Bonus Post: Nameless Poem I Wrote

It's months until I see you again 

Half lidded eyes and a smile at my doorstep

No time for hellos

Hungry kisses

Strong hands

Grasping, choking

Gasping, fading 

Heated "I love you"s in my ear

And gone before dawn

Like a ghost in the night

It's months before I see you again

Like hearing an old favorite song

At the county fair carousel 

I suddenly can't get enough

Purple flowers of our love bloom across my skin

The only proof you exist

Then you fade away like a shadow in the night

It should be months before I see you again

But the weeks continue to pass

The colors bleed out to black and white 

Like an open wound on the earth

I know the truth

You won't be back 

The burning passion I'll never feel again

Doused out by grey skies and rain

A world of shadow 

Where I can never find you again

(Inspired partly by the writing prompt "what if the world was black and white and when you met your soulmate it gained color then when they die it goes back to black and white")

Just Get Up and Go

I suffer from depression and from anxiety. That sometimes means not being able to do things I want even when I want to do them really badly. This means writing my blog, cooking, going to the library, or even sometimes just sitting on the couch and playing my ds games.

I get lethargic and don't want to get out of bed. If you let me I could probably sleep my life away and only wake up to shower and eat. I get scared. Sometimes the anxiety is so bad I can't answer the phone or make important calls i need to. Sometimes I can't go to places I want to or do things I want because I'm afraid everyone is scrutinizing my every move. I'm not that self centered but that's what my anxiety tell me even if I logically tell myself no one even cares.

It's a struggle because I truly want to do these things. But from now on I'm just going to try to live by "just get up and go". In reality it's not just get up and go. I have to psyche myself up for it. Make myself feel willing and able. If i can't that's fine, I'll try again. If i can, even better.

What I'm really trying to say is I'm trying to help myself. Put on makeup so I feel better about being "looked at", forcing myself to go out and do things so I don't waste away, writing in my blog. I'm sorry I really haven't written. I probably still won't be consistent, but I am trying. 

Adventures with Customers

I'm going to kick of my new posts with one of my favorite stories from when I worked at Pollo Tropical. 

At Pollo Tropical I used to be drive thru cashier and most times also the order taker. This meant dealing with with so many different kinds of customers some good, some bad, most just generally difficult.

So this one day I'm doing drive thru by myself I don't remember it being so bad of a day so it was alright. I take this guys order and then he gets to the window. I repeat the order and give him the total, which was something like $22.22. He pulls out his wallet, goes through a wad of cash, and hands me some bills. He didn't hand me any coins but I don't think anything of it because obviously he just gave me $23, right? 

Wrong. He gave me exactly $22. So I lean out the window thinking he misheard me, because well that happens sometimes, and say "Sir I'm sorry it was $22.22. Do you maybe have twenty two cents? Or another dollar?" Instead of reaching back into his wallet though he looks at me like "are you fucking serious?" Then he motions for me to give him his money back and looks at his wife as if to say "watch this". 

He hands me a hundred dollar bill and i make the change without a second thought. It was far enough into my shift that I knew I had change so it wasn't really a big deal. When I turn back to the window to give him the reciept and change he looks at me smugly and says "See what happens? Because you had to go and ask me for the twenty two cents I made you change a hundred dollar bill."

So of course I smiled at him and replied "That's okay sir. Now you have change for next time you need twenty two cents." The look on his face was priceless. It was definitely one of my better moments dealing with customers.

Hope you guys enjoyed! And remember when dealing with customers keep your chin up and your wits sharp!

Note to Readers

From now on I'm going to be adding a new set of posts for filler purposes (if I'm being honest). Truth is sometimes I just don't necessarily have the time, energy, or enough morale to muster up one of my usual posts but for the people who do happen to follow my blog I don't want to just leave them hanging. 

The new posts will probably be tagged with "Adventures" to keep them all together but will have different titles following that kind of format like "Adventures in Retail", "Adventures with customers", "Adventures in Fast Food".

As always thanks for reading. 

Pijon Introduction Box Review

A few months ago Pijon Box had a sale where you could get a box for $1, so I took advantage and decided to try it out. Now Pijon Box is aimed at college students that live away from home. It's a bit like a a care package and it sends things to make college life a bit easier. This means sending things like healthy snacks, something to keep your spirits up, or many other things. As a parent or friend sending it you can choose a male box, female box, or a gender neutral box. They only ship during the months college would be in session (in the US) and it costs about $23 a month.

So i got the female box and to be honest I couldn't remember if i did until I got it. Since it was my first time getting the box I got the introductory box which was different from the regular box they sent. On top of that they have two different introductory boxes.

The box itself is simple but pretty cute. I'm not sure if you can see from the picture but it says on the side "Be good. Don't steal" which I hope would make someone feel guilty about stealing someone's box in a college dorm setting.

This is the first impression. You can't really tell much because if all the packing material but I was pretty excited.

