Week 3... maybe?

Okay so I have no real idea about how long I've been here, but I'm having a good time still. I've had some awesome adventures so far... elephant riding, boat riding, white temple, cabbages and condoms, hilltribe museum, motorbike rentals (and 7 hour rides through the mountains to stand in burma and thailand at the same time, while looking at Laos and the stream of benevolent compassion), golden triangle, day trip to Burma for some wine (and a really awesome shirt), one night in Laos, Brett's birthday this past Monday, wiping out on the motorbike, Buddha Day (and no I didn't make that up), a few temples, Melting Pot, Uncle John's, awesome street food (mmm balls and sticky rice).... so much that I want to remember!

Oh, and about Uncle John... I agree with Si that he's like a Thai version of captain Jack Sparrow!

The Canadians left, so it's been quiet around the center. We have no one to gossip about anymore, it's kinda sad. But not really.

Oh and Tom facebooked me (we met in Oz, and I haven't talked to him in forever!), so that's exciting.

Other than that, I'm just chilling out, trying to go to class and get this project off the ground, drinking a bit, eating great food and planning the upcoming Bangkok trip: scuba diving with sharks, going back to Patpong, and getting a dress made are on the top of the list!


I have to tag and comment on the pictures I posted, but I will do that soon!

Alex's website for way better pictures than I could ever take myself: www.onewithalex.com

Thailand- Week 1

So I'm sitting here in a little internet cafe in Mae Sai finally. I've been putting off getting to email and such just because I've been enjoying myself so much.

The flights over here were really not too bad. We flew from Boston to Denver, then to LA, to Bangkok and then the Chiang Rai. From Chiang Rai we took a van out to where we're staying, the S House in Mae Sai. When we were originally told that we would be in the Northern most part of Thailand, I didn't fully grasp how far up we actually are! I had to walk under the bridge to Burma (Myanmar) to get to this internet cafe! And the Mekong is so small! I think it would classify as a creek rather than a major waterway. Also, I've been told that it gets even smaller during the dry season, only up to mid shin!

So, on our first night we got into our hotel, the S House and got to shower (thank God!) and then took a walk onto the main strip for dinner. I was really surprised that we actually got to meet all the women that we would be working with on the first night. So our first dinner was actually quite frightening, it was like Fire and Ice on crack, but I loved it. All of the meat and noodles were arranged buffet style, but nothing was labeled! Also, some of the mystery meat was shaped and colored (pictures are really needed to explain how funny it was) and I still don't quite know what I ate. I did however get quite full on seasame ?beef and some pork thing. I put a question mark on the beef because I really may have been eating liver and I'd have no idea. Also, there were three hibachi style grills to a table, where you cooked your meat. One reason that we went to this particular restaurant was because at the center, where the girls live, they aren't allowed to have meat. I never would have thought that such small women could eat so much! Finally, in the middle of a massive downpour, we finished our meals, boarded our buses, and went back to pass out.

So,the second day, Wednesday, we had the opportunity to more fully meet the women that we will be working with, as well as see the center, DEPDC. These women are part of the Mekong Youth Net (MKN)and live and work in the DEPDC. Some of them are Thai, from Hilltribes, Burmese, Vietnamese, from Laos, and the rest of our group is from the US. I learned some of the names of the women, but I have to admit that I don't fully know all of their names yet. There are four languages being spoken (Thai, English, Chinese and Vietnamese) but there are also many different dialects being translated as well. So, anytime anyone says anything, it has to be translated to everyone in Thai, and then translated several more times, but in smaller groups, in other languages. Surprisingly, this isn't annoying yet, haha. I really like just watching the translator, mostly Carole, and how animated she is. Also, since Si and I have started doing language lessons from my Ipod, it's interesting to hear words that we know. I even have a favorite phrase: Nit noy (it means 'a little').

On the third day, Thursday, we were finally given our groups. It's Si, Carlo, Quyen, Hyuen, and me. So, the train of translation has been that Si, Carlo and I speak English, then Si translated to Mandarin, then Quyen translated to Vietnamese. Crazy right? We also learned about setting up a presentation and picked an issue, domestic abuse, to break down and present for today.

