Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in brenda's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
1:15 pm	2007 in a nut shell so, 2007. i did a lot of new things this year, so that was cool. i took a quilting class and discovered that i really enjoy quilting. it something that allows me to be creative and yet gives me quantifiable results. i only made 3 quilts this year, but i think that was pretty good considering that i only started in march and i lost the summer. i didn't get to do any horseback riding. by the time i found a place, we went into shift work. again, the lost summer. my birthday was nice. i had dinner with friends. actually i spent a lot of time with friends this year, starting with last january first at alisons. i grew a lot closer to lara, which is awesome. i got to see alot more of cait and i saw jess twice this year. once she visited me and once i went up to boston. the summer was a black hole. we were in shift work on the ship, so i had only two days where i didn't go into work all summer. which i didn't realize how bad it was until i saw commercials for pirates of the carribean out on dvd and realized that i didn't know that it had come out in theaters. bad summer. when we got out of shift work, we went underway and more bad things... erin and i had to move b/c the owners of the house we were in decided to move back. of course, we only found out 4 weeks before we had to be out of the house and i was underway. i basically only had a week and a half to find a place to live and move, and i spent part of that time in north carolina for an interview (more to follow) and in boston. but it ended well and i have a great apartment, even if the heat isn't working today. the other big thing that happened at that time was that i got accepted into the SWO MBA program, which means that the navy will pay for my MBA in return for 4 more years. not a bad deal, especially since i'll get full pay and benefits and won't have to play navy. i got accepted for UC - San Deigo, whic was not my first choice. when i explained/threatened to quit if they didn't let me go to duke, they changed their minds. so i got accepted into UC San Diego as a back up school and i'm waiting to hear back from duke. fall was okay, some under way time, lots of watch. christmas was good, even though my boss sucks and wouldn't let me take vacation at all. i'm still mad at him. but at least i didn't have to work on the 24-26th, so i could go home for actual christmas. and last night was really low key with eric and julie watching a movie and eating pizza. and so starts the new year... Current Mood: optimistic (Comment on this)
Monday, November 26th, 2007
8:59 pm	angst and melancholy so, the winter always makes me sort of melancholy. i don't know why. i just read a friend's post that was sort of rambly and also angsty. which is sort of how i'm feeling today. i shouldn't be all blah. i just got home from a date, which was ok. but he was just another guy. the guy i like won't give me what i want. there are some days when i just want sex. why is that so hard? i really don't think that a guy should turn down an invitation for what basically amounts to a booty call. and i really want more than just sex, even though i'm trying not to. i'm just so frustrated. he drives me nuts. so i've started dating other guys, but that's only so so. mostly b/c that's not what and/or who i want. is it bad that i feel like i'm worth more than that. i know that i'm worth more than that, but i don't want to be alone. it must be the winter thing. and the i can't figure out what i want and how to get it. and that's what i get for getting involved with someone i work with. maybe i'll just go to bed. alone. :( Current Mood: melancholy (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 1st, 2007
10:26 am	some april fools today is a bad day. just as it is a bad day every year. at least last year i wasn't alone. this year, both my roommates and most of my friends are underway. so it's just me. luckily, i still have lara and andre to hang out with this afternoon. you think after 6 years, it wouldn't still hurt. but it does. and we were painfully reminded of it this week, when the friend of bob's that bill was driving home that night, also died in a car accident. this has always been a bad week. Current Mood: sad (Comment on this)
Sunday, December 31st, 2006
8:51 am	this has been a pretty good weekend. thursday i had dinner with jada and one of her friends at a mexican restuarant down the road. it's a lot like a place in goose creek that the erins and i always went to, plus they have a yummy white salsa. friday was a stay at home sort of a day. i refinished and recaulked a cat cage that my mom gave me. i also finished the coverings for the shelves that my dad made for the cage. i just need to find a better place to put it than in the middle of the kitchen area... then yesterday, i got to spend my morning at the DMV, registering erin's car in VA. there's nothing like waiting until the absolute last minute. after the fun of the DMV, i drove downtown and went to lunch and shopping with lara. we went to the really good mall - MacArthur Center. it was a very enjoyable afternoon. then i met friends from ROTC for dinner. i hadn't seen carol or dennis in 6 and 1/2 years, so this was long overdue. dennis is lat-transferring to the flight officer community (lucky) and carol goes on terminal leave in 8 weeks (even luckier!). and i'm stuck for at least 23 more months. not that i'm counting. today's plan is quite relaxing. go to church at 11. eat lunch and watch a movie. go to yoga at 430. then head over to alison's for new years eve type stuff. good times. all in all, not a bad end to a rather dull year. :o) Current Mood: relaxed (Comment on this)
