So this morning I got up early, prepared a hearty breakfast and then off to Vienna for 4 hours. Afterwards, I stopped by at EMA, OSA, and then home-I really needed a friend :( I ate lunch and then packed for my trip; the small bag did not fit everything in a way that I like so I took my traveling bag as a carry-on. I got to the airport 1 hour before departure. At the security checkout, I had to have an extra scan because I had my ankle brace on. All clear!
I walked around because I don't like sitting for long. Plus, I wanted my knee and ankle to get mobility before being cramped in a plane.
I board my plane, and put my bag in the compartments above. I decided to read my book during the flight. Much more up my alley than studying for an exam. I am reading "The Ninth Wife." I got to Chapter 7. It was funny when I got to my seat, there was an Indian guy in the center seat with tea. He asked if I could "jump over him." I clarified using nonverbal gestures and paraphrased that he wanted me to walk over him; he concurred. So, I stepped on the seat and walked over him to my seat. He was surprised that I could do it, but he thanked me. This dude (Indian guy next to me) though, he kept coughing the whole trip. I felt like he had pneumonia! Then about 5 rows in front of me, there was a little wee one who cried and screamed the whole trip. The parents kept saying shhhhhh... and my thought is why are they going to say shhhhh-the kid is feeling pain in his/her ears due to the air pressure....
You know, the above summary just makes me get so angry about standardized tests. When you are able to easily assess a situation due to knowledge of empathy, culture, developmental stages, etc.... and then take an exam that wants you to think a specific way, which we all know never happens in real life, is frustrating. Why keep our minds in a box or even give that perception through standardized exams? Okay back to going to Florida.
When we landed, one of the pilots was following me and commented that my bag was huge as big as me. He said it must be heavy. I said it isn't more than 10 lbs. I gave it to him to hold and he gave it to one of the hostesses who said that it was more than 10 lbs. They asked if they could just call me "Strong girl" and I just laughed thinking of the pain I was dealing with.
I walked towards the luggage pick-up and went to the exit outside of United and there was Beverly and Andre! We went to Beverly's home. And there was my good friend Nikki and Oakley!!!!!!!!! I was so happy to see both of them. Nikki and I went for a walk around the pond and caught up. We then relaxed. I took my contacts out as my eyes began to hurt. We all went to Walmart in the evening around 20:00. I got Spaghetti Sauce for myself.
When we got home I made myself spaghetti with scrambled egg, tuna, and the spaghetti sauce. I stayed up till about midnight, after that my eyes were bloodshot and I couldn't keep them open. I went to bed. I woke up maybe twice but my leg was elevated (instructor orders) and I slept. Andre checked my knee- we think it may be Meniscus and/or MCL strain. I did get a brace from Walmart to help me maneuver around.
20th of June, Saturday
8 hours of sleep!!!! Wohooooo. I didn't have breakfast because we were getting ready for the BBQ later. So, I took Oakley for a walk and he fell asleep with me! I came back and had brunch. Same thing as yesterday, except no egg. I added a spicy sauce and a vegetable marination from Trinidad/Tobago instead. I had that with my green tea, almonds, and raisins! Yummy. Beverly has a stool to reach hight things and she was so excited that she was not the only one using it.
Nikki and I then went shopping for the BBQ. We started with an Asian Store, similar to H-Mart. I got Mango Juice. We then went to Walmart; I was about to leave the Pharmacy because the Pharmacist was taking so long, but I finally spoke to her. She wasn't the greatest help, pleasant but not helpful. Oh, why, am I talking to the pharmacist? My left eye wouldn't open and then my right eye overcompensated... so Nikki became my guide until I was in dim light/shade. I called my eye doctor and spoke with Jason who said to get eye drops with no preservatives. It helped a little. We then went to Whole Foods. I got 2 protein bars, one for snack today and one for tomorrow. I also got ice-cream for Beverly as a thank you for letting me stay in her place and being very warm.