That brings me to today, Friday(yay!!). To begin with, we played an icebreaker game, what the Thais call 'melting behaviour." It was a really interesting combination of Simon Says and Yoga. Before you did any move, Brian (a junior leader) had to say "1,2,3" and then Carole (I'm convinced she's a saint, maybe I'll explain why later) would do some kind of balancing/ yoga like pose. Then you had to hold that pose very still under Brett was done playing music on his guitar. If you moved at all, you were out. The really funny part of it all was that after you were out, you could heckle others that were still in the game!

So after we got all sweaty and everything, it was time to do some work. We did our presentations (again in a million different languages) and got some constructive criticism about our thoughts and presentation style. It's funny though that I made my writing all pretty on the presentation and all the Americans said that it looked really nice, but the Thai women couldn't read it very well!! After that, we took a break for lunch, I smoked a cigarette, and we played frisbee. After lunch, we returned for some frustrating group work, which ended up in one of our group members leaving because of the language difficulties. I think she was really frustrated with having to go through English to Mandarin to Vietnamese and not really getting the entire story. She went to another group which had more people that spoke Vietnamese. I was really sad to see her leave, but I'd rather have her be able to participate in group work than to continually feel left out. At the end we decided on how many times a week we'd stay with the DEPDC kids and got in our vans and came back to our hotel. And that brings me to right here, sitting in the internet cafe with my stomach growling.

Oh, before I forget... we met Uncle John. I realize that anyone reading this who is not on this trip has no clue who Uncle John is, but it was a big event for the week for me. So, I need to explain. There is this restaurant/bar a few doors down from our hotel called Uncle John's and, on the first night, we were all like, Who's Uncle John??

gotta go to dinner... to be continued on who Uncle John is...

How I got the Itis...

Can't believe Thanksgiving's already over. It seems like just yesterday that it was August and KOB and Pasco were leaving (and D was already gone). But, as promised, I did go down to visit them in Charleston. Rob, Christine, Kelli and I drove down to South Carolina. It was a bit of an ordeal getting the car and coordinating schedules, but it all pretty much worked out.

On Tuesday (Nov. 21st) night, Rob, Christine and I headed down to Logan to go pick up the car. So we got to the airport and caught the shuttle to Thrifty, not realizing that this place is way the hell away from the airport. The drive was quite sketch, we were worried that we'd wake up missing a kidney. It seemed so out of the way from, well anyone who could hear us scream. But we arrived safely, and went to the counter.

Shortly after arriving, we found out, oops there's no car for us! So, I panic because I had been fearing that this wouldn't work out afterall but my fears were quickly allayed when Rob said "well you'll give us the van you have for the same price, right?" Oh, god love him. Apparently this is what the little counterman had meant all along and soon we were in our soccermom van with our Sirius radio (oh, how I love sirius because of this trip). We had the van, but we were missing one thing-- Kelli. Since she had gone out before hand, she was lost and drunk at the airport. We drove back towards Logan and began the "I'm at terminal B" "okay, terminal B, we'll be there is a second" "Wait, maybe I'm at terminal A, i don't know" "well go ask someone" "there's no one around" conversation for 15 minutes and just drove to terminal B to see if we could find her. Christine got out of the van and just started yelling Kelli's name and eventually our quartet was complete. Then, we went to go pick up some of the essentials: 8 cases of red bull, milk, cereal, water and our beloved mascot, li foam and ice and then all of our shit. I have no clue how we expected to fit all the stuff we had into a Dodge Neon but there was more than enough room in our mom van.

The drive down was pretty uneventful, with the exception of getting lost in the Bronx at 2 am, listening to and practicing French and making LiFoam our mascot, and dealing with the drivers in North Carolina. We got into West Ashley at about 8 pm (18 hours give or take) and were greeted by KOB and Pasco.

