Pillsbury

Has anyone seen the new Pillsbury tv commercial? Its the one where there are like four people who they view. Each person inhales deeply then and tap their heels together three times. At the end of the commercial there is a family all together at home.

Since that is hard to imagine if you havent seen it, the people clicking their heels are like Dorthy from Wizard of Oz. When she clicks her heels and says "theres no place like home" over and over.

Well if you were here right now, you would have witnessed me trying to inhale the smell of home and clicking my heels three times. I'm still here, I'm still in Spokane.

http://www.Pillsbury.com/AALL/dancingdoughboy.aspx?WT.mc_id=FRD&p=8bKa3Y04SUQ=

Rudolph

Yes I know. I blush... ALOT! We don't need to point it out every single time it happens. At work, I know I have talked about this before, I blush alot of the time. If a guy says anything inappropriate in any way I will blush. I cant stop it I just cant. Its not that I am embarrassed or even uncomfortable, my face is, not me! I think... Any ways. Tonight Ms P. decided that instead of singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer we should all see Amanda Red Cheek Girl....

Back in what... um elementary school everyone thought it was funny to call me a tomato, Or look, shes turning as red as a tomato.

I think I am going to need counseling.

Thank You for Giving

So as you all know I live in Spokane...alone...and if you dont... where has your head been?

But as you all know the P's (that means parents) suprised me a few weeks ago with a turkey dinner! So it wasnt that I was dieing to have turkey. But more likely I was lonely. So diana (who I am not officially changing her name to Banana) invited me to her home for thanksgiving. But thats not the best of it. We made homemade apple pies! They were amazing and delicious and AMAZING! We baked 3 in total. Here are some pics.

Thats right on the first pic there is an "AA" stands for Banana's real name (starts with A) and Amanda. Lol cute.

Truck Stop..."Never say.."

"Can I grab something for you"

You'll get an answer that sounds like this

"haha ugh you can grab something alright!!! uh huh huh huh haha huh"

So never.... never say that to a trucker.

I mean a DRIVER* = politically correct?

RECAP

The last blog entry was about the man who was having a medicle emergency. This is what happened the next day:

I walked into work and people were talking about what happened. Everything just was going over my head, I wasnt even listening. Then I heard my name mentioned and my ears perked up. Next thing I know everyone was asking me about what happened and congragulating and calling me a hero. I shocked, I was not the hero, I feel like I hardly did anything actually. You know I sat with him for a while waiting for the ambulance, we talked but thats about it. So apparntly the man was having a sever allergic reaction to his medication, which is what he said the night before. They kept him at the hospital for the night, and part of the next day. As sson as he was released he was in contact with our corporate office telling them what had happened and how much he appreciated the people who helped him! I mean he really meant it. I have a copy of the email we get from corporate, I will post it on this blog. Anywho, later that day after my shift started I was walking towards the front counter when someone shouts my Amanda. I turned around and there was a man looking at me... It litterally took me 10 secs to figure out who he was. It was the man from the night before. He looked so different, so healthy! So ALIVE! He gave me a big hug and thanked me a million times, told me what had happened adn how much he really appreciated everything I did for him. This guy was so nice, I am so glad I was there to be part of the team who helped him. Im proud of us and what we did. Way to go crew!

ps. Cant get the image on here, post later seperatly.

WILL SOMEONE HELP ME!?

If only I had my windsheild wasnt covered in ice, if I had not stopped to talk to Daina (she's my fav shift manager, she is also a good friend that works there and we do stuff outside of work.) If only I didnt stop and talk to SM either. If I hadnt joked around with the guys. If I had just gone straight in and done what needed to be done, and left I would be in bed sound asleep right now. I would not have anymore drama in my life then what I had at oh say 8 that night. But here inlays the problem. I did stop and talk to those people, I did lollygag around in an un hurried manner, and I did have to scrape the ice off my wind sheild. And "what if" questions are pretty much pointless. Here is what happened.

