Why Do You Hate Us St. Maarten, Why?

With a clean house and clean bodies (we had not showered and were in the same clothes for a good 3 days, and had no razors...that was interesting) we felt on top of the world.  Today the student that sold us her car was going to bring it to us!  At that point we had been driving a rental and were ready to get acquainted with our new car.

She pulled up with the ugliest car I have ever seen (that is probably an exaggeration, but it was really bad).  There was a large dent on one side that was not visible in the photos, the donut was on, there was a crack in the windshield, one of the door handles was missing, and you can't open the passenger side door with the key.  Then we got in...it too was filthy.  There was dirt and sand everywhere, she did not even attempt to clean it for us.  Whatever, she already had the money and it was all fixable.

Joe and I drove her back to her apartment and then went for a little joy ride.  Five minutes into the fun, the car would no longer turn.  The steering wheel was turning and turning, but the tires were not moving.  We were stuck.  Thank God it was in a parking lot.  At this point it was just getting comical and blatantly obvious...the island hates us.

Luckily, we had not returned the rental car, so a cab took us home and we were still able to get around the island.  Getting a hold of the student was a different challenge.  No internet, no local phone.  Joe had to go to the lobby to attempt to communicate with her as well as and family and friends.  Once we finally got in touch she seemed shocked, apparently it had never broken down on her.  She contacted her mechanic and said she would pay for the repairs...duh!  But, we still had to pay for a rental car for five additional days (island time).

That night the spouses organization was having a pasta and cupcake sale at the school.  It was a good chance to meet them and for Joe to see his school for the first time.  It was pretty exciting.  We met some really great ladies and had some really good food.  Things were looking up!

The next morning I woke up, fed the girls and took them potty.  Since we got to the island we were letting Hope and Jasmine out on the large lawn in front of our condo off of their leashes.  Everything was going well.  They were able to run and play, it was perfect.  This particular morning another resident was also taking her dog potty...Hope began barking, which prompted Jasmine to bark, and then all hell broke loose.  Jasmine followed the dog (Gabana) and his owner down to the street.  I told Hope to stay and ran after Jasmine.  She just kept going and wouldn't listen.  I chased her up and down several streets until I was able to herd her back to the house.  I cannot even imagine how it looked.  I had just woken up, my hair was all over the place, in pj's with no bra.  Crazy American lady alert!

Now I know that the only danger was her being hit by a car, but there is not much traffic in our complex and she could not have gotten lost.  But, if somehow she did get out of the complex she would have been screwed because this island is teeming with wild dogs...packs of them.  She is most def not equipped for that.

So, at the end of the day we have no car, no wifi, no phones and none of our boxes of stuff had arrived.  But, we did have each other, our girls and and island to explore!

Welcome to St Maarten!

Oh St Maarten, we have waited so long to meet you!  Though, no amount of expectation or planning would prepare us for this!

As the plane began to ascend, the waters below were glittering in the sunlight and the excitement in the plane was on the rise.  No one could wait to begin their adventure, whether it was a vacation, coming home or beginning medical school.  As we gathered our carry on luggage and began to walk down the stairs onto the asphalt, the swass (that is sweaty ass, thank you Allie) began...instantly.

Going through customs was not an issue, they simply asked how long we were staying and for what purpose.  Not once was the paperwork for Hope and Jasmine requested, but who cares, we were all here!

The girls and the luggage were taken to the curb (picture an island in the middle of a two way street - with absolutely no shade), where they went potty and waited for me to get the rental car, SUV actually, as there was so much stuff...didn't we just have a garage sale and get rid of everything?  Why do we still have so much stuff?  We decided that every time something was brought into the house, something of equal or greater size has to be removed from the house...we are still working on that.  I digress.

Getting the rental car was our first true experience of "Island time", which is like "CP" time, but on a much larger scale.  A shuttle picked myself and two other couples up from the airport, and transported us to Budget car rental...that took about 30 minutes though it is only 3 minutes away...I could have walked there faster!  The shuttle arrived at Budget and I was the last to be helped.  Mind you, everything took a lot longer because they don't use computers.  Everything is hand written.  Very strange.  Anyway, I got the paperwork and walked outside to get the car...45 minutes later I was driving back to the airport.  What should have taken 20 to 30 minutes ended up taking about 2 hours, with Joe, Jasmine and Hope baking in the St Maarten sun.  I felt really bad.  Joe thought something had happened because apparently a cop (the few that they have here) and an ambulance drove by when I was gone.  The relief on his face was apparent.