After hauling all our stuff out of the van and abandoning most of the mess that we had made in the van, we got into their apartment. Let me tell you, so cute! The whole apartment was so colorful and homey. There were pictures on all the walls and just a really inviting feeling. They even had a cute little porch. We took a gander at turkey, pumpkin and mash (kob's new fish that later died and were put in the closet the next day) and got ready to go out. The first bar was really close and pretty empty, but it was a chill atmosphere. So the crew (Kob, Pasco, Kathy, Christine, Rob, Kelli, and I) met up with Danielle and Caleb and some friends and did like we do. To mix it up a bit, we packed into the car and headed for the next bar. This bar was a bit cuter and there was like ballroom dancing down on the dance floor. So odd, but we eventually joined in. It started out as real dancing and just digressed into straight up grinding. So, picture this, there're people spinning each other around and like really dancing while me and the other assholes are grinding with each other. Ah, so fun. We headed out after a bit, happy to be going to bed and excited for turkey the next day.

We started out Thanksgiving with some wine, and that theme continued throughout the night. We all got ready and Danielle, Caleb, Paul, and Dooley came over with the Turkey. Turkey went in, not to return for like 7 more hours. Between then, 20 bottles of wine, vegetables, spinach dip, and hot pockets were polished off. Dinner preparations went well, there was only one small fire with the tin foil in the kitchen and some spillage of mashed potatos, no harm done. In the end, we ate kinda late, but everything was delicious! Paul also educated us about the 'itis.' I'm so proud we all pulled this together. After dinner, I had a nap on the coach (second one of the day) and everyone else had a dance party. I woke up from my little coma for some dance party and then I think we watched Grandma's Boy (I'm too stoned to drive to the devil's house).

The next day, Friday, we went for a little stroll in downtown Charleston and the beach. It wasn't warm enough to go for a swim or anything but it was nice just to walk around and be in the sun. Pasco and I chased some gulls and we all collected some shells. Afterwards, we drove downtown and did some light shopping (I got a sweater that I'm excited about). We drove back not expecting that the night ahead was going to be the best ever.

So, Friday night. Amazing. I can't really describe it other than to list the events. Talking piercings in the kitchen. Cab driver and 'e'erbody rides free, shoot.' and his lotto tix. Johnston's back room bar. Outdoor bar and the swing I almost broke. Long Island... correction, an attempted Long Island. I AM AMAZON WOMAN THESE GLASSES ARE MINE FOR ME TO CRUSH. Skinny bartender. Secret stash of red wine. The band from Boston. Kathy and her man. Pasco's never made out with a girl. Yet. Violent Punk Rock. 'Boston girls are hott.' Other girls and Nasty looks. Flashing across the bar. Pulled onto stage and trying to dance and eventually stealing those glasses I wanted. Meghan "look she's flashing!!" MO. Where's my purse? Where're my friends? Did I close out my tab? Where's my card? Rob's passed out. I tried to go with strange guys. Disco lights in the cab. Why am I on the floor? Aaaaand darkness.

Morning: Why do I have no pants on? Who's bed am I in? Why is it so dark in here? Who's deputy dawg is this? Who's that next to me?

So, to fill in the blanks, I drank too much. Correction, we all drank too much and had a ridiculous night. Everybody was making out in the cab. I'm still not sure why I was on the floor and not in a seat, but that's cool. When we got home, I got naked (does this surprise anyone?) and flashed KOB my cootchie a few times and crawled into her bed with everyone. At one point I think there were 4 or 5 people in bed but I woke up with just me and Kathy and me with no pants on. Oy. My underwear was in my shirt, and I still had those glasses on that I had stolen (and I still have them!) and I was missing one bank card (so was Rob).

So on Saturday, we went down to Charleston again and picked up our bank cards (covered in black goop may I add) and went for the most amazing pizza at the Mellow Mushroom. It was a lazy day and we went back to the apartment and drank wine and lounged around. I can't remember if we watched a movie or not, I fell asleep for a bit. It was perfect to just chill out for a bit, especially considering the drive we had ahead of us.