I got off at 12:15. I said goodbye to everyone, ran out to my car, discovered it was covered in ice. Scraped my wind sheild, pumped my gas, started to go inside, stopped and talked to Daina, started walking again, stopped to talk to SM. Continued walking, teased the guys smoking. Walked inside. Stand at the counter wait for Rick to have a sec to help me at the counter. When this man walks around the corner right for me and scream...a slurred scream... "will someone just help me!!!". HAHA great right.

First thing that went through my mind is this guy is drunk, he is not happy, and he is going to hurt me. So I walk towards our night gaurd lol right he can help. The guy follows me "I need help! I need an ambulance!" Dirk the night gaurd has rich call 911. meanwhile the man just about falls over so we get a chair and sit him down in the hallway. I run outside and grab Susie (night manager) and run back in. Apparntly this man is having an allergic reaction to some new medication that he is taking for the first time. He complains that he cant breath, his heart is beating really fast, and and he thinks he is going to have a seisure. He asks Suzie to take his dog back to his truck, tell her where to find his wallet, his meds, and everything he might need. They tell me to stay with him and make sure he doesent move. And what does he do? OF COURSE he wants to get up and walk away. So I am trying to convince him to just sit, cause this is a big guy, this could end badly. SO he wants to go outside, I was like ok if your going to fight me then lets just do it, we were walking out there and the guys starts to collapse. I had to grab onto him and I was just standing there cradling this man like ok what now. I scream for Rick cause I cant hold him much longer. So Rick comes out and trades places with me so now I am waiting for the ambulance. Thankfully we switched because the man ended up pooping his pants and apparantly it was pretty bad... And I have a weak stomache.

So all in all, the ambulance took him away. We have two dogs just sitting in his truck, animal I guess someone is coming to get them, the police or animal control or someone who knows. Finally I pay for my gas and get out of there. LOL. If only I just left and never came back.

But the good news is... I am going Salsa Dancing on Saturday! lol. oh god... we will see how that goes.

Ta for now!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today KIAN and I went to Silent Saturday. It is an event that the ITP club (interpreter training program) puts on. Where from early in the morning to later in the afternoon club members, as well as friends, and people from the community are invited to come on out and spend time together. Interacting with games and food, and signing. It is a great chance to practice out American Sign Language skills. And very testing when you are forced to sign for your self among Deaf people.

Anyways...

Mom and Dad came over to visit. Ok no they really didn't, their really here to see Jeff Dunham. I am just a perk... and a place to stay. JK! Luv you guys!

So as a surprise when I got home from silent Saturday there was a whole thanksgiving feast being prepared! All the trimmings and everything. To top it off there was a small Christmas tree all lit up, and a few Christmas decorations spread through out the apartment. What a great thing to come home too! It looks so amazing! And it smelled amazing also. YUMMO!

I love you mom and dad, I appreciate this so much.

EVERYONE DOWN ON THE GROUND! NOW!!

Right... Famous words during a major robbery right?

Can you guess what this blog is about? Friday night I was in charge of hanging putting up Christmas decorations. I was towards the middle back of the store. now picture this, the store is crowded, the restaurant is busy, there is a long line at subway. I am back by the coolers humming along and tieing ribbons, counting down the seconds till mom and dad will be popping in. When all of a sudden there is a loud commotion and the words "everyone get down on the ground now!" came booming out of a mans voice. Instantly thinking out secret shopper from a couple weeks ago was back (the African American man that had threatened out lives, I call him our secret shopper) my heart was in my throat. I grab my cell phone out of my pocket and was ready to jump under a rack of clothes where I assumed he wouldn't know I was there. But when I looked up I noticed no one else was jumping to the ground. In fact no one seemed to be moving at all. Not to mention it was deadly silent. Finally I noticed about a dozen, if not more SWAT/police taking down a guy in the front of the store. I move up front to try and figure out what was going on, there was only one person behind the counter so I figured someone else should be back there to keep control on things. Once I moved up to the counter I noticed how many police there actually were! And every single one of them, except for the guy on top of the bad guy had their guns pulled.