Joe loaded the car like a boss, he made everything fit.  Hope was on my lap in her crate and Jasmine was in the backseat in her crate.  No amount of air conditioning was cooling them and I was getting nervous.  It didn't help that I took us the wrong direction for about 15 minutes...so much for that innate sense of direction that I thought I had!  Once we passed the second pharmacy and casino (which were the landmarks I was told to watch for because there are no street signs), we turned around.

Finally on the right track we found the pharmacy, turned right and made our way down Amazone Rd.  Terry, the guard, informed us that he didn't have the keys to the condo because we were expected hours ago.  Slight panic started to set in.  Exhausted, smelly, two dogs...what now!  But, he went to the office and was able to locate the key...Thank the Lord!

I let the girls out of their crates and was so excited to see our beautiful new home.  Joe unpacked the luggage while the girls and I went up to to the house...The door opened to a complete disaster!  The floors were disgusting, it reeked like gross boy, all of the dishes had a greasy film, the bedding and towels were dirty, there were nasty stains on the couch, chair and mattress pad, and the bottom of the tubs were covered in black grime.  We were completely horrified.

Moving somewhere is so much different than vacationing or visiting.  When you get to your destination there is no food in the refrigerator, no cleaning supplies, no complimentary soap, no toilet paper, no wifi, no telephone, no consierge to assist...nothing.  We had to leave our scared girls in this new, scary place to get essentials and feed; anytime wifi was needed, we had to walk to the lobby and use the office phone, if necessary.  Thank goodness we came so early.

That night we found some clean bedding to sleep on and opted out of using pillows.  We woke up the next morning and immediately started to work.  I cleaned the kitchen first, as it seemed the least overwhelming, then the chairs, tables, doors and walls that were all covered with fingerprints and dirt.  But, the bathrooms were the absolute pits...The tubs were so awful, the bleach was working reeeaaaallll hard!  While I did that, Joe cleaned ALL the greasy dishes.  I swept, mopped, lit some candles and it began to feel like home.  We also did a million loads of laundry so we had some towels and bedding to use until our tubs of stuff were delivered.

Overall, we felt successful.  What else could go wrong, right?

Hotlanta

I Was truly nervous when we landed in Atlanta because it was a pretty rough landing and I knew that my girls were so scared. As we exited the plane we just wanted to get to them as soon as possible, but it was a huge airport, we literally had to take a train several stops just to get to baggage claim. Once we got there, Joe went to collect our huge pieces of luggage and I went to look for the girls. When I finally found them, Hope was crying so hard it broke my heart. I took them outside to the pet relief area, which was nice because it was like a small dog park. I was able to take them off of their leashes and just let them walk around after they had been in their crates for so long. Once I saw that Jasmine did not pee and Hope did not poop, I knew that there were probably some issues in the crates.

Now was the hard part, which we hadn't thought about. We had to get our four very large suitcases, four carry-ons, a large crate and dog, and a small crate and dog to the airport shuttle. I had the girls on their leashes and Joe was trying to move the luggage piece by piece about 15 feet at a time, so he could see both piles of luggage. He continued doing this until we realized that it was just ridiculous. I finally went inside and got a skycap to help us take all of the luggage to the airport shuttle. We dished out a lot of tips on this trip, that's for sure.

Once we got all of the luggage and the girls to the airport shuttle it started raining. So much for Hotlanta! The shuttle got there and the driver freaked out about Jasmine, they said she needed to be in her crate while they transported her. Well, that was not going to happen. Her crate didn't even fit with the luggage in the back, so we filled two seats just with her crate and she had to sit on the floor of the bus. It was really funny because the passengers had to step over her and she didn't move. When they finally dropped us off at the hotel the passengers were saying how good our dogs are...we couldn't help but laugh at that point.