We left at about 6 am the next day and didn't actually head in the correct direction until about 8 am. We got a bit lost getting out of Charleston and again in DC, but that's okay considering that we didn't have any directions--- It was all from memory. The traffic wasn't terrible and we got home in about 20 hours (after a 2 hour pit stop in Virginia because of fucking Denny's). We dropped off Christine and Rob and I slept (napped, really) at Kelli's and then we went to go drop off the car (which was an ordeal in and of itself because I got us lost) and then I said fuck class and slept until 4:30 in the afternoon.

And that, my friends, cannot even express how much fun I had over Thanksgiving. It was so great to just be around Pasco, Danielle, and Kob. It's difficult though that it really hit me that they aren't just out of town for a bit. I loved the apartment and the area, and their friends so I'm just glad that they're happy.

That time I woke up with my pants on backwards

So, better late than never, so I wanna write about my Halloween weekend.

Thursday night was the Ellie Fund (sigep) at Jake Ivories, otherwise known as 'how'd I get so drunk???' So I downed almost an entire bottle of wine before I left (haha, mistake numberrr 1) and then was pretty fine when I got there. I saw alot of my favorite people and had a blast. I had a few glasses of wine, even helped a girl up off the stairs (she was in rouuugh shape) and stopped 40 black from killing someone. Then, in typical Candice fashion, just left. I didn't even say bye to anyone, I just left. I was about to walk home and ran into the girls and they were getting in a cab.

This is when everything goes hazy. Still not quite sure if I helped pay for the cab or not, but I think I sat in the front. So, my memories of the rest of the evening include: making out with Sara's fridge, vegging out on the couch and talking about how I stopped Kelli from beating the hell out of some girl. Then, we decided to finally leave. Only, shortly after we left I realized that I forgot my phone. So, I went back to Sara's apartment building.

Or, so I thought. Apparently some GENIUS made her aparment building and her neighbor's exactly the same minus the color of the door. And, since we can't see color in the dark, and I really couldn't see anything in the state I was in, I went into the lobby and ran ALLLLL the doorbells. I mean, well how else was I supposed to remember where Sara lived. So I finally get buzzed in (how that happened, I dunno... who lets drunk girls into the building at 3 am??!!) and start banging on a door. No one answered, so I went to the next floor. I started banging on that door like hell. I remember thinking that I had to bang loud so that Sara could here me cause she's on the bottom floor. I woke someone up with the banging and he came to the door. He was not so happy to the site of me and my lab coat asking him if Sara was there. Christ, I'm like cringing telling this story remembering him say "Your friend does NOT live here!"

So I left without my friends and without my phone. I'm not quite sure where everyone went so that I was by myself, but whatev I got home fine. I do remember on the walk home that I wanted to take off my shoes, but that's it.

So the real fun started when I got home. This too is in bits and pieces of memory, but here's what I got.

At some point:
I destroyed my room. I mean, I pulled out my luggage and everything that was inside of it and threw it on the floor. I also took things and moved them around. I was probably looking for my phone.

I took all the sheets off of my bed and put them in the living room.

Facebooked Sara the most ridiculous thing (" I left my phone. Meet me in Shillman. 945 am, k bye" or something like that, but misspelled. Yea, like I actually went to class the next morning.

Fell.

Decided that I didn't want to wear clothes anymore.

Then finally, I got into bed.

So, this brings me to the best part... how I woke up.

I woke up underneath my mattress pad, underneath my fitted sheet, topless but with my pants on backwards. It was 11:11 am and I had already slept through 2 classes. Memories were coming back in flashes, and it was not pretty. I tried to eat something but threw everything up. (Note to self: if you're gonna throw anything up, bananas are the best... hot wings-from prior experience- are the worst) I finally made it to lab after being able to keep down a piece of bread and had to share the whole story with my class, particularly because my TA had been at the event the previous night.


So the rest of the weekend, I kept pretty true to the "I'm never drinking again" promise I made in lab. I went to Pike on Friday dressed as Mr. Bucket (best part was the walk home and people's reactions to my costume and having people sing the Mr. Bucket song) and volunteered on Saturday morning painting little's kids faces (I even painted cat's whiskers on a 6 month old- so fucking cute!!!). Saturday night I stayed in and my stalker came over (Jess).