As fast as they rushed in, they rushed back out. Confiscating our trash and emptying the coffee pots (to ensure he didn't throw any evidence anywhere) Everyone in the store was still left in a shock state. I know for me it took near ten Min's to stop shaking. It was said that it was a drug bust, evidently an undercover cop had just bought some drugs from this guy right down the road. And this is where they were able to capture him. Made for an interesting evening that once again I will NEVER forget.

PS: my Christmas decorations look amazing!

Bad Day

You know when you have a bad day. One thing after another just ends up going completely wrong. When I say that I dont mean you go to starbucks and find out that your fav coffee has been discontinued. Or when you go shopping to get those stilettos that you have been saving your money for over a month are not available in ur size (Believe me when you have size 11 feet that happens often!) What I mean is bigger then that. Such as your boyfriend dumps you, you get a speeding ticket, fired/laid off from work, death in the family. Those type of bad days. Well I had one of those a few days ago. Just one thing after another not going right. It made me realize something and I am very grateful for that. I do have a family in Spokane. I work with them everyday. As weird as it may sound my fellow workers at the truck stop (some not all!) are my Spokane version of family. No matter what time of day morning or night, if i call them they will come running. If something is wrong they are there. Twice that day I ended up leaning on my Spokane family for help and they were there. I am very grateful when I cant have my mom near by that at least I have someone, even though that person could never be as amazing as my real mom.

All through that day, people would ask me if I was ok and all I could muster was 'I just want my mommy!' Pathetic or not I love my mom and I still need her so much! My whole family, my mom dad and even brother I kept thinking about. I love you guys! I cant wait for you to get here, its tomorrow! or well right now it is considered TODAY that you get here! lol weird.

Luvs!

Srry

I feel like my blog has lost my umph. Become somewhat pointless. I think the truck stop and everything else has just become...mundane. I hate to say it, to think that working at a truck stop actually just feels normal is absolutely crazy! Less and less is surprising me. So I am in the midst of deciding the future of "Truck Stop Diaries". I want it to go on, but I feel bad because It is not as fun or funny as it once was.

Snooze Cruze

The funniest thing happened the other day. The truck stop is laid out very open. From my cashregister I can look in and see many of the customers at the connecting restraunt. The first row of seats is what they call a "buddy bar" Well at about 10 pm a man sat down by him self, ordered his food then fall asleep! It was so cute lol. Anyways, they brought his food out and set it down. He didnt even notice. He sat there by him self sleeping for who knows how long! When I left at 12:30 he was still there sleeping peacfully. I felt so bad for him. I cant imagine beeing on the road that much and always being alone. Being so alone and bored that you could fall asleep sitting right in a restruant. Any ways thats about all thats going on around here.

No school on Monday and Tuesday! YAY!!! I am super excited. Dont know what I am going to do. I am planning on my hike still, as long as it doesent snow, or keep this weird mist thing going on I just might go. Or go shopping. I dont know which. TTYL!! Luvs

6'2, 180 lbs, Male, African American

Since I have worked at the truck stop I have shared many stories of funny things, weird things, and some slightly scary propositions. Well last night/yesterday I imagine will probably be the most scary thing I will ever be able to report to you.

Before I go on with the story I want everyone to know that the truck stop handled the situation very well and we were very protected through the whole night. So please do not worry, I was in very good hands.

Yesterday, around 3 a tall slender African American trucker came in to get a shower. Not noticing anything in particular he was given a shower and he went on his way. Approximately 3:45 that same man walked back to the lube bay and started a ruckus. (when I was first told what was going on it was fast and I only got the basic of the story. But as the night went on more and more truth came out.) He allegedly pulled out a knife and flashed a gun at some of the lube bay employees. He then threatened that he would be back later that night and he was going to kill one of the employees in the store. He even had it all written down that he would be back to kill us.

