i'm shitty at this

whole updating thing. here is bunch of sentences that my tired brain is going to try to emit.

basically, i've been in minneapolis for a month. and it's been great! the twin cities already feel like home.
the job is... going. i'm getting adjusted to the best of my ability. the two parking tickets were crappy to receive, but.. shit happens, right? in a fit of ridiculousness, i shaved my head and mohawk'd the top. Sorry, family.

anywho, what goes down must come up (and vice versa)- so, for as exhausting as my job can be, it allows me to have fun with friends on the street and also, raising money for the ASPCA is pretty rewarding. the only downside is the horrendous tan. but so far, i've enjoyed exploring the cities, and i still feel like there's so much more to see.

fourth of july was fun- fireworks and trampolining, BBQs and beers. GREAT AMERICAN FUN. All for a buck o' five.

my birthday is coming up at the end of the month- i don't really have any concrete plans as of what i want to do. most likely take it easy, after all, it's just 22. how time flies.

also. i applied for some part time stuff at Saint Sabrina's (an exquisite tattoo parlor) and The Cafeteria, both located in Uptown, and both could be fun. if I don't hear back, meh, no biggie.

i hope it stops raining soon.

zzzz.

lessons

Hey guys, I've gotta keep this one short because it's late and I need to go to bed. Today was pretty overwhelming, but I got through it alright. I got free Starbucks (woo), free shared Chipotle, a free haircut (my head is basically shaved- pictures later!), and a parking ticket (SECOND ONE in two weeks!). Ugh. THIS TIME, the parking citation was, again, $42 dollars (is that like a thing around here) and the remark said, "UNTD VEH 2FT INTO POSTER ZONE NP UNATTENDED".

two feet into a parking zone? more like barely 6 inches. I HATE PARKING IN DINKYTOWN UGH UGH UGH. my car was literally nosed completely up into the bumper of the car in front of me, and they had like three feet of space between their car and the one in front of them. Go figure. Assholes. Tomorrow, I'll be getting up a good hour earlier just to drive down to find a spot. Hopefully I'll have better luck.

I'm excited to start running the test campaign for the Nature Conservancy. Not sure when, but it'll be soon. Until then, more canvassing for the ASPCA.

There are so many interesting people in the Twin Cities. It's awesome.

Goodnight.

soon to be updated. promise.

Wow. So the last time I updated this was in December of 2008- it's been far to long. Rather than update everything that happened in 2009 and the first half of 2010, I'll just say, 2009 was fine and I made it out alive. Woo.

For those reading along, I promised you a huge update. Annnnd... in true Mandy fashion, I'm going to have to procrastinate. A real update will be done tomorrow!

post jinan updates

god freaking damn it i really miss jinan. i don't even know what ABOUT it i miss the most; maybe it's the friends... maybe it's the freedom and independence. anyways, whatever it is, I DON'T HAVE IT HERE IN HONG KONG. what i have instead is a family of about 8 constantly bickering, throwing insults and making subversive snide comments under wasted breath. SO STUPID. i am at my wits end; i can't even imagine how my aunt feels, having to live with an amnesiac grandfather and an extremely grouchy grandma who HATES said grandpa. hong kong itself is brilliant, food EVERYWHERE... i uh, found some philly cream cheese in the grocery store (which they didn't have in jinan) and promptly bought some wheat buns (which is also nonexistent in jinan) and ATE THE ENTIRE BLOCK OF CREAM CHEESE IN TWO DAYS. nomnomnom.

that's right. that's what deprivation will do to you, man, it'll drive you insane and make you binge like bloody hell on what you've been missing.

that being said, i wish i could binge on my friends.
alison, hofit, ana, kim, everybody who is reading this- please please please leave me some love on the facebook, because internet is fucking limited and aside from ladyboy massages and a constant flow of heavily liquored drinks in the philippines, it's the only and best kind of relief i can get: the mental kind.

i didn't realize that my family was so irritating. it didn't used to be this way. grandpa has gotten SO foggy. it's really upsetting. and my grandma is still sharp as a tack and she is incredibly irritated with him. she refuses to sit near him. she refuses to look at him or talk to him. i don't even want to get into it. long story short, tensions are running super high. this is my once in a life time chance to have the entire family together, going on a vacation together... and it's already bordering on HELL... and the said vacation hasn't even really started.

i really can't wait to get home. i have been dreaming of pizza, speaking english with familiar faces, and wireless internet.

i'm a simple girl.

happy holidays, everybody. talk to you soon.
and see you in 2009.
<3

gone going gone

Hey, it's 4:42am and I'm leaving Jinan in a few minutes.
I had a great semester and I'm going to miss everybody so so so so so much!
I'll be back online when I arrive in Hong Kong (around 11am).
<3!