Then Sunday night we went to a Sisterhood at a haunted house/ hayride and I got the shit scared out of me. While we were in line, I was so jumpy. This guy was behind me and scared me so that I ran right into a pole (it went up my nose). Then in the second house, I grabbed onto Jenny and hid my face. I wasn't paying attention so that while hiding in her arm at the end of the house, I ran right into a door. And hard! The rest of the night wasn't that scary, but there was a cool hayride and people with chainsaws. Oh, and I told ghost stories on the way there. Probably why I was so jumpy on the first house. I scared myself!!

So, in short, there are lessons learned from this weekend:
- drinking a bottle of wine before leaving the house is not okay
- pants go on with the zipper in FRONT
- monsters are not real
- Coyotes, however, are real and you should tell someone if you one

No life, White Abyss and My Favorite Holidays

Yea, so i'm pretty sure that no one reads this anymore, but what the hell, it's nice to be able to organize some thoughts. Recent news in my life is that, well, I have no life. My major is sucking the life out of me. I have no time to do anything fun!! Well, there is the weekend, but I open on Sundays and work Friday nights. And the worst part? It's self inflicted. I scheduled my classes and my work! Whatever, the end of this craziness is in sight.

I really should be doing some work right now. Actually, my biochem book is open, it's just sitting underneath my computer at the moment. It's a start. No but for real, I have been studying, this is just a break to clear my mind a little bit.

I think I'm going blind. I look like a little old woman hunched over my computer right now. I can barely see this little print. When I take my computer to class, I have to enlarge the font to 200% so that I can see what I'm typing. Hmm, maybe it's time for a new presciption? I'm sure that the people behind me in class think that I'm printing up a billboard on my computer.

In other news, I'm going to South Carolina for Thanksgivng. I'm debating whether or not to share this information with my family now or the day before I'm not coming home. I'm also trying to go to California (way way way, like fireworks height, up in the air) for Christmas. I'm hoping that Lynsey gets back to me before the flights get too expensive. Also, I'm debating if and when to tell la familia about those plans too. I'm such a bitch, but whatever, i can't go back to Ohio. It's like a black abyss, only with a shitload of snow, so it's really a white abyss. It sucks you in and you lose all hope of ever being able to leave. Okay, so a little melodramatic, but it's a bit depressing to be home. Also, I am trying to get my mom to actually come visit me after the semester is over. Can you believe that it's been three years and she has only been up here for orientation and move-in? That was back when I thought Boston was huge and didn't venture further than the Pru. Oh little ohio girl.

I'm really excited for my favorite holidays coming up!! Halloween and St. Patty's Day in November. Haha, most people love this time of year for holiday festivities and being with family. I like this time of year because I can dress like an idiot and drink like a fiend. I have plans for two parties for Halloween so far, not including the Jake Ivories thing. I'm not going to say what I'm going to be yet, even though I've told enough people, but I think it's creative. I would love it if someone else showed up as the same thing though.

Alright, back to studying... 7 more weeks of school ( well 6 weeks and 2 half weeks,, which technically equals 8 weeks more, but 7 weeks total of classes... um... nevermind)




PS- I'm realizing that I'm getting old (not like grandma old, but like growing up)

Get out of my womb.

You know what I find irritating? People in my womb...

Well, not literally, but trying to control what I can and can't do with it. If I want to throw it over my shoulder like a continental soldier, let me. Seriously, though I got heated over what I was reading and hearing about some recent legislature. Yea, this is a commentary on abortion, stop reading if you'd like, but this shit gets me so angry. My friend Anna told me that Illinois is trying to pass a law that requires girls 17 or younger to notify their families before getting an abortion. Now, this morning in the Metro I read that New Hampshire is trying to do the same and another state is trying to outlaw abortion even in the case of rape or incest! (um, what if the person you have to ask permission of is the person who raped you??)