Friday, December 29th, 2006
8:53 am	so, another year gone. this one was much less eventful. i spent most of the year in the black hole known as power school and prototype. i went to germany, which was awesome. lots of drinking. i went to cleveland to visit jess, which was fun. also lots of drinking. i moved to chesapeake, va. checked onto a new ship. went underway for the first time in 18 months. i traded erins, from cusick in charleston to bonney in chesapeake. cait and i painted the bathroom, which was a crazy experience as usual. oh yeah, i got thrown off a horse at my first horseback riding lesson in more than 6 months. that was just painful. that reminds me that i need to start up lessons again, after it gets a little warmer. a pretty sedate year, overall. wonder what next year will bring... and 08 will be crazy, with the impending move to japan. Current Mood: nostalgic Current Music: hinder - lips of an angel (Comment on this)
Monday, November 20th, 2006
11:59 am	vacation part two so, today i went to work for about 3 hours, mostly to pick up my leave chit. and now i'm on vacation part two. last week was not terribly productive, but it was relaxing, which i needed after 13 months of hell. i had friday off because of veterans day and saturday went out to dinner with jada, allison, and janine to macaroni grill for some yummy pasta. then sunday i went to church and then drove up to stafford in a monsoon and it took FOREVER! i hung out with the family for a couple of days, went to ikea with caitlyn, and carried four legged children home with me on wednesday. wednesday night i went to a bible study. thursday i didn't do anything. like at all. friday i didn't do a whole lot, just went for a run and went out to dinner with jada, allison, lara and andre who i haven't seen in 8 or 9 months and some other random nukes. we had our pre-thanksgiving thanksgiving dinner at a hibachi grill. nothing says all american thanksgiving like japanese hibachi. :o) saturday i went to a spa party and spent lots of money on pretty stuff. sunday was more church and then i wandered around looking at the horse farm where i think i'm going to take lessons. sunday evening i drove 45 minutes looking for this yoga studio which was not where it was supposed to be. then this morning after my three hours at work, i went to the gym, cleaned the house some more - erin's coming home today! - now i'm off to take a shower and pack for the family reunion that i'm flying to tomorrow. fun times. Current Mood: rejuvenated (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 16th, 2006
9:14 am	so this week has been pretty random. i went to work for two days last week. we had monday off as a department, i took wednesday off to receive my new bedroom furniture, and friday was veteran's day observed. and i've had this whole week off. i'm going into work on monday to pick up my leave chit and then flying to kansas city, mo on tuesday for a family reunion. so not working has been pretty weird. i drove up to my parent's house on sunday afternoon in a monsoon or something like it. so my two hour trip took four hours and i was so pissed by the end. i spent monday hanging out with my mom and tuesday i went to ikea with caitlyn. then caitlyn and i went to an old friend's house. i haven't seen myla since before i moved to ct in 1997. i've discovered that probably more than half the people i went to north stafford with are either married, pregnant, or have kids. it's just weird. and i'm stuck in the navy with no life. except now i have time to start a life, but only for a year and a half before i go to japan. the navy is so annoying. and it's nearing time to make life altering decisions, which is never fun. it makes me just want to crawl back in bed, which i could do since i'm still on vacation and it's all yucky outside.... Current Mood: sleepy (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
11:19 am	so. the next step of my life is somewhat settled. i'll be moving to norfolk in less than a month. of course, i'll be working 12 hour days for pretty much every day until then, which really sucks. and i have no time to find some place in va to live and no time to actually move. oh, and i'll only be in norfolk for about a year before i move to japan. so that should be some interesting times. crazy navy... last night i went downtown with a bunch of the guys from crew. had a really good time. spent a couple of hours dancing, which i haven't done in probably 6 months. and this afternoon, we're having a bbq (we being erin- the roommate- and i. which means that instead of watching pinky and the brain, i should be cleaning the house and making some brownies. but i have a few hours, so i can watch some more cartoons. i've forgotten how funny pinky and the brain is. so funny. :o) Current Mood: relaxed (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 24th, 2006
