to only deal with them when turning in your application. Alot of apartment agencies make their money off of your applicaiton fee so be sure to ask exactly how many applications have already been turned in before you pay $25 to be told that someone else turned an application before you. Because that will ahppen. Before you turn in your money they will act as if your the only one.. sound familiar... and then when you call back a few days later you hear that they've given the apartment to someone else. So just be sure to ask if your the first one don't assume anything.

Also, I'm not sure how you are about having your friends around your guys but honestly don't tell your apartment searching friends about your apartment until after you've gotten it. Lucky for me none of my friends have ever stolen one of my boyfriends but I do have a set of friends that almost stole my apartment except they didn't get it either... someone else got him... I mean it.

Remember don't settle for any apartment!.... unless your in the case of me and my roommates where you have to move out of your old place in three days with no where else to go. In that case just hope it doesn't have roaches!

always&forever.

Franchise