The time when I got into work this was all happening, without our knowledge of course. By the time we were out on the floor running our shift, the lube bay had finally called us and told us the threat. The police were obviously called. For a couple of horse the police hung around waiting for him to come back, and I assume they were out on the road trying to find him but I really don't know that. 3 security guards were called in, normally we don't have a security guard till 11 pm. So we had 3 of them come in early. And the employees were all armed with "tire beaters" (baseball looking things, just shorter) behind the counter.

Luckily last night we had 5 employees working, which is unusual, and all of them were male except for Bobanna and I. The man never came back while I was there. And I am assuming that he didn't come back later either, Who would seriously come back?? But last night we had 2 employees working, plus three night guards. So they should have been safe.

This was defiantly terrifying, no one really knew what was going on and there were a lot of people panicking. The owner, plus other employees who had seen him were shaken up a lot which caused my nerves to go crazy. But we were perfectly protected and I have no doubt that if that man did show up again that we would have any problems, there were so many people there that he wouldn't have even had a chance to get to the front counter I am sure.

I called mom and dad last night to tell them I love them, you never know. I wasn't going to tell mom the story, I knew she wouldn't like it, I knew that everything she thought of about me working there was coming true the instant I told her. But I knew she needed to know. And I knew I was going to be ok and I could convince her of that. It was brought up that maybe I shouldn't write about this event. But I feel that the reason I started this blog was to really talk about all the crazy things that happen at the truck stop, and this defiantly falls under crazy. So I feel it is necessary to write about it. Please just remember that I was protected from any bad men who came in ad that the truck stop handled it with precision and I felt VERY safe! Maybe too safe, I had security follow me everywhere. Its amazing I even got my own bathroom stall!

I love you guys so much!!!

ps: Romeo said he would jump in front of a bullet for me!

History

Today is the beginning of history. Well for me Saturday was the day I made history. I voted for my first Presidential Election. And this Presidential election is huge, it will be a make or breaking point for our society. I do have pictures of me voting, you all know how I love to take pictures of anything special. So keep your eyes peeled for those. And We'll see who wins!

Somewhere in the Middle

Thats where I am, I am somewhere in the middle. I went home last weekend for a quick little visit. Had a good time, Hung out with both the Fa's and my parents. Went to a hockey game, Spokane vs Silvertips, Who to cheer for?

Not only am I not sure which team I rightfully belong to but it seems like even home doesent feel like home. This is my second time visiting since I moved out. The first time was just kind of a blurr and things went great. I came home, I was fine. This time, when I got to Everrett and I was driving around the streets that I am pretty familiar with I couldnt help but think how weird it felt. I felt like a stranger, I felt that it wasnt the same welcoming feeling. It was just different. Even at home on the island, in the grocery store. These places are not mine any more. I dont go there everyday I dont belong. So I feel stuck in a place and I dont know where it is. I thought I would go home and I would feel so welcomed you know (Not by my familyand friends, they were very welcoming) everything would be so familiar. Because in Spokane I dont feel that familiarity yet, the comfort and ease. So what I am trying to get at is, I no longer feel at home, at home on the island, and at the same time I dont feel at home in Spokane. So where is my home?

Spokane is so different the out West. Sure there are trees, and they change colors....kinda. But nothing beats what the west has. How beautiful it is. When I was home it rained everyday! It never rains here in Spokane. The trees had all turned colors and everything looked so festive! I miss all the trees, I miss the ocean, the crisp air, the never ending stars, I miss the smell of the island. I miss so much from over there. Its such a beautiful place to live.

It was a great italian fiesta! Next time only one thing of noodles!
Love everyone!

NOTICE!

I guess some viewers are having difficult with the movie adn music on here. The music player is and will always be located at the bottom of the screen. In the player you can change the song you are listening to, adjust the volume, stop pause play ect. So for instance if you were trying to watch my hamburger video, you would go to the bottom of the page, hit either stop or pause, and then hit play on the movie bach up top. Just for future reference!