Courtney C.

Warning ya'll, apparently, if you disagree with anyone at any point on
this site, you can NEVER EVER disagree with them again or else you're
"following" them and "attacking everything they say." Forget that you
don't even mention any other time you've disagreed, forget that out of
the multiple things that someone has said, yeah, you've disagreed with
2 of them. Forget that, um, yeah, if you don't LIKE someone, how
likely is it that you WILL agree with them? Nope, too fuckin bad. You
can't express an opinion or else it's ALL because they called you a
cunt on another letter.

I don't appreciate having people tell ME what my intentions are and
lying about my reasons for doing things. You're showing your ass out
there.

Sorry! I thought about holding out, but then I thought "ok, it's going
to sound SO dorky to wait until March 4th and then reference 'the girl
who worked line 6 on Feb 24th.'" I was afraid they wouldn't be able to
find her that far from now. So yeah... I jumped the gun. :P

I need an ABC game to make me feel better. Starlight? Chris? RXgirl?
Who shall it be? :P

Geez, the talking behind people's back, the childish whining, the
snobby behavior, the lieing about what people did and didn't say..
some people, even WAY WAY into adulthood are apparently still stuck in
high school. Perpetual thorn in their side? At least I'm not a liar.
Maybe I wouldnt take offense with everything said if everything said
wasn't dripping with self-righteousness and snobbiness.

For any who care to help, a personal question for you. BF and I have
been discussing weddings (gasp, choke, I'm too young for this!!) and
trying to figure out a budget. He's VERY much of the mind that we will
not accept a dime from our parents and must pay every penny ourselves.
If they wish to contribute (as I know my parents will), then they can
give us a large gift at the wedding. yeah, fine, whatever. So I'm
curious, what was your wedding budget? Did you stick to it? What's a
decent range for a non-massive but still nice wedding? I've seen
everything from 5k to 50k and it seems that 25k was the most common.
This just seems like an EXORBITANT amount of money, but maybe I'm just
being cheap? So, how much did ya'll fork out for your big day? :P

I wonder if I did this "new name" thing right.

Sorry I been MIA so much lately, but we're getting all twisted up voer
here about my visa again. We actually did it, we got all the paperwork
in order. Everything is legalized by the people who needs to see it,
we are done. And... it doesn't matter. Not a bit. We're going to get
denied.

We knew Marc was close to the limit as far as minimum income for a
sponser, but now we know, he's about 200 Euros a month under the min.
So, we're going to get denied based on income. It's so incredibly
frustrating though, because if they just looked at things on a CASE BY
CASE basis instead of having a bottomline number, they'd see that
we're FINE money-wise. We're living in a student apartment. Which
means that our rent includes electricity, cabletv, cable internet,
gas, trash, water, EVERYTHING and our rent is about 1/3 of normal
people's rent. So that's IT. Other than food, he has NO expenses. So,
yes, we're 200 Euros a month under the required amount. But hell, we
put 600 Euros a MONTH into a SAVINGS account. We're OBVIOUSLY not in
dire need for money. So how can they be so strict about a number?

So I dont know. We're trying to talk to an immigration lawyer before
we submit because if we submit right now, they'll take 6 months to
come back with a no. Then we'll have to pay the $1000 AGAIN and wait
another 6 months to try again. So, if any immigration lawyers happened
to read this... :P

I just got home from teaching my classes. Today was really good but I
felt kind of bad for the students because the last few weeks have been
some hardcore learning (for my 9-10 year olds) instead of the fun
getting-to-know-you games that we spent the first couple weeks doing.
I was afraid that English was starting to bore them, although they
sure didn't act that way. Heck, when I assigned them extra work to do
over the next week, they all said "luek!" (fun). Still, I was
concerned about pushing them so hard. Anyway, I jumped online and
decided to check out their class website. They have a guestbook in
which the students like to chat with each other and it's proven to be
a good learning tool. Imagine my surprise when I saw this post (they
don't know I read the guestbook):