Today was Oakley's day with me. Last night his parents told me what they want me to do as his Godmother. Oakley will be visiting me often! More of a reason to have a place of my own. I also got Baby 101 class last night :) Very helpful! So, I fed Oakley and put him to sleep a couple of times today. After returning, I took of my braces, iced my knee, and put a cool paper towel on my eyes to relax the strain I have put on them; the joys of studying.... I won't go on my rant again, but for real, studying really caused problems: anxiety, sickness, eye problems.... I actually fell asleep while icing down. When I woke up, I had almonds and a nice, sweet, juicy plum!!!!
BBQ TIME! Liming :)
I board my plane, and put my bag in the compartments above. I decided to read my book during the flight. Much more up my alley than studying for an exam. I am reading "The Ninth Wife." I got to Chapter 7. It was funny when I got to my seat, there was an Indian guy in the center seat with tea. He asked if I could "jump over him." I clarified using nonverbal gestures and paraphrased that he wanted me to walk over him; he concurred. So, I stepped on the seat and walked over him to my seat. He was surprised that I could do it, but he thanked me. This dude (Indian guy next to me) though, he kept coughing the whole trip. I felt like he had pneumonia! Then about 5 rows in front of me, there was a little wee one who cried and screamed the whole trip. The parents kept saying shhhhhh... and my thought is why are they going to say shhhhh-the kid is feeling pain in his/her ears due to the air pressure....
You know, the above summary just makes me get so angry about standardized tests. When you are able to easily assess a situation due to knowledge of empathy, culture, developmental stages, etc.... and then take an exam that wants you to think a specific way, which we all know never happens in real life, is frustrating. Why keep our minds in a box or even give that perception through standardized exams? Okay back to going to Florida.
When we landed, one of the pilots was following me and commented that my bag was huge as big as me. He said it must be heavy. I said it isn't more than 10 lbs. I gave it to him to hold and he gave it to one of the hostesses who said that it was more than 10 lbs. They asked if they could just call me "Strong girl" and I just laughed thinking of the pain I was dealing with.
I walked towards the luggage pick-up and went to the exit outside of United and there was Beverly and Andre! We went to Beverly's home. And there was my good friend Nikki and Oakley!!!!!!!!! I was so happy to see both of them. Nikki and I went for a walk around the pond and caught up. We then relaxed. I took my contacts out as my eyes began to hurt. We all went to Walmart in the evening around 20:00. I got Spaghetti Sauce for myself.
When we got home I made myself spaghetti with scrambled egg, tuna, and the spaghetti sauce. I stayed up till about midnight, after that my eyes were bloodshot and I couldn't keep them open. I went to bed. I woke up maybe twice but my leg was elevated (instructor orders) and I slept. Andre checked my knee- we think it may be Meniscus and/or MCL strain. I did get a brace from Walmart to help me maneuver around.
20th of June, Saturday
8 hours of sleep!!!! Wohooooo. I didn't have breakfast because we were getting ready for the BBQ later. So, I took Oakley for a walk and he fell asleep with me! I came back and had brunch. Same thing as yesterday, except no egg. I added a spicy sauce and a vegetable marination from Trinidad/Tobago instead. I had that with my green tea, almonds, and raisins! Yummy. Beverly has a stool to reach hight things and she was so excited that she was not the only one using it.
Nikki and I then went shopping for the BBQ. We started with an Asian Store, similar to H-Mart. I got Mango Juice. We then went to Walmart; I was about to leave the Pharmacy because the Pharmacist was taking so long, but I finally spoke to her. She wasn't the greatest help, pleasant but not helpful. Oh, why, am I talking to the pharmacist? My left eye wouldn't open and then my right eye overcompensated... so Nikki became my guide until I was in dim light/shade. I called my eye doctor and spoke with Jason who said to get eye drops with no preservatives. It helped a little. We then went to Whole Foods. I got 2 protein bars, one for snack today and one for tomorrow. I also got ice-cream for Beverly as a thank you for letting me stay in her place and being very warm.
