away

it's been a good trip so far. we went to a nature preserve yesterday. there wasn't much wildlife but lots plants in the mangroves. we went to the largest book store after. i got an old book about tracking animals. we've seen some movies this week. gareth had already reviewed district nine. he thought i'd like it but it really wasn't enjoyable for me. everyone else liked it thugh. we saw surrogates friday morning. it was prett decent. those aren't movies i'd normally see in theaters anyways. we actually went to a blockbuster last night. they wanted to see jaws but i convinced them to get something else that wouldn't scare me so much. so we got sunshine. which turned out to be pretty scary anyways. we should be heading to the beach later today. hopefully it won't be too sunny out. i got a bit too much sun yesterday. and a bit too much rain the other night. we went to busch gardens' howl-o-scream. erin and i had just gotten on the scrambler that no one else wanted to ride and it started pouring. we were soaked the rest of the night. but it was a lot of fun. we went in some haunted houses. i was the only one screaming. it doesn't take much to scare me. but gareth will hold my hand. i've had a good time just getting away.

positive

i'm in florida. my first full day. it's beautiful out. but hot. i'm glad to see the sun though. we'd looked at the weather report before we came and it showed storms into next week. gareth's dad said some storms have been passing in the afternoon but yesterday's didn't even get us wet. we spent a few hours in the pool when we got here. playing monkey in the middle. it was a lot of fun. i didn't realize how much sun i was getting. it's just a little tan today but i was hurting last night. i had a really bad headache. i'm not positive it was the sun. i've been having them pretty often lately. just thought it was stress back home. but they've crept in on my vacation now. hopefully they won't stay. i'm the first guest up this morning. i'm glad i brought my computer. i'm hoping to get started at least on my alaska article. i finally got the green travel guide gareth ordered before we left. apparently my trip wasn't very environmentally friendly. but i can do things now that can help. including telling others how theirs can be. we didn't end up having a big family get together before i left. but gareth and i made the trip back home friday anyways for a dinner and a visit with my aunt. i like her insight in life. i think she's searching like me for something more than what meets the eye. but she has a very positive outlook on things. something i sometimes need to be reminded to have.

ok

i didn't get the job at wachovia. i don't know why. they just sent an email saying i didn't. oh well. it was dissapointing but at least i got some job hunting experience. and i have good news at my store now. the lazy manager's finally leaving. and they're thinking of getting gareth's manager to manage our store as well as the one they're already managing. doesn't sound like a good idea but that means they'd need to keep me on as an assistant at our store. and even though i've been doing more than my share lately now it will be official so i could ask for the raise that was promised to me a month ago if i was just going to go to a busier store. sounds good to me. for now. i won't know what's really going on until i come back from vacation the end of the month. we're going to florida to visit gareth's dad with his brother and his brother's girlfriend for a week. i'm excited. they just bought a new house and it's right on the water... and has a screened in pool. it'll be nice to get some summer in just as fall's coming. budd laid another egg this morning. she was in her dry tank for a few days but wanted back in the water. so she's been in there for a few days and just popped one out this morning. four more to go. we're having another family get-together tomorrow. my aunt's from ny is in town so we're all getting together for a bbq at my parents' house. it seems like we get together a lot but i've barely been home this summer. so that should be nice. and everything's ok.

steps

yesterday was a good day. i had my second interview with wachovia and i think it went quite well. i also went to my first horse rescue meeting and will hopefully be starting with them soon. that happy bubble was burst by my first customer this morning telling me to shut my mouth. between that and me almost going into overtime again this week because my manager's too lazy to do his job i'm quite ready to leave. at least i've finally taken the first steps in doing that. i had some strange news this week. budd my turtle laid an egg. budd that i've thought was a male all these years. i took her to the vets and they took an x-ray. she still has five eggs in her. they're not fertilized but they need to come out. so i've concocted a dry tank from pet store dirt and grass. hopefully she'll be comfortable enough to lay them on her own. she seems pretty content in there : ]

i still can't believe budd's a she. crazy stuff. we went to see a pretty good movie earlier this week. nine. gareth saw whiteout earlier today. said it wasn't so great but someone's already commented on it being a good review. i'm glad to see others are taking notice : ]

soon

my interview went well. i have another one this week. but i'm not sure the job's going to work out. they said they don't think they can give me as many hours or as much money as i'm getting now. so i'll have to see the actual numbers before i make my decision. but it didn't sound that great. i thought that going to the beach would make me feel better about my job situation but i was stuck in a slump most of the time i was there. the weather kind of followed my mood too. it was windy and cold most of the time. it was nice seeing my dad and brother and his girlfriend though. and we made due with at least a lack of rain on those days. i should have my pictures up shortly. gareth couldn't come with me to the beach. he had a meeting with rva. they paid him well for the rest of the summer movies he'd done. and said they wanted him to continue doing any big movies that were released. so that's good news. he then went back home to fairfax to see friends and family and reviewed gamer. i came home from the beach and immediately started looking for jobs. applied at yahoo jobs for a dentist appointment assistant. capital one for... something. and virginia.gov for an office coordinator. made me feel a little better. i have a meeting with userl (united states equine rescue league) this week too. hopefully i can start helping them soon. i got to see my family again last night. we had three bdays in the extended smith family this week. so we all got together at cheesecake factory to celebrate. i was happy because we didn't have to go far to see everyone this time. gareth came so that was nice.