ROMY :
ook hallo allemaal
MISS COURTNEY GEEFT HELE GOEDE ENGELSE LES

kim :
ik ben het met romy eens dAT MISS COURTNEY GOED LES GEEFT

Long translation short, they're chatting about how good my English
lessons are! Really made me feel good after a long day. :)

I REALLY REALLY REALLY hate being told "god bless you." Why do people
feel the need to say this? I don't need anyone to "bless" me or hear
about anyone's religion. I really just wish people would keep there
religion a private matter. It's getting to be annoying. I went to see
a shrink once, just for a talk because i was going through some really
rough times. It was a great session and I was thinking that I might
come back and see her and at the end, she RUINED it by saying "may I
pray for you tonight?" I was like... no! I don't know, maybe I'm
oversensitive, but I hate that. When someone says "you're in my
prayers", I think oh, that's nice. Even I say it, which is funny
because I don't really pray, it's more "you're in my thoughts" but I
don't want some stranger to "pray" for me OR tell me that "jesus loves
me" or "god bless you". I know that SOME people actually mean it and
when it comes from someone I know, thats one thing, but when some
random person (and it's USUALLY using as the end to a rude and
dimissive rant) says it, I just want to claw their eyes out. It's so
holier-than-thou and pedantic. Ok, I'm done ranting.

This visa process is driving me the wall! Everytime we think we have
our papers in orders, someone else goes "well.. no.. you missed
something." And it's so frustrating to try to get these papers from
over here. Now I have to get something called a Marital Status
Declaration which can only be issued by the American Consulate in
Amsterdam. So, we have to spend all day tomorrow and about $30 to get
to the consulate, just to pay THEM $30 just to notarize a statement
that I'm not married. I'm starting to get really freaked out by the
whole process, there's this permanent lump in my stomach. Not to
mention, we're RIGHT on the edge of qualifying income-wise. Marc has
to make a certain amount of money per month in order to act as my
"sponser." He's RIGHT on the edge of making it. Problem is, every
person we ask gives us a different number for qualification. And since
the visa is for "family formation", no one else is allowed to act as
my sponser even if they wanted to. So what if we go through all this
and the government turns me down? Then we have to somehow find the
money to hire a lawyer and pray that they can get the government to
reverse the decision. Meanwhile, I can't legally work until I get a
visa, which is putting quite a pretty strain on our finances. I'm just
getting scared. I wish this were all over.

And I'm LOVING it! We've painted 2 of the 3 walls that are going to be
yellow. The apartment (excluding the kitchen/bathroom) is L shaped
with the bottom part of the "L" serving as the bed area. We're
painting the long wall, and 2 short walls facing it yellow. It's
giving a REALLY cool effect with the white walls in between. All of
our furniture is black or white, so the whole place is yellow, black
and white. Very cool. We're getting new curtains, new pillows, we
already got new furniture. Poor boy has changed so much to make me
happy here. I've never had the resources to "redecorate" before.
Everything I've ever owned was secondhand. It really means a lot that
he's letting (and paying for) me to do all this. Anyway, 1 more wall
to paint yellow, 3 more walls to paint white, black curtains to buy,
pillows to sew, lights to hang, a collection of personal photos to put
up, a huge Audrey Hepburn picture to hang and this apartment will
looke AWESOME!

And just like everything else here in the winter, it's yucky and grey.
There's these stupid little drops coming down. Too white to be rain,
too dry to be sleet and too ugly to be snow. There's a thin layer
covering the streets and it's just grey and dirty-looking. It's times
like these I really miss the mountains. The snow covered tops, the
sudden snowstorms that stopped the whole city for 2 days, the kids out
making real snowmen in the fields and sledding down such steep. rocky
hills that you have to cover your eyes in fear that they're going
over. People are still biking around outside. I can see them from my
window, fighting against the wind, struggling to move 2 feet forward
and then, when a break in the wind comes, shooting forward from the
energy they're expending. We're painting our room tomorrow. Did ya'll
know we live in one room? :P It's this tiny little 15' X 16' studio
apartment. 2 adults and 2 cats crammed into a space smaller than my
last bedroom (granted, it was a BIG bedroom :P). We argued about the
color. I wanted yellow, he wanted blue. Last night he changed his
mind, said that maybe yellow would cheer me up and remind me that
spring is coming. Very sweet and I am excited, but damn I can't wait
for spring...