7:33 am	ugh. i'm dog sitting this weekend, which is making neither the dog or my cat happy and i couldn't sleep past 630 this morning, which sucks since this is my one sleep in day of the week. at least this week i sort of have two weekends. i start shift work on monday, so i go into work at 4pm, work until midnight and get a day and a half off. then i go back to work at 8pm on wednesday and work until 8am, for the next 7 days. again, ugh. only 4 more months of this.... Current Mood: tired (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 23rd, 2006
9:01 am	so, i've finished nuclear power school and now i'm on a two week, well deserved vacation. not too many plans, beyond a week in germany. that should be interesting. i'm still staying in sc for the next 6 months, which is ok. i was annoyed to begin with, but i've gotten over it. i have a new roommate, which is fun. she's also in the training pipeline with me, so hopefully we'll get the same shift once we start shift work in about two months. other than getting out of the worst school i've ever been in, not much else is happening... off to do nothing... Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: sponge bob - yay for cartoons! (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 5th, 2006
9:33 am	so, i don't know why i don't expect the navy to screw me, but they somewhat managed to again. i was picked to go to new york, but neither of the other two girls were, including the one who is going to be my roommate. so, instead i'm giving my spot to one of my friends who really wants to go, and i'm in charleston for another 6 months. it's going to be a hot summer.... and only 6 more weeks of the hardest school i've ever been in... Current Mood: hopeful (Comment on this)
Sunday, January 1st, 2006
9:33 am	new year and old year reflections i've come a long way in the past year. this time last year, i was in darwin, australia. after a few days there, we went to east timor for a day, then off to indonesia for two weeks to help with the tsunami victims. after that we went to the arabian gulf and did various missions for 4 months. we stopped in bahrain twice. we ended up in muscat, oman for my birthday. from what i can remember, it was awesome. we also went to djibouti, africa, which was eye opening. then we headed home, with another brief stop in mckay, australia and hawaii. got home on june 6th. spent three more months in san diego and moved to charleston and to nuke school. nuke school is incredibly hard, but it is nice to be at the top of my class, especially since these are the best and brightest that the navy has recruited. i also have a ton of friends here, which is a nice change. this year marked the 4 anniversary of bill's death. sometimes it still feels so fresh. wonder what next year will bring? i have 4 more months in charleston at nuke school, then i either go to ny or stay here for prototype for 6 months. then i go back to the fleet to some carrier somewhere. there's been a lot of change in my life lately and i think that trend will continue as long as i'm still in the navy. but i only have 3 more years before i have to decide whether to stay or go... Current Mood: thoughtful (Comment on this)
Friday, September 30th, 2005
10:57 am	so i've discovered that i'm stupid, at least by navy standards. i spent so much time trying to get into preschool (three week refresher course prior to the actual start of nuke school) and was told that it was next to impossible. apparently the only way to get in is to fail the diagnostic test. which i did. so i'm stupid. and now i'm also depressed. and there's nothing in my apartment, as my stuff doesn't get moved in until next friday. so i have have an air mattress and a folding chair. life is kinda sucky right now. but at least i'm going out later tonight to explore the downtown charleston scene. we'll see how that goes... Current Mood: depressed Current Music: muzak - i need to get my computer soon! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 21st, 2005
9:44 am	so, i'm now an east coast girl again. or i will be as soon as i actually have some place to live. right now i'm staying at my parents' for a few days until i officially move down to charleston. i've decided again that moving sucks. i never really liked living in san diego, but i miss being there. i don't think i miss san diego, but i miss the people. the worst part about moving is that people feel they can tell you how they really feel, since you're leaving soon. i would say that my last week in san diego was one of my best. i went out on friday night with my roommates, tania and tina. we just went downtown for tina's friend's birthday. i danced with some random guys and drank way too much. then we ran into mike and shaun from work, so we had a few drinks with them. saturday was a recovery day. then sunday, i had dinner with eric. one last dinner of mexican down in old town. great food, as always, and great margaritas. but i had to saygoodbye, which sucks. monday at work was a little rough, but i survived. tuesday was my going away party with my guys. again, downtown, this time to hennessey's. drinks, burgers, and karaoke. and i actually got to talk to megan, who i always thought hated me. she doesn't. but of couse, i didn't find this out until right before i left. wednesday was an even more painful recovery day - including work. thursday was my last day of work. proctored an advancement exam, got my pretty award, and detached from the