Once we got to the hotel we unloaded all our baggage, well Joe did, while I took the girls and checked in. Moving the luggage again was a huge ordeal. We could not even fit it all on the flatbed.

I found the room and straightaway the girls jumped on the bed and fell asleep. Once We got the crates and all the luggage in the room, I looked in the crates and found poop in Hope's and pee in Jasmine's. I took them potty outside and immediately took their blankets to the laundry room.

At this point it was dinner time, so I fed them but they didn't eat much. Jasmine laid down after only eating half her meal and she growled at Hope for getting close to it. That's totally unlike her. So I knew they were pretty stressed out. Joe and I ate some snacks and we all passed out.

We woke up the next morning in enough time to have the free hot breakfast…big ups to Drury for that. Once we got back up to the room we all fell asleep again until noon. We took the girls for a little walk, they went potty, and we really just hung out for the rest of the day. That night starting at 5:30 PM Drury also provided a kickback service. That's like free dinner. Salad, pasta, pizza, nachos… It was awesome.

We woke up the next morning at 5 AM to catch the airport shuttle. At this point we realized that the airport shuttle only went to the domestic terminal...we obviously needed to go to the international terminal. So we loaded the shuttle with our eight bags, large and small crate, and the dogs. We went to the domestic terminal and then unloaded our eight bags, two crates and two dogs, and had to walk over to the international terminal with all of our belongings. Drama.

At the international terminal a really great skycap helped us unload everything, put it on a flatbed and helped us with the girls. We got to the counter with no issue, everything went very smoothly. The skycap helped us take Jasmine and Hope over to TSA where they would be looked over and sent to the plane. She waited there to be tipped, which is totally fine, she most definitely deserved it. But once we gave her what I thought was a great tip, she looked at it, scoffed and walked away. It was so ridiculous we couldn't do anything but laugh.

All in all, we really loved Atlanta. The people were sweet, the hotel was awesome. and we just had a great experience.

We ate breakfast at the airport, loaded the plane, and were now on our way to our final destination...St. Maarten.

To be continued…

We made finally made it! (Part 1)

We made finally made it!!!

I truly can't believe that we are here.  It has been quite a whirlwind so far.  Here is just a sample of our journey thus far:

Before leaving Sacramento -

Our beautiful Aunt Teresa and Mo put on such an amazing going away party for us.  We would have had much more fun if we were not plagued with food poisoning.  But, even so, we truly enjoyed seeing all of our friends and family together for one of the last times in a long time.  I cannot explain how grateful I am to my Aunt, I am going to miss you so much.

The Gomade garage sale was so successful, we made money and got rid of a lot of stuff.  The money was a great help...apparently, moving out of the country is quite costly!

Getting our huge containers of junk picked up to be shipped to the island was a big deal.  We had so much stuff that we would have never had been able to fit in our bags, so we had to ship them to the island...they were picked up Monday before we left and they still have not arrived.  (I did get this man's permission to take his photo, thanks to Joe Gomes)

After a last minute get together with friends and family for dinner and ice cream, we went to sleep in Carmichael California for the last time.

Upon waking and finishing our packing we got picked up by my dad and Smitty.  The ride to the airport was the last time I would sit and talk with my dad for a long time.  It was extremely sobering.

Once we got to the airport we attempted to get Jasmine out of the car...that was quite a struggle!  She was literally shaking, it was so sad.  Seeing her that way was so hard.  Hope acted like she owned that place, as usual.  I wish we would have taken more photos, but it was way too hectic.

We soon realized that we packed in excess.  While I was weighing the bags (4 very large suitcases, 1 was 70 lbs, the others were 50 each, 2 large carry ons and 2 personal items), Joe had to get rid of stuff if they were over 50 pounds.  All too soon, we were paying for the luggage, filling out paperwork for the girls, and stuffing them in their crates.  Jasmine went quite willingly, but Hope spread her legs to try and stop Joe from putting her in there.  TSA was called and they were rolled away.  I almost had a panic attack, and Granny was crying like crazy.  My heart hurt so much for them because there is no way to explain what is going on, they just see it as a scary and unknown situation.