So I've been teaching English for about 2 months now. It's not a
"real" job persay, since I'm sorta in "illegal alien" status at the
moment, but it's something to do. Once a week I go to a private
elementary school (1 train and 2 buses each way :S) and teach 2 half
hour classes to 9-10 year olds. It's been a lot of fun and by that
age, they've had Engilsh lessons for a few years, so I can pretty much
communicate with them on a basic level. Everything was going nice and
dandy. Until now. The director of the school just contacted me, they
want to increase my teaching load. I'll still be teaching my kids on
Thurs afternoons, but now on Thursday mornings, I'll teach 3 classes
of... 4-5 year olds. I am TERRIFIED of kids this young. I'm their
first introduction to the English language. How in the world do I
entertain 30+ 5 year olds for 1/2 an hour when they don't understand
one word coming out of my mouth? Anyone have any experiance teaching
children that young? Any ideas that I can translate into English
lessons? Right now, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" is about all I
got. :S

Oh the wind, the wind!! Its amazing here! No storm, no rain, but wind
gusting by at 70 mph at the moment. BF just called; they're actually
CLOSING his store and sending him home! Over wind! Its supposed to get
to 120 mph by 6 pm. The only time I've ever been in wind like this was
standing in the middle of a hurricane! If you go outside my building,
you litterally CANNOT push yourself against the wind. Hell, if I was
any slighter a person, I'd be going WITH it! So here we are, preparing
to batten down the hatches for the next 24-36 hours. People in Germany
are already being advised not to leave their houses. They've deployed
over 20k emergency workers just in case. And here I thought European
weather was boring! :P

CNN International has been FULL of stories about Shawn Hornbeck the
last couple days. It absolutely blows my mind. Can you IMAGINE your
son being missing for FOUR years and then getting him back? YOu HAVE
to acccept after so much time that your son is dead and then to be
able to hold him, kiss him again. It makes me cry just thinking about
it. That boy has spent the last 4 years molested and abused. How many
times did he think "thats it, its over, I'm never going home"? And
now, here he is, back home. And all because ANOTHER boy had been
kidnapped. How odd to be THANKFUL that a child was kidnapped (because
you KNOW Shawn's parents are). The whole story just blows my mind. I
can't even imagine the feeling of being able to hold your son again.

lol, I think I accidently drive LIttle Trooppers blog back up to the
top 10. Amnd I'm just drunk enough to think that's absolutely
hilarious :D. Yay! Its my brother's 21st birthday. I feel very old!
Except I just realized that I put in my desciption up there ^^ that
I'm 25. I'm not 25. I'm 24. I have NO earrthly idea why I put 25...
I'm subconsciously trying to make myself OLDER? Aren't I supposed to
be doing the opposite?? Oh well, Happy Tuesday Ya'll!!

I am SO tired of the whole "pot kettle black" phrase. In any form, in
any incarnation, in any use. It has got to be THE most overused phrase
on this site. You're ALL kettles, ok? Every damn one of you is a
kettle! Me, I'm a porcelain teapot. But you're all kettles!

From now on, I think we should say "Isn't that the cupcake calling the
brownie yummy?" or just "cupcake. brownie. yummy."

My blog is higher than Starlight's! Nanny-nanny-boo-boo! *sticks her
tongue out*

Happy Birthday LadyMac! And in honor of your ever-increasing age:

The positive side of being an oldie:
1. You?ll never have to endure those harrowing visits to the dentist
again.
2. You?ll save a fortune on shampoo.
3. Your hernia operation will make you a star at the local pub.
4. You will look distinguished with your receding hairline, double
chin and wrinkles.
5. You have survived the humiliation of middle age.
6. You?ll no longer have to suffer the disappointment of thwarted
ambitions ? you no longer have any.
7. You can finally sell those dreadful diet and exercise books that
have sat unopened on the bookshelf for years.
8. You?ll be the champ at history questions in the pub quiz.
9. You can embarrass your family by entering glamorous granny or
good-looking grandfather competitions.
10. You don?t need to make an effort anymore ? people will expect you
to be frumpy, boring and cantankerous.
11. Your failing memory allows you to convince yourself that you?re a
super sex machine.
12. You?ll be able to talk incessantly about the good old days.
13. Your failing eyesight saves you the anguish of seeing your
disintegrating body.

