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geniusbarb
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Name: Barbara
Country: United States
State: New York
Birthday: 1/20/1983
Gender: Female
Interests: Reading, eating ice cream, playing ps2, neopets, yoga
Occupation: Auditor
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
12/3/2003
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| It's been weeks...I haven't written much and even gave up my yearly diary this year. I should have a lot to write, but...I don't know, I'd like to write to an audience, yet at the same time I like not to. Hah, in fact, I don't know if I still have an audience and how many people have that automatic email thing. Maybe I should get me a diary for next year and start writing in it again. Problem is, I bet that all I write is negative stuff. Complaints. Anger and pain. I actually thought about that. I need a black book for that. Write down everything and then burn it.
But to make some sort of update, I still and should post my Dubai travels from last year. My apartment pictures. I've much stuff around 3 or 4 times now. I think I have it at a set up that I really like. I was back in Malaysia in June and I got to see my niece. I miss her....
I lost my 2 best friends. I can't even explain how except that I guess they got tired of me. It was easier to forget about me and replace me with someone else than it was to deal with my crazy antics and tell me to stop my bullshit and get myself together.
Mike and I made our yearly travel again and we went to Germany, Budapest, Prague and Amsterdam. Honestly I think I tried to block most stuff out of my mind. 1/3 of the time I was miserable over the lost of my friends, 1/3 I was trying to ignore the hurt of being dumped by Mike for his friends and then conveniently rejoining me when they ditched him (all of this was preplanned, I was just trying not to remember and focus on it), and 1/3 of the time I actually enjoyed myself. I will post stories and pictures, but it'll probably be a lot shorter and less interesting.
Oh yea, I transferred departments and avoided being fired in July. I love my new job and the responsibilities that come with it. Along with the people. It's definitely much easier to handle. I also got my green card approved, hooray!
Mike and I also celebrated our 4 year anniversary in October. I don't know how I feel. I guess not excited...4 is a bad number for us. He broke up with his gf after 4 years and Roger and I broke up after 4 years. So I think I'd rather forget that we've been together 4 years. No good can come out of it. No wonder the Chinese don't like the number 4. If we can make it to 5 then it'll be something to celebrate.
I had a new year's resolution (yea yea, I know it's not the new year's yet, but if it's a resolution it can be made anytime and start anytime). It's to try/do something every month. Last month, me and two good friends took cake decorating classes. I was gonna go swing dance this month, but timing didn't work out. So instead....I'm taking a free massage class tomorrow.
I've also started reading again. Now that my commute is about 45 minutes long I can read on the train. So far I've been averaging 1 book a week. I'm on Twilight right now. I can see why people love Edward. I want an Edward too, and then I realize, I have an Edward. All that crazy emotion....
Speaking of emotion. I noticed that mine changes from the books that I read and the movies that I watch. Is that normal? Do I have some kind of mood/emotional sickness? When I was reading "The Da Vinci Code" I thought that there was a conspiracy on the way that my 2 best friends treated me. That is was all planned out....by one of them. I just watched "Basketball Diaries" and I am depressed and "in pain". Everything is so bleak.
Writing is good.....it clears my head. Somewhat.
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| Just because you care about me doesn't give you the right to control my life.
With friends like you, who needs enemies.
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| Tomorrow I'm going in for my immigration interview. Basically, they will determine if they will extend/grant me a green card for me to remain a permanent resident. Should the officer/government decide that Roger and I got married for illegal reasons (to obtain a green card), then I will be forced to leave/deported from the country. Needless to say I'm nervous as hell. Although me, you and all my friends now that we never got married for the green card, the government/officer can only base his/her decision on any support that I can give. Naturally...it's a little more difficult since we're divorced, but also the fact that we do not have the "normal" support that "normal" couples would. Such as a lease or mortgage (we lived with his parents), joint account (we weren't making money), joint utility bills (his parents paid for everything), children, etc.
I can only be totally honest and try to obtain as much proof as possible, but I can only go so far. So I'm nervous as hell. For those who pray, please pray for me. Otherwise, well wishes and positive energy is also appreciate. Gosh....I dare not even buy groceries for fear that I'd have to leave in a week. For those who care, I'll let you know what happens on Monday.
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| It's been a while since I posted. And it's been a while since I talked about something fun and interesting, like my Middle East trip! So let's get back to that and hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of my old and new apartment soon.
After Giza, we flew to Aswan. From there, we were going to take a private car (about $75 per person) on a 4 hour ride to and from Abu Simbel to check out the Abu Simbel Temple. So the whole trip was about 10 hours long.
Anyway, you're going to get a kick out of this. I know Mike did. He was practically on the FLOOR laughing. This is what we saw at the airport when we got off the plane to meet our guide.
Do you see what's wrong? They totally messed up my name!!
Since we had some time to kill, we went to see the most famous thing in Aswan. A dam. Hahaha, it's really nothing, but the history behind it was that they had to build the dam in order to prevent flooding and to provide electricity. If I remember correctly, the guide said that the dam provides for electricity not only for Egypt, but for some of the surrounding countries.
After that we went for breakfast and the guide actually suggested McDonald's! We laughed and politely turned him down and I said I wanted something local. So we got...tamas, I think they're called. It's SO GOOD!
This is what the store looked like.
This was our DELICIOUS breakfast. One had eggs, the other beans, and another falafel.
Then we went to meet our other guide and started out on the long track (with envoy) to Abu Simbel. 4 hours...very boring...but our driver does look like President Obama! 
Finally we got to Abu Simbel. The big thing with Abu Simbel is that it's a temple that was built by Ramses II. This is really cool, it was built in a location so that every year on the day of Ramses II's birthday, the sunlight will shine into the temple and light up his statue along with two other gods. However, when they built the dam in Aswan, the temple, if left where it was, would be flooded. So in order to preserve this great monument, the Egyptian government took the temple apart (cut it into a couple hundred pieces and numbered them) and then put it together again some 200 meters up from the water. Wikipedia has a cool picture comparing where the temple was and where it is now. In fact, during the process of deciding what to do with the temple, someone even suggested making it an underwater temple and have people take a submarine to go see it.
The temple of Abu Simbel.
This was another nearby temple for his wife Nefertari. Apparently in Egypt it's a big deal when a king builds a temple for his wife. This is only the second temple built for a wife. She was obviously his favorite.
Here's a view inside the temple. You can't take pictures inside in order to preserve the paintings.
Then it was back to Aswan and then we took the night train to Luxor, where we will stay for the next 3 or so days.
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