When they were no longer in sight, we sat down with the family.  So many people came to the airport to see us off, it was truly special.  My dad and Smitty, Dolores, Granny and Gramps, Mike, Aunt Teresa, Mo and Grandma Lou all came to wish us well.  As we said our goodbyes, I can't explain the feeling, it was like part of my heart was being pulled out.  I cried like I have not cried in a long time. It was so hard.  I was crying for all the people that we were leaving, all the familiarity, all the history.  

Joe and I got through security with no issues, and as I was putting my shoes back on I broke down again.  My chest was clenching and I felt the panic attack coming back.  The only thing that kept me together was knowing that my best friend was with me and that God had chosen this path for us.  I did know this before, but it was made more obvious to me when our patio light (which had never worked) turned on the night before we left.  For me, it was God and my Mom lighting our way, giving us the green light, letting us know that this was the right path.  If I had not had those things, I probably would have lost it.

The flight was fine, a little turbulence and the best cookies ever!  And then we landed in Atlanta, GA.

To be continued...

Moving Out Of The Country Yard Sale

If you live in or around Sacramento, CA, we hope you will join us on 3/30/13 as we get rid of EVERYTHING in preparation for our big move to St. Maarten. Please see the attached flier for details or visit our Facebook event page at:

http://www.facebook.com/events/424681664285376/

Is The WWE Still A ‘Big Man’s’ World?

Is The WWE Still A ‘Big Man’s’ World?

With the recent addition of Big E. Langston to the WWE main roster, I got to thinking… does the current WWE product have one “body” guy too many?

For those of us whom have been life-long WWE fans, fans of the 80s, 90s and beyond; this question may seem almost laughable. For we can remember a time when almost EVERY WWE Superstar was a “jacked up”, “body” guy. From Ivan Putski, Nikita Koloff, Lex Luger, The Ultimate Warrior, The Road Warriors, Kerry Von Eric, Warlord, (not to mention Barry Horowitz), almost everyone was a ripped and chiseled mass of humanity.

It is only when you place the aforementioned question into the context of the more “natural” looking Superstars of today, such as CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler and The Brooklyn Brawler that the discussion begins to make sense. And lets not discredit the physiques of today’s stars, heck, I would argue that the training regimen and level of discipline required of today’s stars far surpasses that of their predecessors’.

The question remains however, using the stereotypical “big man” ring psychology, is there room in the WWE for all of these larger than life Hulks to co-exist? Lets get specific here; we currently have the most impressive list of body builder-like, 300+ pounders in recent memory with guys like: Mason Ryan (yes, he’s still employed), Ryback, Ezekiel Jackson, David Otunga and now Big E Langston. How are they all suppose to “get over” using their power and strength without looking stale and over-done?

Let’s face it; they can’t all be “monsters” that steam-roll through their competition…that would get old and fast. Not to mention the super-heavyweights like Brock Lesnar, The Big Show, Mark Henry, Tensai and Brodus Clay; in today’s WWE; unlike in years past, it is becoming somewhat of a limitation to be the ‘big guy’.  

Big guys of today have far more considerations and parameters to keep in mind than did the Superstars of years past. Not only must they appear big and strong, even larger than life, but in today’s fickle, fast-paced market, they also need to keep the audience captivated and enthralled. And with such an unprecedented (modern era) number of heavyweights and super heavyweights; they also must be careful not to scoop each other’s heat by using the same move-set and mannerisms. Now therein lies a bit of a conundrum.

In the 80s and 90s the solution was simple: gimmicks! Everyone had a gimmick. They were quite useful in fact. They could be used as somewhat of a crutch for the larger dudes that were….lets say, not as ‘gifted’ as some of the others (cough, cough, Ultimate Warrior, cough, cough).  Others used their gimmicks as a means to enhance or supplement their ring work. One of my mentors and dear friends Nikita Koloff was one such star. The “Russian Nightmare” as he was smartly dubbed, moved like a cat in the ring. The dude was a true workhorse. But he also had a very well defined gimmick. He will even tell ya though; his Russian gimmick was somewhat of a saving grace that helped mask his inexperience and technical inadequacies in his formative ring years.

Through a combination of his almost herculean strength, awe-inspiring ring presence and his very well developed Russian Nightmare persona, he was able to get ‘over’ very early in his career, despite not having fully mastered the technical aspect of his newfound vocation. Later, rather than merely supplement his persona, he was later able to fully integrate and augment his technical skills with his gimmick rather than the reverse. 