LOVEMAKING TIPS FOR OLDER PERSONS

- Put bifocals on. Double check that you're with the right partner.
- Set alarm on your clock for 2 minutes... in case you doze off in the
middle.
- Set the mood with lighting. Turn 'em ALL OFF !
- Make sure you put 911 on your speed dial before you begin... just in
case!
- Write partner's name on your hand in case you can't remember what to
scream out at the end.

A reporter was interviewing a 104 year-old woman: "And what do you
think is the best thing about being 104?" the reporter asked.
She simply replied, "No peer pressure."

Three ladies were discussing the travails of getting older. One said,
"Sometimes I catch myself with a jar of mayonnaise in my hand, while
standing in front of the refrigerator, and I can't remember whether I
need to put it away, or start making a sandwich."
The second lady chimed in with, "Yes, sometimes I find myself on the
landing of the stairs and can't remember whether I was on my way up or
on my way down."
The third one responded, " Well, ladies, I'm glad I don't have that
problem. Knock on wood," as she rapped her knuckles on the table, and
then said, "That must be the door, I'll get it!"

Have a good birthday! :D

2nd time around, hopefully more successful. :) We'll see anyway. Glad
to see some "old-timers" (muhaha, I know, I suck) are coming back.
Should prove interesting.

So I tried to have dinner a little while ago and I gotta say, I have
about HAD it with this country! The food here SUCKS! And I dont mean
like "just have to get used to new foods" sucks. I mean, its AWFUL. I
tried to eat some chinese food= awful. A hamburger from the frozen
foods section= inedible. A thai something or other= yuck. We literally
eat the same 5 or 6 meals over and over again because I can't stomach
the food here. I have GOT to find some way of getting some
American-type foods here or I am going to waste away (which really
wouldnt be that bad for my waistline, but it IS damn annoying :P)

Ok, I'm done ranting. LadyMac, I expect an appropriate "Yay!" from you
for reopening this early :)

Amanda and Courtney all in the same day!

OMG, I'm a happy camper!

What kind of foods can I send you from VA?

Starlight, what kind of evil can we cook up in the next few hours?

So you went all the way to Denmark.....
by Adam W Posted Sat January 6, 2007 @ 7:09 AM
to be with a guy. I bet he's regretting that now.


ok, that's it
by Courtney C Posted Sat January 6, 2007 @ 7:11 AM
you are nothing but a punk little kid with too much time on his
hands.
You have had the nerve to take things to a personal level that no one
else has even touched and then you have the balls to whine about
everyone else being a bully? You are nothing not a snotnosed little
jerk. And Holland isn't even Denmark, you moron. Go back to school.
There. NOW you can say people have called you names.


This moron is SERIOUSLY making coming here less fun. Why can't his
computer blow up or something?

and there was just this really funny moment. Timmy's dad (if you don't
know who Timmy is, I curse you) is turned evil and is ranting about
how very evil he is and he says:

"I'm so evil I'm going to tip low! Really low! Below 15%! *evil laugh*
And I'm going to send my food back and yell that its wrong even though
it's EXACTLY what I ordered! *evil laugh*"

It just struck me as very appropriate for this site :P

Yay!! Mama came and picked up cat late last night. She'd been out of
town for a couple days. I miss Bob, but I'm glad he's gone. The other
cats are just now starting to calm down. I still have no idea how this
woman put a wrong number on her flyers, she was full on Dutch. But no
matter, I'm just glad he's back home. :)

So I found this kitten a few nights ago outside in the rain.
Absolutely beautiful cat, sweet as can be, absolute rascal. I've seen
signs around the neighborhood that someone had lost this cat, so I
thought "fantastic, I'll snag it, call them, reunite, everyone's
happy". Problem is, the number on the signs ISN'T THEM! How these
people put the WRONG number on all their signs, I have no idea, but
the person answering says they are NOT missing a cat. All I can think
is that this owner is a foreign student (the buildings we live in are
90% populated by foreign exchange students at the university) and that
they miswrote their temporary number.