command. which meant that when some of the guys not in my division invited me out on thursday night, i could go. and i did. that was an interesting night. i always knew that a couple of them liked me, but i didn't realize how much. interesting night. kissing people that i shouldn't have... i couldn't drive home, so i rode home with gabe and david drove my car. then we hung out for a little while. i bet they had a hard day the next day at work. i feel bad that i messed everything up for them. no good. then i went to the chief's pinning on friday and had to say goodbye to all the chiefs. it was much sadder than saying goodbye to the officers. especially saying goodbye to j.t., rex, and tom. then i drove up to la and hung out with jessica, who just happened to be in town. we went to santa monica for a little while, then had another yummy mexican food dinner and went to bed. i was still hung over and had to drive to el paso the next day and she had to work the next day. saturday, i drove 13 hours to el paso. i stayed with my grandparents for the night. then my grandma and i drove ALL the way across texas to texarkansas. the next day (monday) we drove to memphis, where i spent 2 hours getting a license that never expires. (go navy) then we drove past nashville after i got my licesne. tuesday, we drove all the way to stafford. so i made it 3000 miles in 4 days, including a stop to deal with dmv hell. if i never drive again, it will be too soon. of couse, i have to drive on sunday to charleston. and sometime before the middle of october, i have to drive back up here to get my cats, after i have someplace to live. change sucks. Current Mood: discontent Current Music: grind with me - pretty ricky (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 6th, 2005
7:59 am	san diego is still here. this week was pretty busy. i had horseback riding lessons twice, went to the gym a few times, had duty on tuesday. and i finally get a weekend off to be at home. it's a really weird thing for me. i got a new boss this past week. we'll have to see how this one turns out. hopefully i won't have to deal with him much since i turnover my job next week. then i'm going to sit around for 5 weeks waiting to move. that should be fun. i can't wait to go to charleston, i think just becuase i need a change of pace. and i'll be back on the right coast. anyways, time to go to the gym. Current Mood: mellow (Comment on this)
Monday, July 25th, 2005
7:33 am	home again again so, i have finished my traveling for the summer. i went to dc for a week to visit my family, went to las vegas for a weekend with jess, went to palm springs for a weekend with my aunt and went on a week long cruise with caitlyn. now how many people would go back out to sea so soon after a six month deployment you ask? well, i would. and it was awesome. i went to haiti, jamaica, grand cayman, and cozumel, mexico. except for grand cayman and mexico, it was gorgeous and sunny the whole time. and i got to have copious amounts of alcohol while out to sea (a novel idea). and i had a window in my room (an even more novel idea!) i would definitely go on another cruise. and it was the perfect relaxing way to remember that i don't hate the ocean, only my ship. and now i only have a month and a half left until i get to drive far far away and never come back. south carolina here i come... Current Mood: peaceful (Comment on this)
Saturday, June 18th, 2005
8:09 am	home again i made it through six months in several random countries. we went to australia twice, east timor, indonesia, bahrain, oman, and djibouti, africa. and we stopped in hawaii twice. it's so good to be home, even if it's only a few months before i move back to the east coast. i can't wait to move to charleston. i hear there are significantly less earthquakes there. and i've really had enough of earthquakes, with the two on the water and the four here in the last week. i think ca may fall into the ocean soon. hopefully it will wait until i leave. time for errands. Current Mood: happy (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 31st, 2004
8:26 am	my map create your own visited states map or write about it on the open travel guide i feel a trip to hawaii is in order. but i'm sure i'll make it out there during deployment. and i should go to las vegas sometime since i'm so close. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, November 14th, 2003
5:32 am	so, i'm going to be an ensign in the united states navy in approximately 4 hours. i'm just so happy to be getting the hell out of pensacola that i don't think the rest of it has sunk in yet. i just cannot wait to leave this place and go home, even if it's only for a little while. Current Mood: accomplished (Comment on this)
Sunday, November 2nd, 2003
8:02 am	so... i found out where i'm moving to. by the end of december, i will be residing in san diego, ca. more specifically, to the USS Thach, FFG 43. it'll be crazy. but first i have to get the hell out of here, in 11 days and a wake up. not that i'm counting. :o) today we're getting a new class of indocs, which is lots of fun. especially since i'm on indoc staff. it's really cool to see how much they'll change in one week and to see how far we've come in the 12 weeks of training. anwyays, just thought i'd let everyone know that i'm heading out west, very soon. Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)