The problem today’s stars face is that they don’t really have the luxury of, nor does the audience really have the stomach for very many gimmicked caricatures. No longer is the mawkish ‘warrior’, ‘barbarian’, ‘zombie’, ‘ninja’ or ‘assassin’ from ‘parts unknown’ considered acceptable (nor should they).

However good, bad or indifferent these gimmicks were, over the past 10-15 years however, we have witnessed the gradual retirement of these passé gimmicks. The archaic and even racist restrictions – (i.e. all African Americans & Samoans have ‘hard heads’ that are impervious to pain) are now all but forgotten.

So that leads back to the question at hand; how do the ‘big guys’ cope in today’s professional wrestling marketplace? The solution is simple.  In today’s modern era, we have ‘hybrid’ stars. That’s the key. No longer are Superstars restricted to the outmoded moulds and rules of years past. They’re now almost limitless in what they can accomplish. Heck, a couple of weeks ago I saw a near 500 lb Big Show throw a DROPKICK! And a damned decent one at that.

The question becomes, as the pro wrestling playing field becomes more homogenized, where will this discussion be in the next 10-20 years?

I for one can’t wait to see.

Thanks for reading.

Joe

Pre-med Discussion (Part 1)

Pre-med Discussion / Q & A: (Part 1)

1.    I’m planning on taking the MCAT in 2013. While I’m on my winter break, should I start studying now?

Great question.  First, it kind of depends. That is, it depends on when you’ll be taking the MCAT. If you’ve signed up (or are planning to sign up) for one of the earlier dates (Jan or March) then yes, I’d suggest that you get started now.

With that being said however, don’t inundate yourself with studying either. You no doubt just got through with another challenging semester; give yourself a little break. The most important advice I can give you though is to make a schedule for yourself and stick to it. For example, give yourself a break through Jan 6^th and start your MCAT prep on Jan 7^th. Don’t have the ambiguity of whether or not you’re going to study looming over your head. Have a plan and stick to it.

I found some helpful online study schedules that I followed for my prep. I’d be happy to email you them if you are interested.

2.    Hi Joe, I want to take the MCAT next year, but I don’t know the testing dates.

Hi, the AAMC posts the official testing dates on their website (aamc.org). Not all testing sites have every date available however, so you’ll want to look up the nearest testing site(s) to verify.

No site will have the reverse though; that is, no testing site will offer MCAT examinations on days that are not listed on the AAMC calendar. Hope that helps. I’ve also included the direct link for the official AAMC 2013 MCAT calendar below.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/258544/data/2013-mcat-exam-schedule-us-canada.pdf

3.    Did you use an MCAT prep company? If so, which one? Did you like them?

I did use a prep group. I went with Kaplan for a number of reasons but the primary reason was that I wanted a scheduled, structured setting and one that would afford me direct (face-face) contact with the instructors. The Kaplan course also offered unlimited access to the official AAMC exams and an online Q-bank, which I really enjoyed.

With that being said however, I was not 100% satisfied with their program. I definitely prefer the Examkrackers (EK) lesson books over the Kaplan prep materials. EK just seemed to “speak my language”, if you understand what I mean. I would read a passage on circuits for example, shake my head in confusion in a “what the hell do you mean Bernoulli?! ” sort of moment and boom. After the passage, a little saltine cracker cartoon would break down the passage in clear, easy to read prose. Kaplan seemed (to me) to follow a shotgun approach, whereby they’d throw everything at you but the kitchen sink, rather than delivering a clear and concise set of principles to follow. Just my take anyway…

4.    What about extracurriculars? What should I do and when?

You ask me excellent, excellent question Mr. Dan Malone  (sorry, Iron Sheik reference there). The Readers Digest version of my answer is this – do what you are passionate about. I loved pro wrestling. That’s what I did for many, many years. In fact, ¾ of my personal statement is about my career in the wrestling biz.

Don’t do something just to check a box. Application committees see right through it. Plus, if you don’t enjoy it, odds are you are going to do a lousy job and have a poor experience.