Now I have some questions about this... Okay, so the age of consent in most states in 16 (or lower/ dependent on age difference). However, if you get pregnant from it, you have to ask your parents permission to terminate the pregnancy? Okay so you're old enough to decide that you're ready to have sex yet you can't choose whether or not you want a child before you graduate high school? What the hell? And yea, I know that this doesn't pertain to me but it still makes me angry. At what point is your womb your own? At 17 it belongs to my mother but at 18 I can have a womb of my very own? What right does the law have to regulate what I can do with my body?

Trust me, I'm not saying that I don't take issue with abortion. Most people, at some level, feel that there's a question of morality with it. It's not just the same as getting your appendix out. But, the most important point here concerning laws is that even if it is illegal, people are going to do it. Think knitting needles. Not something I want as a possible choice.


K, that's my rant for the morning.

Ebay

Alright, so I admit it, I'm obsessed with Ebay. I've gotten better since when I first discovered it and was spending allll my money on it. But, now it's a bit more controlled. I bought an ipod because I could sell my old one and buy a new one for about the same price. I bought a watch for cheap because I broke mine. I bought a pair of jeans because, well, I wanted them. Alright, so my excuses aren't fabulous, but I do like shopping online.

But anyways the point of my story is that I wanted to start selling stuff. The first thing that I tried to sell was my ipod. It's a piece of shit, but I knew that when I bought it and it generally serves it's purpose. I listed that it's possessed, and only holds a charge for about four hours because I didn't anyone to accuse me of ripping them off. Three hours after I listed it, this guy buys it straight away. He didn't even bid on it, just did the buy it now option. So when I woke up and found out that I had sold it already, I was thrilled. Then, I get these two emails from him:

Hello,
Compliment of the season to you,I am kelvin john from TN USA,but Presently in London,UK for a church seminal.I saw your product item below on ebay #260011110941 and i am really intrested in buying it for my Daugther as a surprise gift for her in school(university of lagos)at Nigeria and i will handle the shipment expenses.i will send you my fedex account so you will not pay no money for shipping. I will be sending you payment via PayPal,so kindly send me your PAYPAL EMAIL ADDRESS so as to immedaitely make out your payment and make sure you get the package ready for shipment,you can ship the item as soon as you recieve the paypal confirmation. Expecting your reply so as to immediately make out the payment. Regards, kelvin john


and...

Hello,
I have made out my payment to you for this item purchase (260011110941),So check your mail for the comfirmation mail from paypal.Get back to me immediately if you receive the confirmation mail from paypal and don't forget to send me your physical contact address and the exact time you will be at home tomorrow so that i can send you the label and invoice that you will paste on the package.And when you have done all that i will also schedule Fedex to come and pick them up from you in other to reduce the stress of you driving down to their location to send it but still you can also send it youself if you like..Hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely. Thanks

Weird right?

So I emailed him back and wrote that I didn't feel comfortable doing that and it was a big inconvenience for me to sit around and wait for Fedex to come because I have shit to do. I waited for a response and when I didn't get one, I made out a shipping label and shipped it to Tennessee. I thought that everything was hunky dorry. But, um WRONG! I ended up getting the package back from USPS and the shipment tracker said that the address I had sent the package to did not exist. So, I called up paypal and they said that they didn't have him in their system. This shithead made up a fake paypal email saying that he had paid me and then wanted to take care of the shipping and get the package and then I'd never be able to get him!!! How fucking ridiculous is that!!! So I reported him and his email to ebay and paypal and forwarded the emails.

But I'm still so pissed about it. So this is what I did. I wrote him and email telling him to fuck off (childish I know, but I got a kick out of it) and then, I went on all the porn, sex, and male enhancement sites that I could find and signed him up for them using the email address that he supplied. I know that he probably won't check the email address, but it's great to think that if he does, he's going to have 600 emails saying "60% INCREASE IN PENIS SIZE IN 2 DAYS" and "HOTSEXY 80 YEAR OLD MASTURBATES TO YOU."

What really kills me is that he said he was at a church seminar in London. Yeah, fucking right. What a scumbag. I hope he gets a veneral disease on his face.