I've put signs up all over that I found this cat, I've put signs UNDER
each of the OWNERS signs saying "hey, I have this cat." Its been 3
days and no one has come by. So here's my dilemma. I can't keep this
cat much longer! My cats are going NUTS with it here. One of them
fights it NONstop (we've barely slept in 3 nights), the other one is
so freaked out (VERY nervous disposition) that she literally has not
come out from under the bed in 3 days. And I mean LITERALLY. We have
to keep moving the bed to clean up where she's gone to the bathroom.

What do I do?? I CANT just throw the kitten back outside now that I
KNOW it has a home out there! Its also been declawed, so it can't even
defend itself. And I don;t want to take it to a shelter for fear it
will be destroyed if the owner doesnt show up quick enough. Any ideas
on what to do? Or at least how to get MY cats to stop freaking out
about this kitten? I know some of ya'll have cats... how do you
introduce a new one to a cat with a really nervous disposition? The 2
that are already together have been together since birth and THEY
barely get along! :S Anyway, any ideas, I'd be grateful :)

I am seriously done even opening that moron, Adam W's letters. Maybe
if we all just ignore him, he'll go away little the annoying gnat he's
become. And if anyone tell me that statement isn't fair to the gnats
on the site, I'm going to kick them.

I'm sure my ass will be passed out by the time it's actually midnight
for ya'll, but have a happy one anyway! And at 3-6 pm, depending on
where in the USA you are, think me drunk and partying at midnight! :P

Well, thats's over and done with. It was a lot harder being away from
my family than I had originally thought it would be... add in the fact
that my mother (who spent the holidays scuba diving in Florida) didnt
answer her phone any of the 10 times I tried to call between the
24th-26th AND didnt bother to call me at all... it was pretty
annoying. But my inlaws were wonderful and the boyfriend got me
appropriately romantic gifts (yay, jewelry!) so all was good. The huge
dinner was a MASSIVE success! Thank you everyone who gave me ideas, I
was able to put together a great menu and everyone loved it! :D Here,
they also celebrate "2nd Christmas Day" on the 26th, so we've been
partying for the last 3 days! I hope everyone else's holidays were as
fun as mine :)

I see people with special interests listed... and have no idea how to
do mine. Help, anyone? *insert pouting/pleading face* thanks :)

Your ideas have been SO helpful. Thank you so much for taking the
time. I'll let you know the fated menu when its determined ;) Thank
you again, ya'll are so sweet :D

Actually, they're not even inlaws yet.. What do you call them when its
your SO's parents but you're not married? ANYWAY, I have been charged
with the task of cooking a "typical American Christmas dinner".
Typical? What in the world does "typical" mean when it comes to
America? Not to mention the fact that um... I CANT COOK! But since the
loving boyfriend has already invited 6 people to dinner, cook I must.
So, here's me begging for a plethora of helpful hint from ya'll. :D
What. in your opinion, is "typical" Christmas food? Maybe with your
help, I can pull together some kind of menu. Then the only hard part
will be actually FINDING the ingredients in this evil little town :P
Thanks :)

Part of me wants to laugh, part of me wants to come through the
computer and bite someone. Shark food? Air Rage? Make the kids swim?
Mindlessly breeding? I have never read such bull in my life! I swear,
this site may be bad for my blood pressure :P Btw, how come everyone
ELSE I saw who opened their profiles got a "Hi, blanketyblank" from
Mr. Helpful and I didnt get one? :P Its cuz I'm ______ (fill in the
blank), isnt it? Can I demand a refund from the Planet Feedback guy? I
want my "hi!" :P