I always like little info cards because I really enjoy reading what my box has in it. In the corner it also tells you whether you got a male, female, or neutral box. What it doesn't include though is prices so I won't be adding that either.

Plump for Joy Thickening Hair Lifter- So they added this hair product. You can use it on dry or wet hair after styling. I haven't used it yet but I do plan on using it soon. I just haven't had much time to do anything to my hair except pull it up with a clip.

Pura Naturals Sponge- This is pretty cool. It's supposed to me one of those soap infused sponges and it has walnut shells inside to help it clean. On top of that it's supposed to be super green and stay fresher much longer than your average sponge. Since I got the box two weeks before moving I haven't used it yet but I have very high hopes for this and plan to break it in the day we move.

Oatworks Oatmeal Beverage- So this drink is supposed to be the equivalent to two bowels of oatmeal. It's supposed to be very healthy and very energizing. To be honest when I first saw it I didn't have very high hopes for it seeing that I don't have very good experience with drinks like these. I wound up taking it to work with my lunch and I was pleasantly surprised. It was great and I can even see my self buying it on a regular basis.

Jimmy Bars- Again this is supposed to be a super healthy snack for college students on the go. It's made by a small company and they're gluten free, vegan, and have no artificial sugars added. I had really high hopes for this since I really like snack bars and banana nut muffins are my absolute favorite. Unfortunately it wasn't very great. I don't know if it was perhaps a texture thing or what but Jimmy bars just aren't for me.

Straws by Brush with Bamboo- Brush with bamboo is a green company that does a lot of stuff with bamboo and other natural biodegradable material. This was one of two items from them in the box. Now they are literally just straws made of bamboo. They're cute and seem like a great idea for someone who will maybe throw a party but they're something I personally just wouldn't need. I will try to find some kind of use for them though. On another note I wish they had some kind of packaging or at least a quick little care guide.

Toothbrush by Brush with Bamboo- This is the second item they included from Brush with Bamboo and this is a product that I'm pretty sure has been in a past box of theirs. I haven't used it yet but will get to it eventually. The toothbrush itself is made of (you guessed it) bamboo and all the packaging is made up of biodegradable material. Again it's not a particular item I care for but I wouldn't mind checking out what else the company has to offer. 

Revolution Tea Sample Pack- This is one of my favorite things in the box because I really love flavored tea. It only brings three bags and the three flavors listed on the box. I haven't tried them yet but I am really excited to!

Over all the box wasn't that good but it wasn't too bad. If you're a college student getting it as a gift though it's pretty great and also very helpful. If I was living in a college dorm I would probably enjoy getting this stuff. However since I live on my own most of the stuff I don't necessarily need. All in all it's a pretty nice box. If you're a college student living in a dorm or you know someone who is this is a pretty decent gift. You can get them at: https://www.pijonbox.com/

Random Thoughts

So much has gone on this year already I hardly know where to start with everything!

•My boyfriend's stepbrother got a dog and even though he's super cute 

He has been making huge messes whenever he's left downstairs by himself

How did he even get the bread off the counter?!

•I've started watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (my boyfriend's little sister watches it! Okay?!) and it's really not as bad as I thought. It's actually pretty cute

•My Escape Monthly box shipped late and I'm not entirely sure it will make it to the apartment by the end of the month because of the weather up north. Fingers crossed though!

•Yoga pants are love. Yoga pants are life

My Japanese Husband (still) Thinks I'm Crazy Review

Disclaimer: I did receive the book for free in exchange for an honest review. Getting the book for free did not change my opinion in anyway nor is it something in exchange for a good review.

Now to start with i recieved the book about a week ago and recieved the first book this week. Before that I had already read the blog (http://howibecametexan.com/) and I fell in love.

Now the book is written by Grace Mineta, a freelance writer, who lives in Japan with her husband. The book is a bit like her blog but it has bonus comics that have never been posted before and with a bit different commentary. 

The comics follow the adventures of Grace, her husband, and a little imaginary rabbit named Marvin, who represents her thoughts and other miscellaneous people in their lives. In her comics she talks about everything from her first years dating her husband, cultural differences between Japan and the U.S., and other tidbits from her daily life in Japan. The comics are great. They're witty, funny, insightful, and I can relate to some things. 

Most of the book is comics with commentary far and few in between. The commentary is usually a bit of info on things like holidays in Japan, a little bit of vocabulary, lists of things she loves, and things that happen when you're a foreigner living in Japan. 

My one qualm with the book however is that I feel that it should have more points of commentary. Since I read here blog and every comic has the accompanying commentary it felt like the comics weree missing a little something. To be fair however, that was something improved upon from the first book to the second.

If you guys want to see for yourselves she has both books for free on Amazon for the next four days! They're both the digital copies and you can get them here;  

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Husband-Thinks-Crazy-comic-ebook/dp/B00OGTDZP8/

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Husband-still-Thinks-Crazy-ebook/dp/B00T74HTY0/

TLDR; Really insightful, witty, and fun. Would definitely recommend for a light hearted read!