Today was Oakley's day with me. Last night his parents told me what they want me to do as his Godmother. Oakley will be visiting me often! More of a reason to have a place of my own. I also got Baby 101 class last night :) Very helpful! So, I fed Oakley and put him to sleep a couple of times today. After returning, I took of my braces, iced my knee, and put a cool paper towel on my eyes to relax the strain I have put on them; the joys of studying.... I won't go on my rant again, but for real, studying really caused problems: anxiety, sickness, eye problems.... I actually fell asleep while icing down. When I woke up, I had almonds and a nice, sweet, juicy plum!!!!
BBQ TIME! Liming :)
Well Nikki’s brother Damien was in town. He asked me a couple of questions like why I
eat like a rabbit. He came in after I
had the meat. I had just put Oakley down
to sleep and mingled a bit. Yummy food,
pork, beef, chicken, shrimp, salad, potato salad (special for me), and
fish!!!!! Now I had my potatoes and
beef before Damien came. Then I had
salad with a spicy sauce and shrimp!!!!!
He just watched me eat.
It was Uncle Damien’s turn to hold Oakley. I did my R.I.C.E. He and I watched movies. He just nonverbally cued me regarding “yes”
or “no” to a movie. I was in and out of
sleep. My eyes hurt. But he asked me about what I do, what my name
means, etc… I got the nickname “Cluster” as my name means a cluster of
starts. When the third movie was put on,
I hit the bed and crashed.
21st June 2015, Sunday
This morning I woke up to breakfast being cooked. Scrambled eggs with some Trinidadian
flavoring. Pancakes (I had raisins and
almonds with green tea), bacon, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Yet again Damien was surprised at my
appetite. After breakfast we got ready
and went to a turtle hospital. These
turtles are rescued and then rehabilitated to be placed back into the ocean. The water comes from the ocean and is
recycled back in; the pipes are underground to prevent other ocean creatures/dirt
from coming into the rehab tanks. We sat
and chatted for a bit until I claimed hunger!
We know what happens then J Beverly gave me directions which I gave to
Andre.
Lunch were left overs!
I had some beef, chicken, and salad!
Nikki had made a juice with rum.
They told me to have a sip. I
didn’t like it as it was too sweet.
Probably b/c it was my first alcohol tasting ever too L Never ever again. Damien again was impressed by how much I could
eat. He was wondering where it all went
for someone so tiny. I just
laughed. I went for a walk after lunch
and took pictures. Then I put Oakley to
sleep. The guys put on the movie The
Predator 1 and then the sequel came on.
I took off my contacts and packed for departure. We put on interstellar. I rested my eyes. The light was hurting. At 1830 I was dropped off by Andre at the
airport. Security was quick. I had my protein bar for dinner and slept on
the plane. The girl in front of me, was
no more than 5, was so excited to ride the plane. She was watching Frozen while I attempted to
sleep.
The landing was bumpy.
The lady sitting next to me got to chatting with me about how the runway
was short and henceforth a bumpy landing.
We were talking about development stages of children and how 5 year olds
are very inquisitive. This lady still
had to get her car from the garage and drive to Maryland.
So, I make my way to the metro, 12 minute wait for blue
line. I can do that…. Blue line comes, I
board… I wait another 12 minutes, so that people can get off and get on the
yellow line… then we wait another 12 minutes for a blue line! That blue line was shutting down for the
night so the people on that line had to come on our metro. A few of us were going on their blue line
because we were tired of waiting until we heard the announcement. Thankfully after 36 minutes of waiting we
departed. At Braddock Road we stopped
again, this time because some police officer was going through the metro with a
purpose.
I get to Van Dorn and text my dad that I am one stop away. Upon arriving I leave the metro and go up the
escalators to realize I am missing my phone.
I go back down and have a guy check for me as I stood in the door
way-nada. I ask security if someone
turned in anything-nada…. I got a phone number for lost and found. The security guard said I could go back down
and check. I go in nada. I come home and cancel my number/account. So, my flight landed at 2215 and I got home around midnight.
Overall though this trip was a needed and relaxing one. Till next time!
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